Review: The September Society

Charles Lenox faces two challenges in this book. The first is to solve the mystery of an Oxford student's association with a secret society and subsequent disappearance. The second is to ask his friend and neighbor Lady Jane to be his wife. George Payson has disappeared left a variety of odd objects in his room- muddy boots, a tomato, and little scraps of paper with the mark of the September Society. A bit of investigation determines that the September Society is an exclusive club for officers stationed together in the east. Determining what this has to do with the missing Payson becomes Lenox's task.

These Charles Lenox mysteries are always satisfactory. They're complicated and well-written. The books have more depth than a cozy mystery, but give plenty of attention to Lenox and his personal relationships. It's rather charming to see Lenox worrying like a love-struck teenager about his impending proposal. Finch's writing is good and he offers solid historical mysteries. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Charles Finch, The September Society (Minotaur, 2008) ISBN: 0312359780 

Review: Firefly Summer

A saga. This is a saga of a family, of several families, of a town. Mountfern, Ireland is a sleepy, rural community. In the summer of 1962, the wealthy American Patrick O'Neill arrives in Mountfern trying to reconnect with his ancestral roots. He purchases the old O'Neill homestead and plans to develop it into a hotel. At the center of the story is the Ryan family; their pub stands to be rendered obsolete by the new O'Neill hotel. Over the next five years the entire village is changed by the O'Neill venture, none more so than the Ryans.

This is early Binchy, and the book is remarkable in its scope and scale. There are many characters and many strands of narrative. It has the Binchy touches of tone that will be familiar to her regular readers. The book took some time to get started. It took me some time to get invested, which I haven't found to be an issue in other Binchy works. I appreciated Binchy's willingness to take on what must seem to many Irish people as the absurdity of Americans coming back to "claim" their Irish heritage and expecting to be welcomed with open arms. Ultimately this book requires an investment of time. It's not the best example of Binchy's work, but it does serve the sort of comfort-read purposes that many find in Binchy.

Maeve Binchy, Firefly Summer (Dell, 2007) ISBN: 0385341717 

Review: Murder at the Vicarage

This is the first Miss Marple book, and I think it must be the best Miss Marple I've read. I like that in this book we get an unusually large dose of Miss Marple. She's a full and important character, unlike some later books in which she is only tangential.

This book has Miss Marple working on her home turf of St. Mary Mead. Colonel Protheroe, a man no one liked, is found murdered in the vicarage. The narrator of the story is the vicar, and he is endowed with a slightly sarcastic sense of humor. In ambiance and complexity this is one of Christie's best.

Agatha Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage (Black Dog and Leventhal, 2006) ISBN: 1579126251 

Review: The Oxford Project

This is like no other book I have ever read before. In 1984 Peter Feldstein took a picture of ever resident of the tiny town of Oxford, Iowa. In 2007 he took pictures again. Feldstein asked people to tell their stories in their own words. The book presents old and new photos along with their subjects' stories.

What emerges is the collective portrait of a small town. Oxford is a place where people stay for generations. The collected stories show just how much tragedy and suffering regularly afflicts human beings. It is evident how strongly people crave connections to others. Poverty affects many in Oxford. Young marriage is the norm, and many are married in their teens with children following shortly thereafter. Many regret lack of college education.

Oxford is an entirely different place from anywhere I have ever lived. I wonder how much of the country is still like Oxford. For everyone who bemoans the decline of close-knit community, the Oxford example suggests that people who live in such places are not necessarily any more or less happy than their big-city counterparts. I'd be interested to know more about the people who have left Oxford. They are not included in the book, and that is a side of the town's story that is missing.

Peter Feldstein, The Oxford Project (Welcome Books, 2010) ISBN: 1599620871 

The final episode in the trilogy finds Lisbeth recovering from near-fatal gunshot wounds, and approaching her trial. A guilty verdict would result in long-term commitment. The secret group within the Swedish Intelligence Agency is working hard to ensure that Lisbeth will have no credibility in court. Mikael Blomkvist is working to try and uncover their activities and actions.

While this is hardly great literature, this book fulfilled all my desires for thrill and suspense. It moves at lightening speed, with a large and complicated cast of characters. As was the case with the first book, I found the journalism sub-plots to be much less interesting than the story of Lisbeth and the Section. Erika Berger's troubles at SMP struck me as an unnecessary side-note. Still, I read all 500+ pages in a single weekend. It couldn't wait to find out what happens, and I'm sorry that there won't be any more.

Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Knopf, 2010) ISBN: 030726999X

Review: Death of a Bore

Hamish Macbeth is back investigating the death of someone nobody liked. This time the victim is an arrogant author who runs writing classes solely for the purpose of taking villagers' money and telling them they can't write. John Heppel is an arrogant publicity-hound whose own book is pretentious and unreadable. Any of the villagers in Lochdubh could be the murderer.

By this point in the series I'm starting to wonder if things aren't becoming a bit too predictable. The formula is always the same: unlikable victim, many possible suspects, Hamish employs unorthodox methods that nearly get him fired. The romantic undercurrents are also the same. Hamish moons about the loss of former loves (in this book it's more Elspeth Grant than Priscilla Halburton-Smythe).

That said, it is a testament to Beaton's writing abilities that despite all this I still enjoy reading these books. What made this particular volume less enjoyable than some of the others was that it lacked the sense of danger that I've found in others. The climax, in particular, was missing that frisson of danger.

M.C. Beaton, Death of a Bore (Mysterious Press, 2005) ISBN: 0892967951 

Review: What Happened to My Sister

This book is the story of Carrie Parker, her mother, and Carrie's imaginary friend, Emma. Carrie's mother is abusive and negligent, and she is vehemently opposed to Carrie's companionship with Emma. Over the course of the novel we eventually find out why. Carrie desperately longs for her mother's attention and affection, and walks on eggshells to avoid raising her mother's ire. The slightest thing sends Libby Parker into a rage. When Carrie meets Cricket she makes the first real friend of her life, and attention from Cricket's family gives Carrie some much needed stability.

This is a book about a child's will to survive in the face of horrible abuse. Throughout the book I kept hoping that Libby would be caught and taken away- her treatment of Carrie is criminal. The book is billed as a possible stand-alone read. Certainly it's possible to dive in and understand what is necessary to appreciate this book. Still, this is a follow-up to Flock's Me and Emma, and the premise of the entire plot gives away what I suspect is the crux of the first book. I haven't read Me and Emma, but I suspect the plot of What Happened to My Sister relies on some major spoilers.

Elizabeth Flock, What Happened to My Sister (Ballantine, 2012) ISBN: 0345524438 

Review: The Lantern

The Lantern is a Gothic tale of Provence set in a looming old house complete with a moody and mysterious resident and a ghost. Eve and her boyfriend Dom purchase the atmospheric and remote Les Genevrieres, but once they move in their relationship seems to disintegrate. Dom refuses to talk about his previous marriage and becomes more and more isolated. Mysterious objects appear and disappear in the house. Then, when digging a new pool, builders find the bodies of two women on their property. Eve has no idea what relationship these bones might have to her boyfriend and his former wife, or to a college student who has recently gone missing from the area. At the same time as Eve and Dom try to live with each other and their house, the book tells the story of the house's former residents, a blind perfumier and her sister.

This book is full of beautiful descriptions of Provence, both in the well-known, sunny summers that produce the lavender harvest and in the colder, more desolate winters. Lawrenson does an excellent job of creating a suitably creepy atmosphere. I enjoyed the two stories she told, though I sometimes found Eve's naivete hard to believe- buying a house with a guy who literally will not say anything about his past is probably not the best idea.

Deborah Lawrenson, The Lantern (Harper, 2011) ISBN: 0062049690 

Review: Flying Too High

In the previous Phryne Fisher book there were several references to Phryne being a pilot, but aviation played no role. The pilot references seemed like an add-on, so I'm pleased that in this volume we get to see Phryne in action: flying and wing-walking. Phryne is commissioned to find the murderer of a Melbourne tycoon. At the same time, she is also called to investigate a kidnapping.

As background to these two mysteries we get to see Phryne furnish her house and attend society functions, as she lives the glamorous life in 1920s Melbourne. Phryne is very much the "New Woman" of the 1920s- short hair, fashionable clothes, sexually liberated.

I like the approach of having two mysteries in the book, and as in the previous volume, 1920s Australia provides a fascinating setting. This was a quick and entertaining read, and I'll be reading more in the series.

Kerry Greenwood, Flying Too High (Poisoned Pen Press, 2007) ISBN: 1590583957 

Review: The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken

The father of a famous Pakistani cricketer drops dead after eating butter chicken at a Delhi banquet. Private eye Vish Puri decides to take the case. It will be a welcome diversion from his current slate of cases, which include the theft of a record-breaking mustache. The case brings Puri across the Indian border into Pakistan, and into Delhi's criminal underworld. The mystery is tied deeply to India's history, to the 1948 partition with Pakistan.

I always enjoy these Vish Puri mysteries. Puri and his circle of family and associates are entertaining. The discussion of Indian and Pakistan was interesting, and I learned a great deal about the role of women in the partition. Puri's Mummy-ji is still trying to help him solve mysteries. In this case she proves to be instrumental to concluding the case. Hall has done an excellent job creating the Delhi atmosphere. Hall's Delhi is a vibrant, colorful, chaotic, and corrupt place. The author has captured the cadences of Delhi speech and established a delightful cast of characters. I can't wait for the next in the series.

Tarquin Hall, The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken (Simon and Schuster, 2012) ISBN: 1451613172 

Review: Haldol and Hyacinths

I applaud Moezzi for putting a face on bipolar disorder. Well aware that mental illness remains hidden, often a source of shame for those who suffer, Moezzi has publicized her own battle with bipolar disorder. Growing up with a variety of advantages: a loving family, an excellent education, a calling to change the world, Moezzi never expected to find herself in a locked psychiatric ward. Years of misdiagnosis made it more difficult to come to terms with her illness.

I really enjoyed Moezzi's writing. She's funny, she's sarcastic, and she has a penchant for bad language (as do I). this is a book that talks about big issues while remaining true to the experiences and spirit of a twenty-something woman. As a Muslim and an Iranian-American, she offers interesting insights on what it means to have multiple identities, to be a sometimes-outsider, and to have to watch the turbulent politics of a meaningful place from the outside. If all of this sounds heavy, the book itself is not. It was an engaging and entertaining read, well worth reading for anyone trying to understand life with bipolar disorder.

Melody Moezzi, Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life (Avery, 2013) ISBN: 1583334688 

Review: The Cater Street Hangman

Cater Street is an upscale residential neighborhood in Victorian London. It is the residence of the Ellison family, and it also becomes the scene of terror and mystery as several young women in the neighborhood are found garroted. The eminently respectable neighborhood appears to have a serial killer on its hands. What is nearly as bad as the murders is that they have been inundated by the police who are seeking the killer. Police are still rather suspicious in late-nineteenth century London, and they threaten the respectability of the neighborhood.

One of the Ellisons disagrees with these ideas. Charlotte, Ellison daughter of marriageable age, finds the case fascinating, and also starts to find the police inspector, Thomas Pitt, rather interesting too.

Aside from being a good mystery, which this is, this book offers a wealth of information about Victorian family and gender norms. The reader gets an acute sense of the structures binding a free spirit like Charlotte Ellison. Readers who are not especially familiar with the Victorian period will likely find the ideas about the police interesting too-- they are hardly complimentary and quite different from the twenty-first century.

I did figure out the responsible party in this mystery rather earlier than I would have preferred, but this book certainly pulled me into the series and made me want to read more. I'm expecting subsequent books in this series to be better; this book had to lay significant groundwork introducing the family and the Ellison sisters.

Anne Perry, The Cater Street Hangman (orig. 1979, Ballantine, 2008) ISBN: 0345513568 

Review: Cargo of Eagles

This is the final book in the Albert Campion series; it was actually completed by Allingham's husband after her death. The book features Campion at the end of his career, and unlike earlier books he takes a backseat in the investigation of this case. Campion acts more as an adviser to a young American, Morty Kelsey, and his love interest, an attractive young doctor who has just inherited a country house in a seaside town. The town has quite a history of ghosts and pirates, among other things.

I enjoyed seeing Campion late in his career. He is world-weary in this book, happy to leave the actual investigating to younger associates. The end brings a surprising twist, and finally reveals to the reader the meaning of the title. As with other Campion books this one relies heavily on space and time- who was where when. Also like other books in the series this can get overwhelming. Still, it's interesting to see the gentleman sleuth in old age, and the books makes for a satisfying mystery.

Margery Allingham, Cargo of Eagles (orig. 1968, Felony and Mayhem, 2011) ISBN: 1934609919

Review: Her Royal Spyness

A down-at-the-heels minor royal, Lady Georgina refuses to be married off to a boring European prince. She desperately wants to escape the confines of her deadly dull sister-in-law's house. To try and gain a modicum of freedom Georgie runs off to the family's London home, finds a body in the bathtub, and sees her brother accused of the crime. To earn money and clear her brother's name Georgie engages in all sorts of schemes and adopts numerous disguises, including operating her own maid service.

This book offers a humorous look at the 'plight' of the minor royal. All of them are absolutely incompetent without servants. Georgie and her brother Binky can't run a bath, make a cup of tea, start a fire, or get coal out of the cellar. Royal protocol requires Lady Georgina to refuse private employment, but her family can't keep up their houses and servants on their too-small resources.

As this is the first in the series quite a bit of time is spent establishing the characters. This seems to frequently be the case with mystery series, and I often prefer subsequent volumes. I suspect that might be true with this series too.

Rhys Bowen, Her Royal Spyness (Berkley, 2007) ISBN: 0425215679 

Review: Gold

A circle of elite cyclists and their demons train for the London Olympic team. Kate and Zoe are friends and rivals. Kate is married to Jack, the third of their cycling threesome. All three face hurdles in getting to the Olympics. Zoe is a ruthless competitor who is starting to wonder about the purpose of her life. Kate and Jack's daughter is fighting cancer. Through the books we get the trio's back-history as they train.

The writing in this book is technically good, and Cleave does a nice job drawing characters. Still, I found that the book failed to satisfy. At times I found it slow-moving, and the end was too saccharine for my taste. I could see the whole thing being a Lifetime movie. It was interesting to read about how elite athletes experience their bodies, how they are conscious of what every single cell is doing at every moment. That said, there was much more technical information about cycling than could possibly keep my attention.

Chris Cleave, Gold (Simon and Schuster, 2012) ISBN: 1451672721 

Review: We Sinners

The Rovaniemi family. eleven members, fundamentalist Lutherans, eschew most of the pleasures of modern living, and many of the pleasures of emotional comfort. They avoid television and dancing and worry about emotional complacency. Told through the viewpoints of each of the family members, we see how eleven different individuals experience a particularly rigorous form of fundamentalism. Three of the nine children decide to leave the church.

This is a decidedly sympathetic portrait of a fundamentalist family. The characters are complicated, and their relationships to religion vary. That said, I was struck by how much sadness was intertwined with religion. None of the characters is happy. None is even content, and there is little way out, either through faith or outside of it. The Finnish fundamentalist community is a tight one, one I didn't even know existed. This was an interesting read, but a depressing one too. No one finds happiness, and it quickly becomes clear that no one will.

Hanna Pylvainen, We Sinners (Henry Holt, 2012) ISBN: 0805095330 

Review: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club

Peter Wimsey solves a classic locked-room mystery, as he tries to determine how the corpse of an elderly man came to be in the Bellona Club on Remembrance Day. The man died sometime after 10am, but the exact time of death is a mystery. It becomes a pressing mystery when it becomes clear that the time of death determines who will inherit a large fortune. The convoluted family argument and complex relationships make Wimsey's efforts more difficult. Halfway through the book the culprit seems to be apprehended, but Wimsey isn't so sure. I liked the model of a solution partway through the book that had to be unraveled.

This book had little engagement with Wimsey's life outside of the mystery. It is a book dependent upon Wimsey entering an existing situation. The details are numerous, and we get an interesting look at a London gentlemen's club in the 1920s. Overall, an entertaining classic mystery.

Dorothy Sayers, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (orig. 1928) ISBN: 0061043540 

Review: The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

This is a devastating book, beautifully written, but devastating. In the early years of the twentieth century Hattie Shepard and her sisters journey north to Philadelphia. They hope to escape the violence of the Jim Crow south. What they find is a world that falls far short of the hopes and dreams they had for their new life. The book follows each of Hattie's children as they struggle to make their way in the world. Through these chapters we discover that a life of poverty and struggle has turned Hattie into a hardened woman. She can survive against all odds, but survival burns up all physical and emotional resources. Hattie's children experience problems of their own, from racial violence to unfulfilled marriages to mental illness.

Mathis does an excellent job of portraying the harsh realities of the Great Migration. The historical details of the book are well-done. We see the cruelties of a world in which babies die for want of a few dollars' worth of penicillin, and mothers are forced to give up children they cannot afford. As fiction the strength of the chapters varied, and I found that they got stronger as they went on. Some of the conclusions of each character's story are not altogether satisfying. Still, this is a worthwhile read, as it brings to life an important part of the American story.

Ayana Mathis, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Knopf, 2012) ISBN: 0385350287 

Review: Elimination Night

This book is an insider's look at American Idol, though purported to be fiction for legal reasons. If you've never watched the show, then I can't imagine this book would be at all interesting. All of the notable Idol stars show up in the book, from Simon Cowell to Jennifer Lopez. There's some thinly veiled anonymity, but it's VERY thinly veiled. Anyone who's seen the show will have no problem deducing who is who.

As for the story itself, there isn't much of one. Most of the book is an expose of the extremes and abuses of the show. Star judges fight with one another for better contracts. Staff are treated like dirt. The protagonist, Sasha King, is called "Bill" by cast and crew alike. Bill was her predecessor's name, and no one can be bothered to learn a new one. Just in case anyone didn't already think so, this book will make it clear that Idol is full of egotism and excess.

As mentioned, there's no real story. There's a sort of continuing theme surrounding Sasha's long-distance boyfriend, but it isn't very interesting. I can't figure out who the audience for this book is supposed to be. Anyone who's at all critical of reality show culture probably suspected most of this, and die-hard super fans are probably not going to believe it. The shock and awe could have been accomplished by an essay- a novel is simply too extended a format for the material available.

Anonymous, Elimination Night (New Harvest, 2013) ISBN: 0547942079 

Review: A Small Fortune

The saga of an Anglo-Pakistani family, this book shows how family members face their demons under the premise of acquiring some of a small divorce settlement. The prodigal daughter has quit medical school, a nephew is falling in with a dangerous crowd, and a brother is desperate for help. At the center of the family is Harris, who is trying desperately to reconstruct his family and to reconstruct happier times. Harris has lost interest in the life he once relished. When he receives his divorce settlement he is torn asunder by the competing needs of his family members.

While the blurb and title suggested that the book was going to focus on Harris's efforts to get rid of his money, that really is not the major issue. Money is the background, really a premise to get the family members to work out some long-festering problems. This was an interesting enough book. I particularly enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Harris and his new love, the professor. Other parts of the story were more predictable. Still, a well-written tale of a believable family.

Rosie Dastgir, A Small Fortune (Riverhead, 2012) ISBN: 159448810X 

Review: Sarah Thornhill

Growing up in rural Australia, Sarah Thornhill, daughter of a transported convict, pursues her childhood sweetheart Jack. But Jack's mother was a native Australian, he has "black" blood. While this makes no difference to Sarah, it does to the rest of her family. Different cultures and family secrets try their relationship. Sarah fights for a future with Jack when all the forces of her family and community are against it. The best thing about this book is undeniably the setting. The Thornhills live in mid-nineteenth century rural Australia.

It is stark and unforgiving territory. White Australians have all of the anxieties and concerns of a colonial population. Native Australians are reeling from the brutalities of white colonists. It is a fascinating world, and one that Grenville portrays beautifully. That said, this book was too much of a standard romance novel to really speak to me. There are some fascinating themes, but they revolve to heavily around Sarah and Jack's relationship. I would have like a broader focus.

The most important takeaway? Grenville reminds readers that we have a collective responsibility for the past, one that a new generation cannot simply erase.

Kate Grenville, Sarah Thornhill (Grove, 2012) ISBN: 9780802120243 

Review: The Cottage at Glass Beach

Nora Keane has a troubled past and a troubled present. Her mother disappeared when Nora was five, and her marriage has been rocked by an affair. To get away from the scandal of her husband's affair, Nora packs up her two daughters and retreats to the small Maine Island where she was born. At the island Nora tries to sort out her marriage and find out what, exactly, happened to her mother.

The island is deeply steeped in Celtic mythology, and residents believe in the magical qualities of the sea. They believe that the sea brings creatures like selkies to aid mortals, and certainly some of the characters on the island have other-worldly qualities. This book is hardly fantasy, but it deals with how mythology functions in people's lives. These beliefs are particularly salient on a small island reliant on a tempestuous ocean for its safety and its livelihood.

Though Nora has clearly suffered, she is not always an especially likable character. She doesn't seem to take her older daughter's feelings about her home and father very seriously. I also found the resolution of the final series of events to be entirely unbelievable. In sum, not a bad book, and definitely well-suited to summer reading.

Heather Barbieri, The Cottage at Glass Beach (Harper Perennial, 2012) ISBN: 0062107976 

Review: Mistletoe Man

The Christmas season finds herbalist/detective China Bayles trying hard to keep up with the busiest retail season of the year. It is nearly impossible to keep the shop supplied with mistletoe. China's chief supplier has always been a pair of sisters who operate an herbal farm in rural Texas. A strange and prickly new supplier shows up on China's radar, and he seems to be the answer to her supply problems, at least until he turns up dead. The mistletoe sisters are acting awfully suspicious, and China's best friend and partner Ruby is acting entirely out of sorts too. China ends up doing what she likes best- solving a mystery and selling herbs.

I absolutely love the discussion of herbs and the herbal industry that permeates these books. I also liked the festive, holiday atmosphere of this particular book. What I've never been able to come around to in this series is the relationship between China and McQuaid. It's not that I don't like McQuaid's character, it's more that I get bored with books about commitment-phobia, and that's a huge part of China and McQuaid's relationship. Still, I enjoyed this book. It's a good book for a lazy weekend afternoon.

Susan Wittig Albert, Mistletoe Man (Berkley, 2001) ISBN: 0425182010 

Review: Stuck in the Middle with You

As a woman who transitioned from being a man, Boylan has experience as a father, a mother, and a person in the middle of changing from one sex to the other and one gender to the other. This is not a book about the sex change, it is a book about parenting written by one of the few people who can claim to have experience as both father and mother in the literal sense. Boylan finds that the experience of being father and mother is fundamentally not all that different. Her worries about transition disrupting her children's lives have come to naught. It's clear that the Boylans have raised two thoughtful and compassionate children.

This was an engaging book, and it made me think about what life must be like when for no reason of one's own choosing every action and family choice is considered political. Boylan's writing is thoughtful and very readable. This book deals with a variety of family and gender issues. It also includes a series of interviews with other writers who have had different experiences of parenting and gender. I generally found these to be far less interesting than the main text, and I preferred reading Boylan's own story.

Jennifer Finney Boylan, Stuck in the Middle with You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders (Crown, 2013) ISBN: 0767921763 

Review: My Life on a Plate

This novel tells a tried and true (and perhaps somewhat tired) story: the woman who supposedly has it all finds parts of her life to be significantly lacking. Clara Hutt has the home, the husband, and the children. She's always wanted the children, and she and her husband are the best of friends. But, as is the modern woman's dilemma, Clara is worried that her life and her marriage lack passion. And Clara is left with the question of whether she can rightfully expect passion in the long term. Complicating this is the fact that Clara seems to have it so much better than so many of her friends. Her friend Tamsin is miserably single, Naomi's husband is cheating on her with his secretary. Is it reasonable for Clara to want more?

Clearly, this plot is neither innovative nor unusual. Still, the book was enjoyable. Clara and the other characters are well-developed, and have enough quirks so that they defy clear stereotypes. With an engaging twist at the end this was, ultimately, a book I enjoyed.

India Knight, My Life on a Plate (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000) ISBN: 0618093974 

Review: Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death

In rural England Mrs. Malory engages village politics and solves mysteries on the side. When local gossip Annie Roberts dies everyone in the village seems much more relieved than upset. Minor investigation reveals that Annie wasn't just a busybody, she was a nasty piece of work who used people's vulnerabilities for her own gain. Mrs. Malory faces the unfortunate task of investigating the murder of someone who made life miserable for everyone in the village. She can continue to investigate, or she can let the village enjoy its new-found peace.

This was not necessarily the best place to jump into this series. There was little information on who Mrs. Malory is and what her relationship is to the village. Even jumping into the middle of the series, there were some quirky and interesting characters. What really made the book less than satisfactory was the fact that Mrs. Malory was investigating deep, dark secrets, and we never really find out what many of them are. In the case of many of the characters we never know for sure what their ties were to Annie Roberts.

There are many elements here that suggest that this is a series I would enjoy, and I plan to read more of them.

Hazel Holt, Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death (Signet, 2009) ISBN: 0451229665 

Review: A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea

This beautifully-written book is a coming of age story set in post-revolutionary Iran. Saba Hafezi is obsessed with English language and American culture, a dangerous pursuit in revolutionary Iran. This interest is cemented by Saba's memories of her mother and twin sister migrating to the United States in the midst of the revolution. Saba has to deal with the emotional baggage of being the twin left behind, while trying to find her way in a confusing world with few opportunities for smart young women. Saba's own story is interwoven with the stories she tells about her mother and sister. Storytelling becomes the way that Saba works out her sadness and grief.

This book provides a fascinating look at growing up in the Iran of the 1980s. Saba lives in a rural area. Her remoteness from the capital provides her with some protection, but she longs for the cosmopolitan Tehran she remembers from pre-revolutionary days. In a broader sense, this is a book about a community coming to terms with a confusing new society. Over the course of the book the presence of the moral police becomes heavier, and the opportunities for a smart young woman like Saba diminish. The author pays significant attention to the development of Saba's relationship with her closest female friend, Ponneh. Each woman takes a very different path to dealing with the restrictions of the new Iran, and neither finds complete satisfaction.

In language and description this is a beautiful book. I was drawn in by Saba and her community. I was less interested in the stories she told about Mahtab, and occasionally found these a bit ponderous. Overall, though, a very moving book.

Diya Nayeri, A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea (Riverhead, 2013) ISBN: 1594487049 

Review: St. Peter's Finger

Mrs. Bradley is called in to investigate the death of a student at a convent school. Ursula Doyle is found dead in a bathroom. Her death is ruled a suicide, but the nuns are not convinced. Mrs. Bradley is given full run of the convent, and it becomes clear that the death is likely murder. Mrs. Bradley's own life is clearly in danger, as are those of Ursula's two cousins, also students at the school.

This was a rather delightful mystery. It is complicated, and there are numerous characters. I didn't figure out the solution in advance, but looking back I could see that Mitchell provides the clues. She offers plenty of red herrings.

I've read a number of books about convent life and schools during this periods, and the characterization of this one is decidedly different. Mitchell's convent is a warm and benevolent place. The children receive plenty of affection from the nuns, and students and nuns alike are generally happy. Even the orphans who are being groomed for domestic service content. That's a far cry from the cold and miserable convent schools that appear in so many other early-twentieth century novels and memoirs. Admittedly, Mitchell is primarily interested in crafting a mystery, and that she does well.

Gladys Mitchell, St. Peter's Finger (orig. 1938) ISBN: 0312001924 

Review: The Private Patient

A journalist dies at a plastic surgery clinic after what should have been a routine operation with a renowned surgeon. Investigation proves that the clinic is staffed by a rather odd group of individuals, all of whom seem to have issues. The dead woman, Rhoda Gradwyn, is a London journalist, and she has a nosy best friend who proves to have strange ties to the clinic.

As is always the case with James, the history and back-story of the characters is very important, and becomes essential to solving the mystery. What's really kind of sad for me is that this appears to be the end of the Dalgliesh series. Dalgliesh is ready to retire from Scotland Yard, and his two junior associates are tying up their loose ends. In reading this I couldn't help but think that James's heart was more in writing her Scotland Yard characters than in producing an actual mystery. This one didn't live up to the level of depth or suspense of the earlier volumes in the series.

P.D. James, The Private Patient (Knopf, 2008) ISBN: 0307270777 

Review: Ravenous

This book ended up being very different from what I was expecting. I was expecting a book about addiction and recovery, eating disorders, and similar. I was expecting a memoir, and most of this book is not a memoir. Instead, it's a recounting of a year that Macy spent travelling around to find out where her favorite foods come from, like bread, and organic produce, and chocolate. It's really more a story of looking for locally sourced, organic, and artisnal foods, but this isn't really a book about food politics either. I'm at something of a loss to say what this book is, because at the end of it, it seems like there isn't much there. The "freedom" that Macy's title alludes to comes from doing yoga and committing to portion control. The language of the book made me question just how "free" this awakening had made the author. She writes about food with a sense of near-lust. Obsession seemed more accurate.

I think the thing that bothered me most throughout the book is that there's little acknowledgement on the part of the author about how closely her food and yoga choices are tied into class privilege. There's a sense throughout the book that her "self-discovery" is broadly available. Macy is eating expensive and fine foods. She travels to farms, ranches, and food production facilities. Macy consults with leading yoga masters. She can wake up at 4 in the morning to do extensive yoga poses, a luxury well beyond many with long days at physically demanding jobs. While there is one chapter in which Macy recounts her experience volunteering at a soup kitchen, and how the experience fostered her gratitude, there's a real tone of pity and disgust for the sorts of foods that many people eat. Most of us can't spend a year on a journey of self-discovery, some recognition of that would have made a difference.

Dayna Macy, Ravenous: A Food Lover's Journey from Obsession to Freedom (Hay House, 2011) ISBN: 1401926916 

Review: Losing Clementine

Clementine Pritchard plans to commit suicide. This novel follows the last thirty days of her life as she plans for her demise. Among her projects are finding her father, who disappeared years ago, finding new owners for her cat, and obtaining the animal tranquilizers that will do the deed.

I really liked this book. Clementine is endowed with a wicked sense of humor, and there's plenty of entertaining snark in the first-person narrative. We learn more about Clementine's traumatic family life over the course of the book. There are also plenty of lush and interesting descriptions of Los Angeles (and of Mexican food- I found myself frequently getting hungry while reading this.)

The one thing I found unsatisfactory about this book was the ending. The concept for the book is excellent. I'm not sure, though, that it's possible to have a satisfying ending to this sort of story. We spend the duration of the book wondering if Clementine will kill herself of not. Either way, it seems, the reader will be disappointed. This reader was quite disappointed in the ending.

Ashley Ream, Losing Clementine (William Morrow, 2012) ISBN: 0062093630