The Disappearance by Efrem Sigel

I was delighted to receive this novel through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program. From the first paragraph of lush, gorgeous prose, in which Sigel describes Joshua running toward the light in The Hollow, I knew this would be a heartbreaking, yet uplifting book. The title is a bit misleading, as the mystery behind the disappearance of 14-year-old Dan Sandler plays second fiddle to its aftermath in the lives of his parents, Joshua and Nathalie. I knew what the resolution to the disappearance would be, but that’s not the point, and the flawless pacing made The Disappearance extremely difficult to put down. The suspense is relentless, fueled by dips into the past that begin to shed frustrating shafts of light on a mystery that at first is in absolute darkness. No one saw anything the day that Dan disappeared. There is no physical evidence of any kind. Over weeks and months, as hope fades and Nathalie and Joshua fall apart both separately and as a family, pinpoints of light reveal murky connections and slim clues. I’m normally resigned to reading in fits and starts, but I desperately wanted to shut myself in my room and read this book in one go. I stayed up far too late to find out if Joshua and Nathalie would find closure, or at the very least, a way to move on.

The Sandlers are newcomers to their summer home of The Hollow, a hamlet outside the little town of Smithfield, Massachusetts. When they return to their real lives in New York after the disappearance, Joshua throws himself into work while maintaining a grueling schedule of investigation in The Hollow: calling the police chief twice a day, spending his weekends interrogating neighbors. Nathalie’s cello sits untouched as she plunges into depression. Their opposing responses to uncertainty and grief push them further and further apart. The struggle of parents following a child’s death or disappearance is a story that’s been told a thousand times, but Sigel’s portrayal is fresh and realistic, and Nathalie and Josh are shown so clearly that their agony is almost unbearable. It is a credit to Sigel that I, too, held out hope for a happy ending to Dan’s disappearance.

The small town is drawn beautifully. The police chief, Sammons, is not the usual bumbling hick portrayed in small-town law enforcement. He is thorough and determined, and most importantly, he cares deeply and never gives up on finding answers for the Sandlers. Information about the townspeople is dribbled out in a realistic, non-intrusive fashion. Coupled with Sigel’s gift for description, this makes for a richly nuanced image of The Hollow and its inhabitants.

In The Disappearance, Efrem Sigel has crafted a haunting, beautiful novel of tragedy’s aftermath, with deeply human characters and a satisfying resolution. Pick it up on February 1 or pre-order it here.

A Publisher's Weekly interview with Efrem Sigel here.

Don't Forget To Enter!

The contest for Death by Bikini and Death by Latte by Linda Gerber has gotten buried in posts, so I wanted to remind you that you have ONE WEEK left to enter to win this pair of fun YA mysteries. Click here for the contest post!

Mystery Monday!

I'm on a roll with Mystery Monday posts!

I picked up Raiders of the Lost Corset, the fourth Crime of Fashion mystery by Ellen Byerrum, purely for the title, and in total violation of my "read the series in order" rule. The series hadn't really appealed to me, since fashion talk makes my eyes glaze over, but this title made it worth trying. The series focuses on Lacey Smithsonian, fashion reporter for a low-rent newspaper in Washington, D.C. In this installment, Lacey's friend, corsetiere Magda Rousseau, is murdered. In her dying breath, she asks Lacey to look for the treasure she'd sought her whole life--a corset taken from the body of a Romanov princess. Lacey follows some strange clues to try to find the treasure while not getting killed herself. A mysterious bad guy named Kepelov (probably ex-KGB) and a British guy (Nigel) follow Lacey around as she seeks the corset in Paris, then New Orleans. A few personal issues cluttered up the story. Byerrum seems to be juggling two sidekicks, so Lacey goes with lawyer/conspiracy theorist Brooke and her weird boyfriend to Paris, then Brooke disappears and punk hairstylist Stella accompanies Lacey to New Orleans. That was weird to me, and made for a disjointed narrative. Why not stick with one? Or have both come along? I assume if I read the first three books in the series, maybe that will make more sense. The other issue was Lacey's boyfriend, Vic, who I believe is a Colorado cop? I don't know. Anyway, they were broken up, but he shows up in Paris, punches Nigel (whom he knew in prep school, apparently), and he and Lacey are back together. They were a nauseating pair, really, and a whole subplot involving an invitation for Lacey to meet Vic's family at Thanksgiving (and bringing dessert!) goes nowhere, as the book ends before Thanksgiving. So that was a pointless subplot, really. Despite this excess baggage weighing down the narrative, I actually enjoyed the scavenger hunt sort of plot, and the travel to Paris and New Orleans. Lacey's fashion columns were cute and funny. But the ending had a plot "twist" that I had been waiting for the entire book. It was pretty obvious, and I wasn't thrilled with the resolution. A cute mystery with funny parts. I might give the first three books a try sometime.

Big Box of Books Giveaway!

Presenting Lenore is hosting a contest for another box of 8+ YA books from Penguin! Allison was fortunate enough to be the big winner when Lenore hosted a similar contest in November! I doubt the same blog would be lucky enough to win it twice, but here's to trying! :-) Go check it out!

Just for fun!

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader   You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Book Snob
Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Tournament of Books 2009

The list is up! Follow the Tournament here.

The Morning News 2009 Tournament of Books Contenders

The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga
2666, Roberto Bolano
A Partisan’s Daughter, Louis de Bernieres
The Northern Clemency, Philip Hensher
The Lazarus Project, Aleksandar Hemon
My Revolutions, Hari Kunzru
Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart
Shadow Country, Peter Matthiessen
The Dart League King, Keith Lee Morris
A Mercy, Toni Morrison
Steer Towards Rock, Fae Myenne Ng
Netherland, Joseph O’Neill
City of Refuge, Tom Piazza
Home, Marilynne Robinson
Harry, Revised, Mark Sarvas


I have read NOT A SINGLE one of these! I've had The White Tiger, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and Harry, Revised on my radar. Of course, I still haven't read most of last year's ToB books, either. I may try to read at least a couple before March!

Putting the "Me" in "Memoir"

If it weren't a book club pick, I would have skipped Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'm not a big memoir fan (although Julie Andrews's memoir has been on my TBR list, but then, she's had a long, interesting life already--Gilbert is in her thirties). Other people's spiritual journeys CAN be interesting to read, but I didn't have high hopes for this one. And last, I view the "Oprah" sticker as more a warning label than a marketing tool (I have every respect for Oprah, but I've discovered we have vastly different tastes in literature.) I found it predictably self-centered (but that's memoir, isn't it?) and overly long, but there were enjoyable parts.

The premise wasn't promising to me: A thirtysomething goes through a messy divorce and crushing depression and decides to spend a celibate year "finding herself" in Italy (by eating pasta), India (at an Ashram), and Indonesia (by living with a medicine man). I actually really liked Elizabeth Gilbert, who is funny and wry and describes depression in a very believable, sympathetic way. Then I discovered that she didn't just head off on a spiritual journey and come home desperate to share it in a book. She pitched her travel plan to a publisher, who gave her a book advance to underwrite her trip! Most "real" people don't have their spiritual journey sponsored by a major publisher, and running away from her problems to find spiritual enlightenment on other continents isn't really a model that normal people can follow. So this knowledge really tainted the book for me. On top of that, she decides to organize it into 3 sections of equal length, for a total of 108 chapters (there's a reason, but it's really not that interesting). This makes for weird pacing. The India part felt interminable, in part because she gives up her idea of traveling around, so it's 36 chapters JUST at the Ashram. And she adds kind of unrelated stories to her Indonesia "search for balance."

I really liked bits of this book. Her Italy travels were interesting when she wasn't whining about her rebound lover ("I love David! But David always pulls away when I get clingy! But the sex was great! But I wasn't fulfilled!" and blah blah blah) or lusting after hot young Italian guys. Things really slowed down in India because really, life at an Ashram isn't that exciting. And frankly, she could have done this at an Ashram in New York, for all she experiences in India. Her buddy there is an annoying Texan who calls her "Groceries." And Gilbert herself complains about spiritual memoirs being boring in their descriptions of spiritual awakenings. I have to agree after reading her going on and on about hers. In Indonesia, things picked back up, and I realized I was enjoying her writing again. It took me a minute to figure out why. In India, Gilbert decides to take a vow of silence, which she quickly rescinds. But she muses that maybe she should talk about herself less. It's when she tells the stories about interesting people in Indonesia that I enjoyed it the most. Obviously, she didn't actually internalize her resolution, given how excessively long the book is and how filled with "Me, me, me!" And I soured on the Indonesia part when she goes on and on about a land deal she royally messed up, then capitulates to a determined Brazilian guy's constant suggestions of having sex. (By the way, I did NOT need to know about her fantasies about certain ex-presidents. Ew.) This is where it just got nauseating, reading about him telling her over and over that she's beautiful, but that's not the worst part. The worst part is that she had committed to celibacy while she "found herself," and she couldn't even stick to that for a year. And after she goes on and on in the Italy part about how she loses herself when she's in a relationship, I was so disappointed that she seemed to forget about that entirely.

Is it a good sign that I got so mad at this book? I don't really think so. There will be a lot to talk about at book club, I suppose, but ultimately, this was an unpleasant read. And not in the "I'm being challenged" or "It's emotionally difficult to read" way. The underlying premise and structure did not work for me, and the whole book felt pointless after I read the ending. I know that a lot of people love this book, but it's not one I'd recommend.

Timothy and the Dragon's Gate by Adrienne Kress

If you've read Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, you will want to pick this sequel up immediately. If I had to pick one word to describe Adrienne Kress's novels, it would be quirky. Or maybe whimsical. She's an excellent writer with a fantastic imagination, and her books are genre-crossing fun. In a way, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate was easier to read because I knew to expect the unexpected. Timothy, at age eleven, has been kicked out of every school in town, basically for being too smart for his own good. His dad takes him to work one day, and Timothy lands a surprising internship with the CEO. But the real surprises are yet to come because the mail clerk is a dragon trapped in human form. He needs Timothy's help to reach China, where he can be freed by passing through the dragon's gate before the New Year celebrations are over. Ninjas, killer monks, and mysterious black taxicabs make this a difficult task. Fortunately, Timothy's mother lives on the coast and Timothy's father is called out of town, so they're not around to inhibit his adventures. And what adventures! A fish herder (yes, you read that correctly), a hijacked plane, a pirate ship...these are just the beginning. When Timothy reaches China, the journey is far from over. Timothy, who has always blamed his mother, his father, his teachers, anyone but himself, will have to own up to his mistakes and follow through with something, but the moral lesson doesn't bash the reader over the head.

A fantastic adventure, very hard to put down, and a worthy follow-up to Alex and the Ironic Gentleman.

Picture Book Thursday

We're back! We took a few weeks off and decided maybe we would run this feature maybe every other week or so. :-) We're going to review "just for fun" books today.

My three-year old really loves Laura Numeroff's If You Give A.... Series. For Christmas she received If You Give a Cat a Cupcake paired with a cupcake themed nightgown (how cute!!!). This one has actually become my favorite in the series. Maybe it is just because I'm a cat person. ;-) But the kitty in the book is so animated and cute and I love the scenarios he gets the little girl into. They go to the beach, the gym, a boat, a merry-go-round, the science museum and back home again. I think we've also read Give a Mouse a Cookie and Give a Pig a Pancake. While we really enjoyed those, this one is my favorite just because it gets out of the house and goes to all those different places. My kids really enjoy any of these books and I look forward to future installments in this series.
This next book, Glitter Critters by Dave Carter is just a really cool book. It's a pop-up book with some real animals (snake, parrot, fish) and some imaginary animals like the Liger (a combination of a tiger and a lion), a Glitterfly, and Snaggle Tooth Lou. Each page contains a cute little rhyme and the animal jumps off the page, sometimes 6-8 inches off the page! The pop-ups are fantastic! The bright colors are great and "glitter" is fun. There is not a lot of depth to this book, but it is a real treat to look at.

The last book for me today is a favorite for my girls and for me! Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney. I keep thinking I reviewed this one already, but I searched the blog and didn't see it. So if I did review it before, you get treated to it again. Tells you how much I recommend it, right? :-) This is the sequel to Llama Llama Red Pajama (which we haven't had the opportunity to read yet). In this book, Llama Llama and his mama go shopping at the shop-o-rama. He is very bored with shopping and decides to have a tantrum in the store. His mother makes him help clean and tells him the shopping will go much faster if he goes shopping with Mama. It is a very sweet book filled with emotions and great rhyming pages. I highly recommend it. And I just discovered there is a new one coming out, March 19, 2009! Llama Llama Misses Mama about Llama Llama's first day of preschool. I can't...er, I mean, we can't wait for it! And this just reminded me to request the first book from the library...off I go!

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"Just for fun" usually means "lift the flap" at our house! Lilah loves the oversized lift-the-flap books, so I'll share a couple of her favorites.

I've mentioned Lisa McCue's adorable animal illustrations before. They're really sweet, and the whole family loves them. Fuzzytail Friends Lift-and-Look Animal Book teaches children about mother and baby animals on the farm, counting in the garden, animal habitats (although I'm not sure that "snake hidey-hole" is the technical term...), and nocturnal/diurnal animals. There are lots of flaps to lift, and Lilah loves finding the animals.

No Elmo fan's library is complete without this Elmo's Favorite Places: A Lift and Learn Flap Book. We have several Sesame Street lift-the-flaps, and this is probably the favorite. The colors are bright, it's new enough to have Zoe and Abby, and each page has something new to learn: matching, colors, shapes, and a really cool double-page spread with one flap for every letter of the alphabet. The flaps are sturdier than in our other oversized Sesame Street lift-the-flap books (Lift and Peek Around the Corner, Elmo's Big Lift and Look Book), although we like those, too! A smaller Sesame Street lift-the-flap book is worth mentioning: Where Is Elmo's Blanket, which has a story told using the flaps.

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

I won an ARC copy of Knit Two by Kate Jacobs from Amanda's giveaway over at A Patchwork of Books. I was so excited to win! I think I entered every contest I could find to win a copy of this book! I really loved the first book The Friday Night Knitting Club (well, except for the ending of course) so I was looking forward to revisiting the characters and finding out how they were five years later. I delved in and while it wasn't a waste of time to read it. It was a bit disappointing after the first book.

We visit Walker and Daughter yarn shop five years later where Peri is managing the shop and her pocket book business is taking off, Anita and Marty are making a life for themselves and getting married, Dakota is in her first year of college and not sure she wants her future to be the yarn shop, Darwin is pregnant with twins, Catherine has reinvented herself as an antiques dealer, Lucie is dealing with her successful career, raising her 5 year old daughter, and dealing with an aging mother. (That is quite possibly the longest sentence every written.)

I have to say, this book is a little disjointed, doesn't flow as well as the first and well, to be honest, did little to really hold my attention. However, I'm saying all that comparing it to the first book. If I look at it a little more objectively, it is a nice book about female friendship and supporting each other. And it is not a total waste of time to read it. It is very cozy and an easy read. I just think maybe it would have been a bit better if the story ran a bit deeper or was a little more coherent. The first book had the common thread of Georgia through the whole thing. This one was obviously lacking that, but maybe that's just an illustration of what it is to lose an integral part of a group. Everything is not as cohesive as it once was. But I think that might be a bit of me giving this book the benefit of the doubt. If you're a huge fan of The Friday Night Knitting Club, read the book, if not, skip it.

Other reviews and author conversations:
A Circle of Books
Word to Mouth
The Lumpy Sweater
A Patchwork of Books

Mystery Monday!

Just in the nick of time, I've finished a mystery to post on Mystery Monday!

High Marks for Murder by Rebecca Kent: I read the WWII mysteries by this author (writing as Kate Kingsbury - she also writes romance novels under Doreen Roberts) and enjoyed them. I have her Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries in my TBR pile, but I thought I'd read this one first since it's the first in her new series. Meredith Llewellyn is the headmistress of Bellehaven House, a former manor house that serves as a finishing school for young ladies. It's 1905 in the English Cotswalds, and many of the teachers and students are suffragettes or at least opposed to conventional ideas about a woman's place. This sounded really promising to me, but as a start of a mystery series, it didn't live up to expectations. First, we don't get to know Meredith, Felicity, or Essie (her teacher friends) terribly well. Some hints about Essie's intriguing past are dropped in near the end with no further discussion, but that's about it. The maids have a bit more life, but they're not in it much. Second, the chauvinist policeman drops in to proclaim teacher Kathleen's death the work of a vagrant, then he disappears entirely, leaving the women to sort out who actually killed Kathleen. It was a bit too pat and convenient for me. Third, the supernatural element just didn't work for me. Kathleen's ghost appears to Meredith several times, but since all she does is gesture vaguely, it's pretty annoying. Much is made of Meredith's ability to read lips, so I assumed this would come into play with her communication attempts with Kathleen, which would have at least been interesting. The ghost dropping in to wave her arms was possibly the least exciting ghost story element I've read. Finally, I felt like there were way too many suspects, and I guessed who had killed her early on. The ending gives the set-up for the next book (Finished Off, out in April), promising more of the same. For a two-hundred page book, I feel there was too much going on. The Edwardian finishing school atmosphere felt glossed over, the characters didn't have time to come alive, and the supernatural element was underused. I'm not sure I'll pick up Finished Off. Maybe to see if the potential of the setting is realized and if we learn any more about the characters.

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich: I wasn't going to review this one, but since I have another mystery for this Monday, I thought I'd write something up. The Stephanie Plum series has been going on for quite a while, and the short review is: if you're a longtime Plum fan who hasn't been turned off by recent entries in the series, this is a fun jaunt. This is the fourth "between the numbers" book (the regular entries in the series have a sequential number in the title), but the first that is full-length and plot-advancing. The first three were holiday-themed and stand-alone (Visions of Sugar Plums, Plum Lovin', and Plum Lucky). If I remember correctly, at least after Visions of Sugar Plums, the reader wasn't positive if Diesel (the supernatural guy who turns up in all of these) existed or if he was in Stephanie's dream. This book is much longer and has more Morelli and Ranger than the previous novellas, so Diesel is planted firmly in the Plum world. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest. I think it would have been fun if the between-the-numbers jaunts were stand-alone and possibly dreams of Stephanie's. Have the most recent books been as good as the early Plums? No. Are they still fun? To me, they are. If you can relax into the book and enjoy it for what it is, you'll probably like this one. If you're going to be constantly comparing the quality to early entries in the series, skip it. There was more skip-tracing in this one than in Fearless Fourteen. There was a lot more slapstick, as in recent entries, but I found myself cracking up, even at Carl the Monkey (and as the wife of a primatologist, I am rarely amused by pet monkeys--MONKEYS ARE NOT PETS, PEOPLE!). Lula's hanging plotline from Fourteen is resolved, but I'm ambivalent about that. I like Lula. She's a tough gal who's been through a lot, doesn't take crap from anyone, and lives out loud. Her obsession about getting married in Fourteen came out of nowhere, and it made me annoyed that Evanovich was making Lula out to be desperate and pathetic. So the resolution is a good thing, but that it comes from Lula consulting a psychic, I'm not 100% satisfied with it. And Joe, who in the past has been hostile toward Stephanie's relationship with Ranger, is inexplicably okay with her sharing a bed with Diesel. As for the actual plot of the book (wow, I'm just getting to that, huh?), Diesel shows up looking for his cousin, the very dangerous Wulf, who is involved with a skip of Stephanie's. The search takes Diesel, Stephanie, and Lula to the Jersey Pine Barrens, home of any number of supernatural individuals). The Pine Barrens were spooky, the plot thin and implausible but sufficient for the purpose (moving Stephanie & Co. from one outrageous situation to another). Wow, for a book I wasn't going to review, I sure went on and on, didn't I? To sum up, if you like Stephanie Plum and you're not going to be angry that this isn't as good as, say, High Five, then pick it up, but not for full price (no exaggeration--list price is $28.95!). I'm happy with it as a $16 taste of Plum while waiting for Fifteen to come out.

Fun contest! Exciting prizes!

I was lucky enough to win a big box of books from Presenting Lenore, courtesy of Penguin, and my NINE YA books showed up as a late Christmas present. So much fun! I've just started reading them, and I have a review and giveaway for the first (with a bonus!).


Death by Bikini by Linda Gerber: This is the first Aphra Connelly mystery. I picked it up when I received Death by Latte (the second) from Penguin. The third, Death by Denim, comes out in May. I've always loved mysteries, but I was racking my brain to remember YA mysteries I read back in the Dark Ages when I was a teen. I can remember graduating to the edgier Nancy Drew Case Files, but I was drawing a blank on anything else. I'm not sure they even HAD YA mystery back then, because junior high is about when I started reading my mom's Dick Francis and Sue Grafton books. Those were great, but I would have enjoyed a series like this, mysteries featuring a teenaged sleuth. Aphra is a strong, smart character who makes typical mistakes for a teenager. She's different from your usual teenaged protagonist in that she's not all about boys and the mall. In fact, since she lives at the island resort run by her father, there are neither boys nor malls to be had. So when dreamy Seth and his family visit the resort, Aphra is delighted. But why is her father so intent that she stay away from Seth? And who is the mysterious guy who checks in after Seth's family? After a rock star guest's girlfriend turns up on the beach, strangled with her own bikini, Aphra doesn't know who to trust. The action was fast-paced, with lots of suspense and scary moments (although sometimes a bit on the implausible side), and Aphra is funny and smart. A side plot about her mother (who left when Aphra was 12) adds some emotional depth. A fun mystery just for teens.


Death by Latte by Linda Gerber: Aphra goes to Seattle in search of her mother and finds herself embroiled in another mystery when she witnesses the poisoning of her mother's associate. Seth turns up to demand Aphra return the ring he'd given her, she has a hunky new neighbor, and her mother doesn't seem that happy to see her. Aphra needs to untangle these strange events and get out of Seattle alive. A good follow-up to Death by Bikini. After I finished Bikini, I wondered if the island resort was going to be another Cabot Cove, so I was glad Gerber moved Aphra out of there to give a new dimension to the series. Who to trust is a continuing problem for Aphra, but not in a predictable way. Aphra's relationship with her mother is complex and evolving. If the action isn't always remotely plausible, it's okay because the characters make up for it!

Want to win this pair of books? Leave a comment here telling why you'd like to win them. Three bonus entries for linking to this contest on your blog. The contest ends Wednesday, January 28 at noon EST. Good luck!

The Art History Reading Challenge

I think I said in my year in review post that I don't join challenges because I don't want to commit to reading certain books; I like to go with the flow. Well, I did find one challenge that I think I can actually commit to and finish by the end of the year: The Art History Reading Challenge.

All you have to do is read six books within the year, fiction or nonfiction in any genre from historical fiction to graphic novels. And I already have five books here at home that would fit the bill. It's been way too long since I've engaged the art historian side of me. So this year I'll knock some books off my TBR stack and maybe, possibly finish a challenge!

Here's my list:
From my current TBR pile
1. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet (YA Fiction)
2. The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr (Nonfiction)
3. The Art Thief by (Fiction)
4. The Shadow Catcher by Wiggins (Historical Fiction)
5. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (Historical Fiction)
Borrowed from the library
6. The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick (Nonfiction)

Others that I might swap for or just add to the list:
--The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser (Nonfiction)
--Glacial Period by Nicolas De Crecy (Graphic Novel)
--Museum Vaults: Excerpts from the Journal of an Expert by Marc-Antoine Mathieu (Graphic Novel)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Holly's excellent review right here!

Jamie Ford's debut novel, a story of first love against the backdrop of Japanese evacuation in post-Pearl Harbor Seattle, is sweet, sentimental, and redemptive. I found myself unable to put the book down, and I admit to sniffling a few times. I absolutely recommend this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I couldn't shake the feeling of regret that it wasn't...more. Like having a fantastic big tub of movie popcorn, the kind with extra butter, when you were hoping for a five-course meal by candlelight. Okay, that's a stupid metaphor, but I can't help wishing this were Ford's say, third or fourth novel, instead of his first. Because it's an excellent read that doesn't quite reach its story's (or storyteller's) potential.

The story goes back and forth between 1942, the year sixth-grade Henry Lee befriends Keiko Okabe, the only other Asian at the all-white prep school, and 1986, the year an old hotel in Japantown is re-opened, revealing the treasures hidden there by Japanese families who were "evacuated." In the 1942 timeline, Henry and Keiko are scholarship students who work in the cafeteria, serving lunch to the white kids who torment them. It's only a matter of time before Keiko's family is sent to a work camp, and Henry's controlling, traditional father sends him to school wearing an "I Am Chinese" button to distinguish himself to the whites who think all Asians look the same. In the 1986 timeline, Henry's wife has died after a long illness and Henry struggles to relate to his son, Marty, without his wife as a buffer. Meanwhile, Henry sees a press conference in which the new owner of the Panama Hotel twirls a parasol she found in the basement--a parasol Henry is sure belonged to Keiko. Everything you think will happen from this summary is how the story turns out--there are no surprises in store. And that's where my disappointment lies. I loved the sweet story of Henry and Keiko, Henry's conflict between his heart and his loyalty to his parents, the delightful interjection of the Seattle jazz scene into the mix, fantastic secondary characters in Sheldon and Mrs. Beatty, and Henry's future daughter-in-law. But I expected something unexpected that never appeared, something in addition to the mechanically unfolding plot as the two timelines converged. Some passages of the 1986 story felt perfunctory to me, and middle-aged Henry wasn't as compelling as the page-turning 1942 storyline.

Again, I recommend this book. My disappointment makes the difference between a four-star book and a five-star book. And this is a solid four-star book.

Blog Award!

I've been meaning to post about this for awhile! Deanna H. over at Once Upon a Time gave our blog a Butterfly Award! Very exciting as I don't think we've won any awards before!

Although, it's hard to pick just a few, Allison and I picked these blogs to pass the award on to:
Presenting Lenore
Bookish Ruth
A Patchwork of Books
Girl Detective

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Award up to ten other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.

Mystery Monday!

Oops, I'm a bit late for Mystery Monday, but I have two reviews to post.

The Witch's Grave by Shirley Damsgaard: This is the sixth entry in the Abby & Ophelia mysteries. I'd had it pre-ordered months ago, and I was not disappointed. Ophelia is a complex, interesting heroine, and her acceptance of her psychic ability hasn't taken he edge. This entry caught my full attention immediately. Ophelia meets Stephen Larsen, a crime writer, and literally the man of her dreams. When he is shot almost immediately and Ophelia herself is nearly killed, she becomes embroiled in an investigation with the help of Darci and Abby. (Note: I always picture Abby as Tyne Daly...anyone else?) Every book has shown Ophelia dealing with some component of her powers, and this one explores reincarnation through Ophelia's dreams in which she's a Parisian model during World War II. All these threads come together nicely, as usual, and Ophelia's growth is gratifying. I love that in six books, Damsgaard hasn't stuck Ophelia with a steady relationship. She's still working on finding herself, and while she dates, she's not engaged by book 3, as she would be in many series. Another stellar entry in a great series.

My reviews of #3-5, with links to my reviews of the first two

Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath: I picked this, the first Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels mystery, after seeing Dirty Martini (#4, I think) in the bookstore. I wanted to try the series from the start. I usually go more cozy on my mystery reading, but the fluorescent cover and cocktail title grabbed me. Jack (and Konrath mercifully avoids too-cute constant references to her name) is a forty-something Lieutenant in Violent Crimes for the Chicago PD. She's funny, flawed, and smart, and she's been around the block personally and professionally. She catches a brutal serial killer case at about the same time as her boyfriend moves out, tired of her long hours. It takes a long time to get to know Jack, even though the book is written mostly in the first person. I checked the author bio, and sure enough, Konrath is a man. I think that accounts for the distance between the reader and Jack, but we gradually learn more about her, and she's a great character. What I didn't like: chapters interspersed with Jack's narrative from the serial killer's point of view. I had two issues with this that really interfered with my enjoyment of the book. First, he's a total stereotype. If you've seen Silence of the Lambs or read any book with a serial killer, there is nothing new to be learned here. The FBI agents Jack is forced to work with are cookie cutter characters, I think deliberately, but the Gingerbread Man is, too, so his parts of the book are boring when they're not disgusting and disturbing. The second problem is the graphic, horrifying, stomach-turning fantasies, memories, and crime scenes that I skimmed past whenever possible. From the excerpt at the back of the book for Bloody Martini, it looks like "Killer Cam" is a part of that book, too, which makes me think twice about picking it up. But I really, really liked Jack, and I sort of want to see what she's up to.

2008 Reading

I read a lot this year. A lot. 217 books. But I read a lot of middle grade and YA books, not to mention the cozy mysteries. The breakdown:

132 tagged as Mystery
42 tagged as Juvenile

Here are some standouts for 2008:

Literature:
When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
The Empress of Weehawken by Irene Dische (an Early Reviewer book from LibraryThing)
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Master Bedroom by Tessa Hadley (an Early Reviewer book from LibraryThing)
The Matchmaker of Perigord by Julia Stuart

Juvenile Fantasy:
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
The Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
The Ulysses Moore series
Fiendish Deeds by P.J. Bracegirdle (won in a contest from Presenting Lenore

Other Juvenile:
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
The Mysterious Benedict Society books by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Penderwicks books by Jeanne Birdsall

Cozy Mystery (new to me in 2008):
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Mailliet
The Abby & Ophelia mysteries by Shirley Damsgaard
Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum (a review copy from the author)
Kate London series by Susan Goodwill
Kilt Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett

Cozy Mystery (not new to me in 2008):
Joan Hess's Claire Malloy series
Goodbye, Ms. Chips by Dorothy Cannell
Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson series
Jill Churchill's Jane Jeffry series

Not Really Cozy Mystery:
What Looks Like Crazy by Charlotte Hughes
The Bobbie Faye books by Toni McGee Causey
The Spellman Files and Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

Jane Austen knock-offs
Captain Wentworth's Diary and Edmund Bertram's Diary by Amanda Grange

I counted up about 10 books I'd classify as Literature. I'd like to read at least one "serious" book a month for 2009, and really, I should be able to do more than that, but with a toddler, I *need* my escapist kids' books and mysteries!

Squeezing in a bit more Christmas cheer

Next up I'll finally do the year in review, but I read three more books in 2008 before closing the Christmas season.

Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews: Fun, fun, fun. Lots of Christmas cheer. Weezie Foley and (Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze) is competing for the best window display against the trendy, stylish shop around the corner (and its pissy owners). Meanwhile, mysterious break-ins and her boyfriend's withdrawn behavior are making it tough to keep her Christmas spirit. Weezie is resigned to a rather blue Christmas when inspiration strikes--not only for the window display, but for a great gift for Daniel, a memorable (though not in the way she hopes) Christmas dinner, and a solution to the mystery at hand. This is a short, fast read with some laugh-out-loud moments along with tender Christmas cheer. It's a sweet, hilarious book with fun subplots and engaging characters.

The Shepherd, The Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry: If you like Dave Barry, you'll love this story. Likewise, if you are a fan of A Christmas Story or The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, this one's for you. Equal parts nostalgia, outrageously funny moments, and heartwarming Christmas spirit, this book is set in 1960 and told by middle school student and pageant shepherd Doug. Doug has a crush on Mary, who is playing alongside a depressingly cute Joseph. Meanwhile, the family dog is not doing well. What happens next results in the most memorable Christmas pageant the Episcopal church has ever seen.

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore: Christopher Moore brings back characters from past books in this outrageous Pine Cove Christmas story. The angel Raziel (from The Gospel According to Biff) has come to Earth to grant a child's Christmas wish. Seven-year-old Josh Barker is worried because he's pretty sure he saw Santa killed by a woman wielding a shovel. These two events converge in a parody of B movie horror that somehow manages to have abundant Christmas spirit. Moore fans will love returning to Pine Cove and visiting Raziel and Tucker Case (the pilot from Island of the Sequined Love Nun), but those offended by junior high boy humor or senseless violence might want to skip this one. A great balance of parody and heartwarming character development.

Holly's Year in Review

I was really hoping to get a post done that summarized my year in reading. What more fitting day to do that than December 31st! :-)

I try not to set goals for myself in reading or join reading challenges just because I like to read whatever I'm in the mood for at that time. I do read my book club books most months and I try to read ARCs I receive in a timely manner so I guess those are the most goal-oriented books I get to. Everything else just sort of goes with the flow. However, as 2008 was coming to a close I noticed I was very close to 52 total books for the year which would have been an average of one book per week! Considering I had about 35 books in 2007 and 23 or 24 the couple years before that. This year has been very productive in the reading department! I set 52 as a goal for myself. But got distracted by some knitting projects and the holidays so alas, I fell just a bit short at 50. But I'm pretty proud of my almost a book a week progress this year and hold to keep that up in 2009. I'm also pondering a couple challenges. There's an Art History Challenge that is calling my name. So we'll see. I may jump on the challenge bandwagon in '09.

Here's a list of many of the books I read in 2008 by rating:
Five Star Rating (I'm very stingy with this rating):
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

Four and A Half Stars:
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci
Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey
Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson #2) by Rick Riordan
Amadi's Snowman by Katia Novet Saint-lot
Naptime is the New Happy Hour by Stefanie Taylor-Wilder

Four Stars:
Fiendish Deeds (Joy of Spooking #1) by P.J. Bracegirdle
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain
America America by Ethan Canin
Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels by Toni McGee Causey
Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center
The Innocent by Harlan Coben
Hold Tight by Harlan Coben
Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esme Raji Codell
In the Woods by Tana French
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Real Murders by Charlaine Harris
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson
Marco Flamingo by Sheila Jarkins
The Power of Three by Laura Lippman
The Eight by Katherine Neville
The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs
39 Clues: Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Three and a Half Stars:
Killer Heels by Sheryl J. Anderson
Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge
The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler
Schooled by Anisha Lakhani
The Fire by Katherine Neville
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott
Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Darla Snadowsky

Three Stars:
Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
Off the Deep End by W. Hodding Carter
Iris, Messenger by Sarah Deming
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Two and a Half Stars:
Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

Two Stars:
Cinderella (As if you didn't already know the story) by Barbara Ensor
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

And here is a list of a few books I hope to get to in the early part of 2009:
Etta by Gerald Kolpan
One False Note (39 Clues #2) by Gordan Korman
Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman
The Ophelia and Abby Mystery Series by Shirley Damsgaard
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Magyk by Angie Sage
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year's Eve!!!

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

I read this one for my book club in December. It's a nearly 500-page hardcover (coming out in paperback in January) but quite a quick read. We are introduced to the two main characters Kate and Tully as children, both in need of a real friend. They become instant and inseparable friends. Kate comes from a very traditional family: parents still married, brother, mother cares about what she does. Tully (short for Tallulah) never knew her father, her drug-addicted mother was in and out of her life, she grew up living with her grandparents, and just had a very unstable childhood. Kate was attracted to Tully's rebellious, unconventional nature and Tully loved Kate's homey family.

The book follows these two ladies through the next 3 decades of their lives and their friendship. The two women grow up to have very different lives. Kate becomes a married, stay at home mom to three children while Tully has a very successful career as a TV news journalist. She never marries and has no children. There friendship takes a few hits as they get older and ultimately they end up not speaking for more than a year until tragedy brings them together again. The end of this one is a tearjerker and I spent much of the book wondering when the inevitable tragedy would occur and to whom (I'll keep it to myself so no spoilers!).

Overall, this was a fast read, but it could have benefited from one more edit before publishing. It really seemed to drag out at 500 pages. And I feel a bit of the older years could have been edited down. Tully's selfishness really got on my nerves after awhile. I give it about 3 out of 5 stars. I may try something else by this author just because it was a quick read and she has a few other books that sound interesting. But I'll check the page length before delving into them. The rest of my book club had luke-warm feelings toward this one as well.

Murder for Christmas, Part Three

Part One here!
Part Two here!

I read three more Christmas mysteries on my Murder for Christmas spree:

Mistletoe and Murder by Carola Dunn: This is the eleventh Daisy Dalrymple mystery, and I've only read the first. However, I had no trouble jumping in and figuring out what was going on. Daisy's mother is Lady Dalrymple, but Daisy is a reporter for Town and Country (shocking!) during the 1920s. She and her family end up (in a convoluted way) staying at Brockdene, a Cornish estate, for Christmas. Questionable parentage, entailed estates, poor relations, and hidden treasure make this a delightful holiday cozy. A wet-blanket priest protests against the Christmas decorations, among other things, but he's mercifully killed off. Daisy and her Scotland Yard husband investigate to uncover the murder. Daisy is a bit more blase than I would be about her child being in the vicinity of a murder, and there are a few too many exclamations of "Blast!" added for period authenticity, but that's fine. A fun holiday cozy.

Mrs. Jeffries and the Silent Knight by Emily Brightwell: I'm not sure why, but I had a little trouble getting into this one at first. This is the 20th in the series, so that's probably it. Once I got into, though, I was hooked, and I'll definitely read this series from the beginning. The premise is that Inspector Witherspoon's servants actually solve his cases, giving him clues without making him aware of it. Mrs. Jeffries, the housekeeper, is the leader, and all the servants get in on the action with their own special skills. I was a bit disturbed that the book began with the servants lamenting that they hadn't had a murder to solve in a long time, but I suppose there wasn't much in the way of entertainment for the serving class back then. Witherspoon's case, the murder of Sir Braxton, is a tricky one--Braxton is some sort of cousin to the Queen and the mystery must be solved quietly before Christmas. Sir Braxton's daughter's don't like him, and neither does anyone else, really--he's not a nice person and he didn't pay his creditors. Once I got into the story, I really liked Mrs. Jeffries and all the servants. It's a fun bunch, and the mystery was entertaining.

A Catered Christmas by Isis Crawford: This was the big surprise out of this batch. I haven't read the first two in the series about sisters Bernie and Libby, who own A Little Taste of Heaven, a store? restaurant? I think just a store. I felt I was missing some background (who was this Bree person and why didn't they tell her to take a hike?) and there were some annoyances (Bernie twists her ring when she's nervous, which is kind of pointless to bring up periodically--adds nothing to the story) and I was annoyed by the wandering point of view, but there was a lot to like in this book. Bernie and Libby participate in a televised competition hosted by Martha Stewart-like Hortense Calabash. When Hortense's holiday preparations literally blow up in her face, Bernie and Libby (and their ex-cop father, Sean) investigate. There's a wealth of suspects, from the competitors, all of whom have secrets, to the producer, to Hortense's assistant. I liked the sisters and the competition was funny. Lots of Christmas preparations make it festive. A decent mystery with engaging characters.

Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris

My book club (really more of a wine and gossip club, but we do read...well, some of us do) chose Finding Nouf for our December book, and I found it riveting. Zoe Ferraris, an American formerly married to a Saudi, gives us a unique look at Saudi culture. The action begins with a search for a missing girl, but this is a mystery the way Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie novels are mysteries, which is to say it is a literary novel with a mystery at its core. Ferraris does a brilliant job of slowly unraveling the mystery amidst a portrayal of the extreme gender segregation in Saudi culture and its impact on both women and men. At first, I was put off by the point-of-view character being male--how can you look at the restrictions on women through a man's eyes? But Ferraris chose Nayir as her vehicle for showing how gender segregation impacts men, and it's fascinating. Nayir is naive in the way of women, uncomfortable when a woman speaks "brazenly"--that is, without a man first having spoken to her--and can barely think when confronted with the sight of a woman's ankle, much less her face. He is unmarried and frustrated by the ridiculous process of finding a wife. The story begins with Nouf's rich, influential family asking Nayir to look into Nouf's death after they've used their influence to shut down the official investigation. Katya, an assistant in the morgue and fiancee to Nayir's best friend Othman (adopted brother to Nouf), ends up helping Nayir. They struggle to peel back the layers of the family's secrets while avoiding the wrath of the religious police as they meet to share information.

There's an extensive amazon review detailing the "errors" Ferraris has made in matters of Saudi culture and geography. The geography doesn't bother me in the least--it's a novel, for heaven's sake! Does Ferraris really have to stick to the distances between cities in reality? Does it matter for the purposes of the novel that one can't actually take an overnight bus from Jeddah to Muscat? However, some of his points, such as the use of paid escorts (women are not permitted to drive in Saudi Arabia), are more to the point. Googling, though, did turn up discussion of paid drivers for women in Saudi Arabia, so I'm not sure if things have changed since the reviewer lived in Saudi Arabia or if there are regional differences. Ferraris did stay in Saudi Arabia for almost a year following the first Gulf War, so she's not completely inventing the culture she describes. Times may have changed, or she may have made some changes for literary purposes. It's an interesting question, I think--since Ferraris is giving a rare glimpse into Saudi culture (possibly the only glimpse many of us will get), how accurate does she have to be? Does she have as much literary license as a novelist whose work is set in a more well-described culture? I don't think there's an easy answer, and several scenes ring so true (Katya moving her head from side to side to be able to see the contents of her purse, Katya sitting in the drawing room with her future in-laws) that they may outweigh nitpicky details.

Finding Nouf was a riveting mystery (though I wasn't quite satisfied with the resolution) set in a fascinating discussion of a strange culture. The discussion of the limitations on men and women was really interesting, and the development of Nayir's attitudes toward Katya was complex and well-developed. I highly recommend this book.

Finally, a winner!

I don't know what I was thinking having a giveaway deadline right before the holidays! Lilah and I just got around to picking a winner for the Death by Cashmere giveaway. Lilah pulled Wrighty's name out of the mixing bowl today. Congratulations to Wrighty and a thank you to all who entered. Happy New Year, everyone.

Picture Book Thursday!

This week we have another wonderful picture book to feature from Tilbury Publishers: Under the Night Sky from Amy Lundebrek. This charming book is a great read for kids during the winter. And here in Minnesota it is a balmy 3 degrees. Perfect weather for curling up and reading with the kiddos!

Under the Night Sky begins with a mother (who works nights) coming home to wake up her son and rush him outside to view a spectacular sight, the Northern Lights. Their whole building bundles up and cuddles together to watch the dancing lights across the night sky. I found this book to be a very touching reflection of a mother/child relationship. In the beginning, although the son is in bed every night before his mother comes home from work, he never falls asleep before she comes in to say goodnight. There is another moment later in the book where the mother says to the boy, "Just remember these lights, how they dance. And if you ever feel angry that I'm not letting you have your way, remember I'm on your side. I promise I will always try to give you the best things in life." Just a sweet, tender moment and since I have young two girls, I only hope they can remember that sentiment when we enter the teen years down the road. :-)

The thing I really liked about this book, and actually all three Tilbury books I've seen so far, is the illustrations. They are very artistic. Meaning, each illustration could be a piece of art in itself. In this book, you can tell the illustrations were done on canvas from the look of them. And in the previous Picture Book Thursday about Give a Goat, the illustrations were watercolors. Coming from an art background, I get very excited to share any sort of artistic experience with my children so this particularly draws me to these books.

I think it is fun to do an art project related to a book to help solidify the story in a child's mind. Doing a project together also leaves time to talk more about the story or the elements in the book. And my girls are very big into art projects! I love the blog Art Projects for Kids and was inspired to combine a few of the projects Kathy lists to create one for Under the Night Sky. I have small children ages 3 and 5 so I can't do anything too difficult. Here's an idea if you'd like to try a project with your child inspired by this illustration from the book:
Have your child take a white crayon and draw stars on piece of white paper. You could have them color trees in black crayon toward the bottom of the page. Then, have them paint in the picture with watercolors. Using greens, blues, pinks, and purples, fill in the middle of the sky to depict the Northern Lights. Greens and blues for the rest. The crayon should show up through the watercolor paint. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it worked for you!

I like to support local people and the author of Under the Night Sky lives just a few miles away from me in Champlin, Minnesota! So if you live in the Midwest and you're looking for a more locally relavant book, check this one out! Or, just check it out, no matter where you live! :-)

About the author: Amy Lundebrek lives Champlin, Minnesota, with her husband, Ryan. She has a degree in Biology and works as a research associate in a cell culture lab. She enjoys hiking and camping, canoeing and kayaking, painting and sculpture. Under the Night Sky is her first published book.

About the illustrator: Anna Rich says her career as an illustrator began in kindergarten, where she preferred coloring and drawing to her other classwork. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and has illustrated many picture books, including From My Window by Olive Wong, Just Right Stew by Angela Medaris, Cleveland's Lee's Beale Street Band by Arthur Flowers, and Saturday at the New You by Barbara Barber. She lives in Elmwood, New York, with her son and husband.

Thank you to Tilbury House for letting us be a part of the blog tour for Under the Night Sky. Here is a list of the other blogs on the tour. Please take moment to visit them as well!

Monday, Dec. 8: Shelf Elf
Tuesday December 9: Bri Meets Books
Wednesday, Dec. 10: The Wild Rumpus Starts (You Are Here)
Thursday, Dec. 11: In the Pages
Friday, Dec. 12: The Well-Read Child
Saturday, Dec. 13: Read These Books and Use Them
Sunday, Dec. 14: Ready, Set, Read
Monday, Dec. 15: Becky's Book Reviews
Tuesday, Dec. 16: NatureMoms
Thursday, Dec. 18: On My Bookshelf
Friday, Dec. 19: The Green Hour

Click Here To Order Under the Night Sky
There's also a teacher guide for the book.
www.tilburyhouse.com

Another contest

The blogosphere is full of contests for the holidays! Check out this one, for a copy of Matrimony, from Tome Traveler's Weblog. If you're a crazy book-gifting person like me, you get extra entries!

Author Interview and Giveaway: Death by Cashmere

I received a copy of Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum, the first in the Seaside Knitters series, and loved it! My full review is right here, but there's more! I was lucky to have the chance to "interview" Sally Goldenbaum by e-mail and to receive a brand-new copy to give away to one lucky reader. Contest information is after the interview. I hope you enjoy the chance to learn a little more about Death by Cashmere and Sally Goldenbaum!



One of my favorite parts of Death by Cashmere was the fantastic town of Sea Harbor. You draw the town and its inhabitants so vividly that it was almost a main character. Is it based on a real place you've lived, or a composite of different towns?

It made me quite happy to have you refer to Sea Harbor as ‘almost a character’ because I tried very hard to do exactly that. Since this was the first book in a series, I wanted the town to come alive, to welcome readers, to be a place they would feel at home and would want to visit again and again. It’s also great fun to create a town (how many times does one get such a chance?) especially one in which I’d love to have my own private retreat.

Although Sea Harbor is imagined, it was surely inspired by the wonderful small towns that dot Cape Ann, Massachusetts—by the architecture and shops and art galleries and seaside neighborhoods in that area north of Boston. I combined things, took away others, until I had exactly the kind of town in which I knew the knitters would live and love (not to mention solve murders) —and never want to leave. Birdie’s big home is one I spotted in Gloucester, Massachusetts, though I never saw its inside. And Nell’s is a home I want to live in some day—she has my dream kitchen.

There are many movies filmed on Cape Ann, which I watch for atmosphere and inspiration (and it provides a nice break from writing when I am stuck on a scene-- all in the name of research!). The Love Letter is one that captures a lot of what I see in Sea Harbor. But strolling the streets of these charming seaside towns with my family who live in that area, sitting together on an actual breakwater with the salty breeze whipping through our hair, talking to the fishermen and shop owners, and pushing my grandson on a swing in a park that overlooks the ocean—these things provide the best inspiration of all.

Did your experiences as a Catholic nun inform your writing? I imagine it must have given you the insight to create such nuanced characters.

It was an important life experience, that’s for sure, and as such became a part of who I am, and, consequently, of what and how I write. I met many wonderful people during those years. Probably one of the things that affected me most deeply was the power and richness of female friendship—and that is one of the pivotal elements in the lives of the Seaside Knitters—the bonds of such friendship.

There is one character in the book, especially, who was drawn in some ways from a wonderful mentor, philosophy teacher, and friend I had (and have) from convent years. Birdie Favazza (in Cashmere) has my nun friend’s wisdom, humor, and insight—her generous spirit and kind, lively personality. My friend marched during the civil rights struggle in Selma, Alabama—and Birdie, I am sure, would have done the same thing given the right circumstances. (Clearly Birdie’s four husbands show that she and my nun friend are not an exact match-up!)

I thought Birdie was a delight, and I want to be like her when I grow up! Do you have a favorite character in the series? Which character is the most like you?

I love that you love Birdie. And as I said, she’s important to me, too. I suppose Nell, though, is most like me. That’s partially because we are the closest in age, and I have lived out some fantasies through her — her house near the beach, her running so easily, her kitchen, her cooking for friends every Friday night (I’ve always wanted to start a tradition like that!). Nell’s niece Izzy is about the same age as my own daughter (who similarly went to school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and now lives in a seaside town). So the concern Nell sometimes has for her niece—and her sometimes-interference in Izzy’s life—comes about through my own urges.

I would guess I’m like many fiction writers, creating characters who say things that we might like to say, or do things that we would like to do. Our alter egos in print.

When/where did you learn to knit? What made you decide to incorporate knitting into a mystery?

My grandmother taught me to knit a lifetime ago, sitting in her rocking chair in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. And I picked it up now and again through the years. But it was when my grandson Luke was born that it began growing to the obsession level. And now I find it hard to leave home without needles and yarn in hand. I’m not a great knitter, but most definitely a dedicated one!

In discussing the development of a new mystery series with my agent (I had previously written a mystery series that revolved around quilters), I suggested knitting because I love it—and one of the agents, an accomplished knitter, loved the idea. In researching the market, we thought there might be room for another series using knitting as the bond that pulls the main characters together, and so the Seaside Knitters were born. When Penguin gave them a home, I was very happy, indeed!

Do you have a favorite type of knitting? Favorite pattern? Yarn you just love?

I love knitting little sweaters and hats in organic cotton or soft wool. I tried a shawl in seasilk yarn because it figured in Death by Cashmere. It’s lovely yarn! And I’m determined to master socks. My knitting shop friends tell me it’s “easy.” Hmmmm. But the seaside knitters have been trying them, and with their encouragement, I will, too. I hope that readers will send me the socks they knit so I can add photos on my website: sallygoldenbaum.com.

I have a knitting blog, so for my readers, I have to ask: English or Continental?

Oh, dear. Such a sticky question. I knit the way my grandmother taught me to knit—and that is English. I love the way the women in the knitting studio look when they are knitting continental—it looks so much faster. But I’ve tried…and failed…and am back to the way my Grams taught me to do it.

Thanks so much for the chance to reach readers through your blog and reviews, Allison. I hope they will come visit sallygoldenbaum.com and drop me a note. Also, the next Seaside Knitters mystery, Patterns in the Sand, will be out in May 2009. Hope you enjoy it!

I really appreciated the opportunity to have my nosy questions answered! Thank you to Sally Goldenbaum for taking the time to respond!

If you would like a brand-new, hardcover copy of Death by Cashmere (and I know you do!), here's what you do:
1. For one entry, leave a comment on this entry telling me your favorite cozy mystery series OR your favorite pattern to knit (a bonus entry if you share both!).
2. For another entry, leave a comment on my review and tell me why you want to read the book.
3. For THREE bonus entries, link to this contest on your blog and tell me that you did.

U.S.-only entries must be received by Monday, December 22 at noon, EST. Make sure I have a way to reach you (valid e-mail address, blog, etc.). Thank you for entering!

Contest winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Interred With Their Bones giveaway! Lilah picked Anya's name out of the mixing bowl this afternoon. Anya, check your email and send your address.

The 39 Clues: One False Note

My review of Book 1 here
Holly's review of Book 1 here

I really wish I had read The 39 Clues series as a child, because they don't have the same timeless charm of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. I can see the wheels turning, and I remember reading a review of the first book that compared the series to a boy band, a particularly apt comparison. This is a high-concept, multimedia, take-the-world-by-storm marketing force. But it's a fun one. My main gripe with book 2 is that it's short--160 pages, compared with 224 pages in Book 1. Sure the pace is brisk, but there really was less "there" in book 2, and is it any cheaper? Of course not! There are 10 books projected in the series, each written by a different author. Each book comes with 6 cards, and there are card packs to buy separately. You enter the codes for your cards into your online account at the39clues.com, which gives you more puzzles to solve. Although the premise is ridiculous, really James Bond villain-ish in scope, it's a fun ride once you suspend disbelief, and the multimedia aspect is intriguing to me. I'd love to know how many reluctant readers are devouring the books to be a part of the online game/trading card part of the action. Scholastic gets bonus points for pushing the envelope.

In Book 1, we learned a lot about Benjamin Franklin as the kids traveled (scheming relatives hot on their heels) to various world locations. Book 2 focuses on Mozart, the clue-to-the-Clue being a scrap of music, and takes the Cahill children to Vienna and Venice. This introduces a history/art/geography component that elevates these to a more educational level--almost as if Scholastic thought, "Hey, while we've got them reading, let's throw in some other stuff, too." The history is presented in an accessible way, with even Dan "This is so Boring" Cahill getting interested in Mozart's biography. Dan and Amy are fun siblings, and their au pair provides some strategy and grounding for them. The overarching premise that all the important people in the world are Cahills, more than stretches credibility, but the action never stops. I'll certainly read Book 3 when it comes out in March, and if you'll excuse me, I have to enter my Book 2 cards into the website...

Girl Week!

I stumbled across Girl Week over at Reviewer X and I'm hooked! A whole week of posts about girly books, with lots of giveaways. So pop on over and check it out.

And another giveaway!

I found this holiday giveaway from author Brenda Janowitz for a box full of fun books! Just the thing for the holiday season.

Murder for Christmas, Part Two

Read Part One here!

Christmas Cookie Murder by Leslie Meier: If I'd realized that the first in the Lucy Stone series was Mistletoe and Murder, I would have started there! But my amazon searching only brought me to this, the 6th entry, and that's fine. I had previously read Leslie Meier's novella in Candy Cane Murder and enjoyed it, and I think I'll be reading more about Lucy and Tinker's Cove, Maine. Things are grim in Tinker's Cove with lobster quotas playing havoc with the local economy and an influx of drugs. But Lucy is trying to have a merry Christmas anyway, probably the reason she agrees to host the Christmas cookie exchange. The cookie exchange is hilarious, with backbiting and backhanded compliments the order of the day. And backed-up plumbing that brings the disastrous "party" to an end. An overzealous cop complicates her family's lives, and she struggles with her teenaged son, more interested in marijuana than in college applications, making this a little less cozy than the usual cozy mystery. Things are complicated in the Stone family, but interesting, and I liked Lucy. She decides to investigate when a young daycare assistant is found murdered and the cop's focus is on a dentist she's sure is innocent. The mystery is fine, but Tinker's Cove and the Stone family really make this a pleasant holiday diversion.

O Little Town of Maggody by Joan Hess: I haven't read the Maggody series, but I love the Claire Malloy series by the same author. This series is quite different, featuring Arly Hanks, who returned as "police chief" for her Arkansas hometown of Maggody where the people are inbred and closed-minded. At first, I wasn't sure about this series. Arly looks down her nose at the Maggody folk and the usual jokes about inbreeding and moonshine made me uncomfortable (I know that sounds goofy, but my mom drilled into us not to make fun of other people). But at its heart, it seems affectionate toward the town and its people, not mean-spirited. Maggody is thrown into an uproar when country star Matt Montana "returns" to his "hometown" in a carefully constructed PR move. Though no one remembers him (he really just spent a couple of summers there with his great-aunt, mostly raising hell), they are happy to boost the local economy by renaming all the businesses in his name and selling kitschy Matt Montana souvenirs. A couple of murders have Arly scrambling for clues, and there was much more Christmas spirit in this one than I expected from the beginning. This is the seventh in the series.

A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton: This one starts out with cranky policeman Hamish MacBeth thinking about the gloomy lack of Christmas spirit in Calvinist Lochdubh, so I didn't expect it to have much Christmas spirit. No murder in this novella, but the two crimes--a lost cat and missing Christmas lights in an adjacent village--lead to a really sweet little story that's perfect for reading by the fire. I will definitely revisit Hamish MacBeth from the beginning. This is 16th in the series, but I didn't feel lost at all--quite an accomplishment by Beaton.

Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton: Private investigator Agatha Raisin is obsessing over the "perfect" Christmas, complete with snow and reconciliation with her ex. Meanwhile, a woman has asked for Agatha's help because she's sure one of her children is plotting to kill her before she can change her will to leave the money to the state. Her new assistant, Toni, is young and perky enough to make Agatha feel extra old, and her Christmas seems destined to disappoint her. The mystery was good fun (I love when the head of the family assembles all the ungrateful children to announce a change of will, and this one had some nice twists). Agatha is quite a piece of work, very sarcastic and witty, and her developing friendship with Toni is sweet. The story is bogged down a bit by Agatha's obsession over her ex and a bit about Toni's brother, but on the whole, this was a nice holiday mystery, and is 18th in the series.

Picture Book Thursday!

Thank you to Tilbury House Publishers for the opportunity to be part of this Virtual Tour! For more information on Give a Goat, including curriculum ideas for teachers, visit the publisher's web site.

I can think of few books more suited to Christmas giving than the delightful Give a Goat written by Jan West Schrock and illustrated by Aileen Darragh. This is a plot-heavy book with a message, but it's a valuable message and told in a lighthearted, easy to understand way, accompanied by whimsical watercolor illustrations. One of Mrs. Rowell's fifth grade students tells the story of a rainy day when Mrs. Rowell read them a book, Beatrice's Goat, in which a goat changes the life of a little Ugandan girl. The students immediately want to give a goat to help someone. They are even more excited when they learn that recipients of livestock through Heifer International are asked to pass on offspring of their gift animal to other needy families. Mrs. Rowell warns them that it'll be a lot of work to raise the money and they'll have to work together. They come up with a simple business plan and sell snacks to teachers, with a small initial loan from Mrs. Rowell. They expand their successful business to sell to students as well. Along the way, other classes are inspired to help others (a canned food drive to benefit a food pantry, a car wash to benefit the Red Cross). At the end, Mrs. Rowell's class has raised enough money to give a goat...and some chickens and ducks! My favorite illustration is the chickens flying in a vintage plane.

This book was fantastic. It's hard enough for adults to think about all the needy people in the world, but to explain to children that there are people who need help is a challenge. And Give a Goat is an action plan, not just building awareness of a problem, but teaching how to find a solution. It could be a lesson plan for caring. The children in the book are inspired to help others, and they find a way to do it (guided by a very smart teacher). At the same time, they learn valuable skills about business and math and are empowered by their teacher's hands-off approach to their plan. I defy anyone to read this book and not be inspired (and empowered) to help others. This would be a great book to give as a gift along with a donation to Heifer International or another charity.

Author Jan West Schrock's father, Dan West, was a midwestern farmer who served as a relief worker during the Spanish civil war. As he was handing out milk to needy children one day, he realized, "These children don't need a cup. They need a cow." When he returned home he founded Heifers for Relief, and its first shipment of heifers was sent to Puerto Rico in 1944. Jan herself spent twenty-eight years as a classroom teacher, special needs teacher, and administrator, both in the United States and abroad. She is now a senior advisor for Heifer International, an organization that has grown to serve over 8.5 million people in more than 125 countries. Jan lives in Westbrook, Maine, but travels the world to talk about "passing on the gift."