The Florence Doesn't Live Here Weekly Link Round-Up

 

If I've learned anything during Denis's health scare (he does continue to improve slowly by the way), it's that I'm no Florence Nightingale. But then, I never thought I was. I learned in the third grade that I wasn't cut out for the medical profession when another child cut his head on a snapped-off tree branch. The wound bled like crazy, and while another child had the presence of mind to comfort him and lead him to the grownups who'd take care of him, I stood there like a statue, my brain freezing my entire body into immobility. It wasn't that I was sickened by the sight of blood; it was that I wanted so badly to Do Something... and I didn't have a clue. At least now I know from experience that, if someone with a clue is nearby, I can follow directions and get things done.

Fortunately, I'm not required to do any rapid-fire thinking on my feet while taking care of Denis, but what has shocked me is how draining it is when you are required to do something day in and day out (and indefinitely) that you have absolutely no talent for doing. And it's draining for many reasons. One, I'm in constant fear of doing something wrong and making Denis's situation worse. Two, even though I know it's stupid, I feel less "womanly" because I don't have the Nursing Gene. Three, I'm a perfectionist, so when a shipment of antibiotics doesn't arrive and Denis has to do without for four hours, or when I can't get some household chore done the way I think it should be done, my stress levels go so far off my chart that they've probably left tracks on someone else's.

Now, I still feel the stress buzzing away in my veins, but it's manageable now because I admitted that we need help. I admitted this early on, and we contacted the insurance company to get the help we need. But there was a problem. The companies that the insurance company deals with would only put us on a month-long waiting list, and we needed help NOW. So... I said a few rude words about long waiting lists and bit the bullet. I contacted a company and hired the help we need, and that has made all the difference. With Denis finally on the proper dosage of pain medication and with help at hand, there's more joking and laughter here at Casa Kittling, and I know that makes us both feel better.

For most of my life, I felt as though asking for help was an admission of weakness, of defeat. But-- particularly now-- I know how wrong that way of thinking is. I'm just incredibly fortunate to be able to pay for the help we need right now.

And on that note, I'll shut up and let you enjoy the links. Have a great weekend!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The effect of Book of the Month Club on book sales.
• Laura Sackton didn't read for a week. Here's what happened.
• The drama of Point d'Alençon needle lace.
• There's no excuse for bad book covers anymore.
• On Jane Austen's use of food as character.
• Why are Regency-Era shows like Bridgerton so popular?
• Author David Peace believes publishers should be less risk-averse.
• Book pockets and date guides: the intricacies of a paper-based library system.

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• School librarians speak out against book bannings and censorship.
• Meet the 1,300 librarians racing to back up Ukraine's digital archives.
• The Texas Education Agency's new school library standards push for more scrutiny and parental input.
• Forty-five books you read in school that are banned now.
• "We must ban books that omit the truth": Debrief on the House hearing on book bans and censorship.
• The Brooklyn Public Library system has announced a program to challenge the tide of book bannings.
• High school students share how book bans affect their lives.
• What do school boards do?
• The New York Public Library makes banned books available for free.
• A new Kentucky law hands control of libraries to local politicians.

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Trapped in museums for centuries, Maori ancestors are coming home.
• A rare first edition of The Great Gatsby lists at $360,000.
• Is this New England's oldest known English shipwreck?
• This medieval coin hoard offers evidence of early tax evasion. (The more things change...)
• A long-lost medal honoring Revolutionary War hero General Daniel Morgan sells for a record-breaking $960,000.
• The earliest evidence of a Maya divination calendar has been discovered in an ancient temple.
• Archaeologists are discovering historical artifacts during the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.
• The remains of a Roman mercenary and a beheaded victim have been found at an ancient site in the UK.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• How one Wyoming mule deer won friends and influenced science.
• I just had to laugh. Watch this raccoon steal a security camera.
• Why do dogs and other animals lick their wounds?
• Why amazing discoveries about bear hibernation may help improve human health.
• Watch the world's oldest gorilla celebrate her 65th birthday with cake.
• In 1932, Australia started an Emu War-- and lost.
• Watch a quokka eat a leaf.
• Spencer the beloved therapy dog was named the "official dog of the Boston Marathon" while battling cancer.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt, the trailblazing sisters who founded the nation's first woman-led museum.
• Paige Shelton on the literary greats of Scotland.
• James McCune Smith, America's first Black physician, sought to heal a nation's persistent illness.
• The charming mid-century murder mysteries and rich interior life of Edith Howie.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• The business of blackmail in Gilded Age New York.
• Scientists have found evidence for the biggest earthquake in human history.
• How a collective madness in 18th century France led to financial ruin and a scheme to lock up women and ship them into exile.
• George Harrison's childhood home-- an early Beatles rehearsal venue-- is now a vacation rental.
• How the pandemic has changed the way we think about solitude and loneliness.
• Bookish ways to get outside more.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Agatha Christie's favorite American author, Elizabeth Daly.
• From The Irish Times: books that deserve to be better read.
• Nine books that came to fame slowly.
• Six novels with an overwhelming sense of unease, slow-burning menace, and coercive control.
• Ten crime novels with isolated settings.
• Thirteen historical novels set in America.
• Eleven mysteries featuring quirky amateur detectives.
• Ten novels about postwar Germany.

 

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

 

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!

The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies by Adriana Licio

 

First Lines: "Do you really mean we should go through there?" Concetta Natale Passolina, known simply as Etta to her friends, stopped the old yellow Fiat 500 in the middle of the road, careless of the traffic behind them.

 

Two newly retired teachers find themselves traveling from southern Italy to Rothenburg, Germany for a month-long vacation, courtesy of something called homeswapping. Etta still doesn't know how she let Dora talk her into this scheme, and she's certainly not a fan of letting strangers stay in her own home. But she has to admit that the Rothenburg house is perfect and they have friendly, helpful neighbors.

 

The two women are enjoying their daily forays into the town; there is so much to see and do. Signing up for a tour led by the Night Watchman of Rothenburg, Dora and Etta are stunned when they find his body while other members of the tour group are taking photographs nearby. A second murder leads the police to their prime suspect: the son of the two women's next-door neighbors. Etta and Dora can't believe the young man had anything to do with the killings, so both decide to add a bit of sleuthing to their holiday plans.

 

~

 

Most cozy readers know that there's a bit of formula to this niche of mysteries. One of the "rules" seems to be that the amateur sleuth tends to live in a small town and all the murdering and sleuthing happens there. Then I stumbled across Adriana Licio's first Homeswapper mystery, The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies, in which two retired teachers solve a crime while on vacation in Germany. That really piqued my interest because not only would a series like this solve the age-old problem of "Cabot Cove Syndrome," it would give me a chance to learn about other places, and that would certainly please my inner armchair traveling sleuth.

 

Dora and Etta are two recent retirees who have little money yet a great desire to travel and see the world. Dora, the empathetic and intuitive one, learns about homeswapping and persuades Etta, the extremely judgmental one, into participating. It's perfect for their needs. They save money yet get to stay in a nice home for an extended period of time which lets them really explore an area.

 

This first book in the Homeswapper series kept my interest throughout, and I enjoyed following the two as they roamed the medieval streets of Rothenburg. I learned about several things, like shame masks, and I was perversely delighted to watch Etta (who tended to rub my fur the wrong way) have to put up with the addition of Leon the Basset Hound to their merry little band.

I'm definitely going to be taking a look at the other books in this series to see where Etta and Dora continue their travels.

The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies by Adriana Licio

ASIN: B08DD8C46D

The Hometravellers Press © 2020

eBook, 180 pages

 

Cozy Mystery, #1 Homeswappers mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

May 2022 New Mystery Releases!

My mind has been gallivanting all over the place-- trying to keep track of all the appointments now that Casa Kittling seems to have a revolving door, making sure the deliveries of antibiotics have all the peripherals I need to give Denis his meds in a timely fashion, coming up with organizational solutions to all the STUFF Denis has to have by his recliner, moving furniture around to maximize flight paths for two mobility scooters, creating a list of things Justin can help me with on his weekly visits. And on and on and on.

But one thing will never change, and that's the fact that I'll always keep my eye peeled for the best new crime fiction being released each month.

The following are my picks for the month of May. I've grouped them according to their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of one of my favorite showrooms, Amazon. Let's see if I've chosen any books that are on your own wish lists... or will I be adding titles to those lists? 

=== May 3 ===

Title: Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride

Author: Lorenzo Carcaterra

Standalone mystery set on an Italian island

272 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Nonna Maria has lived on Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples, her entire life. Recognizable by the widow’s black she’s worn every day for decades, she always has pasta on the stove and espresso in the pot for the neighbors who stop by to ask her advice on life and love. Everyone knows her, and she knows everyone’s business. So if something goes wrong, islanders look to her, not the local carabinieri, to find the solution.

When a recently engaged woman confesses that she’s afraid her fiancé, a stranger to Ischia with a murky past, might not be who he seems, Nonna Maria helps her disappear so she can investigate the true nature of her betrothed. The stranger has also raised the suspicions of Captain Murino of the carabinieri, but he’s occupied investigating the death of a tour boat captain who drowned in the wee hours of the morning. Captain Murino believes it was an accident, but Nonna Maria knows the man was a born sailor and too good a swimmer to drown, no matter how much wine he might have drunk. While Captain Murino has his hands full, she pours herself a glass of white wine and gets to work, even though getting involved will expose her to the dangers lurking just beneath the surface of her idyllic home." 

Title: Waterbury Winter

Author: Linda Stewart Henley

Standalone mystery set in New England

264 pages

Synopsis: "Barnaby Brown has had enough of freezing winters, insurmountable debt, a dead-end job, and his solitary life as a young widower with no one but his beloved parrot Popsicle. He yearns to move to California and reawaken his long-lost early life as an artist. But new troubles come in threes. His ancient car crashes into a snowbank. Popsicle escapes through a window carelessly left open.

A New York gallery owner offers to represent Barnaby’s paintings—but is he on the up-and-up? All of it serves to shock Barnaby into confronting how low he has sunk, and he vows—again and again—to change. He has a few obstacles, starting with his heavy drinking and long-term neglect of his ancestral home. As he takes steps toward a better life, he re-discovers the value of old friendships and latent talents seen in new light, and finds the courage to consider a second chance at love. Rejoining the mainstream of life presents several startling mysteries he must unravel, with a few mortifying but enlightening stumbles."

Title: The Marlow Murder Club

Author: Robert Thorogood

Series: #1 in a cozy series set in England

353 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Meet Judith: a seventy-seven-year-old whiskey drinking, crossword puzzle author living her best life in a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of Marlow.

Nothing ever happens in Marlow. That is, until Judith hears her neighbor shot while skinny-dipping in the Thames. The local police don't believe her story. It's an open and shut case, of course. Ha! Stefan can't be left for dead like that.

Judith investigates and picks up a crew of sidekicks: Suzie the dogwalker and Becks the vicar's wife. Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.

When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape...

Robert Thorogood, has turned the Christie-mystery on its head with this ever-so-sly cozy perfect for readers who love Richard Osmond's Thursday Murder Club and An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good." 

Title: Strawberried Alive

Author: Jenn McKinlay

Series: #14 in the Cpcake Bakery cozy series set in Arizona.

288 pages

 

Synopsis: "Life is smooth as buttercream at the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery, and newlyweds Mel and Joe are stopping to smell the flours. But things start to crumble one night when an unknown gunman takes a shot at Mel. Though the bullets miss their mark, the cupcake crew goes on high alert to figure out who would want to kill a small-town baker, and why.
 
When more business owners are attacked, things turn fatal, and locals begin to wonder if the killer could be one of their own. Every shop owner in town starts to fear it’s only a matter of time before they too become victims of the mystery murderer. Despite the cupcake crew's superb baking skills, it will be anything but a piece of cake to catch the killer, as they try to prevent anyone else from being berried."

 

 

=== May 10 ===

 

 

Title: Bear Witness

Author: Lark O. Jensen

Series: #1 in the Alaska Untamed cozy series set in Alaska

320 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "No nine-to-five cubicle career will suit Stacie Calder—the naturalist much prefers working in the great outdoors. Specifically, the spacious and spectacular Alaskan wilderness, whose rugged charms she shares with sightseers on the top deck of the tour boat where she works. But one May afternoon, Stacie’s passengers see more than glittering glaciers, frolicking harbor seals, climbing bears and soaring seabirds…they also witness a man lying dead in the frigid Alaskan waters. And it seems likely that someone gave him a fatal push.
 
Stacie didn’t know the unfortunate victim, but he sure wanted to know a lot about her. He spent most of his final afternoon bombarding her with questions quite awkward to answer. And when he wasn’t in her hair, he was arguing incessantly with the boat’s beleaguered crew. Which makes for a suspect list about as long as the passenger manifest. Furthermore, as police helicopters relentlessly circle her boat in search of any clues, Stacie is shaken to find herself on that suspect list.
 
Before the tour boat reaches shore Stacie—accompanied by her beautiful blue-eyed husky, Sasha—must deduce just who sent the testy tourist tumbling into the turgid waters and have the authorities take custody. Because if she can’t, then the killer might aim a fatal ice-cold stare at Stacie."

 

 

Title: Overboard

Author: Sara Paretsky

Series: #22 in the V.I. Warshawski private detective series set in Chicago

400 pages

 

Synopsis: "On her way home from an all-night surveillance job, V.I. Warshawski is led by her dogs on a mad chase that ends when they discover a badly injured teen hiding in the rocks along Lake Michigan. The girl only regains consciousness long enough to utter one enigmatic word. V.I. helps bring her to a hospital, but not long after, she vanishes before anyone can discover her identity. As V.I. attempts to find her, the detective uncovers an ugly consortium of Chicago powerbrokers and mobsters who are prepared to kill the girl. And now V.I.’s own life is in jeopardy as well.

 

Told against the backdrop of a city emerging from its pandemic lockdown, Overboard lays bare the dark secrets and corruption buried in Chicago’s neighborhoods in masterly fashion." 

 

 

=== May 17 ===

 

 

Title: Wild Prey

Author: Brian Klingborg

Series: #2 in the Inspector Lu Fei police procedural series set in Myanmar

304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Police Inspector Lu Fei has an unfortunate talent for getting himself into hot water with powerful and well-connected people. Which is why he’s been assigned to a backwater town in a rural area of Northern China and quietly warned to keep his head down. But while running a sting operation on the sale and consumption of rare and endangered animals, Lu comes across the curious case of a waitress who has gone missing. Her last known whereabouts: a restaurant frequented by local elites, owned by smooth-talking gangster, and known for its exotic -- and highly illegal -- delicacies.

As usual, Lu's investigation ruffles some feathers, resulting in his suspension from the police force. Lu figures he's reached a dead-end. Then he's contacted by a mysterious government official in Beijing who wants him to go undercover to track down the mastermind behind an illegal animal trafficking network -- and hopefully, the answer to the fate of the missing waitress. The mission will require Lu to travel deep into the lawless wilds of Myanmar, where he will risk his life to infiltrate the hidden compound of a mysterious and ruthless female warlord in a bloody and nearly hopeless quest for justice."

=== May 24 ===

Title: What Can't Be Seen

Author: Brianna Labuskes

Series: #2 in the Dr. Gretchen White  psychologist series set in Massachusetts

367 pages

 

Synopsis: "Psychologist and criminologist Dr. Gretchen White, top consultant for the Boston PD, has solved countless cases―but never her own. Since the age of eight, she has lived her life thinking she killed her aunt. After all, she was found standing over the body, clutching a bloody knife. Most people, including Detective Patrick Shaughnessy, believe the little sociopath got away with murder. Thirty years later, Detective Lauren Marconi wants to prove them wrong.

When plucking at the threads of the past unravels a decades-old case tied to the White family, both Lauren and Gretchen grapple with the question, What if Gretchen really is guilty? As old secrets come to light and Gretchen’s lifelong grip on her darkest impulses threatens to erode, Shaughnessy is there watching, waiting for her to lose control one more time.

Everyone thinks they know what happened that night. But the truth is beyond what anyone imagines―even Gretchen herself."

There's a good mix of books this month from cozy to hard-edged, from just around the corner to exotic Myanmar. Which books tickled your fancy? Inquiring minds would love to know!

The Old Woman With the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo

 

First Line: So this is what it's like on the subway on Friday nights.

 

Hornclaw lives modestly in a small apartment in Seoul, South Korea, with her rescue dog Deadweight. All those around her would expect the sixty-five-year-old to slow down and live out the rest of her days quietly. But Hornclaw isn't a typical older woman. She's an assassin.

For forty years, she's killed with ruthless efficiency, knowing little about her targets. But an unexpected injury brings her to a connection with a doctor and his family-- her next targets. This could very well be the final chapter, not only of her career but of her life.

~

The story of a sixty-five-year-old female assassin captured my imagination, so I opened The Old Woman With the Knife with a great deal of anticipation. We learn almost the entirety of Hornclaw's life: her childhood, her work as a "disease control specialist," some of her targets that she's killed, and her growing awareness that her skills are diminishing almost as quickly as she begins feeling compassion for others.

The story weaves between two major plotlines: her growing connection with the doctor and his family and her realization that she has an enemy who wants to kill her. How she manages to deal with both is compelling, but no matter how well-written the story is-- and it is-- the tone is so dispassionate that I had a very difficult time connecting with Hornclaw and, by the book's end, was left feeling disappointed. Your mileage may certainly vary, and I hope that it does.

The Old Woman With the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo

Translated from Korean by Chi-Young Kim

eISBN: 9780369718853

Hanover Square Press © 2022

eBook, 191 pages

 

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: C

Source: Net Galley

While Miz Kittling Knits: Traces

 

For the past three months, I've had a lot on my mind, and a lot of it is excess baggage. Knitting while watching television serves many purposes for me. One, I'm making something useful and pretty. Two, I'm staying out of trouble. Three, rheumatoid arthritis has reared its ugly head in my family from time to time, and I've learned that knitting helps keep my fingers limber. In fact, if I don't knit for a day or two, my hands begin to hurt. And four, watching television while knitting occupies enough of my brain so that I'm not picking and choosing which tidbits to worry about-- in other words, there's no choosing the juiciest peaches from the mental fruit stand while my needles are clicking and my brain is trying to solve a mystery.

What's the latest project to come off my needles? I thought you'd never ask! I subscribe to Mama in a Stitch's blog, and I couldn't resist her pattern called Knit Squares Blanket Seamless Quilt. I used two strands of Lion Brand Homespun yarn in "Candy Apple" on my size 15 circular needles. This pattern is all kinds of wonderful to me because it's knit all in one piece so I avoid the dreaded sewing pieces together, and I love quilts. Since sewing figuratively ties me up in knots, this knit pattern is the closest I will ever come to making a quilt for myself.

Knitting this was exactly the sort of relaxation that I needed, and I now have two of my three planned Christmas afghans complete. Let me show you the finished afghan...

Here is a photo of the entire afghan with its garter stitch border on all four sides.

Here is a closeup so you can see the stockinette, reverse stockinette, and seed stitch squares. I love the sheen of this "candy apple" red yarn.

I love this pattern so much that I bought yarn in a different color to make another one. This afghan is lovely, soft as a cloud, and deliciously warm. All I have to do is look at it and I find myself smiling!

 

 

 

Now... what was I watching while I was knitting away on this afghan? I watched the first two seasons (all that are available) of an ITV crime drama called Traces. The series is based on an original idea by Val McDermid and co-written by McDermid and Amelia Bullmore. Set in Dundee, Scotland, Traces focuses on two female forensic professionals, Sarah Gordon and Kathy Torrance, who work together at the fictitious Scottish Institute of Forensic Science and Anatomy (SIFA). Season one's story arc features a SIFA student who wants to reopen a cold case to discover who killed her mother, while season two shines the spotlight on the search for a bomber.

This series is packed with talent, and I do enjoy it even though it seems to waffle sometimes. Does it want to focus on the drama, or does it want to focus on the forensics? The episodes are better when they focus on the characters and the drama.

I've already began stitching on my third Christmas afghan, and hopefully I'll be able to show it to you all soon.

The Circus Has Left the Town Weekly Link Round-Up

 

This week brought something Denis and I both needed. Badly. Some serenity. Some time to recharge. Since Denis was discharged from the hospital, this place has resembled a three-ring circus with one healthcare professional after another coming in and out. And in and out. And in and out. It was exhausting for us both, but we knew it was necessary in order to get everything Denis needed in order.

With no circus in town, the two of us have been able to relax and catch up on some badly needed sleep, and although he has yet to race me up and down the driveway on his scooter, Denis is getting up and moving around a lot more. Things should improve even more today when he finally gets the correct dosage of his pain medication-- something that has taken entirely too long.

It's been so good to see him getting around the house that I'm almost ready to challenge him to that race.

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Exploring automated library vending machines.
• To club or not to club? The benefits of reading alone.
• The mysterious origins of the phrase "the whole nine yards."
• See beloved author Beatrix Potter's magical drawings from nature as they go on view in London.
• An author's search history, or: How to look like a murder suspect without even trying.
• Mr. Darcy's white shirt from the lake scene stars in a Jane Austen exhibition.
• The New York Public Library ends late fees, and the treasures roll in.
• Indigenous authors are held to higher standards.
• A century before Wordle went viral, crossword mania swept the country.

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• A new PEN America study shows Texas leading among twenty-six states with book bans.
• Williamson County, Tennessee schools have locked students out of digital resources.
• Book banning makes for bad parenting.
• Unite Against Book Bans is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Researchers have found potential evidence of the oldest-known mummification.
• A French farmer found a rare coin that features Charlemagne just before his death.
• Scotland's "bodies in the bog" traveled hundreds of miles to die in a toilet. (Well, when you've got to go, you've got to go...)
• An 800-year-old wax seal found by a ten-year-old boy was sold for $5,000.
• Charles Darwin's notebooks, which have been missing for twenty years, have been returned to the library.
• Why did the Vikings abandon their most successful settlement in Greenland?
• In 1980, an earthquake destroyed an Italian town-- and revealed another.
• A mechanic found hundreds of canvases thrown into a dumpster and now they're worth millions. More on this from Smithsonian Magazine.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Dexter the homesick dog escaped doggy daycare but was found safe on his front porch thanks to a doorbell camera.
• Watch a confused cat try to stay on a treadmill after its human switches it on.
• A rescued baby rhino and a rescued baby zebra have formed a very caring bond with one another.
• This dog knows forty commands and can play cards. A hospital hired him.
• Watch a pit bull teach a baby raccoon how to survive in the wild.
• Watch a puppy give a small possum a ride before the dog's owner sets the possum free.
• A wind energy company has pleaded guilty after killing at least 150 eagles.
• The science behind those big ol' puppy-dog eyes.
• Ecuador's High Court has ruled that wild animals have legal rights.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Refrigerators and women's empowerment: the "peaceful revolution" of rural electrification.
• Pullman women at work: from Gilded Age to Atomic Age.
• Mary Lumpkin, the enslaved woman who liberated a slave jail and transformed it into an HBCU.
• Edgar Allan Poe, the surprising gothic father of modern detective fiction.
• The packhorse librarians: the women who rode miles on horseback to deliver library books.
• Joseph Mikulec, the man who walked around the world, collecting autographs of the rich and famous.
• Naomi Weisstein, the feminist psychologist-turned-rock-star led a full life of resistance.
• New artifacts document the soaring popularity of Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Down the rabbit hole into a Parisian Wonderland.
• What the world's most remote islands were like before humans arrived.
• This may be the quietest spot in the United States.
• Faroe Islands: the most remote outpost of Scandi Noir.
• Twelve mesmerizing places to watch flowers bloom.
• How an L.A. bookshop became the house bar of a literary golden age.
• The National Park Service has added sixteen new Underground Railroad sites to its commemorative network.
• The fisherman's cottage overlooking a Cornish harbor which was used as Doc Martin's surgery in the ITV show has gone on the market for $1.7 million.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Six epic female warriors you don't want to mess with.
• Blood ties can be bloody: crime novels about a killer in the family.
• Twelve non-fiction books about brave women who defied the odds.
• Seven novels set in Italy.
• Eight historical novels with gardens you'll envy.
• Eight thrillers set in eerie apartment buildings.
• Seven great rural crime films.
• The twelve most unforgettable descriptions of food in literature.

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!

The Kill of It All by Diane Vallere

 

First Line: The pitch made it sound glamorous.

 

After legal troubles that dragged on far too long, Madison Night and her Mad for Mod interior design firm are back in business. She's busier than ever thanks to some TV spots she made, and the police commissioner wants her to replace the original actress in his feel-good campaign for local law enforcement. But when the first woman's body is found on the set, the last thing the police need is publicity.

At first, Madison steers clear of the investigation by focusing on Mad for Mod's relaunch, but when gossip links the victim to someone special in her life, she finds herself getting involved.

~

I walked into this series with the fourth book, The Decorator Who Knew Too Much, which I loved so much that I went back and snapped up the first three books to read. Since then I haven't looked back. This series is one that I keep up with, gobbling up each new book when it's released. With all the series mysteries that I read, that's saying something: Madison Night is very special.

The wait to get Madison back to work in her design firm seemed to drag on forever, but The Kill of It All shows readers that her creative mojo is just as strong as ever. Diane Vallere has led me to a better appreciation of both the actress Doris Day and of mid-century modern furniture and design, and when she shows Madison deep in her creative process, I'm totally absorbed.

There are so many pieces the author puts together to make The Kill of It All such a satisfying read. The work Tex is putting into making his police force better. How reading obituaries leads Madison to estate sales that add to her inventory (and what those purchased inventories say about the people they belonged to). Readers even get to see some of what goes into the making of television commercials. And there's one scene in particular that brought a very wet James Garner to mind.

If there's anything I'd want to change in this book, it's the fact that Madison never gets a chance to go back to that old furniture warehouse; it sounded as though it was filled with treasures. But I suppose I can always hope that Madison can get back to it in the next book.

If you're a reader who's come across these books and decided not to give them a try because the covers look too "cute," think again. Madison Night is fiftysomething,  a strong, intelligent woman with plenty of life experience, common sense, and talent. It is altogether possible to get a great deal of enjoyment from reading these books even if you don't care for Doris Day movies or mid-century modern furniture and design. This is some fine storytelling that should not be missed. You can start at book one (Pillow Stalk) or do what I did and jump in midstream. Whatever you do, just give this series a try. I'm pretty sure you're going to turn into a fan just like me.

The Kill of It All by Diane Vallere

eISBN: 9781954579286

Polyester Press © 2022

eBook, 235 pages

Cozy Mystery, #9 Madison Night/Mad for Mod mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Where's My Tea?

There are so many demands on my time lately that I thought I'd share some of my favorite art that features one of my passions: books and reading.

Let's see what I can pull out of the gallery today...

Alfred Munnings Reading Aloud Outside on the Grass by Harold Knight, c. 1911

 

 

Alfred Munnings was known as one of England's finest painters of horses. I'm not quite sure why I was so surprised to see him as the subject of a painting, and with a book in his hand no less, but I was.

What I'd like to know is... is he using his hand for dramatic effect as he reads aloud to his invisible audience... or is he reaching for his cup of tea?

Bag Limit by Steven F. Havill

 

First Line: I should have been home sunken comfortably in my leather recliner with a fresh pot of coffee gradually turning to battery acid in the kitchen and my recently purchased copy of Dayne Mercer's  Storm Over Chicamauga open on my lap.

 

It's a peaceful night, and Sheriff Bill Gastner has his police car parked up in the San Cristobal Mountains, looking out over the valley at what soon would no longer be his responsibility as sheriff. He's looking forward to the election and handing over his sheriff's badge to his successor, but his quiet contemplation is shattered when his car is T-boned by a carload of drunken teenagers.

Without a thought to his friends, the driver of the car runs and disappears into the woods. But it doesn't matter; Gastner knows both the young driver and his family. For some reason, the boy seems much too upset about being arrested, and on the way to the jail, he makes a desperate attempt to escape which leads to his being hit and killed by an oncoming truck.

Gastner has his work cut out for him in learning what's behind this tragic overreaction. Not only is it just a couple of days away from the election and his retirement, but he's also got houseguests: his former deputy, her surgeon husband, and their two hyperactive little boys.

~

As much as I enjoy this series, you'd think I'd plow right through it, but I'm not. Instead, I'm ambling through it, taking my own sweet time, knowing that Havill's Posadas County series is one I can rely on to deliver the goods each and every time.

The mystery behind the teenager's crazy behavior that leads to his death is a strong one with some excellent misdirection, and I always enjoy visiting fictional Posadas County down in southern New Mexico. Havill has a way of describing the landscape that puts me right there.

Havill's series has one of the absolute best ensemble casts to be found in fiction. In uncertain health and a chronic insomniac, seventy-year-old Bill Gastner leads the way with his investigative skills, diplomacy, and plain old common sense. In Bag Limit, readers get to see him not only as the sheriff but as a father, grandfather, boss, friend, and godfather. One of the things that makes him such a good sheriff is that he knows every nook and cranny of Posadas County and all of the people who live there--which does remind me of another police officer named Bruno who lives in the Southwest, too. Well, the southwest of France.

Each cast member in this series has his or her part to play, and as time passes, their roles change, children grow, some move away... life happens. This verisimilitude makes Havill's series a joy, as does his catchy turns of phrase such as "... boss may have had the personality of a sunstruck rattlesnake..."

This series is one to be savored by reading the books in order. The first book is Heartshot. Get a copy and read it. You can thank me later.

Bag Limit by Steven F. Havill

eISBN: 9781615950737

Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press © 2011

eBook, 250 pages

 

Police Procedural, #9 Posadas County mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

On My Radar: Michael Connelly's Desert Star!

 

Any time I learn that Michael Connelly has a new Renée Ballard mystery on the horizon is a day for a Happy Dance. I love watching Renée and Harry Bosch work together in solving a case.

Let me tell you more about this new book!

Available 8 November 2022!

 

Synopsis:

"A year has passed since LAPD detective Renée Ballard quit the force in the face of misogyny, demoralization, and endless red tape. Yet, after the chief of police himself tells her she can write her ticket within the department, Ballard takes back her badge, leaving the Late Show to rebuild the cold case unit at the elite Robbery-Homicide Division.
 
For years, Harry Bosch has been working a case that haunts him but that he hasn’t been able to crack—the murder of an entire family by a psychopath who still walks free. Ballard makes Bosch an offer: come work with her as a volunteer investigator in the new Open-Unsolved Unit, and he can pursue his “white whale” with the resources of the LAPD behind him.

The two must put aside old resentments to work together again and close in on a dangerous killer."

The only bad thing about Desert Star? I have to wait until November to get my hands on it! What about you? Are you a Renée Ballard fan? If you're not (yet), I highly recommend starting at the beginning with The Late Show. This is an excellent series.

A They Put in a Parking Lot Weekly Link Round-up

 

I am very pleased to announce that, even though he's still not able to take his prescribed pain meds (long, frustrating story), Denis has shown a lot of improvement this week, and much of the improvement stems from one purchase.

Casa Kittling is now the home of two mobility scooters. We're going to need a designated parking lot in here. Do you think Martha Stewart or Joanna Gaines would be able to come up with a good design scheme for it?

 

A trip to the doctor has been wearing Denis out so badly that it takes the entire next day for him to recuperate. This week, it only took him until noon the following day. And he's not just sitting on his butt and zipping back and forth on his scooter; he's walking, too. 

 

The only problem with his scooter is that it has very low ground clearance and can't clear the ramp from the dining room to the craft room (and then to the outside through the carport door). He's ordered a new ramp that will hopefully do the trick. I know he's sick and tired of me being out there doing all the chores like dragging the garbage bins out to the curb and back, and cutting down the ocean of cardboard we've been swimming in, but secretly, I think he just wants to get out there and race me up and down the driveway. (Eat my dust, buddy!)

 

It's been a long time since the term "weekend" has meant anything to the two of us. For years, we both worked jobs with four-day weeks and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off. With the seemingly endless stream of people coming in, Saturdays and Sundays are the only days we can catch our breath and (maybe) get a few extra winks of sleep.

 

I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that Denis is finally showing some real improvement. It makes me want to work even harder.

 

Enjoy the links!

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• What makes a great opening line?
• Researchers have created a fabric that can "hear" your heartbeat.
• Are mysteries and thrillers less enjoyable the more you read in the genre? (I think you know my answer to that...)
• The (un)importance of Book Twitter.
• How public shaming helps society maintain its norms and ethical standards.
• Being a public librarian can be dangerous work. Why don't we acknowledge that?
• Commonplace books are like a diary without the risk of annoying yourself.
• Bookish newsletters are a throwback to book blogging. (I didn't know book blogging had been thrown back?)

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Technology for the parental monitoring of student library use is being developed by Follett. 
• Book bans increase the marginalization of our most vulnerable students.
• The ALA has released a list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2021.
• This small library off the coast of Maine is collecting banned books.
• Efforts to ban books jumped an unprecedented four-fold in 2021.
• Congress will hold a hearing on book bannings in schools and libraries.
• Book bans move to center stage in the red-state education wars.
• It turns out that Ted Cruz is actually really good at driving up sales for anti-racist literature.
  

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Found in a New York City junk shop: Forgotten postcards between two haiku masters.
• Watch as 200 years of varnish is wiped away from a 17th-century oil painting.
• A well-preserved 9,000-year-old shrine has been discovered in the Jordan desert.
• The graves of dozens of kings from the time of King Arthur have been uncovered in Great Britain.
• A filthy statue found in an English garden was a long-lost masterpiece worth up to $10.5 million.
• A trove of starfish deposited as an offering to the Aztec war god has been found in Mexico City.
• A 5,000-year-old human bone was found in the River Thames.
• What archaeologists are learning about the lives of the Chinese immigrants who built the Transcontinental Railroad.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• A secret great white shark social club has bee discovered off the coast of Mexico.
• Hundreds of beagles bred for research are getting forever homes thanks to Virginia's Homeward Trails Animal Rescue.
• A new study suggests that geese were the first domesticated birds.
• Watch an Australian cattle dog named Sissysticks dig a trench to herd spilled water into her yard.
• The bittern, the UK's loudest bird, is making a very vocal comeback.
• Watch an adult dog show a new puppy how to use the doggie door.
• Can a gorilla really get drunk from bamboo?
• Watch this romp of otters be simultaneously afraid and fascinated by a vacuum cleaner.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Ten pioneering women of Antarctica and the places named for them.
• Rosa Slade Gragg, the Black woman who didn't just open doors, she moved them.
• The women we should thank for kickstarting Hollywood.
• How Kate Warne, America's first woman detective, foiled a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.
• Clara Adams, the woman who taught the world how to fly. And while we're at it, let's reminisce over airplanes that had piano bars, cocktail lounges, pubs, and restaurants.
  
• Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest park ranger who told the stories of Black women in World War II, has retired at the age of 100.
• Meet Kenya's sisterhood of badass bikers.
• The women behind the first Black music magazine.
• Eleanor Roosevelt, Bessie Coleman, and others will be featured on U.S. quarters.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• The miniature mouse village of your dreams.
• The most popular U.S. attractions, state by state.
• Crime and the city: Palm Springs.
• Telling the real stories behind the birth of America's National Parks.
• Twelve places to see the work of women architects.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Seven books that make you feel like a main character.
• Nine of the best audiobook subscription services.
• What is sunshine noir, plus six sunshine noir books to read.
• Ten vivid Renaissance-era books set around the world.
• Real life literary stories and scandals that deserve a documentary.
• Eleven wilderness mystery books for adventurers at heart.
• Ten of history's most amazing survival stories.
• The ten most hated business buzzwords and jargon.

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!