Two Reviews for November 2016

A Siege of Bittern's, A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows (a Kindle library book from Overdrive)

If you like stories that give particulars about the environment, birding, and ecology this story may interest you. A Canadian Detective snags a job in England. He comes from a family of bird watchers and understands the lingo of this hobby. He was hired for his expertise in figuring out difficult murder scenes.

Included characters are residents of a society, that involves the teachers in a local college. There is an environmental group that does not mind bombing something to get the local attention. Most of the local people have been living in the area for awhile and are stuck in their ways. Then a murder happens. The clues are few and confusing.

“No reason other than pollution for them to avoid this place.” This statement by someone called Senior follows the line of reasoning, about the salt water marsh and why it fits into the story.

Detective Jejeune’s hobby, bird watching, does not always interest his significant other, Lindy. But, She tries throughout the story to become involved to please him. Not always with success. Mystery and action flow within the story, as well as birding information about salt marshes in England.


Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ by Alfred Edersheim (a kindle book from Amazon)

“Coming down from Syria, it would have been difficult to fix the exact spot where, in the view of the Rabbis, “the Land” itself began. There is a great deal of information in this book pertaining to the meaning of many scriptures. The story explains the countryside at the time of Christ.

The information covers the religious views of the people. It covers the daily lifestyle of different segments of the society during, that time in history. It covers not only Jerusalem but also, Syria, Palestine and other parts of the geographical area.

For instance, it explains in detail situations involving Christ’s actions within specific scripture. Matthew 15:28 at loc314 on the Kindle Paper White, “It was chiefly a heathen district where the Saviour spoke the word of healing, and where the woman would not let the Messiah of Israel go without an answer.” This passage continues to describe the people, society and types of worship Jesus would have encountered in this instance.

Other types of worship of other deities are addressed. “It was Herod Agrippa I who introduced the un’Jewish practice of images on coins.”

Because it is a Kindle edition of this book, I was able to see parts, that other people had underlined, which gave insight into different parts of the story. If you are a seeking this type of knowledge it is a worthy place to view important historical information.