Middle Sister's Mid-Month Review

We've had some rainy nights the past few weeks as the much-needed summer rains arrive. It's been so wonderful to sit and read while listening to the sounds of the drumming rain on my new roof (installed last September, and perfect timing that was). Perfect for summer genre reading.

Wreathing Havoc by Julia Henry (to be published September 2021) Goosebush, MA, and the Garden Squad are devastated by the unexpected death of their friend, Leon Tompkin. Everyone knew that Leon was ill, but still, his death was a surprise. Then they learn that his death was suspicious, and Lily Jayne and her gardening friends swing into action to find out exactly what happened. I really like the secondary characters in this series, as I've mentioned before, but Lily herself is just too perfect: her house is always perfectly maintained, her garden is always perfectly maintained, her self is always perfectly maintained. It makes her an unsympathetic character to this reader, although others may not be irritated by all that perfection. However, in this entry in the series, the secondary characters assume slightly more prominence, to its enrichment. Roddy remains my favorite character, and I hope we learn more about him. He's clearly being set up as a romantic interest for Lily, which, to be honest, I'm not sure I want to read. But I do appreciate that Lily is presented as fashionable and attractive in her 60s, although some of her attitudes and behaviors seem far older than those espoused by the 60-year-olds I know (and as of this writing, I'm 56). The murder of Leon is linked to events that happened decades ago at his beloved local theater. This book rather obviously but with some deftness weaves the two storylines. However, the murderer was obvious from the beginning, and that always disappoints me a little. I'm actively trying to not figure out whodunnit because I want to be surprised. The series is pleasant, and it's always nice to read about late autumn and early winter when the temperatures are 108*F and rising outside. Goosebush is growing on me, and I'm willing to suffer Lily's insufferable certainties to visit every now and then. NetGalley

Loch Down Abbey by Beth Cowan-Erskine This was the best fiction book I have read in 2021, to date. Funny, well-written, satiric, with a superb cast of eccentric and selfish characters and the perfect blending of country house mystery with the reader's own recent experiences in a world gone half mad--it's a delicious parody of Downton Abbey and pandemic lockdowns. The aristocratic Scottish family, the Ogilvie-Stirlings, has descended on the ancestral home (for 600 years, no less) for the one time a year they all visit. Reason: for a local ball, where they can dance, gossip, and relish their importance and relevance, and ignore each other. The three generations don't really like each other and barely speak unless absolutely necessary. So when a very contagious sickness sweeps through the village and through the Abbey's servants, and Lord Inverkillen dies under somewhat mysterious circumstances, the family is suddenly faced with horrors big and small: trapped in their absurdly enormous home, trying to figure out how to cover the enormous death duties and continue their pampered lifestyles, while facing the collateral damage of their servants dropping like flies, with rations of food and--gasp--toilet paper and the indignities of giving up breakfast trays and having to make their own beds.  Family scuffles and family secrets are punctuated by a marauding band of unsupervised children intent on wreaking havoc while a skeleton crew of cook, housekeeper, and chauffeur do their best to keep the family from killing each other. The parody of Downton Abbey was hilarious. The threat of a pandemic sweeping through the family, village, and all of Britain causing disruptions to food delivery services and everything else, so familiar after the past year, was handled so brilliantly that instead of causing traumatic flashbacks, those sections brought on laugh out loud guffaws. What a completely brilliant book. Highly recommended! Net Galley

Loon Lessons by James D. Paruk   Mr. Paruk's lifelong fascination with loons doesn't seem odd or unusual when you read this fascinating treatise on loon life, distilled from his career studying these birds. As the world's worst birder (I'm never looking at the right part of the bird to identify it), I am fascinated by these beauties, and loons, which live far away and seem mysterious to a desert-dweller like me. Imagine, a life lived solely on water or in the air! There is a lot of detail and scientific facts and data abound int he book, but the presentation is clear and easy to read, not at all offputting to a general reader with little background in biology or ornithology. If their redolent call has ever captivated you, or if you are a diehard birder, you will enjoy Loon Lessons. Recommended. Net Galley

Middle Sister's June Reads

Ah yes, the heat continues, record heat throughout the western US. No better way to escape the heat than to escape in a book.

Good Dog by Kate Leaver Truly heartwarming book about the invaluable jobs our dogs can do for us humans. Full disclosure: my dogs and I have been Pet Partner (formerly Delta Society) volunteers since 2003, and I am a team evaluator, too. So I know the good that therapy dogs can do firsthand. I also help my friend occasionally; she is the best service dog trainer out there. But this enchanting book will help spread the word about what our dogs can do for those whose need may not be visible: autistic children (don't even get me started on how the ability for autistic children to bring their assistance dogs with them to school has been curtailed), veterans or anyone with PTSD, those living with depression. Ms. Leaver writes very eloquently, so movingly, about what her own depression feels like, and how her dog pulls her through the times when she simply cannot. Wonderful book, highly recommended for dog lovers, anyone who cares for someone with PTSD or depression, and legislators who think that autistic children don't need their dogs. (Net Galley)

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot Everyone knows I love animals. I loved the original television show, and I loved the recent remake. The bookstore I worked in always sold out of this series as soon as they arrived. I've been wanting to read it for decades. Then, suddenly, there it was--the audiobook, read by the actor Christopher Timothy (yes, actor of James himself). A delightful listen, punctuated with some lovely music. A terrific summer read (or listen) that I highly recommend. 

Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan Another Mordecai Tremayne mystery republished to this reader's great delight. A snowy Christmas, a motley assortment of people staying at an English country house--perfect, perfect, perfect. I enjoyed this book as much as the first Mordecai Tremayne I read, and I'm seeking out the others in series. Mordecai is an excellent detective, but not without sympathy for the people confronted by sudden, murderous death. His adorable quirks (a middle-aged man who reads romantic magazines and falls into mad crushes with most of the women he meets, regardless of age or appearance) make me like him even more. He is quickly ascending my list of fictional crushes, where Homer Kelly and Roderick Alleyn and a few others reign. The two books I've read have not had any of the cringiness that 80-year-old books can often have regarding language or attitudes. The Mordecai Tremayne series is my current secret pleasure, and I highly recommend the series to mystery lovers.

A Deadly Edition by Victoria Gilbert Although I had mixed feelings about the first book I read in this Blue Ridge Library mystery series, it was pleasant enough that I read this one. Amy and Richard are preparing for their upcoming nuptials and happiness abounds, until someone is killed at their wedding shower. Amy's brother Scott has come home for the wedding, but his mysterious job is somehow intertwined with Kurt Kendrick, whose own background holds many secrets and possible crimes only thinly masked by his outwardly convivial appearance. The mystery centers around a rare illustrated volume with a murky provenance that people are willing to kill for. As in the last novel, some of Amy's habits were very annoying to me, but I greatly appreciate that Scott's homosexuality and Jessica's asexuality are not utilized for shock or preaching; its just part of them (although I cannot imagine telling a complete stranger at our first meeting anything about my sexual orientation or habits or lack thereof, as Jessica does). I was puzzled by reference to some photographs; I read this galley on my Kindle, so I searched on both 'photographs' and 'Honor' and couldn't find anything pertinent to this plot device. A pleasant enough read, certainly not brain taxing, so a good vacation book, with a sappy ending at the wedding. Net Galley