Review of the Day: The James Joyce Murder

The James Joyce Murder is the second in Amanda Cross' series featuring English professor turned amateur sleuth, Kate Fansler. Any bibliophile with a penchant for mysteries has to love a series with an English professor as the heroine!

Here, Kate sets out to spend the summer in the Berkshires, sorting the papers of a recently deceased eminent publisher, famous for his correspondence with modern greats, including James Joyce. Her chaotic household – the subject of much gossip in the rural community – includes an unruly young nephew, his tutor, Kate's assistant, her District Attorney boyfriend, and a couple of weekend guests.

The mystery is clever enough, even if it lacks many twists and turns. The fun of the book is its effervescent tone, literary subject matter, and witty dialog. In addition to literature, the characters spend a lot of time discussing who is and isn't a virgin, which seems even more dated than the book's 1967 publishing date. That may be part of why it is easy to imagine a movie version featuring Katherine Hepburn as Kate and Gregory Peck as her D.A. boyfriend.

Today's readers need to tolerate vintage kitsch to enjoy the book. But for those who do, The James Joyce Murder is a lot of fun.

Teaser Tuesday: The Hidden Target

He'd never hurt me, not Jim.  And if he lied about Salonika?

-- The Hidden Target by Helen MacInnes.

I always enjoy Helen MacInnes books.  This one is a little more dense than the typical thriller, but is still very good.  

 

I blame jet lag for my inability to get this one finished in a timely manner. I keep falling asleep during my pre-bed reading time!

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

Mailbox Monday & GIVEAWAY

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).

The Bluestocking Guide is hosting in June. Please visit her wonderful blog,which is jam-packed with reviews, essays, and other bookish features.

My mailbox was jam-packed last week.  All are books that are going straight to my Guilt List, but I've been feeling energized to read my Guilt List books lately, so that is not a bad thing.

Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy, and Escape from Tibet by Jonathan Green.

This looks great! This is a book -- and a story -- that is gettign a lot of buzz. Mine is the new paperback edition.

GIVEAWAY: Thanks to Mary Bisbee-Beek, intrepid book publicist, I have an extra copy of this book to give away.  Details of the GIVEAWAY are on this post. Even better, Mary has another giveaway copy for the person who wins -- it's a leapfrog giveaway! Go HERE to sign up.



The Oregon Experiment by Keith Scribner.  I don't really know what to expect from this new novel, but it looks intriguing.



Voodoo Vintners: Oregon's Astonishing Biodynamic Winegrowers by Katherine Cole.  OSU Press sent this to me and it has piqued my interest.  This will count as one of my Foodie's Reading Challenge books.



The Luminist by David Rocklin.  Illicit love and photography in 19th century Ceylon -- sounds good to me!

This is another beautiful Hawthorne Books edition, with the fancy French covers. Love it.



Aftermath by Scott Nadelson.  This is a new collection of stories, also in a lush Hawthorne Books edition.

I really enjoyed Nadelson's earlier collection, Saving Stanley, which I reviewed here. I am looking forward to this one.



On Mt. Hood: A Biography of Oregon's Perilous Peak by Jon Bell. Another good one from OSU Press. I look at My. Hood every day -- now I can learn about it.

GIVEAWAY: Murder in the High Himalaya

Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy, and Escape from Tibet by Jonathan Green.

Here is a synopsis from the Publisher's Weekly review:

In 2006, an impulsive, naïve young Tibetan nun and her best friend, both yearning for religious freedom from Chinese rule, joined a group of fellow Tibetans desperate to escape to India, where the Dalai Lama has lived since the 1950 annexation of Tibet by China. Kelsang Namtso and Dolma Palkyi embarked on the brutal journey over the Himalayas. Smuggled by illegal guides past Chinese border police, the group braved freezing temperatures and snow, the high altitude, and perilous crevasses. Green alternates the refugees' trek with that of Luis Benitez, an American celebrity mountain guide leading a rich group of international clients to the Himalayan peak Cho Oyu. The two groups met on the peak as Chinese guards, alerted to the refugees' presence, chased after the escapees with machine guns ablaze, and Kelsang was killed in full view of the Westerners. One of Benitez's clients filmed the incident, which gained worldwide notoriety.

GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to Mary Bisbee-Beek, intrepid book publicist, I have an extra copy of this book to give away.  Even better, Mary has another giveaway copy for the person who wins -- it's a leapfrog giveaway!

THE RULES: The contest is open until Sunday, June 19, 2011. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include a way to contact you (email or website address in your comment or available in your profile). If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. (Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable.) Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on blogger, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Stumble this blog, digg it, technorati fave it, link it on facebook, or otherwise spread the internet word. Leave a separate comment. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. and Canada only. The deadline for entry is 9:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Sunday, June 19, 2011. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Mailbox Monday post for June 20, 2011.

Favorite Author: Donna Leon

Donna Leon is an American author living in Venice.  She writes a mystery series set in and around Venice that features Commissario Guido Brunetti. The lengthy series is listed in publication order, starting with the first book in the series.

I included her series in my list of Venice books, but I want to have a separate Favorite Author list for her too.

Those I have read are in red.  Those on my TBR shelf are in blue.

If anyone else is reading these books, please leave a comment with a link to related posts.

Death at La Fenice

Death in a Strange Country

Dressed for Death

Death and Judgment

Acqua Alta

Quietly in Their Sleep

A Noble Radiance

Fatal Remedies

Friends in High Places

A Sea of Troubles

Willful Behavior

Uniform Justice

Doctored Evidence

Blood from a Stone

Through a Glass, Darkly

Suffer the Little Children

The Girl of His Dreams

About Face

A Question of Belief

Drawing Conclusions

NOTES

Last updated on December 26, 2012.