Carrie Soto is Back...and Magpie Murders

I just finished listening to Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid and was blown away by how good it was. I cannot remember which of my book blogger friends raved about it, but thanks to whomever it was!

Carrie is a 37-year-old former tennis star--the best in the world when she retired--and she comes out of retirement in order to try to win one or more tennis slam tournaments (i.e., Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, or US Open) in order to keep her record of most wins intact

The first part of the book recounts her rise as a tennis star--coached by her dapper Argentian father--which is the usual story of a supremely gifted athlete who sacrifices a normal life in pursuit of a professional sports career. The second part details Carrie's training, both physical and mental, as she prepares for her comeback. I loved hearing about the intricacies of tennis strategy--being able to have the physical capabilities and muscle memory to literally think on your feet in the split second you have to return a shot was just fascinating. And the training involved to compete at this level was truly inspiring.

The story itself is great, with tennis and sport providing the vehicle for Reid to explore ego, self-doubt, family, ambition, resilience, and fear of failure, not to mention the inequalities between men's and women's sports, how they covered, sponsored, and reported on. But the writing is awesome--most of it is first-person narrative, with some sportscaster copy thrown, and Carrie's voice is so authentic, believable, and compelling. She is often not nice--she is nicknamed "The Battleaxe" by the press--but she is definitely a heroine. 

And the ending is superb. Immensely satisfying, both thematically and in terms of plot. I highly recommend the audio version. Five stars!

I also recently finished Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz and followed it up by watching season one of the TV series on PBS. Basically, it is a mystery story within a story, which is very clever. 

Susan Ryeland is an editor for a small UK publishing firm whose best-sellers are a detective-based 1950's-era mystery series by a very disagreeable author. The book starts with Susan sitting down to read the latest in the series, and so we get to read it along with her. I liked it--good setting (very Agatha Christie-esque), good characters, good whodunit...but we and Susan don't get to discover whodunit because the final chapter is missing. Cut to the frame story and Susan turns detective to track down not only the missing chapter, but also the nasty author commits suicide, and Susan suspects murder. Great plot--so much fun to read.

The 6-part TV series was okay--they ended up trying to tell the two stories simultaneously with the same cast playing characters in both worlds, and the worlds overlapped in that Atticus Pünd (the 1950's detective) visits Susan and they compare notes regarding the two mysteries. Very meta. And, very confusing. I'm not sure this treatment worked all that well, but I understand why it was done this way. Also, Horowitz wrote the screenplay for the mini-series. 

I think the book was clever, but the TV series was too clever, and that got in the way of it being as good as it could have been.

Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pünd join forces to solve both mysteries.

The sequel to Magpie Murders is Moonflower Murders, and I believe that is the focus of season two of the TV series. Has anybody read it? Should I?

Murder and Mayhem - Fall Reading, Watching, Learning, and Playing

I didn't do the R.I.P. challenge this year. Not from not wanting to, or not trying. I simply couldn't figure out the logistics based on Instagram posts. I tried searching for a hosting blog, but that seems to be old school. I guess I am feeling my age, but I couldn't figure out how to sign up. post, etc. So, I punted and just read a bunch of mysteries sans challenge.

The Last Devil to Die, by Richard Osman - 4th in the fantastic Thursday Murder Club series, I gave this 5 stars on GoodReads as there is some seriously beautiful, heartbreaking, breathtaking writing that isn't part of the overall whodunit but puts this book outside the realm of a simple mystery novel. And the mystery part of the book is really good--we dive into the world of antiques, antiquities, fraud, and heroin smuggling, and there are some wonderful characters in this world, some of whom end up dead and some don't. And the fab four are as wonderful as ever. I am so looking forward to the Netflix movie that just finished production.

The Zig-Zag Girl, by Elly Griffiths - I have been hearing good things about Griffiths's Ruth Galloway series but decided (mainly because my library had a copy) to start with book 1 of her Stephens and Mephisto series. Set in Brighton in the 1950s, not long after WWII has ended, the book features a police detective and a famous (on the UK vaudeville circuit) magician who have to figure out who is murdering people using magician's acts horribly gone wrong. Good writing, good setting, good characters--I will definitely be reading more by this author.

Vanishing Edge, by Claire Kells - I've gotten burnt out on the Nevada Barr series, so when Lark from Lark Writes blogged about a mystery series based in National Parks, I knew I had to check it out. This is the first book in the series--set in Sequoia NP in CA. The main character, Felicity Harland, is a former FBI agent now working as a detective with the NPS and her sidekick in this novel (and hopefully into the future) is the brawny, sweet park ranger known as Hux. They are a wonderful pair, with some chemistry, but lots of smarts and wilderness skills. I enjoyed the mystery, setting, and characters and already have the next book in the series on my nightstand.

The Woman in Cabin 10, by Ruth Ware - I picked up this book on vacation in WA state and devoured it while traveling. I had heard lots of buzz about it earlier in the year, and it was a "can't put it down" thriller. Lo, the main character, works for a travel magazine in the UK and is lucky enough to get chosen for a major perk--a berth on a luxury cruise in the North Atlantic. She stumbles into a mystery and finds herself in grave danger in her attempt to figure out who she saw in the supposedly empty cabin next to hers, and what happened to her.

Murder in Chianti, by Camilla Trinchieri - book 1 of yet another mystery series, and this one was also recommended by Lark. Again, I have found a new series to love, as I really enjoy reading books set in Italy, and in this case, we have a former NYPD cop who has relocated to Tuscany and gets roped into helping solve a murder. Again, great setting, interesting set of villagers and side characters, and lots of discussion of great food and drink.

Fatal Pursuit, by Martin Walker - finally, not a new series! This is book 9 in the fabulous Bruno series set in the Dordogne valley in France. One of my absolute favorites in the entire series so far -- we have another WWII mystery, this time involving a gorgeous racing car (only 1 of 4 made) that went missing with a French resistance driver on his way from Alsace to the Dordogne. We also have a rally car event with Bruno as a reluctant participant, as well as the usual horses, dogs, friends, baguettes, fabulous food and drink, and cultural history.

I'm halfway through Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz, which I am loving and will wax poetic about in a later blog post.

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Still reading up on the Civil War--1/3 of the way through another Bruce Catton, this time The Coming Fury, which covers a lot of the same ground as The Demon of Unrest, but terrific nonetheless. I also watch Manhunt on Apple TV about the search for John Wilkes Booth and the other conspirators involved in the Lincoln assassination. Tobias Menzies was excellent as Edwin Stanton, Lincoln's Secretary of War, sometime political rival, and friend and champion. Definitely worth watching.

Also, just started watching The New Look on Apple TV about Christian Dior and Coco Chanel during WWII in Paris and afterwards. Absolutely riveting. Honestly, I am glad I no longer use Chanel No. 5. Coco should have been prosecuted as a Nazi spy.

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Still harvesting tomatoes--what a bumper crop. My freezer is full of tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes,  and we've been eating a lot of tomato soup, salsa, bruschetta, and tomato sandwiches. And I have given away so many bags to friends, neighbors, and the food share.

I just started piano lessons--I haven't played in >30 years and I was mostly self-taught, so this is great fun and challenging.

Gearing up for quilting season. I have a king-size quilt that I am almost done quilting, and then there is a Civil War era quilt that I would love to make this winter.

And that's a wrap. Hope everyone is doing well, staying healthy and reading lots!