Personal chaos (the loss of my job) made concentrating in May and June difficult. Comfort reads for distraction were my answer to the extreme stress characterizing my life right now.
Knitmare on Beech Street by Peggy Ehrhart While I wouldn't want to be part of the Knit and Nibble group--too many rules--, I wouldn't mind at all living in Arborville, NJ, and being friends with Pamela and her neighbors. Pamela's daughter has graduated college, but is off to South America on a volunteer service trip, so she's spending a few weeks at Pamela's before she leaves for almost a year abroad. Pamela, Bettina and the Arborville welcome wagon group go the Voorhees House to welcome Tassie, the new owner of the Victorian mansion, only to find Tassie dead. Bettina is excited to be present at the start of the investigation, hoping to beat her rival newspaper to the solution. She and Pamela talk to several of the neighbors and discover that there are reports of a ghost in the old mansion. While ghosts don't kill (or do they?), a young man obsessed with vintage Arborville and angry at renovations that Pamela's new possible boyfriend Pete is undertaking at the Voorhees might be even more eccentric, and possibly dangerous, than he appears. This series is a quiet homecoming for me, and while it might not be everyone's cup of tea, I enjoy escaping to visit Arborville and its residents. I particularly enjoyed the author using the name Voorhees, which is a Dutch name that dates back to when New Jersey was part of New Amsterdam, and the name has a lot of real local history associated with it.
Murder Takes the Stage by Colleen Campbridge Phyllida Bright and her employer, Agatha Christie, are in London for this entry in this post-war series. Agatha is talking to producers of a play she's written, and Phyllida and a skeleton crew of Mallowan Hall's staff accompany her and Max to London. Unfortunately, the Mallowans' cook has remained at home, so Phyllida has to deal with a newly-hired chef who bears a striking resemblance to Hercule Poirot but is much more temperamental than Agatha's fictional sleuth. An actor is killed at the theater, and Agatha asks Phyllida to come to the scene even before the police are called. Then another actor is killed, at another theater, and Phyllida has to race against time to prevent another serial murder. I enjoyed this book, and I am enjoying the evolution of Phyllis relationship with Bradford, the chauffeur. This is a well-written series, and while there is an overarching theme (Phyllida's background and relationship with Agatha that dates to World War II is revealed to be slightly mysterious over the books), they can be read in any order.
A Trace of Poison by Colleen Campbridge The local organizers of a Murder Fete held in the village of Listleigh, a;; members of a writing group, are ecstatic that Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and other members of the Detection Club are willing to attend to help the group raise money for a local orphanage. But the writing group's member are not as supportive of each other as it would appear, and when one of them is murdered, jealousies erupt as suspicion falls on each of them. Wait, was the victim accidentally murdered? Was the poisoned cocktail meant for someone else? And will the killer succeed the second time around? Phyllida, on hand to manage the cocktail party interrupted by murder, steps in find out who was intended victim and who is still in danger as well as to unmask the murderer.
Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie Another in my list of comfort reading, this is one of my favorite Agatha Christies because it is not only a great read, it takes place on an archaeological dig. There's not much I can write about a classic like Murder in Mesopotamia--interesting characters, pretty atmospheric (Christie didn't go in for detailed setting descriptions), and a ripping good murder to solve.
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