"The Brutal Telling"

"The Brutal Telling" by Louise Penny is the fifth book, I believe, in her Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series.  In the midst of a private conversation with his daughter, Annie, Gamache reluctantly leaves to investigate a murder in Three Pines.  He believed Annie had something troubling her that she wanted to share with him and regrets that his work often interrupts family moments.

It's nearing the end of the long Labor Day weekend when everyone's holidays are over and they return to town but a body has been discovered in the middle of Olivier and Gabri's bistro.  The first task is to identify the man because there is no identity on the body and no one seems to know who he is.  When lies are uncovered, Olivier seems to be the chief suspect.  Will his and Gabri's relationship survive the lies he's kept hidden from his partner as well as his friends in Three Pines?

This is another excellent tale woven by Louise Penny with characters that have so much depth that I feel like I live in Three Pines and they're all my friends.  I can see myself sitting in front of a fireplace in the bistro with a glass of wine and a plate of excellent food.  This is also a novel full of questions.....

Peter Morrow seems to have come to terms with his wife, Clara's about-to-be newfound fame.  However, Clara is faced with a dilemma.  Does she confront Roger Fortin, the man who can bring her fame and fortune, about his unkind and homophobic remarks about her friend, Gabri, and risk losing her chance to be discovered or does she keep quiet?

Ruth Zardo, one of the recurring characters in Three Pines mysteries -- and she is a character even if she is a renowned poet -- is still treating her duck, Rosa, like her child -- dressing her in coats and sweaters to prepare her for the winter ahead.  Will Rosa be willing to stay through the winter or will the call of the wild birds overhead heading south for the winter be too tempting for her?  Will Ruth be able to let her go and is Rosa willing to go?

There's a new family in town, too -- the Gilbert's -- who have totally made over the Hadley house and taken the scene of murders and added new life and light to it.  They plan to open an expensive bed and breakfast and spa.  Will they be accepted by the townspeople?  Do they have secrets to be revealed? 

Don't miss this (or any of the other novels in this series) - I tried to put it down but ended up reading through the night so allow yourself time to immerse yourself in the book and Three Pines when you pick it up. pazt

"After"

"After" edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling is a book of 19 short stories from best-selling and/or award-winning authors who show us what our world might look like if there were a nuclear meltdown, plague, a meteor strike, another World War, a new ice age, or some other disaster.  I have to say that some of these stories are downright weird or too hard to follow but others are full of surprises and I did have some favorites.  My recommendations:  "The Segment" by Genevieve Valentine, "Faint Heart" by Sarah Rees Brennan, "Before" by Carolyn Dunn, and "The Marker" by Cecil Castellucci.  This is also a good way to check out some authors to see if you want to read their novels.  In fact, I've been reading N. K. Jemisin's trilogy and she has a short story, "Valedictorian" in this book.  In the Afterword the editors talk about some classics like Sir Thomas More's "Utopia," Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451," George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four," and Suzanne Collins, "The Hunger Games."  I remember reading Orwell in high school and "1984" feels like it has arrived -- maybe I need to revisit that book!  pazt

"Rosemary & Thyme"

My spouse and I decided to revisit the "Rosemary & Thyme" Series one by checking it out from the library.  Although we're pretty sure we'd already seen all six of these episodes (on 3 discs), we enjoyed watching this detecting duo again.  Laura Thyme is a former policewoman who gave up her career for marriage to a fellow policeman and to raising a family.  When her children are grown and her husband leaves her for a much younger woman, she's lucky to meet Rosemary Boxer.  Rosemary is a plant biologist who has just lost her university teaching post when she meets Laura.  While still reeling from her husband's infidelity, Laura can use some female companionship and when she and Rosemary are thrown together during a murder inquiry, they decide to start a business together assisting individuals with their gardening problems.  Often, though, those assignments lead to murder and more detecting for our two amateur sleuths.  Their witty interactions make this series great fun to watch.  pazt

New Tricks - Season One

Season One of the BBC series, "New Tricks" leads off with the formation of UCOS (unsolved crime unit) with Amanda Redmon portraying Sandra Pullman who has very publicly been disgraced in an undercover operation.   Does that mean heading up this unit is a punishment? She's been saddled with former policemen (who will not officially be policemen again) as advisers to assist her in solving the crimes.
The team is composed of Jack Halford (portrayed by James Bolam) who is a grieving widower -- perhaps getting out of the house will be good for him?  Then there is ex-Inspector Brian Lane (portrayed by Alun Armstrong) who is obsessive/compulsive and has the ability to recall every piece of information from the past but his wife, Esther, worries that returning to solving crimes might do in his fragile mental health.  Last, but not least, is Gerry Standing (portrayed by Dennis Waterman) who has been married three times but has managed to maintain a close relationship with all his ex-wives and his daughters and they with each other -- just one big happy family!

This crew of detectives may not be used to modern day detective work nor the fact that the rules of the game have changed but their ability to solve these "cold" cases is uncanny.  However, the season ends with them "cocking" up their most recent case and possibly enabling a murderer to go free.  The team seems to be coming apart as Sandra's chances of a promotion go by the way side and Jack is ready to hand in his resignation.  Brian, the most unstable mentally of them, is in a good place, though, and Gerry is over the top ecstatic about the recent birth of his first grandchild -- a boy joining him in what is otherwise an all girl family.  We're left hanging about the future of UCOS but with several more seasons to be viewed I think I can safely say they're not going away any time soon.

I thoroughly enjoy these characters and the way they go about solving crimes so I can hardly wait to get my hands on a copy of the second season!  pazt

"Daniel's Daughter"

I picked up the DVD, "Daniel's Daughter," starring Laura Leighton (of "Melrose Place") at the local library.  It was billed as a love story and I thought it would be a good date night movie.  Laura plays Katherine, a successful New York magazine editor, who is about to marry her wealthy boss in what is going to be one of the big society events of the year.  However, when her estranged father dies, his last request is for her to spread his ashes in her small Massachusetts home town.  She is still bitter about the fact that her father left her with relatives after her mother's death and she never saw him again so is reluctant to carry out his wishes.  When she decides to take some of her magazine's own advice, however, she finds herself heading off to carry out her father's request accompanied by her assistant but without informing her husband-to-be (who knows nothing about her family).  The trip home is more revealing than she expected and offers new possibilities for her life that she hadn't anticipated.  It is a warm, romantic movie but the frequent "pauses" made my spouse and myself wonder if it wasn't a made-for-tv movie and those pauses were for the commercials.  The pauses were very distracting from the story and left me wishing it had been redone for the DVD without them!  pazt

"Body Line"

"Body Line" is one of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles most recent Bill Slider Mysteries.  Since I usually read all series in order, I was surprised to learn I'd missed this one when I read "Kill My Darling."  I think there is only one more book (came out in 2012) in the series left for me to read -- what a disappointment!  I hope more are in the works. 

In "Body Line" Slider and his team are investigating the death of Dr. David Rogers who was handsome, charming, rich, and had quite a way with the women.  He seemed to have a whole harem of women past and present and an ex-wife so, when he was killed in the hallway of his very expensive home, it might be assumed the motive was passion -- or was it jealousy -- or was it just for money?  However, when more murders are linked to an association with Rogers, the team is kept busy chasing clues all over the country.  What they discover is that the man Rogers was presumed to be may all be a lie -- who was he really and why was he killed?  Those are the questions that must be answered and the path to getting there is full of twists and turns making for a challenging task for Slider's team but leading to a very satisfactory conclusion.  Even if you haven't read any other Bill Slider mysteries, this one would stand on its own and be well worth the read!  pazt

"Broken Kingdoms"

"Broken Kingdoms" is N. K. Jemisin's second book in The Inheritance Trilogy and, like the first book, it took me a little while to get into the book but, once I did, I couldn't put it down.  I asked myself why I have difficulty getting absorbed in these books and I think it is because it is such a different universe and so many players and I seem to have trouble keeping track of the mortals, Gods, Godlings, and demons.  In the case of both books I've forgotten that the author has a glossary of terms in the back of the book which might help me out! 

This book centers around a young blind artist named Oree Shoth who, after her father's death, moves to the city of Shadow in an attempt to hide her abilities.  Her father had warned her that she needed to keep her magic hidden and she tries to follow his advice but, in the heat of a moment, it comes out and endangers not only her life but that of her God lover and his friends as well as her friend, Shiny.  How can that be if Gods are immortal?  You'll have to read the tale that Jemisin has so expertly woven to discover that!

There is an excerpt from the third book in the trilogy at the end of this book and it is intriguing so I'm off to find it.  pazt

"Doc Martin" - Series 4

Doc Martin's life becomes even more complicated after he and Louisa decide not to go through with their wedding and she leaves town.  When Louisa returns very pregnant but not wanting Doc in her life, he takes her at her word.  In the meantime, Dr. Edith Montgomery, a former girlfriend from London, starts work at a local hospital and reenters his life appearing to want to resume their former relationship.  Edith encourages Doc to overcome his phobia about blood and refers him to a specialist in the hopes that he can return to London as a surgeon. As always, Doc has his hands full of unusual cases - He's a great diagnostician and I'm thinking it will be a great loss for Portwenn (and Louisa) if he does take a post in London.

However, Doc does accept the post and packs up his household goods and heads off to London but, on the way out of town, he is called to an emergency which alerts him to the fact that Louisa (on her way to her regular checkup in a taxi) may be in danger.  Will he really be able to leave before his baby is born and can Portwenn do without him?  pazt

"Murder In Suburbia"

BBC America's "Murder in Suburbia" is billed as "Britain's smart, sassy detective duo."  My spouse and I just finished watching Series 1 and 2 starring Carolina Catz (Louisa on "Doc Martin") and Lisa Faulkner who play police detectives Kate "Ash" Ashurst and Emma "Scribbs" Scribbins whose beat is Middleford.  Jeremy Sheffield plays their boss who is always admonishing them to clear their cases up quickly and they're always wondering what he's up to in his private life.  Frankly, I think he has fun keeping them guessing.  Ash and Scribbs make solving murder fun as they wisecrack their way through cases and disect one another's lives -- particularly their love lives -- or lack thereof.  It's beginning to look like Ash might be interested in their boss and I'm curious to see how this may play out in future series -- or is it just to get us to watch to find out!  However, it appears there are no future series - what a disappointment!  pazt