Welcome to Litsy!

‘“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 ⬇️

‘“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

This was the first book I've read from the Superintendent Wycliffe series and it was a weak pick for me. The mystery was just OK but I did enjoy the cozy seaside setting and Wycliffe's character, so I'm willing to try more books in the series.

#192025 #1978 @Librarybelle
#gottacatchemall (Eevee: Read a book you own) @PuddleJumper

“I was trying to suggest a reconciliation, but…”
“What was the reason for the separation?”
A third coffee. He definitely needed a third coffee. Normally Trent would be drowning his sorrows with tea, but there were some things in this world that tea could not fix. It was definitely a coffee morning.
“We were having some personal problems.”
“Who had the affair, you or her?”
The way Birch asked disturbed Trent more than the question itself.

When he laced up and adjusted his gear, Paul sometimes felt like a gladiator going into battle, complete with his hockey stick of death. Other times he felt more like an overdressed clown, being paid to chase a piece of rubber across an artificial frozen surface in a bizarre outfit to amuse the masses. Still, it wasn‘t as bad as football. At least hockey had some connection to reality, evolving from the need to move on the frozen lakes of Canada.