In The White Lady, Jacqueline Winspear, author of the Masie Dobbs books, has created another strong, likeable character in Elinor White. She is a veteran of two world wars and has, well, unusual skills, some of which she'd like to leave behind in the modern times of 1947. She likes her quiet life, and tries to keep to herself, but does become involved in the lives of a young couple in the small village where she lives. There is an 'interesting' history there, as you will learn, but can she, should she, protect them? Plan on staying up late with this one!

Since 'K' is due out this autumn I decided to go ahead and read The Jordan File, one of the Aunt Bessie Cold Case Mystery books by Diana Xarissa. :-) As expected, it was a good read ... familiar characters, descriptions of good food and nice walks along the beach, and two good mysteries to hold your attention.

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I wonder how many mystery books or short stories have a body found in a library! Authors (yes, remember, there are two here) Katie Gayle did that in their second book in their Julia Bird Mystery series: Murder in the Library. Wanting to be a part of her new town, Julia joins the library just in time to attend a talk and book signing by a well known local author ... and then (of course) said author is found dead in the stacks. His most recent story is about a small town, with (some say) thinly veiled characters that are actual people (not always nice descriptions). He's always been good with his historical facts ... but is the research all his? Are there motives here for murder? And then, there's the missing manuscript ... this is a fun series, I'll be reading the third book soon.

I will admit that I have a fondness for books with a musical twist, having played in various groups over the years, so Dead Ringer, first in her Music Lover's Mystery, by Sarah Fox looked most interesting. I will have to say, it was a 'so so' read for me. There was no mention that the author is a musician, but there were no glaring music type errors. As you might expect, the main character sets off to investigate on her own but to me, there should have been more, um, overlap with the police. There's a dog, too, one that failed at becoming a service dog, but is becoming a good companion dog, but maybe (again,to me) could have used some training. :-) So, if you are looking for something to read between books by favorite authors, or have just finished an intense, non-fiction book, then this could be a good choice.

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Grandma Gatewood's Walk, by Ben Montgomery is the story of an amazing woman. Married young, to a man who would prove to be an abusive husband, she had 11 children. She always liked to walk, and, she had read about the Appalachian Trail, so, when the kids were grown she decided she was going to walk it from end to end. She merely told her kids she was 'going for a walk'. She had done this before, so they were not worried, and it was some time before they heard about the 'old lady' who was walking the trail and put it together with their mother. She was in her sixties the first time, she would go on to do the entire trail two more times, as well as sections of it as she aged. Oh, and she also walked the Oregon Trail! One of the many things that were impressive to me was how little she took with her!

I try and be gracious about this whole aging thing, but every so often, it just gets to me, y'know? Giving up horses was hard (but necessary, sadly). So, it was great fun to find, and read Why Do Horses Sleep Standing Up? by Marty Becker (and others). Most of the answers I knew, but there are some nice writing styles here, and every so often a humorous story as well.

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Good Dog, Bad Cop, is from the 'other' series by David Rosenfelt, his K Team series. The main characters are a retired police dog named Simon Garfunkel and his human Corey Douglas (retired police detective). They, along with some of the characters you will recognize from the other series, explore cold cases. You wouldn't think that would be as dangerous, right? In this case there's someone that does not want the past looked into again and will kill to keep that from happening. Lots of interesting twists here, what with hidden monies, terrorist plots, plastic surgeries, people that don't exist and so on. Rosenfelt always spins a good story.

No one is who they seem to be, or rather, very few are since we already know Fortune, Gertie, Ida Belle! Clue Krewe, one of the Miss Fortune Mystery books by Jana Deleon is a romp through wealthy families, faked births, unrecorded adoptions and more. For some, it's all about appearance and wealth and making sure your children do not embarrass you (a familiar them, yes?). This one felt a bit more serious than earlier novels in this series, but still a great read.

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If you are in the mood for a collection of short stories then try Reader, I Buried Them and other stories, by Peter Lovesey. It's a rather delightful collection of stories, many with a twist, some that should make you laugh out loud. Most enjoyable.

There's always a birdy twist in the Meg Langslow Mystery books by Donna Andrews, and Birder, She Wrote, is no exception. (Don't miss the dedication)! In addition to a good mystery there's all kinds of information on bees and hummingbirds, too. There are newbies ... from the city ... who think they want the quiet country life but are unaware it is noisy (think roosters) and smelly (think fertilizer), and are happy to complain about it, and a reporter, supposedly from a southern life magazine following Meg's grandmother around ... is she, really? Poor Meg, who just wanted some quiet hammock moments gets to figure it all out.

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The Other Family Doctor: a Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality, by Karen Fine is just that ... her experiences at vet school, and being someone who cares for animals, and, of course the owners. She works at a variety of small animal clinics over her career, as well as providing a home care service. There's a fair amount of good information on animals with terminal diseases and what can be done for both them and their owners. A most interesting read.

Tall Reader loaned me her copy of Spare, by Prince Harry, and then admitted that she didn't get very far with it. It did come across as a bit whiny at first, but then I got to thinking it was more reflective ... perhaps? Harry may have had a privileged life, but it wasn't exactly a happy one. He was very young when his mother, Diana, died. He was not coping well with that and no one seemed to notice. School, especially Eton was rough. It wasn't until he joined the military that he felt like he belonged. (He would come home, though, with PTSD and panic attacks). The press was relentless. If they couldn't get a good story, they made one up. They were worse when he met, and married, Meghan and he came to worry about that abuse and the affect on his family, and her mental health ... hence the break from the family (who gave him no support at all) (with 'reasons' for what they did or didn't do). The first meeting with Meghan and the Queen was wonderful, it's too bad there wasn't more of that. Heartbreaking in parts, others will make you angry. It might be good to read something from the 'other' side of this view, though. Perhaps?

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Fortune's former partner is moving to Sinful ... or at least nearby ... there are several small towns that could use more police back up, but cannot afford it, but ... pooling their resources, they can afford a 'floating' deputy. Harrison and his fiancee, Cassidy, have purchased a large (very large) old mansion. They have plans for such a large place, complete with stables, but at the moment there are problems ... it has the reputation for being haunted. No one in their group believes in ghosts, but something is going on, and given stories from locals, has been for some time. The attic is full of stuff from the past, there are rumors of jewels, and of the mysterious family that originally built the house. And then a body is found. Swamp Spirits, by Jana Deleon is a grand romp through old families, voodoo (this is the south, after all) secret passages, and more. There's a dog now, too! Another fine entry in the Miss Fortune Mystery series.

I tried to find out what author Bonnie Garmus thought of the cover for her book Lessons in Chemistry but found nothing that answered that question on Google. I did find that there seems to be another cover, too, which was much better than one on the copy I read. It's pink, and makes the book look like a 'beach read' (or so said a friend of mine, and I do agree ....) This book is NOT a beach read! It is grim and sad, and will make you angry, but with moments of humor and hope, too. Elizabeth is a brilliant scientist, so much so that she does not have a lot of the social skills that help us navigate our world, careers, family and so on. It's the 1950's and women are supposed to be at home, cooking and having babies, and certainly not working as a chemist along side men! Her education and career are thwarted many times by men, her work stolen and published under their names and so on. There is one, though, who does see her for what she is and they fall in love. She will not marry, however, even though he does not expect her to take his name, she would still be seen riding on his coattails (this really is incredibly frustrating!!). He teaches her to row (*gasp* ... a woman on a rowing team??!) They are happy, then he dies, and now she is unmarried, and pregnant, so, naturally, she is fired from her job. The only work she can find is an afternoon cooking show (she's an excellent cook because, after all, cooking is chemistry). There are touches of dry humor, and some good times, but over all this was a hard read ... that kept me up until midnight finishing it.

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National Geographic publishes some wonderful special editions and The Secret Life of Dogs: Out of the Wild and Into Our Homes is one of them. Good information on the human/dog bond, and canine behavior as well as the expected wonderful photographs make for a good read

Not long after reading this, I found Dogs Who Changed the World, by Dan Jones. The author selected fifty dogs he feels "altered history, inspired literature ... or ruined everything" (on the title page, but not really a subtitle). Dogs, both real and from fiction grace the pages, see if you agree with his choices. One of those books that's easy to read while watching tv to avoid the commercials. ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog