When animals tell the tale...

 

HALLIE EPHRON: Reason to celebrate: one of my all-time favorite mystery novels, Leonie Swann's THREE BAGS FULL: A SHEEP DETECTIVE STORY, has been made into a movie!! In this super clever and engaging Agatha Christie-esque mystery, the detectives are sheep.

In the novel, the sheep are, of course, the quintessential unreliable narrators. Their muddled notion of justice derives from a mystery novel their shepherd George read to them but hasn’t finished.

Their understanding of. relationships between men and women is based on what they call the “Pamela stories”—romance novels that George read to them.

When a priest says “The Lord is my shepherd,” they become convinced that the “Lord” is the butcher, the last person on earth that they’d want for their shepherd, smelling as he does of death.

The combination of sly humor and naiveté made this novel a surprising and delightful read and a huge international bestseller. The herd is filled with characters laid out in loving detail. And there’s such a vivid sense of place: “The sea looked as if it had been licked clean, blue and clear and smooth, and there were a few woolly little clouds in the sky.”

Often funny, silly, and profound, this novel invited us to “imagine you’re living in a flock, and one day you find out the others aren’t sheep at all—they’re wolves.”

I reviewed the book for the BOSTON GLOBE in 2007, concluding with: "For readers who love a good mystery and have even the slightest taste for 'Charlotte’s Web' or 'Babe,' trust me, you’ll be enchanted.

Much as I loved the book, I'd have said it was the least likely of my favorite reads to get adapted for film. The humor is sly and the affect subtle. It doesn't read like stuffed animals talking, so a film that felt like that would be a big miss.

And yet, here it is in a theatre near me and garnering rave reviews.

Technology, I'm sure, is what's made it possible.

Sadly I haven't yet gotten to the movie theatre to see it, but boy oh boy am I looking forward to it.

Anyone seen it yet? (The cast includes Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, and Patrick Stewart!)

And now that we know animals can narrate a movie mystery, what other animal detective would you like to see brought to the silver screen? I nominate CHET THE DOG. Anyone else?

Lemons, lilacs, leather...oh, my!

JENN McKINLAY: Okay, this might seem like a weird question but what are your favorite scents? 

I ask because I was making my monthly trek to the “smelly store” as the Hub calls it (more commonly known as Bath and Body Works) and they had a whole new lineup of candles and whatnot. Joy! 

Clearly, I have a slight problem with candle accumulation.

Now I know some people are scent sensitive and others think that burning candles is toxic and I get that, I do, but I have a husband, two dogs, and five cats. Y’all, I need to smell something besides man and critter in my house!

Hub generally tags along on this errand and unsurprisingly steers me away from the vanilla cinnamon cupcake candle scents to the more gender neutral eucalyptus and spearmint, which we both like. He's also the bergamot, leather, and distilled gin guy, none of which really work for me.

If I had to pick my favorite scents, I’m going with fresh laundry, coconut, and limoncello as my mainstays with crisp apple and balsam fir as seasonal faves. 

How about you, Reds? What scents bring you joy in life or in candles?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Oh, I love this topic! I’m very scent sensitive, and Jonathan always howls with laughter when I say… Have you been eating Doritos? And he says I’ve had ONE! How do you know?

And if something smells like red onions it makes me really unhappy.

But happy smells, oh, what a wonderful topic. For candles, I love cinnamon, and coconut.

And oh, vanilla.

For fragrance like shower gel, my faves are lemon, and coconut. And sometimes freesia , but it’s not always the same fragrance, which is confusing.

There used to be a body spray called Gloomaway, which was a gorgeous kind of sugary Lemmon, which I absolutely loved. But they don’t make it anymore.

I use fewer candles than I used to, because someone told me they can make your ceiling sooty.

But by my bed I have a vanilla candle that is fragrance enough without lighting it. 

LUCY BURDETTE: Hank, Gloomaway??? What were they thinking?? No wonder they don’t make it anymore. 

My go to is lavender. EO makes a good line of lavender products, as does my favorite Alaskan company. When we burn candles, it’s almost always balsam fir.

But I’m also very partial to the smell of good food cooking and baking! Chocolate cake in the oven? Count me in! Roast chicken, same. Spaghetti bolognese–yes!

JENN: A spaghetti bolognese candle for those of us who don't cook? Maybe you're onto something, Lucy!

HALLIE EPHRON: Jean Nate? Does anyone remember that? I’m sure I have some… somewhere. Seems like it’s citrus-y. That and fresh baked bread (but in the oven… not in a candle).

And I used to love the smell of GAIN laundry detergent. Not so much now. I no longer want my clean laundry to smell unless it’s from hanging on the line outside.

RHYS BOWEN: I like fresh citrus scents. I grew up with 4711 cologne and still like that although I rarely use it. Actually I hardly ever use scents as I’m allergic to some. But give me baking bread, campfire smoke, the scent of a pine forest and I’m happy.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: What a fun topic, Jenn! I’m super scent sensitive, so I don’t like a lot of candles, but there are some that I love. I bought a ridiculously expensive candle in Round Top this year because the smell was so divine. It’s called Tomato Season and it’s a combination of tomato leaves, cucumber, sage, and basil. That may sound weird but trust me! (And Trader Joe’s $4.99 Tomato Leaf candle is not even from the same universe…) (Tomato Season is made by a company called LAFCO if anyone is interested.) I also love a candle called Sea Pines by Mersea, which I burn every year around Christmas. And while I’m not usually crazy about vanilla-y/cookie type of scents, I have a candle called Pumpkin Bourbon that I’ve been nursing through the last few autumns. 

But my favorite scent of the moment is a bar of lavender soap made by my friend at the farmer’s market. Olive oil, goat’s milk, and lavender essential oil. I can’t wait to get in the bath every night. I’m convinced lavender reduces my stress levels.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Jenn, I’m laughing, because I call all the goodies from Bath and Bodyworks “smelly stuff.” Tell your hubs it’s not just him.

I love lemon scent, dating back to the first “grown up” splash I got for Christmas the year I turned 13. I would uncap it just to take a whiff. So I adore candles with sharp citrus scents, as well as florals like rose and gardenia.

The Maine Millennial, who got really into scented candles during the pandemic, also turned me on to them. Every Christmas I get a couple of the Bath and Body Works balsam candles - I swear, y’all, they really do smell like being in a pine forest - and I burn them to the bottom. She and my other kids have also been gifting me personalized Yankee Candles for special occasions. Here’s a delicious lilac scent (my favorite flowers!) from last Mother’s Day.

BEST CANDLE EVER!!!!

How about you, Readers? What are your go-to scents?

Happy Mother's Day--And to Mothers-in-Law, too!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Okay, here we go. I was about to say--we have a touchy subject today. And that made me stop and think--why is it touchy? But Happy Mother's Day, to those who celebrate. We love you and revere you!

But our guest today has a sidebar--the question of mothers in law.

Hmm.  I've had several mothers-in-law...:-). One in particular was...interesting. She was giving a bridal luncheon to introduce me to her friends, and the morning of the luncheon,  I arrived very early (with rollers in my hair, I remember) to help.

Welp, turns out she had taken to her bed, with some unknown ailment, and pronounced herself unable to prepare the meal. For twelve people. "You'll have to do it," she declared.

Me?

I was desperately trying to impress her, so I tried to look confident, and I said, "Oh, of course, poor thing, you feel better and I'll handle it.. What is on the menu?"

And she said, all fluttery,  "My specialty, chicken spaghetti."

I thought, great, fine, whatever that is, never heard of it, but okay.

I said: "Terrific, fabulous, where is the recipe?"

And she said: "Oh, dear, that does create a bit of a problem. There is no recipe, I just make it up as I go. It's..chicken. And spaghetti. In a casserole. I'm sure you'll work it out."

SHE MAKES IT UP??

Okay, fine, I think, it's chicken and spaghetti. "Lovely," I said, "It won't be as perfect as yours, I'm sure, but I'll figure it out."

So, I went downstairs and found her shelf of cookbooks. I pulled out Joy Of Cooking, thinking that there'd be something in there that would be enough like what she was talking about to make do, or that I could figure out from the way other dishes worked how to make chicken and spaghetti.

So listen to this.  I looked in the index, and there was a recipe for chicken and spaghetti! YAAY!, I think,  I am saved!

 But. When I opened to the page, it had all her annotations and changes. (Makes it up as she goes. My foot.)

Can you imagine the passive-aggressiveness of that one? Testing me???

Anyway, it was all fine. 

And--one more thing. She rallied, and attended the lunch. 

So.

More mother in law tales? The wonderful Ava Roberts is looking into the psychology of that very fraught relationship.

 

The Most Combustible Relationship!

  by Ava Roberts

I am lucky enough to have a fantastic mother-in-law. In fact, we are so close that I enjoy hanging out with her just for the fun of it; I would do so if she were not the mother of my husband and grandmother to my children. 

Not the case with my current character that I'm working on for my next book, about a woman who goes to stay with her in-laws under chilling circumstances (I can't say more now otherwise it will give too much away!). 

 I like the setting to be a forced extended stay, because a difficult in-law in small doses is one thing. But staying together under the same roof is a pressure cooker that strains even the best in-law relationship.

It happened with The Beckhams and their son. It happened with Prince Harry and Megan. The new spouse and the in-laws just can't seem to get along, both parties think they're right, and it ends with estrangement.  

It begs the question: why is the bond between a spouse and an in-law so combustible? 

Is it the loss of control, or the fear of being replaced?  Is it a power struggle? In domestic thrillers, the best villains don't carry knives; they carry the weight of their approval-- or disapproval-- that can be haunting. It’s the universal fear that the people who created the person we love might actually be the people who destroy our peace of mind. 

It’s the ultimate high-stakes gamble: when you marry the person, you inherit their ghosts.

In honor of Mother's Day, I hope that everyone is able to find a way to celebrate with their family. But for the sake of good fiction, bad in-laws are just too much fun to write about. 

I’d love to hear from you:

• Why do you think things go so wrong in these relationships?

• What is the worst thing a mother-in-law can say?

• What are the fatal poor choices a daughter-in-law can make?

Most importantly: What is the one comment from an in-law that would make you pack your bags in the middle of the night?

HANK: Oh, great questions! What do you think, Reds and Readers?

Ava Roberts is a clinical psychologist turned author who knows that the most unsettling secrets often lurk just beneath the surface. She is the author of The Summer House Murder, The Vanishing Neighbor, Juniper Isle, and the Thistler Thrillers series. Kirkus Reviews praised The Summer House Murder as “a whirlwind domestic thriller that’s also a pitiless anatomy of the costs of motherhood and sisterhood.” Ava lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and an overactive imagination.

THE SUMMER HOUSE MURDER 

A summer trip to the Adirondacks is turned upside down when a woman’s body is discovered in the lake in this twisty thriller, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Paula Hawkins.

Sisters Esme, Piper, and Regina go on their annual visit to their remote summer house on Lake George expecting a tense vacation. Each has their own families to deal with plus their own secrets to hide. Esme, the oldest sister, is desperate to keep up appearances after discovering her husband’s infidelity with the one person who hurts her the most. Piper, the middle child, has a four-month-old baby boy and is too tired to keep playing peacekeeper to her siblings. Regina, the youngest, is a sarcastic rule breaker with a secret to hide that could cost her everything.

After tension boils over into an ugly fight late one night, the sisters go off in separate directions. Like most of their blowouts, they think they’ll cool off and resume the trip like normal the next morning. Only this time when dawn comes, a young woman’s body is discovered in the lake. As a criminal investigation narrows in on their family home, it becomes clear that the sister’s web of lies and secrets is inextricably linked to the woman in the lake.

A tense and fast-paced thriller, The Summer House Murder will leave readers breathlessly turning the page until they reach the thrilling conclusion to this twisted family drama.