An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

October 10, 2021 ~ Wendy-Marie ~ Leave a comment

Let’s set the stage.

It’s Saturday and the Plainville Public Library has just opened. And I’m murmuring “good morning” to the librarians as I’m making a beeline for the New Mystery books. My mission is snapping up Helene Tursten’s An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed, because Maud is back! At first, I thought someone else had checked it out because the online catalog might not have up to the second information but nope, it was there, a wee volume just a bit bigger than my hand tucked between two larger books.

Mission accomplished.

Fast forward and here I am, writing my thoughts on Maud’s return. I missed Maud. Yes, I know after a glance at the copyright page An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed was first published in 2020 but I’m a very dim American who doesn’t understand Swedish, so I had to wait for the lovely folks at Soho Press to release the English translation earlier this month. Once again, I’m very glad Maud isn’t my neighbor, but she is a very interesting lady indeed. When we meet Maud in An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed, it’s a few months after her An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good adventures. The police are still hovering around in the background asking too many questions, but Maud is setting off on her African adventure. Do you think Maud is going to let the police get in the way of her plans? Please…

Now I’m not going to give away to the plot because the whole book is just over 250 pages. Be assured Maud gets involved in situations past and present but continues to find a way out that benefits her above all things. Anyone who thinks she is just a doddering old thing needing a stick to get about deserves a solid smack from that stick.

I can tell you there are two recipes included I would love to try if my stupid blood sugar wasn’t an issue. Genetics suck. And I can also tell you if you have an hour or so to spare, pick up An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed.

And make the cookies! They sound so good.

An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good

September 19, 2021 ~ Wendy-Marie ~ Leave a comment

True confession-I’ve never gotten into the Swedish mystery/crime trend. Considering the first book I Ever Read All By Myself was a Nancy Drew title, you would think I adore the genre. I’m An Old so I cut my adult mystery teeth on Mary Higgins Clark and cozy mysteries with quirky amateurs providing delicious recipes along with a body count. I followed the adventures of a certain big haired New Jersey bounty hunter until I was ready to grab her by the shoulders and force her to just form a triad with the two yummy men. Agatha Christie and her contemporaries never really caught my attention except for Georgette Heyer and Josephine Tey.

So how did I scoop up a wee hardcover short story collection from Swedish author Helene Tursten? Short story, I was at the Lucy Robbins Welles Library in Newington, CT and An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good was in the on going book sale nook tucked in the gift books for a mere 50 cents USD. It’s seriously a cute little hardcover with cross stitch cover design and just under 175 pages. Plus I’ve been trying to expand my reading comfort zone with The Bookstore podcast’s 2021 reading challenge and August is “a work in in translation by written by a woman”. A bit of a no-brainer there.

First off? On the surface Maud appears harmless. She’s lived in the same apartment her whole life. She’s an 88-year-old retired teacher who devoted herself to caring for both her mother and then sister after her father died leaving his survivors without a penny. She spends her golden years traveling and keeping her mind sharp but to keeps to herself. No harm in that?

But that’s just the surface. Maud’s precious apartment is only hers (rent free as long as she decides to live there) thanks to a real estate contract clause in the aftermath of her father’s death. A less clever person would have been out on their ear long ago but Maud isn’t that person. She uses her wits and is willing to play the long game to ensure her existence is a much nicer one than fate intended for her. People who cross her and threaten that existence? Heck I would have snapped just taking care of her mother and sister.

I could delve deeper, but you need to read An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good for more.I’m not saying Maud’s way of handling various situations are correct/proper, but I can certainly understand her motives. There is a certain gleeful joy that comes in wondering can she get away without getting caught as you read each story. I thought for sure she was going to be caught at least twice.

After finishing An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, a normal person who would be very scared of having our title Elderly Lady aka Maud as a neighbor. People tend to die around Maud. All accidents of course Dearest Reader but people die.

However, I’m not a normal person and I really like Maud. An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good was such a quick read (just about an hour for me including interruptions from the spouse) and I was a bit sad when the final story ended. I’m not sure I will track down Helene Tursten’s flagship The Irene Huss Investigations series (Detective Inspector Huss does make a brief appearance in one particular story arc) but if Helene Tursten were to revisit Maud and perhaps let us know how her top-notch trip to South Africa went I would certainly read more.

The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton

September 15, 2021September 16, 2021 ~ Wendy-Marie ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes you finish a book and wonder what the same plot would be in another author’s hands. This can be very interesting but not the most productive thing when midnight isn’t far off, and you have to be at work the next morning at 6 am.

Enter Eleanor Ray’s The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton. The cover looked interesting, and the inner jacket copy had me tucking it into the library bag. If the first 20 pages didn’t captivate, I could always just not finish it and get a good night’s sleep for once. Imagine that.

Unfortunately for my sleep app, a good solid seven hours of sleep wasn’t in the cards. You meet Amy Ashton at a leaving-do (or if you are an American like me, drinks to celebrate a coworker’s departure). Amy isn’t psyched to be out or knocking back the drinks and within a few paragraphs I’m really liking Amy. I might not tuck an empty green wine bottle into my bag and then have a train full of people thinking I’m a raging drunk but the level of uncomfortable is familiar.

Then the story takes a turn. Amy is broken by something in her past. And her coping/survival mechanism is to retreat into things. She has a house but it’s literally falling apart and trying to get to the upstairs would honestly be excellent training for an Everest expedition. Sure, one neighbor is super annoying, but lady has a point. Someone needs to step in and stop things before someone gets severely injured.

And here is where Eleanor Ray’s genius lies. You could take this same plot, thirtysomething lady with a mystery past and deep personal issues and put in the hands of another author. Let’s say Marian Keyes because yup, I’ve devoured so many Marian Keyes books both good and bad. Marian Keyes isn’t a bad author; she has her strengths and can write a solid book.

But Marian Keyes’ Amy Ashton? The book would have been at least twice as long, we would know exactly who Amy and Chantel would be listening to while doing their makeup and watering down Toyah’s liquor cabinet. Also, I have the suspicion the Marian Keys’ Amy would have boinked the baddie and hoarded fancy handbags too.

Laurie Notaro could have done a lovely job, but her Amy would also have a crippling eBay/vintage collection to tuck into any corners not crammed with the local newspapers/bottles/broken pots/cups plus a few adorable elder dogs.

Never ever let me be the Plot Fairy doling out plots to authors.

My point is Eleanor Ray keeps the plot lean. That leanness helps disguise who the baddie is. He seemed to be engaged and wanting to help. And I like that Amy doesn’t magically get better once the main mystery is solved. She is still a hot mess, and she has a hard road ahead even if you can now see the floor of her front hall. And we leave her at the start of her journey. Anything can happen now. Any wonder why I didn’t stop reading even when the spouse wandered into the bedroom for his nasal spray and asked why I was still awake. Sometimes you must finish that book.

Miss Pym Disposes

May 13, 2012September 8, 2013 ~ Wendy-Marie ~ Leave a comment

***May 2011 backlog post***

In an earlier post, I mentioned I’m really not a mystery reader. Now this could just be one of those psychosomatic things like a violent reaction to years of living in S-bury, Land of the Retirement Housing Developments For Rich People and every time you walked by the Mystery section of the library your eyes watered from the smell of old lady and cigarettes because this was the 1980s and all the old ladies in Fancy Retirement Housing Development had been smoking since a certain former First Lady was their classmate as Posh Girls School/Posh Girls College. True story that!

So you can understand why the only reason I know about most mystery writers is from refilling the mystery section or working the cashwrap at Barnes & Noble or Borders. as a younger Gwen. Sorry all you Patricia Cornwall and James Patterson and Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton and INSERT MYSTERY AUTHOR NAME HERE fans!

But I’m not a total savage. Remember, I really like Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine and Kate Atkinson! And now I can add Josephine Tey to the list of Mystery Authors I Like. See, I had heard of Josephine Tey but feared she might rather Agatha Christie or too twee for words. Yes, I ACTUALLY USE WORDS LIKE TWEE ON A REGULAR BASIS!

So I approached Miss Pym Disposes warily. Pluses: English writer, boarding school, hazy 1930s/1940s time frame. Minuses: could be twee as all frosted pop tart, could be all Preachy, might not be able to wrap head around hazy 1930s/1940s time frame.

But Miss Pym Disposes didn’t disappoint. Miss Pym, French teacher turned best selling psychology author does a favor for one of her old school mates. Said old school mate saved the young Miss Pym from teasing over her government first name. Grownup Miss Pym is still grateful to old school chum years later. Said friend asks Miss Pym to give a guest lecture at the college old schoolmate runs.

The lecture goes well but Miss Pym doesn’t have the most pleasant first impression of the college. Old School Chum’s college trains physical therapists, masseuses, dance teachers and the like. Not the place if you like a cozy reading in bed and cups of tea. The students are lean mean physical culture machines. <shudders>

But the students adore Miss Pym and against her better judgment, Miss Pym decides to stay for a visit and help one of the teachers with a schedule conflict. And thus seals someone’s doom. Because let’s face it, you can’t have a rip-roaring good mystery without something shocking, something sneaky AND high teas with clotted cream. Okay okay okay, you can all you American mystery fans but remember, I haven’t drank the grape Flavor Aid of the Cornwall/Patterson/Evanovich/Grafton school and I ain’t gonna anytime soon.

Things happen. There are twists and turns. Total awesome sauce. Will hunt down more Josephine Tey in a heartbeat and would even <cue pearl clutching> BUY THEM FROM AMAZON!(I know…my cheap rump roast PAYING retail for books!) And like any good English mystery, my tiny brain follows along, makes guesses and wishes Josephine Tey was around to ask questions. Because I am totally convinced Edward Adrian is Catherine Lux’s baby daddy. Little sister born when Catherine Lux was a teenager my foot!

Blacklight: “You watch WAY TOO MUCH MAURY POVICH!”.

Whatever, Blacklight, whatever. Shouldn’t you be reading Stephen R. Donaldson or watching some awful movie from the 1960s or reading Dungeons & Dragons game guides versus reading my blog?