Last time I went to the library EIGHT of my holds all came in on the same day, so now I am frantically trying to get through them before the 31st.

A Dedicated Man is the second in Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks series.  In this episode, Inspector Banks is investigating the murder of a man that everyone seems to say has no enemies, but the fact he ended up buried under a stone wall with his head bashed in seems to put paid to that notion.  Inspector Banks is given a rather green constable  to help him among others.   A second missing person adds to the case and with a wealth of characters, many who had connections from long ago and some nasty rumors about others swirling around the village, he has his work cut out for him.

A strong sense of place, great characters, and plenty of red herrings make this a great mystery read along the lines of PD James and Ruth Rendell.  I really enjoyed it and am happy to know that there are plenty more to read in the series.

River of Darkness was a book that I became aware of through the Kindle English Mystery Club and decided to give a try.  It is interesting in that it reads like a modern-day serial killer thriller, but is set in the period between the wars in rural England.  An entire family is obliterated and Inspector John Madden recognizes the wounds as he had served time in the Army.  He begins to investigate and eventually finds connections to other murders and builds his case.  In the course of this work, he meets a love interest to help him overcome his rather tragic past.

A decent quick mystery read, but I am not sure if I would invest the time in continuing the series.

Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason is the 7th book in the Inspector Erlendeur novels.  I started this series with the 3rd book as that was the first one translated into English.  I am really enjoying reading these mysteries with the team of  Inspectors Erlendur, Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli.  All three of them are interesting characters alone, well drawn and realistic feeling.  Alongside the mystery, Erlendur deals with his adult children and with his dying mentor giving more insight into his character.

The mystery here has a modern feel as it is deeply wrapped up in  immigration, racism, and xenophobia.  A child with a Thai bride mother is murdered and emotions run deep giving the case a high-profile and lots of leads.  There is a second missing person case that Erlendur feels compelled to solve even though just about everyone else is certain it is a suicide.  A compelling mystery read with a good sense of place and a great cast of characters.   Recommended read!

Die Zauberflote is a libretto for Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.  I had a ticket to see the show with a friend and wanted to read the libretto ahead of time to be familiar with it.  I felt the storyline was a contrived with over the top drama, but it is not really meant just to be read.  The performance had a great cast and beautiful music at Westminster College.  I still didn’t like the storyline, but I’m glad that I went to see it.