It ends with a BANG!

So it's finally finished. The saga of Detective Henry "Hank" Palace has reached its conclusion and it definitely didn't go out with a whimper. If you've been following this series then you know that the last book, World of Trouble, sees our protagonist in the final days before the asteroid hits the planet. There are still unanswered questions: Where is Nico? Where did Nico get that helicopter? Were she and her friends able to find the astronaut who could supposedly stop the asteroid? All of these questions are answered and MORE in the exciting culmination of The Last Policeman series. I can guarantee that if you liked the first two then you will really love this one and there are some crazy surprises that you don't want to miss!

For a while now, I've been wanting to delve into the world that P.L. Travers created with Mary Poppins at its center. Apparently I wasn't the only one with that same idea because I had to wait for months to get the first book in her series on my tablet: Mary Poppins. The story focuses on the children of Mr. & Mrs. Banks and their eccentric (but delightful) new nanny, Mary Poppins. I know already that it's going to be a bit different from the movie because 1. There are 4 children not two. and 2. Mr. Banks is not portrayed any kind of way like the movie version (he's imminently more likely than the mother at least at this point). I expect that I'll find it just as enjoyable (or more likely more so) than the film and I'll update you all just as soon as I've finished it. :-)

Hank Palace returns!

Let me start off by saying that I like the fact that P.D. James chose to create this story as if all of Jane Austen's novels existed in the same universe. There were mentions of characters from both Emma and Northanger Abbey which was MIND-BLOWING. Okay, well it was to me at any rate. Also, her writing style was appropriate for the time period which helped win me over with authenticity. However, I don't think I agreed with her interpretation of the characters in this story. The narrative 'voices' just felt off to me. I think the only one she had spot on was Mr. Darcy. (By the way, has anyone else found it humorous that his first name is Fitzwilliam and his cousin is Colonel Fitzwilliam? Do you think they found that confusing if someone called out "Hey Fitzwilliam, check this out!"?) Also, I was expecting the murder mystery aspect to really knock my socks off and it kind of fell flat in my opinion. Maybe I'm too accustomed to Agatha Christie and Rex Stout. :-P If you're a fan of Jane's then this might be an interesting choice for you but if you're not a fan of that genre of literature you'd most likely find this one a little stale.

And now onto the main event: World of Trouble, the final installment in The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben H. Winters. If you've been following along on this blog, you'll know that I read the first two of this trilogy The Last Policeman and Countdown City and really enjoyed them. The books follow a detective by the name of Hank Palace whose world is literally crumbling around him because an asteroid is on a collision course with earth. In this last installment the asteroid is just days away from impact and society has degenerated into fear and paranoia. Most people are in underground bunkers with their stores of food and water. And then there's Hank. Hank is determined to keep doing his duty despite the fact that he no longer has the title of Detective. There's one more crime to solve and he's going to solve it even with death nipping at his heels.