Book Log 2021 #51: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Alexander Rostov is a Russian count, and his aristocratic ways land him in front of a Bolshevik tribunal in the early days of the Soviet Union. He refuses to renounce his past, and seems headed to a firing squad, but a poem he wrote with revolutionary themes is enough to spare him the bullet. He is sentenced to life under house arrest in the Hotel Metropol. 

Moved from his suite to the servant's quarters, Rostov begins to rebuild his life in the confines of the hotel, developing new relationships with employees and guests, one of which leads to an unexpected change in status.

This book is lushly written, but in a way that's fitting a noble main character and the clientele that can still afford a luxury hotel. It also takes great delight in showing how the count and his new friends work within (and around) the new order, both when the stakes are low and when they're at their highest. There's also a novel structure where each chapter doubles the number of days after the start of the story, and then halves them after the midway point. It sounds like something that could be gimmicky, but I really didn't even notice it at the time. 

One of the better books I've read this year, and very recommended. 

 Book Log 2021 #50: The Potter's Field by Ellis Peters

The brothers of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul are preparing a new field for planting, one gained in a land swap with another abbey as both possessed plots that were closer to the other. The plowing of the long-fallow field is abruptly halted when it turns up the body of a young woman. The field had, until recently, been used by a local potter before he opted to take monastic vows. His wife was believed to have left with another man - or did she? 

As usual, brother Cadfael gets involved in trying to solve the mystery, which appears to be tied to a young novice from another abbey, which is under pressure from men loyal to the Empress Maud. 

Another solid outing, made a little more interesting by the potter turned monk. This is one of the rare cases where the person taking vows gets to fully examine the consequences of rejecting the secular life. Usually we only get a general judgement on whether or not the person should become a monk, which doesn't provide as much depth to the story as we got here.

 Book Log 2021 #49: The Kaiser's Web by Steve Berry

Cotton Malone stays in central Europe for this outing, where the results of the pending German election seem to hinge on what happened one spring day in 1945. The questions about what happened on the day Hitler apparently killed himself - did anyone survive, and where did all of the wealth accumulated by the Nazis go? - color the race between an Angela Merkel-type candidate and an opponent stoking up the same sentiments that took Germany into war.

Pretty typical entry in the series, probably a little better than the previous one although the big twist seemed pretty obvious. As with many of these books, it's right in the airport bookstore sweet spot.

 Book Log 2024 #48: Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty

When a murder-suicide crosses Sean Duffy's desk, he suspects that there's more to the story than meets the eye, and he's right. Very right. His investigation uncovers events taking place at the highest reaches of government, and threaten to put some very poweful people in the soup.

And that's when MI5 show up looking to take him off the case.

It felt like this is what the previous three books was building towards, with each case putting Duffy just a little deeper into the nexus of politics and crime, but now with personal consequences that can match the professional.  

I'm hopeful that this series goes long enough to transition me off of John Rebus once Ian Rankin allows him to retire (like that will ever happen).

 Book Log 2021 #47: Service of All the Dead by Colin Dexter

Inspector Morse is on vacation, and rather than go away on holiday he is puttering around Oxford.  He finds himself at St. Frideswide, where he learns that not only was the church warden murdered, but the vicar later committed suicide by throwing himself off of the bell tower. Morse takes an interest in the deaths, and when the investigating detective comes down with the flu, Morse and Lewis are put on the case.

As usual, Morse formulates a number of theories about who may have killed both men, and they are all wrong. But for each false start, more evidence comes to light, and Morse is able to determine who the killer is, and who may be their next victim.

While this book takes on a number of the common traits of Morse novels, it's structure is unique. It's broken into four parts, with the second part being the most like a standard Morse novel. The first part delves into the background of several St. Frisewide parishoners, the third part takes the form of an official police statement taken by Morse, and the last part covers the court proceedings into the crimes.

It's a strong Morse outing, enlivened by the unusual structure.