I went up to my Mom’s for Mother’s Day weekend last week. Had a nice visit with her, as always, and visited with my youngest sister, Christie, on Friday. We planned our next family trip, made our hotel reservations. We’re going to Shipshewana, Indiana at the end of June. Shipshewana is in Amish country, and the town is known for all its cute shops, hotels, and Amish food.
Once I returned home, we’ve had rain every day, even if it was for just a short time in the afternoon or evening. I had mornings to run my errands. This has been a good week, just one for relaxing and reading.
What about you? What have you been doing this week? What are you reading?
I’m a third of a way through Kelley Armstrong’s Death at a Highland Wedding, the fourth Rip Through Time Novel, about a Canadian police officer who ended up in 1870 Scotland in the body of a young housemaid, Mallory. I liked the Introduction of the book. Armstrong summarizes the previous books for those who haven’t read them, or for those who haven’t read one in a while.
Death at a Highland Wedding takes Mallory, her boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, Gray’s sister, Isla, and a family friend, Detective Hugh McCreadie, to the Scottish Highlands for the wedding of Hugh’s sister.Actually, they’re all bored until they find the body of another one of the houseguests, a man who was murdered.
This one is a little slow-moving with a great deal of conversation. But, I like the characters and the Rip Through Time scenario.
What about you? What are you reading this week?
I love hearing about your family trips, Lesa.
We’ve been having lots of rain which is playing hell with some roads and bridges that are still in bad shape of from Helena.
Young Fools by Liza Palmer is a book that might have stayed under my radar except for my spotting it on NetGalley and being enticed by it due to it being the next book by the author of Family Reservations, which i enjoyed a lot. Young Fools did not disappoint. The author has a real knack for paring down through many layers to successfully reveal the heart of women – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Not always a comforable reveal, but a starkly honest one.
Description from Net Galley:
“Two women do the best they can to make something of their lives—even at the expense of their friendship—in a witty, emotional, and startling novel by the author of Family Reservations.
Helen Hicks may not have any friends, but she does have a plan: prove her doubting, elitist parents wrong and become a literary sensation before she turns thirty. When she’s finally accepted into the esteemed Hayward Writing Intensive at twenty-four, Helen believes she’s right on schedule.
At Hayward, Helen meets Cherry Stewart, a free-spirited, ambitious kid whose eclectic tastes skew far more pedestrian than Helen’s, but as Cherry’s champion and mentor, Helen decides they’ll set the publishing world on fire and go down as one of the literary world’s most iconic duos.
But as Helen turns thirty with no debut novel in sight and a breathtaking case of writer’s block, she is forced to put her dreams on hold. Thinking Cherry shares her sad fate, Helen is shocked to learn that her best friend has not only finished and sold a novel in secret, but even more devastating it’s…genre fiction.
As Helen and Cherry’s years-long friendship comes crashing down, Helen finally has the clarity and inspiration to take her own art to the next level. It’s going to get personal.”
Kaye, Young Fools sounds intriguing! I hadn’t heard of either it or Family Reservations. Always happy to find something new to check out.
We’ve had lots of rain, too, Kaye, but we haven’t had the washed out roads and bridges as you have. And, I’m sorry that Don probably hasn’t been able to get out and ride. I hope you’re both doing okay.
Young Fools does sound interesting, as Lindy said.
Lesa, your upcoming trip to Shipshewana sounds exactly like the type of trip I’d enjoy. What fun!
Not much new from here; it was a fretting sort of week, what with David’s bone scan and a CT scan. And a blood test still to come a couple of days from now. Results on the 23rd.
Two books this week:
THE LADIES ROAD GUIDE TO UTTER RUIN by Alison Goodman (sequel to The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies, which should be read first; the sequel begins right where the first book left off.)
We’re back in Regency England with unmarried sisters Augusta (Gus) and Julia, and it is so much fun. Highly entertaining.
Gus and Julia are protecting and hiding Lady Hester at their home after daringly rescuing her from an insane asylum, with help from her wanted-by-the-law-convicted-of-murder brother Lord Evan (and Gus’s love interest). Hester’s other brother, Lord Deele, had committed her to the asylum because she was in a relationship with another woman (who is also staying with Gus and Julia). Hester is in a bad way but the secret is out and they must move her to a new safe place so Lord Deele won’t find her.
Meanwhile, Evan is on the run from a Bow Street runner (Kent) who has been tasked with finding him and bringing him back, as well as from ‘thief takers’ who have orders to kill him. Turns out Evan might be innocent but the murder took place twenty years earlier and finding someone who was around at the time who could possibly help to prove his innocence is frustratingly difficult and may be impossible.
In the course of investigating on Evan’s behalf, it is discovered that women in the city are being grievously harmed and/or killed in ‘gentleman’s clubs’, which adds seriousness to the story.
The book is full of humorous dialogue and is action-packed, as Gus, Julia, and Lord Evan, along with Gus’s trusty butler Weatherly hurtle from one fraught situation to another; and just when you think you might be able to catch your own breath for a moment, they’re right into another one. You’re on the edge of your seat and hoping against hope that all will be well in the end.
Gus and Julia are wonderful heroines – they don’t always agree on the methods but they always fight for what’s right, they care wholeheartedly about people, they’re brave and resourceful, and they never give up.
I couldn’t agree more with a newspaper columnist’s take on the first book, but I think it applies equally well to this one: ‘ … rollicking … romp – think Jane Austen meets James Bond.’
THE RETIREMENT PLAN by Sue Hincenbergs
This funny book follows four sixty-something couples who have been good friends for thirty years. They’re looking forward to a comfortable retirement but an investment gone wrong makes that dream impossible now, and not a single one of the eight characters is happy with their reduced-circumstances life or their partners either for that matter.
One of the husbands dies and the other three are worried. Because of some shady financial doings they’ve involved themselves in, they’re afraid he might have been murdered as a warning to the rest of them.
I don’t want to give away any of the plot points; it would just spoil the fun of discovering every twist and turn for yourself. But you will encounter hitmen, death, lies, secrets, crime, casinos, matchmaking, and much in the way of misunderstandings and miscommunication. And maybe a few tiny life lessons as well.
I started the book by being uncomfortable with the unhappiness in each marriage, and the callousness of the often morally-suspect characters who were not all that likeable. But by the second half I was onboard, then just sat back and enjoyed the ride with this silly, madcap, absurd, and entertaining story – wondering if anything could possibly end well for anyone. It was a good little escape from reality.
Good morning Lindy – so glad that you are finding humorous books to read while waiting on your husband’s results. The Ladies Guide to Utter Ruin sounds delightful!
Hi Lindy,
I’m looking forward to THE LADIES ROAD GUIDE TO UTTER RUIN. I enjoyed the first in the series.
I’m sorry you had a fretting week. I hope David isn’t worrying as much as you are.
I didn’t know Amish food was an actual cuisine.
We’ve had rain and wind all week. At least it mostly kept things cooled down to the 70’s, instead of being in the upper 90’s.
This week I read:
Savage by David Edward; A guy mourning the death of his wife finds himself dragooned into a mission in Panama, where the plane crashes, and he and one or two others have to survive in the wilderness while being pursued. I read a book almost exactly like this about a month ago. Pretty good, but dragged once they got out of the jungle.
Billionaire Blend by Cleo Coyle; An annoying rich guy enters the life of the coffee shop when someone set a car bomb off in his limo. Gives the sleuth something to investigate, but I always feel like the levellers had a point when I read stuff like this.
Chupacabras Among Us by Samuel DenHartog; An origin tale for the Chupacabra that goes back to Aztec times. The Aztecs were not good guys. I knew too much about the Chupacabra, and started arguing with the book.
We Are Experiencing Parental Difficulties…Please Stand By by Rick Kirkman; A collection of Baby Blues comic strips. I didn’t realize that at one point they only had one kid, where now they have three. A totally different strip with a bunch of supporting characters never seen any more.
An Honorable Assassin by Steve Hamilton; Third and so far the last book in the Rick Mason series. He goes to Indonesia where he has no idea what is going on, and is sent to kill some terrorist leader. It feels like one of those Vietnam stories where nobody knows what is going on, only updated for the War on Terror. At least it’s not Ukraine, I guess.
🫢 Giggling at your reviews!
Oh, yes, Glen. “Amish food is a hearty, homestyle cuisine that emphasizes fresh, natural ingredients and time-honored traditions. They rely heavily on grains, dairy, and locally sourced meats, with many dishes featuring potatoes, noodles, and homemade bread. Doughnuts, apple butter, and shoo-fly pie are just a few examples of their popular baked goods.” Noodles, gravy, pies. I love apple butter!
I always enjoy your reviews!
After some warmth at the end of next week, we really cooled off. Supposed to only hit the 60’s on Saturday, but for now, we are in the 70’s. A little cooler than I want for mid-May, but better than the 60’s.
Glad you had such a great weekend with your family.
I’m working on the audio version of TWO KINDS OF TRUTH, a Bosch novel from Michael Connelly. I’m much more invested in the sub-plot than the main murder, which is a problem since Bosch just went undercover for the main plot, and I’m a little bored. I’m 60% into the book, and I’m hoping to finish this weekend.
Meanwhile, I finished up a book today. ROOT OF ALL EVIL is the first Laurel Highlands novel from Liz Milliron, and her first novel overall. I’ve enjoyed some of her other books, and it was nice to go back and finally start this series.
I’m about to start NIGHT OF THE LIVING BREAD by Mary Lee Ashford. After several years, a new publisher has picked up this series, reissued the first three, and is releasing this, book four. The main characters put together community cookbooks and manage to find murder along the way. I’ve got an ARC, and I’m looking forward to diving back into these books.
A little too cool and too rainy here for me, Mark.
Interesting that Ashford’s new publisher reissued the earlier books in the series.
Shipshewana is my happy place, Lesa! Be sure to hit some of the local food stands at the individual farms. And the bakery Rise and Roll is the absolute best! I hope to get there myself this summer.
This past weekend I saw Carousel at our local music camp school. And now I can’t get “June is busting out all over” out of my head! As usual, it has turned into summer overnight here in Northern MI. I’m thinking that everyone turning their AC on caused the local power outage that we had this week – 24 hours! Just my theory. God bless those that work through the night to restore electricity.
I finished “The Mailman” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins. And the positives are:
* This was a real page turner – very fast paced
* Mercury Carter was a very likable and memorable primary character
* I will definitely read the next book if this turns into a series
The negatives are:
* Too many story lines and an awful lot of characters
* I am left not understanding why Jason would turn down $20 million
* I am also left not understanding why Finn kept asking everyone if they knew what twenty-two seven stood for. His boss knew – why didn’t he? Or was he just testing people?
* Many of Mercury’s feats of derring-do were a bit far fetched, as were those done by Rachel.
Thank you, Mary! I think Shipshewana is one of my mother’s happy places, too, although none of the rest of us have been there. So, I’m looking forward to it.
Will you read another in Welsh-Huggins series, if there is a second one?