I just finished The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell.


Oh my....

Rose is a reserved, quiet, old fashioned young woman raised with nun's. The year is 1924 and she is supporting her self by working as a typist in a police precinct and living in a boarding house with other single women. Very respectable and proper.

A new typist is hired for the pool; Odalie Lazarre. Rose is fascinated by her sophistication, clothes and friends. Odalie opens up a whole new exciting world to her of fancy clothes, speakeasies, living in an upscale hotel with Odalie and hobnobbing with the rich at the beach.

The author teases us constantly with glimpses into the mystery surrounding these two women. Who are they really and what has happened in the past? Odalie seems to be mixed up in bootlegging and have quite a past. Or does she? She is manipulative and as the story goes on, seems she could be dangerous. One wonders why Rose would want to be friends with her.

Once you think you have it figured out, turn the page...

Merry Christmas to my fellow mystery lovers!

Just finishing The Other Typist and will post it soon.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share this story with you.

I bet you all are familiar with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I saw this interesting article about the man Scrooge may be based on. The difference being, while this man, John Elwes, was a miser like Scrooge, he was also very generous to those less fortunate than he.

http://blog.findmypast.ie/2014/12/21/the-real-ebenezer-scrooge/

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season.

Good news Longmire fans! Longmire picked up by Netflix!

The series was cancelled by A&E because, although it was their most watched show, the audience is over 50.  Really? Shame on A&E.

The tentative premier of Season 4 is March 4, 2015. Looks like the original cast is interested in continuing with the series. Great cast!

For those of you not familiar with this series, it is a series based on books by Craig Johnson. 
The books and t.v. series are mysteries that take place in Wyoming.

From ABT:
"The show, based on Craig Johnson’s best-selling mystery novels, is a modern-day crime drama set in Big Sky country. Robert Taylor plays the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, along with fellow cast members Katee Sackhoff, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bailey Chase, Cassidy Freeman and Adam Bartley.
http://www.ibtimes.com/longmire-renewed-netflix-season-4-deadly-season-3-cliffhanger-be-resolved-1726903

To read more about the book series:
http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/

Just finished book two in the Sanctus trilogy.
 "The Key by Simon Toyne"
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13092142-the-key

KEYwords: danger, conspiracy, travel, archaeology, ancient relics, religion, prophecies, earthquakes, blight, plague, end of the world as we know it.

Liv Admundson holds the key to saving "all" and Gabriel is making sure the prophecy is fulfilled. They are on the run from people who have only their interests in mind; greed, cover up, money. He must deliver her to the place described in the ancient tablets before the end of the full cycle of the moon. But have others beat them to the place and for what purpose? Others are chasing them to bring her back to the Citadel.

This continuation of this story is very exciting and hard to put down. Get the three books at the same time because you will want to move on to the next book right away!

Need a mystery series to watch this fall and winter as the current shows go on hiatus?

Midsomer Murders is a British detective series that started in 1997 that I only found out about in the past year through my mystery book club. It is available on Netflix. It is apparently still in production and airs on ITV.

I have watched the first 2 seasons on Netflix. This is my go to show when I want something to watch.

The main character is DCI Tom Barnaby in the village of Causton. His partner in these earlier shows is Gavin Troy. DCI Barnaby is middle aged, very practical, very calm, very experienced and very likeable. He is married to Joyce and they have one daughter, Cully, an aspiring actress. Joyce is active in the community and a very supportive wife and mother.
Sgt. Troy is younger and also very likeable. He seems interested in Cully at this point in the series.
I say likeable because at this point in the series, there is nothing that I see to not like the main characters. You would love to be friends and neighbors with them.

The scenery is great - showing villages in England with the old buildings and wonderful greenery. The stories are great, gradually working through the murder like an Agatha Christie story.

While I watch several of the current day mysteries and detective series, I find this earlier series refreshing. Yes there is usually "a body". But it is not as graphic, gory, violent and fast paced as todays t.v. shows. Each episode is at least 90 minutes, sometimes a bit more. The story unravels gradually and systematically. It isn't slammed in your face like the 45 minute t.v. shows of today.

Each episode usually includes Barnaby's family to some extent, so you see the relationships and his day to day life, which is usually pretty good. 

And maybe that is what I like about it; everything gets tied up neatly at the end and everyone goes about their normal life.

In this earlier series, DCI Barnaby is played by John Nettles. Gavin Troy is played by Daniel Casey. Jane Widmark is Joyce and Laura Howard is Cully.

I can understand why this has been running since 1997.

Sanctus trilogy by Simon Toyne

I got the first book in this trilogy last summer off of the Barnes and Noble Nook offer of the day.
Described as a conspiracy thriller and the reviews said it is similar to a Dan Brown novel. It looked like it had a bit of a mystical component to it and I decided to purchase it for my Nook. Well, I purchased the other two novels before I finished the first one.

Book one: Sanctus

The story begins in the ficticious city of Ruin in Turkey (I looked it up to see if it were a real place). An ancient citadel is here inhabited by an order of monks. Within the group, is a secret order called the Sancti that guard a timeless secret. The Sancti are guarded by the other monks but do not interact with each other. No one but the Sancti know what the secret is.  If the secret were to be found out or something happen to it, would mean the end to the Church and more.

Samuel, a member of the Sancti, throws himself off the top of the cliffs surrounding the Citadel. It is so shocking it is televised and reported in newspapers around the world.  The monks of the Citadel need to get this swept under the carpet before the public gets too curious. They go to retrieve Samuel's body but he is gone.

Liv Admudsen is a reporter in New York. She reads the story and realizes this is her brother who left at some time. She immediately sets off to Ruin to find out what has happened.

Kathryn Mann, her father, Oscar de la Cruz and Kathryn's son, Gabriel live in South America. Oscar has been monitoring (and hiding from the Citadel).

Once word spreads of Samuel's death, Kathryn, Oscar and Gabriel fly to Ruin.

All four of the outsiders are in danger. All four are hunted down to be stopped.

What is the secret of the Citadel that is being so closely guarded?

It is a very fast paced, exciting story. And the ending has quite a cliff hanger.

I am half way through the second book " The Key". It is equally intriguing and hard to put down.

The Tower is the third book.

I recommend this trilogy if you liked The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.

http://www.simontoyne.net/

Death Comes to Pemberley Part II

This was the last Masterpiece MYSTERY series for 2014.  I didn't get to watch it "live" and just finished the recording of Part II.

This is a sequel to Pride and Prejudice written by P.D. James...I shared the first episode earlier.

Wickham is standing trial for the murder of his best friend. He swears he didn't do it.
Elizabeth stumbles across some information that seems to suggest that perhaps Wickham didn't do this. The story continues as Elizabeth unravels the facts.

This story also shows the social mores of the time and the struggles people go through due to those "rules".

I found it very captivating and the scenery is incredible.

I highly recommend it. It is available to watch on PBS online.

Quick t.v. recommendation: Masterpiece Mystery is showing "Death at Pemberley".  3 part series. I believe part 2 was shown 11/2/14. You can usually watch online at the PBS website.

I watched Part 1 yesterday and highly recommend it. It is a sequel to "Pride and Prejudice" BUT (and I had to rewind to find out if I heard correctly) it was written by current day author P.D. James. Many of you are familiar with her books. "Death at Pemberley" was published in 2011.

The story picks up six years after the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy. They are preparing for a ball at their estate. The uninvited Wickham and Elizabeth's sister, Lydia, are on their way to crash the ball. Wickham has a friend traveling with them. They stop the carriage at the edge of the forest before they arrive, arguing. And a murder takes place.

Very intriguing, beautiful scenery and costumes.

I hope you can catch it.

Just finished "Dog On It" by Spencer Quinn.

This is book 1 of the Chet and Bernie mystery series. Chet and Bernie run the Little Detective Agency in Somewhere, Southwest USA. Chet is Bernie's dog and the narrator of the story.
I would say the two are lovable misfits. Bernie attended Westpoint and was in the army. Bernie's wife, Leda, left him and took their son Charlie with her. Bernie  likes the casual look, bourbon and his old Porsche. Chet apparently flunked out of K9 school and loves ribs, steak, beef jerky, dog biscuits...the list goes on. Chet has a dog friend named Iggy. Oh and Chet does not like cats. Chet and Bernie met in K9 school. We are promised we will hear more about that at another time.

Bernie is hired to find a missing teen age girl named Madison by her mother Cynthia Chambliss.  Madison turns up the same day only to disappear again the next day. Damon Keefer is Madison's father and divorced from Cynthia. He is a real estate developer. He blows off the whole disappearance as just a teenager needing some space and will turn up. Even the police are not too concerned about the girl after she makes a phone call home. 

Suzie Sanchez is a local reporter assigned to do an article on Bernie. She becomes an important character as the story develops. And I think she is going to continue in the other books..

Did you ever wonder what Timmy and Lassie would be like grown up? Well, make Lassie a male dog named Chet and Timmy is Bernie and this is them. Remember how you always yelled at the t.v.; "no Lassie, don't go in that building, hole, truck, cave..."

First, Bernie leaves Chet in the car at the mall while he is asking around about Madison. A man sneaks up to the car and slashes the tires. Chet jumps out of the car after him and gets clobbered by the man. Thankfully he is alright.

Next, Chet takes off one night while Bernie and Charlie are camping in the backyard. Chet in true Lassie story form, gets mixed up with some bad guys. He is dognapped by Boris, one of the bad guys.

The story continues with Chet finding clues about Madison's disappearance and helping Bernie solve the mystery after a few close calls.

Some people may think that a mystery told from a dog's point of view would be too fluffy, or light. Not this book. This is a page turner, full of "oh no's!". It is really quite exciting.  It is also a humorous story with a look into what dog's may be thinking on a daily basis. :)  I know I put human traits on my cats.

There are 7 books in this series. I intend to read more.  Here is a link to this book if you think you may be interested. I would recommend it, especially if you are an animal lover.

One recommendation for Bernie: get the fence fixed!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5600151-dog-on-it

Hi fellow mystery readers. Yep, I have been absent for a couple of weeks. Vacation and then that work thing....

Just finished the latest China Bayles mystery: Death Come Quickly by Susan Wittig Albert.
I have read all of the China Bayles books. This is #22.

http://www.abouthyme.com/China/index.shtml
 
This story will grab you in the first couple of pages. It is very intriguing and I learned a few things that I did not know.

The story begins with Karen Prior (a friend of China's) meeting  someone (we don't know who) in a back parking lot. (probably not a good idea) She is hoping to obtain some information on a 15 year old murder unsolved murder case that her students are making a documentary film on.

Well things do not go well. Of course there is a lot more to the story. Cover ups and art fraud to name a few.

I learned a lot of things I did not know about trials, judges, and attorneys about what goes on behinds the scenes. Very interesting. 

Each chapter has a paragraph about a particular herb courtesy of China - she owns an herb shop. Those are always interesting too.

These stories typically take place in Central Texas and much of the description and references are familiar to me, so that is always fun.

The bonus to the China Bayles books are recipes at the back of the book. And you can actually make them and they taste good.  For instance, "China's Taco Casserole" and "Cass' Shrimp, Pasta and Rose Petals". I plan on trying them both but probably will leave out the rose petals. :)  There are several other recipes too.

The link to this mystery series is above. Have a look.

On to my next mystery!

Is everyone glad it is Fall? If you live in central Texas, the answer is probably YES!

I haven't completed a book since I finished Rebecca last week but here is what I am reading this month.

I have started Death Come Quickly by Susan Albert Witting's latest China Bayle's mystery - #22.
I read the first chapter and I will tell you that it really hooked me right away. A friend of China's goes to meet someone (she does not know who) that is supposed to have information pertinent to one of her student's documentary about a 15 year old murder case Well, she is assaulted in the parking lot where she is to meet the person...
The writing is very intriguing and really grabs you. I don't think it will take long to read once I get a couple of hours, I will not want to put it down.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114046-death-come-quickly?from_search=true

Also this month I will be reading our mystery book club selection for November: Dog On It by
Spencer Quinn. This is the first in the Chet and Bernie mystery series.  Oh and it is told by Chet,  Bernie's dog.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5600151-dog-on-it?from_search=true


Went to my Mystery Book Club. Here are books we will be reading in 2015.

1. The Long Way Home by Louise Penny - #10 of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. There are already 40 holds on it for the library so this will probably be a purchase. I don't want to miss it.

If you have never read this series, I strongly recommend it.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19561922-the-long-way-home?from_search=true

2. The Last Policeman by Ben. H. Winters (1st in a trilogy).  This will be a new author for me. More to come.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13330370-the-last-policeman?from_search=true


3. Natchez Burning by Greg Iles  Another new author for me. One club member has already read it and reported that it is excellent. I understand it is 800+ pages so I will need to get to it early.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18505832-natchez-burning

This is what I love about the Mystery Book Club I belong to. We read such a variety of types of mysteries and are introduced to authors we may never have read otherwise. We also share authors we read on our own to the group also. 

So many books, so little time....

Finished Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier yesterday. We read this for our mystery book club as a classic mystery selection. Actually we were to pick any Daphne du Maurier book but we will discuss Rebecca.

One of my favorite all time books is Wuthering Heights. I read this as a teenager. I saw the mysteriousness in it at the time more than the romance. I also have seen the movie many times - the original 1939 movie. Rebecca is the same style of book - gothic romance. But I had a harder time of reading this book although I enjoyed it.

I have seen 1940 Rebecca several times also. Again, I like the ghostliness of it, for lack of a better word. I had never read the book.

I love the story and the twists and turns. Even though I have seen the movie, I guess I had forgotten the surprises and was easily steered in the wrong direction as to who was doing what to whom. The ending was a surprise to me.

The story is told in the first person but the new, second wife of  Maxim de Winter, owner of the famous estate Manderley. We never know the name of this person that tells the story. I kept thinking I missed it somewhere. The newlyweds come home to Manderley after a honeymoon in Europe to the stern housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. The heroine is young and unexperienced in this life style and becomes more and more suppressed by the presence of  Mrs. Danvers. The first Mrs. de Winters drowned. Maxim is prone to dark moods and the heroine feels she can do nothing right. 

As the tale is told, there are several major twists and surprises that will keep you wanting to know what really happened at Manderley.

As I don't read this style of writing anymore, I did have a hard time getting through it. It is over 400 pages and very descriptive, which can lose me a lot of the time. The actual book I checked out had a bonus section of Ms. du Maurier talking about how she wrote it, how she chose and didn't chose the names of the characters and what her thought process was during the writing of Rebecca. I found that very interesting.

I will admit I did not realize that Daphne du Maurier wrote several of the Hitchcock classics. I am a big Hitchcock fan too. You may already know this but she wrote:
The Birds
Don't Look Now
Jamaica Inn

Enjoy!


                  

Did you watch A Caribbean Mystery Sunday night?

Did you catch the guest at the bird watchers presentation? Ian Fleming sat next to Miss Marple. Hmmm. He was starting a series and needed a name for his main character. He was stuck. Then the presenter introduced himself. "My name is Bond. James Bond." :)

That was great! He was nothing like the character James Bond by the way.  I haven't read A Caribbean Mystery, so I don't know if that is originally in the book.

I was thinking today about my upcoming October mystery book club meeting coming up and how I don't believe I have missed a meeting in the several years I have attended. I think it is a sign of a true book addict. I even plan my trips around the book club to make sure I don't miss it.!

Miss Marple returns to Masterpiece Mystery tonight, 9/21/14!

Tonight there will be two Miss Marple features.

First feature is A Caribbean Mystery at 7 p.m. central time. This is one of the 12 novels Agatha Christie wrote.

Here is a link to the summary if you would like a description of the story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Caribbean_Mystery

The second feature is Greenshaw's Folly. This is actually based on one of Agatha Christies' short stories. It will show at 8:30 p.m. central time.
This link describes all of her short stories. Scroll down to read about Greenshaw's Folly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_the_Christmas_Pudding


Should be a good night of mystery.

Enjoy!

Just finished a delightful cozy;  Quiet Anchorage by Ed Lynskey. http://www.amazon.com/Anchorage-Isabel-Trumbo-Mystery-Series-ebook/dp/B00MHLE984

Isabel and Alma Trumbo are sisters living in Quiet Anchorage together in their retirement. They try to keep busy but Quiet Anchorage is a small town, but are a bit bored.

There is a murder in this small town. The victim is their niece Megan's fiance and she is quickly accused by the sheriff of Quiet Anchorage. It appears to the sisters that Sheriff Fox has accused her only to be able to say he quickly solved the case, as he is running for re-election. And since they need a hobby and are avid mystery bood readers, they decide they will find the real murder themselves. They will be their own detective agency, and since they aren't being paid, they cannot get into trouble, right?

As they go about questioning people, go over the crime scene, sneaking into to places they don't belong, they pick up people help them with their detetive agency.

I liked the description of the colorful characters: the sisters, Sheriff Fox, his deputy who is running against him, the town's pharmacist who can't seem to get anyone's prescriptions filled and the sister's entourage.

When I read a book I often picture what I think the characters look like, from t.v. shows, movies or plays I have seen in my life. This book brought to mind any of Aunt Bea's friend's in Andy Griffith or the women in the "Tuna" plays - Greater Tuna and A Tuna Christmas. This book even has the men sitting outside nonchalantly daily who really have the scoop on the town, like the men Floyd's barber shop.

Quiet Anchorage is the first in series of three Isabel and Alma Trumbo series. Ed Lynskey also writes a crime fiction series with Private Investigator Frank Johnson. The first in that series is Pelham Fell Here.

http://www.amazon.com/Pelham-Fell-Here-Ed-Lynskey/dp/1594264015

If you are looking for a new cozy series I would recommend the Trumbo sisters. I hope to read the first PI Johnson book soon.

Masterpiece Mystery series:

Have you been watching the latest series on Masterpiece Mystery Breathless....?
Unfortunately I have only seen Part I due to DVR issues, (: but it looks like I can watch it on PBS online.

This series takes place in the early 1960's in London. It is fun to see the dress and décor from the time. But more importantly is portrays what was going on in the 60's for women.  Quitting jobs when they got married, figuring out what to do with their time while the husband's went to work, abortion, unfaithful husbands to name a few. There is a great scene that shows a street in a neighborhood, early morning, all the cars lined up on the street, with the wives lined up on the street sending off their husband's to work.

The story centers around one doctor who provides abortions behind closed doors and his other secrets. It appears he has a dark secret that someone is trying to uncover or expose him for.


Coming up soon is Miss Marple.  I always enjoy Miss Marple. If you have never seen the original Miss Marple movies from the early 1960's with Margaret Rutherford, you need to watch those. They are black and white movies. Margaret Rutherford is a great Miss Marple. I think maybe the best. Her real life husband, Stringer Davis, played her side kick, Mr. Stringer. Wonderful movies!

Are you a fan of the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny? I heard in my book club that the movie of Still Life is available to watch on Acorn TV. It may possibly be available in October on Netflix.

Here are a couple of great websites for you reading pleasure:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/

Stop Your Killing Me is a wealth of information about mystery novels. You can find books by author, genre, and award winners to name a few.

http://landers.bookbub.com/covers/?source=mskn418

Book Bub is a fun site for book lovers. When you register, you can choose your favorite genres and if you use Kindle or Nook,  and receive daily emails about new books YOU may enjoy. They range in price from $0 to $2.99. There are even complete sets of books for FREE. Great way to try authors you may never have heard of. I have gotten some great deals and enjoyed several new authors through Book Bub.

Have you been watching the Longmire series on A&E the past three summers? This series is based on the books by Craig Johnson: http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/.

Excellent show and books about a sheriff in Wyoming named Walter Longmire, friend Henry Standing Bear, and Deputy Victoria Moretti. The first book in the series of eight is The Cold Dish and was the basis for the t.v. series.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cold-dish-craig-johnson/1100310157?ean=9780143123170

It looks like the series has been "cancelled" but may be picked up by another network. Fans hope so. The weekly series takes place out west. There are several standing colorful characters each with their own mysteries in their background. Small town. Living and working with the neighboring Cheyenne reservation.

If you are a fan, let A&E know you want it to continue next summer!

Just finished Destroyer Angel by Nevada Barr. This is the 18th Anna Pigeon novel.

Anna is a ranger for the U.S. Parks Services. She, two of her friends and their daughters head to Minnesota for a remote camping  vacation. Anna leaves the campsite one evening to canoe on her own. Upon her return she finds her four camping companions are being held captive by, (my words) four despicable characters.  Why are these men interested in the group?  Anna keeps hidden to try to rescue her friends. As this is remote camping, there is no one else in the area and very limited resources. Oh, and they didn't bring a cell phone because the wanted to "get away from it all'. Did I mention that one of the women is a paraplegic?

This is a story of the human instinct to survive despite all odds. It is so well written, that even I was exhausted at the end of the book.

Check it out! (Sorry for the pun)
:)

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17934372-destroyer-angel

What about Poirot on Masterpiece Mystery series?

I was very disappointed to realize we only saw two of the last five episodes filmed for Season 13. And out of order, no less.

You can watch them all on Acorn.tv - a British site for streaming TV.

http://acorn.tv/poirotfinale

The remaining 3 episodes should be released in November 2014 to PBS. Hopefully we will see them in the U.S. soon after?

The special on PBS, "Being Poirot" shown Aug. 17, 2014 was excellent. I liked the interview with David Suchet, never having seen him out of character. He took the audience on a tour of Agatha Christie's summer home in Torquay, Devon, England and introduced us to her grandson. This home is featured in the episode " Dead Man's Folly." We saw memorabilia of her home and writings. Then on to Belgian, home of Hercule Poirot. We also went for ride on "The Orient Express"!  It is very clear why David Suchet was Hercule Poirot for 25 years. He was wonderful.

 I really enjoyed learning more about Agatha Christie and her life, since she may be my all time favorite authors. Fascinating....

Hoping to see the remaining episodes soon.

These are some of my favorite authors that I always go back to.

Susan Wittig Albert writes two series that I especially like.

The China Bayles series is set in current day Central Texas. China used to be an attorney in Houston and has given up that life to have an herbal shop in a small town.  Each of the books has an herb connected to the major theme. China also ends up in the middle of mystery and often with her friends and family.

 The Darling Dahlias set in 1930's Alabama.
The Dahlias belong to a garden club that seems to have a nose for solving mysteries in the town of Darling. I love the references to that time period. There are also old fashioned recipes, of which I have tried a few.


http://www.abouthyme.com/index.php
http://www.darlingdahlias.com/index.php


M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series is a hoot.
Agatha was a publisher in London who takes early retirement and moves to Carsley in the Cotswolds in England. It is a small village where she hopes to live a quiet live. But she quickly becomes bored and gets into the middle of lots of trouble. These books are quite humorous to me.

http://www.agatharaisin.com/


These three series are very entertaining and quick reads. Give them a try. I would recommend you start with the first book in each of the series to get the background of the characters. But each book does give a brief background of the story line also.

Enjoy!

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah is a book I enjoyed reading last month. It may not be categorized as a mystery but the story is mysterious.

http://www.kristinhannah.com/content/books_winter_garden.php

As children, a mother tells pieces of what seems to be a fairytale to her two daughters. The fairy tale is about peasants, a prince and the Black Knight. They have never heard the entire story.

On his deathbed, their father has their mother promise to tell them story. The story goes back 65 years and tells of the struggles of a family and a young girl during the war...."a captivating, mysterious love story that spans sixty-five years and moves from frozen, war torn Leningrad to modern-day Alaska."

 It is wonderfully written. This is a book that is hard to put down because you want to know the answer to the mystery!

This was my favorite thing to do in the summers when I was a kid.

The Book Mobile came once a week and parked a block away from our house. I always checked out as many books as allowed.
:)

Messenger of Athens

I took a Mediterranean cruise by book, last month and read Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi.
This is the first in the Greek Detective series with Hermes Diaktoros as a detective from Athens.
The story takes place on a small Greek island. Hermes arrives from Athens to investigate the death of young woman whose body has washed in from the sea.

The local chief of police lets him know there is nothing to investigate and dismisses Hermes from the island.  But Hermes is sure something is amiss and carries on his investigation nevertheless. Since the local police are not interested in justice being service, Hermes serves it in his own way.

Called "the fat man" Hermes is an interesting, quirky character. He helps those that need help along with "taking care of business" when no one else will.

The description of the villagers was very interesting. Although the story seems it was set in modern day, the village ways and people still live by their old customs, which get in the way of Hermes trying to do his job.

I also liked the descriptions of the island, the homes, and the FOOD!

A great summer read.

http://www.annezouroudi.com/books/the-messenger-of-athens/

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog about books!

I am a nurse by profession, but I am a book lover. I am a wannabe librarian. Or at least I “wanna” hang out in the library, look at the new books, read the books and talk to people about the books. Or the local bookstore; I could do that.

 I am not: a writer, an editor, or a publisher.  I just love reading books.

My favorite type of books to read are mysteries. But I will read the occasional other type of book as long as there is something mysterious about it.

My motto is - always take a book. You never know when you will have an opportunity to read that book you are currently reading and just don’t want to put it down.

I belong to an awesome Mystery Book Club that meets once a month. If it hadn’t been for joining this book club, I probably wouldn’t have read many of the books I have read. I tended to read the same two or three authors. I still have my favorites that I make sure I get the book next in the series but I have now found many other favorites. 

Many of my coworkers and friends ask me what I am reading now, and ask for recommendations. So I decided I would start this blog and share what I have read, authors, and information about upcoming books. 

I also have some mystery television shows that I may share.

Enjoy