Catching up with Hannah Swensen and the Gang

Following characters through a series sometimes feels like trying to keep up with your distant friends' latest news. Some of the ongoing characters make you laugh. And some will amaze you with the changes in their character or their latest hobbies. But they feel like old pals that you want to spend some more time with. And when it comes down to it - that is the work of the talented skills of the author, who makes her readers enjoy these fictional friends.

Joanne Fluke who writes the Hannah Swensen mysteries series manages to keep her series fresh and full of life with her engaging characters. Hannah is still baking away at her bakery business, The Cookie Jar, and she is still the one most likely to find a dead body in her tiny town of Lake Eden, Minnesota.

In the Key Lime Pie Murder, she finds the dead body at the local county fair and has to waste a lovely Key Lime pie in her discovery. (Disclosure here - I love Key Lime pie and to have it fall to the ground! What a tragedy! What a waste! Sigh!) And she has to sleuth while being a judge for the various baked goods contests, supplying goodies for another booth and getting hooked into being a magician's assistant.

During the Carrot Cake Murder, she's just helping out a friend at one of the biggest family reunions in area. And she manages to find the prodigal relative who reappeared for the reunion, dead in the main building where the festivities are taking place. Talk about problems with the relatives. There are more than a few suspects here.

The latest outing for Hannah is the Cream Puff Murder. She's on a diet with a vengeance - she's trying to fit in a dress her mother ordered for her - and she finds the fitness instructor dead in the gym's jacuzzi. The instructor (a reoccurring character) had a lot of male fans but basically most of the females and wives in town did not care for her. But who took their threats to the next level? And how come most of the police force had to be taken off the case?

Amidst the sleuthing, comes the latest tidbits about Hannah's family, who help her hunt out the latest gossip on the deceased. And we get the updates on her love life (Will she ever make a decision between Norman and Mike? This last book may have a clue!) and her beloved fat cat Moishe. And then there are the recipes. One word. YUM! Can you tell that I like this series? A very good read.

Wicked Plants

Have you threatened to poison someone lately? Apparently it is easier to do than you think. (Not that I'm suggesting anything of course!) But in the book, Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart, you can get a lot of information about dangerous plants and their nasty and lethal side effects.

Everything from Castor beans, Arrow poisons and deadly Nightshade is covered here. Stewart and her illustrators make the details very plain. This tree bark will kill you, this plant will try, and this one can be found in every backyard on your block. Hmmm. Maybe a plant identification session of your yard is in order. Stewart makes the seemingly dry topic interesting, informative and entertaining. This well written and researched book is a great resource your botany shelf. Perfect for those mystery writers who are trying to get rid of a character!

This book makes you want to heed what your mother used to say; "you do not know where that's been, don't put that in your mouth!" A very good read.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker: A Memoir

Confections of a Closet Master Baker: A Memoir by Gesine Bullock-Prado is not your typical foodie book. Going from Hollywood to a bakery in Vermont might not be the regular career path that everyone takes, but Gesine isn't everyone. She's Sandra Bullock's younger sister and was involved with her production company. But her passion is baking. And that is what kept rearing it's head in La La Land.

Rather then the stories of Hollywood, what I really loved about the book was her stories of growing up in Germany - her mother was an opera singer there, and staying with her relatives. And her German pastries! (Yum! I'm not a big baker - but even I'm encouraged to try some of the easier recipes in here.) When Gesine makes her transition to full time baker, she finds she feels closer to her deceased mother through her memories of baking with her.

I really like the reminiscing in this book and thinks Gesine tells her tale well. Now if I can just get her to send me a batch of macaroons... A good read.

Death Will Get You Sober

Sometimes a book will take you into a subculture that you have never really paid that much attention to before. And the reason for the non-attention may just be that it never touched your life or your family or was even brought to your notice. (We humans are really a self-absorbed group.) So Death Will Get You Sober by Elizabeth Zelvin is not your average mystery set in New York City. It's main character, Bruce, is a recovering alcoholic. We first meet him in the detox unit at the Bowery. He's just starting to get out of his latest bender. It takes him awhile to realize that the two deaths happened while he was there (one of which was his roommate who seemed "perfectly" fine) were not deaths by natural or in this case known chemical causes. The deaths were dismissed as the casualties of a lifetime of drinking. But were they really? And what about those other deaths of long time alcoholics at those other detox centers? Were these people just being written up as the latest statistic?

Zelvin (who is a practicing psychotherapist) has run a detox center. She knows of what she writes about and she does it with respect, and manages to bring a bit of humanity to both sides of the detox situation - both the workers who trying to get the alcoholics sober and the alcoholics themselves. There are no "bad guys/good guys" here. And who knew that there were so many AA meetings throughout NYC?

I really enjoyed the characters and founding myself rooting for Bruce as he struggled through his multiple AA meetings. His pals, Jimmy and Barbara are quirky couple: him with his obsession with computers and her trying not to be an enabler. I found Barbara's character very compelling because I felt that I knew people who were like her - one who never said no and never wanted to make a scene. I found myself by the end of this really nicely paced read, wondering what happened in next book to these people. And will Bruce make it being sober? Looking forward to the next one. A very good read.

The Naked Baron

I believe it is a testimony to an author's plotting skill, when one finds a romance that really has two storylines going on and it works. Sally MacKenzie in her book The Naked Baron, does it quite well, thank you very much. We are introduced right away to Grace and Dawson - the younger couple. She is unsure and feeling ungainly since she is a woman of size and stature in a group of petite debutants. Dawson is not a fan of petite twits and when Grace comes on the scene he feels that this is the one. The older couple, Grace's Aunt Kate who is newly widowed and Dawson's Uncle Alex - a bachleor - find themselves facing each other accross a ballroom after many years. Their previous relationship did not end well. Kate was forced to marry someone else, and Alex has never really recovered from it. It is obvious the attraction is still there.

Will Grace take a chance on Dawson? Will she even realize Aunt Kate has had a past love? (She's a bit overwhelmed with Dawson at the moment.) Will it be okay in the end? Join the fun with these lively and likeable characters. I've just discovered this author and I'm hoping to read some more of her work. A fun and frothy read.

Simenon's Maigret

Georges Simenon's classic mystery character is Chief Inspector Maigret. It's hard reviewing a "classic". Is it classic because it is timeless? (These stories are fairly timeless.) Or is it a classic because the author was in the right time and place in the fiction - in this case - mystery timeline?

I read two books featuring Maigret. The first was Maigret Goes Home. He goes back to solve a murder in the village where he grew up. Most of the locals do not remember him. But he remembers the murder victim - the Countess of the estate that he grew up on. Maigret's main detecting style is to ask a lot of questions and wait to see what shakes loose. And while he is waiting he watches village life slowly pass by.

The other book was Maigret and the Hotel Majestic. Set in a Paris luxury hotel, the setting is bustling and frantic. The guests come in, the help makes them comfortable and the process starts again. A bit of a bump is caused when one of those guests is found murdered in the kitchen staff's area. Why would this elegant lady be down there? Who was she really? And who knew her before she was so rich and important? It is a story of youthful loves, dreams and abandoning it all to reach more practical goals. Maigret is well known in this local, but finds himself digging into the pasts of guests and staff alike. Again, he asks all the questions and sees what rises to the surface.

I liked the second better book much better than the first. Once I finally figured out Maigret's style, I think I finally understood the author's pacing. Simenon has tried to make his books a representation of France as he had known it. The timeless cafes, coffees and cigarettes. He succeeded so well - that the Hotel book contains no clue as to when it was written - during the occupation of Paris in World War II. But that does not interfere with Maigret. Perhaps that is why he is a classic. A good read.

Candace Camp's Matchmaker series

Candace Camp has finished her fourth book in her Matchmaker series. And I just finished reading them all. (Yes, it was a bit of a marathon weekend.) It is great to read a romance series that:
1.) isn't too long
2.) has some great continuing characters - Francesca and Irene are my favorites
3.) has a mix of the "reality" of the time period with the froth and gloss
4.) and may have a bad guy to mess up the romance - but it's not necessarily an outsider. Nasty relatives were around in history too, folks.

The Marriage Wager is Dominic and Constance's story. Francesca, a lovely fashionable widow, takes a bet from the Duke, that she can make over the dowdy Constance. Constance takes the chance that the season can bring her more than just chaperoning her younger cousins. She doesn't even imagine that she could fall in love with Francesca's brother Dominic. He is supposed to be looking for an heiress. Nice steady lead characters.

The Bridal Quest is Francesca's next task. How can she find a wife for Gideon? He's a long lost heir that was finally found. He grew up on the streets and his relatives are trying to tame him by getting him married. Irene has not had a good view of marriage and is not interested in getting a husband. Her plain speaking has not won her many fans. But Francesca thinks Irene can help her to get Gideon to be more like a gentleman. These are some great characters - fairly unusual for romance and this book has a bit of a mystery element too.

The Wedding Challenge has Francesca finding a husband for her ex-fiance's sister. Callie wants to get married but is tired of all the fortune hunters who want to wed a Duke's sister. She manages to find Bromwell herself, but she doesn't know his family's past history with her brother. But who is telling the truth? Brom or her brother Sinclair? There are some great scenes in this book. While the leads are good, you can tell that this book sets up the next one with Francesca and Sinclair.

The Courtship Dance is finally Sinclair and Francesca's story. And I think the best one in the bunch. We finally get some answers to their early romance, and Francesca's own unhappy marriage. She feels she has let the Duke down and decides she is going to find him a suitable wife. He decides to let her, but he really only wants her. Some great characters who deal truthfully with their past lives and troubles. You will find that you are really rooting for them by the end of the story. A most satisfying read.

And there you have it. A strong romance series. Some great leads, some fun secondary characters - love the great-aunt Lady Odelia - and some good story lines. Some very fun and frothy reads.

Pel and the Faceless Corpse

Mark Hebden's Inspector Pel series features a lead character who a bit of a worry wart. Pel is concerned about his digestive system, his hostile television addict of a housekeeper and his smoking habit. But he isn't worried about murder. It happens and he solves it with his team. How pragmatic. How French.

This case, Pel and the Faceless Corpse, brings Pel to a tiny town in the mountains, where outsiders are easily noticed and memories of the war (WWII) are long. The dead man is an outsider, but because of the way he was murdered it is hard to tell who he is. Maybe the better question is who do the locals think he is? He was found at the base of a monument dedicated to the local group of Resistance fighters who were shot during the war. Was he a Nazi or just a German? For some the label is enterchangable. Pel and his team must straighten out the past, and look into the rumors of money that the Germans lost when they left the town. Who is telling the truth?

Pel is a engaging character and his team provides a bit of realism that some mysteries do not. And it is an interesting view of small town France. I would like to take a look at other books in the series. A good read.

Busman's Honeymoon

I have a habit of not reading the last book in a series. I put off the inevitable because I usually want the author or the characters to go on and on. The last book seems so final. (Nowadays it is possible for them to go on and on because the author's estates sell the rights to the name or the character.) But in this case Dorothy L. Sayers concentrated on writing other things and gave us the last Lord Peter Wimsey book entitled Busman's Honeymoon. However in the 1937 version that I read, the book is subtitled A Love Story with Detective Interruptions. And that gives the reader a big clue that this particular Wimsey book is not going to be all about finding evidence.

At the beginning, we find Lord Peter and Harriet Vane attempting to finalize their long romance by marrying. It sounds much easier than it is, with the press hounding them and Peter's sister-in-law making plans that no one wants. How ever they manage to do the deed and slip off to the countryside to their new country home. The new home is not all that is it was promised to be, and with the help of Bunter, Lord Peter's man, the happy couple has a lovely evening just the same. However the following day brings a corpse in the basement and it embroils them in a local mystery that they can not get away from.

But along with the mystery, Sayers gives the characters time to figure out some things about their marriage. How will they go on? Will Harriet accept that Peter will always have to have his hand in a case? Will Peter remember to keep her involved? They are trying to figure out their new roles and how Bunter, the man of all trades, fits into the mix.

Sayers gives us a realistic ending. Lord Peter has never been very good with the end result of a case. In those days, they hung murderers. It usually brought back memories of the war (WWI) for him. But this time he has Harriet to help him. A very good read.

CookOff: Recipe Fever in America

Do you watch eagerly any and all cooking competitions on the Food Network? Do you dream of entering the Pillsbury BakeOff? If so then Amy Sutherland's book Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America is for you. Sutherland captures the history, enthusiasm and a bit of the wackiness that is inherent in these contests that are promoted as being all American. But do these contests really reflect what America eats? Or is this a case of the contestants giving the big food conglomerates what they want? And are they really cooking anyway? Or just assembling ingredients?

Sutherland delves into all those questions and many more as she follows contestants to the Pillsbury, garlic fest and other cook offs and well as a couple chili competitions. Just who are these people who compete? Some are what they call "contesters" people who have been doing this for quite a while. (Pillsbury has limits now on how many years you can compete at the contest - three!) Some are fresh faced newcomers just thrilled to be at their first contest. Most of the branded contests have women as the majority of their contestants. Men on the other hand dominate the chili and BBQ contests.

Sutherland has a great way of making these folks come alive in her writing. And she shows them to be very human with all their foibles, humor and passion. Most of these people love food and love to be creative in the kitchen. And it shows. Check out the mania and maybe you too will compete. A very entertaining read.

Murder in the Marais

Cara Black starts off her series with lead character Aimee Leduc in the book Murder in the Marais. What starts out as a simple and overpaid job of hunting down a encripted website, ends up becoming a case of murder. Aimee finds the body and sets in motion an investigation that goes all the way up to the top level of French politics.


The Marais is the traditionally Jewish section of Paris. And this is where the French Jews were rounded up during the occupation. Memories are long for injustices, and Aimee finds she is sifting through the history of the occupation in order to find out who would want an elderly Jewish woman murdered and who wants her to stop investigating.


This is a fast paced story but Black gives the reader enough time to get to know Aimee and her unusal background. Black hints at the fact that Aimee has secrets of her own that will be revealed in later books. Aimee is a tough character who has been trained by her recently deceased father in the art of detection. And it does not take the reader long to admire her tenacity and skill at going undercover to figure out the case. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series. A good mystery and a very good read.

Seven Ages of Paris

If you decide that you have forgotten anything you have learned about French history, or if you have decided that you are woefully ignorant of the French in general, you need to take a look at Alistair Horne's book Seven Ages of Paris.

In a fairly concise and enlivening book, Horne takes us on a whirlwind journey through the ages of Parisian life. This is definitely his view on things. But his view is a very good one - and it helps the ignorant like, yours truly, get a handle on the magnificent city that is Paris. From 358 AD to the rise of Mitterand, he gives us the politics, the people, architecture and artists that have given rise to the current "City of Lights." And he manages to interconnect them all as he goes along.

He has a bit of a "chatty" style for a historian, but he reminds you of the friend that is really going to tell you the highlights of what you need to know and nevermind the rest. I was amazed that his writing drew me in and kept me reading in the great saga that is PARIS! I was a bit disappointed by the lack of information about the French Revolution - a bit sketchy there - but the discussion of the aftermath, kept me from protesting. And besides he did tell you he was going to do the history - his way. An excellent book to look at the history of an exciting city. Viva la France!

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

When the dead body of a stranger lies in the garden of an disheveled ancient family home, what's an eleven year old girl with a passion for chemistry (and a unnatural knowledge of poisons) supposed to do? Solve the mystery of course. Welcome to Flavia's world.

Flavia de Luce is 11 going on 4o. She's the neglected youngest daughter of an absent minded stamp collector in Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. With her trusty bicycle Gladys, Flavia is determined to solve this crime. When her father is charged with the murder, it becomes even more important. She doesn't realize that the investigation will lead her to finding out more about her father's past.

Bradley does an excellent job showing us an eccentric dysfunctional family and manages to make it seem "normal" to Flavia. And when her older sisters lock her up in a closet or tell her she was really brought home as a baby from a store, she does what any normal youngest child does. She takes revenge. She just does it a little differently, with poison ivy in a lipstick.

I'm excited that this is to be a series. There are too many de Luce family secrets that have been hinted at and need to be uncovered. As a reader, I am looking forward to seeing Flavia and her sisters growing up in this odd environment. A very fun read!

Monsieur Pamplemousse - A Gastronomic Sleuth

The world knows author Michael Bond for his creation of Paddington Bear. But have you heard of his other literary creation for adults - Monsieur Pamplemousse? Monsieur Pamplemousse is a man of many talents. He was on the National Police force - but there was that chorus girls scandal in Paris (but no specifics - hmmm). He is now working undercover for Le Guide - the premier French publication which rates restaurants and food establishments throughout France. He brings along his dog Pomme Frites, on his food excursions in French countryside. He is a bit annoyed when his much awaited special dinner, is served with a fake human head. Has this renowned restaurant gone down hill? Mon dieu!

This series of adult books are bawdy bits of fun. Is it the French? Or Mr. Bond's quirky sense of humor? These are characters to be savored and enjoyed. Even Pomme Frites' has something to say. The mysteries are solved in the end, but the wacky winding and funny road it took to get there - well, c'est la vie. Definitely fun and frothy.

So far I've read:
Monsieur Pamplemousse
Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Secret Mission