Squeeze Me

 Squeeze Me, the newest mystery novel written by Carl Hiassen is the eighth novel in the Skink series.

Carl is a famous, well loved mystery writer.  Though to be honest, I do not really like his writing style and will probably not seek out another novel by him.  This novel turned out to be entertaining.  I did push thought the beginning because I was reading this novel for a book discussion group.  

As I got further in I realized that he was writing a tongue in cheek sarcastic novel about our immediate past commander in chief and his wife.  So the whole novel became more interesting and funny.  

Again this novel takes place in Florida and this time we are at a imaginary resort area that mimics       Mar-a lago.  In a complicated tangled way the first lady and the president are mixed up with the murder of an elderly socialite.  She, of course, is a big fan of the Mastodon , which is how they refer to the President.  There is also a problem with an abundance of huge python snakes that seem to be loose around the area in unusual places.  Between our heroine, Angie Armstrong, who animal control agent trying t o solve the mystery along with the police and secret service, and the First Lady and her relationship to the Secret Service, this is a clever, funny novel.  Also playing up the immigrant battle cries and mistakes that  Donald Trump always made in his speeches, in a comic way,  Hiassen captures the humor of the situation and creates a twisted mystery.

The Life in a Day of Edna Zaminski

 A very interesting concept. A slim novella about an elderly woman in an assisted living facility. She does not speak to the nurses around but you listen to the voices in Edna's head and the memories sparked by the sights and sounds of her day. So each time an event happens during the day, it reminds Edna of a memory and you learn about her life history through her thoughts. It is interesting that people can interpret a different experience than the life lived when they do not know your inner story.

This is a short but interesting look inside the mind and a look back at the life of a woman who was born in the 1940s and lived through the 1960s.   She grew up in Chicago in a rough neighborhood.  She became a teacher moving to Shaker Heights, Ohio.  Then she moves on to Washington, DC.  She has suffered trauma, love and a broken heart. She has tried to make her life meaningful, working through the riots of the '60s, demonstrating for what she believed was right.  She married and found love.  She found photography and happiness.  

But the nurses taking care of her int he assisted living, just seeing the small elderly woman, do not see the scope of her life.  To them she is a quiet woman who may have had a simple quiet life.

How can we leave a legacy that tells the story of the life we really lived?  How can we make sure the people left behind remember us and the stories that made us who we are?

Salted Caramel Sorcery

 Salted Caramel Sorcery by H.Y. Hanna is the newest installment in her series about an enchanted chocolate shop in the Cotswolds of England.  The shop is run by Widow Mags, who the author describes as a crabby old woman who makes incredible chocolates.  The rumors are that she and her daughter who runs the herbal shop, also in town, are witches.  

In this book, number seven in the series, Caitlyn finds herself caught up in another murder.  This time she is anxious to solve the crime because her cousin, Pomona is the number one suspect.  

It is interesting that even though this reads like an entertaining cozy mystery with a lighthearted style, this time I kept thinking of how the author used the topic of witches as others to make some important social commentary.  I am not sure that is her intent but I could not help relating to her examples and today's problems. In the book the townspeople are afraid of Widow Mags and her daughter because they do not understand them which is so similar to what is happening in our society today. People are fearful of those they do not understand, who are different in any way from the norm. 

James Fitzroy is the handsome prince character, who owns the mansion and oversees the town.  He also is the one who stands up for the little guy. He defends the Widow Mags and is always trying to explain to the townspeople that the chocolate at the Bewitched By Chocolate shop is not magic it is just great tasting chocolate.  

Caitlyn and James are in a developing relationship that is slowly building to where they are recognizing that they are in love.  The romance moves slowly but we are getting closer in each book.  Also there is the continuing mystery around who Caitlyn's mother is, what happened to her and how Caitlyn came to be abandoned as a baby.  In this book there is even some more information about that, though no big reveal yet.

So this is a fun series with endearing characters, some intrigue to keep you coming back for more and always a good twist at the end with a murderer you will have guessed in advance.

Above the Bay of Angels

Rhys Bowen has written 40 novels and two mystery series.. I really enjoyed her newest series about a young woman, Lady Georgie, who is 35th in line to the throne of England, but she is flat broke and struggling to survive during the Great Depression.  She finds solving crimes entertaining and keeps her busy.  

Bowen has quite a bit of knowledge about the royal family and the workings of the upper class because she married into a family like that.  In this novel, Above the Bay of Angels, we meet a young girl who was sent into service when her mother died.  Her father lost his job due to drink and Isabella goes from living a comfortable life to working in a kitchen of another well off family.  

When she happens to see another young girl hit in the streets of London, she runs over to help.  The dying girl gives her a letter as she passes.  The letter is her entrance to the Queen's royal kitchen.  Isabella's life will change now forever.  Arriving at the palace as Helen Barton to the kitchen at Buckingham Palace, she embarks on a new life.  There will travel, intrigue, blackmail and poison.  

Quite a fun entertaining historical mystery novel.  Helen will cook her way into the Queen's heart.  She will help to solve the mystery so she can absolve herself of being accused of murder.  Also do not worry there is romance and the description of foods and recipes to round out this entertaining novel.

Hope Valley

 I grew up during the 1960s and early '70s sitting at the holiday table with relatives who were Holocaust survivors.  By  high school I was a proud Zionist and marched in New York City in an Israeli Day parade chanting "Never Again".  I thought my understanding of what was happening in Israel was the only story. We took pride in the strength of the Israeli  army to win the 6 Day War and the Yom Kippur War.  We thought the Jews were right in taking land and pushing Palestinians out in 1948.  

Well as time has gone on and we are learning more of our history all the time, reading both non-fiction and fiction stories can offer other opinions and different interpretations of the events of Israel's history.

In Hope Valley, a novel set in northern Israel near the Galilee, author Haviva Ner David explores the history of the land from an Israeli point of view and a Palestinian perspective.  Beautifully written this novel has found a unique way of showing us both sides of the story. 

We meet Tikvah, a woman who followed her Zionist dream from Long Island, NY to make aliyah to Israel and marry Alon, a displaced Israeli who becomes an officer in the Israeli army.  We also are introduced to Ruby, or Rabia, her Palestinian name.  She was born in the settlement of Yakut al-Jalil a stone's throw away  from the village her father grew up in.  He has been attached to the area all her childhood, until she left to find herself and become an artist.  

Ruby has come home for the health treatments she needs for her cancer.  Tikvah, Alon and their daughter, Talya are living on the moshav that developed after Ruby's father's family and their neighbors were evacuated from their village.  Moshav Sapir is where Tikvah and Alon have come to create a safe and secure world for themselves after the tragedies and difficulties in their lives.  

Two women, one Jewish-Israeli , one Palestinian-Israeli, seem worlds apart, but they build a friendship as they are both artists and are dealing with disease worrying about the fragility of life and remnants of trauma.  The accidental, casual encounter leads to a strong friendship that helps them both.  Meeting in the valley between their opposing villages at the beginning of the second intifada. They share their personal stories and offer the reader hope that getting to know an individual can change the course of the Israeli Palestinian divide.

Ner David's characters insinuate their way into the reader's heart.  Each of the women seems to really  believe her version of the history of the area and it takes the love that is developing between them to keep them open to seeing that maybe the other person's story may have some credibility.  This can give the reader hope that there is hope for the future of Israel to reach peace someday with the Palestinians if everyone can just really hear what the other side is saying and want to make peace.

A wonderfully expressive novel written from the perspectives of three characters, Tikvah, Ruby and Jamal, Ruby's father.  We read Jamal's diary to give us the background story to Tikvah and Ruby's friendship.  With incredible sayings like, "Open your mouth only if what you are going to say is more beautiful than silence."  What a perfect concept.  Another theory to contemplate;  "It's when you stop trying to swim against the current and just let it carry   you, instead. It's about learning to surrender to the flow instead of trying to grab on to rocks along the way.  Because in the end, you won't be able to hold on forever. Rocks are slippery, and no one has endless strength. Nothing is permanent."

This is a novel that will stay with you after you finish the last page.  There is quite a lot of food for thought.