Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand - the first mystery novel in the famous series

Death on Demand
Author:  Carolyn Hart
Publisher:  A Bantam Crime Line Book, Bantam Books, a division of Random House 
Published: original publication date:  1987
Pages:  213, though the numbering ends at 195 pages.  Includes meet the author and an introduction to Mint Julep Murder.
Genre:  Mystery
Source:  I own this book.

There are 77 authors' names dropped throughout this cozy mystery, some more than once.  See the author's website for complete list.

At Annie Laurence's Death On Demand bookstore on Broward's Rock Island, South Carolina, murder most foul suddenly isn't confined to the well-stocked shelves.  Author Elliot Morgan's abrupt demise  during a weekly gathering of famous mystery writers called the Sunday Night Regulars is proof positive that a bloody sword is sometimes mightier than a brilliant pen.

Who Could Plot a Murder Better Than a Mystery Writer

With Annie in the unenviable position of primary police suspect, the pretty young mystery maven and her wealthy paramour, Max Darling, embark on an investigation into a classic locked-room mystery with high stakes.  For failing to unmask a brutal and ingenious killer could mean prison for Ms. Laurence.  While success could mean her death.

My Thoughts:

I love these Death on Demand mysteries so much that I decided to start them from the very beginning which is where Death on Demand begins.  We are introduced to Annie Laurence who owns a bookstore which sells mysteries and to her "friend" Max Darling.  Their relationship gets much more serious in later books but for now they are deniably involved.

During a Sunday evening meeting of the local mystery authors, a black out occurs and when Annie manages to get the lights back on, Elliot is dead.  The store is locked and everyone is still present when the light returns.  When the police are called in, Annie becomes prime suspect because she had financial motive and could have had opportunity.  Being the proprietor of Death on Demand has put Annie in the sight lines of the local police who fail to see anyone else as possible suspects.  It is up to Annie and Max to clear her name but can they before the chief arrests her?

I hadn't before read this debut in the series and am thrilled to see that the plotting and characterization I know Carolyn Hart for is just as strong in the first of the series as it is in the rest.  I had an inkling of suspicion about the killer but those thoughts were put away time and again as new evidence was introduced and I was happily surprised at the end.  

Next to Agatha Christie, Carolyn Hart is my favourite mystery author.  Her writing is witty, entertaining and suspenseful.  A clever and winning combination.  The Death on Demand series is hard to put down and highly addictive.  I'm so grateful Ms. Hart is prolific!!

http://www.carolynhart.com

Death on Demand series is available at your local bookstore and on Amazon.  Check it out!

Meet the author:

Hart is a native of Oklahoma City, a Phi Beta Kappa journalism graduate of the University of Oklahoma, and a former president of Sisters in Crime. She is also a member of Authors Guild, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the International Crime Writers Association, the International Thrillers Association, and the American Crime Writers League. She taught professional writing in the University of Oklahoma School of Journalism from 1982-85. She is the author of 49 mysteries, winner of three Agatha Awards for Best Novel, two Anthonys and two Macavitys. (from the author's website)

If You Were Me and Lived In .... India by Carole P. Roman (children's book review)

If You Were Me and Lived in India....
A Child's Introduction to Culture Around the World
Author:  Carole P. Roman
Published:  2013
Publisher:  Self-published
A Children's Picture Book with Pronunciation Guide
Source:  a complimentary copy was provided by the author and Bostick Communications in exchange for an honest review.

"If You Were Me and Lived in...India - An Introduction to Learning About Other Cultures," is another entry in this educational series that takes children on a journey to India.  Perfect for children from Pre-K to age eight, this little book is a ground breaking new experience in exposing children to the joy of cultural differences.

Purchase:

www.caroleproman.com

www.amazon.com

See also review:  http://shirley-mybookshelf.blogspot.ca/2013/09/review-if-you-were-me-and-lived-in.html  (Norway)

My thoughts:

The around the world trip continues with former teacher Carole P. Roman as your guided tour in this children's book, If You Were Me and Lived in India.

Once you locate India on the map drawn for you, you soon find yourself in New Delhi, the capital of India.  You might take a rickshaw taxi to get around.  Amazingly, there are over 100 hundred languages spoken there!  If you are a boy, your name could be Raj; a girl, Priyanka.  Children learn that mother is Maaji and father is Pitaji.  The currency of India and a visit to the Taj Mahal are included in this brief introduction to the country.  A pronunciation guide is included so you and your child can practice the new words.

This series is valuable as a teaching tool to introduce your child or your class (teacher/student) to a new country and the people who live there.  With colourful well-drawn illustrations and conversational text, children and parents alike will enjoy visiting a new land.

Carole P. Roman is a former teacher and an accomplished author.  According to Carole Roman's website, there are three other books in this series including:  If You Were Me and Lived in Mexico, If You Were Me and Lived in Asia, If You Were Me and Lived in France.  She has also written and book for children about yoga, "I Want to Do Yoga Too."  See her website   http://caroleproman.com for a complete list of her published works.

You Can't Resist "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin - book review

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Author:  Gabrielle Zevin
Published:  2014
Publisher:  Viking, a division of Penguin Random House Company
Pages:  260
Source:  borrowed

An irresistible novel about second chances and finding room for all the books - and all the love - that transform our lives

A.J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island—from Chief Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who's always felt kindly toward him; from Ismay, his sister-in-law, who is hell-bent on saving A.J. from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who persists in taking the ferry to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.'s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.

And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It’s a small package, though large in weight—an unexpected arrival that gives A.J. the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn’t take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J., for the determined sales rep Amelia to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light, for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.’s world. Or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn’t see coming.

As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read and why we love.

My Thoughts:

There's been a lot of buzz about the newest novel by Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and I'll tell  you why.  A.J. Fikry is a bit of a grouchy bookseller.  Recently widowed, the bottle has become his means of escape.  Even the new rep from one of the publishers he does business with receives a most cold reception.  After sending her on her way and preparing to close up shop he hears and then finds a toddler with a note asking him to take care of her.  No mother or anyone in sight.

What does he know about babies, changing diapers, feeding a baby? he asks himself.  Turns out, you can Google that!  This sweet child changes his life, as often children have a knack of doing, and the rough edges that make up A.J. Fikry begin to soften and wear away.  

Not only does he change his lifestyle, but soon even his business is affected, his friendships, and the sales rep makes a welcome reappearance.

I absolutely love this novel.  It's hard not to.  The setting is a bookstore, the protagonist a bookseller, and we have the added joy of reading about various titles recommended and/or on his daughter's reading list.  A.J. Fikry even decides he loves short story collections.  Gasp!

"The most elegant creation in the prose universe is a short story.  Master the short story and  you'll have master the world, he thinks just before he drifts off to sleep.  I should write this down, he thinks." (page 246)

The author, Gabrielle Zevin, truly must love books.  She understands her reader does too for she writes, "We need to know we're not alone.  We read because we are alone.  We read and we are not alone.  We are not alone."  

"My life is in those books, he wants to tell her (Maya).  Read these and know my heart....We are not quite novels...We are not quite short stories.  In the end, we are collected works."

He has perfect insight - "We aren't the things we collect, acquire, read.  We are, for as long as we are here, only love."

Fikry's life has changed so much and the journey forward warms your heart as you read about this imperfect man who finally finds perfect meaning.  When you lose yourself in love, that is when you find yourself, as Fikry did.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a warm, charming, intellectually stirring story... of romance, love and books and a man who finds he has it all after all. 

Rating:  a favourite of 2014

Meet the author:

Gabrielle Zevin has published six adult and young-adult novels, including an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, Elsewhere. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages. She is the screenwriter ofConversations with Other Women, for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She has also written for The New York Times Book Review and NPR’s All Things Considered. She lives in Los Angeles.

Hidden by Catherine McKenzie - book review

Hidden
Author:  Catherine McKenzie
Publisher:  Harper Collins Publisher 
Published:  2013
Genre: General fiction
Source:  I won an ARC in a Facebook contest put on by the author.

When a married man suffers a sudden fatal accident, two women are shattered—his wife and someone else’s—and past secrets, desires and regrets are brought to light.

While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Not one but two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son and contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother—her ex-boyfriend—Tim.

With Tish’s co-workers in the dark about her connection to Jeff outside the workplace, she volunteers to attend the funeral on the company’s behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life. Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, our personal choices and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

My thoughts:

Beneath the surface, lies lay Hidden, truths distorted, and relationships complex.  The death of Jeff in a motor vehicle accident sends worlds colliding.  Hidden in told in three voices, by Jeff, his wife Claire, and a co-worker Tish.  Through their versions, we discover how easily twisted lives can become.  Somehow, through their telling, we find ourselves questioning whether we would want to know the truth, in whatever form it may come.  Could it be that ignorance is bliss?

We suspect, as Claire does, that there's more to Tish's attendance at the funeral.  Tish attends as a representative of the company Jeff worked for but Claire picks up on cues that make her question her marriage and she cannot leave it alone.

Hidden has a complex plot with the narrative told by three characters.  I enjoyed this effect as it allows us to see their lives much as a fly on a wall would.  The characterization is incredibly well done - the characters are three dimensional.  I dare you to read their portions without shedding a tear.

I had previously read Forgotten, my first of Catherine McKenzie's novels, which I thoroughly enjoyed but Hidden is better!  From the narrative, to the plot, to the characters; everything is well laid out and defined.  Hidden is a captivating novel about grief, secrets, and the lives affected.  Hard to put down.

Meet the author:

A graduate of McGill University in History and Law, Catherine practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. An avid skier and runner, Catherine’s novels, SPIN, ARRANGED and FORGOTTEN, are all international bestsellers. Her fourth novel, HIDDEN, will be released in June, 2013 in Canada and in Spring 2014 in the US. Her novels have been translated into French, German, Czech, Slovak and Polish. And if you want to know how she has time to do all that, the answer is: robots.

Children of the Revolution by Peter Robinson (a mystery review) and Contest to Win a Copy

Children of the Revolution
An Inspector Banks Novel
Author:  Peter Robinson
Published:  March 25/14
Publisher:  William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers
Pages:  339
Genre:  Mystery
ISBN: 9780062240507
Source:  A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION is available now at Amazon | B&N  | IndieBound 

New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson is back with the gritty, witty, and intricate mind of Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks in a complex case told in CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION (William Morrow; Hardcover; March 25, 2014; $25.99; ISBN: 9780062240507).With inexorable momentum, emotional literacy, and a serpentine knot of connections driving the case, Robinson lucidly illustrates his ongoing ability to intrigue readers, old and new.

When disgraced college lecturer Gavin Miller is discovered dead on an abandoned railway line near his home, Banks and his team are drafted to investigate what appears to be a drug-facilitated murder. But Miller is found with a staggering 5,000 pounds—a surprising facet given Miller lived as a poverty-stricken recluse since his dismissal at Eastvale College four years prior. As evidence unfolds, Banks begins to realize it’s not the present that will lead him to the answers he needs, but the dark seeds of the past.

The detective and his team start to track back through Miller’s life, finding a long line of suspects at Eastvale, as well as his Alma mater—a hotbed of militant protest and bitter politics during his stay. Banks is convinced that the skeletons of the past will break this case open, but once a high-profile suspect becomes involved, his superiors warn him to back off.

Now risking his career by conducting the investigation surreptitiously, he uncovers family secrets that lead to a dramatic collision. After the layers of deceit are stripped away, the breakthroughs are not the ones Banks expected and the case moves into high gear with an unexpected end.

In this novel, Robinson brings a fascinating backstory to the fore and the reality of the 1970’s to life. CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION is a top-notch thriller that further confirms Banks’ place as one of the most intriguing characters in detective fiction.

My thoughts:

Not too long ago I discovered a British mystery series that I have become quite addicted to watching.  As I began reading Children of the Revolution, I found parallels between this mystery novel and the series I enjoy so much.  Not that they are similar, really, but both take place in Britain, both are police procedurals, and both are intricately plotted so as to keep the reader/viewer totally enthralled.

Banks lives and breathes through the penned words of Robinson.  The author not only focuses on the investigative aspect of the mystery, he shares insight into the characters within the story, making them as real as you and I.  When Banks and his team uncover information that leads to a person of high stature, Banks is warned to back off.  But Banks is like a dog with a bone and he can't, even though it could have unfavourable repercussions and damage his career, including his chance for promotion.

I like that fighting character and wouldn't expect anything but.  One cannot root for a protagonist who doesn't fight a good fight, who won't back down when it comes to justice.  Perhaps that is why I enjoy mysteries so much.  I love an intricate plot and strong characters.  Robinson promises both with Children of the Revolution.  All those accolades he has earned throughout his writing career are well-earned.  

Now I know you'll want to read this for yourself!!  Here's your chance.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Peter Robinson's award-winning novels have been named a Best-Book-of-the-Year by Publishers Weekly, a Notable Book by the New York Times, and a Page-Turner-of-the-Week by People magazine. Robinson was born and raised in Yorkshire but has lived in North America for over twenty-five years. He now divides his time between North America and the U.K. 

Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winpsear - review

Leaving Everything Most Loved
Author:  Jacqueline Winspear
Published:  April 2014
Publisher:  Harper Perennial
Pages:  368

Source:  A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.

London, 1933. Two months after Usha Pramal’s body is discovered in the waters of a city canal, her brother, newly arrived in England, turns to Maisie Dobbs for help. Not only has Scotland Yard made no arrests, but evidence indicates they failed to conduct a full investigation. Usha had been staying at an ayah’s hostel, a refuge for Indian women. As Maisie learns, Usha was different from the hostel’s other residents. But with this discovery comes new danger, as a fellow lodger who was close to Usha is found murdered.

As Maisie is pulled deeper into an unfamiliar yet captivating subculture, her investigation becomes clouded by the unfinished business of a previous case, and by a growing desire to see more of the world. At the same time, her lover, James Compton, gives her an ultimatum she cannot ignore. Bringing a crucial chapter in the life and times of Maisie Dobbs to a close, Leaving Everything Most Loved signals a vital turning point in this remarkable series.

Here's a rather sad fact:  for all the mysteries I've devoured over the years, I had not yet read a Maisie Dobbs!!  So in reading Leaving Everything Most Loved, the tenth book in the series, I felt a bit out of the loop.  There were references to a previous case that lost me a bit and the inner turmoil Maisie experiences throughout the book in relation to her personal affairs would have meant more had I better known her character.  However, I quickly became wrapped up in the plot that Winspear so capably weaves.

The prelude begins with the shooting death of a woman who had immigrated from India.  We know nothing about her except that she has gotten a fine sum of money and is eagerly anticipating returning to her country of origin.  As she is embracing this long sought after desire as an almost certain event in the not so distant future, someone has other ideas and uses the red circle upon her forehead as a target.

Moving forward, Maisie is contemplating her own future. Though Maisie does not consider herself necessarily a praying person, she goes to a nun whom she trusts to help her put a proper perspective on her decision about going abroad.  The death of her mentor and friend seems to have left Maisie somewhat lost and she feels that she must follow his path through India to better know the man and in turn herself. After ten books behind her and numerous cases, she is now looking at her life in retrospect.  But losing someone close to  you can have that effect.

Then a case is brought to her by the brother of a deceased immigrant, the aforementioned woman who was shot, Maisie and her team get busy exploring the "why" and "whom".  Before long another case comes her way and the two seem to have ties to one another.  As Maisie and her team delve deeper they uncover a less savoury London, a London that is less than kind to its immigrants.  All the time she is investigating, Maisie must also decide how she is going to answer James' proposal for marriage.  If she responds in the affirmative, could it mean a move to Canada?  If she doesn't respond soon, James will move on without her.  He has, after all, given her a deadline.  Maisie's used to deadlines though.  There is no firmer a deadline than murder.

Overall Leaving Everything Most Loved is a well-written, somewhat leisurely paced mystery set in historical London which certainly has its charms.  Though I felt somewhat lost with a lack of background upon which to draw for characterization, I did enjoy this novel and will certainly like to go back to the first Maisie Dobbs, to where it all began, and read my way forward to this current mystery.  Leaving Everything Most Loved certainly can be read as a stand alone but I think the reader would benefit from knowing Maisie just a little better.  Perhaps it would help build a foundation for what currently seems a situation of indecisiveness as it pertains to the present and her future.  

Purchase Links

Amazon | Indie Bound | Barnes & Noble

Meet the author:

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Leaving Everything Most Loved, Elegy for Eddie, A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, as well as four other Maisie Dobbs novels. Originally from the United Kingdom, she now lives in California.

Find out more about Jacqueline at her website, www.jacquelinewinspear.com, and find her on Facebook.

BookTrib Presents: Author Wiley Cash Live

Join in next Tuesday, March 18 at 1 PM ET for a Live Chat with New York Times Bestselling author Wiley Cash! Wiley is back with his latest release This Dark Road to Mercy, a story about the indelible power of family and the primal desire to outrun a past that refuses to let go. Wiley’s last book, A Land More Kind Than Home was hailed as “a powerfully moving debut that reads as if Cormac McCarthy decided to rewrite Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Richmond Times Dispatch). Don’t miss this engaging live chat on BookTrib!  

See my  review of A Land More Kind Than Home.

The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook Review

 The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook

Author:  Christina Dymock

Published:  March 2014

Publisher:  Cedar Fort Publishing

Format:  e-book in PDF format

Pages:  168

Source:  Cedar Fort Publishing

ISBN: 978146113620 

It's every busy mother's dream-come-true: dinner that makes itself! With the help of your trusty slow cooker and these healthy, easy recipes like Peppery Cilantro Salmon, Sausage Stew, and Dark Chocolate Mini Cakes, you can put dinner on the table even on the craziest of days. Don t let the whirlwind of life stop you from feeding your family the food they deserve -- delicious, home-cooked meals straight from your slow cooker.  (Amazon)

My thoughts:

I love my slow cooker!  When our children were younger it was a real life saver because I could throw the ingredients in and let it take over.  Regardless of what I had up that day, whether it was volunteering on a field trip or home with a sick kid, I knew a delicious hot meal would be ready when everyone gathered together at the end of the day.  When I went back to work full-time my slow-cooker was a priceless necessity.  

Recently I've discovered new dishes in the slow cooker such as pulled pork sandwiches from a pork loin and barbecued beef on a bun (a lengthy process but so worth it!)  So when author Christina Dymock asked if I would review The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook I enthusiastically said yes.

From chapters on the benefits of slow cooking, caring for your slow cooker, food safety tips to the recipes section which includes beef; poultry; seafood, pork and other good stuff; chili (an entire section of chili recipes!); sides; soups and stews (my favourite section); and desserts; there's sure to be something for everyone!!  There's also a page of measurement equivalents, an index and a few pages for you to make your own notes or add your own tried and true recipes.

If you are in Draper, Utah be sure to check out her book launch party March 27/14!!  There's even a draw for a family-sized slow cooker!

I selected a few recipes to try out to add to this review but I've been down and out with bronchitis so that pretty much put a damper on things.  A trip to the grocery store isn't very appealing at this point.  However, I did have the ingredients for Pumpkin Pudding Cake.  I wanted to do the unusual (for me) in the slow cooker so a dessert it was.  It turned out fine.  The texture was cake like.  I like a bit more flavour so if I were to make it again I'd add more cinnamon and cloves.  There are plenty others I will make like the Dark Chocolate Mini Cake or Berries and Cream.  They look delicious!

The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook would be a wonderful gift for the new couple starting out, a young busy family, and the new empty nester (that's me pretty soon).  

The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook is available at:

http://www.amazon.ca/Hungry-Family-Slow-Cooker-Cookbook/dp/1462113621

http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Family-Slow-Cooker-Cookbook/dp/1462113621

Christina Dymock graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. She has been published in Woman’s World magazine and in several Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She is also the author of 101 Things to Do with Popcorn and Young Chefs: Cooking Skills & Recipes for Kids. She resides in Central Utah with her husband and four children.  You can follow their cooking adventures at

kidsabletreats.blogspot.com.

Murder With Ganache: A Key West Food Critic Mystery by Lucy Burdette

Murder With Ganache

Author: Lucy Burdette

Published:  February 2014

Publisher:  Penguin Group

Format:  Mass market paperback

Pages: 308, including recipes

Source:  a complimentary copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Hayley Snow, the food critic for Key Zest magazine, has her plate heaped high with restaurant reviews, doughnut and sticky bun tastings, and an article on the Hemingway cats.  But this week she's also in charge of her best friend's wedding.  And then someone adds a side of murder....

For better or worse, Hayley has agreed to bake more than two hundred cupcakes for her friend Connie's wedding while still meeting her writing deadlines.  The last thing she needs is family drama.  But her parents come barreling down the island like a category-three hurricane, and on their first night in town, her stepbrother, Rory, disappears into the spring break party scene in Key West.

When Hayley hears that two teenagers have stolen a Jet Ski, she sets aside her oven mitts and goes in search of Rory.  She finds him, barely conscious, but his female companion isn't so lucky.  Now Hayley has to let the cupcakes cool and assemble the sprinkles of clues to clear her stepbrother's name -- before someone else gets iced.

My thoughts:

Ruined delicious lime cupcakes turn out to be the least of Hayley's problems when family comes to Key West for the wedding of her best friend Connie.  On the night of their arrival, Rory, Hayley's step-brother, disappears and is found unconscious on the deck of a dilapidated sailboat.  Later, the girl he was photographed with the first evening in Key West is found strangled in the water.  Is Rory guilty of her murder or are they both victims?  Determined to find the truth behind the mystery, Hayley sets out to uncover the events of that fateful evening.

Murder With Ganache is an enjoyable cozy mystery that, had I the chance, could be read in a day. Family drama, broken hearts, greed, and evil all reside in the beautiful backdrop of Key West where Lucy Burdette's (aka Roberta Isleib) protagonist Hayley Snow's deadlines are not only those of the Key Zest magazine.  

The author integrates delectable foods (one reason why I love foodie mysteries - good recipe ideas!) with a mystery involving runaway teens and treasure hunters with palatable results.  Murder With Ganache is the fourth in the Key West Food Critic Mysteries series.  This novel can be read as a stand-alone but once you've read it I'm sure you'll want to go back and read the others preceding.  I'm definitely trying the Chocolate Bars with Chocolate Ganache Frosting and the Strawberry Cream Pie with Chocolate Graham Crust looks divine for a summer dessert shared with a special someone.  Are you drooling yet?

Meet the author:

Lucy Burdette, aka Roberta Isleib, writes the Key West food critic mysteries including MURDER WITH GANACHE  www.lucyburdette.com

Biography

Lucy Burdette is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries. As Roberta Isleib, she has also written the golf lovers mysteries and the advice column mysteries. She is a clinical psychologist whose books and stories have been nominated for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She is a past president of Sisters in Crime.

Description

Lucy Burdette's mysteries star food critic Hayley Snow, scrumptious food, and the tropical island paradise of Key West. The books are AN APPETITE FOR MURDER, DEATH IN FOUR COURSES, and TOPPED CHEF, with MURDER WITH GANACHE to follow in February 2014.

http://www.lucyburdette.com
http://twitter.com/lucyburdette

Hope Street Jerusalem by Irris Makler. It is Not Just a Place.

Hope Street Jerusalem 
Author:  Irris Makler
Published:  February 25, 2014
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Pages:  320
Genre:  Memoir

Source:  a complimentary copy was provided by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I had no idea how demanding this consuming, cruel, dangerous and fascinating place would be. I would fall in love here, I would do some of my best reporting, I would be injured, ending my run of good luck – my life would change dramatically …‘

Moving to a strange city always takes courage, but never more so than in a place where the daily expression of love and hate can turn a simple choice of a romantic table by the window into a life or death decision.

Both a love story and bittersweet tribute to her beloved adopted city of Jerusalem, Irris Makler shines a hopeful light on a part of the world where the news reports often makes it seem impossibly dark. From juggling the danger and unpredictability of her work as a roving foreign correspondent , covering everything from Palestinian suicide attacks to Israeli incursions into the West Bank, to falling in love with a handsome and charming young Israeli, and gaining a mischievous four-legged companion along the way, she allows us an intimate glimpse into a passionate, vibrant and fascinating world.

Adventurous, compassionate and engagingly honest, the award-winning author of OUR WOMAN IN KABUL is a master at capturing the personal stories behind the news we really want to know – and her story is the most interesting of all.

My thoughts:

While the people are running away in terror with fear for their lives, Irris runs towards the scenes of suicide bombings and other tragedies.  She's an international correspondent and that's what she does.

Irris' life is unusual, gritty in its details, often dangerous and sometimes lonely.  As a journalist she has travelled to foreign countries, often staying for months to years at a time.  Leaving Russia for the turmoil of Jerusalem was an emotional departure but she soon fell in love with the city, a man and a lively dog Mia. "Romance is so lovely when it comes along and mugs you." (p. 41) 

Interspersed with tidbits of history and geography, Irris shares her obvious love for Jerusalem despite its inherent dangers.  We see the carnage and the beauty of this city as she interviews and observes and reports.  I'm not sure I am sold on making Jerusalem my next tourist destination, considering the unrest that to this day makes headlines, but I have an appreciation for the people and their country.  It is divided, the streets have seen much blood shed, suicide bombing warnings are a daily occurrence.  They become so commonplace that people don't always take them seriously.  Sitting near the window in a local cafeteria is inadvisable and yet people still do so.  Does one become immune or do you decide to live your life nonetheless?  

Hope Street Jerusalem is a memoir and an introduction to a warring and yet beautiful land. Accompanied by a wonderful man for part of the journey and a loveable dog, Irris Makler reported and lived through a very close call with death herself.  In the six weeks she was unable to use her voice, unable to work, and totally reliant upon someone else, Irris found love renewed and faith.  She gave up a legal career to follow her dreams and her talents.  It took her far in more ways than one.  Further than even she could have imagined.

"I've had an exciting and most unusual life.  I was true to my talents, rather than sticking with what was expected of me.  It had come at a price, and I was not able to have everything.  But that's how it goes.  I don't know many people who have everything, and especially not many women.  As for those few who seem to, perhaps it only appears that way because we are looking at them from the outside.  It's always different inside people's lives; in their hearts."  (p. 306)

I like this quote because it reminds me of several things:  be true to myself, honour my talents, and avoid envy because you never really know what it's like to be in someone else's shoes.  

I really enjoyed Hope Street Jerusalem.  At one time a very long time ago, I dreamed of being a journalist.  But I wouldn't give up this life for that one.  Honestly I've had a few dreams and some of them came true and some are yet to be realized.  It's not too late to pursue them.  Irris reminds us of who we dreamed of becoming just by becoming what she dreamt for herself.  I admire that.

Meet the author:

For the past seven years, award-winning foreign correspondent Irris Makler has been based in Jerusalem, filing stories across the Middle East for radio, television and online news services around the world, including Australia. Previously based in Moscow and London, she reported extensively from Afghanistan as one of the first journalists on the scene after 9/11. She is the author of Our Woman in Kabul.