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Songs of Wine and Murder–band competition
Songs of Wine and Murder
by Lynn Cahoon
Every good cozy mystery has a focus and a crime to be solved. The plot in Songs of Wine and Murder centers around a band competition as part of the Moonstone Beach festival to be held in South Cove, a town which has both commuters and businesses that depend on tourists. Jill owns a combo coffee shop and bookstore; her fiancé Greg is the police chief. In this book, a band member that no one likes is found dead. There are many suspects after it is determined that the death is a homicide, not a drug overdose or a suicide.
Jill has to put in a lot of work hours during the festival as she supervises both the coffee shop and a food truck. Jill is a great boss, giving her workers full benefits and treating them with respect. During the festival she takes orders and provides her staff with meals from the town’s only full-service restaurant. Greg has to put in extra long hours along with his officers as they interview suspects and others who might have information about the murder. Jill tries to stay out of the investigation, but she stumbles across clues and conversations that help Greg.
The mayor’s wife can be over-the-top mean if she doesn’t get her way. She gets very angry when she thinks her nephew is being treated unfairly in the competition, and she blames that and everything else she can think of on Jill and Greg. Jill has a number of friends who are involved in this story, and the reader gets to know them well. My favorite of her employees is Deek. He is a good looking young man with blond dreadlocks and violet eyes who has really grown over the course of the series. He is an aspiring writer who takes the bookstore seriously and also has lots of very good ideas for managing events and pushing the coffee shop/bookstore through PR efforts. He is somewhat intimidated by Greg referring to him as “Police Dude.” Her staff member, Toby, works as a cop and a barista. An attractive guy, he can’t understand why Tilly, a new hire at the shop, says she has never met him. He claims hey were an “item” in high school. Which one of them is lying?
The murder is solved…until new information comes to light opening the investigation up again. It was a great twist to the story; just as Greg and Jill think they can relax and resume planning for their wedding, they are thrown back into the chaos of “whodunit?”
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #15 in the Tourist Trap Mystery Series. It includes some humor, some mystery, and some relationships—new and old. Songs of Wine and Murder was fun for me, but not Cahoon’s best work. I am not recommending it as a standalone, but if you are a fan of the Tourist Trap Mystery Series, you will probably enjoy it.
2. Includes a recipe for “Jill’s Neptune Salad Wrap” as a healthy replacement for all the fish and chips Jill devours in this book.
Publication: June 6, 2023—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
The fight was over. Neither participant looked victorious, which was what happened most times when people were in love. Everyone felt the pain of the fight, not just the loser.
“The one thing I can promise you about relationships is that as soon as you start thinking the other person can read your mind, you’re in trouble.”
I delivered Harrold and Aunt Jackie’s meals and noticed Lille had put in two slices of cherry pie that I hadn’t ordered. She’d known that this order would be given to Harrold, and she loved him like a grandfather. I suspected that Lille had a heart; it was just hidden under all that snark.
The Silver Ladies Do Lunch–a story of friendship
The Silver Ladies Do Lunch
by Judy Leigh
Join me in Middleton Ferris in Oxfordshire to enjoy a story of friends.
Meet the Silver Ladies—four ladies of a certain age: Josie, a widow of only one year; Lin, married to Neil who is devoted to her regardless of her lack of culinary skills; Minnie, the Doc Martin wearing, single, retired professor; and Cecily, their former teacher who taught them the importance of friendship.
Look in on all their childhood friends who still, along with many of their children, populate the little town.
Listen in on their opinions.
Cheating men: “all men who cheat are pigs.”
Charred food: “It’s burned to a cinder.” “I like my food well done. It’ll be all right—with ketchup.”
Unwed mother: “When will people learn that a pregnant woman is not a target for gossip? It’s a baby we’re talking about here.”
Passage of time: …everyone was so much older now, yet time had passed so quickly and she felt no different. It didn’t make sense.
Aging: “I hate getting older…there’s so much prejudice about aging—and so many problems.”
Friendship: “A good friend is like a four-leaf clover; hard to find and lucky to have.”
Relish the way their attitudes about friendship overflow the little group to affect so many other likable characters in the small town from Odile who runs the café to Dangerous Dave, the accident prone mechanic and his daughter Florence who was deceived by a charmer.
The Silver Ladies Do Lunch has a lot of characters, but the important ones rise to the top. Relationships and circumstances tie them to the more minor characters as various threads emerge. When the author switches to a different thread, the reader becomes anxious to find out what happened to the characters in the previous thread. Never fear! Author Judy Leigh will not leave you hanging for long. I love the way she skillfully provides tension by alternating storylines.
This is my first read of this author who has written many books about women of a certain age. I will return for more of her stories that provide both depth and humor.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Women’s Fiction
Notes: Standalone
Publication: 6/2/2023—Boldwood Books
Memorable Lines:
Miss Hamilton read clearly, her voice comforting, and all around the classroom eyelids grew heavy, faces puckered with smiles as everyone drifted into a wonderful world of imagination and hope, where friendship was everything.
The first scent of dusty pages and old tomes or the inhalation of a crisp new book made her heart race, and she was ready to delve inside and fill her head with the knowledge stuffed between the pages.
The sight of the Thames twisting into the distance always thrilled her. Minnie liked unfathomable depths; it was like knowledge, it intrigued her, there was always more waiting to be plumbed, to be discovered beneath the smooth surface.
Murder Off the Books–so many suspects!
Murder Off the Books
by Tamara Berry
If you like “bookish” books, you’ll probably like Murder Off the Books. Tess has moved with her precocious, teenage daughter Gertie to an inherited, dilapidated property. In this book she is opening a bookstore and holding a release party for the her latest book on the same day. Tess is a mystery writer who finds herself all too frequently involved in murder investigations.
Tess has a surprise guest: her mother arrives for a visit at the same time a lothario arrives in town. He has been cleared of charges of murdering wealthy women, but Tess is afraid her mother will be next. Another visitor to the town is Neptune Jones, a very popular mystery podcaster. Why is she in little Winthrop, and why does the handsome sheriff invite Neptune to stay with him when he is quite brusque with Tess? It’s hard times for Tess when tourists flock to Neptune and a crime scene instead of Tess’ grand opening. She fears for both her mother’s life and the threat of her mother being arrested for murder.
Although the characters and setting are important, the mystery plot is the star and it is quite complex. Even Tess’ friends who are undercover FBI agents wonder if their case and the newest murder in town are somehow related. As sometimes happens in cozy mysteries, no sooner does the suspicion fall on one particular character, than he gets added to the RIP list. My favorite situation in the book is when Tess has to resort to hiring her elderly neighbor as a very temporary employee. My policy is “no spoiler” reviews so you’ll need to read this fun cozy mystery to find out how things work out with the new hire, the gruff sheriff, Tess’ FBI friends, and her mother.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #3 in the By the Book series. My advice is to start the series at the beginning.
Publication: May 30, 2023—Poisoned Pen Press
Memorable Lines:
Back in Seattle, she’d gone for months at a time without talking to her neighbors, her whole life a careful balance of curated appointments and spaced-out drinks with friends. Here in Winthrop, she couldn’t go five feet without running into someone she knew, owed a favor to, and/or had accused of murder at one time or another.
There was a reason she had thirty-five million downloads every month. Listening to her speak was like being dipped in a vat of chocolate before getting toweled off with crushed velvet.
“I’ve never known two people so whip-smart…and so determined that no one find out about it. Your grandfather hid his intelligence in a cabin in the woods. Your mom hides hers in irreverence.”
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
The Boys in the Boat
by Daniel James Brown
Are you a big sports fan? Do you love rowing competitions? Do you know what makes a good coxswain? If your answers, like mine, are “no,” I guarantee that you will love The Boys in the Boat anyway!
Daniel James Brown is a masterful writer. His research is the backbone of the story, but that is just the beginning. He focuses his story of nine young Americans and their coaches on one amazing young man, Joe Rantz. In the process of rolling out this tale, Brown gives the reader a deep look at Joe, who despite terrible odds survived desperate times and the abandonment of his family. With sacrifices and persistence, he struggled through the Depression to earn his way through college and a place on the University of Washington eight-oar crew.
Holding down several jobs and living in tiny, dank quarters, Joe was bullied by his teammates for always wearing the one ragged sweater he owned and for being perpetually hungry. Despite World Wars, the collapse of Wall Street, the Great Depression, flooding, the Dust Bowl, and record unemployment, there were still students who were of a “privileged” class. Many students in the West were from tougher, more humble circumstances, but few of Joe’s teammates had backgrounds comparable to Joe’s. The rowers in the East generally went to elite schools and reflected British roots in their rowing.
Although the book focuses on Joe, partly because of Joe’s unique story and partly because the author was able to interview Joe himself and Joe’s daughter, Brown also includes the backgrounds and activities of each of the other boys in the boat.
The descriptions of the qualifying race in Poughkeepsie and the Olympic competition in Berlin will immerse you in the races to the point of feeling like you are there. There are so many factors that play important roles in rowing. The coaches are key in bringing the boys along, eliminating those who do not have extreme desire and persistence. They have to motivate them to work as a team, teach them how to row, and strategize which students will work best in each position on the boat.
Each chapter starts with a philosophical rowing quote by boat builder George Yeoman Pocock. He hailed from a line of boat builders and prided himself on the quality of his boats. He also had a talent for both seeing how a rower could improve and effectively sharing that with the young man.
Leading into the Olympic competition is fascinating information about Hitler’s motivations with the Olympics and what he did to achieve world-wide acclaim. His public relations efforts portraying Nazis as accepting and culturally sensitive were quite successful internationally.
The Boys in the Boat is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. Joe’s strength of character and physical endurance are inspirational. I am thankful that the author included an epilogue that shares what happened to each of the rowers in their adult lives. There are also a few pages that give insight into how Brown learned so much about this “epic quest.” The crew endured practices in cold and rain, in heat and rough waves. The success of the nine was well-deserved and merited recording in this outstanding book.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Nonfiction, History, Sports
Publication: 2013—Penguin
Memorable Lines:
To defeat an adversary who was your equal, maybe even your superior, it wasn’t necessarily enough just to give your all from start to finish. You had to master your opponent mentally. when the critical moment in a close race was upon you, you had to know something he did not—that down in your core you still had something in reserve, something you had not yet shown something that once revealed would make him doubt himself, make him falter just when it counted the most. Like so much in life, crew was partly about confidence, partly about knowing your own heart.
“It takes energy to get angry. It eats you up inside. I can’t waste my energy like that and expect to get ahead. When they left, it took everything I had in me just to survive. Now I have to stay focused. I’ve just gotta take care of it myself.”
The wood, Pocock murmured, taught us about survival, about overcoming difficulty, about prevailing over adversity, but it also taught us something about the underlying reason for surviving in the first place. Something about infinite beauty, about undying grace, about things larger and greater than ourselves, About the reasons we were all here. “Sure, I can make a boat,” he said, and then added quoting poet Joyce Kilmer, “ ‘But only God can make a tree.’ “
As the observation train drew back upriver again for the start of the varsity race, the atmosphere grew electric, the dusky sky crackling with static. The crowd began to buzz. Boat whistles shrilled. Alumni draped arms over one another’s shoulders and sang fight songs. Somebody was about to win big; somebody was about to lose big.
Six Ostriches–Canadian murder
Six Ostriches
by Philipp Schott, DVM
As a mystery lover who had enjoyed a nonfiction collection of animal stories by Philipp Schott, I looked forward to reading Six Ostriches. I was disappointed.
The crimes against both people and animals were more gruesome than I am comfortable with. I didn’t actually like the protagonist, Peter Bannerman, a veterinarian, or his wife Laura, a paleobiologist currently working from home knitting bespoke attire. Dr. Bannerman is on the autistic spectrum, and it was interesting to read about his deliberate efforts to fit in socially, even when he didn’t understand the motivations of the people who did those things naturally. He has been married to Laura for twenty years, and they have learned how to live together compatibly.
Normally I enjoy stepping outside my comfort zone to understand and experience other cultures. I also like to delve into historical backgrounds. In this book, however, I couldn’t quite find my place or balance in the mix of Norse, Swedish, and Finn references, both ancient and contemporary. There is a jumble of religions, mythology, and names unfamiliar to me like Gudmundurson and Thorhelson that left me out in the Canadian cold. The author sometimes referred to characters by their first names and sometimes by their last names adding to the confusion. References to 8kun message boards, which were important to the plot, just complicated the book for me.
The setting is spring in New Selfoss in Manitoba, Canada. The ostriches have a minor role as the one named Big Bird swallows something and requires surgery. The blockage sets the rest of the plot into motion. My favorite character is Pippin, Peter’s dog, an “enthusiastic black and white lab-husky-collie mix.” He is smart, faithful, and trained to follow scents.
The mystery itself was acceptable with lots of clues provided along the way. It was not, however, a page turner for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #2 in the Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery Series but could be read as a standalone.
2. Contains swearing and some vulgar inferences.
Publication: May 23, 2023—ECW Press
Memorable Lines:
“Everything comes from somewhere! Everything has a cause, however obscure and difficult to identify. With enough data and a careful analysis of that data, you can usually find a more satisfying and useful explanation than ‘random.“‘
Most veterinarians and their staff agreed that it was best to assume that ponies, while cute, were going to be ill-tempered. Like chihuahuas. That way they would be prepared if they were right and pleasantly surprised if they were wrong. Win-win.
But Peter still felt the buzz of emotion and disordered thoughts commandeering his brain. He rubbed his eyes and stretched. He knew what would help. He would write out his theories. The act of obliging unruly thought to become straight lines on a page always felt akin to running a comb through his tangled neurons.
Murder with Earl Grey Tea–tea, goodies, and danger
Murder with Earl Grey Tea
by Karen Rose Smith
Lots is going on at Daisy’s Tea Garden in Willow Creek, Pennsylvania. The tea flavor of the month is Earl Grey—one of my favorites. Daisy and her Aunt Iris, who jointly own the tearoom, are serving up regular tea time favorites like scones with the help of their efficient and friendly staff. They also have seasonal finger foods along with soups and salads.
On the personal front, Daisy and her boyfriend Jonas, formerly a detective, are making wedding plans. Daisy’s older daughter Vi and her husband and son are moving out of Daisy’s small garage apartment into a larger home. Daisy’s youngest, Jazzi, is close to high school graduation with plans to go to college. Daisy’s life is already undergoing lots of changes when she discovers the body of a friend who was murdered, leaving behind a husband, a preschooler, and a restaurant/event center, The Farm Barn.
There are lots of suspects, but everyone in town loved and respected the victim. What happened is quite a puzzle and there are no witnesses. Friends and family ask Daisy to investigate and having been the one to find the body, Daisy feels a responsibility to unravel the mystery. Along the way, Daisy discovers secrets that several people had hidden even from those close to themselves. Her efforts put her in danger and require the rescue of one of her staff members. I didn’t guess the murderer, and the plot included an interesting twist.
All of the characters contribute to the plot development. The two detectives on the case are extremely reluctant to share information, but welcome the clues Daisy gathers, often from overhearing conversations at the Tea Garden and in talking to locals. The reader will like Jonas as he is very supportive of Daisy and her family. Aunt Iris has two suitors actively trying to pursue a relationship. Daisy and Jonas’ dog Felix is present in many scenes and they have two cats as well. Needless to say, there are always plenty of delicious treats enjoyed both at the tearoom and at home.
I always enjoy a visit to Daisy’s Tea Garden and this book is no exception. I especially liked the Alice in Wonderland themed tea event that focused on children.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #9 in the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery Series. Although the author does a good job of refreshing the reader’s memories of characters and events in previous books in the series, I recommend starting with an earlier book.
2. It includes 4 recipes.
Publication: May 23, 2023—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
“I told them snow was predicted tonight. They shouldn’t have gone on a date.” “They’re teenagers,” Jonas reminded her with a sigh, as if that covered the subject completely.
Buggies were an integral part of the Amish community and signaled a slower paced life. They reminded fellow travelers not to be in a rush. They took the Amish off the grid, so to speak, to a time that was more peaceful, wholesome, and less complicated.
Daisy knew that children and pets were often the best healing medicine.
Dogwinks: True Godwink Stories of Dogs and the Blessings They Bring
Dogwinks
by Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt
Not long after my beloved Mexican rescue dog crossed the rainbow bridge at age 16, my copy of Dogwinks arrived in the mail. “Godwinks,” according to author Rushnell, are events that some might call coincidences and others might say are reminders that God sees you and loves you. I felt like the arrival of Dogwinks was indeed a Godwink. I read it a chapter per night, and it was a much needed and comforting read.
The book is composed of short stories about dogs and their remarkable resilience and ability to love their human families. They are true stories and each is followed by a short reflection. Some will make you laugh; some will make you cry. All will inspire you to have a character more like a dog.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Nonfiction, Inspiration, short stories
Notes: I have read the original Godwinks book, and I found it more compelling than Dogwinks; but to the author’s credit, when you are writing about things that happen to people, you have more to go on. Dogs can’t share their memories or viewpoints of what happened so the authors had to make that part up, as is typical of other dog books or movies. Still, I enjoyed it and recommend it.
Publication: 2020—Howard Books (Simon and Schuster)
Memorable Lines:
“Son,” said Johnny’s dad, grasping him by the shoulders, “love isn’t something you say…it’s something you do.” … “Humans and dogs are just alike.” his dad continued. “You can tell someone you love ‘em all day long, but it’s when you reach out and touch them, showing affection, that’s when they really know it.”
When we lose a beloved pet, we ache from their absence. We feel the loss just as deeply as we would that of a human companion. God cares about all His creations and He knows how much we love our furry friends. The good book tells us: God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky…whatever man called every living creature, that was its name.” {Genesis 2:19 (BSB)}
The sweet deaf and blind dog, once left by the side of the road like a bag of trash, is today a celebrity dog touching the hearts of thousands. Even more important, Keller is a canine ambassador for God, delivering hope and encouragement to people young and old, in schools and hospitals.
The Path to the Last House Before the Sea–sad secrets
The Path to the Last House Before the Sea
by Liz Eeles
Alyssa has come to Heaven’s Cove to start life over, changing her name and her profession while harboring a big secret. She lives in a small wooden caravan on Magda’s property. Magda owns an ice cream parlor and returned a number of years ago to be close to her best friend Penny and husband Stan. Magda has her own secret that is eating away at her despite the happy face she presents to the world. Jack is taking a hiatus from his work to help out his dad Stan in the town’s only grocery store, a tiny place that the community depends upon. Their lives become intertwined as an unlikely romance develops between visionary Alyssa and nerdy Jack.
A major thread is Alyssa’s search for clues and information about a 300 year old tale of a missing couple and a smuggling ring. Her search for the truth puts Alyssa and Jack’s lives in danger. Meanwhile Jack is dealing with his soon-to-be ex-wife, her boyfriend, and his beloved adopted son.
Author Liz Eeles weaves all of these threads into a background of a wedding in Heaven’s Cove that the whole community is involved in. The setting is beautiful and the town’s residents are both kind and gossipy at the same time. If you like an interesting plot and characters in a clean novel, The Path to the Last House Before the Sea would be a great choice.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: #5 in the Heaven’s Cove Series, but can be read as a standalone. There are characters from previous books who make cameo appearances, but each book in the series has new characters who are the focus of the current book.
Publication: May 18, 2023—Bookouture
Memorable Lines:
A hot wash of shame flooded through him. When had he become so…? He turned into the lane that led past the village green, unable to settle on the right word for his behaviour. Arrogant, maybe? Ignorant? Boorish?
“Three point one four one five nine…” he began to mutter under his breath. Reciting the mathematical constant pi from memory, as far as he could go, always calmed him down. The number was beautiful. It was fixed and unchanging—unlike his life right now.
Alyssa crossed her fingers, just in case, and watched seagulls—tiny white dots—swooping over cottage roofs, and a child’s lost red balloon floating into the sky. The village looked like a spider’s web from up here, with paths going in all directions and the church in the centre.
Counter Attack–chess game of revenge
Counter Attack
by Patricia Bradley
Alexis (a.k.a. Alex) has a multi-step plan to achieve her goal of becoming a Police Commissioner. She works hard as a detective, keeps her head down, and is known to be skilled and reliable. Just as she is about to reach her intermediate goal of homicide detective, she is injured on the job and her grandfather who raised her has a heart attack. As county sheriff he appoints her to be Chief Deputy Sheriff during his recuperation. Her first week on the job she has to deal with officers who resent her appointment, a serial killer who has followed her from Chattanooga to her new job in a neighboring county, and a bomb threat. She has to keep on her toes to try to find the murderer who seems to delight in taunting her using mysterious messages as if they were in a chess game. Alexis has the cooperation of the Pearl Springs Chief of Police who was her high school flame. He not only “has her six,” but to her dismay she is still attracted to him.
Both Alexis and the reader will be running at top speed to keep up with all of the events, injuries, deaths, and possible motivations. The serial killer aspect is especially troubling as this murderer could be one of many people (even someone in the police department), has lots of 21st century tech skills, and puts Alexis’ life in danger as he or she enjoys employing near misses to keep her off balance. As if that isn’t enough to keep Alexis up late, the killer uses the dark web and it is creepy.
I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, so I particularly enjoyed the setting. Although it has grown in size since I lived there, I could easily picture both the city and the rural areas near the Chattanooga. Watching Alexis handle the deputies and detectives working under her, especially when they challenge her, is inspiring. She grows a lot too as she comes to realize what is truly important to her. Although the book is not in any way preachy, it does have the theme of trust in God and His plan woven through. This is a clean book with a flow of attraction between Alexis and Nathan, but the mystery is always the central focus. The challenge for Alexis, Nathan, and the reader is to discover and stop the serial killer before death comes to Alexis’ doorstep.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Cold Sassy Tree–Southern novel
Cold Sassy Tree
by Olive Ann Burns
Cold Sassy, Georgia, is the setting for Cold Sassy Tree, a novel very successfully written by a woman with the point of view of a fourteen year old boy, Will Tweedy. The year is 1906. The town is small and populated with unforgettable characters. Many of the anecdotes are drawn from tales Burns heard as a child. The dialect rings through loud and clear. There is no doubt you are in turn of the century South where the Confederacy is still honored and people are starting to turn to indoor bathrooms, electricity, and telephones.
The patriarch of the central family, Grandpa Blakeslee, is the dominant force in the town. What he says, goes. He owns the store where everyone does business and finds out the latest news. His two son-in-laws work for him in what has become a family business. Will Tweedy has a close relationship with his grandpa and thus is often privy to his decisions before others. When his beloved wife of many years, Granny Blakeslee, passes away, Grandpa surprises everyone by remarrying in three weeks at a time when one year is considered the appropriate mourning period. One of his daughters is worried about what others will think and say, and both daughters are concerned about their inheritance. His new bride and the resulting family conflicts play a major role in the story.
Another theme is the coming of age of Will Tweedy, a young man who is given a lot of responsibility, but still struggles through his early teens getting into a lot of mischief. He engages in some dangerous escapades, has his first kiss, and does a lot of eavesdropping.
A serious thread throughout the book is religion. The town has Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists. Each church has strict rules, and a lot of hypocrisy comes to light as the members can be very judgmental. Grandpa doesn’t fit well into any of these groups, and he has his own ideas about God. Grandpa and Will Tweedy sort through the big theology questions together.
I like Cold Sassy Tree and recommend it. Although it takes place in a former time period, its themes resonate through the ages. They include greed, racial and social divides, jealousy, family, faith, and trust. All of the characters have traits and actions that make them admirable though flawed. The last quarter of the book is darker than the rest, but it ends on notes of hope.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Notes: Sassy Tree refers to a Sassafras Tree.
Publication: 1984—Ticknor & Fields
Memorable Lines:
“Don’t she care at all if folks talk? Hadn’t she done enough already, without acceptin’ an expensive gift like that from a man with a reputation so bad it rides ahead of him?”
“Now, Lightfoot, with yore pa dead ’n’ all, I cain’t keep you no more less’n you go in the mill full time an’ pay yore part. Fast as you learn things, you’ll be a-workin’ both sides of the aisle in no time.” “Will, I begged her and begged her, ‘Please’m, let me git one more year a-schoolin’.’ But she said her chi’ren got two year apiece in school, and it ain’t holped them a bit in the mill. Said if they’d a-been borned with books for brains, they’d be makin’ bottom wages just the same.”
“Two elephants tied out yonder wouldn’t draw customers to the store as good as them artermobiles.” That was the Lord’s truth. Cold Sassy never had been a whirlpool of excitement. If the preacher’s wife’s petticoat showed, the ladies could make that last a week as something to talk about. …It’s easy to see why not even the scarlet of the Cold Sassy tree in autumn could equal our big shiny automobiles as something to rave about, especially with the open invite to come sit in them and take a ride.
education pathways 