Cold Weather Page Turners

‘What I Ate In One Year’

Stanley Tucci is back with another memoir chronicling a year’s worth of meals in What I Ate in One Year. On and off the set, with and without a famous friend or two, Tucci’s memoir takes the form of diary entries as he dines in restaurants and home cooked meals in Rome, Dublin, and London amongst other locales, sharing wine and wisdom with his signature charm. Disclaimer, as I am a vegetarian some of the meals were stomach-churning, but I love his sense of humor and passion for food and sharing a meal. 

‘Becoming the Boogyman’

Out in paperback is Richard Chizmar’s creepy fictional true crime bestseller (figure that one out) Becoming the Boogeyman. This is a sequel to Chasing the Boogeyman and it is just as riveting. Chizmar (a character in his book) is once again drawn into the evil net of a serial killer. Problem is, the killer has been locked away in prison, so how to explain the bodies turning up and the evidence pointing to the Boogeyman? Chizmar’s style is breezy, winning and horror-inducing as the reader is sucked into the mystery and fascination of turning killers into celebrities. Warning: do not read this before going to bed.

‘The Christmas Jigsaw Murders’

Alexandra Benedict gives us a unique heroine with her octogenarian puzzle maker in The Christmas Jigsaw Murders. Edie O’Sullivan is not your warm and fuzzy little old lady making tea and puzzles. She is grumpy, brusque, and living alone with her cats. Edie finds it hard to show affection for anyone, even her adopted son. When she starts receiving jigsaw puzzle pieces and warnings in the mail threatening her son, soon bodies begin piling up and she must race to solve the mystery in order to save her son’s life.

‘The Children of Jocasta’

The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes is a re-telling of Greek mythology’s Oedipus from the women’s point of view. And it is fantastic. There is the tragic Jocasta, Oedipus’s wife, and their daughters, Ismene, and Antigone. Haynes paints richly the world of Thebes as the story unfolds. Obviously well researched, the details of ancient Greece come alive with her moving prose. 

‘The Memory Dress’

A famous dress once belonging to Princess Diana brings neighbors together in Jade Beer’s novel The Memory Dress. Told in flashback – by a young Meredith who worked for Diana’s favorite couturier, and present-day Jayne – the story toggles between the two eras as Jayne tries to help her elderly neighbor Meredith; who can’t find her husband, William, and has problems recalling a past that may hold a clue. 

‘Guilt and Ginataan’

In Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala, during Shady Palm’s Corn Festival the wife of the mayor is found dead in the corn maze. Lying next to her is Adeena, who can’t remember a thing and can’t explain the bloody knife in her possession. Lila is her best friend and along with her boyfriend they set out to solve the mystery. Peppered with Filipino recipes, this is a sweet read.