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Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley

Posted by Lahni in Blog Tour | Mystery - (5 Comments)

Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley

In the southern Kalahari area of Botswana – an arid landscape of legends that speak of lost cities, hidden wealth, and ancient gods – a fractious ranger named Monzo is found dying from a severe head wound in a dry ravine. Three Bushmen surround the doomed man, but are they his killers or there to help? Detective David “Kubu” Bengu is on the case, an investigation that his old school friend Khumanego claims is motivated by racist antagomism on the part of the local police. But when a second bizarre murder, and then a third, seem to point also to the nomadic tribe, the intrepid Kubu must journey into the depths of the Kalahari to uncover the truth. What he discovers there will test all his powers of deduction…and his ability to remain alive.

This novel was very enjoyable. From the first page I was drawn into the story and couldn’t put it down. After I finished the book I discovered that it is actually the third story about Detective Kubu. I can’t wait to read the others but there was no sense of missing out on anything. The book stands alone very well.

The book reminded me of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency for several reasons – they are both mysteries and they both take place in Africa. But the writing style is also similar. I’m not sure how to describe it but it is a very relaxing, laid back type writing style. There is none of the nail biting suspense of a typical western mystery novel. And this isn’t a bad thing (at least not for me). I love this writing style, which doesn’t make the story boring or meandering – just much more enjoyable.

The novel has everything a good mystery should have – murder, intrigue, near death experiences, and an unexpected resolution. Overall, I really liked this book and can’t wait to read the first two Kubu novels and anymore that Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip may write!

 

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews – Blog Tour

Posted by Lahni in Blog Tour | Can Lit | Canadian Author - (5 Comments)

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews

From the back cover:

Nineteen-year-old Irma lives in a rural Mennonite community in Mexico. She has already been cast out of her family for marrying a young Mexican ne’er-do-well she barely knows, although she remains close to her rebellious younger sister and yearns fro the lost intimacy with her mother. With a husband who proves elusive and often absent, a punishing father, and a faith in God damaged beyond repair, Irma appears trapped in an untenable and desperate situation. When a celebrated Mexican filmmaker and his crew arrive from Mexico City to make a movie about the insular community in which she was raised, Irma is immediately drawn to the outsiders and is hired as a translator on the set. But her father, intractable and domineering, is determined to destroy the film and get rid of the interlopers.

I enjoyed this book but I’m having a really hard time knowing what I want to say about it. I have to be honest – I’m not really sure I got it. I’ve also read A Complicated Kindness and was left feeling much the same.

Irma was a likeable enough character but many times I had a hard time understanding her motivation for acting the way she did.  I felt she was a little flat, as were most of the other characters in the novel. The only character that was consistent and well developed was Irma’s younger sister Aggie. She ends up playing a major role in the novel and one might argue that she is the main character even though the story is told as a first person narrative from the point of view of Irma – Aggie and her actions drive the whole story.

As the story meanders along some alarming details about Irma’s family are revealed and it is these details that jump the story into high gear. I found this change to be a little jarring. The whole tone of the story and the writing changed. All of a sudden Irma becomes responsible for a whole lot more than just herself and it spurs her into action. She must take matters into her own hands in order to protect her sisters and she steps up. The sense of confusion I felt as a reader may have been intended to mirror Irma’s own feelings of inadequacy in the face of her new responsibilities.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel but I still feel like I’m missing something important that the author was trying to share with her readers.

Blog Tour: Q&A with Lesley Livingston author of Once Every Never

Posted by Lahni in Blog Tour | Canadian Author | Fantasy | Young Adult - (4 Comments)

Good morning! I have a special treat for you today! This is my very first blog tour and author  Q&A. Today I’ve got some questions for Lesley Livingston the author of Once Ever Never, a book about a teenage girl who instead of doing touristy things while she visits her Aunt in London, finds herself smack in the middle of a war between the Celts and the Romans. I sent Lesley some very unoriginal questions and she came up with some superbly fun and original answers!

Tell me a little bit about yourself. When I read a book I always want more information about the author than what is generally included in the author bio. Somehow it helps me to connect with the book more.

Lesley Fun Facts time! Let’s see… I used to water-ski. I also used to down-hill ski. Backwards. Sometimes, that ended poorly. I once had a hamster named Spartacus. When I was a kid, I named my shiny white and gold ten-speed bike Apollo. I chew my lower lip when I can’t figure out a plot problem. It’s highly surprising to note that I still have a lower lip. I own a pair of moss-green cowboy boots that I wear on an almost constant basis. They are awesome. I’m pretty sure I met a ghost once. By ‘met’ I mean it tried to push me down a hillside in the middle of Wales. I am not to be given chocolate-covered coffee beans. EVER. For the sake of myself and those around me.

Where do you get the inspiration for your books? (I know this is a pretty lame question but I am actually curious!)

That’s not a lame question at all! (Heh… there are days when I wonder that very same thing, myself!) I get inspiration from a lot of places, but I do find that I draw frequently and deeply on history and mythology and folklore. For Once Every Never, the germ of the idea came from a visit to the British Museum in London, where I spent a great deal of time staring open-mouthed at glass cases containing some of the actual artifacts that Clare comes into contact with in the story. I was, of course, also profoundly inspired by the story of Boudicca, the fierce Celtic queen, herself.

I’m not very good with history so can you fill me in on how much of the Boudicca parts of the story are true and how much is artistic licence? Were Connal and Comorra real people? Did they really find bodies in the Norfolk Broads?

Essentially, the basic storyline I’ve set out in the book sticks fairly closely to what happened to Boudicca—as far as we know. We don’t actually know a great deal, in fact, and what was written about her contemporaneously was, of course, written by Romans. Specifically the historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio. The details are sketchy, but the bullet points—her rebellion, the subsequent massacre, and her ultimate defeat in AD 60 or 61 are accepted fact. So, too, it’s a fact that she had two daughters. There names aren’t verified to my knowledge but Comorra and Tasca are the two possibilities I came across in my research that I liked best. As for Connal, he is a creature of my imagination. Sometimes, I like my imagination. (I like it too!)

As far as I know, there have been no known discoveries of bog bodies found in the Norfolk Broads… yet. But my Spirit Warriors are based on similar finds—specifically one bog body in the British Museum called Lindow Man, who was discovered in Cheshire in England.

 

I found Clare to be a really interesting character. I loved her attitude and her fearlessness. Is she like you at all?

Yay! Thank you for saying that. I’m very fond of Clare, too. She’s headstrong and generous and funny and sharp but not the most… how shall I say… ‘intellectually curious’ character I’ve ever written. At least, she doesn’t start out that way! Once she does find herself compelled to act by circumstances, though, I think you’re right—she is fearless. Part of that is a kind of ‘never say die, never think things through’ attitude, but it serves her well. I think I probably would have spent more time trying to work through the problems she faces—and probably would have just wound up getting impaled on a flaming arrow or something. So… Go Clare!

I haven’t read any of your other novels. Can you tell me a little bit about them?

Sure! The WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy is about a 17 year old girl named Kelley Winslow who, while rehearsing an off-Broadway production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, discovers that the Bard didn’t make all that stuff up: Faeries are real, she is tied far more closely to that supernatural community than she could ever have imagined, all of Central Park in New York City is a gateway to the Otherworld—the Faerie Realm—and it’s opening. Only one things stands between the city and looming Faerie peril, and that’s Kelley. And a fierce, handsome changeling named Sonny Flannery. Okay—that’s two things.  (Sounds interesting, I’m definitely going to look into those!)

What is your favourite book or author?

Can I say Shakespeare? I know his collected works can’t really be considered a ‘book’ per se, but man! That guy could really write! (Thank you, Captain Obvious…)

 

Doesn’t she sound friendly and fun! You should definitely check out Once Every Never – I really liked it and it was well written and original.

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