Parks have changed over the years, it seems. And, they don't necessarily show up in an obvious location! To learn more about this, try parks of the 21st Century reinvented landscapes, reclaimed territories by Victoria Newhouse with Alex Pisha. (I have no idea why it's all in lower case, but it is, so that's how I typed it)! You'll find detailed descriptions and photos from parks created along old railways, airports ... in swampy areas, and dry areas, along highways and more. An interesting read, but an index would have been nice.

If you enjoy the British mysteries on TV, and/or reading them then you should enjoy Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson & Jay Cooper. Lots of good advice here. A quick, fun read!

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Premeditated Myrtle might be a tween read, but it was excellent! If you like a good mystery you should enjoy it! Set in the 1890's, in London just as CSI type skills are being developed and used. Myrtle is 12 years old, writes and reads Latin, French, and Greek and is a fan of both her father's collection of Law books and her (late) mother's collection of medical books. A governess had been hired, one who has been told to encourage Myrtle's interests (which will cause of few problems since children, especially girls, should "behave"). When the (rather cranky) old woman who lives next door dies it is declared accidental (in the bathtub). Myrtle does not believe this because her neighbor would never bathe at night and without her maid! Just an excellent read! It is the first in the Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery books by Elizabeth C. Bunce.

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Sherlock and Watson are at it again, this time solving the mystery of the artifacts (and later bodies) found in a hollowed out space underneath a house being demolished. They are from the Civil War era, in the Oregon territory. (Yes, there were troops stationed this far west!) Complications arise when the human remains are stolen, but not the artifacts, which could be worth money. Why would someone want them? Case of the Rusty Sword is the 16th Corgi Case File mystery by J.M. Poole. It was pretty much a one day read!

Hell Bay, one of the Barker & Llewelyn novels by Will Thomas is a classic 'who dun it'. A dinner, in a large manor house, set on a remote island (just the house and a lighthouse), with only one dock ... are you getting the picture? :-) Once the guests have arrived there is no way off until a flag is flown, alerting someone on the main land. Barker and Llewelyn are hired as protection, but they prove to be of little good as one by one the bodies start to pile up. Death is by gun, knife and arrow ... and this person also knows the secret way into the house (yes, there are secret passages, too). Why? Let's just say it involves family and leave it at that. Thanks go to County Reader for the recommendation for this author.

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While The Big Bang Theory: the Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, by Jessica Radloff wasn't exactly what I expected, it was still a good read. The author spent a lot of time interviewing people ... cast members, crew members, directors, writers, and then was able to organize them into an interesting and easy to read history of a show that few expected to be as successful as it was! You'll be surprised over some of the actors considered for various parts (I know, that's hard in retrospect since the casting was done so well, but try and imagine those actors in these roles). Learn the 'secret' meaning behind the revolving atoms that separate scenes, and about the unaired pilot ... with Katie, rather then Penny. And why there is a staircase and a broken elevator (and lots more)! Fun!

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Here's a good selection of mini-biographies of women we've never heard of ... or mostly so! Thankfully some of them are already getting proper recognition and biographies of them have been published. The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II, by Major General Mari K. Eder was an inspiring (and sometimes chilling) read of women who were spies, who were part of the French Resistance, flew planes, escaped from concentration camps, or helped build code breaking machines. Many were told to never, ever, speak of what they'd done ... and they didn't ... much of this information is just now coming to light some fifty years after the fact (when it could be opened to the public).

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I am lucky to have a friend who shared the third Thursday Murder Club book with me ... it made for a very short wait time for me, to get the next entry in this popular series by Richard Osman! The Bullet That Missed has the murder club working on an old, cold case ... their favorite kind. Alas, it turns more serious when a new foe shows up with an ultimatum for Elizabeth ... kill someone or be killed herself. Why? And will she do so? There are interesting locations this time: a jail cell with an espresso machine, and a swimming pool that looks like it's floating in the air. Lots of fun twists to this one.

What happens when nightmares come true? Things were going well between Fenella and Daniel when he gets an email telling him a woman he met in a class 'across' is coming for a visit. This is the cause of the nightmares. Well, that woman arrives, with several friends in tow, and expects to spend a lot of time with Daniel. All is not what it seems with this little group from an even smaller island than the Isle of Man. Neighbors and Nightmares takes sort of a dark turn for this series, but it's a good read nevertheless. It is part of the Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy series by Diana Xarissa.

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 Greetings to those of you who read my blog!  This morning I was asked increase the security on my google account, which required a phone number.  This is NOT going to happen, so, if I can't get around that, this may be my last posting.  I understand why this is important for those who do a lot on their google account, but I don't, it's just my blog about books.  Anyway, if this is it, it's been fun, if not, see you next time!

Round Up the Usual Peacocks is Donna Andrews thirty-first Meg Langslow Mystery ... and there's a least one more available! Wedding planning is underway ... a big wedding, a huge wedding ... planners are the two mothers (think about that for a minute) ... peacocks are to be part of the reception, but the resident ones are molting so Meg is sent off to pick up more from a farm not too far away. There is a 'sidewalk painter' come to make the walkways more beautiful. And food. So much food. Meg's nephew and friend have started a podcast about cold case murders, which seems to have upset someone as one of the two hosts is involved in a hit and run, which scared him (to say the least). Let's see ... there's a missing singer, a cheating cover up (local college) ... and those pesky peacocks! Lad, the border collie teaches the Pomeranian dogs to herd, llamas leap to the defense of a favorite human (literally ... they jump a fence to do so) ... just a fun read! And one I finished during a recent power outage ... thank goodness for the itty bitty book light!

Did you know that the Isle of Man has wild wallabys? They were the inspiration for this book when author, Diana Xarissa, was looking for something to go with "... and murder." Fenella has volunteered to do a 'watch' one morning to help with collecting data on them. Turns out to be a nasty, cold morning and the only thing that she spots is a body. It's Darrell, the head of the society aimed at protecting the wallabys and the land they live on. Or was he? What was the motive behind his death? Marsupials and Murder was another fun read in the Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy series.

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Aunt Bessie and 'the gang' are back at it, working on another cold case, this one from the U.S. that occurred 11 years ago ... a man, dressed in a Santa suit was stabbed while sitting in his sleigh. Is there enough evidence to figure it out? In addition, she's been asked to help find a missing person (present day). The Goodman File is the sixth in the Aunt Bessie Cold Case Mystery series by Diana Xarissa.

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