What's With the Skimpy Content?

There have been a lot of "Opening Sentence" posts here on Rose City Reader lately. 

My excuse is that I have been so hectic at work and with a landscaping redo at home that I haven't had time to review any books. I blame child abusers and poodle trees.

When I get crazy busy like this, I don't have the attention span for heavy books. I keep reading because it relaxes me, but I've been reading mysteries, chick lit, and other lighter stuff that I read for entertainment. I don't need anything thought-provoking right now -- the point is to let my brain calm down, not rev up!

So I am going through books very quickly, hence all the Opening Sentence posts, but not reviewing or otherwise posting with much substance.  Please bear with me for a while.

Review of the Day: Clouds of Witness

Clouds of Witness is Dorothy L. Sayers' second Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, following Whose Body? In the first, Lord Peter had sprung full-grown from the mind of Sayers, a cross, she said, between Fred Astaire and Bertie Wooster. His backstory included success as an amateur detective in cracking several high-profile crimes. His involvement in solving the murder of an unidentified man found in a bathtub was clever, but somewhat formulaic.

Sayers hit her stride in Clouds. Lord Peter and the other characters are formed more fully and the plot is more intricate, making for a far more satisfying story.

When the fiancé of Lord Peter's sister is found shot dead at a weekend house party, Lord Peter's brother, the Duke of Denver is arrested for murder. Lord Peter, assisted by his intrepid valet Bunter and his police officer buddy, Charles Parker, eventually unravel the mystery, but only after a series of near-misses and nail-biters involving gun-toting Socialists, a violent and jealous husband, a harrowing trans-Atlantic flight, and quicksand. The airplane adventure alone must have given Lord Peter James Bond-like status when the book was first published in 1926.

With her mix of intricate plotting, humor, and style, it is no mystery why Sayers and her hero Lord Peter have remained popular through the decades.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you woudl like your review of this or any other Dorothy L. Sayers book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

This is one of my choices for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge.  hosted by My Reader's Block.

I am reading Sayers' Lord Peter series in order. I look forward to reading them all. 

Teaser Tuesday: Locations

I do not much like the songs of Edith Piaf, the boulevards of Baron Haussman, the furniture of Louis XIV, the sound of Gertrude Stein, the vainglory of Napoleon or the conceit of Charles de Gaulle.  I distrust, at one level, people who turn ideas into movements; at another, ideas themselves too pressingly articulated.

-- Locations by Jan Morris.

This is Morris explaining the "insular prejudices" that limit her visits to Paris. It is an example of what makes her travel writing so very, very good -- an extraordinary gift of analysis and observation and a willingness to express blunt opinions.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

MariReads is hosting in May. Please visit her wonderful blog, where even the banner picture will inspire you to read a good book.

I only got one book last week, but it looks like a good one.  This came from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program:

The Reluctant Detective by Martha Ockley.  It sounds like it is a British version of Julia Spencer-Fleming's Clare Furguson's series -- a female Episcopalian (Church of England) priest in a small town.

Opening Sentence of the Day: Meet me in Venice

Ana Yuan, a plain young woman in a summery blue dress and sandals, never felt even a hint of danger when she boarded the double-decker train from Shanghai to Suzhou on the borders of the Tailhu Lake.

-- Meet Me in Venice by Elizabeth Adler.

I recently read Alder's Invitation to Provence and enjoyed it for the pure entertainment of it. This one caught my eye because I had just put together my list of Venice books.

It is light and fluffy, but that is just what I need right now.