Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Hello everyone. I hope you're having a great day.

My small hometown in upstate New York has several claims to fame.  One was a world class cartoonist.  I'm talking about someone in national newspapers for decades.  I remember discussing this with my husband when we first went to NY.  He was impressed.  His family is very art intense.  Rich with talent they can draw and paint.  My father-in-law had private showings and taught art at the college level. My sister-in-law paints like a master.  We are fortunate to have several of her paintings in our house.  My husband can draw with ease.  As you can imagine he is my secret weapon when we play Pictionary with my sisters. I can draw, a circle, maybe...if I trace something round.  A straight line would be considered super artistic for my level of talent.  Or should I say I possess anti-talent? Shortly after we started dating my husband would send me letters or leave me little notes with Message Man on them. Despite hubby's advanced artistic nature, the stick figure with a pointing hand, pointing to the message...has stuck.  Being sometimes overly sentimental, I have many of the notes saved...Message Man and all.

I recently read Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister. To be completely transparent, this author and book were not even on my radar.  It was actually my Book of the Month choice, which is where I've learned of numerous authors I now adore. This suspenseful thriller is about a young family, Luke, Camilla (Cam) and their infant daughter, Polly.  Cam is getting ready for her first day back at work after maternity leave.  She loves her job as a literary agent, as reading is her escape from the troubles of the real world. As she gets ready, Cam discovers Luke (an author) has already left the house and left a kind of disturbing cryptic note. After Cam arrives at work there is a crowd around a TV.  There is a local hostage situation.  A man is holding three people at gun point in a warehouse. Fear washes over Cam as she sees police entering the agency's door.  Instantly filled with fear, Cam is certain they are coming to tell her something bad but cannot comprehend what is happening when they inform her that her husband, Luke, is the gunman holding the hostages.

Do yourself a favor, don't read this unless you can devote time to finish it.  This book starts off with an intensity not often seen, with very little set up.  The chapters are short, often urging you to read to answer a question just raised. Pages fly by.  You'll finish this book before you know it.  The pacing is quick but still allows time for the story to fully develop.  There are endearing side characters. Lilly, Cam's sister is struggling with infertility, and Niall, the hostage negotiator who as a workaholic forgets his wife's birthday spurring their separation. Lots of suspense and enjoyable reading here. If you are tired to thrillers with the mysterious next-door neighbor, this is the book for you. Very fun.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

Growing up in upstate New York, going to "the city" wasn't a big deal.  While it was certainly a weekend trip, it was just a brief car ride away. When we were little, my parents went frequently.  Frankly, after dealing with me then my three sisters (triplets) I'm certain they needed a break, especially from the "trips". Mom and Dad would get a nice hotel, see a Broadway show and go to Mamma Leones.  They would always come home with two things, the cast recording of the show they saw and Bugies from Mamma Leones.  This was a restaurant with an 800 page menu that folded out like a gas station map.  Bugies were sold by the bag and were like fried puff pastry dusted in confectioners' sugar. Had it been a different time and place, someone seeing kids running around the house doused with white powder and singing Camelot might have thought something quite different was going on. Anyway, my parents loved two things, musicals and Neil Simon.  Today's book reminds me of the movie Murder by Death, by Neil Simon.  If you haven't seen it, you are missing out.  It stars some of the greats like Peter Faulk, Maggie Smith, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Truman Capote, Elsa Lancaster, Nancy Walker, Alec Guiness, Eileen Brennan, and more!

I recently read The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter. This is about Maggie and Ethan, both writers. They have been summoned to the house of a hugely successful writer to spend Christmas.  Once they fly to Eleanor Ashley's 2000-acre British estate, they are enamored with their host and surprised by her family members, ranging from a baby to long lost niece, to a Duke and Dutchess. Why were these two American writers included?  They are sassy, a bit tongue-in-cheek, and really don't like each other. Now, in a foreign country, with a huge snowstorm, a closed bridge, isolated at this mansion, the host, world renowned writer Eleanor Ashley, goes missing from a locked room.  Where did she go? Is she hurt or even alive? Why did she insist they come?  Who is now trying to kill them? These are all topics resolved in this book. The writing is pleasant and easy to read, and sarcastic, it will elicit a chuckle from the reader.  The pacing, like most mysteries, increases after the setting and characters are defined. A bit zany, filled with sexual tension, great dialog, an interesting mystery, and Christmas, this book is lots of fun.   Would be a great first book for romance lovers who want to dip their toe into the mystery genre, also a welcome break from super serious thrillers while still providing plenty of action and a solid mystery. Highly enjoyable.

Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

Hello everyone.  I hope you're have a great day.

When we first got married, we immediately bought our first house.  I loved the home improvement shows.  This Old House was a Saturday morning necessity.  Who doesn't love Norm Abram with his New England accent and snuggly looking plaid flannel shirt.  It used to be about how to keep old building techniques alive.  They would discuss how to bend wood in one show, where to install inconspicuous air conditioning vents in the next.  Now things have changed.  First, there is almost always a blonde woman, okay maybe not blonde but still a lady with perfect hair. Next there is a cure all for every single house, paint the interior gray.  I realize gray is a nice neutral, but does every house on the planet need to have gray walls?  Next, the kitchen.  There must be a solid surface countertop, some kind of stone, with an elaborate tile backsplash.  First cabinets had to be dark, then we moved to whitewashed, then white, now shows have moved on to painted cabinets, often in green or .... guess what.... gray! Now add a farmhouse sink and voila, perfection.  Okay, I shouldn't mock the sink.  I like the farmhouse sink, in stainless not white, it stains and chips.  At least they are bigger than the old "show" sinks, where they were divided into a medium and tiny side.  Ever try and wash a cookie sheet, or roasting pan in those?  Might as well do dishes in your bathtub! I have more observations, but I'll try and spare you.

I received a copy of Between a Flock and a Hard Place from Minotaur Publishing.  It was around Thanksgiving and hubby grabbed it, thinking it would be a festive read.  His review is below.

I recently read Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews. This is the first of Andrews’ novels I have read, and my introduction to the Meg Langslow series of mysteries, already well underway.  A crew is renovating a house for a TV special, but all does not go well. The reader is quickly immersed in a hilarious crisis involving half the hypothetical town in Virginia.  Meg is aided and hindered by a procession of characters and pets that run the gamut from stable to a bit zany. Meg the heroine handles all with seeming ease and influence.  The atmosphere is endearing and makes one want to travel to the nearest small town, at least not one overrun with poultry.  

Hubby said he really enjoyed it and I found him chuckling several times.  The story takes place over just two days and with turkeys running all over the place, he was skeptic, but this novel really turned him around.  Now, frankly, I'm curious about this writer.  Not only did hubby enjoy this particular story but I understand she has a huge following, another author to put on my tbr.

By the way, speaking of houses, why don't new houses have formal dining rooms? I don't want to eat Christmas dinner in the kitchen.  Just like the Wizard of Oz, I don't want people to see the magic behind the curtain...or the mess!