If you like a fun and clever tween read then give First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts, by Lari Don a try! Helen has no interest in becoming a vet (like her mother) but when an injured centaur shows up in her backyard one night, she does what she can to help. (She's assisted her mother a lot). That puts in motion a series of events that leads to a grand quest to recover The Book (that answers everything) that needs to be back in it's proper place by the (winter) Solstice. Other team members include the centaur, a kelpie, a phoenix, a dragon, and a fairy. Each has their own power or strength. Tall Reader will be sharing it with the grands when next they visit. A delightful read.

Canadian Reader clued me in to the start of a new series by Diana Xarissa. The Margaret & Mona Ghostly Cozy series has a familiar character, Mona, the ghost from her Isle of Man Ghostly mysteries. This time she is partnered with Margaret, the niece of Fenella, from that series. Margaret is new to the island, starting a new job and making new friends. Her boyfriend, Ted, is working on a murder investigation. A skeleton was found on a farm, (hence the title: Murder at Atkins Farm) a body from some time back so gathering evidence is a bit hard. It's someone everyone thought moved away years ago, so, what happened? Along with this, Margaret's neighbor is worried about a missing friend. She is reluctant to go to the police to file a missing persons report (you'll find out why). What an introduction to Margaret's new life!

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I picked up this book for several reasons: I loved the Herriot books, I have a good friend who is a retired Equine Practitioner (aka horse vet), and the title was just too good to resist: Never Trust a Sneaky Pony and Other Things They Didn't Teach Me in Vet School, by Madison Seamans. There is a lot about the medical side of this job, author says so right off the bat, most of it is quite interesting, but it's easy to skip over if you want ... which will take you to the anecdotal part of his stories, which are delightful. The author obviously loved his work!

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Jennifer Chiaverini wrote a wonderful series about the Elm Creek Quilts. She brought it to a close, or so she thought! The characters kept popping up in her head and she finally gave in to them and wrote The Museum of Lost Quilts. It is a wonderful read! The quilters are working to save an old building (from a really nasty bully). Summer is taking a break from working on her Master's and is home to help out. Old quilts are found, donated or loaned as an exhibit comes together to raise money. There are some wonderful stories about those quilts, and the history of the area. It was nice to meet up with old friends again.

You might want to read Murder in the Alps (High Society Lady Detective Book Eight) by Sara Rosett on a hot day! The descriptions of the alps are, well, chilling! What starts out as a nice holiday filled with ice-skating and show shoeing turns into a most interesting case for Olive. What looks like an unfortunate accident, but (of course) is anything but, proves to be quite the challenge. It looks as if the victim was killed by a falling icicle, after all there are no footprints other than the victims to be found, and the piles of snow on railings and so forth are pristine, but the body is too far from the roofline for that to be possible. Turns out there are lots of motives among the other guests ... so ... who did it? And how?

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A Murder at Brighton is the eighth book in the Kitty Worthington Mystery series by Magda Alexander. The family is on vacation at the beach and everyone is hoping for a relaxing time, especially Kitty and Robert who are just weeks away from getting married. This is not to be when the body of a rather unpopular woman is found in a changing room. The locals are glad to have a Scotland Yard officer on hand! Most of Kitty's 'team' is along and they all swing into action to help solve this, and quickly (hopefully). Lots of dark secrets surface along with a huge storm that sends many guests fleeing for the train, and plunges the station and hotel into darkness. This is a most enjoyable series!

Beware of little old ladies on a train. What should have been (finally) a quiet stop in Dundee turned out to be anything but when Albert and Rex offer to help out someone who said she witnessed a murder. Dundee Cake Deception is the eighth book in Steve Higgs Albert Smith's Culinary Capers series and what a wild romp it was! It was easy, maybe too easy, for the police to dismiss the claim of such, well, an old witness ... they shouldn’t have done that. Everything is not as it seems.

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There have a been a lot of books written about the Iditarod, and I've read many of them! This one kept me up late at night and talking about on dog walks, on the phone and so on for several days: Four Thousand Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod: a Veterinarian's Story, by Lee Morgan. Dr. Morgan was a vet on the Iditarod trail for many years, and has lots of stories to share, and does so beautifully. These dogs are well trained, fit and love what they do ... and get a vet check at every stopping point. Many are so used to this, it can happen when they are asleep. The mushers keep an eye on the dogs, too, and can report anything they feel is 'off' to the vet. A fascinating read.

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I finally allowed my self to read The Lawrence File, an Aunt Bessie Cold Case Mystery, by Diana Xarissa because the next one is due out in June. These are fun mysteries, with some characters you are happy to meet up with again and again. This time it's an extra hard case ... a murder from five years ago that just stalled out. It was at a large party, three people died after drinking the wine. The white wine. Which was served at several locations around the big room. No connection amongst the guests, other than they had all visited this particular hotel in the past ... can the cold case crew figure it out?

The Happy Housekeeper's Guide to Homicide had a cover that made me smile, it does look like something from the 1950's! It looks to be the first in a series by Blythe Baker. Barbara Hollis is moving from a large, bustling city to a small town to help out her brother, recently widowed and with twin boys. What does she know about all this house keeping stuff? Pretty much nothing! There is a stranger on the train, someone she'll remember later on ... and, of course, a body. In the chair of the local beautician. Since it's such a small town, a neighboring, larger town's sheriff takes over the case. The beautician has been arrested, but Barb is pretty sure she didn't do it. She will meet her new neighbor as she tries to prove this. Not a bad start.

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It was fun getting back to a 'cozy mystery (with dragons)' again in Bonfire of the Calamities, one of the Beaufort Scales mysteries by Kim M. Watt. It's coming up on Guy Fawkes Day which means a lot of 'guys' are being made. The one for the WI was in a wheel barrow, with a collection bin (which was almost filled with donations) when it goes missing, only to be replaced but with a real body. The evidence points to Rainbow, Miriam's sister. Now, it's true they aren't close, but Miriam is sure her sister is no murderer and decides, with the help of her friends from the WI, and of course, the dragons, sets out to prove it. Also in their corner is a talking cat, and an invisible dog. A delightful romp with bats, unusual (for the area) wildlife, and the 'proper authorities' who (yet again) have told Miriam and her friends to Stay Away. (Like that is going to happen).

I have to admit I've never read Jane Austen, but I understand that her books are written about an era with 'proper' behavior for all ... and this is a theme in A Most Agreeable Murder, by Julia Seales. There is a huge guide for ladies, and how to behave in every situation (loved the section about billiards!), as well as a shorter 'traveling' version of the same book. There are also manners expected due to class and that sort of thing. So, there is a dinner at a local mansion. It is expected to be an excellent place for young ladies to meet eligible prospects. Naturally there is a storm (think horse and buggy days), and a body ... all the elements are here for a rather delightful read about how one should behave, and how one does behave! Beatrice has to come up with some clever ideas to investigate, deal with dark secrets and so on. Nicely done.

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I try and be frugal when buying books. I look for paperbacks, used copies, and so forth, but every so often (especially when I have a gift card) I do pick up a hardback, and The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading, by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann was impossible to resist! Warning here, it was a one day read! The short entries from folks across the country (including Canada) made it easy to read 'just one more'. I finished just before midnight. You will smile and laugh, shed a few tears, and, most likely, do a lot of nodding when you read something familiar ... like the 'feel' of holding a book, the excitement of a new book by a favorite author, the thrill of recommending a book to someone who then tells you they loved it ... I am calling this a 'smile' of a book. :-) p.s. I remember when department stores had book sections ... do you?

Did you read Shakespeare in school? I did, and often struggled with trying to figure out what was going on. I enjoyed it, most of the time, but having read Shakespeare: the Man Who Pays the Rent, by Judi Dench with Brendan O'Hea, wish that it had been available then! Dame Judi has been in a lot of Shakespeare, and she discusses those parts, the director, other actors, costumes and so on with Brendan is this book. It was a fascinating, often humorous read.

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