“Plato And A Platypus Walk Into A Bar” Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

by Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein


Review #121
Both authors were Philosophy Majors at Harvard.

Summary: “The great philosopher Aristotle once said "Humor is the only test of gravity, for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious." Taking this tenet to task, Cathart and Klein tackle all the major philosophical perspectives, ancient and postmodern alike, and make them universally accessible through hilarious jokes that cut straight to the core of the principle. Hobbes, for instance, believed that life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Why then, the authors ask, did he complain about it being short?”

If you are interested in Philosophy and have a sense of humor…you will love this book! I laughed out loud with tears in my eyes at 95% of the humor. I loved this book and…even though it is a small book…187 pages, gained an education in the Philosophies…all of them!

Warning: If you are easily offended or do not have a sense of humor, please, don’t read this book. The authors are very down to earth with their explanations of the different philosophies and do not mince words or limit their jokes to “nice” subjects!

“The Wailing Wind” by Tony Hillerman

Review #120
A Sgt. Jim Chee and Lt. Joe Leaphorn Mystery

Religious fervency and single-minded greed become strange but, necessary bedfellows in a plot filled, as always, with insights into the lives and beliefs of the Navajo "Dineh."

Sergeant Jim Chee lures his old boss, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, out of retirement with news of a murder that reaches back to an unsolved mystery…one that has haunted both Chee and Leaphorn for the past two years.

Officer Bernadette Manuslito, a Tribal Police rookie discovers a white man’s body in a parked car. Manuslito is traditional Navajo and fears contamination from the spirit lingering near the corpse. She leaves the crime scene unprocessed and is criticized for mishandling evidence, leaving her boss and romantic interest Chee to cover her tracks.

Leaphorn's trademark curiosity sends him in search of possible links between this homicide and the earlier crime. The first murder occurred on Halloween day when Wiley Denton supposedly shot Marvin McKay in self-defense after McKay tried to sell him bogus information about a legendary lost gold mine. That same day Denton's wife, Linda, disappeared; she has never been heard from again. A document found later, on the present body, is the link to Leaphorn and Chee's old case. Leaphorn's recollection of what had been shrugged off as a Halloween prank out at old Fort Wingate now becomes the itch he has to scratch.

The Navajo, according to Hillerman, view gold as a substance that drives white men crazy. This tale of rabid questing for an iffy gold source bears out this belief. It also has the Hillerman mix of stationhouse politics, rich depiction of Navajo customs, evocative landscape, and prose that can move from comedy to terror in a split second.

Tony Hillerman invented the Native American mystery and nobody does it better!

“A Daughter’s Legacy” by Virginia Smith

Review #119

Accountant, Kelli Jackson’s estranged mother, Lillian, has died. After the funeral service, Kelli discovers that her mother has put an unusual requirement in her will. Lillian was Director of the Cougar Bay Zoological Park and if Kelli works with the animals in the zoo for six months, she will inherit half of $1.4 million. (The Zoo receives the other half.) If she refuses, Kelli will receive $25,000 and nothing else. If she fails to receive a positive report from Jason Andover, the handsome zoo director who is replacing her mom, then her inheritance will be given to the Zoo to help build a new African Lion Habitat. The major problem with this requirement is that Kelli is terrified of animals due to an event early in her childhood!

At first she refuses, but decides she needs to do this for her grandmother who will need the money as she ages. But, how can she possibly explain her fears and her past to her boss, Jason Andover? How can she trust him? After all, if she fails, the Zoo will get all the money!

I am not, presently, a fan of romance novels, but I liked this book! It is not only interesting and well written, but it's educational too! If you like animals and romance, you will enjoy this book!

“Where The Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls

Review #118

“The tale of a boy and his best friends, two remarkable hunting dogs who teach him about life, loyalty and trust against a wild woodland back drop where adventure waits just around the bend.” The story is narrated by Billy as an old man remembering his dogs. This book was written for children but, I know adults who consider it one of their personal favorites.

Where the Red Fern Grows is a very emotional book. The story is about a ten year old boy named Billy who lives in the Ozark Mountains some time in the early part of the 20th century. Billy wants 2 coon hunting dogs more than anything else in the world. His folks are poor and coon dogs cost money. So…for two long years, he does whatever he needs to do to earn money, saves it and on his own, buys two small red hound puppies.

Once he gets his dogs, Billy teaches them to hunt by dragging an old coonskin all over the woods near his home. Old Dan and Little Ann are great hunters and work together as a team as they try to outsmart the coons that are trying to outsmart them. Little Ann's brain complements Old Dan's brawn, and the two dogs work together as "one." Their loyalty and love for each other (and toward Billy) is inspiring, as is Billy's respect for his dogs.

Quite a number of events keep the story interesting. Billy enters himself and his dogs in a championship coon hunt. He enters into a bet with neighbor boys, Rainie and Rubin that Billy and his hounds can't catch the "ghost" coon. That was a night to remember, with a lesson! And you will never forget the Mountain Lion that Little Ann and Old Dan trees!

WARNING!
Even though this book was written for children and is considered a classic, there are a few things in this book that might bother some adults, let alone, a sensitive child. A young boy dies while running with an ax in the woods, a rather upsetting scene. There are a lot of raccoons killed; animal lovers might find this a little too much for their taste. I'm risking spoiling the book for you, but the two dogs die toward the end of the story. And..lastly, Billy cuts down a lot of trees just to get to the coons…Green Peace wasn’t around back then.

“This Body of Death” by Elizabeth George

Review #117
A Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley Mystery

Aggressively career-minded, Isabelle Ardery, the new acting superintendent of London's Metropolitan Police, manages to lure retired Detective Inspector, Thomas Lynley, back from Cornwall to look into a murder case. Lynley returns, even though, he is still grieving the deaths of his wife and unborn child.

The murder victim is Jemima Hastings, a young woman who, nine months before, abruptly left her thriving cupcake business and her boyfriend, roof-thatcher, Gordon Jossie, in Hampshire and moved to London. Hastings’ body turned up in a London cemetery. Along with suspects in both London and Hampshire and… numerous leads to follow and… interviews to conduct, Ardery also, manages to raise the hackles of Det. Sgt. Barbara Havers (Lynley’s former partner), Det. Insp. John Stewart, and other members of the investigating team.

While the author confounds readers with a complex array of evidence, motives, and possible solutions, she also, throws in a second, seemingly unrelated, case of the horrific murder of a toddler by three young boys.

Details about the craft of thatching and the care of the ponies that roam freely in Hampshire's New Forest, a former royal hunting ground, make this an informative as well as an entertaining novel.

(21 audio discs or 640 pages)

“Gun Shy” by Donna Ball

Book Review #116
A Raine Stockton Dog Mystery

Raine Stockton is a rescue dog trainer, boards dogs in her kennel, along with her dog, Cisco, does search and rescue for the Parks Dept. and is the niece of the sheriff where she lives in the foot hills of the Smokey Mountains.

Raine has been called in to retrieve a barking dog. The instant that she arrives at the vacation cabin by the lake, she knows it’s going to be bad. For a start, the sheriff’s deputies and the sheriff, her Uncle Roe, are all gathered outside. From inside, she can hear the hoarse, desperate barking of a dog. The neighbor across the lake stood the barking for days before finally reporting it. Inside the cabin with the dog is the body of a woman.

Getting the dog out of the cabin is only the beginning. What looks like an unfathomable suicide quickly starts to look more suspicious as the woman’s identity and background come to light. Michelle White, was supposedly unable to use the right side of her body. But, if that’s the case, why was the gun that killed her found in her right hand? Where is her car, her husband, her wheelchair? And… why would someone come to the Smoky Mountains on vacation in order to commit suicide? The lack of even basic food, human or canine, in the cabin is curious, too. At the moment, only the dog, named Hero by Raine, knows what really happened. And Raine is determined to find out the truth.

Plus you are going to learn all about Hero's training, Ringo, the dancing dog and Raine's love life!

This is the third in the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series, following “RAPID FIRE”. Newcomers will find it very easy to jump in here. The best news is that, so far, the author has managed to surpass herself with each new installment. (Paper Back…230 pages)

I love this series of books.

"Why is GOD Laughing? The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism" by Deepak Chopra

Review #115

“Best-selling spiritual guide and self-help author, Deepak Chopra, has turned to the didactic novel in this story of Mickey Fellows, a comedian working in Los Angeles who gradually learns the lessons imparted by "Francisco" about the nature of reality and illusion, moving toward a more generous and outward-focused life.”

To be perfectly honest, I found the story confusing and not very substantial. I didn’t understand what Chopra was trying to say until I got to the end and found ‘The Path to Joy, Ten Principles of Spiritual Optimism”

1. The healthiest response to life is laughter.
2. There is always a reason to be grateful.
3. You belong in the scheme of the Universe.
There’s nothing to be afraid of. You are safe.
4. Your soul cherishes every aspect of your life.
5. There is a plan, and your soul knows what it is.
6. Ecstasy is the energy of spirit.
When life flows, ecstasy is natural.
7. There is a creative solution to every problem.
Every possibility holds the promise of abundance.
8. Obstacles are opportunities in disguise.
9. Evolution leads the way through desire.
10. Freedom is letting go.

I discovered that I was already a believer in about half of them!
If you want more detail about these principles you will have to read the book!

“Lucid Intervals” by Stuart Woods

Book Review #114
A Stone Barrington Mystery

New York City attorney, Stone Barrington is back and juggling an unwanted new client, a hunt for a former British intelligence operative and his unstable ex-wife, Dolce Bianci.

Stone is less than thrilled when "walking catastrophe", Herbie Fisher, the nephew of his friend, Bob Cantor, walks up to him at Elaine's and drops $1 million in his lap in exchange for representation. But Stone has bills to pay, so he helps Herbie with everything from a real-estate deal to a prenuptial agreement.

Soon, however, Stone has more pressing matters on his hands. Felicity Devonshire, a beautiful member of British intelligence, has need of his services. Felicity hires him to find Stanley Whitestone, an ex-agent recently spotted in New York and still wanted by her superiors after 12 years. This is a task he takes on wholeheartedly, until his investigation leads him to believe that Whitestone might not be the nefarious traitor British intelligence claims he is. Barrington walks a tricky ethical line by agreeing to work for Jim Hackett, who owns a large private security firm, and who may in fact be Whitestone.

And…of course…there is also Stone's powerful cop friend, Dino Bacchetti, always ready to do favors or share a Knob Creek bourbon at Elaine's.

Woods has never written a ‘bad’ Stone Barrington novel. Loved it!

"Finding Fish” A Memoir by Antwone Quentin Fisher with Mim Eichler Rivas

Review #113

This is an amazing story of the life of Antwone Fisher (“Fish”) who is now a successful screenwriter and producer in Hollywood.

He was born in prison, lived in foster care for 16 years where, for 14 of those years, he was mentally, physically and sexually abused. At age 16, he was given temporary shelter in a boy’s reform school. He became homeless at age 17…during the golden age of the Black Power movement. At age 18, he joined the Navy and traveled around the world…growing up, finding true friendship, gaining confidence in his abilities and…started to find himself! Leaving the Navy after 11 years, he went to work as a prison guard in Georgia for a few of years (where he met well-known criminals) and later as a guard on Sony’s lot in California (where he met well-known stars).

Eventually, he finds his mother, finds his father’s family (his father was murdered 2 months before he was born), writes his life story which is turned into a movie produced and starred in by Denzil Washington, gets married and has a little girl, Indigo.

This is a very simplistic look at Antwone’s life. How he got through it and all the things that happened to him while he did, is one of the most amazing and facinating stories I have ever read! It will break your heart and it will make you jump for joy!

It is also an unflinching look at the adverse effects foster care can have on a child's life. If you don’t read another book this year, read this one or better yet, listen to it on audio.

I warn you though, it’s filled with offensive language, true to the times and the culture of the times.

Coincidently, after I finished listening to this book on Sunday, I turned the TV on and found the movie, “Antwone Fisher”, playing. I watched and it was a good movie. However, I was very disappointed to find so many inconsistencies with the book and...the story was incomplete. So, even if you have seen the movie, read the book anyway to get the REAL story. Antwone Fisher’s life is so much more interesting than the movie portrays!

“61 Hours” by Lee Child (2010)

Review #112
A Jack Reacher Mystery

Jack Reacher is back and in his element, Smalltown, U.S.A. When a tour bus, on which he bummed a ride, skids off the road and crashes, Reacher finds himself in Bolton, S.Dak., a tiny burg with big problems.

This time, the retired military cop has to deal with a hired assassin, a prison breakout, a mob of biker thugs, a secret government installation, a clutch of senior citizen tourists who thought a frigid vacation in South Dakota would save money and a witness who needs protection from a murderous drug lord from Mexico. Just an ordinary day on the job for Reacher and, as always, he displays plenty of daring-do, mental acuity, and good old-fashioned decency.

As usual, Child's writing is superb. Not only is this thriller believable, but the descriptions of the blizzard will make you want to hug your furnaces (a good thing in the heat wave we're having!). Fast paced and exciting! The only thing I didn’t like about this book is the cliffhanger at the end…does Reacher survive this one?

“Eight Days to Live” by Iris Johansen (2010)

Review #111

An Eve Duncan Forensic Mystery (almost)

Eve Duncan's adopted daughter, Jane MacGuire, has been targeted by a mysterious cult and according to their leader, she has only eight days to live!

When Jane exhibits her paintings at a Paris gallery, one of her pieces, a creepy portrait titled ‘Guilt’, prompts a charge of blasphemy from a dangerous religious cult. Jane created the painting from a dream image which, apparently, connects to a prophecy and a cult that dates back to the time of Christ. Nailing the dead body of one of Jane's friends to a cross shows the cult members mean business.

An action-packed search to uncover Jane's link to the cult and find a priceless religious artifact takes her traveling across Europe. Jane stays one step ahead of the killers with the help of two strong but silent assassin friends. Jock Gavin works for the CIA and the other, Seth Caleb, has some sort of extra ability to read minds, mentally “adjust attitudes” and to boil a person's blood from the inside out.

While Eve Duncan is present (kidnapped by the villains) for parts of this thriller, the action focuses on Jane and the psychopathic men determined to kill her.

Not the usual Eve Duncan mystery, but a good one anyway!

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

When I asked my friends and family to share their favorite books and authors, I received a great response…….Thanks everybody!

I thought I would share with you what was shared with me! What a wonderful variety!
Here they are:

“All The King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren
“Charlie Wilson’s War” by George Crile
“Andersonville” (Civil War) by McKinlay Kantor
“They Fought Like Demons” by Deann Blanton
“The Cruel Sea” (WWII) by Monsarrat
“The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom

“Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar”……………………..
…………………………………….. by Thomas Cathcart
“The Devil’s Knot” by Mara Leveritt
“Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers
“The First Patient” by Michael Palmer
"The Scent of Water" by Elizabeth Goudge
The Sweet Potato Queens ……………………………………
…………………….(a series) by Jill Connor Browne
"Maya Angelou...Journey of the Heart" by Jayne Pettit

“Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
“Where the Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls

The Secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel ……………
……………………...(a series) by Michael Scott
“Dune” by Frank Herbert
“Spin” by Robert Wilson
“Ringworld” by Larry Niven
“Lord Of The Rings trilogy” by J.R.R. Tolkien

Books by Terry Pratchett
Books by Linda Ellerbee
Books by Barbara Tuchman
Books by David Halberstam
Books by John Grisham (I’ve read all of his books!)
Books by Jeffery Deaver (I’ve read all of his also)

Anyone who would like to add to this list, please do so by adding them to comments below.

“A Study in Scarlet” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Review #110
First Mystery of Sherlock Holmes
(On Playaway audio…4.5 hours)

This is the first story Sir Conan Doyle wrote about his famous consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. In this short novel, Dr. Watson is presented to Holmes as a potential Baker Street roommate. On first meeting Watson, Holmes utters the immortal line, "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive." Doctor Watson, has, indeed, just returned from Afghanistan. With an injured arm and shattered nerves from illness, he has arrived in London, living on a pension and needing to board with somebody, rent prices being as they were in the late nineteenth century.

Thus begins the famous crime-solving partnership of the Holmes and Watson duo.
At first, Dr. Watson is skeptical about Holmes' self professed deductive powers, so Holmes allows him to tag along on a case about which the police have consulted him...the murder of two Americans.
A Study In Scarlet is divided into two parts; the first part consists of the story up until the arrest of the murderer. The second part is a detailed back-story of the murderer's life and motives, previously unexplained. Part two takes the reader across the ocean to the original settlement of Salt Lake City in Utah, and a story of hardship, love, greed, Mormons, and revenge, then…back to London to sort out the explanations.

When I began listening to Part two, I thought someone had made a mistake and was starting a new book! I couldn’t understand why Doyle hadn’t explained how he had deduced the murderer. I thought it was a very abrupt ending! It took some time before the names of some of the players came up, and then I realized he was giving the reader a back story. Very unexpected, but made me happy that the book hadn’t ended so soon.

If I hadn’t already been a fan of Sherlock Holmes, I would have become one with this book!

“Laughed ‘Til He Died” by Carolyn Hart (2010)

Review #109
A “Death On Demand” Mystery with Annie and Max Darling

More than one death in Broward's Rock, S.C., engages Annie Darling and her husband, Max. First, Hubert “Click” Silvester, a black teenager who hung out at the Haven, a teen activity center, apparently falls to his death from a wooden viewing platform in the woods. Later, someone shoots obnoxious Haven board member, Booth Wagner, on stage during an outdoor evening benefit for the center. Then, another teenager from the Haven is shot.

Many had motives for killing Booth, including his stepson, Tim Talbot, who feared and hated him (and disappeared right after the murder); his wife, Neva, who's curiously unmoved by his death; his ex-wife, his former mistress, Jean Hughes, who was terrified of being fired as the Haven's director (and…she was being blackmailed by Booth). When Jean Hughes becomes Police Chief Billy Cameron's prime suspect, he is the only one who believes she murdered Booth. Therefore, a group of local ladies, led by mystery writer, Emma Clyde, assist Annie and Max in the hunt for the real killer.

Well-developed characters, a complex, fast-moving plot and a surprise ending, make this book worth reading.

“Heat Wave” by Richard Castle (2009)

Review #108

A Nikki Heat Mystery

A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk. A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls, with no shortage of reasons to kill, trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPD detective shines a light.

Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City's top homicide squads. She's hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York’s Finest. Pulitzer Prize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren't her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them…the one called heat.

I watch “Castle” on TV. If you are familiar with the character, you will know this is the book he is supposed to have written while following the TV detective around.

I liked this book...a lot!

“The Fitzgerald Ruse” by Mark De Castrique (2009)

Review #107

The first case for the Blackman and Robertson Detective Agency of Asheville, North Carolina, involves the two newly licensed sleuths in the history of their town in the mid-twentieth century and in the more recent past of former warrant officer Sam Blackman, who lost a leg and two comrades in an ambush in Iraq.

Blackman no sooner retrieves a lockbox from the bank for elderly client, Ethel Barkley, than the box is stolen from his office and a security guard is killed. The client says the box contains a stolen manuscript belonging to F. Scott Fitzgerald…one she wants returned to the heirs of Fitzgerald. Within days, Ethel is dead, apparently tortured before she was murdered.

While Blackman and his partner and, lover, Nakayla Robertson, puzzle out connections between the lockbox, Fitzgerald, and an old-time Nazi organization, they're also confronted with rogue mercenaries targeting Sam for, presumably, smuggling loot out of Iraq and double-crossing his accomplices.

Interesting book! I liked it!

“Storm Runners” by T. Jefferson Parker (2007)

Review #106

Matt Stromsoe is a walking-wounded former cop whose wife and son were killed in a car explosion meant for him. His last chance for salvation is being bodyguard for beautiful TV weatherwoman, Frankie Hatfield. Hatfield possesses her deceased Dad’s secret formula for making rain that a sociopathic exec at the L.A. Power & Water wants destroyed. In Southern California, as the San Diego weather lady puts it, "Rain is life!" Rain is also raw power in the land of avocadoes and sod farms.

The LAPW exec has enlisted the aid of the same vengeful gang leader responsible for the murder of Matt's family. The case takes him from fragrant orange groves in the San Diego hills to the cold cement of Pelican Bay State Prison.

This is an imaginative and exciting book and I really liked the good guys!

“Shoot to Thrill” by P.J. Tracy (2010)

(P.J. Tracy is the mother-daughter writing team of Patricia J. and Traci Lambrecht)

Review #105

A Monkey Wrench Gang Thriller

Special agent John Smith of the FBI's cyber crimes unit seeks the help of cyber sleuths, Grace MacBride, Annie Belinsky, and their geeky associates as well as Minneapolis, Minn., homicide detectives, Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, in solving a horrifying string of murders filmed for the Web. The Monkeewrench team must create a program that can separate staged death scenes from the real thing.

The first death they scrutinize appears to be the drowning murder of a Minneapolis drag queen. A stabbing, two shootings and a strangulation are among subsequent killings that occur in other cities across the country. They catch a break when the eighth victim, a Medford, Ore., waitress, survives a stabbing.

No one will have trouble getting into the story and everyone will appreciate the likable characters.

P.J. Tracy rocks!

“Hold Tight” by Harlan Coben

Review #104

Parents will find this compulsive page-turner particularly unnerving. A sadistic killer is at play in suburban Glen Rock, N.J., outside New York City, but somehow he's less frightening than the more mundane problems that send ordinary lives into chaos.

How do you weigh a child's privacy against a parent's right to know? How do you differentiate normal teenage rebelliousness from out-of-control behavior? When and how do you intervene if suicidal signs appear? Other issues include single parenting; career versus family; marital honesty; and how much information you should share with a child at what age.

The Baye's son, Adam, delivers typically teen angst to his befuddled family. Mike and Tia Baye try to deal with the increasing withdrawal of their 16-year-old son, after a friend's suicide by investing in a spyware program that will report every keystroke on Adam's personal computer. This way they can track his movements. A pair of brutal, seemingly senseless killings, punctuate the unfolding domestic troubles that ratchet up the tension and engulf the Baye family, their friends and neighbors in a web of increasing tragedy. And then…Adam disappears.

This is a scary book, but well worth reading!

“The Mapping of Love and Death” by Jacqueline Winspear

Review # 103

A PI Maisie Dobbs Mystery

“Maisie Dobbs must unravel a case of wartime love and death--an investigation that leads her to a doomed affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse"

The detective is employed by the parents of a soldier and cartographer, Michael Clifton, who fought during World War I. Missing for 16 years, the bodies of Clifton and his unit are discovered in France. The postmortem reveals that while the unit perished during a shelling attack, Clifton was already dead from a crushed skull. The only clues found with the body are the soldier's deteriorated journal and love letters to an unnamed nurse.

There's also the dilemma of the California land purchase, potentially lucrative, that Clifton made just before he enlisted. With no deed of sale or will apparent, the land is mired in legal entanglements. This case has long grown cold, but Maisie is too relentless an investigator to let it prevent her from bringing a murderer to justice.

At times, subplots involving socialite James Compton, a frustrated Maisie suitor, and the family problems of Maisie's assistant, Billy Beale, slow the pace.

As often happens in this series, the action builds to a somewhat sad if satisfying conclusion. A Good Read!

“The Christie Caper” by Carolyn G. Hart

Review #102

“A Death on Demand” Mystery with Annie and Max Darling

What better setting for a murder mystery than a convention of Agatha Christie aficionados? In honor of Agatha Christie's one hundredth birthday, mystery bookstore owner and super sleuth, Annie Darling, has organized the week-long convention at a resort off the coast of South Carolina. There will be movies, panel discussions, trivia contests, a Come-As-You-Wish-You-Were Ball and, to Annie's dismay, several murders.

Bolstered by Laurel, her flighty mother-in-law, as well as intrepid reader Henny and husband Max, Annie thinks she can handle any contingencies until hard-boiled crime aficionado and critic, Neil Bledsoe, shows up with his aunt, Lady Gwendolyn, a Miss Marple look-alike. Bledsoe is determined to be odious, even going so far as to publicly attack Christie and her work. After Bledsoe is the victim of two suspicious accidents, Annie, Max, Henny, Laurel and Lady Gwendolyn fear that a disgruntled author, editor or agent is using the conference to exact revenge. When a would-be writer is slain, the five amateur sleuths redouble their efforts to prevent more violence.

As in the past, Hart fills the text with titles, authors and characters' names, this time with a plethora of Christie trivia.

Loved it!

THE 9th JUDGMENT” by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Review #101

A Det. Lindsay Boxer and Women’s Murder Club Novel

A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in blood red lipstick. The same night, the wife of A-list actor, Marcus Dowling, is awakened by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. In just minutes, there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into turmoil. When another mother and child are murdered, Boxer decides SFPD may have a serial killer on its hands.

Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich, and the Women's Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line…but is it enough to save the city?

With unparalleled danger and explosive action, The 9th Judgment is James Patterson at his compelling, unstoppable best!

“Mr. Monk in Trouble” by Lee Goldberg

Review #100
An Adrian Monk Mystery

Ever since a 1962 unsolved train robbery made it famous, people have made their way to the little town of Trouble in California's gold country. Some come to see the Gold Rush Museum, but, most come to search for the booty that the train robbers supposedly dumped off the “Golden Rail Express” in the botched heist. When the museum watchman, a retired SFPD cop is murdered, Monk and his assistant, Natalie, are asked to investigate by their friend, Captain Stottlemeyer of the San Francisco Police Department. Since his house is being renovated, Mr. Monk agrees to go to the mining town with his assistant. While in town he finds out about a cold case and decides to solve it in his spare time.

The famous train, ‘Golden Rail Express’ was robbed of its gold on its last run in 1962. But, what happened to the loot or the mastermind was never revealed and a third robber never found. With brilliant insight, Adrian works the train robbery, the murder, and assorted other inquiries until he vanishes leaving an injured Natalie to investigate the case of the missing sleuthing employer.

He has an intensive form of OCD and has more phobias than can be found in a medical text, but give Mr. Adrian Monk a homicide to solve and he will do it regardless of difficulty mostly caused by his disorders.

This Mr. Monk tale is one of the best I’ve read due to the intriguing tongue in cheek self mocking subplot involving the assayer, Artemis Monk, who also worked cases in 1852. The local curator insists the two OCD Monks may be a century and a half apart but look like twins separated at birth.

If you ever watched the TV series, “Monk”, you will know this is a fun book!

“Inspector Queen’s Own Case” by Ellery Queen

Review #99

Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee

Inspector Richard Queen has finally reached mandatory retirement age and is staying with an old friend, who retired only to take up a much quieter police chief job in a sleepy New England seacoast town. The 3rd-person viewpoint is mainly split between Richard, who's privately depressed, feeling he's outlived his usefulness, and Jessie Sherwood, a professional nurse looking after a newly-adopted baby for a childless rich couple, Alton and Sarah Humffrey.

The story opens with some up-close details of what turns out to have been an illegal adoption, the Humffreys would have been too old for an adoption through channels, so they essentially bought the child. (The birth mother, an unwed nightclub singer, is actually a decent person, the slimy go-between, A. Burt Finner, only persuaded her to go through with it by selling her the idea that the wealthy adoptive parents could give the kid a better life than she could.)

Unfortunately, the flaw in that theory is that various parties, the ne'er-do-well nephew, for one, find it inconvenient to see a sizeable fortune suddenly redirected to an unexpected small baby.

After Jessie and Richard meet casually on the beach while she's out with the baby, he insists on coming along with the chief when there's a report of an attempted kidnapping on the estate. When tragedy finally strikes, Richard and Jessie join forces in some unofficial investigating.

Ellery Queen at their best!

“Making Rounds With Oscar” by David Dosa, M.D.

Review #98

Expanded from an essay in The New England Journal of Medicine, this beautifully written, heartwarming memoir centers on Oscar, a seemingly ordinary house cat with the ability to sense when nursing home patients are within hours of dying. Oscar snuggles with the patient and family members until the patient passes. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing-home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, considered a blessing because it allows staff members at Steere House to notify families that the end is near and because he provides companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone.

Most of the patients under geriatric doctor. David Dosa's care are in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease, and depictions of Oscar's interactions with them take us into the difficult world faced by their families, friends, and caregivers.

Dosa, ever the scientist, is at first, skeptical. He decides to talk with relatives of some of the patients visited by Oscar and slowly, he starts to concede that there may be something special about this cat. He discovers how powerfully Oscar's mere presence reassures frightened or grieving family. Ultimately, the good doctor realizes that it doesn't matter where Oscar's gift comes from; it's the comfort he brings that's important. Told with profound insight and great respect for all involved, this is more than just a cat story, this inspiring guide is for anyone touched by Alzheimer's or terminal illness

This touching and engaging book is a must-read for more than just cat lovers; anyone who enjoys a well-written and compelling story will find much to admire in its unlikely hero.

“Elephants Can Remember” by Agatha Christie

Review #97

A Hercule Poirot Mystery

This is a story of a mystery writer, Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, who is approached while at a literary luncheon, by someone unknown to her. Mrs. Burton-Cox is curious to learn the truth about the murder/suicide of Celia Ravenscroft's parents fifteen years earlier. Celia is Mrs. Oliver's goddaughter.

This is a different type of mystery. You already know who the victims are…you’re just trying to learn who was killed first. Who was the actual person to murder and then commit suicide? Mrs. Burton-Cox is concerned because her adopted son and Celia are planning to get married. Does she need to know because she is concerned that Celia might decide to kill her son or is there another underlying reason for Mrs. Burton-Cox's true concerns?

Did General Ravenscroft kill Lady Ravenscroft or was she the one holding the gun? Mrs. Oliver, asks Hercule Poirot to investigate. Working in tandem, Mrs. Oliver and Poirot identify and interview an ever-increasing list of witnesses (the elephants of the title). Poirot painstakingly reconstructs long-vanished relationships and…his deductions eventually lead him to one final witness.

Even the great Christie recycled concepts from time to time; this mystery is one of several "remembered death" titles, characterized by long, descriptive conversations that can be tedious. In this case the contrast between Poirot's severe, analytical style and that of the charming but, erratic Mrs. Oliver adds life to what would otherwise be a rather dull tale.

"Divine Justice"   by David Baldacci


Review #96

An Oliver Stone/John Carr Mystery with The Camel Club Gang

After shooting to death "a well-known U.S. senator and the nation's intelligence chief", (the two men responsible for his wife's murder), former CIA assassin, Oliver Stone (aka John Carr), boards a New Orleans-bound train at Washington's Union Station. Always the Good Samaritan, Stone intervenes to help an underdog in a fight on the train. But, when the Amtrak conductor asks to see his ID, he gets off at the next station, knowing his fake ID won't withstand scrutiny. This sudden detour takes Stone and the underdog to Divine, Va., a mining town where he discovers that small-town intrigue is, at least, as intricate and dangerous as anything he's come up against previously. And…where he falls for an attractive if beleaguered widow.

Not only is he evading his pursuers, especially Macklin Hayes, whose obsessive determination to capture Stone may be based more on personal reasons than professional ones, but he's also cast himself adrift from his “Camel Club” comrades, who are working feverishly behind the scenes to find him and keep him safe.

Balducci writes thrillers that can’t be beat!

“Sheer Folly” by Carola Dunn

Review #95

A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery.

Writer, the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple, and her collaborator pal, photographer Lucy (Lady Gerald), leave their families behind to travel to Appsworth Hall. The pair are working on a book about eighteenth-century architectural follies, and the grotto at Appsworth may qualify.

Soon enough Daisy and Lucy have landed in the middle of an old-fashioned country-house mystery, taking place in 1926 England.

The daunting list of characters and suspects includes the owner of the grotto, Mr. Pritchard of Pritchard's Plumbing Products, his sister-in-law and nephew. Then there is the impoverished military widow, Lady Beaufort, her daughter, Julia, and several suitors for the beautiful Julia’s hand. The guests are rounded out by a minor government official, Sir Desmond and his flirty wife, Ottaline.

One of Julia's suitors is the thoroughly unpleasant Lord Rydal, known as Rhino because of his build and thick skin. Rhino is killed when the grotto mysteriously explodes just as Daisy's husband, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher, arrives for the weekend. It soon becomes clear that foul play was involved. Both Alec and Daisy are recruited to help solve the mystery by local Police Inspector Boyle.

Daisy is at the top of her game in this entertaining, old-school story of drawing-room manners mixed with murder.

“Resort To Murder” by Carolyn Hart

Review #94
A Henrie O Mystery

In this highly entertaining puzzle, 70-ish sleuth Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins (aka Henrie O) is in a somber, reflective mode, as befits her age and her life experiences. Recovering from pneumonia, Henrie O isn't sure she feels up to the task of dealing with the emotional maelstrom stewing around the Bermuda wedding of her son-in-law, Lloyd Drake, and beautiful Connor Bailey, a wealthy widow.

A granddaughter, unhappy about her father's marriage, is bent on making mischief, while the bride-to-be can't seem to stop herself from attracting the attentions of any male within eyeshot. Lloyd doesn't cope well with his fiance's penchant for flirtation, and Connor's lawyer, Steve Jennings, appears to have more than Connor's financial interests at heart.

The hotel where the party has gathered witnessed tragedy the year before, when Roddy Worrell, the manager's husband, plunged to his death from a tower. According to rumor, Roddy had been infatuated with Connor, who spurned his advances. When a ghost is sighted at the tower, word spreads that Roddy has come back to haunt Connor. The subsequent death of a hotel employee who knew more than he should about the apparition, puts Henrie O on the murder scent once again.

I loved this book!

“The Red Door” by Charles Todd

(Charles Todd is the pseudonym of a mother-son writing team)

Review #93

An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery set in post-World War I England, June 1920.

In a house with a red door lies the body of a woman who has been bludgeoned to death. Rumor has it that two years earlier she'd painted that door to welcome her husband back from the Front. Only he never came home. Meanwhile, in London, Walter Teller, a man suffering from a mysterious illness first goes missing and then just as suddenly reappears. Apparently, he is unable to explain where he has been or how he has suddenly recovered from his illness. His family, supposedly searching for him, give conflicting accounts of where they were and why.

The murdered woman’s village friends say she was married to army officer Peter Teller, presumed dead. Is it just a coincidence that one of Walter's brothers is named Peter, who happens to be very much alive, living in London, and married to another woman?

Inspector Ian Rutledge, drawn into both cases and facing a wall of silence, must solve two mysteries before he can bring a ruthless killer to justice.

Loved it!

“Maisie Dobbs” by Jacqueline Winspear

Review #92
A Maisie Dobbs Mystery

A delightful mix of mystery, war story and romance set in WWI era England. Humble housemaid Maisie Dobbs climbs convincingly up Britain's social ladder, becoming in turn a Cambridge University student, a wartime nurse and ultimately a private investigator.

Both naive and savvy, Maisie remains loyal to her working-class father and the many friends who help her along the way. Her first sleuthing case, which begins as a simple marital infidelity investigation, leads to a trail of war-wounded soldiers lured to a remote convalescent home in Kent from which no one seems to emerge alive. The Retreat, specializing in treating badly deformed battlefield casualties, is run by an apparently innocuous former officer who requires his patients to sign over their assets to his tightly run institution.

Along the way, Maisie falls in love with a military surgeon who falls in love with her.

A refreshing heroine, appealing secondary characters, an absorbing plot and a somewhat bizarre conclusion.

“The Bishop and the Beggar Girl of St. Germain” by Andrew M. Greeley

Review # 91

A Bishop John Blackwood Ryan Mystery

Bishop ‘Blackie’ Ryan has no desire to leave the friendly confines of his Chicago neighborhood to traipse around Paris searching for a popular priest who has inexplicably vanished. But when his boss, Archbishop Cronin, says, "See to it", Blackie can hardly refuse. Blackie endeavors to solve the disappearance of Father Jean-Claude while escorting the church official's sister-in-law, Nora Cronin, on her vacation to the City of Lights.

Distrusted by the church hierarchy for his growing popularity, the telegenic John Claude vanished without a trace while guiding TV producers through the famed cathedral of Notre-Dame, causing widespread rumors of foul play and unrest among his young followers.

Into a maelstrom of theories comes a young beggar girl, Marie Bernadette, a saucy, casual Catholic who speaks her mind no matter the surroundings. She soon becomes Blackie’s interpreter and, along with her boyfriend, becomes personally involved with the search for the priest.

As he sifts through a pile of suspects that includes everyone from church leaders to television executives, Blackie begins to wonder whether the reason no one can find Jean Claude is because Jean Claude doesn't want to be found.

Another great ‘Blackie Ryan” story!

“Familiar Friend” by Cristina Sumners

Review #90

A Reverend Kathryn Koermey Mystery.


After a marriage counseling session, Tracy Newman is walking home when she comes upon a dead body in the drive way of St. Margaret's Church.

Everyone agrees that Mason Blaine had a lot of enemies. But, did one of them hate the chairman of the University’s Spanish Department enough to kill him, move the body to the church drive way and then… stick a knife in his back?

Episcopal Priest, Reverend Kathryn Koerney is no stranger to the sins of man and the murders they commit. Now, working with friend and Harton police chief, Tom Holder, she finds herself hunting a killer through the cloistered world of academia in a small town in New Jersey…an unexpected hotbed of adultery, betrayal, ambition, and revenge.

On top of the murder investigation, Chief Holder’s unstable wife disappears into a stretch limo on Sunday afternoon and isn’t missed until her sister calls on Thursday wanting to know where she is! She’s been calling several times a day since Sunday with no answer! What with the Chief working from 6 AM until Midnight every day since the murder and the fact that he and his wife have separate bedrooms, Holder hasn’t even missed her! Where could she have gone and, more importantly, WHO would have taken her? Bizarre! (Holder and his wife live in the same house, but go their separate ways.)

Turns out Blaine’s murder is only the bait in a carefully disguised trap set for the real victim and Mrs. Holder’s disappearance is a revenge kidnapping. With their personal and professional lives on the line, Kathryn and Tom can only pray they aren’t looking the other way when death strikes again.

I stayed up all night reading this book…just couldn’t put it down!

“Don’t Kiss Them Good-Bye” by Allison Dubois

Review #89

"Death is a funny thing. It brings out the best and worst in people. It casts light on the truth and makes life blindingly clear." Her visions have helped solve crimes; her instincts have helped find missing people; she can predict future events and sense your thoughts. These are some of the extraordinary gifts that define Allison DuBois, the real-life medium, wife, and mother whose life is the inspiration for the hit NBC television series "Medium".

When she was six years old, Allison became aware that she saw and heard people that others did not. The purpose of her gifts became clearer when Allison worked as an intern (while attending college to become an attorney) in the homicide bureau of the district attorney's office and found that she visualized the crime as she handled the evidence.

In her book, Allison shares stories of her encounters with people who have passed and her adventures as a profiler for various law enforcement organizations. With wit and compassion, Allison shows us what it is like to live with these special gifts and talents and also tells about her struggle to live a normal life as a wife and mother. She shows how learning to accept her own gifts has helped her accept the unique gifts of others and how her compelling desire to relieve the pain of others has helped define her own life, a life committed to the search for ultimate truth.

Allison has been scientifically tested, (she spent four years participating in various tests at the University of Arizona to assist them in their studies of mediums and psychic phenomena) and determined to be a true medium.

If you have ever questioned whether there is an afterlife, this book may help you decide. I wish it had been more of an autobiography than it was, but it provided interesting material.

I read this book because I’ve watched "Medium" since its inception and was curious to know how much was ‘real’ and how much was the writers’ imagination. This is what I believe to be the answer: Allison DuBois, her aerospace engineer husband, Joe, and their children, Ariel, Brigitte and Marie are real. Allison does help law enforcement to solve criminal and missing persons cases, but does not actually work in the DA’s office on a daily basis. Also, she states in her interviews that she gets most of her visions while awake even though the action in the TV show is based, mostly, on what she dreams.

Sooooo, I found my answer.

"Holly Blues”  by  Susan Wittig Albert


Review #88

A China Bayles Mystery

The arrival in Pecan Springs, Tex., of Sally Strahorn, the insecure ex-wife of China Bayles's husband, PI Mike McQuaid, immediately leads to trouble. Against her better judgment, herbalist and tea-shop owner China, takes pity on Sally, who shows up at her herb shop claiming to be broke with nowhere else to turn, and offers her a place to stay.

Soon enough, a stalker targeting Sally makes threatening calls to China and the police are suspecting Sally of involvement in a murder. With Mike away on business, China again turns sleuth to determine what connection the stalker might have to the deaths of Sally's parents almost 10 years earlier and the deaths of Sally’s sister, Leslie, and friend, Joyce, in the past few days. She must, also, prevent any harm to herself or to her husband’s son and niece who live with them.

With friend Ruby’s help she’s off and running!

This is Albert’s 18th China Bayles Mystery and it is just as good as all the ones that came before! It’s interesting and fast paced!

“Dead Wrong” by J.A. Jance

Review #87

A Sheriff Joanna Brady novel

Joanna Brady is the sheriff of a desert town in Arizona and she also happens to be nine months pregnant with her second child. As she is supposed to be preparing to slow down and begin her maternity leave, she is presented with two major cases that need immediate attention.

When the cops learn that a murdered man with a sordid personal history has links to one of Arizona's most prominent judges, Joanna's investigation turns up a connection to an earlier case of her late sheriff father's. Next, the brutal beating of Jeannine Phillips, an Animal Control officer investigating an illegal dog fighting ring, leads the sheriff's department to a confrontation with a notorious ranching family and suspected illegal immigrants. In a heart-stopping climax, Joanna shoots a suspect as he tries to kidnap two children.

Add to the mix Joanna's teenage daughter, meddling mother, husband, irritating in-laws, a shortage of officers and our sheriff has her hands full.

As usual, Jance deftly brings the desert, people and towns of southeastern Arizona to life.

J.A. Jance is one of my favorite authors. She never lets me down.