How the light gets in

Another installment in the excellent series of Chief Inspector Gamache books by Canadian author, Louise Penny. How the light gets in ties together many of the threads from the earlier novels in this series but as the story progresses, for those starting with this title, the author provides an outline of what has happened previously. However, to get the most from this series of books, they should be read in order.

When Armand Gamache is contacted by Myrna Landers about a friend who is missing, he goes to Three Pines to hear the full story. This leads to the discovery of a murder and a story that began in the 1930s. Solving this mystery is only one of the threads in this book as internal problems in the Surete de Quebec have intensified resulting in members of Armand Gamache's team being dispersed throughout other departments in the Surete. Chief Inspector Gamache is particularly concerned about the welfare of Jean-Guy Beauvoir whose health and mental state continues to decline. With his few remaining supporters, plus the assistance of his friends at Three Pines, Armand Gamanche is determined to find out what is going on at the Surete and who is trying to destroy him, even though it may mean him losing his job and possibly his life.

Louise Penny not only writes about crime, she writes about people and the reader becomes immersed both in the story plus the lives of the characters and the often difficult decisions they have to make. A range of emotions are encountered when reading these books as the characters encounter the good and evil that makes up life. It is extremely easy to become totally involved in this world created by Louise Penny and not want to do anything else until reaching the end of the novel.

The silkworm

The second book in the Cormoran Strike series, this novel by Robert Galbraith is another murder mystery being investigated by detective and former soldier, Cormoran Strike and his assistant, Robin Ellacott. Cormoran is 35 and is a damaged person, not just physically (the lower part of one leg was amputated when serving in Afghanistan), but also emotionally as his former fiancee is about to marry. The main case investigated in The Silkworm concerns the search for the author, Owen Quine, who is reported missing by his wife. Quine has just completed his latest book and the release of the draft manuscript upsets many fellow authors and others from the publishing world as well as other associates of Quine. 

When Quine's body is discovered in bazaar circumstances the investigation turns into a hunt not only to discover the killer but also to find out why this has happened. Although the policeman leading the investigation is a former colleague of Strike when in Afghanistan, Strike is convinced that the police suspect the wrong person and sets out to solve the case himself.

The working relationship between Strike and Robin, who also wants to be an investigator, is further developed in this well written, fast paced mystery, adding another dimension to the novel. I have enjoyed reading the first two books in this series and look forward to the next installment in the Cormoran Strike series.

Everything I need to know I learned from a Little Golden Book

For many generations young children were read to and later read titles published by Golden Books. I vividly remember The Big Brown Bear (originally published 1944) about a bear who is warned by his wife to stay away from the bees but of course tries to get honey from the hive and ends up being chased by the bees. Badly stung, he takes refuge in the river and catches a fish for dinner.

The first Golden Books were published in 1942 and cost 25c making the purchase of these books accessible for most families. Approximately 600 titles were published over the years and many are sought after by collectors.

Everything I need to know I learned from a Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow provides a collection of sayings or comments on modern life illustrated with pages from Golden Books.

Examples include:
Get some exercise every day - with illustration of animals exercising from the book Animal Gym (1956)
Turn off the TV from time to time - with illustration from the Naughty Bunny (1959)
Use your imagination - with illustration from Nurse Nancy (1952)
Let your children know you love them - with illustration from Baby Dear (1962)
Go fly a kite - with illustration from Chicken Little (1960)
but remember to stop and smell the strawberries - with illustration from Poky Little Puppy (1942)

It is all good fun and the illustrations bring back lots of memories even though Big Brown Bear is not included.

Top secret twenty-one

A note on the cover of this book describes Janet Evanovich as 'Queen of Kick-Ass Crime'. This is the twenty-first title in the popular Stephanie Plum series featuring bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum who with the aid of an assortment of lovers, friends and acquaintances, attempts to persuade those who missed their court appearance to return to the police station to be rebailed.

The two main plots in this book involve the attempts to apprehend Jimmy Poletti, used car dealer who sells more than used cars, and the search for the person who is attempting to kill her friend and associate, Ranger. As usual there are explosions - buildings as well as cars - over the top characters and, of course, plenty of action and laughs.

The Scuptor's Daughter

The website - Tove - acts as a virtual museum and story of the life of author, Tove Jansson. Known for her books for children written about the lives of the Moomins, Tove Jansson also wrote a number of books, including a series of short stories, for adults, some of which have been translated into English and may be found in library collections.

The Sculptor's Daughter is a collection of short stories based on memories of the author's early life. Although not an autobiography, as such, the stories are based on events or memories of childhood. The stories provides a glimpse into the life of child living in a bohemian lifestyle on an island. Tove's father was a sculptor, Viktor Jansson while her mother was an artist, Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. The other adult who influenced her upbringing was her grandfather who was a minister so religion was to the forefront when staying with him. The stories are told of memories of life through the eyes of a child and contain a mixture of realism with fantasy. The short stories of Tove Jannson should be read slowly and enjoyed.

Travelling Light

A collection of short stories by Tove Jansson, now translated into English. The stories deal with people facing unpredictable situations and challenges -a man reluctantly travelling and forgetting the name of his hotel, an artist visiting an apartment where she once lived to find that a former friend has changed their life story, a lecturer staying in an English conclave in Spain finds herself sorting out disputes between the residents instead of the quietness that she had anticipated and a family deciding how to cope with a young visitor who disrupts their life are just a selection of the situations provided in this collection of short stories for the reader to contemplate.

Fighting on the Home Front

During the past month I have been concentrating on researching my family history research. Researching an individual or a family can often lead to undertaking research on a broader topic - in this case, women in England during the First World War.

Fighting on the Home Front: the legacy of women in Wold War One by Kate Adie (2013) is a good book for an overview of the effect of the war on the lives of women in England. With so many men fighting overseas women stepped in to keep essential services operating and also to assist with the war effort in England and overseas. Some of the work was paid but much was voluntary following on the practice of voluntary work undertaken by many women prior to the war. The skills of these women were put to good use not only in supporting the war effort but also in supporting women whose roles had dramatically changed during this period of conflict.

The Virago Book of Women and the Great War 1914-1918, edited by Joyce Marlow (1998). This is a chronological account of events that occurred from 1914 to 1918 from the perspective of women. The book contains excerpts from newspaper articles, books, diaries, correspondence, memoirs portraying the effect of the war on women in many countries, including England, involved in the fighting and the social changes that followed.

Singled Out: how two million women survived with out men after the First World War by Virginia Nicholson (2007) looks at the plight of women who had been brought up to believe that they would marry and have families but, because of the large numbers of men killed and wounded during the war, were to remain single. The book looks at stories of women who found different ways of coping in a new world and the wide reaching social changes and, sometimes, opportunities that opened for some women after the war.