I know some of you will pick up the slack today since I’m in New York. I should have time to drop in this morning. I haven’t really decided what I’m doing today, although I’m heading to the Met tomorrow to see the Winslow Homer exhibit.
I will tell you what book I brought with me, hoping to read some of it.
Sandra Dallas’ latest book, Little Souls, was just released. Her books are hit or miss for me. I’ve loved several, liked a number of them, and found one or two just okay. But, her novel, The Persian Pickle Club is still one of my all-time favorites. Here’s the description of Little Souls.
“Sandra Dallas’s Little Souls is a gripping tale of sisterhood, loyalty, and secrets set in Denver amid America’s last deadly flu pandemic.
“Colorado, 1918. World War I is raging overseas, but it’s the home front battling for survival. With the Spanish Flu rampant, Denver’s schools are converted into hospitals, churches and funeral homes are closed, and horse-drawn wagons collect corpses left in the street. Sisters Helen and Lutie have moved to Denver from Iowa after their parents’ deaths. Helen, a nurse, and Lutie, a carefree advertising designer at a fashionable women’s store share a small, neat house, and each finds a local beau―for Helen a doctor, for Lutie a young student who soon enlists. They make a modest income from a rental apartment in the basement. When their tenant dies from the flu, the sisters are thrust into caring for the woman’s small daughter, Dorothy. Soon after, Lutie comes home from work and discovers a dead man on their kitchen floor and Helen standing above the body, an icepick in hand. She has no doubt Helen killed the man―Dorothy’s father―in self-defense, but she knows that will be hard to prove. They decide to leave the body in the street, hoping to disguise it as a flu victim.
“Meanwhile Lutie also worries about her fiancé “over there.” As it happens, his wealthy mother harbors a secret of her own and helps the sisters as the danger deepens, from both the murder investigation and the outbreak.”
What about you? What are you reading this week?
Have a fabulous time in New York, especially this weekend!
I’m working on THE SHADOW OF MEMORY by Connie Berry. It’s moving a bit slower than I would like, but that’s because life is conspiring to keep me from reading. I am loving the book and wish I had the time to truly dive in and enjoy.
Mark-a little jealous you are already reading the Connie Berry. It is one of my favorite mystery series and I learned about it through Thursday at Lesa’s
I’m jealous too, as none of Connie Berry’s books are in the Aberdeen library system, and on Amazon they are over £20 each! I will have to wait.
Yes, I blame you, Mark. It was my favorite in the series. (smile)
Enjoy your trip to NY. It’s funny but I can take either the bus or train into NY and I haven’t been there in years.
I finished DOUBLE VISION by Elizabeth Hunter. A funny paranormal mystery set in California.
A BREW FOR MURDER by Summer Prescott. A dead body turns up in a coffee shop.
THE CURSE OF THE WEREPENGUIN by Allan Woodrow. A middle grade book which was a bit too repetitive
I’m jealous, Sandy. I love this little area of NY around Broadway.
I think it is so often that way Sandy – I grew up in London but did not go to galleries or museums until I was living in Scotland and took my daughter down to visit. Although we only lived 25 minutes on the train from central London, in my childhood that seemed like a different world. Even when, as an adult, I was working in Kensington, I still didn’t make the most of the city. I try to do better now in Aberdeen.
Sandy, I can understand that. I’ve lived in Queens and Brooklyn my whole life, but had never been to the Statue of Liberty until we took some British friends there. Top of the Empire State Building, check. Statue of Liberty, no, In fact, I’ve been to Niagara Falls more than I’ve been to the Statue.
Hi – I had a very enjoyable read this week – How To Kill Your Best Friend by Lexie Elliott – she grew up in Scotland so I thought of Rosemary. Five friends get together for a memorial for one that died and, of course, weird things start to happen so just like Agatha Christie they are all under suspicion. Glad the weather is decent for you and enjoy the MET.
Oh I’ve never heard of Lexie Elliott Donna, I will look her up.
Cold here, Donna, but I’ve still been out and about. Cold enough for hot chocolate this morning! Thank you! I will enjoy the Met!
Congratulations on winning the Raven Award! It’s an honor you’re very deserving of, and I hope you enjoy the ceremony tonight. I’m currently reading and really enjoying “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus. It’s one of those books that you try to read slowly because you don’t want it to end! I’m already looking forward to the author’s next book. Next on my list to read is “Marrying the Ketchups” by Jennifer Close. Enjoy your time in NYC!
Thank you, Linda. I always enjoy my time in NY, but tonight’s event is the one that makes me nervous.
Thank you!
It’s sunny here today – if cool – and I hope you have a good time. The Dallas books does sound interesting, as I am interested in the 1918 flu epidemic. The only book of hers I’ve read was THE PERSIAN PICKLE CLUB.
I finished the Stephen King book, BILLY SUMMERS, which I did generally like, though the ending not so much. Also read Roddy Doyle’s 2010 collection of short stories, BULLFIGHTING. It wasn’t bad but I far prefer his new collection, LIFE WITHOUT CHILDREN, which I recommend highly.
Currently reading short story collections by William Brittain – THE MAN WHO SOLVED MYSTERIES, all about high school science tear Leonard Strang; Lily King – FIVE TUESDAYS IN WINTER, recommended by a friend (and good so far); and Graham Swift – ENGLAND AND OTHER STORIES (he’s the author of the excellent LAST ORDERS).
Just about finishing up the WWI-set mystery, FORTUNE FAVORS THE DEAD, as mentioned last week. It’s good, not great. I like the setting, like the central couple of detectives, the first person narration.
Enjoy the Edgars dinner! Congratulations again.
Thank you so much, Jeff. Even with your weather briefing, I wasn’t prepared for yesterday’s cold! But, it wasn’t as bad this morning. Thank you!
Yeah, the killer is the wind. Without that, the weather would be perfect!
Hope you’re having a great time, Lesa! I love Sandra Dallas novels and look forward to reading this one soon. She’s going to be in my town for a book event soon, so I may get my copy there if I decide to go.
I’m currently reading Down Range by Taylor Moore. It’s the first novel in a series, a contemporary mystery/thriller set in the Texas panhandle. I love the characters and the harsh setting, so it may turn out to be a favorite series to follow.
Oh, I wonder if Kevin Tipple knows about this series. I’ll have to mention it to him, Patricia. Thank you!
I hope you get the chance to go to the Sandra Dallas event!
Did not know about it and just slapped a library hold on a copy. Thank you, ladies!
Hope you having a terrific time in New York, Lesa!
This week I finished THE STAYCATION by Cressida McLaughlin. Hester Monday is a travel agent with a phobia of flying. Jake Oakenfield is a coffee buyer living in New York. On a trip to London, he saves an elderly woman from being hit by a car. While recuperating from his injuries in a hotel, his sister arranges for Hester to plan a trip to Thailand when he is well enough to fly again. Jake doesn’t want a trip to Thailand but instead asks Hester to tell him about her favorite places to visit. She then plans elaborate evenings taking Jake on Staycations around the world using photos and anecdotes from her friends’ travel and meticulous research. I probably should have stopped reading this one. Despite all the 5-star Goodreads ratings, this one wasn’t for me.
I am really loving the book I am reading now. SISTERS OF THE SWEETWATER FURY by Kinley Bryan is about the severe storm that hit the Great Lakes in 1913. The author’s great grandparents were a captain and a cook who survived the storm with their children. This follows three sisters during the storm. Sunny cooks along with her husband on a ship sailing the lakes. Cordelia is a newlywed married to ship’s captain based in Cleveland on a ship transporting ore to Duluth. Agnes lives in a city on Lake Huron. She is the widow of a U.S. Life-Saving Serviceman who died in the line of duty. The story follows each of the sisters during the storm. What a frightening weather even to live through. I fell down the rabbit hole looking at all the pictures.
Happy Reading!
Sharon, I need to look for Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury. Thank you. I grew up on Lake Erie, so I’d appreciate the book, I think. And, I went out a couple times when a guy who was pilot on one of those Great Lakes boats.
Hi, everyone, and hope you are enjoying NYC, Lesa! I got lots of good reading in this week since I was stuck at home with Covid. I thoroughly enjoyed “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchett and “Arsenic and Adobo” (mentioned here in the past). “A Woman of No Importance,” about an American woman organizer of the French Resistance in WWII, was so good I gave a copy to my husband’s uncle so we could talk about it. Now I am reading “The Resisters” by Gish Jen which is about both baseball and our dystopian future.
Lesa, I hope you enjoy the exhibit. in the 80s I got to see a fantastic Winslow Homer watercolors exhibit at the Yale Art Museum and have loved his work ever since.
I hope you’re doing better, Trisha. I heard people who attended the Malice Domestic conference have been coming down with COVID. We have to be masked and vaccinated for tonight’s, so I hope we’re okay.
I’m looking forward to the exhibit tomorrow!
A couple books for today:
Charles Todd recent A GAME OF FEAR#24 in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series.
In an interview Charles Todd said that Caroline Todd had cowritten this one and a Bess Crawford novel before her death last August. Set in 1921 in Essex, this story is typical of the series. An accurate historical setting for a mystery (did Lady Benton witness a violent murder or is she losing her mind?) with lots of atmosphere and plenty of clues.
And I decided to read AWAY, a 2007 novel by Amy Bloom, to get a feeling for her writing style before reading her recent memoir. After her family is murdered in a Russian pogrom, Lillian comes to America alone, determined to make her way. Word comes that her daughter, Sophie, might still be alive. The story takes her from New York, to Seattle, and up to Alaska, toward Siberia.
“heartbreaking, romantic, unforgettable”
My tower of library books is waiting, so hope to have more to share next week.
It’s always interesting to see what you’re reading, M.M. Thank you!
I’ve just finished Donis Casey’s THE WRONG GIRL. A tight dual timeline set in 1920’s Oklahoma & Hollywood. A fun story, but very much a tell-rather-than-show narrative. Quirky action, but hard to get close to the characters. Still, I love twenties Hollywood!
I love Donis, Ana, but I really loved her Alafair Tucker series set in Oklahoma. I haven’t tried the Hollywood ones.
Beginning Morgan’s Passing by Anne Tyler. Only read one chapter, but it is engrossing so far.
Also reading Speak Up, Speak Out by Cotetta Scott King and Tonya Bolden, it is a biograhy of Shirley Chisholm. I remember her speeches and when this young adult book popped up, I took it to learn about her life. I am listening to a recording of her speech for the Equal Rights Admendment, which is still not passed.
Finished listening to Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. Writing a review now.
I wonder if we’ll ever pass the Equal Rights Amendment, Carolee.
Good afternoon from a sunny Aberdeenshire. This morning I walked with a friend and her Labradoodle at Crathes Castle. Labradoodles are so affectionate, but also incredibly bouncy and I am always a bit concerned that someone Ruby bounces up to won’t welcome the attention – there are always posts on our local FB page asking people to keep their dogs under control and not to assume that everyone likes them, or indeed that every other dog wants to be bounced on. Thankfully today there were no incidents.
My friend’s daughter had twins 18 months ago, during a very tight lockdown in Kuala Lumpur. The family is now back here in Scotland, and they have just discovered they are expecting again – another set of twins. I am sure they will cope but I can’t quite imagine how.
I have just finished reading the book I mentioned last week DEATH AWAITS IN DURHAM by Helen Cox. I don’t think I’d recommend it, the only good thing about it was that it was fast paced. It concerned the disappearance of a student while she was on the phone to a radio station, about to reveal a ‘shocking secret’. The police have failed to solve the crime, so along comes a librarian (!!) who has magically trained as a private detective in her spare time; she has been alerted to the crime by her friend and library colleague, Grace, who has just started a course at the same private university. Unfortunately the whole thing was unconvincing, the dialogue was leaden and the plot just silly. So far as I know there is only one private university in the UK, we simply don’t have them – and that was just one of numerous points that simply did not ring true. I believe this is the latest in a series, and people on Goodreads say the earlier ones were better, but I don’t think I’ll be seeking them out.
My walk yesterday was to Cults (a smart suburb just outside Aberdeen but also on the Dee, hence property prices are astronomical) purely because my little local shop here had no lettuces. It’s a lovely walk along the old railway line, mostly through wooded areas but with intermittent views right across the valley. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that when I got there I could not resist a visit to the two charity shops, so I came back with four books as well as two lettuces. Then I had to return a book to our library, and picked up another book from the sale table. The books were:
FIREFLY SUMMER by Maeve Binchy, which seems to be about a developer’s plans to turn the remains of an old house, burned down in the War of Independence, into a luxury hotel resort.
IN ThE UNLIKELY EVENT by Judy Blume – I’ve only read one book by this author – it was a YA one, and this appears to be for adults. It looks interesting.
THE CORPSE ON THE COURT by Simon Brett – I know Brett as the author of the Charles Paris mysteries, but this is a stand alone novel
DARK SUITS AND SAD SONGS by Denzil Meyrick, which is apparently ‘a DCI Daley Thriller’ but I haven’t read any of the previous books in the series. It’s set in the west of Scotland. The author grew up in Campbeltown and now lives on the shores of Loch Lomond. My elder daughter’s maths teacher grew up in Campbeltown and I remember him describing it as the end of the earth – ‘there is NOTHING there.’ It is at the tip of a long peninsula many miles from any large settlments, so i suppose if you were young you could feel a bit marooned.
THE VATERSAY RAIDERS by Ben Buxton. This is non fiction and is about ten men who, in the early 1900s, left their homes on Barra and Mingylay (very small Hebridean islands) and set up (really just in a few huts) on the island of Vatersay. They did so because the policies of the absentee landlords who owned their birthplaces meant that they had been living in abject poverty. When the men refused to leave Vatersay they were sent to prison in Edinburgh, but this led to such a public outcry that the government eventually purchased Vatersay itself for crofting (the traditional small scale subsistence farming practised on the islands and the more remote parts of the NW coast.)
I don’t know anything about this important part of Scottish history, so i will be interested to learn. Nowadays crofters are protected by legislation; if a crofter wants to move away or dies, his or her croft must remain as a croft. If they wish to sell it, it must first be decommissioned as a croft, and this does not happen without an inquiry of some sort.
On TV I have been persevering with DERRY GIRLS but I must say I think this last series has been a let down. I have seen three episodes now and for me they have been very disappointing. I’ll be interested to hear what you think Jeff.
I also finished watching ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL on Netflix. I enjoyed it very much, though it was quite depressing to see how much it mirrored the behavour of some of the members of our current Westminster government, who never seem to get the comeuppance they so richly deserve. Michelle Dockery – Lady Mary in Downton Abbey – plays the barrister who tries to secure a rape conviction against a politician who has so far lived a privileged life and has presented himself (as they like to) as the perfect family man. Siena Miller plays his wife – she is especially good, as she starts off by accepting her husband’s version of events, but gradually comes to see the truth, and also to remember things about their undergraduate years at Oxford University – things that at the time she had not questioned, but now realises were not what they seemed.
And on BBC Sounds I have been listening to two excellent books, TRANSCRIPTION by Kate Atkinson, about a young woman who is recruited as a spy during the war, and THESE DAYS by Lucy Caldwell, also set in the war but this time in Northern Ireland, focusing on two daughters of a doctor’s family, who each have very different social lives. I believe this book is quite new, as I have seen people praising it on twitter,
Monday is a public holiday here so if the weather is good it won’t be a day to go anywhere – beaches, forest walks, etc will be mobbed. I plan to garden if it is fine and read if it isn’t.
The new jacket I ordered for Charlie has just arrived, so I will also have a go at rigging him out in his Saltire gear and taking him for a walk. Heaven only knows how that will go…
Have a good week all!
Sadly, Rosemary, we’ve been finding that to be true with a pot of post-pandemic series that resume after two or three years in between. The latest here is RUSSIAN DOLL on Netflix. I loved the first series but this one is a bit of a confusing mess, Still, I will be watching DERRY GIRLS when it starts (soon).
I’m one who tolerates dogs, Rosemary. Not crazy about them, but I’ll pet them if they come up to me. Just not a dog person.
I like the sound of the books you picked up! Oh, I’ll be interested to see what happens with Charlie. My Josh used to love to go for walks. I finally stopped it because he would run to the door all the time, and I started to worry he was going to dash out.
My sister in Vancouver got a Labradoodle in 2020. Made her first border-crossing trip last weekend to Seattle. She’s apparently incredibly calm for a bouncy dog.
I forgot to mention Jackie’s latest find. She loved Darynda Jones’s two mysteries about Sheriff Sunshine Vicram last year so went back to her earlier, Betwixt & Between, fantasy series, She read BETWIXT and is reading the second, BEWITCHED, now. They are calling it “A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel.” Forty-something Defiance Dayne discovers in the first book that she comes from a long line of powerful witches. Jackie loved the sense of humor.
I’ve tried to post twice, and neither worked! Of course, I didn’t think to copy what I posted (although it was mostly cut and pasted from my spreadsheet. Let’s see if these sentences work, and if so, I’ll try once more.
I get so involved in reading everyone’s comments that I’ve found it best to update the page just prior to posting my own. I haven’t had a problem since I started doing that.
Thank you for the suggestion, MM. I tried it twice, but sadly, it didn’t work for me.
So frustrating!
Just thinking about going to the Edgar Awards dinner makes me nervous, I cannot imagine how nervous you must be. But once there, I know it is going to be great fun for you. And you get to be in New York for a few days too!
The book you featured, Little Souls, sounds very interesting. I read three non-fiction books about the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic in 2020 (all owned by my husband) and it helped me a lot in that year of Covid 19. So now I think I am ready to read some fiction rleated to that topic (the Spanish flu). I hope it is a good read.
I have been reading BANGKOK 8 by John Burdett for 9 days and only finished it late last night. I loved it and I don’t know why it took me so long. Maybe too much else going on. It is the first book in a series of six books, set in Thailand and published in 2003. I was surprised that I liked it so well because it covered a lot of challenging subjects that I never thought I would want to read about (transsexualism, prostitution, pervasive use of drugs). The book was told from the point of view of a Buddhist Thai policeman, and I wasn’t sure how much the writer actually knew about that and how much was his own invention. He does comment on that in an Author’s note at the beginning. On the other hand, I was immersed in the book while reading it, and liked the style of writing. And that is what I look for in a book.
Another book I have been reading for at least a week is BECAUSE OF SAM by Molly Clavering. It is part of the Furrowed Middlebrow collection from Dean Street Press, books by women writers of the early and mid-twentieth century. I have only read four chapters because I am reading on the Kindle and can’t read it at night. I hope to devote more time to it in the next few days.
I just started reading WHY DIDN’T THEY ASK EVANS? by Agatha Christie this morning. We want to watch the new adaptation but this is a Christie I haven’t read yet.
Other than reading, blogging, and other book related things, I have been weeding and thinking about what to plant in a drought in my small outdoor spaces.
Hello all!
I am late checking in today. We have a busy weekend ahead and I just haven’t had time to stop. But now I am enjoying a cup of tea and thought I would check in. We will be spending the weekend visiting my mother and mother-in-law. They both live about an hour and a half drive from us. Our weather has been cold, too.
This week I read The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. When Fanny Wincham was a baby, her mother left her and her father to pursue other interests. Consequently, she was brought up by Aunt Emily, sister of her mother. Aunt Sadie, another sister, had a family of her own consisting of six children and her husband Matthew Radlett. Fanny spent many summers and holidays at Alconleigh with the Radletts. She was closest in age to Linda and the two of them spent most of their time together.
After being introduced to society, Linda fell in love with the first man who showed an interest in her. Unfortunately, she soon fell out of love. Fanny tells the story of Linda’s search for love. I enjoyed her writing style and the humor. Without the humor, it would be a rather sad story.
Danger at the Cove by Hannah Dennison – the second in the Island Sisters series. Sisters Evie and Margot are making some progress on the renovations they have undertaken to Tregarrick Rock Hotel. The hotel is located in the Isles of Scilly and can only be reached by boat. The grand reopening is approaching and the sisters are working hard to get everything ready. When an old friend of Margot’s announces she is on her way, Margot doesn’t tell her they aren’t ready yet. Margot and Evie do their best to clear out one guest room and prepare it for their guest. To make matters more complicated, the time between tides is even shorter than normal due to a supermoon. When one of the hotel employees doesn’t return in time to beat the tide, Evie begins to worry. Another unexpected guest, a power outage and a sunken ship add more complications. I enjoy this series.
Enjoy your time in NY, Lesa! Hope you all have a great weekend!
I’m reading The Night Shift by Alex Finlay and listening to Death of the Black Widow by James Patterson
Lesa, I also meant to say that I purchased a copy (for the kindle) of The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas since you said you liked it so much.
Evening… I had a dental deal that went way longer than planned so I am checking in rather late.
My current read is Shifty’s Boys by Chris Offutt by way of NetGalley.
On my blog today is my review of Movieland by Lee Goldberg. I got a ARC via NetGalley.
I’ve been very busy this week.
I managed to read one book: Bodyguard and Other Tales by Roger Torrey; An anthology of various stories he wrote for Black Mask and other pulps. Torrey is enjoying a bit of re-discovery. Not bad for a guy I never heard of until a couple years ago.