bookshelves of doom

Yesterday @KirkusReviews...

...I wrote about Dianne K. Salerni's The Caged Graves, which I LOVED.

LOOOOOOOOOVED.

The 2013 Edgar winners...

...have been announced, and the YA winner is: CODE NAME VERITY!

See this post for the other finalists, and click on through to see the other winners.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie -- Alan Bradley

I used to post about older books a lot more. Somewhere along the way, though, in an effort to keep up with the never-ending supply of review copies, new books at the library, and new books that I buy, I've gotten away from that. And I feel like I'm missing out.

So, for the foreseeable future, anyway, I'm going to start covering older titles on Fridays.

This week's book is—obviously—Alan Bradley's The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, which I've been meaning to read ever since it came out. I remember pestering my former library director to buy the series for the library, and she did, but somehow—despite all of the factors that make it a perfect ME book (obnoxiously smart girl detective, philatelic mystery, sisterly squabbles, impoverished British upper class, small town gossip, boys' school hijinks)—I've never made the time for it until now.

June, 1950. When we first meet eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, she's tied up, gagged, and locked in a dark closet. Not for long, though: her older sisters Ophelia and Daphne may have her beat in terms of pure physicality, but they'll never be a match for her brain.

So when a real tangle of a mystery arrives at Buckshaw—quite literally at the front door—Flavia isn't just intrigued: she's ecstatic. She doesn't know what the dead jackdaw means, or why it has a Penny Black postage stamp impaled on its beak. But she does know that it means something to her philatelist father: and whatever it is, it isn't good. When she finds a dying man in the cucumber patch later that night—a man who she saw arguing with her father just hours before—the mystery becomes that much more intriguing... and with her father as the most logical suspect, her need to find out the truth becomes that much more urgent.

Surprisingly enough, this book didn't win me over until about the halfway mark. Before that, despite Flavia's obvious charms—she's bright, enchantingly vicious, a great liar, and impressively obnoxious—she felt more like the idea of a person than an actual person. Also, and more off-putting, Bradley's third-person narration was slightly condescending towards her, like, "Oh, look at this child who thinks she's so clever. Let's titter at her innocent obliviousness." Sadly, I can't identify anything specific, but SOMETHING put my back up, clearly.

But! There is a distinct turning-point for both problems: after a long conversation with her father—well, it's more of a monologue on his part—there's a shift, Flavia suddenly blooms into a real, three-dimensional person, and there's a subtle change in the narrative voice as well: it starts treating her as an equal. To be fair, before that conversation, Flavia had been looking at the mystery as a game of sorts, and after it, she begins detecting in earnest. So, to a degree—even though it made me uncomfortable—the condescension in the beginning was warranted. Or at least understandable in hindsight.

Other thoughts: I pegged the murderer immediately, but that didn't bother me, since the whys and hows were still left to untangle. Flavia's interactions with Inspector Hewitt are wonderful, the class issues are nicely handled, as is the depiction of post-WWII life. By the end, I had developed some serious affection for almost all of the characters, and I'll definitely be reading the sequels.

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Author page.

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Amazon.

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Book source: Personal copy.

March 25, 1911: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.

As you may have noticed, I've been making an effort lately to highlight some of the books I've covered in the past. After all, we don't want to be all new, all the time, right? That gets boring.

Anyway, as today is the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, I'm pointing you back to my post about Katharine Weber's Triangle, which I adored:

I loved Katharine Weber's writing, period—I'm not usually drawn to reading about science and math, but I found the segments about George's music (and about Rebecca's job as a genetics researcher) just as fascinating as the personal relationships and the history. The transcripts of Esther's interviews and testimony brought her to life for me. It was short (less than 250 pages), but it was tight, so tight that I felt much more strongly about these characters than I have about many in other, longer novels.

There are some YA titles about it, too (Ashes of Roses, Threads and Flames, and Uprising are the ones I've seen most often mentioned). I haven't read any of them, though: any standouts that I should bump up the list?

Today @KirkusReviews...

...I wrote about Margaux Froley's Escape Theory, another book in Soho's new teen imprint:

Remember when Veronica Mars planted a bugged stapler in her school counselor’s office and then spent the rest of the episode listening in on all of the supposedly private sessions of her various suspects? That’s pretty much Margaux Froley’s Escape Theory in a nutshell, except that in Froley’s book, 16-year-old Devon Mackintosh is actually sitting in the counselor’s chair.

THE EPIC ELIZABETH PETERS LOVEFEST.

If you've been reading this blog over the past week, you may have picked up on my totally measured and mature and not-at-all-fangirlish appreciation for the body of work Barbara Mertz has published under the names Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels.

I first discovered her in seventh grade. My high school was a combination high/middle school, and so in an effort to make the seventh graders a tad less terrified, the administration matched us all up with a senior Big Brother or Big Sister. For the most part—and my experience was no exception—the senior would take her Little Sister under her wing for approximately five minutes and then forget about her for the rest of the year. In other words, it was a great idea, but in practice, didn't really have a huge effect. On our first (and only) outing, My Big Sister took me to see Pretty Woman, and when she asked me what I thought at the end, I said something along the lines of, "It was kind of predictable, wasn't it?"

(It was SUCH an "I carried a watermelon" moment. I'm slightly less socially awkward now—Josh would emphasize the slightly—but I clearly haven't changed all that much.)

ANYWAY, before I went home, she gave me a copy of Crocodile on the Sandbank. So maybe she understood me a little better than I ever gave her credit for, because I took that book home and read it and re-read it until it fell apart.

I've been a fan ever since.

And I'm not alone in that.

Mallorie Colvin (@MJColvin): "I originally fell in love with Elizabeth Peters through her writing as Barbara Michaels. I devoured everything I could find by her all through middle and high school. Then, in college, I discovered the Amelia Peabody series and fell in love all over again. I was an anthropology major and a lover of all thing Egyptian as well as mysteries - it's like the series was made for me. I've since read (and loved) the Vicky Bliss books and really need to get my hands on the Jacqueline Kirby series!"

@sarahokeefe: "The running gag where Ramses, as a child, is referred to as (I paraphrase), "Aaaaah, the afreet!!!" by the locals."

@msmcclure: "Love, no adore, the Amelia Peabody series. I can't think of a new release that I'd be more excited about. In addition, I'm constantly torn between wanting a movie or TV show, but then dreading that it might be untrue to the books."

Beth C.: "I discovered Ms. Peter's Amelia Peabody Emerson series just this past summer. I can't remember where I first heard of her, but the first book in the series had been sitting in my to-read list on Goodreads for a while and I needed a summer read. Anyway, I was in awe of Miss Peabody from the start! What self-confidence, bravery, and intelligence! I confess my own mental processes had a difficulty keeping up with that of Miss Peabody. It was so refreshing to discover a character like her. I've now read most of that series and have loved how the characters have grown and evolved. I won't lie, but when I find myself second guessing a decision I remind myself that Amelia Peabody Emerson would never do that. That always gives me a little boost. Or I drink a whiskey and soda. I get a boost from that too.

Thank you Ms. Peters for creating the ultimate crime-fighting, pyramid-excavating, strong-minded detective!"

Kate VT: "I read my first EP book (The Last Camel Died at Noon) lying in a hammock in my parents' backyard, and was hooked for life. I loved Amelia and Emerson but actually found Ramses kind of annoying - how little I knew! Ramses, of course, became my favorite literary crush - a tall, dark, handsome, brave feminist? I swooned (still do!). It's so rare that the follow up to a cliffhanger lives up to the potential (cough, West Wing 5th season premiere, cough), but He Shall Thunder in the Sky is probably my favorite of the series. I haven't found my Ramses in life yet, but, as Amelia would say, where there's life, there's hope!"

Kathy J.: "discovered years ago ... read many times ...
but all time favorite is The Last Camel Died at Noon. just read it and you'll see why ...
just gotta love Amelia Peabody ...

[Readalikes] Ellis Peters, of Brother Cadfael fame, has a most charming book: City of Gold and Shadows; and then there's Dorothy Gilman's Incident at Badamya - I read it once a year ... about a 16-year-old girl in Burma during wartime and the puppet master she meets under unusual circumstances."

Heather: ""John sprang out of bed. Clad only in a wristwatch and a lordly sneer, he struck a pose like Jove about to hurl a thunderbolt and declaimed, "'Yet she / Will be / False, ere I come, to two, or three.' Aren't you scheduling your appointments rather too tightly? Far be it from me..."" Trojan Gold

Oh John, you have the ability to make me feel vaguely dissatisfied with my otherwise happy marriage."

Gail Gauthier (Author of, among others, my much-beloved A Year with Butch and Spike): "I discovered Elizabeth Peters after picking up some of her Amelia Peabody books from the library sale rack for my son. He read adult fiction, was on the young side, and I thought the historical Egyptology focused books would be both interesting and appropriate for him. Years later, he would be concerned about his grandmother reading those books, fearing they would be too mature for her. He only read the first 4 or 5, quitting after Ramses was no longer funny.

I didn't read them until years later, when I wanted to get myself into the world of Egyptology for a book I was thinking of writing. I've read all of them."

Anonymous: "My favorite EP is the Amelia Peabody series - the earlier ones, at least, up through the one where they rescue Nefret. I also really like the ones about Jacqueline Kirby (being a librarian myself), but they haven't stood the test of time as well. I rather wish she'd do a 21st century version of JK."

Michelle (@GemmaArcadian): "Elizabeth Peters created heroines who were true role models for me. They are curious, smart, independent, and willful. The romantic banter was always witty and again, intelligent. And I always closed the book having learned something new about art, geography, or history. To this day, so many years later, I still haven't read books that manage to teach, inspire, and melt my heart the way hers do.

The book of hers that always stays with me is The Copenhagen Connection. It's left me with a strong desire to see Copenhagen for myself. And it's funny, too. I always read Peters shaking my head, thinking, I don't know how she does it. But I'm sure glad she does!"

L.G. Evans: "When I first set eyes on Elizabeth Peters words I was walking the streets of Kansas City.

Actually, I was wandering through the library, but I had to play off of the brilliant opening line of Crocodile on the Sandbank.

That was my first experience with Elizabeth Peters. I laughed, fell in love with Emerson, wanted to protect - and throttle - Evelyn.

Her books became my friends that were read and reread until worn.

My husband, after years of me laughing him awake in bed, got them on audio. If you have not heard them on audio with Barbara Rosenblat you are missing out. She is exactly what Amelia had always been in my mind!

I would love to thank Barbara for the hours of pleasure her work has brought me and for adding (I hope) a touch of Amelia to my own characters.

If just one person feels as attached to my characters as I feel to Amelia, I will count myself successful.

Thanks MPM!"

L.M. Ironside: "I mostly experience the wonderful world of Elizabeth Peters through her "nonfiction" pen name, Barbara Mertz. Her writing on Egyptology is thorough, accessible, and engaging...often very funny! No one brings research into ancient Egypt to life quite the same way. I have relied on her two nonfiction books about Egypt to research my own novels, the next one of which comes out on March 11th. Thank you, Barbara Mertz!"

Rebecca Moore, middle school librarian: "I was introduced to the Amelia Peabody books by a good friend, who herself had fallen in love with them for the wittiness and the heroine's unabashed appreciation of Emerson's "attentions," as it were. While I loved all that as well, and the wonderful details about Egypt, what I really loved was that in Emerson I found a hero who was perfectly happy to be a leader, and not even vaguely conflicted about it (or all that perturbed when his wife seized the lead and ran with it). After reading and watching so many mystery series/superhero stories/supernatural series/etc. with tortured protagonists, Emerson was a self-confident breath of fresh air, and more, he backed up that self-confidence with actual ability (and a few endearing foibles). Amelia has many of those same qualities, and I find her just as refreshing."

Maureen E.: "I'm definitely a Vicky fan! I've tried a couple of the Amelia Peabody books and haven't been so enthralled by them. But something about the combination of mysteries + Vicky + the whole cast of crazy characters just does it for me. I love the kooky plots and the way Schmidt is obviously awesome and then Elizabeth Peters confirms that he is awesome (in Night Train to Memphis). There are in-jokes and allusions. And John, who falls squarely into my Lord Peter Wimsey/Howl/Eugenides loving heart. Mostly, though, there's Vicky herself, who can always be counted on to be where the action is."

And here are links to all of the Posts o' Love I ran over the course of the week:

Malinda Lo: "As an author, I'm always asked which authors inspired me, and I rarely say Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels, but I don't know why. I should probably start mentioning her! Maybe I'm a little worried that nobody knows about her anymore? Because she clearly taught me almost everything I know about romantic suspense. And she did it while being witty, feminist, and extremely smart. I love her books!"

Kate Flaim: "I devoured all the books that had been published this far, fell in love w/Ramses, and let the witty silliness (especially the early installments) distract me from the very dark times around me. I ended up buying them all on the cheap, and they still eat up a whole shelf--every time I weed my books I think about passing them on, but I think I'll plow through once more first."

Colleen Mondor: "It's Amelia that caught my attention first and what got me was not only her independence (which I adored and totally appreciated for the time period) but also that she and Emerson fall in love and get married and have a child and she never changes her independent attitude. She is still the same Amelia he falls in love with and doesn't have to become anyone else's idea of who a woman should be. This was....huge for me."

Book Addict Katie: "When I was a sixth grader at a small, private school, I was depressed and miserable. I was having a difficult time socially and emotionally and all I ever wanted to do was read. I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt from a very young age, so when my mom saw a paragraph in The Washington Post about a book called The Mummy Case, she took me straight to Borders to pick it up hoping that this outing might brighten my day. Boy, she didn’t know what she was starting!"

Debra Touchette: "Jacqueline! The purse! The stare! The sharp tongue! The knitting! The hair! If I could be anyone in the world, it would be a combination of Jessica Fletcher, Evy Carnahan, Flynn Carsen, and Jacqueline Kirby. And I would rule the world."

CC: "So I think I will just leave it at this: I love the work that Elizabeth Peters has done for the last forty years so much that it destroys my critical judgment and undermines my moral faculties. You see, when Leila moved back to Maine . . . I deliberately hid all her double copies of EP/BM books that I didn’t own yet myself. Which (I recognize in a hazy kind of way) is actually theft."

C.P. Lesley: "What hooked me—more than Amelia herself, more than her relationship with Emerson, precious as those are, more even than the intelligence and humor that are Peters’ trademark—was Ramses. Precocious, verbose, independent, impossible Ramses. Also Amelia’s rather atypically maternal response to her firstborn son, and Bastet."

Finally, here are the links to my round-ups of the Vicky Bliss books and the Jacqueline Kirby books: clearly a re-read of the Amelia Peabody series is in order! Next year, maybe... if I can wait that long! Thanks again to everyone who participated, and I hope that you will all continue to Spread The Word of the Wonder That Is Mertz/Peters/Michaels!

Round-up: The ENTIRE Jacqueline Kirby series.

Since I know that you're all DYING for one, here's a handy index to my posts about the four books in Elizabeth Peters' Jacqueline Kirby series:

The Seventh Sinner: Jacqueline Kirby, #1:

It's the classic librarian-with-her-hair-down scene! Jean and Michael (one of the other students) barrel around a corner and run full-tilt into her, knocking her down. While Jean had noticed her in the library previously, she hadn't paid much attention to this severe-looking figure with her bun and her horn-rimmed glasses and her impeccably tailored suits... a far cry from the creature that now lies before them, with the whistle-provoking legs and the hair like "molten bronze" and the green "seawater" eyes.

Then, of course, she opens her mouth and she's wonderfully snippy and crabby (but not without a large dose of humor), refuses their help in standing and instead, threatens to lie there on the floor for the rest of the day.

The Murders of Richard III: Jacqueline Kirby, #2:

While I compared Jacqueline Kirby to Mary Poppins and Chestomanci in yesterday's post, it occurred to me while re-reading The Murders of Richard III that if Nancy Drew was a little bit more crabby and a little bit less of a goody-goody, she could have grown up to be almost as awesome. They both have ridiculous stores of random information (as a librarian, JK's are actually believable), they both have lots of random skillz (JK knows karate and can occasionally blow smoke rings), and they are both exceedingly resourceful in any given situation (JK's Purse, of course, is a factor). 

Die for Love: Jacqueline Kirby, #3:

As for the meta-factor, this one is a DOUBLE WHAMMY. There are the expected references to mystery novels and crime stories (she pulls a Columbo towards the end that is OUTSTANDING and all of her knowledge about ciphers comes from Dorothy Sayers), but there are also a plethora of rants about the romance industry, and it's hard to imagine that Elizabeth Peters wasn't taking the opportunity to get a few jabs in. (Rants include: ghostwriting, rape culture, sketchy agents, crappy convention food, the second-class status of fans... the list goes on and on.)

Naked Once More: Jacqueline Kirby, #4:

I love her. I love her curiosity and her love of knowledge and her love of food, I love that she can pick up a book and lose an entire day, I love that she is equally comfortable drinking beers and shooting pool with a small town's ex-sheriff as she is swigging martinis in a swanky NYC establishment with the literati. I love that she's a walking contradiction: super no-nonsense, but prone to being silly; capable of being steely and tough, but also capable of genuine warmth, and of comforting those in need of comfort; prickly but also eminently likable; one who avoids beating around the bush, but is also capable of being extremely subtle; a huge fan of petty revenge, but... well, there's no opposing behavior there. She's a huge fan of petty revenge, period. I love her. I love her, I love her, I love her.

CC on Elizabeth Peters.

Elizabeth Peters Week continues!

If you've been meaning to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. As I've received so many lovely contributions (I'm still taking them, but only through today!), I've been running some of the longer ones over the course of the week, and I'll be posting the rest and linking everything up tomorrow.

I should begin by admitting that I’m a little bit irrational about Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels. I’ll go even farther than Leila and say that I refuse to admit that her opera omnia has flaws. I’m not militant about it, but it’s not a discussion I can have.

Ever since Leila brought up the subject, I’ve been turning over what I could write about and coming up with zilch—not for lack of material, mind you, but because I was swamped. How much do I love Sir John? How I love that Peabody goes to Egypt for me (since I hate travel, sand and sun)? That her heroines range from gorgeous, naïve Damaris Gordon to gentle, middle aged ladies like Ruth Bennet?

Then I decided I was going to talk about how her heroines tend to have jobs that matter to them, but it turns out that thinking about this when you’ve been unemployed for eight months is a terrible idea.

So I think I will just leave it at this: I love the work that Elizabeth Peters has done for the last forty years so much that it destroys my critical judgment and undermines my moral faculties. You see, when Leila moved back to Maine . . . I deliberately hid all her double copies of EP/BM books that I didn’t own yet myself.* Which (I recognize in a hazy kind of way) is actually theft.**

There you have it. Huge fan. (Terrible person maybe, but huge fan.)

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*Full disclosure: I also did this with the Joan Aiken books.

** Seriously though? Even if they’re identical editions?

CC is CC, and I am as irrational about her as she is about Elizabeth Peters.

Naked Once More: Jacqueline Kirby, #4 -- Elizabeth Peters

Elizabeth Peters Week continues!

If you've been meaning to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. As I've received so many lovely contributions (I'm still taking them, but only through today!), I've been running some of the longer ones over the course of the week, and I'll be posting the rest and linking everything up tomorrow.

So here we are, at the end—unless Elizabeth Peters decides to revisit the character—of the Jacqueline Kirby series. Due to the success of her books—you never doubted that she'd make the bestseller list, did you?—she quit her job as a librarian and is a full-time writer.

Although her new celebrity status is great for her (already healthy) ego, she's been feeling discontent lately, and has been thinking seriously about packing it all in, getting out of the public part of the writing game and moving to the country. But that's before she ends up on the shortlist to write a sequel to Naked in the Ice, a brilliant work of historical romance written by Kathleen Darcy, who tragically disappeared seven years ago and is presumed dead by suicide.

Before long, Jacqueline is holed up Kathleen Darcy's hometown of Pine Grove—I know that you didn't doubt that she'd get the gig—and before long, she's convinced that Kathleen Darcy was a victim of Foul Play. Not only that, but she's starting to get the feeling that whoever got to Kathleen has now set his—or her!—sights on Jacqueline.

Which, OBVIOUSLY, is not a situation that she will let stand.

So, while Die for Love is all about the publishing world from the perspective of an outside observer, Naked Once More is about the publishing world (and about writing) from the perspective of an insider. For that alone, the book is worth reading. And as you'd expect, there are loads of rants and asides and quips about the little irritations and annoyances of the writing life, as well as some great bits along the lines of HELLO, IT'S MY JOB, OF COURSE I'M GOING TO CHARGE YOU FOR AN INTERVIEW. No romantic statements about An Artist And Her Muse from our Ms. Kirby: on that topic, she's wonderfully dry and cynical. Also, at one point Jacqueline lists off a list of 'Great Authors', and it goes something like: Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Barbara Michaels... AHAHAHAHAHA!

Since Jacqueline is on her own this time—no Watson character, and a whole lot of solitude—Naked Once More is a much more sedate read than Die for Love, more introspective (well, as introspective as this series gets), and it's got far fewer farcical scenes and elements. It actually has a much more Gothic feel, what with the cast of characters and Kathleen Darcy's mysterious disappearance and the adventures by moonlight and the decaying buildings and the various ongoing personal dramas going on in town. Of course, none of those divergences from the usual formula stops the book from ending in the traditional fashion: with Jacqueline bossing all of the suspects into sitting down and shutting up while she lectures them about How She Figured It All Out.

I love her. I love her curiosity and her love of knowledge and her love of food, I love that she can pick up a book and lose an entire day, I love that she is equally comfortable drinking beers and shooting pool with a small town's ex-sheriff as she is swigging martinis in a swanky NYC establishment with the literati. I love that she's a walking contradiction: super no-nonsense, but prone to being silly; capable of being steely and tough, but also capable of genuine warmth, and of comforting those in need of comfort; prickly but also eminently likable; one who avoids beating around the bush, but is also capable of being extremely subtle; a huge fan of petty revenge, but... well, there's no opposing behavior there. She's a huge fan of petty revenge, period. I love her. I love her, I love her, I love her.

And now, yet again, I've finished the series... and now, yet again, I'm totally depressed that I've finished the series. Does anyone know of any readalikes? Amelia Peabody readalikes are easy to come by, but what about Jacqueline Kirby readalikes? Anyone?

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Author page.

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Amazon.

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Book source: Personal copy.

Debra Touchette on her new love for Elizabeth Peters (and Jacqueline Kirby!).

Elizabeth Peters Week continues! 

If you've been meaning to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. As I've received so many lovely contributions (Did I mention that I'm totally still taking them?), I'll be running some of the longer ones over the course of the week, and linking everything up together at the end.

Here's what Debra has to say:

I just discovered these books thanks to your posts, so my love for EP's books is new and raw and exciting and I'm sharing it with everyone I know. And most of the people have already read her books, so I'm being met with that same kind yet glazed look that friends give when you're gushing about a new girl/boyfriend. But I don't care. My love is real and amazing and new and no one can tell me it's not.

I fangirled about The Seventh Sinner at my blog (Library Lass) Adventures in Reading, and I am eternally grateful for the introduction to Elizabeth Peters's world.

And here's a snippet from said blog post:

Jacqueline! The purse! The stare! The sharp tongue! The knitting! The hair! If I could be anyone in the world, it would be a combination of Jessica Fletcher, Evy Carnahan, Flynn Carsen, and Jacqueline Kirby. And I would rule the world.

Debra Touchette blogs at (Library Lass) Adventures in Reading and Guys Lit Wire, and can be found on Twitter at @threelefthands.

Round-up: The ENTIRE Vicky Bliss series.

Elizabeth Peters Week continues!

If you've been meaning to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. As I've received so many lovely contributions (Did I mention that I'm totally still taking them?), I'll be running some of the longer ones over the course of the week, and linking everything up together at the end.

Originally, I'd planned on posting about the fourth (and last, *sob*) Jacqueline Kirby book today, but my real-life schedule interfered. Hopefully, tomorrow! In the meantime, here's a round-up of all of my posts about Vicky Bliss, Elizabeth Peters' art historian extraordinaire (who, of course, is also an amateur sleuth and has an on-again/off-again romance going with a DASHING ART THIEF).

Borrower of the Night: Vicky Bliss, #1:

Vicky, I love you. I love you and Elizabeth Peters. I love you, Elizabeth Peters, and Schmidt, who doesn't have a big enough part in this book. I love you, Elizabeth Peters, Schmidt-who-doesn't-have-a-big-enough-part-in-this-book, and Sir John Smythe, WHO ISN'T IN THIS BOOK. How could that have slipped my mind?  That's probably exactly why I've re-read the other books in the series 40 hundred times, but only read this one, like, 20 hundred times.

Street of the Five Moons: Vicky Bliss, #2:

More reasons to love Vicky: although her physical assets frustrate her in the academic world, she has no problem putting them to good use while investigating crimes -- she giggles and sighs and inhales deeply and men just fall over themselves to give her information. She learned how to pick locks in tenth grade from a boy called Piggy Wilson. She is clearly a huge reader -- not only does she compare John to Wimsey in the above passage, but she's always making and recognizing literary references.

Silhouette in Scarlet: Vicky Bliss, #3:

Make sense? It doesn't matter. We've got Vicky, John, Schmidt, buried treasure and a villain who gives Vicky advice about her love life. Also, Elizabeth Peters is totally aware of the cliches of the genre and mocks them while still using them quite effectively. Who needs sense? Oh, swoon. These books make me almost deliriously happy.

Trojan Gold: Vicky Bliss, #4:

Oh my God, I'd forgotten how much I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

Okay. So, Vicky is minding her own business (as usual), when a bloodstained package arrives for her in the mail. The stain is so large that the return address is obscured. So that's mysterious.

Night Train to Memphis: Vicky Bliss, #5:

And the second half is VERY awesome -- if you haven't realized that Schmidt is the coolest guy ever before reaching this point, it'll happen here. (And if it doesn't, I don't know if we can be friends anymore.  Seriously.) If Schmidt isn't a draw (WHAT??), there're some great moments between John and an old school chum... and yes, OF COURSE between John and Vicky. AND there are a few moments that suggest John's family may be related to the Peabody-Emerson clan.

The Laughter of Dead Kings: Vicky Bliss, #6:

SCHMIDT!!!! SCHMIDT!!!! HE IS THE AWESOMEST PIECE OF AWESOME EVER AND I'M SO GLAD THAT ELIZABETH PETERS CLEARLY LOVES HIM JUST AS MUCH AS WE ALL DO!!!! AND HIS NEW OBSESSION ALMOST KILLED ME!!!!

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Author page.

Book Addict Katie on Elizabeth Peters.

Elizabeth Peters Week continues!

If you've been meaning to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. As I've received so many lovely contributions (Did I mention that I'm totally still taking them?), I'll be running some of the longer ones over the course of the week, and linking everything up together at the end.

From BAK's post:

When I was a sixth grader at a small, private school, I was depressed and miserable. I was having a difficult time socially and emotionally and all I ever wanted to do was read. I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt from a very young age, so when my mom saw a paragraph in The Washington Post about a book called The Mummy Case, she took me straight to Borders to pick it up hoping that this outing might brighten my day. Boy, she didn’t know what she was starting!

Read the rest over at her blog!

Colleen Mondor on Amelia Peabody.

As promised, it's going to be All Elizabeth Peters, All the Time this week!

If you've been meaning to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. As I've received so many lovely contributions (Did I mention that I'm totally still taking them?), I'll be running some of the longer ones over the course of the week, and linking everything up together at the end.

It's Amelia that caught my attention first and what got me was not only her independence (which I adored and totally appreciated for the time period) but also that she and Emerson fall in love and get married and have a child and she never changes her independent attitude. She is still the same Amelia he falls in love with and doesn't have to become anyone else's idea of who a woman should be. This was....huge for me.

I started reading the books in college and every girl I knew - ALL OF US - were continuously involved in long discussions about how to get what boy, what we should wear, how we should act and on and on. We changed who we were all the time, we constantly pretended to be who we weren't, we were obsessed with obtaining a mythical romantic relationship that usually involved the girl waiting by the phone all the damn time. And there I would be, reading about Amelia - brilliant as ever, waiting around for no one and still getting the damn guy while she made all sorts of brilliant scholarly discoveries and thwarted the villains. She inspired me, plain and simple, and for all the plot contrivances and anything else folks want to harp on, she still does. 

Colleen Mondor is the author of The Map of My Dead Pilots. She is the driving force behind Guys Lit Wire, blogs at Chasing Ray, and tweets at @chasingray.

Die for Love: Jacqueline Kirby, #3 -- Elizabeth Peters

As promised, it's going to be All Elizabeth Peters, All the Time this week!

If you've been meaning to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. As I've received so many lovely contributions (Did I mention that I'm totally still taking them?), I'll be running some of the longer ones over the course of the week, and linking everything up together at the end.

So now we come to Jacqueline Kirby's third adventure, which OH MY GOD, is right up there with Isaac Asimov's Murder at the ABA and Sharyn McCrumb's Bimbos of the Death Sun. All three are set at conventions for very specific groups—Asimov's at the American Booksellers' Association, McCrumb's at a science fiction convention, and Die for Love is set at a convention for the (fictional) Historical Romance Writers of the World group—and all three hilariously skewer the industry and culture while still managing to be somewhat affectionate as well.

This one came out in 1984, ten years after The Murders of Richard III, but in true Elizabeth Peters form (see the Vicky Bliss series for some especially amazing temporal machinations), it's set in the present day even though it's only been a few years for Jacqueline Kirby. Anyway, she's currently the assistant head librarian at Coldwater College, Nebraska, and she's sick of the rain and the lack of culture and she just needs to GET AWAY, so she decides to swan off to the first literature-related conference that she can find (so she can deduct it on her taxes), which just so happens to be for the Historical Romance Writers of the World.

Once there, she quickly realizes that A) she's going to need a waaaaay more ostentatious wardrobe, as tailored wool suits are NOT de rigueur in this world, B) she's TOTALLY going to start writing romance novels, as it pays WAAAAAAY better than librarianing (assuming that one is on the best-sellers list, which OBVIOUSLY she will be, because SERIOUSLY, HOW HARD CAN IT BE), and C) there is some BAD MOJO going on within the HRWW, what with the blackmail and the graft and the deception and yes, the MURDER.

The murdered: a gossip columnist who was planning on busting the romance world WIDE OPEN.

A very few of the suspects: an obsessed teenaged fan with violent tendencies, an author who is trying to conceal her true identity, an actor who is tired of pretending to be an author, a literary agent with a fake Southern accent and a talent for roping authors into signing terrible contracts, the leader of an anti-romance-novel protest movement, and the Queen of Love herself, the devastatingly beautiful Valerie Valentine.

I can never decide which book in this series is my favorite: Die for Love or The Murders of Richard III. Basically, it always comes down to whichever one I've read the most recently. So, obviously, at the moment, it's Die for Love.

Because, HOLY COW, THE HILARITY.

• When Jacqueline decides to GO FOR IT with her clothes, she GOES FOR IT:

The hat [which has previously been described as being the size of a cartwheel and being covered in flowers and ribbons] now boasted a ruffle of lace five inches wide. It hung down over Jacqueline's eyebrows in front. Amid the flowers and bows on the crown perched a stuffed cockatoo, its molting wings spread. It had one red glass eye. The other was missing.

Understand, THAT'S JUST THE HAT. The outfit (which is lavender) also has a parasol and elbow-length gloves and then later, a huge 'STOP RAPE' button.

• Jacqueline herself is still the Jacqueline we know and love—she breaks into song at inappropriate times, her glasses slide down her nose in moments of heightened emotion, she has a penchant for slipping into Noir Speak when the mood suits her (but is just as likely to start spouting Shakespeare), she loves pretty much all food, but ESPECIALLY if it is expensive and someone else is paying—but unlike the first two books in the series, Die for Love follows her instead of whoever is acting as her Watson. While that change does a bit to lessen her mystique, it also makes her a little more human: her faults are suddenly bit easier to see, and it also becomes clear that at least some small fraction of her confidence is a facade. 

• As for the meta-factor, this one is a DOUBLE WHAMMY. There are the expected references to mystery novels and crime stories (she pulls a Columbo towards the end that is OUTSTANDING and all of her knowledge about ciphers comes from Dorothy Sayers), but there are also a plethora of rants about the romance industry, and it's hard to imagine that Elizabeth Peters wasn't taking the opportunity to get a few jabs in. (Rants include: ghostwriting, rape culture, sketchy agents, crappy convention food, the second-class status of fans... the list goes on and on.)

• Speaking of the romance industry, some of the chapters begin with excerpts of the books she's reading—and later, the book she's writing—and they are LAUGH-OUT-LOUD, NOSEBLEED FUNNY. (Relatedly, I need to take a moment here to recommend My Angelica: read it.)

• Why we love Elizabeth Peters in a nutshell: "Jacqueline had never had any sympathy with heroines of thrillers who clung doggedly and feeblemindedly to the clue that (a) would have solved the case on page 50 if the police had had it, and (b) rendered said heroine vulnerable to kidnapping, assault, and mayhem."

• A whole TON could be written about Jacqueline's love life and what it says about her status as an independent, liberated woman (for what it's worth, I've definitely run across people who complain about her because they don't see her as "nice"), as well as romance as relates to the middle-aged. Due to the relationships she has with the love interest(s) and all of the conversation about romance in literature and conventions of the genre and how they relate to real life, this book is especially great for highlighting all of that. Yes, it's wonderfully zany and funny and entertaining, but there's actually some meaty stuff to think about as well.

Next up: the last one (*sob*) Naked Once More.

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Author page.

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Amazon.

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Book source: Personal copy.

The Murders of Richard III: Jacqueline Kirby, #2 -- Elizabeth Peters

As promised, it's going to be All Elizabeth Peters, All the Time this week!

If you've been meaning to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. As I've received so many lovely contributions (Did I mention that I'm totally still taking them?), I'll be running some of the longer ones over the course of the week, and linking everything up together at the end.

And now we come to the book that indirectly prompted the idea of this theme week in the first place! Last month, due to the news about the discovery of Richard III's body, I recommended Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time and Elizabeth Peters' The Murders of Richard III. That conversation led to a whole lot of squeeing over Elizabeth Peters, one thing led to another, and so here we are.

As in The Seventh Sinner, The Murders of Richard III stars Jacqueline Kirby, but she's not the character that the narrator follows: that honor belongs to Thomas Carter, a professor-friend of hers. (Of course, just like every other straight male within a fifteen-mile-radius of Our Ms. Kirby, he'd like to be more than friends, but she's infinitely good at side-stepping THAT sort of conversation.) Anyway, it turns out that Thomas has a semi-secret hobby: he's a member of a Ricardian society devoted to clearing Richard III's name. The group has recently gotten a hold of a letter that, if genuine, will do just that—so he asks Jacqueline Kirby to attend a weekend house party (complete with an authentic medieval feast and costumes!) so that she can take a look at the document and let him know what she thinks.

Once they get there and she meets the rest of the society, she surprises Thomas by being COMPLETELY ECSTATIC:

"Thomas, do you realize what this is? It's an English house party, darling, straight out of all those British detective stories I revel in. These people are classic characters. They couldn't be better if you had invented them. The doctor, the vicar, the village squire; the catty middle-aged hags and the sulky, beautiful young heroine, and the two juveniles—homely and nice, handsome and rakish. There is one missing. But I suppose it would be too much—"

The door burst open.

"Ah," said a voice. "You must be thinking of me—the missing character! The offensive, precocious small boy!"

(She then proceeds to display some amazing skillz in dealing with difficult children: she utterly DESTROYS young Percy with her outright, jawdropping, withering sarcasm. It's pretty impressive.) THEN, THOUGH, THE WEEKEND TAKES A TURN FOR THE OMINOUS WHEN A MYSTERIOUS PRANKSTER STARTS "KILLING" GUESTS OFF IN THE METHOD BY WHICH THEIR ASSIGNED HISTORICAL FIGURES WERE MURDERED. (Got that?)

But, as usual (and luckily for all involved other than the villain), Jacqueline Kirby is ON THE CASE! As with the first JK book, this one was originally published in the mid-'70s and some of it is a bit dated. Most glaring are the depictions of obesity as grotesque... many of those passages made me twitch.

Things I love about this one:

• While I compared Jacqueline Kirby to Mary Poppins and Chestomanci in yesterday's post, it occurred to me while re-reading The Murders of Richard III that if Nancy Drew was a little bit more crabby and a little bit less of a goody-goody, she could have grown up to be almost as awesome. They both have ridiculous stores of random information (as a librarian, JK's are actually believable), they both have lots of random skillz (JK knows karate and can occasionally blow smoke rings), and they are both exceedingly resourceful in any given situation (JK's Purse, of course, is a factor). 

• Jacqueline has moved on from knitting to tatting, and it does not go well: by the end of the book, Thomas has confiscated her yarn because she kept getting so tangled up that her fingers would turn blue... so she starts smoking like a chimney again.

• As of yet, there has still been no mention whatsoever of the father of her children, and when it comes to the dudes, she is awesomely independent. Her admirers are legion, and she's not above playing the girl card to get what she wants—she is extremely willing to use her physical assets as a tool—but there is never any question about who's in control of any given situation: if she's in the room, she's the one in control.

• Though she's not perfect—her French accent, apparently, is terrible—she comes pretty close: Her glasses continue to serve as a "barometer of [her] moods"; she judges historical figures by their 'sexy factor'; as Thomas says, she has "a tongue like a viper"; she eats like she has a hollow leg; she is amazingly smug and arrogant (in a good way); she has a habit of breaking into medleys of seemingly unrelated songs (but there is always a method to her madness, and they often actually highlight her thought process); and she's JUST SO WONDERFULLY MEAN IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE:

"You know all this! You, who claim to have read every detective story ever printed . . . Of course you know it. You've read The Daughter of Time."

"Sure."

"Then why didn't you say so?"

"I lo-o-ove to hear you talk," said Jacqueline silkily.

• For whatever reason, I totally give Elizabeth Peters a pass on the adverbs. And believe you me, she loves the adverbs.

• There are mentions of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as well as lots of discussion about the conventions of murder mysteries and how they compare to this investigation, so, as in the first book, it gets all meta.

• While there are plenty of moments of more in-your-face humor, it's always the slightly more subtle stuff that kills me: "An unenlightened observer would have thought Kent had told them there was a bomb in the room. Faces turned pale; eyes glazed; Lady Isobel sank back in her chair with a gasp, and Mrs. Ponsonby-Jones tried to faint."

• There's a great bit where Thomas, in his costume, is thinking that skirts are so freeing and comfortable, wondering why "women were so determined to get into trousers"... and then promptly trips on his hem. Amelia Peabody would have approved.

Next up: Die for Love!

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Author page.

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Amazon.

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Book source: ILLed through my library. (I own it, but can't locate my copy.)