Mystery – Book Barmy

Murder at the Manor Edited by Martin Edwards

I’ve been dipping in and out of this short story collection for several months and it seemed like the perfect choice to continue during the busy holidays.

(I have a big weakness for the cover art on most all the British Library Crime Series – just can’t resist.)

From the blurb: The English country house is an iconic setting for some of the greatest British crime fiction. This new collection gathers together stories written over a span of about 65 years, during which British society, and life in country houses, was transformed out of all recognition. It includes fascinating and unfamiliar twists on the classic ‘closed circle’ plot, in which the assorted guests at a country house party become suspects when a crime is committed. In the more sinister tales featured here, a gloomy mansion set in lonely grounds offers an eerie backdrop for dark deeds.

Just as the book blurb says, all these stories share a rural, country house setting– a staple amongst mystery authors from Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie. These isolated setting(s) make communication difficult and a limited number of suspects. At the same time, they hearken back to a bygone era of British Manor Houses, with aristocratic, wealthy (and sometimes not so wealthy) landowners who indulge in lavish house parties.

These are not warm and cuddly families. The staff can’t always be trusted, and friendship only goes so far. Each story I’ve read has been clever and entertaining. While I haven’t read all the stories in this collection, I’ve found some familiar, yet others, completely unexpected.

Some of my reads so far: The Secret of Dunstan’s Tower by Ernest Bramah features his blind detective Max Carrados; A Horror at Stavely Grange by J. S. Fletcher, a “who and how” done it; The Murder at the Towers By E. V. Knox which I found very witty; and The Unlocked Window by Ethel Lina White, an good suspense story, even if I did guess the ending.

If you are a fan of classic British mysteries, I highly recommend you add Murder at the Manor to your library. You won’t be disappointed by the quality and the variety of tales within.

The Trespasser by Tana French

The Trespasser is the last in the Dublin Murder Squad series, and I am a big fan of the previous installments. You can read more HERE.

In each of these series, Ms. French uses a different member, or outlier, of the Dublin Murder Squad and tells the investigation from this new point of view.

In The Trespasser, Detective Antoinette Conway (formerly with the Missing Persons Unit) is a new member of the elite Murder squad and has not been welcomed kindly. So far, she has been stuck with thankless cases and has been the victim of vicious pranks, not to mention actual harassment.

She works well with her partner, Stephen Moran, who also seems to be her only friend. Their newest case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers’ quarrel gone bad. Until it’s not…as Conway and Moran, start to notice tiny cracks in the case. They are soon pressured by their superiors to arrest the obvious suspect and go further to try to thwart their investigations outside of the obvious solution.

I won’t give any more away, but do be warned, the first half of The Trespasser can be slow, but in a good way, as it smacks of realness — real squad room politics, lots of police procedural, and the endless suspect and witness interviews. Stick with it, as it suddenly becomes a fast paced race to an ending, which is so beautiful and perfect, that it makes up for some of the slower-to-read parts.

I really enjoy and admire Ms. French’s skill at creating utterly convincing characters who are simultaneously flawed and vulnerable. Her books remain some of the best in mystery writing.

Please do yourself a favor, and read all of Ms. French’s Dublin Murder Squad books – but be sure to start from the beginning – each installment sets the stage for the next. I’m going to miss this series but…

Ms. French has a new series which I haven’t read yet, so these are next ~~

But, wait, I have the newest Louise Penny book which, naturally, has to come first.

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

The Sequel is aptly named, as it is truly the sequel to The Plot.

I’ll start with commenting on The Plot which is the first book in this series. You must read it first, so you’ll understand Anna’s story as a whole. Jake is a novelist who experienced early modest acclaim, but he hasn’t been able to replicate that success in his subsequent books.

He is now a writing instructor at small, second-rate writing program in Vermont. Jake borrows a plot idea from a student and expects no one would ever notice. But someone does and begins sending him notes threatening him. The anonymous notes torments him and he perpetually worried that he would be exposed. His wife, Anna has steps in to take care of things for Jacob. And in the end, laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. But there is so much more to this book than this simple recap. My full review HERE

The Sequel

We pick up Anna’s story as a literary widow (no, I won’t reveal why or how) enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity. She decides, how hard can it actually be to write a popular and universally lauded bestseller? So she writes her own debut novel, “The Afterword” which tells her side of her relationship with best-selling author Jake and his death (again not telling…).

Anna gets her book published and indulges in her own literary acclaim, but soon she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. Something has gone very wrong, and someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and just possibly… Anna’s own dark history.

She has come too far, and worked too hard, to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story. And she is, by any standard, a master storyteller. Determined to take care of things once and for all, Anna attempts to do just that. After all, this is Anna’s story and she will not allow anyone to take it from her, no matter what the cost.

The story brings the reader along on an intense ride as Anna attempts to sort things out. We come to realize that Anna has her past secrets and dark issues that plague her, leading to darkness and violence. and warning — violent it is!

Yes, The Sequel is a dark thriller, and while it goes a bit slow at first, but the last half of the book takes off and I kept turning the pages. I never really empathized with Anna (as I did Jake in The Sequel) and I found her character somewhat one-dimensional and unlikable. Like its predecessor it delves into the publishing world and the overall theme of plagiarism but not with the same artfulness as The Plot which it turns out I enjoyed much more.

Recommended as a good plane read, but be prepared for some violent scenes and dark motivations, not to mention an unlikable character.

Foggy weather reading

Unlike the rest of the country, here in San Francisco it’s been foggy, grey and chilly for days on end. I decided it was perfect weather to settle in with a mystery, so I picked out three from my shelves. Two of which were DNF’s and one a hit.

Edwin of the Iron Shoes by Marcia Muller

Published in 1977, this is the very first in the Sharon McCone series. McCone works alone as a staff investigator for a low income legal service called All Souls Legal Cooperative in San Francisco.

Ms. Muller’s books get many good reviews, and I was looking forward to a new series based in San Francisco. My paperback copy is old — with yellowed pages that cracked as I turned them — and just like this copy the story line was old and tired.

The plot plodded along, with completely forgettable and shallow characters. Sharon was somewhat developed, but I lost interest after just a few chapters. Not bad, but just not great – maybe because it was one of the author’s earliest books? I think I have later one in this series on my shelves and will try it sometime.

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge

I actually bought this book, full price and brand new…based on the book’s blurb (at least I was supporting my local independent bookstore):

Set in midcentury Paris and starring Julia Child’s fictional best friend, this magnifique reimagining of the iconic chef’s years at Le Cordon Bleu blends a delicious murder mystery with a unique culinary twist.

I mean how could I resist? Even the cover looks like Julia Child’s masterpiece cookbook(s).

Tabitha is a spunky ex-pat American living in post WWII Paris, and a friend of Julia Child’s. She becomes involved in a murder which takes place at one of Julia’s parties. Tabitha stumbles around, haplessly looking for clues and seeking answers, which I found very annoying.

I kept reading (almost half way through) merely because the descriptions of Paris, the food, and shopping in the markets were just wonderful. Not to mention, the author did a great job capturing Julia Child’s cuisine and her preparation of the same. But (and you knew there would be a But) the friendship between Tabitha, Julia and Julia’s sister Dort seemed not only contrived but forced.

As a fan of Julia Child, I really wanted to like this book but I could not carry on as the mystery finally became obvious (again only halfway through the book) and once again – contrived.

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James

Finally, I decided to try this one. I know and trust P. D. James and read all of P.D. James’ Dalgliesh series, but somehow never got around to this – which introduces Cordelia Gray.

Cordelia inherits the detective agency where she’s worked for only a brief period, when her more experienced partner commits suicide after learning that he has cancer. She’s young and inexperienced but decides to goes out on her own.

She is hired by a wealthy Cambridge scientist to look into why his son apparently committed suicide. This is the framework for an exciting and dangerous case. Soon Cordelia suspects that Mark Callender didn’t actually kill himself but rather was murdered. There are lots of family secrets, strained parent-child relationships, and some interesting wealthy Cambridge friends of Mark.
She questions a number of these friends and integrates herself into their circle. She goes to parties and outings with them as her investigation proceeds. And before long, she finds herself in serious danger.

It’s unwise to become to too personally involved with a human being. When that human being is dead, it can be dangerous as well as unwise.

Cordelia is a sharp detective, and as fully-rounded a character as Dalgleish, but a different personality. Unlike the cerebral approach of Dalgliesh, she is more of a survivor, but is also a very human, human being.

I let myself sink into this book and really enjoyed the literary references, the Cambridge setting, and very English writing. This well-written, austerely beautiful novel, was written in 1972, but feels like it could be set in the 1940’s. There are no gadgets, it isn’t action-packed or sexy, but here is a young female detective, without her mentor, who takes charge, talks to people and gets to the heart of things – despite having An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. But the memories of male mentors, and their advice are always in the background (including a cameo appearance by Dalgliesh).

It turns out P.D. James only wrote one other in the Cordelia Gray series and I am now on the hunt – turns out it’s available at my local library – naturally…

The Reader’s Room by Antoine Laurain

Mr. Laurain is a French author who wrote The President’s Hat which I enjoyed very much. Turns out The Reader’s Room is just as clever and fun.

This short novel tells a big story. With a tragic past, Violaine, has transformed herself into a senior literary agent at a Paris publishing house. Her career is full — finding new literary talent, feting existing authors, and attending glamorous cocktail parties.

On her way back from a visit to a U.S. author (Stephen King, no less) her plane crashes. When she awakes from being in a coma after the crash, things begin getting strange.

She has lost much of her memory, she sees and can hold conversations with Marcel Proust, and one of her debut crime novels “Sugar Flowers” is up for France’s highest literary prize, but the author can’t be found. Even more concerning, people are getting murdered directly copying this crime novel and the police are investigating.

As Violaine’s memory starts to return, she discovers she has some very strange secrets including an uncomfortable link to the book. Is there a connection between Violaine, the author, and the crimes?

This short mystery book is just 176 pages and is beautifully translated so the sly humor and acerbic French wit are not lost. Mr. Laurain brings his characters alive with just a few elegant lines and tells their stories in just a few pages — concise with not a word wasted

I enjoyed this well crafted novel and its literary mystery — and hey, wouldn’t it be lovely to converse with Marcel Proust?

An advanced readers copy was kindly provided (a few years ago) by Gallic Books Ltd.

And look at this – I just checked out another of his novels from the library…already enjoying it. A group go wine tasting and get transported back to 1954 Paris – should be really fun.

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny

I purchased The Grey Wolf when it was first published back in November, and this beauty has been tempting me ever since from my reading nook. But then time got away from me, and it wasn’t until just after Christmas and all was quiet, that I finally (finally) got to start this latest Louise Penny.

If you’re new to this blog, or not aware of Louise Penny – you can read more about her wonderful Three Pines series on this blog – just do a search with her name.

If you haven’t yet read this series (this is now number 19) please, please read them in order — starting with Still Life.

From the book’s blurb:

Relentless phone calls interrupt the peace of a warm August morning in Three Pines. Though the tiny Québec village is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté, as he sits with his wife in their back garden. Reine-Marie watches with increasing unease as her husband refuses to pick up, though he clearly knows who is on the other end. When he finally answers, his rage shatters the calm of their quiet Sunday morning.

Doesn’t that just make you want to dive right it? It sure did for me — and dive in I did.

After the mysterious phone call, Gamache is called to Montreal, where the alarm has gone off in his city pied-à-terre. He is puzzled, finding nothing missing except his coat. Soon the Chief Inspector is led on a rat race that includes his stolen coat, a cryptic message, the murder of a biologist, and his missing, most vital notebooks.

Gamache and his team soon uncover a plan to poison Quebec’s drinking water, and as they dig deeper, they start to suspect those in positions of power both within government and the Sûreté, and they soon realize they don’t know whom they can trust.

As Gamache and his team race against time to solve the case, the leads take them to numerous locations from Three Pines to Montreal, then to isolated coastal monasteries, Rome and beyond. All their investigations lead to the assembling of a troubling conspiracy — one that includes politicians at the very top of Canadian government, old wounds are opened, and characters and places from the previous Three Pines novels are re-visited.

I’m going to force myself to stop here – don’t want to give anything away, but I will disclose that I really appreciated Ms. Penny’s research for the background of The Grey Wolf. I learned much about the liquor Chartreuse and its top secret recipe. There are fascinating insights into the Catholic Church and the Carthusians and Dominican monks. Oh and I learned a new French phrase ‘Sauve qui peut’ translates roughly to ‘save whoever can’ or ‘every man for himself’.

Ms. Penny delivers another great novel that had me hooked from the opening pages, but I must confess the story line got complicated and slightly confusing — stick with it – as it all comes together in the end.

I’m going to get on my Book Barmy soap-box here: Some fans are displeased that the latest few novels have veered away from the semi-coziness of time spent in Three Pines – I somewhat agree, I too, miss the village and its characters. But I also recognize that Ms. Penny has started tackling serious, thought-provoking subjects with complicated plots and characters. I have to wholeheartedly support what she is doing. Ms. Penny is evolving her craft into new and exceedingly relevant realms — just think how boring it would be for her to write a little-village-based-cozy-mystery series. There are plenty of those out there if that’s what you crave. Plus, I appreciate the little bits here and there of coziness – especially the food; Grilled artisan cheese sandwiches, croissants, and hot chocolate, just to name a few.

If you’re wondering where the title comes from, this quote from early in the book explains:

…a grey wolf, wanted the old man to be strong and compassionate. Wise and courageous enough to be forgiving. The other, a black wolf, wanted him to be vengeful. To forget no wrong. To forgive no slight. To attack first. To be cruel and cunning and brutal to friends and enemies alike. To spare no one. …Which wolf will win, the grey or the black?…The one that I feed.

It is an intricate and gripping story of evil — yet Ms. Penny has the ability to balance the evil with light. Her insight into humanity is what always what satisfies me at the end of each novel and The Grey Wolf does not disappoint.

Here’s a quote that seems most appropriate for today – January 20, 2025…

How easily humans could adjust to darkness. To dark thoughts and darker deeds. Until, finally, the darkness became normal. And they no longer missed, or looked for, or trusted, the light.

N.B. If you haven’t read the previous books in the series, book number nine, A Beautiful Mystery is an essential before reading The Grey Wolf.

There is a sequel planned for later this year — The Black Wolf. Count me in!

How not to get Murdered in an English Village

British mysteries are some of my favorite reading, no matter what my mood, I adore the village settings, the very English personalities, and often eccentric characters. It probably comes as no surprise that I also enjoy some of the broadcast British mysteries – whether it’s Miss Marple or Midsommer Murders – there’s always a bucolic English village with quaint thatched cottages, the local pub, and countless cups of tea served in cozy tea rooms.

But don’t get too comfortable, as there is always, always a murder or two (or three!). These murders range from the genteel – stabbed by knitting needles in Miss Marple, to secret poisonings on Vera – to the very, very bloody killings in Badger’s Drift (I’m looking at you Midsommer Murders!)

The other night, as Husband and I finished a watching a murder mystery set in a wonderful little village, we said to each other – wow if we are ever in such an English village – we’ll have to be really quite careful.

Then, I remembered this essay from 2020 which made me laugh…I’ll post it now and in a later post will share some of my favorite British mysteries in both written and televised form.

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Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village

by Maureen Johnson

It’s happened. You’ve finally taken that dream trip to England. You have seen Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Hyde Park. You rode in a London cab and walked all over the Tower of London. Now you’ve decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and stretch your legs in the verdant countryside of these green and pleasant lands. You’ve seen all the shows. You know what to expect. You’ll drink a pint in the sunny courtyard of a local pub. You’ll wander down charming alleyways between stone cottages. Residents will tip their flat caps at you as they bicycle along cobblestone streets. It will be idyllic.

Unless you end up in an English Murder Village. It’s easy enough to do. You may not know you are in a Murder Village, as they look like all other villages. So when you visit Womble Hollow or Shrimpling or Pickles-in-the-Woods or Nasty Bottom or Wombat-on-Sea or wherever you are going, you must have a plan. Below is a list of sensible precautions you can take on any trip to an English village. Follow them and you may just live.

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PLACES TO AVOID

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The village fête

The village fête is a fair, a celebration on the village green. They toss coconuts, judge cakes, drink tea, and whack toy rats with mallets. It’s a nice way to spend a summer’s day and thin out the local population, because where there is a fête, there is murder. If you enter a town while the fête is happening, you are already dead. The tea urn is filled with poison. The sponge cakes are full of glass. There’s an axe in the fortune telling tent. The coconuts are bombs. It’s like the Hunger Games, but dangerous.

Anywhere with a vat

In English villages, vats only exist for drowning people—in beer, in pickling brine, in whiskey, in jam. This is doubly true if the vat was built by 14th century monks. If anyone offers to show you a vat, say you need to get something from your car, then start the engine and run them over. The police understand this sort of thing. Tell them about the vat.

Places with gargoyles or statuary

Ghosts and monsters of stone. They are there to kill you.

The village church

The vicar will find your body if you venture here.

The village shop

They sell cheese, stamps, tea, and death.

The stables

How do you prefer to go: pitchforked, or stomped to death by a two-thousand-pound animal? Spoiler: it will be both.

Canopy beds

They have snakes in them.

Kitchens

No.

Attics

Join the ghosts up there, why don’t you.

Higher floors

Stay low. They can’t throw you off the balcony if you never go up the stairs.

The stairs

They are the xylophones of death.

Lower floors

Marble busts fall down, not up.

Basements

They don’t even have to dig a hole to put you in.

Bathtubs

You’re better than this.

Wells

Full of the skeletons of Victorian children and, if you are unwise, you.

The pond

Just remove water as a category.

The village green

Also land.

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PEOPLE TO AVOID

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The vicar

See previous note about the village church. When you see the vicar, run. If you are not dead yet, the vicar is obliged to kill you.

The newest resident in town

They don’t know the Old Ways yet and refuse to learn. They want to open up a Coolspa in that twee Grade Two-listed thatched cottage. They’re talking to you because no one else will talk to them. They’ll be a popsicle soon enough. Shun.

Anyone who leaves a voice mail

Do not leave voice mails if you are in a murder mystery town. It means you Know Something. Don’t leave them. Don’t hang around people who do.

Anyone who looks out windows and sees things

Obviously.

The town doctor

The doctor has been up in everyone’s business and must die, along with anyone foolish enough to pay them a visit. You don’t need a doctor. You have the internet.

The local historian

They’ve just been looking through some old papers and found something very interesting. They’re just going to answer that knock on the door before telling the rest of the town what they found. If the historian tries to show you something, you punch them right in their dumb research-loving face and flee.

The impoverished aristocrat

Things are not great at the manor house. They’ve had to sell the lesser Turners and the staff is down to seven. They just found out what a microwave is and they are not happy about it. The poor aristocrat has just enough money to be a target and plenty of entitled rage. They are either the target of the falling bust or the one who plans on pushing it. Eat the rich.

The gardener

Their roses are perfect because of all the people under them.

The amateur astronomer

They like to go out alone at night to a remote location with a big looking-tube to look. Draw a circle around every word in that sentence that means “no”.

Birdwatchers

Birds are related to dinosaurs. Did you know that? And like the dinosaur, the birdwatcher will soon be extinct because looking.

Train enthusiasts

“Why, yes, this carriage is from the 1984 stock and has thirty seats. It used to come in from London, Waterloo Station but when they redid the tracks in 1998, why I’ll show you right here is where they connected the two, this rail right here…oh no there goes my head.”

The thespian

They quote Shakespeare in public, to children.

Anyone with a lot of bees

Oh, you walk around dressed like a fencing ghost and raise eighty thousand little killing machines? Good to meet you.

Visiting mystery novelists

You’ll make nice story meat.

The loner with a stick

This person appears in town and wanders around, laughing into a bucket and saying things like, “Aye know what ye did, ye old salty doorknob!” They will be found dead soon enough, possibly covered in bees.

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PEOPLE AND PLACES THAT ARE GENERALLY SAFE

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The pub

No one would defile the pub.

Anyone with a dog

Stick with the dogs. Dogs are angels and protect us from everything and we don’t deserve them.

You have now been warned….

Maureen Johnson is the author of the Truly Devious mystery series, which culminates with The Hand on the Wall (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins; January 21, 2020).

Christmas Reading

Here we are, gifts wrapped, cookies made, baked goods delivered and now it’s time to kick back and read. It’s also time to share some of the books I’ve selected and stacked up to read this next week.

Is it possible to fall in love with a bookstore? Well, I certainty did – I fell hard for the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City – claims to be the oldest mystery specialty bookstore in the world. Just look – sigh…

A few weeks ago, (perhaps, again, under the influence) I ordered the bookshop’s exclusive and newest Christmas crimes collection directly from the store and signed by the owner. The little volume arrived the other day (below left) and I am not disappointed. Then I had to dig out my older collection from 2011 (out of print, but found in a used bookstore out here)

Both books contain a collection of crime stories gathered from a wonderful tradition at the Mysterious Bookshop. For most of its forty-five-year history Otto Penzler, the owner, has commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for its customers. These tales are written exclusively for the store, never published elsewhere, and were given as a holiday booklet to its customers as a thank you for their business — handed out or mailed between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. These booklets are rare and hard to find – click to make bigger.

Mr. Penzler’s requirements for these stories were based on three elements: that it be set at Christmastime, that it involve a crime of some kind, or the suspicion of one, and that it be set at least partially in the Mysterious Bookshop.

Many famous authors happily complied, including such notables as Jeffery Deaver, Laura Lippman, Lawrence Block, Ed McBain, and Donald E. Westlake – just to name a few.

I’ve already dipped in, and tales are as diverse as the authors. Perfect cozy crime reads for the holiday season.

And while I’m in a Christmas crime mood, here are two more I put on my stack to read this year. Both dug out from my stash of Christmas books — you see, I can’t get rid of them as the covers are so fun – wish you could see the sparkly cover on the Val McDermid book.

Again, short stories of crime set at Christmas – with a cup of tea or cocoa – well I’m all set…

Wishing you a cozy, warm and peaceful holiday week, filled with loved ones and some good books.

Hugs and happy reading ~~ Book Barmy

Reading Under the Influence

My recovery from knee replacement is going well, but for the first two weeks I was on pain drugs – which I found made some reading a challenge. I was close to the end of the latest Louis Penny novel, but the complex plot and clues became a jumble – as I say – under the influence.

Putting it aside for now, I read three very effortless Christmas books.

Perhaps you too, while not on drugs, are a bit scattered this time of year and want something easy to read right before bed ~~ try these, I enjoyed them all.

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Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishoi

Brightly Shining is a Norwegian Christmas tale that has been critically acclaimed across Europe. I was drawn in by the sparkly cover.

This story is reminiscent of the fairy tale, ‘The Little Match Girl’ – so fair warning – not a happy Christmas story. Take two young girls, an alcoholic father, and all of them barely surviving on a cold Norwegian Christmas.

The little girls’ father gets a job selling Christmas trees, but it’s not long before he falls back into poor choices. The girls survive by helping out at the Christmas tree kiosk and make enough money to buy food and fuel. They survive on their dreams. Dreams of warm cabins, food, better times, and hope. But it’s hard to keep dreams alive when they, too, lose their gigs selling trees and the father is no where to be found.

While certainly sad, I found Brightly Shining compelling – the magic of dreams, the beautiful writing (it doesn’t read like a translation), and the girls endurance kept me turning the pages. In the end, no one saves the day which is very Norwegian realistic — and I will let you decide what you think of the ending.

A digital review copy was kindly provided by Grove Atlantic via Netgalley.

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb

Ms. Gaynor/Webb’s previous Christmas book – Last Christmas in Paris was one of my favorite holiday reads so I was very (very) pleased when the publisher sent me her newest – Christmas with the Queen.

This delightful novel opens with the beginning of Queen Elizabeth’s reign and her trepidation over her first Christmas Day Speech from Sandringham.

The dual story line opens in London when BBC typist Olive Carter, her best friend Rosie, and another girl Andrea meet Jack Devereux, a Seabee cook trained by his Louisiana grandfather, and pilot Peter Hall. The newly bonded young friends meet weekly at a pub to share their lives, hopes and dreams, flirting and settling into their new jobs and lives.

Seven years later Olive, now a single mom, is a junior reporter with the BBC and is sent as a replacement for her ill and stogy boss to cover the new Queen’s Christmas day speech at Sandringham. Once there she re-encounters Jack, who has lost his wife Andrea in an accident and has been recruited to help out in the royal kitchen for the holidays. Old sparks reignite, but their lives go in separate ways.

Christmas with the Queen goes on to follow the young Queen’s early Christmas broadcasts and Jack and Olive’s involvement with the royal household from 1952-1957. Times were changing in those post war years and the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth was facing a changing world. There is a special highlight on her actual Christmas Day speeches, and while the events that lead Olive to become her personal speech advisor may strain credibility, the interaction between these two mothers of young children, doing their duties in previously male held posts was insightful and heartwarming.

Jack becomes more than a valuable helper cook for Sandringham at Christmas, he becomes a permanent chef at Buckingham Palace, and joins the royal family on the royal yacht Britannia during the Queen’s commonwealth tour. I found the descriptions of the operation of the various royal kitchens fascinating and Jack, being an open and friendly American, develops a good matured and chummy relationship with Prince Philip.

As with their previous Christmas book, these two authors’ writing style drew me in and I fell headfirst into the story. (Again under the influence). It didn’t hurt that I’m a sucker for books about the royals. And, unlike the bleak Norwegian novel above – Christmas with the Queen has a heartwarming and magical ending — perfect for the holiday season.

A digital review copy was kindly provided by William Morrow via Netgalley.

Two minor quibbles: The authors obviously wanted to extend Jack and Olive’s romance over the years in the story line and so they loaded their relationship with miscommunications, set backs, and misunderstandings — which felt a little strained towards the end of the novel.

As I read, my teeth grated over the authors’ use of the grammatically incorrect ‘between Philip and I’ and ‘carefree days with Philip and I’. Arghh it should be between Philip and me and with Philip and me. Correct me if I’m wrong?

Christmas Crumble by M. C. Beaton

The more intellectual followers of this little blog, are most likely aghast at my fondness for the Agatha Raisin series, but there it is – I love these often silly, always funny mysteries.

Here’s what Goodreads said:

At home alone for the holidays, Agatha Raisin decides to host a dinner party for the elder residents in her Cotswold village . Agatha’s never been able to cook, but she’s dead-set on making this the perfect holiday for local “crumblies”. She’s decorated a tree while fending off her cats Hodge and Boswell, and even made a (lumpy) Christmas pudding in between swigs of rum.

When Agatha dumps the pudding on the head of the local self-proclaimed lothario—an eighty-five year old with a beer belly and fingers like sausages—his death by dessert proves more than a trifle as mysteries mount higher than the season’s snowfall. So much for trying to do good by her neighbors. Now Agatha needs no less than a Christmas miracle to get herself out of this one...

This little 36 page novel packs in a lot, and, as always, Agatha provides much merriment as she struggles to gain acceptance and love, fails miserably, but always pulls herself back up. And that, folks, is why I enjoy this character.

I’m now off the pain killers, just Tylenol – so I feel equipped to get back to Three Pines and the wonderful world of Louise Penny. But wait, look over there – more Christmas books to consider.

Tis’ the season after all…

Daily life is a bit different…

So, I have new knee! Yup, early last week I had a total knee replacement. I’d been putting it off for far too long. It was only during our recent trip, when I could hardly hobble over the cobblestones, and had to wait in a cafe while Husband went exploring. It was then I made my decision to finally have it done. We have too many trips in our future and all involve walking.

I’ve known about this surgery since September and have my moods have varied between angst, anticipation, worry, hope, dread and pure fright. You see, I’ve never had an operation before, let alone been in a hospital. (I know!)

In the end, It went really well. I was extremely well taken care of, all the nurses and doctors were kind, understanding, and comforting~~and as to the actual surgery – I remember nothing. And, I was home that same afternoon. So, all that pre-surgery worry and emotions was for nothing – a waste ~~ will I learn from this? Probably not.

I must admit the first three days were the worst, but here I am on Day 5 and every day is getting easier. To explain the title of this post — daily life has been reduced to exercises, walking around with walker, visits from the physical therapist, icing the knee, light meal, read, sleep – and repeat. Big shout out to Husband (and my favorite cabana boy) – coaching me with my exercises, preparing all the meals, fetching an afghan here, my book over there. He’s applied his Eagle Scout training to my care and rehab — to the point he sets his alarm to give me my meds exactly on schedule (at the sometimes ungodly 4am). He’s totally rocking the ‘for better or worse” vow. Getting choked up just writing about it – love that guy.

But enough of this about me – I want to talk about something else – not a book, per se, but another PBS Masterpiece series (bravo PBS!).

This series is based on the mystery novel of the same name written by Robert Thorogood . I’ve never read this book even though it has been on my to be read list. But,during the days leading up to the aforementioned surgery, I needed a good distraction so decided to watch it anyway.

The series is based in the village of Marlow* in (of course) England, and stars one of my favorite actresses, Samantha Bond who plays a former archaeologist Judith Potts. Judith unexpectedly comes across a murder in her very back yard when she overhears her neighbor being shot.

Initially, the police brush her off but when she successfully recovers the missing body, they launch a full police investigation, warning Judith to not get involved. Well, you know where this is going, Judith however immediately starts digging around , enlisting the help of dog-walker Suze, and the Vicar’s wife, Becks along the way.

Each of these women are keen to solve the murder and bring some excitement to their lives. Each has their own wonderful skills which they bring into the sleuthing. Suze being a dog walker, goes unnoticed as long as she has a dog at her side. Becks, the Vicar’s wife, is welcome into private homes and is privy to all sorts of tantalizing gossip and key clues.

This sleuthing trio soon uncovers another two dead bodies and realize that a serial killer is at large in Marlow. But what connects the three victims and how is it that the prime suspect in each instance always had the perfect alibi? With so much to figure out Judith, Suze, and Becks have their work cut out for them but if anyone can do it it’s the newly appointed Marlow Murder Club.

This is a extremely well done production (again bravo PBS) with beautiful local settings and lavish sets. I really enjoyed the multi-layered mystery, as our sleuthing trio tries to tackle a nearly impossible mystery. The story line develops across the four episodes — as one murder soon turns into three and we get to dive into the past, as well as the present to find out how it was pulled off.

A great watch from start to finish, the casting is just great, the writing sharp and fun. The Marlow Murder Club is an homage to the golden age crime era with a touch of modern spunk.

Here’s the trailer~~

And here’s a bonus story — on a business trip in the late 1990’s, I was fortunate to stay at the hotel featured in the PBS series ~~

It’s The Compleate Angler in Marlow – a magical hotel with all the amenities one could ever want. (For me it was tea and scones room delivery – sigh). The hotel is named after the1653 literary nature classic by Izaak Walton. I hated to leave – but of course, there were those pesky business meetings I had to attend. Someday I’ll go back and never leave – except to go on long walks along the river with my new knee!

Here’s the book and a sequel, if you’re interested – available at your local library, of course. I may stick to PBS as they are reportedly filming a second series based on the sequel.