I’m home! I drove in yesterday. Terrific visit with Mom and family members. Last Thursday, we went to President Harding’s home, museum, and tomb. Friday evening, my sister Christie’s family came for dinner. During the week, we visited, walked, spent time with my husband’s aunt, who is 95, had freshly picked sweet corn. Oh, that sweet corn was good! We did what I call cemetery hopping, doing some family genealogy. And, we had gorgeous weather for the two weeks, comfortable enough most days to sit out on my Mom’s porch and watch the world go by. I think we only used the air conditioner twice when it was humid.
Now, it’s time to get back to reality, and back to reading.
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I just started Rainbow Rowell’s Slow Dance. It’s released this coming Tuesday. I like the tone, but we know I’m easily distracted by the next book that comes along. And, of course, the Olympics start this weekend, so who knows.
Here’s the blurb for Slow Dance. Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together . . . everybody but Shiloh and Cary. They were just friends.Best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha—Shiloh would go to go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change. Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed. Now Shiloh’s thirty-three, and it’s been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned. When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there—and whether she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything? The answer is yes. And yes. And yes. Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost. It’s the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start.
What about you? What have you been doing this week when I was visiting my Mom? I hope your weather was as good as what we had in northern Ohio. And, what we all want to know, “What Are You Reading?”
In case you were wondering about the timing of What Are You Reading? this morning, I had a heck of a time with WordPress, and couldn’t get it to publish. I finally reached out to my Webmaster, and she pushed it through. I’m sorry it was late for those of you on the West Coast or Scotland.
Hello, Lesa! It sounds like your visit was wonderful–I’m so pleased for you. You make me long for fresh-picked corn; it’s still mostly grown as animal food here in Switzerland! Boo-hoo!
I recently finished reading Ann Napolitano’s beautiful and moving HELLO BEAUTIFUL; I reviewed it in a blog post (https://kimhaysbern.com/2024/07/24/four-sisters) and highly recommend it. Since then, I’ve listened to Jojo Moyes’s SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES, about two very different women in London who come together because one accidentally takes the other’s shoes home from the gym. It got off to a slightly slow start for me, but it’s very much worth finishing. In fact, it has a deeply satisfying end. Now I’ve started BILLY SUMMERS, by Stephen King. So far, so good. Back to Val Mcdermid after this!
Oh, I agree, Kim. That would be a boo-hoo if you couldn’t get freshly picked corn to eat once a year at least.
Thank you! I’m off to check your review of Hello, Beautiful.
My review doesn’t tell much of the story, but I desperately didn’t want to spoil the plot.
I know! Sometimes, it’s so hard to avoid spoilers.
Thanks for the link Kim. I enjoy reading your posts here and will look for that review.
Thanks, MM. Sorry that I didn’t reveal more of the plot in the review. I thought about it and decided anything more would be a spoiler.
Beautiful weather this week in Northern MI! Finally it feels like summer.
This week I read “The Queen of Poisons” by Robert Thorogood – the 3rd installment in the Marlow Murder Club. Judith, Susie and Becks are together again, working as citizen advisors for the local police, aiding in the search for the murderer of the town’s mayor, who died from poison in his coffee during the last town council meeting. An easy, entertaining read, but I didn’t find the eventual identification of the guilty party to be a particularly satisfying ending.
A fun fact, that I discovered by reading the author’s bio in the book, is that he is also the writer for the “Death in Paradise” TV series!
Good morning, Mary! Isn’t it great to finally have summer weather?
I’m so pleased that so many of you seem to enjoy the Marlow Murder Club. I read the first one, and it just didn’t work for me. But, I’m always happy to see others enjoy a series.
I was a bit concerned not to find you here this morning. Glad you had such a good visit.
I only finished one book last week, the previously mentioned Sons and Brothers by Kim Hays. I was not surprised by who the killer was, and the victim was one of those “he needed killing” types you see so often in television crime shows or in books, but as mentioned last week, the book was really good and I enjoyed it. It’s more of a personal, family and friends type killing than the first book in the series. I’ll definitely be checking out book three soon.
Currently reading Close To Home, the first DI Adam Fowley book by Cara Hunter, of which there are seven or eight now. This is somewhat unusual, in that it is a police procedural of sorts, yet mostly told in the first person by Fowley. He has obviously suffered a personal loss (won’t do a Spoiler) in the past few months, though we don’t know the details yet. Young *8 year old) Daisy Mason has disappeared after a neighborhood fireworks party, and everyone assumes she was abducted and probably murdered. But things are clearly not what they seem, as her awful parents are so self-involved they didn’t even notice their own child, who clearly had secrets of her own. I’ve read a third of the book and should finish it in a day or so, and I’m curious as to where it will go. Makes good use of the Oxford suburban setting, and like Kim’s book, it sets up Fowley’s team of cops for future books in the series. People who recommended Hunter were right. She’s good.
Currently reading not three but FOUR collections of short stories. I know, why don’t I just read one book at a time and go on to the next one? Because, OK?
Douglas Greene & Robert Adey, eds., Death Locked In, anthology of locked room stories.
Philip K. Dick, Paycheck and Other Classic Stories.
Gerald Kersh, Neither Man Nor Dog
Toni L. P. Kelner, The Skeleton Rides a Horse and Other Stories, the latest Crippen & Landru collection.
Jackie read – and loved – the latest in J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, The Beloved
She is a big fan of Jayne Ann Krentz, under her own name and as Amanda Quick (mostly historicals) and Jayne Castle (often set in the future). She is reading a Castle now, People in Glass Houses, which is – apparently – silly but fun. I mean, a world where “dust bunnies” are alive is surely different.
Well, that is different – dust bunnies are alive? Okay.
I can understand why you read multiple collections. Variety! Sometimes all the stories in one collection can start to feel the same.
I was worried, too, Jeff, for an entirely different reason. I hadn’t even looked at my blog yet because I was having the same problem over at The Poisoned Pen’s. My sister texted me and said my blog wasn’t up. She always reads it early, and lets me know if there’s a problem. I appreciate that!
The dust bunnies are alien creatures, not what we call dust bunnies here. I like that series. They are predictable but entertaining.
Sandy, I always liked Jayne Ann Krentz. I may have to check out that series.
We had a buyer for my mom’s house but when we got to the closing date the deal fell through. Apparently there was an error on their pre-approval and they didn’t qualify for a high enough mortgage. I had to put it back on the market so hopefully we’ll get another offer. At least my mom finally appears to have settled into being in assisted living. I went to visit her yesterday and she was sitting downstairs talking to another resident instead of going right back to her room after lunch.
This week I read my first as Sci-Fi book in a long time. WE ARE LEGION (WE ARE BOB) by Dennis Taylor. Set in the future, people who had themselves cryogenically frozen have been declared property, and as the world is dying off after a number of nuclear wars, the race is on to create probes to search for other inhabitable planets using the brains of frozen people as pilots. I liked the main character Bob and his replicants and am waiting for the next two books in the series.
I’m also reading a book of short horror stories, SCREAMS FROM THE DARK 29 TALES OF MONSTERS AND THE MONSTROUS edited by Ellen Datlow. It’s going to take me a long time to get through since I only read a stor two between other books.
Well, darn, Sandy. I’m sorry that deal fell through. I hope you get another buyer soon. Best of all, though, is the news that your mother has settled into assisted living. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her.
I can see why you’re only reading one or two horror stories at a time, especially if they truly are horror.
So glad you had such a great time away Lesa; it sounds like it was perfect. Cemetery hopping! That almost makes it sound like fun, and I hope you got some useful information from it.
This was the week of cataract surgery for me. I survived! Still lots of vision problems because the difference between that eye and the other one is now so great that it’s causing double vision. The brain can’t decide which way to focus. Between that and the lack of depth perception I’m feeling quite unbalanced and a bit dizzy. And everything seen through the operated-on eye has a light violet tinge to it since I’m apparently not processing colour yet. It will be at least six weeks till the second eye gets done.
This week I read:
A BODY ON THE DOORSTEP by Marty Wingate, Book 1 of the ‘London Ladies Murder Club’ series.
A historical/cozy master set in 1921 London. Mabel dreams of being an ‘independent woman’ and moves to the big city where she finds work at The Useful Women’s Agency. Wealthy clients call the agency requesting help with various tasks which are then assigned to the women on the agency’s roster. The jobs can be anything – perhaps finding a missing passport, cleaning furs, hanging paintings, or reading aloud.
Mabel’s first job for the agency is helping out at a wake being held for Mrs. Despard’s husband who, after being missing for seven years, has now legally been declared dead. All is going well until Mabel answers the bell at the front door and finds a dead body at her feet and now the fun begins as she’s determined to find out who it is.
The story is very entertaining. Mabel is a likeable plucky young woman, the other characters are equally well drawn and add much to the enjoyment of the book, and they all have their own part to play in getting to resolution of the murder. I really liked this one am looking forward to the next three in the series. It was also interesting to read in the notes at the end that The Useful Women’s Agency did actually exist and I loved how it ended up being such a wonderful part of the story in its own right.
FUNNY STORY by Emily Henry. Almost everyone I know has already read this book but I just got round to reading it this week. An entertaining rom-com and definitely the better of the two books I’ve read by this author.
Miles’s girlfriend Petra breaks up with him – gets together with Peter, a friend of hers since childhood – Peter, having decided to be with Petra, now breaks off his engagement to poor Daphne – with nowhere to stay, Daphne moves in with Miles who has kindly offered that she can stay with him until she sorts out more permanent arrangements – and we’re off! to see how things work out between these four exes. My favourite character in the book was Miles’s sister Julia. She was fun, vulnerable, thoughtful, and bravely making her own way in the world while still trying to overcome a dysfunctional childhood. Maybe I related to her because of my own – although different – dysfunctional childhood.
The book was perfect to read while recovering from cataract surgery. It was light and entertaining enough that I felt compelled to keep reading even though I had to cover one eye the whole time so that I could read the words.
Oh, Lindy. Most people I know eventually adjusted to their cataract surgery. I hope your eyes adjust soon. It doesn’t sound easy for a reader. Having to cover your eye to read!
I like the sound of The Body on the Doorstep. Off to put it on hold at the library. Thank you!
Yes, Funny Story was one of my favorites by Henry.
Lindy, I picked up Marty Wingate’s The Librarian Always Rings Twice for free at last year’s Bouchercon but haven’t read it yet. It’s in a different series than the one you described, but I notice on Amazon that the author gets pretty high ratings. I think it’s time to propel it up my TBD list! Thank you.
Good morning & welcome back. Hot weather returned here, triple digits for days. The skies are filled with smoke from a group of lightning strikes that quickly merged into a wildfire. Not terribly close, but not far enough away. My sister is visiting and we got caught in a downpour in Reno yesterday, even bits of pea-size hail. Unfortunately, not a drop of rain at my house. But I did get in a few good books earlier in the week.
I listened to the delightful THE PICTURE HOUSE MURDERS, the first in the Miss Clara Vale series by Fiona Veitch Smith. The series was mentioned here last month and I thought it different enough to give a try. This “glittering Golden Age cozy” is placed in 1929 England and features an Oxford educated modern woman as she inherits her uncle’s estate. The estate includes a detective agency and full laboratory. The research information included as an afterword was quite interesting. Now I have a hold on the second in the series.
“On stage, a magician was murdered and no one saw it happen. The people with a strong motive to kill him are all in attendance, but the rest of the audience is their alibi.” A REASONABLE DOUBT is an engaging legal mystery by Phillip Margolin set in Oregon.
Another fine character driven novel by Clare Pooley HOW TO AGE DISGRACEFULLY follows a diverse group while they attempt to save the local community center and perhaps improve a few lives in the process. Entertaining.
Stay safe, MM. I hope the fires are put out soon, and don’t threaten your home.
Everyone seems to like How to Age Disgracefully. I’m going to have to put it back on hold. I had it, but too many people were waiting, and I didn’t have time to read it before it was due.
I’m glad you enjoyed The Picture House Murders!
MM, The Picture House Murders sounds great, and I just noticed that I can “borrow” it for free from Amazon Kindle. Of course, I did just that! Thank you for the recommendation.
Good morning, all! Last Friday my son and I went to a Queen tribute at the local Harris Center, and it was an experience! It was a sell-out, and there was a lot of dancing, singing, and yelling–and that was just the audience! The lead singer looked just like Freddy Mercury and must have sweated off half of his body weight during the performance. A lot of fun. As for The Marlow Murder Club, I hadn’t heard of it, but the first in the series was chosen as the August selection of my book club. I also just read that it will be a miniseries that is already approved for two seasons. We’ll see how I like it. In the meantime, here’s what I finished this week.
I’m giving Pamela M. Kelley’s THE CHRISTMAS INN five stars for the way it made me feel all the way through the book. It’s about second chances, not just for the main character but for two supporting characters, and it features many of the tropes that contemporary romance/women’s fiction include: losing a job, going back home to assist a family member, running into a past love, and a cozy small town (Chatham, Massachusetts on Cape Cod) during the Christmas holidays. From the early chapters of the book, readers can just about plot the rest of story themselves. BUT IT WORKS! At least, It worked for me because it wasn’t demanding, which I needed after reading more difficult books. There weren’t impossible roadblocks to happiness. There wasn’t much of the usual miscommunication keeping the couples from finding that happiness. But there was still some gentle suspense–will this character choose the right job, the right man? Will that one decide whether to go back home or stay in Chatham? The children are realistic and well behaved. Characters of varying ages, including two women “of a certain age,” are lovingly described and given their own stories. And the author, who was new to me, writes in such an accessible, engaging, and accomplished manner that it was pure pleasure to read the book. Best of all, it is set during the Christmas holidays, and it is one of the best at immersing the reader in the joy of that season. I will definitely look for more from Pamela M. Kelley. (September)
Celeste Connally’s ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND TREACHERY is a historical novel and worthy successor to the first in the series. In fact, I was delighted to find that I liked this book even more. We are back in London in 1815, where the beautiful and wealthy Lady Petra has just learned that her friend since childhood, the dashing Duncan Shawcross, may have been responsible for the death of her beloved fiancé three years earlier. Petra and Duncan have been carrying on a romantic liaison, and she can’t bear to think Duncan might have betrayed her. At the same time and at the behest of the royal family, Petra is investigating the death of the matron at an orphanage, where one orphan is complaining that the inheritance she expected when she reached age 15 is nowhere to be found. But there is a much more deadly plot that may affect Petra, Duncan, and others in her life. A cadre of those who believe the monarchy and Parliament are running the country into the ground and taking away the rights of citizens has turned dangerous, believing that only by violence will anything change. They have something planned in the aftermath of Napoleon’s defeat that promises to be devastating and is so intricately planned that Petra and her cohorts are racing to figure it all out before tragedy strikes. The book really picks up steam later in the book, with clever plot twists and an increase in exciting scenes of action and intrigue. I found Lady Petra to be a more relatable character in this series entry. I also enjoyed supporting characters such as a street urchin who has proven to be so much more, Petra’s close female friends–including a dog trainer, an extraordinary archer, and an apothecary–and Duncan himself and his previously estranged half-brother. I look forward to the next book in the series. (November)
Sophie Cousens ‘ latest book, IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM?, is a pleasing story of a 38-year-old woman’s attempt to pull herself out of the doldrums after she and her husband have divorced, and he is now living with a much younger woman. Anna is also trying to save her job as a lifestyle magazine writer/columnist by meeting the new owner’s demand for articles that skew younger and more vulnerable. She and Will, her handsome but pesky rival, come up with the idea of connected columns investigating very different ways to find new love. In Anna’s column, she analyzes each of seven dates with men suggested by her children–aged 12 and 7–rather than relying on dating websites. It’s fun to see Anna asking a series of diverse men out on some interesting dates, and the relationships she develops with a few of them. Along the way, of course, it becomes obvious that there is also a spark between Anna and Will, although he is younger and apparently has very different life goals. I found both protagonists appealing and relatable, although there were the usual communication issues. Anna’s children are adorable–Jess going through typical tween angst at school and Ethan just being a happy 7-year-old who takes in stride the changes in his life after the divorce. And supporting characters such as an ebullient woman who has survived a deadly disease and becomes a new friend are delightful. The ending is satisfying, even though it might not be exactly the one you might expect. (November)
The Christmas Inn sounds so good, and it’s now been added to my wish list. Thanks!
Margie, you sold me on The Christmas Inn! I love a good Christmas story.
Oh, I’m glad you and your son had fun at the Queen tribute!
I love Pamela Kelley and cannot wait to read The Christmas Inn now that you have chimed in on how much you enjoyed it, Margie!
Margie,
I’m going to see the Beatles Tribute there on Sunday!
Glen, I’ll be at the Beatles tribute as well! I’ll be in seat R104 (center front of the parterre). I hope to see you (and Anastasia?) there.
We’ll both be there, but I don’t know where we’re sitting.
I’ll have to get out my brown walnut hat, so you’ll recognize me!
Checking in quickly between work calls. I am so pleased you are able to spend time with your family, Lesa, after all these years away. I dropped into eBay looking for a specific title last wee and stumbled on a group of Detective Book Club collections from the 1940s for an unrealistically low price. After checking on the seller’s reviews, which were good, I ordered them and they arrived yesterday. In two boxes, which was a relief because I did not know how I would lift one box with all those books in it. And sent via FedEx Ground, delivered to my front door. I have been chortling over them, one of which is an out of print E. C. R. Lorac and several Anthony Gilberts. I read The Innocent Bottle by Gilbert last night. The 18th Arthur Crook, a lawyer with questionable practices who always gets a favorable verdict for his client, was a solid read. I guessed the culprit relatively soon but there was a very nice surprise about 2/3 through that sent the plot in a different direction.
What a nice collection of books, Aubrey!
I’m looking forward to our next chat to see how you’re settling in, and to talk about books!
Aubrey, I am so envious of the Detective Book Club editions that you purchased. What a wonderful find. I have read some of the Anthony Gilbert mysteries, but I have only found them in old paperbacks in tiny print and that is hard to read nowadays.
TracyK at Bitter Tea and Mystery
Had a biopsy of my scalp to check for cancer yesterday, It is hole in my head about the size of a nickel, I am hoping for benign, will know in 5 to 7 days.
I have been entering for a lot of GoodReads books and Honey by Isabel Banta arrived. It is about a young girl trying to be a singing star. She had a lot of interviews, but they came out with a lot of made up stuff. She wonders, am I that person or who am I? Good question. Too explicit in some places but the author does a good job of showing what a young star goes through and all the problems that arise during the process.
Oh, Carol. Of course, you’re hoping for benign. I am, too. I just said a prayer for you.
Isn’t it fun when you win a book? And, even better when you like it!
Thank you, so much Lesa! Yes, I am excited for the book.
Good afternoon Lesa and everybody,
What a great time you had with your family Lesa – and the brilliant thing about being retired is that you can do it again, whenever you feel like it!
I am just dropping in here in between preparations for going down to Edinburgh tomorrow. I will be there for almost all of August, so I really need to think about my packing – though as I’ll be staying with my daughter in our own house, I do at least have quite a few essentials there already. It’s more making the difficult choice about clothes – our weather has been so unreliable that anything could happen, rain, sun, wind, hail….we’ve had them all recently.
I have now more or less finalised my reviewing plans and obtained most of my media tickets, so that’s something. The Fringe begins on 2nd August but the book and art festivals don’t start till the week after. I’m also hoping to catch up with a couple of Edinburgh friends before everything kicks off, and David and I have tickets to see HIDDEN ORCHESTRA on 10th August.
My reading has been terribly slow of late – I’ve just been too busy. I finished CRIMES OF WINTER by Philippe Georget, the third of his police procedurals set in Perpignan (where the author lives – he is a news anchorman for France-3). In this instalment Inspector Gilles Sebag and his team must try to find someone who is informing men that their partners have been cheating on them; sometimes his messages and photos have led to suicides and murders. But who is he? How does he have access to this information? After several false starts, Gilles realises that the culprit could be in plain sight.
Meanwhile, Gilles must try to come to terms with the fact that his wife Claire has been unfaithful to him. She desperately wants to save their marriage – but can he forgive her?
Aside from the plot, it is fascinating to me to read about the lifestyle of the Catalans in the Roussillon. They are so close to Spain, and the real locals do see themselves as quite different from the rest of France – many speak in a Catalan dialect, and their food and wine is very much Catalan rather than French.
I have enjoyed each book in this series, but each one has been marred by a poor translation, and unfortunately Crimes of Winter seemed to suffer this fate even more than the first two novels. The translation is clunky, literal, and with no feel at all for nuance or colloquialisms. Words became more and more jarring until at times they distracted me from the plot. I stuck with it because I was sufficiently gripped by the story, and was also enjoying the different characters in the investigating team and incident room banter between them.
I reviewed Crimes of Winter here: https://sconesandchaiseslongues.blogspot.com/2024/07/paris-in-july-crimes-of-winter-by.html?lr=1721917259579
Now I am reading MAEVE BRENNAN: WIT, STYLE AND TRAGEDY, AN IRISH WRITER IN NEW Y0RK by Angela Bourke.
I didn’t know much about Brennan, so thought I should read this before seeing a Fringe show about her next month. She was born into an Irish nationalist family in 1920s Wexford – both of her parents were very active in the fight for Irish independence, and so far much of the book is about events pre and post separation. I had not known, for example, that the writer Erskine Childers (author of THE RIDDLE OF THE SANDS) was a fervent Irish nationalist who was executed by a British army firing squad at the Beggars Bush Barracks in Dublin on 24 November 1922. The Irish Civil War ended six months later, when a treaty was finally signed to give Ireland its independence, but to retain the Six Counties as Northern Ireland, which is still technically part of the UK. And we all know the trouble that has led to.
As a child Brennan recalled British troops constantly calling at the family home looking for her father, who slept many nights in various safe houses. On one occasion the soldiers marched in with bayonets, ransacked the house, and although they could see that Bob Brennan was not there, they stayed all night, and refused to let Maeve’s mother even go upstairs to her children.
Brennan’s family later moved to the USA and she became an acclaimed journalist and writer of short stories. She was a strkingly beautiful woman, and a very intelligent one. She spoke Irish as fluently as she spoke English. Sadly, in later life she suffered a great deal of mental ill health, and became destitute, finally dying in a care home at the age of 76.
I’m about half way through the book – it’s very small print and packed with names and facts, but if you concentrate (always a challenge for me!) it’s very interesting and rewarding. I do like it when something I’m reading links with other things I’ve read or heard about.
Last night we went to the Barn at Banchory to see BLUR: TO THE END, a fly on the wall film about Blur’s comeback last year. Much of the film followed the band members as they met up for the first time in some years at Damon Albarn’s home in rural Devon, then at various rehearsals as they put their new album together, and took it out on the road. I know very little about Blur, but I found Albarn an engaging character – obsessive, definitely, but sincere and extemely hard working. Alex James, though, came over as incredibly annoying, a middle aged man who still thinks he’s God’s gift to women, and complained all the time about what hard work it was having to do a tour when he has a farm to run (he’s very into making cheese) – when of course we all know that he must have a huge staff doing all the work for him – all four band members are very wealthy indeed.
On Tuesday Nancy and I had a little day out to Aboyne on Upper Deeside, which isn’t that far but is a lot more ‘country’ than here. We went primarily to see the local art group’s exhibition, but of course while we were there we had to have our coffee – at The Black Faced Sheep, a cafe I used to go to before my children were born. It’s also a very nice homewares shop, so after Freddie came along I had to abandon it – I couldn’t have born the strain of waiting for him to break some expensive piece of china! Now, of course, neither Nancy nor I have little children, so it was lovely to revisit an old haunt. We also discovered a great charity shop – Nancy bought a dress for £6 and I bought a candlabra…..no of course I didn’t, I came away with four books 🙂
And now I really had better get on.
Have a good week all!
Hi, Rosemary. We finished the second series of TEMPLE, and if you ever get the opportunity to watch it, I suggest you quit after series one. #2 is an over the top mess.
The first series of THE RESPONDER was pretty much a monumental downer, and it was only Martin Freeman’s presence as star that kept us watching. Now series two is here and, if anything, it is darker than the first one. Not sure we’ll make it to the end.
We have one more 90 minute episode of GRACE (series 4) to go. Now those shows always have very dark plots, but somehow they don’t make you feel like killing yourself, as THE RESPONDER does.
Thanks for the tips Jeff!
The Responder has been advertised what feels like non-stop here, but I must admit I thought even the trailers made it look too depressing for me.
I haven’t heard of Temple, I will look for it (well the first series anyway!)
Anna has more streaming channels than we do, so I may be able to watch things I haven’t been able to see while I’m down there – the only problem then will be finding the time to do that….
You’re right, Rosemary. I love that about retirement. And, I was able to talk with my Mom this morning after her doctor appointment, and didn’t have to wait until a lunch hour or after work to talk. I love retirement.
I know you do, too. You’re able to spend almost all of August at festivals, enjoying books and art and music. Glorious, even though you’re reviewing so much of it.
I was interested in your comments about Brennan and Erskine Childers. Ever since I fell in love with Ireland, I’ve read about the fight for Irish Independence. I’ve watched dramatizations and went to the GPO and took the tour when we were in Dublin.
Hope to hear from you once in a while during August, but we’ll understand if we don’t. Enjoy yourself, Rosemary!
I seem to be finding a lot of very good Historical Fiction recently.
Mos recent are –
Mademoiselle Eiffel by Aimie K. Runyan
Description from NetGalley
From the author of The School for German Brides and A Bakery in Paris, this captivating historical novel set in nineteenth-century Paris tells the story of Claire Eiffel, a woman who played a significant role in maintaining her family’s legacy and their iconic contributions to the city of Paris.
Claire Eiffel, the beautiful, brilliant eldest daughter of the illustrious architect Gustave Eiffel, is doted upon with an education envied by many sons of the upper classes, and entirely out of the reach of most daughters. Claire’s idyllic childhood ends abruptly when, at fourteen, her mother passes away. It’s soon made clear that Gustave expects Claire to fill her mother’s place as caregiver to the younger children and as manager of their home.
As she proves her competence, Claire’s importance to her father grows. She accompanies him on his travels and becomes his confidante and private secretary. She learns her father’s architectural trade and becomes indispensable to his work. But when his bright young protégé, Adolphe Salles, takes up more of Gustave’s time, Claire resents being pushed aside.
Slowly, the animosity between Claire and Adolphe turns to friendship…and then to something more. After their marriage in 1885 preserves the Eiffel legacy, they are privileged by the biggest commission of Eiffel’s career: a great iron tower dominating the 1889 World’s Fair to demonstrate the leading role of Paris in the world of art and architecture. Now hostess to the scientific elite, such as Thomas Edison, Claire is under the watchful eye not only of her family and father’s circle, but also the world.
When Gustave Eiffel’s involvement in a disastrous endeavor to build a canal in Panama ends in his imprisonment, it is up to Claire to secure her father’s freedom but also preserve the hard-won family legacy.
Claire Eiffel’s story of love, devotion, and the frantic pursuit to preserve her family’s legacy is not only an inspired reflection of real personages and historical events, but a hymn to the iconic tower that dominates the City of Lights.
Let Us March On by Shara Moom
Description ftom NetGalley
Devoted wife, White House maid, reluctant activist…
A stirring novel inspired by the life of an unsung heroine, and real-life crusader, Lizzie McDuffie, who as a maid in FDR’s White House spearheaded the Civil Rights movement of her time.
I’m just a college-educated Southerner with a passion for books. My husband says I’m too bold, too sharp, too unrelenting. Others say I helped spearhead the Civil Rights movement of our time. President Roosevelt says I’m too spunky and spirited for my own good.
Who am I?
I am Elizabeth “Lizzie” McDuffie.
And this is my story…
When Lizzie McDuffie, maid to Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, boldly proclaimed herself FDR’s “Secretary-On-Colored-People’s-Affairs,” she became more than just a maid—she became the President’s eyes and ears into the Black community. After joining the White House to work alongside her husband, FDR’s personal valet, Lizzie managed to become completely indispensable to the Roosevelt family. Never shy about pointing out injustices, she advocated for the needs and rights of her fellow African Americans when those in the White House blocked access to the President.
Following the life of Lizzie McDuffie throughout her time in the White House as she championed the rights of everyday Americans and provided access to the most powerful man in the country, Let Us March On looks at the unsung and courageous crusader who is finally getting the recognition she so richly deserves.
Kaye, you’ve always enjoyed stories about strong women, but, don’t you feel as if it’s perfect timing right now?
Lesa! YES!!!!! ❤❤❤
Three books for me this week.
Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan was good if not predictable. Ali Morris is at the end of her marriage and reconnects with her best friend’s younger brother.
Next up was my favorite of the week-The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Grant Cunnigham. Wilderness guide Emlyn is estranged from her college friend. When her ex-boyfriend shows up asking for help to locate the missing Jenessa, they take off through the Idaho wilderness to find her. Despite not being as good are her first book, I thought the writing and the story were excellent. I read it two days.
My last book has been showing up all over bookstagram and I saw it is being turned into a movie. Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy is about an 80-year-old widow who returns to England from Australia to die. She encounters a field mouse and winds up finding a newfound family. It’s only 195 and very sweet.
So glad you were able to have a visit with your Mom and family, Lesa.
Happy Reading!
Thank you, Sharon! I enjoyed the visit home.
I love the sound of Sipsworth. Thank you for talking about it!
Not much has been happening to us in the last week. The fire nearby is almost totally contained, all evacuations canceled. I have been noticing white floaters (wispy, threadlike) in my eyes, so Monday I will see the ophthalmologist again.
This week I read WAR GAME by Anthony Price, published in 1976. Price only wrote 19 novels, all about David Audley, a British spy during the Cold War. The focus in this espionage series is on characterization and intellect, not action, although there is some of that present. Most of the books in this series have historical events infused into a present day (when written) story. In OTHER PATHS TO GLORY, which won the Gold Dagger in 1974, it was World War I and the battlefields of the Somme. In COLONEL BUTLER’S WOLF, the site of the story is Hadrian’s Wall. WAR GAME is the seventh book in the series and centers around the English Civil War and events in 1643. I love this series, but I need to read them closer together because I forget who the characters are, except for David Audley.
Glen just started reading THE CAT MEN OF GOTHAM: TALES OF FELINE FRIENDSHIPS IN OLD NEW YORK by Peggy Gavan. He is liking it well enough, but it isn’t as appealing as the last three books he read.
Well, darn. Tracy. I’m sorry to hear about the floaters. I hope the opthalmologist can help. Good luck.
The Cat Men of Gotham? Well, that’s an interesting title.
I hope the fires are contained and out soon.
Tracy, I am a big fan of Anthony Price’s Dr. Audley series, though I probably only read the first half of them. I like mysteries that use history and do the two storylines, the past and the present and how they intersect. Another is the Wesley Peterson series by Kate Ellis.
Jeff, I have only read a couple of the Wesley Peterson series by Kate Ellis, I should go back and read more in the series. Thanks for the reminder.
Love that series by Kate Ellis. I own a number of them that I haven’t yet read. I read a lot of the early ones.
Me too! I bought a bunch in England and was doling them out (when you couldn’t get the later ones here(, but now I just forgot the books are on the shelf and I could read them any time I wanted to. Let’s see. I have (yikes) 10 Piatkus paperbacks on the shelf, though it is possible I read at least a couple of the earliest ones. I’d have to go back and try and look it up, or perhaps start reading the next one and see if it seems familiar!
It’s been hot here. Hovering right around 100 every day. We’re supposed to dip down in the 80’s this weekend, however, so I might need to break out my jacket. (And I’m only half joking….)
I’ve just started PLEASE DON’T PUSH UP THE DAISIES by Diane Vallere (after watching PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISES last night.) This is the most recent in her Madison Night series, so I’ll be all caught up! (Until the new one comes out in October). So far, we are just setting the ground work for the mystery to come, but I’m enjoying it.
Extreme weather there, Mark. And, a twenty degree drop might mean you have to break out a jacket!
Is Diane Vallere one of your favorite authors? I think I’ve seen her name on your posts before.
I’ve been very behind on Diane’s books, and she’s got 41 out. I’ve been reading them every couple of months or so to catch up. I’m almost there!!!
Glad you had a great vacation!
I went to see 38 Special in concert. Lou Reed, the original lead singer for Foreigner, opened. He still has most of his voice, and sang a great set. The band Foreigner is still touring with a new lead singer. They have a bigger budget, but this guy gave a show almost worth the price of admission by himself.
38 Special started to sing, and they kept on singing song after song. They must have sang at least 40 songs. They weren’t phoning it in either. They actually went over time. What a great show!
This week I read:
The First Blood by Lou Cameron; Cynical 70’s WWII novel about a squad of soldiers led by a drug addict sent on a suicide mission in North Africa. Only in the 70’s.
The Mystery of the Blazing Cliffs by MV Cary; The Three Investigators deliver some junk to a wealthy prepper, only to be imprisoned on his ranch by what are apparently UFOs and American soldiers. Late in the series, after Hitchcock’s death, but still very readable.
An Epitaph for Jezebel by L Divine; A stripper turned reporter goes back on the job undercover when a stripper is murdered. Set in Atlanta, it’s what they used to call a race novel, but it’s like a cozy without a sense of humor.
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware; This is supposed to be the next big book, but with a plot concerning the usual reality show, it seems passe, or pre-pandemic, and the writing isn’t good enough to make up for it.
Murder Buys A One Way Ticket by Laura Levine; Levine is retiring, so this is the final book in the series. Needing money as always, Jaine Austen takes a ghost writing gig for a fitness guru. He’s the usual narcissistic ego maniac, and is quickly shuffled off the mortal coil. Jaine is a suspect because she found the body, but virtually everyone wanted him dead. A fitting final book. I’m going to miss this series, even though I understand that it tends to be polarizing.
Did Everyone Have An Imaginary Friend (Or Just Me) by Jay Ellis; Ellis is apparently some sort of famous actor, even though I’ve never heard of him. He writes about his childhood, which wasn’t all that different than Bill Cosby’s. His imaginary friend looks like actor Kadeem Hardison from the TV show It’s A Different World. Ellis describes him as his imaginary cooler self, but Hardison is below Potsie and Horsehack on the coolness spectrum, and I had a tough time getting past that.
So many authors retiring or ending their series this year. Levine retiring. Jacqueline Winspear and Susan Ella MacNeal ending series. I know Winspear is moving on. I don’t know about MacNeal. It seems unusual to have so many in one eyar.
Don’t you love it, Glen, when performers give so much of themselves to their audience? I saw a group two nights in a row. The first night, the performance was so-so, and the audience was the same. The second night, the audience was in it from the beginning, and the group rose to the occasion and put on a fantastic show.
It does seem unusual. It reminds me of the early seventies when a whole lot of mystery writers died or retired, and the genre took a long time to really recover.
Hopefully, I’m just being pessimistic.
Hi all! Between moving and my medical appointments I keep losing track of days and then miss being part of the conversation on Thursdays. This was a good reading week.
I finished the new book in Deborah Harkness’ All Souls series, The Black Bird Oracle. (Last week I went to the book launch in Cambridge!) This added some nice depth to the characters as well as some exciting plot points that will require resolution in future books. For fun I read Mrs Quinn’s Rise to Fame, a sweet book featuring a 77-year old protagonist who shakes up her life by going on the great British Baking Show. The ripples dislodge a long-held secret and make her think about what really matters.
And lastly I finished The Briar House, which many here recommended. I’ll skip the synopsis since it has been mentioned before. It was slow going at first but then I got into the multiple points of view. My favorite might have been the house!
Oh, I loved the house in The Briar House, too, Trisha,
I’m glad you found time to read with your move. The medical appointments might have provided reading time.
Take care of yourself!