Normally I don't pair fiction and non-fiction together, but given the circumstances (I read them back to back), and given the "connection", I felt the cosmos was telling to post them in the same blog. ;-)

The Railway Murders, one of the Yorkshire Murder Mystery books by J.R. Ellis was another good read from this author. It's a variation on the locked room mystery, and this time the locked room was moving! A well known (but not necessarily well liked) actor is the victim. Turns out, there are all kinds of suspects and motives ... but who could pull off killing him on a train? I figured it out. Sort of!

Tall Reader loaned me The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook: the Story of Our Common Past Told Through the Recipes and Reminiscences of Our Immigrant Ancestors, by Tom Bernardin. Now, I don't cook, so the recipes didn't mean too much to me, other than so many immigrants from so many different places all seem to have similar recipes for potatoes, vegetables and so on, that was fun! And, I learned that you can figure out how much to use of something by weighing eggs! Weigh nine eggs and use that weight in sugar. Weigh six eggs and use that weight in flour. Weigh three eggs and use that weight in butter. I'm told, by those who do cook and bake that it works! What really was fascinating here, though, were the stories of the immigrants. Worth a read even if you don't cook.

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Here's an interesting book about the space program: Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space, by Joe Cuhaj. It's frustrating (remember how many rockets exploded early on, and getting women into the program. Many actually tested and trained in early days, and did better than the men), it's sad (a lot more animals were used as test pilots than I knew), and also just a lot of fun. What wake up music was used for the various flights, you know, to be sure the astronaut was up and getting ready? What were favorite meals? What personal items were they allowed to take along? An nice way to spend a snowy afternoon.

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The death of the tattooed women takes Willowjean, and her boss, Lillian Pentecost, back to the circus where Will used to work. Is it coincidence that the tattooed woman was murdered shortly after returning to her home town for the first time? The main suspect seems to be the Russian knife thrower since it was one of his knives found at the crime scene. Will does not believe this is possible, from her past with the Russian and she is determined to find out the truth. There's history, though, that some, perhaps many, don't want brought to the surface. And actors (and that includes circus folks) lie for a living, so how will they figure this all out? Murder Under Her Skin is the second Pentecost and Parker Mystery by Stephen Spotswood.

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There are 'connections' in Murder at the National Gallery, by Jim Eldridge. The bodies that are found resemble those attributed to Jack the Ripper. (Some twenty years ago now). Those bodies were all models that posed for a particular artist. That artist was a suspect in the original case. He claims he is innocent (then and now). Daniel Wilson and Abigail Fenton, dubbed the 'museum detectives' are called ... can they figure out the who and the why? This is a great series!

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but in my defense here, I didn't care much for the blurb, either ... the cover is pink, and the blurb talked about romance and shopping! Canadian Reader thought I'd like it, so I gave The First Faux Pas, the first Lora Weaver mystery, by Katy Leen a try. Lora is a bit out of her comfort zone in Montreal, there's the language challenge after all, and then her job ... as a PI rather than a social worker ... it can lead to some confusing moments. There is a missing person, and pushy, former girlfriend of Lora's boy-friend (she moves in with them) ... and a stalker ... well, let's just say there's a lot going on in this debut novel!

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Thanks go to County Reader for this recommendation: A Peculiar Combination, by Ashley Weaver. It is the first in the Electra McDonnell mystery series. Set in London, during WWII, Electra and her uncle are safe crackers (and they are very good at it). They have been recruited by the government (shhh) to steal some plans, plans that they don't want falling into the hands of the Nazis. Instead of plans in a safe, though, they find a body on the floor ... and so the adventure begins! Great characters here, and with a twist (as County Reader said) ... not the usual 'detectives'. :-)

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A tip from a friend clued me in to Fortune Favors the Dead, by Stephen Spotswood and some intriguing new characters! In 1942, in New York, a rather well known (and rather unorthodox) investigator Lillian Pentecost has just been saved by Willowjean Parker, in town (and working some extra hours) with a traveling circus. Ms. Pentecost has MS, which is slowing her down more than she cares to admit and she is looking for someone to assist her. It can't be just anyone, though, can it?! Three years later, they are on a case, a classic locked room mystery ... lots of family secrets and connections, a spiritualist who knows too much about too many, and, um, interesting butlers and researchers and so on. It should keep you reading far into the night!

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Canadian Reader suggested this book to me: Fatalities and Folios, by Ace Bookens. It's the first in the Poe Baxter Book series. Poe is about to start on her first assignment of a new job ... that of book finder! She will be working for her Uncle, who has a business searching out rare books and he is getting too old to travel. The book in question is in Scotland, and is a collection of ancient folk tales and lore, and it comes with a curse, or so the story goes. Any who owns the book sees monsters ... monsters in bodies of water ... any sort of water ... puddles, tubs, sinks .... and (of course) death often follows. Since this is her first job, her uncle has arranged for her to travel with another book finder, who just happens to be Poe's best friend. (Yes, Uncle Fritz did this on purpose)(!) A good mystery, good characters, some nice touches of humor ... all in all, not a bad start. :-)

It should come as no surprise, really, that the murders in Rotten to the Core, part of the Lady Hardcastle Mystery series by T E Kinsey, all have something to do with apples. It is summer, an unusually hot summer, which means an early harvest. Usually this is a good thing, until the bodies start appearing. It's a different means of death each one, but all the bodies have a clue, too. And then there's the Weryers ... an ancient order compete with ancient rituals, and a limited membership. Would people kill just to get in? Another fun romp with Lady Hardcastle and her 'maid' Florence. (I love these two characters, they are So NOT what they seem)!

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No One Notices the Boys is the second of the Baker Street Inquiry books by Michelle Birkby and it was an excellent read! Once again Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson find themselves investigating cases that no one else is pursuing. Odd deaths on a hospital ward, and missing boys (rather sad, this one). Mrs. Hudson is sure she saw the patient in the next bed be smothered, but since it was night, and she was on medications even she wasn't 100% certain of what she saw. And the boys ... there were facilities to help homeless families, and girls ... but not boys, so when they go missing, who will notice? Or care? I'm hoping for more in this series.

To give them a rest from the murder they helped solve, Myrtle and Miss Judson (and the cat, Peony) have been sent to the English seaside for a break. They are guests of the owner of the railway, and the small seaside village they will be visiting. (Think pots of money). The daughter shows off an impressive tiara, filled with priceless jewels ... the lights go off ... it is stolen ... and then the woman, sent from the insurance company to be sure it has been secured properly and so forth (which it wasn't) is found dead. So ... this 'vacation' will be anything but a nice break! How to Get Away With Myrtle is the second in the Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series by Elizabeth C. Bunce. Again, a grand adventure, with great clues, and good characters. I stayed up late to finish it!

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Here's a nice little mystery, recommended by County Reader: Bells, Tails, & Murder, by Kathy Manos Penn. It's the first in her A Dickens and Christie Mystery series. In this case Dickens is a dog and Christie a cat ... and they talk to their human, Leta. Everyone else just hears the expected barks and meows, but Leta understands them, and can talk back to them. She and Dickens are out for a walk when they find the body ... and you know what happens next ... she (and the animals) have to help figure out the who and the why. :-)

I plucked a book I knew I'd like off my shelf after trying three, that's three, authors and mysteries that proved to be huge disappointments! I needed something fun! Beast Laid Plans was that, well, for the most part ... this one felt a bit more like it was trying to make a point than the others. A dragon has gone missing. The others have been told to lay low and stay away from their human friends as the country side seems to have gone nuts looking for magical creatures. A nearby town is making the most of this, but when the WI from Toot Hansell, (and some of the dragons, of course) investigate, most of the 'sightings' are fake, and, the village and surrounds feel eerily empty of anything magical. Part of the Beaufort Scales series by Kim M. Watt, it seemed like a more thoughtful read than the earlier books.

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