October 28, 2011

Friday Book Blogging

Of the four books I read this week three of them were contenders for the top spot. Surprisingly, Jo Goodman's trash -erm- romance novel Kissing Comfort was much better than I expected. (I expect very little of these paperbacks.) Also surprisingly, the newest Russell-Holmes story from Laurie R. King, The Pirate King, was not nearly as good as most of her previous ones. The third book in contention was Anne Perry's Acceptable Loss, which is a William and Hester Monk mystery.
My choice for the win this week is The Pirate King, primarily because, although it was less cerebral and more physical, to the point of near-slapstick in parts (the piano?!) than nearly all Russell's prior adventures, the intention to spin a Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell mystery as an homage to Gilbert and Sullivan must be served with tongue firmly planted in cheek. With that in mind the pirates and seasickness and a film of a play within a film and an eccentric poet (who was real!) and flower-eating goats, all seemed, if not perfectly reasonable, at least perfectly in tune with the tenor of the story. That being said, I do hope that the next book harkens back to some of the earlier tales.

No comments: