"Rosemary & Thyme" - Series 3

I've been unable to locate the second season of the BBC British mystery series, "Rosemary & Thyme, " but was able to find the third and final series at our local library.  It contains 3 disks with 8 episodes and my spouse and I both particularly enjoyed all of these episodes -- We're sad to see the series go.  My spouse has often commented that the Midsommer Murder series usually has 3 murders in each episode and he noted that "Rosemary & Thyme" seem to have a couple of murders each episode but despite that, they are lighthearted and entertaining.  There was at least one that was not set in Britain and the gardens and landscapes in all of these episodes are very beautiful -- worth watching even if you're not a mystery fan.  Some of the locations include Kew Gardens, Regent's Park, the Andalusian village of Mijas, and a Surrey vineyard. 

The friendship between Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme has blossomed as the series has developed.  The business was started by Rosemary, a former university plant biologist, but it sometimes seemed in these episodes that it was Laura who was in charge.  She has brought her investigative skills as a former police officer to their duo but Rosemary has never been shabby with her own detection skills which is why I think they're so dynamic together.  If you enjoy lighthearted mysteries that also develop the characters and their personal lives in a little more depth, check out this series.  pazt

"The Husband List"

"The Husband List" is written by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly.  Since Evanovich is the author of the Stephanie Plum novels which are a favorite of both me and my spouse, I decided to give "The Husband List" a try.  Although it is a light romance set in 1894, it is not up to par with the Plum novels which often have me shaking the bed with laughter when I read at bedtime.  None of that happened with this book cowritten by Evanovich and Kelly.  Maybe the romance reading I'm looking for is more along the line of Stephanie Plum and her dilemma of choosing between Ranger and Joe Morelli!  Although I was disappointed  in "The Husband List," there are too many books and too little time for me to read those that don't entertain me so I just must move on!  pazt

"Becoming Clementine"

"Becoming Clementine" by Jennifer Niven is the third book in the Velva Jean series but the first one I've read.  I kept seeing this book on the "Best Picks" shelf at my library and also on my daughter's table.  I enjoyed it and am trying to decide whether to read the first 2 books in the series or not although I did request "Velva Jean Learns to Drive" from the library this evening.  In "Becoming Clementine" the author does allude to the earlier books and there was enough information about them that makes me wonder if I need to return to Velva Jean's origins. "Velva Jean Learns to Drive" was chosen as an Indie Reader's Group "Top Ten" pick.  Niven has also written three nonfiction books and "The Ice Master" was named one of the top 10 nonfiction books of the year by "Entertainment Weekly."  It is available at my library but I couldn't find "Ada Blackjack" which was a Book Sense "Top Ten" pick and has been optioned for the movies.  Both of her nonfiction books have been published in numerous other languages.  She also wrote "The Aqua-Net Diaries" which is a memoir about her high school experience and it was optioned by Warner Brother as a TV series.  Learn more about Niven at www.jenniferniven.com or check out her FB site.

Niven has taken real events and created a novel that is based on them and Velva Jean Hart is her heroine.  In "Becoming Clementine" Hart, a WASP, volunteers to copilot delivery of a B-17 flying fortress to Britain.  Unknown to those who sent her on this mission, Hart's intent is to stay in England and find a way to get to France to search for her brother who is missing in action.  She volunteers to copilot a plane carrying special agents to a drop spot over Normandy but doesn't count on the plane being shot down and the adventures that follow.  Only she and five agents survive -- thanks to her skill as a pilot.  However, they are running for their lives.  Eventually, Hart makes it to Paris where she adopts an identity created for her -- that of Clementine Roux,  the widow of a French pilot who stayed on in France after his death.  Under this guise she assists the Resistance and takes on a secret mission herself that lands her in a Nazi prison where she is to help rescue a very important woman operative known as the "Swan."  Along the way she also falls in love but will she and her love survive this war and will she be able to hold up under torture and questioning,  find the "Swan" and escape, and still locate her brother? 

This story was partly inspired by Niven's own father, Jack F. McJunkin Jr. who was an Army Intelligence Officer on Okinawa and in Vietnam.  She also located some women spies in her family tree -- spies in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.  Niven also has an interest in the WASP, OSS, and SOE and wove these into her story so the book is really one of historical fiction.   pazt 

Matt Helm on DVD

My spouse decided we needed to take a trip down memory lane and he did good!  He picked up a 2 disc DVD from our library with Dean Martin starring as Matt Helm.  They seem to give "Murderer's Row" top billing but "The Silencers" really came before it in the series.  Helm is "ICE's" greatest secret agent but he has retired and started a photography business where he photographs beautiful women for calendars and other assignments.  When "ICE" calls him back into action to team up with a former female partner (whose current male partner was murdered putting her in danger also), he's reluctant to return to work as he's just been offered a photo shoot in Mexico.  However, MacDonald, the head of "ICE," reminds him he can never really retire from this government job and, when his former co-agent shows up at his door, he finds himself unable to refuse her advances.  They're off to stop the evil Big O organization headed by Tung-Tze (Victor Buono) "Operation Fallout."  Along the way they face danger and add a reluctant but gogeous klutz to their team (Stella Stevens).  Will they be able to prevent World War III?  Watch and find out....

The second DVD in the series, "Murderers' Row," has Helm called back into action when the inventor of a death ray that can destroy entire cities is kidnapped.  Julian Wall (Karl Malden) wants to destroy Washington, D.C., so he can take over the world but Helm with the help of the inventor's go-go dancing daughter (Ann-Margaret) are out to find her father and stop Wall.

Both movies are fun, light-hearted suspense in the vein of a 007 spoof -- fun to watch and Dean Martin (as well as all the beautiful women that surround him) is great to look at and even gets to sing a little-a definite bonus in my opinion.  Frank Sinatra gets a bit role in each movie, too -- also a fun touch.  Enjoy...pazt

Vacation

Well, if you regularly follow my post, you may wonder where I've been since I usually post something a few times a week.  Shortly after my last post, my spouse and I took off for a 3 week trip to England to visit our oldest daughter and her family who live in the greater London area.  It's the first time that we've visited when it was so cold that we had to purchase some long underwear as well as borrow fleece jackets from our daughter to put under our winter coats.  Since it was almost Easter, we really thought we'd see some warmer weather but there was a wind from Siberia and snow on the ground in places and it didn't warm up until a few days before our departure for home.  Our daughter took very good care of us -- putting us to bed every night with a hot water bottle for our feet -- the ultimate luxury! 

We returned home to our jobs and a busy routine but decided we needed another vacation and took off for the Washington coast to spend a few days in a cabin in one of our favorite beach locations -- Kalaloch.  Since the cabins have no phones (and our cell phones don't work there) and no TV, we really relaxed and read and ate.  Our English daughter is a vegan and her delicious meals inspired me to move towards veganism myself so I cooked our meals at the cabin and enjoyed having the time (if not my usual kitchen equipment) to prepare some meals. 

We've decided we need to be more intentional about vacationing and enjoying time together so we already have another long weekend getaway planned soon and are planning a couple of trips for next year -- always good to having something to look forward to!  pazt