Since my last Chapter, we've added a new family member - my second Granddaughter Ava - on Palm Sunday. That brought us happily into April where we were able to celebrate Easter together the following week. Then, the day after Easter, we got back together to celebrate Our Little Maddie's 6th Birthday. (I know, it was a Monday, but she was home on her Spring Break.) One of my presents was her first boxed set of chapter books which were the first 4 volumes in the Junie B. Jones series. (Her Mom suggested them.) I'm of the opinion that when you want to give a gift to someone you can't miss with a book. That being said, down to this months choices and I have something old and something new to share.
Series
Cross Justice - James Paterson ($9.99/$.50, copyright 2015, 400 pages, Paperback)
I'm not sure which of Patterson's Alex Cross books I read first but it was one of the earlier one's that used phrases from Nursery Rhymes as titles. Whichever one it was, I was hooked and continued with the series for a long time until I felt that it started to suffer, in my opinion, from Patterson's expansion into collaborations with other writers on other series'. I picked this one up at my local library sale on a whim and I'm happy I did. Patterson has brought the Alex Cross series back to the characters and intensity that I remember. Cross has driven down to Starksville, North Carolina with his wife Bree, his daughters Jannie and Ali, and his grandmother Nana Momma. he's come home after 35 years because his niece Naomi has asked for his help in defending his cousin Stefan Parks in a murder charge. He has misgivings about returning due the bad memories he has of his childhood in the town but the evidence against Stefan is overwhelming Naomi and he feels an obligation to help. Patterson mixes in political corruption with Southern bigotry and adds a dash of a suspected drug ring with deep claws. Then, to spice things up, Patterson brings up the death of Cross's parents which takes him on a side trip to Florida and gets him involved in a series of socialite murders. Cross's investigation there leads to a surprising suspect and some answers to other problems. As usual, Paterson's characters and locations are well-defined although he does occasionally resort to stereo-types. I enjoyed it. (Side Note: There have been a couple of attempts to adapt this series to Film but they didn't click with audiences. In my opinion, this was due to the casting of the Alex Cross role. One attempt had Morgan Freeman in the part - an excellent actor but not the physical presence that Cross should have. The second was Tyler Perry who just doesn't have the chops for something like this.)
Mycroft Holmes - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse ($7.99/$5, copyright 2015, 337 pages, Paperback)
I have been a fan of Sherlock Holmes since I first read "The Adventure of The Speckled Band" back in Grammar School. Over the years I've read the complete works several times including an Annotated Version by William S. Baring-Gould, a large, hardcover, 2-volume, slip-case edition given to me as a Christmas present back in the early '80's. There have been many other authors who have tried their hands at creating another Holmes story. Some successful, some not so much. Some writers have taken a slightly different approach and chose to center their work around auxiliary characters such as Inspector Lestrade and Professor Moriarty. Here we have a new approach. Kareem has chosen Sherlock's older brother Mycroft as his central character. The story is set in 1870, Mycroft Holmes is 23 and proficiently working his way up the ranks in the Secretary of State’s office. It's an interesting period in British history where they had many protectorates and territories around the world and for the main part the story is based in Trinidad. Mycroft hears of some disturbing killings of children down there from his friend Cyrus Douglas, a black tobacco salesman and store owner who has gotten some disturbing letters from home. He tells his fiancé Georgiana whose family has ties to Trinidad and she insists that she's going there. Mycroft figures out a way he can go by tricking the Secretary and brings Cyrus along. Here's when things start to heat up. There is a poisoning and violence that start the mystery on the long sea voyage and then the writers kick up the action. They give us pickpockets, drug dens, Gatling guns, a secret Chinese martial arts society, and the invasion of a secret island by a motley group of men. The writers do a great job with the various scenarios and characters and I'm pretty sure the similarities and the differences between Mycroft and his younger brother are there intentionally. The Mycroft/Cyrus relationship is a lot like the Holmes/Watson one although the story is told in the third person. I enjoyed it. (Side Note: Yes, the Primary Author is THAT Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I don't know how much of the book is his or Anna Waterhouse's but it does come together well.)
That's it for now.
I was able to actually physically go to a Book Sale at the Hazlet Library last Saturday. It was held outside and it was chilly but I did buy 15 books in a bag for $5 (8 of which I gave to my Daughter for her YA readers). And, what may be stranger, I bought a couple of Trade Paperbacks from the Sale Book table at my local Shoprite - both of which are outside my usual wheelhouse.
Anyway, May is next and that means warmer days, flowers, and Mother's Day. Till then -
Wash your hands-
wear your mask-
stay socially distant-
And
Keep Reading.
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