Two Spaces After

I had heard that this rule had changed but didn't know why until I just read about it in the March 2013 Sisters in Crime Newsletter.

Here's the reason. Computers have built in proportional spacing allowing a single space after punctuation. Your work will look better if you follow this guideline.

AUDITION FOR MURDER (1985)

Audition for Murder (Maggie Ryan, 1967) by P.M. Carlson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What I especially loved about P.M. Carlson's AUDITION FOR MURDER is that she really knows her theater and she really knows her Shakespeare!

That being said I'd have to agree with one reviewer who wrote that people who understand theater and have been exposed to Shakespeare's Hamlet would love this mystery while others would not enjoy it at all.

The author's insightful descriptions of how directors and actors approach a part would probably strike the general mystery reader as obtuse and unnecessary. It drew me in and made the story special.

Maggie Ryan, a student who is running lights for a production of Hamlet, is an extraordinary sleuth. A gymnast and math major, she impresses from her first attention-drawing entrance. Setting the story on a college campus in the 1960s of Viet Nam protests is clever too. It allows for a clearly defined group of suspects, all well-drawn by the author.

Married professional actors Nick and Lisette, with problems of their own, sign on to spend a semester as artists-in-residence at a small upstate college. But someone apparently isn't happy with Lisette playing Ophelia and strange and sometimes dangerous things start to happen.

Besides beautiful use of language, I look for inventiveness and surprise in books and love those the best. P.M. Carlson has managed to do both things while writing quotable sentences!

Here are a couple of quotes that caught my fancy.

"Excellence is often unwelcome and difficult to forgive."

And on acting:

"The perfect detail, the instant that sends shivers down your spine...Those performances when somehow for an instant or two we connect with the universal. With eternity. When it happens, if it happens, it's worth any amount of time. It's worth your whole life."

Unfortunately there is only one other Maggie Ryan mystery. MURDER IS ACADEMIC. Both titles have just been reissued by The Mystery Company/​Crum Creek Press trade paperback and Ebook, 2012.

View all my reviews

Sarah Paretsky Will Be in Jackson on May 13 & 14

"On Thursday, April 28, Mystery Writers of America presented its Grand Master Award to Sisters in Crime founding sister Sara Paretsky at the annual Edgar Awards banquet."

On May 13 & 14 the author, who created  the popular V.I. Warshawski mystery series, will be in Jackson for the annual Word Wise Weekend.

If you haven't signed up yet, visit the Jackson District Library website HERE.

Public Library Grant Opportunity

Another benefit of reconnecting with Sisters in Crime is that I discovered they offer a small grant opportunity ($1,000)  for public libraries.

All libraries that apply become part of a lottery with a winner being chosen each month. You only have to enter once. Read more HERE if you are interested.

Random Acts of Book-Giving

Reading mysteries has spurred me to consider rejoining Sisters in Crime, an organization of mystery writers and readers who "promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve writers in the industry".  As I caught up with the blog, I came across an entry that talked about receiving unexpected books in the mail and what a delightful surprise that can be. It resonated with me because I am reading a mystery right now that seemed perfect for one of my friends. I had already decided to mail it to her when I am finished with it. Storing books on my bookshelves is not as attractive as passing them on to their next reader. That's not to say that there aren't those titles that I feel the need to keep close and reread as necessary.

Kathie Felix suggests you purchase your book from an Independent bookstore and surprise a friend with a book you found wonderful. You can read her blog entry HERE.

Total Recall (2001)

I used to be a regular reader of Sara Paretsky but it's been years since I picked up a V.I.Washawski novel. Total Recall was in a tumble of mysteries at the library Friends' booksale, so I grabbed it. Maybe my tastes have changed, but I didn't find the book up to my expectations. The plot, which involved insurance fraud dating back to the Holocaust and forward to the South Side of Chicago, was intriguing but started getting complicated when recovered memory was introduced. All ends were not tied up but I didn't really care. This was an angry book and I was actually uncomfortable with V.I.'s agressive behavior.

Years ago I heard Sara Paretsky speak in Michigan and I was awed. We were late getting to the session and only the front row was open. She spoke about things that were important to women that I hadn't heard anyone else say. Later I traveled to Chicago for a conference where she was scheduled to speak again. I arrived in the room early so I could choose to sit in the front row this time. Her first words were to ask if there was anyone in the room from Michigan. A number of people, including me, raised hands. She suggested we might find the talk boring because it would be basically the one she had given before. NO ONE LEFT.

Sara was also the founder of Sisters In Crime (1986), which fought to get women mystery authors in the United States reviewed more widely.

It's not a bad book. I would still recommend it to mystery lovers. Her writing is intelligent and her characters are interesting.