The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

I spent a good portion of the University winter break reading The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. It is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus. The Percy Jackson & the Olympians told the story of the Greek demigods of Camp Half-Blood. This current series has a mix of Greek and Roman demigods. In the first book, The Lost Hero, Annabeth and Camp Half-Blood was looking for Percy Jackson who had gone missing. Jason Grace showed up, with a case of amnesia, and after Jason and Annabeth, Piper, and Leo from Camp Half-Blood freed Juno, Jason realized he was a Roman. In The Son of Neptune, Percy came back into the story. He had been missing for eight months. Juno had blocked his memory of who he was. Percy found himself making his way to Camp Jupiter. Percy had to prove himself to the Romans of Camp Jupiter, and of course, he does. Mars, aka Ares, appeared at camp, claimed Frank Zhang as his offspring, and told Frank that three of them would have to journey to Alaska to free Thanatos, the god of Death, who was imprisoned in Alaska. In order to free Thanatos, Because Thanatos was captured, people can’t die. In particular, monsters can’t die. Frank, Hazel Hazel Levesque, and Percy Jackson will have to kill the giant, Alcyoneus. We learned the back story of Frank, who was a mix of Roman and Chinese god, and would die when a particular piece of kindling he has burns out. Hazel died in the 1940s trying to prevent the rebirth of Alcyoneus. She was a daughter of Pluto, and was brought back by her half brother Nico di Angelo to right her wrongs.

As with the other books that Riordan wrote, this book had lots of good action and lots of mystery about what the future would bring. Would Frank die? What is his mystery? Will Hazel stay alive and right her wrongs? Would Percy get his memory back and rejoin Annabeth? Some of the questions were answered; others weren’t. Ever more questions were brought up before the book ends. Will Percy, Frank, Hazel, Jason, Annabeth, Leo, and Piper succeed in the Prophecy of the Seven? We’ll just have to read the other books to find that out. This book was a great example of Riordan’s action adventure for kids that even adults could enjoy. If you haven’t read Riordan, start with The Lightning Thief, and enjoy the journey!

Street of the Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters

I have been busy with the end of term, and the best remedy for the stress is a good, ripping yarn! So, of course, I turned to Elizabeth Peters. Peters knows how to write a funny, entertaining story, with a bit of thrills and suspense. Since it’s been a while since I’ve read one of her Vicky Bliss novels, I chose the second one in the series, Street of the Five Moons.

Vicky Bliss is not your typical romantic suspense heroine. She is tall, blond, beautiful, smart, and able to take care of herself. Well, she has to take care of herself because she’s always getting herself into jams because she doesn’t stop to think about what she is doing. Street of the Five Moons is one of my favorites because it is the book that introduces Sir John Smythe, who we later learn is really John Tregarth. In Street of the Five Moons, the story begins with a dead man who has a fake copy of the Charlemagne necklace sewn into his clothes. This is brought to the attention of Vicky’s boss, Herr Professor Anton Z. Schmidt, who is the head of the museum that houses the Charlemagne necklace. Schmidt finds out that the necklace in the museum is really the real one, but he sends Vicky off to investigate the mystery. She talks to the police and figures out for a cryptic note in the dead man’s pocket that 37 Street of the Five Moons is the source of the necklace. Of course, she realizes that this is a street in Rome. Schmidt gives her the time off to investigate, and off goes Vicky. Of course, when she breaks into the antique store at that location, Vicky finds a list of names and a hungry Doberman. Vicky, although smart, isn’t sensible, and she goes back to the store the next day. She meets Smythe, and later winds up getting kidnapped. Smythe, although one of the bad guys, rescues her and tells her to get the heck out of Rome. Does our Vicky listen? No, of course not! Instead, she has figured out where she was taken while kidnapped. And of course, she manages to finagle an invitation to meet the people she thinks are the masterminds behind the crime. What else would she want to do? Well, before you know it, Vicky and Smythe are running of their lives, and murder is on the horizon.

The story is quite entertaining, and once I started reading, I didn’t want to put the book down. Peters knows how to write repartee, and Vicky and Smythe are quite likeable. Eventually, Peters tied in Smythe’s history to the Emersons, of the Amelia Peabody Emerson line. The youngest daughter of Ramses and Nefret is Smythe’s grandmother. The whole series is fun and entertaining. Smythe is an entertaining answer to other British criminals, like Raffles. I have the next book, Silhouette in Scarlet on my TBR pile from the library. If you haven’t read a Vicky Bliss, get Street of the Five Moons now. Read it; you’ll love it!

Trouble in the Brasses by Alisa Craig

I think that I have reached the saturation point with the Madoc and Janet Rhys mysteries. I just finished the fourth in the series, Trouble in the Brasses, written by Alisa Craig (aka Charlotte MacLeod). This one was really confusing for me, and definitely not my favorite. Madoc was called in to investigate trouble in the brass section of the orchestra that his father, Sir Emrys, was conducting. The book started with Madoc arriving at the concert. One of the guys in the brass section, Wilhelm Ochs, became ill and wound up dead right after the concert. Then a select few of the orchestra, singers, Sir Emrys, Lady Rhys, and Madoc go onto their next destination by private plane. Unfortunately the plane has an emergency landing in a secluded area. The story trundled on about the characters on the plane, how they were lost, how Janet must be thinking they are all dead, etc. Another murder, and plane-loads of news crews, but no rescue later, Madoc finally figured everything out just in time to hand off the murder to the local police.

As you might be able to tell from my description, I became disgusted with the book shortly into it, and it was quite a chore to get through the book. I found that it was taking forever to get through the book, which was surprising considering how short the book was (190 pages). The first thing that got to me was the even though Madoc was called in by his parents because of trouble in the brasses (hence the title), they seemed to be clueless that there was actually trouble. The characters all seemed rather two dimensional to me, and Janet Rhys only made an off-stage appearance at the end. That means that a message from Janet is relayed from Madoc to his parents. There’s only one more book in the series, but I just can’t bring myself to even be interested in wanting to read it. I think that if I continue with any other books written by Charlotte MacLeod, I’ll try another series. The Madoc and Janet Rhys series is as weak as skim milk. Okay, but not really filling.

4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors. I started reading her books as a pre-teen, and I still enjoy them just as much as I did then. My favorite sleuth is Miss Marple. I can hear the groans from all of the Hercule Poirot fans. However, I feel a connection to Miss Marple. Her version of detection was recognizing the traits shared between the current batch of protagonists with those she has met throughout her life. Miss Marple only featured in thirteen of Christie’s novels, and in my opinion, all except for At Bertram’s Hotel, are very good books.

This past week, I read one of my favorites, 4:50 from Paddington or What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw. The first title was the original British title of the book, while the latter was common in the US. The book started with Elspeth McGillicuddy travelling by train from London to Saint Mary Mead a few days before Christmas. On the journey, another train passed Mrs. McGillicuddy’s train. The trains’ speeds matched as they rounded a curve, and as Mrs. McGillicuddy stared out the window, she saw a man with his back toward Mrs. McGillicuddy, strangling a woman in the adjoining train. Mrs. McGillicuddy was shocked. However, as she explained the situation to the ticket collector a few minutes later, she found that no one believed her. However, Mrs. McGillicuddy found someone who trusted her when she made it to Jane Marple’s house. Miss Marple took her friend seriously, and the pair started a short investigation. Since Mrs. McGillicuddy had to travel on to India, Miss Marple continued on the investigation herself. With the aid of a nephew and maps, she figured out where the body may have been dumped from the train, Rutherford Hall. Miss Marple was no spring chicken, so she enlisted the aid of Lucy Eyelesbarrow to find the body. Lucy, a highly-prized and expensive housekeeper, went to work at Rutherford Hall, working for Mr. Luther Crackenthorpe, an old curmudgeon, and his daughter, Emma. Luther’s grandson, Alexander Eastley came to visit for the school holidays with his school chum, James Stoddart-West. Lucy found a woman’s body in one of the old stables, stuffed in a sarcophagus. The woman matched the description of the woman that Mrs. McGillicudy saw being murdered. The question was if the woman was the mysterious Martine, the woman betrothed to the eldest son Edmund, who died in the war. Emma had received a letter from Martine before Christmas with an answering reply that Martine was returning to France. The other key members of the mystery:

• Cedric Crackenthorpe, the eldest surviving son who lived on a remote island and painted
• Harold Crackenthorpe, the married businessman
• Arnold Crackenthorpe, the con artist
• Bryan Eastley, Alexander’s father and widowed husband of Edith
• Dr. Quimper, the family doctor

Miss Marple went to stay in the village around Rutherford Hall to be available for assistance, and to lend a helping hand to Dermot Craddock of Scotland Yard. Craddock was the godson of Sir Henry Clithering, who got a helping hand from Miss Marple in A Murder is Announced. Two more victims fell to the murderer’s hand before Miss Marple, Lucy, and the return of Mrs. McGillicuddy put the murderer behind bars.

I loved reading the book. The plot is tricky and convoluted enough to keep anyone guessing. Of course, if you watched any of the numerous movie and television adaptations, you knew whodunit. I’ve read the book a few times, and every time I reread it, I found a fresh clue. Sometimes people say that Christie made things up or provided the clues at the end only. Well, I think those folks just haven’t read the books, or they read them only once. I have to admit that I forgot that Martine was Lady Stoddart-West.

The only unresolved mystery in the book is Lucy Eyelesbarrow love life. Christie loved throwing in romance, and the suggestion was that Lucy found someone to marry. It’s left up in the air, but I think the clues are there. Every time the suggestion of marriage or choosing a partner came up with Lucy, she thought of the pig sty. That’s where Lucy had an interesting conversation with Cedric who was quite clear about NOT wanting to marry Lucy. Everyone else, including old Mr. Crackenthorpe, made a marriage offer to Lucy, including Alexander for his father. As Miss Marple told Dermot Craddock at the end, she was thought she knew Lucy’s choice. Miss Marple wasn’t keen on Brian, who was the suggested mate in the Joan Hickson television adaptation. Craddock was suggested as the mate at the end of the more recent Marple series. However, when you read the book, just pay close attention to the pig sty references. Also, Miss Marple wasn’t as keen on Brian. He was the sort who would never make wise financial decisions.

As a final note, the book was the basis for the Murder, She Said movie with Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. The general plot was the same, but Miss Marple took a much move active role in the murder.

There’s so much to enjoy about 4:50 from Paddington or What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw. I strongly recommend it!

A Dismal Thing to Do by Alisa Craig

I’ve been slowly working my way through the few Alisa Craig books for Madoc Rhys and his new wife, Janet (nee Wadman). The third book in the series was A Dismal Thing to Do. In this one started out with Janet in danger. She was going to check out an old wooden washstand, and found herself stranded behind a crashed truck. Things got worse when Janet found herself trapped in a crashed barn, and later found out that the guy who crashed the barn claimed to have killed her. Fortunately, Janet’s car was stolen, and found by the RMPC. Madoc tracked down the directions Janet was following to the washstand and found Janet, relatively unscathed. Janet recognized the accent of the miscreants, AND she recognized the same accent in the mysterious Mr. X who was investigating the incident. It seemed that both the investigator and the perpetrator came from the same family, who just happened to live near Janet’s old homestead. Janet and Madoc go to stay with Janet’s brother, Bert, and his wife, Annabelle, to investigate, and with the help of the local residents, Madoc solved the the crime.

As with the other two in the series, A Dismal Thing to Do was a short book. There were several characters in the story, and at times, I found myself trying to write down who was who and how they were connected. I enjoyed the story, and I’ll probably continue with the last two in the series. I have found that I feel a connection to Madoc and Janet, and I wonder what will happen next.

Murder Goes Mumming by Alisa Craig

The second book in the Madoc Rhys/Janet Wadman series was Murder Goes Mumming. Alisa Craig (aka Charlotte Macleod) set the book at Christmas time, hence the mumming part of the title. Madoc Rhys and his new fiance, Janet (pronounced Jennet), are invited to Graylings, a huge estate in the north of Canada. The Condrycke family was interested in Madoc because his father was a famous conductor, and his brother and sister were famous operatic singers. Donald Condrycke, who was on the board of the company where Janet worked, didn’t know that Madoc was just a lowly Mountie. When the family matriarch and her sister wound up dead, Madoc started his investigation. Well, he had to because the family was snowbound due to a blizzard. Of course, no one seemed to realize that Grannie Rosa was murdered, but Madoc guessed it. Then It looked like Cyril Condrycke killed his Aunt Adelaide while high on speed. Madoc, of course, figured out the murder, and had ample aid from his Janet.

The book was a nice pleasant read. I will admit that I was confused with all the characters. I was having trouble keeping all the brothers, sisters, and married partners straight. The Condrycke family was not very likable, so it didn’t matter that one of them was murdering the others. After the murderer was announced, it did make sense, but I was just confused trying to keep them all straight. I’ll continue on with the series because it is pleasant enough, and there are so few books in the total.

A Pint of Murder by Alisa Craig (Charlotte MacLeod)

I came down with a touch of flu, and I really couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around anything. This was a problem because I had to grade proposals from my technical writing class. I put that off though, and I read A Pint of Murderby Alisa Craig. Alisa Craig was a pseudonym for Charlotte MacLeod, a prolific mystery writer, who wrote several series, including the Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn mysteries that I loved when I was younger. It’s been ages since I read any of MacLeod’s work, and I wanted to start with something that was brand new to me. The Madoc and Janet Rhys series was new to me, and A Pint of Murder was the first in the short series.

Madoc was a Mountie, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He got called into a the suspicious deaths that happened next door to Janet (pronounced Jennet) Wadman. Janet had a bad experience with a jerk of a boyfriend, and she went to her brother’s farm to recuperate from an appendectomy. The woman next door died from botulism from a jar of home canned green beans. Janet thought it might be murder, and when she found a jar with cut beans instead of cracked beans, she wanted to take it to the doctor (and family member) of the murdered woman. When Janet arrived at the doctor’s home office with the beans, she found the doctor dead from a head injury. It looked as if the doctor had slipped on a rug while his wife was upstairs getting ready for an afternoon tea. Janet was sure both cases were murder, and she finally convinced the local marshal to call in the Mounties. Madoc appeared on the scene, fell in love with Janet, and found another murdered person. Madoc caught the murder, and paved the way for a future relationship with Janet.

The book was a very quick and easy read, and Janet and Madoc were very pleasant characters. A Pint of Murder was perfect for some light mystery reading while sick with flu. It was so good in fact, that I already started the second in the series, Murder Goes Mumming.