Remember that yesterday’s Valentine will last all week–until Friday. Just tell me which of my four cozy mysteries, The Cemetery Club, Grave Shift, Best Left Buried, or Moonlight Can Be Murder, you liked best and why you liked it. On Friday, I’ll randomly choose some lucky reader to receive a ten-dollar gift certificate to Amazon. Send your entry to manosmeadows@sbcglobal.net or to blanche@myopicjazz.com
Fog from the Ventris River wound in gray, wispy tendrils like gossamer ribbons around the trees as my car splashed through puddles left from last night’s rain. I prayed I would not run into a deer. The fog was so thick in places, that rounding those blind curves was an occasion for prayer. With relief, I finally drove off the narrow country road and into Levi where the fog was not as thick. — Grave Heritage
This morning, fog winds its way past porch lights and around tree limbs like a restless wraith. It is not a good thing to drive in but it is perfect for reading mysteries that send a shiver down my spine.
Have you ever read a story and wondered what the weather was like outside the house or castle or deserted mansion? I have, and wished the author had told me whether it was raining or snowing or sunny. Weather adds dimensions and interest to stories. It figures largely in the Darcy and Flora and Ned mysteries.
If you like mysteries that give you a good case of the shivers, here are two that are guaranteed to keep you awake at night: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and The Red Lamp by Mary Roberts Rinehart. I’ve read them and can testify that they are page-turners but not good bedtime stories.
Today, President’s Day, with no mail and the banks closed as well as some schools and businesses, is a good day to snuggle up with a cup of coffee and a book. Speaking of Presidents, Mr. Washington and Mr. Lincoln were avid readers and excellent writers. Not that they ever wrote fiction but their letters and proclamations are beautifully worded. Mr. Washington was partial to a play, Cato, a Tragedy by Joseph Addison and Mr Lincoln was a fan of William Shakespeare. I wonder if they ever read mysteries in their spare time, hidden out in some snug alcove away from Presidential duties? I wonder if a good mystery ever sent a shiver down a Presidential spine?
Valentine Trivia: Yesterday was Boston’s coldest Valentine’s Day since 1957.
George Washington’s birthday: February 22, 1732
Abraham Lincoln’s birthday: February 12, 1809
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