A new lease of death, by Ruth Rendell

In this second book in Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford mystery series, both Inspector Wexford and his DI Mike Burdon take a back seat in the plot which is lead primarily by the Reverend Archery who is looking into a 16 year old crime. Herbert Painter was found guilty of the murder of his employer and was ultimately executed. Now his daughter and Archery's son want to marry, but the Reverend is concerned by his son marrying the daughter of a murderer and wants to revisit the case. He proceeds to interview people associated with the case including the convicted murderer's widow and her new husband, the victim's maid, and the neighbors from across the street who found the body. They begin to suspect the victim's grandson, and Archery's son Charlie goes as far as accusing him. Throughout the book they continue to check in with Wexford who eventually (spoiler alert) exonerates the grandson. However, their investigations do provide proof that (another spoiler alert), the convicted man was in fact, and further, they find evidence that removes Archery's objections to his son's marriage. Throughout it all, Rendell's writing is top-notch. And in spite of the book being published in 1967, it doesn't have a sense of being dated (perhaps aside from all the smoking), unlike the Inspector Morse series, which I read and reviewed here a while ago. For more reviews: www.bookshighandlow.blogspot.com.
 

Grit: the power of passion and perseverance, by Angela Duckworth

In this book, University of Pennsylvania psychology professor Angela Duckworth shares her own and others' research about what makes some people more successful than others, a trait that she defines as grit. Grit is a combination of passion and perseverance and while some people seem to have always had this quality, Duckworth believes that you can become grittier through specific practices, and you can help others (e.g., your children, your employees) become grittier as well. Some of her findings show that while talent is important, effort counts for more in measures of success. Much of Duckworth's research relies upon self reporting through surveys that ask participants to rate themselves on questions such as "I finish whatever I begin," or "I am diligent. I never give up." The seond section of the book explores how you can increase your own level of grit by following your passion, deliberate practice, having a purpose that is connected to your core values, and maintaining a sense of hope. The third section looks at how you can inculcate grit in others through encouragement, modeling grit in your own practices, and other means.

While I enjoyed this book and the many examples and anecdotes, I was horrified by some of the animal testing that was used by other researchers and reported on here by Duckworth. Examples using electrical shocks on dogs and rats that showed how random applications removed their willingness to keep trying to get treats and caused long-term damage to their psyches are horrific. I don't believe research such as this is ethical and didn't appreciate seeing it in a book that is meant to address human grittiness. I don't think such research is necessary to show that continually causing random pain to someone (human or animal) proves that it will make them timid and frightened, and I'm surprised that Duckworth would think it's ok to report on in a popular business book that's intended to help people become better versions of themselves. 
 

Being mortal: medicine and what matters in the end, by Atul Gawande

 

This is a very moving book about what people need to think about as they approach end of life. Author Atul Gawande is a surgeon, writer, and public health researcher who currently works at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., and teaches at Harvard Medical School. He also recently served for three years as an administrator of USAID. He writes early in the book about the history of nursing homes and the evolution of assisted living facilities before transitioning to discuss a number of cases of people dealing with terminal illnesses and how their cases were discussed by their caregivers. In many cases, the doctors were reluctant to face the inevitable outcomes and found it difficult to be honest with the patients about the often likelihood of failure of chemo and radiation to significantly extend life, for example, in the case of various cancers. In those cases, the instinct is to try everything, even when it seriously diminishes quality of life and barely (if at all) extends life. Gawande stresses the importance of finding out what your loved ones really want at the end, whether it's simply to reduce pain or die at home rather in an institution. He shares his own experience with his father's last illness, illustrating how difficult these discussions are even for professionals. I found this book to highly informative and thought-provoking, but also quite moving.

Semper fidelis, by Ruth Downie

 

In this fifth mystery in the Gaius Petreius Ruso series about a doctor attached to the Roman army in 2nd century Britain, Ruso uncovers corruption in the army in Eboracum and when he notifies the emperor Hadrian, he's arrested and accused of murder. The backdrop of this book is Hadrian's tour of Britain on his way to inspect the wall that would eventually be named for him. Hadrian's wife Sabina is traveling with him and takes an interest in Ruso's British wife Tilla to break her boredom. Both Tilla and Ruso are trying to do the right thing by reporting the mistreatment of British recruits by the Roman centurion Geminus, but it all goes wrong when Geminus is murdered and Ruso is framed for the crime. This was an interesting and well-written story that left me wanting even more to visit modern day Eboracum (York), but I found it frustrating that the main character, Ruso, spent much of the book in captivity. I got used to Ruso leading the action in the first four books, and this was a little less satisfying to me. But I am still looking forward to the next four books.

The ABC murders, by Agatha Christie

I really enjoyed this mystery, Agatha Christie's 11th with Hercule Poirot and the first featuring a serial killer. Poirot's friend Captain Hastings is visiting England from his home in Argentina and laments that they don't have a good murder to solve. Before you know it, there's just such a murder, with a killer who writes taunting letters to Poirot. At first it's unclear that there's a serial killer on the loose, but after the second murder shows up, it seems clear that someone is targeting people based on the alphabet, with last names and towns that begin with A, B, and then C. They're challenged by their inability to identify anything that connects the three victims other than the sequence of letters. Finally, a chance clue pops up that ties the murders together, leading Poirot to identify a suspect, but he's still not satisfied. Did they catch the right guy or not?