Book Log 2018 #4: Birthdays for the Dead by Stuart MacBride

Ash Henderson is a police detective with a secret. His daughter was taken by a kidnapper known as the the Birthday Boy, who snatches girls around their 13th birthdays, and then sends the family a photo of their daughter in various states of distress every year on the girl's birthday. But he's not told his colleagues, as if they knew that his daughter wasn't just a runaway they would take him off the case.

I picked this up because I liked MacBride's series with Logan MacRae and was having trouble finding the newer books at the library (there should be a law that if a library starts carrying a series they need to have at least one copy of each book in the series). I don't remember much about the book (writing this well after reading), but it was probably fine. I've not bothered to read any additional books in the series, though, so take from that what you will. I don't even recall looking for the next book, so it's not like I can blame the library for not following up.

Book Log 2018 #3: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Full disclosure time: I am the parent of a child who has an autism spectrum disorder. I don't know if I've ever really talked about it here, but I tend to think not as (a) there's no label for it among the post labels that have accumulated over the years, and (b) I don't post much here on anything that isn't related to books I've read or Lent.  I probably won't get much more into it going forward, but thought it made some sense to mention this in relation to this book, as it would be hard for me talk about it without referencing personal experience to some degree.

As you might guess from the title, the book involves an incident that took place in the night involving a dog. The main character, Chris, takes it upon himself to investigate the incident to figure out who is responsible for what happened. Chris is never given a specific diagnosis, but it's clear from his various sensory and social issues that he has some sort of ASD (blurbs for the book mention both Asperger's Syndrome and high-functioning autism), which complicates the investigation even while it doesn't allow Chris to drop it. When the case takes a very surprising turn, Chris has to face a new reality and his own plan for confronting it, eclipsing the original investigation.

My child does not share many of the behaviors and challenges that Chris has, but I could see similarities in how they both work through the day, and in how surprises can throw them off. I did think a little about how my child might be like Chris at his age (he's in high school), which I had not really done previously. So the book certainly helped me as a parent, beyond just being an interesting read. Regardless of your personal experience with autism, I do think this is a book worth reading.

Book Log 2018 "#3": 1493 by Charles Mann

Turns out I read this book in 2012, and didn't consult this very book log when I took it out and read it (again) in 2018. Turns out I pretty much felt the same way about the book then as I do now (not quite as good as 1491 but still pretty darn good). Though I don't know that not remembering that I'd read it before is much of an endorsement.

Book Log 2018 #2: The Sanctuary Sparrow by Ellis Peters

A young musician claims sanctuary at the abbey church, as he is accused of robbing and killing a goldsmith while performing at his wedding. Sanctuary is granted, and the authorities (and Brother Cadfael) have 40 days to figure out who attacked the goldsmith (who lived, though there is at least one other murder that crops up later).

This is as good as any other book in the series, and is solidly sets the trope of the accused finding true love while needing their name cleared. I did read one critique of the book that called it more sentimental than others, as the murderer is found relatively early and there's more after-story about the people involved (and a wedding). Not sure if I'd say that makes the book sentimental, but it is different.

Book Log 2018 #1: The Infidel Stain by M. J. Carter

I really enjoyed Carter's first novel, The Strangling Vine (which I apparently didn't log), a mystery set in colonial India featuring a low-level officer of the British East India company and a special investigator who appears to have gone native. I apparently liked this one quite a bit, too - I gave it four stars on Goodreads - but I have a vague feeling I liked it less (as with most of 2017, I'm posting this well after the actual read date). It's set three years after the first book, and back in England. Maybe I was less happy about the change of scenery.

I was surprised to see that there was a title change (you'll see that if you click on the link), and have no idea if it's an improvement or not. I also see that there's a third book, which goes on my list of books to read.