Category: books and reading

Book Recommendation/Review: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading10 Comments


I cannot even begin to explain how much I loved The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery.

This was the first book I had read by her that was not in the Anne of Green Gables series and I was blown away by it.

The voice in this book was eons away from what I’d read in Anne of Green Gables and that’s not meant to disparage Anne. I absolutely loved Anne of Green Gables and a couple of the other books in the series (a couple I did not like at all ) but The Blue Castle was even more bold and romantic and poetic.

It read more like a book that would have been written at a time later than 1926. Way beyond its years, this book captivated me with its boldness and enchanted me with its heartwarming essence.

I love the main character, even if I wouldn’t have made some of the choices she made – though, maybe I would have if I had been in the circumstances she had been.

Valancy is 29 years old but is treated like a child by her mother, cousins, aunts, and uncles. They refer to her as overweight, boring, half-witted, and expect her to do what they say. They act like she’s always sick or going to get sick. She never does anything exciting and wants to be in love but never has or had anyone love her.

To get herself through her mundane days, she imagines a “blue castle” where everything is bright and beautiful and handsome suitors come to court her. She dreams of a day where someone will love her and take her away from the dark sadness of her life. She reads books about nature and  how to connect with it by a man named John Foster, escaping from her world through his beautiful words.

She’s been having pains in her chest, though, and she doesn’t like doctors but she finally decides to go to one. When she does, her entire life changes. Her life begins right before she is told it will end.

She begins to change how she acts and acts completely differently from how she has acted all of her life. Her change in her future shakes her awake and she begins to go after what she wants instead of waiting for it to happen.

There are so many great quotes in this book. I was underlining like a madwoman. I don’t usually mark up a book but I felt like I had to for this one.

Here are a few that I either underlined or marked in my Kindle version:

“If you can sit in silence with a person for half an hour and yet be entirely comfortable, you and that person can be friends. If you cannot, friends you’ll never be and you need not waste time in trying.”

It was three o’clock in the morning – the wisest and most accursed hour of the clock. But sometimes it sets us free.

“Just to love! She did not ask to be loved. It was rapture enough just to sit there beside him in silence, alone in the summer night in the white splendor of moonshine, with the wind blowing down on them out of the pine woods.”

“But though she was not afraid of death she was not indifferent to it. She found that she _resented_ it; it was not fair that she should have to die when she had never lived. Rebellion flamed up in her soul as the dark hours passed by—not because she had no future but because she had no past.”

“I’ve been trying to please other people all my life and failed,” she said. “After this I shall please myself. I  shall never pretend anything again. I’ve breathed an atmosphere of fibs and pretences and evasions all my  life. What a luxury it will be to tell the truth! I may not be able to do much that I want to do but I won’t do  another thing that I don’t want to do. Mother can pout for weeks—I shan’t worry over it. ‘Despair is a free  man—hope is a slave.’”

One of my favorite quotes was: “Fear is the original sin. Almost all of the evil in the world has its origin in the fact that some one is afraid of something. It is a cold slimy serpent coiling about you. It is horrible to live with fear, and it is of all things degrading.”

I have other favorite quotes but they would be spoilers and I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone who hasn’t read it yet.

If I was going to express anything negative about this book it would probably be that the beginning of Valancy’s story, where she is stuck in depression and lack of love from her family, goes on for a bit too long for me. It’s a slog to get through it and I almost thought of putting the book down. I probably wouldn’t have made it through if it hadn’t been for the way Montgomery wove some humor and sarcasm into those chapters.

Some readers have criticized how Valancy acts toward her family after she’s been told she will die soon and, yes, she is harsh to them, but I think we as the reader really need to put ourselves in her shoes. She was treated horribly for 29 years and now that she believes she doesn’t have much longer to live, she’s letting loose. I am pretty sure I’d do the same thing for at least a little while and then I’d tone it down some.

This is a book that could have been filled with heartache and bitterness but instead it is a book full of hope and a type of awakening to how precious life is. To me, the message is that we need to grab ahold of every moment and experience we can because we never know when we will lost the opportunity to do so.

Have you read The Blue Castle? What did you think of it? Are there any other L.M. Montgomery books you enjoyed?

Book recommendation/review: Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker (I wanted to like this one more than I did)

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading5 Comments

Title: Live and Let Cha

Author: Bree Baker

Genre: cozy mystery

Description:

Sun, sand, and tea are just three of Everly Swan’s favorite things. Her batty, beekeeping great-aunts and small, coastal hometown of Charm, North Carolina, round out the top five. So returning to Charm for a fresh start on her wilting life is an easy decision for Everly, and opening a new seaside cafe and iced-tea shop puts the proverbial icing on her legendary lemon cakes.

Everything is just peachy until a body turns up on the boardwalk outside her home and a jar of her proprietary tea is found at the victim’s side.

Now, Detective Grady Hays, Charm’s newest and most mysterious lawman, has named Everly as his number-one suspect, and Everly’s new start is about to go up in smoke unless she can dish up the real killer.

I’d heard so much about this book from other cozy mystery readers of Booktubers so I was excited when it finally became available through Libby, the library ebook app.

I started it and really enjoyed it in the beginning. I even found out I could listen to it for free via Audible for the times I couldn’t sit and read. I then discovered that Bree Baker was the pen name for another author I’d recently read – Julie Anne Lindsey – so I was sure the book would be as good as everyone said. Lindsey’s book was Apple Cider Slaying, which I really enjoyed.

The writing is great, don’t get me wrong, but after a few chapters I began to realize that I was reading the beach version of Apple Cider Slaying.

Sure, the characters were somewhat different – an extra elderly relative was thrown into this one with two aunts instead of just one grandma – but otherwise the plots were somewhat similar.

There was a person in town who didn’t like the main character, Everly,  having her business in her home and before the end of chapter one he was dead.

Everly was considered a possible suspect so she had to clear her name. In Apple Cider Slaying, the main character had to clear her grandmother’s name.

Once again we  had a former U.S. Marshal who moved to a small town to start over as the local police chief and the main character found out more about him by looking him up online.

This time we tossed a kid and dead wife into the mix, but the police chief does become a love interest.

Now, all this being said, I’m not saying the book was bad. There were aspects I liked about it, including the back story of the Swan family.

Overall, the book was interesting and engaging even if it was predictable and not as good as I had hoped. Still, cozy mysteries aren’t known to be creatively unique or full of depth all the time. They often simply give readers what they want – a mystery to solve by an amateur sleuth who must clear either her name or that of a friend or family member and some quirky and fun characters. Cozy mysteries are to cozy mystery readers like romances are to romance readers – comfortingly predictable and maybe even slightly cheesy.

Live and Let Chai had all of that so I enjoyed it, yes, but I don’t know if I will rush out to read the next in the series – especially because I didn’t really like the main character that much. She was a bit rude and pushy at times.

 I will, however, most likely read the next in the series at some point because I am curious to see if the other books will be as predictable or if Lindsey – er – Baker will break the mold a bit.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Top Ten Things I Love about Little Women

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings12 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

Today’s prompt is: Ten Things I Loved About [Insert Book Title Here] (Pick any book and tell us ten things you loved about it!) (submitted by Cathy @ WhatCathyReadNext)

For this prompt, I chose to write about Little Women, which I read for the first time at the end of last year into this year. I stretched out the reading of this book – savoring it – because I loved it so much. I can’t believe it took me so long to read it. I fell in love with every character and I feel like this is a book I may not read over and over but will read excerpts of each year – probably in the winter like I did this time.

Anyhow, without further ado. . .

Top Ten Things I Loved about Little Women.

1. I love how realistically Louisa Mae Alcott wrote about the roles and lives of women in that time period, but she also didn’t entirely adhere to this historical fact because she also wrote of the girls as rebellious to those strict “standards” for women. The young March women were bold and strong-willed and didn’t let what society said they had to be stop them from being what they wanted to be.

2. I love Marmee. Just everything about her. I loved how she was maternal and brave and cared for others. I loved how she was strong but didn’t mind showing the girls she was scared when her husband was in the military hospital. I loved that she didn’t mind telling Jo that she too had struggled with her tongue and being snappy and hurting people’s feelings, yet didn’t try to tell Jo that Jo needed to change. Alcott’s decision to write about her admittance of her own struggles with temper and her reasons for those struggles was so ahead of its time. Talking about feelings and motivations for why a person acted the way they did wasn’t really something touched on by many books of this time, as far as I’ve seen.

3. I love how the book is not a traditional romance or really a romance at all – yet it is at the same time. Readers may think the story is marching (no pun intended) to a certain conclusion with two certain people ending up together but Alcott turns it all on its head and leaves us pondering what we think about who does end up with our beloved Teddy.

4. Finding a category to place this book in can be very hard at times. There are elements of romance, but then also just sweet stories, and then women’s fiction with Jo’s story and thoughts about what it means to become a young woman and a writer and what love means to her. I love that the book can’t be easily categorized. It makes it even more endearing.

5. I love the faith of the characters and how even though they have faith, they also aren’t afraid to question it and admit when God seems so far away.

“Yes, it is. She doesn’t know us, she doesn’t even talk about the flocks of green doves, as she calls the vine leaves on the wall. She doesn’t look like my Beth, and there’s nobody to help us bear it. Mother and Father  both gone, and God seems so far away I can’t find Him.” 

As the tears streamed fast down poor Jo’s cheeks, she stretched out her hand in a helpless sort of way, as if  groping in the dark, and Laurie took it in his, whispering as well as he could with a lump in his throat, “I’m  here. Hold on to me, Jo, dear!” 

She could not speak, but she did “hold on,” and the warm grasp of the friendly human hand comforted her  sore heart, and seemed to lead her nearer to the Divine arm which alone could uphold her in her trouble. 

6. I love how each chapter of the book is like its own story which means I could read a chapter or two a night of the book and stretch out the enjoyment of stepping into that world night after night.

7. I love how Beth was both childlike and deep at the same time. So many of the things she said – much like Jo and Marmee – were amazingly profound and thought-provoking in such a simple, sweet way.

“You must take my place, Jo, and be everything to Father and Mother when I’m gone. They will turn to you, don’t fail them, and if it’s hard to work alone, remember that I don’t forget you, and that you’ll be happier in doing that than writing splendid books or seeing all the world, for love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the end so easy.”

8. I love the subtly of the life lessons in this book. Those life lessons come in some of the profound statements that the characters, like Beth, says, but especially through the actions of the characters. How Marmee takes food to others and cares for them when they are at their lowest. How all the girls grasp onto life and hold on tight so they can enjoy as much of it as possible. How Mr. March helps his neighbors. How Beth cares for the young children who are sick, resulting in her own sickness and later her death.

9. I love how we are able to follow the young women from childhood to adulthood. I loved being able to see them grow and progress and stretch along the way.

10. I love Mr. Laurence and his love for Beth, but all the girls and how that love opens up parts of him that he had shut off long ago.

Is there a book that you could list ten things you love about it? If so, which book is it?

Mid-year Book Round Up or Freak Out or Whatever it is Called

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings8 Comments

I saw this prompt for a Mid-Year Book Round-Up (Freak Out) on Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs’ blog a few weeks ago but also saw another version online where the blogger listed more than one book for certain questions so I decided to combine the two.

Best Book (s) You’ve Read In 2024

Little Women by Lousia Mae Alcott and Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

I know. I know. I went for the classics, but I had never read either of them and ended up loving them both. I started Little Women in December but finished it in 2024, so I am counting it for 2024. I listened to Around the World in 80 Days and maybe it was the narrator that made it so interesting for me, but I really did enjoy it.

Best Sequel You’ve Read In 2024

The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes

My daughter and I loved this middle-grade book and, I think, it was the only sequel I read all year so far. It was such a cute book, following the adventures of – well, the middle Moffat, Jane. Her adventures with the Oldest Inhabitant (a 99-year-old Civil War vet) was the cutest part of the book to me. It was also cool that we read the chapter about the Eclipse at the same time the eclipse was happening.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

There are a lot of these (and you can read more of mine here) but for now, I will go with Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson and I haven’t read it because it actually doesn’t release until August 1.

This one is a mystery that seems pretty cozy so I am looking forward to it.

Here is the description:

Who Stole Tilly from the Auction Block? Breathe in the nostalgia of everything old red truck in book one of a new cozy mystery series. The Hadley family ranch is struggling, so RaeLyn, her parents, and brothers decide to turn the old barn into an antique store. The only thing missing to go with the marketing of the store is Grandpa’s old red truck, Tilly, that was sold several years ago. Now coming back up on the auction block, Tilly would need a lot of work, but RaeLyn is sure it will be worth it—if only she can beat out other bidders and find out who stole Tilly after the auction ends. Hadley finds herself in the role of amateur sleuth, and the outcome could make or break the new family venture.

Biggest disappointment.

I have two for this one:

Hell is Empty: A Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson

I’ve enjoyed almost all of the Walt Longmire series I’ve read so far but this one was ridiculous and predictable and I was terribly disappointed in it. My husband has suggested I read more books in the series because the rest of them were very good, so I will.

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright

This was my first time trying this author and not only was the book repetitive (the woman grew up in a house of death by a cemetery full of death and death was all around her. Yes, got it. Stop repeating it every chapter) but it was extremely, extremely disturbing to me and I didn’t feel it should have been listed under Christian Fiction.

Biggest surprise.

I picked up How To Plan Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin on Netgalley and wasn’t sure what I would think of it but ended up really enjoying it and getting swept up in the twists and turns of this mystery.

Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)

Isabella Alan would probably be a new favorite for me. Her real name is Amanda Flowers but she writes as Isabella Alan as well and I really enjoyed her book Murder Plainly Read and plan to read more books by her later this year.

Newest fictional crush.

Theo Goodnight in Sharon Peterson’s The Fast Lane. He’s so swoony and sweet and funny and (a small spoiler here!) writes romances that I actually wouldn’t read but we’ll just go back to him being sweet and funny and dreamy.

Here is a little snippet of the book with Theo in it:

Bracing a hand on the table, he leaned close. “I’m beginning to think you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

My breath caught at the low, gravelly sound of his voice.

He shifted closer, his mouth stopping an inch from my ear. His warm breath on my skin sent a zing of awareness through me. “And I’m definitely not your brother.”

Swoon.

This is a clean romance by the way, so there is a bit of steam, small level of spice but no open door scenes or even medium spice.

Newest favorite character.

I know he isn’t new to others, but he’s new to me: Hercule Poirot. I’ve watched him on TV in the shows, but never realized how savage he was – even more so in the books than the show. The way he slams Hastings, putting him in his place, is just so funny.

From Lord Edgware Dies:

“I have noticed that when we work on a case together, you are always urging me on to physical action, Hastings. You wish me to measure footprints, to analyse cigarette ash, to prostrate myself on my stomach for the examination of detail. You never realize that by lying back in an armchair with the eyes closed one can come nearer to the solution of any problem. One sees then with the eyes of the mind.”

“I don’t,” I said. “When I lie back in an armchair with my eyes closed one thing happens to me and one thing only!”

“I have noticed it!” said Poirot. “It is strange. At such moments the brain should be working feverishly, not sinking into sluggish repose. The mental activity, it is so interesting, so stimulating! The employment of the little grey cells is a mental pleasure. They and they only can be trusted to lead one through fog to the truth…”

Book that made you cry.

Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen. ‘

So much of this book was just so sweet and touching. It’s the story of a family who travels to the mother’s grandmother’s former home in the Pennsylvania countryside to try to help the father overcome PTSD. While there they meet a lovely couple, help the couple make maple syrup, meet a man who they thought was weird, but was actually sweet and just grow together as a family. Maybe it is because I am from Pennsylvania that it gave me sentimental feelings, I don’t know, but it really had me teary-eyed.

Book(s) that made you happy.

I’m picking two for this one:

The Cat Who Talked To Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun.

This book didn’t make me happy because a side character in the series I’ve been reading since high school was tragically murdered, but because I saw so much more of the main character, Jim Qwilleran’s, personality in this book. There were funny moments and touching moments and it was just such a departure from the other books in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

Murder In An Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

This one was just a fun ride and I really enjoyed learning about Irish culture while also being taken on a journey through an interesting mystery. Plus, I fell in love with the characters.

What books do you want to read by the end of the year?

Here are a list of books I want to read by the end of the year:

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery (already reading it)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (because I’ve never read it

Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker (I’ve heard a lot about this one and have it on my Kindle and Audible right now so I am looking forward to it)

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kipp by Sara Brunsvold (I started this one but it got a bit heavy for me so I would like to finish it)

An Old Fashioned Girl by Louise Mae Alcott

The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Are any of these books on your mid-year round-up? Any of them you want to read? Let me know.

Book review/recommendation: Lord Edgware Dies: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie and some thoughts about Agatha’s possible antisemitism

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading3 Comments

Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie is a wild ride full of Hollywood starlets, mistaken identities, greed, trickery, and hilarious verbal sparring between Arthur Hastings and Poirot.

This is the second Poirot book I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is the story of the death of Lord Edgware, whose wife – American actress Jane Wilkinson — declares she’d like to kill him – maybe hit him with her car so she can marry another man. The focus on the suspect flies right to her when he is found dead in his library the next day – stabbed in the neck.

There are other suspects in the play too, though – his nephew Ronald Marsh who wants his uncle’s fortune, his daughter who Lord Edgware wasn’t very nice to, an actress named Carlotta Adams who does an amazing impression of Jane Wilkinson, and even Lord Edgware’s secretary.

Jane is the obvious suspect, though, because she asked Poirot if he would go to her husband and ask him for the divorce she’s been asking for so she can remarry.

Originally, she wanted a divorce to marry an actor but now it is a duke. Poirot agrees to meet with Lord Edgware, who informs him that he’s already told Jane she could get a divorce.

The problem with Jane being the suspect is that she was seen at a dinner party the night her husband was killed and there is a witness who says he heard and saw her receive a phone call at exactly the time of the murder.

This spins the case right on its head.

Before the book is done there will be more than one murder, more than one suspect, and a big reveal scene at the end that twists and turns the reader to the answer.

Hastings reveals his affectionate aggravation with Poirot during the book, including how Poirot constantly talks about how he (Poirot) needs to go sit and use his “gray matter.”

“I have noticed that when we work on a case together, you are always urging me on to physical action, Hastings. You wish me to measure footprints, to analyse cigarette ash, to prostrate myself on my stomach for the examination of detail. You never realize that by lying back in an armchair with the eyes closed one can come nearer to the solution of any problem. One sees then with the eyes of the mind.”

“I don’t,” I said. “When I lie back in an armchair with my eyes closed one thing happens to me and one thing only!”

“I have noticed it!” said Poirot. “It is strange. At such moments the brain should be working feverishly, not sinking into sluggish repose. The mental activity, it is so interesting, so stimulating! The employment of the little grey cells is a mental pleasure. They and they only can be trusted to lead one through fog to the truth…”

While I enjoyed this book very much, I was bothered by the many negative or stereotypical references toward Jewish characters in the book. I apparently downloaded a copy to my Kindle where they hadn’t taken these references out since such references were edited out from some versions years ago.

A quick search online revealed a complicated relationship between Agatha and her views on Jews – views that partially came from the attitudes toward Jews of the wealthy class of people she was a part of in Great Britain. Agatha did indeed have some antisemitic views but also wrote about Jews being wealthy in a good way in her books – like that they were bright so that is how they were able to be so wealthy. She used a seriously disturbing number of tropes against them in this particular book, often calling them shrewd and money-hungry – but then seeming to say being shrewd was a good thing.

At one point in Lord Edgware Dies Poirot says, “Misfortune may always be waiting about to rush upon us. But as to your question, Miss Adams, I think, will succeed. She is shrewd and she is something more. You observed without a doubt she is Jewish?”

Hastings says he hadn’t but now that he thinks about it he does “see the faint traces of Semitic ancestry.”

Poirot continues, “It makes for success – that. Though there is still one avenue of danger – since its danger we are talking of.”

“You mean?” Hastings asks.

“Love of money,” Poirot tells him. “Love of money might lead such a one from the prudent and cautious path.”

So while we have a stereotype here, we also have a compliment, making it confusing what Agatha is really trying to say about  Jews. The fact she continues to negatively reference Jews throughout the book (one has the traditional big Jewish nose, one character comments), is awkward but she also seems to assign some positive elements to those characters, as well as showing admiration of those who are Jewish from other characters in the book.

According to information I read online, an autobiography about Agatha details a few stories that point to her apparent antisemitism, including one during World War II when a high-ranking British official involved with the Nazi party commented that all Jews should be killed. This is said to be a moment when Agatha was shocked at the idea of killing anyone based on their ethnicity or faith and she was appalled at the comment. Her portrayal of Jews changed some after that incident. Nothing I read can definitively say that Agatha didn’t like Jews, blacks, or any other race she described in a stereotypical way in her books, plays, and short stories. Some critics, and even her own family members, feel that she was writing about how certain groups were described at that time, not that she herself felt hatred toward any group.

There are, however, repeated negative references to Jewish people in this particular novel and I struggled to be simply entertained by the story because of them. After feeling uncomfortable with the continued references, I did read a very interesting article by a writer named Benjamin Ivry on Forward.com. Forward.com is a site focused on Jewish culture. In summary, Ivery said that some of the language against Jews Agatha used in her writing was wrong and stereotypical but that many Jews still enjoy Agatha’s work, seeing it as a product of a time when many ethnicities were not respected. May of Jews can still see the brilliance in Agatha’s plots, while recognizing her propensity to overgeneralize Jewish stereotypes, he said.

In his article, he wrote: “Christie specialist Gillian Gill was unequivocal:

‘A kind of jingoistic, knee-jerk anti-Semitism colors the presentation of Jewish characters in many of her early novels, and Christie reveals herself to be as unreflective and conventional as the majority of her compatriots… Christie’s anti-Semitism had always been of the stupidly unthinking rather than the deliberately vicious kind. As her circle of acquaintances widened and she grew to understand what Nazism really meant for Jewish people, Christie abandoned her knee-jerk anti-Semitism. What is more, even at her most thoughtless and prejudiced, Christie saw Jews as different, alien, and un-English, rather than as depraved or dangerous – people one does not know rather than people one fears.”

Jane Arnold likewise observed that in Christie’s writings, “No particular Jewish characteristic is completely negative.” This ambiguity may have been due in part to an incident recounted in Christie’s autobiography. In 1933, she accompanied her husband, an archaeologist, to the Middle East for an excavation. There they met Julius Jordan, Germany’s Director of Antiquities in Baghdad. When someone mentioned Jews, Jordan retorted: “Our [German] Jews are perhaps different from yours. They are a danger. They should be exterminated. Nothing else will really do but that.”

Christie’s reaction was to stare at Jordan “unbelievingly” and observe to herself: “There are things in life that make one truly sad when one can make oneself believe them.” The UK National Archives website further explains that Julius Jordan was Nazi Party leader and propaganda director for Iraq. So Christie had encountered the local equivalent of Joseph Goebbels.

While Christie was shocked at the idea of Jews being killed, a Jewish journalist, Chrisopher Hitchens, later said when he attended a dinner with Christie and her husband in the 1960s the conversations about Jews was still “vividly unpleasant.”

Ivry says for many Jews, Agatha remains “a recreational delight.”

Indeed, in an article in the Canadian Jewish News, journalist Michael Taube writes: “Was Christie a racist or an anti-Semite? Her family and friends always denied it. They argued that most of the characters who made intolerant remarks were, in fact, seen in a negative light in her works. That’s true, which means she was more likely a product of her times than a hateful soul.”

As for my personal opinion, I enjoy Agatha Christie’s novels and plan to keep reading them. Since I was never able to speak to the woman herself and will never have the chance I will hold on to hope that the negative references she made toward Jews and other ethnicities were simply what others have said they were – ignorance or a reflection of the character saying them.

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books for the Second Half of 2024

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading26 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

This week the topic is: Top Ten Tuesday Anticipated books for the second half of 2024.

This one is hard for me because I read a lot of older books and because I am always behind on finding out about new releases, even though I am on Netgalley. I don’t have ten books here, but I have seven, and many of these I either have an ARC of (through Netgalley) or hope to get ARC copies of. I also haven’t read books by most of these authors yet, but the plots sound good or I have heard a lot about them.

1. The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit (November 5)

I was approved for this ARC and it looks very good.

Description:

A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots on opening day.

After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden.

When opening day arrives, Violet is nowhere to be found, and the gardeners are restless. Things go from bad to worse when Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the plots… and there’s a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

The Gardener’s Plot takes readers to the heart of the Berkshires and introduces amateur sleuth Maggie Walker in Deborah J. Benoit’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut.

2. The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams; Lauren Willig; Karen White (November 5)

This just sounded very good to me. I have not been approved for the ARC, but I’ll read it eventually.

Agatha Christie meets Murder, She Wrote in this witty locked room mystery and literary satire by New York Times bestselling team of novelists: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White.

There’s been a sensational murder at historic Castle Kinloch, a gothic fantasy of grey granite on a remote island in the Highlands of Scotland. Literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley has been found dead—under bizarre circumstances—in the castle tower’s book-lined study. Years ago, Presley purchased the castle as a showpiece for his brand and to lure paying guests with a taste for writerly glamour. Now it seems, the castle has done him in…or, possibly, one of the castle’s guests has. Detective Chief Inspector Euan McIntosh, a local with no love for literary Americans, finds himself with the unenviable task of extracting statements from three American lady novelists. 

The prime suspects are Kat de Noir, a slinky erotica writer; Cassie Pringle, a Southern mom of six juggling multiple cozy mystery series; and Emma Endicott, a New England blue blood and author of critically acclaimed historical fiction. The women claim to be best friends writing a book together, but the authors’ stories about how they know Brett Saffron Presley don’t quite line up, and the detective is getting increasingly suspicious. 

Why did the authors really come to Castle Kinloch? And what really happened the night of the great Kinloch ceilidh, when Brett Saffron Presley skipped the folk dancing for a rendezvous with death? 

A crafty locked-room mystery, a pointed satire about the literary world, and a tale of unexpected friendship and romance—this novel has it all, as only three bestselling authors can tell it! 

3. Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher; Terrie Farley Moran (October 8, 2024)

I have never read one of these but I’ve heard good things about them. I may end up hating it. Ha!

Description:

It’s Christmastime in Cabot Cove, but there’s more homicide than ho-ho-ho in the newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series.

Christmas is not an easy time to sell a house, but in Boston tycoon John Bragdon, Cabot Cove Realtor Eve Simpson has found a buyer for the old Jarvis homestead. Unfortunately, Eve gets a lump of coal in her stocking in the form of Kenny Jarvis, who has been missing for years and presumed dead but has now come back to stop his sister from selling their childhood home.

Eve presses on, organizing a welcome dinner for Bragdon and his wife, Marlene, to meet the leading citizens of the town, including Jessica Fletcher. Dinner is interrupted by an uninvited guest—not Santa but Kenny, who threateningly promises Marlene she will never live in his house.

When Marlene is found dead a few days later, Kenny is the natural suspect. But Jessica isn′t so sure he′s on the naughty list . . .

4. Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson (August 1)

I just received my approval for this ARC and I am looking forward to it!

Description:

Who Stole Tilly from the Auction Block? Breathe in the nostalgia of everything old red truck in book one of a new cozy mystery series. The Hadley family ranch is struggling, so RaeLyn, her parents, and brothers decide to turn the old barn into an antique store. The only thing missing to go with the marketing of the store is Grandpa’s old red truck, Tilly, that was sold several years ago. Now coming back up on the auction block, Tilly would need a lot of work, but RaeLyn is sure it will be worth it—if only she can beat out other bidders and find out who stole Tilly after the auction ends. Hadley finds herself in the role of amateur sleuth, and the outcome could make or break the new family venture.

5. Queen of Hearts: A Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Twist by Heather Day Gilbert (July 23)

I may regret it because this is not really the genre of books I read, but I was approved this morning for this ARC.

Her readers love her…but one has gotten a little too attached.

Alexandra Dubois, a NYT bestselling author, has made a name for herself by crafting twisted serial killers in her romantic suspense series. When threatening notes from an “invested reader” escalate into violence, Alex has to admit she’s not safe in her own home. Although her autism makes any changes to her routine difficult, she reluctantly accepts her editor’s advice to fly to his sprawling vacation home in West Virginia so she can focus on her looming deadline.

Fighting paranoia that the stalker has discovered her mountain hideaway, Alex still forces herself to write several chapters in her novel. But when a thunderstorm leaves her stranded and she hears a knock at her door, she’s about to discover that life truly is stranger than fiction.

Fans of Alfred Hitchcock, Mary Higgins Clark, and Misery are sure to be hooked by this clean, fast-paced domestic thriller by RWA Daphne Award-winning author Heather Day Gilbert.

6. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne (Sept. 3)

I’ve always wanted to read some of A.A. Milne’s work beyond Winnie The Pooh. I know I’ve read that it drove him nuts that Winnie The Pooh took off and none of his more serious work.

A classic Golden Age locked-room cozy mystery by the author of Winnie-the-Pooh — hailed as one of the “20 Best Classic Murder Mystery Books of All Time (Town & Country, 2023)

“Has the pacing equivalent of perfect pitch . . . and spiced with funny comments on the clichés of the mystery novel” — Molly Young, The New York Times (2024)

In a quaint English country house, the exuberant Mark Ablett has been entertaining a house party, but the festivities are rudely interrupted by the arrival of Mark’s wayward brother, Robert, home from Austalia. Even worse, not long after his arrival the long-lost brother is found dead, shot through the head, and Mark is nowhere to be found. It is up to amateur detective Tony Gillingham and his pal Bill to investigate.

Between games of billiards and bowls, the taking of tea and other genteel pursuits, Tony and Bill attempt to crack the perplexing case of their host’s disappearance and its connection to the mysterious shooting. Can the pair of sleuths solve the Red House mystery in time for their afternoon game of croquet?

The Red House Mystery marked Milne’s first and final venture into the detective genre, despite the book’s immediate success. Praised by Raymond Chandler and renowned critic Alexander Woolcott, this gem of classic Golden Age crime sparkles with witty dialogue, an intriguing cast of characters, and a brilliant plot.

7. Sticks and Scones: A Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander (August 20)

I have read one of the others in this series so this one might need to wait for me but I hope to read it eventually anyhow.

Another delicious installment in the Bakeshop Series set in Ashland, OR!

It’s late spring in Juliet’s charming hamlet of Ashland. Spotted deer are nibbling on lush green grasses in Lithia Park, the Japanese maples are blooming, and Torte is baking a bevy of spring delights—lemon curd cupcakes, mini coconut cream pies, grapefruit tartlets, and chocolate dipped almond Tuiles.

Meanwhile, Juliet’s friend Lance, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is taking center stage with his new theater troupe—the Fair Verona Players. Their performance in Uva’s vineyard promises to be a modern, gender-bending twist on “The Taming of the Shrew,” but as the curtain rises, so do the strange occurrences. Stage mishaps and internal bickering threaten to derail the production. But the real show begins when the leading actor, Jimmy Paxton, meets his final curtain call. Now, Jules is not only in the mix, but she’s going to need to craft the perfect recipe for solving this theatrical whodunit.

What books are on your list for the most anticipated books for the second half of the year? Let me know in the comments.

Sunday Bookends: Trying to beat the heat, reading a mix of genres, and old mystery shows

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon9 Comments


It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

As I wrote in my post yesterday, we have been in the middle of the heat wave like a lot of our country. Yesterday we visited my parents and found out Dad had been able to work on the pool and we could go for a swim.

So, Little Miss and I jumped in for a couple of hours, during which time I was reminded how out of shape I am and that my knee I smashed up three weeks ago is not completely healed yet. It is, however, much, much better.

On our way home a storm started to move in and this time, unlike Friday, the storm was an actual storm and dropped some rain on us and dropped the temps down into normal range for summer in Pennsylvania. It looks like we will have nicer temps this week. I never thought I’d be glad to see highs of 81 in the forecast.

High temps make me very sick so I hide inside a lot in the summer. Usually even seeing a high of 80 makes me antsy but the horrible heat showed me that 80 isn’t that bad after all.

What I/we’ve been Reading

Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor

The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz

The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father by Jim Wight

Return To Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (reading with Little Miss)

I set Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery aside for now but will get back to it.

 Lord Edgware Dies: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

I listened to the majority of this on Audible and really enjoyed it. I really wanted to know the ending, though, so before bed last night I opened the book on my kindle since I can read faster that the narrator could read. I think I will go back and listen to the ending on Audible simply because I liked the narrator (David Colacci) so much.

The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene

Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett

Dandelion Cottage by Carol Watson Rankin

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery



What We watched/are Watching

I’ve been watching the old 1970s Nancy Drew/Hard Boys show on YouTube, but I think it is also streaming on the Roku Channel.

The Husband made me watch a rerun of Jake And The Fat Man. I’m slightly scarred from it, but also the person who uploaded it to YouTube didn’t finish the episode, so I am traumatized and victimized because I don’t know how the episode ended – though they pretty much had their man already.

I made The Husband watch a movie of Diagnosis Murder that we found on YouTube after I saw a clip of the show earlier this week. I never watched it when it was on the air and I think I know why. The show stars Dick VanDyke and his son Barry and it’s okay but there are some seriously ridiculous elements to it. It is more of a cozy mystery show than anything hard hitting so I guess it is okay to have some ridiculousness.

I’m not sure I will watch more episodes.

I also watched a lot of Just A Few Acres Farm this past week and really enjoyed it. It was so wonderfully relaxing.


What I’m Writing

Gladwynn Grant Shakes The Family Tree – the third book in my cozy mystery series, which will release in autumn. If you’re not signed up for my newsletter, you might want to do so because I will be offering sneak peeks and actual chapters of the book later this summer.

I am also getting ready to release a Christian fiction romance in August – Cassie, which is part of the Apron Strings Book series .. written by 11 different authors. You can pre-order here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1VW9TVK

You can find out where to buy all of my books here: https://lisahoweler.com/my-books-2/

Last week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I just finished listening to Around the World in 80 Days on audio, as I mentioned above, and really enjoyed it.

I am also listening to Matthew West because I have been anxious and his music calms me down. In the beginning of June, I drove my son somewhere and said to myself on the way back that I really wanted to listen to Matthew. I said it to myself. I didn’t get the songs ready to play before I pulled out yet.

My mind was just swirling with worries. I had my phone in my hand but hadn’t found the album yet in my music library. Suddenly music started playing and when I looked at my phone it was Matthew West. It was a crazy moment and I think God was like, “you need this, and I can’t wait around for you to do it.”


Now it’s your turn

Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.

Top Ten Tuesday: My (Loosely) Planned Summer Reading List

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings19 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

This week we were asked to list the books on our Summer 2024 To-Read List.

I actually have a list this year but whether I stick with it remains to be seen.

I also want to add some lighter books to this mix so if you have any suggestions let me know.

I have more than 10 books on my summer reading list but I’m going to just list 10. It doesn’t mean I’ll only read these, but I’d like to read these at some point this summer.

This list is in no particular order and, as always, is subject to change. It’s actually already changed in the last week. Ha!

  1. Lord Edgware Dies: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie (already started and enjoying)

2. The Clue of The Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene

    3. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (a late edition)

    4. Dandelion Cottage by Carol Watson Rankin

    5. Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett

    6. The Cross County Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini

    6. Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour

    7. The Bobbsey Twins On Blueberry Island by Laura Lee Hope

    9. An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey

    10. The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father by Jim Wight

    Additional books I’m reading or will, most likely read, A Sentence to Death by Anthony Horowitz (already started), Summer By The Tides by Denise Hunter, Return to Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (already in the middle of this with Little Miss and it’s a perfect summer read), and The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene.

    Since I am a mood reader, I am sure some of these books will get pushed back to fall or winter.

    Do you have any books you hope to read this summer?

    Fiction Friday. Book Recommendation: Murder in An Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading3 Comments

    BRIEF DESCRIPTION:

    In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Naomi’s Bistro has always been a warm and welcoming spot to visit with neighbors, enjoy some brown bread and tea, and get the local gossip. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago.

    One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest.

    MY THOUGHTS: This was a fun introduction to what promises to be an even more fun series. So far there are 10 books in the series. This is a very authentic Irish book written with Irish tone, accents, and history. I loved the main character, Siobhan (shuh-vawn) O’Sullivan, and her five siblings. Together they are known as the O’Sullivan Six in their small town.

    Siobhan is a headstrong, redhead who has had an extremely rough year. She has to find the killer because a family member is being blamed for the death of the man found at their bistro. Combine her determination with a bit of romance between her and the local garda (police) and you have the perfect combination for a mystery in my mind.

    *Heads up to those who like their cozy mysteries squeaky clean: while it has many cozy mystery elements there is some swearing, including the big ones that somehow sound nicer when written/spelled in an Irish accent.

    I’m looking forward to checking out the rest of the books in the series.