A Good-bye Godzilla Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Last week, I received a card from a friend that described the days of my electrical panel installation as "Godzilla Days." Rather fitting, I thought, and it reminded me of the summer when I took a short break from college and went back to central Illinois. My best friend, Carol, planned an entire day for us, ending with a sleepover at her house. (Her husband was on National Guard duty.) The afternoon was spent at the movie theatre in Decatur where we watched a movie that had just been released. Has anyone heard of "Jaws"? 😉  Then, popcorn and Pepsi at the ready, we watched the Late Late Show: "Godzilla versus the Smog Monster." Simple pleasures are the best, aren't they? And am I ever glad that, as far as Casa Kittling is concerned, Godzilla has left the building!

I've been asked to make some tissue box covers by another friend, and I've given him four color combinations from which he's to choose three. It will be interesting to see if my guesses matche his choices. I'll show them to you now--

Virtual hugs to you all! Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Hugh Jackman is to star in Ridley Scott's Treasure Island. (Big Hugh Jackman and Robert Louis Stevenson fan here.)
• How National Geographic conquered American culture.
• In an encouraging move, lawmakers are beginning to tweak school and library policies to allow for nuance.
• The right is using AI content scanners to try to supercharge book banning.
• How PayPal and other platforms help silence alternative media.
• An electronic eye implant restored vision on patients with age-related macular degeneration.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A shipwreck "almost beyond belief" stunned archaeologists in Norway with its cargo of intact porcelain dishes and luxury goods.
• See the spectacular gold-and-gemstone ring a Roman likely buried for safekeeping 1,700 years ago.
• Italian teenagers discover an 1,800-year-old Roman luxury house underneath their high school gym.
• A fisherman and his son noticed strange pieces of wood on a beach. They turned out to be fragments of a Polynesian canoe.
• "Extremely rare" English coins meant to ward off Vikings were fond in Denmark-- because the Vikings wore them as jewelry.
• Archaeologists unearth more than 40,000 pieces of pottery that ancient Egyptians used like scrap paper.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• A multi-million-dollar wildlife bridge in northern California got its first travelers before it opened.
• The blue-fronted lorikeet had been seen only once over the past century. Birders just rediscovered it in an unexplored Indonesian forest.
• See the rare, endangered Przewalski's horse born at the Bronx Zoo.
• In the world's best place to see wild jaguars, residents are using the big cat's appeal to reach conservation goals.
• The "rising star" of a prominent Yellowstone wolf pack was illegally killed, sparking a poaching investigation.
• Human trash is "kick-starting" the domestication of city-dwelling raccoons.

►The Wanderer◄

• Photographing the afterlives and second acts of America's movie palaces.
• Secrets from centuries of Paris history are emerging from archaeological digs after the Notre-Dame Cathedral fire.
• Crime and the City: Cleveland, Ohio.
• How to explore the Australian Outback by train.
• Behold Belgium's beauty in these 15 scenic photographs.
• 5 American towns that give you a taste of Scandinavia.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• When patent protections couldn't keep pace with ingenuity in the colonies, Sybilla Righton Masters took her case to Britain.
• Clive Cussler and the art of the thriller.
• Before The Kiss, Gustav Klimt got his first big art assignment at this Austrian theater.
• 6 celebrities with surprising connections to true crime cases.
• Spirited revolutionary Pasquale Paoli led the fight for independence in Corsica-- and also inspired America's colonial rabble-rousers.
• The real story behind Abigail Adams' "Remember the ladies" letter.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 8 mysteries set in Hawaii.
• Yoga cozy mysteries to bend your wit and soothe your mind.
• Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
• 6 mysteries and thrillers recommended by presidents.
• 24 books about book clubs.
• Must-read non-fiction books.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!

The Terrific Trio at the Phoenix Zoo

Just when you were starting to think that there would be no more Suzanne and Daisy photos shared, here I am with our visit to the Phoenix Zoo. Come along with us, no towels needed!

Petting the rays is a lot of fun, although this time, they seemed to love drenching my nieces. That's what I meant about your not needing towels!

These two were having a blast, too.

Nap time for the jaguar.

And the cougar, too.

Prickly pear blossom

Burrowing owls always seem very opinionated.

Three snowy egrets

Wonder if he's related to the AFLAC duck?

Keeping watch over the missus while she sleeps.

Meerkat (Daisy's photo)

The eye of the lion. Now why does that remind me of a song about a tiger?

Daisy feeding the giraffe.

Suzanne feeding the giraffe.

Daisy on camelback.

Suzanne on camelback.

North America's fastest land animal. A pronghorn antelope taking a snooze. (Daisy's photo)

Suzanne at the petting zoo. (Daisy's photo)

Hmmm... there seems to be a ham in this gang of four. He's definitely ready for his closeup!

Thanks for coming along with us on this virtual visit. I hope you enjoyed it!

An Upcoming Anniversaries Weekly Link Round-Up

 

June will not be melancholy if I have anything to do with it. Denis's birthday is Saturday, and the first anniversary of his death is toward the end of the month. I will admit that I have been having difficulties-- like swearing I just heard him call me from another room-- but I'd not be normal if I didn't. (Although I never have thought I was all that "normal.") 

I haven't been getting out except for doctor appointments. I know I should get out and about-- force myself if necessary-- but I'm just not in the mood for solo outings. Okay-- enough of the Woe Is Me! 

Let me share a Denis Photo with you that always makes me smile. The man never took himself too seriously, and it's a good thing he didn't. We were practically rolling on the floor laughing when he came home from running errands and took a look at the shoes he'd worn all over town...

Virtual hugs to you all! Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The rise of ragebait lit.
• What happened when a dumpster arrived behind a teacher's university library.
• How American toilets differ from British toilets.
• The fastest-growing target in America's book banning wave might surprise you.
• Why we still need book festivals.
• The violent history behind nutmeg.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• The gouged-out testicles of this bull mosaic in Italy are just two more victims of tourists abusing monuments for luck.
• Bead net funerary shroud: A 2,500-year-old beaded veil from Egypt depicting the deceased's transformation into Osiris.
• The skeletal remains of Queen Elisenda, one of the most powerful rulers in medieval Europe, were unearthed in Barcelona-- along with several others who bore unexplained stab wounds.
• A 4,500-year-old Neolithic hall replica rises at Stonehenge as archaeologists and volunteers build with prehistoric tools and techniques.
• An underwater robot explores the hidden "Shipwreck City" beneath the surface of this popular urban lake in the Pacific Northwest.
• A 1,200-year-old gold hoard discovered in Saudi Arabia may have been buried by a medieval pilgrim.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Could bug spray attract mosquitoes? Lab insects learned that the smell of DEET would lead them to a tasty treat. (My sandalwood skin lotion is excellent at keeping "skeeters" at bay.) 
• Four rare Guam kingfisher chicks hatched at a facility in Virginia, making an "incredibly valuable" addition to the small population of extinct-in-the-wild birds.
• You're guaranteed to spot at least one gorgeous giraffe in each of these 15 images.
• Daddy Longlegs seem to hunt frogs in South America, revealing the gangly arachnids as overlooked predators.
• View Australia's wildlife, including kangaroos, koalas, and crocs, with these 15 photographs.
• Research suggests that these clownfish lose their baby stripes in response to peer pressure.

►The Wanderer◄

• An illuminating new museum hidden beneath the Lincoln Memorial is set to open to the public. Here's what you can expect. 
• England's most famous naked giant will glow white again, thanks to help from hundreds of people performing a ritual of restoration.
• Art thieves steal paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse worth more than $10 million, fleeing the scene in just three minutes.
• See the splendor of the majestic Rocky Mountains.
• Returning to Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez.
• Caste and culture in Kolkata's Chinese leather trade.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Ona Judge escaped from slavery while George Washington was busy eating dinner inside Now, a new mural honors her legacy.
• Born and raised in Philadelphia, Loyalist Mattias Aspden fled to England during the American Revolution. In his absence, the patriots declared him a traitor and seized his property.
• The forgotten Untouchables of France.
• Sir David Attenborough has inspired countless scientists. To mark his 100th birthday, here are ten living things they've named after him.
• Requiem for a brilliant artist: On Tony Stella.
• Did Cleopatra really die from a snake bite? Here's what history tells us. 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 5 mysteries set in the Boston area.
• Your guide to Mignon Eberhart, America's Agatha Christie.
• 6 mystery and thriller books like Freida McFadden's The Housemaid.
• The top ten animal sleuths (plus honorable mentions).
• 5 brilliant, lesser-known cozy mysteries (plus one new novel).
• Top ten time travel books.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!

The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan

 

First Line: "I have cancer, George."

Life has thrown Detective Sergeant George Cross a curveball in his personal life, so when the body of a bookseller is found lying in a pool of blood in his own bookshop, George must do something he's never actually had to do before: rely on his team for help.

Can the world of books really be all that cutthroat?

~

If it seems as though I've spent most of my time this year praising Tim Sullivan's George Cross mysteries, you're probably right. I've almost caught up with the series, so those of you who wish I'd dial it back will be happy.

Tim Sullivan has created a rich world of characters and mysteries that will keep readers on their toes. In The Bookseller, we see how George reacts to a family crisis, and it's every bit as funny and touching as fans would expect.

One of the things that makes George Cross so special is that he's always learning something new about himself. These characters are not static. His partner, Josie Ottey, hesitates to share some news with him, and there's a new police staff officer, Prianka Patel, who's replaced Alice MacKenzie. (Don't worry, Alice has news of her own.) I have to keep reading these books just to keep up with the characters!

But the mysteries are every bit as good as Sullivan's cast. This time around, readers will learn about the bookselling business while sorting through the list of suspects. Although there is sadness and worry in The Bookseller, readers will also get to laugh while watching DCI Carson marshal the troops to apprehend a suspect. 

Strong mysteries, wonderful characters, humor, and poignancy-- if you have yet to make the acquaintance of George and his team, what on earth are you waiting for?

The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan

eISBN: 9780802167705

Atlantic Crime © 2026

eBook, 384 pages

Police Procedural, #7 George Cross

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Murder by Design by Lee Goldberg

 

First Line: There are some things you need to know before I start telling you this incredible, improbable, but absolutely true story.

Struggling actor Wally Nash didn't really know what he signed up for when he agreed to be Edison Bixby's "minder." Bixby is wealthy, handsome, and-- due to a traumatic brain injury-- impulsively rude. Wally has been hired to keep Bixby from offending everyone he meets.

A former police detective with a 100% clearance rate, Bixby is now an insurance investigator who solves his cases by figuring out how the design of the man-made world around us makes them possible.

Wally's first case with Bixby looks like a simple accident, but Bixby is positive that the victim was murdered by design, subtly manipulated into causing her own demise. Now all Bixby has to do is prove his theory before more people die.

~

Having enjoyed and come to depend on Lee Goldberg's laugh-out-loud funny, fast-paced thrillers with his Ian Ludlow and Eve Ronin series, I was really looking forward to this first Edison Bixby novel, Murder by Design. Unfortunately, the book fell flat for me.

Edison Bixby's looks, wealth, and home would make him the stuff of fairy tales if not for his mouth. He's always been obnoxious, but a traumatic brain injury has loosened what few restraints he had on his tongue. No longer in the Los Angeles Police Department, he is now the stuff of nightmares for the insurance company that hired him. The man needs someone to keep a close eye on him to prevent any more lawsuits, and that's where wannabe movie star Wally Nash comes in.

We see everything through Wally's eyes, and for a while, that's entertaining. (He tends to see everything as an opportunity for his Big Break in films.) Also intriguing is Bixby's contention that the design of man-made things can be the source of crime. Then, there's the relationship Bixby has with LAPD officer Bridget McGregor. Not only did McGregor get right up my nose, but I just couldn't buy into how their relationship worked.

In fact, that wasn't the only thing that didn't quite make sense. Too many aspects felt over the top. To be honest, the suspension bridge of my disbelief collapsed two-thirds of the way through Murder by Design. Perhaps it was partially due to my low tolerance of obnoxiousness. Hopefully, your mileage will vary. 

Murder by Design by Lee Goldberg

eISBN: 9781662533600

Thomas & Mercer © 2026

eBook, 236 pages

Thriller, #1 Edison Bixby

Rating: D+

Source: Net Galley

A Smile of Relief Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I am very happy to tell you that I have heard from my Nameless Friend. In fact, the timing of their message's arrival made me think that NF and I were on the same wavelength. I'm trying not to read too much into the handwriting (it's hard!), but just hearing from them makes me feel better.

Not too much has been going on around here. After regaining my needlepoint calluses on the tips of my fingers, I've gone back to knitting and have completed a few projects. Those two star baskets that I have yet to finish are sitting across the room from my recliner, staring at me reproachfully. (Cope and adjust, baskets!)

The weather's been gorgeous. I'm hearing lots of baby birds cheeping in the back garden, and I have several not-for-tender-ears nicknames for the white-winged dove that keeps splashing the water out of the hummingbirds' solar water fountain. White-winged doves are particularly annoying because if they see other species of birds enjoying something, the doves insist on horning in and trying to take over.  I feel a tiny bit ashamed to say that I'm glad when it's dove hunting season here because they always disappear during that time. (Whoever said animals are dumb is the dumb one!)

I came across a couple of "homes" on the internet that make me smile. I wouldn't mind living in either one, although I don't think I'd get much done in the one on the right! What do you think?

Found Images

Virtual hugs to you all, my friends. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• BookTok's critical values.
• The U.S. gender pay gap, mapped by state.
• Why we shouldn't feel guilty for not being extremely well read.
• Security envelope patterns and the people who collect them. (This is the first time I'd ever heard of this collectible!)
• Are hardback books things of "great beauty" or a dying art?
• Knox County (Tennessee) schools bans Alex Haley's Roots from libraries. (They have recently been persuaded not to.)
• The rise of the sensitivity reader.
• A lament for the MIT libraries.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• 800-year-old "hugging skeletons" are genetically confirmed as Poland's only medieval same-sex double burial.
• The Great Pyramid of Giza is remarkably resilient to earthquakes-- and it's due to the ancient Egyptians' "extraordinary" engineering knowledge.
• Daunian Kyathos: a 2,700-year-old ceramic cup from Italy that's decorated with an exuberant-looking bug-eyed fellow.
• Why was this ancient Roman soldier's gravestone hidden in a Louisiana backyard? Archaeologists solved the mystery-- and helped return the artifact to Italy.
• An 800-year-old notebook and fancy silk toilet paper was discovered in a medieval latrine in Germany.
• Amateur historians unearthed a long-lost Tudor palace visited by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Mediterranean monk seals hide in underwater "bubble caves" to avoid tourists during the busy summer season.
• Belugas can recognize themselves in mirrors, joining a short list of nonhuman species that show signs of self-awareness.
• 8 fascinating facts about the whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America.
• Purple martins rely on human "landlords" to provide nest boxes each spring. Can that dynamic last? (My grandparents had a well-occupied martin house.)
• Sharks in the Bahamas test positive for drugs, including cocaine and painkillers.
• Scientists have identified the world's first known dog, which pushes back the animals' genetic record by about 5,000 years.

►The Wanderer◄

• The Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal, one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an Art Nouveau facade.
• 15 photographs showcasing the sensational scenery of Morocco.
• Mona Lisa is moving to a new home. The Louvre just announced the architects who will design her private suite.
• California is getting three new state parks and they're not where you'd think.
• Could building a dam across the Bering Strait save the planet from some effects of climate change?
• This island in Scotland is actually a man-made mini landmass resting on a wooden platform.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Miles Davis emerged from middle America to become the "Picasso of Jazz" and taught us all how to be cool.
• The surprising contents of American POW Joseph "Ed" Carter's journal.
• Historical figures born the same year (who feel like they weren't).
• Virginia teenager Mia Heller invented a filter that eliminates 96% of microplastics from drinking water.
• Faye Emerson became the "First Lady of Television" during the medium's early days. But her groundbreaking success as a late-night host is largely forgotten today.
• From basket weaving to oyster reef conservation, Gullah Geechee women are preserving a living heritage.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 5 great mysteries set in Australia and New Zealand.
• 16 historical novels set in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.
• 7 laugh-out-loud funny mysteries by Benjamin Stevenson.
• 14 books with unusual narrators.
• 18 bookish mysteries you can't miss.
• Travel abroad with these 19 high-stakes thrillers.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!

The Brothers McKay by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: It wasn't so much of a surprise that Pepper McKay was dead as much as it was an amazement to everyone in the county that it had taken so long for him to die, or for somebody to kill him.

When Pepper McKay is found murdered on his ranch in Crazy Woman Canyon, suspects aren't in short supply-- he was one of the most hated men in Absaroka County. But Sheriff Walt Longmire quickly focuses on the people who attended a family meeting the night before his death. Those people? His very different sons: a charmer, a journalist, a monk, and a half-Native ranch hand. Each had a motive. Each insists he's innocent.

In no time at all, Walt is pulled into a web of old grudges and secrets. Then a second body turns up, and a wildfire roars through Crazy Woman Canyon, trapping Walt and making him fight for his life as the killer and the fire close in.

~

I have been a lover of Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire mysteries since the very first one, The Cold Dish, but even this diehard fan has to admit that, in the last few books, when Walt seriously began contemplating his mortality and his future, the spark that makes this series so special has been slowly flickering out. In the case of The Brothers McKay, maybe it's because I wasn't impressed by the author this book was inspired by. After reading Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, I knew he wasn't the writer for me, and my "underwhelm-ment" might have passed on to Johnson's book. Who knows?

But no matter how much I wasn't impressed by the storyline, I can always find something to enjoy in a Walt Longmire book. The wildfire scene is excellent. I was completely drawn in and even thought I could smell smoke in the house as I read. Johnson also manages to throw in one or two new characters for me to fall in love with. This time, it's Maxim Sidorov, a Russian whose English often made me smile. The other character? A mule named Borax. What an animal!

The end of The Brothers McKay promises readers that unfinished business will take Walt to the ends of the earth. It sounds like we're going to need to fasten our seatbelts. 

The Brothers McKay by Craig Johnson

eISBN: 9780593830741

Viking © 2026

eBook, 368 pages

Police Procedural, #22 Walt Longmire

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

Murder on the Rocks by T.E. Kinsey

 

First Lines: Lady Hardcastle was looking out of the train window as we clickety-clacked through the Somerset countryside. "Don't you just adore a train journey?"

It's February 1913, and millionaire J.B. McIntyre has invited his friends, Lady Hardcastle and her maid Florence Armstrong, to spend the weekend at his recently renovated Tudor fort on a remote island off the coast of Devonshire.

The weekend quickly veers into disaster when valuable jewels go missing, and a fellow guest is murdered with a very unusual weapon. Naturally, the intrepid duo agrees when McIntyre asks them to investigate. Is the murderer one of the guests? Everyone has an alibi, and everyone has secrets that they want to keep.

When a violent storm traps everyone on the island and cuts them off from help, the stakes are raised. Lady Hardcastle and Florence must work fast before someone else is killed.

~

When I want some light-hearted, historical fun, I know I can always turn to T.E. Kinsey's Lady Hardcastle mysteries, and his latest is no exception. 

Murder on the Rocks is essentially a locked room mystery set in a remodeled Tudor fort on a remote island. An old building, an island that's easily cut off from the rest of the world. What could possibly go wrong? Just my kind of mystery!

This book has a small cast, but there are more than enough motives to go around, so everyone is a suspect. I found this particular mystery a bit easy to solve, but I enjoy the banter between Lady Hardcastle and Florence so much that I really didn't care.

If you are in the mood for a light-hearted historical mystery series with two wonderful main characters, you can't go wrong with T.E. Kinsey's Lady Hardcastle. 

 

Murder on the Rocks by T.E. Kinsey

eISBN: 9781662521577

Thomas & Mercer © 2026

eBook, 296 pages

Historical Mystery, #13 Lady Hardcastle

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley