Middle Sister's August Reads

I passed the dogs days of summer immersed in murder and mayhem.

Weycombe by G. M. Malliet  I've read and enjoyed other books by Ms. Malliet, so was excited to read her newest book. But it's a bit of a departure, and while the author may have enjoyed stepping out of her usual spot, I confess I didn't enjoy it very much. I didn't like the main character, Jill, from the beginning. She was in a very bad place in her marriage and I thought we were supposed to be either sympathetic or annoyed, and I was annoyed. As the book progressed, I began to actively dislike her. By halfway through, I knew who the murderer was, and now for confession 2--I was pissed off at having invested all that time in order to be hoodwinked. But because I was reviewing this for NetGalley, I persisted, only to be disappointed by the last two pages. I don't want to spoil this for other genre lovers, but I found the book exasperating and unenjoyable. (NetGalley)

Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman This is the first of the Jim Chee novels written by Anne Hillerman after the death of her father, Tony Hillerman. While it was nice to revisit a series I've enjoyed for years (not the least because I know that part of the southwest well and can see the highways and the mesas and the sky in my mind as I read), I'm not sure I enjoyed this book as much as I'd expected to. Having both Jim and Bernie encounter people whose interest in them was clearly physical laid it on a bit thick and was not something I could imagine Tony doing. Revisiting a character from an earlier novel as a pivotal character in this one was clever, and the southwest does spin its magic over some folks and bring them back over and over. But Anne's style is flatter than her father's, which had more magic and a greater appreciation of the physical setting than this book had. A little tighter editing might have eliminated a few scenes that were unnecessary and distracting. But all in all, it's nice to visit with old friends, and I was kept on tenterhooks wondering what would happen to Joe Leaphorn, a situation I rarely find myself in with mysteries. (Audiobook)

A Knit Before Dying by Sadie Hartwell I enjoyed the first Dorset Falls mystery enough to try the second in the series. There's less physical description of the yarn store, the setting in Connecticut, and the town than last time. I did appreciate that Josie's character was growing a bit and beginning to enjoy her new life in unexpected ways. The mystery was not completely riveting, and i would have like it that much more if Josie's participation had been a little more inadvertent (a knitting clue? Seriously? That stretches even my incredulity and I happily suspend disbelief when reading.)--that would have made the series a bit more unusual and would save the author from the curse of Cabot Cove (which, if you've never heard of it, refers to the remarkable number of murderers and victims in the Murder She Wrote franchise who live in such a small town). But I enjoyed this quick read, and would recommend the series to cosy mystery lovers and knitters alike. (NetGalley)

The Best of Doctor Thorndyke Detective Stories by R. Austin Freeman I first discovered R. Austin Freeman's Dr. Thorndyke on manybooks.net. The Dr. Thorndyke series date to the early 20th century and number nearly 2 dozen novels, so I was excited to find a new Golden Age of Mysteries author with a large number of books to discover. Today we'd call Dr. Thorndyke a forensic scientist, and I enjoy seeing this kind of intuiting and detecting taking place without the conveniences of modern technology. Eight short stories are reissued in this anthology, and while there are elements that are dated or even a little cringeworthy when attitudes or words are used that are now out of date or unacceptable, this is a great introduction to genre lovers in search of a new and enjoyable series to dive into. (NetGalley)

Middle Sister's October Reads

October has been quite wet out here, and there was plenty of bedtime reading, listening to the rain spattering outside and the wind chimes softly tinkling. Ideal reading weather.

Pagan Spring by G.M. Malliet I borrowed this book from the library based solely on its cover, I admit it. The description seemed right up my alley--murder in a small English country town, with a priest as the amateur detective. Well, there was a lot to like. There was a plan of the village on the flypaper (I love a book with maps); there were village eccentrics, some of whom I liked and some of whom were slightly annoying; there were some red herrings. But I didn't like our Anglican priest as much as I thought I would. I found it quite jarring when Reverend Max lectured a family on the apparel o their daughter at services. It added nothing to the plot at all, and just served to rile up my feminist sides. "Men need women to help set the boundaries--not the other way around." Excuse me? Men can't control themselves around a little female flesh? How outdated and infuriating an attitude, and since this was fairly early in the book, it didn't set me up to like him more.I didn't find his romance with Awena believable or realistic, nor his relationships with his bishop or the DCI. His bishop calls him in to counsel him against this investigating he's been doing (this is not the first in the series) and then ends the conversation by telling Max he'd better investigate this murder. At first the bishop is worried because Awena is not Anglican and then he's all for them marrying (of course, he doesn't know that she is essentially Wiccan). Which is it? DCI Cotton is a likable fellow, but the dynamics of their friendship pale beside that between Sidney (an Anglican priest) and Geordie (the DCI) in the Grantchester series. Mac/Cotton's relationship is almost a bromance, if I can steal that word from fan fiction circles. If I read another, it will be for the supporting characters, who were more interesting to me than the main characters.As for the murder mystery, interesting, but not necessarily believable in terms of coincidence. (hardcover)

The Cleveland Clinic Guide to Thyroid Disorders by Mario Shugor Factually accurate but offers nothing to the reader who is looking for advice on handling what appear to be endocrine-related symptoms but whose T4 and other values are within normal range. Little discussion of Hashimoto's disease, which is why I wanted to read it. (Kindle)

Lucia and the Diplomatic Incident by Tim Holt Luciaphiles, rejoice. This short story published originally in the Lucia society bulletin is now available as a Kindle short. The main thrust (that Lucia would read Miss Mapp's mail) was not convincing; my Lucia would not stoop so low, but would have guessed what the contents of the letter were from the return address alone. But it was lovely seeing my favorite characters in a new encounter.

Next month: my book club tackles the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, which is quite long and which I started the third week of October.

Middle Sis' April Reads

April was a mish-mash of short stories and full-length novels (and a complete ignoring of my book club's selection--bad me! I  promise to read our May/June selection, Mill on the Floss), but overall, I'd say it was a good month for reading.

1. Mindful Knitting by Tara Jon Manning Manning blends Buddhist mindfulness practices with knitting projects to help the knitter create a more mindful crafting experience. The knitting projects are simple, as would be expected, but Manning's writing is easy and introduces mindfulness practices that can be extended to other parts of the reader's life.
2. Angel on a Leash by David Frei Must read for therapy dog volunteers, this book eloquently states why we do what we do with our dogs. Beware--a tearjerker in certain parts.Recommend highly.
3. Death of a Cosy Writer by G. M Malliet Nice homage to the classic English countryside whodunnit. Well written, fast-paced, and a detective protagonist I'm interested in meeting again. Pour a cup of tea and enjoy. Recommend.
4. The End of the Tour by Diana L. Driver Well written short story with a little twist on the whodunnit (although I did guess correctly). Driver was able to paint accurate and interesting portraits of the various characters better than some who write much thicker and uninteresting mysteries. Recommend.
5. A Shot in the Bark by Carol Ann Newsome Newsome creates a spot-on depiction of the people and dogs that frequent dog parks, who would be a great candidates for a sociological study. (Yes, I am one of those early-morning dog park regulars of whom she writes.) Good story with a unique setting, but I was distracted by the highly unprofessional behavior of the homicide detective and the framed suspect. I'm not sure I like the hook she used and the lack of ending to a crucial part of the story.
6. Julius Katz Mysteries by Dave Zeltserman Two mystery short stories whose narrator is a super computer disguised as a tie clip. Donna Andrews' Turing computer mysteries read better because she doesn't interject the emotional side to the computer, as Zeltserman does. His writing style is readable and crisp, although I fail to see why the women all swoon for Julius.
7. The Curse of Scattershale Gulch by Camille LeGuire Another Mick and Casey short story mystery, this with a slight paranormal overtone. Enjoyable historical western mystery with recognizable twenty-first century heroes. This is second Mick and Casey short story I've read, and I've enjoyed both. Recommend.
8. Heather Farm by Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen A mystery short story with dashes of paranormal and romance. Easy to read, very enjoyable, and l loved the setting on the Danish coast. Recommend.
9. Under the Bed/Funny Cats by Joshua Scribner Advertised as funny horror stories, they weren't either of these. But you could waste your time in a worse way in a line waiting at the post office than by reading these, I guess.
10. Christmas Roses by Lizzie Lawson and Robert Ellice Mack Children's verse from 1886. I like both children's prose and poetry and historic-period writing, and this left me cold. Avoid.
11. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe Such promise--a gloomy house in 1991, echoes of the 1692 Salem witch trials, a history grad student from Harvard who stumbles across a spell book. Ruined by two things: the lack of 'suspects' for the modern crimes (other than the modern day heroine and her new boyfriend, there really is only one possible villain) and the paranormal element. This book read as if the editor said "Great book, but let's jazz it up to attract the now grown-up first gen Harry Potter kids--throw some magic in there, they love magic." The villain had a perfectly good reason to go after the spell book to save his/her own reputation; the villain could even have had been consumed by his/her research without anyone in academia blinking an eye. Concocting potions in your office at Harvard? Hmm, not convincing. A magical colander than imbeds itself in the floor during a spell, crackling blue light that flows out of our heroine's fingertips when she starts accessing her own magical powers (that strangely she never noticed she possessed before), the exploding flowers--not convincing. But I admit to finding paranormal mysteries most uninteresting and would not have read this had I known that's the road this story would take. Too bad, too. Howe has a way with words and a nice writing style, evocative and transcending.