![]() ![]() And it isn't long before Hank's missing-person case turns into a murder investigation… When his former babysitter beseeches him to find her missing husband Hank's search leads him to a visibly collapsing East Coast landscape where anti-immigrant militia patrol the shores, fending off droves of people fleeing the impact zone of the asteroid. Justice Department, and Hank is out of a job. The Concord Police Department is now operating under the auspices of the U.S. This second instalment in Winters trilogy is set three months before the deadly asteroid 2011GV1 is due to hit Earth. His first person narrative is nicely understated and he makes for an engaging but unobtrusive lead. ![]() ![]() Meeting up once again with Hank Palace felt just like welcoming back an old friend. Countdown City is the second book in Ben H Winter's Last Policeman trilogy, and it follows on from the events that unfolded in the 2013 Edgar Award winning The Last Policeman. ![]()
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![]() The trip then might be enough for us: funny, sad, violent and illuminated by a minor light. The novel proposes somewhat gently that the pursuit of a painful thing might just be the point, rather than the moment the quest is over - and deWitt illustrates that sweetly. ![]() The story ends with a beautiful epitaph seemingly meant to bookend the Walser epigraph, but that doesn’t quite fulfill the story we’ve just read.That said, the world deWitt gives us is generous, and the protagonist is someone we’re happy to follow. More than one important thread vanishes without a gesture toward resolution. And Lucy must be careful, for love is a violent thing. It is an adventure story, and a mystery, and a searing portrayal of rural Alpine bad behaviour with a brandy tart, but above all it is a love story. I think the events do indeed shape Lucy, but his emotional core becomes too inaccessible to judge. Undermajordomo Minor is a triumphant ink-black comedy of manners by the Man Booker shortlisted author of The Sisters Brothers. By the end, there is death and rebirth, more death and the opening of a quest, but also a striking lack of consequence. Would you not find yourself resentful at the promise of an entertainment unfulfilled?”Is this the author coaching us as to what’s not coming? Maybe. ![]() Closing a book, the baroness says to Lucy, “I for one find it an annoyance when a story doesn’t do what it’s meant to do. About two-thirds of the way in, the reader’s alarm bells should go off. DeWitt’s narrative doesn’t quite have that nimbleness. ![]() ![]() ![]() She tries as much as possible to offer the girls ‘real-life’ experiences while also protecting them from the media and the perils of WWII England. Marion’s job becomes increasingly important as she goes from educating a Duke’s daughter to preparing her to be Queen after her father becomes King. So how does Marion reconcile this with being a royal governess? She believes that she can educate the princesses on how most people live and therefore hope to see societal change come from the top down. She originally had dreams of bringing access to education to the poorest slums during the depression. Marion is a socialist and a modern woman of her time. but a governess takes responsibility for the education of a child. ![]() For those who may not understand a royal household, a nanny takes care of the basic needs such as dressing, bathing, preparing for outings, etc. The book follows the life of Marion Crawford, who after just finishing teacher’s college in 1932, gets a position as a governess to Princess Elizabeth and later her sister Margaret as well. That said, “The Royal Governess” did not disappoint. Truth be told, I love anything to do with the British Monarchy, and am always interested in reading books with a royal flair, but that also means I’m pretty critical of historical basis of the genre. ![]() Reading “The Royal Governess” by Wendy Holden makes you feel like you are a witness to history. ![]() ![]() ![]() So much for blaming my mom’s cooking, even if I had gone to my parents’ house for dinner a few times. And every day this week and the better part of last week. Taking long, deep breaths, I tried to keep the nausea at bay. I closed my eyes and exhaled, pretending that single word wasn’t emblazoned across the insides of my eyelids. But no, ever the practical one, I’d gone for the brand with the clearest, least mistakable result, so there could be absolutely no doubt, and that was exactly what I’d gotten. A few minutes, maybe even a few seconds, to let it sink in slowly. ![]() ![]() Holding on to the bathroom counter for dear life and staring at that single word, I could have gone for some ambiguity or uncertainty. In a half-inch-long window, in bold black print on a deceptively bland gray background, eight tiny letters offered no ambiguity or uncertainty. No “is it really two lines?” No “I’m just seeing double, that’s all.” Not with this little bastard. There was no “well, maybe that line isn’t really there”. These digital tests didn’t leave any room for denial. ![]() |