Peachy Reads

Back in London, Peter Grant is called to investigate the unfortunate overdose death of a school acquaintance of Lady Tyburn’s daughter.   And there are faces for everyone-- Lesley May reappears with a new face, and the Faceless Man is faceless no more.   A bit disappointingly,  Nightingale has more of a peripheral role in this installment of the series.   And while, sure, there are a lot of magical goings-on and some rather fantastic battles, the plot was a little ho-hum, almost like the author phoned it in.   I notice, based on customer reviews, that other readers felt a change in the series with this book as well.     Maybe it has run its course.   Still love the London settings and the local color, but I think I’m less inclined to continue with the next novel when it comes out.

Another police procedural set in Sweden.   The last Henning Mankell book I read featured a character who had successfully overcome cancer. This book (which was published first) centers on this individual, Stefan Lindman, as he frets over his diagnosis and also becomes involved in the murder investigation of a former colleague on the police force.   Wallander is nowhere to be found in this book, and though the feel is the same, this book is set largely in remote, rugged, and woodsy  Härjedalen , near  Östersund , far from the flat seaside landscape of Ystad.    The plot deals with a little known aspect of Sweden’s stance in World War II, and how some individuals thought that Hitler represented the only answer to halt the spreading Soviet influence within Europe.   And how Nazism survives even today in corners of Sweden. Found this on Hoopla to download for free through the library.