Nevermore November Fiction

Since we had been graced with a visit by Mary Kay Andrews, Director Jud chose to read her book Hissy Fit. Interior designer Keeley Rae Murdock sees her business take a nose-dive after she breaks up with her fiancé.  Just because she caught him “doing the deed” with the Maid of Honor at the rehearsal dinner was not enough to warrant her “hissy fit”—or so HIS family thinks, and being folk of wealth and influence, they decide to ruin her business.  Luckily, she meets Will Mahoney who has just bought an old manufacturing plant and who wants her to redecorate an antebellum mansion.  Jud’s descriptions had the whole group laughing.  One member pointed out that under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck, she had written a wonderful series of mysteries set in Atlanta.

Guernesy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer was the next book mentioned.  The reader enjoyed it a great deal but said it took some time to get into it, and she found the format a little difficult because she couldn’t picture the characters.  The story, however, is excellent. Guernsey spent five years under German occupation during World War II, and the residents had to improvise the Society as a cover for the resistance. The story is told in retrospect through a series of letters from an American journalist looking for a story and some of the island’s residents.  Our reader recommended it, though she admitted it was tough going at first.  She ended up enjoying the book very much.

Craig Johnson is a West Virginia native who now lives in Wyoming where he sets his Walt Longmire mysteries.  Walt is a long time sheriff in the Gary Cooper mold, a man of moral convictions tempered by compassion.  Johnson spins a great story and has an excellent supporting cast of characters, including Walt’s friend Henry Lone Bear.  In the latest entry in the series, Hell is Empty, one character is given lists of books to read by his co-workers. Each list reflects the interests of the particular compiler, from Pilgrim’s Progress to Madame BovaryKip Carey’s Official Wyoming Fishing Guide. to   Our reviewer recommends the series to anyone who likes a good mystery, especially those who favor Western settings.