Welcome to Litsy!

#HyggehourReadathon
A little tea, some penuche walnut fudge, a book& my kitties makes for a lovely hour. 💕💕💕

This #8 in the DCI Banks series is a stunner.
A man is charged with the murder of a wealthy, prominent politician‘s daughter.Prior to his trial,the accused spends months in jail,which he narrates in minute detail.I don‘t want to give anything away, but suffice to say there is a clever multi layered plot,& an in-depth character study. The surprising ending left me cynically wondering if her murder will be avenged or court justice will prevail.

‘“A cadaveric spasm had caused Rothwell to grab and hold onto a handful of dust at the moment of death,and Banks thought of the T.S.Elliott quotation, “I will show you fear and a handful of dust,”which he had come across as the title of an Evelyn Waugh novel.”‘
A wild,ingenious plot, with unforeseen consequences for many of the characters.Bank‘ nemesis “Dirty Dick reappears to the consternation of Banks.At Banks request,big, bumbling,but astute ⬇️

Tuesday morning coffee. That first sip…ecstasy!

‘“Shakespeare was right…Lust often is “murderous, bloody,full of blame,/Savage,extreme,rude,cruel,not to trust.”‘
A bloody murder sends CI Banks, and his team down a rabbit hole in an effort to understand gaps in the victim‘s life story. Is the why of her murder rooted in her past? Literature,poetry, & music play an essential role: Shakespeare, Philip Larkin,Vivaldi,Mesiaen. A character even suggests that Banks is in competition with PD James‘⬇️

Top row: currently reading #sundaybuddyread #naturalitsy #DCIBanks #5 #readyourkindle #QueensofCrime #audiobook
Bottom row: finished books #IsabellaGardner #PatrikHedstromMystery #decoupagemystrty #2 #audiobook

I had three 5 star reads this month, but my favorite has to be the latest installment of J.D. Robb‘s (aka Nora Roberts) In Death series. A very entertaining mystery with a look at a favorite character‘s mysterious past.

A Toronto-based story centered on four Anishnaabe characters (a professor, a grad student, a visiting hockey player, and a bush pilot), a Caribbean writer, and a white detective: all brought unexpectedly together by a series of abrupt and incredibly brutal murders. This is far more than a murder mystery, going into Indigenous culture, history and human rights; sports culture; and a bit of romance. Very well developed, but the ending is a bit neat.

Ch 6:

“Stop reading my mind. I don‘t like it, and you know that,” Addie said crossly.
“I explained about that. It‘s not actually mind-reading. But I do catch a sentence or two on occasion.”

Ch 26:

“I‘m a reformed character. Reforming, anyhow. Everybody Upstairs thinks so. I don‘t know why you can‘t see that,” Rupert grumbled, smoothing his own hair down. Addie had to admit that he was still ridiculously attractive, even if he was dead.

Set in London in 1925, after the Great War. Fun and light but the anachronisms and Americanisms (swapping ‘bring‘ for ‘take‘ for example) are tripping me up.
Following on from ‘Nobody‘s Sweetheart Now‘ the widowed Lady Adelaide is embroiled in (solving) another crime, Inspector Dev Hunter is investigating this one too (and their mutual, unspoken attraction continues) and she still can‘t get rid of Rupert, her husband‘s ghost, who keeps popping up