The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox

"After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper."

With an opening line like that, I felt The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox would make a good choice as my final book for the RIP V Challenge. That and Michael Cox's association with ghost stories. As an added bonus, it would count as my seventh book in the Typically British Challenge. So, uncertain of what I was really getting in to, I set off on a 700 page journey into Victorian England.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the varied blurbs on the cover. Cox's writing is compared to Dickens, Austen, Trollope, Wilkie Collins and the Brontes. The story itself is described as spooky, thrilling, haunting, stunning, and fascinating.

Turn out it's an easy and quite enjoyable book to read. Written in the form of a "confession", it is edited by a fictitious Cambridge professor who provides a number of informative footnotes.... some of which blurred the line between fact and fiction in keeping with the storyline. Throughout the novel we follow the life and obsessions of the narrator, Edward Glyver. And obsessions they most assuredly are: love, hate, wealth, revenge. We encounter murder, deception, mystery, and decadence.

Despite the length of this book and being a slow reader, I never once lost interest in the plot. Cox writes in a way that totally drew me in and kept me there. It was one of those rare books that kept me thinking about the characters when I had to leave their world for my own.

Stiff by Mary Roach

Mary Roach use to write a monthly column for Reader's Digest called "My Planet". It was often informative, occasionally irreverent, and always funny. She sometimes contributed to another favorite magazine of mine, Discover, and it was there I saw a review for Stiff. I requested the book for Christmas that year and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since (seven years!!).

While perusing my shelves for books that would fit the RIP V Challenge (click on sidebar image for details), I realized Stiff would be perfect. Consider the full title: Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. This is not fiction, folks, and not for the squeamish or faint of heart. However, Mary Roach has a knack of being able to tackle a sobering topic like this with enough humor to keep it interesting and not too dry, yet not so much that it becomes flippant or disrespectful. I was entertained, informed, and yes...a bit grossed out in a few places. Actually, it was the parts which described experiments using live dogs that disturbed me the most.

The book is divided into twelve chapters covering a variety of topics. For example, Chapter One deals with using cadaver heads for learning (or brushing up on) surgical procedures, often by plastic surgeons. Chapter Two looks back into the history of human dissection and body snatching. Chapter Three focuses on the science of what happens to the body after death and takes a visit to the "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee. Other chapters cover things like what can be learned from bodies in plane crashes, their use by the military and auto safety industry, religious experiments and the search for the soul, transplants, cannibalism, and of course... options for what to do with your body after you're through living in it.

With the exception of a few "insecty" things, I'm not a squeamish person and have a fairly strong stomach. I remember being grossly fascinated by my older (by 12 years) brother's textbooks when he was in medical school. (Ironically, he was a pathologist and therefore dealt with more than his share of cadavers) So, I'll admit I thought this was a very interesting book. I learned a lot (maybe more than I really needed to know in some cases) and laughed a lot in the process.

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

The Crossing Places is the first in a new crime series by Elly Griffiths introducing Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist. The story takes place in a remote fictional area of Norfolk, England known as the Saltmarsh and begins with the discovery of a child's bones, possibly those of a girl who disappeared ten years earlier. Ruth is brought in for consultation by Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson, whose inability to solve the case has weighed heavily on him over the years. Galloway and Nelson make an interesting team as they set out to solve the mystery. Things become more complicated when another child goes missing. Mysterious letters with Pagan, Christian, literary and archaeological references lead them to question whether the two disappearances are connected and if they were modeled on the ritual human sacrifices of the Iron Age.

One of my favorite things about this novel was the "likability" of the central character, Dr. Ruth Galloway. She is portrayed as slightly overweight, a bit of a loner, and a touch insecure. In other words, she isn't your typical heroine. I found her very easy to relate to. It's an exciting, well written debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to Dorte for introducing me to this series. You can read her excellent review here.

This novel is my sixth for the Typically British Reading Challenge and my second for the RIP V Challenge.

Nemesis by Lindsey Davis

Nemesis by Lindsey Davis is the 20th of the "Marcus Didius Falco" novels. One of my favorite series, I look forward to each offering with great anticipation. Filled with the usual dry humor, entertaining characters, and clever writing, this book had a darker edge to it than some of the previous Falco mysteries. Although I enjoy the installments that have Falco traipsing around the Empire, I was glad to have him back in Rome for the majority of this one. Davis does a great job of keeping her characters from becoming stale and I think this was one of her best to date.

From the inside cover:

"In the high summer of A.D. 77, Roman informer Marcus Didius Falco is newly bereaved and facing unexpected upheavals in his life, so it comes as a relief for his to consider someone else's misfortunes. A middle-aged couple who supplied statues to his father, Geminus, have disappeared in mysterious circumstances. They had an old feud with a bunch of notorious freedmen, the Claudii, who live in the Pontine Marshes, terrorizing the neighborhood.

When a mutilated corpse turns up near Rome, Falco and his vigiles friend Petronius investigate, but just as they are making progress, the Chief Spy, Anacrites, snatches their case away from them, making it clear that the violent Claudii have acquired protection at the highest level.

Refusing to abandon their inquiries, Falco and Petronius instead dig deeper, seeking answers while a psychotic killer keeps taking more victims, and the shocking truth creeps closer and closer to home."

This book was my first for the R.I.P. V Challenge and my fifth for the Typically British Challenge.

R.I.P. V Challenge

I just discovered a reading challenge at Jenners' blog that I don't think I can pass up! Hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril V Challenge embraces mystery, suspense, thrillers, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, and the supernatural. This is the fifth year for the challenge (thus the V) and the gorgeous artwork associated with it is by Jennifer Gordon.

Since I started a new book last night that fits the bill (a mystery) I decided I might as well jump in a give it a go. I'm going to be brave and attempt the "Peril the First" and read four books. The challenge officially runs from September 1st through October 31st. If you want all the particulars on the challenge (and perhaps join in), you can click here for all the info.


I have several books on my shelf that will fit the challenge. I do know that two of my four will be Nemesis by Lindsey Davis and The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. In keeping with mystery and suspense.... the other two books remain to be seen!