Middle Sister's February Reads

Short month (Leap Day notwithstanding), short list of books.

Shawls, Wraps, and Scarves by Louisa Harding Prominent knitwear designer Louise Harding, who also makes lovely yarn, has a new book of shawls and neckwear, and I love it. There are at least 5 shawls and 3 scarves that I want to make from this lovely compilation of new patterns. Well illustrated with dreamy photos, I will admit I was surprised that no charts were included. I can only follow simple charts myself, so I was pleased that the patterns were written out, but I would have expected to see both. Lovers of knit shawls and laceweight yarn, who dream of wafting through a beautiful countryside (yup, I live in a dry, brown desert, really) will enjoy the book. Recommended.

Molded 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton Of course I had to read this book--it takes place in Sun City, Arizona. The senior community lifestyle, real towns like Punkin Center, and a fair pace characterize the book (even though she calls Payson a city and there's no way that Payson could be called a city, with its population of 15,000; and I don't think there are Joshua trees anywhere near Payson.). The main character, Sophie Kimball, is someone I should like (in her forties, caring for a strong-willed and independent mother), I suspected right away that I wouldn't like her as much as I should when we are introduced to her as Phee. Yup, everyone calls her Phee. But I didn't like it, in fact, it irritated me to no end. As soon as Phee starts helping her investigator boyfriend and investigator boss look into the murder of an octogenarian, she and her mother come up with "a theory I was sure the deputies as well as Nate and Marshall hadn't considered." I truly hate it when the amateur detective thinks the police or professionals are stupid, I really do. That attitude makes me hate the amateur detective in their smugness. Also lazy is making up a patently ridiculous reason to get the amateur involved in the case; Nate and Marshall are asked by the Sheriff's Department to interview residents of the senior community because they are understaffed. I hope no one at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department reads this book; what a slam to them (and having the sheriff's department not conduct a thorough search of the victim's apartment is just silly). Eaton's and therefore Phee's disrespect of crime-fighting professionals is clear in this sentence: "As for the forensic lab at the sheriff's department, the'd take their own sweet time [processing samples from the crime scene]." Nope, they'd be professional and process things as they came in. The entire story was convoluted and unbelievable. Skip this series. Not recommended.

Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff Excellently written and meticulously researched recounting of the crash of three planes in Greenland during World War II and the heroic attempts to rescue the trapped airmen. Zuckoff mirrors this with a modern-day search to find one of the crashed planes, now buried under dozens of feet of ice. He becomes a character in his own when he invests his own money in the search for the Coast Guard plane. Although I read his previous book, this one I listened to, read by the author, and he does a great job. Riveting, exciting, and so far the best book I've read this year. (And imagine my delight: after 'meeting' Bernt Balchen in this book, I encountered him in the the very next book I read, by Bill Bryson--but that's for next month). Highly recommended.

Middle Sister's January Reads

I have already reviewed two of the books I read this month, so this post will focus on the other January books. Two were successful, two were not. Let's begin with the good books.

Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff What a fanstastic book! It details the accidental crash of an Army plane in Dutch New Guinea during World War II. With an exhausting attention to detail that other authors should envy (ahem, W.C. Jameson from December, I'm looking at you), copious notes, survivor interviews, newspaper and film footage research, this book is a great example of investigative narration. The author's treatment of the indigenous population was exemplary. As it turns out, my friend Debbie was reading this same book at the same time, and although our tastes are usually quite different, we both loved it (despite reading it on our smartphones). If you enjoy books about history, World War II, tropical exploration, survivor stories, heck, if you just like a good yarn, especially when it's real, rad this book. Highly recommended.

The House of Worth by the Litchfield Historical Society I love historical costumes, and this catalog for a recent exhibit at the Litchfield Historical Society is a lovely book. It includes entertaining essays that introduce the women who were sent the haute couture sketches by the House of Worth as well as a brief biography of the house. My only objection: I was reading this on my Kindle Voyage, and the illustrations were not formatted for this presentation. Every single dress was cut up into multiple pieces that were shuffled like some strange Picasso sketch. Read this on your laptop or tablet. (Net Galley)

And now for the badies. I rarely give up on book. It has to be pretty bad on some basic level to make me give up on it. These two managed that.

Unleashed by Emily Kimelman I didn't care about the language (much rougher than mine but not much worse than my own sister's often potty mouth). I thought the circumstances that open the book--how the main character lost her job--were funny and familiar to anyone who has ever worked in the food service or retail industries. But the author described the main character's newly acquired dog with the same exact same words just pages apart; a minor annoyance, but I guess I just wasn't in the mood for it. I may give this one another go (I need something to read during my lunch break and this is on my smartphone).

Killer Cupcakes by Leighann Dobbs I had literally just read a review of this series in the Mystery Reader's Journal that praised the series before I started it, so I went in with high expectations. I enjoyed the first scene--heroine lets dog out, dogs wriggles out of yard and poops in neighbor's yard, heroin meets hunky neighbor. But, c'mon--she owns a pastry shop and she's not there at 3 a.m., baking? Just one person, her friend and coworker, is? Not any bakery I've frequented and given my love of all things sweet and flaky, that's a lot of bakeries. She wears stiletto heels and she's on her feet all day (and this is supposed to make me think she's a successful business woman)? I might have forgiven that stupidity on the character's part as part of her character (vanity, by the way, is not generally a likable quality in my estimation). What I couldn't forgive was this: hunky neighbor turns out to be policeman (believable) investigating the murder of heroine's ex (believable) who says to her "of course I don't think you did it" three minutes after interrogating her. Based on meeting her picking up poop, or just because he's got the hots for her? And when Lexy admits the breakup with her ex was not amicable, does he pursue it? Nope, he shuts his notebook and drops that line of questioning. And then, then--"Jack reached across the table resting his hand over hers." ARGH!!! Police harassment! Police intimidation! Does the author know what the words 'unprofessional behavior' mean? That was it. I shut the book. Look, I get some people like romance more than mystery, and this is clearly aimed at that reading populace, but in the light of how many cop shows there are n television, I think even the sappiest reader would question a cop who acts like a randy baboon rather than a highly-trained professional investigating a murder. Sorry, but I can't recommend this in good conscious to anyone who likes their fiction to even sort of resemble reality.