I finally broke my surgery and recovery induced reading fast with a doozy of a book. I am probably a little late to reading Tana French crime novels, but that just means I have six more to look forward to.
In the Woods (2007) introduces the Dublin Murder Squad. The main characters are detective partners Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox. They are tasked with investigating the murder of a child on the housing estate where Rob grew up. Rob has a secret childhood trauma of his own that might or might not be germane to this current crime and his involvement in the investigation may even put the whole case in jeopardy.
Even though the crime here is certainly distasteful, the writing and plotting are terrific. I rolled through the book's 600 pages which gave me plenty of time to get to know the main characters. (Not sure I was crazy about Rob the narrator.)
Once I finished, I immediately went online to my library's ebook collection to check out the second in the series. Imagine my chagrin when I saw the message that my account was blocked!
What?
My first thought was that my card had expired. No, that wasn't it. I called and someone at the library told me that I had an unpaid overdue fine of 20 cents and my access to ebooks was now blocked. Busted.
Apparently, this is an automatic process so I didn't take it personally or feel as if I had been singled out. I mean, I know libraries are in dire financial straits, but really?
So a trip to the library to pay my huge fine and all is well except that there is a wait list to check out Likeness, the second in the Murder Squad series.
In the meantime, I started reading Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I have had it on my Kindle for a long time and while I have many times watched and enjoyed the television series that is based on three of Ms. Gaskell's novels about the fictional village, I have yet to read this first book.
After the not-so-nice goings on of In the Woods, the ladies of Cranford offer a welcome and gentler version of life with a sufficient amount of tea and cakes.
I do like reading a book about books, although the books mentioned in this one won't be found on your library's shelf. Too bad. Disturber of the Peace and its followup The Pen Is Mightier...would be a delight to read. Both are the work of the fictional Miss Barbara Buncle.
If you are not familiar with D.E. Stevenson's Miss Buncle's Book, the story revolves around our heroine, who due to the dwindling of her monthly dividends, decides to write a novel featuring the folks in her small English village of Silverstream. She writes under the pseudonym of John Smith and to the horror of her neighbors her fictional characters are all too recognizable.
There are the usual village personalities: the snooty Mrs. Featherstone Hogg; the bully Mr. Bulmer; the confirmed bachelor Colonel Weatherhead; the overworked, kindly doctor; the vicar with a secret; and, the gold-digger Vivian Greensleeves.
Mr. Abbott, the London publisher of what turns out to be a bestseller, is quite taken with Miss Buncle and kindly steers her through the choppy waters of being a first-time author.
In the meantime, the villagers led by Mrs. Featherstone Hogg are on a mission to identify and 'horsewhip' John Smith never suspecting that the timid, frumpy Barbara Buncle is the woman whose words have brought on so much trouble.
As the residents read about themselves, or at least Miss Buncle's keen observations about them, changes start to happen. The bully becomes more considerate of his wife and children and the confirmed bachelor begins to notice the charms of his neighbor.
Even Miss Buncle begins to take on the assertive and more glamorous aspects of Elizabeth Wade, her alter ego and narrator of the books.
There is a second Miss Buncle book that I already have on reserve at the library. If you are a fan of such gems as Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford, you will feel right at home with Miss Buncle and her neighbors.
I have been re-watching Cranford, that delightful series based on the novels by Mrs. Elizbeth Gaskell. It portrays life in a small village in England in the mid-1800s. The sight of all the ladies enjoying tea and scurrying about their business makes me want to don a lace cap and do my reading and writing by candlelight.
This would be the day to do it as it is Candlemas, the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is a festival of light and although I long ago gave away all my wax candles, I do have a fireplace and a couple of faux candles powered by battery.
Those will just have to do.
It is a day of new beginnings - in some traditions it is considered the beginning of spring and is a day when grain-based foods - pancakes and crepes - are to be enjoyed. I am sure that brownies and scones count as well.
It is cloudy and rainy here today and I plan on sitting in front of the fire, doing some reading, and reflecting on the coming year. I will sip my afternoon tea from a fine china cup and use a lace handkerchief in honor of the Ladies of Cranford.
