BOOKS

Cat's Eyewitness : A Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown. 2005
Book Description
A controversial miracle in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains sparks religious fervor–and a suspicious death. With the holidays approaching, Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen and her best friend, Susan Tucker, take a much-needed time-out at the mountain monastery of Mount Carmel. There, under the benevolent gaze of the statue of the Virgin Mary, their worldly worries are soon overshadowed. For in front of their very eyes the statue begins to cry tears of blood. Legend has it that Mary’s crimson tears are harbingers of crises. And though skeptical, the ever-practical Harry can already see one on the horizon. If leaked, news of the so-called miracle could turn the monastery and the town of Crozet into a circus. What Harry doesn’t foresee is murder.… When Susan’s great-uncle Thomas, a resident monk, is found frozen to death at the base of the statue, foul play is ruled out–at first. But at Harry’s urging, the body is exhumed for an autopsy. There’s just one problem: the coffin is empty. Now the indefatigable felines Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, along with the dogged corgi Tee Tucker, must trust their animal instincts to sniff out the worst of human nature....

The Stranger House by Reginald Hill. 2005
Book Description
The tiny village of Illthwaite in Cumbria, England, seems to be the kind of place where nothing much has happened for the last few centuries. But the two young strangers who arrive there on the same dank autumn day soon find out that appearances are deceptive. Samantha Flood and Miguel Madero have absolutely nothing in common -- except a burning desire to find out more about possible connections between Illthwaite and their families. Their way forward is beset by deceit, obstruction, mystery, violence, and love as they struggle to discover who they really are. A cast of finely drawn characters, a powerful sense of landscape, a complex and multilayered story, and an explosive climax all combine to make this a novel difficult to put down, impossible to forget.

I loved the mix of historical mystery, gothic romance, ghost story and tutorial on religion and Norse mythology. This book had it all.

The Transendental Murder by Jane Langton. 1964
Book Description
"Dying is a wild night and a new road" wrote Emily Dickinson. The sharpness of this poetic vision takes on a new meaning when, during the annual pageant commemorating Paul Revere's ride, a prominent citizen's gruesomely ventilated body (still in Minuteman costume) signals a murderer is on the loose. Homer Kelly, celebrated Emersonian scholar and legendary ex-homicide detective, happens to be in Concord completing his academic opus. When the local constabulary asks him for help, he willingly agrees.

I was very intrigued by the newest book in the Homer Kelly series (Steeplechase) just received by the library. This is a new author to me, though the series was begun in the 60s, and of course I had to start at the beginning, so I got this through interlibrary loan. It was a delightful read, and I've already started the second in the series.

I tried to read the second of the Morag Joss series about the cellist, Fearful Symmetry. I thought the musical theme, and the English setting would be appealing to me, but the promise of the first book just didn't hold up in this one. Too many other things I want to read, so I left it unfinished halfway through.

Also unfinished, though reluctantly:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. 2005
Book Description
English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory. But at Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England's magical past and regained some of the powers of England's magicians. He goes to London and raises a beautiful young woman from the dead. Soon he is lending his help to the government in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, creating ghostly fleets of rain-ships to confuse and alarm the French. All goes well until a rival magician appears. Jonathan Strange is handsome, charming, and talkative-the very opposite of Mr Norrell. Strange thinks nothing of enduring the rigors of campaigning with Wellington's army and doing magic on battlefields. Astonished to find another practicing magician, Mr Norrell accepts Strange as a pupil. But it soon becomes clear that their ideas of what English magic ought to be are very different. For Mr Norrell, their power is something to be cautiously controlled, while Jonathan Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic. He becomes fascinated by the ancient, shadowy figure of the Raven King, a child taken by fairies who became king of both England and Faerie, and the most legendary magician of all. Eventually Strange's heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens to destroy not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear. Sophisticated, witty, and ingeniously convincing, Susanna Clarke's magisterial novel weaves magic into a flawlessly detailed vision of historical England. She has created a world so thoroughly enchanting that eight hundred pages leave readers longing for more.

This is indeed a marvelous book. I managed one third of it, and have reluctantly set it aside for other things for now. It'll remain on my list of things to read when I have "time" - like after I've retired - Ha!

Another marvelous read, also returned unfinished:
The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny.
Book Description
All ten of Roger Zelzany's classic Amber fantasy novels in one book! Join Corwin, Merlin and the others in wild adventures in the lands of Amber, Earth, and the Courts of Chaos, where the powers of Amber and Chaos constantly battle for supremacy through intrigue and adventure. Revisit Amber, the land of mystery, adventure and romance. Amber, the one true world. All other worlds, including our Earth, are merely Shadows.

I made it through four of the novels. One of my former grad school roommates, a huge SF fan, named her son Corwin.

On tape:
At Home At Mitford by Jan Karon.
A Light in the Window by Jan Karon.
Amazon.com review:
Father Tim, a cherished small-town rector, is the steadfast soldier in this beloved slice of life story set in an American village where the grass is still green, the pickets are still white, and the air still smells sweet. The rector's forthright secretary, Emma Garret, worries about her employer, as she sees past his Christian cheerfulness into his aching loneliness. Slowly but surely, the empty places in Father Tim's heart do get filled. First with a gangly stray dog, later with a seemingly stray boy, and finally with the realization that he is stumbling into love with his independent next-door neighbor. Much more than a gentle love story, this is a homespun tale about a town of endearing characters-- including a mysterious jewel thief--who are as quirky and popular as those of Mayberry, R.F.D. --Gail Hudson

The books of Jan Karon are utterly delightful. Having grown up as a preacher's kid, I feel utterly at home in Mitford. The characters are becoming old friends. I have already requested the next tape in the series.