Happy Thursday! Welcome back to talk about our week and our reading. Actually, I’ve been juggling reading this week, working on reviews for Library Journal while reading for myself as well. It’s just that time of month. And, this past weekend, I watched college football and went to dinner at my sister’s. Her daughter’s family was in town, and it was so nice to see them.
I’m currently reading Alex Howard’s The Ghost Cat. I think one of you recommended it, although I don’t remember who it was. I’ve had the book out from the library for a while. I’m going to admit I bogged down with the chapter labeled 1969. I’ll keep going but I found the earlier adventures of Grimalkin, the ghost cat, more interesting. The blurb calls it “A cozy historical fiction novel with a touch of magical realism”.
It begins in 1902 in Edinburgh, and follows a cat named Grimalkin through his nine lives as he meets the inhabitants through the centuries. It ends in September 2022. As I said, I’m going to keep going, but the last chapter was a rough one as Grimalkin lost a human he had loved since he was a kitten.
What about you? What have you been doing this week? What are you reading?
The highlight of my week was buying a new car to replace the one I totalled in my August auto accident. My younger son had done some research for me, and both sons came with me so I wouldn’t have to drive home alone. A nurse told me I’d have PSTD related to the accident, but so far, so good. It is a little scary, though, so the only time I’ve driven alone so far was an easy drive to the library and back. I didn’t anticipate buying a car or even driving so quickly, but it was the only time my son would be available for the next couple of weekends, and I’m actually relieved to have it behind me. As for reading, here’s what I finished this week:
I give Richard Osman a lot of credit for creating the first in a new series that makes the reader want more. He could have stuck to his extremely popular Thursday Murder Club series (and has promised a fifth book), but he has branched out with WE SOLVE MURDERS, which has has a totally different and intriguing tone. Amy and Steve Wheeler are not your typical private investigation team. Amy is Steve’s daughter-in-law, who travels the world providing individualized security for celebrities and other prominent people who have reason to worry about their safety. Currently she is protecting flamboyant Rosie, a bestselling author who lives on a remote island, but both Rosie and Amy find themselves on the run when a money laundering operation featuring influencers of all types results in more than one murder. Amy thrives on danger and is skilled at taking care of herself and her clients, although she is very concerned when when it looks like she is being framed for some of the murders. Steve, a retired cop, has surprised himself by enjoying the life of a homebody with a cat, playing a rousing weekly game of pub trivia with his team of friends and talking regularly to his deceased wife. When Amy calls on him for help, he is reluctant but can’t say no, and he discovers he may indeed still enjoy a bit of danger. What I liked about the book were the vividly drawn characters of Steve and Rosie, who provide a lot of humor and personality while navigating dangerous territory. I didn’t engage as much with Amy, who seems so far a rather one-note character. In future series books, I hope to find out more about Amy, based on hints about her troubled childhood and her fascinating relationship with her absent husband. I also look forward to a possible alliance between Steve, Amy and Rosie in a new enterprise, and I’d like to spend more time with Steve’s pub trivia team. I’m already hooked, although my preference so far is for the Thursday Murder Club series.
In her third An American in Paris Mystery series, A FASHIONABLY FRENCH MURDER, Colleen Cambridge delivers a delightful mystery set in 1950 Paris. Tabitha Knight can’t imagine returning to Detroit, as she has forged a life for herself living with her wealthy grandfather and his paramour, “Oncle” Rafe, and tutoring American women in the French language. But, of course, she finds two more bodies, both from the newest and trendiest purveyor of haute couture. The murders shock the fashion industry and uncover hidden intrigues, not to mention still-simmering bitterness from Paris’s involvement in World War II. Having found both victims, Tabitha feels some responsibility to help her favorite member of law enforcement, the dashing Inspecteur Merveille, to investigate, as she rightly points out that women will often open up to her rather than to the police. Julia Child is again a character–this time not involved in the mystery but providing close friend Tabitha and her “messieurs” with delicious food as she studies to become the fabulous chef we know and love. The mystery is interesting, but what I enjoyed most were the insider look at Parisian haute couture, including a trip to Dior’s studio, and the mouth-watering dishes prepared by Julia. I also appreciated the relationship between Grand-Pere and Oncle Rafe–their bickering over the décor of their soon-to-be-reopened restaurant is fun, but the serious matters on which they differ are also engaging to read. (April)
Kelly Bishop’s memoir, THE THIRD GILMORE GIRL, checked all the boxes for me. Kelly won a Tony Award for her role in the original Broadway cast of “A Chorus Line,” played the iconic (often disagreeable) grandmother in “Gilmore Girls” (which I binge-watched after it went off the air), had major roles in “Dirty Dancing” and TV’s “Bunheads.” and just last week turned up as Harrison Ford’s ex-wife in Apple TV’s “Shrinking.” Her well-written autobiography starts with her early days as a ballet student, then a dancer at Radio City Music Hall (no, not a Rockette), and her thrilling Broadway experiences. I especially enjoyed the details about how she interacted with Broadway greats to develop the role of Sheila in “A Chorus Line.” In her thirties, Kelly decided to cease auditioning for dance roles and instead search out opportunities where she could hone her burgeoning dramatic and comedic skills. And she made it happen! Along the way, we read about her relationships, along with all the details about her storied career, including why she changed her name from Carole to Kelly in her early career (I always wondered about that). As a huge Broadway musical fan, “Gilmore Girls” aficionado, and Kelly Bishop admirer, this memoir was just what I needed.
Congratulations, Margie. What kind of car is it, if you don’t mind saying? We bought an almost new car (18,000 miles) last winter in Florida (our third Subaru Forester) and it is great, our newest car since a VW Beetle in 1972!
Totally agree on Richard Osman. I really enjoyed the book (once it got going), especially Steve and Rosie, but (so far) it’s no THURSDAY MURDER CLUB. I found the whole story about Amy and her husband to be sketchy at best.
Jeff, it’s a 2025 Honda CR-V. It’s a higher model than my 2018 car and has a lot of cool features. And it’s red so drivers should see me coming! 🙂
So good to read your updates, Margie!
I too enjoyed A FASHIONABLY FRENCH MURDER.
I was going to ask the same question Jeff did, about your car, Margie. I have a 2018 Honda CR-V, and I love it. I didn’t realize the 2025 was higher. Hmmm. I was thinking about a new car, but since I’m so short, I don’t know that I want to go higher. I admire you for getting a new car and starting over.
I just couldn’t love Osman’s new book. I wasn’t crazy about Amy. As you said, she was one-dimensional. But, the pub trivia team is fun! I’d take more of them.
Margie,
Glad to hear you’re getting out and about!
So glad to hear your latest news Margie – you are truly amazing, well done! your new car sounds great – I too now have a red car, and the only problem with that is, I didn’t realise when I bought it that red seems to be the colour du jour. Trying to find the car at Tesco’s has proven a challenge at times – I’ve more than once tried to open someone else’s vehicle. But I’m quite sure neither you nor anyone else would be that dippy!
I am so glad you got a car that you like and that things are going so well for you now, Margie. And just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Still rolling with Detective Harriet Foster in ECHO by Tracy Clark.
You’ve been a little busy with health matters, Kevin. Sending hugs.
Thank you.
Family dinners are the best. I’m glad you get to see family regularly Lesa.
Another busy week here, but a more exciting one than usual as we have a son-in-law whose graduation ceremony from the police academy took place last Friday, complete with a generous helping of bagpipe music from the Vancouver Police Pipe Band. It was quite thrilling to watch him officially become a police officer. He’s worked very hard and we’re all so proud of him.
I only read one book this week:
SAY IT AGAIN IN A NICE VOICE by Meg Mason
This is a memoir of young motherhood, published in 2012 before either of the author’s novels were written.
It’s quite an honest look-in at everything and anything it means to be a young mother. Full of entertaining anecdotes, woven throughout with thoughts about going from being an up-and-coming features writer and having that career cut short by becoming a stay-at-home mother; the tedium; and even though married to a good man, the loneliness of being a young mother without family living nearby to help out or offer advice; the sheer exhaustion of being responsible for babies; the effort it takes to make friends in a new city.
It’s nothing countless other women haven’t done before but her no-holds-barred telling of it, together with the humour, makes it all so relatable. If I were still a new mother myself the book would ultimately make me realize that all would be well in the end, and I would feel ready to ‘rally’.
Although I remember liking the baby stage of my children a lot more than the author seems to have, I enjoyed reading this book; especially the second half when her girls were past the baby stage. I felt the book really came into its own then.
You’re right, Lindy. I love family dinners. Although my mother has some of the best neighbors in the world, and they had a small dinner with four people the other night, and she said they could have talked into the night. Mom, another widow, and the couple next door just look out for each other.
I can see why you’re proud of your son-in-law. And, it sounds like an impressive ceremony.
I didn’t have kids, so that memoir wouldn’t have meant much to me. But, I know my Mom always loved the baby stages.
I love that. Maybe good neighbours can be even better than family in some ways. They’re always close to hand in case of trouble or just for daily social connection, and if of a similar age they can be the most understanding of anyone about whatever might be going on in your life. I’m glad your mom has them.
Oh Lindy, that sounds like a great book. I can identify with all the points you mention about young motherhood – we had just moved to a small village, 35 long and wintery miles from the city, when my son was born. I knew no-one, my son had terrrible colic, and my husband rarely got home from work before 9pm. I was deeply miserable. I don’t think I really got into my stride with babies until I had my third (and final) child. Even after all this time, I’ll be relieved to read the story of someone who struggled with it all as much as I did – the exhaustion, the boredom, the worrying. I love my children but I wouldn’t want to go back to those days! (And of course this was pre-home internet, so the telephone and letters were the only means of communication.)
Wow Rosemary, sounds like you and Meg Mason struggled in exactly the same ways! If you’d known her personally at the time I bet you would at least have had someone to talk to who understood you. I had three children too and was so lucky that none of them were colicky. I bet those memories never really fade away ha ha.
I’m working on WEDDING BRIDE AND DOOM by Mary Karnes. It’s the first in her wedding planner mysteries. I’m about a third of the way in, and it’s good, but I’m hoping it picks up a bit more soon.
Hopefully, Mark, that’s just a sign of a first in a series, and not a sign of the entire series!
Unfortunately, I woke up early (even for me) this morning, feeling congested and unable to sleep any more, and since I was up, I figured I might as well come here. I read something last week about drastic changes in the weather leading to people getting sick, and it makes sense. We went from 80 last Wednesday to the 40s this Wednesday, and it’s been windy too. At least we finally had some rain (though only a quarter of an inch or so, it was enough to clean off the car) after SIX WEEKS without any. Weird, as earlier in the year we had an excessive amount.
To books, then. Jackie is reading her Cynthia Eden book, BURN IT DOWN, third in the Phoenix Fury series, and she says it is “a good one.” The main character is – duh – a phoenix. Don’t ask me.
I seem to be reading mostly short stories these days, and just passed 700 for the year. But first the two books I actually finished this week.
Paula Munier probably writes my favorite current K-9 series. It’s always a pleasure to visit Mercy Carr and her (now) husband Troy Warner, and their dogs Elvis and Susie Bear, not to mention the large crew of side characters. Most of the other K-9 series I’ve read have been in the west, so the Vermont setting here is also a nice change. In the latest, The Night Woods, Mercy is nearly nine months pregnant and resents being restricted in what she can do. When she goes to play Scrabble with the aptly named Homer, she finds him unconscious, with another man murdered in his cabin. Naturally, Mercy has to investigate, personally. There is a certain amount of humor involved, especially around her mother planning a baby shower Mercy wishes she could avoid, and there is a fun new character added to the previous crew, who will probably stick around in future books, but one thing bothered me a lot. I really HATE when mystery characters engage in annoying “Had I But Known” behavior, as Mercy does here. She “has to” go walkabout in the middle of a huge storm, alone, without her cell phone, and knowing someone threatening her is probably out there waiting. When the inevitable happens, all I could think was “it serves you right” and I wanted to just shake her and tell her how stupid and irresponsible she was. Of course, it all ends well, though the secondary murder story seemed confusing to me, and not totally integrated into the rest of the book. I even guessed the baby’s name. Recommended as always, other than that annoying interlude.
Fredric Brown is an author whose books and stories I’ve enjoyed over the years. He wrote a bunch of mysteries, and won the second ever Best First Mystery Edgar Award from the MWA, for THE FABULOUS CLIPJOINT, first in his Ed & Am Hunter series. Another terrific book of his was NIGHT OF THE JABBERWOCK, a must-read for Lewis Carroll fans. He also wrote dozens of short stories, most of them quite short. Plus, he did almost the same thing in the science fiction field, fun books and lots of short stories. In between library books, I pulled out (so to speak) on of the SF books from my Kindle, What Mad Universe, published in 1949. Keith Winton is an editor for a science fiction pulp magazine, and quite good at it. But when a rocket explodes near his boss’s estate in the Catskills, Keith wakes up to discover that – somehow – he has ended up in a very similar but still quite different universe, one where the people look the same and have the same (or similar) name, but…there is a war with the Arcturians, space travel is common, eight foot tall purple Martians walk the streets interacting with humans, all of our currency has replaced dollars with “credits,” etc. He keeps making mistakes (who wouldn’t?), some of which nearly get him killed, as he tries to navigate a world he doesn’t fully understand, make enough money to get by, and try and figure out a way to get back to his own universe, as well as the beautiful Betty, a fellow editor he has a crush on. This is a fast-moving, fun book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Every once in a while you need to read something different, and this was mine.
Current short story collections I’m reading:
Lydia Davis, Can’t and Won’t. Davis writes almost exclusively short stories, and most are very short indeed, from as little as a couple of sentences or a paragraph, to a page or two, with the occasional longer piece.
Lee Child, Safe Enough and Other Stories.This is a collection of 20 previously published stories, all of them non-Reachers, but as readable as the Reacher books are.
Barry N. Malzberg, Collecting Myself: The Uncollected Stories. Malzberg is another who has written widely in both the mystery and science fiction fields, and here he collects a bunch of his own stories.
Still waiting for several library books, including the new Margaret Mizushima, but yesterday I downloaded Ramona Emerson’s Exposure, her sequel to the excellent first Rita Todacheene book, SHUTTER, about a forensic photographer working with the Albuquerque police.
Have a good week, everyone.
I picked up Exposure at the library a few days ago. I agree with you that Shutter was excellent and was first on the holds list. Next up after I finish the two books I’ve already started.
Good morning, Jeff. Those weather changes can play havoc with health.. Rest today, and enjoy some short stories.
I always learn something from your descriptions that provide a little background on authors. Thank you for sharing that!
I agree with you about Paula Munier’s book. While I enjoyed the connection to The Odyssey, that one whole section of the book could have been eliminated for me. You’re right. It was just stupidity on Mercy’s part.
Thanks, Lesa. It was weird. I felt totally congested when I woke up (at 4:45!), but after a spoonful of Robitussin and a mug of hot tea, I started feeling better almost immediately, and now it seems to have largely faded. Good, because I was getting a little paranoid since reading that a friend got Covid for the second time. I told her to stay off airplanes!
Jeff, lots of people here seem to have an awful cold thing that lasts and lasts. Every time I travel on the bus I try to avoid all the coughing, sneezing people – but how can you really?
I do hope your quick recovery has lasted. We too are having varied temperatures, and I KEEP waking up around 4am, which is so annoying. I really should just get up and do something useful, instead of lying there being cross with myself.
Thanks Jeff for the mention of ‘Exposure’! I hadn’t known she had a new book coming out, so this was very welcome news. (and I’m sorry you’re not feeling well, but that you recover speedily)
We’ve been promised a few winter storms, but nothing has materialized yet. Just high winds on trash collection days.
A few reads this week. I’ve enjoyed the first four in the Rachel Savernake Golden Age Mysteries series by Martin Edwards. Set in 1930’s England, the series incorporates atmospheric settings, twisty plots, and intriguing characters – even a “Cluefinder” to allow you to see clues you missed. Delightful!
A romantic spy thriller starring a globetrotting celebrity chef – an Ian Fleming parody via a food centric travel show. THE ACCIDENTAL JOE: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef by Tom Straw (aka Richard Castle). Light entertainment.
And an older Louise Erdrich book, THE LAST REPORT ON THE MIRACLES AT LITTLE NO HORSE. The story takes place at a mission to the Ojibwe people in North Dakota (1912 to 1996) and the missionary priest residing there. A complicated story, but enlightening.
As trash cans go rolling down the street, MM?
I think I’d like that series by Martin Edwards. I’ve read quite a number of collections he’s edited. I don’t know why I haven’t started that series.
It wasn’t a good reading week for me. I started several library books that I just couldn’t get into. I did finish Romance, one of the later 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain that someone had given me. I read most of the earlier books when I was in high school but never kept up with the series. I’m not sure if the later books weren’t very good or if my tastes have changed but I had to push myself to finish it.
I’m currently reading David Rosenfelt’s newest Andy Carpenter book, The More The Terrier. It’s formulaic but I’m enjoying it. Sometimes it’s nice to know exactly what you’re going to get in a book.
You’re right, Sandy. I think of those as comfort reads when there’s nothing unexpected, but it’s a return to comfortable characters and settings.
Hi all! I have been reading a lot of heavy books for my studies so I spent much of the last month re-reading the Amelia Peabody series when I was reading for fun. One of my holds came in so I was also able to read TO SHAPE A DRAGON’S BREATH (Nampesheweisit #1), by Moniquill Blackgoose, which was great. It has the typical fantasy elements of a girl, a dragon, and a school but written from the Native American perspective in a colonized land. I liked seeing her world, her family and the realistic way the different cultures interacted. I highly recommend it!
I also read a fun romance that took a while to get going, THE TAKEDOWN by Lily Chu. Funnily enough, it also had some cross cultural elements, since the protagonist is a diversity consultant in Toronto.
Oh, re-reads are so fun when you need an escape, Trisha. I was under a lot of pressure one year, waiting to hear about a job I really wanted (I did get it), so I could only concentrate on Nancy Drew books. Amelia Peabody sounds like a perfect escape.
Trisha, thanks for recommending To Shape a Dragon’s Breath. It sounds fascinating and I shall get it for my daughter. Not only is she interested in, and taken courses about, indigenous peoples, but she is also a teacher – so this book seems perfect for her. Christmas gift dilemma solved!
Rain, rain go away! Woke up to rain this morning. Yesterday was just beautiful with sunshine all day.
I finally read “The Phoenix Ballroom” by Ruth Hogan. Other books came first. It was an enjoyable read – although a bit too pat in how it ended with everyone happily coupled up. I know that it’s been reviewed here before but just in case someone missed it, here is my review:
Venitia, a lady in her 70’s, has lost her husband and decides to rediscover her old self rather than just succumb to old age (as her son seems to think that she should). Simultaneously, her “granny nanny”, who her son insists that she hire while he and his wife head to France on business, also is on a journey of rediscovering who she is without her mother, as she also just passed away. Together these two ladies, with a cast of characters along the way, including Venetia’s young grandson, Kite (who is very entertaining) find new lives and joy, as they restore an old building’s former dance ballroom.
We have rain here, too, Mary. It started overnight and looks like it will continue for a few hours. But, we’ve had cold temperatures in the morning, which I hate.
I know there are a number of readers here who are Ruth Hogan fans. I think I only read one or two of her books.
Mornin’, all – Happy Thursday at Lesa’s.
The perfect book found its way to me, and I’m happy.
Description from NetGalley –
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
“This is a novel about ambitious women and the mentors that inspired them to excellence . . . Bostwick carves an unforgettable path for her characters.”–Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Good Left Undone
Margaret Ryan never really meant to start a book club . . . or a feminist revolution in her buttoned-up suburb.
By 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan is living the American woman’s dream. She has a husband, three children, a station wagon, and a home in Concordia–one of Northern Virginia’s most exclusive and picturesque suburbs. She has a standing invitation to the neighborhood coffee klatch, and now, thanks to her husband, a new subscription to A Woman’s Place–a magazine that tells housewives like Margaret exactly who to be and what to buy. On paper, she has it all. So why doesn’t that feel like enough?
Margaret is thrown for a loop when she first meets Charlotte Gustafson, Concordia’s newest and most intriguing resident. As an excuse to be in the mysterious Charlotte’s orbit, Margaret concocts a book club get-together and invites two other neighborhood women–Bitsy and Viv–to the inaugural meeting. As the women share secrets, cocktails, and their honest reactions to the controversial bestseller The Feminine Mystique, they begin to discover that the American dream they’d been sold isn’t all roses and sunshine–and that their secret longing for more is something they share. Nicknaming themselves the Bettys, after Betty Friedan, these four friends have no idea their impromptu club and the books they read together will become the glue that helps them hold fast through tears, triumphs, angst, and arguments–and what will prove to be the most consequential and freeing year of their lives.
The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a humorous, thought provoking, and nostalgic romp through one pivotal and tumultuous American year–as well as an ode to self-discovery, persistence, and the power of sisterhood.
Happy Thursday, Kaye! Oh, The Book Club for Troublesome Women sounds just perfect for you! Interesting that Marie Bostwick is the author. I’ve read a number of her books. They always start out light, but surprise you with the meat in them.
Sending love and hugs, Kaye.
Two inches in our rain gauge overnight and there is supposed to be more throughout the day.
Comfort reading for me this week to avoid the news.
THE INN AT TANSY Falls by Cate Woods from Kindle Unlimited. Nell’s best friend Megan has died at young age. Megan sends Nell to Tansy Falls, Vermont from London with a bucket list of the things she loved growing up there. It was very sweet and would make a great Hallmark movie.
Next I read A MERRY CHRISTMAS MURDER PLOT from Jenn McKinlay. Lesa reviewed it earlier this week. I pretty much read this in one sitting and thought it was terrific.
Lastly was MRS. CLAUS AND THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE NEW YEAR’S by Liz Ireland. I love this series. This time 3 people from the outside are found stranded on a mountain and brought to Santaland for recovery. One is murdered and it is up to April Claus to solve it as well as get them back to the states without revealing where they were. This one was great fun.
Happy Reading!
The Mrs. Claus mysteries are so implausible, and so much fun, Sharon. I always start them thinking I’ll be disappointed, and I get sucked in. Jenn’s latest was just a fun book. I enjoy her recurring characters.
I haven’t turned on the news since the election, and I don’t know how soon I will. Maybe in four or five years.
We bought our car used and certified by AAA in 2001. Will see how long it runs, it is Tauras XL . Will have buy used again if can no longer run.
I read The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah, and it is good book to read to see that things could be much worse. Those were extremely tough times, especially for food and shelter.
Started Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick. Both the author’s ancestors have roots on Nantucket Island. I bought the book ten years ago and haven’t wanted to read since since he said in another book that my line were never worth anything. My line was active in women’s suffrage and the Underground Railroad , so there! Anyway, I am reading it and will sell it. My father told me that someone in his family fought at Bunker Hill but didn’t remember who. I notice now that the book has mixed reviews.
Good luck with your car, Carol. You must be babying it along.
Isn’t it funny how we develop a distaste for an author or subject? Philbrick didn’t make it for you, did he?
My husband takes very good care of our car, before we married, he had an ancient Honda! That author has a better than you are attitude. Other people didn’t like how how he treated the Adams family. Maybe they were descendents.
“Lucy Undying,” by Kiersten White, a brilliant retelling of “Dracula” from the point of view of his victim, Lucy Westenra, who in this version survives into our era. Embarrassed that I’m just now finding White, who is a wonderful writer.
I’ve never heard of her, Andrew. But, then, that’s not really my type of book.
I’m reading books I got from Netgalley at the moment. I finished Liars Island by T. Orr Munro, which left me a little underwhelmed and just started A Midwinter Murder by Verity Bright. This book #20 in the Lady Eleanor Swift series and I have to confess that I’m reading it out of order. I’m enjoying the series though. They’re fun mysteries with charming characters and a bit of a crime-caper feel to them. The weather in Ireland is very grey but relatively dry for the time of year and not too cold (yet). Great reading weather!
I’m spending more time with NetGalley books than others, Marleen. It’s so easy to pick them up! Oh, reading weather sounds wonderful!
Good morning all,
It’s cold (and still dark) here in Aberdeenshire. Next week we are forecast our first snow showers. The pink-footed geese are back, flying across the winter skies in their impressive V-formations every morning and evening, on their way to and from their feeding sites.
Meanwhile, back at ground level…this morning I am off to the hairdresser’s. I always agree to an early appointment, thinking (rightly) that this will get me started on the day, but I must say it was hard to crawl out from under the duvet just now.
This week has been another busy one so far. On Monday Nancy and I walked at Dunecht. It was a beautiful day, the views over Loch Skene and the far hills were good, and although it’s quite a long walk, it’s amazing how much shorter it seems when you’re in good company.
On Tuesday I visited my friend Heather, who lives in a tiny village called Ballogie, on South Deeside. We took her spaniel (Prudie, named after the cook in Poldark!) on a walk through woods on the Ballogie estate. This was a new route for me, and so lovely – the sun was shining, and all you could see were green fields, cows, forests, and a few farmhouses. It was as quiet as quiet.
Last weekend David and I had a day out in Dundee. We did the whole trip by public transport – so much easier than the stress of driving, especially now that it gets dark so early (around 4.30pm.) We went to Dundee Contemporary Arts to see two films, both of which we enjoyed.
Cillian Murphy’s adaptation of Claire Keegan’s SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE was excellent. When you like a book as much as I love this one, you’re always, I think, a little apprehensive about what a film might do to it, but in this case there’s no need to worry, Murphy and co have really captured the essence of the story.
Our second film was SINCE YESTERDAY: THE UNTOLD STORY OF SCOTLAND’S GIRL BANDS. It was very interesting to hear from the many women who had moved away from the standard girl-singer-in-a-boy-band model, and formed their own bands. They all had fond memories of that time (the film covered the period from 1970 onwards), but it was depressing to see how very hard it had been for any of them to break into the commercial market. The music industry was – and I believe still is – extremely sexist and misogynistic, and even the few who had had some success had been ruthlessly exploited by their record companies. I suppose the same could be said, however, for early boy bands. In the end it all boils down to money, now as then (not that any of these women made much of that.)
The DCA is a fantastic place – as well as cinema screens it has an art gallery, a restaurant and bar, Dundee Print Works, and a shop. It is very popular, showing that there is indeed a market for these things outwith the Central Belt of Glasgow and Edinburgh. From being a notorious dump just a few years ago (the traditional industries of jute making and jam making both having ended), the city has really turned itself around. DC Thompson, publishers of such iconic things as THE BEANO and PEOPLE’S FRIEND, has long had a presence there and continues to employ many people. And thanks to Abertay University, Dundee has now become a centre for animation and comics.
Before the films we had our coffee at a bakery I’d read about on Trip Advisor. It’s been in Dundee for many years, but the reviewers raved about its cakes and scones. Having now sampled them, I can only assume that those reviews were written by very traditional Dundonians! Despite that, I loved it – the range of weird cakes was stunning, with many items that I haven’t seen since I was at school Pink iced ‘fancies’, strange pastries with strawberry stuff on top, teacakes, doughnuts piped with synthetic cream…. The staff were all very friendly, which makes such a difference.
Unfortunately David hated it! He said the coffee was like dishwater (clearly I have no taste…) and his cheese scone was ‘disgusting’.
Oh well, I enjoyed the whole experience, In the afternoon we found a much better (depending on your POV) café in the McManus Museum and Gallery (run by the city), so that cheered him up, thank goodness.
Books – I finished the book I had to review, Mark Baillie’s SALVAGE, which I would recommend highly. It manages to shine a light on the atrocities inflicted on our Gypsy Traveller communities, while still being a real page turner. It also highlights the conflicts felt by the younger generation, who want to have a full education and career, but are still bound to their Traveller identity, their families and their traditions.
I asked our librarian if she could find anything in the non-fiction collection about the abduction of Gypsy Traveller children by local authorities, but she could see nothing in the entire city catalogue. Yet Travellers were (and still are) certainly present in the north of Scotland. Part of the problem for the main character in Salvage is a lack of records. These communities passed down most of their stories orally, but some stories – as with the whereabouts of children taken into ‘care’, were simply not known. They just disappeared.
My next book was THE RED HOUSE MYSTERY by AA Milne (yes, that one). It’s a Golden Age kind of book, which is not really my thing, but this one was better than many. Egotist and show-off Mark Ablett invites various guests to his substantial country home for the weekend. During their stay, Mark’s long lost brother writes to him from Australia to announce his imminent arrival. Robert’s the black sheep of the family, and Mark knows he’ll be coming to ask for money.
While most of the guests are out playing golf, a shot is heard from Mark’s office. His cousin, protege and unofficial aide, Matthew Cayley, rushes to find out what’s happened, but the door is locked. By the time he and Anthony, a friend of one of the guests, have rushed round to the window, Robert is lying dead on the floor and Mark is nowhere to be found.
Anthony and his friend Bill decide to conduct their own investigation, one that ends up involving a secret passage, a ghost and multiple deceptions.
I quite enjoyed it, it was a quick read, but I was surprised at the number of 5* Goodreads reviews – it wasn’t THAT good.
Now I am reading VILLAGE SECRETS by Rebecca Shaw, I don’t really know why I return to this series, it never fails to annoy me – but this time I am reading it to fill a prompt on my 52 Book Club Challenge (which I have already decided I will not do next year, although it has led me to read [and sometimes enjoy] some books that I’d never otherwise have picked up.) Many people do this challenge (AND all its sub-challenges) every year, but I think they must read much more quickly than I do – I can’t see myself finishing it by the end of December at this rate.
The series is about the fictional village of Turnham Malpas, but just about all of the characters are complete cliches – the wonderful, upstanding vicar (though I seem to remember he does fall of his ridiculous pedestal at some point), his perfect doctor wife, their perfect twins, the jolly couple who run the super successful village shop (I don’t know of a single successful village shop in Aberdeenshire [which is a huge rural area], they’ve virtually all closed down as people either drive to larger supermarkets or shop online.)
So they are the superior Middle Classes, then we have a whole range of Salt of the Earth villagers, who’ve all lived there their entire lives, and all talk in the most stereotypical working class way imaginable, with not an aitch to be found between them (“‘e ‘as done a runner”, etc etc ad nauseam.)
Finally we have Sir Ralph, whose family once owned the manor house and the village, but who now lives in quite a smart house with Lady Muriel (they call each other ‘’My dear’ ALL THE TIME – I don’t know anyone who talks like that, rich or poor). Sir Ralph is the village idol (even more so than the vicar) and all of the villagers Respect Him simply because he’s posh and his family has been there a long time. This might have happened a hundred years ago, but I can assure you it would not happen now (this is supposed to be the 1980s.) Ralph has sold the manor house to the dastardly Craddock Fitch, who has made a ton of money in – UGH! – business, so is viewed with huge suspicion by everyone. He’s Not One of Us, or, as Nancy Mitford would have said – ‘Non-U’. No matter what he does for the village, they are all the most appalling snobs and disapprove of him at all times.
What’s particularly irritated me about this one (so far..) is that one of the twins belonging to the vicar and doctor refuses to go to playgroup. She screams the place down and runs away (presumably school doors were not locked in the 1980s – ever since the terrible tragedy at Dunblane, when many young children and a teacher were shot dead by a man with a gun and a grievance), all schools are firmly protected by security locks, CCTV, etc.) Caroline, the mother, feels that Beth will get used to playgroup in the end. Peter (the vicar) makes a unilateral decision that Beth should not be sent to playgroup. When Caroline (who has just gone back to work at the village surgery) remonstrates with him and tells him she has an equal responsibility and right to make decisions about the children, Peter tells her his decision is final and he ‘will not’ be argued with.
For goodness sake, this is the 1980s, not the 1890s. If Rebecca Shaw had written this to show that Peter needed to shape up as a modern partner and father, I would completely understand – but no, she continues to keep Peter on his pedestal, and all of the villagers (whose business it is not) back him up. The fundamental message here is, I think, that mothers of youngish children should not work outside the home. Yet this affluent couple have a more or less full time housekeeper who is prepared to take Beth to playgroup and stay with her until she is settled. It’s still not good enough for Mr Macho Man. I despair.
But it’s easy to read, and I’ll press on, as I do need this title to tick a box!
Today in town, after a happy morning at my lovely hairdresser’s, I went to The Range to buy cake decorations and muffin cases, and of course could not resist a look in the excellent charity shop nearby. I bought four books:
THE LINE OF BEAUTY by Alan Hollinghurst, which I have wanted to read for some time. (Our library doesn’t have it.)
MURDER AND THE MOGGIES OF MAGPIE ROW by Kate High. I’ve never heard of this author, but the book looked like it might be fun.
LIGHT FROM HEAVEN by Jan Karon – I have several of the Mitford series of books, and haven’t yet read a single one. This is apparently the last one, so despite not really knowing if I’d like the series or not, I felt that for 50p it was worth the punt.
DISPATCHES FROM THE SOFA by Frank Skinner. Skinner is a well known comedian who has also written columns for The Times and various other publications. I will be particularly interested to read his take on Catholicism, the religion of his childhood and one to which he eventually returned. I believe he now attends daily Mass. I want to know how he reconciles this with his comedy (which is sometimes quite near the knuckle) and how he comes to terms with other RC tenets with which I would struggle. Only a couple of the columns are about that, the rest range from ‘The Queen’s Christmas Message: a Dadaist, Free-Form Experiment’ to ‘Lorraine Kelly (a very well known daytime TV host) and Emile Zola; Their Courageous Fight for Truth’, and ‘Why I Love Local Libraries.’ (Another 50p buy.)
Jeff, the 9th series of SHETLAND has started here. I’ve seen the first two episodes and so far, so good. The BBC are not, as they sometimes do, putting the entire series on i-Player straight away, so we have to wait for each week’s serving. I quite enjoy that in a way – they also did this with LINE OF DUTY, and my goodness were we back on the edge of our seats waiting for every tense episode of that. A bit like the TV of my childhood, but with the safety net of being able to watch it on catch-up if you miss it.
Have a good week everyone!
The AA Milne mystery seems to have come into vogue recently for whatever reason. There’s a lot of buzz about it.
It does, doesn’t it Glen? I don’t know why – I wouldn’t say it’s any better than most Golden Age mysteries, but then all of those seem to be immensely popular with some people. I wonder if irs because they’re comforting in chaotic times? There’s hardly any blood and gore, and everyone behaves according to ‘the rules’.
My friend (a doctor) loves them because she knows there won’t be any serious violence. I gave her all of the British Library Crime Classics I’d accumulated from charity shops because I simply lost patience with them.
Rosemary, Your trip to Dundee sounds delightful, despite the first cafe. Two films, a couple meals, public transportation that is good. I’m jealousy.
I wouldn’t read the Mitford books without starting at the beginning. She gets kind of preachy by the end of the series.
And, I’m laughing when I say Village Secrets sounds absolutely awful.
Rosemary, we just had a notice that the new SHETLAND series is coming here, perhaps in January (cant remember). Have you seen INSPECTOR ELLIS? It got a lot of hype and we have it on our list, though we haven’t watched it yet. We did watch the first episode of WHITSTABLE PEARL (series 3), which I remember you saying you don’t have. There are a LOT of channels here too. We don’t have Apple + or Disney + or Hulu, but we do have HBO (& MAX), Showtime/Paramount +, Acorn, Britbox, PBS Masterpiece (or whatever it is called), Amazon Prime, and MHz Choice/Topic. Most of our British shows are on Britbox or Acorn or PBS.
Hi Jeff – no, I’ve not heard of Inspector Ellis, I will now look it up, thank you.
We have Prime and Netflix (also free catch up services for the BBC, STV (basically Scottish ITV), Alba (Gaelic channel, often has very interesting content – and always with English subtitles) and a whole host of other free to view catch up channels.
Talking Pictures is especially popular with many people a man and his daughter started this channel in their own home. It shows lots of old films, very old TV series, etc. it’s done so well that now they even have events ‘in real life’ and I think they have no trouble selling the tickets.
I’m just hoping that Disney+ soon has another 3 month special offer, will jump on it and binge watch Jilly Cooper’s RIVALS immediately!
Just found out that Shetland will be on Britbox from December 11 to January 15.
Just found out SHETLAND will be on Britbox here from December 11
What a delightfully newsy post! I loved reading all of it. I would have loved the walk through the woods on the Ballogie estate. Especially for the quiet! There’s not enough quiet in the world. If I’d been with you there I truly think I’d have been completely rejuvenated. For awhile anyway.
It’s been raining on and off. There’s so much road work going on, it’s tough to drive anywhere anyway.
This week I watched Weekend in Taipei. I didn’t have high hopes for it, but my gf is a fan of Sung Kang, so we went. It’s a movie that doesn’t know its audience, or it’s genre. In the reviews, there is talk about a female Transporter, but instead we get some lunkhead played by Luke Evans, the worst undercover cop of all time, going to Taipei to bust Sung Kang, the worst cast gangster I’ve ever seen. There’s a love triangle with a woman the director tries very hard to erase the sex appeal from. Just awful. On the plus side, the new-ish Japanese restaurant at the Palladio wasn’t bad.
Took my nephew pheasant hunting for the first time. There were a lot of mosquitoes hunting us.
This week I read:
Just Trust Me by Chrystal Murphy; A smug sociopath can’t stop talking about herself.
Cloche and Dagger by Jenn McKinlay; Because I am somehow nearly incapable of reading a series in order, this is the first entry. After the usual (for cozies) bad breakup, Scarlett comes to England to help tend the hat shop she co-owns with her best friend. When she gets to the blighty shores, the friend is missing, and she has to tend the store herself. The usual obnoxious rich person takes the wrong hat. Later, she is discovered murdered, wearing only the hat. The missing friend is the prime suspect, so we know what happens next. Not a bad beginning.
The Breaker by Nick Petrie; an entry in the Peter Ash series. Wanted by two governments, Peter Ash is living in Milwaukee trying to stay under the radar. Wouldn’t you know it, but it seems like there is a school shooter (there isn’t) and he finds the usual conspiracy. The Milwaukee setting makes this unique, but we never meet any Difazios or Feeneys.
Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves by Alison Wood Brooks; A book on how to have more meaningful and entertaining conversations with just about anybody. Some of the “what not to do” examples hit too close to home!
Hunted by JT Sawyer; A Russian satellite crashed in the African desert, and Cal Shephard’s team, various Russian kill teams, and African warlords all want it. The satellite has an emp weapon that goes off. Uh-oh. All electrical power goes out for 150 miles around, and nobody has camels! Pretty exciting. Sawyer could have made a mint writing these things in the 70’s and 80’s.
Glen, I have to say you and Rosemary do a great job summing up books (and in your case a movie, too) that sound terrible. Your annotations make them sound funny.
I’m running so late this week that no one will get to see this, but I don’t like to miss saying hello, at least on Thursdays. So, hello, Lesa. I enjoyed that you’re reading a book about a cat named Grimalkin because my sister and I got a cat named Grimalkin when I was five and had him for years. (He was named after a cat in a children’s book, BENJAMIN WEST AND HIS CAT GRIMALKIN, by Marguerite Henry.) As for reading and listening, I just read Terry Shames’s first book in her new series, PERILOUS WATERS, which has a brave and resourceful heroine and is can’t-be-put-down exciting. I enjoyed it a lot. I’m listening to one in a long series of outstanding police procedurals by an Englishman, Peter Grainger. They’re set in a small town in Norfolk, and I love them. The one I’m currently listening to is SONGBIRD.
Hi Kim – well I *am* reading this!
I’ve not read any Peter Grainger – another one for me to investigate! Do you recall the name of the town in Norfolk? Or is it fictitious? The late mother of a very close friend of mine lived in Holt, a highly desirable little town down there. We visited it on our way back from a festival – it was so lovely, which of course meant that house prices were eye watering.
When I was a trainee lawyer with a firm in Cambridge, Norfolk seemed remote. I was sent up there once to get something signed and I felt like I was driving to the end of the earth. Now Norwich is a commuter city for London.
Kim, I just wanted you to know that I recently bought a copy of PESTICIDE in your Linder and Donatelli series. My reading is slow lately so I don’t know if I will read it before or after Christmas, but I am looking forward to it.
That’s great to hear, Tracy! Thanks for letting me know–it warms my writer’s heart! I hope you enjoy it.
Kim, I’m so happy to see your name on here. Like Rosemary, I’m reading the posts. And, I love that you and your sister had a well-loved cat named Grimalkin. I’m familiar with a number of Marguerite Henry’s books, but not that one.
I am running late with my comment today too. We went out to Costco to pick up two prescriptions this morning, but one of them wasn’t there. Not a problem, just irritating. We bought lots of good fruit though.
This week I am reading DEADLAND by William Shaw. It is the second book in the DS Alex Cupidi series. The setting is wonderful. She and her daughter live in a cottage near the bird sanctuary in Dungeness, England. Not enough bird watching in this one for me. The story is good but very long (467 pages). I also finished a book of three novellas by Rex Stout, THREE MEN OUT.
Glen is still reading 1940: FDR, WILKIE, LINDBERGH, HITLER—THE ELECTION AMID THE STORM, but getting very close to the end.
And, I caught your post as well, Tracy. Thank you for stopping by, even when you think it’s late. Interesting that you said there wasn’t enough bird watching in Shaw’s books. I’m guessing some of his readers in the past said, too much bird watching!
My current recreational read is AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MARPLE: EXPERT ON WICKEDNESS by Mark Aldridge. Loving it.
Oh, that one sounds really good, Wiley!
I love it! It’s making me wish I had time to re-read all of the Miss Marple books, which is a similar feeling I had when I read Aldridge’s book on the Poirot books several years ago. Not enough time!
The books are interesting because there is feedback from her British and American agents and editors. Who knew they were so worried about one of my favorites, The Mirror Cracked! She had to make changes. And boy I would have not wanted to make Christie mad! The excerpts from her letters to the MGM producer for the original Marple movie that she did not write or approve — scathing!
I still have Aldridge’s book on the Christie movies in the stacks (not a huge movie fan even based on favorite books so not in a rush) but I hope he does at least two more books but I haven’t seen anything if he will. I personally want one on all of her stand-alones which can include the Mary Westmacott books. And then one on all of her plays.