Friend of the Devil by Mark Spivak

by Carol2 Comments
First a confession, I watch a lot of the Food Network, so I couldn't pass up a "culinary thriller." Friend of the Devil turned out to be a fun thriller full of drugs, sex and food. Not a bad combination. David is a writer who first meets  Joseph Soderini di Avenzano while doing a story. He is then hired to write the famous chef's biography and is summoned to the Chateau de la Mer, where the menu is amazing, the chef a brilliant, if often drugged-out, showman, and the hostess irresistible. Actually, that is my one complaint, how quickly David and Alessandra hook up. I guess they have to for the rest of the story, but it just seemed a little quick. Of course, everything at the Chateau is a little intense. For me, it wasn't a quick read. I'm not sure why exactly. The pacing was good and there was enough action to keep the story moving. I enjoyed the bits of history that Avenzano...
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The Sculthorpe Murder by Karen Charlton

by Carol2 Comments
I enjoyed The Sculthorpe Murder so much more than #2 in the series. Lavender and Woods are sent out of London to Northamptonshire to investigate the killing of an elderly man, presumably by a gang that has been terrorizing the area. I like that the trip takes Lavender away from his love interest. I really can only stand them as a couple for short periods of time. The plot was well-done with a good array of suspects and clues. I like that Lavender doesn't take things for granted and as an outsider can be more suspicious of certain people than the locals are. Wood gets a lot of screen time in this one, which I appreciated. He's a good, kind man and I liked his interactions with                                           . (Don't want to give anything away.) He tends to put people, including children at ease. Lavender, on the other hand, tends to make people a bit uncomfortable. He's the thinker where Woods is the talker. Together...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Story of the Devotee Who Spilt the Jar of Honey and Oil

by Carol2 Comments
"The Story of the Devotee Who Spilt the Jar of Honey and Oil" is from Persia. I found it on  D. L. Ashliman's Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts.  It was first translated by Edward B. Eastwick in The Anvár-i Suhailí; or, The Lights of Canopus, Being the Persion Version of The Fables of Pilpay, 1854. A pious man had a house near a merchant, and lived happily thanks to his neighbor's kindness. The merchant sold honey and oil, and made a good living. Since the pious man lived a blameless life, and "ever sowed in the field of his guileless heart the seed of the love of God," the merchant took care of all his needs. The merchant every day sent some honey and oil to the pious man too. He used some of this and stored up the rest in a corner. In a short time a jar was filled. One day the pious man looked into that jar, and thought thus to...
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Readers’ Workouts – 11/15

by Carol1 Comment
I only got my steps in two days. I need to make more of an effort; it doesn't just happen like it does in warmer weather. I don't really have much of a plan right now, just try to get some exercise in every day. Tuesday - Walk with the dog, 34 mins Pilates Thursday - 60 mins Yoga Saturday - Dance class was cancelled Sunday - Raking leaves Monday - 40 mins Pilates I usually listen to a book while I’m walking, jogging, whatever. This week finished The Sculthorpe Murder by Karen Charlton and started The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon. How was your week? Readers’ Workouts is hosted by Joy at Joy’s Book Blog ....
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Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett

by Carol2 Comments
I did not like Bangkok Tattoo as much as the first in the series, Bangkok 8. Sonchai is the same- a loner Buddhist cop who tends toward philosophical ruminations, but now he's also part owner of a brothel, along with his boss and his mom. The atmosphere's the same- the seedy side of an exotic city, but we do have the addition of Muslims and the mob. And Sonchai has a new partner, a transgender young man who wants to be a dancer of some kind. The plot was interesting, if a bit meandering. The killed man was CIA, and of course the case is not as clear-cut as it might first appear. There's also drugs involved. To be honest, I finished listening to this a week or so ago and don't remember how exactly the drugs and the serial killer tied together. I think they were two separate plot lines pulled together by the corrupt superior and the good-hearted prostitute. What I do...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Stolen Lady

by Carol1 Comment
  Today's story comes from Scotland. It has a happy ending, but it does reference the hostilities between the English and Scottish people. "The Stolen Lady" was retold by Thomas Keightley in The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries,  1850, which is available on-line. John Roy, who lived in Glenbroun, in the parish of Abernethy, was out one night on the hills in search of his cattle. He met a troop of fairies, who seemed to have a prize of some sort. Remembering that the fairies are obliged to exchange whatever they may have with any one who offers them anything, no matter how low in value, for it, he flung his cap to them, crying Shuis slo slumus sheen (i.e., mine is yours and yours is mine). The fairies dropped their booty, which proved to be a Sassenach (English) lady whom the dwellers of Shian of Coir-laggac had carried away from her own country, leaving a stock in her place...
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