2024 04 09

April 2024 Newsletter

by Newsletter

Life in Paris

Sigh. It’s snowing like hell in Calgary so I thought I’d dig through the vault and find a bit of happiness in Paris. This is the El Vecino Mexican Restaurant located near Place de la République. We didn’t eat there, but the sign out front caught my eye and I couldn’t resist a selfie. Fu*K your Diet is the name of their signature German ginger beer.

Life in Mexico

Years ago, the area around Club Santiago was a castor oil plantation. The beans from the plant were used to make plastics, varnishes and paints. When cheaper alternatives were found, the plantations were abandoned. But the plant itself is quite hardy, and descendants can be found growing in ditches along roads throughout the area.

Unfortunately, the beans contain ricin, one of the deadliest poisons known to mankind. Even a speck as small as a grain of sand can kill you. Casual contact with the skin can also lead to burning and blistering.

The reason I’m calling it to your attention is because the plant grows around the Club Santiago golf course; you can see them in profusion along the third and fourth fairways where they border the highway.

If the beans are inadvertently ground up and dispersed by the ground crews mowing the fairways, you can accidentally come in contact with traces of ricin.

Soviet agents have used ricin to poison their foes, so you should avoid them too. (That’s Xenia Onatopp, the deadly spy from Goldeneye, in case you’re wondering.)

Should you break out in a rash or blisters, treat it with over-the-counter cortisone cream or Calamine lotion.

TV Review

The Gentlemen

Streaming on Netflix

I’m not the biggest fan of film producer Guy Ritchie. He loves to do British crime gang movies with lots of Cockney low life and grisly shot-gun duels. So it was with trepidation that I approached The Gentlemen.

On the surface, it’s much like his usual fare. A career officer by the name of Eddie inherits a dukedom from his father Lord Halstead when the latter prefers him over his dissipated eldest son Freddy. Freddy is flamboyantly aghast at this turn of events, mainly because he owes 4 million to a nasty bit of business to whom Theo must cough up lest his brother suffer defenestration

That’s not the worst of Eddie’s problems. It turns out that a gang run by a carbuncle named Bobby Glass has established a grow-op on the estate and isn’t about to up sticks. His daughter, the delicious Susie Glass, must play intermediary as various shenanigans, including heists and murder, complicate matters.

What makes the TV series so much fun is the fast-pace, plot twists and general eccentricity that seems to permeate every character. It’s a lot of fun to watch, and I highly recommend The Gentlemen!

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Movie Review

The Holdovers

Streaming on Amazon Prime

It’s a quirky premise; a cranky professor at a prestigious prep academy is forced to stay on duty over the Christmas holidays along with a stranded student and a grieving school cook.

So, why did this period piece set in 1971 receive 5 Academy award nominations, including Best Picture of the Year?

Paul Giamatti is reason number one. The award-winning actor brings his rumpled everyman persona to the role of Paul Hunhan, a life-long bachelor who has dedicated his career to nurturing the pampered spawn of America’s elites. His efforts at Barton Academy in the face of supreme apathy has completely depleted his passion for teaching, leaving a bitter husk of a man.

Angus, the student (played by Dominic Sessa), has been abandoned at the last minute after his mother and his new step-dad elope to St. Kitts.  He vows to make the holiday as miserable as only an angst-filled teenage boy can do.

Mary, the head cook (brilliantly portrayed by Da’Vine Joy Randolph), has lost her drafted son in the Vietnam War. Her grief and anger toward the deferred boys who attend Barton is palpable.

Together, the three form an unlikely alliance in an effort to survive their odious fortune. Slowly, they forge bridges between their emotional isolation. Each character grows in self-esteem and maturity, achieving the gift of Christmas that no mere present beneath the tree could achieve.

Although the only winning Oscar went to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for Supporting Actress, all of the nominees, including Giamatti as Leading Actor and David Meningson for Best Original Screenplay, are highly deserving.  This is a gem of a movie; I highly recommend The Holdovers!

Recipe: Roast Pork Belly

Cooking dinner literally doesn’t get any easier than this. You can pick up fresh pork belly at any Chinese butcher (a big shout-out to T&T market in Calgary!) and make this tender, succulent dish in under an hour.

Ingredients

1 kg of pork belly

Instructions

Score the top fat layer in a diamond shape pattern. Place in a shallow tin pan (I line the pan with parchment paper to make the clean-up easier).

Roast for 40 minutes at 400F.

Slice and serve with baked sweet potato and corn. Enjoy!

Book Review

Table for Two

By Amor Towles

Creating a short story is undoubtedly one of the most difficult tasks a writer can face. You have to create the main characters, setting, story and outcome to the satisfaction of the reader, all in a fraction of the space that a novel allows you. In addition, you have to include a twist in the plot, one that is both totally unexpected and, at the same time, totally believable.

I’m not an avid short story reader for that reason. I find that contemporary writers fall short of the mark when compared to O. Henry.

The exception is Amor Towles. We’ve always enjoyed his novels (A Gentleman in Moscow), so I didn’t hesitate when his latest fictional effort, Table for Two, was published. It’s a set of six short stories set in New York, and a novella set in Hollywood. The short stories are crafted like a fine Swiss watch, every word and phrase so exact that each tale captures the frailties and aspirations of the characters with exquisite precision, and each ending comes as both a surprise and a wish for the story to continue.

As an aside, people often ask me where I get my ideas. As any writer will tell you, it’s a combination of observation and inspiration. I’ll give you an example of the former. I was driving down McLeod Trail adjacent to the Stampede Grounds one evening when I glanced over and spotted a woman sitting at a bus shelter clutching a giant stuffed panda and crying her eyes out. Now you know there’s gotta be a story there.

Well I didn’t write about my observation, but Towles did. I will Survive involves a happenstance encounter that the author must have made while walking in Central Park that was so unique that it inspired him to cut a fascinating tale out of imaginary cloth. I won’t tell you and spoil it, but you’ll recognize immediately what I’m talking about when you read it. I highly recommend Table for Two!

2024 03 03

March 2024 Newsletter

by Newsletter

Life in Mexico

It’s the little things in life that makes living in Mexico so enjoyable.

Every other week, we go down to the Santiago market where the chicken ladies have a stall under a staircase. Their counters are festooned with broilers and eggs and poultry appendages.

Their free-range produce is classified as Mexi-organic, because Tia Maria who raises them can’t afford hormones or antibiotics, so you get them the same way they’ve been sold for the last 500 years.

Mama Angelica is in charge. When I ask for ‘Milanesa’, she picks up her razor-sharp cleaver and slices a breast so thin it’s the size of a bread board when she’s done.

Whenever I want to make paté, I always buy my livers there; although ‘buy’ is a misnomer as they just give me a bag.

And the price? I can buy enough chicken for twenty servings for around twenty-five bucks. Read it and weep.

Recipe; Mariposa Chicken

Mariposa (or butterfly) chicken is easy to make in less than an hour, and it always comes out moist, tender and delicious!

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

½ cup of butter, soft

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp of salt

½ tsp of black pepper

2 Tsp of parsley, chopped

Directions

Heat the oven to 425F. (You can also cook it on the BBQ).

Split the backbone so that the whole chicken lies flat. You can do it at home if you have a good pair of meat shears, but it’s also sold pre-prepared; if you don’t see one out on the shelf, just ask the butcher to split one for you (butterfly translates as ‘mariposa’ in Spanish – easy to remember).

Lay the chicken skin-side up in an oven tray that has been sprayed with oil or covered with parchment paper and allow it to warm to room temperature.

Mix together the butter, garlic, salt, pepper and parsley into a paste. Place half the paste under the skin of the breast and legs, and spread the rest on top of the skin.

Roast for 45 minutes, then cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Enjoy!

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Book Review

The Appeal

By Janice Hallett

The novel attracted quite a bit of attention when it debuted in 2021 due to the unusual structure; rather than telling the story of a murder using chronological narrative, the majority of the book is told through a series of emails and instant messages sent between the primary suspects.

This is a bit of a spoiler, but it will help you understand the premise right from the first paragraphby rather than having to fumble through several chapters trying to figure out what’s going on. Two independent investigators have been hired by the lawyer representing the imprisoned murderer in an attempt to overthrow the conviction. They are trolling through messages sent between friends and acquaintances prior to, and after, the murder in an attempt to find the real killer.

The story itself points to an intriguing range of motives. A two-year old girl is suffering from a rare brain cancer, one with little chance of survival. Her parents and grandparents are part of an amateur theatre company in an affluent English village, and they decide to launch a Gofundme appeal to raise money for an expensive, experimental treatment developed in the US.

As the investigators work through the correspondence, however, troubling questions emerge. Is someone stealing money from the appeal? Does the experimental cure, in fact, even exist? The reader is drawn through a series of interpersonal disputes that could very well escalate into nasty repercussions.

Even though the author creates a dozen potential suspects, in the end, Hallett wraps it up neatly with a bow, much to the satisfaction of yours truly. This is a unique twist on the Agatha-Christie English village murder mystery. I highly recommend The Appeal!

TV Series Review

Expats

Streaming on Amazon Prime

This six-part mini-series set in Hong Kong is based on the novel by Janice Lee. Normally, I would give the domestic drama a pass, but it stars Nicole Kidman, and I’d be a fool not to give it the sniff test.

I’m sure glad I did. Nicole stars as Margaret, the mother of three children, who is stationed in HK with her husband Clarke (played by Brian Tee). One day, she takes the children with their young nanny Mercy (Ji-Young Yoo), to the night market, where her four year old son Gus suddenly disappears.

The abduction sets off a series of crises in her family, with Margaret searching the city for signs of her son, and Michael retreating to the comfort of religion. The remaining two children are traumatized by fear that they might be next, and there’s nothing their parents can do to protect them.

The series explores a further layer of trauma within the extended community of HK’s domestic service industry. The opportunity for work draws hundreds of thousands of Filipina and Indonesian women to Singapore, HK and the North America seeking to support their families back home. Mercy is wracked by guilt, and Essie, who raised Margaret’s children from infancy, experiences the same nightmare that every mother faces.

The series is brilliantly cast, but it is Nicole who rises a level above with her unrivaled ability to evince her character’s grief through the tiniest of micro-expressions, magnified by the intense close-ups used by the cinematographer. You feel her pain, not through cries of anguish, but the immense, deep distress in her eyes.

This is a feast of Nicole Kidman’s talent that equals her best performances on both the big and small screens; I highly recommend Expats!

Documentary Review

American Symphony

Streaming on Netflix

For years, Jon Baptiste was well-known as the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

He is also an accomplished song writer, singer and performer, teaming up with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Ed Sheeran. He has won 5 Grammy awards, including Album of the Year for We Are, in 2021.

The documentary, directed by Matthew Heineman and executive-produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, follows the artist as he composes American Symphony, an orchestral arrangement featuring black musical styles, and simultaneously deals with his wife Suleika’s relapse into leukemia.

This is a portrayal of their struggles to beat a deadly disease and to finish the biggest musical challenge of his career. The documentary is both intimate and majestic, as they suffer the pains of chemotherapy and celebrate the debut at Carnegie Hall. I highly recommend American Symphony.  

2023-03-08-small

March 2023 Newsletter

by Newsletter

Life in Mexico

Every spring brings a new gaggle of buskers to Manzanillo. They congregate at the intersection of Audiencia and Miguel de la Madrid, where they can annoy the occasional driver who voluntarily obeys the stop light. They twirl hula-hoops, do hand-stands and ignite things on fire. My favorite is the juggler who keeps three machetes simultaneously aloft. Gives a whole new meaning to hand-outs.

Paperbacks Available Here in Manzanillo!

That’s right, you can purchase paperbacks directly from the author! Just send me an email on my website, and I can arrange to drop it off directly to your home! (Offer only good in the immediate Manzanillo area).

Members of Kindle Unlimited can also read all of my books online!

Book Review

The Personal Librarian

By Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The novel, set in the early 1900s, is a fascinating biography of Belle da Costa Green, a young woman who was hired by J.P. Morgan as his personal librarian.

The story of J.P. Morgan in itself is a fascinating tale. The financier was one of the richest men in the world, and had purchased an immense collection of books and manuscripts, including editions of the Gutenberg Bible. In between saving the US economy, dallying with his mistresses and running his bank, he built an opulent private library in the middle of New York that was the envy of high society. He chose Green to organize his immense collection.

What Morgan didn’t know was that Bella was African American. Her father was a prominent advocate for Black equality in America, touring the country to build support. Her mother, however, hid Bella’s racial background, claiming Portuguese ancestry to explain her sultry complexion.

The ruse worked. The astute woman soon became a star in New York social circles, procuring prize literary antiques and creating an internationally-acclaimed collection. Morgan, in turn, became infatuated with his young protégé, treating her lavishly and giving her full reign to expand his acquisitions.

But it was all built on a lie. Anti-Black sentiment remained high after the Civil War, and Blacks who passed themselves off as Whites faced persecution – and even lynching. Every day, Bella risked exposure that would ruin her career.

Benedict and Murray are accomplished and talented authors and have created a vivid depiction of early 20th century race relations in the US, personalizing the social climate of the times through the experience of an empathetic historical figure. I highly recommend The Personal Librarian.

Book Review II

The Marriage Portrait

By Maggie O’Farrell

This colorful and suspenseful novel takes place in Florence during the mid-16th century. The city, under the control of Cosimo de Medici, is in full flower in the Renaissance.

Lucrezia, the third daughter of the Grand Duke, grows up in the Palazzo, an immense fortress situated in the heart of the city. Her cloistered life alternates between the nursery, where she is raised with her numerous siblings by Sofia, and her lessons in writing and history at the hands of tutors.

The girl is a dreamer and a romantic, spending her quiet hours scurrying around the hidden passages of the palace, eavesdropping on her parents and court dignitaries. When her older daughter Maria tragically dies before her wedding to the young Duke of Ferrara, she is appalled to learn that her parents have betrothed her instead.

As a bride of 15, she finds herself suddenly tossed into a cauldron of intrigue. Her husband, Alfonso, treats her kindly, but courtiers in Ferrara see her as a useful pawn in their own machinations. She quickly becomes convinced that someone – perhaps her very husband – wants her dead.

O’Farrell, the acclaimed author of the Shakespeare-inspired novel Hamnet, brings a lyrical sense of observation to both Renaissance Italy and the romantic imagination of a young girl. The narrative moves back and forth through time, introducing us to Lucrezia’s earliest palace life and her current date with death. Will she survive? I highly recommend you read The Marriage Portrait to find out!

TV Review

Daisy Jones & the Six

Streaming on Amazon Prime

Last month, I reviewed the novel Daisy Jones & the Six, written by Taylor Jenkins Reid, a sharp, insightful chronicler of the hedonistic California lifestyle. This month, I am reviewing the TV series adaptation!

The novel was written in the oral-history style made popular by Rolling Stone. The series, in turn, takes a documentary approach, in which each character is interviewed several decades after the meteoric rise – and equally rapid demise – of the band.

The ten-part series chronicles the life of a young singer named Daisy (played by Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis), who comes of age in the late sixties. Her talent for creating and singing unforgettable songs is paired with the on-stage presence of Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin), the hunky front-man for the Six. They create sparks – both on and off stage – that becomes the stuff of rock-n-roll legend.

The series is being released in batches, so we watched the first three episodes on Friday. It’s a soap opera dedicated to the 70s vibe, with everyone dressed in leather vests, hippy skirts and aviator glasses. Billy’s hair looks like he permed it by dropping a toaster into his bath-tub, and I can’t help but see Elvis’s smoldering eyes every time Daisy stares melodramatically into the camera lens.  This is a fun ride, and I can’t wait to see the rest of the episodes!

Recipe: Shrimp Tacos

There’s a great fish shop in Santiago located across the street from Juanito’s, right beside Dutch Deli. The prices are very reasonable, and we’ve enjoyed their frozen lobster, salmon and jumbo shrimp. Also, be sure to order a chocolate cake from Manuel at the Dutch Deli while you’re in the neighborhood – they’re delicious!

I’ve shared this shrimp taco recipe before, and it was such a hit with readers that I’m running it again. It’ a great lunch meal; fast, easy to make, and delicious!

Ingredients

8 large shrimp, peeled.

1Tsp of butter

4 medium-sized flour tortillas

Sriracha sauce (or any mild hot sauce).

¼ cup of mayonnaise

Juice from ½ a lemon.

1 garlic clove, crushed.

½ tsp of salt.

Chopped cabbage

Chopped cilantro

Directions

Mix together the hot sauce, mayonnaise, lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt to make a sauce.

Melt the butter in a pan and fry the shrimp until they turn pink. Set aside.

Place the tortillas, one at a time, in the pan and heat for 15 seconds a side.

Fill the tortillas with the shrimp, then add the hot sauce, and garnish with cabbage and chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

2022 06 01

June 2022 Newsletter

by Newsletter

Life in France

We’ve just arrived back in France for the summer, and are pleased to see that teenagers have discovered a new form of immolation!

Twenty years ago, when we first moved to Paris, in-line roller blades were all the rage. Every Friday evening, about 10,000 maniacs would parade en masse through the streets, terrorizing pedestrians and fracturing appendages.

No longer. The latest craze is le trottinette, an electric scooter that can effortlessly whizz about at 25 kph. Not only do they traverse the narrow streets with ease, but also sidewalks and escalators, should the whim seize.

Naturally, French authorities have decreed children pass a mandatory competency test where they must simultaneously smoke a cigarette and dial a cellphone while in flight.

Friends ask us how we spend our days in France; do we go to museums and castles?

Hell no, we shop. Every corner has a butcher, a baker and a cheese store, each crammed with some of the most delectable chocolate cake, creamy Brie and mouth-watering steak.

Each morning we set out with our two-wheeled shopping cart (which they rather grandly call un chariot), and diligently inspect every baguette, courgette and tartlet we can find.

The fitness app on my cell phone says I walk an average of 10,000 steps each day, which would help me from swelling to the size of a hippo were it not for the several gallons of rosé, Chablis and Beaujolais  I consume daily.

Want to read more about life in France? Check out A Paris Moment, available on Amazon.

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Recipe: Croque Monsieur

Doesn’t that look just scrumptious? The name of this recipe literally translates as Mister Crunch, and it is one of France’s favorite lunchtime meals!

Ingredients (makes 4)

5 tsp of butter

8 tsp of butter

¼ cup flower

4 cups whole milk

2 egg yolks

2 tsp salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

8 slices of ham

8 slices Gruyere cheese

8 slices Bimbo white bread

Directions;

To make the Béchamel sauce;

In a medium saucepan warm 5 tsp of butter over medium heat until melted. Gradually add flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes.

In a separate saucepot, heat 4 cups of milk to simmer. Add to the butter mixture, ½ cup at a time, constantly whisking. Cook 12 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn heat off. Slowly stir in 1 egg yolk at a time. Season with salt and nutmeg.  

Heat oven to 300°F.

Assemble the sandwich:

Generously spread four slices of bread with béchamel sauce. Top each with ham and cheese and cover with remaining bread.

Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter and brush both sides of sandwiches. Fry sandwiches in a hot cast iron pan or on a griddle until golden brown.

Top sandwiches with more béchamel sauce and transfer to the oven to continue cooking until cheese bubbles, about 5-10 minutes.

My latest novel now available on Amazon!

Five star review on Amazon:

“A great historical novel!”

The year is 1944. Paris has been under German occupation for four years. The French Resistance knows that an Allied invasion is imminent.

Veronique Grenelle is growing up in an impoverished inner-city neighborhood, scrambling to feed herself and her family.

The Resistance recruits the vivacious young woman to befriend Lieutenant Gunther von Clause, an aide-de-camp to the German Army’s Military Governor. She gradually gains his trust and affection.

James Gallagher, a lieutenant in the US Army’s Military Intelligence unit, frequently parachutes behind enemy lines to deliver funds and instructions to the Resistance. He meets and befriends Veronique, who falls madly in love with the dashing American officer.

D-Day approaches, and Veronique finds herself in a bind; should she pursue her heart or her duty? In the end, her decision will not only determine the fate of Paris, it will reverberate down through her family for generations to come.

TV Series

The Lincoln Lawyer (Season 1)

By Michael Connelly

Streaming on Netflix

Crime author Michael Connelly is internationally renowned for his main character Harry (Hieronymus) Bosch, an LAPD murder detective. But he also has a series dedicated to Mickey Haller, a top-drawer criminal lawyer.

Based on The Brass Verdict, Haller (played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), inherits a front-page murder trial when its original defense attorney is brutally assassinated. The accused is tech billionaire Trevor Elliot, who is charged with murdering his wife and lover in flagrante delicto.

It doesn’t look good for Elliot; he has no alibi, and his hands were covered with gunpowder residue when arrested. Haller, along with his dogged investigator Cisco Wojciechowski, must dig hard to come up with a viable defense.

Filled with lots of side plots and twists and turns to flesh out ten episodes, The Lincoln Lawyer is tremendously entertaining. Word has it that the series has been picked up for a second season; I look forward to it with great anticipation!

2022 05 03

May 2022 Newsletter

by Newsletter

Life in Mexico

It’s watermelon season in Manzanillo!

Every year around May, the town is full of vendors selling big, juicy watermelons from the back of their trucks. While you’re paying $15 in Canada, they’re three bucks on the street.

There’s a saying in Kelowna; the best way to eat a peach is to stand waist deep in Okanagan Lake.

The best way to eat a Mexican watermelon is to stand waist deep in the Pacific Ocean!

Recipe: French Toast Tacos

French toast tacos

I always enjoy reading David Lebovitz’s newsletter. I was admiring the Paris-based chef’s recipe for French toast when I had the brain wave to make it a little Mexican. Thanks for the inspiration, David!

Makes 1 serving

1 large egg

1 Tsp milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

I large flour tortilla

1 Tsp of butter

Cooked bacon and shredded cheese

Or: Sliced fruit; mango, blueberries, strawberries.

Maple syrup.

Beat the egg, milk, vanilla and salt together in a wide bowl. Dip the flour tortilla, turning once. Let it soak up the mix for a minute.

Fry in butter on low in a medium size pan. Brown the tortilla on both sides.

For savory; fill with cooked bacon and cheese, fold and serve.

For sweet; fill with fruit, drizzle on maple syrup, and fold.

Enjoy!

Buy my latest historical fiction on Amazon!

“This book is super!

Amazon 5-star Review

The year is 1944. Paris has been under German occupation for four years. The French Resistance knows that an Allied invasion is imminent.

Veronique Grenelle is growing up in an impoverished inner-city neighborhood, scrambling to feed herself and her family.

The Resistance recruits the vivacious young woman to befriend Lieutenant Gunther von Clause, an aide-de-camp to the German Army’s Military Governor. She gradually gains his trust and affection.

James Gallagher, a lieutenant in the US Army’s Military Intelligence unit, frequently parachutes behind enemy lines to deliver funds and instructions to the Resistance. He meets and befriends Veronique, who falls madly in love with the dashing American officer.

D-Day approaches, and Veronique finds herself in a bind; should she pursue her heart or her duty? In the end, her decision will not only determine the fate of Paris, it will reverberate down through her family for generations to come.

TV Review

Bosch: Legacy

Streaming on Amazon IMBD (free)

Bosch: Legacy picks up after the seven original seasons, which saw homicide Detective Harry Bosch do battle with the corrupt LAPD hierarchy.

This spin-off captures the magic of the original; it takes place in the gritty realm of LA, it features co-stars Maddie (Madison Lintz), criminal lawyer Honey (Mimi Rogers) even Crate & Barrel (Gregory Cummins and Troy Evans).

What it doesn’t have is Harry the homicide detective. Now retired, Bosch has become a private investigator, but he still lives by the same motto; “either everyone counts, or no one counts.”

Bosch is hired by an aging billionaire who was bullied into abandoning his pregnant Latino bride by his father. Now, childless, he seeks his long-lost lover. But the discovery of an heir would throw the succession of his international business in jeopardy, and skulking minions look to thwart Bosch – at any cost.

I’ve loved Michael Connelly’s Bosch series throughout the 30 years that the LA-based author has been writing, and it’s a pleasure to see the main character (played impeccably by Titus Welliver) bring Harry alive on the screen. I look forward to more seasons!

Book Review

Cocaine Blues

By Kerry Greenwood

I first got turned on to the Miss Fisher mysteries by the excellent Australian TV series starring Essie Davis as Miss Phryne Fisher, an independently wealthy woman living in 1920s Melbourne. Miss Fisher was the ultimate flapper girl, living the high life as a rich, liberated woman with a passion for handsome men and fast cars.

Unfortunately, the TV series ended after a few seasons, and is generally hard to find on streaming services. So it was with great delight that when I began to read the book series, I found that the TV production had faithfully followed the spirit of its main protagonist, as well as the colorful cohort of cast members who rounded her adventures out.

Although one doesn’t have to start with the first book, Cocaine Blues, I recommend doing so as it sets up Miss Fisher’s background and her inspiration for solving crime. Every book features several cases for the amateur detective to solve, from kidnapping to missing kittens, as well as dollops of passionate sex.

While the tone of the series is light-hearted, Greenwood doesn’t shy from controversial subjects, such as spousal abuse, sex slavery and corruption. Regardless, I look forward to a summer of escapist reading, enjoying the many delights of Miss Phryne Fisher.