Item: Lake Silence
Rating: 4.5
Author: MurderByDeath

Book-spine Poetry, #2

My friend URL Phantomhive did a Book Spine Poetry challenge for the recent BoutofBooks, and it since we’re in a stage 4 lockdown here, I thought MT might enjoy the challenge. 7 POEMS LATER… Obviously, he really got into it, so I’m posting one every few days to share with everybody

Today’s is one of his longer ones:

Speaking in Tongues
Why the Dutch are Different, The Year of Living Danishly
A Thousand Days in Venice, A Thousand Days in Tuscany
True Blue, Fair Dinkum
Down Under, Consider the Platypus
That’s Not English, Greek to Me

(nb: the text above is as he wrote the poem originally; he wanted to make sure it was posted because he found the arrangement of books confining. )

Book-spine Poetry

My friend URL Phantomhive did a Book Spine Poetry for the recent BoutofBooks, and it got me thinking “MT would be good at this.” (My husband is the talented writer in this house.) Since we’re in a stage 4 lockdown at the moment, and it’s been raining consistently all day, I thought he might enjoy the challenge and he’d come up with a quick, pithy example I could share with you all.

Well. I mentioned it last night and then didn’t think much more about it, until I noticed him walking around the house this morning, making lists. Moving stacks of books around. Pecking away at his laptop.

7 POEMS LATER…

So here’s the first one – and my personal favorite. Also, the shortest. Some of the results are less quick poems and more epic adventures. But one at a time … 😉

Fucking Apostrophes,
You’re saying it wrong,
Holy Sh*t
Swearing is good for you

It’s not Wordsworth, but it make me smile and I agree with the sentiment. 😉

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / Fifth row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares. This last row was challenging, but if I get through these, I’ll have knocked a few old-timers off the TBR shelf. These are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 5

This one’s been on my shelf for ages, because I’m missing the first in the series. But it’s time to get over it and just read it. The summary indicates our MC is parked at her fiancee’s country estate.

This is another of those books that have made it on the lists of Halloween Bingo past, but never got read. I don’t know why, only that each time something else that fits has grabbed my attention.

I can always count on this anthology for the Locked Room square; there are so many stories in it, it’ll take me forever to read them all. But I need to remember to look up which ones I read last year, so as not to duplicate myself.

Not sure about this one; Revenge of the Cootie Girls would be a re-read of a mystery that takes place on Halloween, but I also have Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett; another re-read that fits because my edition has a pumpkin on the cover. Decisions, decisions.

I only have this one Anthony Berkley because I’m not sure I’d really like his writing, based on what I’ve read about him in other books. But this story sounds like a lot of fun, so it’s time to crack it open.

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / Fourth row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares. This fourth row has been the hardest by far, and I’ve had to invoke two more Spell Pack cards to make them work These are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 4

There was no way I was reading anything for American Horror Story as Horror really isn’t my jam. So I used the Transfiguration Spell Card to turn this square into Spellbound, which gives me the perfect excuse to read Kevin Hearne’s new book that takes place in the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles: Ink & Sigil. This is one of 2 books I’ve purchased for this year’s Halloween Bingo, and I can only hope it arrives in time.

Another square I’m invoking a Spell Pack card for – this one Wild Card. My wild card author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I haven’t decided which title yet – but it’ll either be one of the Sherlock Holmes stories, or I have a book of Tales of Terror and Mystery I might give a go.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to read for this one but then I saw the book list of titles suggestions for the prompt, and there it was. H.R.F. Keating’s novelisation of Neil Simon’s movie, Murder by Death; my namesake. The ending pisses me off, but eh – it’s still worth a re-read.

This is both a re-read and a purchase, because apparently, I originally read this digitally. I’ve also bought the Alex Price entries and the newest title that centers on the cuckoo whose name escapes me at the moment, so it might be one of those instead.

I consulted the lists for this one and decided on Dorthy Sayers’ hangman Holiday; I have it and I don’t think I’ve read any of the stories yet.

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / Third row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares. It’s funny how the further down the card I go, the harder a time I have finding books. These are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 3

I’m going to try – again – to use A Graveyard for Lunatics by Ray Bradbury for this square; I’ve had it on my Bingo list for the last two years and replaced it both times. If I don’t read it this year, it’s going in the box.

I’ve read all the previous books in the Iron Druid Chronicles on Audio, but I have this hardcover, so I’m going to actually read Staked by Kevin Hearne.

Ah Edgar; any book that is mystery, suspense, horror or supernatural, which makes Ellis Peters’ The Leper of Saint Giles, the next in my Br. Cadfael TBR, the perfect fit.

I thought at first I’d have to Spell Pack this, but I ran across this on my TBR and it seems to take place in the woods of both Switzerland and the UK. Holt is hit or miss with me as the romance is sometimes to much the focus. We’ll see.

No way could I do Psychological books; they mess with my head way too much. So I’ve invoked my first Spell Pack card: Bingo Flip and Lillelara agreed to swap with me for Romantic Suspense. I chose a Phyllis A. Whitney for this flipped square: The Turquoise Mask. One of her older ones, so hopefully one of the better ones.

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / Second row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares and these are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 2

I was going to do a re-read of Sherlock Holmes, but I’ve just found Martin Edwards’ anthology Capital Crimes on the TBR so I’m going with a selection of stories chosen by whim for this square.

I thought this was going to be a bridge too hard and planned to use a Spell Pack card, but I pulled Amanda Flowers’ Murders and Metaphors off the shelf, and voila! A Black Cat. Sorted.

Too easy and likely one I’ll just choose when I’m ready to start reading a cozy.

TBD

Stuart Palmer’s The Puzzle of the Happy Hooligan has been lingering on the TBR for awhile now; it’s either going to be a hoot or tedious. Time to find out which.

Usually this one is tough for me, but I found the first one in this series last year and enjoyed it enough to order the next two, leaving me sorted with Ovidia Yu’s The Betel Nut Tree Mystery

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / First row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares and these are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 1

For the gothic square, I’ve chosen Mary Roberts Rinehart’s The Red Lamp. William Porter has just inherited Twin Hollows, an isolated lakeside estate shrouded in mystery and doom. William and his wife aren’t easily swayed by ghost stories, until a shadowy apparition beckons to them from the undying glow of a red lamp.

This square was a bit of a stumper for me, but I remembered the first of LynDee Walker’s new series was on my TBR: Fear No Truth, so I’m giving that a go.

A no-brainer for me, as I’ve just purchased Simone St. James’ new book The Sun Down Motel.

Now I just have to find a bright sunny morning to start it so I don’t scare the crap out of myself.

I’m going for a re-read for this square, Maggie Barbieri’s Murder 101, the first in her cozy series featuring a college professor.

Not sure what I’ll do for this square yet; I thought about re-reading Carolyn Hart’s Southern Ghost, but … meh. I’m going to see if I can find any Barbara Michaels I haven’t read yet.

TBD

Halloween Bingo 2020: The Lockdown Edition

It’s here! I’m a bit behind everybody else because I was late requesting my card, and the move over to the WP site presented a significant challenge: could I re-create my fancy sticker overlays here the way I did on BookLikes? The answer: Yes, with a lot of swearing. WP like to add extraneous style information on their images, which I’m sure is meant to make it easier for all experience levels to create their posts. But that extraneous code kept breaking my card. But I finally won and my card is below:

If I read a square that hasn’t been called yet, a ghost of stickers-yet-to-come will appear; once the square has been called, the sticker will become fully corporeal. As the squares get ticked off, a fully formed image will appear. Previously, I posted the finished image, but this year I’m going to leave it a mystery.

Below is the table that will summarise the books I’ve read for each square, and note if I took advantage of one of the Spell Pack cards, and which one. If all goes well, Book Titles will link to my review of the book here.

	Bingo Square	Date Called	Book Title	Date Read
Row #1
	Gothic
	Genre: Suspense
	Ghost Stories
	Dark Academia
	Southern Gothic
Row #2
	Darkest London
	Black Cat
	Cozy Mystery
	Genre: Mystery
	International Women of Mystery
Row #3
	Grave or Graveyard
	Deadlands
	FREE SPACE
	In the Dark, Dark Woods
	Psych / Romantic Suspense
Row #4
	American Horror Story
	A Grimm Tale
	It was a Dark and Stormy Night
	Monsters
	Trick or Treat
Row #5
	Country House Mystery
	13
	Locked Room Mystery
	Halloween
	Murder Most Foul

The Spell Pack cards are below – I’ve used a border in the same color as the card to mark the squares where I’ve used one.

Cards used:
Bingo Flip: Lillelara has agreed to trade my Psych square for her Romantic Suspense square.

I’m planning a follow up post with tentative titles for each square.

Booklikes-opoly 2020; Pandemic edition / audit update #1

Given that I’m already behind on posts, it seems my decision to audit was a good one. After finishing Amethyst Dreams for square 6, I rolled a 7 and landed on the Robot square. I made a note of it on my RL board, and rolled again, getting a 5 and landing on a Chance square:

I decided on Why Shoot a Butler? because I wasn’t in the mood for non-fiction, and it was on my TBR. Which it shouldn’t have been, because I’d already read it, but never mind, I enjoyed reading it again.

Rolling again, I got a 5 and landed on the Cat Square, made a note and rolled again, getting a 6, which landed me on space 27. For this one, I’m going to do a re-read again, but this time on purpose. I’m choosing the anthology from Jimmy Buffet, Tales from Margaritaville, which feature a short story called Take Another Road, about a man named Tully Mars; it’s definitely a tale of a hero’s journey – if a somewhat eccentric one.

Lake Silence (The World of the Others, #1)

Lake Silence
by Anne Bishop
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780399587245
Series: The World of the Others #1
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Pages: 416
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace

I wasn’t even going to read this one. I was sure I didn’t want to leave Lakeside and the characters in that courtyard. But this was one of those rare times when advance press got me to reconsider. I don’t even remember what I read, but it was enough to make me think that maybe Lake Silence would be worth a read.

Squee! It was! Much to the detriment of my sleep. I started it yesterday afternoon and, true to previous experience, I almost didn’t put it down again – I finally lost the battle at 1am, but was up again at 7am, book open, real-life rudely put on hold, until it was finished.

Turns out it’s not Lakeside I’m attached to; it’s the Others. I’m enamoured with their morality, to put it bluntly. Honesty and good faith keep you alive. Shady dealings and selfishness get you killed. Every. single. time. No second chances. In a world that’s constantly pissing me off because people do bad things and get away with it, or dodge the consequences, if not immediately, than eventually (Pete Rose trying to get his lifetime ban lifted; Australia’s cricket vice-captain caught cheating and already publicly stating he hopes to play again), I find this world of the Others refreshing. Unfortunately, even in a work of fantasy, humans can’t stop being selfish and exploitative, in spite of clear cut rules, and consequences that are meted out consistently and immediately, and brutally.

The setting for Lake Silence is completely different, with an entirely new cast of characters, although there are a few cameos. This is a small town that’s always been owned by the terre indigene, where the human residents fool themselves into believing the Others keep themselves to themselves. Vicki is a new resident, trying to make a go of an old abandoned resort she got as part of her divorce settlement, not realising the true purpose of the resort and her role as caretaker.

As in previous books, I just got sucked in; the characters, the setting, all of it. The only discordant note, and the reason it’s not the full 5 stars, were the villains; they were the most 2 dimensional characters in the story – so much so they were caricatures, and that made it hard to take them as seriously as the story deserved. Vicki is also an emotionally broken character, and that’s starting to make Bishop’s MCs feel formulaic. While Meg’s fragility was logical, given her background, Vicki’s felt gratuitous; I don’t think the story would have suffered at all, or worked less well, if she’s been a relatively well-adjusted, independent woman getting on with her life after a divorce.

Doesn’t matter in the end; I loved the book and lost sleep over it, and I’ll gladly snap up the next one without reservations.

This was my final read for Kill Your Darlings, and I used it for the card Crime Scene: Planet Camazotz, as it is a book that takes place in a different world.