Reading in February

Three books this month. Is it the headaches that stopped me from doing more? Maybe. And I'm half through another that I'm not sure I can bring myself to finish. So, onward, to two mysteries and a truly delightful novel based on the life of a woman as remarkable as her fictional counterpart.

 

Murder at the Castle by Jeanne M. Dams

 

Despite being not quite in tune with Jeanne M. Dams character, Dorothy Martin, in the earlier books, I have rather liked the most recent ones I've read. Dorothy has evolved from being a less realistic, more "jump in feet first" kind of sleuth to one who is more measured and who better thinks things through, not putting herself in unnecessary danger. 

"Murder at the Castle" is set during a Welsh music festival that Dorothy and her husband, retired chief constable Alan Nesbitt, are attending with their friends Inga and Nigel. Nigel is a soloist in the event, which is organized and conducted by world renowned conductor John Warner and featuring the international soloist, Graciela de la Rosa.

In the preface of the book we learn that Warner had been previously married many years before, unhappily, to his wife Delia, who was lost at sea when their cruise boat sank ten years past. Since then, the marriage had been legally dissolved and he had remarried and was the father of young twins.

It isn't long before the first death happens, when a young man who is in the chorus of the festival falls from a crowded touring boat to his death in the river far below. Dorothy and Alan, both passengers on the boat, believe he was pushed and are determined to look into the case. But when Graciela, the concert's featured soloist, also falls to her death during a rehearsal, it is clear that accidents and coincidences are rarely what they seem.

The mystery is a solid one, the ending clever and fair. Like in her other books (and the reason I kept on with her early ones) Dams adds the local color of the region to her narrative -- in this case, Wales -- and being a bit of an Anglophile, I especially enjoy that. After reading this one, I am willing to keep on with the series. (I think I still have two or three on my shelf, though I worry that those might be the earlier dizzier Dorothy!) 

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie 

 

Agatha Christie has drawn renewed attention in 2026, which marks the 100th year of her mysterious disappearance, one that caused a nationwide search in Great Britain as the famous author was missing, her car found abandoned. I thought I'd try to add a Christie every month to my reading. (We'll see how I do with that.) 

This time it was "Peril at End House," published in 1932 and featuring her arrogant Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. (I have to say, the Poirot mysteries tend to bug me. They are well written, terrific plots, good mysteries. But I just don't really like him very much!) Still, I read them because they are usually pretty good, often downright fantastic.

"Peril at End House" falls into the "pretty good" category for me. Not Christie's best, but a fast read with a pretty good plot. 

Nick Buckley, an effervescent young woman, has been the target of several attempted murder plots, one of which Poirot and his friend, Captain Hastings, discover in the early pages. They are determined to help her and find the perpetrator. Among the suspects are her friends, Jim Lazarus, Commander Challenger, and Frederica Rice, along with Nick's cousin, Charles Vyse, her cook, her gardener and two tenants living on her property. Hastings and Poirot take over, as additional threats befall her.

As I mentioned, I'm not that fond of Poirot so some of his manners and idiosyncracies bother me  (he does a lot of thinking), but no one can deny he is clever. If I have one main quibble with this one, it's that I don't think Christie plays fair. Might there be another suspect, whom Poirot identifies in his list as "J," apart from the ones we read the most about. It didn't waste my time but I felt rather let down at the end.

I'd recommend the book as a pretty good mystery but if you are looking for a good Christie, there are about 80 others (plus two memoirs) and many of those might be a better choice. 

"Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk" by Kathleen Rooney 

 

Take a walk with Lillian Boxfish on New Year's Eve 1984 in New York City -- and along the way, learn her delightful (and sometimes heartbreaking) life story as she passes through places that have had a profound effect on her eighty-five (ish) year-old life.

In the 1930s, Lillian Boxfish was hired as a copywriter at the R.H. Macy Company (and yes, she always refers to the store in that way). With her witty rhythms and sense of understanding the customer, she soon rises to become Macy's highest paid copywriter, along with becoming a published author and poet.

Now retired, she decides to visit some of her old haunts in New York, those connected with memories, mostly good, though some of the bad ones also come into her reverie, as she traverses the city on foot on the busiest day of the year for New Yorkers -- most of whom aren't out on the streets, apart from Time Square.

Lillian is one of the seniors we always hope we'll be. Still fit well in her eighties, and even more, still curious about the people and places around her. She has never met a stranger and during her walk she introduces herself to everyone she encounters, from a bodega owner to an Uber driver (whose ride she doesn't accept) to a family of strangers who invite her to join them for dinner, and yes, even to a trio of thugs she encounters on the dark streets of New York. 

Between chapters taking her from one destination to the next -- her home in Murray Hill, a charming nearby restaurant, the well-known Delmonico's, Macy's (excuse me, R.H. Macy's) and a party thrown by a young artist friend -- are memories from her past.

We learn about her days as a copywriter and her best friend Helen, their time as  colleagues and best friends during the depression; her courtship and marriage to Max, another worker at the store and with whom she had a son, Gian; learning of Max's affair and his asking for a divorce; the  period of her life that was darkest. And at every step, she tells us more about herself, about the city she has adored from day one, and the people in her life, all of whom add to the richness of her existence.

Lillian is based on the real-life copywriter Margaret Fishbeck, who -- like Lillian -- was the highest paid woman copywriter of her time, working for Macy's. The book is fiction but it made me wonder if there was a biography of Fishbeck -- and if she could possibly be as interesting as Lillian. This is a good one; well worth a read.

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