Good Reads: Death In Perspective

Death in Perspective by Larissa Reinhart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Death In Perspective is the fourth book in the Cherry Tucker humorous mystery series. It is very well written and professionally edited.

Cherry is a struggling fine artist that tends to nose her way into police investigations much to the dismay of her Sheriff uncle and Deputy Harper, her sometimes lover. In this book Cherry is working at the theater department of an exclusive private high school and employees of the school are committing suicide in record numbers. Cherry, being nosey as she is wont to do, begins investigating the deaths and the threatening text messages being sent to the remaining staff.

Several men are interested in Cherry: her roommate and ex husband , Todd, her on again off again lover and now friend Deputy Luke Harper, and the mysterious Eastern European, Max. This is where the story bogged down for me, because these relationships seem so static and the characters so stuck in their cubby holes.

I found Death in Perspective to be a funny and interesting read. I don't recommend it as a stand alone; the series is best read in order. There is no HEA or HFN, the ending was very close to being a cliffhanger.

ARC provided by Henery Press via Netgalley.

Death In Perspective will be released on July 24th.

Memorial Day Story

Flags at Bay Pines National Cemetery

My father and mother are buried at the Bay Pines National Cemetery.  Dad was a retired Lt. Colonel in the Air Force and was a veteran of three wars.

He started his military career at the age of sixteen in the Navy during WWII.  He had to drop out of high school to enlist and the school principal made him promise to return to get his diploma after the war.  Dad returned to high school at the age of 21.  He said that he got much better grades at 21 than at 16.  The principal then told him about a new thing called the GED, so Dad took the test and received his GED.  Soon after he reenlisted in the Air Force and went on to Officers Candidate school.

So here is a story my dad told me about himself during WWII:

Dad was in the Pacific and his skinny, teenaged self was dropped off on a small island by himself.  He was told to hold the island against the Japanese.  He had no idea what to do, so he just was standing there with his rifle.

Suddenly, the underbrush started waving and out walked two things:  a wild pig and an island native.  The Islander was pretty scary just by himself, but he was carrying a spear with the head of a Japanese soldier stuck on the end which was very scary.  He began to wave the spear around pointing at my dad and the head.

Dad knew that the Islanders hated the Japanese, and hoped that he wasn't being threatened.  He was scared to death, but he didn't want to hurt the Islander.  Dad figured that the natives had been through enough, so he waved his rifle towards the Islander hoping to get him to leave.  Well, the Islander didn't look too impressed with the rifle.  Dad realized that he may not know what a rifle is.

So Dad said he did the only thing he could do.  He fired…

And shot the pig.

When the Islander saw the suddenly dead and bleeding pig he took off running.

Dad said that violence is seldom necessary and that sometimes it's better if we just shoot the pig.

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Mushroom Stroganoff

A simple, satisfying, and vegetarian stroganoff is an economical choice considering the cost of meat these days.

INGREDIENTS

3 or 4 large portabella mushrooms cut into 1/4 inch slices (you can substitute with other mushrooms)
1 onion sliced thinly
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. dried chives
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
8 oz. sour cream

Cook the onion slices over medium heat in the butter and oil until transparent.  Add the garlic, dried spices and mushrooms, cook for one minute.  Then add the white wine, broth and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  In the meantime cook rice or egg noodles.  When the mushroom mixture is done cooking add the sour cream and heat over low until warm.

Serve over the rice or noodles and garnish with more chives.

Enjoy!

God bless,
Pam

Good Reads: The Breakup Doctor

The Breakup Doctor by Phoebe Fox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Breakup Doctor is a well written and well edited chick lit novel. The plot is original, interesting and occasionally funny, but it is also filled with conflict.

The heroine is a licensed social worker trying to rebuild her practice after her office is destroyed and her partners bail on her. She lands a gig as a newspaper columnist giving advice on surviving the end of relationships. She has always been in control, so when the second man in as many years decides to end their relationship she is surprised to find herself doing the same self destructive things she warns her clients to avoid.

This is a story about relationships and self discovery. At times, it is painful to watch this professional woman lose control, but this book does end with a HFN. I am looking forward to reading the next novel by this author.

ARC provided by Henery Press via Netgalley.

Good Reads: The Chase

The Chase by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Chase is the second book in the Fox and O'Hare series. It is very well written and professionally edited. I have read both books in this series and have thoroughly enjoyed them.

The plot is unique. Fox is a con man that has agreed to work with FBI Special Agent O'Hare in order to avoid jail time. They are tasked with bringing down oligarchs that avoid prosecution for their crimes because of their wealth and connections. The interaction between Fox and O'Hare is always interesting, and is sometimes hilarious. Their characters are very much at odds, but they are attracted to each other.

The secondary characters are, well, a bunch of characters. Misfits in their everyday lives, but each brings unique skills to the team. I especially love O'Hare's dad, a retired military officer that specialized in black ops.

The Chase can be read as a stand alone, but I suggest reading the series in order. I am definitely going to keep my eye out for the next book in the series.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

Happy Mothers Day