Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz

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Love the concept. But the 3rd book in the Jane Hawk series seemed to drag.

Jane Hawk Books

The Silent Corner(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Whispering Room(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Crooked Staircase(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Forbidden Door(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Night Window(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon

Jane Hawk knows she may be living on borrowed time. But as long as she’s breathing, she’ll never cease her one-woman war against the terrifying conspiracy that threatens the freedom—and free will—of millions.

Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane’s husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive, relentlessly hunted not only by the government but by the secret cabal behind the plot.

Deploying every resource their malign nexus of power and technology commands, Jane’s enemies are determined to see her dead . . . or make her wish she was.

Jane’s ruthless pursuers can’t stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call.

Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will make her way from southern Southern California to the snow-swept slopes of Lake Tahoe to confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her.

We Did OK Kid by Anthony Hopkins

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Every list of greatest actors includes Anthony Hopkins.

Unique and fascinating performances, including — of course — Hannibal Lecter, for which he won his 1st Oscar.

We Did Ok, Kid: A Memoir (2025) was widely praised by critics.

I enjoyed the book, but found it somewhat too self effacing.

Very little time was given over to his best and most important films.

He talks about his decades-long estrangement from his daughter and his battle with alcoholism.

Details remembers his childhood as a “loner” and “underachiever” in postwar Wales, heavily influenced by a “tough” father.

He includes many of his favourite poems, a nice touch.

related – Kate Mossman was disappointed.


Eric Maurice McCharles 1931 – 2025

On By Rick McIn McCharles family, photos, video11 Comments

Dad died March 9, 2025, at night, peacefully in his sleep.

Both the Canadian Red Cross and B.C. Health Care system were fantastic supporting his final days.

I was thinking this would be the way I’d like to go.

All palliative care was delivered in the home. Better than the hospice or hospital, in our experience.

___________________

I’d always liked the photo below on a German document. Dad had it posted on the fridge.

We could assume it was a military I.D. from his years serving with the Canadian Armed Forces in Deutschland — BUT it turned out to be his German Fishing Licence from 1962.

I’m posting this photo as it preceded the injury suffered while Dad was playing hockey for the Canadian Forces team. He lost an eye from a skate to the face which led to a medical discharge from the Army.

… Dad loved fishing. He owned 6 boats over his lifetime.

End of life came shockingly quickly.

One day we were grocery shopping and downing chicken wings at the local eatery. The next his bodily systems began to shut down.

One of the first warning signs was a loss of interest in watching his favourite TV shows: Hogan’s Heroes, Perry Mason, Matlock, Father Brown, Bonanza, Beverley Hillbillies, Green Acres.

Dad loved routine. Every day the same schedule. Any change not appreciated.

Here’s a slideshow of photos from his retirement years. Dad died age-94 — still with a driver’s licence.

Dad and I spent many days at French Creek Marina watching birds in the river delta.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Mom & Dad bought insurance in 2014 which paid for most of their funeral expenses. In fact, all we had to do was make one phone call to a 24 hour / day number and most of the arrangements were made for us. It simplified things immensely when we were grieving.

In addition, they’d simplified their estate as much as possible. We still had one investment that required probate, but the rest was very easy.

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundathi Roy

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Arundathi Roy is best known for for her novel The God of Small Things (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the biggest-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author.

BUT she’s actually only written two novels.

Arundathi Roy is more of a political activist than writer.

Mother Mary Comes to Me (2025) is her memoir, critically praised. I enjoyed it, as well, but found it too self-critical.

It’s original in publishing an autobiography much centred on her complex relationship with mother, Mary Roy.

I wish she’d write more novels.

Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer 

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Rubbernecker (2014) is an award-winning crime novel by Belinda Bauer that follows Patrick Fort, a medical student with Asperger’s Syndrome who suspects the cadaver he is dissecting was murdered. Most reviewers describe it as a dark, original, and compelling thriller with a uniquely well-drawn protagonist. 

According to The Sunday Times, “one of the most startling plots in contemporary crime fiction”. 

Patrick Fort: An anatomy student who sees the world through the lens of his neurodivergence. 

The Coma Patient: A significant portion of the book is told from the perspective of Sam, a man in a “locked-in” state after a car accident. 

… detailed accounts of car crashes and anatomy lab dissections may be too gruesome for the squeamish.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Visiting Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

On By Rick McIn cycling, food, travelLeave a comment

Nobody’s favourite tourist city, Dar es Salaam is sprawling and congested. Largest city in East Africa by population ➙ approaching 8 million.

The capital since 1996 is Dodoma.

Best news is the Dar es Salaam bus rapid transit system under construction. It reminds me of the excellent system I used in Rio.

Unfortunately progress has slowed after the death of President John Magufuli who initiated the program. Locals blame corruption.

Best thing I did in Dar was a personal half day cycling tour of the city. We visited very local coffee shops, candy shops, digital movie library, African herbal medicine shop, ghetto movie theatre, 2nd biggest market, and much more.

Making Peanut Brittle. This entrepreneur sells coffee and candy on the street, especially at bus stops.

We finished with a soft drink in my guide’s local bar.

A walking tour of the downtown business centre wasn’t all that interesting.

Better was the Kijiji cha Makumbusho, or Village Museum, an open-air ethnographical centre showcasing traditional huts from 16 different Tanzanian ethnic groups. 

It’s right in the middle of the city.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Rollback by Robert Sawyer

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I thought I’d read everything written by Robert Sawyer, but somehow missed this excellent story.

AI summary:

Rollback is a 2007 science fiction novel by Canadian author Robert J. Sawyer that explores the social and ethical consequences of extreme life extension alongside a first-contact scenario.

The story follows an elderly couple who undergo a rejuvenation procedure, only for it to succeed for one and fail for the other, creating a massive age gap between them. 

Plot Summary

Set in the mid-21st century, the narrative centers on Dr. Sarah Halifax, an astronomer who gained fame decades earlier for decoding the first message from an alien civilization at Sigma Draconis.

When a second, encrypted message arrives 38 years later, a billionaire industrialist offers to fund a “rollback“—a staggeringly expensive medical treatment that reverts a person’s body to age 25—so Sarah can live long enough to decode it.

Sarah agrees only on the condition that her husband of sixty years, Don Halifax, also receives the treatment. The resulting conflict drives the novel: 

  • The Rejuvenation Gap: The procedure is a success for Don but fails for Sarah, leaving her in her late 80s while her husband physically returns to his youth.
  • Interpersonal Struggles: Don must navigate his newfound vitality and the complexities of being physically younger than his own children, all while remaining devoted to his aging wife.
  • The Alien Message: Parallel to the domestic drama, Sarah works to decipher the new transmission, which involves complex moral and ethical questions posed by the extraterrestrials. 

Key Themes and Accolades

  • Philosophical Science Fiction: Sawyer explores “intimately human” dilemmas, such as fidelity, mortality, and the societal impact of radical technology.
  • Ethics and Evolution: The story examines whether morality changes over generations or across different species.
  • Awards: The novel was nominated for the Hugo Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 2008.

Elementary, She Read by Vicky Delaney

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A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery

Cute idea.

Elementary, She Read is a cozy mystery.

Gemma Doyle, a transplanted Englishwoman, has returned to the quaint town of West London on Cape Cod to manage her Great Uncle Arthur’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium.

The shop—located at 222 Baker Street—specializes in the Holmes canon and pastiche, and is also home to Moriarty the cat.

When Gemma finds a rare and potentially valuable magazine containing the first Sherlock Homes story hidden in the bookshop, she and her friend Jayne (who runs the adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room) set off to find the owner, only to stumble upon a dead body.

I was a bit disappointed to find by the end that Gemma is no Sherlock. The mystery solved by a timely arrival of friends, not sleuthing.

There are at least 10 more books in the series.