Category Archives: Uncategorized

Currently Reading

Posted on by
Reply

https://a.co/d/04paNHAr

Death of a Dream Catcher, by Linda Norlander. is the fifth in the Cabin by the lake series. I think it is the least successful.

Jamie Forrest is a transplanted New Yorker to an inherited cabin by a lake in Minnesota. In this outing, she is engaged to Jim Monroe. He reveals that his older brother Eli, a high school athlete. went swimming with a group of friends and drowned. Now, with a high school reunion, the ghosts of that twenty year old summer have risen up again. On a camping trip to Bear Island, Jim goes off alone and when he returns he is in a dark mood. Jamie is so distracted worrying about this that she trips over a tree root and falls, breaking her arm. But Jim refuses to tell her the whole story,’for her safety.’ The reunion, which both Jamie and Jim attend, only deepens the mystery. What happened to Lucy, the sister of the housekeeper for the elderly lawyer Jamie has befriended? More concerningly, what is going on with Jim? He is acting out of character and refuses to tell Jamie anything.

The setting is, as usual, well portrayed and the mystery is interesting. But the relationship between Jim and Jamie raised a whole forest of red flags for me. He takes all his phone calls outside and behaves very secretively. He keeps warning her to stay out of it, ‘for her safety’. And after she follows him, and saves not only Jim but other characters as well, he blows up at her. I began wondering why she even wanted to marry the man.

So, a mixed review.

Currently Reading

Posted on by
Reply

King of Ashes, by S. A. Cosby has hit several Best mysteries lists.

When Roman Carruthers’ sister calls him and tells him their father is in the hospital Roman drops everything and rushes to the little town in Virginia. But the car accident that put Roman’s father into the hospital is not the simple accident Roman thought. Instead, the situation is far darker and more complicated than he could have guessed.

Their mother had disappeared many years ago. All three of the kids, Roman, his sister, and their little brother Dante, are traumatized. Dante particularly is into drugs and now is in debt to some very bad people. Roman, an affluent money manager, jumps in to solve the problem. Which he does – by using his money skills as a lever.

Recommended – but not for the faint of heart. Gangs, kinky sex, many deaths, lots of profanity . . . this book is darker that what I usually read.

European wildfires and Mount Cithaeron

Posted on by
Reply

The drought in Europe has not only reduced such major rivers as the Rhine and the Danube to little more than muddy creeks. The drought has caused unusually high heat and terrible wildfires. Two firefighters died on Crete fighting the fires. And hundreds of acres on Mount Cithaeron, a mountain on the mainland, famous from Greek mythology, have been reduced to ash.

Let’s start with the myth of Oedipus. According to the legend, King Laius and Queen Jocasta abandoned their son Oedipus, who seers foretold would kill his father and marry his mother, on the slopes of Mount Cithaeron. The parents pierced his ankles and left him to die. (Sorry, most of the myths are dark!) But a shepherd found the child and saved him, thereby putting the foretelling into effect.

Then there is the myth surrounding Acteon, a hunter who accidentally saw Artemis bathing. She changed him into a stag, Unable to speak, he was torn to pieces by his own dogs.

Mount Cithaeron plays an equally central role in Euripides’ The Bacchae. It was on the mountain that the followers of Dionysus gathered to perform ecstatic rituals honoring the god of wine and revelry. When King Pentheus of Thebes attempted to spy on the celebrations disguised as a woman, Dionysus drove the worshippers into a frenzy. (Dionysus, angry because the King refused to honor the God, played a part in persuading Pentheus to spy on the women. Nowadays that would be called entrapment. Just saying.)

Anyway, the women—including his own mother, Agave—tore him apart in one of Greek literature’s most shocking scenes.

When I was in Greece several years ago, I saw Mount Cithaeron. It was so beautiful and I could easily imagine the woods populated by satyrs and nymphs. Seeing photos of the destruction is heart rending.

Currently Reading – and more

Posted on by
Reply

An electrical storm last Thursday took out my electricity, briefly, and my cable. Six days later, we finally got it back. I have been on the verge of canceling and go to another provider for some time. This almost pushed me off the edge. Nothing the ‘agents’ suggested worked. We finally had to have a technician, which Optimum fought every step of the way, to diagnose the problem.

The real lesson is how dependent on this we are. I did as much as I could on the phone but believe me, a phone is not a replacement for wifi.

Anyway, I read several books.

Dying Cry, by Mitzushima, is the tenth book in the series. In this one, Mattie, Robo, Cole and family are on a vacation in the snowy Colorado mountains. They are snowshoeing when they hear a terrified cry ahead and shortly after a boulder comes crashing down and buries the body. The victim turns out to be Cole’s assistant Tess’s husband.

Murder or accident? Another captivating mystery.

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook, was a freebee at one of the conferences I attended. Daphne is a history professor on the tenure track at a prestigious college. When she receives a weird text in terrible French, she deletes it. But when the sender of that text is discovered murdered, she is drawn into the mystery of his death. Who would want to murder Sam, the golden boy of the anthropology department? It turns out, there are many many people with a motive. Daphne is assaulted and abducted before she uses her scholarly skills to solves the case.

Highly Recommended.

Shaker music

Posted on by

Music has always been an essential part of Shakers’ experience. Right from the beginning, music was an important part of Shaker worship. At first, the music was chanting and were transmitted by word of mouth. But, as some of the members experienced a ‘spiritual gift’, the hymns were written down.

Since most of them had no formal musical training, their hymns were not written in musical notation but in a form using letters. The Shakers felt that these hymns were inspired by God.

The Shakers’ first hymnal, Millennial Praises, contained 140 songs and was published in 1812.

Most people are familiar with the song, Simple Gifts. Simple Gifts was composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett, on or about the time he moved to the Shaker community at Alfred, Maine, otherwise known as Sabbathday Lake. This community is the model for Zion, the community I include in my Will Rees mysteries.

Here is a link to a version done by Allison Krauss and Yo Yo Ma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baNueuDCue0&list=RDbaNueuDCue0&start_radio=1

Currently Reading

Posted on by

Erie Ending by Christy J. Kendall follows Refuge Manager Angela Martin, who manages the Ottawa Wildlife Refuge on the shores of Lake Erie. On a frog counting survey late one night, she comes across a car submerged in the swamp with a woman’s body inside. Later identified as Connie King, the woman was an active member of an environmental group – but also enjoyed a cozy relationship with several developers. Angela is relieved that Connie is dead. But when a beloved volunteer is accused of the murder, Angela and her friend Lilly begin investigating and discover double dealing, blackmail, and shady real estate deals. And Angela soon finds herself running for her life through the wildlife refuge.

At the same time, Angela is dealing with personal issues with her live-in lover LJ.

What an interesting book. The descriptions of the refuge, and the various jobs, is captivating. And the mystery has plenty of red herrings and a murderer that I did not guess.

Recommended.

Modern luxuries

Posted on by

After spending more than two weeks without hot water, I have been reflecting on all the conveniences we take for granted. Running water, for example. Indoor plumbing. And, of course, hot water.

In March, our furnace broke down. The tech spent 9 hours working on it, bitching all the way. He advised us to stick with oil. (We have propane.) Fast forward a couple of months and suddenly we had no hot water. A succession of techs looked at it. Most admitted they had no idea how to fix it.

Did I mention we bought the system from their company?

The aforementioned tech arrived three different times. Finally, he took the system apart and sent pictures to the manufacturer. They had to order several expensive parts that, for all that we have a warranty on the rest of the system, were NOT on warranty. 17 days later we have hot water. The tech admitted he is not sure the furnace is completely fixed and if the problem reoccurs he will be back.

Last night I took my first hot shower at home in more than two weeks. (Thankfully, we have a gym membership and they have showers.)

I guess this could have been worse. It could have been January. Or we could have no water at all. Most of the time, we don’t even think about these conveniences. Boy howdy, I sure appreciate my hot water now.

Currently Reading

Posted on by

Clarissa Bell is an Oxford trained archaeologist in the 1920s so no one takes her seriously. But her father’s wealth enables her to join a dig in Egypt. And her speciality on pottery and various Egyptian pigments quickly embroils her in a mystery involving missing artifacts, forgeries, and murder. She meets a charming rogue, Benedict Quinn, who may or may not be trustworthy. Events take a serious turn when she realizes some of the forgeries are designed to suppress information – and several groups do not want this to get out. She is threatened, kidnapped and almost killed before the murderer is discovered.

But the man behind the larger crime remains unknown.

This mystery had more than a whiff of Crocodile on the Sandbank (the first Amelia Peabody mystery by Elizabeth Peters.) Clarissa is an annoying protagonist, especially in the beginning; arrogant, a know-it-all and reckless to the point of foolishness. I almost didn’t finish the book because of her character. However, her flaws smooth out a little, and some explanation is given for her academic arrogance. The mystery is interesting and the setting can’t be beat. All the information on pottery and pigments was very interesting.

So, recommended, with the caveat I mentioned.

Who was Ataturk?

Posted on by

Ataturk means father of Turkey. Mustafa Kemal was given the name since, like George Washington in the United States, Attaturk is considered the father of modern Turkiye.

When he was born, Turkey (and it was Turkey then) was still part of the Ottoman Empire. Early in his youth, he was arrested for protesting against the Sultan. He joined the Army and was involved in the defense of Gallipoli.

In 1922, the Turkish National Movement, which he directed, overthrew the Ottomans. (They, by the way, ruled for several hundred years.) In 1923, Kamal was given the name Ataturk and appointed President. He ruled until 1938, the year of his death.

He is credited with making Turkiye a secular country, passing many reforms. Religion was pushed back. When one is in the country, the call to prayer is still heard from the minarets but prayer five times a day is not required. The cursive Arabic alphabet was abandoned in favor of the Roman. (This helps an English speaker since you quickly recognize and understand written words.) He opened thousands of schools, and women were given equal rights. He is rightly called the father of the modern Turkiye. Visiting Istanbul is like visiting any large, modern, cosmopolitan city with McDonalds, multi-ethnic restaurants, and many different languages heard in the street.

However, he was a dictator. He governed under one party rule. During the overthrow of the caliphate, the Greeks and Armenians were expelled and many Armenians were massacred. The current relationship with Syria and especially Iran is poor because of the country’s secularism. And Turkiye is an ally of the United States.

Currently Reading

Posted on by

This week I read two books in series I’ve begun, and enjoy very much.

Striking Range is number 7 in the K-( Timber Creek series. Mattie Cobb and a federal officer, Jim Hauck, journey to the prison to interview John Cobb, the man who killed Mattie’s brother and tried to kill Mattie. But Cobb is found dead. The only clue is a map of Timber Creek with several Xs marked on it. Mattie is forced to return to the cave where Cobb kept her prisoner.

Before a thorough search can be accomplished, Mattie is called away. The body of a young woman has been found in a camp. Mattie recognizes her as a young girl who was pregnant just a day or two previously.

The two cases come together in a surprising way. Another winner!

Murder on the Vine by Camilla Trinchieri is the third in this series.

Nico and Maraschiello Perillo are having breakfast when they are called away. Laura Benati, the manager of the Bella Vista hotel, is worried about her barman, Cesare Costanzi. He has been missing for three days. Shortly after, Nico is called to assist a friend, Jimmy, who has run out of gas. One Wag, Nico’s dog, is fascinated by something in Jimmy’s trunk and a further investigation reveals the body of Costanzi. Has Jimmy ever even met the man? And what is Laura’s connection? She is far closer to Cesare than would be expected of a manager and an employee.

I love these books, for the mysteries and for the feel of the Tuscan countryside. Food plays a huge part and every dish is lovingly described. I just wish they came with recipes! Highly Recommended.