If only humans had better noses! Rex had this murder solved in a matter of minutes and had to wait while the humans figured it out. During that time he was attacked by seagulls. To be fair, he did chase them first, but he did not know that they then would join forces and fight back! He tries to rally some of the other local dogs, but none of them will even consider doing that! The alley cats on the other hand ... This time, in Steve Higgs Albert Smith Culinary Capers Book 7, Arbroath Smokie Slaying, it's kippers that brings Albert and Rex to this small town. In order to carry their name, the kippers must be smoked with a certain radius. All the local fishermen, save one, have formed into one big company, and it's the one hold out who ends up dead. Local authorities want to claim it a suicide, but Albert, as a former detective, points out too many reasons why it wasn't, forcing the locals to reluctantly investigate. The reason is not what you're thinking (probably), and the rescue at the end will have you laughing out loud! :-)

This was both a new author and a new series for me: Written in Dead Wax is the first in The Vinyl Detective series, by Andrew Cartmel. It was good, overall, I learned a lot of interesting information about vinyl records! I liked the characters and the mysteries that needed solving. It was dense and intricate and gritty, which means it will be a while before I read the second book, but, if you like your mysteries more gritty and less cozy, then read this! First mystery is to find an old vinyl record. It has to be an original, it cannot be a copy, or one made by another company. A mysterious woman shows up at the door and the hunt is on! Turns out, there are others also looking for this record so things, as they say, heat up. This is just the start, too, there's a second equally compelling mystery. It did keep me up late reading! I will add a warning here, though, dogs die ... it's in the past, but it's also something I think the author didn't need to include.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

I have no explanation as to why this book caught my attention, but it did, and proved to be most interesting: She Kills Me: the True Stories of History's Deadliest Women, by Jennifer Wright. Women have been killers from the dawn of time to present day. Some to escape abusive husbands, some to gain power, some just because they liked it. There's a nice bio for each entry, and some interesting observations from the author. One killer, who, at a retrial was determined to be not guilty, was reluctant to leave her cell. At Sing Sing ... because it was better and more comfortable than where she'd be living when released.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

A few months back now I finally 'took the plunge' and started learning how to stream TV shows. It is been a learning curve for sure. (I find searching can be ... awkward ... it appears like the folks creating the collection being searched didn't think about alphabetical order). Canadian Reader got me going on Bosch, based on the books by Michael Connelly. She's read the books and enjoyed the series. I got hooked on the show, but had not read any of the books. Then, Kiwi, one day, out of the blue, mentioned going back to a favorite series by (you got it) Michael Connelly and his character named Bosch! We are now watching the series, and I was loaned the first book: The Black Echo. A body, found in a pipe, is recognized by Bosch, and brings up intense memories from his past. Putting all the pieces together takes hard work and determination, both of which are part of his character. It was an excellent read. I am glad I saw the series first, though, it gave me a better feel for Bosch.

Detectives Stephanie and Andy are on a much needed vacation. They have rented a house boat so as to take a canal journey. It started out so quiet and peaceful, then a body was found on another houseboat, one floating down the canal. It was obvious that Annie had been stabbed, and from behind, but there was no evidence of anyone being on board, so how was that accomplished? Steph and Andy had to get involved, of course, and another co-worker was brought in to help as well, so it is a team that is used to working with each other. Annie is not all that well liked so there are plenty of suspects, old secrets surface from days when she and several of the other boat owners were in a singing group. When another body is found rumors of a curse make the rounds. The Canal Murders, by J.R. Ellis is the most recent in the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series. I loved learning of life on a canal boat (and how they are navigated), and the history and lore of the canals.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Friends who write under the name Katie Gayle are at it again with A Country Wedding Murder (Julia Bird Mysteries book #5). Julie's ex-husband and his partner, Christopher, are getting married. It is going to be perfect (according to Christopher, who planned it), and it is ... until it isn't. Someone takes ill due to a food allergy, a known allergy and one the caterer knows to plan around. Then the caterer is found to death, frozen and locked in his cooler truck. It's no accident, the food did not require freezing so the temperature had to be changed, and the door locked. It is soon discovered that he had a long list of folks who had motive so it will take a while to figure it all out. Another fine entry to this series.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

This recommendation came from a 13 year old boy ... the grandson of a friend of mine ... seems they regularly share books, real books here, too! What was especially fun is the theme ... fairy tales! Not the ones from Disney (as much as I loved those), or versions from other movies/shows, but the real ones from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, often written to teach a lesson of some sort. Twins Alex and Conner have grown up with these fairy tales. Their grandmother has given them her story book, which has more magic than just the stories within ... they fall into the land of fairy tales! In order to get home again, they must collect several items. The Land of Stories: the Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer is the story of that adventure (and the first in the series). Along the way they meet up with many of the characters they know from the stories they have heard or read all their lives. A tween read, and most captivating!

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Seems I have a preference for brief writing. I once had a prof tell me to expand on my papers, add more bits of information, etc. In writing classes I was better at short stories than when the assignment was for something long. This means that when Kiwi loaned me How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times, by Roy Peter Clark I was most interested! Seems in this age of emails, and texts, and so on it's become all the more important to get your message across in as few words as possible. This book has chapters on how to do just that, whether in prose, poetry, or song lyric. It made a lot of sense to me! ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Sorry for the late post this morning, but I wanted to finish this book, and then, of course, the dog had to be walked, and fed, etc. :-) Swamp Spies is book 26 in the Miss Fortune Mystery series by Jana Deleon and it does not disappoint! It starts out rather tense, but soon there is a camel (not a spoiler because it's on the cover) and we're back to the characters and (mis)adventures we love. A local man, known as a prankster, is found dead. On a boat, dressed as a nun, and fishing ... what ??? There are lots of suspects and Swamp Team 3 is on a deadline as the widow wants the body cremated as soon as possible. Clear some time for this one, it's hard to put down.

Reading Hermit With Dog

In the past history has mostly been written by men, who tended to ignore, or overlook, women, especially those who did not fit in with what was expected of them at that time. Fortunately there were those who bucked the system, and Therese Oneill has written short biographies about twenty of them in Unbecoming a Lady: the Forgotten Sluts and Shrews Who Shaped America. She did her homework, check out the bibliography! Some where good in business, one designed clothes so women could go out in public when (gasp) pregnant, one designed what has become the standard for kitchen design, some spoke out when women didn't (or at least weren't supposed to do so) ... an easy, quick, fun read.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

When clearing out a mound of blackberries an old outhouse was found. Along with bones, human bones. A resident of the small town of Wilfred, Oregon, wonders if they could be the remains of her missing husband. They weren't. Then she is sure she sees him on a game show. She asks local librarian/sleuth to track him down. Josie does so, and he agrees to come to Wilford. Only it's not the missing husband, and then, when his body is found, near the site of the old outhouse, it's learned he's not even who he said he was ... and so it begins ... who are all these folks? And where is the missing hubby? Josie asks the books for help, and gets an interesting sidekick! Gone with the Witch is the fifth in the Witch Way Librarian Mystery series by Angela M. Sanders.

Reading Hermit With Dog