Middle Sister's November Reads

Hooray, I have a new job! But to deal with the stress of learning a completely new job, I stuck to comfort reads this month.

Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews This is the 2025 Christmas murder mystery by Donna Andrews, who's given Meg Langslow quite a few holiday murders to solve. And I love them all! We've never been given a family tree of Meg's mother, we just know that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of Hollingsworths roaming the Virginia countryside, and they often descend en masse on Meg and Michael's house for holidays. This time, they are celebrating not only Christmas but two weddings. Two Hollingsworth cousins, competing with each other since childhood, have both decided to throw extravagant holiday weddings. Meg has kept herself out of the wedding shenanigans, by and large, but her mother is getting battered from all sides by the incessant infighting. Then the wedding photographer both brides had hired is murdered, and not only is there panic over the weddings, there's panic over who in their midst is a murderer? I enjoyed having some of the usually nameless cousins named and part of the story. Caerphilly is always a hoot to visit, and this book doesn't disappoint. 

Fellowship of Fear by Aaron Elkins I enjoyed this series when I worked in the bookstore and it was first published, so when I discovered that my library is getting digital vueriosns of some of these older books, I thought I'd begin at the beginning of this series. This is the first in the Gideon Oliver series. Gideon is an anthropology professor and forensics specialist whose ability to read the bones of recent and long-dead humans often comes in handy. In this first book, Gideon is undertaking a lecture circuit at US military bases in several European countries. He's been mourning the death of his wife, and this is the first work-related project that sparked his interest. On his first night in Germany, two men in black invade his hotel room and nearly kill him. The next day, Gideon finds out that the two previous lecturers both died mysteriously. Who would want to kill professors, and why? This story is more spy novel than later books in the series which are straight forward murder mysteries. There's some misogyny and dated male/female interactions which I didn't enjoy at all. But we are introduced to a secondary character who will reappear in later books. Not sure I'd recommend it except for fans of the series who  want to have read them all, like me.

The Sherlock Society by James Pronto Alex and Zoe Sherlock are trying to figure out a non-boring summer job they can do when they hit upon the idea of being detectives. Their first forays flop, but the two are soon joined by their grandfather and their friends Lina and Yadi. After Mom puts her foot down and tells them that they are not to try to solve any real life mysteries at all or they will be in serious trouble, the the pre-teens decide to solve a historical mystery and find the long-lost treasure of Al Capone.  After all, everyone involved in the story is dead, so it's not really like they are breaking their promise to Mom. But instead of long-lost treasure, they stumble upon a real-life case of corporate and environmental corruption that could cost them their lives. I found this YA story to be excellent--well written, with engaging characters, relatable relationships between the children and the adults and the between the adults themselves. 

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie Poirot and Hastings meet a charming young woman named Nick Buckley, who tells them of a few brushes with death that have happened recently. But she does not take any of them seriously. She lives in the ramshackle family homestead that is falling down around her ears, has no family fortune, and there's no reason anyone would want to kill her. But when one attempt to kill Nick occurs right in front of Poirot and Hastings, they urge her to take the situation seriously, and Poirot decides to protect her himself while finding out who is trying to kill her, and why. Nick lives in the ramshackle old End House, and several friends are visiting her, and it's clear to Poirot that one of those friends is out to kill her, but which? More strange accidents happen, and Nick is nearly poisoned by chocolates allegedly sent by Poirot, and then someone does die. Poirot takes these events personally and becomes personally involved in this incident, which is a bit unusual. The seance and contorted ending are a little far-fetched, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. It is, after all, Dame Agatha, and even at her worst (and this is not her worst), she's far superior to most mystery writers.

Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie Rosaleen Underhay inherited everything when her husband of just a few weeks, Gordon Cloade, was killed in the London bombings. His family, who had never expected the determined bachelor to marry and who relied on him for money, are devastated that their financial lifeline has been cut off. Gordon always told them not to worry about money, that he would take care of them, and now he's gone. What will they do? Although Rosaleen is soft-hearted and willing to give her new family some financial support, her brother, David, is adamant that she not support them. Poirot, at his club during another air raid, listens to a story about a man named Robert Underhay who disappeared but whose body was never found. Could Robert still be alive? If he was, that would invalidate Rosaleen's marriage and make her inheritance null and void. A mysterious man names Enoch Arden suddenly appears and attempts to blackmail David, claiming to know where Robert is. But then, Mr. Arden is found dead, and things get complicated.

Fer de Lance by Rex Stout. In my continuing effort to read some series in order, I re-read the first Nero Wolfe. Nero is approached by Maria, who asks him to discover what happened to her brother Carlo. Carlo mysterious disappeared after suddenly coming into some money. How is his disappearance connected to the death of a college president? And who sent Nero Wolfe the deadly fer-de-lance snake? The characters are slightly different than in the later novels and Stout works his way through establishing their characters and quirks, but the bare bones of the recurring characters are there, even if unpolished and dated (some racism). Despite these few quibbles, I enjoyed the book.

Middle Sister's May Reads

Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz   Easy to read nonfiction book explores how dogs view the world, based on their physiology (what and how they smell, how they see, etc.). Interesting additional information for the well-informed owner, with not too much science for the average reader but enough detail for a dog lover with a greater interest than the average dog owner.

Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death by Hazel Holt  Another cosy mystery set in rural England, where traditional ways of life are clashing with an influx of retired city-dwellers buying old farms and cottages. No gore, these are character studies that paint a detailed view of a small group of people in a small village, with a basic cast that reappears supplemented with additional people around whom the murder swirls.

Uneasy Relations by Aaron Elkins  My favorite archaeotrash series; well, anthrotrash, really, as the hero is a forensic anthropologist whose expertise is needed to solve present-day murders. This entry in the series is particularly relevant given this month's latest genetic information re: admixture between Neanderthals and modern humans. Easy reads, genial cast, little gore.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins  Classic mystery that is a delight from beginning to end. Very well-written, the narration by different characters may have been an unusual technique at the time. Mr. Betteredge and his Robinson Crusoe allusions, the Shivering Sand, and the Moonstone itself, a luminous gem that has inspired bloodshed for hundreds of years and thousands of miles--a great read for a holiday weekend.

The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin  The latest biography of Olive Oatman, a young Mormon girl kidnapped by Yavapais who massacred her family in the 1850s in Arizona, and who became a celebrity after she was ransomed and returned to a white culture she no longer understood or, it appears, really wanted to return to. Mifflin paints a sympathetic portrait of a woman traditionally viewed as a victim who may have controlled her fate more than history recorded. Still, it's a sad story from beginning to end, and one can't help but hope Olive (or Ali as she was known to her adoptive Mohave family) was reunited with them in the afterlife, as her tattoo was designed to do. I saw Ms. Mifflin lecture about the book in January, already intrigued by the Oatman story, which is still well known here in the West.  The book was well written, with sufficient detail that doesn't bore the reader but supplies the context for the Oatman journey. Mifflin explicitly states how far the known facts can take us, and where the facts fall short in modern attempts to understand what really happened out in the desert. I was especially intrigued by Mifflin's argument that Oatman's captivity experience was a masculine one compared to those of other female captives of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. I would disagree only slightly, in that Olive's role during captivity probably did have a maternal element to it as she cared for her younger sister MaryAnn, who died only months before Olive's ransom. That more masculine experience, together with her ability to acculturate twice, did indeed make her captivity experience singular among other captives. 

Last month, I was hiking out along the Gila and climbed Oatman Mountain, located near the massacre site, and while the area is no longer the desolate desert wilderness it was 150 years ago, it retains enough of its remoteness to impress anyone who knows anything about the Oatman massacre and Olive's story.