While the season of trick or treating was a pretty quiet time for many of us again this year, there were still plenty of wicked delights to be had.
Mine came from the annual FrightFall readathon (hosted by Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading). I started with a trio of cozy mysteries stories entitled Halloween Party Murder featuring Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross. Since I’m familiar with Meier’s Lucy Stone series and Ross’ Maine Clambake mysteries, those seasonal tales were easily engaging there.
Lee Hollis’ Death of a Halloween Party Monster was my first introduction to her Hayley Powell mystery books and a good one indeed. Hayley is having an opening night party for her new catering business on Halloween with the theme of movie monsters.
Things seem to be going well, even with an obnoxious guest, music teacher Boris Candy, having too much fun scaring Hayley’s brother in law (and local police chief) Sergio with his Pennywise costume.
At the end of the party, Hayley is in the midst of cleaning up when Boris offers one last scare; his dead body in the freezer. Can she help Sergio find the killer before everyone is out the door and into the night?
The story was fun, with several amusing fights from a last minute arrival, who was rather appropriately outfitted as Cruella DeVil, that made the closed room caper move merrily along. That entry also included recipes and columns written by Hayley that showcased her character more in depth.
The Lucy Stone story had some good zip to it, despite the ending being a little dragged out and the Julia Snowden section from Barbara Ross played out well. With her niece Paige calling for help as a simple slumber party turns into an out of control teen takeover, Julia already expected trouble before she arrived to save the situation.
As it happened, the party ended even before the police showed up due to upstairs neighbor Mrs. Zelisko fatally floating downstairs. While none of the teen attendees were responsible for her demise, there was an uninvited guest who had unfinished business with Mrs. Zelisko, who was far from innocent in her own professional dealings about town.
Each story shared the Halloween party theme yet displayed their own fictional worlds separately. That made for a scary sweet platter of holiday reading treats that satisfied my cozy mystery cravings perfectly:
The night before Halloween, I finished CatherineHouse by Elizabeth Thomas and it’s a sinister slow burn of a read.
Our leading lady is Ines, who has been accepted to the title academy for their three year course of intense study. While the institute requires no contact with the outside world, many of their graduates have gone on to make major careers for themselves in science, art, politics, etc.That endgame seems to make the stifling inclusive nature of the place worth while or does it?
Ines is just glad to be somewhere that protects her from the consequences of a wild night out that lead to the death of a girl she barely knew. While trying to get motivated enough to pursue any serious academic goal, she finds herself intrigued by the secretive studies being held on plasm, the source of controversy by a former professor and allegedly no longer use for experiments.
As Ines goes on with her mix of hard studying and hard partying with her friends, she can’t help being curious about the plasm experimentation that is still going on at the school. That curiosity leads her down a few strange corridors that could be more dangerous than she expected there.
Catherine House is subtle with its storytelling suspense and at times is enchantingly gothic with a modern day flair. As a debut novel, Thomas presents a rather lively mind at work here and I look forward to seeing what she does next.
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix was the headliner for me this FrightFall. Once a member of a promising heavy metal band, Kris Pulanski finds herself decades later trapped in a dead end hotel clerk job with nothing to show for her musical career.
When Terry Hunt, the lead singer of her old band Durt Wurk, announces his farewell tour for his solo group Koffin, Kris is stirred by conflicting memories of the past, enough to pick up her guitar again and head out on the road to get the band back together.
That reunion tour is more terrifying that she expected as the fog begins to lift on the night that Durt Wurk signed off on contracts that ended their run and made Terry a superstar. A deal was made with supernatural forces that demanded the best album the band ever wrote to be shelved for good and perhaps an even more personal price be paid.
Hendrix has a great knack for blending nostalgia with strong female leads, plus a solid sense of humor that doesn’t undermine the fear factor in his stories.
Kris is a great rock and rock warrior woman who not only has to battle with evil entities in the form of UPS delivery men and deal with band mate betrayal, she also has to save the world from utter damnation with music as her ultimate weapon of choice.
Balancing that divide between heartfelt devotion and balls to read wall terror is hard as hell yet Hendrix makes it look so easy. Granted, it does help if you’re even a casual fan of old school heavy metal (guilty as charged) but I do think that this book could be a good gateway to that genre for newcomers.
All in all, FrightFall was a fun ride and thanks again to Michelle Miller for making it possible yet again. If I had to recommend only one of my FF reads here, We Sold Our Souls definitely has the looks that kill:
I also wanted to give a shout-out to my latest Series-ous Reading selection, Ellie Alexander’s Mocha, She Wrote.
This new entry in her Bakeshop Mystery series has expanding culinary entrepreneur Jules Capshaw cheering on her top barista Andy in his first big coffee competition.
The Barista Cup has come to Ashland with Andy not only facing deadly serious competitors like five time winner Sammy and trendy Diego, head judge Benson Vargas already seems to have it for him. One of Andy’s early offerings causes Benson to spit out the drink, making his chances of winning appear to go down the drain:
Andy vows to redeem himself by making Benson a fresh cup which he is able to hand to the judge by the time the first round is done for the day.
Unfortunately, that was literally Benson’s last cup of coffee that was deadly to the last drop and while Jules knows without a doubt that Andy is innocent, proving that is a hard grind indeed.
Despite a potful of suspects on hand, trouble is brewing for Andy but can Jules rescue him before the beans are spilled for good?
I have to hand it to Alexander for the wonderful way she has made this series stay so warm and inviting as time goes on.
You don’t just tune in for the mystery adventure here, you have a good time in walking the streets of Ashland and meeting up old fictional friends like Lance, theater director extraordinaire and crime solving cohort and The Professor, the about to retire police detective ready with a Shakespeare quote for any occasion.
Even the occasional appearance by local nemesis Richard Lord is welcome and seeing new characters such as Rosa and Sequoia become part of the Bakeshop family is an additional treat to boot. Kudos to Ellie Alexander on yet another Bakeshop Mystery read and looking forward to many more:
At the moment, I’ve started this month’s Series-ous Reading pick and it’s the second book in Daryl Wood Gerber’s Cookbook Nook series, Inherit The Word .
Jenna Hart and her Aunt Vera are doing well with their cookbook themed bookshop/cafe but keeping interest going during the off season of their beach front town is tricky going to be sure.
When the opportunity to host the annual grilling competition arrives, Jenna is happy to oblige and with the challenge this year being grilled cheese, this event seems to be too good to be true.
Sadly, a fatal find happens during the competition with an old family friend being grilled about their possible involvement. Can Jenna save the day and the entire event from a complete murderous meltdown?
Grilled cheese may not sound exciting but trust me, there’s more to this savory sandwich and this story than meets the eye:
I know that Halloween is almost here and that it might feel too soon to talk about Thanksgiving but then again, making more reading plans is suitable for all seasons.
With FrightFall nearly at an end and other big challenges such as National Novel Writing Month(NaNoWriMo) and Nonfiction November on the literary horizon, I thought it might be nice to embark on a small reading journey of my own this time around.
As some of you may know, I try to promote the spirit of Thanksgiving, which seems to be downplayed more and more each year, by mentioning pop culture themes on my blog to stir up those good Turkey Day vibes.
Well, for this year I want to encourage folks to seek out books that carry that sense of holiday joy yet don’t have to be directly about Thanksgiving. I’m calling it ThankFall Reading and the main requirement for any book that you choose for this challenge is that it has to have connections to food,family/friends and togetherness.
My trio of ThankFall reads also happens to have a shared theme of cookbooks(sort of unintentionally intentional there) and yes, two of them are cozy mysteries:
Murder in the Cookbook Nook: In this Ellery Adams series, Jane Steward runs a hotel known as Storyton Hall where bookish events take place, along with the occasional murder.
The case to be solved by Jane and company involves a cooking competition hosted by Mia Mallett, featuring a number of popular chefs. The most obnoxious of the bunch, Chef Pierce, is soon discovered in the hotel’s culinary book spot, leaving an open position in the competition as well as a pantry full of savory suspects.
I haven’t read this series before,however I am a fan of Adams’ The Secret, Book and Scone Society novels (just finished the latest one, Ink and Shadows) and being familiar with the author’s heartfelt character development and gently guided style of sleuthing, I have full confidence in starting the Book Retreat mysteries at this particular point:
A Cookbook Conspiracy:
Brooklyn Wainwright is better at restoring old books and finding killers than she is at cooking, a talent that her sister Savannah had in abundance.
When Savannah asks Brooklyn to rebind a cookbook from the 1800s as a gift for Baxter Cromwell, a famous chef who is opening a new restaurant, she’s happy to do so and attend the launch party to boot.
While the opening seems to be going great, things come to a sudden halt as the guest of honor is found stabbed to death. To make matters worse, Savannah is also on the scene with a bloody knife in hand and the gifted cookbook has vanished into thin air.
With the help of her now retired British secret agent boyfriend Derek, Brooklyn is out to clear her sister’s name and retrieve that cookbook , which may prove to be the real motive behind this murder.
This title is the seventh book in Kate Carlisle’s Bibliophile Mystery series, one that I have been reading way out of order(recently completed the newest entry,Little Black Book, thanks to a library loan).
It does help that Carlisle does make new readers feel welcome on the page and into the social sphere of her characters as they seek the truth of the murderous matter before them. Combined with a wonderful love of books and food, Brooklyn Wainwright is someone that I would love to share a shopping spree with any time of year:
Family Tree: This Susan Wiggs novel introduces us to Annie Rush, who has awaken from a coma into a new life.
Annie was once the producer of a successful cooking show which starred her handsome husband Martin. Discovering his lack of fidelity just before the accident that took her down for over year is only the start of Annie’s troubles.
Working on recovering her health and memories, she finds support from her family back home on their maple farm as well as Fletcher, Annie’s high school sweetheart who has come a long way from his bad boy days.
Finding her grandmother’s old cookbook has helped to revive the past in a good way but will it lead Annie towards a brighter future?
The works of Susan Wiggs have become a welcome joy this year for me and one that lightens my spirits without being watered down escapism. Rather, what Wiggs does is set up a showcase for the struggles of life while offering a reasonably good and well earned outcome for her fictional folk. That’s not an easy feat to pull off and I salute her for it:
While this is just my personal reading challenge for November, I invite anyone else who likes this idea to give it a try for themselves. I’m not the type that is great at arranging readathons(like Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for example) but I do like making suggestions there.
What I really want out of ThankFall Reading is to hold on to some of the joy of life, that element being harder and harder to come by these days. Yes, things are still bad right now but they can get better, especially if we make the effort to help each other out through this instead of sowing more chaos.
Reading a good book may sound like a small self indulgent thing but it’s really not. It’s a way to rebound your sinking spirits and reconnect with humanity by reviving your empathy. Thanksgiving is more than just a big meal to get through, it is a time to embrace what positive things are around you as we head towards the end of another year together in the world.
If you give ThankFall Reading a chance, it might make what lies ahead a little less daunting. At the very least, you could have something to savor over a slice of your favorite holiday pie and perhaps someone to share that space with you:
Despite the calendar dates, that beautiful bone chilling feeling of autumn has been hard to come by these days.
However, yesterday was much more in sync with the season, so much so that I was willing to face strong cold winds and a brief bout of rain to make a library visit.
Since we’re in the midst of “spooky season “, my first pick was Stephen King’s If It Bleeds, his most recent collection of stories. I’m not a big short story/novella person but his well told tales are always worth sitting around the collective campfire for.
While stories such as “Rat”, where a writer makes a pact with an unusual rodent and “Mr.Harriman’s Phone” which has a young man finding out that there’s more than he bargained for with his IPhone calling plan, the title feature is the main attraction for me.
The lead story focuses on Holly Gibney, the breakout star from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider. She is investigating a school bombing with her true target being the first reporter on the scene. As it turns out, there is more to that guy than just finding a good news story and he’s not alone in feasting on real life horrors.
Holly gets a bit of backstory here as well and she’s definitely a fictional person of interest that I’d like to know better:
In keeping with the October spirit, my next selection was My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier. I must admit that finding the recent movie tie in edition was a big incentive towards this(Rachel Weisz is quite eerily captivating on this cover!).
Also, I had just finished Kate Carlisle’s Little Black Book(her latest Bibliophile mystery) the day before and a good portion of the plot was hinged on secret messages place in a copy of Rebecca. That certainly put me in the right frame of mind here.
This Gothic themed love story in which young Phillip is possibly bewitched and definitely bothered by his attraction to his cousin’s widow is suitably sinister for this time of year and I might check out the movie if this read goes well:
With November not that far off, I do like to have a bit of historical fiction on hand and The Poppy Wife felt like the perfect find on the library shelf in that regard.
This debut novel by Caroline Scott takes place in the aftermath of WWI as Edie, a young British woman who is not sure if her husband Francis survived or not, decides to go to France in 1921 to settle the question once and for all.
She’s accompanied by Henry, her young brother in law who is still haunted by the death of his younger brother Will during the heat of battle. As the two of them get closer to learning the truth about Francis, they also must face the reality of their feelings about each other.
Scott is a historian who drew from her own family’s past as inspiration for this book, which should make for compelling reading. The true lure for taking up this storytelling journey for me, however, is seeing the depths of true love up against such an epic background like this:
With the way things are going these days, settling in with a good book is becoming more appealing and having my local library open again is a great comfort there.
Combined with the onset of wonderfully cold weather and the arrival of seasonal baking shows, this constant reader is planning on being as content as can be as the days go by:
It’s better late than never as they say and that should apply to book preview posts as well.
Due to setting up a new late summer challenge (Autumn in August) and other matters at hand, my bimonthly book previews have fallen a tad behind.
Not to mention the growing concerns about a book publishing shortage, which is causing many release dates to be moved furthest and further back. However, all of that is no reason not to help spread the good word about upcoming titles for the rest of the season and to that end, let’s begin with a book that is arriving this week, The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella.
Effie Talbot’s childhood memories have been upturned by her father’s announcement of selling Greenoaks, the long held family home. It’s bad enough that he divorced her well loved stepmom over a year ago and hooked up with Krista, who is way younger than him but now this?
As Krista is celebrating the sale with a “house cooling “ party, Effie declares that she will not attend yet this gathering could provide sufficient cover for her to reclaim a set of dolls that belonged to her grandmother.
Of course, such plans are never as simple as they seem and while finding her dolls,Effie unexpectedly uncovers a few secrets and lies along the way to possibly reconnect with her past and present life.
Kinsella is known for the good natured humor given to her character’s situations while not underplaying their problems as punchlines. This story feels like a solid example of her signature style that should provide welcome relief from your daily stresses indeed (Oct.12)
TASTY TALES TO SAVOR
In Julie Tieu’s delicious debut, The Donut Trap, our leading lady is Jasmine, who left med school due to burnout and is now working in the family bakery called Sunshine Donuts.
While she does long to change her life, Jasmine never thought that change would come in the form of Alex, a guy she once met in school and has never run into since then.
Meeting up with him again sets off a serious spark between them that could lead to something more lasting. Can that happen,however, when a family dinner causes a commotion that promises to extinguish their spirits?
This look at life, family and the love of donuts sounds the perfect sweet treat of the season)November):
Abby Collette has shown a knack for crime solving stories served with edible intrigue and her new series , Books and Biscuits Mystery, is off to a fine start.
In Body and Soul Food, reunited twins Koby and Keaton decided to open up their own business , a bookshop with a soul food cafe.
This idea seems like a great way to begin their new lives in the small town of Timber Lake. Those dreams may be derailed unfortunately by the sudden demise of Koby’s foster brother who died in broad daylight in between light rail crossings.
While the police have no clue as to who and why, Koby and Keaton know only that they have to team up to discover what caused this sudden deadly departure in the first place.
Hopefully, they can find the killer before opening day of Books and Biscuits becomes a permanent closing day in more ways than one. Collette already has a fan in me with her Ice Cream Parlor mysteries (A Killer Sundae is set for next year!) and this double trouble detective tale is a welcome addition to her literary menu(Nov.).
TURNING BACK TIME WITH PAGE TURNING READS
Speaking of mysteries, the latest in Jane K. Cleland’s series of Josie Prescott Antique cozies should interest Jane Austen readers very much there.
In Jane Austen’s Lost Letters, Josie is surprised by an older woman who delivers a package supposedly from Josie’s late father without a word of explanation. The package in question not only has a letter addressed to her from her father , it also contains a pair of letters from Jane Austen herself!
Such items would be rare indeed and as Josie seeks out the mystery woman known as Veronica Sutton to learn what she knows about her father and these letters, she discovers that some secrets are deathly determined to be kept.
This series is new to me but the bookish combination of antiques and Austen is most inviting for further investigation (December):
Julia Kelly offers up a look at the end of an English era with The Last Dance of the Debutante.
In 1958 London, Lily is set to be one of the last young ladies to be presented at court, a honor that she doesn’t truly care about.
Wanting to pursue her dressmaking dreams rather turn into another society wife, Lily finds some support from her equally duty bound friends Leana and Katherine .
Yet with both her icy mother and monied matriarch of a grandmother united against her wishes, Lily’s situation is complicated even more by the discovery of a family secret that could ruin them all.
I’ve heard a great deal about Kelly’ books taking the historical fiction section by storm and it appears that her storytelling style is what truly grand excursions into the page turning past are made of(Dec.):
I hope this selection of fresh reads encourages some pre-orders and library holds for your literary season. Also, perhaps one or two of these tempting titles can give you some solace during these hectic times and let you enjoy a few holiday delights like decorating or baking a favorite dish.
Reading is fundamental in more ways than one at any time of the year and a perfect way to relax in your own special way, despite what others think indeed!:
My Series-ous Reading start to the fall season brought me back to Lake Eden for a slice of Blackberry Pie Murder, the next in line for me in the Hannah Swenson series by Joanne Fluke.
This time out, Hannah is doing well at work but trying to plan her mother’s wedding to Doc Knight(who is a real sweetheart, I must say)is becoming a full time job.
The constant changes of plans, from food to flowers to bridesmaids dresses, is making more folks than Hannah frustrated but it’s she who is bearing the bridezilla brunt of it. Some of that tension may have been in play one morning as Hannah takes Lisa, her partner at the Cookie Jar bakery, to work during a thunderstorm storm.
The hectic road conditions and lightning strike that brings down a tree in their path leads to Hannah’s car hitting and killing a stranger. The man was truly a stranger with no one recognizing him at all. One of the few clues to be found on him was traces of blackberry pie on his shirtfront:
Despite this being an obvious accident, Hannah is charged with homicide and arrested by the sheriff who is also her brother in law Bill(which ticks her sister Andrea off to no end!) since police detective Mike, one of Hannah’s occasional boyfriends, refuses to do so.
I have to say that Mike generally annoys me most of the time but here, he does right. He not only refuses to arrest Hannah but takes an unpaid suspension as well based on principle. Norman, the other half of this love triangle, is on hand for emotional support and bail to get Hannah released before her arraignment, equaling things as usual.
Hannah being in jail is an interesting change of pace, although her time spent in a cell over the weekend isn’t too daunting.
Plenty of folks bring care packages over to her and she doesn’t have to share space with anyone. It’s kind of a sitcom style of legal trouble which you know will work out in the end(or the next book in this case) but still a good bit of character development nonetheless:
The mystery here is who is the victim, which gets into a rather elaborate plot that involves a returned runaway girl and a pimp with a diamond in his tooth(hey, Norman needed to use his dentistry expertise somehow here!), which is a little over the top but still entertaining.
At the very least, this book got me jumping right
into the next Hannah Swenson story, Double Fudge Brownie Murder, that I will be reading on my regular time. Yet, it will tie into the last book for this Culinary Cozy Feast challenge so stay tuned!
Meanwhile, I did see the new Hallmark Channel adaptation in what is now called the Hannah Swenson Mysteries (instead of Murder She Baked) entitled Sweet Revenge over the summer. Loosely based on Cream Puff Murder, it’s not as lively as the earlier movies and while some of the new additions to the series were fun(Hannah’s younger sister Michelle gets her onscreen debut!) , others were odd to say the least like Norman getting a dog?
Sorry but I adore the mini subplot of Hannah’s cat Moishe palling around with Norman’s kitty Cuddles over the course of the books and hate to see that altered.
Then again, it’s not too practical to have relay racing cats in a made for TV movie, which is in it’s own cinematic universe anyway. Having Hannah Swenson back on the small screen is a welcome enough treat as it is:
Well, onto the current Series-ous Reading selection and this title is truly irresistible; Mocha, She Wrote by Ellie Alexander.
This latest entry in The Bakeshop Mystery series focuses on Andy, the beloved barista of Torte who is entering a major coffee competition for the first time.
While Andy has the skills to win big, one of the judges already wants to whittle him down to size and when that unpleasant fellow is found dead with one of Andy’s drinks in hand, Juliet is determined to prove his innocence. Can she show that Andy is good to the last drop or will his future be grounded up for good?
I’m not a coffee person but do appreciate the love of the morning brew and so far, this book is best part of waking up for more good reading:
With October almost here, one thing is certain and that is the FrightFall readathon is about to begin! Thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading, the pumpkin perfect excuse to read something scary is at hand.
Of course, you don't have to make all of your book choices in the horror/suspense/thriller,etc but it is fun to do so. I decided to be a little smarter with my TBR as my tendency for these challenges is to pick four books and wind up finishing only three of them by the time it's over.
So, why not just pick three books, then? Well, why not-sure, I might read something extra before the end of the month that suits this challenge to a skeleton T(trying to be punny,sorry!) but for now, this sinister trio of page turning terrors should do nicely:
HALLOWEEN PARTY MURDER: This triple dose of seasonal cozy mystery stories has Leslie Meier getting the party started with the title tale that has her sleuthing heroine Lucy Stone on the haunted house scene.
Her new neighbors have set this scare fest up and due to a misunderstanding, Lucy is more than eager to get as many folks as possible to attend the horrifying housewarming event. However, when one of the holiday volunteers becomes an all too real victim, fun time is over for Lucy and all concerned.
Following that fearsome story is Lee Hollis' entry, Death of a Party Monster, where restaurant chef Hayley Powell is happy to attend a costume party with friends and neighbors are dressed up like movie monsters such as Chucky and Freddy Krueger.
Yet when the high school music teacher shows up as Pennywise, the local police chief reveals his fear of clowns. It's no laughing matter, especially when that Stephen King costume proves to be the literal death of that teacher and Hayley is the only one on hand to face the music there.
To round things up is Barbara Ross with Scared Off, as her niece Paige has a sleepover with her gal pals that quickly turns into a wild party with beer toting boys. As her aunt Julia Snowden heads over to stop the wild rumpus, the rowdy teens are frightened away by a ghost. Only trouble is, that ghost resembles Mrs. Zelisko, a nearby neighbor who is supposed to check on the girls and hasn't been seen all night!
I was lucky enough to win an early copy of this book(signed by Barbara Ross!) and saved it for this particular occasion. Being familiar with Meier's Lucy Stone books and having visited Ross' Maine Clambake Mysteries over the summer, I feel very thrilled to dive in here. Lee Hollis is new to me but I love the notion of a Halloween party with film fiend costumes so all in all, this set of Halloween flavored treats promises to be a page turning party indeed:
WE SOLD OUR SOULS: This take on musical hell from Grady Hendrix focuses on a heavy metal band known as Durt Wurk whose lead singer Terry Hunt sold out his group(and namely, lead guitar Kris Pulaski) to gain fame and glory for himself alone.
Decades later, Kris is stuck in a dead end job and finds that her former friend did make an actual deal with the devil that truly dooms her and the rest of Durt Wurk, not to mention the massive crowds of fans following Terry and his new band Koffin on their farewell tour.
To save her own soul, along with numerous others, Kris takes up her guitar once again to hit the road and call out Terry before he truly unleashes hell on earth.
Having read several of Hendrix's works in ebook form(including his latest, The Final Girls Support Group, which is beyond awesome!), I'm happy to report that my copy of WSOS is a physical one. While his quick paced writing is fun to enjoy in any format, having a Grady Hendrix novel on my bookshelf is the best sinister season treat for me:
CATHERINE HOUSE: In this debut novel from Elisabeth Thomas, our leading lady is Ines, who agrees to spend three years of her life at this exclusive academic setting of the title.
Those who have completed a full course of independent study at this institute have gone on to bigger and better positions in the world, making Ines appear to be fortunate indeed.
However, once she arrives, Ines notices an intense atmosphere that draws many of her fellow students into being part of a series of secret experiments being held in the basement. Experiments that may be more dangerous than curiosity was to the cat....
I've heard a lot about this book and the whole premise has a great modern Gothic vibe to it, plus it's said to be a good example of the genre known as dark academia(such as Donna Tartt's The Secret History). Smart,scary and secretive,all makes for quite the combo to create a good terror tale, if you ask me:
What's more terrifying than any of these books,however, is the ultimate threat to free speech and that monster's name is censorship.
With so much misinformation swirling about these days and local school board meetings becoming battlegrounds for chaos seekers to spew their illogical wrath upon, protecting the freedom to read is more important than ever.
Banned Books Week started yesterday and ends this upcoming Saturday. Please take a moment to check out the ALA website as well as the official BBW21 site for more information. Knowledge is turning into a rare commodity right now and the way to halt that downward progression is through books, especially those that speak to communities whose concerns are overlooked far too often by the mainstream media:
As for FrightFall, it begins on Friday, October 1 and lasts until All Hallow's Eve(there is a link in the first paragraph of this post to sign up and learn more about it). While trick or treating might be put on hold again this year, due to the sadly ongoing health crisis in our midst, we can still have some holiday fun with a good book and a costume friendly film or two:
While I know that autumn doesn’t officially start until this Wednesday, chances are that I’m not the only one who considers fall to have started by now.
So with that in mind, my latest library haul seems to have a bit of a fall feeling there. My first instant pluck off the shelf selection was Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian, which mixes divorce court with witchcraft accusations.
Mary Deerfield is determined to leave her abusive husband Thomas, a legal action that is allowed in the Puritan society of Boston in 1662 in which they live. However, that is easier said than done, since Thomas is crafty enough to hide his drunken behavior and personal violence from others.
In addition, Mary finds strange objects buried in her backyard that are trying to make her appear to be a witch, making matters all the worse. Despite coming from a rather well-off family, Mary finds that her options of escaping her husband’s abuse or a witch trial are severely limited at best.
I’ve read Bohjalian’s novels on and off for years, with each book being very different yet sharing the same well honed sense of storytelling and character depth. This particular story is so far quite riveting and might even get me to check out some of the Anne Bradstreet poems that the author has mentioned in interviews inspiring this dark tale of female troubles:
Next up is another Kate Carlisle book from her Bibliophile Mystery series, interestingly titled Little Black Book.
Newly wed bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright finds herself involved in an international intrigue as her husband Derek receives an odd package from Scotland . The main content of the package is a signed first edition of the modern classic Rebecca, which is followed by a visit from Claire, a friend from Brooklyn’s past.
Claire is searching for her Aunt Gwyneth , who went missing and the only clue that she could uncover is the receipt for that package. Since it turns out that Gwyneth , like Derek, once worked for MI6, this disappearance is not a random occurrence.
With the discovery of a suspicious delivery man dead from a knife to the neck and a necessary trip to Scotland, Brooklyn becomes tangled up in a case perhaps more suspenseful than the Du Maurier novel that set this whole caper off.
I have been reading this series out of order(hope to remedy that soon!) but Carlisle creates such an inviting world that makes even a newcomer feel most welcome here. With any luck, diving into the backstory of Brooklyn Wainwright will be far less treacherous than Rebecca de Winter’s certainly was:
To round things off, I went with A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier. Our leading lady is Violet Speedwell, a woman barely making ends meet in England of 1932.
Yet, while visiting the well known cathedral that puts Winchester on the proverbial map, Violet runs into the broilers, a group of women who spend their spare time making kneelers for those attending church services.
The time and effort put into making such beautiful and essential items inspires Violet to join their ranks. In doing so, she begins to find more of a purpose to her life than just merely existing.
Chevalier is quite the word weaver, spinning elegantly engaging stories of women dealing with what the world around wants and expects from them. It seems that much like her other work, this book showcases what one woman can do with what is available to find her own way to happiness:
All in all, this library trip was a good way to start my fall reading season. While the news of the day makes every day appear to be bleak and dire, a good book can be a vital part of your emotional survival kit indeed:
Welcome back for a new round of Series-ous Reading! Due to launching a new late summer blog event(Autumn in August), I thought it would be good to simply do a wrap-up post for the summer in September and this Culinary Cozy Feast of reading was a bookish bounty of page turning plenty indeed!
For July, my selection was Clammed Up by Barbara Ross, the first book in her Maine Clambake Mysteries series. Our leading lady is Julia Snowden, who has returned home to Busman's Harbor, ME in order to help save the family business, which are seasonal clambakes held on a nearby island that's been in her mother's family for generations.
Thanks to her brother in law Sonny, The Snowden Family Clambake Company is deeply in debt, with the bank only giving them one season to turn things around. Julia, with her background in marketing, decides to expand the business via catering, starting with a wedding that gets off to a bad start quickly.
While it's bad enough that Sonny hates the whole catering idea and has fights with Etienne, the long time caretaker of the island, Julia has a nervous bride to deal with and upon the wedding party's arrival to the partly renovated island mansion on the big day, a gruesome sight greets them. The body of the best man has been hung from the front hall stairs, killing the mood rather effectively!
With the island being shut down for the investigation and the number of days allowed for closure by the bank, Julia finds that she has no choice but to find the murderer herself with or without the help of Lt. Binder, the local police detective, in order to save the business and her family.
As the suspects range from the members of the wedding to some of the local folk, including Julia's school girl crush and possible new boyfriend Chris, this sinister search for the true killer proves to be harder to crack than a stubborn lobster claw.
I did enjoy the character development within the story, with fun side characters such as Gus, the cantankerous diner owner who knows more than he lets on at times, and the setting of Busman's Harbor is engagingly described, enough that even a landlubber like me wouldn't mind checking it out!
Julia and her struggles to readjust to her family after living in New York for so long(not to mention her guilt over the death of her father, which I think some of her relatives were a tad too quick to ladle over on her there!) added a good touch of nuance that rounded the overall story line nicely.
This book got me so hooked that I picked up the second entry(Boiled Over) and finished a little after Labor Day and Ross certainly has a way with layering her story with well molded character arcs and local history, not neglecting her main mystery plot in order to do so.
I wound up checking out these books due to winning a copy of the now available on shelves holiday anthology Halloween Party Murder(which Barbara Ross, Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis all contribute stories to) and while I will be saving that book for a certain readathon, I'm glad that I got to know Barbara Ross' literary world a bit better. I may read some more of this series also as it's as cleverly comforting as a serving of lobster mac and cheese:
In August, I chose to sample a platter of Killer Crab Cakes, courtesy of Livia J. Washburn's Fresh Baked Mysteries series.
Retired school teacher Phyllis Newsom is truly a fish out of water as she agrees to run her cousin's B&B for a little time during the summer. Not only is Phyllis getting a bit of vacation fun with her boyfriend Sam, she's also able to take part in a nearby baking competition to boot.
Those plans go awry when one of the guests literally drops dead while fishing, having possibly been poisoned by the title dish. As everyone at the B&B is under suspicion , the dead man's relatives and business enemies show up to throw more chaos into the startling stew of tension simmering on the story telling stove.
Since this book starts not long after The Christmas Cookie Killer(which I read last year), keeping up with the characters was easy for me and the addition of the horrible adult children of the deceased, who turned out to be a rather wealthy man despite his every man appearance, gave off some fun Knives Out vibes to the whole story.
Washburn does have a solid sense of character comradery as Phyllis and friends work together to figure things out and over time, you really hope that certain people in the story are not guilty at all. Once again, I found this series to be as tasty a read as any plate of savory seafood treats can be:
Well, this was a fine summer of reading indeed and my autumn feast of Series-ous Reading takes me right over to Hannah Swensen's Cookie Jar bakery with Blackberry Pie Murder on the menu.
Hannah is stunned when a rainstorm drive to work results in her van hitting a man on the road, possibly causing his death. When this incident does lead to her being arrested and about to be tried, her only chance of acquittal is to find out who this man was in the first place.
So far, so good and Hannah having to deal with the legal system promises to be interesting there. Blackberry pie may be more of a summer item but to me, pie is a full on fall flavor fest along with Hannah Swensen's delicious mysteries:
Welcome back, everyone and I hope you all had a good end of summer time. Granted, those affected by Hurricane Ida(and the leftover wrath from that storm) are not doing so well right now yet such terrible times will eventually pass with much help and support.
Yes, some of that later storm hit my area but I was fortunate enough to receive a minimal amount of trouble from it. Best wishes to those still struggling with the aftermath.
Meanwhile, I did my regular "three out of four" reading for the High Summer readathon hosted by the lovely Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading and looking forward to the next one on the literary horizon(more on that later). My wrap-up is a tad late but a blog break was necessary , trust me.
Okay, onto to the books:
SUMMER HOURS AT THE ROBBERS LIBRARY: Sue Halpern's novel brings together Kit, a new resident to the town of Riverton,NH and a librarian who just wants to live out the rest of her life in relative peace, and Sunny, a teenage girl being raised by off the grid type parents.
When Sunny is caught stealing a dictionary from a mall bookstore, her punishment determined by the local "kid court" is to do community service at the library over the summer, making her duties the de facto responsibility of Kit.
While Kit does appreciate Sunny's cheerful demeanor and quick witted intelligence, she is not eager to get too involved in the girl's life. Sunny, on the other hand, is curious about what's in Kit's past that she's trying to hide but even more so, she finds a few things out about her own seemingly carefree parents that raises a lot of questions and concerns there.
Along with Rusty, a new library patron seeking out a possible ancestor that could lead him to a source of financial renewal for him, Sunny and Kit slowly but surely learn to connect. Dealing with their past and present situations can bring about a better future but will they allow that to happen?
This story is thoughtful and engaging, giving the trio of main characters the right moments to take over the narrative, something that is easier said than done. Halpern brings a fully fleshed out development to her main players that doesn't overwhelm the plot yet is not driven by the need to hit those storytelling marks.
Summer Hours at the Robbers Library is a charming read that is not sentimental but readers and library lovers will especially enjoy it's subtly sweet vibes:
BIG SUMMER: Social influencer Daphne Berg seems to have her life on track at the moment but when former frenemy Drue Lathrop Cavanaugh decides to yank her back into her social sphere, things get wilder than either of them ever intended.
The big blowout that ended their friendship years ago lead to Daphne's online career as a plus size advocate with a steadily growing audience and endorsement deals. However, Drue is about to marry her longtime sweetheart at Cape Cod, a guy who ditched his reality show dream girl on national TV. She insists that Daphne is her only real friend and that she needs her as a bridesmaid.
Such a PR bonanza is hard to resist and while she doesn't completely trust Drue, Daphne is willing to give her a chance and perhaps reap a few personal benefits out of this whole thing.
The typical wedding dramatics crop up during the pre-event party and Daphne surprises herself by making a very welcome new romantic acquaintance. However, when the bride is found dead in a hot tub the next morning, everything changes fast. With the guy she was with having disappeared(and not on the guest list) Daphne has to find the killer before she's seen as the star of her own legal reality series!
Having read Jennifer Weiner before, I was not as thrown off by the plot switch-up there as some folks might be as she has written a mystery themed novel earlier in her career(Goodnight Nobody). While this book wasn't intended to be one, it does have many of the elements of a cozy culinary mystery here.
Unlikely detective -possible suspect? Check! A group of friends ready to pitch to find the killer? Check! Plenty of witnesses eager to give out helpful information? Check! A good amount of mouth watering food descriptions and loving family memories? Double Check!
I don't say this as a bad thing; rather, as a cozy mystery fan, I enjoyed Weiner's version of such a story and think that if she wanted to tackle this genre head on, that would be great to see. While this story is more big city than small town, Big Summer offers the cozy comfort of a solid beach read worthy entertainment:
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW: Larry McMurtry's iconic novel is set in the small dying Texas town of Thalia during the late fifties, where the young people find little to do there with their lives as do their elders.
The main focus of the book centers around Sonny and Duane, two life long friends trying to make the most out of their last year of high school. While Duane is dating Jacy, the most attractive girl in town who is always looking for some drama to stir up, Sonny finds himself having an affair with Mrs. Popper, the neglected wife of the obnoxious sports coach.
At some point, Duane and Sonny do have a fight over Jacy but that isn't the main conflict between them. All three of these about to be adults are really trying to figure out if the paths laid out for them are those they are meant to take or is their ultimate fate actually up to them?
The first McMurtry book that I ever read was Terms of Endearment(yes,due to the movie) and it introduced me to the author's knack for intricate character building that allows each persona to slowly yet surely guide the plot along. TLPS showcases the regrets of the older characters with the confused ambitions of the younger ones, making what many would consider to be humdrum lives instead to be a series of vivid portrayals of thwarted dreams.
I haven't gotten to Texasville(a book that I read way too soon years ago) but I'll give it a go at some point with more understanding of the fictional context there. Also plan to watch the film version as well , which has been widely acclaimed and I hope that it lives up to the novel in more ways than one:
Once again, thank you to Michelle Miller and sorry for such a late round up! I promise to be more prompt for the upcoming FrightFall readathon this October, where we may not have trick or treating but there will be many fabulous costume capers out there to drape ourselves in:
Thank you all for attending yet another discussion of Autumn in August, where our attention now turns to Jane Austen and her final completed work, Persuasion.
While there have been other adaptations of this classic novel(as of this writing, two more are being filmed), I have a particular fondness for the 1995 film as it is the reason that I started reading Jane Austen in the first place.
Back when the movie debuted in US theaters, the critical acclaim for it made me interested in reading the book(and later seeing the film on home video) which then lead to more and more engagement with Austen's literary world. I guess you could say it imprinted Austen on me.
Persuasion is unlike most of Austen's work as it's leading lady Anne Eliot(Amanda Root) is not the usual young girl searching for love heroine. Rather, she's a woman in her late twenties, considered "out of bloom" by the standards of the day who lives with her vain widowed father Sir Walter(Corin Redgrave) and her equally awful older sister Elizabeth(Phoebe Nicholls).
Since Sir Walter and Elizabeth insist upon living above their means-"A barnonet must be seen to live like a baronet!"-the only recourse to save the family from out and out financial disgrace is to move to the city of Bath and rent out their estate to a fresh from the Napoleonic wars well off Navy man, Admiral Croft(John Woodvine) and his wife.
As it happens , that admiral is related by marriage to a former love interest of Anne's, Captain Frederick Wentworth(Ciaran Hinds).
Wentworth and Anne fell in love several years ago, intending to marry if not for the persuasion of Lady Russell(Susan Fleetwood), a family friend who gives motherly advice to all of the Eliots but to Anne especially.
With Sir Walter and Elizabeth only tolerating her at best(and treating her like a servant at worse), it's not surprising that Anne at 19 was willing to listen to Lady Russell at the time.
However, upon hearing that Wentworth might be back in her life, Anne has found that the decision she made back then perhaps wasn't the best one for her own happiness:
Anne is sent to stay with her married younger sister Mary Musgrove(Sophie Thompson), who always "fancies herself ill" and is a great complainer when things don't go her way.
With the Musgroves being way nicer people, Anne is happy to be at their homestead of Uppercross for now. Also, she hopes to avoid being in Wentworth's company even though his brother-in-law and sister (Fiona Shaw, who is a real delight along side Woodvine) are completely lovely folks to be around.
Wentworth does eventually make friends with the Musgroves-the daughters of the house are very happy to know him!-and meet up with Anne again. They are awkwardly polite for the most part, unsure of each other's true feelings.
However, on more than one occasion, it does appear that Wentworth, despite his attentions to one Musgrove girl, still has some regard for Anne there:
Before Anne rejoins her father and sister in Bath, an incident on a trip to the seaside town of Lyme Regis causes both Wentworth and Anne to wonder about their potential future together.
Upon reuniting in Bath, things are still uncertain between them as Anne is now being courted by her formerly estranged cousin Mr. Eliot (Samuel West).
Is Anne meant to marry Mr. Eliot and perhaps save her family estate or is this the time to truly follow her heart?
This film is so well done with director Roger Michell bringing such a natural setting and tone to the story. The characters look and feel like actual people instead of fancy dress up figures.
The script by Nick Dear also drops a few references to the wider world with the now ending war against Napoleon(and possibly starting up again!) and the changes in social class with the now enriched military veterans.
As some Austen fans know, the original book had more than one ending planned and Dear was able to nicely incorporate that extra material seemlessly into the screenplay.
Best of all is the chemistry between Root and Hinds, who are subtle yet strong when the plot needs them to be:
That subtle energy comes in handy when Anne finds out how Wentworth really feels, thanks to a letter that is the most romantic declaration ever written in my humble opinion!:
While I do look forward to seeing the newer adaptations of Persuasion, this version will always hold a special place in my literary heart.
Please join us next time for our fall finale feature, You’ve Got Mail. I know that there’s plenty of mixed emotions about this movie but I think we can find a good common ground that doesn’t involve fighting over caviar garnish:
Welcome back for our second presentation in the LRG summer series, Autumn in August, where we look at another Edith Wharton adaptation, the 1993 Martin Scorsese helmed film ,The Age of Innocence.
Set during the Gilded Age in New York, our leading man here is Newland Archer(Daniel Day-Lewis), who is about to marry into another well connected family with May Welland(Winona Ryder) and couldn't be happier or so it seems.
When May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska(Michelle Pfeiffer) arrives in town, her reputation for scandal threatens the insular social order of their world. Newland does what he can to smooth the ruffled feathers but finds it hard pressed to blame Ellen for making what turned out to be a bad marriage for her.
When assigned to Ellen's divorce case by his law firm, Newland has to tell her the realities of New York society("Everything is labeled but everyone is not") and while he does succeed in persuading her to hold off on the divorce, Newland fervently wishes that she was free to be with him:
Newland does marry May yet even after a year's separation, finds that his passion for Ellen has not died down. Rather, it has increased and those feelings are shared by her.
With Ellen back in his social circle, he makes many excuses to be alone with her but their intimacy is never truly consummated. Despite the pain they might cause to both themselves and others, Ellen and Newland find it hard to resist taking that next step:
As Newland makes plans with Ellen, he soon discovers that his secret is not as secret as he thinks. Sooner than he expected, Newland realizes that this momentous decision in his life is not his alone to make.
Before I talk about the overall look of the film, I must make the case for May Welland. Repeatedly throughout the film, she is described as a shallow and rather unintelligent person, “ a curtain drawn over an emptiness.”
Granted, she’s doesn’t take an interest in things outside of her personal realm but May is not at all stupid. She knows full well Newland has doubts before and after their marriage and doesn’t hesitate to use what emotional weapons she has in her arsenal to get what she wants.
If anything, she’s more honest than he is when it comes to their relationship. Also, there’s no malice about her actions or intentions. May is just doing what a woman of her status was taught to do and she does it elegantly:
Scorsese spared no expense when it came to making this film as lush looking as possible. From the art on the walls to the table settings at a casual meal, the jewel box tones of this era highlight the hidden codes and hints of such a vicious circle of people.
The story itself is just as lovingly designed, with a wonderful cast that includes Richard E. Grant, Olivia Dukakis and Miriam Margolyes as Mrs. Manson Mingott aka "the dowager empress of New York society"-she is such a joy to watch! A special casting bonus is the narration that pops in at just the right moments, done by the late great Joanne Woodward, the perfect cap off to this feast of a film:
Please join us next time as we venture into Jane Austen country with 1995's Persuasion, the movie that got me reading Austen's work in the first place. I know that there are other versions with very fine qualities about them(which I have enjoyed) but I measure all of those against this one:
Welcome to the premiere of the LRG end of summer salute that is Autumn in August, where films that invoke the feel of those impending cold weather months are showcased for discussion.
Our first feature presentation is the 2000 adaptation of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth which stars Gillian Anderson as Lily Bart, a New York socialite in the late 19th century who is starting to age out of the marriage market.
Lily is lovely and charming enough to land a suitably rich husband yet she doesn't have much of a follow through mode when a target is in her sights.
The one man that does truly captivate her heart and mind is Lawrence Selden(Eric Stolz), a well to do lawyer who admires Lily yet is not in the marrying for social advancement game-part of that is due to having affairs with married women but we'll get to that soon enough!
Before I get back to the plot, it must be said that the chemistry between Anderson and Stolz in these roles is a low hum of electric tension, which is precisely what such characters need to have on screen. Many of the casting choices in this film are excellent but the key parts were most important for this particular story and very well done indeed:
Part of Lily's problem is that most of of her friends are superficial at best and self serving at the worst.
While there are a few who wish her well such as social hanger-on Carry Fisher(Elizabeth McGovern), most of the women in her social circle are either overly judgemental like her Aunt Julia(Eleanor Bron) or false faced such as the quietly scheming cousin Grace Stepney(Jodhi May) who "reluctantly" tells her aunt of Lily's various misdeeds.
Those misdeeds come from Lily misunderstanding what it means when the husband of one of her good friends, Gus Trenor(Dan Ackroyd, who plays pompous entitlement extremely well here) offers to help her "invest" some money in order to pay her ever increasing bills. Turns out she takes him at his literal word and actually believes saying "thank you" is proper enough but as Gus says, "When a fellow pays for dinner, he's usually given a seat at the table." *shudder*
There's also Simon Rosedale(Anthony LaPaglia), a social climber who is honest enough about his intentions towards Lily but can't stand by her when things get rough. Worst of all of them is Bertha Dorset(Laura Linney) who hates her husband enough to openly cheat on him yet begrudges a former lover like Selden to being with anyone else, especially Lily. She's quite the frenemy from hell and as all of these forces gather about Lily to do her in, Selden is slow to stop her social downward spiral:
The deeply cut irony of all of this is that Lily Bart truly has principles. Yes, she makes many mistakes but when time and again, it is pointed out to her that by enacting a moral compromise or two, her situation can improve, Lily says no.
That does seem naive of her yet it's also honorable. As time goes on, Lily refuses to be on the level of her detractors such as Bertha(who she does have solid evidence of her adultery in the form of letters on) and regardless, she doesn't want to gain her social salvation in such an underhanded manner.
Granted, some of that reluctance is due to Selden's prior involvement with Bertha, however when push comes to shove, Lily would rather swallow the bitter pills that Bertha forces upon her in public than become as nasty as her former friend is:
The House of Mirth is not a happy tale to tell but it is beautifully told nonetheless. Writer/director Terence Davies does create visually appealing outdoor scenes yet it's those inside sections of the story that are the most memorable. If you enjoy elegant dialogue in ornate rooms, this is the movie for you!
What really seals the deal is that at times, the movie feels like a stage play and yes, that is a compliment. Lily's journey is one of those quietly brutal dramas that would make for a gripping Broadway production and it's chief mode of decoration is the emotional intensity that swirls up when least expected.
The strongest connective thread is the relationship between Lily and Selden, which is done to perfection by both actors no matter what setting they happen to be in. If you haven't seen THOM, I fully recommend it as it does the book justice while giving the story a few unique touches of it's own:
I do hope that you all enjoyed this first outing of Autumn in August and please do join us next time for more Edith Wharton entertainment as Martin Scorsese gives his operatic take on The Age of Innocence-popcorn is always welcome!:
