Lyn McConchie

The Night Searchers by Marcia Muller

2 January 2015

hardcover, published July ’14, Grand Central Publishing (Hatchette).(It may also be an interesting sign of the times that this publisher is now adding a line in the information at the front – “The publisher is not responsible for websites or their content that are not owned by the publisher.) I’m left wondering what event made that necessary.

As always, a great read. A friend sent this as part of my Christmas present and I saved it for Christmas Day. It may be a little shorter than usual, my estimate was around 80,000 words, but it packs the same old McCone punch. Sharon is approached by clients sent by a friend of Sharon’s, Jay and Camilla Givens report stange sights that Camilla has been seeing, and want Sharon to investigate. She doesn’t much like Jay, but Camilla is genuinely distressed and Sharon agrees to take the case. She then finds that Jay is involved in a shady urban treasure-hunting group, who may be doing a lot more than play games. Gradually as she is drawn into the action she becomes aware that this may also impinge on a ransom case that her husband is negotiating, and the next thing that she knows accusations to Homeland Security and the FBI are being made against her. Sharon goes to ground while she and her staff work to uncover the truth, which when it is exposed, is – in a way – one of the standards of PI cases. But there are some very nice twists, interesting characters, and a good solid resolution. Another book for the ‘keeper’ shelves, and as always, recommended.

New Book on Track

2 January 2015

and I began the new and final book for my Four Seasons’ Quartet well before Christmas and hope to have it done and away to the publisher by the end of January. Working title is Spring of Decisions, and it’s the fourth after Summer of Dreaming (Winner of the YA Vogel,) Autumn of the Wild Pony, and Winter of Waiting. It’s going well so far, and if that continues I’m on track with my schedule. In fact the publisher already knows what cover she wants to do for it…

Coincidences

2 January 2015

As may be guessed from the recent HUFF review, I’ve been re-readinmg all my Tanya Huff books over Christmas. Last to be read were the three ‘Summoning’ books which I like best of all her work. I was just reading Austin the cat’s demand yet again to be fed – when my own resident feline leaped onto the bed, marched up and applied a paw to my arm. “I’ve been scaring starlings from your raspberries and I’m starving, Feed Me, NOW!” I looked at him and laughed, to his indignation. But it struck me as funny that I was reading a cat’s demand for food, at exactly the moment Thunder arived with the same plea. I shouldn’t have laughed however, it cost me extra cat biscuits to placate my friend. Because cats really don’t like being laughed at.

Hot Weather and Raspberries.

21 December 2014

The one being the cause of the other. Thunder is spending much of his day lately lying under the fruit-laden raspberry bushes, relaxing as they ripen and waiting for some fool starling to descend to eat raspberries. At which time the bushes will part abruptly and a large cat will hurtle upwards, paws swinging, grabbing for a starling. He doesn’t get them usually – although a number must have just about had heart attacks – but it certainly keeps them on their toes. Him too come to that. It’s a perfect illustration of Darwinism.

“Gale Girls’ Trilogy by Tanya Huff

21 December 2014

This isn’t so much my normal review as a note to readers. Back in 2009 I purchased the first in this trio, THE ENCHANTMENT EMPORIUM, read and liked it a lot, so when THE WILD WAYS appeared in 2011 I bought that too. Then last month (Nov.’14) the third, THE FUTURE FALLS, appeared – I grabbed. The theme is old, ‘there are those who are different living amongst us,’ but Huff gives it her unique spin and that touch of humour that I love in her work, and so far as I’m concerned the books are keepers. (As have been pretty much all of her books. I’ve been buying them since they started appearing and have all but a couple of the ‘Quarters’ volumes.) So if you’re looking for something interesting in the way of urban fantasy to read, you could do a LOT worse than these books. I recommend them – and pretty much anything else she writes. Particularly the ‘Summoning’ trio, and the ‘Valour’ books are excellent military SF as well. Go buy!

Another Story sale

21 December 2014

yes, SHEEP MAY SAFELY GRAZE has been accepted by BREATH AND SHADOW magazine. I’m pleased with this sale, the story was one of a pair I wrote dealing with the life of an ‘old-time’ shepherd, and now both have sold and should be out next year.

A Bit Worried

9 December 2014

I’m not at all certain, but I have a nasty feeling we may be going to have a dry summer. Temperatures are warming fast, only 10mls of wet so far this month, the recent gales have ripped the moisture out of plant life, and while the wild birds on the place produced an early hatch, they haven’t come back to sit on a second. I could easily be wrong but indications are that it could be one of those long, hot, dry seasons. Great for hay if you shut up the paddocks early, but not so good for regrowth. Oh well, we’ll see…

Christmas is coming

26 November 2014

and the geese are getting fat, as the Guy Fawkes rhyme goes. Mine are, so they’re lucky I plan on never eating them. But the spring grass is in with a vengeance and I’m still waiting for goslings. All four of the girls sat at intervals over October, with a net result of nothing. Currently three are sitting again, and I have a feeling that the outcome could be nothing once more. Oh, well. They’re here as watchgeese, if they keep doing that job as efficiently as usual they’re safe from me at Xmas, but I would still like a few goslings.

Why Protest THAT way?

26 November 2014

All over TV news at the moment are the riots by people protesting the death of a death of a teenager at the hands of a police officer. The thing that completely baffles me however is the destruction of property. The protesters are burning businesses, cars, houses, not those belonging to the officer or his colleagues, but instead as I understand it, they are burning property in their own neighbourhoods. If I wanted to protest I’d find it counter-productive to do that. Rioting takes away the protest’s impact and focuses it on the destruction. And burning or otherwise destroying the property of your neighbours (possibly out protesting too) is – well – rather silly. And again, if I was out seriously protesting something I saw as an injustice and returned home to find my car or business torched by my fellow protesters, next time someone wanted me to march in protest, I be staying home instead, to see that I didn’t lose my car, business or whatever, again. It makes me wonder how genuine most of those protesters are? Or are they merely out to riot, burn, loot, and wallow in excitement, uncaring of the real object? Because burning down your next door neighbour’s business doesn’t exactly emphasize how keen you are to highlight and prevent further injustices – committed by someone of a different ethnicity and in a totally different area!