M.E. Roche's Blog, page 6

SUMMERTIME . . .

Summer is the time for lazy days on the lake, or by the pool, or enjoying the sun on the beach. It’s the time for camping and cooking outdoors. For catching up on family, books we’ve been wanting to read and outdoor games. For state fairs and amusement parks.

I never really liked amusement parks—even as a kid. One of my earliest memories was being at the top of a Ferris wheel, with one of my brothers, in the dark, with what I thought was a cricket crawling around on the floor of the cage where we sat. I seem to remember having screamed. Later experiences told me the bug was more likely a roach! Anyway, I didn't like spinning on the fast rides and being rather limited as to what we could spend on fair food that was probably a good thing. Moreover, I thought there was something scary about some of the people working in the parks, which ties in with the two books I’m recommending today. One is an author new to me—although he shouldn’t have been—and the other is by a long time favorite. I chose these two because of the setting in their old and somewhat scary amusement parks.

The first book is Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962). I’ve, of course, heard of it, but never had an interest in reading it, imagining it to be along the line of a comic book; I had no interest in comic books after Archie and Veronica. This author’s work is so extensive and in so many genres one would think it was hard having missed reading anything he wrote, but I did. His novels include mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In addition, he wrote for the big screen and TV, with such films as Moby Dick with John Huston and The Twilight Zone with Rod Serling. His seminal work—Farenheit 451—depicting a futuristic society where books are banned and destroyed, could have been a portent of life today. Many authors credit Bradbury as an inspiration for their own work.

In Something Wicked This Way Comes, a traveling carnival comes to a small town in the dead of night, every year just before Halloween. Two young boys are caught up in trying to discover how or why this happens and who is running the show. It’s the stark contrast of good and evil and what it does to friendship.

Recently I read that Stephen King’s favorite of all his novels was Joyland (2013). So this is my second recommendation. I had given up reading King some time back, as I thought that while his books were enjoyable, his themes were repetitive—young kids, often accompanied in the story by an elderly man who serves as a guide for whatever mystery the kids are trying to solve. There are some elements of this in Joyland, but it was a good read and it made me willing to go back and read some of King’s later works.

In Joyland, a young man takes a summer job at an amusement park set in a seaside town, in order to earn money for college. He is by himself in this new town, but he soon makes an interesting set of friends, both at the boarding house where he’s living and at the park. He learns the park is also hiding secrets, particularly in the tunnel of love, and he sets out to discover those secrets.

Enjoy! You can’t go wrong adding these two books to your summer reading.

May... a time to remember

May is the month where we celebrate nurses and others who are also our healthcare providers. In addition, it is the time when we remember those who have served this country and those whose lives were lost.

As a nurse myself, I’ll speak to this first off. Recently I came across a quote by a nurse describing what she had imagined nursing to be, and then what it turned out to be for her. “What I thought nursing involved when I started: chemistry, biology, physics, pharmacology and anatomy. And what I now know to be the truth of nursing: philosophy, psychology, art, ethics and politics.” (Christie Watson—see below—p.11) While the writer practiced for twenty years in a variety of settings in England, I do think her perspective could be shared by nurses worldwide. Here are two additional books that may prove of interest:

· Stenrose, Melody M.: Inside the ICU: A Nursing Perspective (2009). A view of what really goes on behind closed doors in the Intensive Care Unit. This author and I published our first books at the same time and it was nice to have shared this experience!

· Robbins, Alexandra: The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital (2015). A recounting of four very different nurses in four very different hospitals, providing great insight into what the life of a nurse is like today.

· Watson, Christie: The Language of Kindness: A Nurse’s Story (2018). This looks at the truly positive side of nursing, despite the tragedies and challenges.

As to remembering those we lost in our country’s wars, it seems like we’ve had quite a few wars since the last of the “big” wars. I came of age during Vietnam, but I remember very little discussion at home or in the news aside from daily statistics. I do remember having some school project and asking my father about the “domino theory”, which said, in effect, if one country fell to Communism, then a series of countries would subsequently fall. It was a theory which was used to legitimize our war in Vietnam. I didn’t understand why we were there and I didn’t know if I should be for or against. I never participated in any demonstrations because of this, but I do remember my mother wanting to do this. I also never knew anyone who was lost in the war. In later years, I’ve come to feel a sense of guilt for that lack of understanding. At one point, I wanted to go to Washington and see the wall—The Vietnam Memorial. I finally decided that money spent on a trip could best be donated to our vets today. There are many worthwhile organizations supporting our vets, those currently serving, and the families of both.

Of the many resources about our role in Vietnam, I’d have to say Ken Burns'

The Vietnam War, was certainly comprehensive and worth viewing. As I tend to favor fiction, it was happenstance that I came across one recommended by another author, and one which I did previously recommend: Robert Dugoni’s The World Played Chess (2021). It’s the moving story of a father and his son, and two Vietnam vets with whom the son works one summer. It was difficult to put this book down.

Finally, I’ll end with a personal note. I was recently stopped for speeding in a school zone; I thought I had passed the end of the zone. Fortunately the cop who stopped me, just gave me a warning, and then he said: “Thank you for your service!” I was totally taken aback. That day I was on my way to working/volunteering at a neighborhood clinic where we are required to wear white; that was my uniform. His comment has become something of a catch phrase, but no one had ever said it to me! So, think about that when you meet a health care provider or our current first responders—firemen, police, ambulance, and others. Thank them.

It makes one feel pretty good.

april in florida . . .

I do miss the daffodils, tulips and lilacs—the great introduction to Spring in parts further north. Unless you find them at the grocery stores, I’ve not seen them growing here in my part of Florida. Now I look forward to the first signs of turtles nesting in Spring, which can begin here as early as March, with hatching as early as July up until November. I’ve yet to see any signs of the Loggerheads which usually come to our beach, but I know Collier County has staff who check the beaches daily during turtle season, ready to build the protective cages around each site as soon as the turtle footprints and a mound denoting the nest appears, and to watch for signs of any disturbance by other critters. There were no signs of any nests today, but we’ve had dredging operations going which I’m told may delay the turtles coming in. Knowing that turtles return to the place of their own birth, if they sense a problem with that beach, where do they go? I’m told: they’ll just find another beach!

Continuing with my goal of introducing authors who are somewhat new to me, and might be new to other readers, I’ll focus on just three mystery writers from the state of Florida—each of the three with over twenty titles to their credit and each worth sampling.

· Carl Hiaasen – He places truly colorful characters, in situations which really stretch credibility, but will definitely put a smile on your face. As an example: I just finished Razor Girl wherein the title character is hired to stage rear end collisions. Her excuse: she is shaving her nether regions while driving as she has to get to make it to a date; she exits her car partially dressed and totally distracts the mark. This is how she makes her living and possibly destroys that of someone else.

· Tim Dorsey – His main re-occurring character is Serge A. Storms who has a host of mental health problems, none of which keep him from his mission to bring justice to those who he sees as injured in some way. His buddy on these adventures is Coleman who is both alcoholic and drug addicted. My most recent read: The Tropic of Stupid. These two will also keep you laughing.

· Randy Wayne White – These are straight forward mysteries, but again with interesting characters in several series. So far I have only read Night Moves in the Doc Ford series, where the character’s past as a marine biologist and possible government agent kept me engrossed in the story. Hannah Smith is a fishing guide who appears in the Doc Ford series, but also has her own series. Set in the Sanibel area, I’m ready to read more.

Happy Spring!

A touch of the Irish ...

I grew up in a big Irish family, so March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, has always been a big deal for us. My parents were both from Chicago and three of my four grandparents were straight over from Ireland; the fourth was second generation. I was about twelve when we moved to Ohio, where my parents were appalled there was no school holiday or parade to celebrate the 17th!

Six months after finishing my nurses’ training, I sailed for Ireland, where I lived on and off for the next five years. I worked in two children’s hospitals in Dublin and I loved living there—the people, the music, the Guinness and being by the water. It’s a beautiful country, where everywhere you go, people will ask where you’ve been, while at the same time telling you, you should have seen something you missed at that last place you’d visited. It’s a land full of myths and history and poets.

Two of my favorite classics: W. B. Yeats: Irish Fairy and Folk Tales andTomas O Crohan: The Islandman. I did actually read Joyce’s Ulysses, although I would have to say he’s not one my favorites. Among my favorite modern writers well-known for their mysteries are Tana French and Ken Bruen (The Jack Taylor mysteries). Below are some who may be new to many of you, as they have been to me.

· Dervla McTiernan: THE SCHOLAR (2019): Set in Galway, it’s the second in a Cormac Reilly murder mystery series. Fast paced and engaging. Two teams and two mysteries running side by side. I would definitely read the next in the series.

· Paraic O’Donnell: THE HOUSE ON VESPER SANDS (2021): This came with stunning reviews, and was compared to Dickens (who I never particularly liked) and Wilkie Collins (who I always liked). I found it to be a slow read, primarily because it is that Victorian style mystery.

· David Pearson: MURDER ON THE OLD BOG ROAD (2018): Book 1 of 12 in the Galway Homicides series. An easy and entertaining police procedural where a body is discovered on a rainy night in an isolated stretch of land, with no possible reason for it to be there. Great descriptions.

· Colm Toibin: THE MAGICIAN (2021): I wanted to read this because I had read another by this author that I had really enjoyed. His style is descriptive and poetic. This one took me a while to get into, until I discovered that it was actually a fictional, but obviously very carefully researched biography of Thomas Mann, the Nobel prize winning German author. The novel takes us from Mann’s very early life, along with his family, across Europe, America, and two world wars, until his final days in Switzerland. Fascinating! Once into the book, I didn't want to put it down.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!

BONUS: Here’s something I always make for this occasion—along with my special version of corned beef:

MAI’S BROWN RAISIN TEA BREAD

1 ¼ cup brown sugar 8 oz fruit (raisins)

1 cup cold tea 1 egg

2 ½ cups self-rising flour 4 oz nuts (I use walnuts)

Soak sugar and fruit in tea overnight. Next day: mix in flour and egg and pour into a greased and floured 9 in loaf pan. Bake in center of oven at 325 degrees for about 1.5 hours. Delicious warm with butter!

a different bigamist

"Scientists now estimate that only about three to five percent of the approximately 4,000 mammal species on Earth practice any form of monogamy."

-National Science Foundation

As I may have mentioned, BIGAMY is based on an actual case from the 1930’s. Friends of mine brought me copies of newspaper articles that were written at the time—articles that were carried by newspapers coast to coast. My friends thought the story would make a good book, but it took me a while to decide. I did more research on those articles and I began reading about bigamists; the bigamists in the stories I read didn’t match up with my characters.

The actual case I had in hand had nothing to do with religion or any nefarious scheme; it was purely pragmatic. And to be clear: there was no murder in my case, but there are still members of the family unaware of their family's history. The man involved did come over from England and he did work with a choir, but in this case his wife and several of their children came with him. Nonetheless, he was also somewhat charismatic and he did become involved with a young woman in the town, and he did go to jail.

I tried to find a book with something similar to my case, but I found that the books I came across almost exclusively involved a philanderer and wives who were slow to identify his weakness. The books were entertaining, but would probably fall into the romantic or mystery genre, while mine has a historic aspect. Here’s a sample:

· Jennifer Haigh: Mrs. Kimble (2009). An easy read about three very different women, all of whom married the same man, each of whom was unaware of the others. This man was a scoundrel, deserting the first wife, an alcoholic who was left to care for their two children without benefit of child support. The later effect on these children provides an interesting twist.

· Tamar Cohen: War of the Wives (2015). In this one, we see two very different women, each of whom was married to the same man for many years, neither becoming aware until the man’s funeral. How the women deal with this predicament is somewhat expected, but again the real interest is in how their children cope.

· Carolyn Brown: The Barefoot Summer (2017). Here is another case of three women, each married to the same man for varying lengths of time, and none knowing of any other wife, and each planning to inherit the couple’s summer cottage, where they eventually all show up after the man’s death. How they become friends is a bit unrealistic, but it makes for a good “beach read”.

· Jennifer Murphy: I Love You More (2015). This was a 4 star mystery. A man with three wives is murdered. Again, each wife was supposedly unaware of the others, but the daughter of one knows different. It’s a twisted plot that kept me guessing until the end.

· Elin Hilderbrand: Winter in Paradise (2014). When a man dies unexpectedly in a helicopter crash, his wife and two grown sons come to recover his remains on an island they knew nothing about. The discovery of her husband’s fantastic secret life which included a mistress who also died and the daughter they left behind, and how the family copes, is unrealistic, but again a good “beach read”.

my new novel

When a wooden box filled with old newspaper clippings is found in Sophie Dawson’s attic of fifty years, no one is prepared for the family secrets they discover. With their grandmother’s unwillingness to answer questions about the findings, the family is left to guess at answers which will forever haunt them.

Loosely based on a case that captivated people’s attention coast to coast in 1930’s rural New Jersey, the story follows the lives of Sophie, her husband William, and Aine, the second wife and their former servant. The question to which everyone wanted an answer: “What can a woman possibly be thinking, when she willingly steps aside and gives her husband to another woman?” For Sophie, it was clear she had not considered all that she should have. For William and Aine—and finally Sophie—nothing worked out as they had naively imagined.

A different take on the typical cases of bigamy where there's either a nefarious or a religious rationale for the story. This was based on a true case which had purely pragmatic reasons for their actions. I hope you enjoy!

LIARS . . .

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”

-Sir Walter Scott

In searching for the next mystery audiobook to take me on my daily walks, I was surprised to find so many books with the same—or nearly the same title—those with “liar” in the title being the first to catch my eye. Again, I’m always searching for an author new to me, but on finding some with which I was familiar, I was then curious as to how they compared with the less familiar. Here’s a sample of my findings—all of which I can recommend:

· K. J. Larsen: LIAR LIAR (2012), The Cat DeLuca Mysteries, Book 1. An enjoyable read, reminiscent of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, or Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone. Mysteries with a touch of humor.

· James Patterson and Candace Fox: LIAR LIAR (2019), Harriet Blue, Book 3. Fast paced story of a former police investigator, now on the run to find a criminal who can clear her brother’s name. Set in Australia. A style I would attribute to Fox who has a lengthy list of mysteries in her own name.

· K. L. Slater: LIAR (2017). A difficult to put down story of a single father, involved with a new love who is competing with the man’s mother for his attention. A decidedly twisted ending.

· Lisa Jackson: LIAR, LIAR (2019). Was the woman on the ledge the same troubled Las Vegas entertainer who disappeared some twenty years ago? The daughter left behind has never stopped searching and with the unexpected help of a friend from the past, some questions surrounding her mother are put to rest. Engaging.

· Ayelet Gundar-Goshen: THE LIAR (2019). What happens to a young girl who lies without thinking, to the boy who witnessed the lie, and to the victim of the lie? A timely tale in this day of MeToo.

· Tanen Jones: THE BETTER LIAR (2020). This is a debut novel reminiscent of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. It’s the story of a woman who hides the death of her sister in order to inherit from their father’s estate which has the stipulation that both daughters must come together in order to collect. The how and why and what happens kept me guessing until the end.

the cozy mystery. . .

Some years ago, when I was seeking an agent for my first Nora Brady mystery, I received a regretful response from one agent who stated she wasn’t in the market for a “cozy” mystery. I considered this something of a slam, not knowing this was actually a subgenre of mysteries. Years later, I’m still not sure my books belong there, but nonetheless, I’ve learned a bit more. I’ve also learned there are hybrids—books that cross over or combine genres or subgenres of fiction.

So what is a cozy? Borrowing from Danna@cozy-mystery.com, here are some of the characteristics:

· The main character is usually a likeable woman (though sometimes a man) who is an amateur sleuth, with life experiences that aid her in solving those mysteries/murders she encounters

· Her talents may be such things as baking, crafting, or dog training, sometimes with a shop that connects her with other characters in the story

· The setting is usually a small town/village where everyone knows everyone else

· Her best friend, husband or significant other is likely a detective, police officer or medical examiner, so there is access to information often necessary to solving the crime

· Both violence and sex (if there is any) is generally off scene and there’s likely no profanity

Cozies are a burgeoning field and here are some authors whose works you might want to explore:

· For those who love baking: Joanne Fluke. Her novels are peppered with recipes and I wanted to try every one of them!

· For the crafters: Lois Winston. I just finished reading Assault With A Deadly Glue Gun in her Anastasia Pollack series. Very clever!

· For those with dogs: Maggie Toussaint. Her dreamwalker series includes a ghost dog who assists the sleuth in solving the mysteries. And another author new to the scene:

C.B. Wilson. Her Barkview mysteries, involve an entire town focused on dogs.

· For the unique occupation of organizing estate sales: S. W. Hubbard. The Palmyrton Estate Sale mystery series is only one of several different series by this author

So, take a break from the holiday rush and treat yourself to a cozy! And have a very

HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!

diversity . . .

“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.”

Mahatma Gandhi

First off: Happy Thanksgiving! I have many things to be grateful for myself—one of which is living in a country where we have such a rich mix of cultures. Growing up, I really didn’t think in terms of what I wanted to be; I only wanted to travel…to see the world. As three of my grandparents had come over from Ireland, I was most curious about life over there. My mother’s favorite book growing up—which she later shared with us—was Shaun O’Day of Ireland, by Madeline Brandeis (1929), a woman who traveled widely and wrote a number of books about children from different lands. As wonderful as books are, I wish I had thought to ask my grandparents more about their lives before they came to America.

I grew up in and have lived most of my life in fairly homogenous, white communities. Of course, I later worked with many people of diverse backgrounds. Once I began to travel, I soon learned that while people may look different, speak differently, dress or eat differently, we all share the same concerns about family, friends, art, music and our life’s work, and that while we have those same concerns, our views may differ. This continues to fascinate me.

Since my personal goal has been to extend the span of my reading, and to share the works of authors who are new to me, I want to introduce five authors whose work I have recently come to appreciate. With so much emphasis focused on the issue of diversity today, I think these five provide insight into the communities about which they write. Listening to interviews with the first three authors, I was inspired to find their books. I was especially interested in Naomi Hirahara’s book as I had worked with a woman who had lived in what those confined, referred to as “concentration” camps—where American citizens of Japanese ancestry were confined during WWII. Reading the great reviews for Steph Cha, I wanted to read her book; I only chanced to listen to the audiobook of Gregory David Roberts and I loved his beautiful descriptions of India. Here’s my list:

S. A. Cosby, Razorblade Tears (2021) Two African-American fathers are brought together by the murder of their gay sons who were married. A page-turner tale of grief and revenge.

David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Winter Counts (2020) When the federal justice system didn’t address crimes to the extent to which those on the reservation believed was appropriate, the community had their own “fixer”--one who was then forced to confront his own beliefs about being Native American, once his task became personal.

Naomi Hirahara, Clark and Division (2021) After leaving her California internment camp, a woman is re-located to Chicago, where she discovers and then sets out to disprove the report that her sister has supposedly committed suicide.

Steph Cha , Your House Will Pay (2020) The histories of two families—one Korean-American and one African-American—collide in the wake of an LA police shooting of a black teenager.

Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram (2004) Captivating descriptions of life in Bombay (name change to Mumbai in 1995), where an escaped convict from Australia chances the making of his new life.

While my recommendations are all mysteries of a sort, I’ve only lately learned about a new specific genre—that of the LGBTQ community. If you are interested in learning more, check out: https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainm...

OCTOBER . . .

There is no autumn on the gulf coast, such as there is in other parts of the country—no chill in the October air, no crunch of the dry, falling leaves—but here I know it’s October by the disappearance of the many scattered, protective turtle egg cages. I’ve learned a number of things about sea turtles over the past months: that they will return to that beach where they were hatched; that most will weigh between 300 and 400 pounds; that their footprints coming up and down the beach look like someone had worn a too-large boot on each hand and each foot and then trudged up and back down the dune, away from the high tide mark; that the season runs from April to October and that there are usually between 50 and 100 eggs in a nest; that the hatched eggs look like deflated ping pong balls; that the primary predator is the armadillo; and finally, that the eggs don’t always hatch at night, but rather when the temperatures have cooled.

Here, the county employees carefully monitor the nests on a daily basis. They know when a nest has been dug, by the clear footprints of the mother turtle. They then construct a chicken wire cage sunk around and well below the surface of the sand in an area approximately 4 feet square. They know when hatching has occurred by a disturbance in the surface, and then they dig down into the nest to remove and count what’s left of the shells.

In keeping with a promise to introduce some books, readers might not have read, these are 3 of my favorites:

BEACH MUSIC by Pat Conroy (1995). This is also an old movie with Nick Nolte and Barbara Streisand. Largely set in South Carolina, it’s the story of a man coming to terms with his past. Sad, but beautifully written. It first introduced me to the protection of sea turtle nests.

GIFT FROM THE SEA by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1955). Using different seashells, the author traces stages in a woman’s life and the need for having time to oneself. The first edition had beautiful water color drawings. It is one of my favorites, and one I’ve shared with many.

THE SHELLSEEKERS by Rosamunde Pilcher (1987). This also has several movie versions where a woman looks back on her life from the present to WWII. Set in London and Cornwall.