While we’re here to talk books, I’ll admit I want to know how others are doing as well. Did Jeff and Jackie make it back from New Orleans yesterday? How is Rosemary doing in Scotland? And, I’ll tell you that I had a ticket with a great seat to see Kenny G’s Christmas show on Monday night, but I didn’t go. When I bought it, masks were mandatory in public buildings in Evansville. When I contacted the venue the day of the concert, they said masks are optional. Nope. I’ve been to that theater before. Cramped quarters, and I wasn’t going to sit there jammed in with a bunch of other people who were not wearing masks. Believe me, this is Evansville, and they wouldn’t be wearing masks. So, I didn’t go. Just one more story for our ongoing accounts of our daily lives here.
I just started Jenny Bayliss’ A Season for Second Chances. Last year, I enjoyed her book, The Twelve Dates of Christmas. This one started out as so many do. The woman catches her husband cheating on her. Asks for a divorce. Yada, yada, yada. At least she’s a mature woman of forty-three with grown kids. On Tuesday, I quit a book because the characters were just too young and immature. We’ll see how this one goes.
The book I’m really loving is Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs, but I’m only reading a chapter or two at a time, and there are one hundred chapters. I mentioned it here before, and I can’t continue to mention that book for the few months it will take me to finish it.
So, what about you? What’s going on in your life? And, what are you reading?
I was busy all week. I went on a walk on the road, and saw a loaf of bread just laying there. Weird. A few days later, another loaf of bread was in a ditch across the street. Meanwhile, you have to ask restaurants for their free bread. Who is throwing bread alongside the road and why?
I read Granite Elephants by Tom Rhyne; an Austin PI is hired to find a missing tech CEO, only to find that the mob and the US Army, among others, are also looking for him. The PI is one of those people who love living in Texas, while hating almost everyone who actually lives there.
In Dog We Trust by Neil H. Plakcy; a hacker on parole and going through a midlife crisis adopts a dog when his neighbor is murdered, and finds himself helping the police find the killer, despite the wishes of his parole officer. Okay, even if the sleuth is unlikable.
Enter the Jackal by Jonathan W. Sweet; Neo-pulp about a Shadow knockoff who got his powers while on an expedition to Egypt. I always thought of Set and jackals as being symbols of evil myself. Calling someone a Jackal is not exactly a compliment. I found myself wondering if there were some connection to terrorist Carlos the Jackal. The stories need some oomph to be more exciting.
How bizarre, Glen. Looks like you have your own mystery to solve!
Oh, I think Kevin Tipple might like Granite Elephant, Glen. He enjoys reading about Texas since he lives there.
As Gretchen said, that bread mystery is bizarre.
“The PI is one of those people who love living in Texas, while hating almost everyone who actually lives there.”
My Brother from a different mother! lol I feel so seen. Especially today when nobody was wearing masks at the car dealership up in Plano where we were getting the car serviced. We ht the library branch here in NE Dallas on the way home to do the dump pickup/dump shuffle and only us and the staff were wearing masks. I am so disgusted with people right now. Sigh.
As to the book…no sign f it at my library system. Put it on my Amazon wishlist so that I can do something later if the price comes down. Seems like an interesting read,
We had our holiday breakfast at work yesterday, Kevin, and masks were required, except when eating. People cooperated!
I agree with a later comment here. How difficult is it to put a piece of material over your face?
Impossible for some, apparently. The number of folks who still have not learned to wear one correctly and instead use it as chin diaper also astounds me.
Good morning. My mom enjoyed seeing all 4 great grandkids last week and it’s the first time I’ve seen the 9 month old. We exchanged presents so it’ll be quiet here for the rest of the holidays which is fine with me. I don’t really want to go to any holiday parties right now.
I read SAUCE FOR THE PIGEON by Gerald Hammond. After the police call him to help with a crime scene, Scottish gunsmith Keith Calder has to find evidence to prove a friend of his didn’t do it.
An ARC of HARDCOVER HOMICIDE by AFC Bookens. A cozy mystery set around a small town bookstore. This was an edgier cozy since it dealt with race issues and white supremacy but I like the characters in this series. My biggest problem with this series is that the bookstore owner recommends books to her customers and I always end up adding one or two to my tbt list.
GUILD BOSS by Jayne Castle. The latest in her ghost hunter series set on the planet Harmony. Reading these makes me want a dust bunny.
Sandy, I’m going to have to look for the series by Bookens. That’s funny, though, that you’re taking the book recommendations.
Good morning!
We have been getting our share of snow here in Wisconsin. December is often this way – a few inches of snow several days in a row and then a big snow with 6 or more inches. That is exactly what we have in store. We have had a couple of different small snows this week with another inch or so expected today. Our big snow is expected to come Friday afternoon/evening. My back is already feeling it. But the forecast says to expect highs in the 40’s next week!
One of the reading challenges I participated in this year is called The Literary Life 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge. One of the categories is a Shakespeare play. So in order to fill that spot I have been reading As You Like It. Another category in that challenge is a poetry anthology. I am reading One Hundred and One Famous Poems. I started it in January and intended to read a poem a day. Well, that didn’t happen, so I am attempting to finish it up before the end of the year.
I also finished Dead Fall by Nancy Mehl. This is the second book in the Quantico Files series. The FBI’s elite Behavioral Analysis Unit is called in to investigate one of the strangest cases they have ever dealt with. The case involves the death of one of the cofounders of the BAU. What makes it so strange is that his body was found in a locked room with no signs of forced entry. As the unit begins its investigation, they find it difficult to create a profile of the killer. Before long, another murder is committed. Now that they know they are dealing with a serial killer it should be easier to create a profile. Except they keep running into roadblocks. When they realize members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit are being targeted, the pressure is on to stop the killer before one of their own becomes a victim. Interesting look into the BAU and quite a page turner.
Hope you all have a safe and peaceful week!
I’m going to avoid thinking about winter weather, Gretchen, until I have to. It’s not my kind of weather at all.
There’s a reason I don’t do reading challenges. I’d feel guilty for not reading a category.
Dead Fall sounds very interesting!
I’m finishing a few books that I started on vacation. And deciding what my 2022 might look like–I’m thinking about reading REALLY LONG novels in 2022–novels that are 600 pages or more. Novels like “Mason & Dixon” by Thomas Pynchon, and “The Tunnel” by William H. Gass, and “The Runaway Soul” by Harold Brodkey. In fact, I have started reading “The Dying Grass” by William T. Vollmann, a novel of the Nez Perce War and part of his “Seven Dreams” which is a series of historical novels “about the conflicts between European colonists and indigenous peoples during the settlement of North America. Each volume focuses on a different episode in North American history, with most also including digressions and chronological departures. The narrator is credited throughout as William the Blind.” Anyway, Dying Grass is 1300 pages and you need a lap desk to turn the pages, but because of the unique prose style he employs, I feel it’s critical to read in print.
Oh, David! That’s an ambitious reading plan! Good luck with it.
Good morning! I hope you like the book, Lesa. I have it on my hold queue because I liked her last book also. I gave up trying to find Christmas by the Book at the library so I bought it on Kindle–looking forward to reading it. Last night I got to see (on Zoom) the rehearsal for Melinda Doolittle’s Christmas concert in TN. Melinda came in 3rd on American Idol almost 15 years ago and I’ve followed her since–had first-row tickets for one of her concerts. I’m in her Patreon group, which is absolutely delightful. Here’s what I’ve finished this week.
IT’S A WONDERFUL WOOF by Spencer Quinn is my second Chet and Bernie Mystery in the past two weeks–the holiday offering is the latest in the series. For some reason, the plot seems unnecessarily complicated, but maybe that’s just me. At any rate, I was happy that Bernie summarized what had transpired and what had been learned close to the end of the book. Fortunately, the plot is not the most important part of the book for me. I read this series for the remarkable relationship between Bernie and Chet, the world as interpreted by Chet’s canine brain, and the continuing cast of characters. With Bernie’s former love Suzie now married, he’s navigating a sometimes-fraught relationship with an attractive police detective, Weatherly, and at least one other female that pops up in the process of the investigation seems intriguing. Even though it’s marketed as a holiday book, Christmas doesn’t play much of a role in the plot. But who cares? Reading the book was time well spent.
I love a good show biz memoir, especially when the author waits until later in life to write it, so I really enjoyed APPARENTLY THERE WERE COMPLAINTS. Sharon Gless, best known for her multiple Emmy-winning performance in Cagney and Lacey, was born into a prominent Los Angeles family–her grandfather was a powerful entertainment attorney who hobnobbed with such luminaries as Cecil B. DeMille and Louis B. Mayer. She says she was “rambunctious and expressive” from an early age and was obsessed with movies but didn’t decide on an acting career until late in her twenties. She didn’t fit the usual starlet mold but nevertheless scored a 10-year contract from Universal and has the distinction of being the very last contract player in Hollywood. In her memoir, which she says took her 8 years to write from contract to publication, she frankly discusses her ongoing battles with alcoholism, depression, and her weight, her many romantic relationships, her encounters with a host of celebrities you will recognize, her closest friends and family, and her many professional successes (and failures). What I particularly enjoyed was the refreshing transparency and humor with which Gless narrates her life–warts and all. I felt like I came to know her better and appreciate her more as I read this entertaining book.
Hot on the heels of the first Brooklyn Murder Mystery, released early this year, is the follow-on, NO MEMES OF ESCAPE by Olivia Blacke. Louisiana native Odessa is still in NYC, living in her aunt’s apartment and caring for her cat. But when Aunt Melanie returns home from her travels sooner than expected, Odessa is faced with the sobering possibility of having to give up the life she has come to relish in the Williamsburg neighborhood–working as a waitress at a local cafe and book store and enjoying the new friends she has made. The murder occurs when Odessa is tackling an escape room with best friend Izzy and a few others. One of their party is found murdered, and the murder weapon is a cornhole contest trophy Odessa and Izzy had won earlier in the day. It doesn’t help that Izzy’s current beau is a police detective, who is reluctantly viewing Izzy as the prime suspect. I found the resolution of this murder a bit difficult to swallow, but I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Odessa and her coworkers at the cafe. It’s a light-hearted quick read that makes me want to keep reading this (hopefully continuing) series.
Time travel books always intrigue me, but I can’t stop thinking about SHE WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING by debut author Sarah Adlakha. Maria is almost 40 and pregnant with her third child. A psychiatrist, she is startled to hear a new patient insist that she is from the future. A day later, that patient is dead. Plagued with troubling dreams, Maria wakes up one day to find herself back in her 17-year-old body, with full memory of her future life. She struggles to understand whether this has happened so she can prevent a tragic occurrence in her husband’s family or keep her mother from dying from cancer. And she doesn’t know how, or whether, she can get back to her husband and children. Of course, her stunned parents don’t know how to help her, and no one believes her story . . . until three strangers enter her life, all trying to get Maria to do something different for their own purposes. I can’t say any more without spoilers, and I will admit it was sometimes a bit difficult to follow the twists and turns of the story, but the book made a strong impression on me and I might have to read it again. Wow!
I’m on the waiting list for Apparently There Were Complaints, Margie. I really wanted to read it after she sat in front of us at the theater in NY, and turned around and talked to us for a minute. And, I loved Cagney and Lacey. It sounds just as good with your summary.
I haven’t read the last couple Chet and Bernie books, but I agree. I read them for Chet’s outlook on life.
I’m glad to hear No Memes to Escape is good, even though the resolution isn’t quite right. I liked the first one.
Margie, you’ve probably read it already, but if not I think you need to look for a somewhat similar book to the time travel one that is one of my favorites, one of the rare ones I’ve reread. That is Ken Grimwood’s REPLAY. (This goes for Lesa and other time travel fans too.) 43 year old Jeff Winston dies of a heart attack and then wakes up at 18, in his college dorm room, with full remembrance of his life and the mistakes he made. He knows (he thinks) what to change this time, as well as how to get rich, and then… well, you need to read it to find out. Other than Jack Finney’s TIME AND AGAIN, this is probably my favorite time travel book.
I think I will have to look out for SHE WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING.
OK, the library had it so I was able to download a copy.
Oh, I read Replay, Jeff. Terrific book! And, I love Jack Finney’s books, including Time and Again.
Oh, Jeff, I absolutely LOVE Replay. I bought it years ago, and my sons and I have been passing it back and forth. All of us have read it multiple times. I’ve recommended it to many other readers. I believe Ken Grimwood died young, which is sad because I would have loved to see more books from him. I did think of that book when reading She Wouldn’t Change a Thing–there are some similarities, but the tone is quite different. I’d love to hear what you think after you read it.
You say in your comments on MEMES that “ The murder occurs when Odessa is tackling an escape room with best friend Izzy”. I have no idea what that means. What is an escape room and how is it tackled?
An escape room is a type of entertainment where you go in a group and pay to enter a room in which you have to work together to solve puzzles in order to advance and ultimately “escape” within the allotted time. In this book one person in the group is murdered inside the escape room. I hope that makes sense!
I think so, but it’s an entirely new idea to me. Thanks.
Good questions! The answer is, yes, thankfully. We did make it home. After our flight was further delayed from noon to 1:30, the skies brightened and planes started taking off and landing. They even moved our flight forward a little, but though every passenger FOLLOWED THE TEXTS DIRECTING US TO BE THERE ON TIME< the crew didn't! We could have left half an hour earlier (the plane was there and cleaned and ready) but the crew sauntered in late, with no apologies or explanation. Oh well, it was only two hours and twenty minutes in the air and the plane was half empty, so all good. We had a great time in New Orleans (and seeing our friends( until that last hiccup. And the weather was great, 75 to 80, until the colder, foggy weather at the end.
Books? Yes, I read books. First was the David Sedaris Diaries mentioned previously, A CARNIVAL OF SNACKERY, which I finished on Friday. Man, he sure travels a lot. This trip confirmed for me that I prefer to stay home, but every year Sedaris (who has homes in London and New York and France) is in Tokyo and China and Sydney and various places around the world. Not for me, but I enjoyed reading about it.
I did finish a collection of stories, Edward D. Hoch's THE NIGHT PEOPLE and Other Stories. Hoch wrote hundreds of stories (mostly mysteries) with a dozen or more series characters, but these are non-series stories from the '50s to the '70s. Frankly, while readable, I greatly prefer his series stories, whether about Dr. Sam Hawthorne, or Nick Velvet (the thief who only steals things that are valueless) or the others. I have one more collection of his non-series stories to read.
I am a huge fan of Michael Connelly and his (now retired cop) Harry Bosch, and I like his other characters, including younger cop Renee Ballard, who prefers the overnight shift, and "Lincoln Lawyer" Mickey Haller, Bosch's half brother. THE DARK HOURS is about Ballard mostly, though Bosch backs her up and helps her out. It was a fast read – I finished it on the plane ride home – but in honesty I have to say it was far from one of my favorites. Ballard's main obsession is the series of rapes by an unusual two man team. The other case involves a former gang member gone straight who is murdered in a New Year's shooting, with the bullet tied to a case Bosch handled ten years earlier. I can't say exactly why the book didn't grab at me the way so many of his have (like the ones with more of a personal stake for Bosch or Haller), but it just didn't. I kept turning the pages but I was just never excited by it. That's on me, obviously. The end portends big changes for Ballard but we'll have to wait for another book to see how they pan out.
I did want to see your reaction to The Dark Hours, Jeff. You’re not the only one to say it was just okay, but not great.
I’m glad you two are home safely. Really glad the crew finally showed up.
I just brought The Dark Hours home from the library. Now I’m wondering if I should read it. I’ll leave it till last from this crop of books. Thanks for the insight.
Both my son and I enjoyed THE DARK HOURS though it was not as good as some earlier reads. O thought it could have been impacted by the fact he was working on the new Bosch for Amazon. Scott is convinced that he had a ghost writer writing parts of it.
Now to other comments. First, I agree on the concert story. We are not going to see The Mavericks next week because Nassau County venues do NOT have the strict vaccination proof and mask policy that New York City venues do. THey “encourage” you to be vaccinated and wear a mask? Nope, not good enough. The two concerts and two shows on Broadway we’ve seen this summer and Fall have been much stricter, and more reassuring.
There were no problems in the airports or on the planes about masks, by the way. New Orleans restaurants require proof of vaccination as New York restaurants do, but just like here, not all restaurants actually check. For the record we were asked for proof in Mother’s, Ruby Slipper (terrific brunch), Port of Call (best burgers), but not in Deanie’s.
Oh, Jackie read two books by Alexis Morgan in her Paladins series on the trip.
After finished the Connelly, I’ve started James Kestrel’s very highly praised FIVE DECEMBERS. This one starts in Honolulu a couple of weeks before what will turn out to be the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, when ex-solider turned cop Joe McGrady gets assigned to a very grisly murder case. So far I can tell you that his description of Hawaii in 1941 is brilliantly done, the sights, sounds, people, etc. I don’t want to recommend a book that I haven’t read enough of yet (11% on the Kindle) to give a fair assessment, but the level of the writing plus all the rave reviews makes me think I can do so, at least for those who don’t mind the hard-boiled side of things.
That’s what I thought about the concert venue, Jeff. And, I’ve read how strict NYC is, and you had said it, too.
I’ve read some of the same raves as you did for Five Decembers. Sarah Weinman raved about it in the NYT, and I saw some other strong reviews.
Glad you made it home, finally. Travel is for the birds, literally. I stay home. I was intrigued by your comments on FIVE DECEMBERS, so I checked the library. 23 holds on 2 copies for the ebook, 1 hold on 7 copies for the physical book. Seems odd, doesn’t it? I put a hold.
I can’t guarantee you’ll like it but I definitely recommend you try it, Rick. Very well written so far, and the descriptions of both Honolulu and the outskirts are very visual and evocative.
Hi, Jeff. I’m a friend of Lesa’s and I try to read through this post on Thursday’s when I remember. I’m pretty forgetful. I wanted to comment on your reading of Five Decembers by James Kestrel. You probably know that James Kestrel is a pen name for Jonathan Moore. I met Jonathan at the Raleigh Bouchercon in 2015 and have remained in touch. He’s also an attorney and lives in Honolulu. I haven’t read Five Decembers yet (I will), but I am thrilled for his success with this book. Stephen King was highly complementary of it, and it’s been on most of the Best of 2021 lists I’ve seen. I was hoping to get Five Decembers read before the end of the year, but it’s going to be close.
Hello Thursday Peeps!
The Bread Mystery – will it ever be solved?
SO glad Jeff and Jackie made it home from New Orleans. Travel has become such a pain! We need trains, wonderful stress free trains. That’s my wish, so more it be.
Getting ready to read CHRISTMAS BY THE BOOK (thank you for the recommendation!).
I’ve read two very good eARCs.
Kristy Woodson Harvey’s THE WEDDING VEIL Is a dual line historical fiction featuring the Vanderbilts and Biltmore House. I learned things I did not know about Cornelia which has sent me down yet another rabbit hole to learn more. I loved it.
And I also loved –
Darling Girl
A Novel of Peter Pan
by Liz Michalski
In this beautiful, grounded, and darkly magical modern-day reimagining of J. M. Barrie’s classic, to save her daughter’s life one woman must take on the infamous Peter Pan—who is not the innocent adventurer the fairy tales make him out to be . . .
Life is looking up for Holly Darling, granddaughter of Wendy—yes, that Wendy. She’s running a successful skincare company; her son, Jack, is happy and healthy; and the tragedy of her past is well behind her . . . until she gets a call that her daughter, Eden, who has been in a coma for nearly a decade, has gone missing from the estate where she’s been long tucked away. And, worst of all, Holly knows who must be responsible: Peter Pan, who is not only very real, but more dangerous than anyone could imagine.
Eden’s disappearance is a disaster for more reasons than one. She has a rare condition that causes her to age rapidly—ironic, considering her father is the boy who will never grow up—which also makes her blood incredibly valuable.
It’s a secret that Holly is desperate to protect, especially from Eden’s half-brother, Jack, who knows nothing about his sister or the crucial role she plays in his life. Holly has no one to turn to—her mother is the only other person in the world who knows that Peter is more than a story, but she refuses to accept that he is not the hero she’s always imagined. Desperate, Holly enlists the help of Christopher Cooke, a notorious ex-soldier, in the hopes of rescuing Eden before it’s too late . . . or she may lose both her children.
Darling Girl brings all the magic of the classic Peter Pan story to the present, while also exploring the dark underpinnings of fairy tales, grief, aging, sacrifice, motherhood, and just how far we will go to protect those we love.
Editorial Reviews
“A compelling and richly imagined twist on an old story, Liz Michalski’s Darling Girl captured me on page one and hasn’t released me yet. An emotionally gripping demonstration that a mother’s love, when tested, can become a force of nature. I will never look at Neverland and its inhabitants the same way again.”
—Brunonia Barry, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader
“A dark and elegant look at a story we all know well. Liz Michalski takes Peter Pan where all the old stories go, where magic is never without a cost, and pixie dust might be more powerful than you imagine. Fantastic!”
—Barbara O’Neal, When We Believed in Mermaids
“A captivating question quivers at the center of the engrossing novel, Darling Girl: What if Peter Pan isn’t just a story? While meeting the Peter Pan you never knew, reading Darling Girl is like falling under the enchanting spell of Liz Michalski prose. As with all true magic, there must be both the seductive darkness and the illuminating light: Michalski masterfully gives us both. Darling Girl introduces us to the Darling family decades away from Wendy and Peter, descendants who are grappling with secrets that protect a family mythology and a boy who will never grow up. With a young girl and her fiercely protective mother at the center of a spellbinding story, Darling Girl is powerful and captivating. Neverland and the reader will never be the same again.”
—Patti Callahan, New York Times bestselling author
“A dark and dazzling tale. Liz Michalski has used her own magic wand to shed light on the lengths we go to in order to preserve the myth of beauty, the myth of youth, and even the myth of fairytales themselves.”
—Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author
“Darling Girl is a richly written story of what it means to live in the wake of a fairy tale, and the strength and courage it takes to step out of that shadow and find your own story. Full of heartache, sacrifice, and bravery, this is a book that will linger in a reader’s thoughts.”
—Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians
“A gritty retelling of Peter Pan that incorporates a dark, disturbed Peter Pan into the lives of the Darling family’s descendants in search of immortality. Skincare magnate Holly Darling’s world is rocked when her comatose daughter goes missing, and things get even worse when she realizes there’s only one person who had a motive to steal her daughter – the shadow of a man she once knew. This is the perfect story for readers looking for the darker side of fairy tales.”
—Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks
(Above copied from amazon.com)
I’ll be interested to see what you think of Christmas by the Book, Kaye.
I will admit that I’m not the target audience for Darling Girl. It sounds too dark for me.
Hugs, Kaye!
Same here.
Kaye, I’m looking forward to Darling Girl because of your enthusiasm for it.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks here with fiscal year end. But I’m still reading. Today, I am planning to finish up FROSTED YULETIDE MURDER by Kim Davis, book blogger turned cozy mystery author. It’s the fourth in the series, and it’s fun.
Mark, I’m glad you are still finding time to read, although I know the end of the fiscal year is always hectic for you. I appreciate mysteries set during holidays.
I am sorry about the concert, Lesa. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever feel safe at a baseball game or in a movie theater again.
This week I finished THE TWELVE JAYS OF CHRISTMAS by Donna Andrews. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. It was a typical Meg Lagslow mystery but usually her Christmas mysteries are a little more heartwarming with lots of community spirit. I felt this one lacked this. Nobody was particularly likeable in this with to include Meg who was laid up with a bad ankle while her husband and sons were on a skiing vacation she had to miss out on. The plot dealt with the murder of the artist her grandfather commissioned to paint blue jays for his upcoming book. This installment pretty much cemented my decision to part company with the series.
The next book I read was EIGHT PERFECT HOURS by Lia Louis. I only found it so-so. Noelle is stranded in a traffic jam and spends 8 hours in the car parked next to her because she needed her phone charged to call her Mum getting to know the handsome behind the wheel. Their paths keep intersecting throughout the book and ends up with the predictable ending. I never really felt the intense connection between Noelle and Sam and when all was said and done, their coincidences in life just seemed a bit too contrived to me.
Lastly, I finished A CROSS COUNTRY CHRISTMAS by Courtney Walsh. It was definitely a Hallmark Christmas movie on the written page but I liked it very much. Lauren and Will embark on a road trip from California to Illinios to be home for Christmas. Very predictable but cute and sweet. It was a Kindle Unlimited.
Thanks so much for the heads up on DARLING GIRL, Kaye. I love all things Peter Pan and look forward to reading it.
Happy Reading!
Sharon, I hope you love it!
I know, Sharon. If people were wearing masks, or more people were vaccinated, I’d feel better. But, our county is red again. Just too many people scoffing at vaccines.
Eight Perfect Hours was the book I brought back to the library. I just couldn’t get into it.
As usual, being on the left coast and sleeping in, I’m at the tail end of Thursday at Lesa’s, but here we go. I’ll return to make comments on other posts after.
It’s been an interesting week. On the only dry day of the week the guy came to install our outside Christmas lights. They look great. We’ve sorta decided what we’ll do inside, it’s nice but so much work. The rainy days were wonderful for reading and bird watching (the local Cooper’s Hawk is often seen, along with all the usual suspects), but no garden work has been done. Then again there isn’t much this time of year.
I’m furious with politics and gun violence but this isn’t the place for that, so I’ll move to reading.
I finished the second of Patricia Skalka’s Dave Cubiak novels, Death At Gills Rock. Cubiak is Sheriff of Door County, Wisconsin which is on a peninsula between Green Bay and Lake Superior. It’s an interesting setting. I liked the ending of the book and immediately requested the third one, Death In Cold Water.
While waiting for it, I read Anne Marie Ryan’s Christmas by the Book, which Lesa reviewed here on November 29. I hadn’t read a Christmas novel in a long time, but found all the expected elements here: struggling small village bookshop owners who decide, despite their own hard times to help others by randomly gifting six holiday books to six locals in need of a lift of spirits. We learn about the six and how the books they receive affect them, and good and relief comes to the bookshop owners in return for their kindness and generosity.
I then read Veil of lies : a medieval noir mystery by Jeri Westerson, the first in her just concluded 15 book series featuring Crispin Guest, a dishonored Knight who he lost his title, his lands, his livelihood because he committed treason, falling for a plot to put his mentor, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster on the throne. The book opens with a locked room murder and Carrie’s on smartly from there. Interesting setting and character.
Now, I’ve started that third Cubiak novel, Death In Cold Water. This is a series I’m enjoying. I hope everyone is enjoying the build-up to the holidays.
Thank you, Rick! I imagine your outdoor lights are beautiful, and I’m happy for you that they’re up.
I’m right with you about politics and gun violence, but won’t go there either. Instead, I’m happy that you’ve found a new series to enjoy with the Dave Cubiak books, and liked the other two books you read. It sounds as if you’re out of your slump at the moment.
I love the holidays, from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
Finished Turnout. Not for everyone, but it was pretty good. And Not A Happy Family..kept my interest but kind of repetitive on to Mrs Clause Halloween Homicide. Ok. Brought home a bunch of books for Tommy, then pass to aunts and cousins.
Carol Jeanne! I’m so glad you took home a bunch of books for Tom. Mom told me!
I forgot to mention that, after a day delay, London Bridge Is Falling Down by Christopher Fowler arrived yesterday. It is the twentieth and final (!) Peculiar Crimes Unit novel featuring Bryant & May. Though I am far behind in my reading of this series, but I like it so much I have purchased all of the books and as of yesterday have a complete set. For anyone who hasn’t read Fowler, Full Dark House, the first in the series, is the place to start. Be prepared for nicely drawn setting and delightful, quirky characters working unusual crimes.
If the library would stop pouring books into my trough, I’d be reading one RIGHT NOW.
Oh, but libraries have to continue to send books to our avid readers, Rick!
I love that series, Rick! But I’m behind and need to catch up.
I am starting two new books. I have decided for a while the only way to get through my batch of small print, books is balancing it with a normal sized one.
The normal sized print from my unread books is The Quakers of New Garden, with four short books connected by four authors. They are romances which I rarely read unless they are people my age or Quakers. I finished the first one in the collection and then went down the rabbit hole this morning because it referred to Dolley Madison was a Quaker. That is President James Madison’ s wife.
Dolley’ s first marriage ended with yellow fever, killing all but her and her son. Aaron Burr aided her in her suit against the executor of her husband. The will indictated that everything should go to her but the executor refused to release the funds. Later she married James Madison even though he had slaves. Her only son became an alcoholic and never found a career. Her son could not manage the plantation, so she tried to sell it after her husbands death. When the White House was on fire, she asked a slave named Jennings to take down the portrait of George Washington to rescue and he died. Dolley put in her will that Jennings would free upon her death. But being the depth of poverty, she had to sell Jennings to an insurance man. Daniel Webster bought him and freed him. Daniel Webster sent baskets of food and Jennings even gave her money out of his own pocket to survive. Later Congressbought James Madison’ s paper for about $20,000 to $25.000. Dolley died at the age of 81. There is more but I am sparing you of that. One of my ancestors wa s Daniel Webster. I had no idea of his connection to Dolley Madison before.
I am also beginning Signora Da Vinci by Robin Maxwell in small print about Leonardo Da Vinci’s mother.
Carolee, when you say “small print”, do you mean as opposed a large print book, or what most would consider regular sized, or…?
Interesting, Carolee, that you read anything about Quakers. In this section of the country, people read about the Amish and Mennonites.
I have read about all three! My mother’s family were Quakers, I have visited the Amish and many of the Quakers became Mennonites. I have read one book about a woman who was one. Before and during and after the Civil War, the Quakers left for the Mennonites. I learned about the evolution while tracing the family history.
One of my ancestors was Levi Coffin. He raised $100.000 for food,clothing for the slaves running away. His home is a historical landmark.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Coffin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad_in_Indiana
That’s fascinating, Carolee!
So many great recommendations today! Because I love Jack Finney’s TIME AND AGAIN, I have made note of the time travel books Margie and Jeff have mentioned. Thanks much!
I usually just lurk here on the Thursday post when I remember to check in. I’m so forgetful. I’m friends with Lesa and Kaye, and I always love to hear what they’re reading, and as a bonus, I get to see what the rest of you lovely people are reading, too. I’m so behind this Christmas. I am just finishing up putting the ornaments on the tree. I’ve decided to send only a few Christmas cards this year, which I’ll get out tomorrow. I did manage to get all but one Christmas packages mailed the first of the week. And, of course, my reading is screeching to a halt for the end of the year with me desperately trying to get in a few more books that I think are candidates for my “Favorites of 2021” list, which will go on my Reading Room Blog.
I’ve just finished Elly Griffiths’ 6th Brighton Mystery, The Midnight Hour, and loved it. Lesa and Kaye know how much I love Elly and her books. I started with her first series, the Ruth Galloway series, and that one remains the dearest one to my reading heart. I also love her stand-alones, The Stranger Diaries and The Postscript Murders, which, while they are labeled stand-alones, feature the same detective, Harbinder Kaur, who is a new favorite character for me.
I’m reading the latest Lord and Lady Hetheridge book, Untrue Blue, #7. Anthony Hetheridge is the ninth Baron of Wellegrave and was until recently a Chief Superintendent for New Scotland Yard. He met Lady Hetheridge, Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield, who is half his age, on the job right before his 60th birthday. They are fantastic characters, and their marriage is a smashing success. Tony is now a PI, but he does consulting work for the MET. Emma Jameson is the author of the series and does a wonderful job of filling it with interesting characters and plots that keep the reader guessing.
The books I hope to read before the year ends include Five Decembers by James Kestrel, We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker, The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, God Rest Ye Royal Gentlemen by Rhys Bowen, Mrs. March by Virginia Feito, Unsafe Haven by Lucy Burdette, The Taking of Jemima Boone by Matthew Pearl, The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye, The Stolen Hours by Allen Eskens, Death and the Maiden by Ariana Franklin and Samantha Norman, and 1979 by Val McDermid. I’ll be lucky to get three or four more read, as it starts to get Christmas busy for me next week.
Lesa, is the Victory Theatre the venue for Kenny G? I had tickets for something there last year and didn’t go. When I called about masks and precautions, the person I talked to was quite rude about it. I have tickets for Mannheim Steamroller here in Owensboro at the RiverPark on the 21st, but I haven’t checked on whether masks and vaccination proof is required. If not, I may not be going.
Yes, Kathy, the Victory was the venue for Kenny G. I uses Facebook Messenger, so no one had the chance to be rude, but that was why I didn’t go – masks optional. I’m not sure they know who their target audience is – older people who do wear masks.
You have an ambitious list of books there. Good luck with your end of year reading, Kathy!
Who is the author of Untrue Blue? I’ll look it up if you don’t answer. That series sounds interesting.
If you don’t get back here because you’re busy, Merry Christmas, Kathy!
I can’t believe I forgot to list the book I’m starting tonight, Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara. Thanks to Lesa for bringing this book to my attention and featuring it in a giveaway, which I won.
That should say Untrue Blue! Oops
Thanks for mentioning True Blue, Kathy. I love the series and did not know there was a new book!
Editorial note – Rosemary sent this for me to post this morning, but we had our holiday breakfast at work, so I didn’t read it until 4 this afternoon! I enjoyed it as much as ever. But, here’s a warning. I didn’t edit out her comments about British politics. She suggested I could. Instead, I’ll just say you might want to skip the beginning if you’re not interested. To me, it’s world news, and I’m always interested.
Thank you, Rosemary!
Good morning Lesa and everyone,
Firstly Lesa, I want to say that I am 100% with you re not going to your show. It is such a shame you had to give up your ticket, but it’s just not worth the stress. I know masks are a thorny issue, but I personally just can’t understand people who refuse to wear them. Don’t they care about anyone else? What is the big deal?
Yesterday Boris Johnson re-introduced the mask mandate in England (though it’s still a very limited one) – why on earth he ever lifted I don’t know – except of course I do know, he will do anything to please his very extreme back bench MPs and their voters, who bang on non-stop about Freedom, Personal Liberties, and all that nonsense. He has often been on official visits lately and not worn a mask himself – even in hospitals. He is dreadful, and some of his colleagues (especially the absolutely unbearable Jacob Rees-Mogg, and yes, his name does say it all) are even worse.
He has also told people to go back to working from home ‘wherever possible.’ It’s not a law, and I think by wrapping it all up in this wishy-washy language he tries to keep everyone sweet. It may become law later in the week, but it will no doubt still be framed in these vague terms.
Meanwhile in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all of whom have better administrations than England (not difficult) the mask mandates have never been lifted. I don’t want to pretend that this works perfectly – it drives me mad to see how many people ‘wear’ masks round their necks, or just don’t wear them at all (and I honestly don’t believe they all have ‘medical exemptions’) but in general it is accepted. I was on a bus from town (a short ride) the other day, and I noticed that everyone around me had masks on and properly worn. It wasn’t a busy service (I avoid those times) but it was good to see. I myself go around opening the windows marked ‘keep this window open for ventilation’, which have often been firmly shut. I know it’s cold, but no-one is on our bus for more than 30 minutes, and most for much less time. I do get cross looks from some people, but hey ho.
The bus I had to take into town was early and therefore used by school pupils. I was so impressed by their behaviour – all, literally all, of them had masks properly worn, There was no shouting, no pushing. I know I’ve said this before, but I am so fed up with young people being criticised non-stop. A lot of my peers should instead be thinking about their own behaviour.
In Scotland we have also had a ‘work from home’ mandate as the default measure ever since the first lockdown, but it has been allowed to slip, and more and more companies have ordered their staff back into the office. Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon stepped up the mandate and emphasised that this must be followed. As a result my husband’s company closed its entire site and now almost everyone is working from home again. I must say I am relieved. Although there is a very high vaccination rate in their workforce, many of the staff have children in school and nursery, and none of these children are vaccinated – they have not been offered the jab (why not? Again it’s all to do with ‘liberterianism’…) Schools, etc are not closing (so far) – Johnson will be very loathe to do that again. My daughter, who works in a very big school in west London, does say she agrees with that, even though she is worried about the potential exposure. It would be good if school staff could be offered the booster urgently as key workers, but so far this has not happened.
OK, that’s enough politics…
I am still reading the same books I was on last week – Catherine Alliott’s A CROWDED MARRIAGE, Catriona McPherson’s WINTER GROUND, and some Christmas short stories. I am not really into any of these books so far – they are good enough to keep going, but not enough to make me pick them up at every opportunity. Maybe it’s the time of year.
After the storm we had a couple of weeks ago, most of our local National Trust estates have had to close – so many trees are down, they have no idea how long it will take to clear them and when they will be able to re-open. And as for replanting – it will of course take many years to repopulate the woods. Nancy and I are having to find alternative walks – today we are just going to potter round Westhill – there is a nice easy walk to a small village nearby, and another one up above the town, with great views. We were so lucky down here in that there was hardly any damage – I think we were just in the right ‘pocket’ to avoid that particular wind direction. So my river walk and the old railway line paths are fine, and I have walked them several times this week.
On TV we are watching Vigil – not my choice, as I find submarines quite terrifying enough without adding murders into the mix. It is well acted – I’ve never seen Suranne Jones turn in a bad performance, and Shaun Evans (ie Endeavour) is also very good. I’ll still be glad when it’s over!
We also watched the 1974 film of Swallows and Amazons, which I must say I thought was terrible. My husband wanted to see it as he spent childhood holidays in the Lake District, and his parents moved there properly when they retired. He had also read all of the books. I found the acting dreadful and the story pointless – but I’ve never read the books, and looking at the reviews of the film I see that many people loved it, it brought back happy memories for them.
On the radio I listened to another Miss Marple – A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED – which was OK, and am now onto STRONG POISON, in which Peter Wimsey first meets Harriet Vane – while she is on trial for the murder of her lover. So far it’s quite good, and well acted. A book that I feel I have heard far too much about is also currently on BBC Sounds – ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE. Sometimes too much hype puts me right off, but then I wonder if I am shooting myself in the foot. My friend Diana is listening to it and enjoying it so far.
A book I am much more interested to read is one mentioned by a participant in the latest Six Degrees of Separation challenge – it is LIVING WITH A DEAD LANGUAGE by Ann Patty. This is how Amazon describes it:
‘An entertaining exploration of the richness and relevance of the Latin language and literature, and an inspiring account of finding renewed purpose through learning something new and challenging.
After thirty-five years of living in New York City, Ann Patty stopped working and moved to the country upstate. She was soon bored, aimless, and lost in the woods. Hoping to challenge her restless, word-loving brain, and to find a new engagement with life, she began a serious study of Latin as an auditor at local colleges.
In Living with a Dead Language, Patty weaves elements of her personal life into the confounding grammar and syntax of Latin as she chronicles not only the daily slog but also the deep pleasures of trying to master an inflected language. Courses in Roman history and epigraphy give her new insight into her tragic, long-deceased mother; Horace into the loss of a brilliant friend;, Lucretius into her tenacious drivenness and attraction to Buddhism. Catullus calls up her early days in 1970s New York while Ovid adds a delightful dimension to the flora and fauna that surround her. Finally, Virgil reconciles her to her new life—no longer an urban exile but a scholar, writer, and teacher. Along the way, she meets an intriguing, impassioned cast of characters: professors, students, and classicists outside of academia who become her new colleagues and who keep Latin very much alive.
Written with humor, candor, and an infectious enthusiasm for words and grammar, Patty’s book is a celebration of how learning and literature can transform the past and lead to a new, unexpected future.’
I took Latin at school and would have liked to have continued with it, so this book sounds right up my street.
And now I must stop and get going.
I hope everyone has a good week. We are off to Edinburgh again next Thursday, but I will try to get my post done beforehand.
Rosemary, I too don’t understand why wearing a mask for health safety reasons should be such a scorned, violated thing! How did everything get so divisive and political? What happened to kindness and respect?
I always enjoy your comments, keep them coming.
Two positive things this week:
We are still in a holding pattern for my husband’s problems with his retina in the right eye, BUT he drove the car today for the first time since his cataract surgery. (My son has been driving us everywhere.) It was just home from the grocery store, which is near to our house, but he used his new distance glasses and they work well enough for that.
AND
I am getting a haircut in a week, after not getting my hair cut for two years, since January 2020.
I have read two Christmas books, one a mystery, and one not. THE LAST NOEL by Michael Malone is general fiction. I have read two of his mysteries and loved them, but this was very different. Usually I don’t read books set in the South (because I grew up there), but this one covered from 1963 through 1998 and handled race issues and politics of that time pretty well. Plus I like Malone’s writing. This one was not totally realistic but it worked for me. It was very sad and sentimental at the end but I liked it.
I also read SPENCE AND THE HOLIDAY MURDERS by Michael Malone, a police procedural set in the week before Christmas, written in 1977 and a bit old fashioned but that was fine with me. Christmas wasn’t really a big part of the story, except for everyone wanting the case to be closed before Christmas, but for some reason I love mysteries set around Christmas.
I have been reading MURDER IN THE SNOW by Gladys Mitchell (also titled GROANING SPINNEY). Gladys Mitchell wrote 60 plus mysteries in the Mrs Bradley series from 1928 through the 1980s. I started it on December 1st but I am doing it as a group read over 4 weeks, so right now I am about a third of the way through. I am liking it so far. Like most series with a lot of books, there is a lot of variety in quality in the books, and I have only read three others.
I hope everyone’s week has been good and I will be coming back to read other comments soon.
Tracy, It’s been a long process for your husband. I hope his vision continues to get better.
I love to read Christmas books this time of year.
I finally went to a movie for the 1st time in over 2 years and saw House of Gucci. So so good. Getting ready to start listening to By Light or by Crook by Eva Gates on audio. Might be picking up print edtion of 1979 by Val McDermid or Killer Research by Jenn McKinlay (a library mystery-can’t resist it)
Katherine! Good for you! I haven’t been to a movie in 2 years, and there’s nothing I really want to see at the moment.
I want to read both of those books, but there are others ahead of them.
I mentioned earlier that we went by the library today. I now have in my possession GATED PREY by Lee Goldberg.
I wanted to take a minute to share some good news…..
We were both boosted a week ago Monday.
Scott came completely off the anti seizure med several weeks ago and has cleared through the highest risk time. Next Tuesday he has a brain wave test. That test will determine how he is unmedicated and hopefully he will get a clean bill of health.
About a month ago, shortly after I read at the Noir at the Bar: Dallas deal, I was interviewed by author Frank Zafiro for his crime podcast. The podcast dropped yesterday where we talked books, reviewing, short stories, and a lot more. The link is on my blog.
Finally, earlier this week, I was directly and personally invited to submit to an crime fiction anthology that would be out next Spring. I have not been invited to submit anywhere in years and have not been writing my own fiction since shortly before things with my wife really took a big turn for the worse. I have no idea if I can actually write my own fiction again. But, I am going to give it a try. Sandi used to say I was in a better frame of mind when I was writing and after nearly five years now of not writing, maybe it is time to try to get out of the massive grief sea and do something.
KRT
Kevin, that is all good news, but especially the invitation to submit for an anthology. So glad to hear that things are going well for you and Scott.
Thank you. Fingers crossed on my son. he needs a break.
Kevin! That’s so much good news – booster, Scott’s health. I hope you write that story. Have fun, and good luck with it.
A whole week of good news! Now that you’ve been to the car dealership and library (boo, hiss on those people not wearing masks), you have time to settle in and write.
I need an idea for it and I have nada at this point. Am hoping something will come to me while I am doing other things. My mind always worked in weird ways story wise so I am hoping that some of that old magic will spark something.
Lots of good wishes to you for inspiration, and to Scott for good health!
Thank you.
Hi Lesa! I’m finally finishing The Fire Thief by Debra Bokur (a fine mystery set in Hawaii) and will start The Storm Crows by Jenny Sunstedt later today. As far as life is concerned, it’s quite calm and quiet here in Northern Colorado. I’ll walk Sassy (Scottish Terrier) in a few minutes, then get to work on revisions for my current wip. We don’t go out much these days except for groceries and occasional meetups with friends (masked or outside), but we do play a lot of Boggle and we have a couple of new jigsaw puzzles we’ll put together soon. (One note about those puzzles: 4,000 pieces is insane. We finally taped up the pieces in their box and stuck it in the garbage.)
Patricia! I’ve worked on jigsaw puzzles with my Mom. 4,000 pieces is insane! You’re right. I played a lot of Boggle in college with my roommate. It was what we’d do in the middle of the night if we couldn’t sleep.
Lesa – Thanks, as always, for hosting WHAT ARE YOU READING. Several titles from your readers’ comments went on my list. Today, I started Ethan Canin’s, “The Palace Thief.” This long, short story was the basis for the Kevin Kline movie, “The Emperor’s Club,” which I just saw on cable and liked enough to track down the source. My copy of FIVE DECEMBERS arrived, so I’ll be reading it this month.
Thank you, Elgin! I love to host What Are You Reading. It’s my favorite post every week. Enjoy Five Decembers!
GATED PREY by Lee Goldberg.