Watch Your Back by Donald Westlake


#12 in the Dortmunder series.


Arnie Albright, a fence so obnoxious his family "intervened" and sent him to Club Med in hopes he'd become more likable, has returned from the resort minimally improved, but having met the man of his dreams—Preston Fareweather, a millionaire who's as comically distasteful as Arnie and who, more importantly, plans to be away from his art-filled New York penthouse indefinitely, on the run from hordes of furious ex-wives. Albright calls in Dortmunder and his pals to take advantage of Fareweather's absence. Meanwhile, Dortmunder has discovered that a New Jersey branch of the mob has been systematically taking over O.J. Bar & Grill, which traditionally hosts Dortmunder's business meetings. Dortmunder plans the penthouse burglary and tracks down Raphael Medrick, failed manager of the O.J. and compulsive creator of crummy music.

What ensues is an entertaining read of bumbling attemps and seeing what happens. Laugh out loud as usual. Glad to see that Westlake is back on track with Dortmunder as the previous novel left much to be desired.

Nightshade by Susan Wittig Albert

3rd in the family trilogy but 16th book featuring China Bayles

China had an uneasy relationship with her dead father, which was not helped by the fact that he had a mistress who bore him a son. When her half-brother Miles asks for her help in proving that their father's deadly "accident" years ago was instead murder, China balks. Her husband McQuaid, a PI, happily takes on the challenge of unraveling the mystery behind China's father's death. Each chapter goes from China's to McQuaid's point of view giving us some insight on each of them.

While there is a murder in this mystery it is more China's journey to finding herself and somekind of connection with her dead father. Plus we find out a lot about Nightshade. fun as always.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he eventually stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time: Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism and terrorism by building schools—especially for girls—throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.

Mortenson had no reason to believe he could fulfill his promise. In an early effort to raise money he wrote letters to 580 celebrities, businessmen, and other prominent Americans. His only reply was a $100 check from NBC’s Tom Brokaw. Selling everything he owned, he still only raised $2,000. But his luck began to change when a group of elementary school children in River Falls, Wisconsin, donated $623 in pennies, thereby inspiring adults to take his cause more seriously. Twelve years later he’s built fifty-five schools.

I have to say that this book more than met my expectations. This was given as my bookclub book for work and I wasn't that thrilled about reading a non-fiction book. But I really got sucked into it and enjoyed it til the end. It really makes you think how to approach other cultures and how lucky we are to have education and a safe place to live. So many places around the world are struggling just to survive day by day. This book is truly awe inspiring.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for the Day by Winifired Watson

Recently reprinted by Persephone Classics.

Set during the 30s in London. Miss Pettigrew is a dowdy governess who doesn't much like children and is down on her luck. She accidentally gets sent to the flat of a glamorous nightclub singer, who comes to rely upon Miss Pettigrew to straighten out her love life. Miss Pettigrew not only rises to the challenge (much to her own surprise), but undergoes a makeover and finds some romance for her own life as well.

I really enjoyed the introduction/preface by Henrietta Twycross-Martin as she really investigated this obscure author and even got to interview her. This is one of those books I had heard about vaguely but never read. So it was a nice to finally see it back in print and read it for myself. At first I was distracted by the dialog as Miss Pettigrew's thoughts are written like she is speaking them outloud. But I quickly got over that and enjoyed the witty dialog and observations and situations separated by chapters of period of times.

This is a fabulous weekend read and makes us all wonder if we could change how we are would we do it?

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

Eight-year-old Jane Margaux is the daughter of a chic and famous Broadway producer. And since her mother is always busy producing musical hits and her father is mostly vacationing with his new trophy wife in Nantucket, she seems to spend a whole lot of time on her own. That's all right though, because Michael, her imaginary friend, is always there. But what's going to happen to her when Michael leaves her after her ninth birthday? He doesn't want to leave her, but he must. Alas, she won't remember him anyway, so it doesn't matter. Michael is somewhere in his early to mid thirties -- a handsome man with magnetic green eyes. His job is to be a child's imaginary friend for a while. He cannot be seen by grownups during these assignments. Then he lives a semi-normal life whenever he's on sabbatical. Twenty-three years later, he sees Jane again. She's a grownup now, working on turning her musical production into a feature film. The play is based on her relationship with Michael. She has never been able to forget her imaginary friend, no matter what he had told her. Her life is sort of a mess -- a controlling mother, an actor boyfriend who is using her, and an imaginary friend she can't seem to get off her mind. What happens when Jane and Michael are face to face after so many years? And how is it possible that this man -- someone she had thought was a figment of her imagination -- is actually real?

Read it in one sitting, liked the premise but the story was rather shallow. I found it interesting how a mother who had so little time for her daughter when she was a child would cling to her so much as she became an adult. The ending was a bit contrived but sweet. One reviewer commented how this reminded them of the Velveteen Rabbit and it really does.

Sound of Colors by written and illustrated by Jimmy Liao - translated by Sarah L. Thomson

A young blind girl travels from one subway station to another while her imagination takes her to impossibly wonderful places. This picture book was originally written in Chinese. It is one of those picture books that can be for anyone and really makes you think about being blind in a different way. This author really has a way of expressing the disability without making it seem like a disability.

I'm looking forward to his new book - Blue Stone which just came out.

Road to Ruin by Donald E. Westlake

Dortmunder and his gang are approached by a friend of Kelp's - disgruntled former driver for Monroe Hall. He wants revenge on Hall and to hit him where it hurts. In order to do the heist of Hall's classic car collection they hire on as live-in staff on his secluded ranch as a way to get access to, and ultimately steal, his collection of antique cars.

Hall has recently been caught robbing his own company blind and is now in seclusion within his sprawling compound with his wife, security guards and various collections that include cuckoo clocks, chess sets, rare books and music boxes. In fact, the man collects just about everything. The only thing he seems unable to collect is servants who don't want anything to do with him - after all, he's a pariah.

Hall has ruined many people and some of those people want revenge. Mac, Buddy and Ace are some blue collar employees who were laid off when Hall's company went under; Mark and Os are investors who lost a lot of money when the stock collapsed. They team up with the intent of kidnapping Hall and forcing him to transfer money out of his "secret" off-shore accounts. But unlike Dortmunder and his crew, these folks are strictly amateurs.

Then things start to crumble, as they tend to do around Dortmunder. Not his fault, of course. Who could know that three other sets of people are also plotting revenge on this same crook? Or that these other bozos would kidnap the crook, thereby bringing the police onto the scene just at the wrong time? And who could have predicted that Dortmunder would be kidnapped right along with the boss?

Enjoyed this fun read but I think that there were too many voices as we hear Dortmunder, Hall, plus the bumbling amatures that wreck havoc on Dortmunder's carefully crafted plan. Still Westlake has a gift for the comedic relief and you are rooting for Dortmunder until the very end.

Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith

Latest book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series

There are a number of things for Mma Ramotswe to solve. Her paid case in this installment is to find a woman's family. She does not know who they are or even if they are, she is just sure she was adopted and wants to find out if she has any family. However - first and foremost are the nasty letters which the agency is receiving, threatening and personal. Then there is her adopted daughter who is in a wheelchair. Mr J L B Matekoni has met a doctor who says he can heal her and is determined to try no matter what the cost.

Mma Makutsi's wedding date has not been set, and she is privately worried. It is affecting her work and when she takes a morning off, distracted, Mma Ramotswe is forced to wonder just what will happen when Mma Makutsi gets married...will she leave the agency? will she demand to be made more than associate detective? Luckily, or unluckily Mma Makutsi has a disaster with a piece of furniture and her reliance on Mma Ramotswe is confirmed!

While this book was not as light as some of the previous titles it is no less delightful to read. I liked that there were fewer more indepth storylines. We see much more series issues such as money and envy being dealt with. A perfect afternoon of reading.

Beginners Greek by James Collins

Boy, Peter, meets girl, Holly, on an airplane flight from New York to Los Angeles. She is reading a book that was one of his favorites so during the long flight they talk, laugh and fall in love. She give him her number and they part ways. Meanwhile he discovers that he has lost her number so is the story over? Nope, it's just the first chapter. Flash forward to 3 years later, Peter is about to get married to someone else. His best friend is married to Holly, don't worry the story will be told later on. This story is full of flashbacks and numberous storylines. While the story has an interesting premise, the storylines feel a bit contrived to make the story flow and have a happy ending. Honestly I didn't really feel that interested in the characters.

From other reviews this is supposed to be chiclit for men. Personally I was bogged down by all the storylines.

Love Walked In by Maria de los Santos

Cornelia is a single thirty something who lives her life like a series of movie moments. She's a manager of a cafe because she hasn't figured out anything better to do. Her ideal man is Cary Grant. And just when she thinks he'll never show up, he does, in the form of Martin Grace. What she doesn't know is that Martin, with his cool charm and debonair demeanor, has a daughter, Clare. And she never would have known that except that Martin, in a state of panic, shows up with the girl at the cafe after her mother had a breakdown and left Clare to fend for herself. Estranged from his daughter for years, Martin doesn't know what to do with her. Both women's stories are told in alternating chapters, Cornelia's in first person, Clare's in third.

Claire & Cornelia are similar characters with age-appropriate crises. Cornelia is looking for a handsome Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet. She sees herself as a romantic heroine straight out of the movies from the 30s and 40s, which she just can't seem to watch enough and recommends to everyone she knows. She's looking for her own Cary Grant and believes she's found him in Martin. Claire sees herself and identifies with the orphans of classic novels, such as Anne of Green Gables, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden and Heidi, and finds herself in similar predicaments. Both characters fantasize and dream of finding their "Happily Ever After" just like their favorite heroines of the films and books they both cherish so much, but they never loose their grip on reality and always seem to find themselves with their feet firmly planted on the ground.

I listened to the story on CD and really enjoyed that they used two different voices for the alternating chapters. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book once I realized that this wasn't a typical love story but rather a story about a woman who falls in love with a child and has to deal with the problems and consequences of someone else's actions. But I really did enjoy the story and seeing the various characters evolve into people you could see wanting as friends.

Thieves' Dozen by Donald E. Westlake

11 wonderful short stories featuring my favorite crook, Dortmunder.
This was a delightful set of stories and I enjoyed reading Westlake's introduction.

My favorite was "Too Many Crooks" in which Dortmunder and Kelps break into a bank vault from the building next door to discover that some other bank robbers have already robbed the bank and locked everyone inside the vault. When the bank robbers open up the vault, Dortmunder and Kelp for once think fast on their feet and blend in with the other hostages. They decide to use Dortmunder as the negotiator and we know what happens then. Hysterical.

I also enjoyed the final story "Fugue for Felons" about a totally differently named crew who have alot of similar characteristics of our favorite robbers.

Westlake has this knack of making you like his characters and I laugh out loud as I read. Great collection.

Fault Tree by Louise Ure

Arizona auto mechanic Cadence Moran is no stranger to darkness. She was blinded in a horrific car accident eight years ago that also took the life of her three-year old niece. She knows she was only partially to blame, but that doesn't make the loss any easier to bear. She's learned to get by, but there are still painful memories. When she is almost run down by a speeding car on the way home from work, Cadence at first thinks that she is the victim of road rage or a bad driver. But that's not the case. In fact, she is the only witness to the murder of her elderly neighbor, and now the killer believes that she's seen the getaway car.

This was a very intense mystery in which we see the story from Cadence's as well as the murder's point of view. The chapters were short and intense and made me want to keep turning the page to see how the plot developes. Cadence is dealing with a lot of personal guilt - what she calls her Fault Tree. It was fascinating to see how she dealt with the car-accident that took her sight as well as killed her young niece.

State of the Onion
White House Chef Mystery series by Julie Hyzy

Set in a fictionalized White House, Assistant Chef Olivia Paras (aka Ollie) faces challenges aplenty: a heated competition for the soon-to-be-vacant top chef's job, the sneering antagonism of the president's newly appointed sensitivity director and, of course, the mysterious intruder she unwittingly stops on the White House lawn with a couple of swift blows from a frying pan—an unarmed man with news of a threat to the president. Though the Secret Service disapproves of her interference, Ollie soon takes on the mantel of amateur sleuth, which could endanger not only her life but her cozy relationship with handsome Secret Service Agent Thomas MacKenzie. The tension mounts as the president negotiates a major peace plan for the Middle East, Ollie stumbles on the path of a nearly invisible enemy known as the Chameleon, and obnoxious TV celebrity chef Laurel Anne Braun shows up to threaten Ollie's career.

I am not a big fan of those cutsie mysteries in which there are a lot of puns and "oh no it's a dead body in the freezer" books. So I was pleasantly surprised that while there is a lot of food action no murder is involved with the kitchen. It will be interesting to see where this series goes from here.

Test of Wills by Charles Todd

I saw a book review for a more recent book in this series but since I like to start at the beginning here it is. Set in 1919, Inspector Ian Rutledge, a British veteran of the Great War secretly still suffering from shell-shock, returns to his Scotland Yard job in hopes of exorcizing his private demons. However, a devious higher-up has learned of his Achilles heel and gets Ian assigned to a potentially explosive and career-damaging case--a murder involving a decorated war hero, a beautiful ward, and a shell-shocked witness. Rutledge is a sympathic character but is suffering from a split personality whom he calls Hamish. We find out midway through the book that he believes Hamish is a ghost that haunts him from the war.

There are many red herrings as up until the end I did not know who the murderer was. But the loose ends are tied neatly except for knowing how Rutledge will handle his own mental issues. Plus Rutledge finds himself wondering if Hamish is a ghost from his past or is he suffering from a split personality. While this was not the most uplifting read I did find myself intrigued by the main characters past and how he is adapting back in his English life. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter by Nancy Atherton

Lori Shepherd’s life in England couldn’t be more tranquil or more satisfying— except for one thing. Her five- year-old twins have started school, and Lori fears they’ll catch everything from the flu to fleas. What they do come home with, however, is worse: a report of a pale, cloaked figure with bloodstained lips lurking in the woods. Lori is skeptical at first but soon grows concerned enough to consult with her late (but not entirely departed) Aunt Dimity and her dear friend Kit Smith.

The vampire-hunting trail leads to Leo, a charismatic vagabond who just returned to England after a self-imposed exile, a bitter old crone named Lizzie Black, and finally to Aldercot Hall, where a mysterious murder took place forty years ago. With Kit and Aunt Dimity’s help, Lori uncovers the secret that will shock everyone—including herself—about the true identity of the twins’ vampire.

I haven't read one of the Aunt Dimity books in a year or so. I can only take so much of Lori's panic stricken run around like a chicken with her head cut off moments of paranoia. But I enjoy her relationships with her neighbors, township and most of all Aunt Dimity. Her dead aunt by friendship who she communicates via a special journal. This was an easy weekend read and a nice break from the lately kind of depressing mysteries I've been reading.

Death of a Red Heroine (Inspector Chen Cao)
by Qiu Xiaolong

This political mystery offers a peek into the tightly sealed, often crooked world of post-Tiananmen Square China in the 1990's. Chen Cao, a poet and T.S. Eliot translator is bureaucratically assigned to be chief inspector. He is assigned to investigate the murder of Guan Hongying, a young woman celebrated as a National Model Worker, but who kept her personal life strictly and mysteriously confidential. Chen and his comrade, Detective Yu, take turns interviewing Guan's neighbors and co-workers, but it seems most of them either know nothing or are afraid to talk openly about a deceased, highly regarded public figure.

Maybe they shouldn't be so uneasy, some characters reason; after all, these are "modern times" and socialist China is taking great leaps toward free speech. Chen and Yu make headway when they stumble on Wu Xiaoming, senior editor of Red Star magazine, who apparently was involved with Guan before her death. Tiptoeing around touchy politics and using investigative tactics bordering on blackmail, Chen slowly pieces together the motives behind the crime.

This is an intriguing novel as we see how life is in 1990's China. The main character translates English literature into Chinese but also writes his own poetry. We see how various relationships have established the person he is now and who he is to become. I am looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! voices from a medieval village by Laura Amy Schlitz ~ Winner of 2008 Newbery award

Using a series of interconnected monologues and dialogues featuring young people living in and around an English manor in 1255, she offers first-person character sketches that build upon each other to create a finer understanding of medieval life. The book was inspired by the necessity of creating a play suitable for a classroom where "no one wanted a small part." Each of the 23 characters (between 10 and 15 years old) has a distinct personality and a societal role revealed not by recitation of facts but by revelation of memories, intentions, and attitudes. Sometimes in prose and more often in one of several verse forms, the writing varies nicely from one entry to the next.

Historical notes appear in the vertical margins, and some double-page spreads carry short essays on topics related to individual narratives, such as falconry, the Crusades, and Jews in medieval society. Although often the characters' specific concerns are very much of their time, their outlooks and emotional states will be familiar to young people today. Reminiscent of medieval art, Byrd's lively ink drawings, tinted with watercolors, are a handsome addition to this well-designed book.

I wasn't sure what to think when I first heard about this book as I am not a fan of monologues or poetry. But I was pleasantly surprised. I can see this being a favorite of upper elementary and middle school teachers for years to come.

Pardonable lies : a Maisie Dobbs novel by Jacqueline Winspear
Maisie Dobbs has been operating her detective cum psychiatric agency for more than a year. Her mentor, Maurice Blanche, a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, has retired and she has been successful on her own. She becomes involved with three cases: proving the innocence of a 13-year-old farm girl, Avril Jarvis, accused of murder; undertaking a search for Sir Cecil Lawton's only son, a pilot shot down behind enemy lines in WWI, whose body was never recovered; and looking into the circumstances of the death of her university friend Priscilla Evernden Partridge's brother in France during the war. Maisie must go back to the region where, 13 years earlier, she served as a nurse, and confront her memories of mud, blood and loss.

I enjoy the Maisie Dobbs novels as they have a bit of suspense and esp tied into the mystery plus you really feel like you are there in the 1930's living her life. I met the author a few years ago and she was quite interesting to hear speak about her writing and her characters. She has found a good niche.

Yiddish Policeman's Union
by Michael Chabon

This alternate history of a world where Jews were settled in Alaska after World War II, is told through the eyes of Meyer Landsman, a police detective investigating a murder. It is a mere few weeks before the special Jewish district will soon be controlled by Alaska again.

Landsman, macerated in brandy and sadness, becomes interested in the hotel corpse, though he has enough dead bodies in his own past to keep him busy: a never-born child, a possibly murdered sister and a father who committed suicide, not to mention the ghost of his marriage to a Sitka policewoman. Landsman calls up his partner and cousin, Berko Shemets, a half-Jewish half-Tlingit big man with a soft heart and what passes in this novel for a happy home life. The corpse turns out to be a chess prodigy and heroin addict, the wayward son of a powerful head of a Jewish sect called the Verbovers, and possibly the key to the essential mysteries of both his own death and the future of the Jews. Landsman and Shemets are on the case, even though any number of people try to throw them off.

The book is shot through with Yiddish phrases and names, which melodically roll off Riegert's tongue.

This book took me a full 6 weeks to read as I had to really read slowly. It is not kidding when it says above that it is full of Yiddish phrases & names. I have no background in the Yiddish community so it felt rather foreign to me but I did enjoy the story and the relationships the main character has.

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

Listened to on CD while driving to and from work. I actually read the graphic novel a few months earlier so it was interesting to read the original.

Robert Neville has witnessed the end of the world. The world's population has been obliterated by a vampire virus, though Neville has somehow survived. As he toils to make sense of it all and protect himself against the hounding vampires who seek out his life force, Neville embarks on a series of projects to discover the source of the plague and hopefully put an end to the vampires.

Set in a future 1976 we see Neville try to survive and not loose the part of himself that makes human. But in the end is he just as much a monster as he tries to kill the vampires. It is a powerful novella and still relevent today though it was written in the 1950's.