My Series-ous Reading discovers A Woman Unknown

One of the reasons that I started doing my Series-ous Reading feature on this blog was to give myself a chance to catch up on many of the great books still lingering on my TBR and needed to be nestled on my shelves as part of a completed set.

Well, this month’s selection, A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody, brought me a little closer to that cherished goal. Our leading lady detective is Kate Shackleton, a WWI widow who holds out hope that her husband Gerald may yet be among the living.

While Kate does keep an eye out for any possible leads there, she also handles missing person cases for other people and thanks to a recommendation from her associate Mr. Sykes, winds up with two assignments that overlap each other.

The first is from a Mr. Fitzpatrick, an older man who is worried about his young wife Deirdre going off alone to parts unknown. Since Mrs. Fitzpatrick  is in the habit of shoplifting(as Sykes found out during a previous encounter),the chances of her being involved in illegal activity are rather high.

As it turns out, Deirdre is doing something sketchy in order to pay for her sick mother’s health care. With the help of a lawyer, she plays the part of “woman unknown “ in divorce cases, so that the man in question can give his current wife grounds for adultery without exposing his actual mistress in public.

These weekends at a hotel are merely meant to be widow dressing, nothing more but occasionally a client tries to be more intimate such as a prominent actor performing in a Gilbert and Sullivan theater tour:

However, Deirdre finds herself in a world of trouble when the next man she’s paired with is Everett Runcie, a sponging socialite whose wealthy wife Philippa is eager to part from him.  

To protect his long standing other woman Caroline Windham(who is also married), Everett and Deirdre spend the night together but the next morning, only one of them is alive.

Kate happens to be an acquaintance of Philippa, who asks her to find the killer. She’s also in search of the now officially missing Deirdre as well as the police are to find out what she knows. Deirdre isn’t seen as a suspect but her vanishing act might be a permanent one if she saw too much for the murderer’s liking.

Reading one of Brody’s books is like tuning into a favorite BBC mystery TV show, with many enriching background details about the characters generously ladled out and well developed scenes that bring the overall story to vivid life.

A Woman Unknown does have a noir flavor to it’s central plot but the main elements here are of women seeking a way out of traps that life has set for them on their own terms, offering food for thought along with some tasty thrills along the way:

Speaking of great series to catch up with, my next Series-ous Reading pick is Susan Elia MacNeal’s His Majesty’s Hope, part of her Maggie Hope historical mystery series.

In this entry, Maggie is going undercover in WWII Germany to stop one of the enemy’s worst agents who happens to be her thought to be dead mother.

This is the third book in this rapidly growing series and why they haven’t been picked up for adaptation yet is a real mystery to me. You have an amazing heroine on deck here, people-hop to it!:

 

Taking a Julia Journey into the nonfiction kitchen

 

Over the past two years, a certain portion of my daily reading has gone into a sadly steady decline and while nonfiction was never my strong suit, I did try to keep some of it on my regular literary  radar.

Given the state of things for the last couple of years in the real world, my interest in learning more about it seemed repellant to maintaining a hopeful attitude there. Sure, I did read a little bit of good nonfiction once in awhile but more often than not, I strove to avoid it as much as possible.

However, my appetite for nonfiction has been revived lately, due to a renewed pop culture interest in Julia Child(from a Food Network competition and a HBO Max series). Fortunately, this wasn’t the first time that Julia had caught my attention and I happen to still have a copy of her memoir  , My Life in France,  on the shelf.

The book tells the story of how she took an interest in French cooking in the first place as her husband Paul was stationed as a diplomatic cultural liaison over in France after WWII. 

Their life and times in Paris and Marseille, the friends made along the way and Julia’s collaboration with Simone “Simcha” Beck and Louisette Bertholie that lead to the ground breaking Mastering the Art of French Cooking are charmingly detailed in Julia Child’s down to earth manner, a delicious feast of personal experience that needs to be well savored:

My Life in France was co-written by Paul Prud’homme(a grand nephew of Julia’s) and he wrote a solo book about the later years of his aunt”s culinary career.

The French Chef in America is well subtitled “Julia Child’s Second Act” as it covers the creation of her iconic TV show which made public television audiences hunger for more edible education programs.

I happily recall discovering this tasty tome in my local library back in 2019 and now adding it to my personal collection and current TBR, ironically enough, my own copy is a former library edition. Talk about meant to be here!

I also find it fitting that Food Network is airing The Julia Child Challenge (which has its finale this week) as their existence is due to the first foodie steps that Julia made, bringing people together to share in her love of good cooking and good company:

Least you think that I’m just rereading here, I did get another Julia Child themed book that is completely new to me.

Love Always, Julia is a collection of letters between Julia and Avis Devoto(edited by Joan Reardon), the latter being one of Julia’s best friends and a major player in getting that first cookbook published. Avis was married to Bernard Devoto, a journalist who wrote an article about culinary knives that Julia liked so much that she wrote him a letter of praise.

Since Avis handled her husband’s correspondence, she answered Julia herself and the two of them became great friends both in person and in personal print. Avis helped Julia get an  initial offer from an American publisher for Mastering the Art(that one didn’t quite take) and later got her connected to Judith Jones, the editor that did bring the book ultimately to bookshelves everywhere.

In the HBO Max series Julia, Avis is also a major supporting character, played by the incomparable Bebe Neuwirth and it’s great to see such positive female friendships like this onscreen that reflect on real life. 

Being supported in such bold endeavors by sisters in arms, so to speak, does lighten the load but Avis was more that just a gal pal and these letters do showcase her inner life as well, I believe :

My regular fiction reading is doing well but it is nice to expand my mental horizons again. Who knows, I might also reread Julie & Julia again, it’s been some time since I took it up.

After all, J&J is part of the reason that I started this blog in the first place, Julie Powell inspired me to learn more about the culinary arts and to write online, much like Julia Child inspired her to attempt that culinary challenge that lead to her writing career.

Granted, they never met in real life(which just as well since Julia didn’t care for Julie’s cooking blog) and yet they inspired others to appreciate the simple joys of the world for the better. 

While they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I think that inspiration is the truest element of sincerity, passing your deepest passion on to those out there who may not know they need it. Being a muse is one of those callings that when answered, gives as much as it receives in the long run.

At any rate, I hope that my Julia journey leads to more enriching reading and for now, my page turning path is firmly in front of me. If you are similarly inspired as well, I wish you a bon appetit!:

Filling up my Library Haul spring basket

Spring has finally sprung, as they say, with this being a fine time to check out what’s in bloom at my local library.

My most recent trip started off with a cozy cat mystery that caught my eye quickly. Mimi Lee Cracks the Code is the third book in Jennifer J. Chow’s 
 Sassy Cat series and the lady of the title runs a pet grooming service called Hollywoof (guess you can tell where this story is located by that moniker!).

When her friend and mentor Pixie is accused of doing away with a former tenant at her rental house on Catalina Island, Mimi is more than ready to help solve the case with her trusty cat Marshmallow ready to do his part. As it turns out, Marshmallow is telepathic and can read, making him the purrfect detective (couldn’t resist the pun, sorry) indeed.

I don’t usually read animal centric cozies but I’ve heard good word of mouth about this series and the whole telepathic cat angle reminds me of a fun Disney movie from way back when, The Cat From Outer Space.

While I don’t think Marshmallow can do any science fiction style tricks, he’d probably enjoy this film at the very least as much I’m enjoying this book so far:

The next page turning posy to add to my book bouquet was Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot, which has a literary teacher trapped by success that is not his own.

At first, Jake Bonner doesn’t see the problem with using the story outlines of former student Evan Parker, who boasted about the instant bestseller potential of his intended novel.

After all, Evan died before getting officially started on the book(under mysterious circumstances) and three years later, Jake has become a major author, thanks to Evan’s idea, with a potential new love interest as well.

However, all is not well as Jake gets an email calling him out on his new found fame and to make matters worse, Evan’s story may not have been just a figment of his imagination. Rather, it’s an all too real tale that someone never wanted to be told and will do what they can to take revenge.

This sounds amazing and I believe it’s going to become a TV adaptation pretty soon, much like Korelitz’s prior novel You Should Have Known( called The Undoing on HBO) was. 

A good literary thriller like this is also prime book club bait as Jimmy Fallon discovered last year for his Summer Reading segment on the Tonight Show and it’s nice to see some late show love there:

For a final flourish, I was able to add a historical fiction thriller hybrid from Beatriz Williams.

Our Woman in Moscow begins with Ruth, who gets a postcard from her twin sister Iris that she hasn’t heard from for over a decade.

Iris joined her diplomat husband Sasha in Russia after WWII ended and now that government suspects him of being a double agent. Ruth is then recruited by FBI operative Sumner Fox to help him get Iris and Sasha out of the country by visiting her newly pregnant sister with Sumner posing as her spouse.

Williams is good at making the world of the past come alive on the page and with the bonus of some spy games in the mix, this blend of historical storytelling with James Bond elements promises to be most entertainingly engaging fare:

I am so grateful for having an available library and it’s so sad to see the numerous calls for book bans these days that are clearly meant to score pathetic  political points instead of promoting actual  free speech and thought as libraries were created for in the first place.

Hopefully, the more that we support our libraries and those who work in them, the more these terrible forces of oppression will be defeated in the long run.

Meanwhile, let us try to rejoice in the garden of great reads that our libraries grow for the benefit of all. 

During this spring holiday season, I like to think of my library visits as Easter egg hunts, finding those hidden gems to mentally snack on and savor as much as can be and with any luck , you can too:

Some new additions to my Current Reading TBR

 April is one of my favorite months, mainly due to my birthday coming up soon, which makes me more eager to stack new books upon my already staggering TBR pile.

Nonetheless, new reads are hard to resist especially when you’re surrounded by such fresh imaginative stories hitting the shelves. With that in mind, I decided to splurge on Book of the Month club’s latest selections  starting with Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel.

This debut novel is set in the realm of the classic epic poem Ramayana, where the title character is the third wife of a great king, determined to have her son take the throne when the time comes.

However,  each of the three queens have sons and when one of them,Rama, proves to have divine powers, Kaikeyi tries to show him how to properly use his gifts(having taught herself mystical skills over the years). Since he is not her child, the decision to have Rama banished is seen as an act of villainy on her part but what if Kaikeyi’s motives were truly for the good?

This retelling sounds promising and this trend of focusing on underappreciated female characters from classic literature is fast becoming a must read of mine:

I paired that up with Taylor Reid Jenkins’ The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,  which is now being officially adapted for Netflix as we speak.

The novel not only focuses on Evelyn, an aging film star with plenty of secrets and lies to share, but her interviewer Monique as well.

Monique wonders why this still legendary diva would choose her, a relatively unknown reporter, to spill her glamorous guts to and is curious about her subject’s motives here.

Regardless of why, the tales that Evelyn tells are just as intense as any of the movies that she starred but perhaps her true stories have a twist ending that not even the most savvy screenwriter would imagine.

Having loved Daisy Jones and the Six, this book seems like one of those “why haven’t I read this by now?” deals. Not to mention that old school Hollywood stories are very alluring , whether on screen or on the page for me:

Before I get to either of those books, there is an upcoming novel that I’m happy to report that my blog is on the online tour for.

As a fan of Natalie Jenner’s previous book, The Jane Austen Society, hearing that her next release is set in a London bookshop makes my biblio loving heart beat faster.

 Bloomsbury Girls takes place in post WWII England where three women are taking positions  at Bloomsbury Book, which was previously an all male run bookstore. Evie is a Cambridge graduate who takes up cataloging upon being denied the chance to be a research assistant at her alma mater.

Vivian lost her fiancé during the war and has many ideas to increase interest in the shop, frequently debating with Alex, who is the head buyer of fiction with very set notions about what is best for business.

Grace helps to support her family by working at Bloomsbury but comes to enjoy this new sense of freedom from her at home troubles. With the shop in danger of closing, can this trio of new friends save Bloomsbury Books from shutting its doors for good?

Jenner’s last book was such a gem that it’s a real treat to be part of this tour(my turn will be in May, more info to come!) and much thanks to Laurel Ann Nattress at Austenprose for extending me this most welcome invitation.

The premise of this book puts me in mind of 84, Charing Cross Road, that wonderful real life story of a New York City writer who made long distance friends with a lovely London bookshop and it’s endearing employees. If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, do so at once! You won’t regret it , trust me:

I know, having too many books on hand is a luxurious problem to be sure yet it’s one that brings more joy that sorrow, a rare thing these days. 

If you have the opportunity to escape for a little while into such great page turning delights, simply refuse to feel guilty about that and carry on with one of the best coping methods out there for emotional relief!

To wrap things up, I’d like to share a few brief thoughts about the new season of Bridgerton(which I will keep as spoiler free as possible).

Penelope Featherington is in my Top Five list of favorite characters and despite her flaws, she’s certainly more sympathetic than her best friend Eloise , who is very reckless and annoying at times. She is quite understandably frustrated by the expectations for women of the time period  but taking that out on Penelope is not right at all.

Perhaps Eloise will be less self involved in the next couple of seasons but I’m firmly Team Pen all the way here.

Otherwise, while I thoroughly disliked Anthony during season one, I must admit that learning more of his backstory made me think the better of him this time around. 

He and Kate do make a good pair and I personally can relate to their shared sense of responsibility as first born sibling there. I know some folks were less than thrilled with the pacing of this central story but I think that a good slow burn like this was refreshing after the fierce intensity of the first season.

All in all, Bridgerton was grand fun and the next two seasons should be well worth the wait, like any true love tale would be indeed:

My Series-ous Reading consults a Professional Busybody

Despite the cold weather that is still with us, spring is definitely here which offers up new chances of renewal as the leading lady of my latest Series-ous Reading selection is discovering.

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Barbara Ross, set in Massachusetts where the woman of the title is doing her best to fill her retirement years.

As it turns out, Jane has a knack for solving the problems of her neighbors, either by practical advice or sensible action(such as shooing away a naughty child from constantly ruining a nearby garden).  She never intended to do this as a business until the manager of a retirement community , Paul Peavy.made her an offer hard to refuse.

Paul allowed Jane to name her own price if she could settle the troubles at Walden Springs, which Jane realizes quickly has rival factions similar to high school society.

Posing as a potential new resident, Jane sees that the main sources of friction come from Mike, whose biker buddies start water balloon fights, and Bill, who’s a big hit with the ladies even though his wife Mary is in the Alzheimer’s wing of the establishment.

Jane has suggestions for how to fix things, starting with Bill but Paul is reluctant to go against him. Things get more awkward when Bill is found dead the next morning on the golf course and a secret is revealed that raises more questions than answers.

Clearly, this is more than Jane bargained for yet she is determined to find out the truth. Is the killer truly among the Walden Springs residents or has a resentment from Bill’s past returned to haunt him directly to the grave?:

Ross has a great knack for writing down to earth characters, one of the strong traits of her Maine Clambake Mysteries, and that element does add her abundantly here.

Jane Darrowfield is a clever and engaging woman who proves to be able to roll with the punches both personally and in this new career before her.

While her previous life may not have prepared Jane for catching killers, her sense of steadfast purpose does make her a good detective as well as a good friend. She even finds herself in a bit of romantic intrigue while sorting through potential dates for a gal pal is hers but all ends well in that department.

I enjoyed this first outing so much that I’m in the middle of the second book in this series (Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door) and will do my best to be patient for the new entry to arrive. 

Jane Darrowfield might be the new Jessica Fletcher (someone needs to turn these books into a TV show!) and that would be wonderful indeed:

As soon as I finish up with Jane Darrowfield, my next Series-ous Reading selection will have me call on Kate Shackleton via Frances Brody’s  A Woman Unknown.

This time out, Kate is helping a hapless husband locate his missing wife, who has gotten herself involved with a possibly criminal enterprise. Things become quickly complex and more than one person is in danger of losing their lives.

I do love a good historically set mystery and Brody paints a vivid picture of post WWI Britain along with the very human folks who find themselves in tricky personal situations that you can’t help rooting for. Plus, the cover art is gorgeous (a true bonus if you ask me):

Setting a scary tea table for Spring Into Horror

 

With the spring season officially upon us, it’s time to look forward to warmer weather and some great books to enjoy both outdoor and indoor entertainment opportunities to come.

This April, Seasons of Reading(hosted by Michelle Miller) will launch their annual  Spring Into Horror readathon , which asks you to have at least one scary book on hand to take part in this fearful flower festival.

As usual, I’m sticking with a trio of new-to-me reads, ranging from sinister sweet to screamingly scary and my first frightening flavor sample will be  The Ex-Hex by Erin Sterling.

When Vivi at age nineteen broke up with her then boyfriend Rhys, her main method of coping was to put a curse on him( with the aid of  some potent booze and her cousin Gwyn).

Since she was just a newbie witch, Vivi didn’t think her fledgling spell had much of an impact. However, it’s nine years later and Rhys is back in town, ready to strengthen the local ley lines that keep the magical energy in the area in balance.

A big setback in that mission is Vivi’s curse which causes all sorts of chaos and despite her best efforts, it’s growing stronger by the minute. Can she and Rhys work together to save the town from otherworldly destruction and rekindle their romance to boot?

I know this was a big hit last year with folks and while it’s set around Halloween, a funky little love story like this should be suitable all year later long:

 

My next read is a revisit to a bloodthirsty brunch of a read from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Certain Dark Things.

Atl is an ancient vampire looking to stay more than one step ahead of the Narco nosferatu crew out to get her.

She finds help in Domingo, a 17 year old street kid looking for any way to survive his rough and tumble life. Planning her escape requires a steady source of nourishment and a steadfast ruthlessness, one of which her new companion is willing to provide yet the other is in danger of weakening on both their sides.

This book is a wonderful wild ride and I’m happy to be rereading it in its new paperback form(the cover art is so gorgeous!). I do hope this becomes a movie someday because the emotional power of this story is very cinematic worthy indeed:

The final course for this literary feast is Stephen Graham-Jones’ slasher movie salute, My Heart is a Chainsaw.

Our leading lady is Jade, a teenage girl who escapes the dreariness of her small town

 by devouring slasher film lore and knowing the genre inside and out.

When a series of gruesome murders take place near the site of an upscale housing project in the area, Jade sees the deadly pattern for what it is and tries to warn everyone of the danger among them. However, is the only one listening and taking her theories seriously the killer in their midst?

I’ve heard so many great things about this book that waiting to read it is very hard there. Nonetheless, I know that my patience will be well rewarded:

Spring Into Horror begins on April 1( not a joke) and ends on the 30th. There is still plenty of time to sign  up and join in the spooky fun.

I know there’s quite a bit of real world terrors going on as we speak and for some, a good way to deal with that is channeling that tension through such pop culture formats like books or TV. Stress relief is important in times like these and a good scream can be as helpful as a good laugh, if you ask me:

An ebook, a library loan and a BOMC pick walk into my Current Reading bar…

 With everything that’s been going on these days, finding a good read is perhaps a minor concern yet it does bring a good deal of satisfaction that soothes the soul there.

Thanks to a great bargain sale, I was able to download Christina Lauren’s The Soulmate Equation to see if I would like it as much as I did In a Holidaze (which I read in physical form last year).

So far, I may like this book even more. Our leading lady is Jesse, a single mom who is reluctant to get into the dating scene at the moment. Thanks to a coffee shop encounter with River Peña, a brilliant but brusque scientist, Jesse takes part in an experimental program designed to use biology to determine the perfect match.

Much to hers and River’s surprise, the two of them are a near perfect pairing, which excites the company holding this trial run to encourage them to see if the data has real world merit.

While neither one of them is really inclined to go forward with this part of the “experiment “, they are ultimately persuaded to give this a shot. Even more surprising is how much they learn about each other and themselves along the way to potential love.

The collection of characters here are an immensely engaging bunch that you’re willing to follow them anywhere and you know that you won’t be sorry that you did. Plus, Jesse and River are such opposites that watching them start to click together is a real joy to behold:

Meanwhile, I made my first library trip of the year and found a nice trio of books, including a new take on a fairy tale classic.

 All The Ever Afters by Danielle Teller is told from the point of view of Agnes, best known as the infamous stepmother of Cinderella.

Turns out that Agnes lead an even grimmer life than her beloved stepchild as she rose from an overworked laundry girl to the mistress of the manor house in which she once toiled. With her two daughters to provide for long before Ella was on the scene, is so so shocking that Agnes made the best of whatever situation came her way?

This debut novel offers up an unlikely heroine that you do find yourself rooting for and wanting to know what happens to her next. Not an easy trick to pull off yet Teller manages it with truly magical ease:

To round things out, I was pleased to find among the latest Book of the Month selections the new Lucy Foley mystery, The Paris Apartment.

The story starts with Jess, fleeing from the mess she mad in Brighton to stay with her half brother Ben in the title dwelling that he’s borrowing from a friend.

When she arrives, however, Ben is nowhere to be found and from the look of things, he left rather unexpectedly to say the least. Jesse tries asking the neighbors if anyone knows where he might have gone off to but most of them are so entangled in their own set of secrets and lies that no help is preferable to what they do have to offer up.

This is the second Lucy Foley that I’ve read(my first was The Guest List) and her story structure is interesting indeed. Setting up a Jenga style puzzle for the reader to carefully pull apart as well as the main characters in play is crafty there and very Agatha Christie worthy to boot:

As much fun as I’m having with fiction, I’m happy to report that nonfiction is making its way back into my reading rotation.

As part of my morning routine. I tend to take up a classic title and my current choice is a reread of Julia Child’s My Life in France, which chronicles her interest in French cuisine and the start of her culinary journey.

I read this years ago when the Julie & Julia movie came out and now we not only have The Julia Child Challenge on Food Network (saw the first episode and it’s a delicious delight) but later this month HBO Max will be airing a series based on Child’s American TV career.

Julia (beginning on March 31) looks like a real hoot and Sarah Lancashire , from what I saw in the trailer, just brings Child to vivid life on screen. Good books and good food help during the tough times and fortunately, Julia Child has both on hand for all to savor:

My Series-ous Reading puts on some Heirs and Graces

One of the reasons that I chose Sisters in Sleuthing as my theme for this year’s bout of Series-ous Reading was as incentive  to catch up on a few good mystery series that I sadly fallen behind on.

To that end, it was a delight to return to Rhys Bowen’s Her Royal Spyness books with  Heirs and Graces, starring Lady Georgiana “Georgie” Rannoch. While being number 37 in line for the throne of England during the 1930s sounds like quite the grand life, Georgie has more of an upscale hand to mouth existence.

The only steady gig she can get is doing favors for the Queen and this time out, Georgie is asked to assist Dowager Duchess Edwina, whose cold hearted son Cedric has no interest in providing an heir for the family estate(or even his family for that matter).

An alternative has been found in Australia, Jack, the son of Cedric’s deceased brother John. Jack has been brought to Britain to learn the ways of high society in order to one day take over the estate and Georgie is meant to be a relatable guide to this new world for him.

While Jack is a pretty good natured guy, he has no real desire to be the next Duke and finds the whole  stiff upper lip lifestyle to be ridiculous to say the least:

Unfortunately, Jack is handed the reins far sooner than expected as Cedric is found dead one rainy morning with a literal knife in his back. A knife that Jack brought with him from back home and is known to throw with possibly deadly accuracy.

Georgie, with the help of Darcy O’Mara(her love interest and occasional royal spy himself), wants to prove Jack innocent before the local police are too quick to pin the murder on him. With Cedric having more than his fair share of enemies, the question of who done it has several answers indeed.

What I like best about the Royal Spyness stories is the screwball comedy energy that lightens the mystery mood without diluting the crime solving elements. 

Each book gives the reader a fun set of characters to be around and here, we get such delights as a pair of noble lady aunts , one obsessed with séances and the other with telling tales about her love life that would make Blanche from the Golden Girls blush, a couple of twin siblings eager to be junior detectives and Georgie’s awkward lady’s maid Queenie. 

Such a cast is worthy of an encore by the end and if they ever adapt these charming books into a TV show, audiences will be as enchanted as readers are with Georgie and friends:

While I do want to clear some TBR space with this blog series, I also want to bring in the new. 

To that end, my current Series-ous Reading selection is the first in a brand new Barbara Ross cozy mystery series,  Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody.

The lady of the title is a modern day retiree with a knack for problem solving in her Concord, Mass community but never offered money for her services until now.

When the manager of a senior living residency hires Jane to give her take on stopping the disruptions caused by two set of live in rivals, she gets more than she bargained for, especially when one of the major trouble makers is found dead on the golf course!

So far, this book is engagingly good and Jane is proving to be quite the formidable detective who takes no prisoners and refuses to suffer fools gladly, my kind of gal! :

A welcome Winter’s Respite of reading indeed

 February was quite the busy month in more ways than one and this year’s Winter’s Respite readathon (hosted by Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading) came around at the perfect time.

My first completed book for this challenge was How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days by K.M. Jackson. Our leading lady is Bethany Lu, a forty-something artist caught at a professional and personal crossroads in life and love.

Upon finding out that her longtime movie star crush Keanu Reeves is getting married, Bethany decides to set out on a quest to track him down and stop his intended wedding. With the help of her best buddy Truman “Tru” Erickson, she does manage to get close to her goal but is this the journey that she really needs to be on? Perhaps her real road to happiness is not as far away as she thinks.

While the story is a slow starter, the plot does take off as Bethany and Tru head off on their Keanu adventure (with several fun celebrity cameos along the way). Jackson gives the character development a strong emotional balance with the shared trauma between her main leads that adds a solid note of realism to the romcom proceedings.

If this novel was a dish, it would on the sweet and savory side of the menu and that’s a delicious bookish bonus if you ask me. Plus, Keanu Reeves is quite the dish himself well worth looking for:

I was planning to reread a Sophie Kinsella book yet I found myself instead entranced by Claudia Gray’s Jane Austen themed mystery, The Murder of Mr. Wickham.

 Emma and her husband Knightley decide to hold their first house party at Donwell Abbey, with such guests as new acquaintances Col. Brandon and his new bride Marianne, tenants Anne and Fredrick Wentworth and good friends the Darcys.

During that first night, an unwelcome addition arrives in the form of Mr. Wickham, who has masterminded a financial scheme that threatens many of the folks in one way or another present. With a storm raging on outside, courtesy demands that Wickham be allowed to stay but his time there is lethally brief.

When the body of Wickham is discovered, two of the younger guests form an alliance to find the killer before an innocent person is falsely accused.

 Jonathan Darcy, who is even more withdrawn than his father is famously known to be, and Juliet Tilney, whose creative instincts rival those of her novelist mother, are eager to solve the case but will they regret the number of secrets and lies they must expose in the process?

This story is well set in what I would call the Jane Austen Literary Universe and it’s delightful to see these beloved characters engage in an Agatha Christie style caper together. Granted, since this party is assembled on Emma’s territory, we do get quite a few surprise visitors from Highbury here(and yes, Miss Bates does make an appearance!).

While this may appeal most to Jane Austen fans, I do think that even those only familiar with the film adaptations would enjoy it greatly. Also, Wickham does make for a great villain that you love to hate:

To round this readathon up, my final pick was A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli.

Niki Randhawa always tried to be the proper daughter to her parents unlike her freewheeling sister Jasmine. Despite those safe life choices, she finds herself suddenly downsized from her steady data analyst job and lonely in the romance department for several years now.

To shake things up, she takes up the invite to her gal pal Diya’s wedding in India and while there meets Sam, a musician with big dreams and a heart that could be hers for the asking.

While Niki is determined that her time with “Sam from the Band” is only going to be a fling and nothing more, she’s only fooling herself as love is definitely in the air for them both. However, is she falling too soon and  moving too fast here?

Lalli offers more than a fun holiday love story here as her leading lady examines what she wants in life and love, not to mention family. The story is nicely crafted and easily engaging, making this book a possible annual reread as many a good movie always is:

Much thanks to Michelle Miller for another great readathon and I’m already got my TBR set up for the next one, Spring Into Horror, later on down the line.

That stack of scary reads includes vampires, slasher movie monsters and some wickedly fun witchcraft that should prove to be spellbindingly sweet for spring time indeed:

Taking comfort in some Current Reads

 As this week in the news alone has shown us, the times that we all are going through right now are troubling to say the least.

While keeping informed on all fronts(which sadly includes the unjust invasion of Ukraine), it’s also a good notion to keep your spirits up with a good book or two at hand. I’ve been doing that as much as possible lately, starting with the newest entry in one of my favorite cozy mystery series.

Bake,Borrow and Steal is Ellie Alexander’s latest Bakeshop Mysteries title, set in the idyllic town of Ashland, Oregon where Juliet “Jules” Capshaw is happily expanding her family’s bakery into a budding edible enterprise.

When asked to prepare a Shakespeare themed meal for a special presentation of recently discovered papers from the Bard that include a never before seen play, Jules is thrilled to tackle this task despite feeling that she may be biting off more than she can chew.

However, it turns out that the food will be the least of her worries on the night of the Shakespeare event as the papers are stolen seemingly right before everyone’s eyes and the guard for the literary display dispatched in an untimely manner!

Can Juliet find the papers and the killer before both are permanently lost to time and misfortune? I do enjoy these books and their delightful cast of characters suitable for any form of Shakespearean entertainment.

It’s also fun to see the various Elizabethan treats being prepared here like lardy bread and imprime cakes. When it comes to a satisfying story recipe, Alexander definitely takes the cake:

For a change of pace, I decided to try a library loan from an author that I haven’t read before, Christina Baker Kline, best known for the novel Orphan Train.

 The Exiles is like that previous work, historical fiction that follows the lives of three young women forced into resettling to and in Australia during the 19th century .

Two of them,Evangeline and Hazel, are transported prisoners from England who like many others, were given unduly harsh sentences in order to expand the growing colonial population in that part of the world.

The third girl, Matthina, is taken from her people at the whim of the governor’s wife who wants to show off a “civilized “ local to visitors. 

When Hazel is granted a work release position at the governor’s house, she finds an unexpected ally in Matthina, who longs for freedom just as much as she does. Can they help each other out without making more sacrifices than they already have?

I have to say that this is quite a captivating book and I do plan to read more of Baker Kline’s work. Getting more empathetic  insight into this point in time for women is one of the reasons that I engage with this genre so much:

I was beginning to feel like a reading slump was about to arise, so to rev up my bookish engines, Stephen King’s Billy Summers was the right ride to catch.

Our leading man of the title is a professional hitman who keeps his literature loving intelligence under his hat. Looking for a good payday for one last job, Billy agrees to a deal that has him waiting in plain sight for his target which seems too good to be true.

His cover story for this setup has Billy posing as a writer working on his big debut book, an opportunity that he is taking on for real. The job does go wrong of course, yet it appears that this could provide one hell of an ending for his story in more ways than one.

So far, Billy Summers is a steady trip that lets you enjoy the sights along the way. I like the vibe of this book, sort of a “what if Stephen King wrote an episode of HBO’s Barry”(I don’t know if King has even watched that show but he does like a lot of pop culture TV). That makes this even more fun for me:

Well, it’s going to be a good long while before things get better out there but if we hold on and support each other as best we can, good times might come back sooner than we think.

In the meanwhile, I intend to spread the good word about reading and maybe do a little rereading as well. There seems to be a revival of interest in Julia Child as HBO is planning a new series based on her life and Food Network is about to air a new competition show called The Julia Child Challenge (she probably would have much to say about that, I’m sure!).

With My Life in France , plus Julie & Julia, on my shelf, I can finally go back to some nonfiction reading that I’ve put on hold for the most part these last two years. Julia Child lived life on her own terms and is certainly a solid source of inspiration to draw from indeed:

Taking a bookish tour with Jane and The Year Without a Summer

One of the highlights of this new year of reading was to discover that a new Jane Austen mystery by Stephanie Barron was set to arrive in February.

For those not familiar with this series, Barron has imagined the Regency literary legend as a detective who subtly yet surely uses her keen insight into human follies to solve those puzzles (and occasional murders) that come across her path in life.

For this latest entry, Jane and the Year Without a Summer, the year in question is 1816 when a volcanic eruption caused a worldwide change in the seasons. Nevertheless, Jane and her sister Cassandra decide to spend a couple of weeks in the spa town of Cheltenham for some much needed rest and restoration.

Since the works of Jane Austen are often blended into the narrative of each story, I thought that a good way to highlight the new Jane Austen mystery would be by pointing out some of those familiar story sights.

To start with, Jane and Cassandra do make a stop along the way to Cheltenham at their brother James’s home where his wife Mary is always fancying herself to be far sicker than anyone else. This sister-in-law reminds me greatly of Anne Eliot’s similarly named sister in Persuasion who shares that attention getting inclination as well:

When Jane and her sister do arrive in Cheltenham, they quickly learn that there is more to the place than just taking the waters.

Plenty of amusement is to be found among their new acquaintances at their local lodgings, rather like Charlotte Heywood discovers in Sanditon , that sadly unfinished story set in a seaside village looking to offer the promise of renewed health and perhaps a touch of romance to visitors there:

Intrigue abounds, however, as one of their new company turns out to be fleeing from her nobleman husband and possibly wicked stepmother.

The lady’s insistence that her family seeks to ruin her health for their own financial benefit does sound quite a bit like one of those Gothic novels that Catherine Morland from  Northanger Abbey would devour in one late night sitting. 

Regardless, things may not be what they seem as both Jane and her fictional heroine learn along the way…:

As a fan of historical mysteries and Jane Austen, I was very happy to be included on this blog tour which continues until February 20th.

Much thanks to Laurel Ann Nattress at Austenprose for inviting me onboard and also to Stephanie Barron for giving us another creative opportunity to revisit Jane Austen’s world yet again.

I have read the book and it is an engaging look at Austen’s later years with a good dash of the humor and wit that most likely got her through some of the trying times that the real life Austen dealt with.

This story does hold a note of romantic regret as Jane does meet up with an old friend who could’ve been something more had not circumstances gotten in the way. 

With this book being the thirteenth installment in the series, I do hope for at least one more tale to round out Jane’s last days in this regard. However this set of Jane Austen Mysteries ends, they are tales worth retelling indeed:

My new season of Series-ous Reading shows that Murder is a Must

 Welcome to another season of Series-ous Reading, where books connected by one writer and genre are given their just due.

The theme this year is Sisters in Sleuthing, a look at women from different time periods use their innate skills to solve those pesky mysteries that practically fall in their lap.

Our starting point is Marty Wingate’s Murder is a Must,  the second entry in her First Edition Library series. Set in modern day Bath, Hayley Burke is the curator of a Golden Age mystery collection created by the late Lady Georgiana Fowling(who also wrote a few sleuthing stories herself!).

As Hayley is working on a way to expand the influence of the collection with a program of guest speakers, plus an exhibition of Lady Fowling’s life and times. 

To that end, she snags a key spot at the renowned Charlotte gallery and a manager she all too well, Oona Atherton.

While working with Oona is difficult at best(as Hayley remembers from their time together at the Jane Austen Center), she is very efficient and capably creative. Also, a possible unexpected bonus to the exhibit may be available if only it can be found! 

Thanks to a letter left by Lady Fowling, there may be a first edition of Dorothy L. Sayers’ Murder Must Advertise that is signed by the author and several iconic mystery writers of that time in the collection. With Oona dropping hints about the book before it has been located, interest in the upcoming exhibit abounds.

Unfortunately, that attention proves deadly as Oona dies from a fall down a spiral staircase, a demise scarily much like the one that the novel in question is looking into:

As Hayley manages to find a replacement for Oona(the rather over the top Zeno Berryfield) while still searching for the book, several more incidents occur that make her wonder why this project feels doomed to end before it truly begins. Yet, will that fatal feeling take another life?

I really enjoyed the debut title  in this series, The Bodies in the Library, and happy to say that it’s just as grand a time with this second outing. Hayley is a charming leading lady with an excellent supporting cast such as the rather unflappable secretary Mrs. Woolgar and current love interest Val, a college professor who has a young police detective Kenny Pye in his writing class.

I do love the fact that Hayley isn’t totally read up on most of the Golden Age mystery writers in the collection and winds up picking up the particularly themed work in question.

It makes her very relatable and already has me waiting for a copy of Murder Must Advertise to add to my TBR to boot!

Marty Wingate has a third book in this series that’s been recently released and despite the title, The Librarian Always Rings Twice, the plot is not a tribute to James M. Cain’s classic thriller. Instead, it is a tip of the hat to a Daphne Du Maurier novel called Frenchman’s Creek. So glad to have more First Edition Mysteries to look forward to:

As to my next selection, we head back to the England of the 1930s in Rhys Bowen’s Heirs and Graces.

 Her Royal Spyness, Lady Georgiana Rannoch is once again given a special assignment from the Queen. At first, it doesn’t seem too daunting as she asked to be the unofficial mentor to the reluctant heir of a grand estate.

When the current head of the household is found with a literal knife in his back, Georgiana adds to her plate of duties solving this murder before an innocent man is served up to the gallows.

So far, the book is a sheer delight with a nice bit of Downton Abbey drama for fun flavor that I am eager to devour. A bookish bon appetit to be sure!:

Engaging in some Gilded Age good reads

After long last, HBO gives us The Gilded Age, created by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes, a series set in the New York world known best to the likes of Edith Wharton and Henry James.

While there is a blend of classic performers(Christine Baranski, Carrie Coon, Audra McDonald) and newcomers (Louisa Jacobson, Denee Benton,Taissa Farmiga), so far all of them expertly compliment their roles in this story line that pits “Old New York” against the new money folks.

This show is pretty much the new Downton Abbey for many of us period drama fans and while it’s not directly based on a book, there are plenty of good novels out there that fit this historical fiction frame nicely:

THE MAGNOLIA PALACE:

Fiona Davis’ latest novel  cuts across two time periods as Veronica, a model in 1966, discovers a set of papers during a photo shoot at the Frick museum that May reveal the location of a rare diamond belonging to the Frick family.

The papers in question were handled by Lillian, who in 1919 inadvertently took on a position as secretary to Helen Clay Frick, the forthright daughter of wealthy industrialist Henry.

Lillian only intended to stay long enough to earn enough money for travel to Hollywood in search of a film career. However, as she got more involved with the Fricks and their secrets, it became harder to break away despite the life or death stakes thrust upon her.

Davis is quite the literary artist, using her words to create immersive storytelling murals against the canvas of iconic locales in New York and this book promises to be another elegant masterpiece of prose.

I picked it up as a Book of the Month club selection and plan to start it soon, to not only enjoy the vivid descriptions of the Frick house but it’s iconic residents as well:

THE SOCIAL GRACES:

In this story by Renee Rosen, the rivalry between Caroline Astor, the acclaimed diva of the Gilded age society, and Alva Vanderbilt, the wife of a new to money family, is showcased in more ways than one.

As Caroline struggles to maintain her status as the taste maker of her class, Alva is bound and determined to not be seen as second best in any sense of the term. Both women share equal amounts of joy and sorrow in their lives that make them more alike than they know yet the demands of their insular world keep them apart.

I read this last year and it’s a riveting tale to be sure. Rosen highlights each of her leading ladies in full measure, making them as elegantly human as possible. Some of the real life characters here will most likely be featured in The Gilded Age series so this book is a picture perfect companion read there:

THE GILDED HOUR:

Sara Donati’s first entry in this trilogy introduces us to Anna and Sophie, cousins who both share a love of medicine and a home with their widowed aunt in Washington Square.

Pursuing their careers as doctors is difficult, especially when laws that restrict the rights of women’s health such as the Comstock Act directly affect their working class patients.

Things get even more complicated when Anna becomes involved with Rosa, an orphan trying her best to keep her younger brothers with her rather than a “charitable” institute. Sophie finds herself intervening with a new mother who may not be able to take care of her baby but the help required could jeopardize her medical license.

As these ladies work to provide the best they have to give to the people in their care, it grows clear that they also need to help themselves in other emotional matters of the heart.

Donati is no stranger to epic historical fiction, having some of the characters here be descendants from her Wilderness series. I have both this one and it’s follow up (Where the Light Enters) on one of my TBRs and hope to be fully up to speed by the time the third book is out and about.

Such a suitable saga for anyone interested in a very different look at this time period indeed:

Looking back at history can be beneficial as well as entertaining and with shows like The Gilded Age giving a bit of both to TV audiences and readers, we may be able to better appreciate the world we now live in.

Of course, if you just want a break from the daily grind, this series should provide that in abundance and certainly a smartly satisfying way to do so with popcorn at hand, along with a good book to enjoy: