"Murder"

"Murder," a novel authored by Sarah Pinborough (who lives in West London) is the second in her Dr. Thomas Bond series -- and, hopefully, the last!  Sarah's picture on the flyleaf and on the fantasticfiction.co.uk site show her to be this very happy young woman which is hard to equate with the horror, supernatural thrillers she's authored.  She's also written for the popular BBC crime drama, "New Tricks," which is one of my favorite series.

Although "Mayhem," (the first book in this series) and "Murder" are based on a real-life police surgeon, Dr. Thomas Bond, this account is total fiction but it uses the supernatural to account for real events in Dr. Bond's life.  Unlike the real Dr. Bond who was twice married and had six children, the fictional Dr. Bond is unmarried.  The real Dr. Thomas Bond worked with Scotland Yard detectives to identify and capture Jack the Ripper and the Torso Killer and both play a feature role in these two books.

"Murder" finds Dr. Bond trying to get back to a normal life after the Ripper and Torso Killer investigations but it proves difficult as the corpses of murdered children begin turning up.

He finally professes his love for the widowed Juliana Harrington but his proposal of marriage is thwarted when another suitor appears on the scene, Edward Kane.  Edward was a friend and European traveling companion of Juliana's late husband who decides to pay a visit on her and her young son while he is in London on business.  After meeting Juliana he  prolongs his visit so he may court the young widow.

As Dr. Bond becomes more tortured and alienated from his close friends, they are deeply concerned for him and his behavior begins to affect all of them leading to the climactic ending.

Although I found the books interesting, there are too many books out there begging to be read so I probably won't seek out any more Pinborough novels in the near future.  pazt

A Trip Down Memory Lane and The Perils of Mobile Home Living in Retirement

Last night my husband picked up a mug and the handle broke off -- not a huge problem as we have an abundance of mugs and are downsizing.  However, this mug was from the time we lived in Anchorage, AK, from December 1983 to December 1986.  My husband thinks he either "won" it or it might have been given to him because he most likely made a donation to KSKAfm91 - Anchorage Public Radio.  He's always been a promoter of Public Radio and this mug has been a reminder of our time in Alaska.  It's dark blue with white lettering and a white sun (or moon) and snow capped mountains.  What could be a better memento of Anchorage where winter often came early and "break up" came late.  We shall miss this reminder of our time there but there are others!

Yesterday I also uncovered a November 1987 Better Homes and Gardens during my downsizing.  There's not a lot that is relevant in it any longer so it is going to the recycle bin but I did find a few decorating ideas to save for hints as to how to make our next (and, hopefully, last move) space more livable.  We are downsizing because we wish to move to a smaller home -- a condo where someone else is responsible for the maintenance.

We thought we'd found the "perfect" retirement home when we purchased a double wide mobile home for cash in an over 55 mobile home park  in November of 2008.  This park has always attracted us because it looked so nice from the outside.  Although the home we purchased was an older model, it had been updated by the previous owners and had a heat pump, new carpeting as well as new appliances.  We had such plans for it but never really "unpacked."  The home has three bedrooms and two full baths and we rarely use the living or dining area.  One of the bedrooms is my husband's home office since he still works part-time.  The other was to double as a guest bedroom and my space but it really has become a "junk" room.  My attraction to this home was its spaciousness and abundance of kitchen cabinets.  My husband's was the central air conditioning since he'd lived in a mobile home with his family in Kansas as a teen.

The first Homeowner's Association event we attended was a Thanksgiving pot luck.  We were still moving in and were anxious to meet our neighbors.  I was 65 the year we moved in and my husband had just turned 69 a few months before.  As we walked home from the pot luck, my husband remarked, "My God, we moved into the old farts home.!"  Of course, as we got to know residents, we came to love them but we have always been younger looking than our age and young in spirit and there are so many ways that we don't feel we fit in.  I still work part-time and have lots of activities and friends outside the park.  We have family and friends near by and still attend community events -- something some of our neighbors are unable to do.

However, the biggest drawback to mobile home living in Washington state when you don't own the land that your mobile home is placed on is the owner of the land.  You pay a monthly rent to them for the land rent as well as water and sewer.  You're still responsible for all your other utilities.  If the owner of the land (who has his or her on-site managers do two or three "inspections" yearly) insists that you do maintenance to your home or refuses to give you permission to make changes to your deck, etc., you have little recourse but to follow the "rules."  Your option is to move your home then you have not only the expense of purchasing land to place it on but the cost of moving it.

Keeping up with the owner's requirements for exterior and lawn maintenance as well as plumbing, electrical, and other major repairs we have had to make since we moved in has cost us more per year than homeowner's dues would if we were to purchase a condo.  Perhaps now you see why we want to move!  At least, if we lived in a condo, we would have a vote in the condo association.  Here we really have no voice.

Our next challenge will be to find a condo in an area that we want to live with the amenities we desire and at a price we can afford!  But first....there's still the downsizing so we don't once again make a move with "stuff" we no longer need or want!  pazt

"Hung Out To Die"

"Hung Out To Die" is Sharon Short's 4th novel in her Stain Busting Mystery Series featuring Josie Toadfern.

Josie is relatively well adjusted given her father abandoned her and her mother when she was a toddler then her mother left town leaving her in the care of a couple she trusted.  However, when he died, and the widow decided to move to another state to be near family, Josie was placed in the local orphanage.  Fortunately, her mother's brother and his wife took her out of the orphanage and raised her with their son Guy, who is autistic.  Although her aunt and uncle have died and she inherited their laundry business, she has developed her own close family of friends in her small town.  She's also the guardian for her cousin, Guy, who lives in a facility nearby that does a fantastic job of helping autistic adults (who are unable to mainstream) to find and use their gifts in an institutional setting.

Josie's paternal grandmother has ignored Josie her entire life so when her close friend and cousin, Sally, says her grandmother insists Josie come for Thanksgiving dinner, Josie reluctantly accepts the invitation.  Her boyfriend, Owen, is out of town visiting his son and other friends have their own plans.  What a surprise when both her parents show up together at the family Thanksgiving dinner in a sports car and looking very financially secure.  However, when they announce plans to turn the old orphanage into a Flea Market, the idea doesn't sit well with many people but particularly the local antique dealers.

Josie's uncle Fenwick (her father's twin brother) and her father have a heated argument at dinner then go for a walk together after dinner while her Aunt naps and her mother takes off for a couple of hours in the car.  When Josie and a friend discover her uncle's body in the woods, her father is arrested on suspicion of murder and her mother moves in with Josie.  Josie's mother, May, expects Josie to find the real killer and get her dad out of jail.

The local newspaper editor is looking to make a name for himself (and also might be hoping her boyfriend decides not to return) and joins forces with Josie to track down a murderer.  The result -- several lives are thrust into the path of danger and more deaths occur before the mystery is solved satisfactorily (at least to Josie and her parents' satisfaction).  pazt

"Hidden Prey"

"Hidden Prey" is John Sandford's 16th novel in the Lucas Davenport prey series and it delivers just as suspenseful a story as the first fifteen.  This time Davenport is called to investigate the death of a Russian who is killed on the shores of Lake Superior with bullets that are at least fifty years old.  This Russian had high government connections via his father so a policewoman, Nadya, is sent to follow the investigation with Davenport and his partner.  However, Nadya doesn't "feel" like a police woman and Davenport is soon suspicious that she is really an agent or spy.

When a homeless woman as well as another Russian agent are killed and Nadya is also targeted, the investigation begins to look at some families that are closely related.  Although all of the older generation are citizens, the hospital where they were born burned to the ground and all records were destroyed.  Could there be a Russian spy ring operating still in the area?

As often is the case with Davenport, there are twists and turns until the truth is discovered and I'm left wondering if perhaps this woman agent, Nadya, will turn up in future Prey novels?  pazt

"Get Smart"

After viewing the last of "Get Smart" with my grandchildren at their home, I decided I wanted to see the movie in its entirety so found a copy at my local library.  It stars Steve Carell as Agent Maxwell Smart, an analyst who desperately wants to work in the field.  When most of CONTROL's agents are "outed," Max gets his chance in the company of Agent 99 (played by Anne Hathaway) who has recently undergone a complete plastic surgery makeover so her identity has not been compromised.  Head of CONTROL is played by Alan Arkin and Dwayne Johnson is another agent who is frustrated by having to stay in the office when he's always been a field agent.

KAOS has come up with a nuclear scheme that threatens the U.S. and it is up to rookie, Max, and Agent 99 to thwart the scheme.  It's a fun ride throughout that I recommend you don't miss if you enjoy slapstick comedy.  The DVD offers bonus scenes throughout which I did watch but they really weren't worth the effort!  pazt

"Found"

"Found" by Harlan Coben is the third book in his Mickey Bolitar series.  Coben is the number 1 New York Times bestselling author of a lot of adult novels but this is his young adult series starring Mickey Bolitar, a high school basketball player, and his friends who help him solve mysteries and/or find people.  Coben has won the Edgar Award, Shamus Award, and Anthony award -- the first author to receive all three.  You can visit him at www.harlancoben.com or www.mickeybolitar.com.

Mickey is convinced his dad, who reportedly died in a car accident, is still alive but there's really no one to believe him except a "batty" old woman who says she heard his father's voice although she's never heard the voice of a dead person before and she has plenty of ghosts in her past.

In the meantime, Mickey is living his dream of staying in one place so he can attend school, make friends, and make the basketball team.  When he makes the varsity team, life isn't as easy as he thought when the players who have been together all their lives shun him -- until they need his help.

When one of Mickey's close friends asks for his help, he learns that helping someone else may also help him.

I'm disappointed that I've not seen anything about a 4th book in this series -- I don't want it to end!  pazt

"The People of Sparks"

"The People of Sparks" is the second "Book of Ember" in a series written by Jeanne Duprau.  If I remember correctly, I discovered the first book, "The City of Ember," because my ten year old granddaughter was reading the series and it looked interesting to me.  So....although this is a young reader's book, it appealed to me, too.

In the first book Lina and Doon lead their people up from an underground city, Ember, because the systems in the city that sustain them are beginning to fail.  They find the clues to getting their people out of the city but are bewildered by a world above ground.  They walk until they find another city, Sparks.  In the book, "The People of Sparks" are just as bewildered by a group of people who have never lived above ground as the Emberites are by all they are finding above ground.

The People of Sparks agree to take in the Emberites for a period of 6 months while sharing their food with them and teaching them the survival skills they'll need to grow food and build shelters.  They are mostly housed in an old building and assigned to families who share food with them.  As time goes on, both sides begin to be disgruntled -- Sparks citizens at having to share with these people when they have just begun to reach the point that they've been able to put a little food ahead for lean years.  Emberites are unhappy with the small portions of food they are given and their treatment.

In the meantime Lina takes off on an adventure and discovers a ruined city and begins to undertand what happened that led to the destruction of this world and why her people were sent to live underground for survival.  She also receives wisdom from a fellow traveler about what leads to war and ways that might have prevented it.

While she is gone, Doon is accused of something he didn't do and tensions begin to grow even more between the two cities.  Tick, from Ember, has put together a group that he wants to lead into a fight and as hard feelings escalate, the Emberites are asked to leave.  But...where will they go and how will they survive?

A dramatic event brings everything to a head and choices have to be made that will either lead to fighting and death for some of the citizens of both cities or peace that will allow them to co-exist.

Duprau has a gift for sharing ways to stand up for oneself nonviolently and the ability to describe the consequences of violence -- excellent lessons for youth to learn -- OR all of us to learn!  pazt

"2nd Chance"

"2nd Chance" is the second book in The Women's Murder Club series authored by James Patterson with Andrew Gross.  Lindsay Boxer is just returning to duty after solving "the biggest murder case since Harvey Milk" and she is now Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer, head of San Francisco's homicide division.

When a young black girl is killed just as the choir she was practicing with is leaving church, it is first thought to be an accident and a miracle - a miracle that she is the only one who died when the whole front of the church is shot up and no other child nor the minister, Andrew Winslow, are even seriously injured from the hail of bullets.

Is this a hate crime?  However, as Lindsay and her team begin their investigation, they find a link to the killing of an elderly black woman then their own Chief Mercer becomes a target.  What is behind these killings?  It appears that all victims are policemen or have links to the police and one clue leads them to "chimera"  which leads Lindsay to one of the toughest prisons in the state and one of its most vile prisoners looking for clues.

In the meantime, life goes on as Jill announces she is pregnant, Claire becomes romantically involved with Rev. Andrew Winslow, and Lindsay's father shows up after a 20 year absence.

This is another brilliant mystery -- just when we believe Lindsay has solved her case and the murderer is no longer a threat more clues complicate that assumption and we're taken on another whirlwind ride seeking the truth.  pazt