Back in 2023, I read Deanna Raybourn’s Killers of a Certain Age. My thoughts about that one can be found here. At the end of my recommendation, I wondered if the ladies from the book might show up in another story. Sure enough, they do. This time it is in Kills Well With Others.
I knew the book was due out this year. While at a library visit with my kids, I saw it on the shelf and immediately checked it out. I read it in two days.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Four women assassins, senior in status—and in age—sharpen their knives for another bloody good adventure in this riotous follow-up to the New York Times bestselling sensation Killers of a Certain Age.
After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their rest, but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions before she gets the itch to get back in the game. When they receive a call from Naomi Ndiaye, the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready to tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.
Someone on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, all of them connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European gangster who rules her business empire with an iron fist and plays puppet master in international affairs. Naomi is convinced this criminal queen is bent upon revenge, killing off the agents who attempted to thwart her, and the aging quartet of killers is next.
Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museum’s mole and hunting down the gangster and her assassin. But their nemesis is unlike any they’ve faced before, and it will take all their experience and a whole lot of luck to get out of this mission alive.
I believe it was one of the first book’s reviewers who said it was “Golden Girls Meets James Bond.” I remembered that as I started to read the sequel. I wondered if I needed to go back and read the first one to catch up, but it wasn’t necessary. Once the story started, I recalled the characters pretty quickly.
There were a couple throwbacks to the first book, but you can still read this one without reading the first one and enjoy it. The sequel was a little less “James Bond” than the first book. Yes, there was still some sense of it, but the story was very character driven. I really enjoyed it.
Was it as good as the first book? It was close. At the end of the first book, I couldn’t wait to see if there was more to their story. This time around, I still felt that way, just not as much. It is not a bad sequel, and it is open ended so that a third book in the series is certainly possible.
Wishing my beautiful wife, Sam a very Happy birthday today!! She continues to be the glue that holds us all together. I have no words to express how much she means to me and our family.
This photo is from when we went to a “Golden Girls” show. It was a play where the girls were played by men and it was quite raunchy.
It was a fun night out together. Because Ella is home recovering from her surgery, we won’t be able to go out this weekend, but I’m working on something for us soon.
Today would have been my grandma’s 100th birthday. She is someone that I truly miss a lot.
We’d go to her house every Sunday at noon for “dinner.” We’d listen to or watch the Tiger’s games during the summer. Every Christmas Eve we spent at her house. I’d always call her to ask her what we were having for dinner and put her on the radio. She was your typical stubborn Italian grandma. I’ve often said that she was a lot like Sophia on the Golden Girls.
As I scrolled through my Facebook memories today, past posts from her birthday were there with photos that bring back a ton of memories.
The above photo was taken at a graduation party. This is how I will forever remember my grandparents.
The “Skinny Keith” years. This was taken on one of those Christmas Eve’s after my grandfather had passed away. I know this because…
This is my mom, my grandma, and my great Aunt Rose waiting for me to sit back down to play one of MANY hands of Pinochle. I miss those games more than I can express. So much fun.
Obviously again, around Christmas. My brother must have come up from Ohio to stay for the holiday. I wish I had more pictures of all of us together.
From my first wedding, my grandma and my Godfather (Uncle Tom) dancing. I love this picture and miss them both!
I shared a dance with my grandma to “Lazy Mary” by Lou Monte at this wedding. I was so glad to have that dance. She had a bike horn that day and was honking it throughout the first part of the night. It was beyond annoying, but I guess it was her way to celebrate. When I asked my dad to get the horn away from her, she wasn’t too happy. She danced with me anyway!
You can’t see them, but she is actually wearing bright pink slippers in this picture! She was one of a kind.
She lived long enough to meet her first great grandchild, but I wish she was around to see the others! I would love one more chat with her. I wish I could sit down to another ravioli dinner or play another couple games of pinochle.
I miss her daily, but the memories of her make me smile. Happy 100th, Grandma!
Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise). The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year. I turned 8 years old in ’78 and much like in ’77, there is an interesting mix of tunes.
In January of 1978, Kansas released a song that was what Steve Walsh said, “defies the basic formulas that most (rock) groups try to follow,” and it paid off in spades! Dust in the Wind has one of the greatest guitar intros! The story of how it came to be is fantastic.
Kerry Livgren devised what would be the guitar line for “Dust in the Wind” as a finger exercise for learning “fingerpicking.” His wife, Vicci, heard what he was doing, remarked that the melody was nice, and encouraged him to write lyrics for it. Livgren was unsure whether his fellow band members would like it, after all, it was a departure from their signature style. After Kansas had rehearsed all the songs intended for the band’s recording sessions of June and July 1976, Livgren played “Dust in the Wind” for his bandmates, who after a moment’s “stunned silence” asked: “Kerry, where has this been? That is our next single!”
Dust in the Wind
In February of 1978, a song that will forever be associated with a geriatric sitcom was released. Even though Andrew Gold’s version was not the version used as the Theme to the Golden Girls, the song was (A jingle singer named Cynthia Fee sang the TV version). It is one of my ten picks because there are so many female friends that love the show. My wife is a big fan of the show as well, so here it is.
Andrew Gold says that the song was “just this little throwaway thing” that took him “about an hour to write.” Writing is was obviously a breeze, however, recording it was a different story. They recorded 40 different takes of the song, finally releasing take number 40!
If you listen closely, you can hear sleigh bells in the instrumentation of the song.
Thank You For Being a Friend
In March of 1978, the great Warren Zevon released what some call a Halloween classic, even though it was intended to inspire a dance craze. Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers had seen the 1935 film, Werewolf of London on TV and joked to Zevon that he should adapt the title for a song and new dance. He played with the idea with his band members, who wrote the song together in about 15 minutes, all contributing lyrics that were transcribed by Zevon’s wife Crystal. However, none of them took the song seriously.
The song had been written long before it was recorded. It finally appeared on Warren’s third album, Excitable Boy, which was produced by Jackson Browne (who had already been performing the song at shows.) Although 59 takes were recorded, Browne and Zevon selected the second take for the final mix. The record label really pushed for Werewolves to be a single, but Zevon liked a couple other songs. The label released it and it became Warren’s only top 40 hit.
Werewolves of London
Three of my picks from 1978, all were released in my birthday month of May. The first one is by a group that was lucky enough to get a radio station to play a demo of one of their songs on air – and have it lead to a record deal. As a former radio guy, let me tell you, that just does not happen! It did, however, for the Cars.
Just What I Needed was written by Ric Ocasek. The band recorded a two track demo of the song and My Best Friend’s Girl. In Boston, in 1977, DJ Maxanne Sartori, who was given the tapes of these songs by Ocasek, recalled, “I began playing the demos of ‘Just What I Needed’ and ‘My Best Friend’s Girl’ in March during my weekday slot, from 2 to 6 p.m. Calls poured in with positive comments.” With a song on the radio in a major market, The Cars were a surefire success and had their pick of record labels. They went with Elektra, who had them re-record the song and released it as their first single.
Benjamin Orr sang lead on the song and it was a top 30 hit for the band.
Just What I Needed
The next May release is a song that will always remind me of shooting pool with my best friend, Jeff. He always picked songs for the jukebox and Life’s Been Good by Joe Walsh was always a pick. We always laughed at the lyrics. Even Walsh says the song was meant to be a humorous look at fame and fortune.
In a 1981 interview with the BBC, Walsh explained: “I wanted to make a statement involving satire and humor, kind of poking fun at the incredibly silly lifestyle that someone in my position is faced with – in other words, I do have a really nice house, but I’m on the road so much that when I come home from a tour, it’s really hard to feel that I even live here. It’s not necessarily me, I think it paraphrases anyone in my position, and I think that’s why a lot of people related to it, but basically, that’s the story of any rock star – I say that humbly – anyone in my position. I thought that was a valid statement, because it is a strange lifestyle – I’ve been around the world in concerts, and people say ‘What was Japan like?’, but I don’t know. It’s got a nice airport, you know… so it was kind of an overall statement.”
The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the movie FM and later on Walsh’s But Seriously, Folks album. The album version is over 8 minutes long, but the radio single clocked in at about 4 and a half minutes. Made after Walsh had joined the Eagles, “Life’s Been Good” was incorporated into that group’s concert repertoire, appearing in shows at the time as well as reunion tours.
Life’s Been Good
The last May 1978 song on my list was one that three years later would hit me a bit more personally – not because of the content of the song, but because of the title. Only the Good Die Young was a top 30 hit for Billy Joel, and as controversial as it was, the attempts to censor the song (or have it banned from radio) only helped it to gain spins and popularity.
Virginia, as mentioned in the first line is a real person. Virginia Callaghan was a girl Billy had a crush on when he first started playing in a band. She didn’t even know he existed until she saw him at a gig, but 13 years later he used her as the main character in this song about a Catholic girl who won’t have premarital sex. In a 2008 interview, Joel also pointed out one part of the lyrics that virtually all the song’s critics missed – the boy in the song failed to get anywhere with the girl, and she kept her chastity.
In 2023, Joel said of the song “It’s occurred to me recently that I’m trying to talk some poor innocent woman into losing her virginity because of my lust. It’s kind of a selfish song – like, who cares what happens to you? What about what I want?… But on the other hand, it was of its time.
In 1981, my grandfather died suddenly of a heart attack. He was only 58. It was the first time I ever experienced death. At the funeral, I would hear people saying nice thing about him, and I often heard, “He was too young,” or “He was a good man.” Yes, he was, and only the good die young …
Only the Good Die Young
Earlier I mentioned how Dust in the Wind was a totally different sound for Kansas, and my next song also was very different for the artist who recorded it. The Commodores were really known for being a funk band, but when Lionel Richie brought them Three Times a Lady, they knew it was going to be a hit.
This was a breakthrough song for the Commodores and for Lionel Richie as a songwriter. It crossed over to pop, easy listening and even country formats, setting the stage for further Commodores hits and Richie’s massive solo success. In a Blues & Soul interview, Richie said: “The song has given me so much personal satisfaction. I think it is every songwriter’s dream to be totally accepted. And from the masses of awards that the song has won, it seems that the whole world really does love that song. It’s a great feeling.”
It entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 18, 1978, at number 73. Eight weeks later, it reached number 1, where it remained for two weeks. It became the Commodores first number one on this chart.
There are two reasons I have this on my list. First, it was one of those songs that was on my mother’s famous red 8-track tape. Lastly, it always reminds me of the first time I saw Eddie Murphy on SNL. He was doing a phony commercial for an album called “Buckwheat Sings” as Buckwheat from the Little Rascals. “Unce. Tice. Fee Tines a Mady!”
Three Times a Lady
For readers of this blog, you know that I have blogged about Willie Nelson’s Stardust album many times. Making a long story short, my grandparent’s place didn’t have a TV at first, so we listened to the radio and two cassette tapes. One of those was Stardust.
In July of 1978, released the song Blue Skies from that album. The song was written by Irving Berlin way back in 1926 and has been covered by many great singers. Those singers include Bobby Darin, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, Johnny Rivers and the great Ella Fitzgerald. Willie Nelson took the song to the top of the Billboard Country Chart and crossed over to the Adult Contemporary chart, too (where it peaked at 32).
Blue Skies
In October of 1978, a group of guys released a song that would go on to be named the 7th Greatest Dance Song of the 20th Century by VH1. It is a song that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2020 and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Believe it or not, that song was Y.M.C.A. by the Village People.
There is only one reason why it is on my Music of My Life list. If I had a dollar for every time I have played this at a wedding or DJ event, I could probably retire! I am probably on about 100 Facebook pages where videos of me, a groom and his groomsmen are dressed up as the Village People leading the crowd in the dance. It is totally ridiculous, but true.
The song went to number one in countries all over the world, but it only reached number 2 here in the US. It continues to be played at parties and sporting events throughout the world.
Y. M. C. A.
I certainly do not want to wrap the year on that song, so instead, I will end with another party classic. I’ll also end with a “feel good song.” How can you NOT love September by Earth, Wind and Fire? The song has a tendency to make people happy when they hear it. Allee Willis, who wrote the song with Maurice White and Al McKay from Earth, Wind & Fire, describes it as “Joyful Music.”
Every year, on September 21st, you will hear this song all over the radio! There are many theories as to the significance of the “21st night of September” in the opening lyrics, and until 2018, even the song’s co-writer was in the dark – Maurice White told her it had no real significance and was chosen because it sang well phonetically. White died in 2016; two years later, Willis was having lunch with his widow, Marilyn, who told her that September 21 was the due date for their son, Kahbran, and that Maurice put that specific date into the song as a secret message. Kahbran ended up being born early on August 1, which definitely wouldn’t have the same ring to it as a lyric.
Although many people hear the first words in the chorus as “Party On,” it’s really “Bah-dee-Ya.” Allee Willis explained in a Songfacts interview: “I absolutely could not deal with lyrics that were nonsensical, or lines that weren’t complete sentences. And I’m exceedingly happy that I lost that attitude. I went, ‘You cannot leave bada-ya in the chorus, that has to mean something.’ Maurice said, ‘No, that feels great. That’s what people are going to remember. We’re leaving it.’ We did try other stuff, and it always sounded clunky – thank God.” She went on to say, “The main lesson I learned from Earth, Wind & Fire, especially Maurice White, was never let a lyric get in the way of a groove,” she added. “Ultimately it’s the feel that is the most important, and someone will feel what you’re saying if those words fit in there right.”
The first appearance of the song was on The Best of Earth, Wind and Fire – Volume 1. It is a great groove that still fills the dance floor!
Next week, we’ll take a look at the final year of the 70’s. 1979 promises to be a good mixture of genres and will feature one of my first television heroes, who starred in a couple TV shows, many movies, and is still popular today.
I was pleasantly surprised while reading this book. Admittedly, I was drawn in by the title. I looked it up on Goodreads and after reading about it, decided to give it a shot. Here was their synopisis:
Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon.
They’ve spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they’re sixty years old, four women friends can’t just retire – it’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller.
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.
When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.
Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman–and a killer–of a certain age.
The reviews I read were mixed. Some loved it – others were disappointed. I enjoyed it. One reviewer called it “The Golden Girls Meet James Bond.” I thought that was a good description, although James was more of a spy on a mission as opposed to assassins on a mission. At the same time, there were quite a few characters that made me wonder, “Should they really trust that guy?”
It all came together nicely and I would totally read about these four ladies again. Perhaps there is another story for them in the future …
Last night Sam and I headed down to Royal Oak to watch The Golden Girls – The Laughs Continue. It had been too long since we had a date night and this was the perfect solution. As I mentioned in a previous blog, we heard that the show was a bit more … “adult.” It was, and in between the raunchiness, there were times I laughed out loud.
Before I go on, I mentioned that Sam was teasing me about “costumes” that we were going to wear to the show. Thankfully, I did not have to don a dress or a wig. She bought us T-shirts (mine was a bit snug).
When we left the parking garage and walked to the theater, there was a line all the way around the building! I had no idea that there were so many Golden Girls fans. It was crazy. The show was for 18 and older, and it was obvious that all ages were represented.
When we walked in there was a guy snapping photos in front of pictures of the actors. It made the process quick and easy.
I had no idea how good our seats were. I purchased them online and thought they would be further back from the stage than they were. They ended up being pretty good seats. Once the lights went down they began the Golden Girls Theme Song and the entire audience sang along. Then the stage lights came up and the played one of those little “scene change” musical snippets from the show and the actor who played Dorothy walked on stage.
Keep in mind that all the characters were played by men in drag. The thing that blew me away from the get go was that this guy actually sounded like Bea Arthur!! Actually, all the guys sounded just like the characters they played. The voices and the mannerisms were dead on, especially they guy who played Blanche. They were so good, I forgot they were guys.
I won’t go into the plot or anything, but I will say that it was a bit raunchier than I expected. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. My co-worker who took his wife the night before told me that there were some elderly ladies sitting in front of them and his wife was embarrassed for them. During intermission, I was in the rest room and a guy in a stall behind me was talking about how “inappropriate” some of the dialogue was and how they “didn’t have to take it that far.”
That said, there were many times I truly belly laughed. I’ve always been amazed at the work that goes into a play. Quick costume changes, scene changes, and all the lines that they have to memorize. These guys were very good.
One thing I really enjoyed were the little subtle nods to Broadway shows and the actresses and the shows they were in. There was an obscure reference to Mame, which Bea Arthur appeared in on Broadway with Angela Lansbury, which only a few people got. Rose, the Betty White character at one point says she had a weird dream that she was on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (she was). Later, while Sophia is talking about some rap singer, Blanche says something about being in the “3-1-3” (Detroit’s area code) and how she should be talking about Eminem!
Another thing I loved was how many times the actors broke the fourth wall. Nodding to the audience or acknowledging the audience or pointing to an audience member – you know, things that aren’t in the script, but make you know they know you are there. My favorite instance of this was when the Sophia character tells Rose (Betty White) that she KNEW that she was going to outlive all of them. The audience roared at this and each of the actors looked at the audience pointed upward and paid homage to Betty White. It was pretty cool.
The play never felt like it was dragging on. It was about a two hour show and a fun night out for Sam and me. We drove home afterward and decided we were hungry. (There were a lot of times cheesecake was mentioned in the play.) I won’t lie, I was amazed at home many places were closed by 10 on a Friday night. There were places that were open until midnight, but the kitchen closed at 11. It would be closed by the time we got there. So we decided on a stop at Taco Bell.
On the way home, Sam asked me something that really made me realize how much our lives have changed since having the kids. She said, “Can we go home, sit on the couch, eat our nachos and watch something that IS NOT a kid’s show!?” That hit me hard. Before kids, we spent so much time watching TV together on the couch. Now it seems that the TV only plays kid shows.
She found the very first episode of House, M.D. with Hugh Laurie. We sat snuggled up together eating and watched it together. Afterward, we called it a night and went to bed. It really was a perfect night.
As a bonus, because the kids stayed at Nana’s, we got up and had coffee together. We sat on the porch and enjoyed the quiet time and cool weather. Then Sam reminded me of the cheesecake mentions in the play and how a slice would be perfect for breakfast. I wasn’t about to argue, so I ran up to the grocery store and bought one! It was delicious and a sweet way to wrap up an amazing day/night with my wife!
The past week has been one of change and challenges for me. I am usually not lacking things I want to write about, but the past few days have been … well, busy. I’ve jotted little random thoughts in my “possible blog” notebook but none of them really warrants a full blown blog. So I decided to throw many of them all together for you. Consider it a Blogging Smorgasbord.
(Mental note: Use Smorgasbord in a sentence today. Check!)
Afternoon Adjustment
One of the biggest changes for me has been the switch from midnights to afternoons. Things have been very busy at work and I know that there are a lot of things that I still need to learn. However, I’ve sort of settled in and have taken care of reviewing patient charts, scoring records, helping techs with hook ups and whatever else is needed.
It’s weird to see the “day people.” We see their names in e-mails and on orders, but to actually see them … it’s just weird. There is a small window of time between when the day folks leave and the night folks come in where the building is strangely quiet. It’s almost too quiet. I have had to make sure that I turn some music on in order for me not to get distracted by the silence.
My entire eating schedule is out of whack, too. I’m used to lunch at 11pm and dinner at 3:30am. Now, I am eating on what you would call a “normal” schedule. I also have to deal with the never ending supply of sweets and snacks from the day staff. It seems that there are always some kind of goodies on the break room table.
The best part has been being able to crawl into bed and hold my wife at night (when one of the kids isn’t in our bed!). In just one week, I feel like we have talked more like when we first got married. Both of us are rested, get up and have coffee together, and have breakfast and lunch as a family. It really is wonderful.
Date Night
Sam and I have a date night coming up this weekend. If there is ever any question as to whether I love her or not, this should prove that the answer is a resounding YES. Look, I’ve seen a few episodes of the Golden Girls here and there. Sophia reminds me of my Italian grandma. However, I wouldn’t go out of my way to see a “Golden Girls” stage show – unless my wife wanted to see it. She does and we are.
I don’t know much about the show. The Golden Girls – The Laughs Continue. I heard it is a bit “raunchier” than the actual show. My co-worker saw it tonight and said it was good. He promised to not give away any spoilers. He took his wife.
We were talking about how some people really got into it and were dressing up to go to shows like this. My wife has informed me that she has something for us to wear to the show. If I wind up in a wig and a dress, I will be sure to share pictures.
Did You Ever ….
This doesn’t happen often, but have you ever started a book with the impression that it was going to be good only to find it slow and not what you expected? I am listening to an audiobook that I borrowed based solely on the title. The unabridged audio book is just over 11 hours. I am three hours in and I am just now feeling like it might be starting to get interesting, but I’m not sure. I debated whether or not to just stop listening.
I suppose it is my fault. I usually read the synopsis before deciding on reading a book. I never did for this one. Prior to blogging, I read the synopsis and afterward asked myself, “If I had read this before adding it to my ‘to read’ list, would I have actually wanted to read it?” I’m guessing not. I will probably listen a little longer just to see what, if anything, happens. At some point, though, I need to decide whether I want to finish it or not.
I Don’t Get the Hype
Someone posted the above on Facebook and I had to steal it. I truly don’t know how to take the hype surrounding the Barbie movie. My first thought is that Hollywood’s creativity is at an all time low and this was the result of someone scraping the bottom of the barrel for a movie idea. “Oooooo! I know! Let’s make a movie about Barbie and the various versions of dolls!” How does this idea even make it up the flagpole!?
Sam actually wondered if it would be something that Ella might like. Most people who did see it said it was probably not something to take kids to. It seems that this movie is made for adults who used to play with Barbie dolls or something. Urgh.
This leads to my second thought – adults are actually willing to pay big ticket prices to actually watch this in a theater. THIS is what the general public sees as “entertainment.” At what point do they just throw together two hours of 2 to 3 minute Tik Tok or Snapchat videos and market it as a “major motion picture?!” Sure, you can watch that crap on your phone, but if they did put it in theaters, you can bet that people would flock to see it. Next thing you know, some idiot Tik Tok “star” will get an Academy Award!
It has been a LONG time since there has been a movie that has come out that I would actually want to pay to see. I’ve been fascinated by the story of Hiroshima, so the Oppenheimer movie might be something I’d go see, but the reviews are mixed. I will probably do what I usually do – wait to stream it or rent it.
New Bluey? Yes, I Will Watch!
My wife says to me today: “Have you watched the new Bluey episodes yet?”
I shout back, “What?! Are they one Disney + already? I didn’t think they were airing in the US yet!”
Yes. There are new episodes. Yes. I will watch them by myself.
I learned a long time ago that it is totally ok for an adult to watch cartoons without kids. It keeps me young!
I just finished listening to the audio version of this book by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I guess this is what folks refer to as a “cozy mystery.” I really don’t know what that means, but I will tell you that I liked it.
As someone who reads a lot of mysteries, this one kept coming up as a suggestion in my Goodreads feed. Before adding it to my “Want to Read” list, I always read some of the reviews. They were mixed, but the thing that sold me on it was that people said that it made them laugh out loud. So I took a chance on it and loved it.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?
Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).
But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.
Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.
As I prepared to write this blog, I found out that this book was one that the author’s editor had her rush to write it. They had her put all her other projects on hold and get this book out. According to one review, the book was “sloppily thrown together,” but I never thought that. Another review noticed that the author used a line (or a similar line) twice, which they found annoying. Uh, ok. I never noticed.
I was hooked from the first line of the book:
“Vera Wong was born a rat, but she should have been a rooster-that is according to the characteristics of the signs in the Chinese horoscope!“
I admit to having laughed out loud quite a few times while listening. There were also times where I really felt for some of the characters. Vera certainly is the main character, but the supporting characters were just as important to the story. While there was some predictability to some of the story arcs, I was surprised to find out who the murderer was. I never saw it coming.
I can see the Vera character being one that could easily be a protagonist that could carry a series of stories. Honestly, I hope that is the case. She’s a bit Columbo and a bit Sophia from the Golden Girls. It was a joy to read (listen to).
My wife and I had just started dating and she told me she bought me a shirt. She swore that I would “love it.” When it arrived, she immediately made me put it on.
My first thought was that I was never going to wear it! I eventually caved and began wearing it around the house. For whatever it is worth, I still have it and it is a very comfy shirt. I don’t wear it in public, but I do wear it. Many times I have to fight my wife for it, as she loves to wear it, too. It has seen better days, and my wife probably needs to buy me a new one.
If I didn’t tell you already, my wife loves the Golden Girls. I wasn’t a huge fan, but watched an episode or two and always felt like Sophia was just like my Italian grandma!
This week, she sends me a text with a photo asking if we could go to a show. It’s a Golden Girls show. I don’t know anything about it, except it is coming close to us a couple times.
My wife and I don’t get date nights too often, so I got us tickets. I looked her in the eye today and said, “So if going to this Golden Girls show doesn’t prove that I love you ….” Before I could get any further she interrupted me and said, “Hey! I went to that stupid Three Stooges Festival with you, remember?!”
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 