"Death of a Glutton" aka "Death of A Greedy Woman"

It's been a while since I've read anything by M. C. Beaton because I've been waiting for an interlibrary loan of "Death of a Glutton" - the next in the series that I've been reading in order.
P.C. Hamish Macbeth is still keeping law and order in Lochdubh, Scotland, but crime is low and the bad winter has finally disappeared to make way for some rare, fine weather. Priscilla Haliburton-Smythe's family is expecting a group from the Checkmate matchmaking agency to show up to spend a week at their hotel and Macbeth's nemesis, Blair, has gone off on a European holiday.

Maria, the head of Checkmate has been trying to buy out her partner, Peta, who has become more of a liability than an asset with her gluttonous manners. Since Peta has refused her offers, Maria has resorted to arranging this week long getaway to allow several couples that she's matched to meet and get acquainted. When Peta (supposedly away on holiday) shows up, not only is Maria upset by her behavior but so are all the guests. Guests begin to pair up with other guests with whom they have not been matched and Maria sees the week as ruined. It's no surprise when Peta is found murdered as there are plenty of people who have expressed an interest in getting rid of her.

Unfortunately for Hamish Macbeth, Blair's holiday has been cut short and he takes over the investigation. However his bungling of the case leads to the involvement of his superior and Macbeth's solving the case.

In the meantime, one of the guests has taken a shine to Macbeth and Priscilla appears to be jealous. Will they finally come to an understanding by the close of this book or will Macbeth's promotion to Sergeant and the arrival of a live-in assistant foil attempts at romance?

Another good, quick, light read.

pazt

"Shakespeare In Love"

Although "Shakespeare In Love" is one of my spouse's favorite movies, I'd only seen snatches of it on TV so I checked the Miramax Collector's Series out from our library so we could watch it together as well as see the bonus materials.

I found it to be a very fun romantic comedy and can certainly understand why the film won 7 academy awards including best actress for Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes (who played Will Shakespeare) were superb in their roles as was Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth and Colin Firth as Paltrow's intended. I hardly recognized Geoffrey Rush (Captain Barbosa in the Pirate movies) in his role as one of the theater owners and Ben Affleck (playing one of the acting troupe) also performed admirably.

There was only one deleted scene that we wish had been left in the movie and the bonus materials added interesting insights into the times in which the movie was set. It appears theater was not in favor with the City of London officials (due to criminals attracted to it -- like pickpockets and prostitutes) so we have Queen Elizabeth (a big fan of the theater) to thank for its survival.

I also enjoyed the speculation as to what Will would be like and his lifestyle choices if he were alive today. What do you think he'd drive?

This is a fun, witty, and sexy movie.

pazt

"The Informationist"

"The Informationist" is a thriller by first time author, Taylor Stevens.
Michael/Vanessa Munroe, the heroine of this book, is hired to find a Texas oil billionaire's step-daughter who disappeard on vacation in Africa four years earlier. Despite the attempts of detectives he hired in the past, no trace of her has been found and the assignment Munroe has accepted seems impossible to complete. However, Munroe has skills that give her an edge previous investigators lacked and her journey back to Africa, where she was born and raised by missionary parents, is more than just an assignment. It's a chance for her to face up to her own demons.

I found Stevens to be an extremely talented writer and this book kept me engrossed throughout. Once I started it I found it hard to put down so even when I fell asleep reading it, I'd wake up in the middle of the night to continue the story. Vanessa Munroe is a strong heroine and, if the next Vanessa Munroe novel that Stevens is currently working on is as good or better, you won't want to miss either. I can't recommend this book highly enough!!!

pazt

"Under The Color of Law"

Michael McGarrity has captured my attention again in "Under The Color of Law" which was an easy, quick read because I didn't want to put it down. Kevin Kearney has just become the police chief of Santa Fe and he has his work cut out for him shaping up a department left in shambles by his predecessor. When an ambassador's estranged wife is found murdered and his team is taken off the case because the FBI and other federal officers move in to solve it, he is skeptical. A quick resolution leads him to the conclusion that this is a cover up but digging deeper could cost him his life as well as his pregnant wife's and officers serving under him. Will Kerney be able to back down and not follow it through to protect those he cares about?

In the meantime, he's not receiving a lot of support from his superiors. As Kerney says on page 84 of the hardback version, "..holding back on the somewhat snide thought that criminals really should be more sensitive to the chamber-of-commerce vision of a picture-perfect retirement and murder of a prominent citizen was unseemly, only served to tarnish the city's image, and caused hand wringing for both the boosters and the local politicians."

I highly recommend this book in the Kevin Kerney series.

pazt

"Wicked"

"Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire was my book club's May choice. It was met with mixed reviews by the members of my group and not many that were very positive. One member, who had read it in another book club, felt that group had a higher opinion of Maguire's work. Several members had seen "Wicked" - the musical and said it was not at all like the book and they thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommended attending a performance.

Since I had just started a part-time position, I hadn't had time to read all of the book before we met. I was struggling through the first 62 pages and wasn't sure I wanted to go on until I reached Section II and the setting moved to a school where I felt the plot became a little more interesting and easier to read.

Although the writing is good, I found some of the sexual details irrelevant to the story as a whole. The book begins with the birth of Elphaba (the eventual Wicked Witch of the West) and ends with her death but her life is definitely fleshed out in the interim pages. I didn't find the 406 pages an easy read even after it became more interesting to me but, after our book club discussion, I did decide I wanted to finish it. I can usually read a book in a few days but this one took me at least a month. I found myself falling asleep reading it so that I could only make it through a few pages at a time. Near the end I fell asleep and had a terrible nightmare. So....do I recommend it? -- probably not. When I first read about Maguire's books fleshing out different Oz characters, I found the idea of them intriguing but I doubt I'll try to read any more. In fairness I do have to say I've never been a particular fan of the original "Wizard of Oz" either.

Maguire does write with humor and there is one quote in particular on page 333 of the hard copy that I like: "Everybody needs to grow up and leave home sometimes, but sometimes HOME DOESN'T LIKE IT!" (For understanding you will have to read the book!)

So, if you do decide to read this one or any of Maguire's books, I'd love to hear your take on them.....

pazt

"A Summer Place"

"A Summer Place" premiered in 1959 -- the year before I graduated from high school -- and my husband and I have considered the theme song from "A Summer Place" as our song. I decided it was time to take a trip down memory lane and check the movie out from our library. The theme song hadn't changed but I didn't really remember what the movie was about. It turns out it's nothing like our love story! However, the movie does highlight what that era was like for young people. Boy, have things changed!

Richard Egan plays Sandra Dee's father and her mother is portrayed by Constance Ford. Troy Donahue's parents are played by Arthur Kennedy and Dorothy McGuire. When they all meet up at an island vacation spot, secrets unfold along with romance.

I decided to research what happened to the stars of this movie and was surprised to learn that Richard Egan studied and taught at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, after receiving a B.A. from the University of San Francisco and an M.A. from Stanford. He landed a bit part in 1949 (his first role) in "The Story of Molly X" and was signed afterwards by a Hollywood studio. During WW II he was an army judo instructor which I can well believe looking at his "buff" arms! He died of prostate cancer in 1987 at age 66.

His co-star in the movie, Dorothy McGuire, died of heart failure in Santa Monica at the age of 85. She was actually 5 years older than Egan.

Sandra Dee married Bobby Darrin in 1960 when she was 18 and that marriage ended in divorce. According to her only son, the marriage ended because of her alcohol and drug dependacy, depression, and anorexia but the cause of her death at age 63 was renal failure from kidney cancer.

This was possibly Troy Donahue's first role. He married Suzanne Pleshette in 1964 then they later divorced. He died at age 65 of a heart attack.

Arthur Kennedy died at age 76 of a brain tumor after previously suffering from thyroid cancer and an eye disease.

Constance Ford did an excellent job of portraying Sandra Dee's unloveable mother in this movie!

If you want a glimpse of life in the 1950's, this movie is for you.

pazt

"Oklahoma" - The Musical Not The State!

I saw the movie, "Oklahoma," probably when I was in high school and have no memory of the plot but the music has stayed with me over the years. I tend to sing some of it in the shower but...not remembering all the lyrics I often make up my own and I'm not sure my spouse appreciates it!

Kamiak High School (Mukilteo, WA) puts on a musical every spring and their performances are always top quality and so professionally done that I never want to miss one. It has become a family tradition for my spouse and I to attend a performance on Mother's Day weekend with our younger daughter,her two daughters, and her mother-in-law. Tonight we went to see their production of "Oklahoma" and, as always, it was a fantastic musical evening of entertainment. In addition to the actors/singers/dancers there was incredible back-up by members of the Kamiak Orchestra as well as support by all the behind-the-scenes and lighting technicians. If you live in this area, I highly recommend checking out Kamiak's musicals and other drama productions. I don't think you'll regret it!

pazt

"Letters to Juliet"

"Letters to Juliet" starring Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave was our date night DVD choice for Friday night and it was a good one! This was a movie I had hoped to see while it was in the theater but I missed it.

Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried), a fact checker who is also an aspiring writer, travels to Verona, Italy, for a "working" vacation with her fiance who is opening a restaurant soon in New York. However, the romantic vacation she'd envisioned for the two of them turns out to be less fun for her as he is off to visit vineyards and restaurants and she is bored. She decides to do some sightseeing on her own while he's working and discovers a 50-year-old letter written by Claire (played by Vanessa Redgrave)to her then Italian boyfriend. When Sophie responds to the letter, she meets Claire who has traveled to Italy with her grandson and the three of them embark on a journey to find Claire's lost love. What they find along the way is unexpected and magical -- a fun, romantic comedy that I highly recommend.

We also watched the special features and learned that this movie is based on factual events which I found very interesting. There really are women who leave letters for Juliet as well as a group of women who respond to these letters -- the secretaries of Juliet.
pazt

P.S. The scenery -- and music -- are beautiful.