"Kill My Darling"

"Kill My Darling" is another Cynthia Harrod-Eagles Detective Inspector Bill Slider Mysteries.  I can't seem to get enough of this series and the author weaves a  particularly complex tale in "Kill My Darling" which kept me changing my mind throughout about who the "baddies" were -- a truly satisfying read.  When Melanie Hunter goes missing, there are plenty of suspects -- a neighbor who served time for killing his wife, a live-in boyfriend who wasn't exactly who he appeared to be, and a stepfather with secrets.  Although she seemed loved by all, who really loved Melanie and why was she killed?  pazt  

"A Peach Of A Murder"

Livia J. Washburn's "A Peach Of A Mystery" is her first book in the "A Fresh-Baked Mystery" series.  Phyllis Newsom is a retired schoolteacher whose son is in local law enforcement.  He's married with a wife and baby and Phyllis is widowed with a big house.  She has filled the house by renting out rooms to fellow retired schoolteachers -- one of whom is her biggest competition in the upcoming Parker County Peach Festival where Phyllis is hoping to snag a blue ribbon this year.  As she is out picking peaches with Mattie, one of her roomers, the owner of the orchard - a not so popular guy -- ends up dead underneath his car in his own barn.  Was it an accident or murder?  As more deaths occur, local law enforcement have their hands full asking that question in all of them.  When one of Phyllis' roomers is accused of murder, she decides to do a little sleuthing on her own which her son discourages.  Despite the fact that the accused and Phyllis are competing fiercely in the peach bake-off, Phyllis doesn't believe she'd murder anyone and wants to clear her name.  To stir things up a bit, Phyllis has been asked to add another roomer to her home -- a widower -- and after serious consideration (and meeting him) she agrees.  However, not everyone in the house is happy about adding a male to their all-female household.  Will Phyllis be able to keep all her roomers and peace in her home while attempting to solve the murder?  Look for a surprise ending!  pazt

"Sunset"

Blake Edwards' "Sunset" mystery movie brings together the legendary Wyatt Earp (played by James Garner) and Tom Mix (played by Bruce Willis).  Mix has been hired to play Earp in a film and Earp is on the set to act as an adviser to the movie but they end up discovering a dead body.  When it appears Tom's girlfriend is in danger, he sends her off to his ranch and along with Earp takes on the bad guys and sets out to solve the murder.  This is an action-packed but fun movie -- just what I wanted for an at-home date night! pazt

"Primary Colors"

"Primary Colors" is a movie starring John Travolta as Jack Stanton, an unknown Southern Governor running for U. S. President -- sound familiar?  Emma Thompson plays his ambitious wife, Susan, who wants the White House as much as he does.  It's going to be a tough race so they put together a winning team that includes characters played by Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates.  Although billed as a comedy, it has its serious moments, too.  When claims are being made by Stanton's opponents, the Stantons bring in Bates' character who used to work with them when they were young and idealistic and knows how to ferret out the truth.  She stays on to assist with the campaign and is faced with a dilemma she must present to them and wonders how they'll deal with it.  Will they still be the idealistic couple she knew and worked with in their younger days or will they disappoint her?   This might be the perfect movie to watch while we're being inundated with political propaganda - what do we believe?!!!  pazt

"The Monkey's Raincoat"

"The Monkey's Raincoat" was the first book in Robert Crais' Elvis Cole (L.A. Private Eye) series and I can understand why this has been a popular series.  In this first book he's been approached by Ellen Lang whose husband and son have disappeared and she needs his help to find them.  She and her husband moved to California from a small town in Kansas when they were young marrieds and she's always relied on him to pay the bills, provide support, etc. so she doesn't even know how to write a check.  When Cole begins the search for her husband and son, he stirs up a hornet's nest and Ellen's home is searched and trashed by someone unknown so she sends her two daughters off to stay with a friend.  Then Ellen herself is missing!  Will Cole be able to find out who is behind this family's disappearance -- with or without his somewhat silent business partner or the local police?  It was a book that kept me guessing throughout and was one of those that was hard to put down.  Great mystery!  pazt

"Doc Martin"

I'd heard about the British comedy "Doc Martin" but had never watched it so checked out the 2 disc DVD Series 1 set from the library.  Martin Clunes plays Doc Martin who is neurotic, socially awkward, and one of the best diagnosticians around.  Doc had a great career as a London surgeon but there was one small problem -- He fainted at the sight of blood!  What to do?  He decides to retire to a small town as their only doctor.  The town is full of quirky characters who seem willing to put up with a doctor who lacks tact.  Some of them even remember him from his childhood visits to his aunt who has a farm outside town.  Although Doc doesn't come across as an eligible bachelor, there does appear to be the hint of a romance in the air when he spots a local school teacher and she spots him shortly after his arrival in town.  I can hardly wait to watch Series 2!

pazt  

DVD: "Downton Abbey"

"Downton Abbey" PBS Masterpiece Classic UK edition  Series 1 was recommended to me by a friend and I was totally unprepared for what a treat it was going to be.  The series is set in the time of the sinking of the Titanic and the dawn of World War I.  Downton Abbey's Earl of Grantham has three daughters but no male heir to pass his family estate to.  Although the family and staff alike feel that the eldest daughter, Lady Mary, should inherit, it must be a male heir.  The solution would be for Lady Mary to marry the male heir but solutions and what really is seldom turn out to be one and the same.  Lady Mary's American mother, Cora,  brought a huge fortune to the marriage but her deceased father-in-law legally entailed it as part of the estate so there is no way for the family to get their hands on the inheritance -- It goes with the estate and the Earl knows that it is also needed to maintain the estate.  However his mother, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Maggie Smith) conspires with her daughter-in-law, Cora (played by Elizabeth McGovern) to find a way to separate the inheritance from the estate.  However, the Earl (played by Hugh Bonneville) refuses to budge on this. 

There's plenty of drama upstairs with the aristocratic family -- especially between Lady Mary and her next youngest sister, Lady Edith.  They may not literally kill each other but the relationship is a poisonous one with consequences beyond just the two of them.

Downstairs there's drama with the household staff -- love, hate, jealousy, and manipulation -- making for great story lines upstairs and downstairs aided by marvelous casting.

Don't miss the special features either -- "The Making of Downtown Abbey" and "A House in History."

The series is incredibly expensive so we're waiting for Series Two from the library and the waiting list is long!

pazt

"The Cruelest Month"

"The Cruelest Month" - a Three Pines Mystery by Louise Penny - is one of her best mysteries yet which is saying something since I've found all of her Three Pines Mysteries hard to put down.

Why this title? The author explains in a passage on page 247 of the hardback copy I read how the title about the month of April was inspired by T. S. Eliot: "All those spring flowers slaughtered. Happens almost every year. They're tricked into blooming, into coming out. Opening up. And not just the spring bulbs, but the buds on the trees. The rose bushes, everything. All out and happy. And then boom, a freak snowstorm kills them all."


Penny is an incredible author and has woven a complex, believable tale of friendships, hatred, compassion, kindness, and loyalty. She exhibits an understanding of human psychology that adds to the authenticity of her story lines.


Early books in this series have hinted at Chief Inspector Armand Gamache's previous difficulties because he was instrumental in bringing down Arnot, a high ranking Surete officer but we've never had the full story until now.  We've known that his uncovering Arnot's division's crimes made him unpopular with many of his fellow officers because he's seen as being disloyal and he's been shunned by some.  However, are there officers that hate him so much and admire Arnot enough that they'd really actively work to bring Gamache down?    Things come to a head in this book when he's sent to Three Pines to investigate yet another murder but finds himself dealing with betrayals by those close to him, spies on his investigative team, and false newspaper articles planted to wound not only him but family members.  Gamache has had enough so everything comes to a head about the time he solves the murder.  Will he resign from the Surete to protect his family or will he continue to solve crimes while dealing with the negativity of superior and fellow officers?

Will there be another book in this series?  I sure hope so and I'm off to find out!  pazt

"Cold Fire"

"Cold Fire" by Kate Elliott is the second book in The Spiritwalker Trilogy.  While the first book focused mostly on Catherine (known as Cat), this book reveals more about her beloved cousin, Beatrice (known as Bee), and follows the two cousins (raised together like sisters) as they travel together with Cat's half-brother, Rory.  Bee is in danger and Cat and Rory are dedicated to keeping her safe.  Cat learns more about the man who sired her and her half-brother along the way then is surprised by what she learns and observes about the man she was forced to marry when he re-enters her life.  Will she get the separation and marriage annulment she desires or will getting to know him better change her feelings towards him?  Will she and Rory be able to keep Bee safe?  Can they keep themselves safe?  I found this second book in the fantasy series an easier and quicker read and I'm looking forward to reading the third and final book in the trilogy when it comes out next year.  pazt

"Murder on Monday"

I picked up one of Ann Purser's mysteries at the library then discovered it was a series so returned it and checked out the first book in the series, "Murder on Monday."  Wow!  If I understand the cover info about Purser, she is an author and avid reader of detective stories but this is her first murder mystery.  The tale she wove is incredibly complex and kept me guessing about "whodunnit" until almost the very end!  Lois Meade is married with a daughter and two sons.  When her children are all in school, she decides it's time to go to work to help support the family.  Since her husband is gone most of the day working the the family business and her best skills seem to be in cleaning, she decides to take on cleaning jobs.  This doesn't set well with her children until she agrees that all her jobs will be in a nearby village and not near home.  With her mother living nearby and able to help with the children, she begins a career in the village of Long Farnden where she cleans at five different homes on five different weekday mornings.

Once Lois has established her career as a cleaning lady she decides she'd also like to take on the unpaid position of  a volunteer local constable but that's not well received by her family or the interviewees at the police department who don't believe she has enough spare time to take that on, too.  However, when the Long Farnden local spinster, Gloria Hathaway, is murdered, suspicion falls on many of the residents that she cleans for and her help is enlisted on an informal basis by the police investigating the murder.

In the meantime, her 14 year old daughter has become involved with a young man several years older than she and Lois and her husband are concerned about the relationship so are keeping a watchful eye on it while trying to also discourage any serious attachment.  Teenage girls can be a handful on their own without this complication!

As Lois quietly does some sleuthing at the homes where she cleans, she gets to know her families a little more than she planned and seriously looks at all of them as suspects but finds it hard to believe any of them would be guilty of murder.  She also learns her husband had a connection to the deceased spinster and her whole world is rocked by this revelation.  The police want to continue to have her assistance but also warn her to be careful because she might be endangering herself as well as her family.  When Long Farnden residents also warn her, she does begin to wonder if she's not cut out to be a police informant.  However, she soon learns it's too late when she's forced to turn to the police for help saving a family member.

I'm getting a strong sense that this is just the beginning of a continued relationship between Lois Meade and the local police investigator and her services are going to be needed in future stories in this series.  I can't wait to find out!  pazt

"Desert Cut"

"Desert Cut" is Betty Webb's 5th book in the Lena Jones Mystery series and she's delivered again with a tale that could have been taken from headlines.  When Lena and her boyfriend, Warren, discover a little girl's body in the desert while vacationing, Lena feels compelled to put on her private investigator hat and discover what happened to this child even if it results in putting her relationship with Warren on shaky ground.  As usual, Webb develops her characters well and researches her material to develop a story that parallels real life events.  If her purpose is to gain empathy and support to prevent injustices, she's achieved it.  Although the subject material is "dark," the writing and story line are superb and I'm ready to read the next book in the series.  pazt

"State of Wonder"

"State of Wonder" is the second Ann Patchett book my book club has read.  The first one was "Bel Canto" which was the very first book we read when our club started several years ago.  Although I would need to re-read "Bel Canto" to remember the story, I did find "State of Wonder" a quicker read.  Dr. Marina Singh, a drop out from medical school, has become a research scientist and the pharmaceutical company she currently works for has asked her to travel to the Amazon to find out more about the disappearance of one of her colleagues and to discover what progress her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, has made on a discovery that promises to boost the pharmaceutical companies earnings significantly.  What Dr. Singh discovers on this trip about Dr. Swenson, her missing colleague, the pharmaceutical company, as well as herself personally makes for an interesting read.  It's also convinced me I don't want to add the Amazon to my "bucket list!"  pazt