Reading: Let the dreidel choose a book for you:

נ  Nun (miracle): Christopher Paolini - Eldest (audio version read by Kerry Shale)

ג Gimel (great): Arthur Conan Doyle - The Valley of Fear (audio version read by Simon Vance)

ה He (happened): Ian Rankin - Even Dogs in the Wild

ש Shin (there, i.e. Israel): J.R.R. Tolkien - Letters From Father Christmas

 

 

So, it was to be Arthur Conan Doyle's Valley of Fear.

 

The Valley of Fear is Arthur Conan Doyle's last novel-length Sherlock Holmes narrative. Like A Study in Scarlet, where Holmes makes his very first appearance, it is split into two parts: Holmes's actual investigation in Part 1; and the back story, i.e. the stuff that would either be told by Holmes himself or by the apprehended culprit in the shorter narratives (as well as in The Sign of Four) in the Big Reveal, appended as Part 2, with a very loose connection to Part 1 to the effect that Dr. Watson has been handed a written account of the back story during the reveal at the end of Part 1. (Part 2 is not in epistolary form, however.)

 

The first part of the book is a classic locked room mystery: A man is found shot in a historic manor house in the Weald south of London, not quite halfway on the way to the Channel coast. There is no indication that his killer is still in (or near) the building; nor could he however have escaped, as the building is surrounded by a(n albeit fairly shallow) moat and the drawbridge crossing that moat had been pulled up some time before the killing happened, and more importantly, since the weapon used is a particularly loud sawed-off shotgun, some of the building's other inhabitants had been drawn to the scene instantly, before the killer could possibly have gotten away. (There is also an inference that the water in the moat is muddied by clay and would thus not merely have wetted the killer's clothes by also left them with colored stains, but that didn't strike me as conclusive -- the killer might easily have hidden a spare set of clothes nearby and changed into those once the deed was done.) Holmes's investigation follows the familiar lines of logical inference, with the odd bit of cypher decoding thrown in for good measure and with Professor Moriarty making a (largely off-stage) appearance as well, and it concludes, like many a Sherlock Holmes locked room mystery, with a solution very much in the spirit of Holmes's old axiom "Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth" (though the closest we're getting to a verbalization of said axiom here is an exclamation of "impossible!" by one of the investigating police officers).

And no, the solution is neither a case of "when" the deed was done (as is so often the crucial issue in locked room mysteries) nor -- at least not exclusively -- how the killer could have escaped at all, either.

(spoiler show)

 

Well, so far, so enjoyable.

 

The story took a bit of a nose dive for me, however, when it got to Part 2 of the novel; and not merely because this book is structured essentially like A Study in Scarlet in the first place (nor, again like the very first Holmes novel, because it also uses an American setting for its second part; the eponymous "Valley of Fear"). However, and although certainly very atmospheric, it is -- albeit loosely -- based on actual historical facts that I was familiar with (only vaguely, but that vague knowledge was enough for me to place the story almost instantly), and which facts due to their then-recent notoriety Conan Doyle's original readers would very likely have been equally familiar with. Indeed, Conan Doyle telegraphs enough of the "final reveal" of Part 2 of the book early enough and obviously enough to allow even a reader unfamiliar with the actual historical basis of the book to clue in to the solution fairly early on.

 

So, decidedly not on a level with my favorite Holmes adventures (The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Scandal in Bohemia, The Red-Headed League, The Blue Carbuncle, The Speckled Band, Silver Blaze, The Naval Treaty, The Empty House, The Abbey Grange, The Second Stain, The Priory School, and The Bruce-Partington Plans, to name but a few), but still an entertaining, though in Part 2 rather somber read and a nice start into the Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season.

 

I listened to an audio version of this book, incidentally, read by Simon Vance as part of the Complete Sherlock Holmes set.  Vance's reading is enjoyable, though he doesn't necessarily distinguish a whole lot between Holmes's and Watson's voices: but his interpretation of the other characters, accents and vocal inflections and all, more than makes up for this, and there is just about enough briskness in his voice whenever Holmes is talking for the most important speaker to be recognizable nevertheless, too.

 

 

 

 

 

Much like the Dear America series, as the synopsis mentions above, this book is a fictional look into our past history. It's gritty, it's realistic, but it is written so perfectly that readers will fall in love. I personally fell in love with Kate's spunky demeanor and was committed to her struggle from the beginning. In fact, I felt for her whole town. Molly Roe is an expert at writing characters that come to life on the page.I vaguely remember learning about how the Civil War affected Irish immigrants. Sadly those types of things tend to fade into the background in school, as they are skimmed over and before you know it the text has moved on. However when I started reading this book it all came rushing back to me. The research that went into this story is apparent on every page, from the descriptions of outfits, to the Irish words that are thrown back and forth between family members. Although it seems like it would be difficult to understand these terms, there is a very handy glossary in the back! I was pleasantly surprised!What really struck me most about Call Me Kate was the fire behind Kate's actions, and the way her people worked together to help those who struggled. It was a look at how people can bond when trouble strikes them all. It actually made me a bit nostalgic for that "for the good of all" mentality. I think any readers that come into this book willing to learn and get lost in Kate's life will have a great read. I definitely recommend this to high school readers and teachers.To wrap things up, Call Me Kate was a fascinating read. The learning aspect of it was simply a bonus, buried under the rich storytelling and characters. I am happy to say that I throughly enjoyed this book and am proud to recommend it to you!

If you’re a woman around my age, or have a sister, then you probably owned or knew someone who owned an American Girl doll. Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires by Molly Roe felt very reminiscent of an American Girl book to me. While I’m not the target audience for this book, I think young girls who read middle grade books would thoroughly enjoy this story.At first, I really didn’t think I’d like Katie because initially, she was a bit of a goody two shoes, and that doesn’t make for a particular dynamic or interesting. However, it was also clear that she was passionate, and her personality quickly changed and became much more interesting. It was excellent to see a character stand up for what she believes in, and still see some lighter moments incorporated into this turn of events.I thought the plot of this story was very well thought out. I’ve never seen a book that deals with Irish immigrants in America around the time of the Civil War, and I appreciated that originality. In the midst of this plotline, Call Me Kate was a book which successfully confronted bigotry and prejudice, and I applaud Roe for that.Call Me Kate may have been a bit young for my taste, but it was nonetheless a swift and enjoyable read. It’s also fun because at the end of the book there are a few educational activities and a vocabulary list. With all of these elements combined, I wouldn’t hesitate to pass this book on to a young reader.

In 1862, a young Pennsylvania girl named Kate McCafferty stops going to school after her father is injured working in the coal mines. Now she has to be the bread winner and gets a job in another town as a maid. Soon she hears about how awful the coal miners are being treated and begins posing as a boy in the Molly Maguires, an rough underground Irish group who tried to improve the coal miners lot. Will she get caught, or will the coal miners get the benefits?

I was attracted to this book because my family comes from coal miners in the same area where young Kate lived. There are some family rumors that my great great grandfather was in the group, but that is another story. I thought this book seemed well researched. As I read, I felt as if I was in the story.