I’ve been in Evansville, Indiana this week, spending time with my best friend, Donna, and her husband, Terry. Terry’s a cook, like my brother-in-law, so we’ve enjoyed homemade meals at their house every night. I drove in on Monday, had dinner with them that evening, and then back to my hotel. On Tuesday, Donna and I ran around most of the day, visiting the four libraries that have been renovated since I retired three years ago. On Wednesday, we went to lunch with the former HR Director at the library (Donna’s former boss), who is a friend. A nice leisurely two-hour lunch before she and I went to see the movie Practical Magic 2. That’s one thing she and I always did together, go to movies, and enjoy the analysis afterwards. This one was fun with a terrific cast. Then, one last dinner there before I left today.
So, I’m on the road today, and won’t catch up with you until late this afternoon. Weather has been great, and I have no book to talk about today.
What about you? I want to hear about your week, so I can look forward to reading about it when I get home. What are you reading?
I hope you spent a little time with friends or family this week.
Your time in Evansville sounds perfect Lesa; I would have enjoyed doing all the things you talked about.
This was a more social week than is usual for me. David and visited two former neighbours one afternoon, where the four of us nattered away for almost four hours(!) while our friend plied us with tea and homemade goodies. Then later in the week we visited our delightful new upstairs neighbour twice. Well, one time she and I chatted while David hung more of her artwork, and the other time she had another neighbour and me come over and she taught us how to play Mahjong. It might take me some time to remember all the little rules. And the beginning setup with the making of walls is somewhat confusing, but it was all fun.
Books:
DEATH AT THE WHITE HART by Chris Chibnall
I liked this book (reviewed by Lesa more than a year ago). It’s the debut novel by the creator of the TV show Broadchurch, which I know about but have never watched.
Detective Nicola Bridge, her husband, and son Ethan have just moved from Liverpool to the village of Fleetcombe, where she grew up. It’s an attempt to repair her marriage. The hope is that the slower pace of village life will allow her to devote more time to the family. Unfortunately, no sooner has she arrived than there is a murder, theatrically staged – dead man tied to a chair in the middle of a road with a set of antlers glued to his head. He is quickly identified as Jim Tiernan, publican of the White Hart pub in town.
Used to having access to endless resources in Liverpool, Nicola now has only her DC Harry Ward, younger than her by a decade, and also Mel whose job seems to be that of data analyst. They have their work cut out for them as it seems several people in Fleetcombe are plausible suspects, and it’s proving difficult to ferret out the truth when the statements given are eventually shown to be either incomplete, misleading, or just untrue altogether. Complicating everything is the fact that in 1925 crimes with similar aspects occurred, with ties to the family of a local farmer, but is it even possible that this murder many decades later can be connected to those?
I liked how each of the first few chapters focussed on one of the characters so we learned a bit about them and got a feel for kind of people they were. And by the time they became part of the story we ‘knew’ them already and the story flowed naturally.
I also liked that this is not just the story of Detective Nicola solving a case, it’s also a story of Nicola herself – her life and her family and more about why she’s now in Fleetcombe, all of which adds another level of interest.
The story is good, reads easily, has great dialogue, and it was fun seeing how Nicola and Harry find their way to a pretty good working relationship, considering it got off to an inauspicious and rocky start.
I discovered there’s a second book in the series coming out in December, called The Parkwood Murders.
WHEN LEMONS GIVE YOU LIFE by Anna Johnston
This story covers a multitude of issues including death of a loved one, ADHD, the lengths one is prepared to go to for those we love, family, forgiveness, second chances, and lies – none of which the author shies away from, and she makes them feel completely authentic and believable.
Famous chef Griff Barlow, once the owner of a Michelin-star restaurant is now a resident on the dementia ward at Sunny Glen Aged Care Facility. This particular facility is not the best of places, and the food may be the worst Griff has ever eaten. He is also grieving the loss of the love of his life, his husband Beau. Add to that a broken relationship with his half-sister Lisa, and lingering family trauma from decades ago which has affected his entire life – how he interacts with others, and how he views himself.
After the death of his husband, Griff decides to end his life; there’s nothing left for him now. Wanting one ‘last meal’ he sneaks into the nursing home’s kitchen late one night and bakes himself a lemon tart. That one act will have wide repercussions, and sets the story on a whole new trajectory.
Told by Griff and Lisa in alternating chapters, plus flashback chapters which give us all the background to their lives, the book is nevertheless easy to read and not at all confusing.
I found it a bit frustrating that the reason for the rift between Griff and Lisa went on so long. It made sense at the time it started but I thought that decades later these now-adults might have sorted it out and saved themselves a lot of heartache. Still, that’s just a quibble – this is a very moving story, and yet often humorous and uplifting at the same time. It feels like a hopeful book even as it’s busy making you think about what’s important in life, and what it takes to keep going when the situation seems impossible; and that kindness and honesty are always the right ways forward.