Albert intends to make this next stop a short one, a chance to think back to visits made when he was a child, and sample a piece of the treat the area is known for, a treat known as 'rock' and then he and Rex will move on. Instead, the store owners are obviously being threatened by some, well, hooligans, so naturally, Albert steps in. The local detective turns out to be the daughter of a former partner of Albert. She gives him her father's number, telling him her dad would love to get a call. It's a move she would come to regret. In addition there's been a murder of a street magician, who has a wolf. This leads to interesting smells for Rex. Blackpool Rock Bloodshed, the tenth in the Albert Smith Culinary Capers series by Steve Higgs gives two versions of the case under investigation, the one from Albert and the one from Rex (who finds, and befriends the wolf).

Emmy Clarke works for the Library of Congress. She has been sent to Germany (1946) to sort through books plundered by the Nazi's to help with the process of returning them to where they belong. There is one personal volume of poetry that captures her attention that becomes the focus of the book. Can she find the original owners? The ones mentioned in the hand written inscription? The Lost Book of Bonn, by Brianna Labuskes, is fiction, but is based on fact (read the notes) and follows two sisters through the war years. Sobering, but well written read.

Reading Hermit With Dog