The Broken Shore

Peter Temple 2005 The Text Publishing Company

They ordered bacon and eggs a the truckstop on the edge of Cromarty. An anorexic girl with a moustache and a pink-caked pimple between her eyebrows brought the food. The eggs lay on tissue-paper bread, the yokes small and pasta coloured. Narrow pink streaks of meat could be seen in the grey pig fat. p 199

comfort reading

Sometimes I like the pleasant company of a well resolved mystery where everyone gets just what they deserve. And Footscray's Kerry Greenwood is better than most and sets this series in St Kilda of the 1920's. 

Phryne Fisher is everything one could possibly desire in a lady detective: smart, beautiful, brave and so very bohemian. The cast she is surrounded by are gems in their own right; the charming adopted daughters, crafty well brought up lady's maid, cool butler, superb cook, magician Chinese lover, communist taxi drivers and socialist lesbian sister. (hope I have not left anyone out) Phryne uses the cast around her as able assistants, leaving her the serious business of being glamourous and fabulous in the course of good works. 

Alexander McCall Smith's writing has been criticised of being twee and trite, but I don't care, I love being around his characters' daily wisdom. 'La's Orchestra Saves the World' is set during WW2 in country England. A sweet grown up romance. Yes, a romance, shocking! There is even that elusive thing - a measured subtle maybe even happy ending. 

audio books and quilting

On a tight deadline for Joy's birthday, so combining talking books with quilting. Have listened to 'N or M'  and up to the last cassette of "And then there were None' both by Agatha Christie. I am so very glad clever Agatha wrote lots and lots of books. I find her books well written and descriptive and it's nice to have a rollicking plot of a whodunit. The only setback is the characters are always having afternoon tea with cakes and other goodies (well it's not such a big setback)

The Miracle at Speedy Motors - Alexander McCall Smith. 2008 

I love spending time with Precious and the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. So calming and earnest with ordinary daily turmoil presented in an honoured way. Small miracles and plenty of kindness and understanding. Read this in one go. 

This week's pizza: potato and rosemary, mushroom and bacon. 

Shane Maloney - Sucked In

2007, Text Publishing Melbourne Australia

Big fan of the Murray Whelan series. Set in Melbourne with identifiable public characters. Less gory than the previous, and less personally dangerous for Murray. He is an attractive character; sarcastic, good, Labour politician backbencher. I like his developing relationship with Red, his son, now 17 / 18. I like his bumbling pursuit of Andrea-Lanie. 

"Lanie's may not have been the face that launched a thousand ships, but it definitely floated my little rubber duckie. She was cheerful, sardonic and fetchingly full-figured. Naturally, she was already taken.

Hubby had picked her up after one of the first classes, their pubescent daughter in tow. He was dopey-looking dork, reeking of academia."p.29

Not much of a mystery, more of a satire on local politics, about the cross and double cross, the improbable branch stacking election plots. But best of all is travelling through Melbourne's streets, in this case Sydney Road, Broadmeadows,  and Clifton Hill, with funny man Murray.