BOOKS FROM THE BACKLOG #8

Hi,

Books from the Backlog is a weekly feature hosted by Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books. I'm doing double features every other week: one physical book and one ebook.

title: Smaller and Smaller Circles

author: F.H. Batacan

genre: mystery, thriller

published: June 7th 2016 by Soho Crime (first published 2002)

my copy: trade paperback, 368 pages

purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

goodreads

This harrowing mystery, winner of the Philippine National Book Award, follows two Catholic priests on the hunt through Manila for a brutal serial killer. 

Payatas, a 50-acre dump northeast of Manila’s Quezon City, is home to thousands of people who live off of what they can scavenge there. It is one of the poorest neighborhoods in a city whose law enforcement is already stretched thin, devoid of forensic resources and rife with corruption. So when the eviscerated bodies of preteen boys begin to appear in the dump heaps, there is no one to seek justice on their behalf. 

In the rainy summer of 1997, two Jesuit priests take the matter of protecting their flock into their own hands. Father Gus Saenz is a respected forensic anthropologist, one of the few in the Philippines, and has been tapped by the Director of the National Bureau of Investigations as a backup for police efforts. Together with his protégé, Father Jerome Lucero, a psychologist, Saenz dedicates himself to tracking down the monster preying on these impoverished boys. 

Smaller and Smaller Circles, widely regarded as the first Filipino crime novel, is a poetic masterpiece of literary noir, a sensitive depiction of a time and place, and a fascinating story about the Catholic Church and its place in its devotees’ lives.

why did I buy this. This is from a Filipino author set in the Philippines. It was originally published in the country but since I am not very familiar with the releases here, here I am getting the book when it was finally publisher internationally (prob more expensive as well. ugh). I don't know the plot, to be honest, and I don't have plans to really get to it since it's a

why is it still in my tbr. scared. I'm scared to get to it because it's really hyped here in my place. I've also never seen the movie and maybe I should. 

title: Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1)
author: Robin LaFevers
genre: young adult, fantasy
published: April 3rd 2012 by Houghton Mifflin
my copy: Kindle, 565 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
goodreads

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

why did I buy this. idk. It was popular then and I really want to get into fantasy? but now, I don't really push myself to get into them but I still do try sometimes. 
why is it still in my tbr. I'm intimidated. not a new reason. lol. It's fantasy and it's over 500. not surprising there.

HOW ABOUT YOU

Have you read these books? What do you think of them? Should I put them at the top of my tbr?

let's connect!