Monday, June 28, 2021

Try and imagine when the word 'dinosaur' was new, as were finding and displaying their bones! It starts out with a smashed skeleton and a nasty message. The 'museum detectives' are asked to investigate. Then the bodies start to pile up, there is blackmail, suspects are fleeing ... who can be trusted? Murder at the Natural History Museum, has lots of intrigue, several unexpected twists (to me anyway), and is another great read from author Jim Eldridge.

Here we are, at the last of the Markham Sisters mysteries. This time there is a body.(Unusual for this series). It's a skeleton, found in the old carriage house that the sisters are finally getting around to clearing out. How long has it been there? Who is it? The Zachery Case offers some hints to the original owner of the Doveby House and secrets some would like to stay that way. A nice read, with a cold drink, in front of the fan. :-) I wonder what author Diana Xarissa has in store for these characters?!

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Friday, June 25, 2021

An old man has died. He was known to have a bad heart, and to be on medication for that, so the autopsy is quick and the body cremated. Then it is discovered that his children will not inherit the family farm, that it has been signed over to a fancy retirement home. This would not be normal behavior for the deceased, but it looks like everything is in order, so what can be done? It starts with the care, or lack there of, of sheep, chickens and dogs on the farm and leads to a convoluted, but satisfying ending. The Shooting at Chateau Rock, by Martin Walker is one of his Inspector Bruno mysteries, so expect wonderful descriptions of the countryside and food!

Seems while I've been reading other things J.M. Poole has been busy at work writing several more Corgi Case File books! I will be catching up, for sure. :-) Facing one of those 'big' birthdays, one of our characters here has convinced his friends to join a group that hosts, well, risky adventures. Then a U.S. Marshal shows up, in pursuit of a fugitive that was headed for the area. Said fugitive is a master of disguise, and one of the members of the adventure group may be a friend of his. All the more reason to join in and participate, right? Case of the Dysfunctional Daredevils sees our favorite characters white water rafting, bungee jumping, sky diving .... and don't forget the dogs, they play their part, too. If you like a cozy mystery series, this is one of the best.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Monday, June 21, 2021

Here is further proof that detectives should never plan on a 'nice, quiet vacation'. (Think Inspector Tibbett). In Murder in Tuscany, Posie Parker and her husband, Richard Lovelace are headed for Tuscany (where it's warm) for a wedding from London (where it's not). They arrive to beautiful weather and the promise of a relaxing trip. You know that's not what happens! They don't even make it to the pre-wedding dinner before there is a body. There are death threats, folks who show up uninvited, secrets from the past ... all of which come together in a story of twists and turns and another great Posie Parker mystery by L.B. Hathaway.

While not technically a book, Secrets of a Dog's Mind, was a worthy read. There are chapters on body language, interpreting barks, how that amazing nose works and more, making this a most interesting read. I especially enjoyed the chapter on how dogs see the world (they are not color blind)! This is a special edition from the magazine Popular Science.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Friday, June 18, 2021

I'm not sure exactly how, but I missed Murder in Hyde Park, the Ginger Gold Mystery by Lee Strauss, the book that comes before the next entry ... fortunately one of my friends caught that error and shared said book with me before I'd posted that book to my blog. :-) It's the season of high fashion, and Ginger Gold's dress shop is sponsoring a show of new designs from the best designers, including Coco Chanel. During the presentations a model drops dead, and two others stumble and fall. The cause of death was determined to be poison, but how was that done? Let's just say Miss Chanel is not amused to be at the top of the suspect list!

It started out as a nice night out at the opera, then a body fell from the balcony. The body of an important person. As Ginger Reed (aka Lady Gold) and her husband investigate, they discover a connection with her grandmother-in-law from her first marriage, and a sisterhood of friends from long ago. Murder at the Royal Albert Hall is another fine entry in the Ginger Gold Mystery series by Lee Strauss.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Monday, June 14, 2021

 The Maid's Secret is the third in the Penny Green Mystery series by Emily Organ. Complaints have been made against a local industrialist. Wanting to learn more (and face it, get the story first) Penny Green is sent in to work undercover as a maid in his house. The plot thickens, as they say, when his daughter is poisoned at her birthday party. Penny is now in a good spot to help out with the investigation. Unless someone has figured out she's not who she says she is ...

I'm beginning to think that Inspector Tibbett should just not even try for a nice, quiet vacation, there always seems to be a murder! In The Sunken Sailor, by Patricia Moyes, he and his wife are off for a nice week with some friends on their sailboat. A local has been found dead, and the cause of death has been determined to be an accident. Folks are not so sure about this, he was an experienced sailor after all. There is a small town with the expected quirky characters, lots of motives, and some beautiful descriptions of sailing in this second entry in the Henry Tibbett series.

Reading Hermit With Dog

Friday, June 11, 2021

Have you heard of space archaeology? I had not, until I came across Dr. Space Junk vs the Universe: Archaeology and the Future, by Alice Gorman. Raised on a large ranch in Australia, the author's father taught her how to look for evidence of Aboriginal settlements by looking down. He also taught her to look up, into the night sky and find various constellations and planets. She started out as the more traditional archaeologist, but kept her love of the stars and space until she had the light bulb moment that she could combine the two! There's lots of evidence of our exploration into space ... in orbit, on the moon, on and around other planets, heading far out into the universe ... There's evidence here on earth, too ... bits of satellites that have dropped out of orbit to rocket themed playgrounds. All in all a fascinating read!

Another loan from Tall Reader was Patriarchy Blues, poems by Rena Priest. She is the new Washington State Poet Laureate, and the first Native American to be so honored. I wasn't sure I was going to use her book as I found that, like my music, I like my poetry to be more .... traditional, as in it rhymes and has a definite structure. When I mentioned that to Canadian Reader, however, the suggestion was made that it was more like the poems from early, medieval times, when it would have been read out loud to a gathering of people. So, I read several of the poems to my only audience, my dog, but even so, they did sound better! At any rate, this is a nice collection of work, so give it a try. :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Monday, June 7, 2021

Grace Bennett has moved to London to look for work, but it's 1939 and the city is preparing for war. She finds a job in a small bookstore off the beaten path, as the saying goes, and that will make all the difference. What starts as 'the bore war' ... air raids are false alarms, rationing hasn't really started yet ... in other words, nothing is happening except that life isn't quite what it was. And then comes the Blitz and everything changes. One afternoon, in a shelter, someone who recognizes Grace from the book store asks her to read her book out loud. Soon there is a crowd of listeners each time, who, when there is no air raid, seek her out at the book store for the next chapter! I cannot really do benefit here without saying too much, but The Last Bookshop in London, by Madeline Martin, is what I call a quiet gem of a book.

A word of caution here ... three of us have read this in one day. You've been warned!

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Friday, June 4, 2021

After reading a rather dark book (which will not make it into my blog) I needed something light so I opted for The Young Case, one of the Markham Sisters novellas by Diana Xarissa. It was just what I needed ... people like each other and it all ends well! :-) Janet is feeling a bit 'crowded'. Doveby House is pretty much full up: her sister and new hubby are home from their honeymoon and while the original plan was for them to stay across the street at his semi-attached town house, that can't happen because the other unit was burned down .. and that home owner (also their gardener and friend is staying at Doveby as well). There have been some break-ins lately, but nothing seems to have been taken, it gets personal when it is the Doveby Carriage house with the broken lock. Janet steps in to figure out the connection. These are delightful, short (quick to read) stories. I hope the author has more in the works as I now only have 'Z' left!

Tall Reader loaned me the seventeenth Maisie Dobbs novel: The Consequences of Fear, by Jacqueline Winspear. Like the ones before, it is a well written and captivating story that kept me up late at night. Don't miss the author's note at the end which explains the influence of her father on this book. It's 1941, London, and a young runner (fleet of foot young men, well, boys, who delivered messages, often times during bombings) thinks he has witnessed a murder. The police don't want to pursue the matter, so he goes to Maisie Dobbs for help. She encounters a reluctance on their part, too (think 'connections' and 'higher ups'). She is also part of a team that trains young men and women for undercover work in France, working with the resistance. How does this all fit together?

Reading Hermit With Dog