The Cutting Edge. Finished 8-30-19, 4/5 stars, thriller, pub. 2018

Book 14 of the Lincoln Rhyme series (1st-The Bone Collector, 2nd- The Coffin Dancer, 3rd- The Empty Chair, 4th- The Stone Monkey, 5th- The Vanished Man, 6th- The Twelfth Card, 7th- The Cold Moon, 8th- The Broken Window 9th- The Burning Wire, 10th-The Kill Room 11-The Skin Collector, 12-The Steel Kiss, 13-The Burial Hour)

In the early hours of a quiet, weekend morning in Manhattan’s Diamond District, a brutal triple murder shocks the city. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs quickly take the case. Curiously, the killer has left behind a half-million dollars’ worth of gems at the murder scene, a jewelry store on 47th street. As more crimes follow, it becomes clear that the killer’s target is not gems, but engaged couples themselves.

Soon the Promiser makes a dangerous mistake: leaving behind an innocent witness, Vimal Lahori, a talented young diamond cutter, who can help Rhyme and Sachs blow the lid off the case. They must track down Vimal before the killer can correct his fatal error.         from Goodreads

Lincoln Rhyme was a brilliant criminologist for the NYPD until he was injured in the line of duty.  He became a quadriplegic, but thanks to his skills the NYPD still goes to him for high profile cases.  And sometimes when they don’t he seeks them out himself which is how he found himself using a backdoor to get on the Promiser case.

I really liked this latest addition to the series.  It was set in New York’s diamond district so I learned about a new area of the city and diamond cutting.  There was more than one mystery going on and it looked like they were never going to intersect, but of course they did (not gonna tell you how!)

I saw The Bone Collector movie with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie before I started this series and this is what I said after reading the first book.

My only other issue is that I have a copy of the book with Denzel on the front, so that’s how I’m picturing Rhyme, but it is clear in the book that Rhyme is not black.  I think Sachs said at one point that he looked like Robert DeNiro.  I like picturing Rhyme as Denzel (who wouldn’t?),  but when repeated references were made to his white skin it threw my mental picture off.  (here)

I have learned to ignore references to his whiteness and continue picturing him as Denzel and I guess that’s what the casting director went with in the new Lincoln Rhyme series coming out in January.  Take a look.

So, what do you think?  I’ll probably give it a try.   What about you?

 The Shadowy Horses. Finished 10-10-19, 4/5 stars, fiction, pub. 1997

Archaeologist Verity Grey is thrilled by the challenge of uncovering an ancient Roman campsite in a small Scottish village. But as soon as she arrives, she senses danger in the air. Her eccentric boss, Peter Quinnell, has spent his whole life searching for the resting place of the Ninth Roman Legion and is convinced he’s finally found it – not because of any scientific evidence, but because a local boy has ‘seen’ a Roman soldier walking in the fields.  from Goodreads

I fell in love with Susanna Kearsley’s storytelling with The Winter Sea which connected to The Firebird which is connected to this one.  They are all standalones, but you’ll recognize the Roman soldiers from this one in The Winter Sea and Robbie from this book appears all grown up in The Firebird.  Just go ahead and read them all (you know you want to).

Verity makes a temporary move from London to Eyemouth, Scotland, a border town with a rich history.  She is to help find evidence that the famed Ninth Roman Legion had been there.  Archeological digs are not that exciting when they’re just starting out, so the slower pace allows Verity to get a feel for the new place and the new people who will feel like family before all is said and done. While most of Kearsley’s stories have contained dual story lines, one in the past and one in the present, this one was different with just a modern story and one active ghost.

Kearsley is one of my favorites. I always enjoy the trip into her magical worlds. This one had history, mystery, danger, just a touch of romance, and some paranormal shenanigans. Do yourself a favor and give her a try.

 Sarah, Plain and Tall.  Finished 9-19-19, 4.25/5 stars, kids classic, pub. 1985

Set in the late nineteenth century and told from young Anna’s point of view, Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of how Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton comes from Maine to the prairie to answer Papa’s advertisement for a wife and mother. Before Sarah arrives, Anna and her younger brother Caleb wait and wonder. Will Sarah be nice? Will she sing? Will she stay?

This children’s literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love.    from Goodreads

I picked up this Newbery Award winner because I needed some short classics for my challenge and I’m so happy that I did.  It gave me all of the feels of a different place and time and tugged at the motherly heartstrings.  I’m a city girl, always have been.  I like being surrounded by trees and neighbors and within walking distance to something social.  This book took me to a different place, a lonely yet beautiful place, where you only need a loving family and a bail of hay to make happy memories.

I had no idea until I finished that there are four more books about this sweet family and I’m looking forward to checking them out.  They are easy enough to read to Gage fairly quickly so I may give that a try too.

Loved this short kids classic and it’s   my 31th selection for the Classics Club challenge.  I have until January 1, 2020 to get to 50. (Yes, I realize this is not going to happen, but I’m still pretending I can do it :))

 The Secrets We Kept. Finished 11-6-19, rating 4/5 stars, fiction, 344 pages, pub. 2019

At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dare publish it, and help Pasternak’s magnum opus make its way into print around the world. Glamorous and sophisticated Sally Forrester is a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit all over the world–using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Irina is a complete novice, and under Sally’s tutelage quickly learns how to blend in, make drops, and invisibly ferry classified documents.

The Secrets We Kept combines a legendary literary love story—the decades-long affair between Pasternak and his mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who was sent to the Gulag and inspired Zhivago’s heroine, Lara—with a narrative about two women empowered to lead lives of extraordinary intrigue and risk. From Pasternak’s country estate outside Moscow to the brutalities of the Gulag, from Washington, D.C. to Paris and Milan, The Secrets We Kept captures a watershed moment in the history of literature—told with soaring emotional intensity and captivating historical detail. And at the center of this unforgettable debut is the powerful belief that a piece of art can change the world.    from Goodreads

Are you a Dr. Zhivago fan?  If so this will fascinate you.  Never read or watched Dr. Zhivago?  It doesn’t matter – this novel is about so much more.  There was a time in the not too distant past that the United States government felt that great literature could change the world.  There were people devoted to making sure that books like Animal Farm, 1984 and yes, Dr. Zhivago made it into the hands of those behind the closed door of communist countries.  While Boris Pasternak’s epic novel was written in Russia it was not allowed to be printed there.

The 1950’s mission to get Dr. Zhivago out into the world is the stage but it’s really the stories of three women who carry the story.  In alternating chapters we hear from Olga, Pasternak’s mistress, who went to the Gulag for 3 years for her loyalty to the author, Sally, a seasoned CIA spy,  and Irina, who was chosen to do more than just type because of her Russian ancestry.  There was a fourth ‘narrator’, a woman from the typing pool who was able to fill in the details about the role of accomplished women in the CIA offices.

We read this for our book group last week and it led to great discussion about career women in the 50’s, the role of literature, hiding sexuality to keep your job, and many other issues that stemmed from these.  These women impressed me with their strength and intelligence.  I’m happy that I was able to read about this time in history when women were coming into their own and changing the world.  Now I need to go watch Dr. Zhivago again, or better yet read the book.