A Visit to Cambridge

In an effort to tell you that, yes, Denis and I did enjoy the month we spent in the UK mid-March through mid-April, I thought I'd tell you about the day we spent in Cambridge. (Yes, all the photos are clickable so you can see them in larger sizes in new windows.)

If it hadn't been for the weather, we could've visited Oxford, too, but it didn't cooperate. You still might wonder why I would choose Cambridge over Oxford. After all, I love crime fiction... wouldn't Inspector Morse be the greater draw?

Actually a copper did make the deciding vote, but he was a television copper: Detective Sergeant James Hathaway of the British ITV program, Lewis. Hathaway was educated in Cambridge, so I gave my vote to him instead of Morse.

As anyone who's traveled in the UK can tell you, exploring its cities is not always a time for rejoicing. The streets tend to be very narrow. Cars are usually parked on one side or the other (or both), putting their side mirrors in mortal danger. Car parks (parking lots) can be few and far between. Oh... and the traffic can be horrendous. There were settlements in the Cambridge area as long as 3,500 years ago, and the University of Cambridge (one of the top five universities in the world) was founded in 1209. When places have been settled that many centuries before the combustion engine, they're really not going to be perfect for vehicular travel.

Map showing our route around Cambridge

Fortunately Denis came up with the perfect solution: City-Sightseeing.com.  (This company operates in many cities and countries, not just Cambridge, by the way!) For £14 each, we would get a ticket good for twenty-four hours, and since one of the mottoes of the company is "Hop On, Hop Off," this meant that we could get on and off one of their doubledecker buses as many times as we wanted for an entire twenty-four hours. Even better, one of the stops on their route was right outside a huge Park and Ride lot. Denis and I wouldn't even have to drive into the city. Just park the rental car, walk out to the bus stop on the street, get on the bus, pay for our tickets, take our seats, and be on our way to see Cambridge.

Denis's perch on the top of the bus. It was COLD!

Each passenger could grab a cheap and cheerful set of free headphones to plug in at their seats in order to listen to the recorded travelogue. By this time, I was thoroughly sick and tired of being frozen to the bone, so Denis trekked up the stairs to the top deck of the bus all by his lonesome. As you can see by the way folks are bundled up in the photo to the left, it was cold. The sun was attempting to shine more than hide, but the wind blowing straight from Scandinavia and Russia went through a body like machetes!  In fact, according to the recording I was listening to, the highest ground east of Cambridge is in Russia. No wonder the wind wasn't having any trouble cutting us to ribbons!

Think how beautiful this park will be in spring and summer!

Orchard Street

Just in case you thought I was talking through my hat when I mentioned narrow streets, I thought I'd show you Orchard Street in Cambridge. Thank heavens the bus driver didn't have to turn down that one-- although I had every confidence in him within a few minutes of taking my seat!

The Cambridge streets are not on any sort of grid system. (We folks in the US are very spoiled in most cases.) And those narrow, twisting streets are jam-packed with traffic. The bus driver was incredibly skilled in getting through this traffic. At one point he aimed his unwieldy steed through a gap that left no more than four inches to spare on either side of the bus. Wow! (Not only was he skilled, he was a very nice man, too.)

Bicycles everywhere!

Students are not allowed to have cars. I can't even imagine how horrible the traffic would be if they could. Instead, the vast majority of students get everywhere by bicycle, as you can see in the photo to the left. In the city center, not only do you have to be on the lookout for fellow pedestrians, you also have to dodge bicycles that are parked everywhere.

Now, I'm going to be quiet for a while and let you see some of the sights uninterrupted.

Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs

Cambridge War Memorial

The Round Church, built in 1130 AD

Gate detail, Christ's College, Cambridge

Punts on the River Cam

One of many old houses that caught our eye

Our bus

We made one complete circuit of the bus route to see everything and to get the lay of the land before we hopped off. We rode past Christ's Pieces where there is a memorial garden for Princess Diana; the ADC Theatre where Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie and Derek Jacoby (among many others) performed; in front of one of the flats at the Radegund Buildings across from Jesus College (where Samuel Taylor Coleridge studied), there was a plastic crate labeled DIRTY CROCKERY outside one of the blue doors. I wondered if someone would pick up my dirty dishes and wash them for me if I did the same thing at home?

The travelogue through my headphones was informative. Cambridge has a population of about 111, 000. There are approximately 14,000 students-- and 35,000 bicycles.  But it was time to get off the bus and walk the streets of the city center. I was hunting for the Waterstone's bookshop in Cambridge!

Walking in Cambridge

Cambridge streets

It wasn 't until Denis and I got off the bus and started walking that I began to feel like an old fart, swimming against a heaving tide of bright young things chattering, laughing, texting. The closer we got to all the shops, the busier the streets became-- until I had to stop gawping at the old buildings surrounding me and start paying attention to where I was going so I wouldn't be mown down.

Hardy's Sweetshop across from the Round Church

The multi-level Waterstone's was a slice of heaven. We ate lunch in their café, and once we were warmed and rejuvenated, we began to look around. I found two books I couldn't live without, as well as three bookmarks, and a notepad to give as a gift. Then I wandered the Architecture and Crafts section, and I saw book after book after glorious book that I would love to have yet didn't have the space for in my luggage. Denis took out his phone and took photos of the ones that made me drool the most so I would have titles and authors to order them once we returned to Phoenix.

Once we'd had our fill of shopping and wandering, we hopped back on the bus for the ride back to the Park and Ride. I looked at the mistletoe hanging off the trees as we passed Churchill College. I'd gotten chills at Jesus College where one of my favorite poets studied (the aforementioned Coleridge), but when we passed Churchill College and I listened to the travelogue telling me that I was where the atom was split for the first time, that I was where DNA was discovered... I got a lump in my throat. Being in the presence of greatness does that to me. I only hoped that most of those 14,000 students realize how truly fortunate they are-- and that they will strive for future greatness.

King's College, Cambridge

There was a short pause at the Cambridge American Cemetery, created during World War II and where Glenn Miller and Joe Kennedy, Jr. are buried. Then in no time at all, we got off the bus at our stop, found our car in the Park and Ride lot, and made our way back to our cottage in Bedfordshire.

We'd been scoured clean by the ferociously cold wind, elbowed aside a time or two by the bright young things, and awed by the ancient buildings and the feeling of the power of knowledge all around us. It was a brilliant day made possible by a red doubledecker bus.

Where will my travel tales take you to next? You'll have to wait and see!

A Smokin' Weekly Link Round-Up

And by smokin', I mean smokin'! The forecast varies from channel to channel, but they all agree on one thing: it's going to be hot here in Phoenix for the next several days-- maybe even 120° (49°C). Even I agree that 120° is hot. The last time it got up to that fabled temperature, I was laughing my butt off. The day before, I'd flown out of Phoenix to visit my grandparents, so I was reading about the heat wave that shut the airport down from the comfort of a kitchen table in central Illinois. Two days later, I was driving out in the country when the Springfield radio station told me that, with the humidity factored in, it was 126° on those country roads I was driving through the corn and soybeans. At least this time, humidity won't be such a factor, and I'll have my swimming pool to hide out in!

Speaking of the pool, I've had a pretty little guy come by periodically to check out the books I'm reading. He'll often perch on the cover for a while before he goes on his way. If you've guessed that I'm talking about the damselfly that's in the photo to the left, you'd be correct, although the photo shows an ancestor from 2007. (It's rather difficult to hold the book still, get hold of a camera-- one-handed-- to focus and then take a shot.) My reading companion is a Rambur's Forktail, and his wardrobe of neon green, gold and aqua puts mine to shame. (You can click on the photo to see more detail.)

Denis and I went to The Poisoned Pen Wednesday to see Linda Castillo, author of the Kate Burkholder mystery series. You'll be able to read more about that in a few days. In the mean time, I'd better shut up and start sharing these links!

Bookish News & Other Interesting Stuff

• How Rick Springfield lost and found his signed Stephen King book.
• With the emphasis on "valuable" studies, it's no wonder that we're raising a generation of kids who can't think or write clearly. It probably all ties into the decline and fall of the English major.
• One of my favorite authors died this week-- RIP Richard Matheson.
• Photos of last weekend's Super Moon from around the world.
• The evolution of Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Company, with memories from readers and writers.
• Check out some of the sites in Florence and Venice that appear in Dan Brown's Inferno.
• A new bird species has been discovered in the capital city of Cambodia.
• Americans between the ages of 16 and 29 are heavy technology users, but that doesn't mean they don't read.
• If at first you don't succeed: chef Jamie Oliver finished reading his first book at age 38.
• Is 21-year-old Samantha Shannon the next J.K. Rowling?
• An amazingly untouched royal tomb has been found in Peru.
• Denis and I will be heading down to Bisbee soon. I wonder if we'll run across this handsome guy?
• The obsessives who shaped America.
• How Shirley Jackson wrote "The Lottery."

Digital Reading

• Restrictions on in-flight devices may soon be relaxed.
• eReading habits two years later.
• Why big publishers think genre fiction is the future of eBooks.

I   ♥  Lists

• From one of my favorite blogs: My Ten Greatest Science Fiction Film Characters of All Time.
• Crime Fiction Lover's five books that got them hooked on crime fiction.
• 7 surprising (or not) household items that invade your privacy.
• 30 abandoned places that look beautiful.
• 16 photos of women writers at work.
• The top ten classic spy novels.

Book Candy

• Penguin book cover wallpaper.
• I wouldn't mind having this throne of books.

That's it for this week. Don't forget to stop by next weekend when I'll share a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!

The Raven's Gift by Don Rearden

First Line: He crawled on his stomach through the snowdrift and lifted his head over the edge of the riverbank, just enough to see the first few houses, charred black and dislodged from the wood blocks and tall steel pilings meant to hold them off the tundra's permafrost.

John Morgan and his beloved wife are thrilled to be traveling to a remote Yup'ik village on the Alaskan tundra where they will be teachers. For John, it will be getting in touch with a part of his heritage and the part of him that loves hunting and wild places. More importantly, both of them feel that they can make a difference in the world.

They've barely become acclimated to their surroundings when a deadly plague strikes and everything turns to chaos. There is absolutely no help from the outside. John's only chance for survival is a thousand-mile journey across the bitterly cold, snow-covered Alaskan wilderness to get help. Along the way, he encounters a blind girl and an elderly woman. Both Yup'ik women need his protection, and John needs their knowledge of the weather and terrain for them all to survive. In a land of brutal cold, no food, and an epidemic, all three will be pushed to their limits.

The plot of this book meanders a bit, but it's perfect since it mimics the wavering path of a freezing, starving, almost hallucinating person lost in the snow. As John slowly makes his way through the unforgiving landscape, he remembers he and his wife being newcomers to the village, their learning how to teach the children, making friends, and learning the food and customs of the people they were living among. These flashes of memory occur between perilous encounters with other survivors who seem to have lost all their humanity. As the blind girl and then the old woman join him, their knowledge is invaluable to the survival of all three-- and the two women's presence very gradually brings a feeling of hope and possibility back to a man who's all but given up.

This book succeeds on so many levels. As a commentary on geography and culture, it's first-rate. As a thriller, you can hardly wait to see what happens next-- and you want to know what caused this disaster to fall upon people you've come to know and to care about. As a character study of how decent people survive when thrust into unthinkable circumstances, The Raven's Gift is alternately heartwarming, humorous, chilling, and hopeful. Ultimately this book transcends all these labels and becomes something very special indeed.

The Raven's Gift by Don Rearden

ISBN: 9780143187493

Pintail © 2013

Paperback, 288 pages

Contemporary Fiction, standalone

Rating: B+

Source: publicist 

Moonlighting in Vermont by Kate George

First Line: "Why. Won't. You. Open!" With every word I pushed my shoulder into the door.

It's not easy being Bree MacGowan. She works two jobs in an effort to keep her farm going, her vehicle running, and her menagerie of stray animals fed. About the only time she's not covered in mud is when she's working one of her jobs as a maid in a nearby five-star resort. And when you live in the small town of South Royalton, Vermont, everybody knows you... and everybody feels comfortable telling you what you should be doing.

When a universally disliked supervisor at the resort is murdered, Bree is first in the line of suspects. All her co-workers points fingers at Bree. Her boyfriend the lawyer dumps her. A reporter at the newspaper where she works lists Bree as the primary suspect. Even the police officer in charge of the case seems intent on pinning the murder on her. What else can Bree do but conduct her own investigation? If she goes to jail, who will take care of all her animals?

Moonlighting in Vermont won the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence in mystery and suspense. It is a cozy with an engaging main character. Kate George has a light, humorous touch, and I liked the way she developed Bree's character. Bree's bright, funny, and good-hearted. She makes mistakes, but she learns from them. It was easy to find myself rooting for her to uncover the real killer.

If you're in the mood for something light and fun, you'd do well to make the acquaintance of Bree MacGowan. I know that I look forward to reading more books in this series.

Moonlighting in Vermont by Kate George

ISBN: 9781482709230

Createspace © 2013

Paperback, 258 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Bree MacGowan mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased as an eBook from Amazon. 

July 2013 New Mystery Releases!

So far this summer has been an excellent time for reading. This past week I've read two "A+" books back to back. No wonder I call book time in the pool my PT (Prune Time)-- more than once it's been almost impossible for me to close the book and get out of the water!

The end of June is here, and it's time for me to share with you some of the books being released next month that I'm really anticipating. This month I succeeded in keeping the list to thirteen (my lucky number). I've included all the information you'll need to find any of these titles in your favorite book spots, and they are grouped by release date.  Book synopses are courtesy of Amazon.

I hope you're having as great a summer as I am-- Happy Reading!

=== July 1 ===

Title: The Riddle of Solomon

Author: D.J. Niko

Series: #2 in the Sarah Weston Chronicles set in Israel, Saudi Arabia and India

ISBN: 9781605425290

Publisher: Medallion Press

Paperback, 472 pages

Synopsis: "Cambridge archaeologist Sarah Weston and anthropologist Daniel Madigan team up for another expedition and adventure in this second book in the Sarah Weston Chronicles. While working on the Qaryat al-Fau archaeological site in Saudi Arabia, the pair uncovers a mysterious ancient scroll composed as a riddle. As they attempt to date and decipher the scroll, a flurry of ills befalls their expedition and the scroll is stolen. A trail of clues leads to India, Jerusalem, and the Judean wilderness, where the two discover the scroll was written by the enigmatic King Solomon as a map to an ancient manuscript. Meanwhile a privileged young Briton, Trent Sacks, has invested years and a fortune looking for his manuscript. Believing he is the last descendant of the House of David in the line of Solomon, Sacks will do whatever it takes to amass the ancient relics which will prove he is the Jewish Messiah. Leaving a string of murders in his wake, Sacks vows to crush Sarah and Daniel for challenging his quest. Journeying through the worlds of the occult, corporate greed, geopolitical conflict, Judaic mysticism, and biblical archaeology, Sarah and Daniel race to uncover the powerful ancient message that could have an explosive impact on modern Israel."

=== July 2 ===

Title: Tulle Death Do Us Part

Author: Annette Blair

Series: #6 in the Vintage Magic series set in Mystick Falls, Connecticut

ISBN:  9780425251935

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 272 pages

Synopsis: "Maddie’s love of classic fashion has made her Vintage Magic boutique a success—even if the visions she experiences when touching certain items often lead her into trouble. Decades ago, at a Mystic Country Club costume ball, a secret scavenger hunt ended in an unexplained death, hastily concealed.

Now, Maddie's invited to participate in a similar anniversary event: but one touch of the vintage petticoat used to hide evidence of the original crime hurtles Maddie into a scavenger hunt of her own. She must find missing petticoat pieces and re-stitch the clues it reveals...to expose a killer!"

Title: The Fire Witness

Author: Lars Kepler

Series: #3 in the Joona Linna series set in Stockholm, Sweden

ISBN:  9780374298661

Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books

Hardcover, 512 pages

Synopsis: "Flora Hansen calls herself a medium and makes a living by pretending to commune with the dead. But after a gruesome murder at a rural home for wayward girls, Hansen begins to suffer visions that are all too real. She calls the police, claiming to have seen a ghost, but only one detective puts aside his skepticism long enough to listen: Joona Linna.

Linna has spent more time at the scene of the crime than any other detective would. The case seems obvious on the face of it: One of the girls at the home escaped in the middle of the night, leaving behind a bloody bed with a hammer under the pillow. But why does Hansen insist that the murder instrument was a stone, not a hammer? And what’s the story behind the dark red grain of sand, almost like a splinter from a ruby, stuck beneath the dead girl’s fingernail? As Linna refuses to accept easy answers, his search leads him into darker, more violent territory, and finally to a shocking confrontation with a figure from his past.

Just as Lars Kepler’s The Hypnotist and The Nightmare did, The Fire Witness has spent months at number one on the Swedish bestseller lists. As the newspaper Dagens Nyheter put it, you start the thriller “on the subway home, keep reading at the dinner table, and then don’t stop until well into the wee hours.” Kepler writes with the force of Stieg Larsson and the plotting of Jo Nesbø. The Fire Witness is an unflinching page-turner, sure to join the ranks of its predecessors as an international sensation." 

Title: Dyeing Wishes

Author: Molly MacRae

Series: #2 in the Haunted Yarn Shop series set in fictional Blue Plum, Tennessee

ISBN:  9780451239563

Publisher: Signet

Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages

Synopsis: "Kath Rutledge’s grandmother left her a charming fiber and fabric shop, a close-knit group of needlework lovers, and a television-addicted ghost in the attic. She may also have inherited the special skills required to untangle a murder.

Always up for trying something new, Kath and her friends from the fiber and needlework group TGIF—Thank Goodness it’s Fiber—are visiting Cloud Hollow Farm for the day to learn the fine art of dyeing.  With spring in the air, the friends head out to greet the sheep.  But the sheep are more interested in something else—two bodies spread under a tall tree.  And one of those bodies is someone they know.

Kath’s friends nudge her to investigate, and no one is more adamant than Geneva, the ghost who loves to play assistant sleuth. But when Kath discovers another murder cut from the same cloth, she’s more determined than ever to hang a roving killer out to dry…"

Title: Not the Killing Type

Author: Lorna Barrett

Series: #7 in the Booktown series set in fictional Stoneham, New Hampshire

ISBN:  9780425252222

Publisher: Berkley Hardcover

Hardcover, 320 pages

Synopsis: "It’s November in Stoneham, New Hampshire, and that means it’s time for the Chamber of Commerce elections. The race is already a bit heated, as the long-standing Chamber president is being challenged by a former lover—Tricia’s own sister, Angelica. Then local small business owner Stan Berry throws his hat in the ring.

Unfortunately, it’s not there for long when he’s found murdered in the Brookview Inn. The murder weapon is a brass letter opener belonging to the inn’s receptionist. Tricia knows there’s no way the receptionist is a killer. And when Angelica asks Tricia to help clear her name and win the election, she sees little choice except to start snooping.

She soon uncovers a ballot box full of lies and betrayals, and a chamber full of people who had grudges against the victim. But were they serious enough to lead to murder? And who truly had something to gain? Tricia will have to do some serious sleuthing before she pulls the lever on a killer."

Title: Final Sentence

Author: Daryl Wood Gerber (AKA Avery Aames)

Series: #1 in the Cookbook Nook series set in fictional Crystal Cove, California

ISBN:  9780425258040

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Welcome to A Cookbook Nook Mystery series, where Jenna Hart, an avid reader, admitted foodie, and new owner of a cookbook store and café in picturesque Crystal Cove, California, is up to her neck in trouble when she finds her college roommate, celebrity chef Desiree Divine, buried on the beach, and a fellow shop owner accuses Jenna of murder."

Title: A Murder in Passing

Author: Mark de Castrique

Series: #4 in the Sam Blackman series set in Asheville, North Carolina

ISBN: 9781464201516

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Paperback, 250 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "In Asheville, North Carolina, the Blackman & Robertson Detective Agency faces a disturbing reality – no clients. Sam Blackman finds inactivity intolerable. So when partner Nakayla Robertson suggests a mushroom hunt on the site of an historic, freed-slave commune called The Kingdom of the Happy Land, Sam reluctantly agrees. When he stumbles across a skeleton, his adventure mushrooms into a case of murder. But it isn’t his case. He has no client, and the local authorities tell him to butt out.

Then Marsha Montgomery comes to the office asking Sam and Nakayla to investigate a burglary at her mother’s home. Someone stole a rifle and a photograph of Marsha’s mother, grandmother, and great grandmother taken in 1932 by renowned photographer Doris Ulmann. The site of the photograph is The Kingdom of the Happy Land. The date of the burglary, 1967. Marsha’s visit is no coincidence. Sam’s being played. But why?

When Marsha’s eighty-five-year-old mother Lucille is arrested for murder, Sam has his answer and his case.  Is the skeleton that of Jimmy Lang, Marsha’s white father and her mother’s lover, who disappeared in 1967 right after interracial couples were allowed to marry in North Carolina? Jimmy’s brother says no. Jimmy left to seek his fortune after Lucille rejected his marriage proposal. But others stood to gain from his disappearance. A veil of betrayal and deceit hides a killer desperate to protect a dark secret, and no one, not even Sam, is safe from the deadly consequences of a murder in passing."

Title: The Fame Thief
Author: Timothy Hallinan
Series: #3 in the Junior Bender series set in Los Angeles, California
ISBN:  9781616952808
Publisher: Soho Crime
Hardcover, 336 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
 
Synopsis: "There are not many people brave enough to say no to Irwin Dressler, Hollywood’s scariest mob boss-turned-movie king. Even though Dressler is ninety-three years old, LA burglar Junior Bender is quaking in his boots when Dressler’s henchman haul him in for a meeting. 

Dressler wants Junior to solve a 'crime' he believes was committed more than sixty years ago, when an old friend of his, once-famous starlet Dolores La Marr, had her career destroyed after compromising photos were taken of her at a Las Vegas party. Dressler wants justice for Dolores and the shining career she never had.

Junior can’t help but think the whole thing is a little crazy. After all, it’s been seventy years. Even if someone did set Dolores up for a fall from grace back then, they’re probably long dead now. But he can't say no to Irwin Dressler (no one can, really). So he starts digging. And what he finds is that some vendettas never die—they only get more dangerous."

=== July 4 ===

Title: An Act of Kindness

Author: Barbara Nadel

Series: #2 in the Hakim and Arnold series set in London

ISBN:  9780857387783

Publisher: Quercus

Paperback, 464 pages

Synopsis: "London's East End has always been a social and racial melting pot and never more so than today. PI Lee Arnold and his assistant Mumtaz Hakim don't mind - it keeps them on their toes. It is November. The days are getting darker and they have a new case on their hands. A young Asian couple moves into a dilapidated house in Upton Park. The woman, Nasreen, spends much of her time working alone on the house, her husband Abdullah preoccupied with his job. John Sawyer is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. Since his discharge, he has been volatile and is now homeless. An unlikely friendship develops between Nasreen and John, one that her husband would frown upon. When John's body is discovered, Nasreen's suspicions light upon Abdullah. Did he know they were friends? Reluctant to go to the police, Nasreen reaches out to the Arnold Detective Agency. Mumtaz Hakim begins to dig into Abdullah's past and into the house itself which, she finds, holds its own grim secrets."

=== July 9 ===

Title: The Devil's Cave

Author: Martin Walker

Series: #5 in the Bruno Chief of Police series set in southwestern France

ISBN:  9780385349529

Publisher: Knopf

Hardcover, 352 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "It’s spring in St. Denis. The village choir is preparing for its Easter concert, the wildflowers are blooming, and among the lazy whorls of the river a dead woman is found floating in a boat. It’s another case for Bruno, the town’s cherished chief of police. With the discovery of sinister markings and black candles near the body, it seems to him that the occult might be involved. And as questions mount—regarding a troubling real estate proposal in the region; a suspicious, violent death made to look accidental; and the sudden reappearance of a politically controversial elderly countess—Bruno and his colleagues and friends are drawn ever closer to a climactic showdown in the Gouffre de Colombac: the place locals call the Devil’s Cave.

With the enchanting backdrop of France’s pastoral heartland, a cast of local characters as vibrant as their surroundings, enough sumptuous repasts to satisfy any literary gourmand, and a hero winningly capable of balancing the good life with a dogged dedication to solving the crimes that threaten it, The Devil’s Cave invites readers to raise a glass and turn the page."

=== July 10 ===

Title: Care Homes Are Murder

Author: Mike Befeler

Series: #5 in the Geezer-Lit series featuring Paul Jacobson, an 80-something amateur sleuth with short-term memory loss

ISBN: 9781432826925

Publisher: Five Star

Hardcover, 268 pages

Synopsis: "In this the fifth of the Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series crotchety octogenarian Paul Jacobson returns to Hawaii for a vacation with his family and becomes involved in a series of crimes while struggling with the problems of his short-term memory loss. Paul finds a dead body in the Honolulu Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and must deal with a murder in the care home where his friends reside. He has to use all his geezer resources to solve a case involving the local drug cartel."

=== July 16 ===

Title: Countdown City

Author: Ben H. Winters

Series: #2 in the Last Policeman trilogy set in Concord, New Hampshire

ISBN: 9781594746260

Publisher: Quirk Books

Paperback, 320 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "The Last Policeman received the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original--along with plenty of glowing reviews.  

Now Detective Hank Palace returns in Countdown City, the second volume of the Last Policeman trilogy. There are just 77 days before a deadly asteroid collides with Earth, and Detective Palace is out of a job. With the Concord police force operating under the auspices of the U.S. Justice Department, Hank's days of solving crimes are over...until a woman from his past begs for help finding her missing husband.

Brett Cavatone disappeared without a trace—an easy feat in a world with no phones, no cars, and no way to tell whether someone’s gone 'bucket list' or just gone. With society falling to shambles, Hank pieces together what few clues he can, on a search that leads him from a college-campus-turned-anarchist-encampment to a crumbling coastal landscape where anti-immigrant militia fend off 'impact zone' refugees.

Countdown City presents another fascinating mystery set on brink of an apocalypse--and once again, Hank Palace confronts questions way beyond 'whodunit.' What do we as human beings owe to one another? And what does it mean to be civilized when civilization is collapsing all around you?"

=== July 30 === 

Title: The Highway

Author: C.J. Box

Standalone

ISBN: 9780312583200

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 400 pages

Synopsis: "When two sisters set out across a remote stretch of Montana road to visit their friend, little do they know it will be the last time anyone might ever hear from them again. The girls—and their car—simply vanish.  Former police investigator Cody Hoyt has just lost his job and has fallen off the wagon after a long stretch of sobriety.  Convinced by his son and his former rookie partner, Cassie Dewell, he begins the drive south to the girls’ last known location.  As Cody makes his way to the lonely stretch of Montana highway where they went missing, Cassie discovers that Gracie and Danielle Sullivan aren’t the first girls who have disappeared in this area.  This majestic landscape is the hunting ground for a killer whose viciousness is outmatched only by his intelligence.  And he might not be working alone.  Time is running out for Gracie and Danielle…Can Cassie overcome her doubts and lack of experience and use her innate skill?  Can Cody Hoyt battle his own demons and find this killer before another victim vanishes on the highway?"

I wonder if any of the rest of you noticed the same thing I did with the book covers. Take a look at all the book covers for the cozy mysteries I listed. I wonder if July is Put a Cat on a Book Cover Month?  *wink*

Hopefully my list includes a few titles that you just have to put on your wish lists. Which books jumped out at you and yelled, "Buy me! Buy ME!" ??? Inquiring minds want to know!

Behind the Redwood Door by John M. Daniel

First Line: Just as the sun was coming up on the morning of Friday, June 18, 1999, there was a break in the clouds, and Carol and I went out for a walk along the nature trail by the ocean, down the road from our house.

Guy and Carol Mallon are living an idyllic life in Jefferson City on the northern California coast. A former small press publisher, Guy is unemployed by choice and helps Carol with her business, Scarecrow Books. One evening they're eating dinner with two friends: local newspaper owner River Webster and the paper's editor Pete Thayer. Once romantically linked, the two have broken off their intimate relationship but still remain friends. Thayer leaves the Redwood Door to work on a story. Webster follows almost immediately and finds Pete dead behind the tavern.

Webster asks Guy if he and Carol will run her newspaper as interim editors until she can find a qualified replacement. Reluctantly, the two agree, but with the understanding that there will be no investigative journalism of the type preferred by Thayer-- especially since that's probably what brought about his death. No, under the guidance of the Mallons, the Jefferson Nickel will switch to showcasing some of the local history. But no sooner has Guy taken the reins than things begin to happen. Computers are tampered with, offices are ransacked, and critical computer disks go missing. Why is someone so intent on stopping the publication of the newspaper? It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the local history Guy's been checking into... could it?

This book is one of my favorite types: a perfect blend of history and mystery. The fictional Jefferson City's history is laced with Indians, lost gold, loggers, hippies, and two feuding families. I became so engrossed with the history of the place that I often forgot that I was supposed to be doing a bit of deduction. As a result, the action made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up a time or two, and the ending came as a surprise.

Another aspect of the book that I particularly enjoyed was the relationship between Guy and Carol. Oftentimes the darker mysteries are filled with so much angst that none of the characters should even think of being in a relationship, and the cozier books in the spectrum usually have young females who can't seem to find Mr. Right. It's refreshing to find a married couple who love each other deeply and enjoy each other's company. The author shows that it is possible for characters to be very happy sleuths.

I enjoyed the story as well as the main characters, and I learned something about northern California and the newspaper business, too. Reading Behind the Redwood Door is a definite win-win situation all around.

Behind the Redwood Door by John M. Daniel

ISBN: 9781610090230

Oak Tree Press © 2011

Paperback, 250 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #3 Guy Mallon mystery

Rating: B

Source: publicist 

Do You Get Enough Nature?

You Get Plenty of Nature

Whenever you have the choice, you prefer to be outside. Being in nature makes you happy. Even when you're in the city, you tend to seek out green spaces. You like to have an oasis. You may be a hardcore nature lover who enjoys hikes, skiing, and exploring the ocean every chance you get. But you also find solace in a quiet walk or eating outdoors at a cafe. You just love fresh air. You are low maintenance and down to earth. You're not going to let a couple bug bites or some rain keep you inside. And when the weather is perfect, you've got to get ouside as soon as you can... even if that means playing hooky!

Do You Get Enough Nature?

Scene of the Crime with Author John M. Daniel!

In working with Jeana Thompson, publicist for Oak Tree Press, she asked me if there were any of their authors whose books I'd like to read. John M. Daniel happens to be one of the authors I chose, and-- courtesy of the internet-- that's how we met. The redwood country of Northern California is a very special place to this author. Not only does he live there, but the book I'll be reviewing tomorrow is set there. Come back tomorrow to see what I thought of Behind the Redwood Door, but in the mean time, let's start getting to know this very interesting writer!

John M. Daniel

John M. Daniel is a very busy man. He writes books, he's a small press book publisher, a freelance editor, a creative writing teacher, and I can't leave out his wife, four children and seven grandchildren. (Does he have a few more hours in the day than all the rest of us?) As usual I went searching around the interwebs to find a few links just in case you want to learn more about him. (Of course you do!)

John's website

John's blog

John on LibraryThing

Do you feel like cutting to the chase? Let's do it and get to the interview!

What was the very first book you remember reading and loving? What makes that book so special?

The first book I read all by myself was L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In fact, my mother had already read the book to me, but once I learned to read, I returned to the book to read it on my own. And I've returned to it over and over throughout my life. It's an amazing tale, and even from the first reading I began learning what it had to say about irony, about friendship, about quest, about politics, and of course about brains, heart, courage, and home. 

Outside of your writing and all associated commitments, what do you like to do in your free time?

Because I'm a publisher, a reader, a freelance editor, and a teacher of creative writing, most of my non-writing time is filled with "associated commitments." I do love travel near and far, especially with my wife Susan, and especially to spend time with our children and grandchildren.

If I were to visit your hometown, where would you recommend that I go? (I like seeing and doing things that aren't in all the guide books.)

Trinidad Bay

Please do come visit! I'll show you the redwoods and the rocky coast. I'll show you the town plaza in nearby Arcata, and the fishing harbor in nearby Trinidad. I'll buy you a drink or two at our favorite bar, The Alibi, and we'll browse together in our local used bookstore, The Tin Can Mailman. You don't need a guidebook to enjoy Humboldt County, but I would encourage you to first read my latest mystery, Behind the Redwood Door, which is set in a small city and a small county on the rocky North Coast of California, redwood country. When you come to visit, you'll see where all that book's scenery, and all the places I've just mentioned, were inspired.

You have total control over casting a movie based on your life. Which actor would you cast as you?

Hmm...Tom or Dustin?

I asked Susan how I should answer this question and she said, "Brad Pitt." And then we both cracked up. I confess I've sometimes thought about this question. My answer used to be Jack Lemmon, but unfortunately he's under contract to Death, so I have to choose somebody else. First choice: Tom Hanks. Second: Dustin Hoffman. I'd want to audition them, though to be sure the lucky actor can carry a tune.

Who is your favorite recurring character in crime fiction?

No question about it. Kinsey Milhone. Why? Because Sue Grafton is such a nice person, and because I lived for twenty years in Santa Teresa (Santa Barbara). I love that town, and Kinsey keeps things in order there.

If you could have in your possession one signed first edition of any book in the world, which book would that be? Why that particular book?

I'd do hard labor for a personally inscribed copy of A Stretch on the River, by Richard Bissell. It's the first novel by my favorite writer, and I wish I'd had a chance to meet the man. Elmore Leonard said that 75% of all he knows about writing he learned by reading the works of Richard Bissell.

How did you celebrate when you first heard you were to be published? What did you do the first time you saw one of your books on a shelf in a bookstore?

I couldn't believe my luck! I had such faith in that book, Play Melancholy Baby, even though it had been rejected umpteen times; this was the book where I found my writing voice. How did I celebrate? By agreeing to a book signing at Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park, California, the neighborhood where the book takes place. And that's where I first saw my first book for sale in a bookstore. I was thrilled. The book's no longer in print, but I thank my publisher, Perseverance Press, for launching my writing career. Eventually my publishing company teamed up with Perseverance Press and we now publish mysteries together.

Name one thing on your Bucket List.

I'd like to learn to play jazz piano. One more bucket item: I'd like to apprentice to a master wood engraver, like Barry Moser, to learn that wonderful art form.

You've just received a $100 gift card to the bookstore of your choice. Which bookstore are you making a bee-line for?

In my imagination, I'd take that card to Maxwell's Bookstore in Palo Alto, California. The trouble is, that store doesn't exist (although it closely resembles Kepler's in the next town over, where I worked for seven years in the 1970s). Maxwell's Bookstore is the setting for my new novel, Hooperman: A Bookstore Mystery, which will be published this coming fall by Oak Tree Press.

In my dreams, I'd take that gift card to Birchbark Books in Minneapolis, because the store is owned by Louise Erdrich, one of my favorite writers. I'd love to meet Louise and tell her how much she means to me. And I'd spend the card on books by her, signed books for my own collection.

In reality, I'd take the gift card to Northtown Books in Arcata, California. It's a fine independent store, and independent stores need our support.

Available Now!

Thank you so much for spending this time with us, John. It was a pleasure to be able to get to know you a little better. I look forward to reading Hooperman: A Bookstore Mystery.

May your book sales do nothing but increase!

A Visit to Gawthorpe Hall

Last week, I told you about our visit to Rufford Old Hall this past March. I also mentioned that our route was circular and that we'd stopped someplace else before we returned to our snug farm cottage on the Lancashire-Yorkshire border.

That "someplace else" was another National Trust property, Gawthorpe Hall. When I saw it in the Trust handbook, I couldn't resist wanting to see it because it reminds me of one of my all-time favorites, Hardwick Hall. When I read further to see that Gawthorpe also houses an international collection of needlework, lace and costume, I knew I had to go.

Unfortunately our timing wasn't the best because on the day that we could visit Gawthorpe Hall, it wasn't open. Instead of being able to see that collection of needlework, Denis and I would be resigned to wandering the grounds.

The Hall was originally a pele tower-- a fortified keep or tower house-- built by the Shuttleworth family on the banks of the River Calder in the fourteenth century as a defense against those invading Scots to the North. The Elizabethan part of the house was dovetailed around the tower some 300 years later.

By the time we'd finished touring Rufford Old Hall and driven to Gawthorpe Hall, the "sunny intervals" so beloved of UK television weatherfolk had disappeared, and the day had turned grey, damp and windy. We parked our rental car and began the trek to the house through trees, found our way up and down through series of stone steps, and finally approached the house from the left side. I've placed the following photos in the order in which we explored the exterior of the house. If you'd like to see any of them in a larger size, just click on the photo and it will open in a new window.

Approaching Gawthorpe Hall

Gawthorpe Hall from the garden

Old houses often speak to me, but Gawthorpe Hall ignored me. Perhaps it would have been more friendly if we'd come on a day when we could see its interior. Who knows? But in looking at it as I walked the grounds, it looked sad to me. When the weather decided to warm, the sun remembered to shine, and the trees, shrubs and flowers came to life, I hope it shed its gloomy appearance and cheered up a bit.

From the right as we walked around the house

A braided tree limb?

When walking around the grounds of these stately homes, you're often looking at trees that have been around almost as long as the house... sometimes longer. I've gotten used to seeing some interesting pruning methods, but as I came around the side of Gawthorpe Hall and saw a large old tree that looked as though one of its limbs was braided, I had to blink and rub my eyes. How did they do that?

Looking toward the River Calder

As I stood in the gardens of Gawthorpe Hall, I made a mental note to see some of these places in spring or summer. I watched the River Calder flow silently along and tried to picture leaves on the trees and the flowers in bloom.

The back of Gawthorpe Hall from its gardens

Looking out to the countryside from the gardens

Gawthorpe Hall stonework

The motto of the Shuttleworth family is "Prudentia et Justitia" or "Prudence and Justice." You can see it at the top of the pele tower.

Decorative stone planter

I took a fancy to the decorative stone planters with tile insets that are in the garden.

Stone balustrade

It was easy for me to see how lovely the grounds would be to walk in when spring arrived. Even on a dark, damp, cold and windy day, I could hear birds all around us in the trees.

Snowdrops

Little did these brave snowdrops know, but they would be buried in the white stuff in two or three days!

Tree creeper

When we decided we'd had enough of the wind, we walked slowly back to the car park. We sat for awhile, running the car engine so the heater could warm us up, drinking bottled water and talking about what we'd seen.

There was one more surprise in store before we left. As we talked, I happened to see something moving on a tree trunk right in front of our car. I hurriedly took a couple of photos through the windshield before it could scuttle around to the other side out of sight. When we got back to the cottage, I looked it up in my UK bird book. (Of course I've got one!)  After seeing two beautiful old homes, we'd gotten to watch a tree creeper looking for a meal. Denis and I decided to order from a local Indian takeaway while we warmed ourselves up with big mugs of tea.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter of our UK trip. Hopefully next week I'll be able to show you some of Cambridge!