Diane’s Book Club (members are all retired teachers) read The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry and loved this story of a grumpy independent bookseller. A. J. Fikry loves books, but he really really loves short stories. That’s why each chapter leads off with a short commentary on one of his favorite short stories. I had to go back and reread Irwin Shaw’s “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses” because I didn’t quite remember it. The rest of the short stories were familiar Old Friends, but I did go back an reread Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.”. It’s was as good as the first time I read it. This book is a homage to reading and the power of books to change lives. There are a number of surprising twists in the plot so I’m being deliberately vague (I hate Spoilers). I highly recommend The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry! Trust me, you’ll thank me after you’ve read this book. GRADE: A

Table of Contents
PART I,
Lamb to the Slaughter, 3,
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, 27,
The Luck of Roaring Camp, 41,
What Feels Like the World, 79,
A Good Man Is Hard to Find, 87,
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, 129,
The Girls in Their Summer Dresses, 159,
PART II,
A Conversation with My Father, 173,
A Perfect Day for Bananafish, 187,
The Tell-Tale Heart, 199,
Ironhead, 213,
What We Talk about When We Talk about Love, 239,
The Bookseller, 247,

I’ve seen most of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies and music plays a key role in many of them. I have a half dozen soundtracks from some of the major Hitchcock films, but I enjoyed this new collection of music from the major composers: Bernard Herrmann, Arthur Benjamin, Dimitri Tiomkin, Danny Elfman, and Franz Waxman. If you’re a Hitchcock fan you’ll enjoy this music. What’s your favorite Hitchcock film? I have to go with Rear Window.

A family leaves India and after a brief and discontented stay in England (too near Heathrow Airport), they end up in the quaint French alpine village of Lumière. The family opens a restaurant bringing Indian cuisine to the small town. One hundred feet away from the Indian restaurant is a renown French food restaurant. The opening provokes Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) the talented but bitter local chef. Don’t go to The Hundred-Foot Journey hungry. There are plenty of scenes showing the eye-popping French markets and restaurant kitchens with all the wonderful food. I enjoyed the members of the Kadam family especially the patriarch played by Om Puri and his gifted son, Hassan, played by Manish Dayal. This is a movie about the love of food and the people who prepare it. Most people will enjoy this movie. GRADE: B+

100 Great Detectives was published in 1991. Each essay discusses the detective and concludes with a bibliography of the detective’s work (of course, many of the bibliographies are incomplete as more books with some of the detectives were published after 1991). But the classic detectives–Holmes, Fell, Poirot, Campion–have complete bibliographies. I found the essays enlightening for the most part. If you’re looking for a directory of great detectives and their works, this volume will come in handy. How many of these great detectives are you familiar with?
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction By Maxim Jakubowski
1. Margaret Lewis on Ngaio Marsh’s RODERICK ALLEYN
2. Mark timlin on William Hjortsberg’s HARRY ANGEL
3. Aaron Elkins on Michael Innes’ SIR JOHN APPLEBY
4. Doughlas Wynn on Ross Macdonald’s LEW ARCHER
5. Ion Mills on Arthur Lyons’ JACOB ASCH
6. Rober Adey on Joseph Commings’ SENATOR BROOKS U. BANNER
7. Philip Kerr on Friedrich Durrenmatt’s INSPECTOR BARLACH
8. P. C. Doherty on Umberto Eco’s BROTHER WILLIAM BASKERVILLE
9. Scott Herbertson on Sjowall & Wahloo’s MARTIN BECK
10. Philip Harbotttle on John Russell Fearn’s “BLACK MARIA”
11. Colin Greenland on Charles Burns’ EL BORBAH
12. Victoria Nichols & Susan Thompson on Gladys Mitchell’s DAME ADELA LESTRANGE BRADLEY
13. Neil Gaiman on G. K. Chesterton’s FATHER BROWN
14. Wayne D. Dundee on Andrew Vachss’ BURKE
15. Iain Sinclair on WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS
16. Joe Gores on Michael Gilbert’ts MR. CALDER & MR. BEHRENS
17. Michael Moorcock on Margery Allingham’s ALBERT CAMPION
18. Mike Phillips on Ed McBain’s STEVE CARELLA
19. Jonathan Main on Nicholas Freeling’s CASTANG
20. Russell James on Peter Cheyney’s LEMMY CAUTION
21. Anthony Lejeune on Earl Derr Biggers’ CHARLIE CHAN
22. Socur Van Folly on Simon Smith’s THE CLEWSEYS
23. Richard A. Lupoff on Dashiell Hammett’s THE CONTINENTAL OP
24. Eric Wright on Howard Engel’s BENNY COOPERMAN
25. Paul Buck on Johnathan Latimer’s BILL CRANE
26. Mark Schorr on Thomas Harris’ JACK CRAWFORD
27. Barry Fantoni on Raymond Chandler’s JOHN DALMAS
28. John Malcolm on Reginald Hill’s DALZIEL & PASCOE
29. Ralph H. Peck on Brian Garfield’s CHARLIE DARK
30. Susan Dunlap on Joyce Porter’s CHIEF INSPECTOR WILFRED DOVER
31. Michael Eaton on Edgar Allan Poe’s C. AUGUSTE DUPIN
32. Michael Gilbert on Dorothy L. Sayers’ MONTAGUE EGG
33. Patricia Moyes on Elizabeth Peters’ AMELIA PEABODY EMERSON
34. Maxim Jakubowski on Marc Behm’s THE EYE
35. David Langford on John Dickson Carr’s DR. FELL
36. Susan Moody on Edmund Crispin’s GERVASE FEN
37. David Williams on Haughton Murphy’s REUBEN FROST
38. Gwendoline Bufler on Elizabeth Daly’s HENRY GAMADGE
39. James Melville on H. R. F. Keating’s INSPECTOR GHOTE
40. Jill McGown on Josphine Tey’s ALAN GRANT
41. Deborah Valentine on P. D. James’ CORDELIA GREY
42. Philip L. Scowcroft on A. E. W. Mason’s INSPECTOR HANAUD
43. John Conquest on P. B. Yuill’s HAZELL
44. H. R. F. Keating on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s SHERLOCK HOLMES
45. Scott A. Cupp on Fredric Brown’s ED AND AM HUNTER
46. Margaret Maron on Dorothy Dunnett’s JOHNSON JOHNSON
47. Cay Van Ash on Sax Rohmer’s MORIS KLAW
48. Benjamin M. Schutz on William McIlvanney’s LAIDLAW
49. Jim Huang on Sara Caudwell’s JULIA LARWOOD
50. Harold Adams on Seymour Shubin’s LIEUTENANT LaSALA
51. Bob Biderman on Tony Hillerman’s JOE LEAPHORN & JIM CHEE
52. Michael Z. Lewin on Liza Cody’s ANNA LEE
53. Reginald HIll on Anthony Trollope’s MACKINTOSH, BUNFIT AND GAGER
54. Peter Robinson on Georges Simenon’s INSPECTOR MAIGRET
55. Loren D. Estleman on Raymond Chandler’s PHILIP MARLOWE
56. Wendy M. Grossman on Agatha Christie’s MISS MARPLE
57. Celia Dale on Magdalen Nabb’s “THE MARSHAL”
58. Bill Pronzini on Marcia Muller’s SHARON MCCONE
59. Sharyn McCrumb on Carter Dickson’s SIR HENRY MERRIVALE
60. Adrian Wootton on James Crumbley’s MILO MILODRAGOVITCH
61. Simon Brett on Sue Grafton’s KINSEY MILLHONE
62. John Williams on Ed Lacy’s TOUSSAINT MARCUS MOORE
63. Ralph Spurrier on Clin Dexter’s INSPECTOR MORSE
64. Mike Ripley on Charles Willeford’s HOKE MOSELEY
65. Ed Gorman on Bill Pronzini’s NAMELESS DETECTIVE
66. Peter Lovesey on Michael Kenyon’s DETECTIVE CHIEF INSPECTOR HENRY PECKOVER
67. Martin Edwards on Cyril Hare’s FRANCIS PETTIGREW
68. Anne Hart on Agatha Chritie’s HERCLULE POIROT
69. Barbara Wilson on Dorothy Gilman’s MRS. POLLIFAX
70. Nigel Algar on Loren D. Estleman’s RALPH POTEEET
71. Daniel P. King on Nigel Morlands MRS. PYM
72. Edward D. Hoch on Ellery Queen’s ELLERY QUEEN
73. Jerry Raine on James Lee Burke’s DAVE ROBICHEAUX
74. Jerry Kennealy on Edward Mathis’ DAN ROMAN
75. Stephen Gallagher on Leslie Charteris’ THE SAINT
76. Lesley Grant-Adamson on Julie Smith’s REBECCA SCHWARTZ
77. Barbara Mertz, Barbara Michaels & Elizabeth Peters on Charlotte MacLeod’s PETER SHANDY
78/79. Duncan Torrens on Anthony Berkeley’s ROGER SHERINGHAM and Philip MacDonald’s ANTHONY GETHRYN
80. Adam Barnett-Foster on Jerome Charyn’s ISAAC SIDEL
81. Marcel Berlins on Sarah Caudwell’s PROFESSOR HILARY TAMAR
82. B. J. Rahn on Patricia Wentworht’s MISS SILVER
83. Robert Wallace on John le Carre’s GEORGE SMILEY
84. Kim Newman on James Ellroy’s DUDLEY SMITH
85. Jack Adrian on Edgar Wallace’s THE SOOPER
86. Julian Symons on Dashiell Hammett’s SAME SPADE
87. Frederick Nolan on Robert B. Parker’s SPENSER
88. Catherine Aird on Emma Lathen’s JOHN PUTNAM THATCHER
89. Sarah Caudwell on Patricia Moyes’ HENRY AND EMMY TIBBETT
90. Robert Campbell on Robert Irvine’s MORONI TRAVELER
91. Alex Auswaks on David Williams’ MARK TREASURE
92. Haughton Murphy on Robert Barnard’s PERRY TRETHOWAN
93. Jan Bitsche Steffensen on Nicolas Freeling’s VAN DER VALK
94. Helen Esper Olmsted on Loren D. Estleman’s AMOS WALKER
95. Linda Semple on Sara Patetsky’s V. I. Warshawski
96. Melodie Johnson Howe & Catherine Kenney on Dorothy L. Sayers’ LORD PETER WIMSEY
97. Carolyn G. Hart on Phoebe Atwood Taylor’s LEONIDAS WITHERALL
98. Brian Stableford on M. P. Shiel’s PRINCE ZALESKI
100. Frances Fyfield on Michael Dibdin’s AURELIO ZEN
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements

DOCTOR WHO returns for Season 8 on BBC America Saturday, August 23. To get into the mood, I browsed Doctor Who: The Vault which I borrowed from the North Tonawanda Public Library. The sub-title of this coffee-table book is “Treasures From the First 50 Years.” This book takes a chronological approach showing Neat Stuff year by year: classic posters, comic books, games, toys, photos of actors and monsters. It’s all great fun! I’ll probably wait until Doctor Who: The Vault gets remaindered before I pick up a copy. At $45, this is a bit pricey. But, if you’re a hardcore Doctor Who fan, you’ll want this entertaining and informative volume. GRADE: A

Tonight’s first episode of Legends on TNT features ex-CIA agent Martin Odum (Sean Bean). “Legends” is CIA-speak for “deep cover identities.” Legends is based on Robert Littell’s book, Legends: A Novel of Dissumulation. Littell’s character has so many legends he loses track of who he really is. I could have done without the sessions Odum has with the CIA shrink. In fact, I could do without the constant jumping back and forth in time as Littell shows us Odum’s various missions and their outcomes. I’m guessing tonight’s TV version has a lot more action and continuity. The promos on TNT tout that Legends was developed by elements who worked on 24. That could be a Good Thing. We’ll see.

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last leading role is a scruffy, chain-smoking German who heads an anti-terrorist team in Hamburg. Based on John le Carre’s novel of the same name, A Most Wanted Man shows how spies really operate. Rachel McAdams plays a lawyer who specializes in getting foreigners amnesty and citizenship in Germany. There’s also Nina Hoss who plays Irna Frey, a key member of the anti-terrorist team. She steals every scene she’s in. There’s also Robin Wright as CIA agent, Martha Sullivan. William Defoe plays a German banker convincingly. If you’re read any of John le Carre’s spy novels, you know what to expect: a twisty plot, double-dealing, and betrayal. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last major movie is a dandy. GRADE: A

After The Closer morphed into Major Crimes, I wasn’t sure the new series could hold its audience. But the audience loyal to the team stayed with the series and this third season was the result. There are several dramatic subplots to augment the weekly crimes. Sharon (Mary McDonnell) wants to adopt Rusty (Graham Patrick Martin). Her family isn’t cooperative. Fitz (Jon Tenney) was having a heart attack in last week’s last episode. I’m sure tonight’s cliffhanger episode will expand on that. Fitz is also retiring from the FBI and about to join the LAPD…if he doesn’t get killed off by that pesky heart attack. Sanchez (Raymond Cruz) was shot. Amy Sykes (Kearran Giovanni) is dating an undercover detective. There’s a lot going on. TNT announced they’re renewing Major Crimes for a Fourth Season. That’s wonderful news!

I’m wrapping up MARS WEEK with this science fiction scary story, The Last Days on Mars. Liev Schreiber is part of a Mars expedition that’s about to rotate back to Earth. One of the team ignores orders and goes out of the dome to check samples before a massive Mars sandstorm hits. Of course, things go terribly wrong. The astronaut gets inflected by Mars bacteria that turns him into a murderous monster. Other members of the team make boneheaded decisions and–oops, they’re infected, too! More monsters than astronauts is the scary result. Liev Schreiber and his girl friend take one of the Mars vehicles and head for the rendezvous point with the replacement team that’s about to land. You can guess how that turned out. The Last Days on Mars holds few surprises, but I enjoyed Live Schreiber’s performance and the scenes of the Red Planet alive with ghouls. Hope you enjoyed MARS WEEK! Things come back to Earth tomorrow. GRADE: B

Alex Lomax is the only private eye on Mars. And, he gets some very odd cases. A wife hires Lomax to find her husband. You would think that would be easy given that the Mars colony is small. Lomax finds the husband, but that opens an entire Pandora’s Box of trouble. There’s also the case of the missing Martian fossils. Two Terrans found a mother-lode of valuable Martian fossils, but refused to tell anyone where the treasures were located. And, then, the two prospectors died. If you’re in the mood for a blend of private eye fiction set in a Mars colony, Robert J. Sawyer’s Red Planet Blues will keep you entertained for a few hours. GRADE: B+