Book Reviews

 Evans Above by Rhys Bowen, adult mystery, 1997

This is the first book in the Constable Evans mystery series. It is rare to find the first in a series on a library shelf, so I snapped it up when I saw it.

Evan Evans is a constable in the small Welsh Village of Llanfair. He was training to be a policeman in a larger city, but came back to his roots for a quieter way of life. 

Llanfair is quaint, and the villagers are an interesting group of people in this cozy mystery.  The town is small and everyone knows everything that is going on. Evan is an eligible bachelor, and it is the goal of many in the village to find a wife for him. The village is situated below picturesque, ragged mountains. The quaint atmosphere is ruined only by a large hotel at the edge of town, which brings guests to town who keep needing to be rescued off the mountains by the village folks. Evan, who knows the mountains well, is part of the volunteer rescue team.

The victims show up fairly early in the story when two men are found dead in the mountains. At first, it looks like a climbing accident, but Evan thinks there's more to it than that. He follows his instincts and plods through to solve the murders despite the fact that his superiors tell him to stay out of the investigation.

 It was an easy, fun read without a complicated plot. Sometimes mystery plots are so complex that I have a hard time following them, but not this time. The book was written almost 30 years ago and shows its age at times. For example, everyone who was married had their wife at home. But that is a minor part of the book. I will probably read another Constable Evans book, but prefer the Royal Spyness Mysteries by Bowen.

The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, juvenile historical fiction (upper elementary-middle school), 2018.

Somehow, this book slipped under my radar (I'm going to blame it on COVID), but it was quite well-received. Here's a list of accolades it got

"A Newbery Honor Book * Booklist Editors’ Choice * BookPage Best Books * Chicago Public Library Best Fiction * Horn Book Fanfare * Kirkus Reviews Best Books * Publishers Weekly Best Books * Wall Street Journal Best of the Year * An ALA Notable Book" (Amazon)

The book takes place in the Middle Ages (1350) in France and Italy. One third of the European population had just been wiped out by the pestilence (Bubonic plague), and hundreds of thousands of people were pilgrimaging to Rome. 

Boy, an orphan, has a hump and is ridiculed and stoned because of it. However, he has some protection from the family he works for and the local priest. Secundus, a pilgrim, passes by one day and wants Boy to accompany him on his journey for a few days. The journey turns out to be more than a few days as Boy helps Secundus secure seven relics he is looking for.

Boy and Secundus have an epic adventure, and it is a mystery to the reader what exactly the purpose of the journey is for several chapters. In hindsight, you can see the clues that were being given, but I didn't catch on. This is a book where I can't discuss much of the story without spoilers. 

Because Secundus is on a pilgrimage, the book is centered around the Catholic religion and its rule at that time.  The author did extensive research to make the setting of the story as accurate as she could. However, since it involves religion, which is faith-based instead of evidence-based, major parts of the story are imagined.

This is not a religious Bible story. This is an adventure that involves a boy learning about the world and himself, and second chances.

Along with everyone else, I recommend The Book of Boy. It's not like anything I've read before.

The Beat I Drum by Dusti Bowling, juvenile fiction, middle grades, 2025

This is a sequel to the Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, and focuses on Aven's friend Connor, who has Tourette's Syndrome. Barking is his main symptom.

Connor has had to move across town and leave his best friend, Aven, behind, and start a new school. He is just turning 14 and a freshman. He immediately makes friends with another group, which includes a girl with Tourette's and another who has a birthmark across half of her face. Connor has his first feeling of love with these girls and experiences some of the complications that come with that. 

In the meantime, his father, who could not deal with Connor's Tourette's and left two years ago, is now back in the picture, trying to form a new relationship with Connor. Connor is still very angry with his father and wants nothing to do with him.

The pressure of the new school, along with the anger that he feels for his father, brings Connor to a breaking point. However, he has a music teacher who is working with him to find an instrument to play, as sometimes this can help with tics. They eventually decide on the drums, and he starts lessons. The story eventually has a feel-good ending, just like the first book.

Initially, I wasn't very interested in reading about teenage relationships, but the turmoil Connor was experiencing made the story more compelling. The author explores the practical and emotional aspects of Tourette's Syndrome well. She has two daughters and a husband, all of whom have tic disorders, from whom she draws inspiration.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, adult horror, 1959

I don't usually read horror books, but this was my nod to Halloween this month. The Haunting of Hill House is considered a classic, and there are many scholarly things written about it if you want to read a more formal review. I read it many years ago, but I didn't remember much about the book except that it scared me. 

Dr. Montague is a researcher of the supernatural and rents the Hill House for study because of its reputation for being haunted. Several deaths have been associated with the house, and no one stays longer than a few days in it before they leave. The townspeople won't go near it. Along with Dr. Montague, he has two assistants: the vibrant Theodora and the troubled Eleanor. Also, Luke, who will inherit the house, is there to represent the family.

The house gives off bad vibes from the beginning, with strange angles, complicated floor plans, along with heavy and grotesque furnishings. And there are strange, distressing episodes that they all experience.

While all of those things set up a somewhat typical horror story, I found the real creepiness was the psychological part of the book. Eleanor has no real place or experience in the world. She was isolated as she cared for her troublesome mother for 11 years before she died. Going to the Hill House is the first independent thing Eleanor has done in her life. She is emotionally fragile as she sorts out these new experiences. Sometimes you're not sure if it's the house and its ghosts wreaking havoc, or it is Eleanor's subconscious playing out. 

The story builds until it ends with a fitting ending for a psychological horror story. If you're into this kind of thing, it is a well-written, compelling book. 

That's it for this latest set of books.

Until next time...

West Virginia Trip, 2025, Beartown and Home

My foot was bothering me, so this was a fairly low-key day as far as hiking went. But it was an enjoyable day, all the same.

First up was Beartown State Park. Beartown is a small day-use park that features large rock formations of the Pottsville sandstone (locally known as Droop). The park features a half-mile boardwalk that winds through large boulders covered with moss and lichen and erosional cavities. It was hard to get pictures that really show the unique beauty and whimsical feel of the park. But we tried just the same.

The road into Beartown State Park. We had another beautiful day of blue skies and no rain.

The area was named Beartown because early settlers thought it had many good dens for bears among the rocks.

Many of the rocks had ferns growing along the edges, appropriately named fringe ferns.

The boardwalk went up, over, and down between the crevices.

They said some of the lichens growing on the rocks were over 100 years old.

We visited a few other places as we wandered around the area.

In Hillsboro, we saw the birthplace of Pearl Buck. Unfortunately, they closed early, so we didn't get to view the house or museum.

Next, we tried to visit the Pocahontas County Museum. It was also closed when it should have been opened. The people at the visitor's center said there had been an illness in the family of the volunteer who runs the museum.

We explored the small town of Marlinton, the county seat of Pocahontas County, WV.

On the other side of the building was a mosaic of tiles made by people in the community. (The tiles were ~ 8x8")

Then it was back to our condo for leftover spaghetti and a couple of mystery books. The next morning, we packed up (after we finished our books. Didn't want to be left hanging with the "who dun it") and headed home.

On the way home, we stopped at Seneca Rocks State Park. They always impress. 

Currently, we're home, have done our laundry, and have most of our things put away. Now it's back to the realities of everyday living, like mowing grass and paying bills. But we had a wonderful time on our little getaway. 

Until next time...

West Virginia Trip, 2025, Riding the Rails

That's the old Cass Company Store behind the train.

Ever since we were children, Ward and I have heard about the Cass Scenic Railroad (CSR) and wanted to ride it. We finally made that happen today. A few years ago, we visited the historic town of Cass, but unfortunately, the train was not running at the time.

Cass was founded in 1901 as a company town for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company. At the same time, work on the railroad to haul out the lumber began. The company expanded and changed hands numerous times before closing in 1960. The state of West Virginia acquired the area and turned it into a state park, and the first scenic ride took place in 1963.

They converted old lumber cars into passenger cars.

Since the train was built for hauling heavy loads up and down steep grades, and not speed, our trip up the mountain was slow. But that gave us plenty of time to enjoy the scenery around us. I was cold riding in the breezy open cars with the temperatures in the 40s. I made full use of my four layers of clothing. We sat at the back of the train and got to watch in detail what was involved in the two switchbacks we made up and back.

From here, the train climbed a 9% grade to our station stop at Whittier Meadows.
2 % grade is the max for normal trains. That shows how powerful our Shay Engine #5 was.

The train lineman was getting ready for a switchback.

There were six cars on our trip.

At the top, there was an abandoned saw mill with some exhibits.

Comments by Ward:

The coal-powered steam engines used today by CSR are the same as used by the lumber company 100+ years ago. They are named "Shay" locomotives after the inventor, Ephraim Shay. 

Unlike typical locomotives, Shays use a drive shaft and geared wheels (Wikipedia entry). This allowed the Shays to have greater pulling power, albeit less speed. This was a good trade-off for jobs like lumbering on steep hillsides.

This is all really interesting if you are a train nerd.

After our train ride, we hiked a couple of miles along the Greenbrier River Trail. 

The rail trail begins in Cass and goes for 77 miles to North Caldwell, WV.

The trail is paved with crushed limestone and is wheelchair accessible.
It's used for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding.

The scenery along the way did not disappoint.

We went back to our condo and cooked spaghetti for supper,
and Ward worked on another puzzle.

Until next time...

WV Trip, 2025, Highland Scenic Highway

 The fog finally lifted, and we were off to drive the Highland Scenic Highway. The Highland Scenic Highway is a 43-mile byway through the Monongahela National Forest. It goes through the Allegheny Mountains, and the highway reaches 4500' at one point. It has several outlooks and numerous trails off of it.

I lost count, but we did at least 5 hikes in the forest from the highway. None were very long, ranging from a couple of miles to 1/4 mile, but I garnered a good step count for the day. We were very pleased with the trails as they were well-maintained, along with everything else along the highway.

We saw a range of colors on the hillsides. Some were filled with bare trees, and others were in a blaze of glory. And when the elevation got above 4000', we saw mostly red spruce (which is green).

We were at 4100 feet here, where we noticed a change in vegetation to almost all spruce.

This was at a lower elevation.

And in between the two, most of the trees were bare.

Below are more stops from our day.

Cranberry Glades are bogs with plants leftover from the last ice age. Many species
found here are usually found much further north in the Arctic tundra area.

We walked the boardwalk through the Glades and heard several
different kinds of birds*, as well as saw lots of cranberry plants.

The Cranberry Mountain Nature Center was closed due to the government shutdown, but we were still able to walk two different interpretive nature trails. One of them had signs for the visually impaired. 

This stop had a trail to three different waterfalls,
 cleverly named Lower, Middle, and Upper Falls.

The Lower Falls

The Middle Falls (The Upper Falls were hidden behind vegetation, so no picture.)

There were 380 steps down to the Lower Falls.

We had lunch along the Williams River Overlook Trail.

The last stop of the day was the Honeycomb Rocks Trail. The pattern in this boulder was formed from erosion-resistant hematite being deposited along cracks in the sandstone. Differential weathering left the hematite and removed the sandstone.

Until next time...

And a bonus picture of pretty leaves, just because.

* The wonderful Merlin app from the Cornell Ornithology Lab identified six different birds in the Cranberry Glades over just a few minutes: American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Song Sparrow, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

West Virginia Trip, Foggy

 

Our first stop was at Green Ridge State Park in Maryland.
You can see the leaves are just starting to change.

Good morning. I'm in Snowshoe, WV, waiting for the fog to burn off. It rolled in last night and hasn't lifted yet this morning. It's almost 10 am and still too foggy to drive. However, we don't have to do anything on a schedule today, so we can wait to explore the mountains.

On our drive yesterday, we took mostly backroads. There was very little traffic and we had some beautiful scenery along the way. The leaf situation was a mixed bag. Some hillsides were filled with mostly bare trees while others were a mix of green and orange. I am curious what we will see today. 

The oak trees were showing their color in Keyser, WV.
This is the hillside opposite from where we ate lunch.

We are staying in a condo at a small ski resort. The condo is small and nicely appointed--meaning it is decorated for pictures, but not for practicality. We have rearranged things to make it work for us. Now when I say resort, what I mean is there are a lot of amenities such as exercise room, restaurants, play areas, etc., but none of them are open now because it's not ski season. However, that means we got a good rate for our room.

We are also in the Quiet Zone for the Greenbank Observatory, a complex filled with large radio telescopes which are talking to the universe. Any kind of radio waves are not permitted because of the interference they can cause. That means that our cell phones do not work at all. However, we are far enough away that we do have Wifi here. (Actually, Ward gave me a long and complicated explanation about WiFi transmission barriers, but I zoned out in the middle of the explanation.) If they're open, we hope to visit Greenbank later in the week. More about it then.

We brought food for most of our meals and I'm glad we did. So far, it looks like we are an hour away from a regular grocery store and the convenience stores we have seen have been closed because it's not ski season. One of the goals for today is to find sweetener for Ward's coffee. So far, that's the only thing we have found that we have forgotten.

Ward filled his time this morning by working a 500 puzzle. Yes, he is fast.

I just saw that I can now see out the window. The fog is lifting. However, the mountains are still shrouded, so we'll wait a little longer. In the meantime, it's time to start making our peanut butter sandwiches for the day.

Until next time...