December Digireads comments on Murder on the California Zephyr

In the prolog we meet an assassin with a "contract," but all we know about the contract is that "the game's afoot" as Sherlock would say.

A trip on the California Zephyr will be won by one of the crews that work in Ammunition Supply, one of the departments in Herlong, a defense outpost in the northern California desert.

As the men on the ammunition crews work to get the most "tonnage" to win the trip the Zephyr leaves Chicago with three passengers that have some connection with Herlong. What that connection is remains to be seen.

A gaggle of Herlong characters look forward to and finally board the Zephyr. Mark has been relieved of having to kill Dude Shibeley as he and Dude's wife board the Zephyr.

Harry Witmore, the assassin, uses his false FBI credential to send a message he hopes will allow his confederates to mount a diversion that will give him the chance to execute his contract on Smith/Wiggington.

And then there's the revenge that Shorty Cummings wants to take on Jones.

Will any of the killings take place on the train? We'll have to read on for the answer(s).

Some of the mystery surrounding Whitmore has been resolved, but not in the way he foresaw.

Mark Sheffield appears to have fulfilled Helen's desire to be rid of her husband.

The ongoing needling that Shorty lays on Wine is relentless. As he torments Wine for his use of "improved Spanish" Shorty plots to get his revenge on Jones for the death of Shorty's cousin at the hands of a Jones' relative.

Smith/Wiggington appears to have been relieved of the threat on his life. His view of the threat might be a reinforcement of the adage that "it seems too good to be true."

Are there more twists to the story? We'll have to finish the last quarter of the book for the answer.

Shorty's plot to take revenge on Brett Jones takes an unexpected twist.

Ballard, the conductor, is beset with one problem after another. It may well turn out to be the worst trip he's ever taken on the Zephyr.

Elaine Higgins retains her secret and begins to enjoy the train ride. She will be surprised and not pleasantly when the train arrives in Sacramento.

Ben Cranna, Mr. C.Z., is appalled and amused by the events that have caused Ballard so much heartburn.

The Herlong crews enjoy the scenery, the food and the ride. They appear to be the clientele the operators had in mind when they amalgamated their routes to form the California Zephyr.

This trip on the Zephyr will be one that all the riders will remember, some more enjoyably than others.

November Digireads for Duel at Sea II

The aftermath of Frank Berg's fight with the German raider is the essence of the two-edged sword: relief at being rescued, shock and anger at the death of Trudi Campbell.

In the meantime, Kurt Stein receives his next U-boat command with a new first watch officer. His mission to transport agents to the United States chafes at his dedication to give payback to the allies for the death of his wife.

Another duel at sea between Berg and Stein appears inevitable.

Frank Berg and George Winter see the modified Liberty ship that will be Berg's new command.

Meanwhile, Kurt Stein delivers the German agents to the fishing boat that will take them ashore. Their mission is to try to find out anything they can about the US Navy's new anti-submarine weapon.

One half of the new anti-submarine weapon is the Liberty ship the other is a well equipped Naval blimp. Frank Berg tours the huge blimp hangar at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station. He sees a WAVE that bears a striking resemblance to Trudi Campbell. In fact, her name is Anne Campbell, but she doesn't believe she's related to Trudi.

What lies ahead for Frank Berg and Anne Campbell? What will Kurt Stein's wolf pack mean for Berg and Winter? What will become of the German spies? All questions we hope will be answered as the story unfolds.

Frank Berg clears himself and George Winter with Naval Intelligence regarding their knowledge and possible relationship with the two spies who gave a performance at the Christmas gala.

Meanwhile, Kurt Stein torpedoes and sinks a tanker off the southern coast of the U.S.

The modified Liberty ship Charles Maguffin sets sail along with a U.S. Navy blimp.

The Maguffin is attacked by a U-boat killing the forward gun crew. Rather than using a torpedo the submarine uses its deck gun to damage Maguffin. The blimp crew uses its FIDO weapon to severely damage and ultimately sink the U-boat.

Berg orders his crew to pick up the German survivors. Maguffin returns to port to have its damage repaired.

What's next for Berg and the ship?

Frank Berg thought he'd successfully tamped down any further inquiry into his or George Winter's potential ties to the German spies. The FBI wasn't as convinced as Naval Intelligence.

Meanwhile Kurt Stein has to procure a new water distiller and then await the order from Submarine High Command as to what his wolf pack should do.

Frank Berg and George Winter along with the electronic experts and the blimp crew venture out to give the TRACC system another combat test.

Kurt Stein is finally left as the last member of his wolf pack to intercept Charles Maguffin with the intent of capturing the new secret antisubmarine weapon.

In the ensuing battle, Maguffin is critically disabled, Berg is wounded and Kurt Stein scuttles his U-boat after allowing his crew to leave and become prisoners of war.

Is Frank Berg finished with his naval duty? We'll have to wait to find out in Duel at Sea III.

The Persian Pickle Club

Ever wanted to know how women in the Midwest coped with the Great Depression of the 1930’s? If so, then Sandra Dallas’ book will satisfy part of your curiosity.

Centered around a more or less weekly quilting “bee,” The Persian Pickle Club details the lives and times of the women who take pleasure in piecing and quilting in the Kansas town of Harveyville.

If you wish to read  my complete comments on this book, as well as comments on 64 other books then you can find all of them in "Book Blogs," available on Amazon in either softcover or digital:
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October comments on "The Book of Astaroth"

During the reading of "The Book of Astaroth" we learned enough about Sam Grimes’ background, work history and world view to show us that he’d profited from the sexual revolution of the sixties. He’d also found that somewhere in his mind or genome lurked the potential to murder. Like us Sam never discovered whether it had to do with Astaroth, the book, his own incessant repetition of the phrases from the book or some internal fault in his makeup. Sadly he never questioned the reality of his experience and that lack places him squarely with others who live the unexamined life.

Sam Grimes appears to make inadvertently bad decisions. A perfect example was his going to see Sally and Sari after his experimental college attempt to raise Astaroth. His need or perhaps desire to experience a two-fer with the women led to unintended consequences in the form of a detective asking him about the last time he saw Sari alive. Another load for him to carry while trying to prepare for the master’s exam. He doesn’t know whether she was really alive when he left and neither do we.

Was it suicide or was it murder? After the gruesome happening in the university cafeteria, Sam has to confront a horror in The Barn, another university venue. He thinks about his experimental college class. Did the student's death have something to do with the illustration Sam requested? More questions than answers as the story progresses.

One has to wonder where Sam Grimes was prior to his stint at the university. That question arises from his obvious enthrallment with the results of the sexual revolution. In the current academic environment he would probably face criminal charges or at the very least be banished from the campus and lose his teaching assistanceship. And where did his enthusiasm for primates come from? We'll have to read on to see whether our questions will be answered

Danke

an alle deutschen Leser, danke

Digireads comments for September

The hidden agenda behind a courteous reception often gives hope when no satisfactory resolution will be forthcoming. Pleasantries and small talk often hide a deep-seated bias against the person who, though hardly naive, nonetheless presents facts that may act as a trigger to unleash an obstruction that may prove to be insurmountable.

Before the Peace Corps or the N.G.O.'s, volunteers went to Africa to try to ameliorate the conditions under which Boer women and children suffered. For the most part volunteers either paid their way or were sponsored by established charities. The government resisted subsidizing them as they were thought to be too political and therefore disruptive of the government's approach.

The very narrow line between politics and charity is more often honored in the breach. An inadvertent crossing is forgivable; however accusing someone who adamantly respects the line, especially if the purveyor of charity is of the opposite political persuasion, taints the charitable effort. The result of such a political canard often means that those who would contribute to the relief of temporary displacement spurn the charity and thus deprive the unfortunates of needed succor.

War may be like a fever that rises to a crescendo as it runs its course. In that difficult process reputations as well as lives lay wasted as the juggernaut struggles toward its acme. When the fever breaks and the guns fall silent little thought is given by the warring factions to the months of agony just experienced by those who in the current parlance are collateral damage. One of those people so characterized was Emily Hobhouse, a woman whose only goal was to minimize the suffering of Boer women and children. Rather than succumbing to either depression or revenge she rose above being a victim to accept the accolades of a grateful people, not in her own country but in the war torn region of South Africa.

August Digireads comments

To continue in spite of overwhelming odds is a choice few, if any, are prepared to make. Assessing the utility of continuing and balancing that assessment against a cessation in favor of resting, regrouping and then returning often moves the decision in favor of discontinuing, perhaps to reenter the fray from a more substantial position.

War and natural disasters have similar results for people in the affected zone: loss of life and property as well as a feeling of hopelessness. Picking up the remnants of lives so brutalized is a difficult and time consuming task. Human kindness can often be the difference between despair and renewal.

What is now called "asymmetric warfare," i.e., a modern army versus guerrilla forces doesn't produce victory for either side; rather the result is a protracted loss of life and property. In the midst of such struggles doctors who uphold the Hippocratic Oath treat friend and foe alike.

Scorched earth, collateral damage, death and destruction: all words and phrases that try to describe the misery that war brings to the people of a geographic area. Once begun, the fury of prosecuting the war has no limits until one side breaks under the awful strain.