Catching Up on My Reading

I've read a couple of books in the last few week that I haven't talked about. I bought both of them at a used bookstore in Inverness. Some women want to look for jewelry or clothes while on vacation, I like to find the used bookstores. This was a small one that we just stumbled on. I found out later that there was a large used bookstore just a couple of streets over! Oh well, next time.


Anyway. I read Hidden Depths by Joyce Holmes on the plane ride home. I've tried one of Holmes's books in this series before and had a hard time getting into it, but I really enjoyed this one.

Tom Buchanan is a barrister in Edinburgh. Throughout the series, he is drawn into mysteries by Fizz Fitzpatrick, a free spirit who is trying to settle down into a law career. She started as a clerk, but now she has taken over Buchanan's job in the firm he has left. They go to great extremes to ignore the attraction between them. And what was annoying in Fizz earlier in the series (her stubbornness, her lack of compassion) have softened a little and become almost endearing in this book.

Fizz gets a call from her old friend Kerr, telling her that Irene, another old friend and Kerr's wife, has disappeared. They are living on a Scottish estate, and Irene was restoring art work in the home. Unfortunately, the Rubens she was working on has also disappeared, and everyone assumes Irene must have taken it and run off. Everyone except Fizz and Kerr believes that.

The mystery unfolds, and Buchanan and Fizz are once again working together. What I really liked about this book is the way Holmes alternated her point-of-view in chapters featuring each of the two main characters. So, chapter 1 is from Buchanan's point-of-view, chapter 2 is from Fizz's point-of-view, and so on. It works for me because it keeps me interested and I feel like I really understand these characters. And I think a whole book from just one point-of-view would be boring (in the case Buchanan) or annoying (in the case of Fizz).


The second book I read was Tell No One by Harlan Coben. I haven't read any of his books before, but a friend recommended them. I picked out one that is not part of his mystery series featuring Myron Bolitar.

In this book, David Beck has tried to rebuild his life after his wife, Elizabeth, was killed by a serial killer and he was left for dead. But he's loved Elizabeth since the second grade, and he can't let her go. Then one day he gets an email that only Elizabeth could have sent, and an image of her caught on a street camera mouths the words, "I'm sorry."

The case reopens when bodies are unearthed as well as a bat with Beck's blood on it. Now, he's suspected of killing his wife. But the more he investigates, the more horrible facts come to the surface, and Beck doesn't know who he can trust any more.

The story was gripping and exciting, with enough twists to keep me reading. For the most part, it is in first person, narrated by Beck. Other characters have their own chapters and sections of chapters, but they are not in first person. So, there is no confusing who this story is about.

I don't usually like stories where the main character is on the run and having to prove his innocence to the dull-witted and arrogant police. I find them frustrating. But it is only one aspect of this story, and it didn't bother me.

Next, I think I'm going to re-read a couple of the Harry Potter books to get ready for the release of Book 7. I don't remember very much about 5 or 6. I remember not liking 5 very much, so I wonder if I'll feel differently now.