Aldersyde - Annie S. Swan

I ended up with this book because the original one I chose by this author wasn't available. Apparently, this was one of the author's more popular titles, so I decided to give it a shot.

This book gave me some serious Jane Austen vibes at first, just more on the depressing side. In the beginning, you have two sisters losing their home because their father is dying. A cousin is inheriting the home, and they have to deal with some reduced circumstances. The younger sister ends up falling for a man who is very "Wickham" (a man who basically tells her he can make her life better and she believes him), and she disappears.

And here's where we divert from Austen. People start to die, and they keep dying for the rest of the book. The elder sister, who is the main character, never gets to experience anything resembling true love. She does end up taking care of two children, though. I guess you could classify the ending as happy, but for me, this book was just okay.

The Secret War of Charles Fraser-Smith - Charles Fraser-Smith

If you've been paying attention, you'll remember that I reviewed a biography of Desmond Llewelyn, the actor who played "Q" for most of the James Bond movies. But, this particular gentleman is the real-life person who inspired that character. Fraser-Smith even worked with Ian Fleming (author of James Bond novels) here and there. He wasn't real impressed with Fleming's gadgets, but that's a tale for another time.

Charles was a civilian working to supply the more secret parts of the war with interesting gadgets. Things like hidden compasses, maps, ink for making forged documents, radios, and other needed items made their way behind enemy lines and into POW camps. He also was responsible for helping members of resistance and SOE (Special Operations Executive) make sure they could blend into their environment once they were dropped behind enemy lines. Clothing was only the first step. Details I would've never thought of such as the right tobacco, matches, and current forms of currency (which was changed constantly) were almost always perfect.

This is a short book, coming in at 155 pages, but I enjoyed every page. I appreciated the writing style, and how the author chose to add in anecdotes to get his feelings across. He passes on his frustration at those suppliers who dragged their feet and praised those who whole-heartedly wanted to help. He had a fabulous mind for coming up with things and a great network of people who helped him make those ideas a reality. This was a great little book. If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend it. Good Book!

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu - Sax Rohmer

So, I accidentally watched part of a movie with this character in it and noticed that a book was involved. This is the first book in the series, and it was published in 1913.

Dr. Petrie is our narrator in this adventure where we're chasing down the nefarious Dr. Fu-Manchu. The way he kills people is so clever that most of the time, it doesn't even look like there is any foul play involved. Petrie's friend, Smith, is trying to stop this madman before he...takes down the white people.

Okay, so here's where it gets disappointing. The racism against the Chinese in this book made me uncomfortable. The word "yellow" appeared WAY too many times for my liking. But here's the kicker - it could've been a great book. The doctor was using science and cunning in such a way that he could have been a great villain on his own without it being racially based. As it is, I'll be done here.

Policewoman - Dorothy Uhnak

Dorothy Uhnak was a policewoman with the New York Transit Police in the 1950s and 1960s. This was her first book, and she became better known for her fiction work after that.

Knowing Uhnak was also a fiction author, I wasn't overly surprised by the writing style in this book. What did surprise me was the fact that this was published before her fiction. It reads like fiction. Entire conversations are not something I am used to seeing in a memoir. Scenery and people aren't normally explained in this kind of detail.

Uhnak took some liberties with her own memoir, and I think it's important to know these things before reading. She chose to set the memoir within the Police Department since she was still active with the Transit Police at the time of writing the book. Not a big deal to me. What was a bigger deal to me (and bothered me somewhat), was the answers to a few of the questions put forth in the prologue: Did the events really happen? Was she personally involved? And her answer? Yes and no.

The way she addresses the first question is that all things have really happened. In her words, "In that sense, the stories are true, but they are fashioned by the writer's imagination, combined with the acquired knowledge of the policewoman." She goes on to say that she's had to be selective and maneuver facts for dramatic interest. The other issue (was she personally involved?), she answers by saying, "In almost every instance, to some degree, I would have to say yes." She goes on to say, "To some degree, I say yes, I was involved-as any police officer, active in the field of law enforcement, and encountering like experiences, gains an emotional understanding of events in which he does not actively participate."

With caveats like that, I wasn't sure what was true and what she was "maneuvering." In that way, I didn't feel like I was reading about her life. It was a well written story, but it felt like fiction.

Torn Sails - Allen Raine

Another randomly chosen public domain fiction book, another review. I chose this one thinking, "I wonder if this one has something to do with pirates or the sea." Well...no. The story takes place in a seaside Welsh village where they make sails, so there's that. 

What I found was something I termed a "love trapezoid." Gwen likes Ivor, but he loves Gwladys, so Gwen ends up marrying Siencyn. Ivor doesn't bother to tell Gwladys that he's in love with her, so when his boss, Hugh, offers for her hand, Gwladys accepts, even though she's in love with Ivor as well. Add in to that Mari, who loves Hugh, but she had her chance with him in the past and blew it. Gwen also decides that she hates Gwladys and wants to harm her (think supernatural).

This book was frustrating. If even one of these people would've just said something, so much of the drama would have been avoided. Set in the 1800s, I suppose things were different then, but it still bothered me. And then they killed off my favorite character. The crazy witch became my favorite, since everyone else just brooded and sulked. The reference to "torn sails" came from a song, and I understand why they titled the book that way, but I was disappointed anyway. I will give the author credit for a good writing style. There is a lot of Welsh language in there, but the important ones were translated in the edition I got from Gutenberg. Overall, this one was a pass for me.

Eagles of the RAF - Philip D. Caine

This book tells the story of a group of Americans who joined the RAF before the United States officially entered WWII. Many of them were wanting the excitement of flying faster planes, some wanted to help Britain, and others felt the war was coming and they didn't want to end up on the ground. These men took great risks and many never came home.

A lot of the book is straight telling you what happened and when. Memories from members of the squadrons are sprinkled throughout the book, but I wish there had been more.

I think this book would be best for someone who has a direct link to the Eagles or is researching them. The amount of detail in this book was just too much for me, but I think someone who has a connection with it would find it immensely interesting. Let me explain what I mean. I have a book called Boomerang! It's the story of the 320th bomber squadron during WWII. It interests me because that's the group my grandfather flew in. There's even a picture of the nose art from his plane in there. Now I can't imagine a regular person finding Boomerang! interesting, and I feel like Eagles of the RAF might fall into the same category.

Don't get me wrong, parts of it were interesting, but much of it was pretty dry for me. I've realized that I'm more drawn to the autobiography/memoir side of nonfiction, so this one was going to be a rough sell for me, but I did learn a lot. I hope my copy ends up finding its way to someone who will appreciate it as much as I do my copy of Boomerang!

The Brown Mask - Percy James Brebner

I picked this one out randomly, but then I discovered there was a highwayman named 'Galloping Hermit' in it, and I was sold!

Barbara is in the care of her uncle down at Aylingford Abbey. She has few friends, but she has plenty of suitors. The problem is that she can't get a particular set of gray eyes out of her mind. Once she finds out those eyes also belong to a highwayman, she is conflicted. Can she truly love a criminal?

I have to say, this was such an enjoyable book. Was it a bit cheesy on the romance at times? Sure, but she's not the normal damsel in distress that's useless and whines all the time. And half the time, it was the men who were fawning over her. I loved the little twists and turns in the plot. They were so unexpected and so well done, especially in a book written in 1910. I do wish a bit more had been made of the whole "Children of the Devil" thing. The author dedicated a whole chapter to it then it just melted away for the most part.

Anyway, this was a real joy when I needed it. LOVED the Galloping Hermit and will remember him as one of my favorite character names of all time. I read this one in two days and have no regrets doing so. Long live the Galloping Hermit! Great Book!

Samurai! - Saburo Sakai

Saburo Sakai is one of the most famous aces of WWII from Japan. I wanted to get a view from the other side of the war, to see what it was like for one of these brave men.

Sakai fought in the South Pacific theater. He wasn't present at any of the major famous battles that we think of here in the states (Pearl Harbor, Midway or Iwo Jima), but he has very vivid memories of his encounters with various planes throughout the war in various places. At a certain point, he is seriously injured, losing the sight in one eye. It takes him out of the cockpit for a while, but this man was made to be in the sky, and he makes it back up there eventually.

I found this account to be honest and thought-provoking. Whether it is Sakai questioning the accuracy of an Allied report at the time or his own military, he approaches it with logic, not a sense of blind acceptance. I also found his respect of the enemy pilots to be commendable. I've noticed that in a few of the military memoirs I've read, especially the pilots. They recognize and acknowledge the skill and ability of the men that shared the sky with them.

Reading things from the other side was also a bit hard at times. Sakai came across quite a few B-26 Marauders, and at first I was excited to see the little-known bomber mentioned. It's the plane my grandfather flew in the war, and I normally like seeing it get some credit. The more I saw it mentioned (as being shot at or downed), I began to think of Sakai, a skilled pilot who ended up with over 60 kills, coming after my grandfather's plane. My grandfather flew in Europe, so it definitely never happened, but it also got me thinking.

I think this is a great book to get a perspective of the Japanese fighter pilot. Sakai is an honorable man who fought for his country at a time when so many men did. Something that especially struck me was when he was in a dogfight against a particular foe, and the man seemed to not be able to go on. Sakai flew up alongside the injured pilot and encouraged him to fight. In his words, he "wanted the airplane, not the man." I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it. Good Book!

I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

This book is a bit out of my normal comfort zone. I've been watching a lot of older films lately, and there have been some good ones and some not so good ones. I've seen movies with classic actors such as Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. I've also seen a few with Vincent Price. One that caught my eye a few weeks ago was called The Last Man on Earth (1964). As I was watching the credits, I noticed the story was based off this book. When I saw that, I recognized it as the title of another movie starring Will Smith. In all, three movies are based off this book.

Robert Neville is the last man alive. Each night, his house is besieged by what he believes to be vampires. So, he spends his days fortifying his house, clearing away the bodies, killing any slumbering vampires he can find and just trying to stay sane. The book covers a time period of about three years. In that time, Robert tries to discover the source of the vampires and what he can do about it.

This book was interesting in that there's basically one character for most of it. There are a few flashbacks here and there, but overall, it's a man against himself and his surroundings. He has to teach himself science to try and discover how the disease works, and then what to do with the information he collects. 

I appreciated the way Robert's emotions were handled throughout the book. This isn't one of those happily ever after books, so don't expect to walk away with a light heart afterwards. I did enjoy this book and thought it was an intriguing and unique contribution to the usual vampire stories. Good Book!

P.S. I liked it much better than the movie - no offense Vincent!

The Scarlet and the Black - J.P. Gallagher

Hugh O'Flaherty was termed the Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican. I absolutely love that movie and book, so it was a no-brainer for me to snatch this up and read it.

Hugh O'Flaherty is an Irishman who joins the priesthood. With the world being what it was at the time, he also had a somewhat anti-British streak that ran through his blood. When WWII broke out, something more important took over: his need to protect and look after others.

Hugh starts off by visiting prisoner-of-war camps and getting messages out. Eventually, this grows into a vast network of priests, civilians and escapees working together to thwart the Germans in Rome. Eventually, the Germans see how valuable he is to the organization, and they try to capture him on more than one occasion. He remains out of their reach, and saves many lives in the process.

This book in particular is okay, and it does tell Hugh's story, but it also focuses a lot on other aspects of the organization. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but if you're looking for a total focus on Hugh, it's not what you're getting here. I did discover that one of the top men of the organization, Sam Derry, has written a book about this as well, and I plan on reading it for his opinion.

I believe that Hugh O'Flaherty was a genuinely humble and wonderful man. The fame and fables that surrounded him after the war didn't do him any favors apparently, and that's unfortunate. It seems like he just wanted to go about his business of helping people without being bothered. On the other hand, it's a wonderful story that needed to be told, and these men needed to be recognized for their work. Overall, I liked it, but I wish it had focused more on Hugh himself. Good Book!

The Silver Blade - Charles E. Walk

I picked this one out on my own. I have a few pages of titles, and I hadn't read any books off this page yet.

A man falls into a room with a dagger sticking out of his neck. There are plenty of people in the office building where the murder occurs, but no one seems to be the culprit. Detective Converse has his own methods of getting to the truth, and it's going to take all of them to solve this mystery.

This story was a basic whodunit, and it brought something to my attention that is starting to annoy me about these older books. This is the third or fourth book that I've read in the recent past where one of the women succumbs to some sort of "brain fever" and is useless for a huge chunk of the book.  One of the other female characters is a bit stronger, so that's a mark in this book's favor. I wondered if it was due to the male outlook at the time, but one of the books I'm referring to was written by a woman, so who knows?

This book also has a fair bit of racist language in it that seems to be common at the time. It's not on every page or anything, but just so you know, it's in there.

Overall, this was a decent mystery. It wasn't bad, and it wasn't fantastic. I didn't feel like I was getting clues along with the detective that would help me solve the crime. There are little things here and there, but I wouldn't rank it as highly as some of the others I've read recently.