It’s the Family Day weekend here in Ontario, which means an extra day of sleeping late, puttering around the house, getting a few things done outside, and of course reading and drinking hot beverages!
I’ve been sick for much of the past week, which didn’t actually provide me with as much extra reading time as you might think, but I did manage to finish a good mystery by an Irish author, The Liar’s Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard. This was a freebee from the library conference I was at recently, and it was totally riveting! Alison is a 29-year-old woman living in the Netherlands who gets a visit from the Gardai (the Irish police) asking her to return to Dublin - her former boyfriend from her university days, Will Hurley, a convicted serial killer, wants to speak with her about the recent murders of two girls in Dublin. She heads back with them reluctantly, the first time she’s been back in ten years, and is certain that Will has no useful information about these recent murders. But why does he suddenly want to talk, after all these years? And why to her? Ten years earlier, five female students from St John’s College in Dublin sustained head injuries and were thrown into the canal to drown, and police were searching for the Canal Killer until they stumbled upon fellow student Will, who, after hours of interrogation, confessed and was sent to a psychiatric institute, where he languished for years. Now the killings have begun again, and he claims to have information that may help catch not a copycat, but the real Canal Killer. But he will only speak to his former girlfriend, Alison, determining that she is the only person who may believe his innocence and follow his leads. Readers are then treated to alternating “Alison, then”, “Alison, now” chapters that piece together the story from ten years earlier, detailing Alison’s relationship with Will and her love/hate relationship with her best friend Liz, the Canal Killer’s fifth victim, and the ongoing search in the present-day. These are interspersed with chapters from the point of view of the current killer… but is he a copycat, or did he kill those girls ten years earlier, too? And if so, why did he lie dormant for so many years? And why would Will confess to murders he didn’t commit? Filled with twists and turns, this compelling murder mystery had this reader glued to the page as she fought the need for an afternoon nap due to the fatigue of illness. It is due out this month, so if you enjoy a good murder mystery weaving together past secrets and present-day circumstances, I would highly recommend that you put this item on hold at your local library today!
And I am nearly finished listening to a short audiobook by David Rosenfelt, one of the books in the “Andy Carpenter” series, Bury the Lead. This novel is narrated by one of my favourite readers, Grover Gardner, the narrator for all of the “Andy Carpenter” books I've listened to so far, and he always does such a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy listening to these smart, witty, light mysteries. Andy is drawn into a case involving the murder of three women who have been strangled and had their hands cut off. The killer communicates with news reporter Daniel Cummings, and at the most recent murder scene, Daniel is wounded and is ultimately charged with the crime. What follows is the discovery of evidence linking him to the past murders, and Andy is called upon to represent him in court. The evidence is strong, but only a fool would be so careless as to keep such evidence around, and Daniel is no fool. But how can Andy prove that he is being framed? And why? I’m actually just about to find out what the final answer is, but it has been such a thoroughly entertaining listening experience that I’m thinking about downloading other “Andy Carpenter” books, even if I’ve already listened to them, because they are so enjoyable, a guaranteed satisfying listening experience when I don’t know what to listen to next.
That’s all for today. I feel well enough to get outside and enjoy the sunshine for a bit before the rainy mild weather sets in over the next couple of days. Enjoy the rest of the long weekend, and don’t forget to keep reading!
Bye for now…
Julie
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