While the Muffins Cool....

They're almost like mine, without the cinnamon

No that's not a book or song title, my bran muffins are cooling down so I thought I'd do a quick near end of May Reading update before I have a couple. 

So let's get right to it.

Completed since last update

(one book completed since my last update and I've almost completed one more. Hoping to before May 31st)

1. Skeleton Key by Jane Haddam (Gregor Demarkian #16 / 2000) It's always fun getting back to this series. This was part of my Dusty Book challenge.

"Every couple of years I pick up a Gregor Demarkian mystery and wonder what's wrong with me! Why did it take so long? I guess that at least I still have a few more of the series to savor. Skeleton Key is the 16th book in this entertaining series by American author, Jane Haddam. Haddam passed away in 2019 so when I read the next 15 or so, that'll be it. 😔

Anyway, enough rambling. I have not been reading this series in sequence so while some personal events have probably passed me by, it's not difficult to get into the swing of things with the series. Gregor is an ex FBI profiler who now assists the police with investigations, when he's asked. Gregor refuses to take payment as he feels it leaves him more freedom to operate. In this particular story, Bennis Hannaford, famous fantasy author and Gregor's 'girlfriend', is in Connecticut trying to help a family 'friend' and when the daughter is found (found by Bennis actually) murdered in the garage of the house where Bennis is staying, she calls Gregor to come and help the state and local police. (Bennis has cleared this already with the police and they are more than willing to accept Gregor's assistance. Kayla Anson, the murdered girl, is an 18 year old heiress and the police worry about the national publicity)

So Gregor makes his way to Litchfield County (Bennis has coordinated train travel as Gregor doesn't drive.. one of his many quirks) and to the hotel where she has arranged accommodation for the both of them. Bennis is quite sick, even to the point of coughing up blood. (this concerns me quite a bit as she is one of my favorite characters in the series). Gregor is aware of this but is also caught up in his investigation and travelling around with the local state trooper.

It's a meandering story, told from many points of view. Each person is interesting, different and has their own problems. And all have somewhat of a relation to the case. Over the course of the story you'll get to know them better and this adds to the richness and quality of the story on the whole. As well, more bodies will crop up, oddly enough, all in the same garage and Bennis will get sicker and eventually head back to Philadelphia to see her doctor... (Concern is getting more concerning!! I don't like this)

It's a fascinating mystery. Gregor is an interesting investigator and the police, unlike in some series, don't resent his assistance but welcome it and work effectively with him. But the story doesn't neglect Gregor's good friends in Philadelphia. There are issues there that he is constantly reminded of. 

There is almost too much to tell; a neat mystery peopled with great characters, a fascinating investigator worried about the case and about his friends in Philly and his relationship with Bennis. But amazingly, Jane Haddam keeps you turning pages as she slowly and skillfully ties all these threads together in a satisfying conclusion. (4.0 stars)"

Currently Reading

Time to dust off a classic.

1. Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (Classics / 1891). I've read two other works by Hardy so far, Far from the Madding Crowd and Life's Little Ironies.

"Tess is an innocent young girl until the day she goes to visit her rich 'relatives', the D'Urbervilles, in hope that they might help her alleviate her own family's poverty. Her encounter with her manipulative cousin, Alec, leads her onto a path that is beset with suffering and betrayal. When she falls in love with another man, Angel Clare, Tess sees a potential escape from her past, but only if she can tell him her shameful secret..."

New Arrivals

(4 new books have arrived on my door step.. well, sort of)

1. Banking on Death by Emma Lathen (John Putnam Thatcher #1 / 1961). A new author for me.

"The Sloan receives a request for an advance against a trust that does not permit it. John Putnam Thatcher gets involved by one heir, Arthur Schneider, President of Schneider Manufacturing, and grandson of the founder who left a trust for his grandchildren upon the death of all of their parents. The last parent is about to die from natural causes. One heir is missing and Thatcher, Trinkam, and Nicholls, all Emma Lathen regulars work to find the missing heir. Soon they learn a murder is involved and it takes Thatcher to unravel the Gordian knot."

2. Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal el-Mohtar (Short Stories / Fantasy / 2026). I've read one other book by el-Mohtar, This is How You Lose the Time War and thought it was very imaginative.

"Full of glimpses into gleaming worlds and fairy tales with teeth, Seasons of Glass and Stories is a collection of acclaimed and awarded work from Amal El-Mohtar.

With confidence and style, El-Mohtar guides us through exquisitely told and sharply observed tales about life as it is, was, and could be. Like miscellany from other worlds, these stories are told in letters, diary entries, reference materials, folktales, and lyrical prose.

Full of Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Hugo Award-winning and nominated stories, Seasons of Glass and Stories includes "Seasons of Glass and Iron," "The Green Book," "Madeleine," "The Lonely Sea in the Sky," "And Their Lips Rang with the Sun," "The Truth About Owls," "A Hollow Play," "Anabasis," "To Follow the Waves," "John Hollowback and the Witch," "Florilegia, or, Some Lies About Flowers," "Pockets," and more."

3. Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (Sheep Detectives #1 / 2005). They've turned this into a movie. I thought I should read the book first.

"Something is not right with George the shepherd. His sheep have gathered around him outside the cozy Irish village of Glennkill to assess the situation. George has cared for the sheep, reading them books every night, and now he lies pinned to the ground with a spade. His flock, far savvier about the workings of the human mind than your average sheep, sets out to find George’s killer, led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world).

Her team of investigators includes Othello, who was rescued from the Dublin Zoo; Mopple the Whale, who is always hungry and remembers everything; and Zora, an existential ewe—just to name a few. Together, the sheep discuss the crime late into the night, and their speculations vary wildly. Determined to unravel the mystery, they embark on furtive missions into the village, where they encounter a hoof-full of two-legged suspects. There’s Ham, the terrifying butcher who smells of death; Rebecca, the secretive village newcomer; and Father Will, a sinister priest the sheep call God."

4. The First Thousand Trees by Premee Mohamed (Annual Migration of Clouds #3 / 2025). I enjoyed the 1st book in this trilogy and also The Butcher of the Forest, both excellent stories. I have a couple of other books by Mohamed as well. 

"After making a grievous mistake that ended in death, Henryk Mandrusiak feels increasingly ostracized within his own community, and after the passing on of his parents and the departure of his best friend, Reid, there is little left to tie him to the place he calls home. Henryk does something he never expected: he sets out into the harsh wilds alone, in search of far-flung family. He finds his uncle's village, but making a life for himself in this unfriendly new place -- rougher and more impoverished than the campus where he grew up -- isn't easy. Henryk strives to carve out a place of his own but learns that some corners of his broken world are darker than he could have imagined.

This stunning novella concludes the story Mohamed started in The Annual Migration of Clouds and continued in We Speak Through the Mountain, bleaker than ever but still in search of a spark of hope in the climate apocalypse."

So there you go. Some more reading ideas for you. Now to grab myself a couple muffins and a cup of coffee for brekkie. Enjoy your weekend! Stay safe.

Women Authors I've Been Enjoying

This is not my drawing of course

A quick and dirty post on a gloomy, rainy Saturday afternoon. We're supposed to have rain for the next couple of weeks. I'd start building an ark but it's too wet outside. Hmm? Maybe I'm not understanding this whole ark thing, eh?

Women Authors Whose Work I've Been Enjoying - Jane Haddam

Jane Haddam

It's been a month since I last posted on this topic. Today's author is mystery writer Jane Haddam, author of the Gregor Demarkian mystery series. Haddam, born Orania Papazoglou in Connecticut, lived from 1951 - 2019. Over the course of her life she wrote over 30 novels, the majority featuring ex-FBI profiler cum Private Investigator, Armenian - American Gregor Demarkian. I discovered the series back in early 2000 and have enjoyed 12 books in the series thus far. I like Gregor, his community of friends in Philadelphia PA, especially Father Tibor Kasparian and girlfriend, wealthy socialite Bennis Hannaford. I have another 7 books in this series sitting on my bookshelves. Let's take a look at a few of them.

1. Glass Houses (Demarkian #22 / 2007).

"For over a year, Philadelphia has been plagued by a serial killer dubbed the Plate Glass Killer by the media.  But finally, the police think they've caught a break - a man has been arrested at the site of the most recent murder, covered in the victim's blood.  The man taken into custody is Henry Tyder, the scion of one of the most socially prominent families on Philadelphia's Main Line, a family that possesses the largest tracts of real estate in the city.  He's also a hopeless alcoholic, frequently homeless and often estranged from his family.

Although Tyder has apparently confessed to the crime, his attorney believes him to be too disordered to be capable of actually committing the crimes and asks Gregor Demarkian, retired head of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit, to look into the case.  Gregor, however, has other things on his mind - after having been away for nearly a year without a word to him, his live-in girlfriend, Bennis Hannaford, has returned to Cavanaugh Street. And everyone seems to have seen her but Gregor. While he waits for Bennis to finally appear, Gregor finds himself enmeshed in complex case of the Plate Glass Killer.  Specifically, what would have drive Tyder to confess to crimes he was seemingly incapable of committing and, more importantly, if Tyder isn't the killer, then who really is behind the murders of the Plate Glass Killer."

2. Festival of Deaths (Demarkian #10 / 1994).

"Eight nights of murder! That's what Hanukkah is shaping up to be in Philadelphia, where a killer is stalking America's most outrageous TV talk show host. Ex-FBI agent Gregor Demarkian discovers that behind-the-camera politics and off-the-set malice contribute to a very unfestive atmosphere in this new holiday mystery by the Edgar-nominated author of Not a Creature Was Stirring"

3. And One To Die On (Demarkian #13 / 1996).

"Not even five and a half decades of self-imposed exile on a rocky island off the coast of Maine can erase Tasheba Kent's fame. Her smoldering sexuality on the silver screen is as potent a symbol of movie glamour today as it was in her silent-film heyday. The love-hate rivalry she shared with her sister Lilith Brayne - a leading lady whose image was as wholesome as Tasheba's was otherwise - is the stuff of Hollywood legend. But what truly makes Tasheba Kent immortal is the way that sibling rivalry ended - with a very public battle for the love of Lilith's husband, handsome leading man Cavender Marsh. One night in 1938, Lilith fell from her terrace down a rocky cliff into the sea. Under suspicion but never formally charged, Cavender Marsh headed for Maine. Amid all the rhinestone-studded trappings of long-ago glamour, a killer stalks the island. And when death strikes, with a storm raging and power and communication out, Gregor must search the darkness - and Tasheba's past - to find and stop the murderer... or none of them will celebrate their next birthday."

4. Skeleton Key (Demarkian #16 / 2000).

"When writer and ex-deb Bennis Hannaford discovers the body of super-heiress Kayla Anson in the family garage, her visit to Litchfield County, Connecticut, is reluctantly extended. Bennis's hostess, Margaret Anson, presents an icy version of the grieving mother, cut out her late husband's will--until now. And when Gregor Demarkian, ex-FBI man and Bennis's lover, arrives from Philadelphia to consult with local police, a media blitz storms in as more suspects crawl out of the woods.

Kayla may have been too blindingly rich for her wild, private school chum; her older, socially ambitious entrepreneur boyfriend; and a divorced, downsized bookkeeper selling her furniture to survive. As Gregor maps out distances, location, and motives, Halloween descends on the dark, silent hills. From a skeleton sprawled on the cemetery caretakers' porch to more deadly mischief and mayhem, the countryside is brimming with secrets. And a killer is about to strike again..."

5. Deadly Beloved (Demarkian #15 / 1997).

"Down the aisle--to death

Armies on the eve of invasion could learn a thing or two about preparation from the denizens of Cavanaugh Street, who never do anything halfway. This time it's a wedding that's taking over the collective consciousness of the street...and bringing up painful memories for Gregor Demarkian. So when he's consulted on a murder in exclusive Fox Run Hill, the ex-FBI special agent is grateful for the diversion.

Why did country-club matron Patsy MacLaren Willis coldly shoot her husband in his sleep? Why did she remove every trace of her existence from the home they'd shared, pipe bomb her own car--and then disappear? The police think it's another marriage gone bad, but Demarkian thinks there's more to the case. And it soon looks like he's right: a second pipe bomb explodes, with devastating results, and Gregor knows that he must find a killer wedded to an explosive secret--before more victims take that final walk down the aisle."

I also have -

a. The Headmaster's Wife (Demarkian #20)

b. Living Witness (Demarkian #24)

c. Flowering Judas (Demarkian #26). 

I do need to get back to this series. It's been sitting idle for too long. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.