A finished blog....Love ya all!

Tuesday is the two year anniversary of this blog. This post is the 250th post. That is quite an accomplishment! Especially for someone who finds it tough to share a lot of things publically. Don't get me wrong. I love people and I love sharing my passion for books with them. But, mostly I have done that with small groups of close friends. I have been the quintessential lurker.

I have made the decision to not continue with this blog. I am considering it a finished product and will, therefore, not delete it from Blogger. I will maintain my Google account so that I can still visit other blogs and talk books. However, I will not continue to post here.

Life has been extremely stressful and tough for me in the last couple of years. This blog has provided a certain amount of therapy for that and I have shared many of my struggles, at least in part. Things have improved in many regards. My family is recovering from my father's death last fall. My health is continuing to improve and I recently got good news that my cancer has not returned. However, my mother's health is not good. She needs me a lot. I have also been dealing with some health concerns that require more attention. My time is limited with a full time job. I need to take care of myself in order to be able address my own health and be there for my Mom. So....with that in mind, I am pruning some things out of my life and making a new start on others. Everything that feels like "pressure" is going out the door.

It's possible that at some time in the future I will begin anew with a new blog. I can't say right now. If I do, I will let those of you who I chat with occasionally know. Otherwise, I will be around at times, commenting on your posts and hearing what's going on with all of you. I love hearing what you are reading and what's up.

I appreciate each and every person who has stopped by and read or commented on my thoughts and book reactions. I love each of you and am so blessed by such good blogging friends! Thanks for everything. Keep up the reading and I wish you all the best!

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back.May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields.And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

~Irish Blessing~

Gone fishing...

I'm not really fishing, but I am going to take a break for a bit from the blog. I'll be back after a while. Nothing's wrong, but I'm just feeling the need for a bit of a sabbatical. I'll be around to check out what you are all doing and reading. I'll keep my "I'm reading..." current on my sidebar.

Toodles!!

The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards

I have discovered another great series to add to my list. I finished reading THE COFFIN TRAIL by Martin Edwards a couple of days ago and really, really enjoyed it. I picked up three of Martin Edwards' books, all in the Daniel Kind/Hannah Scarlett series, when I was in Scottsdale at the Poisoned Pen. I had read a review of this book by Nan at Letters from a Hill Farm and also had read a review of a later book in the series, THE ARSENIC LABYRINTH, by Margaret at BooksPlease. Both ladies wrote good reviews that made me want to try the series.

Daniel Kind is an Oxford historian and also hosts a TV show. His girlfriend, Miranda, is a writer and they have decided they need a change. Totally on impulse, they purchase a cottage in a very small village in the Lake District that Daniel visited as a boy. They want to "get away from it all". The cottage is near a coffin trail, a track used to carry the dead over the mountains from one remote location to another. Their cottage was once the home of a man who the local residents consider a murderer, even though he died before he could be charged with the crime. A woman had been found laid out on the Sacrifice Stone and Daniel's father, Ben Kind, was the police officer who investigated the death many years ago. Hannah Scarlett, now a Detective Chief Inspector but once Ben Kind's sergeant, is heading up a new squad that will look into cold cases. Hannah and her team start asking questions about this unsolved case. Coincidentally, Daniel is asking some of the same questions, for the man who locals assumed was the murderer was a childhood friend and Daniel cannot believe that he could have caused any living creature harm, much less have brutally murdered a young woman. People in this small village are not pleased to have such an unpleasant affair dredged up again.

I found the mystery intriguing and the area depicted quite interesting. I'm also very partial to cold case mysteries. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, THE CIPHER GARDEN. As usual, Poisoned Pen publishes a mystery that I love.

Valley of the Lost by Vicki Delany

I was so excited to get a chance to read VALLEY OF THE LOST, Vicki Delany's second Molly Smith/John Winters mystery, this weekend. Even if the uninterrupted time was due to a nasty cold. I loved the first book in this series, IN THE SHADOW OF THE GLACIER, and shared my views here. Having read four of Vicki's books now, I believe she is getting better and better.

VALLEY OF THE LOST is set again in the British Columbian town of Trafalgar and brings back Constable Molly (Moonlight) Smith and Sergeant John Winters. It is summertime in Trafalgar and temperatures are hot. Molly's mother, Lucky, has found a dead woman near the Trafalgar Women's Support Center, where she volunteers. Lying close to the woman is her baby boy, healthy, but crying vigorously. Lucky reports the death and takes the baby home to care for. John Winters determines that the woman's death was not accidental and thus begins the search for her identity and also the identity of her child. Trafalgar is still dealing with issues and upset regarding the resort community planned. Drug traffic is up and the Trafalgar Police are trying to determine a new source of heroin coming into the district. There is a lot to be discovered and decided in this absorbing mystery. Other familiar characters make a reappearance and it is good to catch up with Trafalgar life and residents. The mystery itself is intriguing and Molly once again finds herself in harms way. All in all, a quite satisfying second book in a series that is becoming one of my favorites. I look forward to the next book and hope that Vicki will be writing about Trafalgar, Molly and John for a long time to come.

Another review of this book is at Lesa's Book Critiques.

Out for a bit...

I'll be back soon. Have lost the fight against a headachey, sneezy, drippy cold. It's cold and rainy outside and it seems like a great day to curl up with some hot tea and several good books.

Nora Roberts' Trilogies

I've just finished Nora Roberts' latest trilogy, The Sign of the Seven, which included Blood Brothers, The Hollow, and The Pagan Stone. I enjoyed it a lot as I usually do with her trilogies. I know that not everyone likes Nora or would even admit to reading her books. I've been a fan for many years and have especially liked her trilogies. I have read some of her stand alone books, Montana Sky being my favorite, and have also started reading her Eve Dallas mystery series that she writes under the name J. D. Robb. I've watched a couple of the movies that Lifetime has made from several of the stand alone books.

In my opinion though, the trilogies are the best. Here are several that I have read. They all contain some form of the supernatural and being a girl who likes her ghost stories or vampires or witchcraft, along with a good happy-ending romance, I'm totally satisfied. My favorite trilogy is the one set on Three Sisters Island. There are witches, a curse, some great island characters, a bookstore, a hotel named the Magyk Inn, lots of great food, three beautiful, strong women and three strong, sexy men. I've read this series several times.

Three Sisters Trilogy

(witches)

Dance Upon the Air

Heaven and Earth

Face the Fire

Key Trilogy

(gods and goddesses)

Key of Light

Key of Knowledge

Key of Valor

In the Garden Trilogy

(ghosts)

Blue Dahlia

Black Rose

Red Lily

Circle Trilogy

(sorcerer, witch, shapeshifter, vampire, another dimension)

Morrigan's Cross

Dance of the Gods

Valley of Silence

So, if you are looking for some "otherworldly" romantic suspense, think about picking up one of these books. They are a fun, change of pace and good in-between books.

Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

I received an advance reader copy of SUMMER ON BLOSSOM STREET a couple of weeks ago and have enjoyed reading another book in this series. Debbie Macomber writes books that may seem too sweet for some. However, they are gentle, loving books with characters that face life's challenges and learn and grow from their experiences. I enjoy visiting the characters that live in Seattle and work and play on Blossom Street. I also enjoy her series set in Cedar Cove, Washington (based on Debbie's hometown of Port Orchard).

In this book, Lydia, who owns A Good Yarn, a yarn store on Blossom Street, decides to start another knitting class, Knit to Quit. Each person attending will be trying to quit something--a behavior, an attitude, or even a person. New characters are introduced, Phoebe, Hutch and Casey. Old characters make an appearance, Alix, Jordan, Anne Marie, Ellen and several more. Lydia's life has some big changes, Anne Marie and Ellen have a new challenge, and Alix and Jordan make a decision. It was fun to get caught up with the Blossom Street family.

This book comes out in May. I'll be waiting for Debbie's next book. They are fine, gentle, women's fiction. A knitting pattern is also included.

February's Sum Up

I seem to be slowing down on my reading. I'm not sure why. I only read 5 books this month, but really enjoyed the books I completed. I read 8 books in February of 2007 and 10 in February of last year. Some years I guess I read less books, but maybe the ones I read have more meaning or better quality. Anyway, all the ones I read were from my own shelves. I am doing well on my personal challenge of reading from books I own. I went from Florida to California to Dublin, Ireland and finished up in 1960's Mississippi.

Getting Old is a Disaster by Rita Lakin - 5th in the Gladdy Gold mystery series

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - on audio this time - wonderful audio with many readers and fabulous accents

The Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais - for my mystery book group

In the Woods by Tana French - debut book for this author

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - another debut book

I tried going right in to Tana French's second book, THE LIKENESS, but it wasn't working for me right now. I've heard fabulous things about this book so I've set it aside for a while and I'll get back to it in a few weeks. Right now, I'm reading an advance copy of Debbie Macomber's new Blossom Street book, SUMMER ON BLOSSOM STREET to be published in May.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

It's a lucky reader who realizes that she has most likely completed two of her yearly top 10 back to back, and in February no less. Or maybe this is just going to be a banner year and my top 10 will be a top 20 or 50. THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett will definitely be one of my top reads of 2009 and it may well be "the top read". It is a marvelous book about a not so marvelous time in history and certainly about a not-at-all marvelous topic, race relations in the South. But it is so much more than that.

THE HELP is told in three voices and from three viewpoints. Two voices belong to Aibilene and Minny, African-American maids or "help" assisting white families with housework and raising the children in Jackson, Mississippi. The other viewpoint is Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a 22-year-old graduate of Ole Miss, white daughter of a cotton farmer, unsure of her place in life. She's unmarried and wants a career, and her mother's primary goal in life is to get her settled close to home, married and pregnant with "help" of her own. The setting is the South (you can feel the heat and humidity) and the time is 1962-1964, the years of Medgar Evers' murder, Martin Luther King's "I have a dream.." speech, the March on Washington, and great civil unrest. Each woman is unique and completely memorable. In fact, this entire book is peopled with characters that are vivid, well-rounded and seem to jump off the page. As different as their lives are, Aibilene, Minny and Skeeter will come together to write a book in secret (oh, very much in secret) about the lives and stories of black maids in Jackson. During this process, each woman will change, grow and learn so much about the others and also, more importantly, about herself. The reader is privileged to take this journey with these wonderful women and share their discoveries. It is a rare treat.

I loved this book. I loved these women. I want to know them and follow their lives after this book. I think that Kathryn Stockett has written a very compelling debut novel and believe it is headed for bestseller status. It would be a great book for book groups with lots of discussion potential. Please pick up this book and read it. I guarantee you will be glad that you did.

Today's Quote by Holbrook Jackson

The time to read is any time: no apparatus, no appointment of time and place, is necessary. It is the only art which can be practised at any hour of the day or night, whenever the time and inclination comes, that is your time for reading; in joy or sorrow, health or illness.

~~Holbrook Jackson~~

(1874-1948)

British journalist, writer & publisher

The time to read is indeed any time. I have a book with me always and almost get panicky if I find myself without a book and with a little time to fill. I pick up my book if I can't sleep, while I eat my cereal in the morning, at a stop light, on my break and lunch at work, when I have just 5 more minutes until I have to leave....just about any time. Am I strange? I think not among book lovers. Hurrah for books and the many hours in our lives that they fill!! They are my real treasures.

In the Woods by Tana French

I love it when I discover a book that I am sure will be among my top ten for the current year. I especially love it when I read that book early in the year. It's richness! I closed IN THE WOODS with a sigh and was so pleased that I had moved this book up my TBR stack after I read my dear friend Les' review. I knew that this book was much talked about on a mystery list that I have been subscribed to for many years, DorothyL. I knew that it had won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. It also won the Barry Award, the Macavity Award and was a finalist for the Anthony Award for 2008. These are given to mystery's best. I knew that some readers absolutely loved the book and that some didn't like the ending. I knew that Tana French, the gifted author of IN THE WOODS, has written her second book, THE LIKENESS (and I have it in my closet to start soon!) and many people think it is even better than this one. What I didn't know was how I would carry this book everywhere and sneak in pages in between tasks, at stoplights, and when I couldn't sleep in the night. It was that absorbing.

Picture three children, each 12 years old, who live in a small Dublin neighborhood and play in the nearby woods. One day they don't come home for tea at the appointed time. Their mothers wait and worry and get frantic and search. Finally, one of them, Adam Ryan, is found backed up against a tree trunk with his fingers digging into the bark. He is almost catatonic. His tennis shoes are filled with blood. He can't remember a thing. His two friends, Peter and Jamie, never come home. They are never found. Time passes. Adam is sent away to boarding school in England. He comes back grown-up, his name changed to Rob Ryan. He becomes a Murder Squad Detective and his partner is Cassie Maddox. They begin an investigation of a murder of a 12 year old girl found in the same woods. Rob only has small portions of memory of the trauma from his childhood and he's not sure he can trust even those snippets. Can this be connected with that long ago case? What buried secrets will be uncovered this time around?

Pick up this book. You'll be glad you did.

Who would be your fictional Valentine???

I hope that everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day! I was thinking about that and wondered, who would make the best Valentine from fiction? Who would be the most....whatever your heart desires? Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic.

P.S. I'm partial to Roarke from J.D. Robb's "In Death" series. Eve Dallas is a lucky woman in that regard.

In Hard Times, An Attitude of Gratitude

Times are tough all over. People are losing jobs. Companies are scaling back on planned expenditures of all kinds. Everyone wonders what is coming next and how we will all manage. Governments, local and national, are having to make tough choices on how best to provide services for the public. I thought it might be a good time to share a few quotes I've found about gratitude and thankfulness. Even though uncertainty seems to reign supreme, I still feel I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a job. I have a home. I have food on the table. I have friends in the blogosphere. I have good books to read. It is enough. For your thinking pleasure:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

~~Melody Beattie~~

"Be grateful for the joy of life. Be glad for the privilege of work. Be thankful for the opportunity to give and serve. Good work is the great character-builder, the sweetener of life, the maker of destiny. Let the spirit of your work be right, and whether your task be great or small you will then have the satisfaction of knowing it is worth while."

~~Grenville Kleiser~~

"Gratitude ... goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy."

~~Henri J. M. Nouwen~~

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses."

~~Allophones Karr~~

Yippee! My box of books arrived!

I told you guys that I would share the books that I picked up at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore when they arrived from Arizona. Well, they came on Friday and here's the list:

*Hornswoggled by Donis Casey (signed)

*The Drop Edge of Yonder by Donis Casey (signed)

Death at Dawn by Caro Peacock

Death of a Dancer by Caro Peacock

*Beat Until Stiff by Claire M. Johnson

*Impulse by Frederick Ramsay (signed)

*In the Shadow of the Glacier by Vicki Delany

*Scare the Light Away by Vicki Delany

*The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards

*The Cipher Garden by Martin Edwards

*The Arsenic Labyrinth by Martin Edwards

Half Broken Things by Morag Joss

*The Anteater of Death by Betty Webb (signed)

Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart (signed)

The Leopard's Prey by Suzanne Arruda (signed)

*Murder in Mykonos by Jeffrey Siger

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I have already read Donis Casey's books and reviewed them on this blog. I've also read Vicki Delany's books and also reviewed them, but I wanted to have my own copies of both authors' books. Donis very kindly inscribed her books for me. Vicki has a new book coming out this month, Valley of the Lost, that I look forward to reading. The books with the star (*) beside them are published by Poisoned Pen Press. I really took advantage of being at their bookstore to pick up a bunch of books by Poisoned Pen authors.

My mystery book club will be reading two books by Betty Webb in June (Desert Noir and Desert Wives), so I wanted pick up her new book, first in a series. The mystery book club will also be reading Stieg Larsson's book in August. The Morag Joss book was a recommendation from an afternoon book group member. Everything else just caught my eye and looked good. Since this is my one spending splurge for a long time, I'm really savoring my purchases. Oh, and I also picked up a Poisoned Pen mug and book bag. I'm all set and must try to find space for my new treasures. If you have thoughts on any of these books, please feel free to share.

Early February Quote

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.

~~Anne Bradstreet~~

(1612-1672)

American Poet

I believe the quote above. The picture does not depict the area of the country where I make my home. However, it describes my mood. Here in Texas, February can mean many things. We have had cold, bitter, icy winds. We have had temperatures in the 90's. Right now, we are having gray skies, dreadfully windy conditions, and it is dry, dry, dry. Austin, Texas, my home, is sometimes called the allergy capitol of the world by its residents. This has been a horrible year for cedar allergies and more is yet to come. However, spring will be here soon and spring is my favorite season of the year. It is beautiful here in the spring. Life seems sparkling and hopeful. I look forward to it. Now, I'm off to take more allergy medicine...

Getting Old Is a Disaster by Rita Lakin

Getting Old Is a Disaster is the 5th book in the Gladdy Gold mystery series, written by Rita Lakin. It stars Gladdy Gold, 70-ish amateur private eye and her merry band of "Golden Girls", Evvie, Ida, Sophie and Bella. Joining the ladies are retired cop Jack Langford, Gladdy's fiance, and her sister Evvie's ex-husband, Joe. This book in the series has lots of ups and downs as the members of the Lanai Gardens Detective Agency pit their wits against the "Grandpa Bandit" and some old secrets that are connected with the 50-year-old skeleton that is uncovered when a hurricane destroys Jack's apartment building. Who is the murdered man? Why is the "Grandpa Bandit" taunting Gladdy and her girls with "catch me if you can" notes? Can the members of the retirement community help all their neighbors after many of their apartments are damaged severely in the hurricane? How will Gladdy and Jack ever get any alone time to plan their wedding?

Pick up this funny mystery series. It is a rollicking good time in each and every book. Along with the humorous situations, Rita Lakin also takes on some serious and often very poignant problems faced by senior citizens everywhere. I'll be anxiously awaiting book 6 in order to see what these "senior" Nancy Drews have in store for their readers next.

January's Sum Up

I managed to read 8 books in January. That is 3 less than January of last year and 1 less than January of 2007. Some great reads this month though. I've been all over the world and as far back in time as the early 19th century. An update to my 2009 personal challenge - 5 were books from own shelves and 3 were from the library. I finished:

Out of the Deep I Cry - Julia Spencer-Fleming - 3rd in the upstate New York mystery series featuring Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson and Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne

Persuasion - Jane Austen - afternoon book club read

A Poisoned Season - Tasha Alexander - 2nd in the Lady Emily Ashton mystery series

Miss Marple-The Complete Short Stories - Agatha Christie - mystery book group read

A Fatal Waltz - Tasha Alexander - 3rd in the Lady Emily Ashton mystery series

The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan - 1st in the YA Percy Jackson series - audio

The Sky Took Him - Donis Casey - 4th in the Alafair Tucker mystery series

A Rule Against Murder - Louise Penny - 4th in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series

And now, back to my current read, Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

I have so loved every single (4 now) book in this mystery series, starring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, and written by the lovely Louise Penny. I can say with all honesty that, in my opinion, these books get better and better as we go along. A RULE AGAINST MURDER is the 4th in the series and takes place outside of my favorite village of Three Pines, but is instead set at the Manoir Bellechasse, where our dear Chief Inspector is vacationing with his beautiful wife, Reine-Marie. Armand Gamache has just weathered a tough time and survived a serious threat (storyline arcing over Books 1-3). He and Reine-Marie come to this isolated country inn, as they do every year, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. This particular year, they share the inn with the Finney family, who are wealthy, cultured, and really, really unpleasant. The Gamaches continue with their summer holiday, watching this truly damaged family try to project the image of people experiencing a normal family reunion. Two of the Three Pines residents show up, surprising Armand and Reine-Marie with their connection with the Finneys. It's hot, humid and a gigantic storm is coming. So is a dead body. Inspector Gamache has to call in his team to solve a truly intriguing mystery with roots far in the past. We learn more about the history of the Manoir Bellechasse, the Finneys and also about Gamache himself as the suspense builds to a satisfying climax.

I urge you to pick up this series and read it. Louise Penny's writing is wonderfully musical, and she has a real gift for keeping the reader hurrying along, while still wanting to savor the words. She shares poetry in each book and, for me, that is a sweet time out before returning to the mystery at hand. Louise also has a talent for creating characters that are completely unpleasant, while still making the reader want to know more about them. I think that is a unique gift and I hope I am explaining it well enough. These characters provide a complete contrast to Armand Gamache, who is such a dear, respectable, almost perfect man. It is satisfying to get to share visits with a few of the Three Pines residents as well as Gamache's team members and family.

I noticed that today on Louise's blog, she relates that A RULE AGAINST MURDER has made the New York Times Bestseller List! Congratulations to Louise! It is well deserved. When I met her last week in Scottsdale and wrote about it here, she told us that Book 5 is at the publisher (it's coming out in October) and she is now in Quebec City doing research for Book 6. Happily, we have more books in this series to come!

My Mystery Adventure in Scottsdale...

My husband and I took a short trip to the Phoenix area this last week. We stayed in Scottsdale and enjoyed ourselves very much. We relaxed and unwound. He played golf every day and I attended two very nice author events at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore also in Scottsdale. If you ever get to the Phoenix area, you must try to stop by this delightful place. Imagine a cozy bookstore with mysteries as far as your eye can see. There are shelves and shelves of them just begging you to pick them and pile them one by one in your arms until you can't carry any more. "Take me home!", they say over and over. Sorry! I got carried away.

Anyway, the first event I attended was last Saturday afternoon and featured Donis Casey, author of the Alafair Tucker mystery series. I wrote a review of her new book a couple of days ago here. Donis is a lovely lady and I really enjoyed hearing her talk with Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, regarding mystery writing, Oklahoma, oil rigs, pies, and just all sorts of things. Lesa Holstine (who I was so privileged to meet as well) also attended this signing and she wrote a wonderful post about it on her blog, Lesa's Book Critiques, here. Please read Lesa's summary because she does a great job of making you feel you were right beside her (and I know because I was right beside her). Donis signed three of her books for me and I was in heaven. Of course, I had to look and choose and mull over what books I would also add to my collection while I was there. I know that I said I was not going to buy books this year (and I've stuck to my promise), except for this trip. I took a timeout here and bought a bunch of things. I had the bookstore ship them to me and I'll share what I got when they arrive.

The second event I got to attend was Louise Penny's launch of her new Chief Inspector Gamache mystery, A RULE AGAINST MURDER. I have loved each and every book that Louise has written and have shared my thoughts on them here, and here, and here. I will share a review of this latest book when I complete it (it's great so far). Louise was gracious enough to talk with my mystery book group last year and when I heard she would be in Arizona at a time when I could attend a signing, I jumped at the chance. She is just beautiful and I was thrilled to hear her conversation with Barbara on Tuesday evening. It was fascinating to listen to her thoughts about this latest book and hear some plans she has for the future. Lesa attended that signing as well and wrote about it here. We also got to share dinner with Louise, Barbara and Patti O'Brien (of Patti's Pen and Picks) at a very nice little Italian restaurant nearby. Such a joyful occasion. It was so special to meet and visit with Patti as well.

All in all, I was overjoyed with my time in Arizona. I hope to be able to get back again sometime. I told Barbara I would like to just pack up her store and transport it home with me. We don't have a mystery bookstore in my area and Poisoned Pen has authors stopping by all the time. For now though, I guess I'll have to live vicariously through Lesa's blog posts of signings she attends. Now, I need to get back to my book....

The Sky Took Him by Donis Casey

THE SKY TOOK HIM is the fourth book in Donis Casey's historical mystery series. Early 20th century Oklahoma is the setting and Alafair Tucker and her extended family are the stars. I have been a big fan of this author since I ran across her first book, THE OLD BUZZARD HAD IT COMING. Is that a great title or what? The two entries following were entitled HORNSWOGGLED and THE DROP EDGE OF YONDER respectively. I wrote about book 3 here.

THE SKY TOOK HIM begins with Alafair travelling by train to visit her sister, Ruth Ann, in Enid, Oklahoma. Alafair's oldest daughter, Martha, and her youngest daughter, Grace, accompany her as they go to give comfort to Ruth Ann and her daughter, Olivia, because Alafair's brother-in-law, Lester, is gravely ill and not expected to live. Olivia's husband, Kenneth, who should be supporting his wife and her family at this sad time seems to be missing, and Alafair arrives to find things in a mess. Kenneth has squandered funds from the family business, gotten involved with at least one shady character, and sunk a small fortune into an oil well that may or may not prove a good investment. Enid is bustling with Founders Day preparations, and Martha is surprised, and not entirely pleased, to find a friend from home coming to call on her. Alafair has her hands full trying to help nurse Lester, support her sister and niece, corral Grace and the family cat, Ike, and also assist the local lawmen in solving a murder or two.

I love this series and was pleased to find that this entry was just as intriguing and informative as ever. My grandmother grew up in Oklahoma near the setting of Boynton (Alafair's home) and all the period detail rings very true to me. The book includes lots of extra information at the end as well as several recipes. Two of them were most familiar to me, as I ate lots of Gumbo Soup and mashed butternut squash at my grandmother's table. Alafair is a strong, courageous woman with moral fiber aplenty. I look forward to reading about Alafair and her family for many years to come.

I was privileged to attend Donis Casey's launch party for this book last Saturday afternoon at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona and also meet this lovely author. It was a great event that I will tell about in another blog entry. For another great review of this book, check out this entry at Lesa's Book Critiques.