Might be time to take a break from the Tudors...

Finished Rory Clements' Martyr - An Elizabethan Thriller just now.  It wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't great, either.  Stock characters and fairly predictable.  Coming on the heels of the Shardlake books, this one, set a generation later, was not nearly as fun.  Passed the time though.  But I think I need to pick something different off the shelf for my next book.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaaah

It is too freaking hot and sticky right now.  But, that is good "lay in bed with the fan directly on me while I read" weather, especially on a sore and crabby Saturday afternoon.  Hence, powered through Revelation by C. J. Sansom (good - seriously - not great literature, but I really am impressed that even if Sansom is kinda doing the same thing over and over again, at least he's getting a little better at it each time) and the Maisie Dobbs installment I had missed,
Among the Mad, by Jacqueline Winspear (also good, if not amazing).

weekend reading

Started with Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.  Not awesome, but so, SO much better than the last couple of books in the series.  I suspect because the super stupid brother character is gone.  Thank God.  Second-most annoying character appears infrequently, although I suspect she will be more, if not entirely, front and center in the next book (which, as usual, Misters Preston and Child not only hint at constantly throughout the story proper, but plug shamelessly, if ever there was a shameless plugging, in the end papers of the book). 

Next came Sovereign by C. J. Sansom.  I liked this one even better than the last Matthew Shardlake mystery I read - huzzah for authors who get better.  The kinks are clearly being worked out, and I really appreciated that while the author refers to events in past books, he does not ram ads for the previous installments, in the guise of plot, down the reader's throat.

After that (Monday-Tuesday, hooray long weekend!) was "An Abigail Adams Mystery" by Barbara Hamilton called The Ninth Daughter.   I was hoping it'd be good, given the character/setting, but it was...meh.  Not bad, not good.  This may be the "first in a new series!" but I'm not going to be searching out the next one. 

I was wrong

About a plot issue in Dark Fire.  But still rather enjoyed it; I'll probably continue to read the series, but not this weekend, since the library has the latest Agent Pendergast installment for me - although since I am neither sick nor travelling, it seems a bit weird to read one of those!

ye olde mysteries

I might have missed a book in there somewhere, but I was back and forth to the hospital a lot last week/end, for my mom, so I didn't get a ton of reading done.
Finished Dissolution by C.J. Sansom the other day; it was a mildly fun book about a hunchbacked attorney in the days of Cromwell and Henry VIII (right after Jane Seymour died), by the name of Matthew Shardlake, who is sent by Cromwell to investigate a murder in an abbey (monastery?  I should really learn the difference, if there is one, and I think there is, as I feel rather ignorant right now) due to be shut down following Henry & Cromwell's "dissolution" (get it??) of the monasteries (and abbeys??).  Most importantly, it was a triumph for the blog system.  I came across the book somewhere, noted the title in the blog, and eventually checked it out of the library and read it.  Score!
Characters were decent, and while the plot was fairly straightforward, and the twists predictable, it suited the mood/energy level I was dealing with, and I enjoyed it.  Enjoyed it enough to pick up the sequel Dark Fire yesterday, in any case.  In this one Shardlake returns to solve a murder AND an unrelated case of some Greek Fire (and re-discovered formula) going missing in London.  Except I would bet money they will turn out to be related, but whatever.
OH, right.  Predictable.  After Dissolution (or before?  I'm confused now), I read the latest "Mistress of the Art of Death" book by Ariana Franklin, A Murderous Procession.  It was good, but nothing special.  I keep thinking the first one (Mistress of the Art of Death) was really good, and the second one was pretty good, and the third one was kinda crappy...I would say this one was decent?  At this point, as I discussed with my mom (who borrowed and read the first two from me, and gave back the third half done) the other day (Noni brought this latest one for me when we were all at the hospital for mom's surgery), I am reading them because I have become fond of the characters, not because the plot is so great.  And the writing would be okay EXCEPT FOR WHEN SHE TRIES TO INTRODUCE A SECOND, SCARY/CRAZY BAD-GUY VOICE.  Yuck.  So bad.  STOP.  Oh well.  Could have been worse.  Turns out C read Mistress at the beginning of the month, so if I can actually get places on time I will meet up with her and loan her the rest, so we'll see what she thinks.

Speaking of waiting for things:

I came across a reference to a historical mystery series (I know, I know, I need a little more variety in my book diet) by one C.J. Sansom.  The first book, Dissolution, is currently checked out of the library, but it's due back on the 26th; I'm obviously not going to recall it on someone, but I do want to remember to check it out (literally, in both senses of the word) at some point.  Series is apparently set during the reign of Henry VIII so I assume there is some drama around closing down a monastery?  This could be good for the trip to visit R in Mannahatta - to use the old name - some time in the near future.  Go MegaBus!