The Southern Mirror: Stories and Reflections on Life in the South by Brenda Gantt

 

Brenda Gantt has made quite a name for herself on social media for her cooking videos.  People just couldn’t get enough of her downhome, folksy ways and delicious recipes.  Three popular cookbooks followed.

Her new book also has recipes but the subtitle really says it all: it’s more about the Southern way of life.  She tells stories about her childhood: Christmas and Sunday dinner at granny’s; offers her own thoughts on various subjects like being a collector or letting children play in the dirt; and helpful tips on gardening, flower arranging and decorating.  She’s also an avid collector and I loved the photos of her Christmas postcard collection. She also has some craft ideas as well, including a brooch tree—a lovely way to use old but memorable jewelry in an attractive fashion.

The book is divided up into several sections, including:

 

Southern Tales

Entertaining & Gathering

Around the House

Holiday Memories & More

A Lifetime of Collections

Alabama the Beautiful

A Look to the Future

 

All these things are presented with gorgeous photos.  It’s a great browsing book, though I have to say it’s a bit on the large side: it’s described as a coffee-table book, and that’s no exaggeration.  This is a book meant to be placed on a table and leafed through, enjoying the colorful and cheerful photos while reading Mrs. Brenda’s text. 

Of course as mentioned before there are some recipes thrown in (with mouth-watering photos!) but this is more a love letter to her fans.  The editor’s note at the end says this book is a way for Mrs. Brenda to continue teaching and encouraging.

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

I am a long-time fan of Agatha Christie, especially of her stories featuring the elderly spinster Jane Marple.  With her sharp eye and keen intellect, she could ferret out connections on what would seem to be the flimsiest of clues. Her great gift is seeing patterns of behavior that she applies to people no matter their station in life: the eldest son of a duke might well make a decision similar to one made by the butcher’s boy in the same situation.

Her other advantage is that no one takes an elderly woman seriously.  They’re apt to accidentally reveal more than they intend to the fluffy old dear who is more than capable of using that information to solve whatever crime is afoot.

When a collection of new Miss Marple stories by contemporary authors was announced. I was excited but wary. I am quite fond of Miss Marple and I had some qualms about how she would be treated. On the other hand, I liked the idea of a collection of short stories: at times I really like having something to read that tells an entire story in just a few pages so that I have a handy stopping point.  Short stories are an art form:  not everyone can manage to introduce characters and tell a story in a short space.

As it turned out, most of my fears were groundless.  I felt every author respected the source material and turned out some entertaining tales.  Admittedly, some were more successful than others for me; I sometimes had trouble picturing the elderly detective in the more unusual locales, but all were well plotted.  Many used Miss Marple’s nephew, Raymond West, as an excuse to get her out of St. Mary Mead, and a few used other reoccurring characters.

I was familiar with some of the authors already (Ruth Ware, Elly Griffiths, Lucy Foley, Val McDermid, Alyssa Cole) but others were new to me.  A couple I have noted as authors to look for in the future.

If I had to pick a favorite story, it would probably be “The Second Murder at the Vicarage” by Val McDermid which uses the setting and characters from the first Miss Marple novel The Murder at the Vicarage.  McDermid had me from the first sentence, which is a re-working of an Oscar Wilde line. 

In short, I found this to be a very enjoyable collection which has prompted me to re-read some of the original novels.  

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

The Hatori Community House is a place where people can do many different things, such as attend a class on computers or learn to play Go.  It also has a handy library and an even handier librarian in Sayuri Komachi.  She is a large lady, very white, and her book recommendations are always on point—even if some of the choices may seem a bit odd. Her hobby is felting animals and objects and she always gives one of these to her patron as a bonus gift.

As with several Japanese books I’ve read recently, the novel is a series of stories with something in common. There are five stories, each featuring a different character who is at some sort of cross road.  He or she is unhappy or bored with life and wants to make a change.  They end up at the library where they are given what they ask for and a little extra.

Each story is a little gem, and each has something to say about books, readers, the power of story, and yes, libraries.  I admit I wasn’t quite on board at first, in part because of some cultural differences but one of the pleasures of books is seeing different viewpoints. For example, the librarian is a very large, very pale woman, something that each character notes in some way: she’s a polar bear, the Michelin man, a ball of rice. She’s also a bit otherworldly, like an oracle, though one patron thinks of Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy.  Some readers found that off-putting, but I saw it as more a way of conveying an otherness about her.

All the stories make the character reassess what they want out of life, which can lead to some reader introspection. Sometimes we become fixated on one outcome and don’t allow that circumstances change and perhaps some of our goals should as well.

Most of all, there are so many wonderful quotes about books!  I am going to buy my own copy and a highlighter to note passages* like this one:  “Readers make their own personal connections to words, irrespective of the writer’s intentions, and each reader gains something unique.”

I could go off on a whole spiel about that, but I’ll refrain except to say that books and readers are as alchemy that creates unique experiences.  No two people read a book the exact same way.

 

*Sarah Addison Allen gave me permission to do this in her wonderful book Other Birds.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Taste and smell are closely linked, so it’s only natural that certain tastes evoke memories just as smells do.  That’s the premise of The Kamogawa Food Detectives, a father and daughter team who specialize in re-creating remembered dishes.  The Kamogawa diner is in a non-descript building with no sign; the only ad reads in its entirety: “Kamogawa Diner—Kamogawa Detective Agency—We find your food.” The ad only runs in one magazine and there is no address or contact information.  It takes a determined client to find the diner; or, as Nagare Kamogawa says, it’s fate.

The book is a collection of stories, each beginning with a customer coming into the Kamogawa diner with information about a dish they would like to have re-created.  The key is in the questioning: the ingredients are important, but the detectives also need to know what was going on in their client’s life at the time in order to successfully fulfill the request.

But it’s about more than the food.  The requested dishes have more to do with a present need in a person’s life than the actual edibles. These are life lessons, served up on a plate. They’re not didactic, because the meaning is tailored to the individual.

These are quiet stories, some of which have a tinge of sadness.  Nagare, a widower and retired police detective, is the chef while his daughter Koishi acts as hostess and interviewer.  The careful questioning teases out details a person may have forgotten or suppressed.  For example in the story “Beef Stew,” a woman remembers only that she ate some sort of soup many years ago but what emerges is a tale of a path not taken.

The stories all have lavish descriptions of Japanese food, most of which I am unfamiliar with, but that is not much of an impediment.  Kashiwai is able to evoke tastes, sensations, and fragrances of the foods to such a degree that I understand them whether or not I’ve ever had the dish.  I also enjoyed the look at Japanese culture from an insider, without someone trying to explain everything to have it make sense from a Westerner’s point of view.

This is the first book of the series, which has been very popular in Japan ever since the first book came out in 2013.  I quite enjoyed this one, and I’m looking forward to reading the second book, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes, when it comes out in the US this October.

23 Tales: Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends, and Other Mysteries

Reviewed by Jeanne

Edited by Terry Shaw and Brad Lifford, this fascinating collection of tales from Howling Hills Publishing takes on true accounts of –well, the titles says it best: ghosts, legends, and other mysteries.  While some of the stories have a local setting such as Kingsport or Abingdon, other go farther afield, to the northern Appalachian region in Pennsylvania or south to Georgia.

I really enjoy folklore type tales, remembering the ghost and mysteries stories I heard as a child.  This collection reminds me of those stories a great deal. Some are humorously told, some are serious, some have a sense of wonder, but all have a communal feel to them.  It’s like sitting down with a group of friends and having a conversation about the strangest things that have happened to them.  These aren’t the urban legend horror stories or tales told to be scary. These are told as truth. The tone varies with the teller, but they all have that “this is real, this happened” vibe that I like, and all are very well written. 

In short, these are my kinda tales.

It’s really hard to pick favorites when you enjoy the entire collection. Some of the stories were somewhat familiar: I had a friend who told me of her encounter with the shade of Robert Porterfield at Barter,  while others had echoes of family stories.  I will say that “Singer in the Woods” by Sherry Poff sounded so very much like one of our family stories that I could almost hear the voice in my head.  “Wings of Bees” by Patricia Hope was warm and wonderful, and I re-read it a couple of times.  I’ve read Chrissie Anderson Peters’ stories before, so hers was another lovely visit with her Papaw Little.  “Think You Can Sell a Haunted House?” by Suzy Trotta made me laugh, and also reminded me of someone– well, never mind.  

My only regret is that I didn’t get to hear some of these stories in person when some of the authors were here to do readings earlier this month.  However, I am told that there will be another collection of these stories next year—24 for 2024—and I hope we’ll have a return performance.

Moonlight & Misadventures

 

 

Welcome back to Kevin Tipple! For more reviews and news of interest to mystery fans and authors, check out Kevin's Corner, the award winning review blog. Kevin is also an author, and his latest short story The Damned Rodents Are Everywhere appears in the May 2021 issue of Mystery Weekly Magazine.

 

Moonlight & Misadventure: 20 Stories of Mystery and Suspense opens with a powerful tale by Joseph S. Walker titled “Crown Jewel.” Keenan Beech has brother issues. Specifically, twin brother issues. Xavier has now taken something that rightfully belonged only to Keenan. Xavier knew how to stick the knife in--figuratively-- and Keenan intends to restore balance by getting back what is his. At least, that was plan before everything got so very complicated.

 

Twins and their relationship are also a major part of the following story, “The Ballard of The Jerrell Twins” by Clark Boyd. Whether Darrell and Terrell really are or are not twins is not the question. The real question here is the accepted idea that two heads are better than one. In this case, they may not be as neither one is all that smart. That is apparent before the mystery, the nitrous oxide, and many other things come to light.

 

Tammy Lee Swanley sets up to watch Lombard’s Jewelry as “Tammy Loves Derek” by Bethany Maines begins. She has history with Derek Lombard. The same Derek Lombard coming out of the jewelry store as he is locking up for the night. She has a plan. In fact, she has a five-step plan to gain wealth. That plan is now in motion.

 

Lorretta Bremer with two little ones and an important job to do she has her hands full in 1921 as she rides a train from Camden to Atlantic City. You do what you do when you are a widow and on your own. Things are hard. Finding a body in her hotel room makes things so much worse. The fact that the body is of Roger MacNair who had hired her for dictation and typing at the convention is going to be a huge problem in “Moonset” by Jeanne Dubois.

 

After reading “Reunions” by John M. Floyd, you may think again about striking up a conversation on a plane. Larry Taylor did just that, helped out Roger Farnsworth by paying for his drink, and things went into motion.

 

Uncle Kenny has a plan, but Josh O’ Leary does not want to hear it. Uncle Kenny’s plans are never fool proof-- even when he claims they are-- and often result in long prison sentences. Uncle Kenny is sure his plan will absolutely work this time because they will keep it in the family in “A Currency of Wishes” by Kate Fellowes.

 

Gwen, as a child, started lifting items here and there. The barbie doll was the first treasure in “Cereus Thinking” by Tracy Falenwolfe. She lived with her grandparents, Don and June, who never leave the campground they run. Manatee Playground Campsite is her home and she lifts treasures from those folks who tick her off as they come through while on vacation. By the time she is of legal age, she has long since realized she needs to get out of there. Leroy Lafontaine might be her ticket out.

 

Readers go back in time to the early 1930s in the next tale, “Just Like Peg Entwistle” by Robert Weibezahl. In the time of the big studios and controlled access to movie stars, the sudden death of Peg Entwistle was huge news. Was it a suicide? Was the death of the young actress murder? What really happened is the subject of this tale.

 

The trio is out in the swamp hunting for a lost treasure in “Scavenger Hunt” by Michael A. Clark. It was lost in February 1958. All these decades later, the three are deep in the Wassaw Sound with the faint city light glow of Savannah far to their south. Lit by moonlight, the search is on.

 

It is back in time again with the next short story, “My Night with the Duke of Edinburgh” by Susan Daly. It is the fall of 1951 and Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Phillip, will soon arrive in Canada for a royal tour. The group of college students in Toronto want to make some sort of symbolic public statement regarding Canada’s sovereignty as a nation. Exactly what kind of statement and the repercussions of their act are the theme of this tale.

 

She had a pretty good idea of who her big brother was, warts and all, and now Oliver is “Dead on the Beach” by KM Rockwood. At least, she thought she knew everything. But, what she is being told regarding his death does not make a lot of sense. She starts asking questions. As any reader should know, not only do snitches get stiches, asking questions can get you killed.

 

Mom is dead and now Uncle Peter wants his share of what the daughters have coming to them. Not that there is a lot in “Madeline in the Moonlight” by Susan Jane Wright. Mom was an artist and a bit eccentric so pretty much what you see is what you get. Peter, being Mom’s baby brother, has no claim but he certainly is pushing things.

 

Murder is hard and messy work. Especially when you use a sledgehammer. It was well worth it in “Not a Cruel Man” by Buzz Dixon. Cleanup should be easy.

 

Angie Kritt is more than ready to shut down the old tavern for the night. It has been a long day and she is very much ready to go in “12 miles to Taylorsville” by C.W. Blackwell. Once she gets rid of the last few guys from the logging crew, she can do a couple of things and get home. That is until Meena shows up terrified and on the run.

 

Old Man Harper is some sort of creepy perv who likes teen girls. At least, that is what everybody at school says. Everybody knows what he is and want him gone. Katy, Ron, and Grace-Rose have decided to give him a push on to somewhere else in “Chicken Coops and Bread Pudding” by K.L. Abrahamson.

 

Peter Hayes puts in a lot of unpaid hours. In “The Promotion” by Billy Houston, that hard work is finally going to pay off. One way or another.

 

Just before the power went out, the police got an alert from the security system at the library. Officers Grabowski and Tyler are dispatched in “The Library Clue” by Sharon Hart Addy. A broken basement window means they have to check it out.

 

The plan is the thing in “Ill Met By Moonlight, Proud Miss Dolmas” by Elizabeth Elwood. Teaching Drama and English is hard enough due to the actions of some students who think they are entitled. Some want to ignore the rules. They seem to have found an ally in the new principal, Martha Dolmas, who has never taught a class in a day of her life.

 

Being a public health inspector is a hard job. Having an overbearing and incompetent boss, as was present in the preceding story, just makes things worse.  In “The Moon God of Broadmoor” by M. H. Callway, Liz gets reminded that her job means she has to shovel some stuff. Figuratively and literally.

 

The last tale is “Strawberry Moon” by Editor Judy Penz Sheluk. All she wants to do is cross the border into the US. Unfortunately, she is dealing with a United States border guard that likes his power a little too much.

From the complicated and powerful opening tale to the twist ending in the last one, the twenty stories in the book are all good ones. Moonlight as well as misadventure in a variety of ways plays a major role in all of them. So does more than a hint of madness in many of the tales. In some cases, things happened as they always would because of the nature of the folks involved. In others, the plan failed sometimes in surprising ways.

 

Moonlight & Misadventure: 20 Stories of Mystery and Suspense is an anthology that features many complicated reads. Every tale selected is a good one and well worth your time.

        

Moonlight & Misadventure: 20 Stories of Mystery and Suspense

Editor Judy Penz Sheluk

http://www.judypenzesheluk.com

Superior Shores Press

https://www.judypenzsheluk.com/category/superior-shores-press/

June 18, 2021

ASIN: B094DT4366

eBook

299 Pages

 

Editor Judy Penz Sheluk sent me a digital ARC of the book with no expectation or promise of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021

Slade House by David Mitchell

Reviewed by Christy H.

            The small black door in the wall is hard to find. It’s only visible to certain people on a certain day. In a working class neighborhood, across the street from a rundown pub, Slade Alley has seen many strange disappearances through the years – every nine years to be exact. Those who cross through the iron door are the only ones who know its secrets. But by then it’s already too late.

            Slade House by David Mitchell is told almost as a series of short stories. Each section is a different year (1979 – 2015, on a nine year cycle) with a different narrator. While the narrators (and stories) are vastly different from one another they all have the common thread of being lured to the Slade House on Slade Alley and then trapped there. I read this book as part of a Goodreads horror book club, and I’m not entirely sure I would’ve picked it up otherwise. But I’m glad I did. Mitchell’s unconventional horror sticks with you, and he excels at writing a distinctive voice for each protagonist so they don’t all end up sounding the same. At first glance the narrators (an outsider young boy, a chauvinist cop, an insecure college girl, a journalist, and a doctor) don’t have much in common. But each section slowly reveals more about the Slade House and its inhabitants and just what kind of people they need to attract. Once inside the house, its victim loses all track of time and sees all manners of nightmares.

Mitchell’s novel is strange, a bit sad, and quite a ride. I particularly enjoyed sections three and four. I also liked the fact that I loved some narrators (the shy college girl) and hated others (well, just one. The cop). To be honest, though, I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. I don’t think I liked it very much. The last section feels a little deflated after the excellent middle sections. The rest of the book is too weird and fun for it to damper my enjoyment, however. This is a good, quick read for horror fans in the mood for something slightly different.

Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood

Reviewed by Ambrea

In Moral Disorder, Margaret Atwood creates a series of interconnected stories that lead Nell through her life from childhood to adolescence and beyond.  It weaves together the stories of siblings, parents and children, teachers and friends, and even pets as Nell grows and learns and connects with a larger world.  It begins simply enough with “The Bad News” and continues through a life with twists and turns and unexpected journeys.

First of all, I have to admit that Margaret Atwood is a wonderful writer.  She made me feel things that I didn’t expect.  Although I didn’t always connect with the stories in Moral Disorder, although I couldn’t always connect emotionally to Tig and Nell, I found that the stories with which I did connect moved me deeply.  Like when Nell fretted over her pregnant mother and unborn sister.  Or when Nell struggled to find her place in the world.  Or when she suffered for Tig’s indecision, his inability to commit and his inexplicable thoughtlessness.  Or when she tried to accept her mother’s decline, her father’s death, and her own steady walk into old age.

There are moments in this book which struck me with all the delicacy of an anvil.  Like I said, I didn’t always feel connected to these stories, but when I did, it made an impact.  It made me feel with the same breadth and depth as the characters, as if it had happened to me, which made me appreciate Atwood’s skills as an author even more.

Admittedly, I more often struggled with Moral Disorder and overcoming the disconnect I felt.  Maybe, I had a problem with the collection because I just haven’t hit that point in my life in which these moments—these milestones of adulthood and life, in general— strike a chord with me; maybe, I just couldn’t connect with Nell, our narrator; or, maybe, I just didn’t quite “get it.”  I don’t know.  I just know I was sometimes bored and, more often than not, I didn’t like it.

I especially disliked the stories detailing how Tig and Nell met, but I think that was a personal feeling rather than any condemnation of the story or characters or pace.  Stylistically speak, Atwood is wonderful.  It was so easy to follow the story, to trace how Tig and Nell eventually fell in love—did they fall in love?—and to capture the individual strands of their tale, collecting them into a cohesive whole.

My problem came as it slowly dawned on me that Tig and Nell were not married; in fact, Tig remained married to another woman for weeks, months—years, actually—while actively living with Nell.  I know I’m going to sound old fashioned when I say I disagreed with this arrangement; however, my reasons aren’t prudish.  I couldn’t care less if Tig and Nell lived together, married or not; I didn’t even care that the relationship Nell and Tig created was essentially built on adultery—which is, as I learned from Nell, an obsolete word that no one really uses anymore and “to pronounce it [is] a social gaffe.”  Rather, I was bothered (perturbed might be a better word) by how Tig refused to divorce Oona, his first wife whom the law recognized as his only wife.

Why couldn’t Tig convince his wife—who was, for all intents and purposes, his ex-wife—to have the divorce finalized?  Did he still care too much for his ex-wife to push for divorce, or did he simply not care enough for Nell to get a divorce and marry her?  Or was he too lazy...and, possibly, spineless?  I don’t know, I couldn’t tell, but I do know that I was not a fan of their situation.

On a personal level, it strikes me as unutterably cruel and incredibly thoughtless of Tig.  I mean, it obviously hurts Nell to be put second next to his ex-wife in their relationship.  She lashes out, she feels an uncertainty and gloom even at the best times; she's trapped, because he refuses to move forward—he refuses to make a change, like he has promised innumerable times—and she’s suffocating, she’s wavering on a precipice that leaves her wondering if it’s worth staying at all.

As the story unraveled, I found that it hurt my heart to see things playing out between them.  It made me angry, and it made me sad, and it made me sympathize with Nell much more than I expected.