Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Killer's Island

Anna Jansson

 After six Arnaldur Indridason, I decided I needed to read another author.
Since I've grown fond of Swedish murder mystery and decided to stay in the same geographic area.
Amazon suggested Anna Jansson, who created the Maria Wern character.
So far, I found only one English translation, hope more are on the way.

Killer's Island is a bit different from what I usually prefer.
In most of the books, I usually read, the murder already happened and the story is about finding the killer.

In Killer's Island, Anna Jansson introduces the main character with an assault and keeps you hooked as the story unfolds.

The English translation is not available from Amazon.ca
You can get a digital version from Kobo

Paperback and Kindle editions are available from Amazon.com

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Arctic Chill

Iceland Murder Mystery

 After reading American, Canadian and UK authors most of my life, I decided to check out authors outside this range.
I am now reading the fifth English translation of Reykjavik Murder Mystery by Arnaldur Indridason (English spelling) of Iceland.
The first of the series, Jar City, was turned into a movie in 2006.
I plan to watch it on Netflix
The protagonist, a gloomy Detective Erlandur, is a perfect film noir character with an unsolved mystery of his own.
With each book, we learn a bit more about his past and personal life.


Read a preview of Arctic Chill on Amazon.ca

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Irises

Reference Book

 To help identification and solve cultural problems, I turn to reference books.
I have a well-stocked reference library that covers every plant genus I can grow and then some.
New additions are made yearly and still the wish list keeps getting longer.

One of my best finds of the year is Irises: A Gardener's Encyclopedia by Claire Austin .
The book covers a lot of ground and even includes photos of roots of different types of irises.
There is also a section on hybridizing and growing irises from seed.
The information and photos in this book make it invaluable for all iris lovers.