Behind Closed Doors

Title: Behind Closed Doors

Author: B. A. Paris

Narrator: Georgia Maguire

Publisher: Macmillan Audio, 2016

Format: 8 hours and 23 minutes, audio book download

Genre: psychological thriller

Obtained: library



Summary: Jack and Grace seem to have the perfect marriage, but what goes on behind closed doors?

Thoughts: The best thing about this book was the way the author told the story.  I loved the little unexpected twists and turns, not huge ones, just little ones, throughout the book.  The story did not always go where I thought it would.  Also, I liked the way she organized the story, jumping around in time.  It was not confusing, but creative.  She told the story in a way that was quite different from other psychological thrillers I have read.  It was not fast paced, although it was a quick read.  I wanted to know what would happen next, but it was more horror than suspense. 

The downside of this book  was that  it was really unbelievable.  The characters had unique personalities, but did not seem realistic and I didn't feel like I got to know them on a deep level.  The actual story was disturbing and did not seem plausible.

The narrator was a good match for this book.  She told the story in a clear voice and at a good pace.  She portrayed the characters wonderfully and made me shiver the way she had the villain say "perfect".  I would love to listen to more books that Georgia Maguire has narrated.

If you can read about domestic abuse and animal cruelty without being offended and don't mind fiction that is unbelievable, you might appreciate the author's way of writing a psychological thriller. 


                                                            

Company: Davids Tea 

Tea: Just Peachy

Obtained: purchased


The Just Peachy tea from Davids Tea is supposed to make the "perfect peach iced tea", according to the website.  I tried it and it was just too sweet for me.  My review can be read here.  Today I was in the mood for something warm and sweet since  I just came in from driving my kids to school in the snow.  I tried the Just Peachy tea hot.  This is a caffeine free herbal tea which includes apple, apple pomace (apple pomace, citric acid), sweet blackberry leaves, peach (peach, sugar), and natural and artificial flavouring.  The leaves had the scent of peaches and were really chunks of brown and off white fruit with some green leaves mixed in.  I put 1 1/2 teaspoons of leaves into my teapot and poured 16 ounces of water over them.  I let this steep for 5 minutes.  The pale yellow liquid had a strong peach scent.  The taste was of sweet peaches with a hint of berry in the background.  The aftertaste was a bit too sweet for me.  I am a person who does not like sugar in her tea, so for those that do, this would not be too sweet.  I did love the strong peach flavour with the hint of berry.  I did like this tea better hot than cold, but I was craving sweet, so that may have been why.  If you love sweet peach tea, this one is for you.

The Dry

Title: The Dry

Author: Jane Harper

Narrator: Steve Shanahan

Publisher: Macmillan Audio, 2017

Format: 8 compact discs, approximately 10 hours

Genre: mystery

Obtained: library



Summary: Aaron Falk, a federal agent with a specialty in financial crimes, returns to the town where he grew up for the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke.  Most believe that Luke murdered his family and then killed himself, but there are some unanswered questions.  Luke's parents talk Aaron into investigating what happened even though violent crimes are not his line of work.

Thoughts: This is the first whodunit mystery that I have read that was set in Australia.  I have to say, I just loved the setting.  I would not want to go there, as it was hot and dry to the point of extremely serious drought, but it was the perfect setting for a story like this.  The characters had depth and were realistic to me.  They were not over the top or overly dramatic- just everyday people, in a bad situation- drought in a farming community.  The writing style was detailed.  It was the perfect pace for a whodunit, not fast, but never boring or weighed down.  The writer put many clues into the story which I loved.  There were red herrings that were believable.  There were not many suspects, but enough with good motives to keep the story interesting.  I liked that there were two mysteries- one from Aaron's past and the current one.  I kept asking myself- Are these murders related?  Will they both be solved?

It did take me awhile to get used to the narrator of the book.  At first I felt like he was reading too fast, but after awhile of listening, I wondered if it was harder for me to follow because of the Australian accent.  I did get used to the narrator, and would definitely listen to more books read by him now that I am familiar with his reading style.

I love mysteries, especially when the setting and characters come to life and the crime is not cut and dry.  I love when writers bring in secrets and the past.  I got all this here.  Jane Harper is now on my list of favorite mystery authors.  She has a second novel out, Force of Nature, which has the same main character as The Dry.  The Lost Man, a stand alone mystery, is due out in February of 2019.         



                                                                  

Company: Davids Tea

Tea: Just Peachy

Obtained: purchased








I purchased the Summer Favourites Iced Tea Singles from Davids Tea.  The set included three single portion packets of five different iced teas for a total of 15 sixteen ounce glasses.  All you have to do is put the leaves in your tea maker or infuser, pour 16 ounces of near boiling water over the tea, let it brew, and add ice.  The first packet I tried was Just Peachy.  This was a caffeine free blend.  The ingredients listed were apple, apple pomace (apple pomace, citric acid), sweet blackberry leaves, peach (peach, sugar), natural and artificial flavouring.    The packet was easy to open.  The tea was a blend of chunks and leaves of all different shapes, sizes, and colors, which had a strong peach scent.  I put the leaves in my tea pot, poured sixteen ounces of almost boiling water over the leaves and let this brew for four minutes.  I then put ice in a glass and poured the tea over ice.  The liquid was a yellowish brown and had a peachy scent.  The tea had a strong, sweet peach flavor with a hint of berry in the background.  The good thing about this tea was that after the ice melted, the tea did not taste watered down.  What I personally didn't like was the strong sweetness of the tea.  It tasted like alot of sugar had been added.  This tea was not for me, but if you are someone that likes sweet peach tea or likes to add sugar to their iced tea, you would probably enjoy this one.

M Train

Title: M Train

Author: Patti Smith

Published: 2015 by Alfred A. Knopf

Pages: 253

Genre: Memoir

Obtained Through: gift

Summary:  In this memoir, the reader enters not the physical world in which Patti Smith lives, but the world of her mind.  The author follows her train of thought to relay to her audience moments and events of her life that are important and meaningful to her.

Thoughts:  This book was given to me as a gift.  It is not a book I would have picked out to read for myself.
     The book started with a dream that the author had about a cowpoke.  This was a bad start for me.  Reading about dreams and cowpokes does not interest me in the least.  Next, I started having a hard time following the author's writing.  I started to lose track of where and when she was writing about, and if she was writing about a dream or reality.  By the third chapter I became familiar with the way the author writes and I was able to follow along.  After a couple more chapters I finally started to get into the book and was glad that I had stuck with it.
     The author is an artist.  She is a poet, visual artist, and performer, as well as a writer.  She includes the Polaroids she has collected and poems she has written that relate to her memoir in the book.  This added to the experience of reading this book.  Her writing style is sometimes poetic and at other times straight forward.  Sometimes, I just do not get poetry or poetic writing, but she writes so that a matter-of-fact person like me can understand it.  She writes about her memories in an open and honest way which is what held my attention.  She has a unique way of putting pieces of different parts of her life together.   I was also entertained by the way she finds "signs" in everyday life.
     My favorite aspect of this book was to read about different authors, books, and detective shows that I never heard of.  At first I felt ignorant that I did not know about these authors, books, and television programs, but then I found myself looking up these references so I could better understand this memoir.  I have added "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haniki Murakami, "The Beach Cafe" by Mohammed Mrabet, "The Thief's Journal" by Jean Genet, and "The Confusions of Young Torless" by Robert Musil to my list of books to read.  I also liked reading about places that I will most likely never travel to.
     This is a book where you learn mostly about how the author thinks and her internal world, not what she has done on earth.  She does describe her artistic lifestyle which was intriguing for me to read about because I have always lived so much differently.  It was interesting to find out how the author visits places described in books and graves of writers all over the world, and how she brings objects that symbolize something important to the writer to their grave sites.  I was enlightened about the Continental Drift Club and the remains of the French penal colony in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.  Reading this book I was able to discover things I would not have otherwise experienced.

Tea: Mountain Oolong

Company: Tea Forte

Obtained: gift









     According to their website, Tea Forte is "presented at leading hotels, restaurants, prestige resorts and luxury retailers" in "over 35 countries".
     I received my tea in a gift box called "Lotus", which is described on the box as "a collection of relaxing teas for mind, body, and spirit".  There are five different teas in "single steep" packages.  This loose tea is premeasured to steep twelve ounces.
     The first time I brewed this mountain oolong tea, I let it steep for five minutes as directed for oolong teas by the box.  When I tasted the tea- yuck!  I could tell it had steeped too long from the bitter taste.
     I started over with a new packet.  The packet of mountain oolong tea was easy to open.  The tea had a deep peach smell with a hint of floral in the background.  The leaves were mostly blacks and browns with a few orange leaves.  They were long and twisted.  There were no stems or twigs.
     I put the leaves in a teapot with a fine sieve and poured twelve ounces of water that had been boiled over the leaves.  I steeped the tea for just two minutes this time.  The liquid was a pretty dark orange and there was a very faint peachy aroma coming from the tea.
     When I tasted the tea, it was so much better!  A floral taste stood out, and then came the after taste of a more peachy floral.  The flavor really lingered.  I really enjoyed this cup of tea!
     I did not add anything to this tea.  I recommend steeping for just two minutes.  As I sipped the tea, I wondered if it might be just as good iced.  I may have to get some more of this tea.