Red Mist
by Patricia Cornwell
Narrated by: Kate Burton
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: December 6, 2011
Format: Audio CD | 12 hours and 30 minutes
Rating: 4 of 5
I’m an old fan of the Kay Scarpetta novels having read the earlier books and enjoyed them immensely. When I was offered the opportunity to review the audio version of the newest release I agreed and looked forward to getting reacquainted with an old friend.
The story opens with Kay Scarpetta traveling to the Georgia Prison for Women for an interview with an inmate who has information on the murder Jack Fielding, Scarpetta’s former deputy chief. But this is just a ruse; the prisoner slips her a note to meet with Jamie Berger, a NY District Attorney familiar to Kay. Scarpetta knows she is being manipulated but she doesn’t know why and agrees to meet with Jamie. And then people start to die.
What I realized as I got further into the story was that this book picked up where the previous book, Port Mortuary, left off and that I missed a lot of changes in Scarpetta’s character over the last half of the series. She now appears to be angry and even paranoid. In the previous book someone tried to kill her; I suppose that would make her paranoid.
The novel is written from the perspective of Scarpetta. It does get detailed and at times technical but not so much that the reader will get lost. She throws in interesting facts about forensic science which I find fascinating. Although I didn’t read the previous book it was not a problem in following the plot. Patricia Cornwell gives us the background information we need which is why I still find her to be one of the best crime fiction writers. It took me an hour or two of listening and then the story began to take off.
The story was satisfying and had a few unanticipated twists that made for a good conclusion and one I didn’t see coming. The ending did wrap up quickly but we got our answers; mystery solved. You could jump into the series at this point with book #19 and enjoy it. Of course you would be missing a lot of the background and character development but you can always go back and read the earlier novels for that, which is what I intend to do now because I realize how much I enjoyed this series.
The narrator was Kate Burton and this was my first time listening to her read. I found her believable, if a bit monotone, as Scarpetta. Her change in accent made it clear when she switched to a different character or even gender. I finished listening to this one in only 4 days. Recommended for Scarpetta fans and those who like forensic science mysteries.
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Source: Audio copy provided by the publisher for review.
Have you heard about World Book Night?
World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the U.S. and the U.K. on April 23, 2012, tens of thousands of people will go out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out World Book Night free paperbacks.
The intent of World Book Night is to get 50,000 people to distribute one million books in their communities on the evening of Monday, April 23, 2012. Each volunteer will hand out 20 copies of a book they love to people they believe are not frequent readers. These can be people they know, or even to strangers, perhaps at a train station, coffee shop, hospital, etc. The possibilities are endless.
30 books were chosen for the giveaway and yesterday the titles were announced. It is an impressive group of books! It will be difficult to choose just one title.
How To Get Involved
World Book Night USA is now taking applications for Book Givers. The list of terms and conditions of being a giver are here.
Most importantly you must be:
• Aged 16 or over and a resident of the United States
• Able to pick up 20 copies of your book from your local bookshop or library
• Committed to giving your books away on World Book Night to non or light readers
Are you thinking of signing up?
Givers will be chosen based on where, to whom and why you want to give books away. I think it’s a great idea and I already have several places in mind where I’d like to pass out books. If I’m chosen!
Almost Wordless: This Cooper’s Hawk was hunting for dinner at my bird feeders. The red eyes indicates this is an adult. (Click for sharper image.)
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More Wordless Wednesday.
Arlee Bird of Tossing It Out and Miranda Sherman of Mom’s Bookshelf were winners of See Mix Drink.
Cassandra Ruiz of Book and Movie Dimension and Maureen were winners of In Other Worlds.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered the contest.
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 December host is Let Them Read Books.
More audio books this week, which is good because I’m still doing more listening than reading. I expect that to change once the winter weather arrives but so far it’s been mild here and outdoor activities are still pleasant.
Three audiobooks for review from the publisher:
D.C. Dead (A Stone Barrington Novel)
by Stuart Woods
After a shocking loss, Stone Barrington is at loose ends, unsure if he wants to stay in New York and continue his work as a partner at Woodman & Weld. It comes as a welcome relief when he’s summoned to Washington, D.C., by President Will Lee. The president has a special operation that calls for Stone’s unique skill set, and it’s a mission that will reunite him with his former partner in crime and in bed, Holly Barker.
The Devil’s Elixir (Templar #3)
by Raymond Khoury
Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin, heroes of Raymond Khoury’s bestselling Templar thrillers, return in an edge-of-your-seat story that reaches from the present day back to 1800s Mexico-and possibly beyond.
In The Devil’s Elixir, Sean and Tess find themselves in a race-against the clock, against drug kingpins, and even against the DEA-to merge two divergent trails, one several hundred years old, the other as current as a heartbeat, which together may lead humanity to the brink of annihilation.
The Prosperous Heart
by Julia Cameron
In The Prosperous Heart, the author of the international bestseller The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron presents a twelve-week program for using practical financial tools — in partnership with your creative heart and soul — to direct you to prosperity in all areas of your life. According to Cameron, true prosperity has very little to do with the amount of money we have in the bank.
For review from LibraryThing:
An Available Man
by Hilma Wolitzer
In this tender and funny novel, award-winning author Hilma Wolitzer mines the unpredictable fallout of suddenly becoming single later in life, and the chaos and joys of falling in love the second time around. When Edward Schuyler, a modest and bookish sixty-two-year-old science teacher, is widowed, he finds himself ambushed by female attention.
How was your week?:
The acrobatic little Downy Woodpecker can be found across most of the US and Canada and is one of the most familiar woodpeckers. They are year-round residents and do not migrate. They don’t mind people and will readily come to backyard feeders. The ones that frequent my yard are especially fond of suet and peanuts.
They are a small black and white bird with a black bill and can often be seen moving along tree trunks and limbs. You can usually hear them before you see them with their drumming on trees and whinnying call. Like most birds they are more vocal during the breeding season but I hear them making a pik pik pik call all year round. When flying they have a distinctive, bouncy rising-and-falling flight style as they swoop into the trees.
Males and females look alike except for a red patch on the back of the head of the male. The bird above is a female and the one to the left is a male.
Before I lost my mature elm trees last year to Dutch Elm disease I had several families of woodpeckers in those trees everyday. I saw five different species of woodpeckers in the elms that summer.
The bird on the right is a juvenile, a few months old. Juveniles are distinguished by the red cap on the top of their heads.
One afternoon I came home to find a male woodpecker sitting at the top of the feeder pole with three youngsters. He was showing them the suet and I imagine explaining to them that this is where they can find food.
One of the reasons I leave my feeders up during the summer, even though seeds and bugs are plentiful, is to watch the adults bring their fledglings to the feeder and teach them to eat by themselves.
I link up my bird photos on Saturday Snapshot hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
Digital Photography: A Basic Manual
by Henry Horenstein
Genre: Photography
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Publish Date: November 2, 2011
Format: Trade Paperback | 240 pages
Rating: 5 of 5
In the not too distant past, high quality camera equipment was expensive to buy and complex to operate. Today, digital cameras make it easy and affordable for everyone to take great pictures. With a little knowledge even the beginner can make shots that look like those of the pros.
This book is a beginning guide to learning and understanding the basics of digital photography. It is not an instruction manual for any one brand or type of camera. It is a guide which takes you through the process of taking the photo, editing the image, printing the picture and storing the digital copy. It is geared more toward a DSLR (Digital single-lens reflex) camera, but the author also includes point and shoot cameras in his discussion. Some of the point and shoot cameras are limited in the features they offer but many of the new ones are very sophisticated and techniques discussed in the book can be applied to them too.
There is a lot to learn but this book makes it easy with a multitude of examples and detailed explanations. There are many sidebars with helpful tips, definitions of terms and illustrations. Example photos are included to demonstrate many of the techniques being described. The book covers the same topics and points that would be taught in an introductory photography class. Chapters cover types of lenses, shutter speed, exposure, lighting, editing and printing.
This manual is very comprehensive; learn as much as you need to get started, play around with the camera, and then come back and learn something more complex. I have been taking digital photos since 2003 and have had my DSLR for a few years now but even I learned something new from this book. My Canon will shoot in RAW format but I always shoot in JPG, for convenience. Shooting in RAW will give me much more control in editing so I’m going to be working on those techniques.
Whether you are new to digital photography or just want to increase your skills with the camera, this is the book for you. One of the best things you can learn is how to change your camera settings and not rely on “auto”. The difference will be amazing.
My thanks to the publisher, Little, Brown & Company, for sending me a copy of this book for review. They are also generously allowing me to give away two copies to my readers (US and Canada only).
About The Author
Henry Horenstein is a widely published and exhibited professional photographer and the author of more than two dozen books, including the classic texts Black & White Photography, Beyond Basic Photography, and Color Photography, and monographs such as Creatures, Canine, and Racing Days. His work has appeared in Life, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, and Town & Country. Horenstein has taught photography at the Rhode Island School of Design for more than twenty years and is currently a professor there. He lives in Massachusetts.
Giveaway Information
- Contest is open to residents of US or Canada, no PO Boxes.
- To enter fill out the Entry Form. One entry per person. You may only win one copy per household and if you won this book on another blog you are not eligible to win again.
- You are not required to be a follower to enter although new subscribers are always appreciated.
- The deadline for entry is Sunday, December 18th. I will draw 2 winners using random.org. Winners will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address.
The book will be shipped by the publisher.
© Copyright 2009 – 2011 Under My Apple Tree
[Contest now closed]
Winners: Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea and Marjorie.
Under My Apple Tree 