FROM THE DESK OF
DONA PENZA TATTLE, ESQ.
AND
ASSOCIATE WRYE
BALDERDASH
Greetings,
"Snow light, snow bright, the
last snow I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, for snow to go fly a
kite." Tattle frowns at the fresh
layer of snow outside the office window.
"It's spring...spring! No
snow! Flowers and snow just don't go
together, y'know."
With the look of someone caught
with their hand in the candy dish, Wrye gulps down a mouthful of newly made
snow cream. Then he sheepishly offers Tattle
the bowl. "Want some?"
"I want warmth, sun, bright
skies."
"Then let's go on a Love of
Literature Leap to steamy, sunny Florida."
Tattle perks up, "Let's!"
The two find themselves immediately
emerged in Julie Eberhart Painter's cozy mystery MEDIUM RARE.
"Ohh, what a nice, warm
place," Tattle observes as she snuggles on the couch right next to Penny
and Cole Martin's cat, Cufflynx. She
sinks her fingers into its soft fur and strokes, happily. Needless to say, the alpha pet Mynah,
Bildgewater, flutters its feathers in disapproval, wanting the attention
instead.
Wyre squints, his best Sherlock's something's afoot squint. "There's been a murder."
"There!" announces
Tattle, pointing through the passages.
"Celeste, a sweet ole psychic medium, stabbed through the chest
with knitting needles."
"Interrressting,"
declares Wrye, "Just like Croakette."
"Ah yes, the hospice mascot
from Penny's work. The stuffed green
frog whose outfits are changed more than a potty-in-training toddler. There she was, a year before the current
murder, stabbed through the chest with knitting needles. Unlike, Celeste, however, a quick repair
allowed her to live and cheer-up the hospice workers for many more days."
Wrye nods sagely. "Poor Croakette, poor
Celeste." He offers a nano second
of silence. "We are running amuck,
I fear, m'gossipy sleuth…."
"I am not the sleuth,"
Tattles interrupts, "Penny is, but you are correct, we are dangling clues
much like the author has in this lighthearted mystery. However, unlike her we're a bit
disconnected."
Wrye paces the chapters. "So, let's clarify a bit. The book starts in the present day, flips
back into the past, and then ends in the present. A nice little roller coaster ride along with Penny's
hospice co-workers, whose imperfections make them very real, very relatable,
and very suspect as well."
"Most of them have visited the
medium, who knew intimate details about their present and past lives. This transparency convinces them Celeste is genuine."
"Ah so, ho-de-ho, it must have
also convinced the murderer that Celeste knew way too much, something he or she
didn't want revealed.
Da...da...da...daaaaa!" Wrye
lingers on the last note of his dramatic declaration.
"Penny, though, feels her
colleagues simply aren't the murdering type.
They might have their flaws, from the hospice chaplain with a shadowy
past, the needy social worker, the volunteer coordinator with a wobbly
marriage, the married comptroller with a secret life along with a few other,
but none had it in them to viciously stab a sweet psychic with knitting
needles."
Wrye bounces his brows. "Or did they?"
"Did any of them even
knit?" Tattle scours the
pages. "Well, I won't be
telling. Y'all have to find out for
yourselves. All in all, Julie took the
backdrop of a serious setting like hospice and managed to add the type of humor
and light-fare associated with a cozy mystery. The genius of this book is that you can pick
up clues along the way, play with the possibilities, yet the cornerstone clues,
though obvious in the aftermath, were virtually invisible." Pause, and then, "Everything is viewed
from the workers perceptions and how they manage to keep their sanity while
dealing with hospice patients and their families, better their skills, yet
retain empathy without becoming emotionally involved. There is complete authenticity in both the
feel of the characters and the hospice setting.
The story and plotline moves delightfully along, making one smile in
some parts as well as laugh outright in others, and then occasionally blurting
out, that's the killer only to be uncertain a few pages later. Simply put, a fun, fun read."
Wrye adds, "I agree. The pages turned themselves as I immersed
myself in the characters' lives. I
especially liked the reappearance of Penny and Cole from KILLER FEE, a previous mystery from Julie Eberhart Painter. Yet, try as I might, I couldn't figure out
who the killer was and found the revelation a magnificent, well-thought through
surprise. In retrospect, it all made
sense."
"If you want a quick read with
a quirky cast and an unexpected ending, we highly recommend MEDIUM RARE."
"Only, make certain you plan
on one sitting, you won't be able to put it down!"
Until next month, keep reading.
Dona
Penza Rutabaga Tattle, Esq. and Associate Wrye Balderdash
of
Blather City, Wannachat
Created
and written by
Angelica Hart and Zi
Books by
Angelica Hart and Zi
KILLER
DOLLS ~ SNAKE DANCE ~
CHASING
YESTERDAY ~ CHRISTMAS EVE...VIL
Books by
Vixen Bright and Zachary Zane
STEEL
EMBRACE
BOOK
NOOKIE-A LIBRARIAN'S BUIDE TO THE DO-ME DECIMAL SYSTEM
angelicahartandzi.com
