Recent events have inspired a detour from my usual postings of books I have read recently. I went back to see what Canadian authors I've used, and asked Canadian Reader for favorites as well. I don't know yet if I will use only these authors, or include one with a new read or what as yet, but it's a small way I can support Canada in these, um, uneasy times.

I'll start with an all time favorite of several decades now: Nothing to Good for a Cowboy, by Richmond P. Hobson, Jr. It is set in the Chilcotin, up in B.C. I was lucky enough to go on a pack trip in the area when I was young. It might have inspired my love for wilderness trail riding!

It looks like I'll be posting a recent read, too! :-) In keeping with the Canadian theme today, this was a recommendation from Canadian Reader. The Merchant's House is the first in the DI Wesley Peterson mystery series by Kate Ellis. I'm told the series just gets better and better. Wesley Peterson has just moved to Tradmouth to start a new job. It starts off with a missing child, and shortly after that the discovery of a body of a young woman. In addition to his police training, Wesley is also an amateur archaeologist and a friend is working on a dig nearby. They discover two bodies as well ... an infant and a young woman. Similar crimes, some 400 years apart, in a story well told. You'll stay up late reading ... :-)

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Some years ago Agatha created a forgery of a popular painting for a class she took. Her teacher liked it so much he kept it (yes, do worry about this). It is part of two painting set that is about to be appraised, which would reveal her work since, she has learned, it has replaced the original. It includes a 'kiss' made with actual lips so her DNA would be determined and she would be sent back to jail. This cannot happen! The original is with her teacher, yes? So all they have to do is swap the paintings. Easy peasy, yes? An Unlikely Heist is book six in The Unlikely Murder Club series by Gina X. Grant.

Some of the mysteries I'm reading recently have focused on a cold case, and West Side Murder (Musical Murder Mystery 2 by K.L. Montgomery is no exception. The death occurred some ten years back, on a local golf course. It was determined to be natural causes, but many there do not agree. It has divided the community and is a topic involved in a battle for control of the community council. Ruby is in town, along with the Melody Street Players, to perform West Side Story at a local theater. Her grandparents live here and so Ruby gets involved. (Yes, it is sort of mirroring the gangs in West Side Story ... which the author does very well ...)

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Here's the first in a promising new series: Hey Diddle Diddle, the Runaway Riddle, by P.C. James, from the One Man and His Dog Cozy Mysteries. Inspector Tom Ramsay has to retire from his job, one he loved, because he was shot. He does not plan on just sitting around! He adopts a border collie and has decided they are going to hike as many trails as possible. On the first outing he comes to the rescue of a young woman fleeing her captors. She was held captive for several days with no mention of a ransom. There is a pushy father (who thinks she needs to get married). (It's the 1950's, that could still have happened then). Naturally Tom has to figure out what is going on, and so the adventure begins!

A Muzzled Murder, the first in the Amelia Hartford Cozy Mystery series by Angie Street starts with a cold case, one from ten years ago. 'Investigated' and determined to be an accident, the still grieving mother says 'no way'. Amelia decides (with some of her new friends) to check things out. They find all kinds of suspicious activities from that time. Why the cover up? In addition to the help of her human friends, Bailey, the dog, helps out, too. :-)

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Here's the first in a new (for me) series: Murder on Friday Street, by Russell Cooper. (Series has the same name). Picture a small town. In England. Where spies (think Cold War this time) have retired. There are the twin brothers (eccentric barely begins to describe them) who would have made horrible field agents, but were the 'intelligence' part of MI6 in that there wasn't a code they couldn't crack. It's their good friend who was murdered, and his daughter who gets them on to solving that, along with a woman who is 'living rough'. (Why?) Great characters, humor, and lots of interesting twists in the plot here, just a great read! Book two is on my shelf. :-)

Some time back now I asked the question "what books do you like to reread?" I never did much with that information but often thought I should, the answers were wonderful!

From Kiwi: Scott Turow, The Laws of Our Fathers. I had read it some years ago just because I like legal thrillers and this is somewhat of a legal thriller, but the first time around, I missed how literary an author Turow can be. Some reviewers have said he is the literary one among the legal thriller group. Second time around, this book was breathtaking in its writing and its plotting and some of the deeply profound philosophy about the 1960s, growing up, friendship, and coming to terms with parents and family.

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How human thinking has changed, thankfully ... from 'just a dumb animal' to creatures we know can think, solve problems ... learn ... and more. Our hardest job is learning to understand them, which is the topic of What Sheep Think About the Weather: How to Listen to What Animals Are Trying to Say, by Amelia Thomas. Well researched (check the notes at the end), the author, not a scientist, but a very curious type, searches out those who are, and have studied various animals, sometimes for decades. Her interviews with them are fascinating and include fish, birds, and even the underground! Seems it too can be noisy with chatter (think worms and grubs). She also includes animal psychics. A bit dense, I'll admit to some skimming, but overall a fascinating read.

National Geographic is a wonderful magazine, and the special issues are no exception. Kiwi kindly shared The Secret Life of Horses: Out of the Wild and Into Our Lives by Eliza McGraw with me. If you are a horse crazy person (I was) there might not be much that will be new here, Kiwi told me, but it is told beautifully with the photographs you'd expect from Nat Geo. It was a worthy read. :-)

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I'll start with a familiar author today ... book five in The Unlikely Murder Club series by Gina X. Grant: An Unlikely Exposure. In an unexpected twist, Agatha, who has always preferred to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible finds herself not only the subject of JJ Urquhart's next book, but also the movie made from that book. At her insistence the movie will be filmed in Unlikely, giving the small town, reeling from the embezzlement of a former town official, a chance to recover. It's no surprise then, that folks from her past show up again ... well almost no surprise ... one of them is her mother! (Not a spoiler, it's on the back cover). ;-) One videographer has decided that he needs to be filming everything possible so it's also no surprise when he turns up dead . For him, it's more the why, and what did he film? His camera is missing.

An Heir is Misplaced was a rather delightful start to A Duchess of Stortford Mystery series by Helen Golden. It's how a 'proper lady' in the Victorian era would solve a mystery (in her corset, correct language, and of course, popular gossip newspapers. A man had died. His Will is about to be announced. Step son, who has been taking care of him, the estate, and well, everything is hoping to inherit ... however, their is also a legitimate nephew, who has not been seen in decades (family moved to Australia). What happens if he shows up, and then disappears? A short, fun read.

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This is the start of a new series by Diana Xarissa, a Midlife Crisis Mystery. First up is Anxious in Nevada. When Holly Parker turns fifty she decides she needs to start working on her bucket list rather than adding to it. She's always wanted to visit all fifty states and when she finds cheap air fare and hotel costs for Las Vegas, that's where she starts. She's up early the next morning and goes for a walk, where she stumbles over a body. Much to her surprise, it's the man she visited with on the airplane. Also on hand is a woman he once intended to marry (not to mention the one he is with here in Vegas). An interesting start!

When I saw The Sound of Murder I nearly skipped over it as I've read it, yes? Then I looked at the author and it was different! There are TWO mysteries with this title! This one is the first in the Musical Mystery Series by K.L. Montgomery. Both involve a production of The Sound of Music. The main character here is Ruby Ecco. She has a great voice, but, um, the wrong build for any leading role so she is in the chorus. She is out for a morning run when she spots a body under the bridge. It is the actor playing Mother Abbess. Who would kill a nun?? Not convinced the police are doing everything they can or should, she sets out, with another of the actors, Nova, to find the murderer. Some interesting twists here, certainly not ones I would have expected. I promised no spoilers, but do consider something very much different than the musical. ;-)

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