Dead Man's Ransom

 

By Ellis Peters

Once again, murder visits the quiet abbey that Cadfael calls home. Times are uncertain and small skirmishes are breaking out as King Stephen and Queen Maud vie for control of England. In one of the skirmishes, the local sheriff, Gilbert Prestcote has been wounded and captured by the Welsh and a young Welshman has been captured while taking part in a raid into the English territory. A prisoner exchange is arranged, with Gilbert to exchanged for the boy, Elis ap Cynan. But the exchange is called off when the sheriff is smothered to death in his sleep.

It seems there are three main suspects in the sheriff's death. Elis has fallen in love at first sight with the sheriff's lovely young daughter, Melicent. But the sheriff hates the Welsh and will probably not allow Elis and Melicent to be together. Another is Maurice, a crazy old man who holds a grudge against the sheriff because of something that happened before Gilbert was even born. And there is also Anion, who blames Gilbert for hanging his half-brother for killing a man in a drunken brawl a couple of years ago. But actually, there is a fourth person who may have wanted the sheriff dead. It will be up to Cadfael to straighten out the tangled threads of this mystery.

It's odd, but this story has a lot in common with the other Cadfael story I read not long ago, The Leper of Saint Giles. A young man who wants to marry a girl he can't have. A young woman promised in marriage to a man she doesn't want. A man accused of murder who is completely innocent. A missing piece of jewelry that may point the finger at the real killer. And, of course, Cadfael's keen powers of observation to discover the clues to the truth. 

But I didn't enjoy this story quite as much as the Leper of Saint Giles. Mainly because politics and battles are an important part of the story, two subjects that don't appeal very much to me. Still, it was a pretty good read. 

Here is a review by Publishers Weekly.

Victory on Janus

 

By Andre Norton

Sequel to Judgment on Janus.

Ayyar (the former human Niall Renfro) and his Iftin companions awake from their winter hibernation to the unwelcome knowledge that the forest they call home is under attack. They hurriedly pack up what they can and flee. Trying to figure what is going on, they are surprised to discover that not only are the settlers attacking the forest, but they have been joined by the men from the spaceport who have brought in heavy equipment and blasters to destroy all the possible hiding places of the Iftins. Investigating further, the Iftins discover that robots disguised as Iftins have been attacking and murdering humans, obviously the work of their old enemy, THAT WHICH ABIDES.  Which is devastating news because they believed THAT had been nullified when the flood poured over its lands. 

But THAT is active once again, sending its Iftin-looking robots against the humans settlers. And also once again against the native people of Ift, the green-skinned forest dwelling Iftins. Once again Ayyar and his Iftin companions must take on THAT to save the forests they need to live and to save the humans from being used as pawns against the Iftins by THAT WHICH ABIDES.

This story is pretty much a repeat of the first book, Judgment on Janus. The Iftins, mainly Ayyar, sneak into THAT's desert and face various enemies and finally discover how to defeat their enemy.  I did like that the enemy turns out not to be some implacable ancient evil, but simply a machine whose programming has gotten a bit messed up.

The Abominable Snow MAD

 

Edited by Albert B. Feldstein

Excerpts from MAD Magazine from the 1970s.

Featuring

• The Milking of the Planet that Went Ape by Arnie Kogen, art by Mort Drucker
• Cartoons by Don Martin
• The Shadow Knows by Sergio Aragones
• The Lighter Side of Weekends by Dave Berg
• Howard at the Mike by Frank Jacobs, art by Jack Davis
• MAD Interviews a Typical Liberal Family by Lou Silverstone, art by Paul Coker Jr.
• Distinctive Wedding Announcements by Frank Jacobs
• Spy vs Spy
• The MAD Christmas Hate Book by Al Jaffee
• A MAD Look at Tarzan by Don Edwing, art by Jack Davis
• and more

This was a fun book to read, especially for an old fogey who was an adult in the 1970s. I think MAD was at its best in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Here are some excerpts from the book --

From The Shadow Knows

From Dave Berg

From Dave Berg

From Distinctive Wedding Announcements

The Toll Gate

 

By Georgette Heyer

Captain John Staple is finding life a bit flat after years spent fighting Napoleon on the continent. But the wars are over and the weather is miserable and John has become a little lost when he took the wrong road on his way to visit a friend in the country. And its gotten quite dark and the rain is unrelenting and he comes across a toll gate attended by only a young and frightened boy. John decides to spend the night at the toll station. 

So he stashes his horse in the station's chicken coop and makes himself at home in the station's living quarters. The boy, Ben, explains his dad left him in charge, saying he would be back in a couple hours. But he never came back. And the boy is very nervous, being alone at night and being in charge of the station. John feels sorry for Ben but that isn't why he decided to stay and help Ben. No, not at all. He decides to stay when he meets a young woman in the morning, Nell, and he is completely smitten. 

Nell is the granddaughter of the local squire and things are not going well for them. The squire, Sir Peter, is in very poor health and money is very tight. Staying with them is Sir Peter's heir Henry and Henry's friend Nate. Neither Nell nor anyone else in the household can figure out why Henry has showed up and what he and Nate are up to. And Nate has take a fancy to Nell and is constantly making up to her, despite her repeated expressions of dislike. Clearly things are not good at Sir Peter's home.

Meanwhile, after meeting Nell, John decides to stay at the toll station, and keep an eye on Ben and get to know Nell a bit more. As he learns more about Nell's and Ben's troubles, it becomes clear to him that something very fishy is going on involving Henry, Nate and Ben's missing father. And John is just the kind of person who enjoys a challenge like solving the mystery of the missing gate keeper and the mystery of the unwanted guests at Sir Peter's. Somehow the two are connected and the mystery becomes even more intriguing when a government man, a Bow Street Runner, shows up with lots of questions for the new gate keeper, John Staple.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. It's more of a mystery story than a romance, although the romance between John and Nell provides the reason for John to stay at the toll station. It does take a bit of a grim turn with the discovery of the missing man's dead body. And the story is told from the point of view of John and not from that of his love interest, Nell. Still I did enjoy the story quite a bit, especially John's overseeing of young Ben's life and improving it in many ways, including better food and a cleaner home and just being there to keep Ben from being frightened at night. 

Here is a review by Laura A. Wallace on Austenprose.

Big Trouble

 

By Dave Barry

Arthur Herk finds out his employer is trying to have him killed the night the bullet misses and takes out his new TV. It happened the same night that Matt Arnold was trying to "kill" with a water gun his classmate, Jenny, who is Arthur's step-daughter. But when Matt squirted Jenny, her mom tackled him and started beating him up because the water gun looked like a real gun.

The police are called and the bullet hole is discovered and Arthur realizes he is in Big Trouble. So he comes up with a plan that involves buying a missile from a couple of shady Russians. But the buy is interrupted by two inept robbers who mistake Arthur for a drug kingpin and the missile for a hiding place full of drugs. Actually, the missile isn't a missile and if the two FBI agents tracking it can't get possession of it, everybody in the whole metro area is also in Big Trouble.

This was a fun read, full of silliness and suspense. Of course, Dave Barry isn't going to explode Miami, he's not that kind of author. Spreading death and misery is not his thing. Even so, it was really engaging to see how he manages to rescue the hero and bring the bad guys to justice. Except for the two hired killers who botched taking out Arthur in the first place. They get to go back to New Jersey and they have no intention of every coming back to Florida in the future.

Check out the review by Publishers Weekly.

The After Wife

 

By Gigi Levangie Grazer

Hannah was living her best life. When everything changed. The love of her life, John, was suddenly gone. Killed by a hit-and-run driver. Now she is all alone, except for their young daughter, Ellie. Well, not quite all alone. Because now her life is filled with ghosts that only she and Ellie can perceive. 

So here's Hannah trying to cope with widowhood and single parentage and unpaid bills and the mortgage and the fact that John failed to pay the premium on his life insurance. And here's an endless stream of ghosts with unfinished business who have urgent messages for the people they left behind.

This was a really good read. The beginning was sad and heartbreaking. And Hannah's struggle to stay strong for her little girl and try to keep hearth and home together was very touching. But things soon perk up when the ghosts start to appear and Hannah begins to pass on the messages the ghosts are so anxious for their friends and families receive. Really enjoyed this story.

Check out the review by Kirkus.