We all have our own reasons for reading. I have many. This summer, I am escape reading (OK, let’s be honest, I escape read a lot!). I’m an audio learner, and I don’t watch a lot of movies or TV, so when the world gets too much, I lose myself in an audiobook or a well-loved paperback. This month, I revisited two books I’ve previously read – the ultimate comfort read!
Dead on Target – M.C. Beaton
(Book 34 in the Agatha Raisin series)
Author M.C. Beaton passed away in 2019, but her Agatha Raisin stories continue! R.W. Green is now writing her Hamish McBeth series and the Agatha Raisin series. As always, there are folks who do not enjoy long-running series suddenly being ghostwritten by a different author (the Murder She Wrote series is a good example), but the Agatha Raisin books are such light reading, the style is not rocket-science to mimic. I have enjoyed the books written by Green almost (but not quite!) as much as the ones written by M.C. Beaton (Marian Chesney) herself.
Beaton wrote 157 books from 1979 – 2019, and her quick-paced plots are great comfort reads. Although I become annoyed with Agatha on a regular basis, the stories are still quite fun. (And yes, I pre-ordered #35!)
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store – James McBride
I listened to the audio of the first half of this book but finished it with the text copy. This is a rare case for me, but I preferred the hard copy. This book tells the story of Chicken Hill, a small community in Pottstown, Pennsylvania where African Americans and immigrant Jews live together in relative harmony. Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived in Chicken Hill where Moshe ran his integrated theater and where his wife, Chona, ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. One day, state officials came looking for a deaf boy in the community. The boy had no living parents, so the state wanted to take him to an institution. An eclectic and unlikely group of community members work together in unorthodox ways to keep the boy safe. I enjoyed the interwoven relationships and the message that no matter how flawed we are we still have gifts to offer our community.
Murder at the Monastery – Richard Coles
Richard Coles is a Church of England priest, radio host, and musician – and now, a writer. This is the third book in his murder mystery series. I have always been fascinated with vicars, priests, and other British clergy, and I love murder mysteries. So… I REALLY want to like these books. I have read the first three books in the series, and I will probably continue to read them as they are released. But alas, I don’t love the continuing saga of Rev. Daniel and his troublesome (and troubled) congregation. While the stories start out interesting, the continuous whining melodrama of the protagonist is wearing on the reader. I just want to tell him to stop being a drama queen and tackle his problems head-on. (But perhaps this says more about me as a reader than it does about him as a writer – deep psychological stuff for another time!).
This book is about a death in a monastery, and Canon Daniel Clement’s search to find the killer.
Five Bells and Bladebone – Martha Grimes
I re-read a Martha Grimes mystery last month and liked the experience so much I decided to read another one this month. When a corpse is found tucked away in an antique furniture drawer, Scotland Yard detective Richard Jury is on the case! Martha Grimes brings back many of the beloved characters in her series – one of the charms of her books. Grimes admits she doesn’t plot her stories ahead of time, and sometimes this makes the stories meander down unexpected paths. But she creates such vivid, compelling characters, it’s not a distraction but a joy to follow these charming folks around town. This is book 9 in her twenty-five book Richard Jury series.
Excellent Women – Barbara Pym
Once in a while, I have trouble falling asleep at night – my spicy brain just doesn’t want to settle. Barbara Pym is my go-to audio book to calm my thoughts. Now don’t get me wrong. Barbara Pym is far from boring – her fascinating “slice-of-of life” commentaries help me focus on the story, not on the million other places my brain wants to go!
Excellent Women is an early 1950s British comedy of manners. Pym takes ordinary life in a small parish and makes it seem extraordinary. Mildred Lathbury is a spinster clergyman’s daughter who lives in a complex with a modern, adventurous couple – Rocky and Helena Napier. Mildred is continuously amazed at the antics of her neighbors and is sometimes appalled at their modern interpretation of proper customs and conventions. One of my favorite quotes from the book is an observation by Mildred that “It is so very unpleasant to be virtuous when other people are being jolly.”
Five stars – as always – for Barbara Pym
