England. 1953. The upcoming coronation of Elizabeth II has everyone buying a new fangled device called the television. A body is found with the ace of hearts on top of the corpse. While many may think this is a card of love, to magicians it's much more sinister. The Blood Card, by Elly Griffiths, is the third in the Magic Men series. This time, in addition to bodies, there is a bomb threat, but is it against the coronation, or the variety show that will air that same night? Clear some time to read this one, it was hard to put down.

One of the books in A League of Literary Ladies Mystery series was the reason dinner was very late one night! Author Kylie Logan admits to being a huge fan of Agatha Christie and wants her books to be in a similar style. I think she hit the mark here with And Then There Were Nuns. (Of course, it's been (ahem) a while since I read And Then There Were None) Who would be after nuns? And why? Again, just a nice cozy read, with some good twists to the plot. :-)

Do you like to bake? Are you creative in the kitchen? I am neither, so found myself most intrigued by A Sweet World of White House Desserts: From Blown-Sugar Baskets to Gingerbread Houses, a Pastry Chef Remembers, by Roland Mesnier. Note, there are no recipes included because each dessert was unique for the occasion, whether it was a state dinner, a celebration (birthday, holiday), or a special event. Check out some of Mr. Mesnier's amazing creations and remember, sometimes as many as 650 were needed. He was proud of the fact that in 25 years he never served the same dessert twice! Wonderful pictures!

Here's another title from the Mindset People ... The Mindset List of the Obscure: 74 Famously Forgotten Icons from A to Z, by Tom McBride and Ron Nief. Here they describe several things that were once popular. It includes items that were found in every home, well known phrases, and people from stage and screen ... and radio. See how many are familiar! I'm not sure if this is amusing or depressing, but it was a fun read. (See post from November 14, 2017 for another Mindset book).

Reading Hermit With Dog