I quaff a glass a glass of sweet red wine each day (doctor’s orders!) so I’m not familiar with exotic drinks and their components. A friend of my recommended DeKuyper® Peachtree® Schnapps Liqueur saying, “It tastes great!” I’ve tasted Pepermint Schapps (which I liked) so I decided to give Peach Schnapps a try. Fortunately, our local liquor supermarket sent a $5 off coupon so I used it to buy a bottle of DeKuyper® Peachtree® Schnapps Liqueur. You can find plenty of drink recipes here. I like peaches and peach-flavored products (like yogurt) so I found some of these concoctions yummy. Have you ever tried DeKuyper® Peachtree® Schnapps Liqueur? What’s your favorite drink?

Logan opens in 2029 with the former X-Man Wolverine (aka, James Howlett and “Logan”) played by Hugh Jackman reduced to driving a limo and bartering for anti-convulsive drugs for 90-year-old Professor X (Patrick Stewart). Albino Caliban (Stephen Merchant) plays a critical role in the plot. An 11-year-old mutant called Laura (Dafne Keen) displays disturbingly similar powers to Wolverine. Of course, there are plenty of Bad Guys chasing the Good Guys. Director James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:20 to Yuma, and Girl, Interrupted) keeps events moving in this 137-minute movie which I found too long. Hugh Jackman has been playing Wolverine for 17 years. MARVEL will have a tough time replacing him. GRADE: B+

Stark House has reprinted two of Sax Rohmer’s best spooky novels in a wonderful omnibus package. Brood of the Witch Queen (1914) and The Quest of the Sacred Slippr (1913) feature Black Magic, suspense, and thrilling chases. I first read these books back in the 1960s when Pyramid Books reprinted much of Sax Rohmer’s work especially the now politically incorrect Fu Manchu books. Back then, I thought it was ironic that Pyramid Books was publishing Brood of the Witch Queen which features a thrilling confrontation in Egypt in a creepy pyramid! The Quest of the Sacred Slipper is a non-stop thrill-ride as a British archaeologist is pursued by sinister forces. William Patrick Maynard’s “Introduction” puts Sax Rohmer’s “Egypt” books in perspective. If you’re looking for old-fashioned chills and excitement, these two adventures will more than satisfy your need for action! GRADE: B+ (for both)

The Burning Page is the third book in The Invisible Library series. Genevieve Cogman creates a Universe where worlds can be accessed by “doors” controlled by the Library. But the worlds tend to be influenced by the Fae (Chaos and Magic) or the Dragons (Order and Reason). The Library is supposed to be neutral but shifting alliances are always possible. The main character in The Invisible Library series is Irene Winter. Irene is a young, feisty Librarian who frequently gets into trouble on her missions to retrieve rare books from various worlds. Irene is mentoring a Dragon named Kai which causes all kinds of complications. In this instance, the Library is under attack by a renegade Librarian named Alberich who has gathered Fae supporters to assist in his attack. Only a mis-timed romantic scene between Irene and Vale (a Sherlock Holmes character) mars the action. If you’re looking for a light diversion, read The Burning Page. My reviews of The Invisible Library and The Masked City can be found here and here. GRADE: B

Are you in the mood for a noir Private Eye story that travels into Lovecarft Country? That’s what Cassandra Khaww’s Hammer on Bone presents in 107 pages. John Persons is a private detective with a Dark Side. He’s hired by a boy who claims his “step-father” is beating his mother. The boy also seeks to protect his younger brother from the wrath of this abusive man. But John Persons suspects this is more than a clear-cut case of spousal abuse. He scents the whiff of contagion and decay and sea-salt. If you’re a fan of H. P. Lovecraft, you’ll enjoy this unorthodox romp into ancient and magical monstrosities. I hope Cassandra Khaw writes more of these Private Eye/Loveraft mashups! She’s off to a great start! GRADE: B

This qualifies as a BARGAIN OF THE THE WEEK. You can have all six season of 3rd Rock From the Sun on 17 DVDs for only $18.99 on AMAZON! That’s about a dollar a DVD! I’m a big fan of the cast: High Commander, Dick Solomon (John Lithgow), Doctor Albright (Jane Curtin) decorated military officer, Sally (Kristen Johnston), seasoned intelligence specialist, Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Harry (French Stewart). With this set you get all 139 episodes and these Extras: Candid Interviews, Best Of Moments, Blooper Reels, Season Highlights, Audio Commentaries, Episode Previews, The Alternate FINAL EPISODE Ending. What’s your favorite 3rd Rock episode?

It’s that time of year again: Tax Season. I’ve been using TURBOTAX for about 20 years. Some years the software is better than others. This Deluxe version for Tax Year 2016 installed quickly, looked for updates, and transferred my tax information from 2015. Inputing data was tedious (especially the Charitable Contributions which took me about 20 minutes). Since 2016 was the last year I’ll be dealing with a W-2 I had some nostalgic moments. I found we did not have enough Federal and State withholding done on our Social Security payments. We’ll have to get that adjusted for 2017. Other than having to write checks to the Feds and New York State, the process was relatively painless and took about an hour. Have you done your taxes yet?

I have no special insights into this year’s OSCAR picks. I’ve seen most of the movies nominated so here’s what I think will win:
BEST MOVIE: HIDDEN FIGURES
BEST DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle, La La Land
BEST ACTOR: Denzel Washington, Fences
BEST ACTRESS: Emma Stone, La La Land
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis, Fences
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Manchester by the Sea
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: “City of Stars,” La La Land
Who do you think will win big at the OSCARS tonight?

Diane and I try to support local theater whenever we can. We saw a fun and silly play over the weekend, It Shoulda Been You, based on a 2015 Broadway play directed by David Hyde Pierce and starred Tyne Daly, features plenty of humor and complications. If you’re a fan of wedding comedies (like BRIDESMAIDS and FATHER OF THE BRIDE) you’ll love It Shoulda Been You. Of course, the two families involved don’t like each other. There’s an ex-boyfriend lurking around trying to disrupt the proceedings. Misunderstandings and bizarre behavior threaten the proceedings. The music isn’t memorable. It serves to advance the plot mostly. But the local group we saw had a lot of fun with this play. The mostly Senior Citizen audience enjoyed it, too. GRADE: B

One of the books I picked up at the BOUCHERCON in New Orleans was Blood Relations: The Selected Letters of Ellery Queen 1947-1950. During this time period, four Ellery Queen novels were published: Ten Days’ Wonder (1948), Cat of Many Tales (1049), Double, Double (1950), and The Origin of Evil (1951). When I first discovered Ellery Queen back in the 1960s, i binged on the early mysteries reading about a dozen of them before moving on to Agatha Christie and “carter brown.” Afterwords, I read an Ellery Queen novel about every decade. So, in order to read Blood Relations I had to read the four books Frederic Danny and Manfred B. Lee (the cousins who worked together as “Ellery Queen”) discuss in these letters. I found them fascinating with the detail both men go into about their writing process. The letters share personal information: neither man was particularly healthy. Both seem to suffer from bouts of depression. And there’s a undercurrent of anger and antagonism in these letters. Money problems and family problems enter into the mix. I learned a lot about the approach these men took toward their work. GRADE: A

As far as the four novels, I found Ten Days’ Wonder very clever with multiple plots swirling under the surface. A friend of Ellery Queen fears he committed a crime while suffering from amnesia. Ellery accompanies his friend to Wrightsville and becomes involved in a blackmail plot. I found the conclusion surprising. GRADE: B+

A serial killer called the Cat sends New York City into a panic. Ellery Queen, in a funk over the events in Wrightsville in Ten Days’ Wonder, is reluctant to get involved, but when his father is put in charge of the investigation, Ellery plunges into solving the murders. The 10 murders seem completely unconnected and random, but Ellery finally discovers the common element. Cat of Many Tales is one of the best mysteries Dannay and Lee ever produced. GRADE: A

Ellery Queen finds himself back in Wrightsville for a series of deaths that follow the “rich man, poor man, begger man, thief” rubric. I found this mystery very very contrived. GRADE: B-

Origin of Evil is one of the Ellery Queen “Hollywood” mysteries. Ellery is in California to write a book, but he’s immediately drawn into a convoluted crime involving a dead dog, eels, dead frogs, and a guy who lives in a tree house. If you’re in the mood for a wacky puzzle novel, The Origin of Evil will fit the bill. GRADE: B

What’s your favorite Ellery Queen mystery?