Meow If It's Murder

First in a series: Meow If It's Murder by T.C. LoTempio

Nora Charles, a former crime reporter in Chicago, returns her hometown of Cruz, California to run her deceased mother's sandwich shop. Back home, Nora finds it difficult to give up her sleuthing ways; she is named after Nora Charles from The Thin Man.

Nora begins to investigate the death of local socialite Lola Grainger. Lola's death was deemed an accident: too much alcohol caused her to fall of her husband's boat. Nora isn't the only one who suspects Lola's death was caused by foul play. Lola's sister contacted a P.I. to investigate. Then Lola's sister and the P.I. subsequently turn up missing. Nora's investigative efforts are aided by Nick, the P.I.'s cat. (Now you have Nick and Nora Charles) who ferrets out evidence and spells clues with Scrabble tiles.

Nora's friends include: Chantal the French psychic who has decided to make cat collars as a side business. Ollie Sampson, the missing P.I.'s former partner; and Detective Daniel Corleone.

Also included are recipes for The Thin Man Tuna Melt and The Michael Buble Burger, both features at Nora's shop.

Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris

Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb

I started this a few months ago and finally finished it a few days ago. Robb tells the history of Paris from the point of view and experiences of about 20 Parisians throughout history. The Parisians include: Napoleon, Marie Antoinette, Madame Zola, Juliette Greco, the students of May 1968, and others. Robb's history of Paris spans the time period from 1789 to the beginning of the 21st century. Robb tends to start each chapter/entry by slowly introducing the Parisian; it's not always clear until a few paragraphs or pages later who the person in question is.

At one point I read about half of Robb's the Discovery of France, a geographical history of France. In both cases, there is ample historical detail, but I find the writing to be a bit dry. 

Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective

My latest read was Agatha Christie's Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective, which consists of 12 short stories. 

Mr. Parker Pyne was a government functionary, but now runs an ad in the Personal Section of the newspaper: "Are you happy? If not, consult Mr. Parker Pyne." The first 6 stories are not really mysteries, but rather Mr. Pyne's remedies for unhappiness. Mr. Pyne relies on his vast understanding of human nature.  The second six stories are crime and mystery stories.

Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective was published in 1934. According to Nancy Wynne, the 1930s was Christie's most prolific decade. She wrote 17 novels and six short story collections. It was at this time that she earned the title "Queen of Crime." Even though Christie had published several novels in the 1920s, Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective seemed a bit unpolished to me. The first six stories are a bit formulaic and Christie appears to test out characters that she uses later. For example, Mr. Pyne's secretary is named Miss Lemon. Miss Lemon is Hercule Poirot's secretary and is more developed as a character in the television series than in the Poirot novels. Mr. Pyne is also friends with the famous mystery writer Mrs. Oliver. Mrs. Oliver is good friends with Poirot. Although Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence, and Mr. Pyne had overlapping lifespans, they and their associates don't usually mix. So, I found it unusual to see Miss Lemon and Mrs. Oliver mentioned in the Mr. Pyne stories when in later works they work closely with Poirot.

 More information about Mr. Pyne and similarities between him and Mycroft Holmes. http://www.agathachristie.com/characters/parker-pyne

The Alice Network

I really enjoyed The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. It was an engrossing read that sticks with you after it's over.

The Alice Network weaves narratives from WWI, WWII, and post-WWII France and England.

In 1947, Charlotte St. Clair (Charlie) is a wealthy but adrift American. At nineteen, she has flunked out of college and is pregnant. Her parents intend to have her Little Problem dealt with in Europe. Charlie, however, decides to track down the last person to have heard of her French cousin Rose, who disappeared in 1944. All Charlie has is a name, Eve Gardiner.

In 1915, Eve Gardiner was recruited to join a network of female spies operating in German-occupied France. Eve joins the Alice Network, which was run by the "Queen of Spies" Lili (Code name Alice Dubois). For two years, Eve (Code name: Marguerite Le Francois) works side by side with her fellow "fleurs du mal"* Lili and Violette. Eventually the Alice Network is discovered and Lili, Violette, and Eve are captured, tried, and imprisoned. *For those who enjoy it, Baudelaire's Les fleurs du mal features in the novel.

Though she survives, Eve is haunted by the betrayal that led to the Alice Network's downfall. The brazen young Charlie helps Eve seek revenge and the two discover a link between Eve's spy work in WWI and her cousin Rose in WWII.

The Alice Network is based on true events and historical figures. The real "Queen of Spies", Louise de Bettignies took the code name Alice Dubois ran one of WWI's most successful spy rings in Lille and the surrounding area. Violette is based on Leonie Van Houtte who worked closely with Louise de Bettignies. Eve Gardiner is a fictional character, but her code name Marguerite Le Francois is based on an actual incident in Louise's life.

Her Royal Spyness

I finished book 79 a few days ago, but haven't had time to write about it until now.

Her Royal Spyness is the first in a series by Rhys Bowen. The series is set in the 1930s. Lady Georgiana Rannoch (Georgie) is a minor royal; her grandmother was one of Queen Victoria's daughters. Her family home is in Scotland and is under the control of her brother Binky, the Third Duke of Rannoch. Georgie's allowance has been cut off so she leaves her family home and decides to find work in London. She decides to work as a maid cleaning wealthy people's homes, one drawback is that she has little experience with cleaning. She is also tasked, by the Queen no less, with spying on a certain Mrs. Simpson.

Georgie and Binky learn that the Duc de Mauxville has laid a claim to their family home, apparently he won it gambling. One day Georgie returns to her family's home in London and finds the Duc de Mauxville dead in the bathtub and her brother has suddenly returned to Scotland. The police believe Binky is the murderer and Georgie begins her own investigation to clear her brother's name. As she investigates, Georgie is the victim of a series of accidents: falling off a boat, being pushed in front of a tube train, falling down the stairs, and almost being crushed by a statue. It seems that someone wants both Binky and Georgie out of the way.

I liked this book, but it took a while for me to get into it.

Death Comes As the End

#78 is Agatha Christie's Death Comes As The End. Professor Stephen R. K. Glanville suggested that Agatha Christie write a detective story that takes place in Ancient Egypt. Death Comes As The End is the result of that suggestion.

The story takes place in 2000 B. C. in Thebes. The auhtor's note explains that the characters and plot were partly inspired by letters from the XIth Dynasty found during the 1920-21 season by the Egyptian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The family patriarch, Imhotep, is a ka-priest and is responsible for maintaining the local tomb. His family consists of his eldest son Yahmose, his wife Satipy and their children; his son Sobek, his wife Kait and their children; his widowed daughter Renisenb; and his youngest son Ipy. Also living in the house are: Imhotep's elderly and blind mother Esa; Hori, Imhotep's scribe and businessman; and Henet, the seemingly devoted housekeeper.

Imhotep decides to bring a concubine into his household. The young and beautiful Nofret stirs up trouble in the household. She is found dead at the bottom of a cliff one day. Her death is believed to be an accident, but Hori, Renisenb, and Esa suspect otherwise. Shortly after, several other family members die or fall ill. Imhotep believes Nofret has cursed his family, but our trio of detectives are now certain that a living person is causing the family's misfortunes. In all, six people die before the murderer is unmasked.

#76 Murder in Three Acts

September has been a slow month. I've been reading, but non-fiction takes a lot longer to get through. Hopefully I'll have one more post this month.

Book 76 was Agatha Christie's Murder in Three Acts (Three Act Tragedy). Given the title, it follows that this mystery is organized around the theater and uses theatrical vocabulary to describe events and the characters.

Sir Charles Cartwright, a middle-ages stage actor, hosts a dinner party at his house. In attendance are:
Mr. Satterthwaite: a socialite patron of the arts and drama
Dr. Bartholomew Strange: a nerve specialist
Miss Milray: Sir Charles' secretary/housekeeper
Angela Sutcliffe : an actress
Captain Dacres
Mrs. Dacres: dressmaker
Anthony Astor: Anthony Astor is her penname, playwright
Lady Mary Lytton Gore
Hermione Lytton Gore: known as Egg
Oliver Manders: young man in love with Egg
Reverend Babbington
Mrs. Babbington
Hercule Poirot

As they enjoy cocktails, Reverend Babbington suddenly falls ill and dies. His death is ruled an accident.

Several weeks later, Dr. Strange hosts a dinner party and dies after drinking a cocktail. An autopsy reveals that Dr. Strange died of nicotine poisoning. Many of the same invitees were present at both dinner parties.

Sir Charles, Mr. Satterhtwaite, Egg, and Hercule Poirot believe that the Reverend's death wasn't an accident. They work to solve these murders and prevent a third from occurring.

Recommendation: Notes on a Foreign Country

I have not yet read this, but when I finish one of the 6 books I'm currently reading I intend to check out Suzy Hansen's Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World.
Hansen is a contributor to the Times Magazine and after the attacks of September 11th, she moved to Istanbul. She travels to Egypt, Greece, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Mississippi Delta. Using the complex histories and current situations in these places, Hansen interrogates her native country, the United States.

One of the major questions of Hansen's book, is the ways in which the United States fails to interrogate itself and its role in shaping the Middle East. Notes on a Foreign Country is an act of self-questioning and of grappling with the ways in which the United States perceives itself and the way the country actually is. For example, the United States doesn't consider itself and empire, but Hansen argues that it is.

I stumbled across Hansen's book in the New York Times Book Review and I've included the link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/books/review/notes-on-a-foreign-country-suzy-hansen.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbook-review&action=click&contentCollection=review&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=13&pgtype=sectionfront

The Times Review' is much better than my brief synopsis.

Secret Journeys of a Lifetime

My latest book was a coffee table style travel book. National Geographic's Secret Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Best Hidden Travel Gems.

The 9 chapters are:

• The World At Your Feet: Stunning Views from the world's high points
• Last Wildernesses: Remote and wild places where nature exists in the raw
• Island Getaways: Idyllic hideaways, from the sunbathed tropics to the icebound poles.
• The Road Less Traveled: Classic road trips, quiet walks, and rugged overland expeditions.
• Secret History: Ancient sites off the beaten track
• Spiritual Havens: From Cathedrals, to mountaintop temples, to ancient tombs
• Hidden Treasures: Museums, houses, and castles tucked away in quiet corners
• Undiscovered Villages: Rural life, from the Indonesian jungle to the English countryside
• City Secrets: Hidden gardens and unspoiled quarters in the hearts of busy cities.

Each place is accompanied by a half or full page picture. There are also several Top-Ten lists (ex. Top Ten Markets, or Wildflower Displays, or Wine/Beer Festivals). 

Funerals Are Fatal

Funerals Are Fatal by Agatha Christie (1953)

The Abernathie family gathers at the family home, Enderby, for Richard Abernathie's funeral. Richard had died peacefully in his sleep. Flighty Aunt Cora remarked in her simple, childlike-way, that Richard had been murdered. The rest of the family laughed Cora's remark off; she often said outlandish things. But, Aunt Cora is found murdered several days later--stabbed in the back with hatchet while sleeping.

The family solicitor, Mr. Entwhistle, calls upon his longtime friend Hercule Poirot to investigate Richard's death and Cora's initial claim that he was murdered.

Poirot comes to Enderby pretending to be Mr. Pontelier, the head of U.N.A.R.C.O., an organization for refugees. Under this disguise he is able to study the members of the Abernathie family:

Mrs. Leo Abernathie (Helen): wife of Richard's deceased brother Leo.
Timothy Abernathie: Richard's invalid brother, who is not so helpless as one might think
Timothy's wife Maude: always there for Timothy, but absent on the day Cora died.
Richard's nieces and nephew:
George: loved horses and women and was unlucky with both. Also suspected of diverting company funds
Susan Banks: Richard's niece, the only one who inherited his brains. However, her chemist husband Gregory is not well-liked
Rosamund: Richard's other niece, an actress.
Michael Shane: Rosamund's husband: his adultery gave him an alibi.
Miss Gilchrist: Aunt Cora's companion and cook.

Le Road Trip

#74: Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France by Vivian Swift

Le Road Trip is part journal, part guide book, and part reflection on the similarities between the stages of love and travel. Swift recounts her honeymoon road trip through France (Paris, Giverny, Bayeux, the beaches and cemeteries of Normandy, Cancale, Saint-Malo, Bordeaux, the Loire Valley...).

My favorite parts were about pastries and the cats that one encounters while traveling.

Regarding pastries:
La patisserie: "The cakes are small, just right for serving a private, individual indulgence. They are arranged in les vitrines that glisten like jewel cases. Each miniature creation is a wish-sized landscape, or an intimate still life of desire. Each name is like a French haiku.

Millefeuilles: the thousand-leaf layer cake.
Gateau opera: an aria of coffee butter cream and dark chocolate with sponge cake for tessitura.
Les eclairs: the lightning without the thunder (the zig-zag icing decoration gives the treat its name).
Les petits fours: the little fires, all unquenchable" (page 34)

When my husband and I were in France for our honeymoon, I loved looking around for local cats. We found one at La Roque Gageac (a fortress built into a cliff), Minou was the local cat that hung out in Meyrals where our rental house was. And then there was the mangy cat that I was not allowed to pet.I like befriending cats (or dogs) on trips because they remind me of home.

Vivian remarks during her stay in Soulac-sur-Mer "That's one of the most reliable things about a long road trip. There's always a cat, just when you need one"  (157). Vivian managed to befriend the proprietors' cat, Joy, at the local bed and breakfast. Joy apparently didn't like anybody. In Azay-le-Rideau, the proprietor of a local souvenir store says that Cat just showed up one day and moved in. Vivian photographed Cat "posing as the priceless object that he is" (171).

I loved the drawings that Vivian included; the book felt more like a scrapbook or almost like a graphic novel.

For example:

Here is a link to Vivian's blog and webpage: http://vivianswiftblog.com/

Reading this was a joy and really made me want to return to France and plan my own road trip. I was also reminded that THREE YEARS after the fact, I still need to finish my honeymoon scrapbook.

The Magnolia Story

Book 72 was The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines.

I love HGTV and Fixer Upper is one of my favorite shows. In The Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna look back at how they met, starting a family, Chip's various business ventures (there were a lot), and how Fixer Upper came about. At times their story seems a little too perfect, everything always works out. But one of the things I like about the Gaines is that they are very positive and it's easy to relate to them.

Talking As Fast As I Can

A child-free day meant I could go to the library and browse the adult books. And what's more, come home and spend hours reading!

My latest read was Lauren Graham's Talking As Fast As I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (And Everything in Between). Lauren writes much like Lorelei talks-fast paced and somewhat randomly, but entertaining. She reminisces about Gilmore Girls, Parenthood, and other television roles she's played. She also shares stories from her childhood, early acting days, and lots of advice.

Dead Man's Folly and A Pocket Full of Rye

Numbers 69 and 70 are two more novels by Agatha Christie.

Dead Man's Folly:

Poirot's friend and mystery writer Ariadne Oliver is organizing a Murder Hunt as part of a Fete held at Nasse House in Devon.

Weapons for the hunt:

• small pistol
• a piece of lead pipe with a rusty stain on it
• a blue bottle labelled "Poison"
• a length of clothesline
• a hypodermic syringe

The Suspects in the murder hunt:

• Estelle Glynne: a beautiful and mysterious young woman, the guest of Colonel Blunt
• Colonel Blunt: the local squire
• Joan: The Colonel's daughter who is married to Peter Gaye
• Peter Gaye: a young Atom Scientist
• Miss Willing: a housekeeper
• Quiett: a butler
• Maya Stavinsky: a girl hiker
• Esteban Loyola: an uninvited guest

Ariadne Oliver summons Poirot to Nasse House prior to the Murder Hunt because  her womanly intuition tells her that something will go wrong with her fictional murder. As it happens, her intuition was right and Marlene, a local Girl Guide who was chosen to play the role of Maya Stavinsky, is found dead in the tennis pavillon during the Murder Hunt.  Miss Oliver and Poirot then go on a real murder hunt to find out who killed Marlene. 

A Pocket Full of Rye:

This is one of several Christie novels organized around a nursery rhyme*:

"Sing of song of sixpence, a  pocketful of rye,

Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie

When the pie was opened the birds began to sing.

Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

The king was in his counting house, counting out his money

The queen was in the parlor eating bread and honey

The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,

When there came a little dickey bird and nipped off her nose" 

Rex Fortescue drinks a cup of tea in his office and dies shortly after, grains of rye are found in his pocket. A few days later, his late wife dies after having afternoon tea and cakes, and the housemaid Gladys Martin, is found strangled by the clothesline with a clothespin on her nose. 

Miss Marple is drawn to the case after reading about Gladys' death in the papers. Gladys was her former housemaid. I have noticed that a couple of Miss Marple's former maids (usually named Gladys) are either victims of crimes or involved in them. I don't know if this was intentional on Christie's part, but it is a little odd. 

Inspector Neele recognizes a valuable asset in Miss Marple. Together the two of them ferret out a particularly wicked killer targeting members of the Fortescue household. 

* A Pocketful of Rye, Hickory Dickory Death/Hickory Dickory Dock, And Then There Were None 

#68 A Hero of France

A Hero Of France by Alan Furst takes place in Occupied Paris, and by extension, Occupied France. In 1941, Mathieu is the head of a Resistance cell operating in Paris and elsewhere in France. Mathieu and his collaborators rescue fallen RAF pilots and help them escape to Spain or back to England. Mathieu is joined by Chantal; Lisette, a 17 year-old student and courier; Daniel, a Jewish teacher driven by revenge; Max de Lyon, a Parisian nightclub owner, and AnneMarie, an aristocrat whose family's French roots run deep. On the edge of the Resistance cell is Joelle, Mathieu's neighbor who falls in love with him.

As the war progresses, the German military police step up their efforts to infiltrate Resistance cells and capture those involved. Mathieu and the members of his Resistance cell are threatened by a traitor.

Based on fact, A Hero of France is a work of historical fiction.

#67: The Little French Bistro

Yesterday I finished The Little French Bistro, the latest by Nina George. I read The Little Paris Bookshop last month. The Little French Bistro has some similarities to the Little Paris Bookshop and on the whole I think I preferred the Bookshop, mostly because of the discussions about books and reading.

The Little French Bistro: On a trip to Paris, 60 year old Marianne decides that she has had enough: enough of her loveless marriage, of never being able to do what she wants, scrimping, and of life. Dramatically she tries to drown herself in the Seine but is rescued by some good Samaritans. During her hospital stay, she finds a painted tile of the Breton village of Kerdruc and decides to journey there and subsequently end her life.

The land and the sea in Kerdruc prove to have an irresistible hold on Marianne and she is quickly drawn into village life there. She begins work in the local bistro and befriends the locals (Jean-Remy the cook, Genevieve the hotel owner, Camille, and Yann. She also develops a reputation as a white witch because of her love of the sea. Marianne also finds love and happiness. However, a t.v. bulletin from her husband and a chance citing cause her to question everything. When the opportunity arises, will Marianne return to Germany and her former life or will she stay in France?

Kerdruc is the tiny circle on the map. There is quite a bit about Breton folklore in the novel, and some use of Breton. The novel appears to have been published under the title The Little Breton Bistro as well; this is fitting given the historical attitudes and disputes between the people of Brittany and France (this is mentioned in the novel). 

I found this link for a BookTrail of the novel. The Booktrail allows readers or travelers to trace Marianne's journey across France. http://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/little-breton-bistro/

Paris 500 Photos

I'm a day late posting this and this isn't part of my 1,000 books total. Yesterday I finished looking at and enjoying the pictures in Maurice Subervie's Paris 500 Photos. I picked this up for $0.25 at a garage sale (great price) and flipped through it yesterday to mark Bastille Day. The 500 photographs are organized into: The Seine and Its Islands, The Right Bank, Passageways, The Left Bank, and Gardens. I liked looking at some of my favorite places and scoping out new places to visit on my next trip to Paris. I want to check out some of the passageways next time I am there. Some of my favorite places are the parks and gardens--the Tuileries, the park at Bercy, and the Park des Buttes-Chaumont.

# 66 Law and Author

Law and Author by Erika Chase is the latest in the Aston Corners mystery series. I read this one out of order; Book Fair and Foul is number 4 in the series and I still have that to read.

Bob's granddaughter Darla suddenly makes an appearance in Ashton Corners. Bob hasn't never met Darla and has been estranged from his daughter (Darla's mother) for years. Molly is immediately taken in by Darla's sad plight and Bob desperately wants a relationship with his granddaughter. The other members of the book club are not drawn in so easily by Darla as she tests the limits of their southern hospitality. Lizzie sees Darla arguing with a strange man and the next day the man is found murdered in Molly's backyard. Darla claims to have been assaulted by the man, but her story doesn't quite add up. Lizzie and her friends work to clear Darla's name and to find out who the stranger was before more victims turn up.

I hope there will be another book in this series before too long.

1 year anniversary post

One year ago today I started my 1,000 books project. The very first book I read was At the Edge of Summer by Jessica Brockmole. My most productive month of reading has been January--I read 10 books that month. February was close with nine books, and the rest of the year is averaging out to about six books a month. July is off to a slow start. I am happy with my progress so far, and I hope to read my 100th book before the end of 2017.

After reading the Woman on the Orient Express, I decided to re-read Murder in Mesopotamia because I wanted to see how Mrs. Woolley was the inspiration for the character Mrs. Leidner. There were a number of similarities. Murder in Mesopotamia is narrated by Nurse Amy Leatheran. Nurse Leatheran is hired by Dr. Leidner to look after his wife on the archaeological dig. Mrs. Leidner suffers from anxiety and paranoia; she has received several letters from her supposedly-dead first husband. One afternoon, Mrs. Leidner is found dead in her room. Her window was closed, as was her door, Father Lavigny was working in the courtyard of the house, and no one, well no stranger, could have entered the courtyard without being noticed. Suspicion falls to the members of the dig. Poirot happened to be in Baghdad finishing up another case and he and Captain Hastings join the household and solve the murder. I also re-read her short story "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb".


The other day I finished Agatha Christie's memoirs about her time spent in the far East helping her husband Max on digs. Come, Tell Me How You Live was funny and informative. The title is based on looking at ancient artifacts and wondering how people lived long ago, but also from having friends ask Agatha and Max how they lived during the archaeological digs. Her memoirs cover a couple of digs in Syria; the first dig was in 1930 and the memoir concludes in 1944 (they did stop digging during the Second World War). She describes several towns in Turkey and Armenia was well.

Finally, to round out my foray via Christie into archaeology, in this month's issue of National Geographic, there is a photo taken by Agatha Christie of one of the artifacts her husband Max found on a dig at Nimrud in Northern Iraq sometime between 1949 and 1957 (page 29). 

National Geographic article: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/07/explore-adventure-agatha-christie-iraq-artifacts/

The Woman on the Orient Express

#63 The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

I think this novel could also have been called "They Came to Baghdad on the Orient Express".

Newly divorced from her husband Archie, Agatha Christie boards the Orient Express in disguise. She hopes to escape the lingering scandal from her disappearance in 1928 and avoid London when ex-husband Archie remarries. On board the Orient Express she meets the enigmatic Katherine Keeling. Katherine's first husband committed suicide under unusual circumstances only six months after their wedding. Katherine works on the archaeological digs in Ur. She is soon to marry the head of the digs, Leonard Woolley. Agatha also befriends Nancy Nelson, who has just married but is pregnant with another man's child.

As the train heads east, Agatha, Katherine, and Nancy begin to share secrets and unravel the mysteries surrounding their individual journeys. They form a friendship and their lives become forever intertwined. In the words of Hercule Poirot, they must learn to trust the train, for it is Le Bon Dieu who drives it.

I enjoyed this fictional account of part of Agatha Christie's life. Agatha Christie really did travel on the Orient Express in the fall of 1928, immediately following her divorce. Two years prior (1926), she disappeared for 10 days when Archie announced he loved another woman. She met Katherine Woolley when she visited the dig at Ur in 1928. A few years later she met her future husband Max. The character of Nancy is based loosely on Archie's second wife.

The inspiration for several of Christie's novel can be found within Ashford's narrative. Katherine Woolley is said to be the inspiration for Mrs. Leidner in Murder in Mesopotamia. Agatha (the character) takes notes for a novel she will write about a murder on the Orient Express. Ashford was also inspired by The Mystery of the Blue Train and They Came to Baghdad.

I think July will be a slow month for posts; I have two other books I want to finish with about 600 pages to read between the two.

#61: The Baker's Secret

I read The Baker's Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan from start to finish today. Although not the easiest read, it was hard to put down.

On June 5, 1944, Emmanuelle (Emma) rises early to make bread for the occupying army, as she has done every day for the past few years. Little does she know that this is the last day she will do this.

At the age of thirteen, Emma became the apprentice to Ezra Kuchen, Uncle Ezra to the villagers of Vergers. Only 22 when our story begins, Emma watched in shame first as Uncle Ezra was forced to don a gold star, and in horror as he was arrested by the occupying army and summarily executed. After her father is arrested Emma begins to engage in acts of resistance, although she is never part of the Resistance.

Every morning Emma adds straw to the bread dough, enough to make 14 baguettes; 12 for the Germans, and 2 for her fellow villagers. Little by little, Emma becomes the center of a network of bartering and exchange among the villagers: bringing fuel, eggs, bread, and other necessities to friends.

Until June 5th. On that day, the network collapses. Emma, Didier (The Goat), and Odette (the owner of the cafe) are denounced by their fellow villagers and by the occupying troops. Facing execution at the hands of the brutal Nazi Captain who occupies her house, Emma once again acts courageously and leads the villagers on the path to redemption.

I really liked the last few paragraphs of The Baker's Secret. Amidst the bombings and gunfire on June 6, with their fate still unknown, "Who should swagger into the barnyard just then, but Pirate [Emma's rooster]. Feathers scorched and disheveled, he strutted before the soldiers undaunted, crowing at them in full volume: get out of his barnyard, get away from his roost" (page 304). Pirate, le coq, symbol of France, is the villagers of Vergers. Battered and beaten, but not defeated, he and they crow once again.

The events and invasions of D-Day on June 6, 1944 play a role in the novel, especially at the end. Vergers is situated one kilometer from the sea, along the Normandy coast. I did a brief search and Vergers seems to be a fictional town. However, in the acknowlegments, Kiernan mentions the book 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go by Marcia DeSanctis and a guided visit around the villages, battlefields, and other historic sites of Normandy with Claire Lesourd. These and other secondary sources provided the historical background for the novel. Vergers appears to be no village and any village in Normandy at the time. I've visited the American Cemetery at Colleville-Sur-Mer twice.: the cemetery is humbling, the beaches are impressive, and the museum is excellent.  Here is a link to the cemetery's website: Normandy American Cemetery

#61 The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Jean Perdu considers himself a literary apothecary and from his floating bookstore on a barge in the Seine, he prescribes books to his customers based on their moods, needs, and emotions. At the end of the novel is a list of books that comprise Perdu's Emergency Literary Pharmacy "fast-acting medicines for minds and hearts affected by minor or moderate emotional turmoil. To be taken in easily digestible doses (between five and fifty pages) unless otherwise indicated and, if possible, with warm feet and/or a cat on your lap" (p. 385). There are several cats in this novel. I have never seen such a bookstore, but I do enjoy the bouquinistes along the Seine.

I love the idea of a literary apothecary and the underlying belief that certain books are suited to certain people at given times. I tried to think of books that reflect my emotions and I'm not sure what I would pick. I do enjoy re-reading certain Agatha Christie's, but it's more because they are familiar not because of a given emotion. Some of the most memorable books I have read are those that make me cry or really connect with the characters, and I felt this way reading The Little Paris Bookshop.

"Reading--an endless journey; a long, indeed never-ending journey that made one more temperate as well as more loving and kind" (p. 142).

Monsieur Perdu embarks on a physical journey that is of course accompanied by books. Twenty years after the love of his life Manon left him, he dares to open a letter from her. What he reads sends him on a urgent quest to find Manon once again. Jean Perdu (Jean the Lost) decided to pull anchor and set off down the Seine towards Provence. He is joined by Max Jordan, a popular new author who is mis-understood by those around him. Without money or cellphones, they barter their way along the canals and rivers selling books and doing odd jobs. Along the way, Jean and Max meet other book lovers including Samy, and a food-loving Italian named Salvo Cuneo. As he looks for Manon, Jean wonders if he will ever be able to love again, specifically if he will be able to love his new neighbor Catherine.

Map of Jean Perdu's journey across France

#60 Cover Story

Cover Story by Erika Chase is the third book in the Ashton Corners mystery series.

Molly's childhood friend Teensy moves back to Ashton Corners and has published a book-- a modern and sexy Gone With the Wind. The Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straw Society plan several events to help Teensy promote her books. Before any of the events take place, Molly is attacked in her home and Teensy's books are stolen. Then Teensy's publisher is found dead and a former prisoner is found dead in Bob Miller's backyard along with counterfeit money. Bob is the retired police chief. Bob becomes chief suspect and police chief Mark must work with the FBI on the case.

Not content to let the police do their jobs, Lizzie and the rest of the mystery readers society work to solve the case and clear Bob's name.

I'm happy that I've reached 60 books. I started this project last July so it's taken me a little less than a year to reach this point. I'm hoping to reach 100 books by the end of December, so only 40 more to go.

Read and Buried: An Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery

Read and Buried is the second book in the Ashton Corners mystery series by Erika Chase. I talked about the first book, A Killer Read in April.

Lizzie Turner is asked to host author Derek Alton at the next meeting of the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straw Society (they eat as much as they discuss). The other members agree and look forward to discussing Derek's best-seller Judgment. However, Derek proves to be nothing but trouble, starting with the "romantic" dinner he invites Lizzie to and ending with him being shot in Lizzie's living room. Naturally, suspicion falls on Lizzie.

Lizzie and the other club members work to solve the case and uncover un-published manuscript for a sequel to Judgment. As they delve into Derek's past, Lizzie and her boyfriend, police chief Mark, discover that Derek wasn't who he claimed to be. Someone from his womanizing past had had enough.

I like this series and find it engaging. Lizzie and Mark's romance develops. Her Siamese cats, Edam (the male) and Brie (the female) are helpful. And police officer Amber Craig is still hostile.

Also at the end of the book is a reading list for each of the members of the book club--providing 35 other mystery titles to peruse.

Unmentionable

I really enjoyed Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill.

Oneill transports her dear readers back to the Victorian Age, though not the romanticized version found in novels, movies, or tv shows. You, dear reader, are taken back to the nineteenth century as a relatively wealthy young woman. Oneill doesn't spare the truth as she humorously guides you through the expectations of being a lady. Such topics include:

• Getting Dressed: How to Properly Hide your Shame
• The Treacherous Art of Bathing
• Menstruation: You're Doing It Wrong
• Beauty: Scorch, Slather, and Stuff
• Courtship: Not-Talking Your Way Into His Heart
• Birth Control and Other Affronts to God
• Being a Good Wife: How to Avoid His Eventual Resentment for as Long as Possible
• It's Hysterical: The Least Funny Thing About Victorian Life

It should come as no surprise that scientific and medical knowledge about female sexuality and womanhood was almost exclusively provided by men (some of whom had no medical training whatsoever). Many of these topics, especially the chapters about menstruation, childbirth, and hysteria, are examples of the pathology of being a woman--a phenomenon that unfortunately still exists in the 21st Century.

L'Ombre chinoise

#57 L'Ombre chinoise (The Shadow Puppet) by Simenon

Simenon's Maigret is another detective that I like. The Maigret novels have a sense of atmosphere--lots of times they feature fog, rain, or other inclement weather. I think it would be fun sometime to find some of the places that are repeatedly mentioned as part of Maigret's haunts--the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir and the Quai des Orfevres. L'Ombre chinoise was published in 1957.

At 10 o'clock at night Maigret is summoned to 61 Place des Vosges which consists of a square of apartment buildings overlooking a central courtyard. There are two boutiques and a laboratory. M. Couchet, owner of the laboratories, is found shot in his office and a large sum of money has been stolen from the office safe.

Suspicion falls on:

• M. Couchet's son Roger who is a penniless, ne'er-do-well, and ether user. Roger frequently asked his father for money. 
• M. Couchet's first wife Mme Martin: Mme Martin has remarried and she and M. Martin live in an apartment at 61 Place des Vosges. Mme Martin spends much of her time watching people from behind their living room curtain; this is where the book's title comes from. Maigret first notices her shadow behind the curtain.
• Nine: M. Couchet's latest mistress. Nine is a good-hearted dancer at the Moulin Bleu.
• Mme Couchet: M. Couchet's second wife. She is from a wealthier background that he was. 

Valuable information is obtained from the resident busybody Mathilde who spends much of her time spying on people in the hallways. I consider Mathilde a second "ombre chinoise" or shadow puppet. 

The Colour of Milk

#56: The Colour of Milk by Nell Leyshon

"this is my book and i am writing it by my own hand. in this year of lord eighteen hundred and thirty one i am reached the age of fifteen" and so begins Mary's account of the events of 1831.

Mary is one of four daughters (Violet, Beatrice, and Hope) who work hard on their family's farm in England. Violet is beginning to discover her sexuality, Beatrice has a love of Scripture despite not being able to read, and Hope is short-tempered. Mary speaks her mind...a bit too much for her own good. She often suffers abuse at the hands of her father.

On Easter Sunday, the girls sneak out of the house to watch the sunrise. Supposedly, if they make a wish at this time, it will come true. Mary wishes her life would change.

Shortly thereafter, Mary is sent to work at the vicarage as a housemaid and caretaker for the vicar's wife. Though nearby, the vicarage is a world away from her family's farm and life as Mary knows it. Living at the vicarage may not have been the change Mary wished for.

The Colour of Milk is a quick read and is divided into five parts: spring, summer, autumn, winter, and spring.  I was reminded of Marie-Claire Blais' Une saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel (A Season in the Life of Emmanuel). Une Saison tells the story of a French-Canadian family at the turn of the 20th century. The story is told from Emmanuel's perspective (he is the sixteenth child). Une Saison is part of the anti-terroir literature in Quebec--a number of Emmanuel's sibling leave the family farm for the city and Mary's work at the vicarage and exposure to books also distances her from an agricultural life.

More Miss Marple

May has become Miss Marple Month. Books 54 and 55 were also Miss Marple mysteries.

#54, the Murder at the Vicarage, is Miss Marple's first case. In this novel readers are introduced to Miss Marple, the village of Saint Mary Mead, and some recurring characters such as Doctor Haydock, Miss Marple's nephew Raymond West, and Chief Constable Melchett. Over time, Agatha Christie's portrayal of Miss Marple changed. She is always an octogenarian old pussy, but in The Murder at the Vicarage, Miss Marple is portrayed as an old cat--a gossip who thinks the worst of people, and isn't particularly well-liked. In later novels, Miss Marple is not catty, and although she knows a great deal about the goings-on in the village of Saint Mary Mead, she is well-liked and respected.

One evening, Colonel Protheroe, the town Magistrate, is found stabbed in the vicar's study.  Miss Marple says she can think of at least seven people who could have killed Colonel Protheroe. First, local artist Lawrence Redding claims to have murdered him. Lawrence was having an affair with Mrs. Protheroe. Then Mrs. Protheroe confesses to the murder in order to exonerate Lawrence. Suspicion also falls on the vicar, who was overheard to have wished Colonel Protheroe dead. One of Miss Marple's hunches was correct.

#55 What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw: The week before Christmas Mrs. McGillicuddy has gone to London to complete her holiday shopping. On the 4:50 to Paddington (4:50 to Paddington is an alternate title) Mrs. McGillicuddy wakes from a nap and as the train slows down, she glimpses a man strangling a woman on another train. She duly reports what she saw to a conductor, who is skeptical. She then tells her friend Miss Marple what she saw and Miss Marple shares the story with the police. The police find nothing.

Miss Marple believes her friend and so she takes matters into her own hands. She hires Lucy Eyelesbarrow, an Oxford-educated upstairs-downstairs maid and domestic wonder to look for the body. By looking at railway maps and riding the 4:50 from Paddington herself, Miss Marple determines the most likely place for the body to have been dumped. Lucy secures a position in the Crackenthorpe household and begins her search for a body. The original body as well as two more turn up before Miss Marple is able to solve the case.

#53 Nemesis

Nemesis is another Miss Marple mystery. Miss Marple receives a letter from Mr. Rafiel's solicitors following his death. Mr. Rafiel was a wealth financier who helped Miss Marple solve the murders in A Caribbean Mystery. The solicitors explain that Mr. Rafiel has asked Miss Marple to act as Nemesis and to seek justice on his behalf. Should she succeed, she will receive 20,000 pounds. Miss Marple accepts the challenge and the wheels are set in motion. First, she is instructed to go on a Home and Garden Tour (all expenses paid by Mr. Rafiel). On the tour, various people who were acquaintances of Mr. Rafiel seek her out and divulge information. Miss Marple has to figure our what crime she is supposed to be avenging and who she can and cannot trust.

Of course Miss Marple succeeds and is awarded her 20,000 pounds.

Apparently, I have three copies of this novel: the above hardback, a paperback, and the third copy is part of a collection of 5 Miss Marple mysteries.

Remembered Death and A Caribbean Mystery

Books 51 and 52 are both by Agatha Christie and since I finished one yesterday and the other today, I decided to do one post.

Remembered Death/Sparkling Cyanide:

At Rosemary Barton's birthday, her guests saw her drink champagne and then collapse. The verdict was suicide, she has been depressed following a bout of the flu. Six months later, her husband George received an anonymous letter that said his wife had been murdered. Questions were asked and the invitees began to remember things. But someone remembered one thing too many and the murderer struck again.

• George Barton: Rosemary's devoted husband
• Iris: Rosemary's younger sister. Penniless while Rosemary was alive, she inherited Rosemary's fortune.
• Stephen Farraday: a rising member of Parliament. He had an affair with Rosemary. Public knowledge of the affair would be disastrous for his career.
• Lady Alexandra Farraday: Stephen's wife. She may or may not have been aware of his affair with Rosemary.
• Anthony Browne: A shifty American who deals in armaments. He also had an affair with Rosemary.
• Ruth Lessing: George Barton's secretary. She loves her boss and without Rosemary in the picture, she could make a fine wife for him.
• Lucilla Drake: a distant relative of Rosemary and Iris. She looked after the girls following their parents' deaths. Believes everything her son, Victor says. 
• Victor Drake: a good-for-nothing scoundrel who frequently wires his mother for money.

A Caribbean Mystery:

Miss Marple is enjoying a holiday in the Caribbean courtesy of her nephew and his wife. While, there, Miss Marple listens to Major Palgrave's endless stories about his travels and former exploits. Major Palgrave claims to know of a  murderer, and what's more, he has a photograph of this person (the photograph was given to him by a friend). That night Major Palgrave dies. At first, his death is attributed to high blood pressure and too much alcohol. But Miss Marple has her doubts and further investigations prove that he was murdered. Several people had heard Major Palgrave tell this story about a murderer, and no one is safe until the murderer is caught.

I don't like the cover of my English version, but I do like the cover my French version (The Major Talked Too Much).

Book 50: Closed Casket

Closed Casket : The New Hercule Poirot Mystery by Sophie Hannah

As I've mentioned before, Agatha Christie is my favorite author and Poirot is my favorite detective of hers. I was hesitant to read Hannah's newest Poirot adventure and was convinced I wouldn't like it. I did enjoy the story (I read the entire thing in one day), but not as a Hercule mystery. While there were elements common to Christie's novels, I felt they were underdeveloped and/or completely random.

Lady Athelinda Playford is a famous novelist of the Shrimp Seddon mysteries for children. (This was reminiscent of Ariadne Oliver). Lady Playford invites Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard and Hercule Poirot to stay at her country estate, Lillieoak, County Cork Ireland. Prior to their arrival, Lady Playford meets with Micheal Gathercole, her solicitor, and asks him to rewrite her will. Lady Playford's new will leaves everything to her secretary, Mr. Joseph Scotcher who is terminally ill with Bright's disease. Left out of her will are her two children, Viscount Harry and his wife Viscountess Dorothy, and her daughter Claudia and her fiancee Dr. Randall Kimpton.

Lady Playford announces her revised will during dinner. As expected, the information isn't received well. Her children are shocked, as is Joseph Scotcher. That night someone is murdered. The incompetent Irish Inspector begrudgingly agrees to let Poirot and Catchpool assist with the investigation. Poirot uses his little grey cells, takes a trip to England to gather information, and finally gathers everyone together to unmask the murderer.

One of the things I love about Poirot is his sense of self-importance and his lack of modesty. In Closed Casket, I found Poirot rather subdued. I honestly think Poirot could have been replaced with a differently named private investigator and the story would have been fine.

A Paris Apartment

Book 49: A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

April Vogt, a Continental Furniture Specialist at Sothebys, is sent to Paris to inventory the contents of a Parisian apartment that has been sealed for 70 years, since 1939.

The apartment once belonged to Marthe de Florian, a demimondaine of the Belle Epoque. Marthe's treasures are numerous, but the most shocking of all is a previously unknown portrait by the artist Boldini. April also discovers Marthe's journals which provide provenance for the items in the apartment, but also help her discover who Marthe was. Or who she appeared to be.

Marthe's journals help April discover things about herself. April has left a cheating husband in New York , (whether temporarily or permanently she has yet to decide), a family crisis that has been brewing for decades, and her less-than satisfying career in New York. As her personal life reaches a tipping point, April is tempted by wine, pastries, and the handsome solicitor who works on behalf of Marthe's heir.

Will the auction give Marthe the glory she so desperately sought and allow April to find her happy ending?

I found both Marthe's and April's stories compelling. April uses the journals as a way to escape her present-day problems and the two narratives are interspersed.


This novel is based on true events. See here for a look at Marthe de Florian's apartment:

http://shareably.net/art-found-in-paris-apartment-that-
was-vacant-since-1939/

Marthe's portrait by Giovanni Boldini

The 6:41 to Paris

Book 48: The 6:41 to Paris (original French title 06h41) by Jean-Philippe Blondel

Cecile, a stylish 47-year old, has spent the weekend visiting her parents in Troyes, a small town about an hour  and a half from Paris. Exhausted by her visit, she takes the 6:41 express train back to Paris on Monday morning. The seat next to her is empty, but before long is occupied by a man from her past. The man is Philippe Leduc, with whom she had a brief, though passionate relationship 30 years ago that left her humiliated.

The narrative is a journey through their respective thoughts and reflections. Each one recognizes the other, but doesn't want to break the silence. They reflect on their past and present lives.

This reminded me of another French novel structured in much the same way. Michel Butor's La Modification, written in 1957. La Modification follows L.D. on a train trip from Paris to Rome. While riding the train, L.D. makes many mental stops and transfers as he reflects on his past romantic relationships.

While reading, I wondered what I would say to a friend or former boyfriend whom I hadn't seen for 30 years if I happened to sit next to him/her on a train or plane. In the 6:41 to Paris, the past is lying is lurking, waiting to ambush Cecile and Philippe.

Get Well Soon

Book 47: Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright

I finished this a few days ago, but moving interrupted my blogging about it. The hypochondriac in me enjoys reading about diseases, and Wright's book about plagues was no exception. Although I have no interest in a career in the sciences or in medicine (I would be a terrible nurse or doctor), I do find these topics interesting.

The plagues include:
The Antonine Plague
Bubonic Plague
Dancing Plague
Smallpox
Syphilis
Tuberculosis
Cholera
Leprosy
Typhoid
Spanish Flu
Encephalitis Lethargica
Lobotomies
Polio

Wright situates each plagues in the historical moment or moments of its outbreak. Known or suspected  causes are discussed as well as attempts and successful remedies or cures. Some of the remedies are horrific and others are laughable. For example, to ward off or cure the bubonic plague, it was suggested that people: drink a small amount of good wine, eat crushed emeralds, eat eggs, fruit, and vegetables, not look at sick people, chopping up raw onions and placing them around the house, and drinking your urine/buboes pus. There was also a cure involving exploding frogs and exploding pigeons.

A large part of each chapter is about the attitudes toward a specific plague and how they affect treatment of patients and how we discuss the disease itself. For example, in order to keep morale high during WWI, news of the Spanish Flu outbreak was deliberately censored from the press. This meant that is estimated to have killed 25-100 million people worldwide. Had the outbreak not been kept out of the press for so long, fewer people might have died. In the case of leprosy, there isn't a cure, but treating lepers with compassion and as actual human beings, had a profound effect on their outlook on life. In the case of Polio, a vaccine was ultimately developed because money, resources, and attention were given to combating it.

Although details are sometimes gruesome, Wright's approach is light-hearted and irreverent.

To Capture What We Cannot Keep

To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice Colin

In 1886, Caitriona Wallace and Emile Nouguier meet in a hot air balloon above Paris. They feel an affinity for one another, but when the balloon lands, their different social positions become apparent. Caitriona (Cait) is a widow who has agreed to chaperone two wealthy, spoiled, and out-of-touch-with-reality Scottish charges, Jamie and Alice Arrol. Emile is one of the engineers building the Eiffel Tower. His mother expects him to take over the family business and find a suitable wife in order to maintain his bourgeois respectability and stability.  As the tower is constructed, Cait and Emile must decide how important their love for each other is.

This first passage is from the hot air balloon ascent. "And there, far below, were Baron Haussmann's wide boulevard's that followed the line of the old walls of the city, the green blot of the Bois de Boulgone, the pump of black smoke from the factories in the south, the start spokes radiating from the Place de l'Etoile, and, closer, the Place du Trocadero. And there were lines of carriages as tiny as black beetles, people as minute as ants, the city as small and regular as a set of children's stone building blocks placed on a painted sheet" (17-18).

I loved this description because now the Eiffel Tower is such an iconic part of the Parisian landscape. It's hard to imagine Paris without La Dame de Fer. Though the Eiffel Tower provides one of the best panoramas of Paris, the one thing you cannot see from atop the tower is the tower itself. My favorite vantage point to look out over Paris is from the top of Sacre Coeur or from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

I also likes this passage about leaving a beloved city, especially Paris. "The morning they had left Paris the sky had been a fathomless blue, the air so clear and clement that everything they were about to leave behind -- the streets, the people, the smell of roasted coffee and chestnuts -- seemed sharper, the colors deeper and more saturated, the verticals and perpendiculars of the city engraved rather than drawn" (108). I find leaving Paris bittersweet, but in order to return, one must leave.

#45 Death Comes to the Village

Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd is the first book in the Kurland St Mary mysteries.

If I have learned anything from reading Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and watching/reading the Midsommer Murders, it's that life in an English village is anything but tranquil.

In 1816, Major Robert Kurland has returned to his family home in the village of Kurland St Mary following an injury at the Battle of Waterloo (his legs were crushed by a horse). One night he notices a strange figure struggling with a heavy load in the Churchyard. Shortly thereafter, several petty thefts are notices in the houses of the gentry, and two local girls go missing. Major Kurland enlists the help of his childhood friend and the rector's daughter, Lucy Harrington to investigate. As the rector's daughter, Lucy is admitted to houses throughout the village, belonging to people from all social strata.

I enjoyed the banter between Lucy and Major Kurland. I suspected three people of committing the crimes, but none of them turned out to be the culprit. I look forward to reading the second book in the series, Death Comes to London.

A Killer Read

I've lost count. My latest read was Erika Chase's A Killer Read, the first in the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries.

The Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society meets in Molly Mathews' house. Their first meeting is interrupted by a stranger who is later found shot to death in his car after the meeting. An antique gun that belonged to Molly's deceased husband was used as the murder weapon. Following the murder, Lizzie (the protagonist) begins to receive manuscript pages from an anonymous source that could be clues to the murder. Lizzie also receives cryptic phone calls in the middle of the night asking about the story her father was investigating prior to his death (her father was a newspaper reporter).

Suspicion falls on members of the reading club:

• Lizzie Turner: literacy and reading specialist in Ashton Corners. Lizzie also has two Siamese cats, Edam and Brie. The cats aren't involved in solving the crime, much as I hoped because I love a good cat mystery, but they are nice additions to the story.
• Molly Mathews: prominent citizen of Ashton Corners whose house is the meeting place for the mystery readers club and other literacy groups.
• Bob Miller: retired police chief.
• Andie: a high school student and one of students in Lizzie's literacy group.
• Stephanie: a nineteen-year old pregnant woman who is new to Ashton Corners and reticent to reveal anything about her background.
• Sally-Jo: teacher and reading specialist
• Jacob Smith: a new lawyer in town and friend of Bob Miller's 

I liked that the character try to solve the murder by comparing their situation to the works of their favorite mystery writers (there are many references to Agatha Christie). A good read. 

Norse Mythology

To finish March and my slew of folklore and legends, I read Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology (published 2017). I was familiar with the major players in Norse mythology, Odin, Thor, Freya, and Loki, but not with the actual stories. Gaiman retells these stories and creates a story arc that begins with the creation of the nine worlds and ends with Ragnarok, the death of the gods.

I liked "Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds", "The Treasures of the Gods",  "Freya's Unusual Wedding", "The Last Days of Loki" and "Ragnarok: The Final Destiny of the Gods". There is also a glossary of terms at the end which I found handy. I think Loki, the trickster, is one of the most interesting of the characters, although I don't particularly like him. I do like Freya and her chariot pulled by cats.

Eight Months on Ghazzah Street

Book 43 (I think) is Eight Months on Ghazzah Street, described by critics as a Middle Eastern Turn of the Screw. I have vague memories of Turn of the Screw from high school English. Two children and their possessed governess in England.

Anyway, in Eight Months on Ghazzah Street, Frances Shore and her engineer husband move to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Instead of living in an apartment complex for British ex-pats, the Shores live in a sublet on Ghazzah Street with Saudi nationals and other Muslims.

Though she ventures out into the city, most of Frances' days are spent alone in their apartment or visiting the two housewives who also live in the building. She keeps a travel diary, goes on the roof to get some sun, and listens to the goings-on in the other apartments, especially the supposedly empty apartment above theirs. Frances decides to investigate and her suspicions increase throughout their eight months on Ghazzah Street. Some parts of the book were slow, but my interest grew alongside Frances' suspicions.

I liked this description of the supermarket: "The supermarkets are all well stocked, but there is always some elusive item; this breeds the desire to go to more supermarkets. shopping is the highest good in Saudi life. Every need and whim under one roof--Lebanese pastries, a Mont Blanc pen, a diamond snake with emerald eyes; a pound of pistachio nuts, two tickets to Bermuda, a nylon prayer rug with built-in compass. Perhaps some blueberry cheesecake ice cream, and Louis Quinze fauteuil; a new Toyota, and a portrait of the King. The car parks consume acres, the facades glitter like knives" (Mantel 96).

Eight Months on Ghazzah Street is part travel journal, albeit not a very factual one, and part mystery.

42: The Golem and the Jinni

The Golem and the Jinni is about two supernatural beings in 1899 New York. The Golem, Chava, was created by a wayward and fallen Jewish scholar for Otto Rotfelf in Prussia. A Golem is a being made of clay whose one task is to obey his/her master's will. Rotfeld dies while crossing the Atlantic leaving his Golem masterless, yet able to instinctively hear the desires of everyone around her.

The Jinni, who later chooses the name Ahmad, had been imprisoned in a tin jug for centuries. He is suddenly released and finds himself in Arbeely's tinsmith shop in New York's Little Syria neighborhood. Though free from the jug, the Jinni is still fettered with a bracelet, binding him to the wizard who trapped him.

Chava and Ahmad's paths cross and their lives become intertwined. As they venture out into the city, the must be careful about who they reveal their true natures to or risk endangering themselves and those around them. An nighttime incident threatens to destroy the tenuous "human" lives they have created for themselves. More dangerous though, are the unknown agents who seek the Golem and the Jinni and place their very existence in jeopardy.

The Golem and the Jinni was a great book that blends folklore, religion, science fiction, and fantasy. It took me about three weeks to read this since it's quite long, 471 pages. I found the action really picked up about halfway through the book. The story is layered and is told from alternating viewpoints that go back and forth in time and place.

Book 41: Black Cats and Evil Eyes

Black Cats and Evil Eyes: A Book of Old-Fashioned Superstitions was a light, enjoyable read, and informative. Most superstitions concern major life-events that people in earlier times has little or no control over: birth, pregnancy, death, marriage. Superstitions are often a mix of a pagan and religious beliefs. Here are some interesting ones.

1. Moonlight: Ancient peoples didn't understand gravitational pull or the tides, but they did believe that the moon controlled all water on earth and bodily fluids. The word lunatic is derived from the Latin word Lunaticus which means moonstruck and was used to refer to people who seemed to be temporarily mad during the full moon. Later, neuroscience provided an explanation for  disorders like epilepsy. It is still believed that all sorts of unusual things happen during a full moon, such as increased crime and hospital admissions.
2. Black cats: I love all cats so this superstition doesn't really affect me. But, during the Middle Ages, black cats were portrayed as the familiar animal of witches. Puritans later associated them with the Devil and witchcraft. The attitude towards black cats depends on one's location. In Norse mythology, Freya, goddess of fertility and queen of the Valkyries, was said to have a chariot pulled by black cats. In Scotland, a black cat outside your home is a sign of prosperity. But in Germany a black cat who crosses your path from right to left is bad luck, but one who crosses from left to right is okay. 
3. 
   
4. Never kill a spider: spiders served a practical purpose in the country by killing other pests. It was therefore customary to allow a few cobwebs in the home than to risk having infected food. Christian fables also related how Jesus and David were hidden in caves and protected by spider webs. I prefer to kill spiders.
5. Never give a knife or scissors as a gift: doing so cuts the ties between the giver and receiver. The only antidote is to give a coin in return, thus paying for the knife or scissors. So, take all the knife sets off your wedding registry.
6. Never turn a loaf of bread upside down after slicing it: This one has several origins. For Christians, bread was sacred since Jesus has blessed it at the Last Supper. Bakers often marked bread with a cross and turning the bread over would be seen as sacrilegious. Bread was sacred for the ancient Greeks and Romans as well. Hesta (Greek) and Vespa (Roman) were the goddesses of the hearth, domesticity, and the family and the patrons of break-making. Some believed that turning a loaf upside down was an insult to these goddesses. Finally, in 18th-Century France each town had a public executioner whose life was full of superstitions. The executioner and his family were isolated from the rest of the community. The loaves of bread destined for the executioner were turned upside down by local bakers so no one else would mistakenly take them. 

Lessons from a Grimm Life

A few days ago I finished Grimm's Fairy Tales. I've read most of the stories before, but some were new. I was reminded of a book I read earlier this summer about the origins of some of the tales.

Before I started my 1,000 Books project, I read The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth . The Wild Girl is the story of Dortchen Wild, the neighbor and later wife of Wilhelm Grimm. Dortchen and the brothers Grimm grew up in Hessen-Cassel, a small German kingdom that fell to Napoleon. Dortchen was one of the sources of the fairy tales that the brothers collected and later published.

The love story between Dortchen and Wilhelm reads like a fairy tale. Dortchen's father was cruel and frowned upon and later forbade her friendship with the Grimm's. Dortchen's sisters all married and escaped the confines of the family home, but Dortchen was left to care for their father. It wasn't until after his death and the success of Grimm's Fairy Tales that Dortchen and Wilhelm found their own happily ever after.

Dortchen told Wilhelm: "Hansel and Gretel", "Six Swans", "Rumpelstilstkin", "All-Kinds-Of-Fur",  "Sweetheart Roland" and many others. Dortchen was given credit as a source of the stories, but not much is known about her.

The Wild Girl is excellent; it's a book that I would reread.

The Wild Girl

Legends of Ireland

March is coming in like a lamb in terms of my reading. I did finish Legends of Ireland last night in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day. This particular edition was originally published as Contes et legendes du pays d'Irelande in 1963 and translated in 1968.

I liked "The White Trout", "The Voyage of Maelduin" (a bit like the Odyssey), "Patou Mac Daniel", "The Children of Lir", and "Deidre and the Sons of Usna".

Deidre's Lament by J.H. Bacon 1905