“Horror at Fontenay” by Alexandre Dumas

This is an entertaining collection of loosely linked horror stories. It’s part of “The Dennis Wheatle library of the Occult” and the book required editing by the translator.....It seems that Dumas threw these stories together as a money-making venture, so that the original versions are quite sloppy. The main thread of the book is a chopped off head which retained consciousness long enough to address her murderer. Dumas is quite an entertaining writer.

“The Leopard” by Jo Nesbo

I quite enjoyed this book for the intricacy of its plotting and for its exploration of flaws in human nature. That said, it did describe some pretty gruesome scenes, and one wonders how much more damage Harry Hole can do to his body. Also, I’m pretty sure there were one or two minor inconsistencies in the plot. I always wonder if these issues are due to the translation process. On to the next book.

“The Snowman” by Jo Nesbo

This was an enjoyable read, though somewhat gruesome. I’m not sure if I want to see it brought to life in a movie. I think it’s probably the best Harry Hole book I’ve read so far.

“Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah

I enjoyed reading this book because it was very human, and taught me a lot about South Africa. And Noah’s mother is a great role model for resilience, strength and optimism in the face of adversity. The book was slightly choppy, though, and not as coherently structured as Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography. On the other hand, it was consistently concrete, which is better when you’re writing a narrative.

"Night Shift" by Charlaine Harris

This is Volume 2 of the Midnight Texas series, and it was a good, fun read. I enjoy the author's light-hearted sense of humour. The defeat of the demon was, of course, achieved with much more subtlety and simplicity than in the tv show. The main ingredient in the book was sex between Bobo and Fiji in the crossroads. The one aspect that bothers me is that Fiji the witch is too clearly Charlaine Harris ... including the fact that she's curvy. Even though the book is from the 3rd person point of view, it's only Fiji that you get to know intimately, due to continuous descriptions of her emotional life.