Welcome to my June newsletter! That’s right. I’m going to try to do this once a month again and here on my main blog instead of Substack. I’ll have a page set up for you to find past newsletters.
All three Gladwynn books on sale
All three ebooks in the Gladwynn Grant Mystery series are on sale this week on Amazon.
You can read descriptions of each of the books at the links.
Update on book four in the Gladwynn Grant Mystery series
I’m working on book four of the Gladwynn Grant series but I wouldn’t say I am working on it steadly.
Alas, I am working on it here and there, but I have plenty of ideas. I hope to release it in October and will have a cover reveal by the end of July.
The book will be called Gladwynn Grant Goes Back To School. There will be a mystery, of course, since this is a mystery series. I can tell you that it will involve the local superintendent and that another family member of Gladwynn’s might show up for a visit. One we haven’t met yet.
There will be, of course, just a touch of romance like the other books.
I’ll have a description of the book by next month’s newsletter.
Admiring my roses
I always look forward to when the flowers bloom in our yard and this year was no different. The roses were beautiful this year but didn’t seem to last as long. The heatwave we had this week and the fact I failed to water them didn’t help.
Here are a few photos of them while they were blooming.
A Giveaway
I always had fun doing giveaways on my Substack Newsletter so I thought I’d do that with this newsletter. I would like to send one person a paperback copy of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing.
If you are interested in a copy you can simply tell me what your favorite book genre is in the comments and I will randomly choose a winner by next week.
Find me on social media:
I wanted to close by reminding readers of my newsletters that I am on YouTube now (still figuring it out and only doing shorts for now). You can find my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@goodbooksandtea
I want to thank everyone who supports my writing, whether here on the blog or by borrowing or buying my books, or just reading them at all. It really means a lot to me since writing is a distraction for me from other stresses in life.
Here I am with another recap of an episode from The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries show from 1977.
As I’ve mentioned before, in the first season of this series, the episodes switched back and forth from Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew episodes and in the next season, they started to join together. Eventually, they began to phase out the Nancy episodes and focus more on The Hardy Boys. A new actress also started as Nancy when Pamela Sue Martin became disenchanted with the parts that were being written for her character.
This time around I am writing about a Nancy Drew centered episode called The Mystery of the Fallen Angel.
*Disclaimer: These posts do spoil the entire episode. Also, I do joke around a lot about the cheesiness or plot holes or the “weird” 70s hairstyles, clothes or music, but please know it is all in good fun. I have fun watching these and the mysteries are often very interesting. Please don’t leave me comments enraged that I am making fun of your favorite show. *wink* I make fun of my favorite shows too!
To me, this was one of the better episodes I’ve seen so far. It was fairly well written, simply put together, and Nancy’s character was less whiney or rude than in other episodes.
We start out at a carnival. George and Nancy are playing a carnival game and they are winning. The man running the game isn’t altogether pleased with them winning and reminds them that the event is for charity.
Nancy lets him know she’s going to give the toys they are winning to the children.
Next, we find Ned in with a fortune teller. She looks at his palm and tells him that’s “too masculine.” (Snicker).
“You’re too dominating of a man for the average girl to handle,” she says.
Ned blushes and scoffs. Laughing nervously he says, “Oh…so that’s my problem.”
The fortune teller suggests that his forcefulness is what causes women to run from his advances.
“Oh. That’s because of my forcefulness?” Ned says with wonder.
The fortune teller says, “Yes, trust me.”
Switching scenes, we see a glass of champagne being poured for Carson Drew, Nancy’s dad. He’s telling a man named Robert that this is the best benefit they’ve had so far.
Robert thanks him and says the benefit is one excuse to “keep the old place” now that all the kids have moved out.
The wife laughs and asks how they could possibly downsize anymore.
“We’re already down to 18 rooms a piece,” she says.
Jocular, rich-people-laughter follows.
Outside we see a young man with long dark hair and a sports jersey sneaking around in the dark. He knocks on the back door and a woman lets him in. Both looked panicked and she says, “We’re going to get caught, Henry. If only you could tell people who you are.”
And – oh! Who is this young man? He looks very, very familiar.
Now I shall confess that I took a photo of the actor while I was watching this the first time and asked my husband who it was. I knew he looked very familiar.
The answer I got back was, “A. Martinez. Longmire.”
Yep. A Martinez was in this one. Maybe one of his first shows? Not sure, but he was very good and it was a sign of good acting to come, in my humble opinion.
Anyhow, without giving us much more information we switch to another scene of a group of bikers pulling up and a woman scolding them for not being there to help run the carnival.
“Where have you guys been? I pay you to work for the carnival, not to go joyriding,” she says in a thick New York accent.
She tells them to all get back to work and tells the one girl to go home. The young girl says she’d prefer to stay there, she’s having fun.
When the woman leaves, the man says they’ve got important work to do later. He hugs the young girl, squeezes her face and tells her to lighten up but she says, “I’m just not used to all this.”
“There’s a lot you’re not use to, but you better get used to it,” he says. “Tonight’s your first lesson.”
We don’t know what that means but we are certain to find out at some point.
Later Henry is caught leaving the house by the rich wife who asks if she can help him.
He says he got lost and Robert says, “You’re Henry Salazar, aren’t you?”
Henry doesn’t reply but says he has to be going.
When he leaves, Robert tells Carson he’s the kid who used to work in Foster’s drugstore until old man Foster caught him with his hand in the till.
“That was never proven, as I remember,” Carson says.
“Still,” Robert says. “I don’t like him hanging around here.”
Henry sneaks back to say goodbye to Tina and makes her promise she won’t say anything about who he is or who she is. He says she’ll get into big trouble if she says anything and we aren’t sure if that is a threat or a reminder.
Next, we see the young carnival girl looking worried outside, a window opens in the mansion and the other carnival workers are — gasp! Inside the mansion!
The girl blows a whistle at the moment that Nancy, George, and Ned walk by. Ned is telling a joke, and they are laughing but hear the whistle, which I gather is to alert the carnival workers it’s all clear.
Ned, Nancy, and George shrug the whistle off and keep going and then we see all the carnival workers nonchalantly returning to their places at the carnival…somehow no one noticed they were gone. Hmmm…
Oh well. Back to the mansion where chaos has ensued because the rich lady, Clara, went to put a pin back into her safe and discovered all of her jewels are gone. She let out a scream like she found a dead body and George, Nancy, Ned, and Carson go running.
Clara and John clarify that the jewels weren’t worth a ton but they were insured for over a million dollars. The sheriff comes rushing in not long afterward and greets Nancy and Carson then asks if anyone touched anything.
“Of course not!” Nancy says, clearly offended.
The sheriff is immediately apologetic. “Sorry. I forgot who I was dealing with for a moment.”
He’s been in similar situations with them before, after all since Nancy can’t keep her nose out of police business.
The sheriff wants to know if they saw anyone suspicious walking around or in the house and — Of course! Snap! Robert and Clara immediately think of Henry. He was in the house. He must have taken the jewels!
Carson backs up the couple by saying that Henry did seem suspicious, which he adds he hates to say since he seems like a good young man who Nancy went to school with.
We don’t know how the sheriff finds Henry but after the commercial break (though they are cut out of the YouTube videos I watch) we see Nancy in a jail cell with Henry, telling him she works as a part time investigator for his attorney, Carson Drew.
Carson is going to take on his case and she wants him to tell her why he was in the mansion.
He refuses. He didn’t steal Mrs. Jordan’s jewelry but he won’t tell Nancy why he was in the house.
She wants to know if had anything to do with seeing Tina.
“Tina who?”
“The Jordan’s maid. I thought you two knew each other.”
(Um…how did she make this connection? I’m not sure but I think I missed a scene where Nancy saw them together in the house.)
Henry says he doesn’t know here and never met her and there is no reason to get an innocent person involved in anything.
(If he doesn’t know her then how does he know she’s innocent. Right? Right?!)
“I do not know her. I did not rob the Jordans,” he tells Nancy.
Nancy tries Tina. She won’t say anything either.
The Jordans are pleased that Carson is going to defend Henry. The sheriff doesn’t know why the man would care about defending a man who might have stolen things from him.
“If he’s guilty, the law will take its course without my direction,” Robert Jordan says. “If he’s innocent, I don’t want to be responsible for destroying anyone’s life.”
The sheriff wants to look into Tina now. Nancy, though, says there were tons of people there the night of the carnival, including the carnival workers.
While leaving with Carson, Nancy says she wants to check into the carnival workers and see if they could have been involved in the theft of the jewels.
Carson is one of the most laid-back dads I’ve ever seen (in the books and the show) and sometimes expresses concern for Nancy’s safety but usually only sends her on her way with a small laugh and a “You be careful now,” like she is playing make believe in the backyard.
This time around, though, Carson actually expresses concern!
“That might not be too safe,” he tells Nancy.
“I’m just going to go ask a few questions,” Nancy assures him.
Carson isn’t buying it. “Nancy, people don’t like having their lives pried into.”
Right?! Yet your daughter is doing it all the time, dude, and usually you don’t seem to care too much, just letting her gallivant around, sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. (Remember I am joking around in these posts, not actually slamming the show. Just having a little fun.)
“I’m not going to pry,” Nancy insists. “Just observe.”
“Well, you be careful while you’re observing,” Carson says with a nervous laugh.
Nancy’s idea of observing is dressing up in a bikini top under a buttoned down shirt, and pretending she’s a runaway to try to get a job with the carnival.
Ned and George don’t like this at all and warn her against it. In true Nancy fashion, she ignores them and moves forward, but does thank them when they say they’ll be showing up to the carnival later in the day to check on her.
Nancy struts into that carnival with an attitude. Her hair is all feathered, her cleavage is showing, and the mom in me is like “Oh no. No. I don’t like this one little bit.”
But I can’t do anything about it so I just have to watch Nancy try to make herself fit in by jumping on a motorcyle and taking off when a guy tells her he bets she doesn’t know how to ride it. Then, after the carnival owner hires her, I have to keep watching when these creepy dudes later put her in the cage of a ride and spin her upside down up in the air to try to get her to admit she’s a narc.
I’m telling you these guys are creepy! They are definitely the r-word type and Nancy is truly putting herself at risk. If she was my daughter, I’d be flipping out on her. I don’t care if she is 18 now. I think she’s 18 in the show. I’m not actually sure. She’s still my child and I’d be fuming mad if I saw her doing these things.
So, after these guys try to get her to confess who she is, the young woman we met earlier )who was afraid she was going to blow their mission – whatever it was) says she knows Nancy. Nancy, she claims, is a friend of her sister’s and that she’s there to try to bring her home since she ran away from home.
She’s lying of course. We also learn her name is Anne.
Nancy thanks Anne when they are alone, but the girl tells her to get lost because she is in danger.
“You be gone by tonight or you’re on your own!” she tells Nancy.
This whole episode had me anxious. The creepy guys, Nancy putting herself at risk and being away from friends and family, the young runaway girl.
Boy was I relieved when Ned and George showed up and the three of them joined together to find out if the carnival workers are the real thieves of Mrs. Jordans jewels. They don’t find the jewels, but they do find a van full of stolen televisions and other electronics. These carnival workers might not be jewel thieves, but they are thieves of some kind.
Ned and George also let Nancy know that Henry was let out on bail, but he jumped it. The cops are looking for him. Just lovely!
Nancy tells George and Ned to write down the serial numbers of the electronics before they leave to try to find out if the items are stolen. The three of them then part ways, Nancy back to her ruse and Ned and George to find out if the TVs are stolen.
Nancy runs into Henry while he’s snooping around the carnival. He tells her that her dad told him she was following the carnival to try to find out if the workers were involved and that he also found the van with the TVs. He tells Nancy that Tina was arrested as his accomplice. He has to find out who really stole the jewels so she doesn’t have a crime pinned on her that she didn’t commit. He admits he knows Tina but won’t tell Nancy how.
They part ways and Anne finds Nancy at the game booth she’s working at later and says that Vince, the head bad guy, knows someone was in his van. They found out who the person is and they’re going to find out why they think Vince is guilty of something.
Nancy isn’t sure what that means and then Vince’s creepy henchmen tells her that shes’s taking a ride with them so they can show her how they deal with spies.
Nancy is put on the back of a bike and driven to a rural area where Henry is in the middle of a circle of motorcycles while they taunt him.
Nancy watches this for a while and then she has had enough. She jumps on the bike the other guy (essentially her kidnapper) got off and roars toward the other bikes, somehow knocking them all over (it’s television, people). She gets Henry on the back of her bike ,and they take off toward the carnival, all the bikers soon in pursuit (once they get their bikes back up). This leads to a windy and twisty chase among the carnival booths during which a lot of the bikers crash out.
Eventually the cops show up and stop the highspeed bike chase. Ned and George are with them. Nancy stops her bike and thanks Ned for calling the police. As an aside (yes, I do a lot of these), I noticed that Nancy was a lot nicer to Ned in this episode than previous ones. She even compliments him by saying, “Ned, you are without a doubt the smartest, neatest, most…”
“Most forceful?” Ned asks, harkening back to the fortune teller’s comments at the beginning of the show.
“Most forceful man I know,” Nancy agrees.
Anne, the young woman who tried to help Nancy, says she was forced to help the burglary gang. She’s scared to go with the police, but Nancy says Carson will help her. This poor guy. Nancy is always finding people for him to help, and he rarely gets paid by them, which will actually be commented on at the end of this episode. It does have me wondering how this man has time to make money with all the pro bono work he does.
To wrap things up with the Jordans, Carson and Nancy visit them, and Nancy asks Mrs. Jordan to open the safe in front of them. The Jordans are a bit offended but agree. While working on opening the safe, Mrs. Jordan breaks down and confesses she doesn’t know how to open the safe. She never has. The safe was already open when she came in the room.
Nancy says George and Ned uncovered in their investigations that the Jordans are broke (how did they find this? I have no idea!) and says she believes the couple sold the jewels off and then when they had no more to sell, they pretended the jewels were stolen so they could get the insurance money. The Jordans admit that this is exactly what they did and are ashamed.
Nancy says it was very convenient for the couple that Henry walked into the house that night. She asks if they were willing to let Henry go to jail for their crime of insurance fraud and they said they were sure Carson would find out that Henry didn’t do it and if he didn’t, they were going to confess before Henry’s case went to trial. They even asked Carson to represent him so he would find out that Henry wasn’t guilty, they say. Robert asks Carson to not only forgive them but represent them in their insurance fraud case. He agrees, saying he can’t let their 20-year friendship end over this mistake. (Carson is way too nice.)
Another aside — does George have another job? I mean Ned works for Carson but what does George do? She doesn’t go to school. She doesn’t appear to work anywhere. She runs around with Nancy solving crimes so does Carson pay her too? And if he does, how does he since he keeps taking cases on for free for Nancy? Of course, he does have wealthy clients like the Jordans so maybe that is how.
There is also a final wrap up scene with Henry and Tina. It turns out that Tina is Henry’s sister. She’s in the United States illegally from Mexico and Henry was helping her get her green card and papers so she could stay legally. He didn’t want anyone to know who she was so she wouldn’t be deported.
Carson says he will help her get her papers and make sure she’s not deported. Luckily this is the 70s and not today or Carson might have a pretty hard time keeping Tina from being sent back to Mexico.
As I mentioned above, this was one of the better episodes in my opinion. The story wasn’t too bad, the writing was better than others and Nancy was a lot nicer to Ned all around.
If you want to read other episode recaps you can do a search for Hardy Boys Nancy Drew via the search bar to the right.
Up next, I will be recapping The Hardy Boys episode Wipe Out.
Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.
You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
I shared what I did last week in my Saturday Afternoon Chat yesterday. It was actually my Saturday Evening Chat because I got it up so late.
After I posted that, The Husband took Little Miss and her friend swimming at the local YMCA, which we had never visited before. Now that we know the pool exists we will probably visit it more this summer.
Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I are still holding Drop-In Crafternoons once or twice a month.
We will be holding another one Saturday, July 19 at 1 p.m.
The crafternoons are events where we gather on Zoom and craft at our respective homes and chat while we work on various projects. There is one woman who creates with beads, another who colors, I sometimes draw or color, and Erin does a variety of art, including embroidery. We are calling them drop-in crafternoons because you can drop in and out during the time we are on. No need to stay the whole time if you can’t. Come late if you want or leave early.
If you want to join in, email Erin at crackcrumblife@gmail.com and she will add you to the mailing list.
If you are looking for a link party to participate in, I co-host one with three lovely blogger ladies that goes live on Thursday nights. The Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot goes live about 9:30 p.m. each Thursday and if you scroll on my right-hand sidebar you should find the link to the latest one.
I also have added a link to parties I participate in at the top of my page.
What I am reading – I finally finished All Things Wise and Wonderful the week before last and really loved it – especially a story at the end of the book involving Tristan, the date he tossed into the rose bushes, and a missing dog.
I also finished A Midnight Dance by Joanna Davidson Politano. I would give it about a 3.5. I didn’t like how the mystery part wrapped up or how the main character had this huge secret she dropped at the very end but never really resolved. Politano’s writing is very good, though, and I am sure I will read another one by her at some point in the future.
Right now I am reading The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie and switching off with The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Woodhouse.
I plan to start The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh sometime this week.
I hope to start Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis soon as well.
The Husband is reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Little Miss is finishing up the third Harry Potter book after a long break, and she and I are reading Magical Melons by Carol Ryrie Brink together and listening to The Moffats at night.
I didn’t add any new books to my shelves recently, other than a couple I found on Project Gutenberg and will be sending to my Kindle to read.
Last week I watched National Velvet for my Summer of Angela. I also rewatched The Sound of Music for a comfort watch and a few episodes of Travels with Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet.
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.
Today’s prompt is: Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List
I have already posted about 15 books I hope to read this summer so I’ve narrowed it down to the top ten I hope to finish by the end of the summer. I’ve also swapped some books out after doing some research on them and deciding they most likely aren’t really my thang, ya’ know.
As always, these are subject to change, and other books may catch my attention and take precedence.
1. The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Woodhouse
I’ve already started this one and I am enjoying it, so I am sure I’ll finish it in the next couple of months at least.
2. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
I’ve also started this one, but just a few pages. I need a good mystery right now.
3. The Clue in the Diary by Carolyn Keene
I’ll probably read a couple Nancy Drews this summer. I usually do.
4. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Children’s books are apparently my thing this summer.
5. But First Murder by Bee Littlefield
Because I like Betti and want to see what’s going on with her. Plus…more mystery, which I like.
6. Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner
Cool and Lamb. Yes. I need some more of their wicked bluntness and mystery.
7. The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassen
I have no idea if I will like this or not, but I am going to give it a try anyhow.
8. The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley By Courtney Walsh
I swapped this one out with Summer of Yes because it has better ratings.
9. Dave Barry is Not Taking This Sitting Down by Dave Barry
I need some humor. Like bad. That is all.
10. The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon
What books are you looking forward to this summer?
Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.
You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.
Today’s prompt is: Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!)
I am sharing part of my wish list, but not linking to one today.
1.Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings
Mary Henley Rubio has spent over two decades researching Montgomery’s life, and has put together a comprehensive and penetrating picture of this Canadian literary icon, all set in rich social context. Extensive interviews with people who knew Montgomery – her son, maids, friends, relatives, all now deceased – are only part of the material gathered in a journey to understand Montgomery that took Rubio to Poland and the highlands of Scotland.
From Montgomery’s apparently idyllic childhood in Prince Edward Island to her passion-filled adolescence and young adulthood, to her legal fights as world-famous author, to her shattering experiences with motherhood and as wife to a deeply troubled man, this fascinating, intimate narrative of her life will engage and delight.
2. Grandma Ruth Doesn’t Go to Funerals by Sharon Mondragon
(I’ve read this, but I want it in paperback! It’s just about my favorite read so far this year.)
In a small town where gossip flows like sweet tea, bedridden Mary Ruth McCready reigns supreme, doling out wisdom and meddling in everyone’s business with a fervor that would make a matchmaker blush. When her best friend, Charlotte Harrington, has her world rocked by a scandalous revelation from her dying husband P. B., Mary Ruth kicks into high gear, commandeering the help of her favorite granddaughter, Sarah Elizabeth, in tracking down the truth. Finding clues in funeral condolence cards and decades-old gossip dredged up at the Blue Moon Beauty Emporium, the two stir up trouble faster than you can say “pecan pie.”
And just when things are starting to look up, in waltzes Camilla “Millie” Holtgrew, a blast from P. B.’s past, with a grown son and an outrageous claim to Charlotte’s inheritance. But as Grandma Ruth always says when things get tough, “God is too big.” With him, nothing is impossible–even bringing long-held secrets to light. Grandma Ruth and Sarah just might have to ruffle a whole mess of feathers to do it.
In a small town where gossip flows like sweet tea, bedridden Mary Ruth McCready reigns supreme, doling out wisdom and meddling in everyone’s business with a fervor that would make a matchmaker blush. When her best friend, Charlotte Harrington, has her world rocked by a scandalous revelation from her dying husband P. B., Mary Ruth kicks into high gear, commandeering the help of her favorite granddaughter, Sarah Elizabeth, in tracking down the truth. Finding clues in funeral condolence cards and decades-old gossip dredged up at the Blue Moon Beauty Emporium, the two stir up trouble faster than you can say “pecan pie.”
And just when things are starting to look up, in waltzes Camilla “Millie” Holtgrew, a blast from P. B.’s past, with a grown son and an outrageous claim to Charlotte’s inheritance. But as Grandma Ruth always says when things get tough, “God is too big.” With him, nothing is impossible–even bringing long-held secrets to light. Grandma Ruth and Sarah just might have to ruffle a whole mess of feathers to do it.
3. Bombs on Aunt Dainty by Judith Kerr
Partly autobiographical, this is the second title in Judith Kerr’s internationally acclaimed trilogy of books following the life of Anna through war-torn Germany, to London during the Blitz and her return to Berlin to discover the past…
4. The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ by Andrew Klavan
No one was more surprised than Andrew Klavan when, at the age of fifty, he found himself about to be baptized. The Great Good Thing tells the soul-searching story of a man born into an age of disbelief who had to abandon everything he thought he knew in order to find his way to the truth.
Best known for his hard-boiled, white-knuckle thrillers and for the movies made from them–among them True Crime and Don’t Say a Word–bestselling author and Edgar Award-winner Klavan was born in a suburban Jewish enclave outside New York City.
He left the faith of his childhood behind to live most of his life as an agnostic until he found himself mulling over the hard questions that so many other believers have asked:
How can I be certain in my faith?
What’s the truth, and how can I know it’s the truth?
How can you think, live, and make choices and judgments day by day if you don’t know for sure?
In The Great Good Thing, Klavan shares that his troubled childhood caused him to live inside the stories in his head and grow up to become an alienated young writer whose disconnection and rage devolved into depression and suicidal breakdown.
In those years, Klavan fought to ignore the insistent call of God, a call glimpsed in a childhood Christmas at the home of a beloved babysitter, in a transcendent moment at his daughter’s birth, and in a snippet of a baseball game broadcast that moved him from the brink of suicide. But more than anything, the call of God existed in stories–the stories Klavan loved to read and the stories he loved to write.
Join Klavan as he discovers the meaning of belief, the importance of asking tough questions, and the power of sharing your story.
5. Baking with Mary Berry: Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Pastries from the British Queen of Baking
A sweet and savory collection of more than 100 foolproof recipes from the reigning “Queen of Baking” Mary Berry, who has made her way into American homes through ABC’s primetime series, The Great Holiday Baking Show, and the PBS series, The Great British Baking Show.
Baking with Mary Berry draws on Mary’s more than 60 years in the kitchen, with tips and step-by-step instructions for bakers just starting out and full-color photographs of finished dishes throughout. The recipes follow Mary’s prescription for dishes that are no fuss, practical, and foolproof―from breakfast goods to cookies, cakes, pastries, and pies, to special occasion desserts such as cheesecake and soufflés, to British favorites that will inspire.
Whether you’re tempted by Mary’s Heavenly Chocolate Cake and Best-Ever Brownies, intrigued by her Mincemeat and Almond Tart or Magic Lemon Pudding, or inspired by her Rich Fruit Christmas Cake and Ultimate Chocolate Roulade, the straightforward yet special recipes in Baking with Mary Berry will prove, as one reviewer has said of her recipes, “if you can read, you can cook.”
6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The epic tale of wrongful imprisonment, adventure and revenge, in its definitive translation
Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to use the treasure to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s.
7. The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables: The Enchanting Island that Inspired L. M. Montgomery
The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables explores L. M. Montgomery’s deep connection to the landscapes of Prince Edward Island that inspired her to write the beloved Anne of Green Gables series. From the Lake of Shining Waters and the Haunted Wood to Lover’s Lane, you’ll be immersed in the real places immortalized in the novels.
Using Montgomery’s journals, archives, and scrapbooks, Catherine Reid explores the many similarities between Montgomery and her unforgettable heroine, Anne Shirley. The lush package includes Montgomery’s hand-colorized photographs, the illustrations originally used in Anne of Green Gables, and contemporary and historical photography.
8. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity explores the core beliefs of Christianity by providing an unequaled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to hear a powerful, rational case for the Christian faith. A brilliant collection, Mere Christianity remains strikingly fresh for the modern reader and at the same time confirms C. S. Lewis’s reputation as one of the leading writer and thinkers of our age.
The book brings together Lewis’ legendary broadcast talks during World War II. Lewis discusses that everyone is curious about: right and wrong, human nature, morality, marriage, sins, forgiveness, faith, hope, generosity, and kindness.
9. Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard
“These are the rules I’ve picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I’m writing a book, to help me show rather than tell what’s taking place in the story.”—Elmore Leonard
For aspiring writers and lovers of the written word, this concise guide breaks down the writing process with simplicity and clarity. From adjectives and exclamation points to dialect and hoopetedoodle, Elmore Leonard explains what to avoid, what to aspire to, and what to do when it sounds like “writing” (rewrite).
Beautifully designed, filled with free-flowing, elegant illustrations and specially priced, Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing is the perfect writer’s—and reader’s—gift.
10. My Beloved: A Mitford Novel by Jan Karon
(This one isn’t out until October, but, oh my…I’ve been waiting a long time. In the meantime, I am reading through the other 14 books in the series.)
When Father Tim’s wife, Cynthia, asks what he wants for Christmas, he pens the answer in a love letter that bares his most private feelings. Then the letter goes missing and circulates among his astonished neighbors. So much for private.
Can a letter change a life? Ask Helene, the piano teacher who has avoided her feelings for a lifetime. Ask Hope, the village bookseller who desperately needs something that’s impossibly out of reach. Or, if you’d like to know how a brush with death can be the portal to a happy marriage, Cynthia will tell you all about it.
In My Beloved, Harley gets an important letter of his own; a broken heart teaches the Old Mayor, Esther Cunningham, a lesson long in coming; and thanks to Lace and Dooley, readers get what they’ve been waiting for: Sadie.
Poignant, hilarious, and life-affirming, My Beloved sets a generous table for millions of readers who love these characters like family. With Karon’s signature humanity shining through on every page, this is a season of life in Mitford you won’t want to miss.
Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.
You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.
Mildred Wirt (later adding Benson to her names) was the original Carolyn Keene, who wrote 28 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books. Mildred also wrote other books for other companies under her own name, including the Penny Parker Mysteries.
She once called Penny more Nancy Drew than Nancy Drew and after reading the eighth book in the series, The Wishing Well, I have to agree with that statement, especially the Nancy Drew that Harriet Adams created when she rewrote Mildred’s books years later.
I didn’t actually research what the first book in the series was before reading this one, my first Mildred book other than Nancy Drew. I just snatched it up to try and I ended up really enjoying it.
Teenager Penny Parker is rebellious, snappy, smart, bold, yet also cares about people. She might be even a bit more pushy than Nancy and she’s certainly more mouthy. In this book she pulls her friend Louise into her investigations and shenanigans.
According to Wikipedia, “Penny is a high school student turned sleuth who also sporadically works as a reporter for her father’s newspaper, The Riverview Star. . ..On her cases she is sometimes aided by her close friend, brunette Louise Sidell, and occasionally Jerry Livingston or Salt Sommers who are, respectively, a reporter and photographer for her father’s paper.”
In The Wishing Well, Penny is pulled into the mystery of a boulder with “odd” writing on it that appears in a farmer’s field, as well as the mystery of a wishing well on the property of a wealthy woman, Mrs. Marborough, who recently moved back into her family’s old mansion.
Tied into it all are two foster children who are living at a campground with their foster parents and who become the focus of a blackmail plot.
Here is a quick description from Project Gutenberg, where I found the book available to download for free:
“The Wishing Well” by Mildred A. Wirt is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story follows Penny Parker, an enterprising and spirited high school girl, as she embarks on an adventure surrounding the mysterious old Marborough mansion and its wishing well. With her friends, Penny explores themes of friendship, kindness, and intrigue as they uncover secrets of the past and the potential to grant wishes.
The opening of the story introduces Penny and her friends at Riverview High School, where they eagerly anticipate exploring the Marborough place and its famous wishing well. After making a thoughtful wish for the restoration of the property, Penny invites a lonelier classmate, Rhoda, to join their outing.
The group encounters a light-hearted adventure as they discover a possible chicken thief in pursuit. This sets the tone for the unfolding plot where friendships are tested, and unexpected events arise, including deeper mysteries tied to the characters’ lives, particularly Rhoda’s connection to the Breens and the arrival of two strangers from Texas. As Penny’s curiosity propels her into the adventure, readers are drawn into a world of mystery and the promise of fulfilling wishes.”
I find it interesting that like Nancy, Penny does not have a mother but only a father and a live-in housekeeper, Mrs. Weems. I am beginning to wonder if Mildred had some mother issues herself. She sure liked to kill off moms.
The wit and banter between characters in the Penny Parker series is much stronger than in the Nancy Drew books. There are also so many funny sayings or phrases that were probably used by teens at the time these books were written (1939-1947).
“We’re the same as absent right now,” Penny laughed, retreating to the doorway. “Thanks for your splendid cooperation.” (Oof! The sarcasm!)
________
“You’ll be home early?” her father asked.
“I hope so,” Penny answered earnestly. “If for any reason, I fail to appear, don’t search in any of the obvious places.”
___
“In case you slip and fall, just what am I to do?”
“That’s your problem,” Penny chuckled. “Now hand me the flashlight. I’m on way.”
_____
“What do you see, Penny?” Louise called again. “Are there any bricks loose?”
“Not that I can discover,” Penny answered, and her voice echoed weirdly. Intrigued by the sound she tried an experimental yodel. “Why, it’s just like a cave scene on the radio!”
“In case you’ve forgotten, you’re in a well,” Louise said severely. “Furthermore, if you don’t work fast, Mrs. Marborough will come our here!”
“I have to have a little relaxation,” Penny grumbled.
___
Neither Louise nor Rhoda approved of interfering in the argument between Mrs. Marborough and Mr. Franklin, but as usual they could not stand firm against Penny.
_____
As I mentioned above, I downloaded this one from Project Gutenberg. They have quite a few of the 17 book series.
The books from the series are:
Tale of the Witch Doll (1939, 1958)
The Vanishing Houseboat (1939, 1958)
Danger at the Drawbridge (1940, 1958)
Behind the Green Door (1940, 1958)
Clue of the Silken Ladder (1941)
The Secret Pact (1941)
The Clock Strikes Thirteen (1942)
The Wishing Well (1942)
Saboteurs on the River (1943)
Ghost Beyond the Gate (1943)
Hoofbeats on the Turnpike (1944)
Voice from the Cave (1944)
The Guilt of the Brass Thieves (1945)
Signal in the Dark (1946)
Whispering Walls (1946)
Swamp Island (1947)
The Cry at Midnight (1947)
Have you read any of the Penny Parker Mysteries series?
Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.
You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
Happy early birthday to my brother from Transmissions From The Northern Outpost who will be 65 tomorrow. Okay, I’m kidding. He won’t be 65, but his birthday is tomorrow. If you know him, wish him a happy one.
I talked about our week yesterday in my Saturday Afternoon Chat, if you would like to check it out.
I talked mainly about VBS with Little Miss and our final homeschool evaluation for The Boy.
We will be holding another one Saturday, June 21 at 1 p.m.
The crafternoons are events where we gather on Zoom and craft at our respective homes and chat while we work on various projects. There is one woman who creates with beads, another who colors, I sometimes draw or color, and Erin has been embroidering lately. We are calling them drop-in crafternoons because you can drop in and out during the time we are on. No need to stay the whole time if you can’t. Come late if you want or leave early.
If you want to join in, email Erin at crackcrumblife@gmail.com and she will add you to the mailing list.
I gave up on Mansfield Park. At least for now. I just can’t get into it – don’t really care about these people and their visits to each others houses where they sit and talk about each other and don’t do much else. Plus, I know the direction the romance is going, and it makes me queasy. Just – yeah – no. The British and their weird ideas back then about who was okay to marry and who wasn’t … and yet they have the gall to make comments about our rednecks. (This is all said in jest so I hope I don’t offend my British or redneck readers. *wink*).
***SPOILER ALERT***
I sent this to my friend Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs this morning:
I can’t invest myself in a book where she hooks up with her first cousin. (I know where this is going.)
Plus – it’s sooooo boring
These people literally had no lives — they just kept going to each others houses and talked down to each other and connived and that’s like their whole lives.
I think I may just have to admit that I am not a Jane Austen fan, other than the movies. I have, of course, heard that Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility are easier to read so I will probably try them later this summer. Like I think I might swap out Mansfield Park for Sense and Sensibility on my 15 Books for Summer challenge.
I am still reading All Things Wise and Wonderful.
I cannot believe how long this James Herriot book is. I feel like I might never finish it! The book is made up of individual stories in each chapter, with the underlying theme being James’s time in the RAF. I am really enjoying the stories, but I feel like I’ve been reading this book forever. I’ve taken a lot of breaks to read other books in between so I have actually been reading it a long time. Maybe I’ll have it done this week, maybe not.
I know one thing — I need to finish it soon because I am literally having dreams about James Herriot now. Of course, he looks like Nicholas Ralph from the new series in my dreams. And no..it was not a romantic dream. Just a weird one. Ha!
I’m also reading A Midnight Dance by Julia Davidson Politano. This is my first by her and I am enjoying it but it is quite a serious book so I will have to read something less serious when I am done with it. The writing is great so don’t take the words “serious book” as any kind of complaint.
I just started The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie to cleanse my pallet from the dullness of Mansfield Park and the drama of A Midnight Dance, but then I got so swept up in A Midnight Dance, I put The Pale Horse aside for now.
Up next to read after I finish A Midnight Dance will be Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh. That will be my happy read, from what I understand about Courtney’s books. It should be a lighter read anyhow.
I added a couple of new books to my TBR over the last couple of weeks, including a Nancy Drew Mystery called The Clue of The Velvet Mask and a Louis L’Amour short story collection With These Hands. A few weeks ago I added a number of Mildred Wirt books from Project Gutenberg. She was the first “Carolyn Keene” and wrote around 28 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books. These are “juvenile” fiction but the plots and dialogue is better than some adult fiction.
I just started Travels with Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet on Britbox. David traveled to South Africa for the first episode. The show made me love David even more. Oh gosh..he’s such a sweet man. I wanted to reach into the screen and give him a big hug at one point.
This past week I watched a couple Murder She Wrote episodes, a Brokenwood Mysteries episode, a couple episodes of the Father Dowling Mysteries, and Just A Few Acres Farm (Youtube Channel).
I always have fun with Cat’s blog posts. She has so much interesting stuff.
The Building Our Hive blog chose my book to recommend for their summer reading list!!!!! I found this by accident and I was so giddy and almost cried!!
When People Say Thoughtless Things from Stray Thoughts had me thinking about how we sometimes upset people when we mean well, but also how I can give people grace when they say things that upset me.
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.
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
Our cat Scout was missing yesterday so I was not in a very perky the entire day.
We hadn’t seen her since Friday morning. We do let our cats outside but they usually come back several times throughout the day, and in the case of our oldest cat at least, don’t go very far.
I hadn’t been able to mentally function much since Friday night when it was pouring rain and she still hadn’t come back. I was sure she’d been hit or kidnapped. She could have been locked in one of the neighbor’s sheds too. They were all mowing their lawns before the rain came. I held out hope that she’d be home Saturday morning when one of them opened a shed or barn door.
Saturday morning came and still no sign of her.
I spent all day Saturday crying, but I knew it wasn’t just over the cat – it was over all the stuff that’s been going on with my parents and my health all combined. It was mainly the cat because I pictured her dead over the banks, I suppose, but the built-up tension from trying to figure out some weird symptoms I’ve been having and the challenge to get into a doctor and the challenge to fake it to everyone around me has been overwhelming me lately.
I just kept shoving it all inside and trying to pretend everything was fine and it just came to a head yesterday because I thought the cat was dead.
Saturday night I headed to bed around 11:30, resolved to the fact our cat — the biggest pain in the butt cat I’ve ever had in my life — was gone. I don’t know why I even did it, but I walked to our blanket closet in the hallway, as if giving it one last look, even though I was sure my husband and son had already thought to do so over the last couple of days, and I opened it.
There was a soft trill, and then a cat jumped out at me.
I was in total shock. I just started yelling, “Oh my gosh! She’s alive!”
The kids came running while the cat, probably startled as much as I was, took off for the food downstairs.
During the day I had been thinking about how much I would miss her. I would miss her touching her nose to mine when she came into my room at 5 or 6 a.m. for cuddles (I don’t actually enjoy being woke up that early, but I would now miss it, I had decided). I would miss her touching her nose to mine when she jumped up on the counter and waited for me to give her a snack of turkey deli meat when she came in from exploring outside at the end of the day.
Touching her nose to mine is something Scout has done since she was a tiny kitten, and she’d sleep on my chest.
After she grabbed some food and water, she ran back up the stairs, overwhelmed by everyone screaming over her and the dog excitedly sniffing and chasing her (I’m sure our older cat Pixel was simply glaring at her as she’d probably hoped she’d died somewhere so she could have all the attention again). I went up to finish getting ready for bed and she was standing on the window sill at the top of the stairs. She trilled at me and then she stretched her neck out toward me. When we were face-to-face she touched her nose to mine and I cried again and did something I almost never do to a cat — I kissed her forehead.
Then I wiped the fur away. Yuck. That’s why I don’t do that.
This cat definitely has nine lives. She’s the same cat that climbed and then fell out of a tree when we first got her. She lay on her side at the bottom of the tree panting and we thought she’d broken her spine and was dying. Thirty-seconds later she jumped up and took off running..
A few months later she climbed a larger tree in front of our house and was trapped there a day and a night and finally the town’s lovely fire department came and rescued her in dramatic fashion with their ladder truck. Just like in the movies.
In addition to having nine lives, the cat is also notorious for embarrassing me. That time it was the fire company rescuing her and yesterday our son went up and down the street asking all the neighbors to watch for her. Now we have to tell all of them she was in our linen closet the entire time and that we are sort of morons for not checking it and she’s sort of a moron for going into in the first place.
Last night I finished The Wishing Well by Mildred Wirt. It is a Penny Parker Mystery. I actually enjoyed it more than some of the Nancy Drew Mysteries because Mildred’s wit and humor comes through so clearly and Harriet Adams took a lot of that out when she wrote the Nancy Drew books that Mildred had written.
I might have to agree with Mildren when she once said that Penny was more Nancy Drew than Nancy was.
She is a lot more mouthy and pushy, but in a well-meaning way, than Nancy was even.
I am still reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, one chapter a day, but I didn’t read it much this week because I lost my paperback of it and then found it late last night. I did download an ebook copy to my Kindle too in case this happens again (which it will. I’m always laying my books down somewhere and losing them).
I am also continuing All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriott and will most likely finish that this week.
I plan to start The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Woodhouse this week and soon I will start Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh (a fun summer romance) and ‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara.
This week I watched a couple of older movies with two of the original Dames.
I watched The Assassination Bureau with a young Diana Riggs. That was — um, interesting. Quite goofy with a lot of sexual tension between her and Oliver Reed.
Then I watched The Honey Pot with a young Maggie Smith and Rex Harrison. This was another interesting one with an odd plot. A rich man pretends to be dying and invites his three former mistresses to his home to see which one of them is worthy of his inheritance.
Maggie portrays a nurse of one of the mistresses.
Rex is in his usual, witty form in this one.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of the film when I started it and when it got serious, Maggie really stepped up her acting game. That was enjoyable.
I also watched Ludwig, a mystery with David Mitchell, on Britbox. I really enjoyed the first episode.
Of course, I watched Just A Few Acres Farm on YouTube and will watch it again because I was interrupted during it. He was restoring a Farmall tractor. Who knew one day I’d be fascinated with watching a man restore an old farm tractor…
I’ve decided that I am going to have a Summer of Angela and watch Angela Lansbury movies. I’m going to sort of do it on my own but if anyone wants to join me, they/you are welcome.
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.
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
The most exciting thing that happened last week is that our son graduated from a local career center (high school level). We are proud of him and are excited for him to receive his other high school diploma in a couple of weeks when we meet with our state-certified homeschool evaluator. She will sign off on his diploma through the Pennsylvania Department of Education and he will be a high school graduate!
He’s taking a few weeks off to decide on his next step and his dad and I are fine with that.
He and Little Miss both have a few things to write for me this upcoming week and then we will be done with school for this year. Little Miss and I can start counting anything we do, such as field trips, books read, etc. after July 1 toward our school year next year so this year I am not waiting for a start date in August for our school year. We’re just starting whenever in July and taking days off whenever we want. I’m looking forward to it, but I am having a hard time adjusting to not planning for The Boy’s lessons next year.
It has been very cold in our neck of the woods for the entire month of May. I enjoy snuggling up under my blanket, so I don’t hate it when I am in the house, but it has not been super fun going out in it. Wind, rain, more wind, more rain. Bleh. But it looks like June will be when things warm up and I’ll probably be a medical mess in July and August with the heat like I usually am.
Today we visited a small bookstore about 20 minutes from us. I didn’t even know it existed before a couple of weeks ago. They held a book sale on their porch. I’ll chat about it more in a future post or next week.
We will be holding another one Saturday, June 24 at 1 p.m. I’m tentatively looking at one for June 14, hosted by me, but I haven’t finalized that yet with anyone. Keep an eye on this space for that announcement if it does happen.
The crafternoons are events where we gather on Zoom and craft at our respective homes and chat while we work on various projects. There is one woman who creates with beads, another who colors, I sometimes draw or color, and Erin has been embroidering lately. We are calling them drop-in crafternoons because you can drop in and out during the time we are on. No need to stay the whole time if you can’t. Come late if you want or leave early. We are usually on about two hours, three if we all get chatty and don’t have something else to run off to.
If you want to join in, email Erin at crackcrumblife@gmail.com and she will add you to the mailing list.
I finished Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping on A Deadman by Jesse Q. Sutanto last week and enjoyed it but not as much as the first book. This one seemed a bit more rushed and contrived and pretty obvious when it came to finding out who the perpetrator was. It was also darker in subject matter than the first. Vera’s sense of humor and sweetness made up for all of that, though, and it was, overall, a good escape. Don’t avoid it because of anything I said, because you may have a totally different opinion of it.
I DNF’d one book when the author said the woman enjoyed the male main character’s “male spicy scent”. I will have to go sniff my husband, but I’ve never noticed he smelled spicy and if he did I might tell him he spilled pepper on himself and suggest a shower.
Thea romance was also overtaking the mystery, which was also falling apart. Life is too short to read books we don’t enjoy I say.
I am still reading All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot but not enjoying it as much as I did his other books. The stories are good but I keep wondering what’s actually true and what isn’t now that I know how actually semi-autobiographical the books are. I still very much am enjoying the stories, but I’ll be making my way slowly through the book.
I started Mansfield Park by Jane Austen which I had actually started on Audible last year. It is interesting so far. I know Austen fans think everyone should start with the big ones like Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility, but I know those stories pretty well from watching the movies and don’t know the story of Mansfield Park.
I’m also reading The Wishing Well by Mildred Wirt, which is a book from the 1930s by the original writer of the Nancy Drew books.
Last week I watched Murder, She Wrote, Ludwig, Everybody Loves Raymond (good grief..the laugh tracks!), The Dick VanDyke Show, and Just A Few Acres Farms (on YouTube). I also watched The Intouchables again with my son and his friend and they ended up loving it. I didn’t think they would.
I made a bit more progress on book four of the Gladwynn Grant Mystery series. I don’t know why but this one is really a struggle for me. I am really in my head too much on this one. I am comparing my books to other books and overthinking pretty much everything — from the story idea to the structure to the actual writing.
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.
