If you are a fan of Christopher Fowler and the Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries and his aging detectives then you should get a chuckle with Bryant & May: Hall of Mirrors where the reader is taken back to the early days of their partnership. Think the 1960's and what was going on, what was being worn, what was popular ... and then imagine our detectives as young men ... They have been assigned to protect a man who is due in court in a few days, and could be at some risk. He has been invited to a weekend 'do' at an old manor house. Due to a snafu in reading a map, the local military will be holding 'war games' in that area, closing down all roads and communication (such as it was at that time). What could possibly go wrong? ;-)

Music to Die For is the sixth in the Falconer Files Murder Mystery series by Andrea Frazer. There is a small town band (sort of). They meet once a month to rehearse and eat and drink .... make that eat, drink and rehearse. They are in need of a director and the vicar is sure he has found the perfect man for the job. Turns out it's not such a good fit: he is rude, condescending, demanding, and manages to insult all of them before their first practice has ended. (You can see what's coming, can't you). Once again DI Falconer and his partner, DS Carmichael are sent to the small town to figure things out. This is a nice series, with quirky characters, good reads for a cold day. :-)

Anne Boleyn as a tall, robust, blond? A slender Henry VIII? Posie Parker has little interest in the film industry, and this sort of casting is not improving that! Still, she has been hired to protect one of the stars who has been receiving death threats. To make things worse it's the hottest summer on record, and her best friend is behaving oddly. It's hard to make progress when everyone lies, things aren't what they seems, and bits of the past keeping popping up. Murder of a Movie Star, by L.B. Hathaway, is the fifth book in the Posie Parker Mystery series, and to me, one of the hardest Posie has had to deal with. Just what IS the truth? I love how the author brings all the details together and lets you follow along as Posie has her 'light bulb' moments.

Reading Hermit With Dog