The Santa Barbara Tea Party
Like a British version of the Catalina Wine Mixer, but with more racism and less Andrea Bocelli
Harry and Meghan spilled all the tea in Britain during their interview with Oprah, and I am still not over it. If you haven’t watched it in full yet, or even seen clips because you live under a rock, I implore you to find it online. It will be the most riveting 2 hours of TV you’ve watched in the last year. And that’s not even factoring in the fallout - the memes alone were perfect, but the commentary afterwards was pure gold! Piers Morgan having yet another temper tantrum, walking off his own show, and subsequently “quitting”, was fantastic, though the Queen’s very brief and, let’s be honest, weak statement that went out 2 days after the interview aired was disappointing. But I think my favorite was Meghan McCain’s reaction and Whoopi Goldberg’s response.
Other captivating but less dramatic pop culture phenomena I’ve recently loved: Ted Lasso (I might even become a soccer fan because of this heart-warmer), and the Renegades: Born in the USA podcast, hosted by none other than my favorite former president and the greatest singer/songwriter of all time. Barack and the Boss: the duo you never knew you needed.
And to fully round out my status as an aging Millennial, you might not be shocked to learn that I’ve recently gotten very into embroidery and spend much of my free time watching YouTube videos trying to learn how to do some of the more complicated stitches. Those bullion knots are not easy, let me tell you.
Now, since I really want to get back to said embroidery, and you don’t want to read about it anymore, let’s just dive right into it. Here’s everything I’ve read and loved lately.
The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O’Donnell
pairing: Everyday Superhero
I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy a good period/fantasy/thriller combo (see: Things In Jars by Jess Kidd in my January post). I don’t know what it is about Victorian London that provides such a great setting, perhaps it’s that the real life Jack the Ripper stories lend an air of credibility to fictional versions of the city, or perhaps it’s just its 2,000 year history offering endless opportunity for literary creativity (notable examples include, but are not limited to, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, and Mary Shelley among others). Whatever it is, I’m here for it and probably always will be.
Our story opens with a seamstress leaping to her death from the highest window of a notable lord’s house with a message stitched into her skin, and only gets crazier from there. In the course of his investigation, the curmudgeonly Inspector Cutter finds a connection between the suicide victim and a string of missing young women. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, aides Cutter in his case (though, oddly, there is never a single mention of the legal implications of impersonating a police sergeant). At the same time, Octavia Hillingdon, an aspiring journalist, is on the trail of the notorious yet mysterious lord, also in connection with the missing girls. Their respective searches collide violently with dangerous results that none of them could have anticipated.
This book was a little bit Sherlock Holmes, a little bit Casper the Friendly Ghost, and just a little bit Dirty Harry. Sounds strange, I know, but that’s not a bad thing. This was the perfect weekend read during the spate of bad weather we’ve had over the last month or two, almost as if O’Donnell wrote it specifically with snow-filled days in mind. It would also be appropriate reading for the currently gray and rainy days we’ve had this week, but regardless of your setting, this book will have you fully immersed in the cold, smog-filled London of the 1890s from page one.
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
pairing: Blackberry Gin Smash1
Did you know that Agatha Christie disappeared in 1926? Just like something out of one of her novels, her car was found abandoned on a hillside near her country home, with clothes and her drivers license still inside. A massive search by thousands of volunteers and police turned up nothing - the police even consulted Christie’s contemporaries, Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L. Sayers, for their expertise as crime writers (at a total loss, probably because he wasn’t actually a detective, Doyle turned to a psychic for help). She was found 11 days later at a spa with “no memory” of what had happened, though not many people believed her.
The Christie’s remained tight-lipped as to what really happened, but Marie Benedict’s novel provides a fantastic theory of what may have taken place during those 11 days. Moving between Agatha’s recollections of her relationship with her husband Archie, and Archie’s present search for his missing wife, it becomes harder to decide which of them to sympathize with. Is it the devoted wife, or the desperate husband? Even without the help of Hercule Poirot, everything becomes clear by the end and all questions are answered, if not quite believably, then at least sufficiently enough for the police to put their investigation to rest.
I was so entertained by this story that it sparked a sudden desire to read all of Agatha Christie’s books. I did start Murder on the Orient Express a few years ago, and now for the life of me I can’t remember where I put it down, let alone why. Given the fact that my house is just about bursting at the seams with books, it’s likely here somewhere, so stay tuned for an update on the mystery of the missing novel. In the meantime, you might want to consider starting your own binge of classic mysteries. We can compare notes on our favorite detectives when we’re done.
pairing: Anastasia’s Blushing
What would you do if you suspected your daughter was a psychopath? Would you try to seek help, or spend the rest of your life constantly wary about what she might do next? Worse, what if no one else in your life, including your spouse, believed you? Would you try to convince yourself that your instincts are wrong and the true problem lies within your own insecurities, or would you do whatever it took to make everyone around you see what you see - even if it means giving up everything you love most?
Blythe couldn’t wait to become a mother, despite knowing that the women in her family had a history of being bad ones, her own included. When her daughter Violet was born, she worried that maybe history was doomed to repeat itself: no matter what she did, she couldn’t connect with her new baby. She chalked it up to her own insecurities and did her best - after all, her husband never thought any of Violet’s behaviors were abnormal. When Blythe’s son Sam is born several years later, she finally feels her maternal instincts kick in and finds the connection she never had with her daughter. Everything changes one morning when an accident forces Blythe to face the truth about Violet, even though it comes at the cost of her marriage and possibly her sanity.
The Push is one of those books that you devour in a single sitting and finish still hungry for more. I couldn’t put it down and find myself thinking about it even weeks later. It was thrilling and heartbreaking and terrifying all at once, and I loved every single second of it.
That’s it for this month, folks. As a friendly reminder: don’t for get to subscribe, share, and shop local (all titles link back to my local independent bookstore, Main Point Books, but you can find a store near you by searching on IndieBound). And until next time,
Happy reading,
Sam
Yes, I am aware that technically I’ve given you two blackberry smash recipes, since the Everyday Superhero is also a blackberry smash. No, they are not even close to being the same drink, so don’t even think about complaining about a “lack of variety”.