Think Twice (2010)

Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Years ago I received a paperback ARC (advanced reading copy) of Lisa Scottoline's first mystery Everywhere That Mary Went and enjoyed it immensely especially because it was set in Philadelphia, my hometown. Since then I have read almost every one of the books in the Benny Rosato series.

My favorite memory, which I've mentioned here before, is when I was at Book Expo waiting to have Lisa sign my copy of  Devil's Corner. When I got to the front of the line, she popped out from behind the table and gave me a big hug before realizing I wasn't who she thought I was. If she was embarrassed, it didn't matter to me! I was thrilled!

I almost didn't read this story because of one of the elements that disturbs me greatly - being buried alive. I must say that Lisa handled it well. Chapters alternate between what is going on with Bennie, with her 'evil' twin Alice, and with Mary. It keeps you turning pages and I devoured the book in two days.


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Hotel Paradise (1996)

Hotel Paradise by Martha Grimes


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It is quite a feat to write honestly from a child's point of view, even one who is observant and perceptive. Emma, who is twelve years old, lives with her mother and other staff who run the Paradise Hotel ("an old summer hotel") that has seen better days. She becomes fascinated with the death of another twelve year old girl who died mysteriously many years earlier and begins investigating in her own unique style. Someone pointed out that this was as much a coming of age novel as a mystery story.

As always, Martha Grimes writes, in quotable style, of singular characters and places we all want to visit. It turns out that she based this story, in part, on her own childhood experiences spending summers at her mother's hotel in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland. The hotel was torn down in 1967.

There are actually three books in the Emma Graham mystery series and luckily I started with the first. Others are Cold Flat Junction (2000) and Belle Ruin (2005).

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Dennis Palumbo ~ Writer and Psychotherapist

There's a really nice article about Dennis Palumbo (M.A., M.F.T.) in the most Spring 2010 Pitt Magazine for alumnae of the University of Pittsburgh.

A couple of years after graduation Dennis packed up and headed for Hollywood where he spent a year sending out film scripts and trying to get comedians to let him write jokes for them. Nothing happened.

Then he got his big break. He was hired to write an episode of the television series The Love Boat, and that led to job as a staff writer for Welcome Back, Kotter. "In 1982 he graduates to the big screen, cowriting an acclaimed film script for My Favorite Year starring Peter O'Toole."

At that point, rather than pursue the movies, Dennis changed course and got a graduate degree and became a psychotherapist. He specializes in treating those with artistic problems, which he uniquely understands.


NOW: He continues to write - blogging for The Huffington Post and recently published a book called Writing from the Inside Out dealing with the creative process. He also has a collection of mystery stories cleverly called From Crime to Crime. In August his first crime novel, Mirror Image, which is set in Pittsburgh, will be in bookstores.

THEN: Dennis Palumbo was in The Man in the Dog Suit for Characters East in Pittsburgh with me in May of 1971. I played Mrs. Louisa Stoddard. I don't remember who Dennis played.  I have always thought it odd that I was involved with this play twice in my lifetime although Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn played the leads on Broadway originally so maybe the play had more to offer than I could perceive. 

The Writer Who Couldn't Read

A while back I read a Benny Cooperman mystery (Ransom Game) by Howard Engel. In 2000 Mr. Engel suffered a stroke which left him unable to read but still able to write. PBS has a short video that explains how this could happen.

Mr. Engel was another discovery suggested by Callan Books in Stratford, Ontario.

Callan Books in Stratford, Ontario

For the last four years I have traveled with friends to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada. The one place I always make a point to visit is Callan's Bookstore at 15 York Street. They have been in business for 22 years and apparently are a destination for many book lovers.

One site lists Callan's specialties as "Canadiana, mysteries, theatre, cookery, history, classics and contemporary fiction. An eclectic selection and knowledgeable staff." Each year I come away with new authors, often Canadian, that I would never find on my own. It is the only time I 'browse' for books during the year since my list of books 'to read' is so long. This year's treasures are Last Reminder (Stuart Pawson), A Sea of Troubles (Donna Leon), and Theatre (David Mamet).

The Lake Shore Limited (2010)

The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The overlapping voices of Leslie, Sam, Rafe, and Billy tell the story of a play written in response to 9/11. This is an engaging story of love and loss and possibilities.

Sue Miller got the theatrical parts right and that made it more enjoyable for me. It's not a great book but it is a good read.

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One Day (2010)

One Day by British writer David Nicholls seems to be taking the USA by storm. Entertainment Weekly featured it recently saying it should make a great film (word is that Anne Hathaway has already signed on). People magazine has given it 4 out of 4 stars. It has just been released in trade paperback and Early Word suggests that someone here must be kicking themselves for not publishing it in hardback.

I made my reservations with my local library, which doesn't have a copy in stock and has only ordered 4. Big mistake.

The Black Cat (2010)

Right in the middle of everything else I was reading and doing, the library called to let me know that my name had come up on the list for Martha Grimes's most recent Richard Jury mystery, The Black Cat. What could I do? I put everything else aside and read the book in just a couple of days.

What I have always loved about the Richard Jury mysteries is the cast of surrounding characters whose roles can change from plot to plot. Introduced in The Old Wine Shades, Harry Johnson and Mungo are back. I don't think there is a single title that doesn't feature intelligent and precocious children in some way. Some might be thrown off by the involvement of the animals but it is something you come to expect with the stories and learn to enjoy.

Three young women, who work for three escort services, are murdered. Where's the link? Is it the designer shoes? And what happened to the cat? A fine summer read.

The Buffalo Tree (1997)

The Buffalo Tree by Adam Rapp


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I don't think I've ever been so depressed by a book in my life. It left me feeling sad even though the ending is hopeful. Written in the first person, we root for thirteen year old Sura to survive his six months in a juvenile detention center, where cruelty is the norm.

Author Adam Rapp has a new play that just opened on Broadway called "The Metal Children", which deals with an author doing battle with a small American town that has banned his YA book. Connecting the dots, I decided to read "The Buffalo Tree" to see what the hubbub might be about.

The book is disturbing to someone who grew up in the 50's and is nothing like the books I read. Was the world like that back then and we just didn't know? The adults in this story are non-human in the way they interact with the young inmates. There is no real kindness.

Using language that feels foreign and strange and hard to get a handle on adds to the feeling of alienation  - of being plopped down in an artificial, uncaring world.

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