text: Tutu's Two Cents: 7/1/14 - 8/1/14
  It's so hard to write about Armand Gamache stories without giving the plot away, and that is, in my humble opionion, the worst sin a reviewer can commit. Every time I review a Louise Penny book, I find myself saying things like "It's quintessential Louise" or "Just when I thought she couldn't get better, she does" or other blathery, toady, almost syncophantic wind-blown compliments that are almost insulting they're so inflated.
  BUT SHE'S JUST THAT GOOD.
  I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an ARC earlier this summer, and waited to read it until I'd finished a re-read (this time in audio) of the previous nine books in the series, and lurked along in the on-line discussions. Quel fun!
  So after I'd read The Long Way Home, I put it aside for a couple weeks to let the experience sink in and try to figure out how to explain why these are so special. At least I can start by sharing what the publisher has given us as a hint:
  All through the series, I've never liked the character of Peter, so I wasn't sure I was going to have much sympathy for him or the people trying to find him. When I sang in the choir several years ago, our choir director tried and tried and tried to get us to master the hymn "There is a Balm in Gilead" to the point that I HATED that hymn. And to put frosting on the proverbial cake, I had a pretty negative recollection of trying to get through Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer winner Gilead when our book club read it several years ago.
  If this current book hadn't been written by Louise Penny, and hadn't been about my all-time favorite mystery personality, I probably wouldn't have wanted to read it. I wouldn't have wanted to see Armand's well-deserved retirement "ruined". I wouldn't have wanted to find myself caring whether Peter was found and/or saved. I just wanted everything to stay in "Three Pines Fairyland". Fairyland it isn't. Life it is. The characters who have become so familiar to us continue to expand, to mature, and draw us into their lives. Ruth Zardo, another of my favorite characters finally allows a tiny crack in her armor to let us in, so those of us who have loved her all along can at last begin to see why.
  In the end, the only thing I can say is that once again, Louise Penny does not disappoint. She steals our heart, she takes our breath away, she causes us to lose a huge chunk of time since once we embark on this adventure, we neglect everything and everyone else in our lives. I can't wait for the publication date August 26 because I've already pre-ordered a hard back copy (something I rarely do), and the audio to go with it. In the meantime, Bob and I are truly looking forward to being able to meet her in person in two days when she comes to Portland for the launch of the paperback of #9 How the Light Gets in.
  If you're not yet a fan, and think you don't like mysteries, give these a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
  Many thanks to Minotaur Publishers for making the ARC available.
  Publisher: Minotaur Books (2014), ARC e-galley, 384 pages
  Setting: Quebec and environs, village of Three Pines
  Why did I read this book now? I couldn't wait another minute!!
  Posted by Tina at 12:02 AM 1 comments
  Posted by Tina at 3:17 PM 0 comments
  Last month, I read and reviewed Massacre Pond the fourth in Paul Doiron's series about the Maine woods. That was just in time to read my ARC of this newest one published last week. Although I didn't need any real enticement, the publisher offered:
  As Kathy Frost lies on the brink of death and a dangerous shooter stalks the blueberry barrens of central Maine, Bowditch is forced to confront the choices he has made and determine, once and for all, the kind of man he truly is.
  I was once again lucky enough to meet Paul Doiron at the BOOKS IN BOOTHBAY fair earlier this month. I told him how excited I was to see the series continuing and to see that Mike Bowditch is finally maturing. Indeed, the characters are well drawn, and becoming more familiar to us with each volume. However, it's the glorious descriptions of Maine's varied landscapes from lakes to mountains, from forests teeming with trees to windswept rocky ocean beaches and the rich animal life (humans, insects, birds, bugs and four legged critters), that make the reader want to slow down and savor the flavor of the state, while at the same time wanting to rush to the next page to see who the bad guys are to solve the mystery. They're a great introduction to the Pine Tree State and its people.
  Let's hope there are more to come in this series. Many thanks to Minotaur for making an e-galley available for early review.
  Publisher: Minotaur Books (2014), Hardcover, 320 pages
  Setting: Maine woods, and various southern Maine venues
  Why did I read this book now? I like the author, the series, and the publisher asked for a review.
  Home to Italy,Peter Pezzelli is a nice, calm, lovely sweet nostalgic love story about a man who left Italy in his youth, enjoyed a comfortable and fairy tale marriage and a big extended Italian family in Rhode Island. When his princess bride dies, he decides to return to his home village, move back into the old homestead he inherited from his now deceased parents, and essentially return to the site of his youth. He feels there is nothing left for him in Rhode Island.
  He tells no one he's coming, (and doesn't correspond with his US relatives for almost a year) but goes about adjusting slowly to the changes that have come about in the 50 years he was gone. His love of family, his love of biking, and the presence of his best friend from childhood help him transplant his life. A sweet and easy to read fairy tale.
  There are others by this same author in the "longing for Italian roots" genre but they seem only loosely connected. I may dip into this series periodically when I miss my Nona.
  Title: Home to Italy
  Author: Peter Pezzelli
  Publisher: Kensington (2012), Edition: English Language, Paperback, 274 pages
  Subject: nostalgia for "the old country"
  Setting: rural southern Italy
  Why did I read this book now? It was suggested by a friend.
  This weekend, I'll be at the Maine Summer Book Festival: Books in Boothbay getting to visit with a horde of Maine authors (either from Maine or who write about Maine.) Among them are several of my favorites: Kate Flora (of the Thea Kozak series), Julia Spencer-Fleming (who doesn't love the Clare Ferrgusson/Russ Van Alstyne mysteries?), Paul Doiron (author of the Mike Bowditch series) and Gerry Boyle (of Portland city police procedural fame.) These of just a few of the over 50 authors who will be celebrating the reading life of Maine.
  In that batch is also a debut author who lives pretty close to me, Bob Branco (sometimes known as Mr. Tutu) who will be signing copies of his piracy at sea thriller STRIKE FROM THE DEEP. As you know, I've refrained from trying to review this one, but will admit that I really really liked it and don't feel the least bit shy about recommending it to others. Bob has agreed to let me do a giveaway here on the blog. Leave a comment below to enter and we'll have a drawing on July 31st for one lucky winner. Be sure to leave me an email address to contact you. We're even opening this one to our friends in Canada!
  Although I won't review it, here's what others have been saying:
  "Strike From The Deep" is Maine author Bob Branco's excellent novel about the high-stakes game of counter-piracy operations, the U.S. Navy and coalition naval forces versus pirate skiffs, mother ships and a ruthless conspiracy that threatens to upset the world's energy markets.
  This novel is a masterful tale of how the Navy works, how a ship operates at sea and how a captain and crew can singlehandedly make a positive difference in the fight against piracy. Stewart is a solid commanding officer with a well-trained crew on a desperate mission to protect international shipping.
  This story is gripping, exciting and suspenseful, but the real strength is Branco's accurate depiction of naval leadership, training, technology and cooperation in a hostile environment against a resourceful enemy. Great high-seas adventure.
  Bill Bushnell, Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel
  ....Don't kid yourself...it's a novel, but it's not ... a fanciful conceit. Branco took a very real and worsening concern for the shipping industry, piracy based in the lawless failed state of Somalia, and ratcheted up the stakes. I suspect it's only a matter of time before the book is seen as predictive instead of entertaining. If, that is, the events haven't already played out like this, only with more silencing oil poured over them.
  "Strike from the Deep" is a story about modern day pirates and how the world is trying to deal with them. While it IS fictional (at least so far), it is based on the author's real life experiences with the U.S. Navy in the Arabian Sea.
  If you are looking for a book about buried treasure, this isn't it.
  If you want to gain a better understanding of the pirates of Somalia - who they are, why they are pirates and how they are being manipulated by outsiders - this is the book to read.
  If you want to get an inside look at the "modern" Navy - it's successes and failures - this is the book to read.
  Or if you just want to spend a couple pleasant hours in a good book - this is the book to read.
  So quit wasting your time here and go read it!
  Jim Boswell, Amazon Kindle edition
  Leave a comment saying why you'd like to win. (I has nothing to do with who wins- the winner will be chosen by Random.org)
  Enter no later than 6pm EDT July 31, 2014.
  Posted by Tina at 12:29 AM 4 comments
  The Mike Bowditch series has matured with each new volume. In this one, set in the autumn in the far north of Maine, Paul Doiron uses the real life battle going on over the eventual disposition of hundreds of thousands of acres of land currently owned by a private party and her desire to turn the area into a wilderness park where hunting, logging, and other current activities will be prohibited. It's a game warden's nightmare trying to walk the tightrope of emotions generated by both sides of the fight.
  On an unseasonably hot October morning, Bowditch is called to the scene of a bizarre crime: the corpses of seven moose have been found senselessly butchered on the estate of Elizabeth Morse, a wealthy animal rights activist who is buying up huge parcels of timberland to create a new national park. What at first seems like mindless slaughter, retribution by locals for the job losses Morse's plan is already causing in the region, becomes far more sinister when a shocking murder is discovered and Mike's investigation becomes a hunt to find a ruthless killer. In order to solve the controversial case, Bowditch risks losing everything he holds dear: his best friends, his career as a law enforcement officer, and the love of his life.
  Bowdoin is now living alone in a run down trailer provided by the warden service. His friend Billy Cronk (a rather scurrilous dude given to trying to stay one step ahead of arrest) is somehow involved in this whole fiasco, testing his loyalties and making Mike's job more precarious then ever. Bowditch is still a flawed character, but Doiron has managed to grow him into the hearts of readers of the series. We're all now rooting for Mike to develop into the mature nature lover he show signs of becoming.
  Doiron's bold and precise descriptions of the Maine woods add another dimension to these stories that keep readers coming back. I wasn't sure after the first two, Poacher's Son, and Trespasser, that I was overly thrilled with this character, but he's really grown on me. This one is a definite winner, and the best yet in the series. It's definitely worth a look.
  Title: Massacre Pond
  Publisher:Minotaur Books (2013), Hardcover, 320 pages
  Subject: murder and animal cruelty
  Setting: North Maine Woods
  Series: Mike Bowditch Mystery
  Posted by Tina at 12:30 AM 1 comments
  The Subtitle of this one is "The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus with a Will of Its Own". That pretty much sums it up.
  The book's publisher tells the story pretty clearly:
  Doreen and Tim are married psychiatrists with a twist: She's a self-proclaimed Long Island princess, grouchy couch potato, and shoe addict. He's an affable, though driven, outdoorsman. When Tim suggests "chucking it all" to travel cross-country in a converted bus, Doreen asks, "Why can't you be like a normal husband in a midlife crisis and have an affair or buy a Corvette?" But she soon shocks them both, agreeing to set forth with their sixty-pound dog, two querulous cats—and no agenda—in a 340-square-foot bus. Queen of the Road is Doreen's offbeat and romantic tale about refusing to settle; about choosing the unconventional road with all the misadventures it brings (fire, flood, armed robbery, and finding themselves in a nudist RV park, to name just a few). The marvelous places they visit and delightful people they encounter have a life-changing effect on all the travelers, as Doreen grows to appreciate the simple life, Tim mellows, and even the pets pull together. Best of all, readers get to go along for the ride through forty-seven states in this often hilarious and always entertaining memoir, in which a boisterous marriage of polar opposites becomes stronger than ever.
  I've always had a secret desire to rent a bus/RV and take off across the US and Canada, stopping whenever we see something that looks interesting, staying until we've seen whatever looks interesting. The hubster on the other hand, does not relish the thought of battling traffic in a big box, towing another vehicle and spending all his time hooking up, unhooking, and watching his dollars going down the gas tank drain. So when I saw this book on the e-book deal of the week, I knew this vicarious trip would probably be the closest I ever got to this adventure, and hit "buy."
  I could totally relate to some of Ms. Orion's travel aversions, but her sense of humor shines through, and although she bills herself as a "princess", her willingness to compromise and follow her husband's suggestions shows us the fun that can be had when two people with a strong marriage embark on a new phase of life together. It's not only a travelogue, but the story of personal growth, and the continued expansion of a very strong love relationship. Altogether a fun read.
  Title: Queen of the Road
  Publisher: Broadway Books (2008), e-book, 304 page equivalent
  Subject: RV Travel
  Setting: US and Canada
  Source: my own e-reader
  Happy Summer!!! It's lazy hazy days here in Maine, and I'm on a hazy, lazy reading kick. Just strolling through a bunch of cozies, following up on some long neglected mystery series, and doing a few reads to review for the fall. One of the big time consumers here in Tutuland is preparing for Mr. Tutu's (aka Bob Branco) appearance at the 10th annual Maine Summer Book Festival:
  There will be over 50 authors (either from Maine or who write about Maine) including Bob (author of STRIKE FROM THE DEEP.). For more information, and a list of all the authors who will be there, the blog/ web page has been posting daily blurbs about each author. There will be autographed copies, author readings, bookmarks, and other trinkets. Stop by and see us if you're in the area.