I can’t believe we’re already over halfway through September. Yesterday was lovely and warm, but today feels like Fall. I’ve accepted that my summer is over, so I thought today would be a good day to talk about my progress in the Readers Imbibing Peril challenge.
I linked each of the titles to the book’s page on Amazon using my amazon associate ID. If you buy the book using my link, I receive a few cents, and it’s greatly appreciated.
Peril of the Fiction Read
The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon – This is the third book in the Inspector Maigret series. It was originally published in French in 1931 and was translated to English by Linda Coverdale and published by Penguin Classics in 2014. I hadn’t read anything else by Simenon, but read that this was one of his best. I really liked it. It’s different than most crime fiction in that it begins with a suicide, and Maigret blames himself for the death. His feeling of guilt leads him to look into why the man committed suicide leading him to uncover past crimes.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – This suspenseful thriller takes place in a dystopian future after most of Earth’s population dies from a terrible flu. The way the story is told connects certain artifacts to the people who created or owned them in the past before the flu and tells their stories and connections. The novel discusses the role of the arts for survival which I enjoyed. While I was reading, I discovered that the book had been turned into a streaming mini-series, so I look forward to watching it as a Peril of the Screen.
Confession of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro – This novel was full of voice. Told by the teen daughter of murdered parents in a locked room mystery, this novel tells a story of the perils of trying to manufacture perfection. Though I didn’t like how the police were portrayed, and was somewhat disappointed by the solution to the mystery, I did enjoy the rest of the characters, and how the story unfolded.
Peril of the Listen
Known to Evil by Walter Mosley: I have trouble concentrating on audio books, but like to listen to one while I’m doing chores like mowing. I enjoyed Walter Mosley’s Masterclass and wanted to become more familiar with his work, so I’ve been listening to this audio book for a while now and finally finished it for this Peril. The main character, Leonid, a private eye who tells the story in first person, has a complicated life that distracts from following the case, but also makes the story more about the investigator than the mystery which makes for an interesting telling.
Peril of the Screen
The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction from The Great Courses: I found this great series of lectures on Kanopy.com through my local library system. I’ll be enjoying the thirty-six episodes discussing the elements of Mystery and Suspense throughout the challenge. I’ve found the first five lectures informative so far.
And there’s a new season of Monstrum on PBS! – I discovered this series of videos about the history of different monsters last October and found it very fun and inspirational.
I look forward to reading about everyone else’s Perils through October. Feel free to leave links to your RIPXVIII posts in the comments.
Experience Writing 