This is my first review for the Globe as the new director at Joplin Public Library.
I have just begun my eighth week here as library director, and during this time many gracious people have welcomed me to my new position. Library patrons have stopped to introduce themselves while I have been in the library stacks. I have had a warm reception here. For this, I thank you.
On to business: I’m going to share a dirty-little-librarian secret, suspected by some, but not generally known: Most librarians have not read every book in the library!
I’m part of that group. Case in point: At 10 a.m. Saturday, April 10, Joplin Public Library has the honor of hosting author Carolyn Hart for a program and book signing.
Hart is a nationally-acclaimed mystery writer. She has won three Agatha Awards and a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
But I had never read any of her books. Because she is coming to the library, I thought it would be a good idea to be familiar with her writing and read one of her books.
The book I chose was Set Sail for Murder, the seventh and most recent addition to Hart’s “Henrie O” series. Fortunately, although Hart’s books are in a series, they are readable as standalone stories.
Henri O is Henrietta O’Dwyer Collins, a retired newspaper reporter with a nose for murder. In this book, she receives a call from a long-ago love, Jimmy Leonard.
Though Henrie O had refused his offer of marriage years earlier, she still has a place for him in her heart and responds to his request for help.
He is convinced someone in the family is out to murder his wife, Sophia. The wife is a stepmother from an earlier marriage to venture capitalist, Frank Riordan, to four grown children, for whom she holds the keys to a trust fund containing a substantial fortune.
After the marriage, she promptly shipped all Frank’s children off to boarding school. The oldest heir is turning thirty and according to the provisions of the will, it is now up to Sophia to dissolve the trust and give the heirs control or to maintain the trust and control their income for another ten years.
If Sophia were dead, however, all the money would be theirs immediately. Enter motive for murder.
Sophia’s current husband, Jimmy, is convinced someone is out to kill Sophia. First, a large boulder tumbles down the hillside at the precise moment Sophia walks by, and then an apparent attempt at poisoning occurs. Concerned, Jimmy asks Henrie O to investigate as the family meets at Sophia’s command aboard a cruise ship for a two-week Baltic cruise.
Is someone really out to kill Sophia? If so, who?
There’s a complete cast of likely characters in this highly dysfunctional family. There’s Alex, the oldest, about to turn thirty. He’s short, scrawny, and always in one financial scrape and failure or another. He’s married to an “ice blond with a frozen heart” who never met a jewel she didn’t like.
Then there’s Kent, who teaches at a college, runs triathlons and is somewhat a mystery. He’s a likable guy, although he radiates hatred when he’s around Sophia.
Rose dropped out of school spends time in dead end jobs. She also hates Sophia deeply.
The youngest is Val, an independent filmmaker. She is cool and aloof and has succumbed to a life of hidden alcohol problems.
Rounding out the family is Evelyn, the children’s aunt who is Frank’s spinster sister and who was brought into the household to help care for the children after their mother‘s death. A former school teacher, she has no financial need, being comfortably fixed through provisions in Frank’s will.
Did one of them try to crush her with a boulder, poison her wine, or push her down a long staircase during the cruise? All of them have a motive and the day of reckoning for the trust is approaching. Henrie O must help her friend Jimmy uncover the truth.
In an interesting mystery of family dynamics with fascinating characters, Henrie O does just that. I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy mystery.
If you want to find out who wants to do it, or if it was done, or who “dunnit,” check out “Set Sail for Murder.” Better than that, come see Hart in person.
Changing Hands Book Shoppe will have a selection of Hart’s books available to purchase and have autographed including her latest, “Laughed ‘til He Died,” which will be released on April 6. Come and enjoy Hart with us!
Globe Life
Related Photos
Discussion
Jacque Gage: Author of madcap mystery to visit library
- Globe Life
-
-
Students add vision to collaborative exhibit
In a “secret room” upstairs at Spiva Center for the Arts, an art project began last week that won’t be finished for 18 more days. That’s because it is being created by more than 1,100 artists.
-
Cari Rerat: Pair of graphic novels tell tales of heroism
Witty banter, blood-soaked violence, and old-school sound effects make this one of the most fun graphic novels I’ve read in a long time.
-
Frankie Meyer: Celebrity genealogy hunt makes return to TV
At last, my favorite series is returning for its third season. “Who Do You Think You Are?” is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Fridays.
-
Frankie Meyer: Church minutes can provide details about ancestors
As you compile your family history, you will often learn the name of the church that an ancestor attended. Novice researchers sometimes ignore that type of detail, not realizing that church records can provide details that blast through the brick walls of research.
-
Phyllis Seesengood: Prequel takes Jack Reacher book series back in time
“The Affair,” by Lee Child, is the 16th book in the series of Jack Reacher thrillers and is a prequel to the other books. It takes us back in time to March 1997, where we learn valuable information about Reacher’s background and his reasons for leaving the military.
-
B-easy does it
Chris Watson, a Pittsburg State University graduate and Kansas native, was visiting a local video store when he stumbled across three horror movies he’d either produced, directed, directly written or co-written over the last eight years.
-
Book highlights opposites in animal kingdom
Even in science opposite attract. It’s the opposite ends of a magnet that attract. Don’t try to connect the south poles on two magnets, because it’s not going to work. Opposites attract.
-
Cemetery research can yield details about family
Through cemetery research, family history researchers can learn details such as names of spouses and children, military service, hobbies and religious preference, as well as the date and location of birth, marriages and death.
-
Art class helps kids deal with feelings from tornado
And while this innovative program received national attention -- thanks to the Joplin-based episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on Jan. 13 -- Bourne’s mobile arts center, dedicated to the growth and healing of children through art, had been up and running long before the EF-5 tornado suddenly spiraled out of the clouds.
-
Danya Walker: Non-fiction work examines history’s infamous mistresses
Many times, the cover and title of a book promises a much more risque read than is actually delivered. “Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman” by Elizabeth Abbott is one such book.
- More Globe Life Headlines
-
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
White House Attacks Romney on Birth Control
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Mo. Teen Gets Life Sentence for Killing Girl, 9
Lower-hassle Screening to Be Tested at Airports
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Helmet Camera Captures Calif. Fire Rescue
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
