In the March issue of Mystery Scene magazine, Ed Gorman wrote an article on “My 10 Favorite John D. MacDonald Standalone Novels.” And here’s the list:
1. Dead Low Tide
2. Soft Touch
3. Deadly Welcome
4. Murder in the Wind
5. The Executioners
6. Slam the Big Door
7. The End of the Night
8. A Key to the Suite
9. A Flash of Green
10. The Drowner

This week, we’re up to Number Two: Soft Touch from 1959. Jerry Jamison works for his father-in-law’s construction company in Florida. Jerry’s wife, his boss’s daughter, is a drunk. Jerry wants to escape his dead end job and his loveless marriage. When an old friend from his military years shows up with a caper to steal three million dollars, Jerry reluctantly decides to participate. He thinks his million dollar cut will solve all of his problems. But, as with many capers, things go wrong. Jerry and his buddy aren’t the only one’s going after the money. In the shoot-out, Jerry’s friend is shot, but Jerry manages to load the money into their get-away car. The perfect escape plan slowly unravels. If you’re in the mood for a classic caper novel, Soft Touch will keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you put Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Wonder in a blender, the result would be Shuggie Otis. Shuggie Otis, a session musician mostly, produced a few albums that were quickly forgotten. I would argue those albums were way ahead of their time. Partly R&B, partly dance music, partly pop Shuggie Otis’s music defied categorization. Otis played with Al Kooper on one of the Super Session albums. When you listen to these remastered tracks from the 1970s, you can hear the terrific musicianship and the unique talent Otis projects. Inspiration Information presents the best songs Shuggie Otis wrote and performed for Epic Records while he was under contract for them for years. Wings of Love is a new collection of unreleased work available for the first time. If you’re in the mood for something different, Shuggie Otis will take you there. Check out the sample below.
TRACK LIST:Disc 1
1 Inspiration Information (4:15)
2 Island Letter (4:44)
3 Sparkle City (6:02)
4 Aht Uh Mi Hed (4:18)
5 Happy House (1:21)
6 Rainy Day (2:48)
7 XL-30 (2:12)
8 Pling! (4:32)
9 Not Available (2:37)
10 Miss Pretty (2:15)
11 Magic (4:28)
12 Things We Like To Do (3:10)
13 Castle Top Jam (3:37)
Disc 2
1 Intro (0:04)
2 Special (4:35)
3 Give Me Something Good (3:47)
4 Tryin’ To Get Close To You (3:18)
5 Walkin’ Down The Country (4:24)
6 Doin’ What’s Right (2:46)
7 Wings Of Love (11:36)
8 Give Me A Chance (5:20)
9 Don’t You Run Away (5:13)
10 Fireball of Love (5:25)
11 Fawn (6:04)
12 If You’d Be Mine (5:41)
13 Black Belt Sheriff (6:35)
14 Destination You! (4:39)

Philly cream cheese jalapeno comes recommended by several of my friends who enjoy hot and spicy foods. Usually, I buy the Whipped Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I like the light and frothy texture. I use it as a spread instead of mayo on sandwiches. Typically, I nuke some ham slices, toast some Italian bread, spread the Whipped Philly Cream Cheese, add the ham with some pepper and I’m in food Nirvana! Obviously, I don’t use crème cheese every day (too much saturated fat), but for occasional use, it sure is tasty! The Philadelphia Crème Cheese with Jalapeno peppers will tickle your tongue. It’s not overpowering, but it delivers a nice kick. If you’re looking for something to spice up your bread and bagels, give Philly Cream Cheese Jalapeno a try!

Todd Mason has extolled the excellence of BORGEN for some time. I finally bought the Season One 4-DVD box set of BORGEN and watched the 10 episodes. Todd was right! This political drama involves the first woman Prime Minister of Denmark. Each episode presents a new challenge: political treachery, secret CIA landings, political back-biting, and shifting coalitions. If you’re a fan of House of Cards (either the British or the Netflix versions) you’ll love BRORGEN. Most of the dialogue is in Danish with English subtitles, but occasionally the characters will speak English. The cast is top-notch, especially Sidse Babett Knudsen as Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (the Prime Minister). As soon as they become available, I’ll buy the other seasons of BORGEN, By the way, Borgen (“the Castle”) is the nickname of Christiansborg Palace, which houses all three of Denmark’s branches of government: the Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Supreme Court. Check out the trailer below. GRADE: A

Diane and I will probably be the only people watching the 2-hour series finale of SMASH on NBC tonight. The premise of the series was to follow the process of taking a concept (the story of Marilyn Monroe done as a musical) to the Broadway stage. The series included plenty of music (good) and plenty of soap opera elements (bad). Diane and I try to support musical dramas by buying tickets to plays and watching the programs when they rarely show up on TV. I suspect there just isn’t a large audience for this kind of entertainment.

While SMASH comes to an end, Longmire with the brilliant Robert Taylor starts Season Two. When I pointed out to Bill Crider the unlikely number of murders in rural Wyoming that Longmire investigates each week, Bill said, “Look at all the murders Jessica Fletcher investigated in Cabot Cove.” Bill’s right, of course. Longmire returns on A&E at 10 P.M. EDT. Check your local listings for times in your area.

While recovering from my two total knee replacement surgeries, I took 800mg Motrin tablets. While the Motrin reduced the inflammation in my legs they tended to upset my stomach. One of the things that settled my stomach was ginger. I tried several brands of ginger and found Woodstock Organic Ginger Chunks to be my favorite. Too many of the other gingers I tried were rubbery or mushy or rock-hard. Woodstock Organic Ginger Chunks taste great, fresh and chewy. I pay $4.99 for a 5.5 ounce bag which is about a medium price point for this product. Woodstock Organic Ginger Chunks are available at most health food stores and online here. If you’re having any digestive problems, this ginger may help. It certainly helped me.

In the March issue of Mystery Scene magazine, Ed Gorman wrote an article on “My 10 Favorite John D. MacDonald Standalone Novels.” And here’s the list:
1. Dead Low Tide
2. Soft Touch
3. Deadly Welcome
4. Murder in the Wind
5. The Executioners
6. Slam the Big Door
7. The End of the Night
8. A Key to the Suite
9. A Flash of Green
10. The Drowner

This week, we’re up to Number Three: Deadly Welcome. This novel from 1959 features a State Department operative, Alex Doyle, who’s loaned to the Pentagon for a domestic mission. Doyle has to convince a key scientist whose wife has been murdered to return to the lab. But, in order to accomplish his mission, Doyle has to solve the murder. There’s a sociopath, a hidden treasure, the patented JDM romance, and a violent conclusion. I love it that JDM can put so much story into 160 pages!

While Patrick was home visiting us this week, he installed Microsoft Office 2013 on my DELL computer. I’ve been using Microsoft Office since the beginning. But now, this new version features “The Cloud.” My usual approach–since I’m a text-based Old School guy–involves going through a software manual to learn about the new features in upgraded software. My College is converting from WINDOWS 7 and OFFICE 2010 to WINDOWS 8 and OFFICE 2013 this FALL Semester. So I’ll be spending the Summer learning these two programs. Friends had recommended Katherine Murray’s Microsoft Office Professional 2013 Plain & Simple. I found it easy to use and detailed in sections I was most interested in. If you’re going to use Microsoft Office 2013, I recommend this useful manual. GRADE: B+

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Michael Moss paints a grim portrait of our food industries in Salt, Sugar, Fat. Food scientists calculate a food’s “bliss point” so those who eat the product want to eat more. In fact, manipulating salt, sugar, and fat generates billions in profits (and a trillion dollars in sales) for General Mills, Kraft, Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Frito-Lay, Nestle, Cargil, and Pillsbury. The downside of all this food processing is that one in three U. S. adults are obese. Over 26 million Americans have diabetes (and that number is growing fast). What most impressed me about Moss’s book is the story of the research that goes into creating a new food product. Nutrition is an afterthought. The goal is for the consumer to EAT MORE. Salt, Sugar, Fat shows the nation’s health crisis will worsen. This is an important book! GRADE: A