A little bit of lightness for troubled times

Before the presidential campaign kicked into full swing, I was a die-hard Facebook fan. (These days, life can be divided into before the election and after—anyone got the appropriate initials in mind?) I confess I spent way too much time scrolling carefully through Facebook. Unlike the many who have given it up because of the hate, I still go to the page—but I browse, leap, skip, pick and choose. It’s not just the hate, though that bothers me—I am tired to death of being pestered to sign a thousand and one petitions most of which will do nothing.

I decided between troubled times and my rehab incarceration I needed a light diversion and discovered Jenn McKinlay’s Hat Shop Mysteries. I read the third, Assault and Beret, first. Two cousins who co-own a hat shop in London, are at the center of these stories. Viv is the creative, talented hat maker and the will o’ the wisp unpredictable personality. In this novel, she has married someone in Paris without telling anyone and left him two days after the wedding because he was too perfect, there was no clash. A year or two later, she and her cousin, Scarlett, are to go to Paris where Viv will teach a class, and she orders Scarlett to find the missing husband so she can have the marriage annulled. Improbable, yes. But you must call on willing suspension of disbelief. Scarlett tells the tale, and her voice--brilliantly ironic and clever—carries the story. It’s a mystery, and there’s the requisite suspense but Viv, Scarlett and the missing husband are the meat of the book. I enjoyed it thoroughly. So now I’m into Cloche and Dagger, first in the series. If you want some light diversion, I recommend these books.

I had delightful visitors tonight. Thanks to Jordan for bringing Jacob and Sophie to see me. I must get home before Sophie thinks she totally belongs to Jordan. She is always a bit ill at ease here and barks, which worries Jord. But these two are so cute!