It’s been a quiet week here, so I have nothing to discuss except for tomorrow and the book I’m reading. Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about libraries, favorites or memories. I have no other bright ideas about Friday topics, so unless one of us comes up with a bright idea for a June topic, we’ll forget it for now.
In the meantime, what have you been doing? What are you reading?
I’m about a third of a way into Allan Gaw’s The Silent House of Sleep. The historical mystery won The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize in 2024, although it was just released this week in the U.S. Here’s the brief summary – In 1929 in London, a brilliant pathologist investigates two corpses found in a park, using cutting-edge forensics.
Now, here’s my summary. In the first Dr. Jack Cuthbert mystery, we’re introduced to the brilliant pathologist who is Senior Pathologist at St. Thomas’s Hospital and Senior police surgeon with the Metropolitan police. He’s also a WWI veteran who suffers not only from shell shock, but with his own personal demons that he refuses to name. Because he is painstaking, he doesn’t always get along with the police who want answers fast and cases closed quickly.
I don’t always finish the books I mention on Thursdays. Sometimes, I can’t get into them, or don’t care for the characters. Despite some of the gritty details in this book, I’m hooked. I’m sure I’ll be finishing The Silent House of Sleep, unless it takes a strange turn in the rest of the book. The forensic details do not appeal to me, and I seldom read medical mysteries. For me, though, it’s another aspect of a police procedural. I like Cuthbert, and I like reading about post-war London. I’m reading this one quickly.
What about you? What have you been reading this week?
I’m so excited to be able to access the blog again!! I feel like I’ve been in “time-out”, but just the wonders of rural internet.
I just started The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris (Paris Bookshop Mysteries Book 1). It’s a new series by Mark Pryor featuring the same protagonist, now retired, from the Hugo Marston series. A bookstore and a boutique chocolate emporium! I think I’ve read all the books by this author including the creepy Hollow Man duo.
And coincidentally, I downloaded the Silent House of Sleep via Libby just a few hours ago. Lesa, you’ll probably finish it before I even start.
I’m glad to see you back here again MM! Long may your internet access last.
Yay! Welcome back, MM! I hope you’Ve been reading some good books while you’ve been lost to the problems of Internet.
I have a ways to go in the Hugo Marston series before I get to the new one.
But, I did finish The Silent House of Sleep a couple hours ago. Excellent! I have so many things to say about it on Saturday. No spoilers!
Welcome back! But how frustrating to have had no internet – although maybe that allowed you to read more books? I know I waste far too much reading time scrolling, but not everyone’s as gullible as me….
Haven’t been doing much of anything this week, except for running errands and enduring unseasonably warm weather for this time of year with four consecutive days of 28-29 C (82-84F). Statistics show that the average temperature is usually 13C (55F) here right about now which would be much more my speed. We also went out for breakfast one day which was delicious – rye bread with a drizzle of hot honey, avocado slices, topped with perfectly cooked eggs, and a generous amount of pea shoots.
Books this week:
SMEG by Diane Wishart
This is ‘The First Detective Smeg Mystery’.
Within the first few pages I was drawn right into the world of widower Detective Charlie Smeg and his stepson, Paul. They spent a lot of time together when Paul was young but now that he’s a young adult, Charlie is not as close to Paul as he feels he should be. They’ve not had much in common for a long time now.
Charlie left the police force after an incident concerning his former partner, for which he feels responsible. Two months into retirement he’s (still) grouchy, unsettled, and unmoored.
He’d like to be left alone but his former boss has asked him to mentor a young policewoman named Meaghan Byatt as she navigates her way through her first homicide investigation. Because the case seems like an odd one and because he has briefly worked with Meaghan before and sees something special in her, he says yes.
It’s fun watching Charlie and Paul become closer again as their individual areas of strength come into play. The homicide case is complicated and I was torn between which of the two main suspects was the guilty one, as they were both highly suspicious in my opinion. I enjoyed the talk back and forth about the case and how working together opened up a variety of viewpoints on who did it and how. Not a cozy, not a hardboiled procedural, but something in between with believable characters who methodically work the case. I look forward to the next book in the series.
A TRAITOR IN WHITEHALL by Julia Kelly
An enjoyable whodunnit, published three years ago, 1st in a series.
Set in 1940, just before the beginning of the Blitz.
Evelyne Redfern is working at the most boring, yet dangerous, job ever at the munitions factory, filling anti-tank shells with powder to precise measurements. She shares a room in a boarding house with her best friend Moira. Moira will seize any chance for a fun night out while Evelyne would just as soon stay home and read a detective novel.
On a rare evening out, she unexpectedly runs into Mr. Fletcher, one of her estranged father’s friends. They chat for a bit and when he hears how dull she’s finding her job, he invites her to meet with him at his home. It seems he might have a line on something she would find more interesting. Which is how she finds herself working as a typist in Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.
Mere days after she begins working there, one of the women is murdered. The military police begin their interviews but quickly decide it was a crime of jealousy. Evelyne thinks there’s more to it than that so she sets out to put her very amateur sleuthing skills to use, as she’s determined to find out the truth of who killed the woman. She keeps running across David Poole, a man working for the Ministry of Information, who seems intent on thwarting her efforts. It turns out he is on the trail to solve his own mystery which is to discover who in the cabinet war rooms is leaking sensitive information to the Germans. Very reluctantly on his part, he and Evelyne team up to work together.
Although a little unrealistic in that people are so easily persuaded to talk to Evelyne, given she’s only worked there for a matter of days, it’s still fun reading about how the two ‘detectives’ sort their way through the suspects and red herrings of their respective cases.
Evelyne is smart, likeable, and sometimes a bit impetuous but she and the steady, practical David work well together. Evelyn’s backstory is believable. Many of the secondary characters add much to the enjoyment of reading the book. There’s a lot going on but it’s never confusing. And the ending nicely paves the way for the next book in the series.
A light historical mystery where the wartime setting doesn’t take over the story but acts as an interesting backdrop.
Those books both sound good Lindy – but not quite as good as that breakfast! That ‘drizzle of hot honey’ was enough to make me want to fly to Canada just to taste it.
SMEG is a big brand here. Their fridges are highly desirable (and horribly expensive) – they’re seen as status symbols and are found, I’m sure, in many a North London kitchen.
Oh, I love the sound of SMEG, Lindy. I’ll have to look for that one. I’ll admit, the title made me think it was about a dragon. To close to Smaug, I think.
As much as I like your temperatures, that’s too warm for May. Darn climate change.
Lesa, the title was disconcerting for me because Smeg is the brand of toaster we have. While I was reading, it took me a bit till I didn’t think of toast!
Ha! I didn’t know it was a brand of toaster, Lindy. That’s funny.
Our weather has been all over the place. We went from mid-80’s on Saturday to mid-60’s on Sunday. We finally made it back to the upper 70’s today and supposed to be in the 80’s tomorrow and the 90’s by the weekend. We can be very unpredictable this time of year, but usually, it isn’t this crazy. Usually, it’s a more gradual transition between weather extremes.
Haven’t done too much of excitement. Got a new work laptop. (Company provided.) Finished rewatching season 7 of Once Upon a Time. (Still not as good as the rest of the series, but still compelling.) Survived another month end at work.
Reading wise, I am a third of the way into HARM NOT THE EARTH, book four in the Laurel Highlands series from Liz Milliron. It’s nice to see the main characters building their relationship after dancing around it in the earlier books. I’m intrigued by the mystery, although I’m expecting something to really kick it up a notch to happen soon.
It’s interesting how we all seem to have quiet weeks at the same time, or really busy weeks, not just at holiday times. Enjoy the quietness, Mark.
And, I hope you enjoy your book!
Hi everyone
I never did manage to come back last week, but here I am today at least.
Here in Aberdeenshire it’s sunny but still cold – I bought some zonal geraniums but I’m still bringing them in at night. Last night the temperature went down to 32F and even today, when I went out I needed a coat and scarf. But it’s sunny, the spring is sprung, we are in our new house, and I am not going to complain!
Or rather, I probably AM, but that’s because I have damaged my back carrying things and it is not very nice – but I’m sure it will go in the end (the pain, not the back!)
Yesterday we went to another Memories of Scotland session at our local library – this one was about ‘Aberdeen in the 80s’, so it covered things like the city’s decade of football glory (never to be repeated, at least not so far), and the demolition of many old tenements to create two shiny new shopping centres (I remember when I first arrived in Aberdeen these places were still heaving with people, especially at weekends – how times change.)
Some of the buildings that were knocked down were student flats belonging to one of our universities. This was in the early 80s and those flats STILL had no running water, used shared toilets on the landings, had little heating and no doubt plenty of mould. I myself was at university in the late 70s – we lived in relative luxury, with beautiful rooms, plenty of heating, and glorious surroundings. My accommodation in my final year was a ‘set’, ie a bedroom and a sitting room; the sitting room looked over a lawn, a medlar tree and then the River Cam, on which students and tourists would go punting by. We still had shared bathrooms on the landings, but that seemed normal to us, and they were cleaned and maintained by college staff, not lazy us. We also had shared kitchens, but rarely used them as all of our meals were provided in ‘hall’, ie the college dining room, where we sat at long tables, watched by the portraits of long gone provosts and professors.
We were so spoilt.
The weekend before last I was down in Edinburgh, where amongst other things I met up with a very old friend with whom I once took an Open University Creative Writing course. It was lovely to see Ingrid and hear all her news; one of her daughters has started her own non-alcoholic drinks company and it’s doing fantastically well, she’s even selling in the US now. The brand is ‘Mother Root.’
Last Thursday my friend Helen and I had a walk at Loch Kinord, a beautiful loch on Upper Deeside. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, there were few people about, swans and geese were on the water, trees were in blossom – it was just lovely. Unfortunately it didn’t do too much for my back, but it was (probably) worth it.
On Monday Nancy and I visited the Allenvale Cemetery in Aberdeen city, about which I had been to a very interesting talk a few weeks earlier. We went partly to see the spectacular cherry blossom, but we also spotted quite a few interesting graves, some very ornate ones belonging to 19th century businessmen, others quite simple. I was delighted to find one that I’d heard about at the talk – it was for Mr WC King ‘The City Hatter’, who died in 1895. We couldn’t, however, find the memorial to ‘Poor Kate’, who was the Scottish wife of a Romanian man. No one really knows why he thought she was ‘poor’.
I finally got back to the library this week, and I borrowed:
THE PRIVATE SIDE OF FRIENDSHIP by Alexander McCall Smith. I haven’t read any of McCall Smith’s books for a very long time – I think I became a little bored with his style, and the way all of his characters are somewhat smug.
This one is a standalone novel that I saw on the library’s ‘new acquisitions’ shelves. It’s about six students who share a flat in Bruntsfield (highly desirable area of Edinburgh, overlooking the Meadows.) The main character acquires the lease simply by going to visit the woman who’s letting it. She does not at this point even know who any but one of the other 5 inhabitants will be, and the flat is clearly lovely and not the usual student let at all. Flats like these are very hard to come by and are usually only leased to professional couples or families – the chances of anyone offering one to a bunch of unidentified students is, I think, substantially less than zero – which is what I mean about McCall Smith’s books; just about everyone in them leads a very comfortable and easy life.
But I’ll persevere – it’s a very short book and I quite enjoy the Edinburgh references.
THE WRITING ON THE WALL by Jenny Éclair. This is a YA novel by the comedian, writer and actor Jenny Éclair, whom I saw at the theatre last year. I’ve read other books by her and, unlike so many celebrities, she really does know how to write. In the book, 15 year old Hermione is being dragged away from London by her single parent mother, who has acquired a male friend with a big house in the north of England. When they arrive Hermione finds her new bedroom covered in the most awful wallpaper, so decides to redecorate. Underneath the paper, she finds a message from Helena, a teenager who had the same room 50 years previously. Jenny Éclair really conjures up teenage life, both then and now, and of course I particularly enjoy all the 70s references. It’s always funny when people mention brand names that one only then realizes have disappeared. Things like Old Jamaica chocolate, C & A (well known fashion chain), Jackie magazine – all part of our collective teenage years – have somehow slipped away without our noticing.
THE SECRET LIVES OF BOOKSELLERS AND LIBRARIANS – edited by James Patterson. This is a collection of interviews (I think) with American librarians and booksellers, each of them rejoicing in the power of books, some of them despairing of certain sectors’ increasing interference in their work. I was surprised when I saw that this James Patterson is indeed the prolific author of the same name – it seems he’s given a great deal of money to literacy projects.
I’m also reading Maeve Binchy’s CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, which follows two girls, Benny and Eve, from their very different childhoods in the small town of Knockglen, onwards to university in Dublin and beyond. I always enjoy a Maeve Binchy novel, though I have to say I am struggling slightly to remember who’s who in this one – but it’s early days, I’m only a quarter of the way through.
Is anyone taking part in 20 BOOKS OF SUMMER this year? I’ve decided I’m going to be less ambitious and just go for ten – that way I might even get the reviews written for once.
I hope everyone has as good a week as they can. See you tomorrow!
Rosemary, I actually know two people who have received money or certificates towards books from James Patterson. One is my nephew. Patterson once ran a contest for graduating seniors in which they had to write an essay about the book that influenced their life. He received a certificate for a couple hundred dollars to be spent at an independent bookstore. The other is a bookseller. So, Patterson really does support literacy causes. I’ve never been one of those people who disparage Patterson because of the quantity of books and his co-writing. He gets people reading! It’s the same as supporting kids who like to read comic books and graphic novels. They’re reading! Isn’t that what counts? And, some of his co-writers have gone on to have successful careers on their own.
I enjoy hearing about the talks you attend. I’m sure there’s something here, but it takes a while to find it. I did find something when I lived in Arizona. It was a series of talks sponsored by a group in Los Angeles who partnered with Phoenix and had free talks on various subjects. The talks were all held in various museums. One was about city develpment. One was on the Jews and Palestine. Always interesting topics.
I’m looking forward to your writing tomorrow.
Lesa, I could not agree more about reading being what matters – book snobbery really infuriates me.
When I was at school, someone decided that Enid Blyton’s books would ruin children’s education (Blyton isn’t exactly known for having a sophisticated writing style.) The books- all of the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers, St Clare’s and many other series – had to be removed from libraries and schools.
Well guess what? We all read them and most of us survived! What’s more, those books are now back on library shelves. My elder daughter loved them. So good on James Patterson, Dolly Parton and everyone who encourages reading of any kind. Making anyone, but children in particular, read only ‘worthy’ (and who decides what’s ‘worthy’ anyway?) books is a sure fire way to put them off reading, sometimes for life. But I do know you know all that – I’m just on one of my usual soapboxes!
I so agree, Rosemary. Actually, librarians can be such snobs. I worked with some who insisted they were better than other library workers because they had an MLS. Ha! Some of the best “librarians” I ever knew didn’t have an MLS. But, they knew the public and books, and could pair them up. I’m glad I have my degree because It made my career, but that didn’t give me the knowledge I had to work with the public. And, it didn’t give me the knowledge of books. My first library director had an education degree. The best children’s librarian I ever worked with didn’t have a library degree. But, they were both wonderful.
Librarians did the same snobbery about books int he collection. Now, we complain about people who ban books, but librarians did it for years about children’s books.
Rosemary, coincidentally, I just picked the next Alexander McCall Smith book off my shelf yesterday. I was reading the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books in order – I have just not been able to get into most of his other series – and stopped several chapters into book 10 (TEA TIME FOR THE TRADITIONALLY BUILT), so thought I’d go back and finish it. I think I have a couple more yet to read.
Also by coincidence, I could swear we once stayed in the Bruntsfield area in Edinburgh, but looking back at my diaries I couldn’t find it. We stayed at Thrums Hotel several times – memorable for his great homemade breakfasts with porridge and scones – and Teviotdale House (also nice). The most memorable, however, was the Forte Posthouse, which was literally NEXT DOOR to the Edinburgh Zoo. We heard the lions roaring all night long!
Also, since they’ve confirmed there is indeed going to be a new LINE OF DUTY coming, we’ve started watching the whole series again from the beginning.
Jeff, the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books were the only ones of McCall Smith’s that my mother liked too. I enjoyed the Scotland Street books much more once I’d moved to Edinburgh and could recognise all the very Edinburgh types. The Sunday Philosophers’ Club series just irritated me, and some of the standalone novels seemed quite flat and boring.
McCall Smith is very much a part of Edinburgh society; his book festival slots always sell out (he’s very good at working a crowd) and ladies of a certain age lap up every word he writes. I’m sure he is a very nice person, but he does seem to lead a charmed life and therefore only be able to write characters who are similarly blessed.
I’ve not read the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books yet, but I did enjoy the TV series very much, and wish they had filmed more.
And Jeff, I know exactly where that hotel is, right beside the zoo. We actually considered buying a house in the same area once, and coincidentally when i was on holiday in York, the proprietor of our hotel there had a friend who had indeed bought that very house. He too said you could hear the lions roaring in the night.
Great idea to rewatch Line of Duty, I think I will do that. I certainly felt I benefitted from rewatching The Night Manager before starting the recent new series, and from rewatching the previous series of Blue Lights before watching the new one too.
I enjoy your chatty posts Rosemary; always interesting and I learn so much from them! I hope your back recovers soon and that you’re well and truly settled in your new home.
Thank you so much Lindy – I enjoy your posts too.
I saw my doctor friend today; she recommended a specialist sports’ massage, so i will have to look into that. She also had an ‘ergonomic’ chair; I tried it and was very impressed, so I might invest in one of those.
Rosemary, I will be doing the 20 BOOKS OF SUMMER this year also. I have already started to come up with a list. I may cut back to 10 or 15 books, but I have a hard time keeping the list down to 20 most years. In reality, I am not sure I could read 20 books this summer, my reading has slowed, but whatever number I aim for … I will be glad of a list to guide me. I have given up on writing reviews for the books on my summer list. I will only write reviews if I am in the mood.
I look forward to seeing your list.
We saw Present Laughter this past weekend. It was our first Noel Coward play and it wasn’t our favorite. The entire first act was spent setting everything up and I thought I was going to have to poke Roger to keep him awake. The second act was better. And we had dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants afterwards.
I haven’t finished a book this week. I’m about halfway through a cozy mystery, ON THE HOOK by Rea Keech. Bodies begin turning up after one of Westport’s regattas. I’m enjoying it so far.
Sandy, I even saw Kevin Kline star in Present Laughter on Broadway. He was fantastic, but I still didn’t really care for the play itself. Kline received the Tony Award for his performance, well-deserved. But, I thought the play itself was just okay. My personal opinion, and I know it’s probably sacrilege to say that.
We saw Kevin Kline (who can do no wrong) in PRESENT LAUGHTER on Broadway too (in 2017). We first saw it in London in 1981 with the great Donald Sinden. And we saw it in 2010 with Victor Garber.
I agree with you, it’s no PRIVATE LIVES.
Hi Everyone – Just finished When I Kill You by B. A. Paris. It was good but predictable. I sometimes think in my next life I should come back as a detective! I guess I’ve been reading too many mysteries. I know you want to talk about libraries tomorrow which I love, however, I wonder if anyone remembers Bookmobiles? In the summer they had a certain route and would come and park by a school and people that couldn’t get to the library had access to books.
Donna! Bookmobiles count as libraries. You can talk about them tomorrow, too, if you want.
I never experienced one as a child, except at the county fair where my Mom took us on Betsy the Bookmobile. She used that one when she was a child. When I was in Florida, we had a bookmobile, and I worked on it one day when the driver needed someone. There were always two people manning it, and his partner was out that day, so I said I’d go. It was interesting becasue it was so different from working in a regular library.
So happy to hear that they were in other parts of the country! Great memories!
We had – and I think we still have, in rural areas, the ‘mobile libraries’ – books in a van. They take a different route each day, bringing with them a selection of library stock. You can ask them for particular books and they will bring them for you on their next visit.
My younger daughter and I both always thought that driving a mobile library would be our dream job (though I hate driving and she’s never even learned!) I think it was the heady mixture of books and autonomy that appealed to us.
My country library system actually added a Bookmobile about four years ago to reach out to the semi-remote areas. Unfortunately, changes in the budget eliminated it this year.
I’m surprised they added a bookmobile just four years ago, MM. Bookmobiles are not cheap to operate, with gas, maintenance, staff and a collection that needs to change. I’m sorry to see that it didn’t last, though.
Yikes, that is a shame. I love bookmobile; we had one in grade school because there was no library. Our city library has one, but it is limited to inner town. limits so we don’t qualify,
Yes! I was going to talk about bookmobiles too, Donna. Before we moved to Brooklyn, we lived in a part of Queens just being developed. I don’t even know if there was a library, but we had a bookmobile come to our block once a week.
Please do talk about them, Jeff.
Oh yes please do!
Good morning, Lesa and all. We’ve had some nicer, warmer weather here, but it’s getting cooler again. Hope everyone who celebrates Mothers Day has a good one. We’re actually going to the theater for the first time this year, to see the Bobby Darin show, JUST IN TIME, on Sunday, so … we’ll see. We haven’t been in Manhattan since last November, I think.
Also, I have a cold/upper respiratory thing going on, and I am hoping to get rid of it before Sunday. It’s not too bad so far.
Books, then. Jackie has been on a roll lately. She did really like her Abby Jimenez book, and now she is into the latest J. D. Robb book, STOLEN IN DEATH. This one features Roarke in a major role, and that can’t be bad, right? She also has a Carley Fortune and a Kelley Armstrong book waiting to be read next, so I guess it’s Canada Week for her.
I have had a hard time settling on what to read, other than short stories. I covered the Japanese MY GRANDFATHER, THE MASTER DETECTIVE by Masateru Konishi last week, and I finished it Thursday after all. Good book and nice change of pace from my usual reading, which you need once in a while. There were years in the late ’70s or ’80s where I read about 80% mysteries, but I’ve tried to mix things up more these days.
Tom Perrotta is probably best known for ELECTION (made into a movie with Reese Witherspoon, of course) and THE LEFTOVERS (a good TV series) and LITTLE CHILDREN (another successful movie), but he’s also written short stories, which I recently discovered. In fact, his first published book was Bad Haircut: Stories From the ‘Seventies, and it is terrific. Perrotta grew up in suburban New Jersey (he’s a dozen or so years younger than me), and he really nails it here, in these at least partly autobiographical stories about Buddy, from age 13 to his first year of college. Not a lot of parents in this, but a lot of school, friends, girls, cars, drinking and sex. It’s so subtly done that it’s easy to miss how skillful this is, but if you read short stories at all, I highly recommend this one. I’ve started his second collection (published two decades later), so…next week.
I became aware of a short collection by a favorite, Edward D. Hoch, and picked it up for a quick read. Layout For Murder: A Noir Masters’ Triple Threat is three short stories, all published in long since defunct magazines in 1962. One features PI Al Darlan. The second suddenly brings in his “mystical” detective Simon Ark at the end, but it is really not an Ark story at all and has none of the “woo woo” elements his stories usually have. The third, and by far shortest, story is the most noirish. There is a new Hoch collection (how many there have been I’m not sure, but a lot) coming shortly from Crippen & Landru, which I will read and review in due course. Just checked: this will be their 15th Hoch collection.
After the Joe Gould book, I took Jill Lepore recent (2023) collection, THE DEADLINE: Essays, from the library. This is a big book, 600 pages, with pieces from the last decade (she writes a LOT), and so far it is mostly quite interesting.
I’m a big fan of Lou Berney, most of whose books seem to be set in Minnesota, though featuring different characters. But for whatever reason, I didn’t read last year’s CROOKS, which seemed to be a Mafia-style book about “family,” despite some excellent reviews. Well, that was a mistake I’m rectifying now. I can see why several other mystery authors have raved, calling this his best book. Buddy Mercurio is a low level (but clever) mob guy, and his wife Lillian a clever (former) pickpocket. They have five kids – Ray, Jeremy, Alice, Tallulah and Piggy, the youngest. They start in Vegas, but end up running for their lives to Oklahoma City, where they open the first disco in town ca. 1977. It’s episodic, covering first the couple and then each child – and boy are they all different – in turn. So far it really is excellent, and if you don’t love one section, there are four others to choose from. Berney is truly an excellent writer. He’s previously done the historical mob thing with the excellent NOVEMBER ROAD and this one hits it out of the park again.
PS – I’m really looking forward to the library stories tomorrow.
Good morning, Jeff! I never heard of Jeremy Jordan who is starring as Bobby Darin. You’ll have to let me know how it is. I hope your upper respiratory thing is better by Sunday.
Tell Jackie that J.D. Robb’s next one, Fury in Death, is due out in September. Kevin Tipple and Kaye Barley both sent me notes to tell me. I appreciate that!
I’ve been a Lou Berney fan since his Shake Bouchon capers. I haven’t read Double Barrel Bluff, but he sent me a copy, so I’ll get to it eventually. I liked Crooks, but I loved November Road.
I’m looking forward to library stories, too!
Yes, NOVEMBER ROAD was my favorite too.
Jackie already has the September J. D. Robb book noted down mentally.
Lesa, we’ve never seen Jeremy Jordan , but he has been in a bunch of Broadway musicals (got has two Tony nominations) – Rock of Ages, Bonnie & Clyde, Newsies (Tony nom.), West Side Story, Waitress, Little Shop of Horrors, The Great Gatsby , Floyd Collins (Tony nom.).
I saw Waitress, but his name isn’t familiar. However, there were multiple people in that show, so I still don’t think I saw him.
Like everyone else, our weather has been wild. Up and down. This week has been in the high 70s with next week predicted to be in the 90s. Hoping our irrigation water gets turned back on soon. They shut it off last week for repairs.
12 days till school is out! While the teachers are looking forward to their summer, I’m busy trying to grab their curriculum material before they take off. This summer will be a quiet summer – no curriculum adoptions and no money. But I have plenty of projects to do over the summer, someday I might actually get caught up.
What I read this week:
Probable Caws – Donna Andrews. I love Donna Andrews earlier books but now that there are 39 in the series, I think the humor in them is gone. Meg becomes involved in a horse rescue operation that lost its primary housing and is moving to her friend, Ragnor’s estate. The land that they were originally pasturing the horses on is involved in a dispute between two brothers over their father’s estate. The nasty brother and his thug end up murdered, and Meg gets involved in the investigation. I was never a horse crazy girl so a lot of it wasn’t very interesting to me.
The second book I read this week was The Primrose Murder Society by Stacy Hackney. Lesa already reviewed this one back in March. It was an enjoyable read. The struggle the mother had to protect her daughter we can all relate to. No one wants to see their child hurting.
Right now, I’m reading The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow which is another book that Lesa reviewed back in March. I’m only ½ way through it and it’s been pretty interesting so far.
Bev, I’m sorry you have no money for the library. That just hurts for school libraries. I’m sure you have a story or two to add for tomorrow.
I’m glad you’re enjoying The Harvey Girl! It’s the only one of Dana Stabenow’s books that I’ve read, but I really liked that one.
Eve Chase’s The Secret Thread was my favorite, most recent, read.
Description
At a lavish summer party on an English country estate, tensions between social classes lead to deadly consequences that won’t stay buried in this twisty, engrossing suspense novel by the author of The Midnight Hour.
Even the darkest secrets unravel in time. . . .
2024: Jo O’Mara, a young writer, lands a job working for Mimi Mott, a wealthy style icon and legendary founder of a decorating empire. Newly widowed and in her seventies, Mimi is preparing to auction off her possessions, through them finally telling the story of her early life. Famously private, Mimi has kept her past shrouded in mystery. Jo doesn’t dare reveal how closely it touches her own.
Tasked with collecting the untold tales behind each auction lot, Jo peels back the layers of Mimi’s origin story and discovers it’s far darker than anyone ever suspected.
1969: Mimi and her sister, Pamela, live in a cramped, musty staff cottage on the grounds of Rushwood, an idyllic English country estate owned by the Caswell family, their demanding new employer. Working alongside their gardener parents, the girls have been raised with their hands in the soil and know only a traditional, simple life—but spirited Mimi hungers for more.
When the Caswells’ adult children, Nancy and Lawrence, arrive at Rushwood for the summer, the sisters are drawn into a privileged, intoxicating world, unsettling their own, and passions spark under the blazing sun—until a shattering death at Rushwood’s high-society party tears Mimi and Pamela apart.
Now time is running out. Jo discovers both a missing auction piece and a missing sister and vows to find them no matter how dark the secret they expose—or the cost to herself.
Kaye, I haven’t read The Secret Thread, but I know I read some book by Chase. The name is so familiar, and not just from shelving it at the library. This sounds almost like a Gothic.
Good morning! I enjoyed seeing a new movie, The Devil Wears Prada 2, this week with a large group of ladies. We mostly complied with our leader’s request to wear red and black, and she sucked in a passer-by to take photographs that might appear in the Newcomers Club newsletter and/or on Facebook. As for books, I must apologize now for my very long post, which resulted from the fact that I hadn’t yet reviewed my books when last Thursday rolled around. It was that much more difficult to write reviews several days after I read the books, so I will try not to do that again (although I just finished my latest review).
I have read 20 books by Mary Kay Andrews, and ROAD TRIP is my favorite of her recent books. Savannah sisters Maeve and Therese couldn’t be more different and don’t often see eye to eye. They haven’t even laid eyes on each other for years, but their mother’s death brings them together. Both of them are hurting for money, having lost their (professor and actor) jobs, and they are horrified to discover that their mother has emptied her bank account, donating all the money they should have inherited to a crooked TV evangelist. However, she did leave them with a painting of a family ancestor, which may be worth a great deal of money. She also bequeathed them $9,000 she had saved in a jar, insisting that it be used for a trip to Ireland for both sisters to track down some family and ancestors and find out whether the painting is original and valuable. Alternating occasionally with the present-day chapters are chapters relating the fate of a long-ago woman named Kathleen, who had to flee from home in Ireland and start over in the United States, and who may be an important link to family history. Of course, there is some romance with men the sisters meet in Ireland, and their journey is interesting, eventful, and sometimes humorous. (June)
I heard Adrian Andover describe his first novel, WHISKEY BUSINESS, at the New Author Breakfast at the Left Coast Crime convention in San Francisco in February and watched as he won the Lefty Award for debut mystery at the same convention. Last week, he won the Agatha Award at the Malice Domestic convention for the same book. So, of course, I moved Whiskey Business to the top of my reading list. It’s easy to understand why it won these two prestigious awards. The protagonist is someone I’ve never encountered before in a cozy mystery, a mixologist who just opened a cocktail lounge with a literary theme in the basement of a restaurant in the Philadelphia area. Reece is also trying to recover from breaking his engagement from his long-term girlfriend for a compelling and necessary reason. Then the unthinkable happens–an annoying attendee of an event at Subplot (his lounge) turns up dead in the alley behind the restaurant and club, and there are plenty of suspects because he was not–to say the least–beloved of a lot of people in town. Reece is worried he might be implicated for possibly overserving a drunken patron , and it might cause potential patrons to avoid the club. It’s an engaging story, and I appreciated the fact that Reece’s ex-fiancee and her brother, a local police officer, don’t hold a grudge against Reece, and the character of Reece is a likeable one. And it doesn’t hurt that the book opens up with Reece working on a s’mores cocktail–I’m in! I was happy to hear that the second in the Mixology Lounge Mystery series is coming soon.
If you’re looking for a quiet book that doesn’t stress you out because of the difficulties the characters experience and that gives your state of mind the uplift we all need, you may enjoy NANTUCKET SECOND CHANCES as much as I did. This was my second experience reading a Pamela Kelley book, and I chuckled when I looked back at my review of The Christmas Inn last year because it says basically the same thing. I finished this book more quickly that I expected because I so enjoyed spending time with the characters and the island of Nantucket. Claire finds herself returning to her Nantucket home, where her grandmother and mother still live, after her marriage collapses and her husband leaves her and their 16-year-old daughter dangerously short of funds. She also discovers that she is quite unexpectedly (but not unhappily) pregnant, as is her ex’s new girlfriend. Although she and Lily can live with her mother, Claire knows she needs to come up with a way to earn some money, and she decides to launch a luxury consignment company to sell off her collection of very expensive designer bags and shoes. The originally reluctant landlord of her new store turns out to be a gem, and their platonic relationship and her new friends help her through this difficult period. Claire’s daughter, Lily, is a lovely character who decides she wants to be a songwriter and makes a friend at school with someone who has the same dream. What more can I say? I immediately bought another book in this series, and I have another Pamela Kelley book on Kindle. (satisfied sigh) (June)
In Lindsay Lovise’s NEVER SPAR WITH A VISCOUNT, Ivy refuses to marry any of the inappropriate men her father has presented to her, so she takes a job as a governess to the the eight young sisters (age 3 to 10) of a viscount who has recently returned from London to take up residence in his inherited home after the death of his father. The mother of the somewhat unruly girls is anything but maternal, but they take to Ivy immediately, and she to them. Owen, the viscount, fresh off a failed romance, has sworn off marriage and doesn’t want any of the young ladies enthusiastically presented by their mothers. So when Ivy and Owen meet, they soon come up with a faux romance scheme to help Owen stay single and ensure that Ivy will catch the eye of the only kind man she would consider as a marital partner. Owen has no idea that Ivy secretly teaches self-defense to a group of women in the evening, or that she is perfectly able to defend even him when the opportunity presents itself. And neither understands why Ivy’s oldest brother and Owen’s former best friend has bitterly destroyed their friendship years ago and would never consider allowing Ivy to marry Owen. There is also trouble in London, where many women are suddenly diagnosed with “hysteria,” and it is reported that Owen has been seen in the presence of many of them. THis was an era when women were expected to “marry up” and produce an heir, and to obey their spouses or brothers It was also an age when women who became very upset or showed some unexpected medical problems were often institutionalized and diagnosed with hysteria. Ivy and Owen are both dynamic, attractive, intelligent characters who are destined to be together, but first they must navigate all of the conflicting issues and problems in their lives. Owen’s sisters are wonderfully portrayed, and I only wish there were more scenes with them. Add quite a bit of humor and some spice, and you have a successful formula for an entertaining book with a most satisfying conclusion. Apparently this is the third book in a series, with a few minor characters from the previous books and new protagonists.
Colleen Cambridge’s An American in Paris Mysteries series is a wonderful melange of memorable characters, luscious-sounding food, and intricate plots, and I haven’t missed one yet. Tabitha tutors fellow American expatriate women in the French language in 1950 Paris and enjoys her interactions with a special fiend, Julia Child, who is attending the famous Cordon Bleu to become the chef we all know and love. In the fourth book, IN THE SPIRIT OF FRENCH MURDER, there is also a supernatural tinge to the mystery, as a self-professed medium warns Tabitha’s beloved grandfather and his partner that death may be coming their way. Grand-pere and Oncle Rafe nevertheless host a soiree for seven other former Resistance fighters that is quickly followed by the death of one of the attendees, with a bluet flower found at the scene. As more dead bodies follow, each sporting a bluet, Tabitha joins with the alluring Inspecteur Merveille to find out who is behind the mayhem before her “monsieurs” become the next victims. I think this is the best (so far) in a standout series that features Cambridge’s immersive writing style and a look at Paris after World War II. Julia Child doesn’t figure as prominently in the plot of this book, but she makes her presence known with her strong personality and her to-die-for dishes. Not to be missed, and I hope the series continues indefinitely. Note for those who request books from NetGalley: I requested this one in early December and it was published on April 28, while my request was still pending. So I took a chance and contacted Customer Service at Kensington Books and received a lovely, complementary response almost immediately and was approved. I’m so glad I did!
I missed a couple of things–should be “friend,” not “fiend” in the last review, and I think I misspelled “complimentary” in the note at the end of that review. My apologies!
Margie, I enjoyed Never Spar with a Viscount so much. I liked the characters, including as you said, all the young sisters. And, the two main characters are delightful.
I just can’t get into Colleen Cambridge’s Paris books. I originally thought Julia Child would have a larger role, and I didn’t like Tabitha. Oh, well. That’s why we discuss books here. We don’t all read or like the same books.
I am looking forward to Road Trip, though. I have it, but I’ve been putting it off because I want to read it closer to release date. I’m excited about the lunch at which Mary Kay Andrews will speak. It’s been years since I’ve seen her. As a matter of fact, I had lunch with her and representatives of her publisher that day, along with a few other librarians.
I read two books this week.
Seeds of Murder by Rosie Sandler is the first of the Gardner Series by Rosie Sandler. Steph travels around England taking various gardening jobs. In this one she is hired by a wealthy gated community of homes. Naturally each occupant has secrets and eventually are blackmailed. Steph is accused of the blackmail and has to exonerate herself before the residents will go to the police. I enjoyed this one very much and plan on reading more of the series.
My second book was highly recommended by my daughter. In Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, Agnes is running a cat shelter in 1920’s Montreal where magicians are rampant in the city. She unwittingly rents a building for her cat shelter which Havelock, the Witch King uses as a front for his workshop. When Havelock’s sister returns putting the shelter and magic shop in danger, they must work together to save it. I am not much of a fantasy reader but gave it a try. I thought it was good but not as good as my daughter did.
It is funny we had all those 80 plus degree days in April and May has been much cooler in the 60’s and low 70’s with some much-needed rain.
We went to see Light Up the Sky! by Moss Hart at the Drama Workshop Playhouse on Sunday. While the acting was good, the play was boring. I kept looking at my watch and there were some who nodded off. Not a good start for the run. The Sunday before we saw Disaster! at the Incline Theater which was lots of fun and music from the 70’s. I am looking forward to 1776! at the end of the month.
Happy Reading!
1776 must be the show for the two hundredth year, Sharon. My hometown is bringing in guest actors to do the show at the end of July. We’re getting tickets for 8 of us to go see it. My family has particular parts we all love. When I mentioned it to Christie, she said, “Sit down, John!” When I think of it, I think of Jefferson’s wife showing up, and singing “He Plays the Violin” or the song “Here a Lee, There a Lee.” Fun show, even if there are several slow parts.
We saw the original Broadway production of 1776 back when we were first married, over 50 years ago! We also saw the revival – twice – in 1997, first at the Roundabout and then, when it transferred, to the Gershwin.
We watch the movie version every years on July 4, and I must admit that I fast forward through a slow bit or two.
So what if it isn’t all exactly historically accurate. (I could give you a list of things they’ve changed, perhaps for dramatic purposes.) The spirit is there and they do a wonderful job.
Well the time has come to break down and get new blinds for the house. I’ve gotten a couple of quotes and now I just need to order them. My husband got home last night from a business trip and today I am having a “me” day – lunch out, favorite stores and ice cream!
Now to books:
“A Widow’s Charm” by Caitlyn Paxton which Lindy reviewed last week. I was entertained by this book – a feel good, funny, magical romance.
“The Keeper(Cal Hooper #3)” by Tana French. FABULOUS!! A local girl is found dead in the river and trying to determine if she was killed or committed suicide takes the town by storm. She was the girlfriend of the town’s bigwig’s son. The bigwig starts to spread rumors that Lena, who was one of the last to see the girl alive, was the killer. He spreads his vitriol and rumors about Lena, including that she has a mental condition and that the girl was sleeping with Cal. The bigwig has much at stake, not only saving his son’s reputation, but also protecting his plan to purchase up farmland and bring in a factory. How the townsfolk fight back and the relationship impact between Cal, Lena, Trey and the townsfolk keeps this a page turner. Very suspenseful. Very lyrical in its delivery.
I also meant to mention that I saw the Devil Wears Prada 2 and I thought it was really good and I finally got to watch Song Sung Blue about a Neil Diamond impersonator and his wife and that was also really good.
If you like Neil Diamond music, it’s hard to not like Song Sung Blue. Sad, though, isn’t it?
Oh, a me day sounds fun, Mary. Of course, I could do that whenever I want, but I’m not really into the store part. Lunch and ice cream sound wonderful!
The bronchitis continues; I wish I had its energy!
I finished Happiness Included by Eve Plumb, who played Jan Brady in The Brady Bunch. I don’t usually read celebrity memoirs. It was OK I learned a lot about the production of family sitcoms. She had better parents in that they did not touch the money that she earned. They put it in a savings account for college expenses. I thought that she got shortchanged on her grade and junior high school education, and she never had the freedom that many children had, in that she had no friends and no playtime. It also made me aware of how formulaic more series are.
I will be starting: The Patient Wait of the Stones, by Antonio Romani. This is the author’s account of his move to Lunigiana, a mountainous region of Tuscany. He felt he was a stranger in his own country, the customs and the people were so different.
Well, darn. I’m sorry about the ongoing bronchitis, Carol.
That’s interesting about The Patient Wait of the Stones. If the author is good, it sounds as if it has possibilities.
Well I’m going to start off by saying that I must be in the 2% who did not enjoyed one of the hottest books out. I read Yesteryear this week and just can’t see the hype. It was sad, depressing and I didn’t care for any of the adult characters. Maybe it was supposed to be satire? A commentary on social media? I’m not sure but I honestly not sure what I missed. Will look forward to hearing some fellow commentators thoughts once you have read it.
Susan, I’m going to skip it, although I had a copy on my Kindle. My best friend said the same thing you did. She didn’t like any of the characters. Since she knows what I like to read, she said she didn’t think I’d like it at all.
Well this is disappointing news Susan! I recently bought a copy of Yesteryear, not knowing anything about it, because it sounded so interesting, and now I’m not sure I want to invest the time. It’s not a short book.
We had cold rain at the beginning of the week, but now we’re headed toward 90 degree weather. Allergy season will never end this way!
This week I read:
Eleven Elements Book One by Robbie Joshi; A time travel mission from the 26 century to modern day Florida goes wrong from the beginning. From there, things keep going wrong. It’s just one thing after another. Still, a rare time travel novel that didn’t give me a headache.
I Choose Violence by Deshi Satoshi Yakamoto; An IT guy decides to kill human traffickers. Hits a bit different after a couple of weeks ago.
Tragedy in Tahoe by Rachele Baker; After her hospital burns down, a veterinarian brings her golden retriever to Tahoe, where she becomes a concierge for some rental cabins. We get the usual series set up, and the murder. At least the solution is a little creative.
The Mosaic Key by Archer Campbell; Dan Brown rip off about a couple who get involved in a conspiracy involving renaissance art.
The Obsidian Chamber by Preston and Child; Pendergast is missing, presumed dead. Constance mourns, and then is kidnapped by Pendergast’s evil brother. (you now how for umpteen books, she’s been telling everyone how tough she is? So much for that) The butler pursues, Pendergast comes back, and things really start to move.
You’ve had a rough allergy year, Glen, with no relief in sight. I’m sorry.
A time travel book, though. That sounds like a possibility!
You had an interesting reading week with a Dan Brown rip-off and Preston.
This week has been one shopping excursion after another. Today was Costco for prescriptions and other needed items. I am still having digestive problems but I think it is getting better since I am taking Prilosec for 14 days for acid reflux and eating less.
Glen is reading THE SIEGE by Ben Macintyre about the 1980 hostage crisis at the Iranian embassy in London. He has read and enjoyed several of Macintyre’s books, but this topic is not as appealing as others he has read. He likes the books related to World War II better. This one has a huge cast of characters that are hard keep up with.
I finished two books recently that I was really happy with. Both exceeded my expectations. The more contemporary book was NOSY NEIGHBORS by Freya Sampson, a sort of cozy mystery about a 77-year-old woman and a very young woman overcome their dislike of each other and their own traumas in the past to fight evictions from an old Victorian building divided into 8 flats. I had my concerns going in but I got past the slow start and enjoyed it a lot.
The other book was Mary Stewart’s THE IVY TREE (first published in 1961), which I just loved. It was an impersonation novel and Stewart did a good job of making the situation seem possible and believable and very suspenseful. I am not sure how to categorize her books. One place she was called the Queen of Romantic Suspense. And then I read that she did not not alike her books to be categorized. I don’t blame her. I guess mystery / suspense is good enough.
This week, your books sound better than Glen’s, Tracy. I read Nosy Neighbors a while ago, and it was good.
And, I”m afraid Mary Stewart was categorized as romantic suspense until her Arthurian books.