C. (Comment, never msg).’s Comments (group member since Jan 30, 2014)

C. (Comment, never msg).’s comments from the Gentle SPECTRUMS group.

My awesome friends, here is my review, fresh out of the oven! Just so you know, Kerri, I wrote one for "Chappy" at least a week ago and left it on your profile. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My dears, I hope your week is good and that 2022 is starting out already happy for all of us. We have had challenges but I have a good feeling about this year nonetheless. Hugs!

Avoidance of the "Murdoch Mysteries" television show is needless. Maureen Jennings only had 7 books before the television series was made. The one afterewards is about William in old age. I hope you take my suggestion to look at "Fantastic Fiction". Series and other releases are laid out clearly at a glance, better than anywhere I have seen. Goodreads is the worst place to look, so you know!

"Heartland" is completely different. As you said, the horse series came from a whole series of books and continued past a main character. "Murdoch Mysteries" is original, with only a few novels to possibly provide episodes for the first season or two.

That is as clear as I can make it. There is almost nothing to spoil if you watched the show now and I heard William married someone very different in the novels.

Over and above that, the actors give it a separate life by being funny and sexy. Seeing and hearing the characters is very different from those we read about. You can't compare them. The books seem terribly old-fashioned so far. The television vibe is pleasingly, refreshingly modern, pushed as far as their chosen time period could allow!

I hope to move past my assertion that no lie made sense. Conjugal relations (as Charlotte MacLeod would put it) were unheard of between these spouses. She disliked her marriage enough to leave it and the judge would not find divorce overwhelming or foreign. In his job, it was a viable, simple option.

She married him because she didn't expect to meet anyone else, not for a money cliché. The judge's nephew might have married her or she could go off on her own. This was not poor historic England. She had family. Canada and indeed cities are vast enough that she need not go far.

I suggested it was interesting to discuss the portraits of sexuality being a theme in various forms but that proposal was met with crickets. I hope we are generally comfortable with most topics. I did verify in advance that no one had any reason to shy away from any adult topics.

I wonder if you both feel this would have gotten three stars, without William's scenes and reuniting with a baby. Yes, may Maureen's novels focus on the good stuff in the future. Two novels from now, which comprise William's family, they are absolutely tantalizing. This is it from me except in reply.

Kerri, do you have topics to raise? If not, Shirin can finish anything of interest to her. I only hope everything I contributed is looked at. It has been a long wait to continue.

I always ask if you & Shirin are free to make notes in progress. It flags afterwards. I myself start another book because those who do not read as wildly as the two of you, have to keep on going! However, I can carry a conversation while reading other things and am unsure the two of you do.

I said Awesome Books had "Murdoch Mysteries" at good prices. That is where I got mine, besides being surprised with "Let Loose The Dogs" from friends for my birthday. There are titles we mutually own and Shirin can get anything, when the timing is right.

The fourth "Anne Of Green Gables" would be a pleasure this year. The first boxset is with my niece, whose birthday is today.

I like to highlight and discuss public issues of my country from time to time and invite our members to do likewise. May we always consider other points of view expressed fairly and tactfully, even if we do not think we share them.

Canada is threatening human rights by proposing that a drug be forced on everyone, including people who believe in natural immunity. It is now or never to speak up on urgent considerations that have been missed. My article is here. https://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2022/0...

Kerri, would you catch up by e-mail first? I find that gets briefer and thinned out if you comment beforehand. Personal letters mean far more and are far more lasting than website discussions. We don't want a letter affected that is as long, eagerly awaited as yours. :) I am glad you like the look of my Christmas carole riddle!

Calling all group members! Here is a Christmas carol puzzle at my blog that you might have fun working out! I offered it to reading challenge members a couple of years ago. Disregard the original contest particulars.

The clues still make good fun. E-mail me your guesses or ask for answers. I give the e-mail address there. Your friend, Carolyn. https://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2019/1...

I guess I'll follow Kerri up now. However, Shirin, please don't miss all the work I added earlier. Sometimes people only look at the latest writings. I would love a response from you about what I contributed earlier, all right?

Don't worry about criticizing Mrs. Pedlow (I forget her first name or I would use it). I outright dislike her and do not feel sorry about her marriage because she chose it for a silly reason. Here again, I think Maureen was confusing Canada with old class systems of England. It was not essential to marry anyone you could by a certain age, even if marriage was expected. A judge could certainly tell you divorce was an option too. It was up to the couple to choose between getting shudders from the public with religious pickiness, or freeing themselves to be truly happy.

They chose to avoid making waves, so to heck with them. I think we all three agreed that it was silly to pretend the Daughter wasn't hers. I'll say it once again because this thread hasn't been taken up. She didn't want her husband to know but what is the worse that would happen: divorce from the judge and his income? So.... that would free her to marry someone else. It was just stupid. If he worried about appearances or conventions, he would be pissed off at her but accept the Daughter.

It was wonderful to see Annie transform into someone we could respect. When she had Freddie back, she showed her heart instead of pettiness and promiscuity. Yes, I wanted a scene with her & the Sister settling Freddie into their life. I think Maureen may have felt her novel was already separated into too many characters: William at work and at home, the Pedlows, Lily and the kids, the neighbours, the judge's nephew. We did close on a personal scene with William. At the sports event, he had a suitor from his dance class, which I enjoyed!

I am okay with the crisp closure on all threads, except seeing how Freddie, his Mom, and Aunt fared. Therefore my four stars come from disliking nearly everyone as we did, seeing no excuse for the Pedlows' stupid decisions, George's terrible treatment to siblings after they were freed from abuse, and I agree about Lily.

She likely needed to exert an extreme firmness to take George in hand. Killing him in anger is no surprise for me because she had endured enough from her Mom generally and society, for trying to save the infant in the past. However, it was extreme and she could have smacked him, or taken off. Yes, when she had a wonderful bedroom clean and orderly, why live under a tree? I get that it is a favourite hiding place by to stay there instead of using an abandoned house or somewhere else was madness. She was free now: she could have enjoyed it.

I ask again as I have about other elements: was the stuff that does not mesh, a mistaken portrayal by Maureen of human behaviour? We find a lot of content unbelievable. That informed my 4 stars as well. I think I considered 3 stars if not for the awesome moments of William dancing, considering his sexuality, and a Mom getting her baby back.

I would value Shirin's take on religious intolerance and hypocritical behaviour. It exists in all our countries and we gave our opinions. Hers is a unique environment to hear about, from the perspective of a woman thriving in academic and professional achievements there like you do, our dear friend. How does it feel to be intelligent and ambitious in a patriarchal government? Do women have to push hard today to excel at university, home, and careers? Are neighbours petty like in this novel, or is the average person the same as you?

Canadian classic "Barometer Rising" is Hugh MacLennan's fictional retelling of the Halifax Explosion. He was in it as a child in 1915. He wrote a love story around it similar to what Canadian director (did you know that?) James Cameron did, with "Titanic" in the 1990s. Kerri, you reminded me with your annoyance about not seeing Freddie at home with his true family, that Hugh ended his family story without showing readers what we looked forward to. It is the only reason I gave that fabulous story 4 stars.

Yes, the Christmas film was awesome because it was about William's own family and Aboriginal rights. It is a hot racism issue in Canada and I wonder if they would have been nervous about how to produce it just right, if they broached it now. It has a beautiful ending on a canoe with Aboriginals taking them for a Christmas ride.

I don't know if Maureen's written characterization meant for William to have a policeman Brother and two modern-thinking nieces but it added humour. Given who he marries on the show, it was hilarious to see her with these tomboy girls who want to be scientists, whom their Mom had trouble keeping calm and polite. Hee hee.

I've been anxious that our conversation hasn't kept going since November 29 (and an e-mail from Kerri is taking ages, hehe). I guess we were awaiting Shirin having more to say? Kerri left a lot of conversation fodder along with mine.

Meantime, I wondered if the two of you looked at the maps with my tour of things to see. I thought you might be interested in where Manitoba fits into our country and the distance from Winnipeg to Toronto, where my youngest Brother lives. They also showed Kingston to Toronto as per one part of my discussion input.

My Brother was just here to see us and brought Dad for a wonderful day's visit two days ago! Dad & I had our birthdays and Timmy is home in time for his. He has been in Winnipeg a few times but hasn't been to my place not only since Spirit & Marigold were on Earth but since before our parents moved. So it was a relief to show him things and get an idea of what I should continue saving for him & his family and what I might pass along. Dad & Timmy enjoyed McCartney, Angel, Petal as well as Ron & me..

Great write-up, Kerri. I'll give Shirin a chance to muse on what interests her among the detailed thoughts we laid out. I hope you two peruse the maps and my description of what to see. It is nice to picture where we are in literature. I would also like to know New Zealand and Iran better. I did get good at geography after graduating from high school, a passion I did not predict while I was there.

Excellent television is a problem with living in Canada!

I have a hot bath ready. I do not feel comfortable dressing until I am bathed and do not want to be in pyjamas late in the day. I am reading an excellent mystery novel by Jennifer Lynn Barnes that I want to continue. What is more, it is +1 C in late November: in Manitoba! This is my chance to run the garden hose outside for a couple of hours to clear the well water. The pressure seems like it is getting low and it might be -20 C another day, requiring hot water against the tap to get the water to move.

I fed the cats lunch, had my own breakfast, and was just browsing for something to watch over my coffee; then I would jump into my bath. What do I see on CBC? "Murdoch Mysteries: Home For The Holidays"! Well, that looks good but I am busy today and it is probably some old special from early seasons. I read the satelitte channel description: it is two hours, from 2017, fairly recent.

"William & Julia go to Victoria, BC for Christmas with his brother. A permanent Aboriginal village is unearthed and an archaeologist murdered at the historic discovery"..... Damn it, how can I not watch THAT!

You know I can't download or stream anything on this dial-up internet; I have to catch shows live. Also, Yannick Bisson looks really hot because he is dressed in almost jeans and a cowboy hat to tramp around outdoors.

I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll watch until my coffee is done and jump in the bath. I'll peek a bit more, get out the hose, run the water, and then sit down to watch the rest. Sigh.

I found a map focused on Ontario. Here are some interesting places. https://geology.com/canada/ontario.shtml

Manitoba is in green to the left. Québec is in orange to the right. The United States are in grey at the bottom. Some place names from Canada go over top of it or the lakes but obviously do not belong there. Look for the dots for place locations; not where their written names need to travel.

I hope you are mapreaders and that GPSs haven't taken over that basic knowledge. :) I prefer a paper map, to see a wide view of where I am going next. I do not like blind directions one step at a time.

The larger red line must be the Trans Canada Highway #1, which I live on! You see Kenora, the first stop in Ontario. My home is only 1 1/2 hour away. Above Kenora is Red Lake, my Mom's home town. :)

To the right in Ontario, under Québec, you see our country's capital, Ottawa. Kingston is all the way south from it. Toronto is further southwest of it. If you girls like paper maps (and if Shirin & I get mail working between our countries), you might enjoy me sending you some, one of these days. We pick-up free new ones of Manitoba & Ontario annually.

I am continuing my proposed conversations and answering yours from message #18: which is my birthday number! :) Kerri, I hope you see the personal updates I shared in my "Carolyn" member folder. It would be fun if you guys set up your own spaces too, to keep track of or share whatever you like.

Back to the novel; going to England is not something you would fool anyone about. I believe Mrs. Padlow went and probably did have a cousin there. Since that nonsense about having "tea time" came up again which is a non-existant meal in Canada, she or the judge might have been from England. I think Dolly used to be in Kingston, Ontario and so were she and Annie. I think Toronto is our largest city and is near Kingston. No matter where you are, Toronto is our most major centre and a lot of people ended up there, even William all the way from Novia Scotia.

I dislike using "Murdoch" or anyone's last names, unless there is a Mrs. or Mr. with it. Hercule Poirot for example is Hercule and Aramand Gamache is Armand, of Louise Penny's novels. I note first names and mentally replace them if a last name appears; a cure for a misophonia type of irritation. This isn't a topic - I am only explaining.

There is a Canadian map at my blog's review database that shows you Winnipeg, Manitoba in the middle; Toronto, Ontario at the bottom of the image, and Halifax, Nova Scotia on the right at the bottom. I guess you need a slightly more detailed map to show Kingston but knowing it is in the vicinity and in the same province gives you the picture.

The details were left for us to presume but Mrs. Pedlow must have left the baby for her trip and retrieved her on the way back with a story of a lost cousin. We might imagine that a presumed or actual funeral was the purpose of her trip, without waiting for her husband to be free to join her.

Shirin, you are right that she was married and could say the child was Walter's. But he rather than society is the person from whom she hid the affair. The biological Father was his nephew. If you are sensing that there was no incentive to lie because she would have been relieved for Walter to divorce her, I agree. All she wanted was to be loved and to have someone with whom to share love, just like I do. Her Daughter provided that blessing foremost, happily for the two of them!

I thought she might as well dissolve her marriage and be free to marry the person she loved. Unfortunately, we found out that he had no feelings for her and didn't know about his baby until the end. He regretted that belatedly and left a letter so the wrong person would not go to jail. However, he was selfish to destroy the record book, notably after writing a letter to confirm the girl's paternity. Other people's birth records were in there who might want them in the future. That was needless and I had no liking for the jerk.

I disliked too that neither he nor Lily faced the music of their actions. Even had we sympathized with Lily about fearing the police, the point of a novel is growth. I wanted her to stop running under a fucking tree trunk and to learn that talking to the police is what grown-ups do. Had she not been the other criminal, I wanted her to enjoy her clean room and to teach George hygiene. I loved the husband of one neighbour for speaking-up about what he knew and defending Lily with compassion.

Kerri, I wondered what part lost steam in your opinion. Working it out here, I said that there was no carriage of justice for either murderer and that destroying sympathy for Lily was a weak red herring device.

I also find that hiding Mrs. Pedlow's pregnancy and the contstruction of her story was poor. The woman who kept and raised her Daughter should have been absolutely joyous. Even in a stale marriage, who cares? She had her Daughter and a comfortable living to themselves. Alternatively, had she wanted out of the marriage with or without the cold nephew, she could have announced the affair and received enough support for the girl. I didn't get the impression she was money hungry so her motive in the mystery held no water, to me. Be happy or get out: her dull personality made no sense.

I hated Annie and ended up loving her. It was sad that the Sister who wanted a baby, Millie, lost hers. However, it was redemptive for Annie to become the Mother she secretly longed to return to. I was happy Freddie was her boy. She'll clear him of worms, lice, fleas, and anxiety. He will never feel more cared for and loved, especially by a pair of strong street Sisters, willing to punch people out, haha! I like that he stays lower class with people who understand the mindset he has had: decent and pretty moral, safe, and protected. Freddie ought to inherit the house and valuables in it.

Kerri, as for the fourth novel that you noticed is very large, I smiled because I wrote about it in the "Carolyn" folder. I look forward to you reading a few of the message boxes. "Let Loose The Dogs" is one of my birthday gifts from my close friends this week-end! It is the story I most want to read: very personal to Will and his family.

Hello, my friends! I would have liked to discuss the book every night or two as we were going along but am happy you each left a note a couple of times. Now we are selecting conversation fodder from the story as a whole and there is a lot here to peruse! Please propose topics you would enjoy us digging into.

Out of interest, what would you say amounted to a four star grade from each of us?

A topic of consideration that struck me is how clear it is, perhaps to you as well as to me, that the definition of morality was ass backwards. Let's focus on Dolly's primary career as a midwife. Presumably she served those who wanted discretion as well as those who couldn't afford doctors. Canada did not have federal health care until 1957. That is frighteningly recent and I don't know how other countries expect their people to survive without it. Putting abortion aside which Dolly took up after moving to Toronto and what an abusive, blackmailing bitch she was, I sense that people looked down at her for a low income, for not appearing in neighbourhood churches, and for being a widwife to the secretive or the financially stressed. Would you say so?

I propose that this implies not going to recognized churches, lacking a middle class income, not having babies in hospitals, and a job besides delivering babies for the secretive or financially stressed is considered upstanding or moral. Wow, everything is wrong with that, isn't it? In 1895 or any other time, I don't see any fault in struggling financially or providing childbirth delivery for others in such situations.

Spiritually, Dolly was a terrible person, we grant that. But I don't think any better of the preachy neighbours who frowned on people. That is amoral and even landlady Beatrice Kitchen is the same; just more soft-hearted. Dolly's neighbours would be truly spiritual if they prayed for the children left behind and wished Dolly to rest in peace. You never say of a death that anyone deserved it.

Fanatical religiousity makes me sick and I hope my middle Brother wakes up. Thank God my Dad has gotten gentler and can listen to other ideas presented lightly and cautiously. The hypocrocy is starkly obvious to the two of you too, in the characters of Maureen Jennings' novels, isn't it? It is an essential issue that Maureen portrayed well.

Not frowning on anything except the way Dolly and George treated people, I had the strong feeling of relief; that life would be better for Lily and Freddie after they died.

Shirin, I agree with you that making Lily the killer in one crime was a mistake by the author. It isn't out of the question for an abused person to snap and George was an asshole after all they had been through. They should have celebrated the ability to clean up that house and earn money without Dolly's negative presence. I don't blame Lily for screaming out a last straw "fuck you" to George.

However, I know what you are saying, Shirin. Maureen shattered our sympathy for Lily and not as a discussion of snapping if abuse goes too far. I think Maureen sacrificed the effort she made with her character only as a gimmick to fool readers with an extra criminal. I hate pointless twists dumped into stories and wish authors would understand readers only want stories with a flow that makes sense. Being uncertain how stories will go provides natural twists. She took time to contstruct sympathy and outrage for Lily's imprisonment, knowing she saved a deformed child.

Yes, George's autopsy confirmed the "age 13 or 14" that we imagined defined a working young man in 1895. I'll continue my topic suggestions in the next comment box.

I am so glad to hear you read my personal update and enjoy sharing it with me, Shirin. It is time for happy ones! :) Your friend, Carolyn.

Hello from our first cold night! I had a birthday gathering with two close friends. It was a wonderful visit, doing so much catching-up by talking that we skipped playing a boardgame or music. It was fun to watch them choose from my selection of books for their recent birthdays.

As for what they brought for me, I am so excited, I have to share it with you now! Ron's great gifts were above and I told him: "You know, those are among the top three books that I hoped to get the most. The next ones I would love to have are: "Bluecrowne" Kate Milford and "Let Loose The Dogs" Maureen Jennings. Well, that is exactly what my friends chose for me, plus a Taylor Swift album! I sure am happy with my fine selection of reading.

I hope Shirin, Kerri, & I keep on reading our series and get to this "Murdoch Mysteries" story soon, because it is about Will's family in Nova Scotia! It is going to be good! I can't help wondering if it went into the TV show. It is a very long book, nearly 500 pages and obviously must contain a number of storylines, perhaps between Ontario and Nova Scotia. Anyway, good-night from a happy birthday girl, in the true sense of the lovely words. Yours turly, Carolyn.

I have another trail I am pondering. We read that Mrs. Padlow came back from England with the niece, meaning that she likely gave birth there. Did she pretend her own child was a niece? It makes no sense to give up her flesh & blood, then adopt a different one to ease her heart. I hope Maureen didn't get that wrong because I don't imagine a Mother's soul would be eased by anything but her own child.

On the other hand, why did Dolly write that "I did my best by you"? That goes further than saying "I hid the secret of your baby in the past". Would Mrs. Padlow pay money for something she could deny? An appointment in Dolly's book is not legally binding.

However, if she delivered money and saw her son in disgusting conditions, could she leave him? She doesn't give a damn about her husband and wouldn't the heart outweigh society in urgency? Remember that this is Canada, not England. What society we had was new and short-lived; not engrained. Ah but would Maureen have gotten that?

I hope Maureen didn't screw anything up and gives us answers to the mysteries that impress us, ladies!

I am in chapter 17. Will finally had his dance with ladies and got to enjoy his fresh skill and a new outfit for the occasion! I love all of those scenes with him as a real person; not only a policeman in these novels. I hope his landlady is good at getting a bloodstain out of his white slacks.

Shirin, thank you for reminding me that the creepy preaching neighbour (do something about your skin, for pete's sake!) saw two visitors to Dolly's house.

I myself also wonder how Mrs. Padlow knows Annie. We do not know Annie's connection with Dolly. We hope her niece is her Daughter and I wonder whose son Freddie is. He annoys me a bit. I know the child is traumatized and too young to think well but some kids are remarkable thinkers for their age. Often for children of abuse, or who spend a lot of time in nature, their intuition kicks in. Taking care of themselves is natural, not hiding in an empty house like he is at my point in the novel.

On the other side, kids who have received instructions or lectures from people, even unkind caretakers, go to adults when they are in trouble. When I was too young to think, I got lost in public. I probably only took one wrong turn close by and panicked but I decided not to get more lost by searching. So I followed a trustworthy looking lady, whom I knew would eventually notice me and help.

Freddie was familiar with his neighbours, even though they frowned on his caretaker. Also, he knew the police had been kind to him the last time there was a death at that house. I do not think Maureen portrayed things properly there. Lily on the other hand, was told she would be tortured in jail and cannot hear the reassuring tone of voices. Although she supposedly was a shrewd bargainer at the market and used to working for and with people.

With those criticisms of behaviour aside and lately, Maureen bringing up that stupid "tea" expression as if the non-British families had a meal like that in Canada; I am enjoying this novel very much.

Yes, you are right that Julia stays wryly amused at people's reaction to her high professional status in 1895, I think the year is. The more we see her, the better, although I understand she does not play the same role in the books as in the show.

In addition to adding your impressions and enjoyment, I think you answered my questions in the first post and hope Kerri does too, messages #7 & 8.

I am grateful to my friends and family for their love today. The good cheer is working wonderfully on my magical day and I am very happy. I photographed our snowy land and wildbirds around our yard on this day of pretty clouds today, upon which I was born. I thought of those not standing here visibly: my dearest Mom and cats Marigold, Spirit, and Love. Their faces have warmth have been close to me all week.

Afterwards, when Ron was home from work, we opened his card and presents and the were the items I hoped for the most! I could not be more excited by anything else! I am going to have fun clearing off my array of wish lists, in documents and on-line! Are you curious to know what they are? All right!

It is a new room spray (I love soothing scents) and a Selena Gomez album. In books, the in-store clerk was able to find three.... the top three books I have wanted! "Truly Devious Maureen Johnson, "The Inheritance Games" Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and "Haunted Manitoba" Matthew Komus!

I will be reading this this week, I tell you with glee! Woo hoo! I thanked my dear spouse, Ron, excitedly. Good-night, you all! The birthday girl, Carolyn.

Thank you for your birthday greetings, my friend Kerri! They are first in personal e-mail as well as here at Goodreads today. A few here also wrote early greetings, which are lovely.

We are nearly identical in progress and in thoughts! I am at chapter 12 and after a bath, will cozy-up with more of this book on my birthday! Reading before bedtime is seldom something I do but today is about happiness, self-care, fun, and indulging in the best of life. That means reading, standing under the Chickadees' birdfeeder flight path, and peeking under the blankets of towels and sparkling snow, to see living flowerbeds.

I love that you wrote different notes and I find that I am entirely in accord with them. The health observations about coal last time and smoking around Arthur this time are not ones I made and wonder how you are so tuned into them. I guess they wouldn't be bad ideas but it didn't pop up for me. I too, love Arthur. He hasn't put forward a conversation in our book yet but I look forward to his intelligent, humour, and compasssion myself as well.

Do you want to know William's love interest in the television series? I was excited to see Dr. Julia Ogden introduced because except for the main actors appearing on the covers, I did not know if Julia would be in the books! I was told by an Ontario Goodreads pal as you know, that William's personal life in the books is different from the television show. I see that already, by his remark that he had not had sex. I have not met his landlords on TV because he had his own home in the stories I saw from later seasons.

Whew, is season 15 ever a doozey! They have a couple of creepy episodes, including for Hallowe'en and there was even an escape room! Julia and other strong career women are remarkable on the show and I have to agree with that feeling you get, in this book!

Yes, this is an even better book that the short story and premiere! I like dislike Dolly and George, just as you do and said I disliked all the tertiary characters in the first novel. Why do we love this one more, do you know? Maybe because it is a straightforward murder that Maureen Jennings focused on solving right away. Perhaps it took the first novel too long to show an English-sounding mansion and the boardinghouse trio, before getting to the point. It seemed too diluted by awful characters, whereas this one hones in on the action despite a yucky environment.

I love a story about Mothers and their children and think my heart went out to knowing what became of that prologue birth. I think the so-called niece is the lady's own Daughter whom she kept. I feel so sorry for that era in which she married just to have a husband, he was as old as her Dad and even if any age could be attractive, they had no spark. She DID fall in love with and produce a child with his cousin but feels obliged to keep her hollow marriage. How terrible and pointless to what LIFE is for, that society would frown on her keeping the loves of her life! Is it not all about who we meet and love and adopt as family? I am relieved this has changed.

I think the synopsis is a spoiler. William only knows Dolly was an abortionist in chapter 11. The whole novel seems to be a treatise on the forms of sex: inappropriate or vile, acceptable but either stale or loving, passionate without marriage, and natural urges without any. You know what to say if anyone thinks this is a "cozy mystery", haha!

On the subject of urges, William is just mentally considering anyone available. We all want a boyfriend or girlfriend at some point and wonder who a good option might be. Serious intimacy is not what I look for so early in knowing anyone, however. I don't get people who just have a booty call. This is your health and potential lineage we're talking about and for me, I only want to bond within a loving, monogamous union. So does William but for super religious or people of the past, marriage was their only avenue to sex, so they married young and soon after meeting.

Any of us can check the early chapters for the boys' ages, although William is probably going to ask them. My impression is that he presumed a boy of about 10 needed to work at poverty level, whether or not it was wanted for children. Freddie might be about 8. He might sound younger than he is because he has been scared into staying silent and not exploring even the rooms of his house, never mind pondering life. I would call George 12 if William referred to him as nearly a man.

My favourite part about this book is that William is very much a loveable, whole person to us with a home life and private talents; not a dry police officer. I think the first novel shared that just as much, would you say so? However, for some reason, I love this novel so much more. If we aren't seeing more of William's personal side that before, is it funnier? Why am I even more engaged and entertained? I do know that when he jumped onto the stage and was a proper dancer, it brought a wonderfully dramatic flair and I can only imagine Yannick Bisson must have duplicated that onscreen! The original seasons are a mystery to me.

It is terrible that Lily was abused even in adulthood. Could she not go to her Dad? We were told she ran away from police without the ability to hear what they had to say, because her Mother committed the mental abuse of saying she would be tortured and killed by police. She has not had the pleasure of meeting William and thinks she needs to hide for her life.

I can't wait for Shirin to share her notes and to know what each of you thinks of what we have been pondering so far. Honestly, we see William more as a person and at home than at the police station and I enjoy every moment with him. I am now invested in the woman, her Daughter, and returned love. I hope the "niece" is her Daughter; that she was loyal enough to make-up a way to keep her. If not, I suppose it is Freddie. It makes me wonder how the boys got the surnames they have.

Ladies, I want to invite you to boot it as fast as you like. Just please leave notes daily as best you can because sharing progressional impressions and guesses along the way is the best part. Worry not where we are. I think a chapter heading is ample to let us decide if we are ready to read each entry. What do you say?

I am starting chapter 6 and am going to read as much as I can tonight. There are additional special books I would like to fit into my birthday week but I don't believe jumping into other worlds interrupts our conversations, does it? Yours warmly, Carolyn.

Chapter 5 finished with a lovely feeling of front steps with William, Arthur, Beatrice and other neighbours enjoying the night air. They all sing an old song together and it is just the sort of lovely touch that makes William feel like a friend. As intelligent and morally firm as he is in police work, Maureen Jennings's pockets of personal life keep him relatable and easy to like. His Mom often sang the song the neighbours sang and he shared a happy childhood memory with all of us.