A Chill Wind at the Phoenix Zoo

Two weeks ago, Denis and I boarded the Dial-a-Ride bus and headed for the Phoenix Zoo, even though it was a mere 42°F (5°C) with a cold wind blowing-- practically Arctic conditions here in Phoenix. But... when you need to get out, you need to get out, right? Nothing cures my cabin fever like critter watching.

Despite feeling as though our sweaters and fleece jackets were not enough to prevent icicles from hanging off our ears, we did enjoy ourselves as we wandered around. Here are a few photos of the day.

Even though I was more interested in the California condors flying back and forth in their enclosure, I have to admit that this bald eagle did make an impression.

These little ground squirrels were all over the Arizona Trail section of the zoo.

I loved this big horn sheep sculpture.

Most of the animals had found a patch of sun to snooze in, like this burrowing owl.

Although this prairie dog was more interested in lunch.

They're building a big new section for the African section of the zoo, and Denis and I look forward to its completion.

Did you know that a group of warthogs is called a sounder?

Egrets love the Phoenix Zoo. Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be an egret. Were these two stalking us?

Even cheetahs know that you nap better when your tongue sticks out a little.

A maned wolf in its own patch of sun.

A flamingo trying to nap.

A jaguar.

 

I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit. Denis and I look forward to going back when it's a bit warmer!

Better the Blood by Michael Bennett

 

First Line: His hands move quickly as he polishes the sheet of silver-plated copper to a perfect mirror finish.

 

Māori artist, gardener, and detective Hana Westerman is a single mother who's fought endemic prejudice throughout her career in the Auckland Criminal Investigation Bureau. After receiving a mysterious video, Hana is led to a crime scene in a secret room where a man is found ritualistically hanging and a puzzling inscription has been left behind. After a second, apparently unrelated, death, Hana uncovers a connection to a 160-year-old crime when a troop of colonial soldiers unjustly executed a Māori chief.

Hana realizes that the murders are utu-- the Māori tradition of rebalancing for the crime committed over a century ago. There were six men in that British troop, which means there are four more potential murders.

Hana's pursuit of this serial killer becomes chillingly personal, forcing her to confront a painful event twenty years before when she was new to the police force-- an event that called into question her loyalty to her Māori heritage and changed her relationship with her family and friends forever. 

 

Unfortunately, she's going to learn that there is even worse to come.

~

If you're a reader, like me, who loves to solve mysteries in far-flung corners of the world, you're going to want to pick up a copy of Michael Bennett's Better the Blood. (Once you learn the origin of the title, you might feel a chill running down your spine, too.) The opening scene in which a photographer tells his subjects to hold still, that if they move, they "...will be but a smudge on the page of history" is prophetic and compelling. That scene let me know that I was about to read something special. I wasn't disappointed.

Better the Blood is steeped in Māori history and culture and makes Bennett's story incredibly powerful. In the hardcover edition, when the Māori language is used, the translations are right on the same page which I greatly appreciated because their proximity kept me rooted in the story.

There are some passionate, vivid characters in this book. Hana's daughter, Addison, a singer who's fierce in her insistence on the rights of the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand, is one. The serial killer is menacing, frightening, and... surprisingly sympathetic. I do like a bad guy who doesn't always do what you expect him to do.

But the fiercest, most vivid and passionate character is Hana Westerman herself. She's a Māori woman who's been cut off from her family and her people for twenty years. A woman who-- when she knows she's right-- will stand up to her superiors even if it costs her her job. A woman who doesn't know when to quit. Hana is the type of character who's fully capable of joining the ranks of my all-time favorites: Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope, Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway, Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon... need I go on?

I want more.

Better the Blood by Michael Bennett

ISBN: 9780802160607

Grove Atlantic © 2023

Hardcover, 336 pages

 

Police Procedural, #1 Hana Westerman mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

On My Radar: Chris Offutt's Code of the Hills!

 

 

Last year, I was so impressed with Chris Offutt's first Mick Hardin novel The Killing Hills that I immediately got my hands on the second (Shifty's Boys). It doesn't take much imagination for you to visualize my happy dance when I learned that the third Mick Hardin-- Code of the Hills-- will be released this year. Let me tell you more about it.

 

Available June 13, 2023!

Synopsis: 

"Master storyteller and award-winning author Chris Offutt’s latest book, Code of the Hills, is a dark, witty, and propulsive thriller of murder and secrets in a town where little is as it seems.

Mick Hardin is back in the hills of Kentucky. He’d planned to touch down briefly before heading to France, marking the end to his twenty-year Army career. In Rocksalt, his sister Linda the sheriff is investigating the murder of Pete Lowe, a sought-after mechanic at the local racetrack. After another body is found, Linda and her deputy Johnny Boy Tolliver wonder if the two murders are related. Linda steps into harm’s way just as a third body turns up and Mick ends up being deputized again, uncovering evidence of illegal cockfighting, and trying to connect all the crimes.

An explosive return to the mayhem of the Kentucky hills, Code of the Hills is a harrowing novel of family—of what we’re willing to do to protect and avenge the ones we love."

 

These Mick Hardin books tend to be a bit darker than many of the others I read, but I love the way Offutt puts a story together. He grabs hold of me and drags me right in, and the lyrical way he describes the landscape makes it so vivid. If you haven't read any of his books yet, I recommend that you start with The Killing Hills. You might just find yourself looking for the others-- just like me!

The Old "Safe Place" Gamble Weekly Link Round-Up

 

This week, I figured out that putting something “someplace safe” sometimes means putting it right in front of your face.

 

I have two different colors of yarn that I’ve been dying to use. I decided I’d knit a shawl, so I found a pattern online, printed it out, and put the pattern in one of the open yarn boxes in the craft room so it would be right there with the yarn. Sensible, right?

 

A couple of days later, I wanted to take a look at the pattern, so I went out to the craft room, turned on the lights, and went to grab it. I couldn’t see it.

 

For three days I hunted for that blasted pattern. I even gave up and went online to print another copy only to learn that I couldn’t find it. 

 

 

Last night, I went out in the dark craft room to put something away, and I happened to have my scooter’s headlights on. As I turned around to go back up the ramp, the headlights shone at an angle on the side of the yarn box, and guess what? 

 

There was the pattern. Right. Where. I. Put. It.

 

Enjoy the links!

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Inside Book Twitter's (final?) days.
• What if you gave a book signing and nobody came? Authors and bookstores share experiences.
• We've entered the Hot Boy Reader era.
• Getting the investigative details right in cozy mysteries.
• Kendra Winchester's moving library.
• Barnes & Noble saved itself by putting books first. Imagine that.
• The unexpected gifts of reading.
• Can detective novels withstand the Moonlighting Curse?

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Here's how Moms for Liberty is lying about books.
• Write your legislators about banned books right now with this template.
• The State of Colorado concluded that the firing of a Colorado librarian who objected to the cancellation of programs for youth of color and LGBTQ teens was illegal.
• Some mothers in Iowa are calling for more parental say in restricting "obscene" books in schools.
• The Orange (California) Unified School District restored the digital library that had been suspended over parents' book complaints.
• The Liberty Lake (Washington) City Council looks to limit the authority of the library board.
• Seventy people show up, hoping for appointment to a Florida district's book-banning committee.
• The book banners of a Virginia county are violating parents' rights.
• Shakespeare and Martin Luther King, Jr. make the list of troublesome works in Nottoway County (Virginia) schools.
• Trolls tried to disrupt a U.K. library's Drag Queen Story Hour event-- then something incredible happened.
• A South Dakota House committee has killed a bill targeting "obscene" materials in libraries.
• A book about legendary baseball player Roberto Clemente has been removed from Florida public schools pending a review over discrimination references.

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists finally know what happened at the brutal reform school known as the Florida School for Boys.
• Artificial intelligence has identified a long-overlooked Raphael masterpiece.
• A 2,500-year-old love letter was revealed in an ancient general's sarcophagus.
• Egypt has unveiled tombs and a sarcophagus in a new excavation.
• Egypt's oldest mummy, at 4,300 years, may have been found.
• A vast subterranean aqueduct in Naples once served elite Roman villas.
• A metal detectorist has discovered a rare gold pendant celebrating Henry VIII's first marriage.
• A 5,000-year-old tavern with food still inside has been discovered in Iraq.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Four dogs have set the Guinness World Record for the most medical conditions detected.
• A study has found that Vikings brought horses and dogs to England.
• Why fennec foxes are the world's smallest wild dogs.
• Do beavers have a solution to climate change?
• Farmers in Missouri found a wild African cat wandering around the fields.
• Watch this gentle dog join his human baby brother in the crib.
• These woodpeckers went nuts, stashing 700 pounds of acorns in the wall of a California home. (And I'll bet they weren't happy when their private Fort Knox was broken into!)
• Meet Bobi, the world's oldest dog.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• One embroidered red dress is made by 343 artists from around the world over the course of thirteen years.
• I love this book heartbeat t-shirt I found on the internet while wandering around.
• California lost 36 million trees to drought last year.
• How Octavia Butler inspired a pathbreaking Black-owned Pasadena bookstore.
• This Native American tribe (Arizona's Pima Indians) is taking back its water.
• The wooden quilt doors of New Orleans.
• The loneliest post office in the world.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• How an all-Black female World War II unit saved morale on the battlefield.
• Twelve fascinating facts about Jesse Owens.
• Muriel Gardiner, the American heiress who risked everything to resist the Nazis.
• Celia Cruz, the "Queen of Salsa", will appear on a U.S. quarter.
• Lost sketches have revealed that Da Vinci understood the key aspect of gravity centuries before Einstein.
• The underrated genius of Ringo Starr.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Sixteen uplifting books coming out in 2023.
• Nineteen new books by Black authors.
• Ten fictional tales of historical icons.
• Ten books for Kate Morton fans to read next.
• Eight medical mystery and thriller books.
• The ten most hackable IKEA furniture items.
• The most anticipated travel books of 2023.
• What non-fiction do we study from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s?

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.

And don't forget that quality Me Time with a good book!

Sea Castle by Andrew Mayne

 

First Lines: A crescent moon casting glimmers of light onto the rolling waves of the ocean would normally be a relaxing sight to me. But not tonight.

 

Even though the Underwater Investigation Unit has been disbanded, Sloan McPherson still wears a swimsuit under her clothes when she's on call. It's a good thing for this particular call-out, as a young woman's body has washed up on a beach near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Against the common consensus, Sloan thinks the young woman was murdered, and she goes to Miami homicide detective Gwen Wylder for help. 

 

Wylder is known for being wicked smart, manipulative, and a tyrant, and she demands something in return from Sloan for her help: Sloan's fresh insight into seemingly unrelated cold cases. As loose ends from the old cases begin to come together, another woman disappears. Sloan and Gwen are certain she's the newest link in a deadly chain leading to a serial killer trolling the Florida coast. 

 

But the deeper these two go, the stranger the case gets...

 

~

 

I've been enjoying Andrew Mayne's Underwater Investigation Unit series immensely, and Sea Castle is the best one yet. Through police diver Sloan McPherson, Mayne has been instrumental in changing my rather antiquated view of mothers in dangerous professions, and once the scales were removed from my eyes, my enjoyment of these compelling stories grew-- especially when Sloan began tempering her tendency to leap into danger without thinking with some good, old-fashioned common sense. It's been a pleasure to watch Sloan grow as she gains experience. She's truly gifted in searching for clues and putting them together, and if you're in a life-or-death situation, she's the type of person you want on your side.

With the Underwater Investigation Unit disbanded and its members working in other divisions, Sloan finds herself working for a boss who hates her. When she doesn't agree with everyone else that the young woman found on the beach died accidentally, her search for help leads her to one of the more interesting characters I've read in quite some time. Gwen Wylder is a gifted homicide detective whose talent and unstoppable determination have made her a pariah. No one wants to work with her, and spreading rumors about her level of sanity and her work ethic seems to be a favorite pastime of her fellow officers. After years of working in this toxic environment, it's no wonder that Gwen is extremely paranoid, bitter, and manipulative. Sloan herself has raised more than a few eyebrows (and doubts) in her short career, and she's used to being considered the crazy one. Pairing her with Gwen Wylder on the hunt for a serial killer really tests how much she's matured in her job.

 

When someone says, "A lot of this is Gwentuition and Sloanology," I had to laugh. These two have their own ways of doing things, and it was a delight watching them learn to work together-- Sloan especially since, for the first time, she's the one reining in someone else instead of someone doing that to her.

 

This fast-paced story kept me guessing, and the identity of the serial killer really surprised me-- something that doesn't happen very often. Although everything is tied up by book's end, it does end on a cliffhanger that makes me wish that the next book in this series were available now. Bring it on!

Sea Castle by Andrew Mayne

eISBN: 9781662506420

Thomas & Mercer © 2023

eBook, 312 pages

Thriller, #4 Underwater Investigation Unit mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

March 2023 New Mystery Releases!

 

How on earth can I be writing a post that concerns MARCH already? 

 

Actually, I'm writing this on Super Bowl Sunday, and let me tell you, Phoenix has been going nuts this weekend with both the Super Bowl and the Phoenix Open golf tournament in town. (FYI: the Phoenix Open brings 600,000 to 700,000 people to town all by itself.) Denis is glad that he no longer drives the rental car shuttle bus to and from the airport, since he's well-acquainted with this particular brand of insanity, having done it twice. 

 

Temperatures are back in the 70s where they should be, so sitting outside in a patch of sun is a delight. I'm serenaded by mockingbirds, and the breeze is perfumed by the blooming sweet acacia tree. Yes, I'm spoiled but not so spoiled that I forget to keep an eye peeled for new mysteries to read.

 

The following list contains my picks of the best new crime fiction being released in March. I've grouped them according to their release dates, and the cover and synopsis of each is courtesy of my favorite showroom, Amazon.

 

Let's see if any of my choices tickle your fancy!

 

 

=== March 7 ===

 

 

Title: Bert and Mamie Take a Cruise

Author: John Keyse-Walker

Standalone historical thriller set during an African cruise in 1939.

224 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "February 1939. Mamie Mason isn't enthusiastic when Bert, her husband of thirty years, persuades her to join him on an African cruise. Bert might be pining for adventure, but Mamie's perfectly content with her comfortable life in Hills Corners, Ohio.

But once the couple board the glamorous SS Columbus, Mamie has to admit - much as it pains her - that Bert was right. Swimming in the pool, dancing under the stars, their own bedroom steward to serve their every whim . . . Mamie settles in and prepares to thoroughly enjoy all the sights that Africa has to offer, in the company of a motley collection of eccentric first-class passengers.

Then Mamie witnesses something shocking - and her vacation takes a twist that neither she nor Bert could ever have predicted. Far from home, with a killer in their midst, the couple's only choice is to turn detective. But surrounded by Nazis, spies and passengers with secrets, how can they uncover the killer - enjoy their vacation of a lifetime - and make it back to Ohio alive?" 

Title: Murder Visits a French Village

Author: Susan C. Shea

Series: #1 in the Château in Burgundy cozy series set in France.

224 pages

 

Synopsis: "Ariel Shepard is devastated by the sudden loss of her husband, but nothing could have prepared her for inheriting the rundown French château they'd visited on their honeymoon four years ago. With finances tight she has no choice but to swap her Manhattan apartment and city lifestyle for a renovation project in a peaceful French village.

When Ariel hires an expert to help her uncover the legacy of her beautiful ruin, life only becomes more complicated. Christiane, the historian, is found dead in the moat, and although the local police aren't suspicious, Ariel is. She joins two other ex-pats, Pippa and Katherine, to investigate, but with plenty of workmen - and errant tools - around the  château, many people had the means, but who had the motive? Why would anyone want to kill a historian?

 

Ariel begins to suspect that her French village life will be anything but peaceful! Can she solve the suspicious murder and make her château in Burgundy the perfect new home?" 

 

 

Title: Death of a Bookseller

Author: Bernard J. Farmer

Series: #2 in the Sergeant Jack Wigan traditional mystery series set in England. Originally printed in 1956.

288 pages.

 

Synopsis: "An honest policeman, Sergeant Wigan, escorts a drunk man home one night to keep him out of trouble and, seeing his fine book collection, slowly falls in to the gentle art of book collecting. Just as the friendship is blossoming, the policeman's book-collecting friend is murdered.

 

To solve the mystery of why the victim was killed, and which of his rare books was taken, Wigan dives into the world of 'runners' and book collectors, where avid agents will gladly cut you for a first edition and then offer you a lift home afterwards. This adventurous mystery, which combines exuberant characters with a wonderfully realised depiction of the second-hand book market, is sure to delight bibliophiles and classic crime enthusiasts alike." 

 

 

Title: Standing Dead

Author: Margaret Mizushima

Series: #8 in the Timber Creek K-9 police procedural series set in Colorado.

288 pages

 

Synopsis: "Deputy Mattie Cobb and her sister, Julia, travel to Mexico to visit their mother, but when they arrive, they discover that she and her husband have vanished without a trace. Back in Timber Creek, Mattie finds a chilling note on her front door telling her to look for “him” among the standing dead up in the high country.
 
The sheriff’s department springs into action and sends a team to the mountains, where Mattie’s K-9 partner, Robo, makes a grisly discovery—a body tied to a dead pine tree. Mattie is shocked when she realizes she knows the dead man. And then another note arrives, warning that Mattie’s mother is in desperate straits. In a last-ditch gambit, Mattie must go deep undercover into a killer’s lair to save her mother—or die trying." 

Title: The Golden Spoon

Author: Jessa Maxwell

Standalone thriller set in Vermont.

288 pages

 

Synopsis: "Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show’s famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.

The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as “America’s Grandmother,” Betsy Martin isn’t as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut."

 

 

=== March 14 ===

 

 

Title: Red Queen

Author: Juan Gómez-Jurado

Series: #1 in a thriller trilogy set in Spain.

384 pages

 

Synopsis: "Antonia Scott―the daughter of a British diplomat and a Spanish mother―has a gifted forensic mind, whose ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. But after a personal trauma, she's refused to continue her work or even leave her apartment.

Jon Gutierrez, a police officer in Bilbao―disgraced, suspended, and about to face criminal charges―is offered a chance to salvage his career by a secretive organization that works in the shadows to direct criminal investigations of a highly sensitive nature. All he has to do is succeed where many others have failed: Convince a recalcitrant Antonia to come out of her self-imposed retirement, protecting her and helping her investigate a new, terrifying case.

The case is a macabre, ritualistic murder―a teen-aged boy from a wealthy family whose body was found without a drop of blood left in it. But the murder is just the start. A high-ranking executive and daughter of one of the richest men in Spain is kidnapped, a crime which is tied to the previous murder. Behind them both is a hidden mastermind with even more sinister plans. And the only person with a chance to see the connections, solve the crimes and successfully match wits with the killer before tragedy strikes again...is Antonia Scott." 

=== March 21 ===

Title: The White Lady

Author: Jacqueline Winspear

Series: #1 in the Elinor White historical series set in Post-World War II England.

336 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government.

The private, quiet “Miss White" as Elinor is known, lives in a village in rural Kent, England, and to her fellow villagers seems something of an enigma. Well she might, as Elinor occupies a "grace and favor" property, a rare privilege offered to faithful servants of the Crown for services to the nation. But the residents of Shacklehurst have no way of knowing how dangerous Elinor's war work had been, or that their mysterious neighbor is haunted by her past.

It will take Susie, the child of a young farmworker, Jim Mackie and his wife, Rose, to break through Miss White's icy demeanor—but Jim has something in common with Elinor. He, too, is desperate to escape his past. When the powerful Mackie crime family demands a return of their prodigal son for an important job, Elinor assumes the task of protecting her neighbors, especially the bright-eyed Susie. Yet in her quest to uncover the truth behind the family’s pursuit of Jim, Elinor unwittingly sets out on a treacherous path—yet it is one that leads to her freedom." 

 

 

=== March 28 ===

 

 

Title: Her Deadly Game

Author: Robert Dugoni

Standalone legal thriller set in Washington.

396 pages

 

Synopsis: "Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor, until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. For the competitive former chess prodigy, returning to her family’s failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father is the best shot she has. With the right moves, she hopes to restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.

Keera’s chance to play in the big leagues comes when she’s retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There’s little hard evidence against him, but considering the couple’s impending and potentially nasty divorce, LaRussa faces life in prison. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, who’s eager to destroy her in court on her first homicide defense.

As Keera and her team follow the evidence, they uncover a complicated and deadly game that’s more than Keera bargained for. When shocking information turns the case upside down, Keera must decide between her duty to her client, her family’s legacy, and her own future."

 

 

Title: Intrigue in Istanbul

Author: Erica Ruth Neubauer

Series: #4 in the Jane Wunderly historical series set in 1920s Turkey.

288 pages

 

Synopsis: "Istanbul, 1926: After her historian father makes a clandestine journey abroad, Jane and the dapper Mr. Redvers trace his footsteps while signs of danger loom back home in the United States. They’re greeted at their destination by Aunt Millie and unsettling news: Professor Wunderly was on a mission to locate the lost heart of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent—a legendary relic from the Ottoman Empire said to possess potent mystical powers—then vanished completely, leaving behind his unpacked luggage, a perplexing riddle, and an eerie mystery Jane must solve to keep her loved ones safe.

What starts off as a clear-cut investigation becomes an intercontinental game of cat and mouse as Jane realizes a gang of nameless figures have been stalking her every move from Turkey to Hungary. And it seems even helpful friends can’t be trusted for long when a man is stabbed to death on the Orient Express to Budapest. With Redvers by her side and few clues to rely on, Jane’s desperate search for her father leads to centuries-old secrets and an unidentified enemy who could make her disappear like the missing Sultan’s heart . . ." 

=== March 30 ===

Title: Murder Under a Red Moon

Author: Harini Nagendra

Series: #2 in the Bangalore Detectives Club historical series set in 1920s India.

300 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "When new bride Kaveri Murthy reluctantly agrees to investigate a minor crime to please her domineering mother-in-law—during the blood moon eclipse, no less—she doesn't expect, once again, to stumble upon a murder.

With anti-British sentiment on the rise, a charismatic religious leader growing in influence, and the fight for women's suffrage gaining steam, Bangalore is turning out to be a far more dangerous and treacherous place than Kaveri ever imagined—and everyone's motives are suspect.

Together with the Bangalore Detectives Club—a mixed bag of street urchins, nosy neighbours, an ex-prostitute, and a policeman's wife— Kaveri once again sleuths in her sari and hunts for clues in her beloved 1920s Ford.

But when her life is suddenly put in danger, Kaveri realizes that she might be getting uncomfortably close to the truth. So she must now draw on her wits and find the killer . . . before they find her." 

 

 

March seems to be quite the month for armchair traveling sleuths. Books set in Africa, France, England, Colorado, Vermont, Spain, England, Washington, Turkey, and India. Reading only the books on this list would take you practically around the world.

 

Did I manage to include books that were already on your wish lists? Which ones? Or... did I manage to tempt you with some new titles? Inquiring minds would love to know! 

The Woman With the Cure by Lynn Cullen

 

First Line: Arlene would never get over the empty swimming pools.

 

In 1940s and '50s America, polio has the power to put cities in lockdown and strike fear in every parent's heart for the way it cruelly kills or paralyzes children. The man who finds the vaccine will be a god, but Dr. Dorothy Horstmann is focused on giving the world a cure.

 

Her discovery of how polio is transmitted puts a colleague into the lead in the race for a cure, and then she is asked to validate his vaccine. To do this, she must decide what is forgivable-- and how much should be sacrificed-- in pursuit of the cure.

 

~

 

As someone who remembers lining up in grade school for a sugar cube containing the polio vaccine but not remembering anything about the cure except the name of Jonas Salk, I looked forward to reading The Woman With the Cure. 

It's about time we all learned about the women scientists who played crucial roles in medicine and other fields. I certainly appreciated learning about Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, from her humble beginnings as the daughter of immigrants to highly regarded virologist and medical researcher. Reading what she had to deal with on a daily basis is more than enough to make a feminist out of any reader, and my growing impatience with the men she worked with must mean that we live in (at least slightly) more enlightened times.

Yes, the historical and medical parts of The Woman With the Cure were fascinating and kept me reading, but I found that the execution of the story made that difficult at times. The book could have used a bit more editing and tightening to make the story flow better, and what surprised me was that, although this is the type of story that should've had me totally engrossed and cheering Dorothy on, I never really felt engaged with it. So... The Woman With the Cure is an important story that deserves a better telling. However, I am glad that I now know so much more about the fight for the polio vaccine and about Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, who went on to combat rubella after polio was conquered.

The Woman With the Cure by Lynn Cullen

eISBN: 9780593438077

Berkley © 2023

eBook, 432 pages

 

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: C-

Source: Net Galley

While Miz Kittling Knits: Vienna Blood

 

Since I'm on the verge of finishing another afghan, it dawned on me that I'd better show you the last one I finished. Nothing like taking my own sweet time, is there?

 

I made this afghan for Tucker's mother, who is in a nursing home. Tucker is the woman who comes to the house to cut our hair so Denis and I won't look like Mr. and Mrs. Shaggy. Let me tell you a bit more about this project.

 

 

Once again, I went to my Go-To knitting pattern source, Leisure Arts' Big Book of Quick Knit Afghans. As many of you already know, I choose to make afghans all in one piece because if I had to sew strips together I'd still be working on afghan #1. This book by Leisure Arts indulges my laziness. (In fact, it's indulged me so many times that the pages are coming loose and I have to use a binder clip to keep them all together.)

 

The pattern I used for this afghan is called "Serene", and I certainly felt cool, calm, and collected as I kept my needles clicking every night. Needles? US size 15 circular needles. What yarn was I using? For this afghan, I used three strands of yarn. One strand is Red Heart Super Saver Jumbo 100% acrylic yarn in Soft Navy with two strands of Cascade Yarns' Cartwheel 100% acrylic yarn in a colorway called San Diego. This afghan is machine washable and can be put in the dryer just like all the other afghans I've made.

This isn't the first time I've used a solid color yarn with the Cartwheel multi-color, and I like the effect. It's as though the solid color gives the afghan a good foundation, if that makes sense. Let's take a look.

 

 

 

Tucker came last Monday to cut our hair, and then she took the afghan and went straight to the nursing home to see her mother. Tucker says she loves it, which immediately took care of my nerves.

What was I watching on television while my knitting needles were clacking away? A mystery series called Vienna Blood, which is based on Frank Tallis' historical mystery series.

 

Here's the storyline from IMDb:

"1900s Vienna: a hotbed of philosophy, science, and art, where a clash of cultures and ideas collide in the city's grand cafes and opera houses. Max Liebermann is a brilliant young student of famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. When Max comes into contact with Oskar Rheinhardt, a Detective Inspector struggling with a strange case, he agrees to help him investigate a series of unusual and disturbing murders."

This production is class all the way: costumes, writing, acting, Viennese filming locations, and I enjoyed the odd couple juxtaposition of Max and Oskar. I'm also picking up a lot about the social history of fin de siècle Vienna, too.

If you're in the mood for some historical crime solving, I can certainly recommend Vienna Blood. Now... let me get back to this new afghan I'm making!

A Murphy Needs to Move Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Denis and I "bundled up" and boarded the Dial-a-Ride bus to spend a few hours at the Phoenix Zoo Wednesday, so there will be photos of that in the future. Most of us in the U.S. are very familiar with Murphy's Law ("Anything that can go wrong will go wrong"), but did you know that, in the U.K., Murphy goes by the name Sod? Just thought I'd toss out that bit of trivia.

Why am I bringing up Murphy/Sod? Because I'm convinced that he's alive and well and living in Casa Kittling, that's why! I even think I know his favorite place in the house: our Google calendar where we list all our appointments and outings. Lately, Murphy has been in cahoots with the weather god to freeze Denis and me to the bone. Yep. You guessed it. It was 45°F/7°C. when Denis and I got on that bus to head to the zoo. Yes, it was a bright, sunny day, but there was a wind blowing straight down from the Arctic Circle that made critter watching a mite bracing. 

If this happens again, I think I'm going to call the exterminator! (But as you can see in the photo, it was a lovely day regardless.)

 

 

February 15 in Phoenix. Yeah...Life is rough!

 

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The renaissance of feminist bookstores.
• How easy is it to pirate books? 
• Reading is precious, which is why one woman has  been giving away her books. 
• Little Free Library is launching an Indigenous library program. 
• How BookTok influencers revamped Penguin Random House's TikTok strategy. 
• Against copyediting: is it time to abolish the Department of Corrections? 
• Crime fiction heroes: to age or be forever young? 
• What literature do we study from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s? 

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Bullying librarians is for Know-Nothings.
• Alabama schools canceled Black History Month events that had been scheduled with an award-winning Black children's author.
• Parents are reacting to empty library and classroom shelves as the Duval County (Florida) Public School District continues its book review process.
• Major corporations have backed a book-banning North Dakota legislator.
• An Alaska library board keeps LGBTQ books in the youth sections.
• A Penncrest lawyer resigns from a Pennsylvania school district as schools pull books from shelves.
• Nine Westchester (New York) school districts have been placed on Turning Point USA's "Most Radical" for teaching DEI (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion). 
• Schools are finding few volunteers willing to hear book challenges.
• This goes along with an earlier link in this section-- Florida teachers are emptying out their libraries to avoid felony charges.

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A "replica" sword in Chicago's Field Museum is really 3,000 years old and may have been used in battle.
• Archaeologists have unearthed a Viking hall in Denmark. 
• Egyptian archaeologists are touting firsts among the latest discoveries unearthed in the ancient city of Luxor. 
• A 52-foot-long Book of the Dead papyrus from ancient Egypt has been discovered at Saqqara. 
• Archaeologists uncovered a golden secret in the mouth of a 17th-century socialite "who did not have a good reputation". More from Smithsonian Magazine. More from Live Science.
• Ancient Roman residences with "pigeon towers" have been discovered in Luxor, Egypt. 
• Beneath a busy street in Jerusalem sits a 1,000-year-old moat with a secret handprint. 
• Did ancient Egypt have a pigeon problem? 

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• How the elusive pink fairy armadillo became one scientist's obsession.
• Scientists have discovered that sea spiders can regrow their anuses (and other body parts).
• A street cat named Bob has his own memorial statue in London.
• This black bear became so fascinated with a wildlife camera that it took hundreds of selfies.
• Watch some brave little penguins crowd surf some grumpy sea lions.
• Humans aren't the only mammals that live longer with friends.
• Toronto's Berczy Park fountain pays tribute to dogs.
• Dolphins and humans work together to catch fish in Brazil.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• The birthplace of Joan of Arc.
• What did the ancient Egyptian pyramids look like when they were first built?
• The great, always bizarre, Florida crime fiction tradition. 
• São Paolo: City of extremes.
• Thrillers set in stunning locales. 
• Eight books about the history (and digital legacy) of the Oregon Trail. 
• Mysteries and thrillers set in the Southwest.
  

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Elizabeth Siddal, the real-life "Ophelia".
• How did Amy Robsart die?
• 19th-century potter Thomas Commeraw, one of New York's few free Black entrepreneurs, finally gets his due.
• How Peg Bracken's I Hate to Cook Book fought domestic despair with laughter.
• A Crime Reader's Guide to the Classics: Marcia Muller.
• Steven Womack: On writing while dying.
• Mary, Queen of Scots' cryptic prison letters have finally been deciphered.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Twelve books about rich people behaving badly. (Sometimes I wonder if they do anything else...)
• Ten novels about office jobs. 
• Twenty-five historical crime, mystery, and horror novels to look forward to in 2023. 
• Twenty-two of the best funny mystery movies you can stream. 
• Eight Japanese mysteries and thrillers to broaden your horizons. 
• Which crime shows should you watch in February? 
• Thirteen cool slang terms from the 1950s. 
• Hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs were never built. Here's what they might have looked like. 

 

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.

 

Don't forget to spend some quality Me Time curled up with a good book!