Musing Monday...How Do I Hate Thee...Let Me Count The Ways.

Let's check out this weeks Musing Monday question, as always, from the desk of MizB at Should Be Reading...

This week’s musing — courtesy of sarrod22.blogspot.com– asks…
What is your least favorite book? Why?

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound whiny, but didn't we answer this recently?
I already put the name of the book out of my mind, but I do remember it had a bug on the cover. A very big bug.
Maybe a fly.

So, let's look at a few things that make me dislike a book.

I think a good book needs at least three things. Maybe four.
A good plot...a story worth telling. Which is maybe why I hate most memoirs. I am sure the author of ever memoirs think their life is a tale worth telling, but I find they are usually not. At least not to me.
Second, I want some good characters. Interesting, a bit different. Conflicted and flawed is often good.
Lastly, I want it to be well written.
Is that too much to ask?
OK, I am no writer. I am not terrible, at least semi-literate, but not great. Nevertheless, like that famous quote about porn, I know good writing when I see it. Sadly, it seems a fair number of people that call themselves writers do not have that same talent. Read it...does that sound good? If not, try again. And again...and again.
Harsh? Maybe, but true.

Now, a book can be pretty good even if they do not excel in all of these things. Some great characters will make me overlook a flawed plot. Beautiful writing can allow me to forgive a lot. But I have my limits and I am amazed by the number of books that get published..even by like real Big Name publishers...that fall far short in one or more of these.
What was my fourth thing? I hate a book that rambles on and on, that could have gained so much from a liberal use of the Big Red Pen. Cut. Cut. Then cut some more.
Oh editors, where are you?

Do you have something that really makes you dislike a book? Care to name you most hated book?

OK, on a totally unrelated subject, I was reading a New York Times review of the latest Lee Child's book, called "A Wanted Man". By the way, they liked it, which is not the point I want to make.
What upset me was reading in that review that there is shortly going to be a movie out based on Child's 9th book, "One Shot", which I read. Good book. So a movie based on it is a fine thing and we have not reached the issue yet.

The issue is that they have cast Tom Cruise as Child's famous hero, Jack Reacher. Now, if you are at all familiar with the books, you know that Reacher is described at being 6 foot 5 inches tall, and who, as the Times review mentions, looks like a "gorilla with its face smashed in." He is a presence of a man. He is a force.
Just like Tome Cruise, right. NOT! What is he, 5'2"? With lifts. Ok, maybe 5' 6".
Really what the heck are they thinking??
I am not even that much of a Reacher fan, not like some I could name (..Sandy, are you out there?) but even I find this offensive. Why, oh why do they do this sort of thing? Yes, Cruise is a big name. Made lots of big movies over the years. But this is such terrible casting!
So wrong....

OK, I am done ranting.
For this week. :-)

Maru or Larry?

---

Do you know Maru, the internet cat sensation?
If not, you must watch one of his video. There are a seemingly endless number of them on YouTube...with MILLIONS of hits.
Millions.
Here is one, with some particularly annoying music that I though was perfect!


I am especially fond of his videos with boxes.
He loves boxes.
He loves sliding into them.
He loves jumping into them.
He loves sitting in them. especially if they are too small.

I tried to get Larry interested.
He says he does not want to be a star.
Then he yawned and went back to sleep.

---

Weekend Cooking...A Review of "The Complete Cook's Country" [77]

The Complete Cook's Country TV Show Cookbook by Editors at Cook's Country
Boston Common Press, ISBN 978-1936493005
September 1, 2012, 400 pages

---

Are you sick of me telling you how much I like America's Test Kitchen?
Well, tough!
Because they have a new cookbook out and I bought it and I love it and I am going to share!

This one is from the ATK spin-off, Cook's Country. Same folks, same techniques, same great recipes, slightly different emphasis....

"This is real regional American food, from the past as well as the present, and it comes from a real place where it was cooked by your grandmother or my great uncle. As they say in the art business, this food has "provenance"...seeking out lost and regional recipes..and bring them up to date and freshen them up for a new audience."

It is a very attractive book, each recipe covering a two page spread, with a full color picture, a paragraph explaining 'Why This Recipe Works, the recipe and often a B&W box with a lesson in technique, or some historical information about the dish or some buying suggestions. And it contains every recipe from the TV show, all 5 seasons.

There are 11 chapters in all, with titles like Our Sunday Best, Tex-Mex Favorites, Everyone Loves Italian, Great American Cakes and Cookies and Save Room for Pie. Everyone loves pie, right!
Each chapter begins with a charming vintage looking introduction, with some great photographs that took me back to my childhood, and that set up the recipes perfectly. Southern Style Skillet Cornbread..Baltimore Pit Beef...Gumbo..Italian Pot Roast..Monkey Bread..Maine Blueberry Grunt..I could go on and on. There is not a recipe here that does not sound and look delicious.

Then there is what is maybe my favorite part of the book, a 50 page section at the end with two parts, Stocking Your Pantry and Shopping For Equipment. Not sure what knife to buy? Should you spend $150...$200 for one of those Famous Brands. Well no, they say. Their best chef knife is the $30 Victorinox Fibrox 8" Chef's Knife...and I can tell you it is true from personal experience. Best semi-sweet chocolate chips? Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet! I can't disagree.  From curry powder to blenders, it is full of great stuff and great information. This is just one reason this would make a great book for someone just stocking a new kitchen.
I will warn you, this book is rather oddly lacking in vegetable dishes. There are a few, especially if you include potatoes but it is veggie light. If you are looking for veggies, this may not be the best place.

So, I decided to share a recipe. But which one?
So I picked one for a dish I don't really love.
Meatloaf.
My mother made a good meatloaf, but I never learned the secret and after a few tries, with mushy, or crumbling, or tasteless ones, gave up.
Well, my no-meatloaf days are over! Because this one is good!
My sister-in-law, an actual fan of meatloaf, said it was the best meatloaf she ever had!! EVER.
I though it was pretty darn good myself.

Cook's Country Glazed Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS:
Glaze:

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Meatloaf:

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 17 crackers)
• 1/3 cup whole milk 
• 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork or turkey
• 2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Reserve 1/4 cup glaze mixture in a small bowl and simmer the remaining glaze over medium heat until it is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat lightly with cooking spray. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook the onion until golden, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl.

Process the saltines and milk in a food processor until smooth. Add the beef and pork and pulse until well combined, about ten 1-second pulses. (You can also do this process by hand, although the beef and saltine mixture won’t be as well mixed.) Transfer the meat mixture to the bowl with the cooled onion mixture. Add the eggs and yolk, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper to the bowl and mix with your hands until combined.

Adjust the oven racks to the upper (about 4-inches away from broiler elements) and middle positions and heat the broiler. Transfer the meat mixture to the prepared baking sheet and shape it into a 9- by 5-inch loaf. Broil on the upper rack until well browned, about 5 minutes. Brush 2 tablespoons of the reserved, uncooked glaze over the top and sides of the loaf and then return to the oven and broil for another 2 minutes.

Transfer the meatloaf to the middle rack and brush with the remaining uncooked glaze. Change the oven temperature to bake at 350 degrees and bake the meatloaf for 40 to 45 minutes, until cooked through. Transfer the meatloaf to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Slice and serve, passing the cooked glaze at the table.

Of course, I had to make a little change. I had read another blog post, which I lost  and can not give credit to, which made a switch for the ground pork. I replaced the ground pork with Italian sausage. You could not really tell what that extra flavor was..the SIL did not guess..but I think it added a great little touch and would do it that way again. Also, I was not at my house, did not have a food processor with me, so I just used my very clean hands to mix it up.
The panade, the crackers and milk, just melted in, keeping the loaf moist.  That dash of hot sauce and the vinegar in the glaze was perfect to balance the sweetness.
With some mashed potatoes...they have some great potato recipes too...this would be a perfect everyday or Special Day dinner.

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---

Review of "Sweat" [76]

Sweat: A Thriller by Mark Gilleo
Story Plant, ISBN 978-1611880519
August 28, 2012, 366 pages

---

It has been a rough few years for Jake Patrick, caring for his mother as she suffers from cancer.
Now that she has died, he finds himself in debt and looking for a way to get his life back on track and return to graduate school. So, even though he is not thrilled with the idea, he goes to his estranged father, a very wealthy, very successful businessman, to ask for a summer job. Yes, he is not above using a bit of his father's guilt to get back on his feet and put a few bucks away to continue toward his dream of being an English professor.

It first, things seem to be going OK. He really does not know his father that well, is not really even aware of what his father's corporation does and learning about the business and his father is appealing. The power, the money can be a bit intoxicating. But it is not long before he starts to see below the surface and it is not a pretty sight. Before he really knows what is going on, Jake finds himself in the middle of a huge conspiracy involving overseas sweatshops, hitmen, the Mob, the highest level of American politics and an international scandal that may destroy the lives and careers of many. And may leave Jake among the victims.

I must say, this was a very entertaining book, a very well written and, maybe sadly, totally believable thriller. I say sadly, because it makes you realize some of the more distasteful things in the book, the sweatshops, the wheeling dealing corrupt politicians, the corporate heads with questionable morals are all too real in our all too real world.
Mr. Gilleo is able to capture all that, and yet do it in a way that still leaves the reader with an entertaining and not too dark plot.
He creates some great characters, the good, like Jake and former CIA agent/homeless man Al and the bad, like Mountain of Shanghai...and a few I will not spoil the story by revealing. The dialogue is very realistic, the plot tight and fast paced.

What, did I have no issues?
Well, there were a couple that almost had me throwing the book down about halfway through.
You may remember my recent rant against preaching in books. Yes, no doubt the author wants to express a certain opinion, but whether I agree or disagree with it, a long, long paragraph with a speech, just drives me mad. In this case (p.255) it is about exploiting foreign workers, but it does not really matter what the subject is. What matter is that it always takes me out of the book, breaks that little book trance the reader should be in.
Following on a scene with a Catholic priest that just about had me screaming..to think that interchange between Jake and his, or really his mother's, priest is something that would actually take place is more about expressing the author's own opinion on the matter at hand that the Church's. Again, it just felt so false. Maybe I just want authors to be a little more subtle about appearing in their own creation and don't hit us over the head.

But I didn't throw the book against the wall and I was happy I did not, because this is a good book, one, with those few reservations, I would certainly recommend. And if I had, I would have missed a very good ending!
It is a good thriller, fast paced, well written with a very timely story to tell and one I think the reader will enjoy.

---

---

I received a copy of this book as part of the Partner's in Crime Virtual Book Tour. Stop by and check out a few of the other stops, read some more review, some excerpts and author interviews.

---

---

Wordless Wednesday...Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

---

...awaiting the soon to arrive fall migration...

---

---

---

---

 

---

---

---

---

---

...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, 
check these out.

---

Review of "1222" [75]

---

1222: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel by Anne Holt
Scribner, ISBN 978-1451634716
December 27, 2011, 336 pages

A TRAIN ON ITS WAY to the northern reaches of Norway derails during a massive blizzard, 1,222 meters above sea level. The passengers abandon the train for a nearby hotel, centuries-old and practically empty, except for the staff. With plenty of food and shelter from the storm, the passengers think they are safe, until one of them is found dead the next morning.

With no sign of rescue, and the storm continuing to rage, retired police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is asked to investigate. Paralyzed by a bullet lodged in her spine, Hanne has no desire to get involved. But she is slowly coaxed back into her old habits as her curiosity and natural talent for observation force her to take an interest in the passengers and their secrets. When another body turns up, Hanne realizes that time is running out, and she must act fast before panic takes over. Complicating things is the presence of a mysterious guest, who had traveled in a private rail car at the end of the train and was evacuated first to the top floor of the hotel. No one knows who the guest is, or why armed guards are needed, but it is making everyone uneasy. Hanne has her suspicions, but she keeps them to herself.

Trapped in her wheelchair, trapped by the storm, and now trapped with a killer, Hanne must fit the pieces of the puzzle together before the killer strikes again.

Without question, this book is, at least in part, a homage to the queen of mysteries, Ms. Christie, a classic locked door murder as Hanne herself comments on.

"Twenty-four hours ago, there were 269 people on board a train. Then we became 196. When two men died, we were 194. Now there were only 118 of us left. I thought about Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. I immediately tried to dismiss the thought. And Then There Were None is a story that doesn't exactly have a happy ending."

I say in part, because it is also, in no small part, a character study of Hanne Wilhelmsen herself. While you may not like her..she admits she is not very likable these days..she is always interesting. And smart and clever and not half as unlikable as you may think at first. Not that she is the only interesting character in this book either. No, the book is full of quite the unusual bunch, each more clearly painted than the next, with many excellent suspects as a killer. There is a church group who have two of their group taken as the murder victims, a teenage sports team on it'd way to a game and a group of bad boys on the way to a concert, a runaway youth,  a few locals and happily for the injured, is a group of doctors on their way to a conference. Let us not forget too that group that was riding in the mysterious last car, a little secondary mystery for us, and Hanne, to figure out.

Then there is perhaps the best character of all in this book, the Storm. The way the author describes the constant deafening wind, threatening to pull the old buildings apart, the snow that builds up and up, covering the windows, slowly blocking all exits, temperatures that will kill, at times it seems like the most dangerous character in the book. Would you rather face a killer with a gun or someone who can freeze you to death in minutes? Not a great choice.

I first heard of this book in a review of the book by Jill at Rhapsody in Books. She liked parts of the book but ultimately was disappointed by what she saw as an ending that left too much hanging.
I will not disagree that some things are left unresolved...why did the hotel have food for a hundred people for days on hand?..other than the murders, but I can't really say it bothered me. I assume some things may be wrapped up in Holt's next book..and some may not. Certainly, the Hanne Wilhelmsen on the last page is a different person than the bitter, angry ex-cop we first meet. She realizes some things about her self and what she wants for her future..and I can not wait to see where that leads her.

This is the eight book in the series, but so far, only this and the first have been translated into English, with the second book coming soon. If you are afraid that will be a problem, I can assure you it is not  really, although some careful reading will reveal a few spoilers. Well, I will have to just read them all as they become available and see it all fleshed out! Not a problem!

---

Musing Monday...and a Subject of Note

Let's check out this weeks Musing Monday question, as always, from the desk of MizB at Should Be Reading...

This week’s musing — courtesy of http://abookandashortlatte.wordpress.com – asks…

Do you take notes while you read?

Notes...No.

See, they even start with the first letter, so it must be the right answer!

I used to take some notes for my reviews but, as you can see if you read the recent ones, I gave that up.
Seriously, I used to write a few things on post-it notes, but not much. An idea here, a name of a character there. And arrow pointing to a few lines from the book that I might want to quote. Now, I gave up on the writing part..my handwriting is so bad I often couldn't read them..and just use the little arrow post-its to mark a line. Assuming I have the post-its with me. On e-books, I sometimes use the "highlight" feature, but usually forget to look back at the ones I highlighted.
So no, I am not really a note taker.
And NEVER in the book.
That is a mortal sin.
Really.
OK, on a totally different subject, I just wanted to vent for a minute about a book related subject that has been in the news recently.
Bad enough was the article in recent week about a company that would sell you a review. Are you an author who wants 5 or 20 or 50 reviews posted to Amazon? NO problem, just buy the package you want. Was there a promise that they would all be 5 star? Well, they were!

I have written about this before.
Go to Amazon and look at a book that is not hugely popular. OK, a book you never heard of.
If it has a 4 1/2 or 5 star average, you are on the right trail. Read the reviews. It is easy to pick out the ringers.

"This is the best book that I have ever read. I laughed, I cried. It should win the Noble Prize. The author is a genius!"

You get the idea.
Then go look at the reviewer's other reviews.
There won't be any. Maybe one.
I assume they create a new account for each review.
That is the number one..or two..giveaway.

And then there is the disturbing "sock monkey reviews" episode you may have been reading about.
An author, an actual bestselling author, created fake identities online and went out, praising his own books and running down the ones of other authors. Posting bad reviews for their books, writing glowing ones under his fake names for his own.
Creepy.

And sad.
As someone who writes reviews and read reviews I find it all very sad. Should I even bother to post my reviews on places like Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes and Noble? Do readers now assume any good review may be a fake and any bad one might just be trying to undermine the author? And can I believe the reviews I read? I will tell you from experience..no, often you can not. I have read a book that got good reviews (yes, maybe TOO good) and found the book almost unreadable. On second look, those glowing words started to look a bit tarnished.
As someone wrote about this..the Internet giveth and the Internet taketh away. Buyer Beware!

Weekend Cooking...Crabby Crab Cakes

Ok, the crabcakes are not really crabby.
But I have a Crabby Crab tee shirt that the Bro and Sil brought back for me from a trip to Maryland once and crabcakes always make me think of that shirt.
In fact, these are delicious crabcakes, that held together in their pan frying and developed a nice crispy exterior and were moist and so delightfully crab filled inside.

You know, I thought I had posted a crab cake recipe here before, but it seems not.
So when I went to the supermarket and saw that lovely fresh crabmeat, on sale, I knew I had to have it but did not foresee a Weekend Cooking post in their crabby future. But when I got home and went looking for my recipe...no post!
So I consulted my recipe file.
And found I have 3 or 4 different recipes!
What to do?

 

Well, I have one, from Cook's Illustrated, their newest "Best Crab Cake" recipe. But it involves making a shrimp mousseline as a binder..and honestly that seemed like a little too much trouble that day. No, we were going a little more basic.
OK, it was another Cook's Illustrated recipe...but I made a couple of small changes.
I always add a bit of Worcestershire sauce...just because. The egg addition was not something I usually make, but it worked like a charm. As did the refrigerating, which I think is KEY to getting them stay together nicely.And they did.

Maryland Crab Cakes
makes 4 cakes

"The amount of bread crumbs you add will depend on the moistness of the crabmeat. Start with the smallest amount, adjust the seasonings, then add the egg. If the cakes won't bind at this point, add more bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time. If you can't find fresh jumbo lump crabmeat, pasteurized crabmeat, though not as good, is a decent substitute."

• 1 pound jumbo lump crab
• 4 scallions, green parts only, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 4 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 2-4 tablespoons dry fine bread crumbs (I used Panko crumbs)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying

 

1. Gently mix the crabmeat, scallions, herb, Old Bay, 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, Worcestershire and mayonnaise in a medium bowl, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Carefully fold in the egg with a rubber spatula until the mixture just clings together. Add more crumbs if necessary.

2. Divide the crab mixture into four portions and shape each into a fat, round cake, about 3 inches across and 1½ inches high. Arrange the cakes on a baking sheet lined with waxed or parchment paper; cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes. (The crab cakes can be refrigerated up to 24 hours.)

3. Put the flour on a plate or in a pie tin. Lightly dredge the crab cakes in the flour. Heat the oil in a large, preferably nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Gently place chilled crab cakes in the skillet; pan-fry until the outsides are crisp and browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve immediately with lemon wedges or dipping sauce.

Ok, these are very good crabcakes, but what really put these over the top was this sauce, which I just loved! Really, really good, in my humble opinion. GOOD!

 

 

Creamy Dipping Sauce
makes 1/2 cup

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons minced chipolte chiles
• 1 teaspoon lime juice (I used lemon and added the zest of 1 lemon as well)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro

 Oh, I loved this sauce! A little spicy, the lemon, the garlic...Way, way better in my mind than tartar sauce, although my SIL, the world's biggest tartar sauce fan would, no doubt disagree. But she is wrong!

 

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---

Review of "Missing Rebecca" and a GIVEAWAY! [74]

Missing Rebecca by John Worsley Simpson
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, ISBN  978-1475266603
May 29, 2012, 220

---

It was a whirlwind romance..or was it?
For Liam and Rebecca, it was love at first sight. It seems they had barely met but that they were married and moving into Liam home in upstate New York, in a suburb of Buffalo where Liam owns and runs a successful, prosperous business.
But then, on a shopping trip one day, Rebecca disappears. Did she run off...or was she abducted. What exactly did happen and what was she involves in? The more Liam digs into it, the more confusing it all becomes. What is clear is that something else is going on, something involving a lot of money..and a lot of danger.

"Was the marriage a sham? Was Liam a dupe? This is a novel of high crimes and dark shadows, involving the immensely profitable drug industry in which exclusive access to the market for a medication can mean billions of dollars, and holding on to that exclusivity might lead to lies, deceit, corruption, payoffs, and even murder."

---

---

As is so often true, there are good things to say about this book. And a few problems.
The plot is pretty good, with a nice bunch of twists and turns that will keep you reading. Just when you think you know where it is going, someone throws in a wrench and off we go in a different direction.
The weak point, I think, are the characters. They are never very clearly developed, never enough that you really feel you have a dog in the race. At times, I even found  that what we are told, about Liam in particular, about what sort of man he is, rather confusing. And really, do we ever really buy into thier great love? Why did he love Rebecca, how did he really feel about her? Not just the facts, but a bit more of what makes them tick and make it believable that he would go to such lengths to find her.  If I don't feel I know them, how much can I care what is going on, what happens to them and how committed am I to the outcome?

But if you are looking for a fast read, something not too involved, this might be a good choice for a nice little mystery, a nice little story to spend an evening with.

---

Happily, I have one e-book available for a giveaway, so if you are a mystery fan and would like a chance to win, just leave a comment with you e-mail address and you will be entered. 

The giveaway will run through  9/21, so give it a whirl! You know Larry just loves to pick the winner!

---

---

My thanks to the author and the folks at Partners in Crime for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

The tour is just getting underway, and will run through October, so head over to the tour site to check out links to some more reviews, interviews with the author, see what he has to say about this, his fifth book!

---

---

Review of "Stranger In the Room" [73]

Stranger In the Room: A Novel by Amanda Kyle Williams
Bantam, ISBN 978-0553808087
August 21, 2012, 320 pages.

---

In the second book in the series, Keye Street is back, and we are in for a great time!
Did you read my review of The Stranger You Seek, the first book? Well, I don't mean to be pushy, but not only should you read the review, but you really should read the book, because it was very good. True, it is not necessary before you read this one, but still, do it!
And then come back for this very good sequel.

Keye Street is moving along, getting along well with her new boyfriend, Detective Aaron Rauser and increasing successful in her present career as a PI, bail enforcer and occasional consultant to the police. Because see, in her previous life, before she lost her job, Keye was a FBI agent with a PhD, a great reputation as a profiler...and a terrible drinking problem. Between the addiction and the psychological issues left over from watching her grandparents killed when she was a child and growing up the Chinese adopted daughter of two very white parents in the deep south..well, Keye has some things to deal with.
But don't get it wrong. These books are not all angst and breast beating. Yes, she is flawed but pretty much on top of it. Well, most of the time. Sure she still white knuckling that booze problem at times, but Keye is very smart, and very funny, with a "kick ass-take no prisoners" attitude and a very cool cat named White Trash. And things are rarely dull when she gets involved.

In this book, Keye has a few things on her plate. To pay the bills, she takes a job investigating the cremation of an elderly woman, which leads to a much creepier and much more dangerous set of circumstances than we or Keye could have foreseen. Yes, we know something is up but believe me, this is bad...in a good way for the reader.
But the main storyline revolves around her cousin Miki, a talented photographer, with even more self destructive tendencies than Keye. She thinks someone has been in her house, a masked man she glimpsed through the living room window. But there is no evidence and police dismiss her at first...but when that body, an elderly stranger is found hanging from her doorway, OK, then they believe her.
Then Keye, who have been helping the police with some profiling in the strangling death of a thirteen year old boy, finds proof that the crimes are tied together and it seems Atlanta may have a serial killer on it hands.

Take an excellent main character, add in a generous sprinkling of some great secondary characters, from her amusing parents, her flaky but so technically brilliant assistant Neil, her gay African American brother, her handsome and understanding boyfriend and a cast of evil, creepy bad guys, then wrap it all up in a well written, fast paced, surprising plot and you have one darn good book!
One I can strongly recommend.
And happily I have read that the author is hard at work at the third! I can not wait!

---

My thanks to Amazon Vine for providing me with a copy of this book.

---

Wordless Wednesday...Back to the Burpee Farm

Back to the Fordhook Farm for a few more photos.

Some flowers and some sculptures...and a couple of bugs.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, 
check these out.

---

Review of "Godchild" [72]

Godchild: P.I.Jack Marconi 
by Vincent Zandri
Thomas & Mercer, ISBN 978-1612183435
September 4, 2012

---

His world is spinning out of control.
Jack "The Keeper" Marconi thinks he might be going out of his mind.
It is the day of his wedding, his second wedding, and he stops by the grave of his first wife to leave flowers, when he see the car that broadsided his car two years ago, killing his beloved Fran. He had searched for her killer..he feels it was intentional...and just when he has come to some peace and is ready to start over he is dragged back into it. He leave his bride at the altar and ends up the day in a bar, way too drunk, shooting his gun off.

His friend, a high priced and very, very shady lawyer to the rich and powerful in Albany, one setting of the book along with Mexico, keeps him out of jail and offers the out of work PI a job to distract him. It is a very dangerous job, and a job that pays very well, to rescue the wife of a very powerful man who was arrested by the Mexicans on the border, supposedly smuggling drugs. She is being held in a horrible prison, tortured for some information that her captors believes she holds.

As a ex-warden of prisons, Keeper seems like the perfect man to have some insight into getting her out. But he is not really interested at first, that is until he is looking at the material the husband has given him about the wife and studies a photograph of the husband and missing woman at the funeral of their infant son. He sees, standing in the crowd, the driver of the car that killed Fran, the man Keeper calls The Bald Man.
Can there be some connection between his wife's death and this woman disappearance?

Keeper is a man possessed and he will find out the truth, he will get his revenge, he will weigh out his own justice even if he dies trying.

This book is a sequel to Zandri's The Innocent and picks up where that book leaves off, but I did not read that one and don't think that really effected my enjoyment of this book. And by in large I did enjoy this one a good deal.
Keeper is a good character, flawed, sometime acting irrationally, drinking too much and maybe too easily swayed by a pretty face. But aren't all good characters flawed?
And the missing woman, author Renata Barnes, who we get to know through much of the book in little glimpses into her mind..well, she has taken flawed to a whole new level. I must warn you this book is pretty dark in places and the scenes of Renata in prison may have you reconsidering that Mexican vacation. This place make Attica seem like a holiday camp. The plot is tight and faced paced and except for Keeper sometimes acting like an idiot, pretty smart. Who is good, who is bad, who can you trust..who will slit your throat when you turn your back..it will keep you guessing.

I must admit I had a few issues with the last part of the book where the happenings just really started to test my mystery reading sense of believability. Just a bit too much, piled on top of a bit too much, on top of a bit too much but by then I had bought into the story and happily went along for the ride. If I gave stars, I would take one away for that. But that still leaves it a solid four stars in my book.

---

My thanks to Amazon Vine for providing a review copy of this book

---

Musing Monday...Love's Labour's Lost

To all my US readers, Happy Labor Day! Hence the MM title, the unofficial end to the summer season!

But it is still Monday, so let's head over to MizB's 'Should Be Reading' and check out this this week's question!

This week’s musing –courtesy of http://bookshelf.shotgunopera.net– asks…

Have you ever considered writing a book before? What genre would you write?

---

Let me ask you a question.
Has anyone who reads books, who loves books, not considered what it would be like to write a book?

Well, I admit I have.
Not like "got a pad of paper and a pen and wrote an outline" sort of "I should write a book".
No more like "wouldn't it be great to be on the NY Times Best Seller list for 50 weeks" and go on book tours and signings with HUGE crowds "I should write a book".
What would I write?
The best mystery every written, every critic agrees, since Agatha Christie. Maybe better than Christie!
OK, then I wake up and realize I have several problems.

No imagination.
Little talent.
An aversion to hard work.

So perhaps I will just remain a reader.
But you know, my real fear about writing a book? It would be putting all that effort, all that energy, all that thought into a book and finishing, only to find it stinks.
Do you think when you finished it, would you still be objective enough to know it was not really good? It seems a lot of author are not by some of the stuff I have read.
That would be the worse. To have my name on a book, people I know reading it and not only was iy not excellent, it was bad.

I think all books I read can be put into three categories.
The excellent. Toe tingling great.
The good, but flawed.
Bad.

You will rarely see reviews of the bad here. I read more than a few, don't you worry, but I usually either don't finish them or just get the enthusiasm up to write a review. I figure you aren't missing anything. Except, maybe if it is a Big Book, or one by a Big Author, in which case you need to be warned off.
And since I starting writing reviews and reading some books I might never ordinarily read in my pre-blogging days, I have seen a lot of books people should be warned off.

So if I ever did write a book, I would publish it under a fake name!
True, no one would know what a great thing I had written. But who cares?
So long as no one knew I wrote that piece of drivel.

---

---

One of These Is Not The Same....

Can you pick which one?

---

---

\

I think the orange nose is the only giveaway!

lol

Weekend Cooking...Balance is Everything!

---

I think someone drank part of my drink...

Has it been a long week?
Do you need to relax, put your feet up, maybe indulge in a tasty adult beverage.
Well, I have one to suggest to you today.
I am always thinking that I should have a drink. You know, you go someplace, a bar or restaurant and they ask what you would like and I think I should have a clever, interesting drink to order.
A diet Coke really does not cut it.
So in my search, I took the Bro's suggestion to try a drink he likes, the Negroni.
Happily, he had the ingredients and whipped one up for me to taste.

What is the history of this classic drink? Well, according to my friends at Wikipedia..."While the drink's origins are unknown, the most widely reported account is that it was invented in Florence, Italy in 1919, at Caffè Casoni, ex Caffè Giacosa, now called Caffè Cavalli. Count Camillo Negroni invented it by asking the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink."

Did I mention I am going to Florence in October?
Yes, I am. And when I am there I will have a Negroni.
Maybe two.
But not at the same time. 

It is a simple recipe, one the worse bartender can't screw up.
Gosh, even I could make one! Introducing, the Negroni..

• one ounce gin,
• one ounce Italian sweet vermouth
• one ounce Campari bitters
• orange slice or twist for garnish

Now you have two choices. You can pour all the ingredients in a highball glass with ice, stir and serve. Or..as the Bro made it, pour the ingredients in a shaker, add ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass, and serve it 'straight up', garnished with an orange slice.

If you don't like gin, you can replace it with tequila and make a Agavoni...

• 3/4 ounce blanco or silver tequila
• 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
• 3/4 ounce Campari
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• Twist of grapefruit peel, for garnish

or...how about try it with bourbon and make a Boulevardier. Doesn't that sound interesting. The bartender will be looking that one up and good luck in finding it. So you can give him the recipe for the Boulevardier...

• 1 1/2 ounces bourbon
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1 ounce Campari
• Twist of lemon peel, for garnish

What I love about that drink, according to the Washington Post where I read about it, was that it published in a book called "Barflies and Cocktails,"  written by Harry McElhone in 1927.

The Negroni is usually served as an aperitif. It is not a sweet drink, not at all, especially since the Campari is rather bitter...which is maybe why it is called a bitter! But the vermouth, which is sweet or semi-sweet, helps balance that out. At least in part. Still, it seems to be a drink that people tend to either love...or hate.

You have to admit, it is a lovely color...and sounds classy when you order it! "Hmmm...I'll have a Negroni please!"

"One of the earliest reports of the drink came from Orson Welles in correspondence with the Coshocton Tribune while working in Rome on Cagliostro in 1947, where he described a new drink called the Negroni, "The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.""

And drinking should be all about the balance.

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---