Too Late To Die by Bill Crider

"There were many county sheriffs, and Rhodes knew some of them, who were really politicians—men who liked the title, but not the job; men who turned all the work over to their deputies and spent their time in the drugstores drinking coffee with the rest of the good old boys. Men like Ralph Claymore. Rhodes had never been like that, and he never could be." 

A few weeks ago Tracy at Bitter Tea and Mystery (please check out Tracy's excellent website under blogs I follow) was reviewing Murder Most Fowl, book seven in Bill Crider's Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery series.  Now I am normally hesitant to check out a new series because I have too many books on my TBR list as it is.  But I was intrigued by Tracy's review of Murder Most Fowl and so I decided to start with the first book in Bill Crider's Dan Rhodes mystery series, Too Late To Die (1986) and I found it to be a very enjoyable experience

Too Late To Die (1986) is set in Clearview, a small town within Blacklin County, TX.  There is no serious crime in Clearview and the people who live there have known each other for years.  Dan Rhodes is the Sheriff of Clearview.  He has a small department consisting of his deputy, Johnny Sherman, the dispatcher, old Hack Jensen and Lawton the jailer who as the book describes him is almost as old as Hack Jensen.  

Sheriff Dan Rhodes is running for reelection when Too Late To Die begins.  He doesn't like the politics and the backslapping part of his job but he understands it comes with the territory.  Sheriff Rhodes' wife Claire passed away a year back and he misses her very much.  He has a grown daughter named Cathy who he has a good relationship with.  Sheriff Rhodes is smart and thoughtful.  He doesn't throw his weight around but when trouble arrives he will meet it courageously.

And trouble arrives when a local woman Jeanne Clinton who everyone in Clearview knew and liked is found murdered in her home.  Jeanne in her younger days was rather wild but a few years back she married her husband Elmer Clinton who is 30 years her senior.  Despite the age difference it seems to have been a good marriage.  But then Jeanne turns up dead and it turns out that while Elmer was at work a number of men in the neighborhood would drop by Jeanne's house for coffee.  Was it just coffee and talk or something more?  DId one of these men get rebuffed and murder Jeanne or did her husband Elmer find out and in a fit of jealousy lose control?

On paper Too Late To Die may sound like an average small town mystery novel with a conventional plot and a good-hearted Sheriff trying to solve the case.  But Too Late To Die won the prestigious Anthony Award in 1987 for best first novel and what set the book apart for me was the writing.  Bill Crider has a very nice writing style.  I enjoyed the humor that is delicately placed throughout the book.  I enjoyed descriptions of Clearview and its people.  Bill Crider spends his time on local color and customs and it pays off. I never knew for example how popular Dr. Pepper is in Texas and very refreshing in the hot climate of Clearview.  And most important there is Sheriff Dan Rhodes who is interesting, smart, a good man and I see myself following him at least into book two of this series.

A Trick of The Light by Louise Penny

A Trick of the Light (2011) is the 7th book in Louise Penny's excellent Three Pines Mystery series.  I am reading these books in order which is recommended because starting with Penny's first novel Still Life we get to know the residents of Three Pines, a charming little village off the beaten path.  We learn the secrets of the people who reside there, their hopes, fears, their interactions with each other and how they change and grow as the series progresses.

And at the center of each of Penny's novels is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache tasked with solving the crime.  A mystery series rises or falls based on its lead detective and Armand Gamache with his dedication to justice, knowledge of history, the arts, human psychology, kind but tough when he needs to be is definitely a detective worth following.

And so when A Trick of The Light begins one of the local residents of Three Pines, Clara Morrow, is experiencing a moment she has dreamed of all her life.  Clara's artwork is having a solo showing at a very prestigious museum in Montreal.  After the exhibit there is a party at Clara's home and all of Clara's neighbors are there and art critics and gallery owners as well.

Peter, Clara's husband, is happy for his wife's success but he's conflicted.  It's understandable in that Peter is an artist too and he feels some jealousy that his artwork which supported both he and Clara throughout their marriage is seen as good but not great.  Peter would have liked his own solo exhibit and he feels bad that he is thinking this way.  

But before the issues between Clara and Peter can be dealt with they are quickly overshadowed the morning after the party when a dead woman is discovered in Clara's garden.  She was killed the night of the party but by who and why?  And Clara knows the dead woman, Lillian Dyson, her childhood friend.  Clara and Lillian were as close as could be as children but had a major falling out in college.  They haven't seen or spoken to each other since.   Lillian would go on to be an art critic known for her vicious reviews which could and did destroy people's careers and so the list of suspects is long.  

A Louise Penny's novel usually has more than one storyline going and A Trick of The Light is no exception.  Book six of the series, Bury Your Dead, recounted a terrible police raid that ended in  tragedy.  The police were ambushed, young officers died and Armand Gamache and his first lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir were badly injured.  Gamache is still trying to recover emotionally and deal with survivor's guilt and he is making progress.  But Jean-Guy Beauvior never one to share his feelings is doing poorly and is using opiods to deal with his lingering physical and emotional pain.

So I plan before the year ends to read book eight and maybe even squeeze in book nine in this series.  I am eager to find out what is next in store for Armand Gamache, Jean Guy Beauvoir, Clara, Peter and all of the fascinating residents of Three Pines who make this series such a delight.

Hurricane Season and September Book Haul.

Here in Florida we are all tracking Hurricane Lee.  I'm worried.  It will be a category 5 soon and everything hinges on it making a northward turn on Tuesday and therfore no landfall as I understand.  But no one can say for sure.  The maps I am seeing right now are scary.

But on a positive note I was at the library today and checked out five books I am looking forward to reading: 

The Everglades: Rivers of Grass by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas  -  Marjorie Stoneman Douglas devoted her life to preserving the Everglades.  Sadly too many (including me) first heard of her after that terrible mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School.  But I would like to know more about The Everglades and this book is her classic.

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Between Breaths by Elizabeth Vargas - Saw Elizabeth Vargas interviewed by Diane Sawyer about a week ago about her battle with addiction and how she recovered. I was pleased to see her memoir at the library and I wish her the best.

Walter Benjamin at the Diary Queen by Larry McMurty  I keep promising myself I will read Larry McMurty's Lonesome Dove because he's an excellent writer.  But until then I will read his memoir about growing up in West Texas.  

All That Is Bitter And Sweet by Ashley Judd -  Loved her in Ruby In Paradise.  Always interesting on and off the screen.  Tragic about her Mom, Naomi Judd. RIP.

Florida: A Short History by Michael Gannon - Might as well find out something about the history of where I am living.  And as I understand Michael Gannon is one of the best historians out there when it comes to Florida history.

So a pretty good book haul today.  Stay safe and happy reading!

Victober 2023!

Victorian literature (1837-1901)  is a favorite genre of mine.  And I particularly like the Victober Challenge because of the five booktubers who host it each year.  They have wonderful channels worth checking out.  And for 2023 our five hosts have given prompts for Victorian novels we might want to read during the month of October, many of which can be found on kindle free or at a very low cost:

Kate Howe: https://youtu.be/xJ8xftaK7rA?si=P3GV5.-  Choose a Victorian Novel Featuring A Stranger Or Outsider - I am going with Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Ros, Scallydandling about the books: https://youtu.be/ocr29HvFj8c - Choose a Victorian Novel About Class.  -  The Nether World by George Gissing, one of my favorite writers.

Katie, Books and Things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwTa7... Choose a Victorian Novel with a New Woman Theme - Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley. 

Marissa, Blatantly Bookish: https://youtu.be/DDj47C04psg - Choose A Victorian Author That's New To You -  I am going with The Heir of Redclyffe by Charlotte Mary Younge

Peta U: https://youtu.be/jlUkLBdQR8k - Choose a Victorian Novel with First Person Narration - Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

The Group Read - The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope.  I have already read this novel and thought it was excellent.   So I will go with The Warden also by Anthony Trollope which is his first novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series.

I probably won't finish all of these books in October but three on the list might be a possibility.  And to complete the challenge all you have to do is commit to reading one Victorian novel or play during the month of October.  That I can do.

Happy Autumn!

The Road Taken by Rona Jaffe

During her life Rona Jaffe wrote sixteen novels and I have now read three: The Best of Everything (1958), Five Women (1997) and The Road Taken (2000).  If Rona has a theme in her books, at least the one's I've read, it's the changing role of women in the 20th century.  Her bestselling classic The Best of Everything for example is about four young women who come to New York to work in publishing and hopefully find Mr. Right.  The book was ahead of its time and along with Five Women well worth reading.

I wish I could say the same for The Road Taken but at least for me I found it a sad book which maybe I needed to be in a better frame of mind to appreciate.  The premise of the novel is interesting.  We follow the life of Rose Smith born on Jan 1 1900 and the book ends in 1999 with Rose about to turn one-hundred.  It's a journey through the turbulent and often tragic 20th century.

The Road Taken is also about Rose's three daughters Peggy, Joan and Ginger who will face choices their mother's generation never faced.  We follow the story of Rose's brother Hugh.  As a young boy he knows he has feelings for other boys that he can't share with anyone.  But by the time The Road Taken ends Hugh, age 80 with his partner Teddy, is going on protest marches to raise money for AIDS research.

Hugh and his sister Rose remain close all their lives possibly because they have an optimistic spirit and they change with the times.  This is also true of Rose's youngest daughter Ginger a brilliant and kind-hearted young woman who is stricken with polio at age 16.  It leaves her in a wheelchair but Ginger is determined to graduate from medical school and go into research and through hard work and determination that's exactly what she does.

Ginger's older sisters, Peggy and Joan, have a harder time managing the 20th century and they are constantly at war with each other.  They are too different and their relationship is permanently broken by a tragic accident that happens halfway through the novel.  Peggy is never able to completely forgive Joan for this accident and the best they will ever achieve is a cold peace.

And as we get deeper into the 20th century we see the enormous changes in society but also time passing by so quickly.  The Road Taken really brings this home in the story of Celia, Rose's stepmother.  Celia is a minor character in the novel, a good woman but rather direct in her advise which can exasperate her family.  The family also marvels at Celia's tremendous energy, going on cruises, volunteering, lunch with her girlfriends, never stopping. 

And then 3/4 of the way through The Road Taken there is a heartbreaking passage where Celia notices that when she calls her friends to chat and make lunch plans her friends  are becoming somewhat annoyed.  Their response is "Celia you just called me ten minutes ago".  Celia is puzzled but not yet alarmed.  She makes a joke about getting old.  The friends laugh as well but Celia begins keeping a list of her friends names on a notepad near the phone crossing out each name after she calls that person so that she will remember not to call them ten minutes later.  I wish I could say that this solves the issue for Celia but when you have seen this illness up close you know it only gets worse.

But on the plus side The Road Taken ends with Rose in pretty good health getting ready to celebrate her 100th birthday with her extended family.  And so to sum up I probably wasn't in the right mood to enjoy The Road Taken.  It got a little too real for me with Celia's story.  But I definitely recommend Five Women and The Best of Everything and I plan to read one or two more novels by Rona Jaffe going forward.

Swamp Story by Dave Barry

I had originally chosen Tourist Season by Carl Hiassen as one of my Ten Books of Summer.   But after a few chapters I realized Tourist Season was not for me and so I decided to go with another bestselling Florida writer, Dave Barry.   His latest novel Swamp Story (2023) is set in the Florida Everglades and focuses on a number of characters who have hit a rough patch and are hoping for something better. 

There is Jesse Braddock, her baby daughter Willa and Willa's father, Slater.  They all live in a cabin in the Everglades where Slater is dreaming of producing a reality TV show called Glades Man but in the meantime he is doing nothing but getting wasted.   Jesse knows that she and Willa need a way back to civilization.

Then there is Phil Teagler, an alcoholic ex-newspaperman.  Phil is looking for a way to make money, stop drinking and repair his relationship with his daughter Stella.  And we have Ken and Brad owners of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer who are trying to attract tourists to their failing business.  Ken at least is trying, Brad thinks it's hopeless.

And so the future is not looking bright when Swamp Story begins.  But then things begin to change.  Jesse discovers a fortune in gold bars buried in swamp land near her home.  She decides to hide the gold until she can figure out what to do.  But bad guys are also after the gold and they know that Jesse has it hidden

Meanwhile Phil is in a bar in Miami when Ken from Bortle Brothers approaches him.  Phil has become semi-famous due to an internet video where he and his friend Stu dressed up as Disney characters for a children's birthday party and the event went viral.  Ken sits down next to Phil with a proposal.

The plan involves Phil disguising himself as a character Ken has thought up  called The Everglades Melon Monster.  They'll film a few videos near Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer and post them online.  People will flock to the Everglades looking for the melon monster and Phil and Ken will split the profits from all the melon monster t-shirts and paraphernalia they'll be selling.  

Phil is skeptical but agrees to go along and the plan works very well.  Thousands of tourists descend on the Everglades looking for the monster and the problems for Jesse Phil, Ken and Brad continue from there.  Swamp Story also includes a separate plot in which a US Secretary of the Interior Witt Chastain, who hates going outdoors, heads down to the Everglades to launch the annual Python Challenge.  And all of these stories link up as we get to the end of the book.  

Swamp Story has been receiving alot of critical praise, including a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, and I wish I could be on board because I like Dave Barry.   Many of us came down years ago to a very different Florida than exists now and the fact that Barry is still living in Miami and still chronicling the weirdness here is comforting to those of us who would like to leave but can't.

And so I wanted to recommend Swamp Story and certainly the characters, Jesse, Phil, Brad and Ken are well drawn and realistic.  I was rooting for them.  But Swamp Story  began to drag for me the deeper I got into it.  Jesse's dilemna with the gold bars and her blossoming relationship with Brad I enjoyed.  But the melon monster storyline takes up a significant part of the novel and did not hold my interest.

But that's just me and Swamp Story is funny and Dave Barry is certainly someone to read, a reminder of the loveable weirdness that made Florida a fun place as opposed to what we have now.

H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald

Fifty pages into H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald (2014) I put the book down.  It was beautifully written, the international acclaim well deserved, but I am not a birder or particularly interested in nature books.  It was my fault, not the author's, for choosing the wrong genre.

But then a few weeks later I saw that H Is For Hawk was available on Audible as part of my membership.  The author, Helen Macdonald, was the reader and that's not always a great idea but in this case it worked out wonderfully.  Helen Macdonald is a an excellent reader and writer.  And when I got to the part of the book where Helen purchases her goshawk Mabel and retreats to the English countryside to begin Mabel's training I was hooked.  

And I particularly liked that Helen takes her treasured copy of T. H. White's memoir Goshawk (1951) with her on her journey.  T. H. White was a British writer best known for his classic novel The Once And Future King.  And throughout the course of H Is For Hawk, Helen rereads T. H. White's Goshawk and reflects on his life and her own:

"Like White I wanted to cut loose from the world, and I shared, too, his desire to escape to the wild, a desire that can rip away all human softness and leave you stranded in a world of savage, courteous despair."

And then there is Mabel, the young goshawk.  Helen does a good job in H Is For Hawk in trying to interpret what Mabel is thinking and feeling.  And it does seem at first that they are bonding. But part of training a hawk is taking them hunting and that's where the other side of Mabel emerges and it's disturbing.  At one point Helen is injured when Mabel turns on her in the woods

I would have sent Mabel packing at that point but for Helen, fascinated by hawks since childhood, training Mabel was a way to get over her grief at her father's death.  Training Mabel became a way to deal with that loss.  But Helen comes to realize through her experiences with Mabel and reflecting on T. H. White's life that isolating oneself from people is not the answer.  

H Is For Hawk is a book I didn't think I would be able to finish when I first picked it up and now I would say it's a five star read.