Murder on the Pier by Merryn Allingham

 

First Line: Flora Steele stood gazing at the buffet table, admiring its plentiful display but longing to be elsewhere.

 

Mystery writer Jack Carrington isn't thrilled to be at the heart of yet another murder investigation, but what can he do? On a day's outing in Brighton with bookshop owner Flora Steele, Flora found the body of young Polly Dakers in the sea below the pier. Polly was a beautiful young woman from their village of Abbeymead who wanted a career in modeling so badly that she'd grasp at any opportunity to achieve her dream. 

The police are convinced that Polly either tripped and fell to her death or jumped and committed suicide. Flora disagrees, and when she disagrees, Jack knows that nothing is going to stop her from conducting her own investigation-- even if her own life is in danger as a result. He's simply got to tag along in an attempt to keep the headstrong amateur sleuth safe. It's the only decent thing to do.

~

I'm happy to report that this second Flora Steele mystery is just as enjoyable as the first, The Bookshop Murder. This time readers are taken to the seaside town of Brighton where Flora and Jack deal with a theatrical group and a line-up of suspects that includes a sugar daddy, a spurned wife, an unsavory character from London, and others. Flora's business has yet to fully recover from what happened in the first book. She is trying to drive sales up by various means, but her investigation here in Murder on the Pier kept her away too much yet again. Either Flora is going to be a detective, or she's going to be a bookshop owner. So far the two occupations aren't blending together well. I'm looking forward to seeing how the author deals with this in future books.

Once again, the telling little details about the era add depth to the story. I think most Americans, if they're even aware that there was rationing in this country and in the United Kingdom, believe everything snapped back to normal immediately after World War II ended. It snapped back a lot faster here in the United States, but it took years for rationing to end in the United Kingdom. Meat rationing had ended just the year before (1955), and now Flora lets us know just how precious a brand-new pair of shoes is. Besides, her main source of transportation is Betty, her bicycle. 

Readers learn more about Jack in this second book as he and Flora become even more comfortable with each other. When Jack's old flame arrives on his doorstep, I narrowly avoided rolling my eyes, and I'm glad I did. I really like how Jack dealt with the situation. The repartee between Flora and Jack is one of the strongest parts of this series. That and the presence of a young boy named Charlie. With Jack feeling ever more protective of Flora, I do believe he should formulate some sort of fitness regimen to build up his strength and endurance. Why? Because he spent a lot of time dragging Flora out of some hair-raising situations in this book-- none of which were what I call TSTL (Too Stupid To Live).

Interesting characters? Check. Strong setting and historical detail? Check. Fun dialogue? Check. What about the mystery? Well, it's a good'un, too. Although I was blinded by the light of deduction before Flora, she was nipping close at my heels. So yes, I'm looking forward to my next visit to Abbeymead to see what Jack and Flora (and Charlie) get up to next.

Murder on the Pier by Merryn Allingham

eISBN: 9781800198852

Bookouture © 2021

eBook, 270 pages

Historical Mystery, #2 Flora Steele mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson

 

First Lines: Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada. As Rex Tildesen stared in amazement at the sonar image, he had no idea of the danger that surrounded his find.

 

Wildlife biologist Alex Carter can't believe her luck. Just as she's finishing up her study of wolverines in Montana, she lands a position in the Canadian Arctic studying an endangered population of polar bears. This time, instead of working alone she's with a small team of researchers. It means that she has to get used to working with other people again, but she loves what she's doing and thrives on her work.

 

She's spending her days tracking polar bears by air, hanging out of a helicopter with a tranquilizer gun until she can get on the ground to examine these magnificent creatures. As the data she collects grows, things begin to go wrong. The helicopter pilot quits. Equipment goes missing. The lab is broken into and her samples are stolen. It's obvious that someone doesn't want her to complete her study, but Alex isn't about to stop.

Alex finds a replacement pilot, but the helicopter catches fire and she and the pilot are forced to land out on the ice, miles from any sort of help. Surviving in those conditions is hard enough, but there are armed assailants on snowmobiles tracking them. Alex is going to have to rely on all her skills in order to make it back to civilization to complete her mission.

~

Learning that the main character in Alice Henderson's A Solitude of Wolverines was a wildlife biologist-- and that Henderson herself is one-- made this first book in the Alex Carter series a must-read and a very good one at that. A Blizzard of Polar Bears is even better.

The scenes in which Alex tracks the polar bears by air and then lands to examine them are wonderful. I felt as though I was with her, and I learned so much about the animals as well as the things that are used to track them, whether it's Burr on Fur or the Whiskerprint Project. Let me tell you, this mystery series is perfect for those readers who love wildlife.

Moreover, if you're a wildlife lover who also enjoys a high-octane thriller, you really need to read A Blizzard of Polar Bears. Wow! Surviving a helicopter crash and being forced to shelter and travel across the ice-- I was freezing right along with these two. Fortunately, Alex and Cody, the helicopter pilot, know how to take care of themselves because the weather isn't the only thing they must contend with. There are killers on snowmobiles after them, and they mean business. The fact that the business isn't just simply stopping the polar bear study gives armchair sleuths a little extra to cogitate on. 

If I had any misgivings at all about this book, it was my unease about Cody the pilot. I can't get into why I was uneasy about him without doing spoilers, and that I will not do. I also felt that the bad guys were just a tad over the top, but at the same time, they certainly had my pulse racing as I read those scenes. 

As I've already stated, this is a series perfect for lovers of wildlife and thrillers. Henderson has the knack of being able to put her readers right in the middle of the action alongside the characters she's created, and that's no small talent. I really can't wait to see where Alex's work will take her next.

A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson

eISBN: 9780062982124

HarperCollins © 2021

eBook, 336 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #2 Alex Carter mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Down a Dark River by Karen Odden

 

First Lines: London. April 1878. Most of us Yard men would say that over time we develop an extra sense for danger close at hand.

 

After a well-publicized corruption scandal hit Scotland Yard, they're running short-handed, so when the daughter of a prominent judge is found dead in a boat on the Thames, Inspector Michael Corravan is one of the few remaining senior inspectors left who can take the case. Reluctantly, Corravan takes the case and hands off his search for a missing shipping magnate's wife to Mr. Stiles, his young colleague.

 

Corravan has good street sense and has a knack for digging up clues, but he's confounded when another woman's body turns up in a boat a week later. And then a third. The women seem to have no connection to each other at all, but when Mr. Stiles uncovers evidence that the missing shipping magnate's wife may not be insane and that the shipping magnate may not be as solvent as he claims to be, it begins to look as though the two cases may be connected.

Once again, the newspapers are shouting about more Scotland Yard incompetence, and Inspector Corravan is under tremendous pressure to dredge up the truth.

~

Down a Dark River is a very promising start to a new historical series featuring Inspector Michael Corravan, the type of multi-faceted character that readers will love to sink their teeth into. An orphan, Corravan was raised by a foster mother in the East End of London. He's been a dockworker, a bare-knuckle boxer, a river cop, and a Metropolitan police officer. His life seems to have taught him that there are two ways to deal with people: fight them or rescue them, and this attitude has caused him many problems. Even his mistress, wealthy author Belinda Gale, is finding it difficult to put up with a man who's been described more than once as a rabid bear barreling through the woods. Corravan is the type of character that can exhaust and annoy a reader-- at least he did me-- except for one thing: he does show a willingness to change the personality traits that are causing him so many personal and work-related problems. This is just the sort of rich characterization that I love.

The mystery is excellent, with plenty of misdirection. Readers have to make their way through the theft of a valuable necklace, a runaway wife, an insane asylum, the ongoing feud between the River Police and Scotland Yard, the deaths of young women who have no obvious connections to each other, and rich, entitled men who think it's beneath them to deal with the police. 

I also liked the secondary characters of young Mr. Stiles and Belinda Gale. This series isn't going to be a mere one-man show, which means readers will reap even more benefits. There's also something for the poetically inclined: Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is woven into the story, and since that's one of my favorite poems, it was the icing on the cake of this very well-done historical mystery. Down a Dark River is the first book by Karen Odden that I've read, but it won't be the last. I'm definitely looking forward to Inspector Corravan's next case.

Down a Dark River by Karen Odden

eISBN: 9781643858708

Crooked Lane Books © 2021

eBook, 336 pages

 

Historical Mystery, #1 Inspector Corravan mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Second Floor of MIM, Part One

It's well past time that I took you back to continue exploring the Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona. We began with some of the treasures on the first floor, and now I want to continue on to the second floor with the Geographic Galleries which feature music from over 200 countries around the world. The problem is, there is so much on the second floor that I'm going to have to split this into two posts. So this post will feature items from Africa, Asia, Latin America-- everywhere but the United States and Europe, the galleries on the other side of the floor.

Denis and I found ourselves referring to our Guest Guide maps available at Guest Service on the first floor and then texting each other our locations so we could find each other. I still have the map, and I'm referring to it now. Headphones are available for self-guided tours. Just get close to an item, the machine will be activated, and you'll be told about it.

It was extremely difficult for me to choose which photos to include, but no more delay. Let's get started!

As you can see with this exhibit on Singapore, musical instruments, costumes, and other items are included as well as videos in order for visitors to see and hear it all in action.

I loved this shadow puppet theater from Java. The first time I ever saw one was in the movie, The Year of Living Dangerously. I think one of the Harry Potter movies used the same sort of art.

India. With my love of textiles, I was thrilled to see all the costumes on display.

Look at the fabulous craftsmanship on this 'Ūd, a plucked lute, from Israel!

These are vessel flutes from the Bamileke peoples of Africa.

Pardon me while I drool over this cotton dragon robe from northern Vietnam. Look at that silk embroidery!

This is Masi bark cloth from Fiji. Made from mulberry bark fiber, the geometric designs and motifs are applied with stencils.

From Australia, a bark painting and mandapul (didjeridu).

A Danzaq costume from the Quechua people of Peru. Beautiful workmanship on the costume, but why are my eyes drawn to the shoes?

A Terno Yucateco worn by Mexican folkloric dancers from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

Steel Dan from the Lesser Antilles.

In the hallway before I crossed into the U.S./Europe Galleries, I fell in love with this Tree of Life which illustrates the pervasive role of music in Mexican life. This tree was created especially for MIM by the artist Adrián Luis González in 2010. This quintessential Mexican art form dates from the 1940s when potters began to create elaborate ceramic tree sculptures to illustrate biblical tales. Eventually, these same artisans broadened their scope to include the human birth-to-death life cycle as well as family histories and other interesting stories. I want one!

Tree of Life, detail.

Tree of Life, detail.

I'm going to end the tour here before you overdose on photos. Next time, I'll conclude our visit to the Musical Instrument Museum by checking out the U.S. and Europe Galleries on the second floor.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at a tiny bit of what there is at this fabulous museum!

An Alarming Weekly Link Round-Up

 

 

Denis and I ran a few errands Wednesday morning. My major errand was to get my Covid-19 booster, which was quickly and easily done, although my arm was sore, which it wasn't for the other two shots.

 

We were about six blocks from home when Denis got a call from the alarm company that monitors our house. That always makes your pulse rate skyrocket! Denis had trouble connecting with the caller and didn't until we'd pulled in the drive. In the meantime, I was thinking of burglars and brought up the alarm app on my phone.

 

 

Without my reading glasses, I was able to decipher "Kitchen Motion Detector..." Kitchen motion detector? How in the world could that motion detector go off without one of the outer door or window alarms going off first? What? Did they come down through the roof and attic space?

 

Denis went inside to investigate, and I was sitting in the Jeep wondering if it was a good idea for him to go in there. What if someone was waiting for him? Well, someone was.

 

It was Ralph.

 

Who's Ralph? Ralph is the Shark IQ robot vacuum (which is FAR superior to iRobot or Bissell). Denis had forgotten all about programming Ralph to do some cleaning every day, so when he trundled off into the kitchen to do his thing, he set off the motion detector.

 

Denis and I had a good laugh about it, but we also learned our lesson: if we're going somewhere, block off the kitchen so Ralph won't scare the puddin' outta us again!

 

Enjoy the links!

 

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why news reporters write the best crime novels.
• No one has ever lived in the past, so how can writers accurately represent history?
• Why have novelists stopped making things up?
• A brief history of books on wheels.
• The queer old case of the spinster sleuth.
• Laurie R. King on the financial ecosystem of the writer.
• Steph Cha on choosing the best of mystery and suspense during an unprecedented and harrowing year.
• Laurie Kahn and a pair of red socks.

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Traces of a submerged Roman road have been found beneath a Venetian lagoon.
• A metal detectorist found a sword pyramid dated from the time of the mysterious Sutton Hoo burial.
• An ancient Christian settlement in Egypt shows evidence of urban planning.
• Louisiana's Poverty Point earthworks show early Native Americans were "incredible engineers."
• Wondrous wooden carvings re-emerge after being entombed in bird droppings for 1,000 years.
• Polished 5,500-year-old stone balls were found in a neolithic Scottish tomb.
• First Cupid, now a wine glass? More revelations emerge from a restored Vermeer painting in Dresden.
• A hand-carved 400,000-year-old bone tool used for smoothing leather has been found in Italy.
• A hidden suffragists portrait studio has been found in a New York attic.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Elizabeth Ann is the first cloned black-footed ferret.
• After watching this video of a giant monitor lizard climbing a crowded shelf, I wish my neighborhood 7-11 had similar interesting shoppers.
• Rat poison has been found in dead eagles from across the United States.
• An epic Monarch migration faces new threats.
• Experience a day in the life of a wild wolf, as seen in stunning collar-cam footage.
• Watch this fearless turtle chase lions away from his waterhole.
• This couple built their beloved cat his own bedroom with matching blankets and a working television. 
• A trio of lifeguard dogs rescued fourteen people swept out to sea from an Italian beach.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Diana Rigg remembered: "Ma didn't suffer fools. She exploded them at fifty paces." Pardon me while I go watch a few episodes of The Avengers...
• Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's mother, Mary Toya, has died. Toya indelibly shaped the child who became the first Native American leader of the Interior Department.
• Sean Sherman, AKA the Sioux Chef, works to return indigenous food to the forefront of the American diet. 
• Zitkála-Šá, the Native American who fought bigotry with Broadway.
• The nineteenth-century women who wrote "weird" stories and refused to be pigeonholed by genre.

 

►Craftsmanship & Artistry◄

• Quilling artist Manan Mistry creates beloved cartoon characters out of tightly rolled 3D paper spirals.
• A compendium of Native American tipi decoration circa 1900.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Ten bookstores built in surprising places around the world, from cathedrals to caves. I was happy to see that I purchased books in one that's on the list.
• Remembering when Americans picnicked in cemeteries.
• How Memphis created the nation's most innovative pubic library.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• From sitcom stars to Bond girls and an actual king, Star Trek guest stars you might not have spotted.
• Ten books about long-distance relationships.
• Five books that examine the American penal system.
• Fifteen mind-bending facts about The Matrix.
• Rotten Tomatoes' 25 worst movies of all time.
• Sixteen books by Latinx authors.
• Lisa Jewell shares seven mysteries set in manor houses.
• Nine books to read when you're in a bad mood.

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!

Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: "Play me."

 

When basketball phenom Jaya Long, niece of Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long, begins receiving death threats, Chief Long asks Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire for help. Bringing along Henry Standing Bear as backup, Walt travels up to Lame Deer, Montana, where he learns that Jaya's older sister disappeared the previous year, undoubtedly a victim of the scourge of missing and murdered Native American women in the U.S.

 

Lolo is hoping that Walt's presence will bring more public attention to Jaya's plight, but what she doesn't realize is that she's also inadvertently placed the sheriff in a one-on-one situation with what may be his deadliest adversary in this world or the next.

 

~

 

A year without a new tale from Craig Johnson is a year with no sunshine as far as I'm concerned, so I was glad to hear of his latest book. When I learned that one of the focuses of Daughter of the Morning Star is the horrendous scourge of missing and murdered Native American women, I couldn't wait to read it; I knew that Johnson would have something important to say about that, and he does.

 

What he also does is pay homage to bookstores by having Walt walk into PAPER TALK, talk with the owner, and walk out with just the book he needs to shed some light on his little unofficial investigation. One of the things this investigation of his uncovers is a bit of Native American supernatural folklore, the Éveohtsé-heómėse, the Wandering Without, the description of which makes the hair stand on the back of my neck. It is...

 

"...a collection of lost souls that hunger for the living. The outcasts banished from the tribes over the centuries-- the murderers, the mad, the deranged who were driven off to die in the wilderness."  

 

"...like all carnivores, it culls the herd, preying on the sad and lonely, those living in its hunting ground on the outskirts of humanity."

 

Daughter of the Morning Star also touches on something else that I hope is discussed more in the next book, the fact that some of the Indian boarding schools were so tragedy-ridden that they were removed from the history books. Walt's work is not done at the end of this book, so I shall have to wait and see what happens in the next.

 

This latest Longmire mystery has all the touches we've come to expect and to love. New characters like Betty One Moon make appearances, Betty being the type of person that even Dog backs away from, Dog having made the trip with Walt and Henry. We also get to revel in some of Johnson's trademark humor as Walt and Henry try to keep Jaya safe, no matter how much the anger-filled young girl tries to pretend they're not there.

 

Although I did enjoy Daughter of the Morning Star, I have to come clean about something. I know that Craig Johnson has a plan. He knows where he wants to take this series, and I will be with him every step of the way. My confession is this: I do miss the camaraderie of Walt and his crew.  Couldn't Walt have a short vacation from his quest where he can spend some quality time with Vic and Henry and Ruby and Cady and all the rest? Then we'll all be refreshed and ready for the next adventure.

All in all, Daughter of the Morning Star was enjoyable, but it felt a bit disjointed, and that some of the plot threads were loose and not woven completely into the story. But there's always next time, and I'll be ready and waiting with a big smile on my face, for that's what happens when a writer creates a cast that is so filled with life that it feels like Family.

Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780593297254

Viking © 2021

Hardcover, 336 pages

 

Police Procedural, #17 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

I Have Elly Griffiths Covered!

 

When I found out about the next book in Elly Griffiths' wonderful Dr. Ruth Galloway series, The Locked Room, I also got a chance to see both the US and UK versions of the book cover. You know what that means: Cover-Off!

Let's take a look, shall we?

Both covers have a similar feel to them, don't they-- a rather isolated-looking house. Both covers are relatively uncluttered, although I do think that the blurb on the UK cover is unnecessary. Both tell us that this is a Dr. Ruth Galloway mystery. Naturally, the US cover has to tell us that Griffiths is an award-winning author because there are readers who won't waste their time on books if the authors haven't won any awards. *sigh* Although... if that gets them to pick up this book and read it, that's a good thing, right?

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I've never cared for the font that the US publishers use. For some reason, that particular font makes me think light-hearted and silly, and that isn't a good indication of what the books are like at all.

Now, let's get down to the brass tacks-- the graphics. Both are lonely houses under brooding skies. Which house do I prefer? Most definitely, the UK house. I've been there. I've seen many houses like that. Sturdy stone cottages that will always stand the tests of time and weather. When I look at the house on the UK cover, I want to see what's on the other side of the road. What kind of view does that lonely house have? And why does that house look as though it holds secrets? What happened there? The UK cover engages my imagination and my need to know more. On the other hand, the blue house on the US cover looks like it could be standing above a windy beach on the Outer Banks or Cape Cod, which is good... if the book was set on the Outer Banks or Cape Cod.

So... the UK cover is the hands-down winner of this cover-off. What about you? Which cover do you prefer? US? UK? Neither one? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Fogged Off by Wendall Thomas

First Lines: January 2007. "Jack the Ripper had it made."

When travel agent Cyd Redondo finds herself responsible for bringing home the body of Shep Helnikof, client and Jack the Ripper expert, she wastes no time flying to London to cut through all the red tape and get the job done. What she doesn't expect is the fact that Shep's death was not due to natural causes; it was murder.

Cyd has a lot to keep her occupied on this trip to London. She was forced to bring along her uncle, Leon Spartacus Redondo, and her Aunt Helen has charged her with keeping a close eye on the man. That's not going to be easy since Uncle Leon vanished the second his feet touched British soil, and he won't return her calls. Getting Shep's body back to Brooklyn is proving problematic as well, and Cyd is beginning to think the only way she'll achieve her goal is to find Shep's killer herself. And-- as if she needed anything else to worry about-- she and her formidable Balenciaga purse run headfirst into a rodent smuggler.

Disappearing uncles, unemployed actors, Shep's former girlfriends, incompetent Embassy employees, amorous rodents... will Cyd ever find the time to actually enjoy her first trip to Jolly Olde England?

~

Do I ever love this series! When I'm reading the latest adventures of Wendall Thomas's Cyd Redondo, I forget that I have to spend an hour a day hooked up to a (sometimes painful) machine. Instead, I'm laying there smiling, chuckling, and sometimes laughing loud enough that my husband comes into the room to find out what's so funny. The humor, the references to old movies, the characters, the mystery... everything weaves together into a winning combination that will brighten anyone's day.

Cyd is front and center. This is her show, and I love her voice. For a travel agent, she's done very little traveling herself, and I have to admit that I enjoyed watching her as she traveled the streets of London-- seeing places she'd discussed and booked for her clients and dreamed about, learning that the first floor isn't the same floor in England as it is in the United States... and who knew that closets were American? 

No mention of Cyd Redondo is complete without her Balenciaga bag, the bag that MacGyver would kill to possess. It is even gaining a reputation. Don't believe me? Well, one character confronts Cyd and tells her, "I don't trust you. I trust your purse." All women should be so lucky to have a purse like Cyd's. Armed with such handbags, it would only be a matter of days until women ruled the world. Maybe even the universe.

Cyd's uncle and aunt add even more spice to the tale, especially Aunt Helen. All I can say is mess with the Redondos at your own peril. And don't forget that no Cyd Redondo adventure is complete without a critter. This time it's Bruce, the Casanova of rodents. So not only do I want a Balenciaga, I want a Bruce, too.

If you're in the mood for a good mystery filled with wit and humor, do yourself a favor and read all of Wendall Thomas's Cyd Redondo mysteries. Start with the first, Lost Luggage, enjoy your way through Drowned Under, and finish off with Fogged Off. Then you and I will be in the same boat-- waiting to see what Cyd Redondo gets up to next. This is a series that's good for what ails you. Do not miss it!

Fogged Off by Wendall Thomas

ASIN: B09D4145XK

Beyond the Page Publishing © 2021

eBook, 241 pages

 

Humorous Mystery, #3 Cyd Redondo mystery

Rating: A

Source: the author, Net Galley