Good morning. Glancing out the window at the weather wand, I notice it points decidedly downward. So, we’re bound to have rain before too long. A rainy day is a wonderful time for coffee and a chat with a friend.
Of course, a topic of interest is books: favorite genres, memorable mysteries, books that tend to make one pull up the bed covers and cower in the darkness, books that prompt a general turning on of lights in every room; you know, that kind of book.
Not for me are horror stories, true crime, or mystical imaginings but I do like mysteries and one of the scariest I’ve ever read is The Red Lamp by Mary Roberts Rinehart. I also remember quite well the setting in which I read it. Believe me, it couldn’t have been any better.
It all happened in Minnesota. My mother and I had gone to visit my brother and sister-in-law one summer, years ago. Carlene, my sister-in-law, had a friend who owned a shop that sold used books. It was a neat, pretty log cabin, perfect for the north woods. In that shop, I found a copy of the Rinehart book.
Carlene and Tracy’s home was only a few steps from one of Minnesota’s beautiful, cold lakes and their guest cabin was even closer.
I could hardly wait to go to the cabin that night so I could read myself to sleep with The Red Lamp. Only, it didn’t quite happen that way.
I had meant to read only a few pages, close my eyes, and drift gently into slumber, but the longer I read, the more I simply had to read. Meanwhile, a storm came up. Lightning flashed, thunder jarred the cabin. wind lashed the trees with a sound louder than the pounding rain. What a backdrop for a spine-tingler.
At last, the storm passed and so did the night. And, so did the mystery. I had read the whole thing in one setting. Well, sleep was impossible, you know.
Rinehart is one of my favorite authors. I have most of her books and now and then, I re-read one. I’ve read The Red Lamp several times but never in a more appropriate setting than that night in Minnesota. I don’t advise reading it when you are alone and a storm comes up, unless you just can’t help yourself. In that case, have a warm blanket to ward off the shivers and plenty of hot coffee and maybe a box of chocolates close at hand, for courage.
Yesterday, I received an email from a website that lists books for the avid reader. You might want to give them a try: Cozy Fan Novel Search.
May your Sunday be blessed, first of all, with worship, whether at home or church. And, if the lure of a book leads you into a day of reading, make sure you have an ample supply of cozy mysteries close at hand.
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