Teaser Tuesdays

MizB of Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesdays. Anyone can play along. Just do the following:

*Grab your current read.*Open to a random page.
*Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.

*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! You don't want to ruin the book for others.

*Share the title and author too, so other TT participants can add it to their TBR lists if they like your teaser.

Wow.  I knew it had been a while since I posted a Teaser...but when I looked back and found that it had been over two months, I was astonished.  It's been a hectic spring to say the least.  We'll see if I can get back into the groove for all my favorite memes.

Here are my teasers from The Father's Day Murder by Lee Harris (p. 98):

He won't have a temper tantrum; he's not the type.  He may not talk to you, but if he does, you can believe every word he says.

The Chinese Parrot: Review

The Chinese Parrot (1926) is the second in Earl Derr Biggers's mystery series featuring Charlie Chan.  The Charlie Chan stories were first serialized in The Saturday Evening Post.  What is interesting is that these stories were running during the same time period as Sax Rohmer's "yellow peril" Fu Manchu.  Biggers's representation of Asians may not be perfect, but it is certainly far more positive than most of the Western literature of the early 20th century.  The Chinese detective from Honolulu manages to outsmart everyone in this snapshot of 1920s America.  And he's using his intelligence for good, rather than in an evil "yellow" plot to wipe out civilization.

A society lady who has fallen on hard times (read: her wastrel son has squandered the fortune his father had left) is forced to sell her valuable string of pearls in order to meet debts and have something to live on.  Millionaire P. J. Madden is determined to have the pearls as what he calls a just revenge for how this lady looked right through him when he was a nobody bellhop.  A deal is arranged by Eden, a prominent San Francisco jeweler (and friend of the lady's family).  Charlie Chan, formerly a houseboy in the lady's home and now a detective with the Honolulu police, is asked to transport the pearls to San Francisco where he will join the jewler's son, Bob, for the journey to New York to deliver the pearls.

But the jeweler receives a phone call changing the plan--Madden has decided to visit his desert ranch and wants the pearls delivered there instead.  There are known criminals lurking about and Bob Eden--and Chan--begin to be worried about the arrangements. It is decided that the two will travel separately and Chan will disguise himself as a man in need of work in order to get into Madden's home. He masquerades as Ah Kim, a "boy of all work" who tends the fireplace, cooks, picks up supplies, and occasionally chauffeurs.  Once established on the ranch, they encounter a Chinese-speaking parrot who dies before he can tell all, someone else will be murdered, and Bob will play poker with a millionaire and one of the shady characters.  There will be tales of arsenic and Chan will find a hidden bullet hole as well as the missing gun which was responsible.

I grew up watching the Charlie Chan movies on Saturday/Sunday afternoon television and I must say that I appreciate this novel much more.  I enjoyed the mystery and the wisdom of Chan.  It didn't matter that I suspected who was responsible the entire time...there were enough twists and turns and unknowns to make for an enjoyable read.  Three and a half stars.
 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a bookish meme hosted by Book Journey. It's where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It's a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list. So hop on over via the link above and join in...and leave a comment here so I can check out what you are reading.

 

I'm back at it...nice and regular.  Here's this week's offering:

 

Books Read (click on titles for review): 

The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers 
Murder Within Murder by Frances & Richard Lockridge
Break Any Woman Down by Dana Johnson

Currently Reading: 

The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers: The story concerns a valuable string of pearls which is purchased by a wealthy and eccentric financier. The handsome young son of the jeweller is assigned to shepherd the transfer of the pearls to the financier's vacation home in a desert area of California. Because of his long association with the owner of the pearls—before joining the police force, he was her houseboy—Charlie Chan travels from Hawaii to California with the pearls. After two mysterious deaths, first of a Chinese-speaking parrot and then of the household's Chinese man-of-all-work, Charlie Chan masquerades as a cook named Ah Kim and works undercover to solve the crimes.

   

Books that spark my interest:

The Hollow Chest by Alice Tilton

Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (only because I need it for challenges...I was uninspired when I tried it a month or so ago....)

 

Break Any Woman Down: Review

Break Any Woman Down by Dana Johnson is a modern classic.  Winner of the 2001 Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction, these stories are authentic and honest.  Sometimes honest in the most painful of ways, but all the better for it.  Johnson easily captures the voices of black women of all ages--from the earliest days of elementary school to the older woman sitting on her porch and reminiscing about her child- and young adulthood.  These stories are raw and emotional and will strike a chord with anyone who can sympathize with what it's like to struggle to find your place in the world or to navigate the rocky roads of relationship.

I find it more difficult to review short story collections.  I feel like I ought to give a brief write-up on each story--but it's sometimes difficult to do that without  giving the plots away.  Let me just say that these are finely crafted stories and well worth the read.  My favorites are the title story and "Mouthful of Sorrow."  The characters are strong and dynamic.  Four stars for a terrific collection.

Challenges: 150 Plus Reading Challenge, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Adam's TBR Challenge, Back to the Classics, Monthly Mix-up Mania, Mount TBR Challenge, Off the Shelf, Outdo Yourself, A-Z Reading Challenge, Embarrassment of Riches

TBR Pile Challenge: Checkpoint #6

Adam from Roof Beam Reader is once again asking us to check in with our progress in his 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge. 

Don't mind me....over here in my corner....making very slow progress this year.  BUT I did manage to finish off one book during the May 21-June 20th time period.  AND if I throw myself into it I just might manage another.  That would leave me with three more books to read to meet the challenge and five if I want to read the alternates as well. 

The first book on the list, Death at Crane's Court had been sitting on my shelf for at least five years and I finally conquered it at the end of May.  I'm currently working on Break Any Woman Down, a short story collection, by Dana Johnson (one of my MFA students during her grad student days at IU--I was the Creative Writing Secretary while she was here).  So far, I've read only the first story in her collection. **Update (6/17/13): Finished Break Any Woman Down!

My two favorites so far: A Private History of Awe and Slippage.  I tried to start the Wharton book about a month ago, but just wasn't feeling it.  Hopefully, it will go down better when I try again.

Here's my complete list:

1. Death at Crane's Court by Eilis Dillon (1987) [read 5/23/13]
2. A Private History of Awe by Scott Sanders (2006) [read 4/27/13]
3. Break Any Woman Down by Dana Johnson (2001) [read 6/17/13]
4. Poems & Prose by Christina Rosetti (1998--this edition)
5. Black Widow by Patrick Quentin (1952) [read 4/3/13]
6. A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield (2005) [read 3/22/13]
7. The Web Between the Worlds by Charles Sheffield (1979) [read 1/21/13]
8. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (2006--this edition)
9. Slippage by Harlan Ellison (1997) [read 1/19/13]
10. Aaron's Serpent by Emily Thorn (1962) [read 2/22/13]
11. The Hollow Chest by Alice Tilton [aka Phoebe Atwood Taylor] (1988--this edition)
12. The World's Best 100 Short Stories III: Mystery by Grant Overton, ed. (1927) [read 2/24/13]

Alternates:
A Bullet in the Ballet by Caryl Brahms & S. J. Simon (1984)
The Mummy Case Mystery by Dermot Morrah (1988) 

 

Murder Within Murder: Review

First off, this copy of Murder Within Murder by Frances & Richard Lockridge is an awesome book.  I'm not talking about the read yet--just the book.  I mean, look at that cover engraved with all sorts of murder weapons.  Is that not just perfect?  I'm so glad the hubby snagged this off of E-bay for one of my 2011 Christmas presents.

Oh, and the story itself is pretty darn good too.  But then I'm biased--I have a thing for the light and breezy novels penned by the Lockridge team.


Miss Amelia Gipson (that's with a "p" and NOT with a "b" as she would most emphatically point out) is very sure of herself.  She has a high standard of morals...which practically no one can meet.  Except Miss Amelia Gipson, of course.  And she loves to point out when someone she knows has fallen short of the mark.  She's an ex-teacher who probably never gave out an "A"--because there are no perfect students, you know.

Since retiring from the fictional Ward College (a girl's school in Indiana), she has moved to New York, taken an apartment, meddled in the lives of her niece and nephew (whose trust fund she administers), and signed up as a researcher for North Books.  Her current project is to track down info on several murder cases of the near-past (near to 1946, that is) to provide facts for the authors who will write the cases up for an up-coming North publication.  She winds up poisoned while sitting in the New York Public Library, hard at work on her note-taking.

Deputy Chief Inspector Artemus O'Malley, as usual, is hoping for a simple answer.  He's thinking suicide sounds really good.  After all, how could anybody get the retired teacher to down a dose of poison at the library?  But Lieutenant Bill Weigand is quick to discover Miss Gipson's ties to North Books--which, of course, means that Pam & Jerry North are going to involved.  And O'Malley's hopes for a simple case go out the window....because as Sergeant Mullins always says, when the Norths are involved, it always gets screwy.  Miss Gipson's notes soon prove to Weigand that it's a case of murder and not suicide, but there are still some pretty simple possibilities.

Gipson's niece and nephew both have reason to want their meddling, holier-than-thou auntie out of the way.  And then there's a former fellow teacher who lost his job because of Gipson's interference and who just happens to be in NYC now as well.  And there's also Gipson's long-time friend who wrote the victim a very odd letter just days before the murder.  A letter that says what Gipson's doing "isn't safe."  It could still turn out to be a nice, simple, easily explained little murder.

But Pam has other ideas.  She's just sure that Miss Gipson's research is the root of the problem.  That Miss Gipson discovered something new on one of the old murder cases and made things too hot for a murderer who had so far gone undetected.  Is Pam right?  Or will the clues lead her...and Weigand...to an ordinary murderer?

This book is a very good snapshot of New York City at the end of World War II.  The opening has Pam trying to "churn" her own butter (with an egg beater) because she's used up all her ration points.  There is also discussion of what life was like for the soldiers returning from the war.  Mix that with the humor of the Norths and the light and breezy tone and you have a winning combination.  Four stars.

The Riddle of the Sands: Review

The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers is another one of those books.  Like A Coffin for Dimitrios by Ambler, it's a big deal.  Ambler is credited with inventing the modern suspense novel.  Childers is credited by many critics as having written one of the best spy novels ever written--the classic Secret Service novel.  It's supposed to be a terrific spy novel kind of book.  I get that.  I get that Childers did something great and did it early (1903!).  But it just didn't do a whole lot for me.

Why, you may ask.  Well, I'll tell you.  Because for a large portion of the book, it's NOT about spying really.  It's about two guys on a boat.  Two guys who weren't really friends before they got on the boat together.  They just kind of knew each other and the first guy (That would be Arthur Davies) has been puttering around in the North Sea and out of the blue sends a letter to the second guy (Carruthers, minor clerk in the Foreign Office) and asks if Carruthers would like to join him on his little boat, the Dulcibella, for a late season holiday.  Carruthers comes along thinking it's going to be a jolly holiday only to find that it's a really tiny boat and there's no crew.  It's just him & Davies.  And it's a lot of work.  He spends a few days being disgruntled about this, but then suddenly has a little epiphany about how great this really is and then Davies Reveals All.  They become great chums and go off to spy out the land because England's gonna need this one day and Davies has gotten real suspicious of what might lurk out there amongst the sand and the water because of a run-in he had previously with a Bad Guy.

And I'm thinking, "Cool.  Now we'll get down to cases and the real meat of the story is on its way."

Only it's not.  Because first we have to talk A LOT about the guys sailing the boat.  And tides.  And sand. And letting the warp out (or in or something).  And calm water and not so calm water.  And running aground.  And kedging-off....and a whole bunch of other really nautical-sounding  words that I'm still not sure I understand what they are.  And more tides.  And running through the locks.  And tugboats towing them.  And lashing their little boat to a bigger boat.  And charts and channels and watersheds. And, by the way, more sand.  Lots of sand.  

I suppose I should have known that sand was important.  After all, it's in the title, right?  But honest to goodness, I was so tired of all the details about sailing the boat and all the mentions of sand and whether the sand was showing or whether it was covered in water that by the time we did get around to the actual spy/thriller action of the story I was too sand-bound to be terribly impressed.  Norman Donaldson tells us in the intro to the Dover edition (which I read) that "the richness of technical detail, especially in the yachting sequences, would have made it an outstanding and unforgettable volume of adventure even if the intelligence -gathering episodes had been replaced by, say, a treasure hunt or a search for the great auk."  Um.  Yeah.  If the reader's really into the finer details of yachting (and hearing about them for pages on end), then, yep, it's a riveting little adventure novel.  

As for me, a little bit of detail on how to sail the boat would have gone a loooooong way.  And a quicker route to the action would have made this a much better read for me.  I wasn't expecting the Victorian novelist's penchant for describing things in incredibly minute detail to be so prevalent in a spy novel.  Not that I can't read Victorian novels with the best of them--but I sort of expect that sort of thing from a Dickens or an Eliot or even a Collins.  Not from a spy thriller.

I must admit that I did like the main characters and I enjoyed their camaraderie (although as I briefly mention, I think it was a bit quick off the mark considering how they started).  More of them doing something other than sail the boat or talk about sand would have been a welcome treat.  Two and a half stars (rounded to three on GoodReads) for the characters, their interactions....and for this being a big deal kind of book.


Challenges: Outdo Yourself, Monthly Key Word, Mount TBR Challenge, 1001 Books Before You Die, Off the Shelf, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Mystery and Crime Challenge, Embarrassment of Riches, 150 Plus Reading Challenge, Monthly Mix-up Mania

The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Take 2)

I read Laura Lippman's The Girl in the Green Raincoat two years ago (February 2011) for various challenges and primarily because at that time I had seen so much talk about it out here on the interwebs.  Thanks to the Bingo Reading Challenge which has a whole row dedicated to re-reads (and fortuitously finding a copy in the Friend of the Library's Bookstore), I sat down to read this little novella this past weekend. And found it to be just as delightful as the first time around.

I honestly don't have a whole lot to say that's new (for my original thoughts, please click on the title above).  But, and perhaps this is because of my recent experiences with my dad, I did notice Tess's relationship with her father a lot more this time around.  He doesn't appear much (really only in one small scene), but I really appreciated the image of her father and the affection between them revealed in that scene.

I also enjoyed Lippman's story-telling ability.  Despite the fact that I knew who and remembered the suspenseful ending, she still managed to get me all wrapped up in Tess's predicament and all the investigations that she had to watch second-hand.  Excellent short novel--four stars then and four stars now.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a bookish meme hosted by Book Journey. It's where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It's a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list. So hop on over via the link above and join in...and leave a comment here so I can check out what you are reading.

I've been off the bandwagon for a little while...between a vacation and then a trip home for Dad medical emergency (he's doing well now) I just didn't get much posting done beyond reviews. So this list represents about four week's worth of reading (still not near what needs to get done if I'm to meet all those challenges I've signed up for)....

Books Read (click on titles for review): 

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell  

Finding Camlann by Sean Pidgeon 
Sleep No More by Margaret Erskine
Death at Crane's Court by Eilis Dillon 
Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
The Curse of the Bronze Lamp by Carter Dickson
Miss Silver Deals With Death by Patricia Wentworth 
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
How Not to Murder Your Grumpy by Carol E. Wyer 
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley
The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman

Currently Reading: 

The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers: considered the first modern spy thriller, is recognizable as the brilliant forerunner of the realism of Graham Greene and John le Carre. Its unique flavor comes from its fine characterization, richly authentic background of inshore sailing and vivid evocation of the late 1890s - an atmosphere of mutual suspicion and intrigue that was soon to lead to war.

   

Books that spark my interest:

The Hollow Chest by Alice Tilton

Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

Break Any Woman Down by Dana Johnson

Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye

Murder Within Murder by Frances & Richard Lockridge   

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (only because I need it for challenges...I was uninspired when I tried it a month or so ago....)

Stuart Palmer Fans

For those of you who have enjoyed my reviews of Stuart Palmer books, haven't found any for yourselves, and who have joined the ranks of e-book readers--Mysterious Press has recently released the Palmer books in electronic form:

http://www.openroadmedia.com/search/?q=stuart+palmer

Murder on Safari: Review

I had seen various copies of Elspeth Huxley's mysteries numerous times at our Friends of the Library bookshop.  I had also read a lovely review of Murder on Safari penned by Sergio over at Tipping My Fedora back in 2011.  I eventually picked up a copy for myself in June of 2012 and here I am now with my own take on Huxley's book set in Kenya, Africa.  I'm afraid that TomCat over at Beneath the Stains of Time will be most disappointed to find that I lean more heavily towards Sergio's rating of the book than I do his.  While this is an interesting example of a Golden Age (1930s) mystery in an unusual setting, I wouldn't put it on my all-time Best 100 list.

The story takes place on (surprise!) safari in Africa.  Lord and Lady Baradale have paid good money for a luxurious outing in the African veldt for themselves, Lord Baradale's daughter Cara from a previous marriage, and her fiance, Sir Gordon Catchpole.  Along for the ride are a mechanic (who is, incidentally, Lady Baradale's toy-boy lover) and a maid.  They have hot baths, a top-notch chef, a well-stocked liquor cabinet, one of the best white hunters around--Danny de Mare, an aviatrix to spot game for them--Chris Davis, and more servants in their entourage than might be found at most good hotels.   Oh, and Lady Baradale, who wears Chanel No. 5 in the jungle, has brought along her safe full of fabulous jewels.  And then seems surprised that someone might relieve her of the choicest pieces of her collection.

Superintendent Vachell of the Chania Police is brought in by Lady Baradale to hunt down the culprit.  The assistant to Danny de Mare is let go--both to provide a cover story for Vachell who takes on the position as a disguise and to remove temptation from Cara Baradale's sight. It takes very little time for Vachell to reveal how little he knows about the white hunter business as well as to be faced with the murder of Lady Baradale.  Lady Baradale wasn't exactly the most beloved of people.  She liked her own way--and had a way of getting it no matter who she had to hurt or anger in the process.  So the question is was the murder a result of the jewel robbery or was it more personal?  It will take another murder and a couple of attempts on the Superintendent's life before Vachell will be able to put all the pieces together--and even then he won't have enough evidence to prove it without the culprit making a get-away that's as good as a confession.

I will say that this is the best mystery yet that I've read which was set in Africa.The safari setting was interesting and unusual and provided much of the exciting elements of the story--from encounters with elephants, lions, and a wounded buffalo to rains that cut the safari off from outside help to a plane crash.  It managed to provide some of the "closed society" feel of the Golden Age novels.  And I did appreciate how fairly clued the mystery was.  So much so that Huxley provides footnotes to refer readers to where the clues appeared in the story.  I didn't find this nearly as distracting as Sergio did.  What I did find a bit annoying was that after being hit over the head and important evidence removed from Lady Baradale's safe right under his nose Vachell didn't seem to give any thought to leaving all his evidence locked in his evidence case in his tent while he went wandering around the camp and hunting areas.  A safe is much more impregnable than a locked evidence case and yet he just assumed that all his little accumulations would be fine in a tent that he repeatedly notes has no door to lock.  Even if someone didn't force the lock and take the evidence (which they did), all they had to do was grab the case and go hide it out in the jungle somewhere or drop it in the river full of crocodiles.  At the very least, I'd be carrying those items around with me....

I didn't really care for most of the characters either.  It was hard to have sympathy for any of them, even our intrepid Superintendent...the best of the bunch is Chris Davis, a very independent woman for the time period.  I like the way she so easily spots that Vachell is no white hunter and the easy repartee between them--and I can appreciate her difficulties as revealed in the denouement.

Overall, this was a pleasant read and good puzzle--but I rate it middle of the road at three stars.

 
Challenges:
150 Plus Reading Challenge, Vintage Mystery Challenge, Outdo Yourself, Off the Shelf, Around the World, Embarrassment of Riches, Mount TBR Challenge, Mystery and Crime Challenge, A-Z Mystery Author Challenge, Monthly Mix-up Mania,

Book Bingo: Square #20

For Square #20 in the Book Bingo Reading Challenge, I've conquered

Read 3 Everybody But Me
1. In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff [at least everyone who pays attention to the Edgar Awards for crime novels] (4/9/13)
2. The Secret History by Donna Tartt (6/4/13)
3. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (6/7/13)
 

The Sense of an Ending: Review

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes is another book that I had eagerly anticipated but which has let me down a bit.  Up till now, I had really enjoyed every book I'd read by Barnes--except for Arthur and George (an over-rated, over-long book in my opinion). The Sense of an Ending was okay....a decent read...a three-star, average read, but Barnes's best work?  I don't believe so.

What we have here is Tony Webster, a pretty self-centered teenager who never really grew out of it.  In middle-age he is finds himself the recipient of a bequest given to him by the mother of an ex-girlfriend.  This is a woman he met once and she has left him a monetary gift as well as the diary of one of his friends from school and young adulthood.  Except he doesn't get the diary.  It's in the hands of his ex-girlfriend--who by the way was the girlfriend of Adrian (the diary's author) until he (Adrian) committed suicide--and she refuses to hand it over to him.  

The entire story revolves around Tony--what he remembers, what he has forgotten, what he doesn't remember correctly, and what he just doesn't get at all.  And Veronica (the girlfriend) reminds him repeatedly that he "just doesn't get it and never will."  Of course, as he points out to her, she isn't giving him a whole lot to go on.  She could actually talk to him and explain a few things--but where's the fun in that?

On one level, this is an interesting look at memory and how we as individuals tend to edit and rewrite our personal histories as we tell them over the years--whether we're just telling the story to ourselves or repeating it to others.  But it is also a rather tedious story about a man who really hasn't learned much in his 50-60 years on the planet.  And when he starts to learn things about his past and how he may have misinterpreted events, he doesn't learn from that; he doesn't really try to understand.  He's just worried about what other people think of him.

The best thing I can say about this one is that it has provided me with a lot of quotes for my collection.  That's rather unusual....normally when I snag a large number of bon mots from a work, I tend to rate it much higher.  Ending has a fair number of snaggable thoughts....just not an overwhelmingly spectacular overall effect.
 

Book Binge

While up at my parents' house last week, I took a couple of hours to de-stress and visited the used bookshop that has been in Wabash since long before I ever came on the scene.  Opened as Mason's Rare & Used Books (best used bookshop ever!), it now goes under the name The Reading Room and still manages to produce some treasures.

Here's a list of the books I brought home:

Deep Lake Mystery by Carolyn Wells (fine Collier reprint edition)
Avalanche by Kay Boyle (VG 1st Edition; alas, no dust jacket)
Deep Lay the Dead by Frederick C. Davis (fine Crime Club Edition; alas, no dust jacket)
The Three Fears by Jonathan Stagge (VG, 1st Edition, dust jacket!)
Murder Has Its Points by Frances & Richard Lockridge (VG, 1st Edition, dust jacket!)
The Desert Moon Mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan (G, 1st Edition; alas, no dust jacket)
Unholy Dying by R. T. Campbell (fine, Dover paperback edition)

The most exciting find of the lot was the Stagge book.  I already had one book written under that name  (Death's Sweet Song)--but that is a rather beat up old library copy.  The other interesting find was the Strahan book.  I've had Strahan on my list of To-Be-Found authors for quite some time, but had never come across any of her books when on my used bookshop hunts.  So...when John over at Pretty Sinister Books reviewed The Desert Moon Mystery, I bemoaned my Strahan-less state.  He very generously loaned the book to me (and I reviewed it earlier this year--HERE).  When I saw the book sitting there on The Reading Room's shelf mocking me, I just had to bring it home with me.  Deep Lay the Dead is also a nice find--Davis got put on the TBF list quite a while ago and it was good to find such a good copy (that blue Crime Club cover is just plain cool in my opinion).


When I returned home--just in time for my anniversary--my husband treated me to a trip to the Half Price Books outlet store here in town.  Who would have thought they would have one of the pocket-size Dell Map Back editions sitting there waiting to be snatched up for $1.00?  I grabbed it, five more mysteries, and a couple of vintage science fiction books and got checked out before they could figure out that such a nice Map Back edition ought to be selling for more.  


Here's the list of books that went home with me from HPB:

Red Herring by Edward Acheson (VG, hardback, no dust jacket)
Nobody Wore Black by Delano Ames (VG/Near-Fine, Dell Map Back)
The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey (VG, 1958 Pan Books Ltd)
Inspector Maigret & the Killers by Georges Simenon (1954 pocket size edition)
Red Threads by Rex Stout (Inspector Cramer's own case)
Three at Wolfe's Door by Rex Stout (1968 vintage paperback)




Science Fiction
Strange Wine by Harlan Ellison (1st paperback edition)
Asimov's Choice: Black Holes & Bug-Eyed Monsters by Asimov & George H Scithers (ed)

How Not to Murder Your Grumpy: Review

Carol E. Wyer is a lovely, funny lady.  I have appreciated her humor since I discovered her blog before her first novel (Mini Skirts & Laughter Lines) came out.  I looked forward with eager anticipation to the review copy of How Not to Murder Your Grumpy which she arranged to have sent to me at the earliest possible moment.

In the book she offers us all sorts of tips on how to keep our husbands amused and out of our hair once they decide to retire. I'm not quite there yet, but I certainly know the male species well enough to know how they can get underfoot if they're home with their spouse too long too often.  The tips she offers range from the intellectually interesting (stamp collecting, bird watching) to the interestingly obscure (Korfball, anyone?) to the downright unusual (rabbit show jumping?).  And the commentary that accompanies these suggestions range from the mildly amusing to the more infrequent laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Which brings me to my take on the book....it was a pleasant enough read and it did provide amusement, but I'm afraid it wasn't quite as funny as anticipated.  I have to say that I have laughed and chuckled far more often when reading Carol's blog than I did while reading her how-to book on keeping the hubby entertained.  A nice quick read for a solid three-star outing which just didn't quite knock it out of the park for me. 

[Disclaimer: This book was sent to me as a review copy by the author. My review policy is posted on my blog, but just to reiterate...This review copy was offered to me for impartial review and I have received no payment of any kind. All comments are entirely my own honest opinion.]