What We're Watching

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Happy Memorial Day, everyone, and I hope you are all grilling, picnicking, or a combination thereof. We are really splashing out and having hotdogs, which happens maybe once a year, so is an occasion!

Tell us what you put on yours.

Or maybe you are not cooking out, and are stretched out in a hammock with one of the books we suggested yesterday? I can't think of a better way to spend the beginning of summer. 

Our Memorial Day forecast here in north Texas is for sun and 88 degrees, but if inclement weather will keep you indoors, I thought we'd chat about what we're watching these days.

If I was embarrassed to admit I'd never read Tana French, I am really embarrassed to admit that we had never watched ELEMENTARY–especially as it is my daughter's favorite series ever. Well, we are in the process of remedying that, having just finished the first season. Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu were amazing, so incredibly talented, and the plots were so clever. I'd like to have access to the writers' idea bank! I love the brownstone set and the whole New York feel of the series. It is utterly charming and just what I need at the moment.

We watched the first season and part of the second of THE CAPTURE, starring Holliday Grainger as a London cop who uncovers a plot to fake videos in real time. I'm a big fan of Grainger (Robin Ellacott in the Cormoran Strike series) but THE CAPTURE is a bit creepy and unsettling and a little too close to reality for fun watching for me. We've also watched the first episode of LEGENDS, about UK Customs officers going undercover to stop drug smuggling in the early 90s. This is based on a true story and stars Tom Burke (who also plays Cormoran Strike.)

Oh, and on a totally delightful note, we've started the new series of TUCCI IN ITALY.  I adore Stanley Tucci and the series is now produced by NatGeo, so it is gorgeous and so interesting. 

Oh, and we had to pay for a month of BBC Select in order to get it, but I'm watching THE ROYAL CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW, which I find absolutely fascinating. (Rick does not agree...)

How about it, darling REDS, what are you watching?

JENN McKINLAY: We are currently watching the latest season of HACKS (love Jean Smart!), YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS (I’ve loved John Hamm since Madmen), and my latest K-Drama WHEN THE PHONE RINGS (a good suspense story). Nothing groundbreaking but all entertaining.

LUCY BURDETTE: Talk about oldies but goodies, we are watching THE WEST WING. People told us about this for years, and they were right–it’s so good! The President, played by Martin Sheen, is everything we yearn for–someone smart and funny and quirky but never destructive or vindictive. We also plan to watch REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES. Maybe this long weekend?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, I love  these lists! We are enjoying YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS–I loved Jon Hamm in Mad Men too, but not so much in anything he did after that. Until this! And we are on the same wave length, Debs, watching LEGENDS, too. Also–we are having a controversy (as controversial as it gets in our house, which is not too) about WIDOWS BAY. I absolutely love it, horror–ish as it is, it is also so funny. Kinda Jaws meets Stephen King. Jonathan is not a fan, though. If you missed PARADISE, please go back and watch it! As I have said here in the past, I have loved it from moment one, and the first episode, an instant classic, just won the Edgar for Best TV episode. (I feel so vindicated.)

What am I forgetting?

HALLIE EPHRON: I really enjoyed REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES (on Amazon). Sally FIelds is wonderful, and the octopus (more talking animals!) is divine. The plot twist will seem a bit contrived to seasoned mystery readers, but it’s not the main reason to watch it.

And I loved LOVE SARAH streaming on Netflix. It’s about a group of women who start a bakery, fulfilling one of their mother’s dreams.

Also enjoyed THE LIFE OF BIRDS on public television, a documentary narrated by David Attenborough. Who knew bird song could be so complex and fascinating?!

DEBS: Hallie, I'd been wondering if I wanted to watch REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, so thanks for the rec.

RHYS BOWEN: I haven’t had much time for watching but I’m trying not to binge THE OTHER BENNETT SISTER. Sooo delicious and Caroline Bingley is so easy to hate. 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: As I mentioned briefly when we shared what we’re reading, I’ve been working my way through the Poirot series - I can’t believe I’ve never seen any of them before. I always thought of the character as annoyingly fussy, but David Suchet plays him with SO much depth.

Just finished the Kdrama TRAIN (2020, if you’re looking for it) a crime fiction/time travel mash up. I almost gave it up halfway through episode 3, but then the pace picked up and I was completely hooked. Before that was THE GLORY, a revenge thriller. The romance subplot was blah, but seeing how the abused-in-high-school heroine gets back at her tormentors is delicious.

Other than that, nothing, so I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else recommends!

DEBS: Julia, I'm envying you watching Poirot for the first time. They were brilliant.

How about it, dear Readers? What are you watching when you can drag yourselves away from a book?

And what's on your hot dog? I'm a mustard, dill relish, sauerkraut person myself

What We're Reading!

 LUCY BURDETTE: To launch the beginning of the summer season, we thought it would be only fair to talk about books! I’ve veered out of the mystery lane lately and tried some new things. OUTRUN by Amy Liptrot was an Ann Cleeves recommendation from several years ago. This is a memoir that takes place primarily on the Orkney islands. The opening chapters about the author struggling with her addiction are difficult to read, but it pays off beautifully and now I’m desperate to go back to Scotland. 

 I also read YESTERYEAR, which Hank mentioned a while back. The main character is a tradwife influencer with a gaggle of children she doesn’t enjoy and a staggering following. I did not like her but I was compelled to find out how the author could possibly wind this story up. I never could have come up with this plot in a million years! 

Now I’m reading Anna Quindlen’s MORE THAN ENOUGH about a woman struggling with infertility and a challenging mother and dementing father. Quindlen writes about families so well! I also read two romances that I won’t recommend. Looking forward to THEO OF GOLDEN, plus Rhys’s new standalone, and Jenn’s as well. Oh, in June, I’m going to hear Ann Patchett talk about her new book, Whistler. Can’t wait for that one!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I just finished Tana’s French’s THE KEEPER and  I am in awe. IN AWE! She is such an incredible writer that it's downright intimidating. It;s part 3 of a series, but such a terrific standalone that you can easily read it first.  I am also tearing through Gillian McAllister's CALLER UNKNOWN–she is one of my all time favorite authors, and speaking of in awe, I’m not sure how she manages to make her book all have that McAllister voice, but be so incredibly different. I’ve got Anthony Horowitz’s new one up next, which I know will be such a treat! (I am also a judge for a contest, and all I can say is

I sat next to a man on an airplane next to a blue-suited  businessman-type who  was reading Theo of Golden, and he was crying. SO–nope nope nope, you know me, I am not getting anywhere near that.

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m a wimp when it comes to tear jerkers, too. Anthony Horowitz is always safe in that respect. And so clever and funny, bonus points. And of course I finished reading my sister Amy Ephron’s new book, UNSEASONABLY COLD (late summer, 1939, and a New York heiress goes missing.)

I just started THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett (author of THE HELP) and I’m enjoying it very much. The opening chapters are flagrantly Dickensian with a little girl getting abandoned in the so called “care” at an orphanage run by heartless/misguided women. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next. It’s got MOVIE written all over it, and I’m having fun imagining who’d play the lead.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have not been reading anything–not unusual for me towards the end of writing a book. I just don’t have the focus to sit down with the printed page. But I have been listening to audio books and Hank, your comment was very timely. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I had never read anything by Tana French. I know, right? Maybe I was intimidated. 

But I picked up the audio version of THE SEARCHER, the first of her three Cal Hooper books, and I was hooked. Now I am partway through the second book, THE HUNTER. Interestingly, the protagonist is an American, a retired Chicago cop who has resettled in an Irish village. These are not fast paced but I’m loving the language and the characters. 

Before that, the new Martha Wells Murderbot book, PLATFORM DECAY, which I loved so much I listened to it twice in a row. And before that, I listened to all but the last full cast audio versions of the Harry Potter books. These are unabridged and the casting is fabulous–I highly recommend!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'm so glad there's another Murderbot fan here, Debs! 

JENN McKINLAY: I am reading nothing. Shocking, I know, but my every second has been taken up with a new writing venture (more on that at a later date) that is so far out of my comfort zone, I have no time for anything else. Hopefully, I will get back to reading soon as I have a towering TBR to get through.

JULIA: Right now, I'm hurrying to finish Jessica Everett's LAST SUMMER AT MAINE CHANCE because I'm passing it on to Celia when I next visit her. My non-fiction read is the highly recommended TYRANNY OF THE MINORITY: How to Reverse and Authoritarian Turn and Forge a Democracy for All by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. Well-written and extremely thought-provoking. 

I just got hold of PLATFORM DECAY and I can't believe Debs beat me to the punch. Though she's now known for SF, I can also highly recommend Well's fantasy novels. Next up: I'm super excited to read the ARC of Rhys's upcoming THE CASTLE IN THE GLEN. 

Which means I don't have a mystery in rotation! I'm working my way through the Poirot series on Hulu, and would love any recs anyone can share for some good old-fashioned whodunnits, bonus points if they're set in the 1920s or '30s. (I almost wrote "the '20s" but realized we're living there right now...) 

Red readers, what are you reading or looking forward to reading?

Summer Eating by Lucy Burdette

 LUCY BURDETTE: as you know, summer is creeping up on us and it’s not only a great time for reading (see tomorrow’s post for our reading recommendations), but it’s also a great time for eating! (Although for me, when is a bad time for eating? Never!) Here are some recipes and dishes that I am looking forward to making or eating, or are those that I’ve made recently and loved, and then I would love to hear yours.

First up, a recipe for potato salad with olives from The New York Times cooking app. I made this last summer because I was making a dish for our long time supper club. This skirted all the allergy issues and it turned out so good that everybody wanted the leftovers. I will make it again this weekend.

Lemon lime lavender scones were baked in the upcoming A DELICIOUS DECEPTION by Hayley Snow‘s mother who is catering a wedding for a mother of the bridezilla. So I had to bake them as well and they are lovely. Link on mystery lovers kitchen.

You will want this recipe when tomato season comes along. Luckily in Key West, John grew tomatoes on our deck so we were able to sample this before the summer season. The two of us ate all but once slice and then fought over that the next day. I will definitely make this tomato galette again. LINK on Mystery Lovers Kitchen.

This recipe came from Smitten Kitchen Keepers. I’m a sucker for gnocchi and almost always order it if I see it on a menu. So I wanted to try this new recipe for ricotta gnocchi with a pistachio arugula sauce. It was outstanding! Link to my version here.

I am crazy for jalapeño poppers, but I didn’t see how I would ever make them because I don’t deep fry anything. Then one of my fellow Friends of the Key West library board members  showed up with a tray of these poppers for a benefactor event. They are not fried, they are baked, and they look reasonably easy. I will post that recipe as soon as I make them!

OK, Reds, your turn! What will you be cooking or eating this summer? You do not have to actually make it in your own kitchen for this to count.