Andean Express is a glimpse into the life of the recently graduated Ricardo. We follow Ricardo on his train ride from Bolivia to Chile. He has made this trip with his parents numerous times in the past, but this is his first solo trip and a whirlwind of chaos ensues.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to think. I read the book for the mystery book group, but I didn't find it to be a mystery. The only mysterious thing about the book is wondering who hired Rocha, but I really didn't care enough about the story or the characters to wonder all that much. It ends rather abruptly, leaving a loose end or two and introducing a new character in the last couple of chapters. At times, I was intrigued by the story, but as a whole it didn't draw me in. Most of the time, it is well written. At other times, I had difficulty understanding what was going on. I almost think I'd have understood it better if I read it in the original Spanish.

It's not bad, but it's not a book I would choose to read again.

After watching the multi-part PBS series, "John Adams," I was interested in reading about his wife Abigail Adams.  I was able to find a book by Charles W. Akers in our collection.  Mrs. Adams was a remarkable woman: a mother of four living children, three sons and a daughter. One son, John Quincy Adams, became the sixth President of the United States.  Unfortunately, Abigail Adams did not live to see this take place; she died before she could see this come to fruition.  Mrs. Adams was an extremely intelligent woman, she was not highly educated but she read constantly.  She could hold her own in conversations in European courts and speak equally intelligently both to men and women.  This was the first biography of Abigail Adams since the family manuscripts were opened. The book draws on hundreds of her letters, presenting an extraodinary American woman.  Actually, reading excerpts of her letters on nearly every page slowed my reading down. The spelling of words in the late 1700s and early 1800s was unusual.  The biography was very authentic and entertaining.  This book reveals a discriminating woman, who was very smart and able to counsel her husband, guiding him in his decision making.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this fascinating woman and the time period that influenced her life.  Many years were spent separated from her husband while he was fulfilling his public service in government and as an ambassador.  These separations caused Mrs. Adams to single-handly run the farm, control the servants and her children, and handle all the money.  I am glad I perservered with the reading; I learned a great deal about an amazing woman and an individual in her own right.

The Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt is the book our mystery group will be discussing on Wednesday, October 13. The first in a series, it's a part of the paranormal cozy mystery sub-genre that sprang into existece a few years ago (and still thrives). It's the story of a disatisfied office worker, Maggie O'Neill, who literally falls into a new job at an upscale shop. She rather quickly finds out that her new boss, Felicity Dow, is a self-described witch.

Among the  themes in the book Maggie, raised in a Catholic family, learns to reconcilie her earlier religion with her respect for and friendship with Felicity. Lots of discussion about tolerance and freedom of religion, but it never sounds preachy. There's also some fun references to popular culture (Magnum P.I., particularly). The story really gets going, though, when Felicity's sister is killed and Felicity is suspected of the murder. Maggie is determined to prove she's innocent, and continuously battles with the detective assigned to the case. The growing attraction between them doesn't make things any easier. Maggie also finds herself attracted to Felicity's friend, Marcus (the typical bad boy with a heart of gold). Does she finally pick the authority figure or the rebel?

Overall, I thought the book was very well written for its genre. It was also very good (much better than average) for a first book. I do have a few quibbles, though. I felt that the secondary characters were a little too broadly drawn. The good guys are always good, and the bad guys are consistently villainous. That's pretty typical of the cozy mystery, though. There's also what seems to be a continuity problem in the scene in the cemetery. Maggie is telling someone something that she just told that same person in the previous chapter, and the other character seems surprised. I may be misinterpreting it, but I've read over this section more than once, and it alwoys seems a little strange to me.

 The story is set in Stony Mill, Indiana, a small town in the northeastern part of the state. Alt describes the local area so well that it's almost possible, if you know the area, to pick out just where the fictional Stony Mill really is. Having grown up in the area, she knows how to describe both landscapes and residents perfectly. I enjoyed reading The Trouble With Magic very much, and would gladly recommend it to others. In fact, I did recommend it to our mystery group. Sure, it's light reading, but every now and then, that's just what you need. This book would be good for anyone who likes paranormal stories, cozy mysteries, or Hoosier authors and locations.

OK.  So I enjoyed the hook of the dog who can think like a human but really, the idea can't possible carry the whole convoluted storyline.  I was so frustrated by the ending, I had to read the reviews of the remaining books in the series to make some sense of where the author left the story.  As with many half-baked light mysteries, the entire story unfolds in the last couple of pages to "tie up" the loose ends.  Unfortunately, strands still hung from every page. 

I enjoyed Randolph and his escapades, which were well-drawn and entertaining...but that's all we got, nothing else held together (in my opinion).  

I would be interested to read what others have to say about this book- MUST we read the series to make the slightest sense of it all????

Keep the dog-scrap the rest and start over.

Post Script: I have been told that my posting seems a bit harsh.  In order to promote lively literary discussion and booklacious banter, I heartily encourage other mystery book discussion bloggers to chime in.  Differing viewpoints are welcome and celebrated.  We'll also be debating this book into oblivion at the next Murder by the Book Discussion Group meeting- Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 7:00p.m.

Don't forget: at 7:00 P.M. we'll be in the Small Meeting Room to discuss Jame's Ellroy's Crime Wave: Reportage and Fiction from the Underside of L.A. Although two short fiction works from Ellroy are included, this is mostly nonfiction. Ellroy is a very popular writer, and this should be good.

A review from Publishers Weekly:

Ellroy's obsessions - Tinseltown tabloid sleaze and his mother's muder - have fueled his writing and provided readers with countless indelible images, reams of trademark stuttergun prose and at least two kill books, L.A. Confidential and My Dark Places. This collection of 11 pieces of fiction and reportage, all previously published in GQ magazine, isn't essential Ellroy, but newcomers contemplating a tentative first dip might find it a fine place to start. The powerfully frank "My Mother's Killer" evolved into My Dark Places, and "Body Dumps" and "Glamour Jungle" both explore LAPD investigations into crimes similar to the death of Ellroy's mother in 1958, when he was 10. Two tales feature the investigative reporting of Hush-Hush magazine, always dedicated to digging the dirt and awesomely addicted to alliteration. Real-life accordionist Dick Contino has several capers of his own and gets to ingest illegal drugs, whack a few lowlifes and hang with Sammy Davis Jr. Ellroy also tackles O.J. Simpson's case, his own high school reunion and the making of the film L.A. Confidential. For some reason, his editor at GQ balked at letting the "Demon Dog of American Literature" loose on Bill and Monica. We surely missed out on a whole sackful of sleazy stuff there. (Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Should be fun.

Here's a link to more information about Ellroy and his work:

Ellroy Confidential