New and Old Favorites by Nancy L. Eady

I have a lot of “favorite” books. My husband swears he can tell my state of mind by the books I am reading. In his opinion, if I am cuddling up with some of my “old” favorites, then I am suffering from insecurity over something. I’m not sure that is always true, but I do have many books I like to re-read. My oldest favorites, as I mentioned in a post in October 2018, are Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I also love to periodically revisit Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and To Serve Them All My Days by R. F. Delderfield.

In the mystery realm, I have mentioned before that I am a Nero Wolfe fan. The series was started by Rex Stout, then continued after a couple of decades by Robert Goldsborough. Nero Wolfe is not a cozy series, but many of my mystery favorites are. Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow series is that rare series which have scenes that make me laugh out loud. Other favorites include the Haunting Danielle series by Bobbi Holmes, Debra Goldstein’s Sarah Blair Mystery series, Allison Brook’s Haunted Library series, Carol Perry’s Witch City series and her Haunted Haven series. A new favorite is Julie Mulhern’s Country Club Mystery series. I discovered it sometime in January after E.B. Davis mentioned it in one of her posts and have read all thirteen books twice already. In the interest of fair disclosure, Allison Brooks, who is Marilyn Levinson, Debra Goldstein and Carol Perry are my blog mates; the only reason the rest of my blog mate’s series haven’t made the list is that I just haven’t made it to their books yet. If I didn’t insist on re-reading an entire series when a new book comes out, I might squeeze some more books in, but so far, I haven’t wavered.

In the “guilty pleasures” category, another favorite is a paranormal romance series called the “Leveling Up” series by K. F. Breene, where a 40 year old divorcee discovers that she is the heir to a magical house, the acceptance of which gives her an enormous fund of magic of her own, and enormous problems that go along with it. This series also has a large streak of humor running through it.

I could keep going; I have many favorites I like to re-read. The thread that ties them all together is the element of immersion. When I read these books, I lose myself and become totally submerged in the events I am reading about. Most of the time, there are characters in the book that I would love to be friends with if they existed in real life. Sometimes, there is an element of escapism; for example, in both the Haunting Danielle and the Country Club Murder series, neither heroine worries about where next month’s rent comes from. It’s nice to be submerged in a world where the main character, at least, doesn’t have to worry about where their next paycheck or meal is coming from. And the writing in my favorites is always good writing. Don’t ask me to define what good writing is; I know it when I see it and feel it resonate within me. “Good writing” isn’t simply a matter of style, either, as vastly different styles still constitute “good writing.” My “good writing” favorites have gotten me through many of life’s toils and troubles.

“They” often say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I think I’ll amend that to say when the going gets tough, the survivors start reading. It fits me, anyhow.

Do you have a definition of "good writing"? What are your favorite books to escape to when you need a break from regular life? 

ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS - Gloria Alden

I just finished the latest Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers mystery by Elizabeth George, the 690 page The Punishment She Deserves. Although it took days, it lived up to my expectations of keeping me always interested until the very end.

In this book, the cozy bucolic town of Ludlow is stunned when one of its most revered and respected citizens , deacon Ian Druitt, is accused of child molestation by an anonymous phone call. The local PCSO is told by his chief officer to lock Druit up in the Ludlow’s rarely used police station. While there the deacon’s body is found hanging from a doorknob in the room he’d been closed in. It was determined it was a suicide.

Druitt’s father, a wealthy man with connections, calls on a member of parliament he knows to contact the head of New Scotland Yard and have him send someone to investigate what happened otherwise he is going to sue for a large amount of money. DCS Isabelle Ardery is assigned to the job with detective sergeant Barbara Havers to go to the small English town of Ludlow and find out what happened. Ardery is not happy to have Barbara Havers because Barbara tends to go her own way.

 During the investigation they talk with various people including the local PCSO, Gary Ruddock, the only police officer in this tiny town, who brought him in and then left him locked up to take care of drunken college students creating  havoc in the local pubs. Ruddock was the one who later found Ian Druitt dead.

During the investigation DCS Ardery can’t find any evidence that would make anyone think it was anything but suicide, however Sergeant Barbara Havers disagrees and thinks there’s a good chance he was murdered, but she can’t convince Guv Ardery it’s anything other than suicide.

DCS Ardery, becomes an interesting character throughout because she’s an alcoholic who can’t live without her vodka and other drinks. She tries to hide it from Havers, but is not successful and ends the investigation even though Barbara believes she’s not looking at things correctly, but her boss insists they go back to London.

When they return to London, DCI Lynley talks to Barbara and Isabelle. He knows Isabelle has a drinking problem and lectures her which she doesn’t like. She assigns Barbara to write up a report on their investigation, and then refuses to send it to the commissioner because Barbara had included some of her suspicions of the death. So DCI Lynley and Sergeant Havers are sent back to Ludlow and the area to further investigate.

One of the things that kept me, and I’m sure other readers, too, interested was the other characters who are brought in with their own thoughts, backgrounds they keep hidden and worries. There is the young girl Dena – or Ding as she’s known, who has an obsession I won’t go into here, until she learns her mother has been lying to her all her life.

Then there’s Missa, who also has a secret she’s been hiding and previously had been talking to Deacon Ian Druitt about it. When her last name shows up on his cell phone, Lynley and Havers end up interviewing her grandmother, who had the same last name, before they learn it was Missa he’d been talking to. And we’re introduced to Missa’s messed up family to a certain extent, and her long-time boyfriend Justin.

Then there is the head of the local police department, who had the local PCSO Gary keeping his eye on her college son, Finnegan. Finn, his other name, was living in the same house as Ding, another girl, and another boy, Brutus..  Her husband found out what she was doing and disagreed that she should be watching 

over their son like that.

All in all the mystery – although I figured it out earlier – was interesting because of all the different characters whose stories were interesting in and of itself all the way through.

  

On the back cover were six positive reviews. I’m including this one because I so agree with it.

The Washington Post, wrote “. . . George’s ability to continually enhance the portraits of Lynley, Havers, and other recurring characters while generating fully fleshed new ones for each novel is nothing less than superlative, and her atmospheric prose, complete with lovely and detailed descriptions of her setting, combines to add literary gravitas to her work . . . A worthy addition to her portfolio and one that simultaneously disturbs and satisfies.”

  

I have read and own all twenty of Elizabeth George’s Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Barbara Havers mysteries. After reading this book I think I’ll go back and start at the very first one all over again.

Have you read any of Elizabeth George’s Lynley and Havers mysteries?