Review of "The Peppermint Tea Chronicles: A 44 Scotland Street Novel" by Alexander McCall Smith

This is the 13th book in the "44 Scotland Street" series. It can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the series is a plus.

In these affable, humorous books Alexander McCall Smith follows the lives of a group of people who reside in Edinburgh's "New Town" neighborhood. Many of the characters live in apartments at 44 Scotland Street - and others are their friends and acquaintances.



*****

Bertie is a sweet, bright 7-year-old boy whose mother, Irene, is the most controlling parent in the world. Now Irene has taken herself off to Aberdeen to study for a Ph.D. and continue her affair with Bernie's former psychotherapist, Dr. Fairbairn. Irene's henpecked husband Stuart is happy to be free of his wife, and hoping to find new romance.



Bertie is also pleased to have mummy far away, as evidenced by the fact that Bertie suggests mummy visit every two years.....or maybe just make a phone call.



Bertie's grandmother Nicola, recently returned to Edinburgh, fills in for the absent Irene....and the lives of Bertie and his dad improve exponentially.



Unfortunately Bertie continues to be plagued by his classmate Olive, a pushy little girl who insists she and Bertie will marry when they're twenty.



On the upside, Bertie and his best friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson have fun when they sneak off to the circus, and acquire something special on their way home.



*****

Art gallery owner Matthew......



.....and his wife Elspeth now have triplet toddler boys and live out in the country.





Matthew enjoys working at his art gallery but Elspeth feels confined and lonely in the boondocks. Still, Elspeth is happy to have the assistance of the au pair James, a 19-year-old boy preparing for university. James is wonderful with the children AND an excellent cook, which makes him a true gem.



Matthew is a little concerned about Pat, his part-time art gallery assistant who's studying for a Master's degree. Pat seems out of sorts, so Matthew invites her to dinner at his house, where things take an interesting turn.



*****

Domenica is an independent anthropologist......



.....who's married to portrait artist Angus.



Domenica feels Angus is too attached to his old worn-out clothes and takes stealthy steps to update his wardrobe.

Domenica also runs into her former neighbor Antonia and Antonia's housemate, a nun called Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna. The nun is known for her nosiness and original aphorisms, which she spouts non-stop, and Domenica finds the encounter vexatious.



In the meantime, Angus finds a dead cat in the local gardens, and has to tackle an uninformed bureaucracy to find out what to do with it. As always, Angus's empathetic dog Cyril goes everywhere with his master, and shows understanding and empathy to little Bertie.

*****

Bruce, a remarkably handsome surveyor who has to fight off women by the score, is nearing thirty, and afraid his looks might not last forever.



When Bruce hears an attractive heiress named Jenny is interested in him, the surveyor gets himself invited to Jenny's family home for dinner. Bruce borrows a fancy Morgan car for the excursion and tries to act sophisticated, but things go bad from the get-go.

*****

Big Lou, a congenial woman who owns the local coffee shop.....



.....is fostering a 7-year-old boy named Finlay, whom she plans to adopt. Finley shows an affinity for ballet, and Big Lou is anxious about the cost of a premier ballet school.



The books in this series are always enjoyable, and it's fun to catch up with favorite characters. Recommended for a little light reading.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "I Will Find You: A Thriller" by Harlan Coben

David Burroughs, who's been in Briggs Penitentiary in Maine for five years, has lost all interest in life.

Five years ago Burroughs was convicted of killing his three-year-old son Matthew in his Boston home, and though David didn't do it, he believes his neglectfulness was connected with the homicide. Having lost his beloved son, David doesn't care about anything, and hasn't permitted any visitors during his incarceration.



So David is surprised when a guard called Curly snaps, "Burroughs, let's go. You have a visitor."



It seems David forgot to renew his 'no visitors' paperwork, and Curly isn't about to deal with extra red tape for this child-killer. So David is cuffed and taken to the visiting area, where he sees his former sister-in-law Rachel.



During their conversation Rachel tells Burroughs her sister (his ex-wife) Cheryl has remarried and is pregnant, but this isn't the purpose of Rachel's visit. Rachel takes out a photo - taken at a Six Flags amusement park in Springfield, Massachusetts - of her friends posing with Loony Tunes characters.



In the background is a boy, about eight-years-old, holding the hand of man who's out of the frame. The figure is blurry, but the boy looks like Matthew, and has a distinctive port-stain birthmark on the right side of his face....just like Matthew had.

David and Rachel are convinced this is Matthew, which means Burroughs didn't kill his son and was framed. This galvanizes David, who's determined to get out of prison and find Matthew.

David goes to the warden, Phillip Mackenzie, who happens to be his godfather (I know, not too realistic. From here on, the reader has to suspend a good amount of disbelief).



David begs Mackenzie to help him break out of Briggs, but the warden says it's impossible, and in any case, the cops would find David and gun down the convicted 'baby-killer.'

As it turns out, there's all kinds of skullduggery going on at Briggs, and someone is bribing the guards to spy on Burroughs and report everything that goes on with him. Thus Rachel's visit is communicated to interested parties and measures are taken. In a roundabout way this ends up with David escaping from the prison, and he - with Rachel's help - embarks on a quest to find his son.



The FBI is brought in to investigate the getaway, and agents Max and Sarah have a unique interrogation method that involves non-stop quips and wisecracks.



The agents provide the humor in the story, which is needed to relieve the ongoing edge-of-your-seat action, danger, violence, etc.

Of course there are surprises and twists as the story hurtles toward its climax, which is appropriately exciting.

You know you're going to get a good tale from Harlan Coben, and I enjoyed the book, which is fine escapist literature.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harlen Coben, and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the manuscript.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops, the Law, and Cooking for RBG" by Leslie Karst

In this memoir, Santa Cruz corporate lawyer and cooking enthusiast Leslie Karst writes about the time she prepared dinner for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG).

Author Leslie Karst


Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

It happened like this: Leslie's father Kenneth Karst, a professor of constitutional law at UCLA, invited his 'warm colleague' Ruth Bader Ginsburg to speak at the law school. Hearing about the invitation, Leslie blurted out, "Ohmygod, if she does say yes, you and Mom should invite her for dinner and I can come down to your house and cook."

Ginsburg accepts the invitation and Leslie has nine months to prepare for the big day, scheduled for January, 2005. Karst, who up to now has limited herself to small stylish dinner parties for friends, observes: "This momentous event called for a sophistication and grandeur on a scale I'd never even considered attempting." Serendipitously, Leslie and her partner Robin are going to Paris for a month, where - among other activities - Leslie will seek out the very best recipe ideas for her 'dinner with Ruth.'

In Paris, Leslie and Robin sample as many dishes as they can, such as steakfrites (steak and fries); pan-fried duck breast; mussels and oysters; foie gras; goat, cow, and sheep's cheeses; frisée salad with lardons and poached egg; and much more. For dessert the women try a variety of sweets, including crème brûlée; chocolate mousse; tarte tatin, and coupe chantilly. Of course everything is washed down with glasses of delicious French wine....which cost less than Coca-Cola in Paris restaurants.


Coupe Chantilly

Karst realizes she needs to know the food preferences and dietary constraints of her guests of honor, RBG and her husband Professor Martin Ginsburg - who's an excellent cook himself. Leslie emails Martin, who responds: "How nice of you to ask. I eat anything (except poi); RBG likes fish and shellfish (as do I) and does not eat red meat. We have no known allergies."

This information informs Karst's menu for the dinner, and Leslie scours cookbooks; peruses the internet; asks friends; consults foodies; speaks with oenophiles; tastes wines; tries out recipes; obsesses day and night; and finally comes up with five courses.....and matching wines.

The food menu consists of:

➤ Appetizer - seared sea scallops with ginger-lime cream sauce;


Seared Scallops

➤ Soup - roasted butternut squash soup with brown butter, garnished with crème fraîche, walnut oil, and chopped walnuts;


Roasted Squash Soup

➤ Salad - baby spinach salad with blood orange, red onion, dried cranberries, gorgonzola cheese, pine nuts, and Dijon vinaigrette dressing;


Spinach Salad

➤ Main Course - blackened ahi coated with a dry rub of spices and black sesame seeds, served with wasabi mashed potatoes and sautéed snow peas;


Blackened Ahi


Wasabi Mashed Potatoes


Sautéed Snow Peas

➤ Dessert - pastries from a fine bakery, including chocolate mousse and praline tart; chocolate ganache tart; lemon chiffon tart; strawberry and crème fraîche tart; and cheesecake.


Chocolate Tart

Once the food and wines are chosen, Leslie - with help from her partner Robin and mom Smiley Karst - focuses on the china, stemware, and silver needed for each course. Some items come from Leslie's parents' house in Santa Monica; some from Leslie and Robin's home in Santa Cruz; and some are purchased online or from department stores. On the 'big day' Leslie collects edible flowers to decorate the plates, and even steals a few nasturtiums from a flower bed outside an apartment building.



During RBG's visit to Los Angeles in January, the justice speaks at the law school and has a Q&A session; is the guest of honor at a reception at the dean's house; attends an opera with Leslie's parents; and is a dinner guest at the Karst home, where Leslie's food is delicious and the conversation is stimulating.


Left to right: Professor Kenneth Karst, Dean Michael Schill, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her husband, Martin Ginsburg, at UCLA law


Author Leslie Karst (left) and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Karst also writes about her personal life; her family and friends; her partner Robin; her work as a corporate lawyer; her other interests, like music and singing; and more. Leslie laments she doesn't love the law like her father and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and mentions her intention to become a fiction writer. In fact, Karst now pens the 'Sally Solari' culinary mystery books.



The narrative is interspersed with 'interludes' about RBG, including the justice's schooling; jobs; husband Marty; interest in equal rights; ascension to the Supreme Court; judicial philosophy; affection for Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia; writing style; caustic wit; love of opera; stylish wardrobe; and more. Speaking of style, RBG was named one of Glamour magazine's Women of the Year in 2012.


RBG is one of Glamour magazine's Women of the Year

Recipes for the scallops, soup, salad, ahi, potatoes, and snow peas are included.

I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to foodies and fans of RBG.

Thanks to Netgalley, Leslie Karst, and She Writes Press for a copy of the manuscript.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "A World of Curiosities: A Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Thriller" by Louise Penny

In this 18th book in the 'Chief Inspector Armand Gamache' series, the detective faces off against an old foe. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the series is a bonus.

*****

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of the homicide department at Montreal's Sûreté du Québec.....



......has a close relationship with his son-in-law, and former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir.



In this book we learn that Gamache first met Jean-Guy at an outlying Sûreté station when Gamache was investigating the murder of a woman named Clothilde Arsenault. Agent Beauvoir - whose behavior verged on insubordination - had been relegated to a desk job in the department's basement, but Gamache saw something in the young man and made him part of the Sûreté homicide squad.

Gamache and Beauvoir determine that Clothilde Arsenault, whose body was found in a lake, was bashed in the head with a brick.



When the investigators inform Clothilde's children, Fiona (14) and Sam (10), the kids behave oddly. Afterwards the detectives learn the Arsenault home was so abusive the siblings might never recover. The detectives also sense something 'off' about the youngsters, with Gamache thinking Sam is a sociopath and Beauvoir believing the same about Fiona.



In the following years Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie take Fiona under their wings, and make her feel like part of their family in Three Pines. Now Fiona and another young woman from Three Pines, Harriet Landers - niece of bookstore owner Myrna Landers - are graduating from engineering school and the village plans a big celebration.



The only fly in the ointment for Gamache is that Fiona's brother Sam, whom Gamache dislikes and distrusts, is coming to town for a visit.



After the graduation festivities, Myrna Landers, who lives in a cramped apartment above her bookstore, mentions she's thinking of moving to a larger place outside Three Pines.



Myrna's friends are aghast, and budding engineer Fiona suggests opening the attic room above Myrna's apartment. What?? What attic room?? Myrna knows nothing about an attic room.

It seems Fiona observed a roof feature showing the presence of an attic loft. Moreover, a 150-year-old letter recently showed up in Three Pines, which mentions bricking up a creepy room in the 1800s. The whole village gathers to break into the previously unknown chamber, and a surprise is revealed - a copy of a 17th century painting called The Paston Treasure, which depicts valuable objects owned by the Paston family.



The attic space also contains other odds and ends, including a medieval grimoire - a book with magic spells and incantations.



The attic copy of the Paston painting is subtly altered with sinister additions, and Gamache is certain it's the work of his sworn enemy, serial killer John Fleming. Gamache believes the painting is a death threat from Fleming, but the killer's been incarcerated for years.



And how could the picture get into a room sealed over a century ago? There are a lot of mysteries to be solved here, and the presence of Fiona and Sam Arsenault make things even murkier.

The book is a thriller filled with assaults, murders, corrupt cops, and more. The story also refers to the (real life) 1989 massacre of fourteen female engineering students at Montreal's École Polytechnique, by an anti-feminist gunman.

All the favorite Three Pines residents appear in the story, including mad old poet Ruth Zardo and her duck Rosa;



artist Clara Morrow;



and B&B owners Olivier and Gabri.



I enjoyed the novel, my major criticism being too much talk about evil people 'getting into' Gamache's head and doing damage, which seemed like psychobabble. Still, this is a good book, recommended to fans of the series.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Robert Bathurst, who does a good job, though his 'women's voices' are a bit off.

Rating: 3.5 stars