Middle Sister's December Reads

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper I am an unabashed and terrible birder of 30 plus years. I'm never looking at the right part of the bird to make the right identification. Nonetheless, I love it. I was interested to read Mr. Cooper's journey as a birder, but the book is so much more than that. It's an autobiography that traces his life from an adolescent boy wrestling with his homosexuality through his (somewhat) hedonistic life as a young man with his dream job in the graphic novel industry, to the Central Park birding incident tat catapulted his face into the news (and changed his life). Through it all weaves the changing landscape of his relationship with his father. So while birders may find his descriptions of birding interesting, those not interested in his journey of self-discovery may find too little birds, too much Christian in here. But Black people, birders from different underrepresented communities, and autobiography lovers will enjoy this well-written self-reflection. (NetGalley)

Steeped in Malice by Vicki Delany This is one of my favorite cozy series. I love the setting (a tea room and associated Victorian B&B on Cape Cod), I like the main and secondary characters (relatable, nice, with just enough quirkiness to be realistic), and I like the writing (clean and simple) and pace. I particularly enjoy the series because Ms. Delany always takes care to make Lily's experiences as a small business owner realistic. To whit: the book begins with Lily off to an antique fair to replace the broken china that is an unavoidable part of owning a tea room. She has a budget that she has to keep in mind while shopping, but is so smitten with a children's Beatrix Potter tea set that she splurges on it. What follows is a good story with a slightly unbelievable premise (would the antiques seller really identify a client and/or provide contact information to someone. in this day and age?). I enjoyed learning a bit about Lily's past and why she left her pastry job in New York City to relocate to Cape Cod. I also enjoyed the role Rose played in this story, since she and her granddaughter Lily's relationship is one of the most pleasant aspects of the series. It's a fun, light read, and you don't have to have read the series in order to read this one. In fact, with some of Lily's background explained, it's a perfect place to step into the series. Highly recommended (Net Galley)

Big Meg by Tim Flannery and Emma Flannery I read a book about whales several years ago and loved it; it was one of my favorites that year. So when I saw an advanced readers' copy of a nonfiction book about an extinct species of shark, I thought I'd enjoy it as much. Don't get me wrong--it's a great book, with a well-written and engaging presentation of the science, history, and extinction of Otodus megalodon, but now I am terrified of living sharks. Cookie cutter sharks--I'd never heard of them, and now I'm terrified. Megamouths. Oceanic whitetips. Bull sharks. Tiger sharks. Great white sharks. I learned a lot (some sharks can live up to 440 years!) but was both horrified and unable to stop reading the chapter entitled Sharks Eat Man. It's a great book and I enjoyed it, and Mr. Flannery's love of sharks and the megalodon in particular shines through his writing. But I had to immediately start reading a cheesy cosy mystery at midnight to get the images out my mind (see the next book reviewed). It says a lot, though, that I stayed up till midnight to finish reading this book, because it was too interesting to put down. Recommended (Net Galley)

Cinnamon Twisted (Deputy Donut Mystery 7) by Ginger Bolton I read my first Deputy Donut mystery last Christmas season, and I enjoyed the small town atmosphere and characters enough that I was interested in reading the next in the series, Cinnamon Twisted, which was published this spring. Emily Westhill is getting ready to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding. She's perplexed by a woman who comes to her donut shop two days in a row, and sits there for hours. She strikes up a brief but cordial conversation and learns that the woman has rented the family cabin of an acquaintance of Emily's. So when the woman drops an earring when rushing out of the shop to avoid someone, and Emily will be passing the cabin on her way to her parent's campsite, it's no bother to drop the earring off. But she finds someone dead at the cabin, and with her boyfriend Brent out of town teaching at the at police academy, Emily finds herself the main suspect, and so has to try to solve the mystery alone. Who was Pamela trying to avoid at the donut shop? And why is Emily's new neighbor, seen near the scene of the crime, so evasive about why he was there? And just how was the new police chief involved with the victim? I liked this book, but not as much as the one I read before, I'll confess. The murder and its solving was pretty typical for the genre, but the tie in with the history of EMily's house seemed forced and too coincidental, e.g. Kayla and Emily's parents' storyline. I like Fallingbrook and the Wisconsin small town setting, and the secondary characters are as likable as Emily herself. But I thought this book was weak, and I'm glad this wasn't my first exposure to the series or I might not read further. It's a light and quick read, perfect for vacation. Recommended (Net Galley)

The French Powder Mystery by Ellery Queen My library is slowly acquiring audio versions of classic Ellery Queen novels and I've been enjoying listening to them while driving or doing housework. Originally published in 1930, the book opens with a model demonstrating the latest in modern furniture. She she pushed the button to demonstrate the folded bed, the body of the wife of the store owner is revealed to horrified observers. Nothing, of course, is as simple as it seems, and the name of the murderer isn't revealed until the very last sentence of the book. It's always fun to tag along with Ellery and his father on a mystery. Recommended.

Great Classic Mysteries II Great anthology of classic short stories written by several authors, including Baroness Orczy, Mark Twain, R. Austin Freeman, Anna Katherine Green, and Edgar Allen Poe. This was another audiobook that I listened to, and in some ways, short stories are the best to listen to as they fit into the time I have while driving around, doing errands. This is a great way to check out some of the classic mystery writers forgotten by modern readers.

Middle Sister's Mid-Month Holiday Reads

This December, I am continuing with non-stop holiday mysteries. I enjoyed two of these cozy holiday mysteries, and I recommend them as a great way to start the festivities. The third I personally didn't like, but would recommend to certain genre readers.

Campion at Christmas by Margery Allingham Albert Campion may not be as widely known as Hercule Poirot or Lord Peter Wimsey, but he was a contemporary of theirs int he classic golden age of cozy mysteries. This anthology offers 4 short stories set at Christmas in England, but not all feature Albert, Amanda, and Luggs. Several were published rather late in Ms. Allingham's career, but she is still at the pinnacle of her skills as a writer and storyteller. If you're too busy for a full length holiday novel, the short stories herein can be read between baking and cleaning and merrymaking. (a long overdue NetGalley review)

Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas by Vicki Delany I am a fan of some of Vicki Delany's series and not so much a fan of others. This was the first Year-Round Christmas Mystery that I've read, although it's book 6 in the series. The series is set in Rudolph, New York, a small town that has re-invented itself as a year-round Christmas destination. It's the week before Christmas, and Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus' Treasures naturally has her hands full with the influx of holiday tourists, but this year, things are more hectic as her shop assistant, Jackie, is distracted by her performance in the community theater's presentation of a musical Christas Carol. Merry's mother, retired opera diva Aline, has agreed to perform int he play and serve as musical director. But the normal pre-performance tensions and ego clashes escalate wildly out of control and culminate in the death of the original Mrs. Cratchit. With Jackie as a major suspect, and her mother menaced by a ghostly phantom, Merry has to discover who is killing the actors and why. I really enjoyed the book. Merry, her mom, and her dad are charming and delightful people, and Merry's has a sweet boyfriend in Alan. The characters are relatable and fully fleshed out, the town of Rudolph seems like a fun place to live, and the cold weather and holiday hijinks in running a store are realistic. I also approve of Merry respecting the skill of the local police and there is never a single disparaging word about their competence--this, would be cozy writers, is how you weave your amateur detective into the story without making the police out to be bumbling idiots. I will absolutely look for more books in the series. I looked into it and while several are set at Christmas, one is at Thanksgiving and one is in the summer, and I hope the next story is also a non-Christmas week mystery, just so that I don't start worrying about timelines and break through the fourth wall when reading. 

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Frost This book is also set in a year-round Christmas destination: Mistletoe, Maine. It's a week before Christmas, and that means it's a week until Holly White marries her love, Sheriff Evan Gray. (Was it intentional to give them color names?) As part of this year's holiday celebrations, Holly's best friend Caroline's father, the mayor, has managed to get a regional ballet company to offer several performances of The Nutcracker. The ballet troop is participating in the holiday parade when the dancer playing Clara drops dead. Holly is determined to help Evan solve this so that their wedding can proceed unhindered. But that's not the only dangerous situation in town: Evan's sister Libby is being menaced by a stalker, and it's likely to be related to the mobster she testified against. This story line is very distracting. Although I thought this book was not written as well as "Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas:" there are weird words usages ("Hugged her abusively"--not sure what the author intended here), typos, and grammatical errors (Evan scrubs his hair when he's running, or rubbing, his hand over it to think; the word discontent used as a verb, etc.). I was reading a galley and there were quite a few missing hyphens and some formatting problems on the Kindle. My main objection was to Holly; by three-quarters of the way through the book, I actively disliked her. It's not just the complete disregard of Evan's requests to please stop investigating and let his team do their job, it was the concomitant implication that Holly thinks she's better at it than him. And the setting was too reminiscent of  a Hallmark Christmas movie for me--so saccharine that it was unbelievable. There are named Christmas stockings for all the guests hanging from the fireplace in the Inn; okay, they buy them in bulk so it's cheaper than you think and Holly adds the names herself. OK, Holly is the only employee at her family Inn and does all the cleaning, etc. herself and still has time to fill dozens of her online jewelry store business orders (I actually liked her having a second job when the book began; it sets the story very cleanly in a contemporary setting when so many people have online side gigs.). But she cranks the heater for warmth and then, in the same sentence, cracks the window open to inhale "the clean oxygen-drenched air." (insert grimace here at that description.) There are times when characters say things to each other that came across as patronizing to this reader ("That was smart of you." "I stood, unable to be cool, listen to Evan's advice, or ignore my instincts any longer."--which meant, that she abandoned her mother when her mother needed her emotional support in order to run after a suspect.). Apparently there is a murder here every Christmas, just in the Vicki Delany series; not sure anyone would want to visit at that time, then. The assumption by the local small townspeople that being from out of town is enough reason to be suspicious of them reminds me that small town living is not the paradise these cozy mysteries make it out  to be. I could go on and on (a calendar can be photographed, edited, printed, and mailed in one week--Christmas week? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!). But then I hate the overly-sweet Hallmark Christmas movies, so this book left me cold. Cozy mystery readers who want a fairly clean mystery (there's an implication that Evan spent the night, but the characters are aghast that Caroline might have slept with her new boyfriend and she's quick to assure them she hasn't) and a super-sweet ending will enjoy this book. I didn't, so I won't look for any others in the series. (NetGalley)

Middle Sister's August Reads

We had a particularly rainy August this year, and there's nothing I like better than hearing raindrops on the roof and windows while I read. 

The Game Is Afoot by Vicki Delany Ms. Delany is an extremely prolific cozy mystery author, with currently 6 series in publication. I always worry when an author puts themselves in this position, because quality goes right out the window as they struggle to meet all the deadlines for all their different series. Or worse, they employ a ghostwriter who can't recreate the original style that earned the second and Thord contracts. I enjoy her Tea by the Sea series, and being a mystery lover, couldn't resist trying a title in the Sherlock Homes Bookshop series. I'd enjoy living in a community that not only supported a mystery bookstore (our local mystery bookstore closed shop in December 2020 because of the pandemic) but one that was so specialized that it only dealt with books of and about Sherlock Holmes. Gemma Doyle (get it?) owns the bookstore, located in the small town of New London (get it?) on Cape Cod, and after some success in solving local mysteries, she has been called in to investigate the potentially paranormal activities going on at the local historical museum, Scarlet House. She is certain that a very alive human is behind the unexplained incidents, but before she can convince the board of directors to implement her practical advice to change the locks, someone dies. Was it murder by a human or a ghost? To complicate matters, Gemma's sister Pippa, who works for some mysterious British government agency (get it?) shows up unannounced and in pursuit of something. I wish Gemma's boyfriend, policeman Ryan Ashburton, maintained the lines between public and police a little more, but overall that trespassing back and forth was handled quite well. There were a few coincidences that stretched belief, but  the setting was well done, the pace never slacked, and overall I enjoyed the book and will look out for others titles. (Net Galley)

The Plot Thickets by Julia Henry I've read the last three of five in this series, with The Plot Thickets the latest (and soon to be publishe. I remain a little skeptical of Lilly Jayne--she's too perfect. Oh, the author has her complain about aches and pains, but she's always right and everyone in town defers to her opinions and tastes, and I find her a little supercilious and obnoxious because of that. But I really like some of the secondary characters, like Ernie and Tamara, and I love the setting: a small town in Massachusetts where everyone knows each other. The fictive family they have created includes everyone in holidays and dinners, looks out for each other, and everyone's social and political sensibilities are in line (if they are not, they will be a major suspect or the next victim). I like this fictional town, despite it's silly name, and I read the series for the cosiness I feel stepping into that place. In this book, Lilly discovers something odd is happening at the town cemetery, and she and Delia dive deep into the historical records and the funeral business to figure out who is behind the shenanigans and why. There is character development across the series, but you can read them out of order without feeling lost. I was inspired to get books 1 and 2 from my library to get a little more of the backstory. Some of the plot devices felt a little underdeveloped and others felt stretched, but I enjoyed the book and my visit to this caring, too-perfect little town. (Net Galley)

The Murder Mystery by Alice Castle This is the first in the Beth Haldane series, and I really liked the opening. Beth was a fresh protagonist, with her practical voice, recounting daily struggles as a single mother and very excited to have finally found a full time job. Better yet, it's at a prestigious local public school (read private school; this takes place in England) that she's hoping her son will be able to attend in a few years, and having mum on staff can't hurt.  I even enjoyed learning that she was not close to her parents; that there was no awful reason why, they were just dissimilar people who weren't involved in each others' lives. I found that refreshing. Unfortunately for Beth, her new boss is murdered the morning of her first day. Unfortunately for the reader, we quickly became quite disenchanted with Beth as she convinces herself that the police think she is the number one suspect because she found the body. She met her boss exactly twice; it is obvious to both fictional police and reader alike that Beth is not and could not be murderer since she lacks any motive. But Beth is almost hysterical about this as the reason she has to investigate the crime, and by the third or fourth repetition of this ridiculous pretext, I was starting to hope the handsome inspector would arrest her to validate her completely unfounded conviction. Beth also accuses others of doing exactly what she is doing ("...amazed at his imperturbability. If someone had decided to put her own archive in order, say, she'd be furious." Yet this exactly what Beth is doing. Americanism: pot, meet kettle.) There are also some weird situations that defy credulity: Beth was never invited to her grandparents' parties as a child staying with them. Really, a child would want to spend the entire evening with people 60 years older than them and no one to play with? And yes, of course, our amateur detective doesn't think the police will investigate the victim's finances (really?)  because they are clearly not competent because they are not telling her everything about their investigation. At one point, Beth just flat out admits that she's going to obstruct the police: "Beth wasn't sure whether, if she revealed what she'd found to Inspector York, she'd get into such huge trouble that she would just regret it. And also, if she did tell the police, how could she then get any further with her digging? They wouldn't obligingly tell her how they were getting on." How I hate this attitude in mysteries. Naturally, because he doesn't tell the police what she learns, she gets into terrible trouble after she confronts the murderer on her own.  I have two more Beth Haldane mysteries on my Kindle and am not sure I want to read them if this is the attitude of our main character, because it doesn't make me sympathize with her. On the plus side, I did learn some British words I'd love to use, like wodge and Grand Panjandrum. I may just take a break and see if I feel like fi ending out if she grows as a character. (Net Galley)

Middle Sister's June Reads

June is the hottest month here in the desert, and I usually start reading books that take place somewhere temperate or even downright cold, or in winter, or near water. This month I traveled to another desert in El Kaliouby's autobiography and the hot and humid Panamanian jungle--what was I thinking? Must read some Christmas books in July.


Girl Decoded by Rana El Kaliouby Girl Decoded is an interesting autobiography on many levels: that of a woman in tech and coding, two industries notable for the lack of women throughout their ranks; brains behind and later CEO of a tech start up (see earlier comment about lack of women in tech--they are even fewer in tech start ups); a naturalized American born and raised in Egypt, in a culture where educated women face serious dead ends to any ambition. I first became aware of El Kaliouby when she hosted Nova Now on PBS, and I knew from that program that she worked on emotional AI. I've always wondered how emotional AI works--how do you even approach a subject as complex as human emotion and break it down to be able to code it and program it? So that was the carrot that hooked me, and the book does a good job of describing how exactly she worked at facial recognition of emotion for her dissertation and then for commercial purposes. She also does a great job talking about her childhood and thirst for education and provides very brief glimpses into the life of a prosperous, educated Egyptian family. The book failed, in my opinion, in just one part--the personal transformation that led to the end of her marriage and her cleaving from some of her cultural heritage. She may not want to reveal all the details of her marriage, after all, her children could read the book. She may naturally be too reticent to reveal that part of her. But the anthropologist in me was most fascinated by the clash of cultures and that's where I felt the book didn't go into enough depth and introspection. But overall an interesting biography, well written, with enough tech to inspire women techies and not too much tech to turn off other readers. Recommended. Net Galley

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell Clearly I've been on Revolutionary War kick these past two years. It's my favorite period of American history, and there have been so many good books published about it recently. I love Sarah Vowell (oh, how i miss her New York Times columns), and the chance to listen to her read her own book about the revolution? Not to be passed. The book's impetus was seeing a little girl's dress in a small museum with the placard that it was worn when Lafayette visited during the 1830s. That intrigued Ms. Vowell, and started her on her journey to learn more about why that visit merited saving the dress, why Lafayette was so admired, and deep into Revolutionary War history and ultimately to this book. To hear it read in her own voice made it even more delightful. It's the perfect blend of history and humor. Highly recommended.

In the Shadow of the Glacier by Vicki Delany I'd read a review of the series in Mystery Reader's Journal a year or so ago, and it had piqued my curiosity enough that when I saw the audiobook on my library's website, I borrowed it. Molly )Midnight) Smith is a brand new cop in a small town in Canada, and this book explores her transition from private citizen to police officer in a town where everyone knows her name and remembers her as a child. I enjoyed the book although I was a bit disappointed in how the murder mystery was resolved. It seemed a tad abrupt and the red herrings were so overemphasized that it felt like the author wasn't giving her readers a fair chance to solve the mystery along with Molly. The repeated misogyny and very overt violence against women were realistic but I felt battered over the head with it. I really liked Molly's hippie parents and the secondary characters, especially Winters, so much so that I already have another one in my queue. Recommended.

The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon I loved Nancy Drew, the Dana Girls, Kay Tracey, the Bobbsey Twins, Trixie Belden, etc. when I was growing up. But my fairly traditional family never thought to give me Hardy Boys books to read, and I never thought to try them myself. My library keeps all the mystery audiobooks in one folder, adult and juvenile, so when I saw the first Hardy Boys book on the list, I had to listen to it. And what fun it was. So innocent, but still a bit harsher than Nancy's adventures were--I don't remember anyone actually dying in Nancy's books, and here the suspect dies of accidental injuries. This reading included some mysterious music and noises, such as cracking twigs and barking dogs, that absolutely added to the ambience of the listen. It was a short, 3-hour journey to my childhood, and I had a blast. The adult me reprimanded the boys sometimes, but little girl me wished I could share their adventures. Perfect summer listen for grown up Hardy Boys fans or new young ones. This would be an ideal companion on a road trip. Highly recommended.

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 by David McCullough Newly available as a digital audiobook, this is an early David McCullough, published in 1977. Characterized by McCullough's exhaustive research and command of thousands of facts, dozens of people, and evocative reconstruction of time and place, this very thick book and very long audiobook is very suitable for readers who like American history. But McCullough begins in 1870 and the first third of the book focuses on the French, flush with their success building the Suez Canal, began thinking of a canal to join the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. I just wish I'd had access to the photos and maps the book has. However, I was very distracted by the audio, which was so clear on my iPhone that I could hear the moist mouth noises of the reader, which nearly made me stop reading after just the first chapter. Recommended, but only as hardcover or trade paperback for the illustrations.