Almost wordless: Most of the trees in the Chicago suburbs still have green leaves. This Sumac cluster has turned bright red and stands out brilliantly against the still green background.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Last Policeman
by Ben H. Winters
Genre: Mystery / Detective
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publish Date: July 10, 2012
Format: Paperback | 316 pages
Rating: 4½ of 5
Scientists have announced that asteroid 2011GV1 will slam into the earth within the next six months; it is on a collision course that cannot be altered. They can’t yet predict where the asteroid will hit, but they do know the results will be cataclysmic. Much of life on the planet will be destroyed, and the survivors may be the unlucky ones.
Once the news of the asteroid became public, people began to abandon their jobs to pursue life-long dreams. Others took the opposite approach and became depressed; suicides increased dramatically. The economy and the infrastructure began to crumble. Phone service is intermittent, food is scarce and gasoline is almost impossible to find. If there’s no chance for survival, then why continue to go to your job? One person who does carry on as usual is Detective Hank Palace. He has always wanted to be a cop and, recently promoted to detective, he takes his job very seriously. Even if the world is going to end soon.
Hank is sent to investigate an apparent suicide by hanging in the pirate McDonalds’ restroom. (There are no more real McDonalds, the company went bankrupt during the initial market panic when the asteroid strike was announced.) Hank senses something wrong at the crime scene and wants to investigate this as a murder. He is told to leave it alone, call it a suicide and move on. The reason doesn’t matter. But to Hank it does matter, and he continues to press for an investigation.
Hank Palace is a likeable character. He’s a regular guy who remains sane against the backdrop of a society breaking down. He continues to be logical and balanced while around him people spin out of control. He’s all about law and order and methodically carries out his investigation, unearthing suspects and uncovering motives. The story is not fast-paced and there are no heroics; just good detective work, a well-drawn cast of characters, and a story that presents a lot of questions for the reader to ponder.
Although the setting is a pre-apocalyptic world, it’s not science fiction. It might be a one in a many billions chance, but it is possible an asteroid could hit the planet. This is a mystery/detective story with a very original and creative premise, and a focus on what happens to society when there are no longer any rules. I liked the world Winters created and it made me wonder what I would do in that situation. (I’m pretty sure I’d be one of the bucket-list folks!)
Palace eventually solves the crime, but I wasn’t ready for the novel to end. I want read more about Hank and a society on the brink of extinction. I was pleased to learn that this is book one of a planned trilogy and a sequel is in the works.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The September host is BookNAround.
For review from TLC Tours:
What the Zhang Boys Know
by Clifford Garstang
What the Zhang Boys Know, a novel in stories: Set in a condominium building on the edge of Chinatown in Washington, D.C., these stories present the struggle of Zhang Feng-qi, originally from Shanghai, to find a new mother for his sons following the death of his American wife. Along the way, the stories spotlight Zhang’s neighbors as they seek to fill gaps in their own lives.
For review from Crown Books:
Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Man
by Brian McGrory
Brian McGrory’s life changed drastically after the death of his beloved dog, Harry: he fell in love with Pam, Harry’s veterinarian. Though Brian’s only responsibility used to be his adored Harry, Pam came with accessories that could not have been more exotic to the city-loving bachelor: a home in suburbia, two young daughters, two dogs, two cats, two rabbits, and a portly, snow white, red-crowned-and-wattled step-rooster named Buddy.
For review from Audiobook Jukebox:
The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
by Jonathan Evison
Benjamin Benjamin has lost virtually everything-his wife, his family, his home, his livelihood. With few options, Ben enrolls in a night class called The Fundamentals of Caregiving in the basement of a local church. There Ben is instructed in the art of inserting catheters and avoiding liability, about professionalism, and how to keep physical and emotional distance between client and provider. But when Ben is more
For review from Macmillan:
Crewel
by Gennifer Albin
Sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret. Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.
A win from Silver’s Reviews:
Dangerous Past
by A. F. Ebbers
Airline Captain Frank Braden is being stalked by unknown assailants who must arrange his death to look like a suicide or an accident before a specific deadline. As if fate decided to inflict punishment on him now for assisting the CIA as a young pilot in ‘Nam 30 years ago, he and his surgeon wife, Nicole, suddenly tumbled into bankruptcy and the airliner that Braden is flying undergoes a terrifying and deadly decompression explosion. He is finally offered a million dollars and his wife’s life if he agrees not to attend a Senate Hearing in Washington.
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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
Share what you read last week and what you are currently reading.
Last week I listened to The Roots of the Olive Tree. Excellent story and a great audiobook too. Review coming up this week. I also read Innocent Victims, some psychological suspense, for RIP VII.
Reading/Listening This Week:
This week I’m reading What the Zang Boys Know for TLC Tours.
I’m listening to One Last Thing Before I Go. It’s witty and funny and I’m enjoying the narration. Next up is And When She Was Good.
What Are You Reading?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Yesterday was the first day of autumn and mother nature decided to surprise us with a cold front reminiscent of winter. Temperatures dipped into the low 30s, there were frost warnings, and the neighboring states to the north got snow! Ugh. While I’m glad to be rid of the oppressive heat, it is way too early for freezing cold.
So last night I dragged out the old sheets I use for “plant covers” and tucked in my garden for the night. Fortunately we stayed a few degrees above freezing and everything survived. Many of my plants are still lush and flowering and it would have been a shame to lose them. We’re supposed to have one more night of cold and then the mild temperatures return.
I try different things in the garden every year and this year I put together four shade barrels using house plants and leftovers plants from my flower boxes.
The photo above is the one along my back fence. This barrel receive about 25% sun and this is what it looks like now. The photo below was taken in early July. Usually the plants remain about this size, but the warmth this summer caused them to grow larger than usual. These are heat loving tropical plants and as long as they get lots of water, they will keep growing and flowering.
Below is what they looked like in May. The plants in the back are Coleus, on the left are Impatiens, to the right are Begonia, and in the center is Angel Wing Begonia. The green plant in the very front is a piece of Spider plant.
Any other gardeners out there?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Friday morning I grabbed my camera and binoculars and went for what I intended to be a quick walk before the rain started. When I got to the park, only a few blocks from my house, I was greeted by a virtual buffet of birds. Migration is in full swing and birds are heading south for the winter. In less than two hours I counted 22 species, and those were the ones I was able to positively identify; there were a lot more.
One of the migrants I was able to get a photo of was the Northern Waterthrush. It’s a common bird with a huge range, but is only seen in the US during migration. In the summer they breed in Alaska and much of Canada south to the northern U.S. They spend winters in the tropics.
To the right I’ve included a picture of the range map for the waterthrush to give an idea of how far they travel. Blue is the breeding range and orange the winter range.
Habitat was another clue to identifying the bird. During migration the waterthrush can often be found in the grasses along streams, marshes, and stagnant pools of water. Because of the drought, many of the ponds in the park have dried up. In a normal year the area where this bird was hopping around would have been filled with water, now it’s a marshy area.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Cascade
by Maryanne O’Hara
Narrated by Madeleine Lambert
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: AudioGO
Publish Date: August 16, 2012
Format: Audio, 11 hours | 32 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy – Intermediate
Rating: 4 of 5
Set during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Cascade is the story of Desdemona Hart, a young woman forced to abandon her dreams of finishing art school and return home when her father became ill and their house went into foreclosure.
Dez marries Asa, a local man who is financially secure and saves their home and business, the Cascade Shakespeare Theater, but she is unhappy being a wife and doesn’t want to have children. Two months later, Dez’s father dies and soon after she finds out that the Massachusetts Water Authority wants to flood their town to create a reservoir. To further complicate matters, Dez meets a fellow artist, Jacob Solomon. The two have much in common, and she feels a strong attraction toward him.
Dez feels trapped in a marriage she doesn’t want and dreams of moving to the city to pursue a career as an artist. Beautifully written and vividly set against a background of the doomed town of Cascade, we feel the conflicts that envelop Dez as she struggles with duty vs desire and ultimately she must make a difficult decision.
I’m not usually influenced by book trailers, but a few months ago I watched the beautiful production for this novel which made me put Cascade on my to-read list. It provides an excellent synopsis of the story, gives us background on the author’s inspiration and did a superb job of piquing my interest.
I listened to the audio version and while it was alright, I wasn’t excited about the performance. I’ve been struggling over explaining exactly what it was that I didn’t like and finally realized that it was a combination of issues. The narrator has a young voice, and while that was fine for Dez, it didn’t translate well for the older or male characters. At times the pacing felt a little off but for most of it I had no problem continuing listening. I think this was mostly personal preference on my part and I suggest listening to a sample of the audio before making a decision.
While this is historical fiction, the story itself is timeless. It built toward an ending that I wasn’t expecting with a twist that seemed to come out of nowhere; but yes, looking back it was there all the time. Haunting and a bit sad, it left something to think about long after I had finished the book. You don’t need to be a fan of historical fiction to enjoy this one. Recommended.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
have each won a copy of …
Where’d You Go Bernadette
by Maria Semple
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered the contest.
Check the sidebar for more giveaways.
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 