James Patterson does love to co-author.

No doubt David Ellis gets a bump in his writing career.

Detective Jenna Murphy comes to the Hamptons to solve a murder — but what she finds is more deadly than she could ever imagine.

Trying to escape her troubled past and rehabilitate a career on the rocks, former New York City cop Jenna Murphy hardly expects her lush and wealthy surroundings to be a hotbed of grisly depravity.

But when a Hollywood power broker and his mistress are found dead in the abandoned Murder House, the gruesome crime scene rivals anything Jenna experienced in Manhattan.

And what at first seems like an open and shut case turns out to have as many shocking secrets as the Murder House itself, as Jenna quickly realizes that the mansion’s history is much darker than even the town’s most salacious gossips could have imagined. …

jamespatterson.com

Police (2013) is the 10th novel in Nesbø’s Harry Hole series.

OK — not great. My review.

The only thing worse than a serial killer is a serial killer targeting cops.

Arguably the most densely packed and ambitiously plotted novel in a series that has been getting darker with each volume, the tenth novel featuring Harry Hole is a companion sequel to its predecessor (Phantom, 2012).

That book had left the former Oslo detective no longer a member of the police force and perhaps no longer alive …

The police who investigated the original crimes and failed to solve them are lured back to the murder scenes, on the anniversaries of the murders, and are then themselves killed in an equally gruesome manner.

Is the killer the same as the first, covering his tracks? Or is he “an apostle of righteousness,” an agent of justice, insisting that those who failed to solve the crimes must pay for them?  …

Kirkus Reviews

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I’ve read a few books from Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson.

Mixed feelings.

The Darkness, I think, is one of his best. An Icelandic TV adaptation is planned.

The lead character is a 64-year-old detective being forced unwillingly into retirement.

Original.

The body of a young Russian woman washes up on an Icelandic shore. After a cursory investigation, the death is declared a suicide and the case is quietly closed.

Over a year later Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavík police is forced into early retirement at 64.

She dreads the loneliness, and the memories of her dark past that threaten to come back to haunt her. But before she leaves she is given two weeks to solve a single cold case of her choice. She knows which one: the Russian woman whose hope for asylum ended on the dark, cold shore of an unfamiliar country.

Soon Hulda discovers that another young woman vanished at the same time, and that no one is telling her the whole story. Even her colleagues in the police seem determined to put the brakes on her investigation. Meanwhile the clock is ticking. …

Crime by the Book review

During the pandemic I had plenty of time to research future adventures.

#1 on my bucket list was cycling Norway.

Why?

• fantastic scenery
• cycle 24 hours a day in the north. Sleep whenever you want. There is no night during the Arctic summer.
• camp wherever you want. It’s called allemannsretten (loosely translated as ‘the right to roam‘) 
• low cost travel in expensive Norway
• free ferries for cyclists in Norway. We are good for the environment.

My inspiration was MatthewNorway. He put together my 3000km planned itinerary, as well. Wish me luck. 😀

I start south today. Canada Day. 🇨🇦

Shout out for Tromsø Outdoor, an excellent bike shop.

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Having run out of books in Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, I resorted to trying one of his stand alone novels.

Very good.

When a night-time call to 911 from a secluded Wisconsin vacation house is cut short, offduty deputy Brynn McKenzie leaves her husband and son at the dinner table and drives up to Lake Mondac to investigate. Was it a misdial or an aborted crime report?

Brynn stumbles onto a scene of true horror and narrowly escapes from two professional criminals. She and a terrified visitor to the weekend house, Michelle, flee into the woods in a race for their lives. …

jefferydeaver.com

Sounds somewhat conventional?

Not at all. This book is all twist and turns. It kept me guessing.

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HOW do you make backpacking VIDEOS interesting? 😀

The Balkans Mirage: A Journey on Wheels … documenting four friends’ ride through the Balkans-a geographical area in southeastern Europe known for its stunning vistas, great riding, history, and bridges—lots of bridges.

The 11-minute film follows the four fictionalized characters as they pedal 1,250 kilometers through Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Greece. …

Bikepacking.com

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Forever and a Day is a 2018 James Bond novel written by Anthony Horowitz and featuring original material by James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

A prequel to the events of Casino Royale, the book recounts Bond’s first mission as a double-0 agent …

Set in the French Riviera in 1950, Bond investigates the killing of the previous man designated 007 …

The Bond girl in this one is impressive – Joanne “Sixtine / Madame 16” Brochet.

Aside from all the Great Walks — I also need to get back to New Zealand to cycle some of the Great Rides of the New Zealand Cycle Trail project.

Love this tune.

“What Have They Done to My Song Ma” (1970) is a song written and performed by Melanie Safka.

Miley Cyrus created a new Backyard Sessions series and invited special musical guests to perform with her to make these music video collaborations. 

The Happy Hippie Foundation is a nonprofit organization that rallies young people to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBT youth, and other vulnerable populations.

Miley invited Melanie in 2015 for a duet on her classic.

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I’ve always loved this song.

Great guitar. Great vocals.

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