Books: The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis (2023)

“When level-headed Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate’s UFO-themed wedding—complete with a true-believer bridegroom—she can’t help but roll her eyes at all the wide-eyed talk of aliens, which obviously don’t exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one. Odder still, her abductor is far from what the popular media have led her to expect, with a body like a tumbleweed and a mass of lightning-fast tentacles. Nor is Francie the only victim of the alien’s abduction spree. Before long, he has acquired a charming con man named Wade, a sweet little old lady with a casino addiction, a retiree with a huge RV and a love for old Westerns, and a UFO-chasing nutjob who is thoroughly convinced the alien intends to probe them and/or take over the planet. But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he’s not an invader. That he’s in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn’t know how—or even what the trouble is.” 

Part of the charm of reading a Connie Willis novel is that she remains one of the few female hard sci-fi writers still around. She’s written a bunch of exceptional novels, some with humor, but generally great reads. So, yes, there is going to be but…But, The Road to Roswell comes off as an underwhelming tale seemly designed to appeal to readers who don’t generally read this genre. It’s like a Lifetime or Hallmark Movie Channel film – with its mixture of alien-abduction themes, melded with a road trip to Roswell (and Las Vegas) where we interact with Men in Black, marriage chapels filled with Elvis impersonators, and assorted people dressed in all forms of aliens. 

And it's a romantic comedy.

It all only works once in a while, but Willis tries hard to make the communication between Francie and Indy (named due to its whip-like tentacles) work like in the movie Arrival, but again, it’s overshadowed by the trope filled characters she creates to help Francie with whatever the mission of this alien truly is. One of the biggest flaws is Wade, the male-hero of any Hallmark TV film. While the reader will love down-to-earth aspects of Francie, Wade (whom Indy picks up next) is so obviously hiding something that by the eventual reveal falls flat. Even as I read the book, I wondered why Francie could not figure this out. She seemed very intelligent and is very capable of working stuff out, why she failed to catch on makes her look fairly stupid. 

Other characters include Lyle, your typical conspiracies nut-job when it comes to aliens, the supposed adductions and Roswell in modern times, as well as 1947. Joseph, who is riding around the Southwest in his RV…The Outlaw, and who (because everything in this type of story lives at the corner of convenience and coincidence) is not the fully the man he says he is, and Eula Mae, a sweet, gray-haired old lady who is also a card shark.   

Ultimately, it’s a fine book to read on the beach or airplane, for while it tries to be deep, it comes off more as lit-entertainment. It’s filled with some humor, a lot of Western clichés, and references to alien movies from eons past up to today, and runs a bit overlong (and ends on a cliffhanger of a sort), but Willis is still a great writer. She has much more interesting and fun work than this, so your mileage may vary.

Books: Stone and Sky (Rivers of London 10) by Ben Aaronovitch (2025)

“If mores the merrier, then Peter’s ecstatic as his partner Beverly, their young twins, his Mum and Dad, his dad’s band, and their dodgy manager, all tag along on a holiday to Scotland. Even his boss, DCI Thomas Nightingale, takes in the coastal airs as he trains Peter’s cousin Abigail in the arcane arts. And they’ll need them too, because Scotland’s Granite City has more than its fair share of history and mystery, myth, and murder. When a body is found in a bus stop, fresh from the sea, the case smells fishy from the start. Something may be stirring beyond the bay, but there is something far stranger in the sky.” 

After nine novels set within London and the surrounding area, the tenth volume in The Rivers of London series takes a page from every other long-running series (TV, films, books), by going on the road. With now Peter settled down with Bev, had the twins, and has been told by Nightingale he plans to retire, the next adventure awaits. So what’s that? You go on holiday –well, in the end, a sort of working holiday. So from the magic filled city of London, our heroes venture up north, up to Scotland and the Granite city of Aberdeen –a place that apparently has some supernatural hijinks going on. 

Not that this is a bad thing. 

Anyways, Stone and Sky removes the familiar London surroundings and Aaronvitch gives us a deep dive into Aberdeen and its myths and legends – and plenty architectural information to make anyone who loves that stuff very happy (according to his Technical Notes at the end, he spent seven months up in Scotland, or Scot Land as some of the locals call it, researching the book).

I mentioned in the last book, 2022’s Amongst Your Weapons, how the series was sort of flagging. At the time, nine volumes were maybe enough. Plus, he seemed happy to be working on the graphic novels (which are seemly moving the story forwards at a faster pace) and the occasional novella. 

So maybe here, he’s attempting to shift the series more towards Abigail (she is more prominent here than any of the previous novels), with Peter eventually taking in the teacher role that Nightingale has (no mention of his retirement here), though he appears to be mentoring Abigail. Also, not sure, but this book is appears to set in 2017 or 2018, as Aaronvitch mentions The Felon in office here in the United States. This may also be because of the relationship Abigail gets herself into in this book. 

But while she takes up part of the narrative here, it becomes a bit confusing at times, especially since Aaronovitch drops a large volume of characters here – most who don’t impact the story or are there only to move the story forward. Still, the biggest issue with this novel is how much the author ignores the overreaching arcs of the previous nine books, making Stone and Sky feel like – in the parlance of TV vocabulary- a “bottle episode” (despite what would be an expensive location shoot). 

There is also a lot of Scottish slang and language used here. It gives it some local flair, I guess, but can be distracting as the reader may need to go over a sentence several times before the brain can translate it properly. 

In the end, a worthy read for fans – but those invested in Peter maybe disappointed how much he becomes secondary to Abigail. Clearly, for me, Aaronovitch has decided there was a need to expand his universe (another issue with long-running series) by introducing new characters that will appear, probably, in other tales of The Folly. 

Books: We Solve Murders By Richard Osman (2024)

“Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job. Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?” 

I admit, I didn’t know what to make of this new series from The Thursday Murder Club writer Richard Osman. I suspect, at first, this was going to be in the same vein as his Coopers Chase books, just with a slight variation of the main characters. But instead, I got something a bit different (yet the same), but I don’t think it’s what some might think is a British “cozy mystery.” 

It is, however, addictive as his main series, which makes this a fun read. It’s paced vastly different, somewhat like a James Patterson tale, with short chapters. But this book is infinitely better than anything Patterson can write (or farm out to other writers). It carries some of the DNA of the TMC, but these characters are younger (well accept Rosie, and of course, Steve), but they all live a wilder life. Amy, I guess, could be younger version of Elizabeth, but she seems to be not as clever. But she’s tough, and able bodied. 

As with the TMC, there is a bendy plot to figure out just what’s going on, but it’s laced with some great humor and a few laugh out loud moments (Rosie is a hoot) and a bit of sadness as Steve negotiates being a widower. I do hope Adam, Steve’s son and Amy’s husband, gets more to do in later tales, but he could become a character like Columbo’s wife – someone we never see in flesh and blood, and only on a phone or email. 

It’s a good start to a new series. And while I’m looking forward to the fall release of Thursday Murder Club 5, I can say I’ll also be looking forward to seeing where Osman takes this dynamic trio on their next adventure.

Also, in his Afterword, he notes that this new series and TMC are set in the same universe (only about two hours from each other), so I could see an eventual crossover. That would be fun!!

Books: Condominium By John D. MacDonald (1977)

“Welcome to Golden Sands, the dream condominium built on a weak foundation and a thousand dirty secrets. Here is a panoramic look at the shocking facts of life in a Sun Belt community -- the real estate swindles and political payoffs, the maintenance charges that run up and the health benefits that run cut...the crackups and marital breakdowns...the disaster that awaits those who play in the path of the hurricane...” 

I sort of hate-read this novel. I stumbled upon this book and thought the premise was interesting. The 1970s was full of disaster films, so I thought I was getting a book that was sort in the vein of The Towering Inferno or Earthquake! And I’ve read –but no for a long, long time- a few of MacDonald’s Travis Magee thrillers. Those were tight, noir-ish “male gazing” comic thrillers. Here he tries something different, a semi-disaster tale written (supposedly) as satire? At least for me, it does not work. But I generally –for whatever reason- feel compelled to continue reading, hoping it’ll get better. Read it to the end or as much as I can before I throw it in the corner. 

While released in 1977, this tale resembles late 1960’s early 70s look at the changing demographics of Florida (though always an enclave of the retired and aging conservative base). From my view, there are many flaws, one being way to many characters – I got to point where a flow chart would’ve been helpful. Also, the other sin is not one of those characters stood out enough to hook me (and no real villain, as everyone seems guilty of something). Maybe the satire was too subtle a tale about dubious businessmen dealing with groups of retired couples who all fear living longer than their money.  

It’s also clear very early on that MacDonald was going to take a meticulous look into how corrupt politicians, shady bankers, corner-cutting construction crews, greedy real estate salespeople and crooked land developers was setting the stage for disaster – a hurricane that fills the last quarter of the book. But as much as some might find the minutiae aspect of all these deals fascinating, it really is dull and boring and the book drags. I mean analysis of the financial structure of condominium construction and the engineering of building might be worth something for some, but not for me. This very slow build annoyed me, and by page 100 plus, I was waiting for when the hurricane was finally going to show and smash it all to pieces. Sadly, that doesn’t show up for hundreds of pages. Bummer. 

While MacDonald may have been first author to take on these sleazy people of Florida, others like Dave Barry, Tim Dorsey, and Carl Hiaasen have done much better with their tales quirky characters, local politics, and satirical look into the people and culture of the Sunshine State – even done better with a large cast of characters.

There was two-part movie version of this book that originally aired on HBO in April of 1980 and then syndicated by Universal Studios in November 1980. It starred Barbara Eden, Dan Haggerty and Steve Forrest, along with a cadre of aging Hollywood actors. You can watch it on Youtube.

Books: The Catch (Slough House 6.5) by Mick Herron (2020)

“John Bachelor is the saddest kind of spy: not a joe in the field, not even a desk jockey, but a milkman—a part-time pension administrator whose main job is to check in on aging retired spies. Late in his career and having lost his wife, his house, and his savings after a series of unlucky choices, John's been living in a dead man's London apartment, hoping the bureaucracy isn't going to catch up with him and leave him homeless. But keeping a secret among spies is a fool's errand, and now John has made himself open to blackmail by rogue elements within Regent Park that seemly also involves royalty.” 

Not sure how much of The Catch will play out in later full-length novels within the Slough House universe, but this novella takes a page from modern headlines. When Benny Manors, a one-time asset to the spooks around Regent Park, burgles a place and steals photos, audio and what not of young girls involved with (apparently) rich and well-placed men, he sees opportunity to up his lifestyle. When John is recruited by Richard Pynne to find Manors and that incriminating evidence, he has no idea why. But soon breaking news about the apparent suicide of an American billionaire (Jeffrey Epstein) and a connection to His Royal Highness Prince Andrew sends Bachelor on a mission that may get him killed. 

Once again, even these short novellas are smart, witty and devious. While no appearance from any of the slow horses, we see Lady Di fully engaging in her attempt to take power and have no compulsion what so ever of making spy vs. spy a delightful game.