Going Bookish

I have been a bad girl, I confess. I've been reading escapist stuff for the past few weeks. Every once in a while, like a wine taster cleaning his palate, I have to read some pure entertainment and clear my brain. Among the better entries:

Lady in Blue by Javier Serra. This one is deceptive, opening as it does with mystical experiences in the Southwest. I'd probably like to say that the ending is disappointing, but that would not do justice to the book which I enjoyed quite a bit. It's a good read, almost engrossing, beginning as it does with a combination of narratives about different characters in different locales in different eras a la Ludlum. Unusual.

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton. I never miss an installment in her alphabetical mystery series featuring Kinsey Millhone. As I checked it out, I was told it was a bit different from the others, a bit more complex. It is different in that Grafton gives away much of the ending in the first few chapters. The question is how she's going to get there. And while I enjoy Kinsey's family of choice, landlord Henry and the rest of the crew, they form the central story here. I prefer them more as local color. And where's the boyfriend?

Hand of Evil by JA Jance. This is the third in the Ali Reynolds series. For the unitiated, Jance has at least three mystery series. My absolute favorite are the JP Beaumont novels, set in Seattle. There's also a pretty nifty Joanna Brady series set in the Southwest. Ali is a newer introduction. Burned by life, Ali returns to her hometown where she finds herself embroiled in not one but two mysteries. Any Jance is excellent, fast-paced and enjoyable reading, but I particularly enjoyed the dysfunction aspect in this one. By the way, Ali keeps a blog. Speaking of blogging, Jance has one on Amazon. It appears that there have been rumors she died. She apprises us that she is alive and kicking here on her blog.