Domenico Colaprete Colaprete itibaren Sriramagiri, Telangana, インド itibaren Sriramagiri, Telangana, インド

James, P.D. THE MURDER ROOM. (2003). *****. Again we meet up with Commander Adam Dalgliesh as he solves the mysterious deaths of two different victims at a museum. The museum is the Dupayne, a museum dedicated to the years between the wars, with rooms celebrating different aspects of their history. There is an art gallery, a library, and – most importantly – a room devoted to the most notorious murders of that time. This room, obviously, was called the Murder Room. The museum was founded by Max Dupayne, and when he died, was passed on to his three children, two boys and one girl. It is time for the lease to be renewed, but one of the provisions of Max’s will was that the signatures of all three of his heirs would be required to renew the lease. Otherwise, the museum would have to discontinue its existence. Of the three heirs, one, Neville, a psychiatrist, was opposed to signing the new lease. He felt that the family wasted too much money and time looking backwards, and that the whole thing should be dissolved. Commander Dalgliesh is soon called in to investigate the killing of one of the family members, who turns out to be Neville. He was set afire while picking up his Jaguar from the museum’s garage. Obvious suspects were the remaining brother and sister, but there was a profusion of other potential suspects, too. Each member of the staff knew of the schism among the siblings, and each had something to lose if the museum ceased to be. While searching for clues among all these prospects, another victim is claimed – a young girl had been strangled and dumped into a trunk in the Murder Room, a trunk that had, at one time, contained the body of another young woman killed in the 1920s. The plot thickens. This is another excellent police procedural by Ms. James that has more than its share of twists and turns, and a surprise ending to the crime spree. It also gives Dalgliesh a chance to finally unite with his love, Emma. Highly recommended.

This book moved quickly. It describes 2 young men named Wes Moore, growing up on the streets of Baltimore at the same time. One becomes a Rhodes Scholar, and one is serving a life sentence in prison. The Wes Moore who graduated from Johns Hopkins researched the "other Wes Moore" and wrote this book to compare and contrast their lives and the choices and circumstances that led them to either a successful life or prison. The bottom line: a strong mom, with some education and resources. That can make all the difference.

Katherine Lanpher writes about her move from Minnesota to New York to be Al Franken's sidekick on Air America. This book was a quick read with some interesting stories about her life and the turn of events that led to her move to New York. There was nothing about this book that knocked me out, but there were some interesting stories about her life.