Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is a rather clueless, yet endearing Victorian detective who is, without his knowledge, aided in solving murders by a network of staff and friends led by his housekeeper, Mrs. Hepzibah Jeffries. During their nightly drinks session, Mrs. Jeffries subtly grills Witherspoon on the facts of whatever case he is attempting to solve, then in morning meeting, imparts this knowledge to household staff and friends, all of whom set out to gather clues and facts. They meet again later in the day to share what they have found during their various investigations and said knowledge is then passed on to Witherspoon's colleague, Barnes, who somehow manages to clue in Witherspoon while presrving the illusion that Witherspoon is actually solving the crime himself. With the help of this merry group of amateur detectives, Witherspoon has an enviable 100% record of solving murders.
His current case is a difficult one since the victim was killed 6 weeks ago. Thanks to a botched investigation, the crime has been treated as death due to a robbery instead of an outright murder, so finding clues and witnesses is difficult, to say the least.
Mrs. Jeffries and her crew are a resourceful and intelligent group of people who care deeply for Witherspoon, which makes this series doubly enjoyable. My mother has read all of them and reports that she enjoyed them immensely. If Victorian cozies, appealing characters, and expert amateur sleuthing are your thing, check this series out.
BIBLIOPHILY
Monday, August 27, 2018
Friday, August 24, 2018
GHOSTED (Rosie Walsh)
For some reason I keep forgetting the name of this author, which is VERY weird because my mother's maiden name is actually Rosemary Walsh! Duh!
This is one of those romantic past/present novels with plot twists and turns that you might or might not see coming, but will still love. Sarah returns to her hometown, the scene of a tragic accident years before, and meets a man called Eddie. The spend a blissful week together, fall in love, and pledge to reunite when Eddie returns from his trip to Spain. But Eddie doesn't return and Sarah never hears from him. Her close friends tell her to forget him, that he couldn't have been what he seemed to be, but Sarah believes that something terrible must have happened to Eddie.
The story is told in a combination of current and past first person accounts and letters. I have to admit that I found the letters confusing until I realized who was writing them and to whom they were written, but overall I enjoyed the timeline. Walsh reveals the story bit-by-bit, traveling back 19 years and back and forth between characters. I hope that Walsh continues with her writing career. she is one to watch for future reading!
This is one of those romantic past/present novels with plot twists and turns that you might or might not see coming, but will still love. Sarah returns to her hometown, the scene of a tragic accident years before, and meets a man called Eddie. The spend a blissful week together, fall in love, and pledge to reunite when Eddie returns from his trip to Spain. But Eddie doesn't return and Sarah never hears from him. Her close friends tell her to forget him, that he couldn't have been what he seemed to be, but Sarah believes that something terrible must have happened to Eddie.
The story is told in a combination of current and past first person accounts and letters. I have to admit that I found the letters confusing until I realized who was writing them and to whom they were written, but overall I enjoyed the timeline. Walsh reveals the story bit-by-bit, traveling back 19 years and back and forth between characters. I hope that Walsh continues with her writing career. she is one to watch for future reading!
Sunday, August 19, 2018
PLAID & PLAGIARISM (Molly MacRae)
Molly MacRae is one of those mystery authors that feels like an old friend. We ARE friends on Facebook, but I think I would like her a lot in real life. She's also a librarian, by the way.
This is the first in a new series set around a Highland Bookshop. Four women, a recently divorced mother (Janet Marsh), her daughter, and 2 friends, have purchased a business called Ye Bonnie Books in the village of Inversgail, Scotland. Janet and her family have owned a vacation home in Inversgail for years and this will soon become Janet's new home. When the body of a local advice columnist is discovered in the shed behind the house, Janet and her crew set up to solve the crime so Janet can move into her home, which has been ruled off-limits by the local police. Suspects abound, of course.
If you are like me and LOVE a mystery set in Scotland (the land of many of my ancestors), you will enjoy this series immensely. MacRae writes engagingly. reading her books makes you feel like you're spending time with people you've known all of your life.
This is the first in a new series set around a Highland Bookshop. Four women, a recently divorced mother (Janet Marsh), her daughter, and 2 friends, have purchased a business called Ye Bonnie Books in the village of Inversgail, Scotland. Janet and her family have owned a vacation home in Inversgail for years and this will soon become Janet's new home. When the body of a local advice columnist is discovered in the shed behind the house, Janet and her crew set up to solve the crime so Janet can move into her home, which has been ruled off-limits by the local police. Suspects abound, of course.
If you are like me and LOVE a mystery set in Scotland (the land of many of my ancestors), you will enjoy this series immensely. MacRae writes engagingly. reading her books makes you feel like you're spending time with people you've known all of your life.
EAST WIND, WEST WIND (Pearl Buck)
This lovely novel is the first one of five that we will be reading for this year's Pearl Buck Book Club at the library. What wonderful insight into the culture of the China during the early 20th century! Of course, this is not surprising since Pearl Buck lived in China for much of her life.
East Wind, West Wind is the story of the culture clash between old Chinese customs and traditions and the slowly encroaching western world. Narrated by Kwei-lan, a young woman in an arranged marriage to a Chinese man educated in America, the novel focuses on her struggle to understand her changing role as a Chinese woman. Eventually falling deeply in love with her husband, she is at first confused and appalled at his desire to treat her as an equal and his request that she unbind her feet. Having been brought up to pay attention to traditional details of beauty and dress, Kwei-lan has a hard time connecting with her husband and understanding that his interest is in her as a person rather than as an object of beauty. The old order of China is changing around her and Buck allows us to see these changes through the naive eyes of a young woman who has been completely shielded from the outside world.
I loved this book and would encourage everyone to read Pearl Buck!
East Wind, West Wind is the story of the culture clash between old Chinese customs and traditions and the slowly encroaching western world. Narrated by Kwei-lan, a young woman in an arranged marriage to a Chinese man educated in America, the novel focuses on her struggle to understand her changing role as a Chinese woman. Eventually falling deeply in love with her husband, she is at first confused and appalled at his desire to treat her as an equal and his request that she unbind her feet. Having been brought up to pay attention to traditional details of beauty and dress, Kwei-lan has a hard time connecting with her husband and understanding that his interest is in her as a person rather than as an object of beauty. The old order of China is changing around her and Buck allows us to see these changes through the naive eyes of a young woman who has been completely shielded from the outside world.
I loved this book and would encourage everyone to read Pearl Buck!
Friday, August 3, 2018
BELLEWETHER (Susannah Kearsley)
If someone asked me during the past few years what events were most eagerly anticipated in my life, Susannah Kearley's newest books would definitely be in my top 10! Her research is thorough and her story-telling is unsurpassed. Bellewether is a bit of a departure for her since most of her novels are set in England and many involve the Jacobite period of the early 18th century.
Bellewether is set on Long Island in 1759, during the French and Indian War. Two captured French officers have been billeted with the Wilde family and eventually one of them, a gentlemanly French-Canadian officer name Jean-Phillipe de Sabran, falls in love with Lydia Wilde. Their supposedly tragic romance becomes a local legend and in the present day Charley, the curator of the Wilde Museum, experiences signs of an unexplained presence in the house. Bellewether is the beautiful ship built by Lydia's brother, preserved in a painting over the house's fireplace.
I have to admit that this is not my favorite book by Kearsley, but it is still better than most of the novels that I've read, so that's not a negative comment. It is romantic, historical, and intriguing and I would highly recommend if you like your history well-researched and with a bit of paranormal activity!
Bellewether is set on Long Island in 1759, during the French and Indian War. Two captured French officers have been billeted with the Wilde family and eventually one of them, a gentlemanly French-Canadian officer name Jean-Phillipe de Sabran, falls in love with Lydia Wilde. Their supposedly tragic romance becomes a local legend and in the present day Charley, the curator of the Wilde Museum, experiences signs of an unexplained presence in the house. Bellewether is the beautiful ship built by Lydia's brother, preserved in a painting over the house's fireplace.
I have to admit that this is not my favorite book by Kearsley, but it is still better than most of the novels that I've read, so that's not a negative comment. It is romantic, historical, and intriguing and I would highly recommend if you like your history well-researched and with a bit of paranormal activity!
CLOCK DANCE (Anne Tyler)
A clock dance is a series of repetitive moves that can be frenzied or controlled. I looked it up when trying to understand the title, but I wasn't able to find out much because googling "clock dance" results in articles about Tyler's novel! I think the point of the title is that Willa, the main character, is caught in a "clock dance" as she travels through life, never quite achieving fulfillment while she defers to others in her life.
Willa has spent most of her marching to the beat of someone else's drummer, allowing the needs of others to dictate her path in life. The novel begins with Willa, age 11, coping with one of her mother's mania-fueled disappearances. Ten years later, she is on the brink of her life's greatest decision: to finish college and become a teacher or to marry Derek and move to California, giving up her scholarship and the research that she loves. Twenty years later, we learn that Willa's decision was to follow Derek's dream, rather than her own. When her husband's impatience and intolerance lead to unexpected tragedy for the family, she is left to wonder where she belongs in the world. Eventually, we catch up with Willa again, now age 61 and married to a retired lawyer. When she receives a call asking for her help in caring for the daughter of her son Sean's former girlfriend, who has been accidentally shot, she feels compelled to travel to Baltimore to fill in as grandmother to a girl she has never met, not realizing that she has reached a crossroads that could change her life.
Is this the absolute best book Tyler has ever written? Probably not. Is it enjoyable from start to finish? Definitely. The characters can be divided into two groups: the "real" people with dimension and the selfish ones who, unfortunately, are the primary players in Willa's life. When faced with a choice between them, what will Willa do?
Willa has spent most of her marching to the beat of someone else's drummer, allowing the needs of others to dictate her path in life. The novel begins with Willa, age 11, coping with one of her mother's mania-fueled disappearances. Ten years later, she is on the brink of her life's greatest decision: to finish college and become a teacher or to marry Derek and move to California, giving up her scholarship and the research that she loves. Twenty years later, we learn that Willa's decision was to follow Derek's dream, rather than her own. When her husband's impatience and intolerance lead to unexpected tragedy for the family, she is left to wonder where she belongs in the world. Eventually, we catch up with Willa again, now age 61 and married to a retired lawyer. When she receives a call asking for her help in caring for the daughter of her son Sean's former girlfriend, who has been accidentally shot, she feels compelled to travel to Baltimore to fill in as grandmother to a girl she has never met, not realizing that she has reached a crossroads that could change her life.
Is this the absolute best book Tyler has ever written? Probably not. Is it enjoyable from start to finish? Definitely. The characters can be divided into two groups: the "real" people with dimension and the selfish ones who, unfortunately, are the primary players in Willa's life. When faced with a choice between them, what will Willa do?
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