Phryne Fisher mystery series by Kerry Greenwood

People kept recommending these and I kept thinking if her name is Fern, spelled it Fern.
Well it is not. She is named for Phryne, fry nee, after the Greek Courtesan.
Here is a link if you want to know more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phryne

Of course, she has a sister who only plays a very small part, named Eliza (consecrated to God)
What were her parents thinking.

Well I just jumped in and read the first one I came across. It would probably be fun to read them in order so here is another link: http://www.phrynefisher.com/books.html

Phyrne is a wonderful liberated woman of her time. An exact opposite of the Stepford Wives.
She is single by choice, in charge of her life, has fallen into the field of a private investigator but has enough money to live in style. She is always fashionably dressed, does most things well and has a great mind. She left England and moved to Australia to be as far away as possible from her family.

I just finished reading #16 Murder in the Dark an exotic tale about exotic people during a week long party at an old mansion with costumes, hunts, polo matches, a goat that loves mint, murder and kidnapping, drugs, drinks and more and more. I think you will love this series and this book.

I am already reading another in the series.

And just for the fun of it. Take a look at Simply Irresistible by Ellen White. The cover says "unleash your siren and mesmerize men" She speaks of different women, Angelina Jolie in the present, but mostly historical. I think it was the introduction that really got my attention.
The author says that "it was under two generations of maternal guidance that I tossed aside my schoolwork and boned up on my flirtation techniques. It was rough going". She was 10 years old at the time.

Eliza

the rivers run dry

Sibella Giorello

Special Agent Raleigh Harmon began as a forensic geologists. Wanting to know more about the cases her work helped and to be part of the team that brought truth and closure, she went to the FBI Academy and became an agent. In this, the second book in the series, she has proved herself as a good agent but bad politician and has been transferred from Virginia to the state of Washington. The characters are fun, the storyline kept me reading and while I am still a little vague about her character, I enjoyed the tale and will look forward to the next in the series.

Skip the reader's guide section. In a word, dumb.


Eliza

Broken: a love story

This book has a lovely picture which I cannot download and there is absolutely no where to ask, "Why not?" Though the horse in the picture has a halter which is both too large and too clean and much too expensive to ever be found on any working ranch or reservation. Not to mention the horse which looks most like a thoroughbred. Rant aside leaving blogger and book cover designers and photographers behind, this was a very interesting book.

Broken: a love story. Horses, Humans and Redemption on the Wind River Indian Reservation by Lisa Jones.

Lisa is sent by her magazine, Smithsonian I believe, to see a four day horse taming, natural method approach, conducted by a Norther Arapaho, Stanford Addison. Stanford, a paraplegic at twenty. New spiritual powers emerged as he slowly accepted his life in a wheel chair or on his stomach when his pressure sores overwhelmed him. He could watch an untrained horse and often an untrained person and tell the person step by step how to get the horse to willingly accept them. You have heard the story before, green horse accepts person and they ride off into the sunset happily.
The stuff of my childhood dreams. Read Molly Gloss, "The Hearts of Horses" for a good fictionalized account of this.

Of course, the person "gentled" "trained" "taught" is Lisa herself. Addison is already who he is, trainer, observer, healer. Lisa is a single woman at 40 because she bolts at marriage proposals.

I do not want to write the story again. Read it yourself. ENJOY!

Dark Summer by Iris Johansen

At Leadership Mendocino they think all I talk about is the Library
At the Library they think all I talk about is dogs.
Actually I picked up this book because the heroine is a veterinarian
and so is my daughter. But it also is about a shaman, herbal medicine,
healing and in this case they think that it is the dogs that have the power to heal.
Six dogs, hidden away because someone is on a mission to steal them and will stop at next
to nothing to get them. When one of the dogs appears, shot by a would
be assassin and ends up in the hands of Devon Brody, the veterinarian, people die
and Devon's world is torn to pieces.
Of course, since it is written by Iris Johanssen there is romance mixed in
with the danger. A great alternative to a night of watching television.
Interesting theme, lots of technology and basic shamanism.

Eliza

The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog

The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog by Nancy Ellis-Bell

Two things brought me to read this book. My father had had a macaw and as the book crossed my path, I noticed she lived in Mendocino County. I am always interested in Mendocino County authors. There may be a list somewhere, but I have not found it.

Someone must have thought this was a catchy title in our current slew of dog books. I never found the connection. Sarah the macaw obviously is a parrot. A large somewhat feral, one legged macaw with a wing span of 4 feet while the author, her husband, dogs and cats live in a fairly small trailer. My father's macaw was imposing and he stayed in a large cage in the dining room spewing feathers, seeds and other dropped matter. Having a cage free and fairly large bird in one's house seems imposing, but then people tell me 5 dogs and 3 cats seem imposing to them.

It is a fascinating story though and I will leave you to read it yourself. I enjoyed the tale and thoroughly expect that you will also. If you are so inspired, the last chapter lists information, rescue organizations, bird organizations and avian veterinarians to help you integrate a large or smaller bird into your house.

Eliza

Not Yet Drown'd by Peg Kingman

Not Yet Drown'd is a book that I would have probably missed if a gift copy had not come across my notice. Written by an author from Potter Valley, Peg Kingman, it opens a world about which I know next to nothing. Scots woman, Catherine MacDonald a recent widow, taking care of her dead husband's daughter is disturbed by a package from India. It contains an incredible paisley shawl, a package of tea and a musical score written in the hand of her supposedly dead twin brother.
Restless and pushed by the appearance of an obnoxious relative of her husband who demands the return of the child, she joins her other brother Hector on his trip to India.

Joined by a mysterious Indian woman and an escaped slave, the ship sails around Africa and onto India. Just like the intricate design of a paisley shawl, the story is decorated with tales of the East India Company, scottish tunes, bagpipe airs, steamship diagrams, tea growing, matriarchal Indian tribes, the beginnings of Chess, South African settler's trying to tame Zebras, Indian customes, British society and so much more.

It is a lovely and intricate tale and well worth reading.

And if you are curious about what happened to a group on the way to India whose ship wrecked off the wild coast of Pondoland, try Calibran's Shore: the Wreck of the Grosvenor and the strange fate of her survivors.


Eliza

Molly's Daughter by Margaret Frings Keyes

Molly's Daughter: a three generation story exploring: what do women really want?

Margaret Frings Keyes has written a fascinating fictionalized account of three generations of women in her family. She takes us out into the social issues immigration, mining, unions, treatment of women, butte montana, san francisco, The Depression, war, earthquakes, the developing personal empowerment movements and much more.

Most of the issues faced by mother, daughter and granddaughter are found in most families.
Much is never acknowledged in most families. The wonderful element in Molly's Daughter is that Keyes as a therapist has cast a knowledgeable and educated eye upon both the exterior and interior lives of these 3 women.

If Molly's Daughter interests you and given our country's sudden plunge into Depression, some U S Senators trying to break the Unions as a condition to helping the auto industry, the rising number of people without jobs, families without homes, corporate greed and more, check out the Mendocino County Library catalog: http://www.mendolibrary.org and read about these subjects. Your Library cards allows you to check out books, audio, video items and to access major magazines and newspapers.