It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at  Book Journey. For this meme, bloggers post what they finished last week, what they're currently reading, and what they plan to start this week. 
I

Finished this week:

You can read the synopsis in last week's post. I also wrote about the book over here.

Started this week and abandoned:

I didn't get very far into this book to realize I hated it. I was drawn in by the Templar seal on the cover but it barely touches on them. It is set in the fourteenth century and I couldn't get interested in it. The characters are shallow and uninteresting.

Still on my reading agenda but will not get read this week as I will be away and this is a hard copy!!

Also finished this week:

From the book jacket:

On a winter day in 2008, Håkan von Enke, a retired high-ranking naval officer, vanishes during his daily walk in a forest near Stockholm. The investigation into his disappearance falls under the jurisdiction of the Stockholm police. It has nothing to do with Wallander—officially. But von Enke is his daughter’s future father-in-law. And so, with his inimitable disregard for normal procedure, Wallander is soon interfering in matters that are not his responsibility, making promises he won’t keep, telling lies when it suits him—and getting results. But the results hint at elaborate Cold War espionage activities that seem inextricably confounding, even to Wallander, who, in any case, is troubled in more personal ways as well. Negligent of his health, he’s become convinced that, having turned sixty, he is on the threshold of senility. Desperate to live up to the hope that a new granddaughter represents, he is continually haunted by his past. And looking toward the future with profound uncertainty, he will have no choice but to come face-to-face with his most intractable adversary: himself.

I enjoyed this book even though it is about spies, not one of ny favourite topics. However, I did find it extremely depressing how the main character laments constantly throughout  the book about being sixty years old and how old he is and dwelling on dying. I found this quite tiresome .

Started this week:

From the book jacket:

From the very first page of David Peace's first novel, 1974, it soon becomes clear that something is rotten in the state of Yorkshire: a young girl is missing. The Yorkshire Post's young but disillusioned crime correspondent, Edward Dunford, is assigned to the story, while also coping with the recent death of his father and his return to his native Yorkshire after a brief and unsuccessful stint in Fleet Street. For the jaded Dunford, it's just another story; the only intrigue is whether the girl will be found dead or alive before Christmas--that is, until she is discovered brutally murdered, face down in a ditch with a pair of swan's wings sewn into her back. As Dunford follows the case, he begins to make a series of terrifying connections with a string of child murders, plunging him into a gut-wrenching nightmare of corruption, violence, sadism, blackmail, and sexual obsession--from the upper echelons of local government to the tacky heart of Yorkshire darkness.

As Peace's tale of corruption and conspiracy unravels, it becomes clear that 1974 is as influenced by Orwell's own bleak vision of Britain in 1984as it is by the wonderfully evoked atmosphere of the mid '70s. The Bay City Rollers, Leeds United, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, and Vauxhall Viva'sall make an appearance. The novel works at several levels, from the brilliantly unsentimental homecoming of the gifted, alienated northern son to a terrifyingly accurate portrayal of an insular, tribal community. The plot is complex and frenetic, and Peace often neglects loose ends, especially as he builds to an extremely powerful climax. Yet the dialogue is fast, witty, and violent; a must-read for fans of Yorkshire Gothic. --Jerry Brotton

 I thoroughly had enjoyed reading GB84 that I want to read more of David Peace. This is the first book in the series of four.

2012 books read:
The Coast Road - John Brady
Still Midnight - Denise Mina
The Bulgari Connection - Fay Weldon
Good Bait - John Harvey
The Heretic's Treasure - Scott Mariani 
Dead I Well May Be - Adrian McKinty
The Devil's Elixir - Raymond Khoury 
A Darker Domain - Val McDermid
The Impossible Dead - Ian Rankin 
GB84 - David Peace 
The Emperor's Tomb - Steve Berry
Stonehenge Legacy - Sam Christer
Inquisition - Alfredo Colitto ABANDONED!

Stonehenge

When we visited Stonehenge a couple of years ago our guide Steve mentioned a town that Wikipedia describes as:
Imber is an uninhabited village in part of the British Army's training grounds on the Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. It is situated in an isolated area of the Plain, about 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the A360 road between Tilshead and West Lavington. The entire civilian population was evacuated in 1943 to provide an exercise area for American troops preparing for the invasion of Europe during the Second World War. After the war villagers were not allowed to return to their homes. The village, which is still classed as an urban entity, remains under the control of the Ministry of Defence despite several attempts by former residents to return. Non-military access is limited to several open days a year.

On 1 November 1943, with preparations for the Allied invasion of mainland Europe underway, the people of Imber were called to a meeting in the village schoolroom and given 47 days' notice to leave their homes. Imber was to be used by US forces to practise street fighting. Richard Madigan's evidence to the Defence Lands Committee (DLC) stated that street fighting practice never took place and that his, and others', duties were to keep the village in good repair for the villagers' eventual return. The reason for evacuation was the village's proximity to shell impact areas. Although upset about being forced to leave, most villagers put up no resistance, even leaving canned provisions in their kitchens and taking the view that it was their duty to contribute to the war effort in this way — making sacrifices on the Home Front for the greater good. Compensation for the move was limited, and the occupants of one farm had to be forcibly evacuated by the Army. Albert Nash, who had been the village's blacksmith for over forty years, is said to have been found sobbing over his anvil and later became the first resident to die and be brought back to Imber for burial.

After the war the village was used extensively for training, particularly preparing soldiers for their duties in the urban environments of Northern Ireland. Several empty house-like buildings were constructed during the 1970s to aid training, and it is these, along with the church and Imber Court, that are Imber's most striking buildings today. Although training continues at Imber, a purpose-built urban warfare complex for close quarters battle at Copehill Down (approx 3 miles SE) has recently been the focus of this type of training, as that site is easier to adapt to reflect the areas in which troops are likely to be deployed.

When we got home this town intrigued me but I couldn't remember its name to read further about it.


Then this week I started reading a book called The Stonehenge Legacy which takes place around the area.









The town of Imber is featured in this book. I have to say I did not like this book when I first started it as I thought it was set in medieval times, not a period I really enjoy reading. However as I read further and realized it was set in today's times I got really interested in the story. Also since I had visited the area I could picture the majesty of Stonehenge and understand the draw it has for many people.
This is the author's first book and he has certainly done his research and captivated me with the history.


From the book jacket:
Eight days before the summer solstice, a man is butchered in a blood-freezing sacrifice on the ancient site of Stonehenge before a congregation of robed worshippers. Within hours, one of the world's foremost treasure hunters has shot himself in his country mansion. And to his estranged son, young archaeologist Gideon Chase, he leaves a cryptic letter. Teaming up with an intrepid policewoman, Gideon soon exposes a secret society-an ancient international legion devoted for thousands of years to Stonehenge.With a charismatic and ruthless new leader at the helm, the cult is now performing ritual human sacrifices in a terrifying bid to unlock the secret of the stones. Packed with codes, symbology, relentless suspense, and fascinating detail about the history of one of the world's most mysterious places, The Stonehenge Legacy is a blockbuster to rival the very best of Dan Brown. 


 Warminster is also mentioned in this book.


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It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at  Book Journey. For this meme, bloggers post what they finished last week, what they're currently reading, and what they plan to start this week. 
It's been a slow reading week, with other stuff getting in the way.
Also I seem to be stuck on suspense stories mainly because I have a backlog of them on my reader and want to finish them before buying new books.


Finished this week:

Synopsis here.
I like most of Berry's books, easy to read, interesting back story, intriguing characters, and he does a lot of research on his topics.  I especially liked this story as it involved the Terra Cotta Warriors in China which we had visited a couple of years ago.
However, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the previous Cotton Malone's sagas. I have never been fond of the character  Cassiopeia Witt who returns in Berry’s sixth book as she intertwines her tale  to rescue a boy (weak  storyline) and get involved in a political intrigue in China. 
Still a good read but not very memorable.

Started this week:

From the book jacket:
Eight days before the summer solstice, a man is butchered in a blood-freezing sacrifice on the ancient site of Stonehenge before a congregation of robed worshippers. Within hours, one of the world's foremost treasure hunters has shot himself in his country mansion. And to his estranged son, young archaeologist Gideon Chase, he leaves a cryptic letter. Teaming up with an intrepid policewoman, Gideon soon exposes a secret society-an ancient international legion devoted for thousands of years to Stonehenge.With a charismatic and ruthless new leader at the helm, the cult is now performing ritual human sacrifices in a terrifying bid to unlock the secret of the stones. Packed with codes, symbology, relentless suspense, and fascinating detail about the history of one of the world's most mysterious places, The Stonehenge Legacy is a blockbuster to rival the very best of Dan Brown.


I didn't like this book at the start but then it started to grow on me. We had visited Stonehenge a couple of years ago.

Started a couple of weeks ago and still in my reading pile (it's not in my regular reading pile):
 
Synopsis here.



2012 books read:
The Coast Road - John Brady
Still Midnight - Denise Mina
The Bulgari Connection - Fay Weldon
Good Bait - John Harvey
The Heretic's Treasure - Scott Mariani 
Dead I Well May Be - Adrian McKinty
The Devil's Elixir - Raymond Khoury 
A Darker Domain - Val McDermid
The Impossible Dead - Ian Rankin 
GB84 - David Peace
The Emperor's Tomb - Steve Berry