It's been a while since I read a mystery and this was a solid and enjoyable one. Kinsey Millhone is a practical and stoic PI based out of the fictional southern California town of Santa Teresa. A former cop, twice divorced and a loner by nature, she enjoys a modest career, a tiny apartment and the righting of small scale wrongs and the justice she can help deliver. At the start of this book (the first in a 25 part series) she is visited by a client just released from 8 years in prison. This woman was accused and convicted of killing her husband, a prominent divorce attorney, but she still claims she is innocent. She wants Kinsey to find the real murder, but the trail and clues are 8 years cold. Kinsey takes the case anyway, not promising any real results. Things heat up more quickly than she ever would have suspected. I like the straight forward writing style, and the mid 1980s setting. Pre-cell phone and pre-internet, all of the investigative work is grounded in physical objects: literal paper trails, long drives to view evidence and conduct interviews, film which must be developed.

This book starts a little more slowly than it's prequel, Elsewhere, but boy does it pack a punch in the end. It's got a twist I never saw coming and still makes me marvel over its strangeness and cleverness on my fifth reading of this book. These two together are some of the best urban fantasy out there.

Aubrey Warren makes a meager living as a clerk at the Rook Mill in Manchester, England, in the 1890s. If he had his choice he'd be working instead as an engineer, but considering that he was born in a poor house he feels fortunate to have an honest job at all. Lindsey Althorp is the only son of a baronet, and becomes Warren's employer when he wins Rook Mill in a game of cards. The two men are immediately drawn to each other and their mutual attraction is quickly confirmed, followed by an even more tender sentiment- mutual affection. Both men are smart, compassionate, and good at communicating but society has presented innumerable barriers to a relationship such as theirs. Can their feelings survive their circumstances? Well researched and rich with classical and literary references, this love story is addictively readable and charming to the core. My copy of the book was gifted to me by a dear friend, which makes it even more precious. Highly recommended.

A beautifully written and illustrated story created by the cousins Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. Set at the fictional Awago Beach in Ontario, Canada, the story centers on two girls whose families vacation every summer within a short bike ride from each other. Rose is a year and a half older, old enough to be unable to ignore the tensions running between her high-strung mother and more easy going father. Windy is still buoyant with the carefree high-level energy of childhood, unphased by the teenage drama that she and Rose accidentally witness (and then intentionally eavesdrop on) unfolding at the local convenience store. The overall tone is bittersweet and deeply evocative.