Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

In Mistress of the Art of Death, a child has been murdered and others are missing. The Jews are being accused of this horrendous act. Simon of Naples, an investigator, and a young female doctor, Adelia Aguilar, are dispatched to investigate. Adelia's speciality is the study of corpses and she's hoping the bodies can lead to the identity of the killer. However, it's the late 10th century in England and females doctors are almost unheard of. Adelia must hide her profession lest she's accused of witchcraft.

I really enjoyed this one. The historical references were terrific. I haven't read too many (if any) books set in this time period, but the author's scene setting and use of language made me feel like I was actually there. I love both mysteries and historical fiction, but it's not often that a book features the best of both worlds. This one was exactly that. A real treat!

I didn't start out loving or even liking Adelia, but she definitely grew on me. At first, she seemed unapproachable, cold, and harsh. After awhile, though, I really started to like her. I don't know if she changed or I got used to her style. I also really liked Adelia's cook, Glytha, and her young grandson, Ulf, who helped out Adelia.

I did have a little trouble following what was going on at times, though, but I usually caught on within a couple of pages, so it wasn't too bad.

I generally keep track of the new words I encounter in books. However, I didn't bother doing that with this one. There were just too many and recording each of the new words would have seemed like work. I'm guessing that most of them were objects or expressions from the time period or region.

Ariana Franklin is the pen name of British writer Diana Norman. It funny that her website (see below) doesn't mention that. That same website also doesn't mention that she died in 2011. The last copyright was in 2010, so I guess it hasn't been updated since then.

Highly recommended. I'm going to keep an eye out for her other books. I'd love to read another one.

This book came to me through my bookclub. The Bookcrossing sticker on the front immediately caught my attention because I was a member of the Bookcrossing community for a long time. However, I haven't been active in many years. If you are interested, the Bookcrossing entries for this book can be found here. And, by the way, here's my bookshelf on the Bookcrossing website.

For more information about this book and the author, please visit the Ariana Franklin's website.

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin, Transworld Publishers (Random House), ©2007. ISBN 9780553818000(Trade paperback), 503p.

The Bird Factory by David Layton

David Layton’s The Bird Factory is an upbeat and peculiar account of a couple’s attempts to get pregnant from a man’s point of view. Julia wants a baby and will go to great lengths to have one. She’s willing to try fertility drugs as well as in vitro fertilization if they can’t have one naturally. As for Luke, he’s apathetic. Not just about the baby, he’s apathetic about everything. He doesn’t want to fix what isn’t broken; he doesn’t want to rock the boat. He’s perfectly content with Julia and his life with her, so he can’t figure out why she wants to bring children into the mix.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a fun and quick read with unique, quirky and eccentric characters. While I didn’t like Luke or Julia all that much, I did think Philip was sort of interesting. Even though it was hard to get to know him, he really grew on me after awhile. Luke’s childhood sounded a bit absurd with his father’s homemade river running through his basement and his mother disappearing and reappearing periodically. I’m surprised he wasn’t more screwed up.

My favourite part of the book, though, was the bird factory. Over the years, I’ve developed a fondness for birds, even the wooden kind. I was fascinated with the descriptions of the birds and the factory itself. Even though it was filled with strange characters, it sounds like a place I’d like.

Recommended. I’d definitely read another book by Layton.

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy

In Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy takes us on a touching, sometimes heart-wrenching journey of her life after cancer leaves her with a facial disfigurement as a young child. She endures many, many operations in search of a new face as well as the taunts and stares of others who didn’t see Lucy as “normal”.

Grealy’s story is extraordinary. Her writing was expressive and a joy to read. Her insight and maturity level as a child were very advanced for someone so young. She was so in touch with her feelings and really seemed to understand the motivations of others. Her memory of the events that happened so long ago was remarkable. She had so many vivid recollections of her ordeal. I don’t know if I’m envious (I’d love to have a better memory about some things) or I feel sorry for her (sometimes I’d sooner forget bad events).

I’m not much of a poetry fan, so the poetry references and part of the story regarding Lucy’s draw towards it was not that interesting to me. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the story.

Before I started, I honestly didn’t know if I was going to be able to get through this book. My mother was severely disfigured by cancer and I don’t think I’ve come to terms with it after these years. However, Lucy’s story is so different from my mother’s that it wasn’t as difficult to read as I initially thought. Grealy did provide me with some new information that would have been helpful had my mother survived and did well after her surgery.

While the story reminded just a little of my mother’s ordeal, it did transport me back to the time was I was in the hospital as a child. I was much younger than Lucy, probably 4 or 5 and don’t remember that much. I do have a few memories, more like snapshots really or very short videos. Also, Lucy’s story about her father’s death reminded me of my own father’s death. So in the end, Lucy’s story led me down memory lane after all, just not the one I thought it was going to.

Highly recommended.

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner

Sometimes sisters can be very much alike, but other times they can be very different. Such is the case with Rose and Maggie in In Her Shoes. One sister is thin, beautiful, dyslectic and flighty while the other is not-so-thin, not-so-beautiful, intelligent and dependable. The author presents a light-hearted, romantic and funny novel with some rather touching moments.

The storyline was shallow at times and not always that believable, but it was still a decent read and entertaining. A few times I cringed at the parts I considered to be crass and vulgar. Honestly, I’m not a prude, but occasionally things like this bother me, especially when they don’t fit with the rest of the story and appear to be gratuitous. Those parts were not at all to my liking. However, thankfully they were few and far between and the rest of the story was very readable.

As far as characters go, I liked Rose more than Maggie, but I really didn’t like the main characters that much at all. Ella was ok, I guess. I much preferred some of the members of the “supporting cast”. Mrs. Lefkowitz was a hoot, while I found both Simon and Lewis to be loveable.

While there was a movie made from this book, I haven’t seen it nor do I intend to. I really don’t care for movie tie-in covers because I like to determine for myself what the characters look like, but in this case I really didn’t mind that much.

I haven’t read anything else by Weiner, but I do have another book by her around here somewhere. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll read it before I send it out into the world.

I’d probably recommend this book to chick-lit lovers. You could do worse.

The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty

In The Rest of Her Life, Kara is driving in the family SUV when she strikes Bethany and kills her. As we soon see, that one moment of distraction will not only affect her life but also the lives of her family, her friends, and many others for a long time to come. The story is as much about the accident and its aftermath as it is about the relationship between family members. Some of the relationships are strengthened; some seem almost unaffected, while others appear to be irreparable.

I really enjoyed this book. I must be self-centred because I could really relate to Leigh. It was almost scary. While I didn’t want to act like she did, I probably would. It wasn’t that I had sympathy for her; I just didn’t see her actions/words as that absurd. It felt a little weird because I couldn’t possibly know how she really felt. [I don’t have children and I don’t know anyone who was killed in a car accident or even involved in a serious car accident.] The story frightened me a little because it could happen to anyone. A momentary distraction while driving, walking down the street or performing any other daily task could have disastrous consequences.

I loved that the book was from the mother’s perspective. While reading the book, I often thought about how the book would be different if it was written from a different point of view. Kara’s? Diana Kletchka’s (the victim’s mother)? Bethany?

I think this would make an excellent book group choice. The author provides lots of fodder for some sure-to-be-interesting discussions. I’d definitely read another book by this author.

Recommended.

I picked this book on HarperCollins First Look program, but was rejected. Thankfully, I got a copy through Bookcrossing.

The Merchant of Menace by Jill Churchill

In The Merchant of Menace, Jane Jeffry has volunteered to host two holiday parties on consecutive days. What was she thinking? Her new neighbours are disrupting the neighbourhood and she is overloaded with work and company. How will she pull this off? She gets even more overloaded with work when an “unsavoury guest” is found murdered next door. Jane and her neighbour Shelley jump into action to find out what happened.

Churchill has created fairly likeable storyline and lots of remarkable suspects for Jane to question. I particularly liked Ginger, Pet and Addie. I really don’t like Mel, which is too bad because he’s a recurring character in this series. Hopefully, he’ll grow on me. As for the storyline, I thought I’d figured it the mystery, but I was wrong. I think that made me enjoy it more.

I’ve read a few other books by this author and wasn’t quite happy with them. However, I liked this one a whole lot more. That’s really good, because I have quite a few more books by her on my bookshelf (from various used book sales). I’m now looking forward to reading them.

Recommended for cozy mystery lovers.

A Murderous Yarn by Monica Ferris

In A Murderous Yarn, Betsy Devonshire, owner of Crewel World and amateur sleuth, must determine who killed one of the participants in an antique car rally. She becomes involved after she sponsors one of the cars and volunteers to record the cars arrivals and departures in the rally. When the murder occurs and she’s the alibi for the widow, Betsy starts poking around to find the killer.

Ferris presents a fairly good cozy mystery with some interesting characters. The story is more about antique cars than needlecrafts, but nevertheless enjoyable. I do admire antique cars when I see them on the street, but that’s not what I expected the story to focus on. The author does manage to keep at least part of the story in the needle world, but just barely. I did learn a something…I now know what “orts” are. Also, I was reminded that painted canvases and completed original works are extremely expensive.

I’ve read one other book by this author, but I think I preferred this one, even though the other focused more on needlecrafts. Click here for the review.

For more information on some of the cars featured in the book, there’s tons of information and pictures on the Internet. Here are a few that I found:
1) For the Stanley Steamer (warning the second one has sound):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Steamer
http://www.stanleysteamers.com/

2) For the Maxwell:
http://www.clanmaxwellusa.com/maxcars.htm
http://www.carnut.com/photo/list/_maxm1.html

[Disclaimer: These are the first sites I got when I did a search. I’m not affiliated with these sites and I don’t know that they are safe. Surf at your own risk.]

Recommended for cozy mystery lovers.

Just Plain Pickled to Death by Tamar Myers

In Just Plain Pickled to Death, Sarah, who’s been missing for 20 years, has been found dead in an old barrel of sauerkraut. This barrel of sauerkraut was supposed to be a wedding present to Magdalena Yoder from her future father-in-law. Some wedding present, eh? Magdalena isn’t that pleased either, but solving this one before her upcoming nuptials is going to test her skills and try her patience.

Myers presents a pretty good cozy mystery that is fun and easy to read. She has a great sense of humour. The story line is over the top, but that makes it fun. I just love Magdalena, the main character. She’s a hoot. [She doesn’t use “dear” as nearly as often as she does in some of the other books that I’ve read. For that I’m thankful.]

I’ve been reading this series out of order so some of the continuing story lines are jumbled up. Nevertheless, I’m enjoying this series very much.

The recipes included are simple fare with nothing too complicated. I’ll probably save a few of them to make at a later date.

I’d definitely recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers.

Wake Up Little Susie by Ed Gorman

In Wake Up Little Susie, Sam McCain must determine who killed Susan Squires and put her body in the truck of an Edsel. That’s bad enough but the body is discovered on the day of the car’s big unveiling. Like the poor Edsel needs more bad luck!! Suspects abound in this retro mystery set in the 1950s.

Gorman present a pretty good story with plenty of 50’s charm and ambience. McCain is a great character with a superb, sarcastic wit. That made this book fun to read. My one disappointment was that I had to read about his sexual escapades. Maybe they added “atmosphere” for the time period or provided additional information about his “character”; however, I thought it was gratuitous. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading this book.

I’ve read one other one by Gorman. I really enjoyed it. Here's my scanty review of that book: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/2286411.

I have a few other books by Gorman, but none from this series featuring Sam McCain. I’d love to read another one, so I’ll be looking for more. I’m looking forward to reading some of the others as well.

Recommended.

'E' is for Evidence by Sue Grafton

In E is for Evidence, Kinsey Millhone becomes her own client when a warehouse burns down and someone wants it to look like Kinsey is on the take. The insurance claim is being rushed through just as money mysteriously appears in Kinsey’s bank account. Clearing her name and reputation is her number one priority.

I love the matter of fact style in which this series is written. Every time I start one of them, the phrase “Just the facts, ma’am” pops into my head. I love it. With this one, I had a little trouble following all that was going on with all of the siblings. I kept mixing them up. I’m not sure I had them straight by the end. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed the book.

I’m looking forward to reading the next one in line as well as the many others already written.

Recommended.

The Cat Who Played Brahms by Lilian Jackson Braun

In The Cat Who Played Brahms, Jim Qwilleran, Koko and Yum Yum, have decided to spend the summer in Aunt Fanny cabin. Qwill is hoping that time away will help him decide what to do with his life. When strange things start happening at the cabin and in the nearby town, Qwill knows that something is amiss. His investigation starts soon after he returns from an unusual fishing expedition. Of course, Koko is always willing to lend a hand, er, I mean paw to help out.

As with the other books I’ve read in the series, this one was excellent. Reading about Qwill and the Siamese is always great fun. Call me dumb, but this is the first time I made the connection between the cat’s whiskers and Qwill’s moustache. Braun had to practically spell it out for me. sigh.

Braun’s story line is pretty straightforward and easy to read. In Pickax, where locks on doors are virtually non-existent, people can wander in and out of each other’s homes. This made Qwill nervous, especially with all of the strange things that were going on. I think this would make me nervous as well.

Her characters are fun to read about and usually a little eccentric or larger than life. Besides Qwilleran and the cats, some of my favourites were Tom (I loved the way he talked), Rosemary (she was trying to get Qwill to eat better) and Aunt Fanny (she got people to do what she wanted and she carried a gun even though she was an elderly lady).

I’m not reading this series in order so some of the storylines are jumbled up for me. For some reason I started in the middle of the series and it’s only now that I’m going back to read some of the early ones. From what I’m told, some of the latest books are not as good. I haven’t gotten to them yet, so I’ll wait and see.

I can’t wait to read this next one. Recommended for cozy mystery lovers, especially those who also like cats.

Matchstick Men by Eric Garcia

In Matchstick Men, Roy and Frankie are con men. They’ve been partners for years and have their routines down pat. There’s only one problem; Roy has some mental health issues for which he’s seeing a shrink and is taking medications. It doesn’t get in the way too much as long as he takes his meds. Then one day he finds out he has a 14-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. She wants to learn his tricks of the trade and at that point, his life turns upside down.

I liked this book. It was quick and easy to read with an interesting and humorous story. It made me a little uncomfortable at times when I thought to myself “Would I fall for this scam?” and the answer was “Probably”. [Not that I was talking to myself or anything. LOL.] Anyway, this book is perfect for the beach or a lazy day in the hammock. It certainly kept me entertained for a couple of hours. Great ending. I didn’t see it coming until it was almost upon me.

I didn’t see the movie and now that I know the ending, I probably won’t. I like Nicholas Cage, so I probably would have enjoyed it. Too bad.

This is my first book by Garcia. While I’m not going to run out and get more books by Garcia, if I happen to come across some in the future, I’d be more than happy to read them.

Overall, it’s a fun and entertaining book.

Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch: Murder, She Wrote by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain

In Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch: Murder, She Wrote, Jessica Fletcher goes to a friend’s ranch in Colorado. Of course, she’s going there for some R&R, however, we know that where Jessica goes, murder isn’t far behind. When one of the other guests, Paul Molloy, is found dead, Jessica is asked to help track down the killer. When she starts to investigate, she uncovers some connections between the guests and must determine if these secret links led to murder.

As a fan of the TV show, I really liked this book. It was fun to read and quick to read. Just like the other books in this series, it read just like one of the TV episodes.

I’d recommend it to other fans.

Bread on Arrival by Lou Jane Temple

In Bread on Arrival, Heaven Lee, a chef in Kansas City, attends the ARTOS convention to pick up some break-making tips. She isn’t expecting trouble, but that’s exactly what she gets when two of her colleagues wind up dead. She’s determined to find out who killed them and why, while still learning a thing or two about bread.

Along with some good information on bread, baking and some yummy recipes, the author gives the reader an above average cozy mystery with a host of fun characters and intricate plot. Heaven Lee is a great, smart-alecky character and I enjoyed reading about her.

I’m going to save the recipes. I hope to make at least a few of them.

Recommended for cozy mystery lovers, especially those who enjoy food and recipes along with their mysteries.

Murder on Monday by Ann Purser

In Murder on Monday, Lois Meade, who cleans houses in the village of Long Farnden, investigates the death of Gloria Hathaway by looking for clues in the houses of her clients. She doesn’t engage in gossip, but isn’t above sneaking around and looking into other people’s business.

A really good British cozy mystery with interesting, entertaining and believable characters as well as a clever plot with lots of twists to keep the reader guessing until the end. I wasn’t particularly fond of the Josie/Melvyn side story and kept wondering why we needed all of this information. Little did I know. I’ll zip my lip now before I give away any spoilers.

This one is the first in the series. I don’t have any of the others, but I’d really like to read them. I’ll keep my eye out for them.

Highly recommended for cozy mystery lovers.

The Firm by John Grisham

In The Firm, Mitch McDeere has been hired by a very prestigious law firm. The firm is going above and beyond when they lease him a new BMW, find him a house to live in, pay off his student loans and many other things ordinary companies wouldn’t do for employees. This is not an ordinary company, though as Mitch soon finds out. When the FBI contacts him to spy on the firm, Mitch is thrown into a tailspin from which only the craftiest of heroes can recover.

Grisham has presented a very good suspenseful, page-turner that had me hooked from beginning until the very end. Even after I finished the book, I wondered what the characters were doing and how they were continuing on with their lives. He has a great sense for cliffhangers and keeps the reader wanting more.

In the beginning of the book, I hated the way Grisham portrayed women. I also disliked the attitudes of the men towards women. It really bugged me that it was mentioned numerous times that the secretaries in the firm were all ugly. That being said, Grisham redeems himself with Abby and “Doris”, both of whom I really liked.

Otherwise, a very good read. Recommended.

Death of a Travelling Man by M.C. Beaton

In Death of a Travelling Man, Hamish has been promoted and must determine who killed the “travelling man”. At first, it seems that some of the neighbours welcome the new people in town. However, that doesn’t last long and things turn ugly. It’s up to Macbeth to determine why the neighbours are acting strangely and what’s really going on.

I so enjoyed this one. I devoured it in just a few sittings.

I’ve read a number of other books by Beaton, but this is the first one with Hamish Macbeth. I was afraid that I was going to miss Agatha (Raisin, the main character in Beaton’s other books), but I loved Hamish so much it didn’t matter to me that Agatha wasn’t there (Sorry Agatha).

I have a number of other books featuring Hamish Macbeth and I can’t wait to read them.

Highly recommended for the cozy mystery lovers. Delightful.

Eat, Drink and Be Buried by Peter King

In Eat, Drink and be Buried, the Gourmet Detective, who normally investigates and searches out speciality food items for clients, is asked to look into the death of a stuntmen who dies after a stunt. His first suspicion is poisoning, but needs to research and investigate the details to determine if that’s true.

Well-above-average cozy mystery. In other words, it was excellent! The characters were fun and delightful while the story was interesting. He pay particular attention to the food; that’s my favourite part.

I think it’s a great mystery for food lovers as well as those interested in food history. I usually don’t go in for the history stuff too often, but I especially enjoyed this one because of the history. I loved learning about the medieval culinary tastes and customs. In addition, the “show” the castle inhabitants put on for visitors looked like jolly good fun. Well, except for the murder, but you know what I mean.

Some might be a little disappointed that this food mystery doesn't have recipes. That's just fine by me. I probably wouldn't cook what they ate back then anyway. ;)

If you like cozy mysteries, food and history, this one’s for you. Highly recommended.

Macramé Australian Animals & Flowers by Nan Bosler

Macramé Australian Animals & Flowers has cute animal projects and the beautiful flower patterns. However, in my opinion, this book is short on instruction. Also, I would have preferred more diagrams/pictures within the patterns. Disclaimer: I’ve made a number of macramé projects, so I’m not a beginner. However, I haven’t had a lot of recent experience [I could be out of practice] and I’ve mainly done plant hangers (albeit complicated ones) and wall hangings in the past. No multi-dimensional animals.

I tried to make the “Elly Echidna” pattern and failed miserably. The material information was sparse so I ended up using the wrong material. I probably would have anyway, because whenever possible and if I can, I try to use materials I already have on hand rather than purchasing something specific for just one project. I know it’s a bit of a gamble, but I’m cheap and sometimes I like the challenge. This time though it was frustrating and patience-testing. [The cord size wasn’t mentioned, so it would have been hard to use the correct stuff anyway]. The instructions were complicated and I just couldn’t follow them. I finally gave up about halfway through.

The diagrams for the knots were good, but I think they authors assumed the reader/crafter mostly knew how to macramé. My other macramé books have more diagrams for the general knots as well as for the patterns themselves. They are easier to follow. [I’m a very visual person and I find that diagrams/pictures help me a lot.]

I have a few pictures of my failure, which I plan to upload onto Flickr. They won’t be there immediately, but should be there fairly soon. I still plan to put quills(?) on the “thing” hoping to salvage it somehow. Once I put the quills on it, I’ll post more pictures. I’ll update this journal entry with a link to the pictures when they are there. Feel free to laugh.

I had planned on photocopying a few of the patterns to try at a later date, but I think I’ll pass on that option considering my first experience. I’m going to release this book for someone else to use. Hopefully, it’ll be someone with more experience, patience and common sense to use the correct materials. Enjoy. I truly hope you have more skill/luck than I did.

[If someone finds my patience wandering around out there, please send it back to me.]

Update May 11, 2007: Here are the photos on Flickr:
Photo 1
Photo 2

Update October 17, 2007: Finally I've added the quills and posted the photos on Flickr:
Photo 3
Photo 4

The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido

The Travelling Hornplayer is a fantastic story with amazing characters. So much happens in the story that I won’t even attempt to sum it up.

Even though it took me a while to get through the book (gardening and yard work kept me away from reading), I thought it was just great. The characters and storyline were totally absorbing. I love books written in the first person; this one was no exception.

Trapido’s character descriptions are superb…in depth and complete. I loved the way characters lives interwove with each other. Her amazing storyline flowed so beautifully from one character to another and back again. I could go on and on about what I liked about the story, but that would probably be giving too much away. I’ll stop there.

Because I had such long gaps between reading sessions, I sometimes forgot who some of the characters were. That’s my only regret/disappointment with this book.

I hope her other books are as good. I’m already half way out the door to look for more.

Highly recommended. I’ll be releasing this book as soon as I can.