Debra H. Goldstein's Blog, page 39

The Bobbsey Twins and Agatha Christie

When I was a child, I was given a copy of The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport by Laura Lee Hope. It's book jacket claimed "Ghosts! Everyone agrees that the old Marden House is as haunted as a chimney on Halloween, but when there's a mystery to be solved, the Bobbsey Twins, Bert and Nan, Freddie and Flossie, don't intend to let a little thing like ghosts stop them." I became a diehard mystery reader from that moment forward.

Mysteries let me escape from school, chores, piano practice, and my pesky younger sister. Reading the entire Bobbsey Twin series let me be part of solving a mystery at the circus, the beach, the mountains, and by the end, even Japan. I explored more places and felt like the series’ characters became my friends as I read my way through Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Trixie Belden. Then, I found Agatha Christie! Not only were the characters of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot addictive, but their reasoning abilities challenged me to read carefully so that I could beat them to figuring out whodunit.

To this day, I relish the plot line in Christie's The Pale Horse because it stumped me. When I finished the book, I realized that Agatha Christie had hid the clues in the plot’s twists and turns, but I had been so engrossed in the story that I forgot to focus on putting them together. It was at that moment that I realized the complex analysis and delicacy of writing that makes a good mystery just plain fun to read.

Authors like Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, Faye Kellerman, Carolyn Hart, Nevada Barr, Linda Fairstein, Diane Mott Davidson, Janet Evanovich, Mary Higgins Clark, Anne George, Patricia Cornwell, Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, John Grisham, Brad Meltzer, Richard North Patterson, James Patterson, Alan Bradley, and Alexander McCall Smith, just to name a few, remind me of the technical skills of word choice, plot, and characterization necessary to write an enjoyable mystery each time I read any of their works. Not only is each a good storyteller, but each utilizes the fundamentals of writing to perfection so that their books are, as Flossie of The Bobbsey Twins would say, “bee-yoo-ti-ful!.”

----Debra H. Goldstein is the author of several short mystery stories including “Legal Magic” and “Malicious Mischief.” Her debut mystery novel, Maze in Blue, was published by Chalet Publishers in 2011. She still has her original copy of The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport. www.debrahgoldstein.com/dhgblog.html

LET FREEDOM RING!

LET FREEDOM RING!  July 4th, not the day independence was declared, but the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.  A day of trepidation for our forefathers who didn't know if they would really see a free nation or would end up being hung for treason.  A day for celebration for us – freedom, a day off from work, fireworks, John Sousa marches being played by local bands, barbecue and barbecues, politicians making campaign appearances, and family get-togethers.  While I will enjoy and participate in all of the above before I go to sleep tonight, for a few early morning hours, July 4th is my quiet time of independence.

I don't turn on the television or music, but instead take a moment to reflect in solitude staring out my back window.  My husband is out walking with a friend before the heat of the day becomes oppressive, but I am vegging.  It already is too hot for me to want to leave my air-conditioned room, but I am observing the stillness in my yard.  The grass is a little long, but neither it nor the trees are swaying in the absence of any wind.  It is a far cry from a few weeks ago when tornadoes devastated homes just a few blocks from our house while our trees bent from the force of the wind, before bouncing back upright.

The quiet makes me think of a cherished memory from my childhood.  It is the memory of the first time I ever realized the power that comes from solitude.  My family had just moved to Michigan; but dad was away on a business trip.  Mother had spent the night shortening curtains by hand so our apartment would seem more finished.  As she worked and listened to the radio, she observed snow falling and began to hear school closings, but none mentioned the Jackson schools where she had just enrolled us so I was sent off to the junior high school, a few blocks away.

Snow was falling lightly, but sticking with drifts that made me step carefully as I crossed the road in front of the apartment complex and took the shortcut to school.  The shortcut was a paved sidewalk between houses that had been built on multiple lots.  It enabled children living in our fairly populated area to independently walk to the elementary and junior high schools without having to cross two busy roads that bordered these houses.  I searched for the shortcut path, but no footsteps had marked it for me to distinguish from random sandlike dunes.  Everything was silent and white.  I had my bearings, but I stopped to look around for a bird, a squirrel, or another child.  There were none.  I was about to start walking again when I saw a single bird perched on the branch of an evergreen tree.  It seemed to notice me at the same time.  We stared at each other and then the bird shook itself and flew away.  Finally, I forced myself to continue to my closed school.  I got home in time to keep my mother from taking my sister to school.

The memory of being cold faded, but the silent beauty of solitude I felt stayed with me.  So, on the 4th of July, I am glad to celebrate our country's independence and to take a few minutes to enjoy my own independence.

Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Maze in Blue, a murder mystery set on the University of Michigan's campus in the 1970's.  www.DebraHGoldstein.com

I Love Independent Bookstores!

I love independent bookstores.  I don't think of them as being a salon of knowledge or a place to meet people and exchange ideas, I think of an indie as being a second home.

Just walking into an independent bookstore and observing its physical layout excites me.  My senses become heightened.  I observe the number of floors it has, its alcoves and nooks, and the way titles are displayed, but it is the smell of the books (and occasionally of coffee) that draws me in.  It is immaterial whether the books are neatly arranged, specialized by genre, or just haphazardly shoved into any available space.  I pace the aisles absorbing the colors of titles and covers, slowing only if one catches my eye to pull it from the shelves.  I turn it over to read the blurb on the back before glancing at a few pages between the covers.  My reaction is immediate: add it to my maybe pile or relegate it back to the shelf as boring.

Obviously, I can address the bookshelves of a superstore in the same way, and I often do, but I don't explore as much in a superstore as I will in an indie.  I tend to be more of a designated shopper in a superstore — looking for the mystery on aisle 27 or checking out the blue light special on aisle 11.  The same is true for me when I shop online.  In an independent store, I browse more.  I also shyly engage in conversation with the staff as I begin to recognize the same faces each time I visit the store.  As I get to know them, I immediately wonder what gem will become mine because one of the familiar faces I trust recommends a book as a personal favorite.

I always leave any sized bookstore having made a purchase, but I can guarantee that I will leave an independent bookstore with far more books than I intended to buy.  What about you?

Debra

Debra H. Goldstein's new mystery, Maze in Blue, will be available by May 1 from independent bookstores, including Little Professor Book Center (www.littleprofessorhomewood.com ) and Jim Reed Books (www.jimreedbooks.com) as well as online at www.amazon.com.