After spending some money, and precious kitchen counter real estate, on an instant pot, I’m always looking for new ideas for what to do with it. Sure, I’ve made soups, stews and chickens within its stainless steel interior. I’ve even made some kind of rice porridge from an online recipeContinue Reading
John Banville is much more famous for literary fiction than mysteries. It shows in Snow. The plot reads like a too-easy-to-solve Agatha Christie. A priest is murdered in a down-at-its-heels country manor house during a snowstorm with no signs of forced entry. However, the setting in 1950s Ireland with theContinue Reading
My Review In Cake Popped Off!, Emory has a cupcake catering company that specializes in cupcakes flavored like cocktails. She is also a companion to octogenarian Tillie. When Tillie has a costumed Halloween party, Emory provides Fireball cupcakes and “poisoned apple” cake pops. Emory’s twin sister Carrie provides the cateredContinue Reading
Accidental CIA agent Charles Jenkins is back in Russia in The Last Agent, the second book in his spy thriller series. Charles is exonerated from charges of espionage in a US federal court. In the last book, his former company, CJ Security, had unknowingly worked for a CIA shell company.Continue Reading
Seniors Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron are The Thursday Murder Club. They meet weekly in their senior center and try to solve cold cases from former member and police inspector Penny’s files. Penny, unfortunately, is living in a nursing home with dementia so can no longer assist. When local builder,Continue Reading
Michael finds a nude, lifeless girl in his bathtub. He calls the police. They arrest him for the crime. He denies ever seeing the girl before. The police show Michael pictures found in her apartment of him with the dead girl. They show him his personal items in the girl’sContinue Reading
One thing I insist on in books in the humor section is that they be funny. They don’t have to be hilarious, laugh-out-loud funny. I’ll take a chuckle or even a whimsical smile. Overstated didn’t pass the funny hurdle for me at all. It was surprising because I always likedContinue Reading
Ready for a clever, totally politically incorrect, story of a whole hidden nationality within the United States? That’s right, the Can-Am people are not from Canada. They are Cannibal-Americans from the Old Country. Which Old Country? They don’t remember. They do remember their rituals. Especially about having Mother for Dinner,Continue Reading
Down these mean streets a ghost must go… Hotel Destiny is a ghost trap. Die there and you won’t go anywhere except down different timelines while always stuck within the hotel’s walls. Cole is the latest ghost to check in. However, the hotel is jam-packed with other ghosts too. WereContinue Reading
If you found a mysterious black void in your apartment house, what would you do? That is The Cipher facing Nicholas and Nakota. I don’t think I would name it a Funhole. But that might just be me. Nakota decides to place a jar full of insects on the lipContinue Reading
This book is all you need to start, or enlarge, your journey into Crochet. In addition to the advertised 130 techniques, the book also has the following projects: 4 blankets 3 cushions 11 items for your home or gifts 5 hats from infant to grown man 4 scarves 4 glovesContinue Reading
This is what happens when A Libertarian Walks into a Bear. Grafton, New Hampshire, has always been famous for its bears. The bears snatch food, chickens, cats, and even children occasionally from the townsfolk. When a group of Libertarians decide to make a model town with minimal government right thereContinue Reading
Nic is the only member of her family that still believes her mother did not just walk away from them. She doesn’t believe the note left behind in her mother’s hotel room that says “Don’t Look for Me”. Molly, Nic’s mother, has many reasons to run. Five years ago, sheContinue Reading
In the 1940s and 1950s, mental health issues were often ignored. A Japanese artist named Kusama heard voices, had panic attacks, and suffered from hallucinations. Why? It is a chicken and an egg question. Did Kusama’s mental health issues drive her mother to be strict? Or did her mother’s harshContinue Reading
A longbow as tall as the archer. A tapestry capturing a battle scene that is 75 yards long. A castle that burns 1,000 candles per night. Everything is bigger in an Inside Out Medieval Castle. From the security built into the entrance to the stone toilets dropping waste into theContinue Reading
BaSlaughterhouse-Five has been described as the best anti-war novel surpassing both The Red Badge of Courage and Catch-22. When it was initially published in 1969, its timing was pitch-perfect with IRL anti-war protests over Vietnam hitting their stride. The novel is about a bumbling Chaplin named Billy caught by theContinue Reading