June 2014 - Nightstand Book Reviews

“A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die” by Edith Maxwell

Finding a body in the barn, complete with a pitchfork sticking out of its neck, would not be my favorite ‘before dinner’ activity. Organic farmer, Cam Flaherty, in Edith Maxwell’s “A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die,” doesn’t like it either. My grandfather had several barns and not one of them came decorated with a pitchfork sticking out of a body. He had the pitchfork, just not the body. Untidy, to say the least.

Flaherty has taken over the farm from her great-uncle and dreams of getting certified in order to sell organic produce to the locavores (people who eat locally produced food). She is not allowed to use chemicals to fertilize plants or kill bugs and has to follow those practices for several years before being awarded the coveted certificate. Her one employee, Mike Montgomery, doesn’t see the point, is tired of handpicking beetles off the potatoes, and stores decidedly toxic pesticide in the barn. Flaherty fires him for endangering her business – on the opening day of the harvest share. She’s only in year one of the certification process and can’t afford his sloppy work habits or his negative attitude.

Despite Montgomery’s absence, Flaherty has a successful first day with the customers and is hopeful about a good first season – as long as she can get volunteers to assist a few hours a week. But, six hours after she fires him, Montgomery is deader than dead inside the hoop house. Flaherty just might be the chief suspect in his murder, what with opportunity, suspected motive, and the blood on her clothes.

Unhappily, Flaherty discovers that not everyone is overjoyed about her dream. Some of the local farmers don’t want the extra effort of organic, see her as tough competition and may even think that the wrong person wound up with the pitchfork problem.

“A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die,” provides a peek into the life of a farmer: the dawn to dusk hours, the weeding, the seeding, the pests, the planting, the tilling, the harvesting and more. We get to see the business side of a modern farm, with websites and marketing to contend with in addition to the age-old problem of equipment breaking down just when you need it the most. Maxwell herself ran an organic produce farm for about six years, putting in eight-hour days in order to get the work done. She says she had no animals on the farm to deal with at the time, which allowed her to focus on the crops. I take care of flowers in my 1/3-acre backyard for an hour or so a day and I can’t imagine doing the weeding and pest control no matter what the weather with several acres of produce. It is backbreaking work. Big thank-yous to the farmers of this world!

Maxwell delivers an assortment of quirky characters, supportive friends, and suspects aplenty for the murder as well as later sabotage against the farm. Cam Flaherty’s childhood friend, Ruth Dodge (now a police officer) especially well drawn with marriage and job challenges, stands up satisfactorily for Flaherty when she can, but remains professional when she has to.

The subplots of illegal immigration, a past that still haunts Flaherty, as well as a budding love interest, are interwoven nicely with the stories of tasty meals prepared with produce fresh from the garden. “A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die,” ends as it began, in fine dramatic fashion with Flaherty proving to be a truly appealing lead character. She has foibles like the rest of us, and is able to deal with challenging issues when the situation calls for it.

Edith Maxwell’s comments at ‘Jungle Red Writers’ about being a farmer can be read here:

http://www.jungleredwriters.com/2014/06/the-unsettling-of-mystery-writer.html

For more information about Maxwell, as well as her most recently published book featuring Cam Flaherty, “ ’Til Dirt Do Us Part,” please visit www.edithmaxwell.com

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“Dear Killer” by Linda Lovely

4 Comments / Mystery, Romance

Marley Clark is a recently widowed, bored, former Army intelligence officer who takes on a job as a security guard for a Dear Island community in order to stay busy. The gig is mostly routine until one night, she discovers the naked body of a local resident, floating face down in a vegetable-crammed Jacuzzi. Nearby, a message is scratched into a palm tree pot: “STEWED.”

The locals are not equipped to handle one murder, let alone the others that follow in rapid succession in "Dear Killer." A deputy arrives from the mainland to help out with the sleuthing. Who would want these people dead? Why stage the crime scenes in such bizarre fashion? And what ties them all together? Clark, the deputy, and friends work together to stop the mayhem, despite repeated threats and close calls.

As romantic suspense dictates, the deputy becomes Clark’s boyfriend. A boyfriend who is hot, younger and might not be interested in a one-night stand. And, because this is adult romantic suspense, Clark has some vivid fantasies that eventually lead to actual sexual interludes and some self-doubt about whether she can move on after a year in mourning.

In her debut novel, Linda Lovely was on a campaign to let readers know that the over 50 year old crowd is alive and well, sexually active, vital to the community, and lovin’ it. Lovely succeeded in "Dear Killer" and had great fun with her lead character along the way. Clark’s best pal is a snarky, free-spirited gal with a sailor’s vocabulary. This is not your grandmother’s cozy read. The bad guys are sleazy, the murders grisly, the similes and adjectives fly, and the clues are pun-filled.

Lovely has penned a novel set in the Low Country of South Carolina. Dear Island itself may be fictional, but descriptions of the area’s history, food, lifestyle and geographical character are authentic. Other readers who live in that section of South Carolina say it’s all spot-on.

Go to www.lindalovely.com for more information about Linda Lovely, her dedicated work in the writing community, and her recent books.

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“Even Money” by Dick Francis and Felix Francis

Bestselling Author, Mystery, Thriller

“Even Money,” by former champion steeple chase jockey Dick Francis and his son, Felix, takes us behind the scenes of a smalltime legal bookie’s business in England. Ned Talbot is working his spot at Royal Ascot when an older man approaches and wants to chat about Ned’s grandfather, the man who started the family operation many years before. Hardly the time for a conversation, Ned puts him off until later in the day, annoyed by the intrusion.

Three hours later, after revealing that he is the father Ned thought died long ago in a car crash, the man is mortally stabbed in front of Ned in the track parking lot, by an attacker who keeps asking where his money is. With the “Be very careful of everyone” warning on the father’s dying breath, “Easy Money” is off and running.

Why was he stabbed? What money? Was the man really his father? If so, where had he been for the last thirty-six years? Anger and frustration and grief hit full force as Ned tries to sort it all out. When a stranger breaks into Ned’s house looking for his father’s property, Ned knows that whatever else, his father was up to no good before he died.

The police discover that his father had traveled from Australia under a different name, and of course, don’t quite believe Ned’s version of the mugging. Ned must deal with the death, the police and the questions he has, all while working to have his wife released from a mental institution. Pressured at every turn, Ned must even fend off thugs from a betting syndicate that is trying to force out smalltime bookies.

What unfolds is a multi-layered mystery set against the background of horseracing, with an emphasis on the betting. The Francis team has the task of explaining how betting works for both the punter (the person who places the bet) and the bookie. They describe the process simply enough so that the average reader can follow that particular storyline. A bookmaker’s odds chart is provided at the beginning of the book, but while interesting, it is not essential to understanding the action. A note: the British system of betting is a bit less controlled than the U.S. system, with more leeway for placing and paying out bets.

The racing world in “Even Money” has arrived at modern day, with internet betting, computerized betting stubs, RFID chips for horse identification, horse passports, wi-fi and cell phones.

We learn of the latest schemes to switch good and bad horses just before a race – long gone are the days when a horse could be painted and passed off as a different mount. International racing comes into play as some of his father’s secrets are revealed.

Ned Talbot seems tough enough and clever enough to cope with all the complications that pop up as he solves the several puzzles and deals with horrible truths about his father. Ned is not a super hero James Bond type, though; his handling of the many twists and turns seem possible even for the common guy. And that’s why we root for him. We can see ourselves in the same tight spots and know with a little luck and quick thinking that we could be masters of our own fates, too.

He has able assistants at the track and I especially liked Luca and Duggie. They seem perfectly suited for the technical know-how and showmanship needed in the book. The bad guys are interesting and vary according to their level of motivation in the story and what they want from Ned. The payback scheme at the end is terrific and worthy of a heist movie.

Among other awards, Dick Francis was a three-time winner of the Edgar Award, bestowed by the Mystery Writers of America. He wrote forty-three bestselling novels and was widely considered to be one of the best thriller writers in the world.

“Even Money” was published in 2009 and was the third of four novels co-written by Dick and Felix Francis. Dick Francis passed away in early 2010 and the fourth book was published later that year. For more information about Dick Francis and his career, as well as Felix and how he is carrying on the family business, please visit www.felixfrancis.com

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