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Grey haired trolley pushing crime busters

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The Tea Ladies Amanda Hampson 384 pages, Penguin Books first published 2023  The Tea Ladies is set in Sydney, NSW in 1965 and centres on a group of women who see all, hear all and are pretty much ignored by most.  Hazel Bates on her way to work, briefly sees a young woman in distress peering out the window of an abandoned building, which later burns down. For Hazel, along with Irene and Betty decide to try and solve the mystery but things take a turn for the worse when they discover a dead body and the danger levels increase. What follows is the Tea Ladies using their contacts and nous to solve a crime the police cannot.  Hampson has crafted a world which rings true, with characters that are quite believable and come fully formed. They have detailed back histories that is slowly revealed through the story.  Hazel who the central character is complex and apparent from solving a crime has to deal with personal issues that just may derail everything. Hazel, is not perfect but there is lit
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Surreal Poetic Magic

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Orlam  PJ Harvey  301 pages, Hardcover, First published January 1, 2022   Orlam, is a poetic story told over thirteen months of nine-year-old Ira-Abel Rawles, who lives on Hook Farm in the village of UNDERWHELEM.   There are two poems in the book, on the left hand side is the English version and on the right hand side the Dorset version. Now I have no comprehension of the Dorset dialect, so I did some research and was able to somewhat get the gift of the gab. I read both versions out loud, the Dorset version first, as I wanted to try and capture rhythm of the text and then I would read the English translation. It really did help me to appreciate the words, the imagery and the story.   The words are beautiful, the imagery of farm life and the people is stark and raw, with mythology and supernatural elements mixed in, in a way, explaining the brutality and the beauty. There are moments of humour and lightness. Harvey explains at the bottom of the poems, the significance and meaning of th
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Antiques are a deadly obsession

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The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder C.L. Miller 304 pages, Paperback, February 6, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Freya Lockwood having a crisis of sorts, her daughter has flown the nest to study in the US, her ex-husband wants to sell the family home asap, her former mentor Arthur Crockleford has died and left her with a mystery to solve.  Freya arrives on the page fully formed, in her 40s, divorced, empty nester, full of self-doubt and without a purpose. In her youth Freya had teamed up with Arthur and learnt everything about antiques. An incident in Cairo had Freya turning her back on the career and taking a different route in life. From the outset, Freya is conflicted about going back and revisiting what she is highly skilled to do. Her Aunt Carole, prods, cajoles and encourages Freya into taking up the challenge. This was an easy, enjoyable read set in the murky world of antique dealing. There is a few twists and turns, the characters are well developed and there is plenty of hu
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Coffee can ease the soul

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  Tales from the Café  Toshikazu Kawaguchi Geoffrey Trousselot (Translator) Pan Macmillan, 192 pges, paperback, published March 14 2017 I read the first book in the series last year, no idea of the world I was walking into and ever so glad I did. The second book in the series is deftly created with people coming to the café to seek resolution with their past. The rules to visit the past remain the same and they are simple but effective. That you can not leave the chair is perhaps the hardest one, as the person they wish to visit must be in the café at just the right time. There are four stories and I really do not want to provide any spoilers at all. As though the stories do focus on a couple of individuals they intertwine with the overarching narrative.  It is just a delight to read and be drawn completely in. In such bleak times these stories are affirming and provide hope.
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Screaming clocks, a great twist

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The Mystery of the Screaming Clock Alfred Hitchcock & the Three Investigators Mystery Series number 9 Armada Published 1971, 192 pages So I found this novel at a street library and though I had ready the likes of the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, I could not recall reading Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators. I figured why not give it a go. The book starts off with a bang 'The Clock Screamed. It was the scream of a woman in mortal terror." From there the book is off and racing as our three investigators Jupiter, Pete and Bob try to figure why a clock has been set up to scream. As they try to figure out a bigger mystery comes to the fore. There is danger, there is puzzles, there is humour and there is a resolution. It was a great short read, that was a nice distraction.
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This no Island Paradise

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Where I End by Sophie White  232 pages, expected publication 24 September 2024, Erewhon Books  Living on an island is meant to be idyllic, a safe harbour away from the mainland where dangers lurk everywhere. For Aoileann her island home is the danger, she is shunned by the local women and children, abused by the men, treated as a house slave by her grandmother and ignored by her father. Her days revolve around the caring of the thing, her mother who has been confined to bed after an incident many years ago. It is an existence of serving the needs of others and her only release is to swim in the sea. It is here that Aoileann meets Rachel and her newborn son Seamus. For the first time Aoileann can see hope but is it possible for her to escape what the island has made her into.   The story is told from Aoileann’s point of view, she is a very unreliable narrator and as you become more in tune with her world you understand why. With the brutality of her grandmother, the indifference of her
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In Death comes Life

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Under the Whispering Door T J Klune Published 21 September 2021, Kindle edition 432 pages.  Wallace Price has oodles of money, the best of everything in life and is a bastard of a boss. While he believes he is revered and respected at work, his unwavering commitment and high expectations meant that he is universally loathed. A fact that only becomes apparent when Wallace having died of a heart attack, attends his own funeral as a ghost. Expecting a cast of thousand to attend and bemoan his loss, he is aggrieved to find a handful of mourners who are there out of duty, not respect. At his funeral Wallace encounters Reaper Mei, who promises to take Wallace to the Ferryman Hugo who will be able to assist in his journey to the afterlife. The journey that Klune takes you on this novel is of realising that materialism, power, and status are all worthless when death comes calling. That time is always ticking towards death. That the life you lead, the love you encounter, and give is of a greate
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