Now married and therefore no longer allowed to work as a news reporter Penny has been reduced to writing about things like hedgerows. (Very dull)! When a fire breaks out just a block or so away from home, she is there, on the spot, figuring out what happened. This, of course, leads to a whole new adventure for her ... solving a cold case. A young woman was murdered twenty years earlier. From a prestigious family, she changed her name. Twice. Why? And how did she end up in one of the worst parts of town? Murder in Ratcliffe, one of the Penny Green Mystery books by Emily Organ, is how she answered those questions, and more.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Chapter and Curse, by Elizabeth Penney is a delightful 'first' in a new series! What fun it was! Molly Kimball, and her mother are mourning the death of a father and husband when a letter arrives from a relative in Cambridge, England. Would they be interested in coming to help save a book store that has been in the family for centuries? Of course they would, it's just what they need! The store in question is in debt, and under the threat of being bought out by a chain book store (gasp!). At the very first event (a reading by a popular poet) a body is discovered and things take off from there. We meet relatives Molly didn't even know she had, folks (of retirement age) who have been friends since college, and a nice little community of local stores. There are secrets, of course, and Clive (we don't like Clive) ... how it all fits together makes for a great read.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Radar Girls, by Sara Ackerman, came as a loan from Tall Reader. Set in Hawaii, just after December 7, 1941, it features the women who were recruited for the Women's Air Raid Defense, a top secret program. For the first time, women were serving on the front lines. Naturally there were many who thought they couldn't do it. A nicely written bit of historical fiction. Be sure to read the note from the author at the back.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

I have been happily working my way through the books by Karen Baugh Menuhin and have just about caught up with the ones she has published. (More will be coming, thank goodness). There has been a suspicious death at Lanscombe Park and Lennox and Swift have been asked to investigate. The Lord of the Manor is not a nice person. Not being born into money, he made his own fortune and is determined to become part of the well to do society. Bodies start to pile up, and a strange package arrives from Alaska. As with any good cozy, The Tomb of the Chatelaine contains twists and turns to the plot, gardens and secret passageways.

Constant Reader reminded me of an author I'd read in the past ... one with lots of books out! That would be Emily Brightwell and her Victorian Mysteries featuring Mrs. Jeffries. She is the housekeeper for Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard, a well meaning man, but not always the brightest bulb in the box. So, Mrs. Jeffries, and the rest of the house staff help him out, never really letting him know this, of course! It's a fun series! Mrs Jeffries Dusts for Clues should keep you both guessing and laughing.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

I have long been a fan of organizing .... well, face it, just about anything, to make it easier to use, find information and so forth. Libraries and archives do this, too, obviously, but on a much higher level! One of the things that make it hard is having, on hand ALL the various equipment to access all this information ... tape recorders, cassette players, cd players, movie projectors (from home sized film to theater), dvd players, etc. And consider computers ... hard disks, floppy disks, thumb drives and so on (and many I'm sure I'm unaware of, too) (!). Okay, now imagine combining several formats for your own personal archives (email, texts, photos, scans, things you've written) (and again, more than I know about) ... and then what about things like privacy, copyright and so forth. Sound confusing? It is! However, if this is something you are interested in doing, here's a book that Kiwi recommended: The Complete Guide to Personal Digital Archiving, edited by Brianna H. Marshall. Dense and detailed, there are step by step procedures for managing all gathering, storing, retrieving, sharing your information and more .... Since I will not be doing this, I read the introduction and conclusion to each section. ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

I guess it's true ... as we age, books of memoirs become more interesting! Here's a good one: A Woman's Job is Never Done: Memoirs of an Equine Veterinary Surgeon to the Philadelphia Police Mounted Patrol, by M. Phyllis Lose and Deborah L. Fritz. Dr. Lose was one of the first women equine practitioners, and what stories she has to tell! On call 24/7, for days on end, sometimes she didn't even have time for meals. We meet a lot of the horses she worked on in this book, those brave animals and their humans that worked the streets in all kinds of weather and in all kinds of circumstances. I will call this a 'heroic' book for many reasons. (A warning, though, things don't always end well). A most interesting read.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

The two night watchmen for Madame Tussauds wax museum are missing. Until one, or part of one, shows up in the chamber of horrors. The police believe the missing one killed his partner, and has run off. Enter Daniel Wilson and Abigail Fenton to 'aid' Scotland Yard (The Yard is not pleased). Then, the second watchman is found amongst some of the wax figures and things get 'interesting'. Replacement watchmen are found quickly ... was that too easy? (Wait until you learn their background). And what about recent bank thefts? Done at night, all from tunnels leading from businesses with a cellar, next door to the bank? What's the connection? Murder at Madame Tussauds, by Jim Eldridge is another intriguing read set in London in the late 1800's. You'll learn more about working with wax, too, :-)

Lord Edginton, a retired detective, comes out of a prolonged mourning of the death of his wife to give a Spring Ball at Cranley Hall to celebrate his 75th birthday. During the toast with champagne, the same used at his wedding so many years ago, his daughter drops dead. Then his son. The detecting skills that served him so well during his career kick in, and with the aid of one grandson, he investigates. Sadly, given the circumstances, it has to be a family member. Murder at the Spring Ball: a 1920s Mystery, by Benedict Brown, is the first in the Lord Edginton Investigates series.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Tomorrow is the start of the 2022 Iditarod ... the 50th running of the race! And, the perfect book for that came out just last month: 50 Years of Iditarod Adventures: the First Fifty Years of the Last Great Race, by Lew Freedman (and cover art by Jon Van Zyle). There's a story about each race, which includes information on some of the mushers, as well as stats. There are also chapters on Iditarod 'families' where several generations of the same family have, or are, running the race. A most enjoyable read!

For a more close up and personal look at living and running with dogs, try Dogs on the Trail: a Year in the Life, by Blair Braverman and Quince Mountain. Wonderful photos here, and nice descriptions of the dogs! (Great personalities)! As the title indicates, it follows the dogs throughout the year from serious training for competitions, to summer activities.

Reading Hermit With Dog