W

All those years ago when Sue Grafton started her incomparable mystery series with A is for Alibi, it seemed that I would happily be reading her books indefinitely. The fault with that logic is that the alphabet has only 26 letters, and now that she's published W is for Wasted, THERE ARE ONLY THREE LETTERS LEFT!!!! On the other hand, Woo Hoo!  She still has three books to write!

When a homeless man is found dead on the Santa Teresa beach, the coroner is surprised to find Kinsey Millhone's name and number in his pocket.  She is asked to come in to I.D. the corpse but has no idea who he is.  Never one to leave a mystery unsolved, Kinsey soon finds herself kicking up a hornet's nest of unhappy relatives, shady private eyes and sweaty-palmed drug researchers.  But it is the homeless population of Santa Teresa who add the real depth and color to this story, and Sue Grafton gives them a voice and her respect.

Sue Grafton is a master craftsman of the mystery trade, and she proves it once again with W is for Wasted. This is definitely one of her best.  TBC

The Engagements

Things I did NOT know before I read The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan:

~From 1888 to 2000 De Beers held an effective monopoly in virtually every aspect of the diamond business.

~Up until 1938 the diamond engagement ring was NOT wanted or expected by most brides.  Here in the US only well-off brides-to-be were given diamonds; in Europe it just wasn't the thing to do.

~In 1938 the owners of De Beers hired N. W. Ayer and Son, the then-oldest advertising agency in the US, to help them come up with a plan to promote diamonds in the States, equating them with romantic love. They were very successful. (Understatement)

~The slogan, "A Diamond is Forever", was written in 1947 by Frances Gerety, a young copywriter at Ayer's.  In 2000 it was named the Best Advertising Slogan of the 20th Century by Advertising Age magazine. It is still in use today.

Through four very different stories of love and betrayal, J. Courtney Sullivan has created an intimate tale of diamonds and their very human owners, interweaving the history of the diamond business, advertising and De Beers with brillance and clarity. (See what I did there?!) So, ask yourself: Why do I think diamonds=love? Answer: Because N. W. Ayer & Son told me so. And I can't say I'm sorry they did!  Read The Engagements.  You will LOVE it, and you won't even have to give it a diamond.

xxooTBC

How the Light Gets In

I have many favorite authors. (Yes, for the sake of fairness, they are ALL my favorites.) One of these is Louise Penny, and I was SO EXCITED to read her new book, How the Light Gets In. Set aside a day and start reading. Now.

Inspector Gamache is in a bad place. His team is being dismantled, his reputation is taking a beating, and except for his German Shepherd, Henri, he has very few colleagues that he knows are loyal to him. But this is not just a matter of personality conflicts and bureaucratic maneuverings in the Quebec Surete. Something truly rotten has infected this elite force. Gamache knows part of the story, but he will need all of his considerable wits about him to write the happy ending he and his fellow Canadians deserve. Meanwhile, the tiny village of Three Pines has another mystery to be solved, but in the end his dear friends come together for Gamache just when he needs it most.

Set in the cold and beautiful Canadian Christmas season, How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny is a gift to her readers.  It is also an edge-of-your-seat page turner.  Start turning those pages people!

Au revoir...TBC

The Secret Keeper

Kate Morton's latest, The Secret Keeper, is out in paperback. I bought it. I read it. It's awesome.

The time: summer 1961. The place: an idyllic farmhouse in the English countryside. The problem: sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson witnesses her mother kill a man, apparently in self-defense. But, Paul Harvey, what is the REST of the story? This is what Laurel attempts to discover 50 years later as her mother lays dying in a London hospital. What follows is a journey through the years and memories long buried, jumping effortlessly from pre-war England and Australia to the Blitz and present-day London.  Laurel has very few clues and little time until her mother's secrets are buried with her, but she is determined to solve the mystery before it's too late.

It's no secret that Kate Morton is a terrific writer, unless you have not read any of her books. Well, what are you waiting for? Get started!!  TBC

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

I've just finished the most magical book. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman perfectly captures the essence of childhood, with all of its memories and imaginings, dreams and nightmares, wonders and frustrations. It is a story like none other, and I can't possibly review it properly without ruining it for you, so I'll just reveal the following:

*To attend a funeral, a grown man returns to the place of his childhood.

*While sitting by his neighbor's pond a door to long-forgotten childhood memories opens.

*What he remembers is unbelievable, at least to a grown man.

I finished this book in a couple of hours, so plan your escape into The Ocean at the End of the Lane carefully.  No interruptions should be tolerated.

TBC

Divergent

WARNING:  If you choose to read this book, you will call in sick to work, laundry will pile up, children, husbands and pets will be forced to fend for themselves, houseplants will die...well, not really.  You'll be done with this book WAY before any real damage is done to home or career. You just might be a little sleep deprived, because once you start Divergent by Veronica Roth, you will not be able to stop.

The setting is post-apacalyptic Chicago. In order to ensure a balanced society, the people who are left have been organized into Factions according to their strengths. The Erudite seek knowledge, the Candor value truth, the Amity are peaceful, the Abnegation seek to be selfless and the Dauntless try always to be brave. It has been decided that a person can only belong to one faction, so at 16 the children are tested and must choose whether to stay in a faction that doesn't fit them, or leave their families forever to join another. For once you leave your faction you can never go back; you become factionless. But what happens if you have an aptitude for more than one faction?  What if you could fit in two or three? This is exactly what happens to Beatrice "Tris" Prior. She learns that she is considered Divergent, a skill feared by the powers that be. She must keep her test results a secret, or die. But WHY?? That is what Tris and you, dear reader, must discover.

I read a review that claimed this will be the next Hunger Games, and I completely agree.  Divergent is the first book of a trilogy, the second being Insurgent, which was also riveting! Allegiant, book #3, is available October 22nd, so read them fast before the movie comes out. Seriously, go read. Now.

TBC

A Literary Mash-Up

If you've been LOOKING FOR ME, I am under SIEGE from a MONSTROUS surplus of books I've read but not written a LETTER about.  I am living under the SHADOWS of my shirked responsibilities, so to feel carefree and YOUNG again I will say FAREWELL to my procrastination and begin with...

I ADORE D. E. Stevenson. She wrote endearing books with fascinating characters, and I think she would have been a kick to party with. But that's just a feeling I get. The Young Clementina tells the reader a story of love, betrayal and redemption in WWI England and beyond. The ending is rather abrupt, but I still loved it. Go forth and read her books.

Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth.  I am a Call the Midwife groupie. I'm not sure why I find this subject and time period so interesting, but it probably has to do with the fact that I didn't have to experience it. So, after reading the first book in the series, I immediately ran out to buy the other two. They do not disappoint. And workhouses really sucked.

Call the Midwife, Farewell to the East End. I can hear you wailing, "Say it isn't so!!!" (Or maybe that's me.) Yes, this is the final book in the series. The PBS show has stayed pretty true to Jennifer Worth's memoirs, but I will have no problem if they expand into original material in the future. As long as they stay true to the originals. We want more Chummy and Sr. Monica Joan!!!

Mary Russell is back in Laurie R. King's A Montrous Regiment of Women. She has graduated from Oxford and is about to come into her inheritance, but the biggest development in this story is her relationship with Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Will she become more than his apprentice?? First she has to navigate the halls of the New Temple of God and discover if its charismatic and powerful leader is somehow involved in the suspicious deaths of several young heiresses. Can you spell CULT?

Which brings me to A Letter of Mary. This time Mary and Holmes are trying to deduce who killed an amateur archeologist soon after leaving an ancient scroll and mysterious box with said detectives for safekeeping. You'll never believe who wrote the letter on the scroll, so I won't tell you.  ha ha.  Anyway, I love King's books.  Read them please.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo continues the story of Alina and Mal and their fight against the Darkling and all the other creepy dudes threatening Ravka. Things aren't looking great for them at the end, but I'm sure it will all work out in the third book which had better be published sooner than later so I can find out how everything is resolved. I like happy endings.

Beth Hoffman rocks! She writes the most heartfelt books with such interesting and original characters. Looking for Me is about appreciating the beauty of life around you, whether it be furniture, people or Mother Nature, and to do it before it's too late. And you never know where a random act of kindness might lead you. Also, never give up hope. There's a lot going on in this book. Start reading!!

Phew. Back to reading, and it's a page turner! Be back soon...TBC