Christmas is coming (well, it was, when I first learned of this book!) and there are several festivities planned, including a reunion of a group of local men who served in WWII. There are two poisonings, one murder, and one missing person. They seem so random (for one, an obnoxious diva, the opinion of everyone who is questioned is that the poisoner did not 'finish the job') (!), but could they be connected, and if so, how? Lord James Harrington and the Christmas Mystery is the fifth in this series by Lynn Florkiewicz.

Another Christmas mystery that arrived too late for that posting was Murder by Plum Pudding (a Ginger Gold Mystery), by Lee Strauss. Guests, both expected and unexpected (think her not so pleasant step-mother), are looking forward to a delicious meal with Ginger and Basil. All goes well until dessert when one of those guests chokes, and dies. The 'why' is the big question here, and even Boss, the Boston Terrier, has some ideas. Perfect with tea and cookies! ;-)

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If you are looking for a powerful, compelling, uplifting, depressing ... and so much more, book to read, try Our Mothers' War: American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II, by Emily Ellin. Inspired by her mother, and the letters she found that had been written during the war, the author took that information and wrote this amazing book. There are pilots, nurses, entertainers, spies, and traitors, there are even the prostitutes! There are those who worked in their home town, or overseas. They served far and wide, without complaint and under horrible conditions, and not just because of where they were, but because the men didn't want them around, didn't think they could do the job as well ... or, even worse, due to the color of their skin. This was just a remarkable read.

Read this book along with the one above: When Our Mothers Went to War: an Illustrated History of Women in World War II, by Margaret Regis, it's a wonderful companion! Lots of pictures with short entries about women and events that were explained in greater depth in Our Mothers' War (it's included in the bibliography here). I loved seeing all the pictures of a subject that was relatively new to me.

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Murder on the Old Bog Road, by David Pearson, was one of the books Canadian Reader left for me to read. A woman's body is found in a ditch, in a horrible rain storm, by someone on their way to visit an elderly mother. She reports it, but becomes a suspect when a connection is found. This is a police procedural, nicely done, and shows how, step by step, the murderer is tracked down.

Looks as if Death at Sea: Montalbano's Early Cases, by Andrea Camilleri (and translated by Stephen Sartarelli) is one of many about the characters we meet. It was an interesting read! Set back in the days before computers and cell phones, and in another country where police procedure is much different. There were some surprise endings, too. Not my usual read, but overall, not bad, either.

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The Harvest festival is coming soon so Lord Harrington and his wife make sure to meet the folks who have just moved into the area and invite them to the festivities ... but they are a nasty, surly brother and sister who want no part of community activities. There is a third member to their family, kept in a locked and dark room. Oh, and an escaped convict, too. All make for another great read by Lynn Florkiewicz in Lord James Harrington and the Autumn Mystery.

Much like Lee Strauss, Andrea Frazer also wrote short stories about her characters, the first of which is The Falconer Files Brief Cases 1 to 5. These are the easier cases that don't take as long to solve and get Falconer and Carmichael out of the office (and away from paperwork). Can gossip really get someone killed? And while we know that various nuts can be deadly to someone with allergies I think you'll be surprised by the delivery method used here!

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A combination of things led to a ship, loaded with munitions (wait until you read just how many) to explode in Halifax in 1917. Author John U. Bacon brings all the details together in his book The Great Halifax Explosion: a World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism. Well written, wonderfully researched, this was just an amazing read! You will meet the men on the ships, the dock workers, citizens of Halifax, and one young man who fought in the trenches in France. He came home badly injured and shell shocked. The explosion and the aftermath would have a profound effect on him. Oh, and if the explosion, fires, flooding, etc. wasn’t enough, the very next day Halifax had a snowstorm, one of the biggest to hit the area, ever.

Here's a fun collection of authors and their books: The Book of Forgotten Authors, by Christopher Fowler. It's full of short biographies of authors that were once popular, some who should be so again, some that can remain forgotten. I recognized and/or had read several (one is even on my shelf), others I didn't recognize until I saw what they'd written, and many were totally new. The author talks about why some were popular (right time, right place sort of thing), titles that would surprise (think of something rather, um, bawdy by the author of Bambi). A most interesting read.

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Deceptive Devotion, one of the Lane Winslow Mystery books, by Iona Whishaw sat on my shelf for a while … it’s the last one (for now) and I didn’t want to rush to read it knowing I’d have to wait! Wedding plans are progressing (so you know something has to happen) when an elderly woman, speaking only Russian, shows up. Since Lane speaks Russian, she takes her in. Inspector Darling’s usual constable is off taking a class and his replacement is often not where he should be. A strange, white suitcase is found in the wheel well (instead of the spare) of the police car. And, of course, there is a body. How do they all tie together? The next book in the series is due out in April. Can’t wait!

Although Ms. Quale is sure she invited Aunt Bessie to a party, and says so, Aunt Bessie does not remember any such invitation ... and one she would have turned down because she certainly has no interest in attending a murder mystery evening, she's been involved in too many of the real thing! Of course, there was a real murder, and she does get involved in the investigation. Aunt Bessie Remembers, one of the Isle of Man Cozy Mystery books by Diana Xarissa contains some favorite elements: a locked door, and an old house, possibly with secret passages!

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I’ve included other books on barns in this blog, but this one was near and dear to my heart: Old Barns of Whatcom County, with photos and poems by Jeff Barclay. I have seen many of these on my travels throughout the county and was pleased to see them so beautifully presented … the photographs are wonderful!

We all know from our history classes that the Blitz went on for weeks, but what was it like that very first day? Peter Stansky writes about that in The First Day of the Blitz: September 7, 1940. He draws on diaries, personal interviews, newspaper accounts, and so on to recreate what started as a beautiful autumn day … it was tea time, too, and the alarms had sounded before for little or no actual reason so many Brits stayed where they were. Well done, well written, compelling.

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I do love the Aunt Bessie books, but will also admit that Aunt Bessie Questions made me just a tad uncomfortable since … oh, wait, I promised no spoilers, didn’t I?! It seems like the wedding of Helen Baxter and Pete Corkill is all set to go off without a hitch, but we all know that can’t happen, right? Sure enough, a body is found the night before the wedding. Naturally Aunt Bessie wants to help with the investigation, but is that such a good idea this time? This is one of the Isle of Man Cozy Mystery books by Diana Xarissa.

Just what does one do with a bunch of renegade cops? Ones that do not follow proper procedure, perhaps drink a bit too much, or fire their weapon too often? You gather them all together, put them in a far off precinct (in a shabby apartment with broken down office furniture) and assign them to cold, very cold, cases. Thus begins The Awkward Squad, by Sophie Henaff (translated from the French by Sam Gordon). I usually try to read a chapter or two in a book, and then work on a project or chore, but finally I just gave up on that and kept reading! There are two cases that catch the attention of this odd group that at some point become related. How and why? Just a great read!

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