March madness usually refers to the college basketball playoffs, but the COVID-19 outbreak has been ongoing for three weeks as I write this. Working from home has cut into my audiobook commuting time, and I'm trying to read some of the teetering piles of magazines all over my house. But I did get some reading done.
In the Hurricane's Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick Somehow it seems appropriate to me to continue reading about the Revolutionary War, the social, political, and economic milieux, the sacrifices made by Americans (of course, they were colonists then) for a greater good they believed it, a greater good that nearly slipped away. The book focuses on Yorktown, and all the events that lead up to this decisive battle. Mr. Philbrick focuses on naval battles, although land battles are detailed, especially those near Yorktown. The author doesn't shy away from the fact that many of the Founding Fathers owned slaves, and some reviewers have opined he spent too much time on this, and presented too unflattering a picture of George Washington, slave owner. But sometimes it is necessary to be reminded that even those who do great good, who make huge sacrifices, are not perfect and may, in fact, have sides to them that are unpleasant to others and to history. Excellent book, well written, well researched, dynamic descriptions of battles, and a very well read audiobook; recommended.
Plum Tea Crazy by Laura Childs Well, Charleston is set to go the way of Cabot Cove--a much higher homicide rate than any very big city, and if you meet Theodosia anywhere, run, run far away. Doesn't matter, I still enjoy this series because I love tea, and am fond of the characters. First, what I didn't like about this entry in the tea shop mystery series: as soon as she encounters the murder victim, Thoe moves the body so she can get a better look at what may have caused the death. What? Have all these murders and talking to Tidwell taught her nothing? It's not like there was any chance the victim was still alive. Nope, it was prurient curiosity. Then, the police just let the witnesses stand there while they removed the body from where it was, and it wouldn't have been pretty. What? Then, in Chapter 6, Theo goes blabbering information that the police hadn't released yet--probably because they were holding that info back. Nice way to ruin the investigation, Theo. And then Theo just ignores the crime scene tape and enters a restricted area, instantly contaminating it. "No matter; Theodosia just ducked underneath." What?? Then new neighbor Alexis shares exactly how much money she made at the grand opening of her shop with Theo. Really? Because a 10-minute conversation instantly makes one privy to that kind of personal info. And telling your new policeman boyfriend Riley that his not sharing police information with you is "just plain silly?" Theo, I'm not liking your attitude at all. You're too good for her, Riley. There were some other annoying scenes and dialogues (cultural appropriation; has the author ever been to a cat show?), but I'm going to stop with BAM BAM BAM! There were at least 3 capitalized banging scenes in the book, and they were to quote Theo, just plain silly. I know, it sounds like I hate the series. I'm picking on it because I don't think these things would have happened in earlier books. Childs is writing so many series now, and publishing them so quickly, that quality and established character traits are falling by the wayside. Charleston and the Indigo Tea Shop are still fun places to visit, but just like visiting family, things start to get on your nerves after a while. Recommended, but this is a weak entry in the series because of these faults.
Dachshund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt A mystery with dogs (one a golden retriever) in Paterson, NJ? I had to read it. I love dogs, I have golden retrievers, my grandfather worked in Paterson 90 years ago, I've been to many of the places the author mentions, like Little Falls. This is the first book by Rosenfelt I've read and unfortunately, I won't read another. The first person snark and attitude of the main character just became so repetitive and annoying, and remember, I'm from Jersey. I grew up there. I know Jersey. If this is how he presents us to the outside world, no wonder people make fun of us. I found, after dozens of chapters, a sudden and very short switch in point of view to be very disconcerting. And the blatant 'I'm reading David Rosenfelt, he's a great author' line--didn't come across to me as funny, but self-promoting and today's post's favorite word, annoying. But I'd love to find a fruit stand that has sweet cantaloupes so heavy they set the front seat belt sensor off--that's some melon! Recommended only to his fans and folks who feel they have to read any book about New Jersey
