me-me-meme

I’ve been tagged again! This time by Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise. It’s a simple meme, meant to spread the word about books. The task, should you decide to accept it, is this:

Pick up the nearest book, open to page 123, find the fifth sentence, then post the next three sentences. You’re also meant to tag five more people, but so far as I can tell everyone I know has already caught the bug. So I’ll skip that step and instead do the other steps twice for penance.

“Lucien’s grip was legendary, and if you were ever unfortunate enough to have him lay hands on you, you suddenly paid very close attention. It was fun to watch the mechanisms start up, to see Lucien’s eyes start flying over Absakora County, sweeping down from the mountains, through the gullies, over the foothills, and into every attic, cedar chest, closet, and gun case in a hundred square miles. He added five more names to the list, none of which were Indians.” This is from Craig Johnson’s The Cold Dish.

“When he returned to the locker room, he noticed the handkerchief on the bench. It was Chinese silk, embroidered in red with the monogram AL. He picked it up and stuffed it into his jacket pocket, not really caring whether or not she’d return for it.” This one from Chinatown Beat by Henry Chang.

Both books are in a rather tall TBR pile, one from the book room at LCC Denver, the other from my last foray to Once Upon a Crime. Speaking of which, if you’re in the Minneapolis/St. Paul neighborhood, come keep me company on Tuesday, April 29th, at 7pm there, where Pat and Gary are kindly hosting the launch of In the Wind.

a meme for all seasons

Sandra Ruttan tagged me in the current meme that is appearing on many a crime fiction blog. The challenge is pretty straightforward. You open the nearest book to page 123, find the fifth sentence on that page, then post the next three sentences. Fortunately, I am not currently reading Faulkner. Here’s what I came up with -

“Your woman. Justine Dalvik. I know you heard what I said a few minutes ago. That we’ve been keeping an eye on her because she’s not on the up-and-up. But you don’t want to hear that. So you’re trying to pretend you didn’t hear it at all. It’s not going to help you, Bergmann. As soon as I’m gone, you’re going to be turning it over in your mind, again and again.”

Okay, that’s more than three lines, but it give just a slight flavor of the book. A touch of procedure, a dose of dread, a case that hinges more on psychology than technology. Oh, and characters named Dalvik and Bergmann. Yes, you got it – we’re in Scandinavia, smack in the middle of Inger Frimansson’s The Shadow in the Water. I snagged an advance copy of the US edition, being published very soon by Pleasure Boat Studio.

While I’m at it, Sandra reminded me of something embarrassing – I had meant to point out Marshall Zeringue’s wonderful Campaign for the American Reader in my host post for the Carnival. I’m going to fix that, but it’s one of the best sites around for whetting your appetite for books. The Page 69 Test is a fun way to not only find out what a book sounds like, but to hear the author reflect on how it fits into the whole. A truly novel way to sample a book. (And if that’s not enough, there’s also the Page 99 Test!)

The next thing the meme involves is inviting five other bloggers to play. So now, I tag … let’s see, who hasn’t already played? – I’ll try Mary Saums, the Material Witness, the Book Bitch, David Montgomery, and Bill Crider.