Gone Missing - Linda Castillo (Audio)

"Gone Missing" is the fourth installment of the Kate Berkholder crime series (I've read them all).  I was initially intrigued with the idea of a strong female character who was once Amish, but has left the life and become Chief of Police in a predominantly Amish community.  In the first three novels, some pretty terrifying crimes were committed in Kate's small hometown of Painter's Mill, Ohio.  The question looming, in my mind, was how many murders can actually happen in a small town like this?  Something was going to have to change in order for this series to continue to be believable.

Synopsis:  A number of Amish teenagers have turned up missing over the last handful of years, presumed runaways.  Those investigating, including John Tomasetti (Kate's long-distance love interest and fellow cop), know that an Amish teen is allowed a brief period of time to sow their wild oats, called Rumspringa, before they are baptized.  So the assumption is that these kids have experienced a little freedom, and have run for the hills.  Then one girl's body is discovered, and the case takes a sinister turn.  Because Kate understands the Amish culture and speaks Pennsylvania Dutch, Tomasetti feels that her presence on the case would help open doors to a group of people that generally distrust outsiders.  Kate is hired by the investigative team to assist.  

My thoughts:  I was pleased to see that Castillo took Kate out of Painter's Mill for most of this installment.  Pretty soon Painter's Mill was going to have a higher crime rate per capita than Miami!  I was also pleased that she retained Tomasetti for his dude-ish presence and rescuing services...he is a nice distraction AND he isn't a bad investigator either.

Kate continues to be the main attraction though.  She is damaged and defiant and fierce.  She isn't a pushover either...she is taking her time in the romance department.  I just recently read that the first in the series, "Sworn to Silence" will be a two-hour television movie starring Neve Campbell.  I'm pretty happy with that casting...she is exactly how I would have imagined her.  

The mystery in this story was well-devised, with a few red herrings and a complicated structure.  Castillo does a great job with her plots.  The dialogue?  Not that clever or snappy.  On audio, it falls a little flat, and always has.  But the characters and action (which is always pretty bloody) make up for it.

A few words about the audio production:  It is always nice when a series maintains the same narrator, in this case Kathleen McInerney, who does a decent job.  Her voice has become that of Kate, and I'd miss her if they replaced her.  The one issue that I've had, however, since the very beginning, is the way she portrays Tomasetti.  It just...bothers me.  She lowers her voice, and makes it breathy and sultry.  He sounds like a sleazy lounge lizard!!  I've long since gotten past this, and she can't change it now, but I feel compelled to mention it.

Audiobook length:  10 hours and 9 minutes (288 pages)

3.5 out of 5 stars  
      

Atlantic - Simon Winchester (Audio)

This book is probably one of the oldest ones on my iPod...recommended to me by Beth Fish Reads almost two years ago.  Her review inspired me to order the audio from the library, but then I lost interest quickly, probably because this is generally not my genre.  But recently I had a hankering for some interesting facts and was also faced with an 8 hour drive that would offer a huge chunk of listening time, so viola!  

Synopsis:  Simon Winchester, a British journalist, broadcaster and traveler extraordinaire, has always had a love for the ocean.  Only now, in his 60's, has he decided to share that love with the rest of the world.  And he covers it all...from how the Atlantic was created, when the supercontinent broke apart and eventually settled into the Earth as we know it, to the state of the Atlantic today.

The range of topics is immense, but instead of going through it chronologically, he divides his material by topic.  He covers early exploration, mass transportation "across the pond" (both by air and sea), wars waged on the Atlantic, great storms, and the inspiration is has provided poets and artists.  He finishes on a less than positive note when he discusses the permanent depletion and extinction of some types of fish, of the pollution and the effects of global warming, and the outlook for our children and grandchildren.

My thoughts:  While this was definitely not my usual fare, I found it fascinating.  Some topics were more engrossing than others...I listened raptly about the early explorers and their amazing courage in conquering the unknown.  But I found my mind wandering when I was working my way through the great battles on the seas.  Overall, though, my expectations - learning more about something new - were met.

I did find his section about the deplorable state of the Atlantic's health...the over-fishing and pollution of the waters...to be a tiny bit heavy-handed.  I totally understand that mankind is doing a wonderful job of ruining our natural resources in the Atlantic, and I'm horrified by it all.  Florida residents have had their noses rubbed in some of these blunders, with BP's oil washing up on our beaches.  But I felt bludgeoned by the end of this chapter, and it weighed me down.  I felt like hanging my head and admitting that we all suck, and are on the highway to hell.  And that is not how I want to feel at the end of a book.  Nevertheless, it WAS a slap in the face and a reminder that we all need to check ourselves and do our part.  

A few words about the audio production:  Author narration is a slippery slope.  Some do a phenomenal job (David Sedaris, Joshilyn Jackson) and others do not.  Simon Winchester has a beautiful voice for narration, and I dare say he could do this for a living if he wanted.

Audiobook length:  14 hours and 30 minutes (512 pages)

3.5 out of 5 stars  
       

Drinking at the Movies - Julia Wertz

 Every now and again, I crave a graphic novel.  It uses a different side of my brain, they are quick and easy to read, and they almost always pull me out of a reading funk.  I just don't always make the effort to order them from the library...I'm always worrying about getting other things read that are sitting on my nightstand.

So one day I was killing time in a Barnes & Noble, and I picked through all the Marvel Comics and anime to find this book.  I know nothing about the author or the story.  It just looked interesting.  Who doesn't smuggle a little bottle of wine into the movies, after all?  (Really?  You don't?)

So this is a story about Julia, and her first year or so of living in New York City.  Her move from San Francisco in the summer of 2007 was an impulsive one, a behavior she is known for.  Her entire family lives on the West coast, including a brother that has a drug addiction and is known for OD-ing on a regular basis.  Moving across the country was contrary to all common sense.  
  

But off she goes, flying standby, sleeping in airports, finding the necessary subway train closed for repairs, forgetting the address of her final destination...it becomes apparent that this is just the type of life Julia leads.  She bounces from job to job, from apartment to apartment, trying to make ends meet.  What does she want to do when she grows up?  Will she ever grow up?  She locks herself repeatedly out of her apartment.  She loses her wallet.  A squirrel pees on her head in the park.  She gets a suspicious rash on her butt.  All the while she blames New York.    She begins drinking to soothe her bruised ego and depression.

It may sound dire, but Wertz keeps her humor and humility.  She even shows her head open like a tin can and her brain escaping for big adventures.  She also animates her wallet, imagining all the fun it has once she accidentally leaves it in a cab.

Ultimately Julia comes to the realization, one worthy of a grown-up, that her rotten luck is truly her own doing, and not at the fault of New York City.  

Is the book earth-shattering?  Not really, and the author admits that it is a story often told.  She apologizes to anyone who is sick of hearing these tales.  But it is her self-effacing attitude that makes this book enjoyable and often hilarious (as long as you aren't offended by bad language).  Definitely worthy of any graphic novel-lover's time and attention.

4 out of 5 stars   

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton (Audio)

There is something completely mesmerizing to me about Kate Morton's books.  Her stories have a gothic feel, with old secrets and tragic pasts and huge, sprawling mansions.  Granted, I will admit I've always felt that perhaps her books were a hundred or so pages too long, because she really takes her little sweet time in getting to the point, winding us around every garden, lake, whispered rumor and ancient fairy tale.  But there is a delicious decadence about her stories...layer after rich layer of intrigue.  

I've only listened to Kate Morton's books on audio.  There is only one narrator that she uses, Caroline Lee, who is a perfect match with the type of story that Morton tells.  So like Tana French, I will only ever listen.  And much to my angst, my library did not carry "The Forgotten Garden" on audio until just recently.  When I discovered they'd finally gotten it in, it was like Christmas.

Synopsis:  In 1913, in a port in Australia, a dock master discovers a little 4 year-old girl, alone and abandoned after getting off a ship that traveled from England.  She's not willing or able to tell them her name or her circumstances, and only carries a small white suitcase that contains a rare bound copy of fairy tales.  The dock master and his wife take in the child as their own, and name her Nell.  It is only when Nell is of age and about to marry that her father tells her the truth about her past, and this knowledge changes Nell forever.  She calls off her wedding and retreats from her family for the rest of her life.

Upon Nell's death, her granddaughter Cassandra (the only family member with which Nell has a relationship) learns of Nell's questionable background.  Cassandra also learns that Nell has secretly owned a cliff side cottage in England since the 1970's, that has now been bequeathed to her.  Cassandra decides to unlock the secrets of her grandmother's past.   Through Nell's journals and the mysterious book of fairy tales still kept in the little white suitcase, Cassandra learns of The Blackhurst Manor and the wealthy but tortured Mountrachet family.  Of a sick cousin and an orphaned one, best of friends.  Of a distant father, a hateful mother, and a mysterious authoress who writes her fanciful fairy tales on a high cliff top.  

Morton's narrative moves from the early 1900's to the 1970's to the current day, slowly revealing the complex layers of secrets and intrigue of this spellbinding tale.  

My thoughts:  All of Morton's novels are a spiderweb of plots and characters, but this one was more complicated than the others.  Three time periods, with five or six generations.  However, I knew from experience that if I was patient, all would be revealed.  She will take care of her beloved readers, never fear.  Pack some food and water and wander through a garden maze at your leisure.  Expect it to take all day.  Stop and smell a flower, listen to the birdsong, close your eyes and let the breeze carry you away.  This is what it was like to explore this story.

There were a few similarities to "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodges Burnett, which is such a wonderful children's book.  The author was even mentioned in this story, with an implication that the garden mentioned in the title was inspiration to Burnett!  Geek moment!  But while "The Secret Garden" is innocent and makes your heart swell, this story is more twisty and dark and tragic and the best kind of brain food for the literary lover.

And unlike her other books, if I had a gun to my head to force me to decide which hundred pages had to be pulled?  I wouldn't want to let a single one escape.  I was engaged from the first page to the last.  This was by far my favorite of all of Morton's books.

A few words about the audio production:  I mentioned the narrator at the beginning of this post, Caroline Lee, and I said all there is to say.  She is perfect.  If the powers that be decided to record a Morton audio with someone else, I would be devastated.

Audiobook length:  20 hours and 38 minutes (560 pages)

5 out of 5 stars   

       

The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Audio)

Since the day this book came out, many of you have claimed it to be a phenomenal book.  Beyond that, many said it was their favorite read of the year.  Which is a pretty big deal, and something I pay close attention to.

The premise sounds OK, but really seems like it has been done before.  Dysfunction, dysfunction, dysfunction.  A character with big issues.  A character you don't necessarily like.  It was hard for me to get excited about it.  

Well, I should have listened to all of you and read it sooner.  It was wonderful.  But now I struggle in verbalizing WHY it is so wonderful.  What can I tell you that will help set this book apart from all the others?  Thus, this is why I've put off writing a review.  

Synopsis:  Victoria Jones has spent her entire life in the foster care system, and has forever been mistreated, unloved and unwanted.  As a result, she is distant and mistrusting of everyone.  Now 18 and emancipated, she sets out on her own and flounders in the ability to streamline with society...until she realizes that her passion and gift for flowers is what is going to save her.  

It is the chance meeting of a young man, someone from her past, that causes her to reflect back on the path she has taken in her life, and the special woman that took her in and taught her the language of flowers...and of unconditional love.  

But Victoria is no longer a part of this woman's life.  Something went very wrong, and Diffenbaugh slowly reveals to us Victoria's story, past and present.  It is a story of love, loss, forgiveness and rebirth.  A story so real and full of hope that your heart will soar.

My thoughts:  Well, I guess a few of my thoughts and opinions crept into the synopsis.  I loved this book.  All the other reviews were right...Victoria is a piece of work.  She is flawed and frustrating, but she is also capable and worthy of saving.  

What makes this book so special?  Well, I guess it goes without saying that Diffenbaugh has a special talent with words.  Her words flow, and are as beautiful as the flowers she describes.  And I'm not really a flower person...I have a black thumb.  But she makes me want to be a gardener.  She makes me want to bring forth beauty and life from the earth.  

The Victorian language of flowers...honeysuckle for patience, acacia for secret love, asters for patience, daisy for innocence...and the ability to make a magical difference in people's lives through these flowers by using just the right one, is heady stuff.  I compare it to the magic and healing properties evoked with food in the "The School of Essential Ingredients" by Erica Bauermeister.  This delicate charm, matched up with a damaged young woman was an emotional combination.  

But I think the most exceptional aspect of the story is the HOPE.  The plot may seem dreary, and there are parts that are very dreary, but it is only there to help us appreciate the rebirth of Victoria, to give us a perspective.  By the end of the story, my heart swelled to its maximum capacity.  

A few words about the audio production:  Our narrator for this audiobook is Tara Sands, who is one of the most gifted voices for young adult characters I've ever heard.  I find it amazing that the woman is 37 but sounds like an 18 year old.  If you look at the word she has done, she has been everywhere.  She made this audio an amazing listening experience for me.

Audiobook length:  10 hours and 50 minutes (352 pages)

5 out of 5 stars

  

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce (Audio)

Gentle books and I don't always get along.  I don't like this about myself...that I apparently need excitement and twists and action.  I don't have much time these days to sit, undisturbed, and concentrate on complex issues embedded within a smart literary novel.  I'll put that activity on my list of things to do when my kids go to college!

But this title caught my eye.  Fizzy Jill (after an unsatisfying adventure with the book "Wild") said that "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" was the book she wanted "Wild" to be.  Ti called it a gem.  It sounded gentle to me, but I was able to get it on audio from the library so I gave it a shot.


Synopsis:  Harold Fry and his wife Maureen are both in their sixties, retired,  growing old and growing apart.  While Maureen stays busy scrubbing their little home, Harold is going a little crazy without anything to do, and has given up on there being anything but estrangement and bitterness between them.  One day, Harold receives a letter from an old friend and work mate Queenie Hennessey, who he hasn't seen in years.  Queenie notifies him that she is terminally ill, residing in a hospice some 600 miles away, and wants to express her thanks for his friendship and to say goodbye.  Harold pens a note back to her, but instead of dropping his letter in the mailbox on the corner, he keeps walking.  Without a cell phone, in his boat shoes, without food, Harold impulsively decides that if Queenie knows he is walking to see her, she will stay alive and he will save her.

Much of what is hidden in Harold's heart is laid bare throughout this journey. Not only is Harold forced to deal with the physical hardship of exertion and exhaustion, but in the solitude he must face his thoughts and life's memories.  Is it selfish to drain his retirement fund to purchase food and housing along the way?  He misses Maureen, but wonders if she cares if he is gone?  He thinks about his son, who is no longer a part of their lives.  Did he fail the son somewhere, thus causing the escalating behavior issues, the drug abuse, the wayward restlessness and depression?  And then there is the untold story of Queenie that slowly unfurls in his mind over the miles.

Harold meets humanity from all walks of life on his journey.  Businessmen, feminist bikers, drifters, immigrant physicians, teenage slackers.  Some make a huge impression on him, some take advantage of him, some offer moral support or gifts.  But he tucks them all into his heart and takes them with him on this grueling but life-affirming pilgrimage.  

My thoughts:  This book was a very pleasant surprise for me.  I expected to be lulled into a state of fog by the gentleness and lack of action.  Instead, what I got was something extremely emotional and gritty.  There were even a few turns in the plot that shocked and devastated me.  

Was it a downer?  Because I know I'm talking like it was.  Part of it was very visceral - it wrung me out.  Regret at the end of a life is a heavy burden.  Feeling like you have failed a child, who was once a pudgy baby but turns into an angry adult, is a heavy burden.  Failing at a marriage is a heavy burden.  But Harold learns his lessons along the way, learns about himself, and by the end, you have hope for this man.  Ultimately I was uplifted.

And crazy as it seems with a book like this, I found it suspenseful!  Like...will Harold make it?  Will he give up?  Why is Queenie so important to Harold?  Will she live long enough to see Harold one more time?  These are questions that propelled me through to the end.   

Have you ever seen the movie "The Straight Story"?  A precious movie, about an old man who is estranged from his brother.  The old man cannot drive, so he hops on his John Deere lawn mower and heads across several states to make amends with his brother, who has taken ill, meeting mankind along the way.  These two stories were so similar in my mind.  If you liked this book, you should watch "The Straight Story".

A few words about the audio production: The narrator for this story was Jim Broadbent.  I've not heard him before, but it tickled me to see that he narrates Winnie-the-Pooh stories.  He has a charming, kind, British accent that is perfect for Pooh and for Harold.  He was a pleasure to listen to.

Audiobook length:  9 hours and 57 minutes (336 pages)

4.5 out of 5 stars       
     

City of Women - David R. Gillham (Audio)

I have a long and beloved relationship with Amy Einhorn books.  95% of the ones I've read have been five star reads for me (and the other 5%...well that's OK.  We can't love everything).  This lady has a gift for picking books that will change your perspective, rock your world, haunt your dreams.  She sniffs out the gems.

This was a highly-anticipated release for AE and for me.  Anytime I hear the words "WWII" and "Resistance", my antennae start to cautiously twitch.  I love the time period, and I love stories about the ordinary person doing extraordinary things, but because of this, I've become picky.  Just any old WWII story won't do.  It has to stand out.  Well, this one did.  

Synopsis:  Sigrid Schroder appears to be your model German frau.  She is married to a banker-turned-soldier, she works long hours at a patents office, she suffers her live-in mother-in-law, she isolates herself from the horrors occurring around her in 1943 Berlin.  Prying back a layer, however, allows us to discover that her marriage is loveless, particularly after her miscarriage.  She is lonely and adrift.

One day, while at the cinema, she has a sudden, passionate encounter with a man who becomes her lover.  In a city of women, where most of the men are fighting for the Fuhrer, this has been known to happen.  The problem is...her lover is a Jew.  Sigrid also befriends a 19-year-old woman who is acting as a nanny for a family in the her apartment building, only to find that this women is part of a complex network of a resistance movement...the blind man on the corner, a taxi driver, a pornographic photographer, a doctor, a Nazi general...all individuals willing to take life-threatening risks to do what is right.

As Sigrid gets pulled into this underworld, she begins to learn things about herself she never appreciated.  How far she would go for love, or for friendship, or to save innocent lives.  How she can no longer turn her head when brutality occurs.  But the trick is figuring out who can be trusted.

My thoughts:  This was certainly a WWII book that stands apart from the rest.  The general plot is one we have heard before.  Where it differentiates itself is in the characterization of these women.  These are not shrinking violets.  These are steely, ball-busting women who carry cyanide pills and revolvers in their purses.  

In fact, I was taken aback by the masculine spirit of the story.  Two other fitting adjectives would be "gritty" and "dark", which are words I usually throw out when I'm talking about the damaged-homicide-detective-chasing-serial-murderers kind of book.  There was a lot of sex, and it wasn't glamorous or romantic.  It was needy, urgent attempts at pleasure in the back of a movie theater, in seedy motels, or back alleys.  I was also a little alienated by the easy way these women hop from man to man, irregardless of who is married and who is not, for the purposes of passion or an agenda.  It was all very feral and debauched.  

But the story is one of incredible bravery and the belief in doing right by those who have been victimized.  There is fear, exhilaration, and violent painful deaths of those who are caught.  It is hard to say I loved this book.  It was too harsh for love.  But it is a story that will stick in my mind for a long time.

A few words about the audio production:  Our narrator for this book was Suzanne Bertish.  She does not have many audios on her resume, but I believe she was a good choice.  She has a very harsh, gruff, accented voice, which normally is not what I enjoy, but this was exactly as Sigrid should have sounded.  Bertish is a British actress that has enjoyed roles on television and the stage.

Audiobook length:  13 hours and 10 minutes (400 pages)

4 out of 5 stars    

     
    

Man in the Blue Moon - Michael Morris

My first exposure to Michael Morris and his latest book "Man in the Blue Moon" was at SIBA this past September.  Michael was a featured speaker one morning at breakfast, and he quickly had the entire room under his spell.  A good old Southern boy, he explained to us in his friendly, slow drawl that he wasn't even that great of a student growing up.  He just loved to tell a good tale.  The premise of this book, about a man that arrives hidden in a crate intended to hold a clock, was one told by his grandfather.  The fact that the story takes places in Apalachicola FL, one of my favorite places on earth?  A place I have visited at least a dozen times?  Well, I just had to find time to slip this one into my reading agenda.

I was incredibly pleased, then, when I heard it was the She Read selection for November.  Sometimes that is exactly what it takes to ensure I am able to read a book!

Synopsis:  Ella Wallace and her three sons are just managing to scrape by.  While the rest of the US fights its battles in World War I, she is focused on keeping her land out of foreclosure, the debt a little "gift" left to her when her drug-addicted gambler husband abandoned them.  But the local banker has a score to settle, and seems determined to ruin them.  

Then a stranger arrives...in a crate Ella THOUGHT was to contain a clock from the Blue Moon Company.  The man claims to be Ella's husband's cousin, and he brings with him a story of a scandal and murder in Georgia.  And he prefers to lay low.  Ella distrusts the guy, but when he volunteers to help her cut timber from her land to pay off the bank, she delays the decision to send him on his way temporarily. But the man begins to charm Ella and her boys, and there is also this special gift he has that cannot be explained...

With a satisfying mixture of raw characters, the syrupy-rich atmosphere of the undeveloped South, blanketed in faith and mystery, Morris weaves a tale that will not soon be forgotten.

My thoughts:  I'm not sure if I qualify as a Southerner.  But I've lived in Florida since 1991, so I certainly FEEL like one, and I gravitate towards books that celebrate everything I love about the South...particularly Old Florida.  I have had a love affair with Apalachicola and St. George Island since my first visit up there 12 years ago.  I was thrilled that my little corner of heaven was the location of all the action in this book.  

And even though the story took place in WWI, I recognized some of the landmarks. One of the restaurants mentioned, the Owl Cafe, is still there today!  I felt as if I were back there.  Morris does an excellent job of bringing this familiar place to life on the page.  

The characters were extremely well-drawn.  Ella was a strong woman, a momma bear willing to do anything to protect her kids, and willing to work hard to save her property.  Her sons were not token figures in the story either...they got their piss and vinegar from their mother.  Morris also draws a complex web of small town pettiness, gossip and hidden agendas...sometimes it is comical and sometimes it is a nasty business.

There is an element of religion and faith in the story, but nothing more than you would expect to find in a small Southern town.  Even though I am a religious person, I rarely enjoy too much of it in my fiction. But this was really a wonderful touch, what the author created.  Magical and beautiful.  I wouldn't have changed a thing.

It did take me longer to read than it should have.  Perhaps the action was slow in ramping up, or it took me some time to invest in the characters.  I'm not completely sure.  But ultimately, it was a very satisfying read.

4 out of 5 stars

Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter

I'll just lay this out there...I am scared to review this book.  I've been putting it off, and putting it off.  I'm not going to be able to describe it.  Well, yeah sure, I'll TRY, but I've been swishing it around in my head and nothing works.  

And the crazy thing is...I did not see this coming.  I have read one of Walter's books "The Financial Lives of the Poets", and I LOVED it.  It was really a breathe of fresh air in the land of family dysfunction and women finding themselves and all that.  It was creative and snarky and grounded in an inch or two of real life.  And when this little guy popped up, I never heard a bad word.  And that cover!  So vintage.  But it still knocked me down on my ass.  OK so here goes... *holding breath, and hitching up my britches*

Synopsis:  It all starts with a young man, working the family "Hotel Adequate View" in a small coastal fishing village wedged in the crack of a hill, in 1962 Italy.  Pasqualle, nursing a broken heart, has come home from college to pick up where his deceased father left off, and he is bored and isolated but with big plans.  Then a beautiful, tragic American actress shows up to hide away from the world, and the wheels are set in motion.

We travel to modern day Hollywood, where a scruffy, loser-who-thinks-he's-a-winner-who-lives-in-his-parents'-basement is pitching a movie idea to a distracted assistant to the famous director Michael Deane.

There is an aspiring author who stays at the Hotel Adequate View annually, but has only written one chapter in all the years he has spent there, drinking wine and dispensing advice to Pasqualle.

There is a talented musician who has squandered his gifts by sleeping with groupies, abusing drugs and alcohol, and consistently failing his one true love and his mother.  

We read Mr. Scruffy Loser's movie script.

We read the aspiring author's chapter.

We read a snippet of Michael Dean's memoir.

There is Richard Burton and Liz Taylor.

And everyone is connected in a glorious, ironic, sweeping, humorous kind of way.

My thoughts:  So there you go.  That is all I can really say, because the genius of this book is in the unencumbered meandering of this epic story.  It bucks the normal, expected template of a fictional book.  You pop your head into what seem to be random points in time, in various people's lives, then you pop out and read a screenplay.  You cross oceans and decades and languages.  You wade through love, greed, passion, ambition, helplessness, resignation, faith, hope.

The characters are quirky and make you laugh, which is a gift that Walters uses to his full advantage.  He is clever and sardonic, this one, with a turn of phrase that makes you shake your head in amazement, or chortle at the raunch.  Examples are required here!  When the director's assistant describes sex with her boyfriend as "the first two minutes like an exam from an autistic gynecologist, the next ten a visit from the Roto-Rooter man".  HA!  But he never lets his snark completely take over.  In fact, there was much in this story to cause one to pause and reflect.  So many quotables here.  Take these:

"There are only two good outcomes for a quest like this, the hope of the serendipitous savant - sail for Asia and stumble on America - and the hope of scarecrows and tin men:  that you find out you had the thing you sought all along."

"But I think some people wait forever, and only at the end of their lives do they realize that their life has happened while they were waiting for it to start."

By the end of the book, a feeling of warm, happy contentment washed over me.  Like after a very fulfilling, 6 course meal with wine pairings and an unobtrusive strolling guitarist named Francisco.  (Can you tell what this book did to me?)  Sated and filled to the brim, I wanted for nothing more.  Except maybe to stay at Hotel Adequate View in Porto Vergogna Italy.

5 out of 5 stars

Field to Feast: A moveable blog feast - Appetizers

So you are back for more!  If you didn't catch my post yesterday, and the story that goes with this cookbook, here is the link.  On day 2 of the Moveable Blog Feast, I'm offering up an appetizer!  (I actually had to make the Baked Penne with Four Cheeses, but I'll save that for another post!)

Before I share, I have to make a distinction between this cookbook and many others out there.  First, this gorgeous recipe collection is a tribute to all the wonderful farmers and restaurants out there in my home state of Florida.  The authors Heather McPherson, Katie Farmand (my partner in crime at the Reading Between the Wines event) and her mother Pam Brandon have compiled an eclectic and wholesome of dishes that celebrate the beauty of what Florida has to offer.  The pictures are gorgeous, the recipes easy to follow and delicious.    

Left to right:  Authors Heather, Katie and Pam

My chosen recipe is the Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup from Chef David Gwynn at the Cypress Restaurant in Tallahassee.  David opened his restaurant eleven years ago, and his mission from the start was to contribute to the local economy.  He gets his food from smaller farms, which provide higher-quality produce because they care deeply about what they do.  He finds inspiration in the Panhandle bounty, including the shiitake mushrooms used in this recipe.  They are grown in carefully shaded oak logs at Turkey Hill Farm.  He suggests drizzling it with truffle oil (which I did) or topping it off with a spoonful of crabmeat or cornbread croutons.

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup

Wild Mushroom Stock

4 cups wild mushroom stems
1 cup roughly chopped onion
1/2 cup roughly chopped celery
1/2 cup roughly chopped carrot
6 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 cup fresh parsley, leaves and stems

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup

2 tsp plus 2 TBL unsalted butter, divided
2 stalks celery, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, roughly chopped
1 pound oyster mushrooms, stems removed, roughly chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp coarse salt, plus additional to taste
1/4 tsp ground black pepper, plus additional to taste
1 quart wild mushroom stock
1/4 cup heavy cream

Make the Stock

1.  Combine mushroom stems, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns, and parsley in a stockpot and add just enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, skim foam from surface periodically.

2.  Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large saucepan.  Set aside.

Make the Soup

1.  Heat 2 tsp butter in a 4-quart stockpot over medium-low heat.  Add celery, garlic, and onions.  Cover and cook until vegetables are softened but not brown, about 6 to 8 minutes.

2.  Add mushrooms, thyme, bay leaf, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper to pot and stir well.

3.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mushrooms are cooked down and most of the liquid is gone, 20 to 30 minutes.

4.  Add stock and bring to a boil.  Remove pot from heat, discard bay leaf.

5.  Working in 2 batches, carefully transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth.

6.  Return soup to pot over low heat.  Add cream and remaining 2 TBL butter.  Cook until flavors are combined, about 2 minutes.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

OK I'll grant you, the picture in the cookbook is much prettier, but I made this!  (That is a garlic breadstick on the plate with the soup, and it was the perfect thing to dip.)

The main course is coming tomorrow over at Heathers (Book Addiction).  Please visit!  

Field to Feast: A moveable blog feast - Drinks first!

When Zibilee (Raging Bibliomania), Heather (Book Addiction), Jill (Rhapsody in Books) and I were at the 12th Annual SIBA Convention this past September, we were all drooling over a cookbook we received at a breakfast event (simultaneously while we were drooling over our breakfast).  The cookbook, "Field to Feast", celebrates Florida farmers, chefs and artisans.  We couldn't resist paging through and insisting everyone else look at the recipes and accompanying pictures that caused our eyes to pop out.  We agreed that this was a book that must be shared with the world!  That was how the "Moveable Blog Feast" was born.  We each would prepare a dish and coordinate our posts, right before Thanksgiving.

While we were doing all this drooling, I heard someone call my name, and who did I see sitting at our table but Katie Farmand, one of the authors.  Katie and I had worked together on the Adult Literacy League "Reading Between the Wines" event.  I learned that not only was Katie running the ALL event this past spring,  but was pregnant at the time, AND was writing this book!  Superwoman, I tell you, and the nicest person you will ever meet.  Her mother, Pam Brandon, is also an author, as well as a local celebrity Heather McPherson, who has regular cooking features in the Orlando Sentinel. 

Left to right:  Heather, Katie, Pam

So!  On the Moveable Blog Feast, I have signed up for drinks and appetizers.  Not a huge shock I'm sure.  We'll feature a refreshing aperitif today, and tomorrow I'll feature an appetizer.  We will progress through the meal throughout the week.

My husband is the most amazing drink-maker.  He usually makes things up each week, using freshly-squeezed juices and his arsenal of stuff from his liquor cabinet.  So I let him make the Siesta Key Lime Martinis for us last Sunday night.

The recipe comes from Drum Circle Distilling in Sarasota, Florida.  Drum Circle handcrafts spirits in small batches using high-quality ingredients, artisanal fermentation, and copper stills.  They produce something called Siesta Key White Rum and barrel-aged Gold Rum, as well as spiced rum, infused and flavored rums and premium vodka.  I know where I'll be going next time I am over on the West Coast!

Siesta Key Lime Martini (makes 1 martini)

1/2 TBL superfine sugar

1 1/2 parts Siesta Key White Rum (we used Rubi Rey Single Barrel White Rum from Puerto Rico)

1 part premium orange liqueur (we used Patron Citronge)

1 1/2 parts fresh Key lime juice

Ice

Lime slice for garnish

1.  Dip rim of martini glass in water, then dip in sugar.

2.  Combine rum, liqueur, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake and strain into martini glass.  Garnish with lime slice.

It was a wonderful way to end a crazy week!  And when they say this drink will add a kick to your next sunset party?  They mean it.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some tummy-warming soup.

Stranger in the Room - Amanda Kyle Williams (Audio)

I'm not completely sure who turned me on to Amanda Kyle Williams, but my antennae detected potential goodness when her first book in the Keye Street series, "The Stranger You Seek" was first released.  The reviews were everywhere and I had to get in on the ground level of a promising new series with a promising protagonist.

Being a bit of a finicky murder mystery reader, I was really pleased that Williams offered up something a little different.  Strong Southern Asian-American female, damaged, tough exterior, violent childhood, gay black adopted brother, loves expensive shoes and Krispy Kreme donuts, recovering alcoholic.  I wanted more of her at the end of the book, plus there was something extremely UNRESOLVED(!) at the end and it was driving me batty.  I was first in line for installment #2 on audio.

Synopsis:  Keye Street, private investigator and ex-FBI profiler, is enjoying her thriving business that perked up after her last case.  After all, she does have a hefty mortgage and a shoe addiction to support.  But over the 4th of July holiday, all she wants to do is kick back with her APD Lieutenant boyfriend Aaron.  However, two things prevent that from happening.  Keye's cousin Miki is in a panic because she thinks she is being stalked (she is also a little off the rails due to her drug use), and needs Keye's help.  And Aaron gets a call about a strangled 13-year-old boy.

While Keye rolls her eyes and tolerates her cousin's histrionics, it soon becomes clear, when a dead man is left in Miki's house, and is connected to the 13-year-old victim, that there is something more sinister at hand that started decades ago.  Keye must make sure that the next victim isn't Miki, her parents, or herself.

As Keye's varied assignments take the reader down paths of hilarity, of love, of psychological horror, and heart-pounding terror, you will begin to pull back the layers of our mysterious heroine, and know this is a series worth investing in.

My thoughts:  As I said before, I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but Williams has sharpened her pencil and crafted a much more twisted package for us this time.  This one is complicated and complex and disturbing.  Just how I like 'em, yes sirreee.

I appreciated that this isn't a "one mystery" romp here.  The primary plot thread is enough to carry the book, but Williams also throws in another pretty significant one that diverts our attention.  Honestly, it was nightmare-inducing, and one I was not expecting.  To take a little edge off of things, Williams also throws in some family interaction, some Stephanie Plum-like goofiness (just don't go too far down that path please!  Stephanie stands alone and cannot be replicated), some love (which the girl desperately needs), and some boots that are so hot they beg to be licked.

In the first installment, I instantly KNEW the evil-doer the second they jumped on the page.  Not so in this book.  Williams kept her cards close to the vest this time, and I was extremely entertained in joining Keye in her research to determine the who and the why.  

A few words about the audio production:  As in the last book, this one was narrated by the lovely Ann Marie Lee, who pretty much rocks the Southern drawl, and has managed to embody a character who is an enigma.  She has been excellent in everything I've heard her narrate.

Audiobook length:  13 hours, 2 minutes (320 pages)

4.5 out of 5 stars  

  

Where We Belong - Emily Giffin (Audio)

I've read an Emily Giffin book or two in my day.  I can't say that this is my modus operandi, but I remember it was easy reading/listening and didn't require much thinking or problem-solving.  So I wasn't too sad that this book was chosen for the next Books, Babes and Bordeaux Book Club meeting.  

The bonus in this scenario is that Esther from Macmillan Audio sent it to me!  Esther saved the day because there were a million holds on it at the library.  We love Esther!

Synopsis:  Marian Caldwell has got the tiger by the tail.  She is a 36 year-old television producer who lives in a penthouse suite in New York City, and dates a smooth, handsome successful man.  Life is good...that is, until her 18 year-old secret - a daughter she gave up for adoption - shows up on her doorstep.  

Through Marian's eyes, we learn about the passionate love affair the summer before college that resulted in Kirby's conception...the hidden pregnancy, the heart-breaking decisions faced by this scared teenager, and the questionable choices made.  Marian is terrified to unearth all of these ghosts, terrified at what her family, co-workers and boyfriend will think.  

Through Kirby's eyes, we learn about her life with her adoptive family, who have always been loving and supportive.  But Kirby has always felt like she didn't belong, is struggling with what the future holds, and has wondered about her birth parents.  Were they rebellious,  or musical like her?  Why did they decide to give her up?  Even when she does meet Marian, she still feels unwanted.  

As Marian and Kirby attempt to find common ground, their families also try to make peace with this new family structure.  This is a sweet, gentle story about finding your place on this earth, a place where you belong and where you are loved and accepted for who you are.  

My thoughts:  You need to know that I did not have very high expectations of this book, except that it would be a sugary balm for my frantic, twitchy brain.  Giffin's books usually have some conflict, some turmoil or secret that needs resolving, but you know things are gonna work out in the end.  They always do.  

So the book was extremely predictable.  I also felt like it was pretty far out in left field from reality.  I'm fairly certain that the average adopted child does not  seek out their birth parents to find them stunningly attractive, rich, and living in a penthouse in NYC.  Or that everyone in the extended families is thrilled at the prospect of these new family members all in their business.  I wish it were so, but Kirby's circumstances felt more like a fantasy of what every adoptive child would wish for versus what actually happens.  I'm sure dreams like this come true, but it is not the norm.  

All that being said, however, I flew through this book.  It was entertaining and easy and low stress.  If you are sick of serial murderers, the Holocaust, or tragic dysfunctional families, this is exactly what you need.  It just had those moments when you had to smile, and say "There is no way that would really happen, but that is so cool."

A few words about the audio production:  Our narrator for this audio was Orlagh Cassidy, who I've heard before and is literally everywhere in the current fiction audio category.  She has a very pleasant voice, and did an excellent job toggling between the voice of a grown woman and a teenage girl.  

Audiobook length:  11 hours and 1 minute (384 pages)

3 out of 5 stars