Crafty Reader recommended Reining in Murder, by Leigh Hearon some time ago and I am finally getting around to reading it. (Sorry for the delay). It’s set on the Olympic Peninsula so the descriptions of the weather, etc. are wonderfully familiar. And, it involves horses! The main character is part of the animal rescue brigade and has been called out to help with a horse that has been in an accident. The driver swerved off the road … why? He is dead so cannot be asked, but that leads to all kinds of other complications, including another body. And Lavender, half-sister to the main character. (No comment here, you’ll have to learn about her when you read the book)! A nice start to the Carson Stables Mystery series.

I have Canadian Reader to thank for suggesting A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles to me. What a read it was! It is Moscow, 1922, and Count Alexander Rostov has been sentenced to house arrest (seems he is an “unrepentant aristocrat”) in the hotel Metropol. He is moved from his luxurious suite to a tiny room in the attic. Although he cannot leave the confines of the hotel, he meets up with some most interesting people, one of the first being a young girl. The daughter of an ambassador, her Governess determines the child is safer also not leaving the hotel (and that is the sum of her responsibilities). She is the one to show the Count the areas ‘behind’ (or below) the public areas. Because of that, he will be able to expand his living area (the ‘why’ here is delightful, but you’ll have to read the book to find out the ‘how’). The ensuing years are some of the wildest in Russian history and somehow the Count stays involved. And if all that wasn’t enough, a young child is literally left in his arms, the mother never to return. Full of wonderful characters and engaging descriptions, you should find your self doing the ‘just one more page’ thing far into the night.

Reading Hermit With Dog