Water Touching Stone: A Mystery Involving Tibetan Religion

 Water Touching Stone by Eliot Pattison is actually a re-read. I rarely re-read books, but the mystery book club that I attend is reading this novel for the June meeting. I read it so long ago that I didn't remember very much about it.  I never reviewed the book. Yet at the time I read it, I remember thinking that it was one of the best books I'd ever read.

                                   

 

This is the second book in a series whose central character is Shan Tao Yun.  I have reviewed  Mandarin Gate (Shan series #7) on an earlier blog here , and Bones of the Earth which is the final book of the Shan series here. 

I was angered to learn from this book that the Chinese had been using Tibet for nuclear testing.  I found an article on the subject at Nuclear Tibet.  It includes the use of prisoners for constructing nuclear facilities.  I am concerned about their exposure to radiation.

Shan must stop the murder of boys which involves finding out why these murders were happening.   I wasn't surprised when the killer's motive was revealed.

There are American archaeologists who turn out to be pivotal characters.  I didn't think that archaeologist Jacob Deacon would have mentioned that "there might be treasure" at his site.  From an archaeological perspective "treasure" is an artifact which belongs in a museum.  This is why museums often sponsor archaeology.

I found this book suspenseful, but I'm not as impressed with it as I was when I read it the first time.  Since I really hadn't remembered the plotline, this wasn't due to familiarity.  It just didn't strike me as remarkable or original, though I did very much like the Tibetan religion aspect.  

                               

 

 

                                

The Physicists' Daughter : A World War II Thriller Dealing With Sabotage in a Defense Plant

I have read all the books in the Faye Longchamp mystery series by Mary Anna Evans except for the most recent one, Wrecked.  The Physicist's Daughter is not labeled or marketed as a mystery, but it looks like a thriller from the summary.  Yet I think that Mary Anna Evans is trying to establish herself as a mainstream writer, and leave behind the genre label.  I'm going to call this one as see it, and I see it as a historical thriller.

                                       

I was impressed that protagonist Justine was taught how to weld by her father.  I was also delighted that her mother was the one who taught Justine about physics.  During WWII, Justine was welding for a living but she suspected that someone was sabotaging the defense plant where she was employed. This sabotage was the main focus of the plot.

I would have liked physics to have played an important role in the novel, but I imagine that many readers wouldn't have found that interesting.  Intrigue and secrets are what make books in the thriller genre thrilling.  The Physicists' Daughter certainly had those elements. I would grade this book B.  

                                

 

Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I : The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History

 Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I:  The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History is a joint biography by historian Tracy Borman.  I downloaded it in digital format from Netgalley and read it on my Kindle e-reader. I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy.

                         

                                                                                                

Before reading this book,  I was a huge fan of Queen Elizabeth I because the theater flourished during her reign. Yet more importantly, she stood against the Catholic powers, Spain and France.  I knew relatively little about Elizabeth's mother, Anne Bolelyn, , and I never thought about Anne's influence over her daughter.

I was interested to learn that Anne had books by women, most notably Christine de Pizan's The Book of the City of Ladies.  I read in the Wikipedia article on Christine de Pizan here that she thought that Joan of Arc was the fufillment of prophecies by Merlin, the Cumaean Sybil and Saint Bede. She also wrote a poem about Joan which was her last work.  Christine de Pizan didn't live to see Joan imprisoned by the English and burned.  I am sure that if Christine de Pizan had lived later, she would have celebrated the Tudor Queen, Elizabeth.

It's mentioned that "Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by artist Hans Holbein, was hanging at court during Henry VIII's reign.  I wonder if  Anne identified with the Queen of Sheba, mother of King Solomon.  If so, Anne's equivalent of the wise Solomon was Elizabeth I.

The coronation of King Charles III recently took place.  The author remarks that King Charles is descended from Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, and that his son, the Prince of Wales, is descended from Mary Boleyn through both his parents.  Elizabeth, however, will always remain the only descendant of Anne Boleyn.

I enjoyed this book and learned a number of things I hadn't known previously.  I will give it a B+ on Goodreads.