A Little Recognition

My name is Celina from (Courtreporter.net). We wanted to let you know that we featured your blog in one of our recent articles on our own blog. (50 Best Blogs for Crime & Mystery Book Lovers), is linked below and could be a fun way to share this announcement with your readers.
(Courtreporter.net )

Thanks again for your time, and keep up the good work!

Celina Jacobson

Thanks Celina. I guess you never know who is watching. I am happy to have you mention my blog in your article. And thanks for rating me in the 50 Best.

So who is CourtReporter.net? Below is from their webpage.

Courtreporter.net was created to connect people looking for an exciting career in court reporting to the most comprehensive information available on the subject, covering some of the most relevant topics in court reporting today. Here you will learn about a court reporter’s vital responsibilities in the courtroom, what the job market looks like in today’s economy and other information you’ll need to know when preparing for this career.

Monday Mystery Theme - TEXAS

This is the first Monday that I am doing a Mystery Theme and it features TEXAS mysteries. This is NOT an original idea and I want to give credit where credit is due.

At work on Fridays' we started off with coordinating our shirt colors on Fridays. Now we are coordinating themes for our shirts on some Fridays - like Dallas Cowboys, Mardi Gras, United Way ... just to name a few.

Also I know other Blogs have special days of the week like a friend at http://jenningsjunk.blogspot.com/ that she calls Whensday. It is one of her way of posting pictures and memories.

Rather than try to list authors who write in this theme category, I will give you a link (or two) where you might find a list that already exists. There is no need for me to reproduce the work when somebody has already done it.

Texas Mystery Authors http://www.texasmysteryauthors.net/

Lone Star Sleuths http://alkek.library.txstate.edu/swwc/exhibits/mystbib.html

The Cozy Mystery List Blog http://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/mystery-books-that-take-place-in-texas.html

To NOOK or Not ...

As you may know, the NOOK is Barnes and Nobles entry into the eBook reader market. I am still not sure if I would prefer the eBook over the hands on book. The price of an eBook of $9.99 for the Amazon's Kindle was one of it's draws that has been upset by increase in the eBook price change recently announced. Another concern is the investment in the ebooks and their stability. What happens when you lose the reader or it breaks? You do not just lose one book but all of your eBooks.

What are your thoughts about the eBook reader? What do you think the pros and cons are?

Discussion Group Selection For February

The Mystery Reading Group at the Firewheel Barnes and Noble met last week to discuss The selection for the month. The name of the book was Cover Her Face and it was written by P.D. James. This is the first in a series of books by the author featuring Adam Dalgliesh - a detective in the UK. This book was first published in 1962. Incidentally, the detective Adam Dalgliesh has been the subject of some films as well.

There were ten people in attendance for our discussion - three of which were first time attendees who did not read the book. A vote of the remaining seven was made. There were four thumbs up, two thumbs down, and one abstained (myself) due to not finishing the book. A comment was made that this was the hardest books to read in the series but later books are more interesting. It definitely was a different type of writing. I know I may have had problems reading it due to injuries and medicine I was taking while trying to read it - I missed a lot of things. I have since have completed the book and would like to give it a thumbs up as well. The tally is 5 up and 2 down.

This is a mystery that involves more than the death of an "unwed" mother named Sally Jupp and discovering who the murderer is. Sally Jupp lives and works for a well to do family when she is murdered. It becomes clear that she was strangled in her own room during the night and our detective Adam Dalgliesh has to work his way through a lot of suspects to identify the killer.

While there is a big mystery as to who killed her - and why, there was another mystery that had to be tackled in the story. This mystery involved the life of Sally Jupp. There was very little information known about her until close to the end. Some of the secrets revealed here were in my eyes what helped make the story of more interest - in spite of the slow start and confusion from the beginning. It was also interesting that the murder was really solved by a confession.

Another complaint about this story was the role the detective played in this story. His role was not as significant or major as would have been expected - there were several other characters involved throughout. One of the members of our group indicated that the detective's role takes on a lot more significance in later books.

If you enjoy English mysteries, this book (and the series) may be one you would like to check out.

Missing In Action ... An Original by MisterReeReeder

His name was Bob and he was a soldier. He carried a radio pack on his back. It was partly because of this he earned his nickname – “EARS”. He had literally been “handpicked” for the current mission along with a few others – Ray (who tossed grenades like grapefruits); Sam (who carried a bazooka); and Jim (who could lay flat and shoot his rifle with some accuracy). There used to be more of them but they seemed to be “missing in action”.

Sounds of bombs and shots could be heard pretty close by. As always Bob could hear himself responding on the radio in an unfamiliar voice, “Roger Wilco”. He was not sure what was coming from the other end of the conversation. One thing was sure however. The enemy was upon them. They could not always see them because sometimes the enemy seemed to be invisible. At other times the enemy looked like monsters. The others in his group were firing their weapons and tossing their grenades. “BOOM”. The grenade exploded and Bob could only hope it hit its’ invisible target. He kept listening for further instructions on his radio pack.

The battle continued for some time like that. Then Bob saw Sam who was caught as if by a hand from the sky and turned over on his side. Bob had seen this happen before. Sam was a goner. And still it went on. Then Bob heard a familiar voice in the distance. It was not coming from the radio pack he was carrying but from somewhere else. He could just barely make out the words that meant this battle was over. “It’s dinner time. Put your toys away and come to the table.”

Bob understood he and the others on his team were about to be put into some dark place crammed with other toys until they were needed again. Hopefully they would not end up “missing in action”.