Prince of Fire, Daniel Silva

I'm not a Silva fan and the plot is very tired (Israeli master spy chasing Palestinian master spy), but some of the viewpoints about the Arab/Israeli conflict are interesting, more so for being expressed in a crime novel.

Bittersweet, Nevada Barr

Some are born lesbians; some are called.  A comanion piece to Brokeback Mountain.  Starts as a sage, finishes as a Maupassant short story.  Well written, not so well edited.

Sizzlin Sixteen, Janet Evanovich

Vinnie is kidnapped.  Not her best, but I wasn't at my best, either.

A Dying Light in Corduba, Lindsey Davis

Falco in Spain among the oil producers.  Bet there are a lot of uses of olive oil you didn't know about, including delivering babies.

The Boat of a Million Years, Poul Anderson

Linked short stories on immortals.  Could have been shorter.

A Perfect Execution, Tim Binding

Who'd have the executing people could be boring?

The Triumph: A Novel, John Kenneth Galbraith

Fashionable writing for the sixties.  If you missed them, read it now.

Monsier, Lawrence Durrell

The Alexandria Quartet may be the last Durrell I'll ever read.  This is TAQ in Avignon.

Bad Chili / Rumble Tumble, Joe R Lansdale

Funny crime series about two Texas friends: 1 straight and white; 1 black and gay.  Recommended.

Anna Pigeon (Series), Nevada Barr

All the rest of them.  This is a fine series, set in the U.S. National Parks.  Entertaining, well-written and educational.  What more could you want?

Time to Depart, Lindsey Davis

Another Falco. Criminal mafia in Rome.

When You are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris

Sedaris gives up smoking and other stories.

Emil and Karl, Yankev Glatshteyn (Yid., Jeffrey Shandler, Translator)

Two children, one Jewish, one the son of Socialists, losetheir parents in 1940 Vienna.  A  picture of Austria at the beginning of the war that I can't decide if compelling or not. Meant for children.

Emil and Karl

Two children, one Jewish, one the son of Socialists, losetheir parents in 1940 Vienna.  A  picture of Austria at the beginning of the war that I can't decide if compelling or not. Meant for children.

Murder on the Waterfront, Michael Jahn

I waited a long time to find something in this series, but I'm not into celebrity politicians, grumpiness or the high-life.

Bitter Lemons of Cyprus, Lawrence Durrell

Four pages in and I was metaphored for life.

The Art of Being Belgian, Richard Hill

Easy read and good key to Belgium.  The only drawback is Hill assumes some knowledge on the part of his readers that they probably don't have or they wouldn't be reading this.

The Woman in the Fifth, Douglas Kennedy

 Harry Ricks loses everything, escapes to Paris & meets the secretive Margit.  Like all Douglas Kennedy, this is unputdownable, but I found the denouement less satisfying than his other books 

Forty Words for Sorrow, Giles Blunt

Well-written tale of serial killings in frozen Canadian North chased by Catholic guilt-ridden detective and his Francophone partner. Description of torture devices not too overdone.

Stone Cold by David Baldacci

Another Camel Club outing.  Annabelle is still being sought by the gambler she conned out of $40 million; Oliver is being sought by the CIA and the son of a former CIA killer/colleague.  Plots are all over themselves and *exciting*.  Unputdownable.