What are you reading this week? Are you reading? Even though I was home yesterday because we have icy, slick roads and more expected during evening hours, I didn’t read much. I spent the entire day riveted to the impeachment hearings. No matter what happens, these House Impeachment Managers, all lawyers, are doing an outstanding job of prosecution. It’s been fascinating.
I did start a book, and I’m liking A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins. Our library classifies it as a historical romance. It could be a historical mystery with romance. Set in London in 1865, it features Lady Katherine Bascomb, who owns a newspaper and writes a column while the police are searching for a killer. Her intentions are good, but DI Andrew Eversham’s investigation is taken from him as a direct result of her column, and the wrong man is arrested. When she goes to the country to try to intervene, she witnesses a murder.
What are reading this week? Or, are you distracted by weather, TV, or life itself?
No distractions out here, just work and reading.
I read”
Dr. DOA by Simon R. Green; At some point, I apparently fell off the Green bandwagon when I wasn’t paying attention.
Trailin’ West; Excellent anthology of western shorts, from old and new authors, with Lamour as the midpoint.
High Rollers; Dorm rats at Miami University start a bookie ring. Crime pays,,,until it doesn’t.
Sanctum Santorum; The Ark of the Covenant is found in Jordan. The Israelis steal it. WWIII follows, as well as info dumps.
Grimm House; A kid is taken to a house by old ladies who live vampirically by absorbing the passion of little kids. A bit creepy, but not too scary. The heavy handed moralizing is the real scary part.
All In; A recovery specialist and a professional poker player are trying to take down an evil hedge fund billionaire, when they meet cute and start romancing and scheming together while on a cruise ship poker tournament. So light it might fly away if you’re not careful.
I like your comment about the Simon R. Green bandwagon, Glen. I’m a big fan, but I started his forthcoming book, the first in a new series, and I read a couple chapters and quit. I was bored. It just seemed to be a rehash. I don’t think a Simon R. Green novel eer bored me before. I love the last sentence of each of your last two reviews.
We had a coupe of inches of snow overnight so I’ll post before I go out to shovel. Fortunately I have a Yoga class on Zoom tonight to work out all the kinks from shoveling.
I read:
ADVENTURES OF A DWERVISH GIRL by Daniel Pinkwater. A somewhat scattered book about a non-human girl who lives her secret village to live in the human world.
THE BRANSON BEAUTY by Claire Booth. A paddle wheeler runs aground on some rocks with a dead body onboard. Both my mom and I enjoyed this one. We’ll read the second in the series if it ever gets out of the Lancaster, PA post office.
MURDER ON THE OXTAIL EXPRESS by Elizabeth Rain. A soup witch attempts to solve a murder. I would have liked this one more if she’d used her powers to solve the mystery.
THE BROKEN SPINE by Dorothy St. James. Cozy mystery set in a library. I just didn’t find the characters very likable and the two people she seems to be setting up as a love interest are like oil and water.
Sandy, I think I said last week that I can tell you’ve been reading Glen’s reviews. I hope the second in Claire Booth’s series arrives soon for you!
Jackie spent all day glues to the set too. I was in here reading (though I could hear the presentation). Then we had another coating of snow overnight, and a couple more are supposed to be in the offing. Really getting old.
But I digress. As I said, I was reading, and I read the latest (a new one is coming in March, I believe) Salvo Montalbano book by (the late) Andrea Camilleri, The Sicilian Method. A man is found dead, an interesting character who was both an acting coach and a moneylender! Montalbano has to determine which side of his life led to the killing. At the same time he is smitten with love, almost at first sight, with a new woman (his long-time girlfriend Livia is offstage). Not the best in the series but a must read for fans. I will be sorry when we reach the end of the series.
Reading (and nearing completion of) two short story collections, Smoke Ghost and Other Apparitions by Fritz Leiber – horror and fantasy and a little science fiction – and Something is Out There by Richard Bausch. As soon as I finish these I will get to the Bill Crider tribute collection, which I got online. I also bought William Shaw’s next Sgt. Alexandra Cupidi book, Deadland, as I couldn’t get it at the library.
The other book I read was Mockingbird, a dystopian science fiction (of sort) book by Walter Tevis, famous as the author of THE HUSTLER, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, and THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT. About 400 years from now, there are only a few million people left, no one is having children, and the world (such as it is) is run by robots. New York is in the charge of Bob Spofforth, the Dean of New York University, a robot whose only wish is to die (but he can’t kill himself). The other main characters are Paul Bentley, who has taught himself to read, and Mary Lou, the brilliant woman he meets and falls for. Despite the dystopian nature of the book, it is ultimately uplifting and kept me enthralled throughout. It was published in 1980.
We’ve had ice for two days, Jeff, so I’m home again today. Our weatherman kept saying, but the models said snow. We didn’t get the snow, just lots of ice and sleet, and he couldn’t believe the models were wrong. A lot of our area is closed today because of ice. I can’t imagine the trial will be quite so riveting today. And, many of the Republicans aren’t paying attention anyways. I hope to finish a book today. I feel guilty because a co-worker read two yesterday, and started a third.
I ordered the Bill Crider tribute collection, but mine will take longer to get here.
Stay home and stay safe!
We are not experiencing the snow and ice, but we are bitterly cold. It is currently -15 with a high expected of 3. This is the warmest day for the next four. I’m trying not to complain as we have had a really nice winter until this point, but I am so looking forward to being able to get out and walk again.
This week I read:
The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark – This is a dual timeline book involving a modern day storyline in Charleston, SC and a historical timeline taking place in 1946. Millie is a biracial teenager living in South Carolina in 1946. However, it is difficult to tell her race just by looking at her. This is a mixed blessing and causes lots of secrets in her life. Harper is a young adult trying to find her way in modern day Charleston. She dreams of owning a dress shop, but when a roadblock presents itself, she is not sure what to do. The lives of the two women interesect in surprising ways.
Murder with Oolong Tea (Daisy’s Tea Garden #6) by Karen Rose Smith – This is my favorite cozy mystery series. Daisy is hosting a tea for member of the school board when a teacher is found dead. The teacher had many conflicts in her personal life, but were any of them serious enough to result in murder? I love the family dynamics in this series.
I love the discoveries I make here on Thursdays. Gretchen, I had never even heard of Daisy’s Tea Garden series, although I do recognize Karen Rose Smith’s name. Thanks for the introduction.
I’m reading Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson, a coming-of-age story with a teen Cherokee boy as main character.
Pat, It doesn’t surprise me with that title that it’s about a Cherokee. Excellent title.
Good morning. While at the computer this morning, I was suddenly able to score my first and second doses of the vaccine at a local CVS! First dose will be next Monday. Finally!
My reading week was decidedly mixed:
THE DEFENSE by Steve Cavanagh, the first in the Eddie Flynn series featuring a con man-turned-defense attorney, is a spectacular thriller–maybe too spectacular. A New York kingpin of the Russian mafia kidnaps Eddie and forces him to take over his case from Eddie’s previous law firm partner, who has been disposed of in a gruesome manner. The mobster is counting on Eddie’s familiarity with courthouse employees to enable him to smuggle a bomb into the courtroom–hidden on his person–, in order to knock off the key witness against the defendant. In return, the mobster and his colleagues may release Eddie’s 10-year-old daughter. All of this has to be accomplished in a 48-hour period, to allow the defendant to flee from the country before his bail is revoked. There’s a lot more to it, and it’s an utterly impossible situation, but we know Eddie will triumph because it’s the beginning of a series. I loved later entries in this series–The Plea and Thirteen–even though they were also high-energy, sometimes unlikely stories. This one, though, strained credulity way past the breaking point for me. Disappointing.
I re-read Jojo Moyes’ THE GIVER OF STARS for my book club and appreciated it as much the second time around. It’s about the Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians, set in the 1930s. Again, I found myself in tears a few times. It’s a book with a lot of heart, great plot, interesting and evolving characters, told by a master storyteller. When will her next book be released??
In CRESCENT by Diana Abu-Jaber, Sirine is 39, half-Arab (but never been to the Middle East), lives with her uncle (parents are dead), and cooks divine food at a Lebanese restaurant. She becomes obsessed with a handsome Iraqi literature professor with a troubled past, and they begin a love affair. Despite the lush descriptions of food, I couldn’t warm to this book. Sirine has absolutely no personality–why are men attracted to her? The backstory of her lover, Hanif, is more interesting, but it isn’t covered until the latter portion of the book. Sirine’s uncle spins, at the beginning of EVERY chapter, a fantastical tale about a man who has died multiple deaths, encounters mermaids and jinns, and may or may not become Omar Sharif. Despite many rave reviews on Amazon and a recommendation from a book blog, I thought this 2003 release was a mess.
MRS. JEFFRIES DELIVERS THE GOODS is #37 in the Mrs. Jeffries Mysteries Book series by Emily Brightwell, and it runs true to form. Inspector Witherspoon gets a lot of help from his domestic staff and their contacts throughout the town with his latest case–a man is poisoned at a ball where everyone he knows hates him. Spending time with these characters is a lot of fun, and this series deserves to be as long-running as it is (with no end in sight!). The author is a nice person, too.
That’s a good question about JoJo Moyes, Margie. I looked several places, but I’m only finding The Giver of Stars. I know there was a lot of controversy over that one, but I’m finding nothing about a new book.
Good for you! I’m glad you’re able to get the vaccine. My mother is getting her second one today.
We are in the 20s here with ice and massive multiple car crashes all over Dallas and Fort Worth. This is the start of a multi day winter weather event that ends as snow Monday and then, possibly, an official low of 5 degrees Monday night. If it happens, it will smash the record book and do a ton of damage as we are not built for this.
Yesterday was more dental stuff so I did not get any reading done thanks to that and the hearing.
As to reading, I am about halfway through What Waits For You. Second in the series and interesting……though I am not sure what I think about it it. Something seems off or something. I do not know.
I totally agree with you, Kevin. What Waits for You (Joseph Schneider) does not live up to the promise of the first book. And, I’ll be curious to see what you think of the ending. I felt let down by the entire book.
Stay home. Stay safe. The ice is awful. As I said on Facebook, my sidewalk is still solid ice. I feel lucky I’m home today. Hopefully, we’re going to be better off tomorrow. Still cold, below 10 degrees all weekend, but roads and sidewalks should be better.
Staying home with no plans to go anywhere. Have enough trouble with my cane on dry surfaces, let alone when it rains. Ice is incredibly dangerous for me.
Ice is just dangerous. I had a co-worker who fell on it, and she was never the same afterwards.
The latest two reads for me are #5 in the Orphan X series Into the Fire by Gregg Hurwitz, in which Evan Smoak helps a man who received an envelope from his forensic accountant cousin just before the cousin was killed. Now people are after him. Hurwitz’s imagination apparently knows no bounds.
Then I read When I Grow Rich by Joan Fleming, winner of the 1962 CWA Red Herring award. Anthony Boucher said it was his favorite book of the year. Set in Turkey, the lead is a charming man named Nuri Bey who loves his books so much he sleeps with them at night.
Finishing reviews for both of them and trying to decide what’s next. I started a book called Plain Heathen Mischief by Martin Clark a couple of weeks ago and I think I will go back to it.
I had to laugh, Aubrey. I read one of your sentences wrong when you mentioned When I Grow Rich. I read it as a charming man who loves “his looks so much”. Books, I can understand.
My brother-in-law is a big fan of the Orphan X series.
Sometimes, that’s my biggest problem – deciding what to read next.
We only got an inch or so of light snow overnight unlike the three inches or more we got Sunday night. We are tired of shoveling. It is so weird to have winter arrive in February.
I only read one book this week but it was a good one. I absolutely loved THE NARROWBOAT SUMMER by Anne Youngson. Sally and Eve meet Anastasia while trying to rescue what they was a hurt dog on her narrowboat. Anastasia is in a dilemma. She needs to get her boat up the canals for repair but also needs to go to hospital for tests and more. So Sally, who has just left her husband, and Eve, who has just lost her job, volunteer to take the boat while Anastasia stays in Eve’s flat for her recuperation.
Admittedly this was a slow going read but I took my time and savored it. I got wrapped up in the travels through the locks as well as the stories from the people Sally and Eve met along the way. I wasn’t quite ready for it to end to be honest. It was a truly lovely and gentle read for me.
Hope everyone stays safe and warm. Happy reading!
Sharon, I’m (im)patiently waiting for The Narrowboat Summer to come in at the library. I’m glad to know you liked it. I loved her first book.
Sorry I forgot one more thing, Lesa. I read the Manda Collins book and enjoyed it very much. It kind of has the Miss Scarlet and The Duke vibe that we watch on Masterpiece Sunday night. I am looking forward to the second in the series.
I’m waiting for The Narrowboat Summer at the library, Sharon. I should get it tomorrow. Thank you for your comments. It makes it even more appealing. I like your comment about the Manda Collins book, too. I’m reading a book for LJ right now, but I hope to get back to that one. I like the comparison to Miss Scarlet and The Duke.
I don’t have any snow to mention, but it is nearing 80 degrees, a bit warm for February. (ducking those snowballs y’all are throwing down south) I spent yesterday glued to the TV and most likely will be there again today. I think the impeachment managers are doing a superb job. Too bad most Republicans aren’t listening. Audible had a sale yesterday on romance, so I bought several by Julia Quinn, since you’d recommended her plus one by Sarah MacLean. They’ll come in handy since tax season is starting for Bill and he’ll be working evenings any day now, leaving me more time to listen to books.
I’m not throwing snowballs, but I’m jealous of those temperatures, Sandie. Florida must be one of the few locations in the country right now with decent weather. I agree with you. The majority of the Republican senators (not all of them) are not willing jurors or willing to listen. At least 44 of them don’t want to be there at all, and that includes my state’s two senators. Blah.
I hope you enjoy the audios you ordered.
Hi Lesa
We have had a lot of snow, and it was -13C (55F) last night (Braemar, at the top of the Dee Valley, had – 23C) and only -11C when I went out to get milk (my delivery of milk in bottles having frozen solid on the doorstep.) I went out again around 12 for a walk – underfoot it is not too bad at the moment, fairly soft snow and you can avoid most of the ice, but there is no sign of a rise in temperatures till at least Monday. This is extreme weather for us – I can’t remember this much snow for some years, probably when my children were small. I’m sorry you have ice Lesa, and I hope you have plenty of food in!
I am still reading Alice B Toklas’s Cook Book, which I am enjoying a lot. I’m now at a point when they are in the French countryside, at Gertrude Stein’s house in Belignin. The neighbour’s out-of-control dog has just frightened their last remaining Barbary duck to death. Their housekeeper takes poor expiring Blanchette (for this is the bird’s name) into the kitchen in her arms. Here she administers three tablespoons of eau de vie – not, as you may think, an attempt to revive her, but ‘so that she will have a good taste when i cook her.’
I’m also still working my way through Martin Edwards’ The Golden Age of Murder, which is interesting but requires concentration, often sadly lacking in my department….
Margie, what you thought of Crescent is a lot like my reaction to The School of Essential Ingredients – far too much voluptuous description of food, far to little plot and character development.
I’m also watching The Camomile Lawn via an ancient DVD I found in a charity shop. I read the book last month, and this is a TV adaptation made in 1992, so it does look a bit dated, but it’s fairly true to the story so far.. Jennifer Ehle plays the glamorous, fickle, self-centered Calypso, who has married for money and floats around London, spending her wealthy husband’s money and canoodling with every man in sight. Tara Fitzgerald (wonderful) plays Calyso’s sensible, independent cousin Polly, who has a job at the War Office and a rather clandestine love life. Toby Stephens plays their cousin, annoying, self righteous Oliver. Felicity Kendal, whom I always find hard to take, plays their aunt, Helena, at whose Cornish house the cousins all meet every summer until the war changes everything. I find Helena an unlikeable character, but then I ask myself, why was I expecting her to be likeable? Did I expect a cosy aunt welcoming all to her ample bosom, and if so, why? Helena is in an unhappy marriage and decides to take selfish action to rectify this. Would I have judged her similarly if she had been a man? I’m not sure. Paul Eddington plays her husband – he’s another actor (now sadly deceased) I could watch in anything. Mary Wesley was an unusual, free-thinking, woman and her books, despite the covers given to them by Black Swan, are not the cosies they might at first appear to be.
Having said I would buy no more books for a while, I of course immediately failed – I wanted to take part in Reading ireland Month (in March) so I just had to click on Marian Keyes’ Watermelon, which has been recommended by so many people. And another blogger friend recommended Saturday Lunch with the Browings, a short story collection by Penelope Mortimer. The title was so evocative – why is it particularly *Saturday* lunch? I haven’t read it yet so i don’t know, but I am already imagining my own story.
I’ve also just started listening to An Invitation to Indian Cooking, which is a drama about Madhur Jaffrey’s early life in Delhi, her arrival in London (she won a scholarship to RADA), her first excursions into Indian cookery (she had never cooked anything until she left home, but her mother sends her reicipes, written in Hindi on blue airmail paper.) and her move to the US with her husband. So far it’s good.
Keep warm all.
I probably already mentioned that we bought a DVD of The Camomile Lawn some years ago and watched it. Of course, Paul Eddington and Felicity Kendal were two of the four stars in one of our all-time favorite comedies, The Good Life, along with the late Richard Briers and Penelope Keith. I always liked the idea that Ehle’s mother, Rosemary Harris, played the older Calypso in the 1984 scenes. Harris is still alive at 93, while co-stars Claire Bloom and Virginia McKenna are 89. Of course, Toby Stephens is the son of Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens.
Jeff, I am so sorry, I think I remember you telling me that now – honestly my brain is like a sieve sometimes.
I don’t know what it is about Felicity Kendal – I think it’s the coy manner she adopts that grates with me. I love Paul Eddington and Richard Briers, and Penelope Keith was also very funny in The Good Life.
And thank you for all the other information! I had no idea Rosemary Harris was Jennifer Ehle’s mother – they both looked fabulous, didn’t they? I think it was when the baton passed to Harris that I really began to warm to Calypso as a character. She was selfish and she behaved badly in some ways, but Harris brought out the warmth and generosity in her character. I wonder what it’s like working with your own mother? (As Diana Rigg also did with hers, Rachel Stirling.)
Virginia McKenna was great as grown up Polly. Sophie as an adult did seem a bit of a misery at first, but I suppose Sophie as a child had not had a great time – in fact it was fortunate that she had the cousins to look out for her, as Helena certainly didn’t. (I appreciate that Helena wasn’t her mother, but still…) Oliver as an adult was just as awful as he had been as a young man but in the final scenes he and Sophie did at least cheer up a bit.
It always amazes me how much drink and sex these wartime characters seemed to have – presumably reflecting Mary Wesley’s own colourful life. My mother was a little bit younger, but although she seems to have enjoyed the war, and towards the end of it was old enough to go to a lot of dances, drink would not have featured much, and extra-marital sex even less, as both would have been so disapproved of in her social class. All the girls were terrified of getting pregnant, and unlike Polly would not have had the access to private medicine and contraception. And in their families, drink was for men only, and was imbibed at the pub, which was a no-go place for most women. The one thing they would have had in common with Wesley’s characters would be cigarettes – from what I can tell everyone smoked like chimneys throughout those years. Even when I was a child, Virginia Slims were still being advertised as good for you.
As I said before, Rosemary, I just love your descriptions. Thank you!
Hi, Rosemary. Well, If you didn’t like the Bauermeister book (which I didn’t mind so much), you definitely should take a pass on Crescent. Honestly, I was annoyed that I couldn’t relate at all to the female protagonist and couldn’t even picture what she looked like. I didn’t care what happened in the end. Maybe it’s the pandemic, but I am so much more intolerant and get annoyed so much quicker when a book isn’t doing it for me.
Oh me too Margie! My patience diminishes by the day, and there wasn’t that much of it to start with. I will most certainly take a pass on Crescent, and thank you for the warning!
I saw your pictures of the frozen milk, Rosemary! And, all your pictures of snow. Not for me. I much prefer Sandie’s weather in Florida.
Oh, I understand that need to buy a book when it just fits. Of course, you had to have a book for Read Ireland month. I have several books I haven’t read yet that would fit that description. I really like the description of An Invitation to Indian Cooking.
I had to laugh, though, with your comment about the duck and wine. I suspected that was why they gave it wine.
Thank you, as always, for your beautiful descriptions of your life and books. I always enjoy them.
Stay safe and warm, Rosemary.
Speaking of Read Ireland, that theme was chosen for my next Casual Book Club meeting in March, and I discovered I’d already read 3 books that qualify since the beginning of the year! It must be your influence!
Must be my love of Ireland, and books set there, Margie. You must be right!
Eastern Washington has had a relatively easy winter but we are under a winter storm warning with snow on multiple days this weekend and lows in the teens. I just finished Dana Stabenow’s new Liam Campbell book, SPOILS OF THE DEAD. Not sure how I feel about it. She spends a lot of time setting the scene because Liam has moved to a new town. The actual mystery doesn’t start until halfway thru the book but the solution is well thought out. Stabenow also does a good job of integrating the back story of the series into this book.
Thanks for the comments on GIVER OF STARS. I didn’t like it first time, need to read it again for my book group. Next up for me is FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah.
That’s the hottest book in our library system, Cindy, The Four Winds. Once you finish it, you’ll have to let us know what you thought.
I’m reading Furbidden Fatality, the first in the Catskills Pet Rescue series from Deborah Blake. I’m about half way through, and I’m enjoying it.
I love it, Mark, when a new series is enjoyable.
We still have snow on the ground, but it is now being taken care of with some rain and warmer temps.
Because I am practically living in front of the TV watching the impeachment managers present their brilliant evidence against the former president, I have done virtually no reading.
I normally read the newest J.D. Robb novels in one sitting the day they arrive. Not so this time. Faithless in Death is patiently waiting for me.
Stay warm and safe, dear one!
Shock, Kaye! I’m just in shock that you haven’t read and finished Faithless in Death. But, I can understand why you’re glued to the TV. The impeachment managers are doing an amazing job, no matter how the Republicans vote.
Currently reading Before She Was Helen. I am enjoying it. Helen is around my age and lives in a Leisure World type community. Couldn’t get into Jodi Picoult’s Book of Two Ways. I returned it to the library early. Maybe try it later.
Taking it easy today cause we got our 2nd dose of Pfizer yesterday. Minimal side effects. I live in Long Beach, CA, so no complaints about the weather. I do have MSNBC on and the impeachment trial is compelling.
As a former Leisure World resident, I really enjoyed BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN too.
I have also been watching the impeachment hearings. The newly released videos really underscore how horrific this event was. I don’t understand how so many are content to sweep this under the carpet and “move on”. What a lack of commitment to our democracy.
This week, I have been catching up on books in series that I really enjoy: BELLOWS FALLS (Joe Gunther) by Archer Mayor, AN ARTLESS DEMISE (Lady Darby) by Anna Lee Huber and LETHAL PURSUIT (Barker and Llewelyn) by Will Thomas. All were wonderful. I also read THE CROW TRAP by Ann Cleeves. I am not sure what I thought of that one. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting as most of the story did not involve the Detective Inspector who is sent to solve the case. I made it through and might read the next book in the series. Has anyone else read this series? Am wondering if it picks up.
Hmmm. Jennifer, I don’t know that you’re going to like the other books in the Ann Cleeves series. The other Vera books are similar. It sounds, though, as if you had three other good books this week, which is good.
I know how you feel, Jennifer, about the lack of commitment.
I’m finally starting to get a little reading done, after finishing just a single book in January, an essay collection by E. B. White. Now, it seems, I’m drowning in books to read, having (oops) bought a batch of old SF paperbacks on eBay as well as having tons of things on hand.
THE MINISTRY OF DISTURBANCE by H. Beam Piper is a collection of 6 longish SF short stories from the 1960s, all fitting into his Future History series (Heinlein, Clarke and others also had their own future history series). I’ve read about half of this one and am enjoying it.
I tried the much-praised THE MAN WHO DIDN’T FLY by Margot Bennett (1955), British Library Crime Classics, 2021, which is the first of the British Library Crime Classics that I haven’t liked. So much so I didn’t finish it, the writing was muddy, the jumping between characters disconcerting and I found I just didn’t care what happened or would happen.
I’m now reading ROGUE IN SPACE by Fredric Brown, who wrote many mysteries, though this is a mid-Fifties science fiction novel with an interesting main character.
I have a hold on THE NARROWBOAT SUMMER, but the library shows it “on order” so I’ve no guess when it might appear.
Rick, Our copies of The Narrowboat Summer only came into the library on Wednesday. Hopefully, your library’s will be there soon. I wonder if Jeff knows about The Ministry of Disturbance. You two sound as if you read similar books at times.
Yes, Jeff saw the post on my blog, tipthewink.net
I am rereading the Dell Shannon Lt. Mendoza series and have gone through 5 of them so far..Also rereading the Monkeewrence series by P J Tracy…Reading the short stories by Michael Gilbert Mr Calder and Mr Behrens – I love these two and their dog…and 18 Tiny Deaths by Bruce Goldfarb about Frances Glessner Lee and her campaign to get the Forensic Examiner in place! Now after reading all the above I have added quite a few to my library list! as to the vaccine we had our first on the 5th and will receive our 2nd on March 5th..I hope the reaction is less then…
Oh, I’m sorry, Gram, that you didn’t have a good reaction to the vaccine. Good luck with the second one. I loved the Lt. Mendoza series and the Monkeewrench one. Looks like I’m going to have to look for Michael Gilbert’s book if you love the characters. Take care of yourself!
The Calder and Behrens books are long out of print, I think I have two copies of one if you’d like to have it.
I’d love a copy, Aubrey! I’m happy to send postage, if you’d like. Thank you!
I worried about my hubby out getting groceries this morning. After he got home, we heard about 133 car crash with 6 fatalities and many in the hospital. No plans to go anywhere until Monday afternoon. What a horrible day for those in the crash.
Watched the Impeachment proceedings all day and I have started Lenard and Hungry Paul. It is in tiny print, but I am really enjoying it so far.
I saw that, Carolee. I’m glad your husband made it home safely. We’re over the ice here, and I’m back to work today. But, next week is supposed to bring us two storms with snow accumulation. Oh, joy – not.
Who would have thought after last summers 119 degree days that I would be happy to live in Arizona?!?! But, today’s 75 degrees and the week’s magnificent sunsets are reminding me that for a few months a year we can tolerate it!!! All of you in the snow and ice, Stay Safe!!! Bundle up, stay home and read more books. I love all of these recommendations!
I have had a great reading week. I finished The Dig by John Preston. A lovely book at the right time for me. I enjoyed learning about the Sutton Hoo Dig and the Anglo-Saxon burial ship discovered in 1939. My kids told me that there is a new Netflix movie just out about it and that should make a great pairing.
I am also about 75 pages from completing Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon. Oh how I wished I had the chutzpah of the main character!! I am purposely reading slowly as I am worried about the hard things happening and I just don’t want it to end!
My towering stacks on the nightstand are a combination of library books and my own but it may take a coin flip to see which one comes next. I may try a cozy that was recommended, Absence of Alice by Sherry Harris just to read something in the current time period!!!
Stay home and stay safe!
I miss that Arizona weather, Gaye, especially this winter. But, I miss it even in the midst of summer heat.
Someone else mentioned that new Netflix movie about the Sutton Hoo Dig. Yes, you’ll have to look for it.
Decisions, decisions! What to read next is often the hardest one.
Gaye & Lesa – The Dig is already on Netflix here. I don’t have Netflix but almost everyone who does has said it is excellent.
I don’t even like hot weather, but having just trudged round my walk (wildlife: one heron, lots of blackbirds, lots of robins, and some birds that look like robins but are partly speckled and larger (any ideas welcome) in hail and snow AGAIN this afternoon, I’m actually beginning to think Arizona might be quite a good place for a winter holiday!
And when I got back I went to put my wheelie bin back in place (bin day today) my extremely unhelpful neighbours had cleared their drive and dumped all the snow where my bin lives. Grrr. I cleared mine yesterday and was uber-careful not to shovel any snow onto any part of their garden, as they are hyper critical and complain a lot. I really need to move back to the deep country – I’ll wear my husband down in the end!
Yours cheerfully 🙂
I was reading about The Dig just today, Rosemary. It does sound excellent.
Rosemary, thank you for the endorsement on The Dig. I truly enjoyed the surprise of a book. I was told by a friend that it was about archaeology and felt a bit smug because my brother is an archaeologist and I think things might just rub off on me. Imagine!!
So sorry about the unkindness of your neighbors. Isn’t it always the little things — the kindness or unkindness of others that make such big differences? I marvel at that more than ever these days.
Again, thanks for your comment about The Dign, I think it will make fine weekend viewing!
What boggles my mind is why Manda Collins would use almost the same title for her Lady’s Guide series that Dianne Freeman uses. The 3rd book in Freeman’s series is called A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder. How confusing is that? Even the covers confuse with similar looking drawings & typeface.
Haven’t read Manda’s book yet but I really enjoyed Freeman’s first book, A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Mayhem.
Currently I’m really enjoying Murder at the Mena House, set in a hotel in Egypt in 1926. Intriguing murders involving lots of quirky, mysterious characters
I know, Anne. That title is unique enough that it shouldn’t have been used by another author. And, you’re right. The drawings are similar. I’m enjoying Manda’s, but I really liked Dianne Freeman’s first one, and I need to read the next.
Murder at the Mena House sounds great – and it’s presumably nice and warm there too! I’m going to look it up right now 🙂
Oh if you enjoy the heat, then you’ll be tickled that it’s very hot in Egypt during the day. The opening line of the book drew me in right away;
“When selecting an exotic location for travel, it’s advisable to chose one where the air isn’t trying to kill you.”
Enjoy!
That is a terrific opening line.