"Sworn to silence" by Linda Castillo

Wow! How lucky to find another great first of a series! Just when I thought I was running out of authors, I discover another one who is young and talented. (by that I infer lots of wonderful reads ahead!)

With a great cover scene of dead cornstalks in a snowy farmer's field, "Sworn to silence" grabs you right away. Set in Ohio's Amish country, this mystery/thriller features a unique protagonist. A female police chief who was formerly Amish.
Kate Burkholder has chosen to leave the Amish way of life and is shunned by her family. She leads a somewhat solitary life but enjoys her job largely due to her loyal employees.

Kate maintains a devastating secret from her youth which comes back to haunt her when a body is found in a wintery farmer's field. The setting is so well depicted that the cold is almost palpable... Loathe to call for assistance from outside law enforcement agencies because of her secret, Kate is called to task by the town's council who employ her. When the case becomes even higher profile with the discovery of a second body, they go over her head and call in an agent from the BCI. Agent John Tomasetti is a damaged individual. His posting to Kate's case is probably his last chance at salvaging what is left of his formerly illustrious career. He lost his wife and children to a psychopath and doesn't want anyone else to suffer what he has had to...

When Kate does not follow protocol and fails to find the culprit, the town council remove her from her duties. Knowing nothing else in her life will fill the void, Kate continues to work the case with the help of John. There is an attraction between them which is largely due to all the baggage they carry with them.

When Kate is eventually captured by the murderer, both she and John fear for her survival. Her ingenuity with the help of sound police work, bring the culprit to justice bringing about a most satisfying ending to the novel.

Linda Castillo had written a sound police procedural. Kate Burkholder is both intiguing and likeable and I look forward to meeting her again on her next case. "Pray for silence" is due out June 2010.

"Bad things happen" by Harry Dolan

It seems like lately I've been reading a lot of debut novels. I didn't plan it, but on several occasions I've been pleasantly surprised. Such was the case when I picked up "Bad things happen" by first time novelist Harry Dolan.

The book was unsettling for many reasons. First and foremost because the reader doesn't know who the protagonist is for the bulk of the book. He is referred to for the most part as 'the man who calls himself David Loogan'. Who is he really? An ex-cop (therefore a good guy) -- an ex-felon (therefore a bad guy)? The reader is made tense by the possibilities.
Set in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the novel follows the solitary Loogan who accidentally befriends a periodical publisher, Tom Kristoll. He eventually works for Tom as an editor for Tom's mystery magazine "Grey Streets". In due course, Loogan has an affair with Tom's beautiful wife. But life imitates the stories in 'Grey Streets'. Plans go wrong, bad things happen, people die...

The second protagonist in the novel is female homicide detective Elizabeth Waishkey. When Tom Kristoll dies, she meets David Loogan and is unsure whether he is a suspect or someone who can help her solve the case.

Written in a 'noir' style, "Bad things happen" is a very promising debut which held my attention and my interest until the last page. The characterizations were deftly rendered. Difficult when the reader doesn't really even know who the protagonist is! Bravo Harry Dolan!

A cup of Christmas tea

Every year at this time I like to share this Christmas poem with my friends and family.
It seems to epitomize the true meaning of this festive season.


The poem "A cup of Christmas tea" written by Tom Hegg is one I read every year to remind myself just what is important.
Merry Christmas everyone!

A Christmas recipe to enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
lemon juice
4 large eggs
lots of nuts
2 bottles red wine
2 cups of dried fruit

Sample the wine to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the wine again. To be sure it is the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.
Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the wine is shtill OK.
Try another cup .... just in case. Turn off the mixerer thingy.
Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Pick fruit off floor.
Mix on the turner.
If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers pry it loose with a sdrewscriver.
Sample the wine again to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Who careshz.
Check the wine.
Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
Add one table.
Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.
Greash the oven and wee in the fridge.
Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.
Don't forget to beat off the turner.
Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the wine.
Wipe down the counter with the cat.
Fall into bed.

CHERRY MISTMAS
BINGLE JELLS!

"Hound" by Vincent McCaffrey

If bibliophilia is an illness, then Henry Sullivan is terminal! Books are his work, his life and his love. A book Hound, Henry is a former bookstore employee who now buys and then resells books over the Internet from his home.

A single man in his mid-thirties, Henry’s days are marked by estate sales, library book sales and other quests for saleable books. He enjoys a regular pint and a game of chess with his friend and confidant Albert. He makes the trek across the city of Boston to visit his father whom he seems never to have actually connected with. He shares a passing word with his landlady whom he respects and admires.

His heretofore predictable, mundane life is upturned when his landlady dies. He learns he will soon be losing his rent controlled apartment when her house is sold. This development, though troubling, absolutely pales to insignificance when Morgan Johnson, an old flame, calls him to value her husband’s books. One wonders if he is thinking of rekindling the flame when he learns of Morgan’s death the day after his visit with her. She was an important part of his life in the past and he is profoundly disturbed by her passing. Her book collection which was filled with many signed first editions was very valuable -- but would someone kill her for it?

In attempting to discover how Morgan died Henry becomes enmeshed in her family’s secrets. She was the second wife of a prominent publisher and traveled extensively. Her family and extended family hid troubles, resentments and deceptions beneath a thin veneer of respectability that their wealth and renown afforded them. Was murder kept in the family as well?

Somewhat reminiscent of John Dunning’s Bookman novels, this is a mystery novel that is more novel than mystery. Literary in both style and subject, Hound is a novel for those who enjoy a more sedately paced story.
If you are looking for action you won’t find it here. Filled with anecdotes and asides on bookselling and the love of reading, Vincent McCaffrey’s love for books absolutely drips from the pages. If you share that obsession, then you will be touched and moved by his words.

Vincent McCaffrey is obviously a man so well read that he seems to have gleaned a deep understanding of human nature from his studies. His characters are appealing and sympathetic and his story well plotted. I look forward to his next novel after what was a most enjoyable debut.

'Castle' television show

Fans of the TV show "Castle" may be in for a treat. (or not, who can tell???)

Richard Castle has a book out. Yes that's right folks, a fictional character wrote a book... The title is as the TV show suggests "Heat wave". The publisher's blurb refers to Richard Castle as if he is a 'real' person! You can only imagine what nightmares that will present to me as a library cataloguer!

This link has an online interview with the show's stars Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic that fans will find interesting.

Whodunit Book Club - November 24, 2009

The last 2009 meeting for the Whodunits! Eighteen people attended and everyone was in good pre-holiday cheer.
Pam's question this evening was: "Do you like to receive books as gifts?"
Although we are all avid readers and booklovers the answer was not quite what one would anticipate. Many said that they would like to receive gift cards for a bookstore so that they could choose the books themselves. Reading is such a personal thing that they didn't want others choosing books for them. A few said that they did like to receive books because they appreciated the thoughtfulness that went into the choice. Most of us seem to like to give books as gifts. Perhaps we think that we are better able to choose books because of the sheer number we have read? A few confessed to giving books as gifts but reading them first! This caused quite a stir...

The novel discussed this month was R.D. Wingfield's first Inspector Frost novel "Frost at Christmas". Some of those who had watched the "Touch of Frost" television series felt that the televised Frost had a more mature sense of humour than the Frost from the novel. And speaking of humour, there was quite a bit within the pages of "Frost at Christmas". Many said they laughed aloud while reading it. The general consensus was that the book was enjoyed by the majority and some said that they would definitely read the rest in the series.

We learned a little about R.D. Wingfield. Born in London in 1928 he lived in Essex for many years with his wife and one son. He was exempted from military service due to poor eyesight and later became a radio dramatist for the BBC. He died in 2004 from prostate cancer.

Inspector Frost is pithy, acerbic, irreverent and usually right. He is so sloppy and bumbling that you gotta love him! At least I do...
Like most British police procedural series the six Frost novels should really be read in order. Anyone who hasn't yet read the entire series is in for some seriously good entertainment.

Winners of the free books this month were: Lynne, Laird, Nancy and Brian.

Merry Christmas to all the Whodunit members!