Friday Finds 3-20-2009

Christine Falls by Benjamin Black I found quite awhile ago over at Blog.Literarily. It is the first book of the Quirke series, with the second one being The Silver Swan.



In the Pathology Department it was always night. This was one of the things Quirke liked about his job...it was restful, cosy, one might almost say, down in these depths nearly two floors beneath the city's busy pavements. There was too a sense here of being part of the continuance of ancient practices, secret skills, of work too dark to be carried on up in the light. But one night, late after a party, Quirke stumbles across a body that shouldn't have been there...and his brother-in-law, eminent paediatrician Malachy Griffin - a rare sight in Quirke's gloomy domain - altering a file to cover up the corpse's cause of death. It is the first time Quirke encounters Christine Falls, but the investigation he decides to lead into the way she lived - and the reason she died - disturbs a dark secret that has been festering at the core of Dublin's high Catholic society, a secret ready to destabilize the very heart and soul of Quirke's own family...

Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch I found over at bfishreads.

Blessed are Corrie and Fee, for theirs is the kingdom of the world's tastiest farmhouse cheese. Tucked away in a corner of Ireland, the lifelong friends turn out batch after batch of perfect Coolarney Blues and Golds, thanks to co-operative cows, non-meat-eating fecund milkmaids, and the wind blowing just so in the right direction. Add to this mixture Corrie's long-lost granddaughter Abbey, fresh from a remote but by no means backward island where her husband has been on a mission - although not quite the kind which Abbey had imagined. And stir in New Yorker Kit Stephens, heart-broken, burned-out and permanently hungover, and you have a recipe for disaster. The magic that Corrie and Fee weave in and out of the cheese vats is legendary, but can they use their powers to turn bitterness and betrayal into love - or will the secret ingredient be lost to Coolarney cheese forever?







Revenge by Mary Stanley was discovered over at She Reads and Reads.


Millicent McHarg, an eccentric and forthright novelist, is adored by her three granddaughters. When the eldest, Prunella, nicknamed Plumpet, is found hurt and bewildered in her own bed on Christmas morning following a party the night before, her family must at once deal with the emotional pain, and try to solve the mystery. With Plumpet's sisters' help, Millicent prepares to take a grandmother's revenge...




The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry was found over at Christian Fiction.

As a young woman, Roseanne McNulty was one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland. Now, as her hundredth year draws near, she is a patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital, and she decides to record the events of her life.

As Roseanne revisits her past, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards in her bedroom, she learns that Roscommon Hospital will be closed in a few months and that her caregiver, Dr. Grene, has been asked to evaluate the patients and decide if they can return to society. Roseanne is of particular interest to Dr. Grene, and as he researches her case he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne's life than what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves.

Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an epic story of love, betrayal, and unavoidable tragedy, and a vivid reminder of the stranglehold that the Catholic Church had on individual lives for much of the twentieth century.

And - just for fun, if you have read this far and can tell me how all these books are related (book by book - please be specific) - send me an email at - kherbrand (at) comcast (dot) com - and I will enter you in a drawing for the book Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee. (My review is here) This drawing will take place when the next Friday Finds post goes up.




What great books did you find this week?? Stop over at Should Be Reading and share yours!

*all descriptions are from Fantastic Fiction