New Year, New Kindle! Middle Sister's Mid-month Review

 It's here! After a four-week wait, my Kindle Oasis has arrived. Unlike my Voyages, which were immediately comfortable and seemed like part of my arm, I am still getting used to the Oasis, it's one thicker side, it's square shape, but it's a relief to be able to get back to my galleys. As much s I love my Mac Book Pro and my iPhone, I don't like reading on them unless I have to (hence last month's diversion to library books instead). But now, back to where we left off in early December, when my Voyage ended its journey.

Comet Madness: How the 1920 Return of Halley's Comet (Almost) Destroyed Civilization by Richard J. Goodrich. This is not just a book about the most famous comet ever, although it is. This is not just a book that traces the development of scientific investigations into Halley's Comet, although it does. This is, at its base, a book about how media plays into, exacerbates, or just plain fabricates stories that play on the frail human psyche, and that play on them for a profit. Because if you think fake news and lies being presented as facts that "everyone knows" is a recent phenomenon, you're wrong (although richly displayed the last 6 years on our political stage). When Halley's Comet made its return trip into our part of the galaxy in 1910, the media twisted what scientists said about the event to sell more newspapers, and in the process, destroyed lives around the world. Mr. Goodrich traces how the return of the comet moved from an event of interest only to astronomers to a front-page story with headlines that screamed about the imminent destruction of the planet. He details how even respectable newspapers published stories lifting what the astronomers were saying out of context, or, in some cases, attributing complete lies to them. This may seem like an uninteresting historical anecdote, but these screaming lies caused panic around the globe. Mr. Goodrich quotes extensively what the scientists were saying versus what the newspapers reported, and documents instances where people, convinced that the end of the world was coming in May 1910, sold everything they owned to enjoy their last few days in luxury. But worse then that, he provides details on people who were driven so distraught at the published news articles that the world was ending that they killed themselves rather than face being poisoned by gases from the comet or immolated when it crashed into the earth. The destruction of a scientist's name and career by these newspaper lies is less horrific in comparison, but no less sad. So this is not just a book about Halley's Comet, but the restoration of the reputation of Camille Flammarion, the serious and famous French astronomer whose words were twisted and shredded in the name of profit. Mr. Goodrich makes no analogy to the times we live in, but astute readers will not fail to see the many similarities between how the newspapers lied in 1910 and how media outlets in the 2020s have been blatantly doing the same. This is an excellent read all round, for science and astronomy buffs particularly, but sociologists, anthropologists, and indeed anyone interested in media and its influence on culture will find it fascinating. (Net Galley)

Middle Sister's December Reads

December was a busy month, but I had two weeks of vacation and was looking forward to reading, and reading a lot. And I did. And it was wonderful! I hunkered down and spent good quality hygge time in my want-to-be-home, Sea Harbor, MA. But tragedy struck December 8--my beloved Kindle Voyage died! Amazon made the wrongheaded decision 4 years ago to cease production of the Voyage, even though many of us Kindle diehards thought it was the best Kindle ever made. I tried to live without a Kindle but broke down within  a week and ordered an Oasis, which will be delivered soon. I hate reading on my phone, so most of the books read this month were audiobooks or library books. A Net Galley ARC was interrupted by the tragedy, but I will resume reading Comet Madness as soon as Fred the Fourth arrives.

A Dark and Snowy Night by Sally Goldenbaum Years ago this series was published by one of the mass market publishers, and I fell in love with it when I discovered it early on. After several books, the publisher decided not to pursue the series, but luckily for us, Kensington Publishing picked up the author and the series continues. Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, is a small coastal town, but it's home to a large number of great businesses I'd patronize if they were real. Chief among them is the Seaside Knitting Studio, owned by Izzy Chambers Perry. The series began years ago with Izzy opening up her yarn shop and over the books, she knits deep relationships with three women in town. They are all very different, in age, in lifestyle, in experience, but they bond over their shared love of knitting and their lives become interwoven. Over the series, their lives change, but the friendships and love stay strong. I would love to be best friends with Izzy, Nell, Birdie, and Cass, and have Thursday night knit-ins and Friday night dinners with them. The mystery is almost secondary for me. I love escaping to this cosy, beautiful town full of caring and conscientious people and set in a gorgeous, sea side locale. But, a mystery series this is, so someone does get murdered, and each investigation is spearheaded by a different woman. I had just read two of the Seaside Knitters mysteries in November, and I didn't want the happy glow of living in Sea Harbor to dissipate, so I immediately jumped into my third consecutive book, which is also the most recent. This time around, the mayor's holiday party is marred by a murder, and the victim is discovered by Nell, Izzy's aunt (and personally my favorite of the four women). With Christmas and the holidays looming, the women decide to solve the murder so the town can enjoy the festive season without worrying that a murderer lurks in their midst. I love this series, and passed this book on to a friend to read on her vacation, and she is now a convert and fan, too. What better way to celebrate the season than with this wonderful trip to my favorite place.

Black Orchids by Rex Stout This audiobook has two stories, Black Orchids and Cordially Invited to Meet Death. As all fans know, Nero Wolfe never leaves his townhouse, but the one thing that might get him to leave his home is a rare orchid, and this is not just a special rare orchid, it's a black orchid. When Archie Goodwin discovers a dead body at a flower show, Nero is drawn into a complex mystery that centers on an exceedingly rare little bloom. The black orchid reappears in the second story, in which a society matron receiving poison pen letters tries to get Nero Wolfe to find out who is sending the letters to her. Wolfe turns down the job, and then regrets it. This audiobook is literally just the old cassettes now in a digital format, complete with "end of cassette 1, please turn the cassette over." But the wonderful Michael Prichard and his gravelly voive are perfect for Nero Wolfe, so less than perfect presentation aside, I love these audiobooks.

The Capture of Cerberus and The Incident of the Dog's Ball by Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot read by David Suchet. There is nothing more to be said. Perfection.

Knot on Your Life by Betty Hechtman years ago, I gave up on Hechtman's other series because, as detailed in other reviews on this blog, the stories are simplistic, the writing often juvenile, and the mysteries unsatisfying. But, sometimes it's hard for a reader to know if some of the fault lies with the publisher, who demands a certain kind of mystery for a certain audience, and constrains the author with requirements and limitations. So when I found that Hechtman had another series out there, I thought I'd give it a try. Casey Feldstein has created a career arranging yarn retreats in Vista Del Mar, but the resort idyll is not without its evils. In this, book number 7, her nemesis, the resort manager, has started arranging retreats, trying to poach on Casey's success, but his attempts leave his first clients, a Silicon Valley tech company, unsatisfied, and they reach out to Casey to save their retreat. But it's not a restful retreat when someone dies, and Casey decides to solve the murder herself. Gentle Reader, I had so many issues with this book, it's hard to list them, but here are some, and they are my last straw pet peeves: why does Casey think she is a better detective than the police, because she worked as an assistant to a detective long ago? Why on earth does her boyfriend, the cop, tell her things that could get him fired if his boss knew he was telling her these things? Why does she let him do this? And why the heck is a 30-something woman afraid to date a man in the open? Does she really think the locals will gossip nonstop about them? Casey, you're neither that important nor that interesting. The juvenile romantic relationships Hechtman always has make the bad mysteries absolutely unreadable for me. It's insulting to Ms. Christie and Mr. Stout to read something like this right after reading their classic and well-written mysteries.

AlterKnit Stitch Dictionary: 200 Modern Knitting Motifs by Andrea Rangel Fantastic stitch dictionary of modern and unusual motifs for the adventurous knitter who wants to move beyond diamonds  and chevrons into dinosaurs, robots, and 3-D inspired motifs, among others. This is a great addition to any knitter's library. Nicely illustrated, but only charts.

And there you have it. The 69 books I read in 2022. On to 2023 and adventures with my new Oasis.

Middle Sister's Mid-Month Review

From Shetland with Love at Christmas by Erin Green Continuing my Christmas-themed books, I finally read this one that has been in my TBR list for a while. The book is told from several characters' points of view. There's Verity, the middle-aged mother who takes a gap year to try and start a yarn store business on Shetland, far from her home and her sons and her bossy twin sister. There's Nessie, the groovy blacksmith whose hair color changes to match her moods. There's Isla, the talented young chef who is managing and baking at a cafe. They all have stables in which to create and sell their crafts at Lerwick Manor, whose owners are trying to create an artisan haven. There is also a cast of secondary characters who play important roles in each woman's emotional, artistic, and romantic journey. This book is a pleasingly cosy novel in which all troubles are wrapped up neatly and just in time for a snowy Shetland holiday. (NetGalley)

Middle Sister's November Reads

This month, my reading followed two themes: continuing my immersion into favorite fictional towns where I'd love to live by reading multiple books in the same series, back to back (something I rarely do), and holiday-themed mysteries. Tinsel and murderous mayhem--a perfect combination.

Christmas Scarf Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Maddie Day, and Peggy Ehrhart This book presents three mystery short stories that each involve a Christmas-themed scarf. I've not anything by Carlene Connor, but her story, Christmas Scarf Murder, features Siobhan O'Sullivan, Garda, and her new husband, Detective Sergeant Macdara. They investigate what appears to be an accidental death involving a scarf and a tractor (yes, that's what I wrote) while they try to celebrate their first Christmas as a married couple. I thought this was the weakest of the three stories. In Scarfed Down by Maddie Day, Robbie Jordan, owner of the Pans 'N Pancakes diner, investigates the sudden death of one of the local knitters who was poisoned by the yarn with which she was knitting Eyes, that's what I wrote). Robbie appealed to this reader more than Siobhan, although the murder in this short story was just as unusual as that in the first short story. By the end of Scarfed Down, I was a little disappointed in the book and not holding out much hope that the third short story wouldn't also involve an almost preposterous murder scenario. Imagine my surprise when the third story turned out to be Death by Christmas Scarf by Peggy Ehrhart. I've enjoyed the Pamela Paterson books I've read, and this short story is a lovely visit with our friends of her knitting group in Arborville. A scarf knitted for the library auction is found at a murder scene, and Pamela and her friends swing into action to solve the whodunnit. (NetGalley)

The Railway Detective's Christmas Case by Edward Marston Set in 1864 England, the Railway Detective undertakes to solve another mystery associated with one of England's railroads. The series features Scotland Yard Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming, this time not so ably assisted by their superior, Superintendent Edward Tallis. Tallis is determined to take as long as they need to solve the murder of Cyril Hubbleday, but Colbeck is equally determined to solve the murder and be hime by Christmas. I liked the main characters and the setting, and the pace and mystery were well plotted. I will be looking for more of the Railway Detective series. (Net Galley)

A Trip with Trouble by Diane Kelly This is the second in the Mountain Lodge series featuring Misty Murphy, who has relocated to the Blue Ridge Mountains to run the Mountaintop Lodge. A women's motorcycle group, the Dangerous Curves, have rented the entire lodge for a retreat. There is some friction between some of the riders, and the group leader is avoiding phone calls, so Misty is already dealing with some unpleasantness when one of the bikers is killed. Things escalate as someone starts stalking the lodge. I enjoyed the mystery, and liked Misty well enough. I wish her love interest wasn't named Rocky but he's written exactly like the kind of man I'd be interested in. The setting is described in enough detail to satisfy this reader, who loves to vacation through the books I read. The secondary characters are interesting and fleshed out sufficiently to add to the story. I enjoyed the book very much and will seek out more in this series. (Net Galley)

Palm for Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman In the fourth Mrs. Pollifax mystery (a series I am happily re-reading, or, in this instance, listening to as an audiobook), Mr. Carstairs sends Mrs. Pollifax to an exclusive resort in Switzerland. It was supposed to be an easy job, but as always happens, Mrs. Pollifax stumbles upon a far more dangerous and complicated situation than Carstairs and Bishop ever imagined. The original mission involved stolen plutonium, but a mysterious woman being held captive, a charming little boy, and a debonair jewel thief become intertwined with Mrs. Pollifax, and none of their lives will ever be the same again. Again, the series is now 30-plus years old, so the technology is dated, but the books are still as delightful as ever. This book was read by the marvelous Barbara Rosenblat, one of my favorite audiobook readers. 

The other fictional town I would love to live in is Sea Harbor, where Sally Goldenbaum has set her Seaside Knitters Society series. The series was originally published by a major mass market publisher, but after it was dropped, the series was picked up be Kensington, thank goodness. The earlier books can probably be found at a used bookstore, so that character backstories can be explored more deeply. I read two of the most recent in the series in November, and have the latest on tap for December. A Murderous Tangle (number 3 in the Kensington series) takes place in late winter, just before the holiday season, and the knitters are excited to participate in a hygge celebration at Izzy's yarn shop. Birdie's granddaughter and her classmates have been inspired by their new teacher, Tess, to spearhead and implement conservation measures to save the ocean. Tess is observed arguing with Bobby, owner of the new and trendy pub overlooking the ocean, and then Bobby is found dead. As winter sets in on Sea Harbor, and the weather gets colder and damper, the heat and pressure to find the murderer rises. In A Crime of a Different Stripe (number 4 in the series), Izzy's good friend Cass is expecting her baby imminently but is determined to attend the photography event that Nell and the Artist's Colony have mounted. Izzy's husband Sam is quietly reluctant to see his former teacher, a famous photographer, showcased, but agrees to chauffeur the man to the reception. When he is found dead the next day, the knitters try to uncover who would have wanted to kill a man who had never visited Sea Harbor before. Which means the motive is buried very deeply in someone's past. I love Sea Harbor and the women of the Knitters Society and wish I lived there so I could hang out with them, knit before the fireplace, attend Friday night dinners at Nell and Ben's, and take long walks along the shore with my dog. Perhaps someday I can find my own Sea Harbor...

Middle Sister's Belated October Reads

Things got a little crazy busy in October, but here it is, better late than never. I took a wee fictional trip to Scotland this month in a couple of books, and began reading holiday books, a theme which will continue in November.

Murder at a Scottish Social by Traci Hall I've read two others in this series, and I'm rather ambivalent about it. My family long ago came from Scotland; I love bagpipes, so this must true, so I want to like the series.  The little village in which Paislee lives sounds adorable and I'd love to visit. But I'm not exactly fond of Paislee, and as she's the main character, that's not a good thing. I find her a wee bit silly, which I've tried to excuse because the character is half my age. In this entry in the series, Paislee and her best friend Lydia have a new friend, Blaise. Blaise's husband is a golf pro and the wives of several of his clients have welcomed Blaise into their circle. But they are grown up high school mean girls, and Blaise is trying to ease herself out of their clutches without affecting her husband's career. The ringleader of the mean girls is killed at a charity event, and the first suspect is Blaise, so Paislee springs into action. I found the immediacy of the best friendship between the two women not developed enough to convince me of the sincerity of it, and that meant some of Paislee's actions and thoughts rang hollow. The unrelenting meanness of the surviving clique members to each other was depressing and I didn't care what happened to any of them because there was nothing sympathetic about any of them. There is still no additional information on the mystery surrounding Craig, Paislee's uncle; in fact, there are further indications that he may not even exist, which would mean Paislee's grandfather is delusional. This subplot has been dragging on long enough, Ms. Hall; it's now annoying some of us readers. Paislee acts completely contradictory at times: Brody can't have his own cell phone, but she doesn't even blink an eye when he drives a golf cart? The story is okay but not arresting, the characters are, as mentioned, unsympathetic, and several characters have very odd reactions to events that make no sense. And frankly, how fast can Paislee knit that she can replace the sweater inventory in her shop at the pace implied in the book? Not bad, but just kind of blah, so I'd give this book a C. (Net Galley)

The National Parks Scavenger Hunt by Stacy Tornio Fun and creative book for kids to take along on summer vacation. Ms. Tornio has created scavenger hunts for some of the most popular national parks in the United States. The flora and fauna to search for are often distinctive to the local region the park is in, and facts and drawings supplement the searches. For kids not sold on a long car trip or camping vacation in the parks, this is a great way to pique their interest. Families can search together, or kids could compete with each other to find all the items in the park. Great idea, and a fun present to include in the childrens' luggage or to stick under the Christmas tree in anticipation of summer vacation. (NetGalley)

A History and Guide to Scottish Castles by Jenna Maxwell I forget how many castles there are in Scotland; Miss Maxwell does give us this fact in the introduction to her book, but she focuses on some of the best known, easiest visited, and most haunted castles in Scotland in this appreciation. The histories of each castle vary in length and detail, and for a history lover like me, there wasn't enough background information, and for the most part, that supplied was very superficial. Ms. Maxwell tells us which castles were used as movie or television locations, and as the book was originally published in the UK, many of these references are unknown to a US audience. As someone who did not read or watch Outlander, the many references to different set scenes from that popular series was a waste; I'd rather have had another two sentences on the real history of the castle in question than another reference to Jamie being imprisoned in this or that castle. The photos were black and white in the advanced reader copy I read, which is fine, although a few in color would be a great addition. This isn't a very academic or historical summary of the castles, but Ms. Maxwell''s writing is engaging. The inclusion of personal comments about a visit with her family or when she was very pregnant, or which haunted areas were too spooky for her to go explore, were fun to read and make the guide book aspect successful. (NetGalley)

The Lady and the Octopus by Dana Staaf Interesting biography of someone I'd never heard of, who studied something I never would have thought I'd find interesting. The Lady in question is Jeanne Villepreux-Power, a Frenchwoman whose remarkable life story began with a modest birth into a family in which a tragedy required young Jeanne to find a job. Jeanne set off for Paris, where she ultimately had a successful career as a clothes designer. But a happy marriage and a move to Sicily allowed Jeanne to begin to explore the mysteries of marine life, and in particular, the argonaut octopus. In order to properly study these creatures, Jeanne created the aquarium, which I found fascinating. Full disclosure: the book disappeared off my Kindle app on my phone when it was archived by NetGalley before I'd finished it. But it was fascinating, and is a quick read. Ms. Staaf's writing style is quite informal, but that opens this book up to a wider audience than a more traditional biographical approach would have encouraged. (NetGalley)

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict Lily left Endgame House, the family home turned into a hotel in which she had been raised, as a young teenager after her mother killed herself. Many years later, Lily's aunt begs her to return for Christmas, and after she dies, Lily decides to honor her by returning home. A family reunion at Christmas has one goal: to solve one of Aunt Liliana's famous puzzle games, but this time, the winner will get Endgame House itself. As the cousins assemble at Endgame House, a terrible blizzard sets in, and per the terms of Aunt Liliana's will, they must all be locked in, with no outside contact, for the twelve days of Christmas. They have to solve the puzzle before the end of the holiday, or the house reverts to an outsider. Of course, there are family intrigues and old resentments and alliances. Lily is haunted by memories of her mother and finding her dead in the garden maze. But as Lily solves the clues to the puzzle, she finds other clues that indicate that her mother did not kill herself, and that Aunt Liliana did not die naturally. And then the cousins begin to die, one by one. Ms. Benedict has themed anagram puzzles scattered throughout the book for the reader to solve. I found the book slightly tedious and a bit long; I think it needed some editing to tighten some of the long scenes where Lily has  repeated mini emotional breakdowns. And I really disliked the book being written in the first person. Also, for readers who prefer a conservative storyline, Lily is openly bisexual and her romantic entanglements are a significant subplot. (NetGalley)

Middle Sister's Mid-month Review

I will admit, I've made fun of some of the mystery sub-genres the publishing houses produce. Oh, I love the tea shops, the inns, the bookstores and libraries. But it seems like they will publish a series no matter how outlandish the core concept. After all, look at the sheer numbers of mystery series with witches, vampires, and ghosts (regular Gentle Readers know how I feel about paranormal mysteries). There are series centered on knitting--full disclosure, I'm a knitter and crocheter and read several of these series, but how many of them do we need?--, scrapbooking, a gift basket store, ice cream parlors, pet groomers, a couple of crossword puzzle series, cooking shows, record shop/coffee shop combo--if you can think of it, there's probably a series centered on it. Even vampire knitters! So when I saw one centered on a gourmet cheese shop, I groaned. But dang if I didn't like Gone for Gouda by Korina Moss. Willa owns a cheese shop in a small town in Sonoma Valley, California, and when the story begins, she is excitedly getting ready to host a visit by the latest super popular influencer cum cookbook author, Phoebe Winston, who is making a comeback with a book on vegan cuisine after a scandal. Phoebe is a graduate of the local culinary school, but not everyone in Yarrow Glen is happy to see her coming home. Then Phoebe is murdered, and Willa's employee is the main suspect, so she investigates out of guilt--he wouldn't have been the last person to see Phoebe alive if Willa hadn't insisted he be Phoebe's assistant that day. I like Willa and her best friend Baz, and I wish we had seen more of Mrs. Schultz. There's enough cheese talk to ground the book in its' setting but not so much that the reader would be annoyed (even readers like me, who love cheese). I'm not sure how long a cheese shop can function as a mystery setting, but I suppose it will do just as well as a bookstore. The characters are likable, and enough time is spent on the setting and on the town to make me want to visit again. Net Galley

Middle Sister's September Reads

Autumn is subtle in the desert. The air begins to dry out and the view to the mountains becomes clearer. It's still hot, but overnight temperatures start to drop slowly, so that one can stand outside under the inky black sky sprinkled with stars, and breathe. My flagging energies are always renewed this time of year. Reading comes less of an escape from oppressive heat and more a simple delight.

In the Shadow of Vesuvius by Tasha Alexander I often listen to audiobooks while doing other things around my house or while driving. My library's collection is ever increasing, but they don't often have series in their entirety, so I often jump into a series well in its arc. Such happened this month with In the Shadow of Vesuvius, the fourteenth book in the Lady Emily series, a series of which I had never heard. The brief description mentioned murder in Pompeii and archaeology; I was sold. I'm not sure I like Lady Emily; she's strong and late twentieth-century modern yet falls back into simpering nineteenth-century femininity by turns, so she and several of the other women in the novel, set in 1902, are not convincing in their presentation. I truly dislike when authors and publishers set stories in historical settings and yet then have the characters speak as if they were walking around today: "turns out" and "you lot" used by a convent-educated woman, for example, seemed incongruous. The constantly shifting point of view, between 1902 and 79 AD, was handled well but the ancient story was so predictable that it detracted from the murder Lady Emily  and Colin were investigating. The character of Kat was as annoying as one might expect, but did demonstrate some character growth that will make her less of a distraction in future books. The mystery was intriguing: while touring Pompeii, Emily, Colin, and Ivy, Emily's friend, discover a modern body encased in an ashy cement and posed between the remains of humans killed during the ancient volcanic eruption. The investigation is handled well enough considering the author set her story in time long before telephones and instant access to information. I may read another in the series to see if they are more interesting as straight-up mysteries. While many like shocking family secrets, I am not a fan of melodrama and soap operas, and there was a lot of that in the background. The narration was adequate. (Audiobook)

From Here to There: The Art and Science of Finding and Losing Our Way by Michael Bond I used to use and survey maps for a living, which (only partly) explains my love of books with maps. A book about how humans navigate sounded fascinating to me, and it was indeed engrossing. Mr. Bond started off with a detailed but not too esoteric background on the biological basis of how our brains map spatial data, and then moved on to some cultural differences between different human groups and their perceptions of space and how they learn to perceive locations. Particularly poignant were the stories of people who got lost and died, reminding us all that even in the day of GPS on our phones and watches, there are still wild areas where one can get dangerously lost. I would have to agree that current reliance on GPS is causing some humans to lose their navigating abilities. I worked with someone who, for an entire week, took the same wrong turn because the GPS told him to. Well written, fascinating and recommended.

After reading The Plot Thickets last month, I decided I had to read the first two books in the series. Pruning the Dead by Julia Henry is the first entry in the Garden Squad series, and it's here that the Garden Squad forms and begins its clandestine beautification projects around Goosebush. Lily's husband died two years ago, and she's been living in a fog since then. But her friends have managed to convince her that her beloved garden needs her tender care, and that a garden party would be a gentle way to rejoin Goosebush society. It's a huge success and Lily begins to slowly emerge from her widowhood, only to find that some changes in town have happened over those two years that she doesn't like. But what she really doesn't like is when her ex-husband's wife is murdererd, so Lily decides to find out who the real murderer is. One note: Roddy is introduced here with an Irish accent, but later books say his accent is English; one notices little things like this when you read three books back to back. All in all, it's a good first book, with a mystery that's not too intricate for the reader to guess but which is a pleasant introduction to the small town and the loyal friends who make it special.

Tilling the Truth by Julia Henry I love Lily Jayne's best friend, Tamara; she's bright, funny, and in a wonderful marriage. But someone is out to destroy Tamara's reputation as a realtor by playing nasty pranks that ruin her open houses. Tamara is determined to sell a coveted beach house despite the pranks, but it may not be just the commission she loses when the woman who lives next door is found dead, with Tamara standing over her. The entire Garden Squad swings into action to help save one of their own from being falsely accused of murder. The mystery in this series is secondary to the warm, considerate, kind cast of characters that Ms. Henry has created in the people that surround Lily. Goosebush is a pleasant place to visit, despite the murder rate. I envy the close and supportive relationships this group have with each other, and that's really the draw for the series for this reader. 

Dashing Through the Snowbirds by Donna Andrews I guess I'm in a sentimental frame of mind, wanting to vicariously live in either a town like Goosebush, where strong friendships have created a fictive family that takes care of each other, or in Caerphilly, where the extremely large Langslow family, with its dozens of cousins and aunts and uncles, constantly pour in and out of Meg's kitchen and life, always ready to pitch in and help with the task at hand, whether that's cooking for a crowd or solving a murder. Meg Langslow has so many relatives that pepper her mysteries that sometimes I get confused over who is who, but that's not the case this time, in the latest book in this long running series. It's Christmas in Caerphilly, and Meg's house is overrun with the employees of a genealogy company her brother's company is in the process of buying. There's a deadline looming on the project they are all working frantically on so that they can return to Canada for Christmas. But then the boss is murdered, and everyone's plans change. Ms. Andrews has this formula down to an art, yet somehow manages to make each book read fresh, and this is no exception. Meg's large family is still present, but their involvement in the murder investigation is scaled back from other books in the series, which means the cast of characters is not unwieldy and their oft-crazy shenanigans don't upstage the murder. I wish I had a big family that was always underfoot, like Meg, so a visit to Caerphilly is always wonderful. This soon-to-be-published book is a great holiday read, and I recommend it (and the whole series). Net Galley

Mystery at Magpie Lodge by Clare Chase I know there are a number of Eve Mallow mysteries in print, but this is the first for me (number 7 in the series). I love a mystery set in a small English village, and I loved that the protagonist of this series, Eve, is a fifty-plus woman with a career, a secret lover, a dachshund, and a life she's comfortable with. The black sheep of a local prominent family returns, down on his luck and desperate for money. He starts leading tours around the village, but he focuses on the scandals the locals would rather were forgotten. When he is murdered, there are several villagers who are happy he's no longer around to stir up trouble, but Eve is troubled. She liked Emory and found him sincere, and she is determined to find out who killed him. I figured the whodunnit out about three-quarters of the way through, which is much later than usual; Ms. Chase did a good job of sprinkling her clues and red herrings about. I enjoyed this book enough that I may have to back track to read more about Eve and how she came to the little town of Saxford St. Peter and her clandestine romance. Net Galley