A real Cozy Turkey

[Carol Dickinson]

OK I admit my TBR pile still has about 400 books
in it and I have probably several dozen in the
never before read authors pile so I'll probably
keep tripping over more of the cookie cutter midlist
new writers for a while.

This one I think was one of the last I picked up
at the grocery store after my favorite bookstore
went out of business, before I realized ALL the
ones from the grocery store I dislike. Come from
just a couple of publishers.

This one is called "Dire Threads" by Janet Bolin,
the first in a series. Although it is not set in
the south, but New York State a stones throw from
lake Erie, it has all the other cliches. Pre-history
of the main 2 characters is that they worked in NY
city for a fellow one was dating who was some sort
of a criminal they got convicted.

Then for a change of pace they hear about this
little town called Elderberry Bay where the
textile factory has gone out of business. Its
dying. Not even a grocery store. Always no
grocery store. But they decided they and 3
of the one girls mothers will each open a
store connected to textiles and call it
Threadville. They have tours from some unnamed
bigger town up the road.

The killer isw is they have these stores, and they
each live above or below them. They offer classes.
AND STAY IN BUSINESS BECAUSE A TOUR BUS BRINGS
THE SAME FEW LADIES TO TOWN DAILY to learn new
skills and buy machines. At night these daily
tour bus riders do fantastic projects that would
take any normal single woman with infinite time
on her hands days or weeks, and do them overnight!
And the stores make no sense. If the town can't
support a grocery store, it can't support a machine
embroidery store dependent on selling machines, or
a store devoted completely to notions. That wouldn't
survive here in a population of 200,000. Oh and
there's a lady weaver who lives out in the woods
who can produce a dozen huge pieces in a single
week.

SO there's a murder and the body is found in the
yard of one of the ladies stores. And of course
there is a stupid sheriff, who has NO deputies
in this town. And at least 4 eligible bachelors
they drool over. The clue that leads to the
denouement sticks out like a sore thumb from
the beginning. No other clues until the finale,
when it ends up being everybody in town and the
whole tour group gathered together, and an
accusation is made like in an old Agatha Christie
tale.

I was determined to finish it since I paid full
price for it. 318 pages and it took me 6 days to
wade through. I can read that many PAGES in a single
night usually. Oh and lots of hiNts about machine
embroidery at the end.

Stay away from this turkey.

And I think if I run across any more of these
unread new authors with goofy stores I shall
just throw them across the wall and forget
about getting my $6 worth of entertainment.

I need an injection of good storytelling. Good
thing its Sunday. 5 hours to go until the next
episode of Outlander. Meanwhile I will go out
and pull the silk flowes out of my garden. Its
supposed to snow within the week.

Yes I have silk flowers in the bare spots where
the mid-season per
eniels have all died. I needed
to look out and see some color, and you can't
tell they're fake from the road as you ride
by on a galloping horse.

Carol

[Nyssa]

Post by Carol Dickinson
OK I admit my TBR pile still has about 400 books
in it and I have probably several dozen in the
never before read authors pile so I'll probably
keep tripping over more of the cookie cutter midlist
new writers for a while.
This one I think was one of the last I picked up
at the grocery store after my favorite bookstore
went out of business, before I realized ALL the
ones from the grocery store I dislike. Come from
just a couple of publishers.
This one is called "Dire Threads" by Janet Bolin,
the first in a series. Although it is not set in
the south, but New York State a stones throw from
lake Erie, it has all the other cliches. Pre-history
of the main 2 characters is that they worked in NY
city for a fellow one was dating who was some sort
of a criminal they got convicted.
Then for a change of pace they hear about this
little town called Elderberry Bay where the
textile factory has gone out of business. Its
dying. Not even a grocery store. Always no
grocery store. But they decided they and 3
of the one girls mothers will each open a
store connected to textiles and call it
Threadville. They have tours from some unnamed
bigger town up the road.
The killer isw is they have these stores, and they
each live above or below them. They offer classes.
AND STAY IN BUSINESS BECAUSE A TOUR BUS BRINGS
THE SAME FEW LADIES TO TOWN DAILY to learn new
skills and buy machines. At night these daily
tour bus riders do fantastic projects that would
take any normal single woman with infinite time
on her hands days or weeks, and do them overnight!
And the stores make no sense. If the town can't
support a grocery store, it can't support a machine
embroidery store dependent on selling machines, or
a store devoted completely to notions. That wouldn't
survive here in a population of 200,000. Oh and
there's a lady weaver who lives out in the woods
who can produce a dozen huge pieces in a single
week.
SO there's a murder and the body is found in the
yard of one of the ladies stores. And of course
there is a stupid sheriff, who has NO deputies
in this town. And at least 4 eligible bachelors
they drool over. The clue that leads to the
denouement sticks out like a sore thumb from
the beginning. No other clues until the finale,
when it ends up being everybody in town and the
whole tour group gathered together, and an
accusation is made like in an old Agatha Christie
tale.
I was determined to finish it since I paid full
price for it. 318 pages and it took me 6 days to
wade through. I can read that many PAGES in a single
night usually. Oh and lots of hiNts about machine
embroidery at the end.
Stay away from this turkey.
And I think if I run across any more of these
unread new authors with goofy stores I shall
just throw them across the wall and forget
about getting my $6 worth of entertainment.
I need an injection of good storytelling. Good
thing its Sunday. 5 hours to go until the next
episode of Outlander. Meanwhile I will go out
and pull the silk flowes out of my garden. Its
supposed to snow within the week.
Yes I have silk flowers in the bare spots where
the mid-season per
eniels have all died. I needed
to look out and see some color, and you can't
tell they're fake from the road as you ride
by on a galloping horse.
Carol

LOL at the silk flowers.

As for the cozy turkey, I've tripped over a few like that
myself and I can commiserate. When I hit one like this
I consider the author is insulting their readers by offering
such lame, poorly thought out or researched details of the
setting. Same thing goes for using real locations that don't
match up with the real world.

I have found a couple of cozy series that have done a better
job of including real world details into small businesses.

One example is the Cupcake Mystery series by Jenn McKinley.
I enjoyed the characters even though the mysteries weren't
always the best. The cupcake shop was set on a busy pedestrian
downtown shopping area in Scottsdale, AZ, the perfect place
to get walk-in traffic for gourmet cupcakes. More details
came out in the series showing the bakery also did special
event catering, wedding displays, and food trucks at outdoor
events, all nice details of what a real niche business would
have to do to *stay* in business. I appreciated the details,
and it made the setting much more believable.

The Corinna Chapman mysteries by Kerry Greenwood too had a bit
more believable set up for an artisan bread bakery in Melbourne.
The bakery was near the downtown business district so had a lot of
walk in lunch business plus did catering for local business and
had standing orders for upscale restaurants. The only thing I
had problems with was having it a one-woman show at the beginning
doing all of the various types of breads by herself. An apprentice
was added, but it would still be a boatload of work for such
a small crew even starting at 3 am given mixing, rising, and
baking times.

I've come across a few more with realistic small businesses,
but lately the non-realistic ones are more common. I just
started reading one last night "Gluten-Free Murder" with a
sweet young thing opening up a bakery specializing in gluten-free,
vegan, and allergy-sensitive baked goods in a small Tennessee
town. We'll see how that goes.

Sorry you had to go through such a disaster of a book, Carol,
but it seems to be an occupational hazard these days even with
non-self-published books. Some of the publishers seem to have
a poor opinion of their readership to allow authors to get
away with this stuff.

Nyssa, who figures with the prices they're charging for books
these days, there should at least be some money in the budget
for copy editing and proofreading

[Carol Dickinson]

one-woman show at the beginning

Post by Nyssa
doing all of the various types of breads by herself. An apprentice
was added, but it would still be a boatload of work for such
a small crew even starting at 3 am given mixing, rising, and
baking times.

I there was one similar I read 2 years ago where the owner made only
donuts, had 2 other employees, but the town was only 2 blocks long,
still had 3 police officers. Donut shop was next to a thrift store on
one side, railroad tracks on the other. And the grocery store was 30
miles away. They are always 30 miles away. And EVERYBODY in town stopped
for donuts every morning including the guy who drove the state snow plow.


gluten-free,

Post by Nyssa
vegan, and allergy-sensitive baked goods in a small Tennessee
town. We'll see how that goes.

Yeah I'm sure there's a high demand for that diet in SMALL Tennesse town.
About as much as hand made one of a kind greeting cards in a town whose nearest grocery store, WAL-MART IS 30 miles away. Read that one 2 years ago.

They are all the same, cookie cutter created.

Post by Nyssa
Nyssa, who figures with the prices they're charging for books
these days, there should at least be some money in the budget
for copy editing and proofreading

Or hiring an editor that has common sense.

Carol

[Nyssa]

Post by Nyssa
one-woman show at the beginning

Post by Nyssa
doing all of the various types of breads by herself. An
apprentice was added, but it would still be a boatload of
work for such a small crew even starting at 3 am given
mixing, rising, and baking times.

I there was one similar I read 2 years ago where the owner
made only donuts, had 2 other employees, but the town was
only 2 blocks long, still had 3 police officers. Donut
shop was next to a thrift store on one side, railroad
tracks on the other. And the grocery store was 30 miles
away. They are always 30 miles away. And EVERYBODY in town
stopped for donuts every morning including the guy who
drove the state snow plow.
gluten-free,

Post by Nyssa
vegan, and allergy-sensitive baked goods in a small
Tennessee town. We'll see how that goes.

Yeah I'm sure there's a high demand for that diet in
SMALL Tennesse town. About as much as hand made one of a
kind greeting cards in a town whose nearest grocery store,
WAL-MART IS 30 miles away. Read that one 2 years ago.
They are all the same, cookie cutter created.

Post by Nyssa
Nyssa, who figures with the prices they're charging for
books these days, there should at least be some money in
the budget for copy editing and proofreading

Or hiring an editor that has common sense.
Carol

Or some life-experiences outside of college and NYC.

Would it be that difficult for a prospective author to *ask*
a small business person for a few real-life pointers?

I know Monica Ferris has been good about her research for
her needlework mystery series, asking lots of questions
in the rec.crafts.textiles.needlework when she was working
on the early books. She'd ask technical questions about
stitching, fabrics, and techniques as well as getting input
from shop owners and has attended the big Nashville Wholesale
Market several times and rubbing shoulders with designers
and shopowners from all over the country.

With the Internet at hand, it should be much *easier* for
these authors now to get information to use in their
stories, but they just don't seem to think it's important
or don't care in the first place.

As I wrote before, it's insulting to the reader to not
care about the details. How good can the mystery be if they
don't even check basic details of for the background?

Nyssa, who would be more than happy to freelance as an
editor, copy editor, or proofreader but it seems those
professions are considered unneeded these days in the
publishing world

[Carol Dickinson]

Post by Nyssa
Would it be that difficult for a prospective author to *ask*
a small business person for a few real-life pointers?
I know Monica Ferris has been good about her research for
her needlework mystery series, asking lots of questions
in the rec.crafts.textiles.needlework when she was working
on the early books. She'd ask technical questions about
stitching, fabrics, and techniques as well as getting input
from shop owners and has attended the big Nashville Wholesale
Market several times and rubbing shoulders with designers
and shopowners from all over the country

Jennifer Chiaverini has done that too. I've seen her posts
on needlework discussion groups. I have even exchanged
messages with her. After her first one, some dippy editor
told her there was NO MARKET for mysteries involving quilts
so she went a different way. Her books are good so I guess
its OK she generally steers away from the mystery element.

Susan Wittig Albert obviously either genuinely knows or
does lots of research for her China Balyes stories, and
the historical mysteries she wrote with her husband as
Robin Paige. I do not know enough about Beatrix Potter
to tell whether she has done the research on that. But
it does seem to show up in the goofy Darling Dahlias series.

And I suspect Maddy Hunter does good research. I've only
read 2 of hers so far, but they seem detailed well of
what I have some knowledge. Just started another of hers
last night and she's got the tour wandering around inside
the vatican. Seems to have done research well.

And of course there is my favorite author for the rest
of my life Diana Gabaldon whose research is impeccable
and it remains subtle. The fan pages are always coming
up with bits and pieces that relate to the book that
obviously she dug up and wrote into the story. For instance
there really was a witch named Gellis Duncan, and she
attached her Lord John Grey to my real ancestor as
his great grandson. Now that is a very minor piece of
history. The fellow is in no way someone who stands out
as a historical figure. And of course, John Grey being
a military man, has gone on many a military adventure
based on real history, and most of the events are not
the kind of historical events one reads about in
history books unless you major in it in college.

Every one of the authors I really enjoy. Likely
because I don't keep getting pulled out of the
story because things are "wrong".
Although I must say when Gabaldon had a herd of
buffalo roaming through North Carolina, I did have
to think about that. They were in the blue ridge
mountains not a grassland.

Carol

[Nyssa]

Post by Carol Dickinson

Post by Nyssa
Would it be that difficult for a prospective author to
*ask* a small business person for a few real-life
pointers?
I know Monica Ferris has been good about her research for
her needlework mystery series, asking lots of questions
in the rec.crafts.textiles.needlework when she was
working on the early books. She'd ask technical questions
about stitching, fabrics, and techniques as well as
getting input from shop owners and has attended the big
Nashville Wholesale Market several times and rubbing
shoulders with designers and shopowners from all over the
country

Jennifer Chiaverini has done that too. I've seen her posts
on needlework discussion groups. I have even exchanged
messages with her. After her first one, some dippy editor
told her there was NO MARKET for mysteries involving
quilts so she went a different way. Her books are good so
I guess its OK she generally steers away from the mystery
element.
Susan Wittig Albert obviously either genuinely knows or
does lots of research for her China Balyes stories, and
the historical mysteries she wrote with her husband as
Robin Paige. I do not know enough about Beatrix Potter
to tell whether she has done the research on that. But
it does seem to show up in the goofy Darling Dahlias
series.
And I suspect Maddy Hunter does good research. I've only
read 2 of hers so far, but they seem detailed well of
what I have some knowledge. Just started another of hers
last night and she's got the tour wandering around inside
the vatican. Seems to have done research well.
And of course there is my favorite author for the rest
of my life Diana Gabaldon whose research is impeccable
and it remains subtle. The fan pages are always coming
up with bits and pieces that relate to the book that
obviously she dug up and wrote into the story. For
instance there really was a witch named Gellis Duncan, and
she attached her Lord John Grey to my real ancestor as
his great grandson. Now that is a very minor piece of
history. The fellow is in no way someone who stands out
as a historical figure. And of course, John Grey being
a military man, has gone on many a military adventure
based on real history, and most of the events are not
the kind of historical events one reads about in
history books unless you major in it in college.
Every one of the authors I really enjoy. Likely
because I don't keep getting pulled out of the
story because things are "wrong".
Although I must say when Gabaldon had a herd of
buffalo roaming through North Carolina, I did have
to think about that. They were in the blue ridge
mountains not a grassland.
Carol

"Gluten-Free Murder" turned out to be an okay mystery.
A few oddities in there, but overall no where near
bad.

I'm still wondering though about why the main character
ended up in foster care after her parents died if she
had a loving auntie in Tennessee would thought enough
about her to leave her the house and business when
she died. It was never even mentioned much less explained
why her aunt was never contacted after her parents'
death even though she had memories of staying with her
Aunt Clem when she was a little girl. Perhaps that
hole will be mentioned in a future book in the series.

I'm currently still reading "The Assassin's Wife" which
is a nicely complex political thriller, although some
of the coincidences are stretching things a bit. It's
good fun.

Amazon is discontinuing its discussion fora including
the ones about books. I've posted there about Usenet's
book newsgroups and newsreaders and servers. It would
be nice to get some new refugees in here and other book
groups to contribute. Unfortunately, most of them think
web-based fora are all there are and seem to be flocking
to those despite the Facebook-type vibe many of them have.

Oh well, I gave them the information, it's up to them to
act upon it now.

Nyssa, who knows Usenet has most of those awful clubby
websites beat by a mile but has trouble getting other
people to even give us a try

[Mike Burke]

On Sat, 07 Oct 2017 13:12:30 -0400, Nyssa <***@flawlesslogic.com>
wrote:

<Major Snip>

Post by Nyssa
Nyssa, who knows Usenet has most of those awful clubby
websites beat by a mile but has trouble getting other
people to even give us a try

I know how you feel, Nyssa. Bless its little heart, but our very own
rec.arts.mystery has always been a pretty clubbly sort of newsgroup in
its own way.

Back when I first joined up in the mid 90s, there were a some mystery
writers who were loyal RAMmers, eg Jane Haddam, Karin Slaughter,
Stephen Booth, Keith Snyder, J.D. (Dusty) Rhodes, Katie Monger, and
quite a few others who poked their heads in here from time to time.
The connection with the annual Bouchercon festivities cemented many of
the RAM friendships that have lasted until this day in real life. Many
if not most have transferred to the RAM Facebook Group, but it no
longer has the intimacy that I think was the key to the success of
this old Newsgroup.

We could and did have some spirited on- and off-topic discussion
without disturbing Mr Zuckerberg's tender sensibilities, and people
who couldn't deal with the rather rigorous and sometimes quite heated
debates did not go running to the non-existent moderators to have
people censored or black-listed, but voted with their feet. Most
returned when they'd cooled down, and friendships persisted despite
disagreement about politics or whatever.

I think the problem was aggravated, if not directly caused by the
increasing difficulty many people found in maintaining their Usenet
feed. It just became easier to go with the iThing flow. Also, people
aged and had other priorities competing for their time.

But, while a spark of life exists, I'll still remain faithful to this
Newsgroup.

While we're here, I have another recommendation for you, Caimh
McDonnell, an Irish author has written the first two parts of what he
calls the "Dublin Trilogy" as well as a separate "prequel". Riotously
funny stuff. Go get 'em.

Mique

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

[Nyssa]

Post by Mike Burke
On Sat, 07 Oct 2017 13:12:30 -0400, Nyssa
<Major Snip>

Post by Nyssa
Nyssa, who knows Usenet has most of those awful clubby
websites beat by a mile but has trouble getting other
people to even give us a try

I know how you feel, Nyssa. Bless its little heart, but
our very own rec.arts.mystery has always been a pretty
clubbly sort of newsgroup in its own way.
Back when I first joined up in the mid 90s, there were a
some mystery writers who were loyal RAMmers, eg Jane
Haddam, Karin Slaughter, Stephen Booth, Keith Snyder, J.D.
(Dusty) Rhodes, Katie Monger, and quite a few others who
poked their heads in here from time to time. The
connection with the annual Bouchercon festivities cemented
many of the RAM friendships that have lasted until this
day in real life. Many if not most have transferred to the
RAM Facebook Group, but it no longer has the intimacy that
I think was the key to the success of this old Newsgroup.
We could and did have some spirited on- and off-topic
discussion without disturbing Mr Zuckerberg's tender
sensibilities, and people who couldn't deal with the
rather rigorous and sometimes quite heated debates did not
go running to the non-existent moderators to have
people censored or black-listed, but voted with their
feet. Most returned when they'd cooled down, and
friendships persisted despite disagreement about politics
or whatever.
I think the problem was aggravated, if not directly caused
by the increasing difficulty many people found in
maintaining their Usenet
feed. It just became easier to go with the iThing flow.
Also, people aged and had other priorities competing for
their time.
But, while a spark of life exists, I'll still remain
faithful to this Newsgroup.
While we're here, I have another recommendation for you,
Caimh McDonnell, an Irish author has written the first two
parts of what he
calls the "Dublin Trilogy" as well as a separate
"prequel". Riotously
funny stuff. Go get 'em.
Mique

I remember when Tom Clancy actually participated in the
newsgroup for his books. Homer Hickam also joined in
there occasionally.

Greg Cox (science fiction writer) showed up in the Star
Trek books newsgroup too. He wrote the tie-in books for
the TV series Roswell which I enjoyed.

Virginia Heinlein was a frequent visitor in the newsgroup
dedicated to her husband's books. She was quite an interesting
person in her own right too. Her last post there was just
days before she passed away.

Nothing like getting information on new plots and books
and questions answered by the authors. Everyone was cool
and refrained from worship or other indignities, just
treated 'em like regular folks who enjoyed books and
writing.

Now the newsgroups seem to be a refuge for us stubborn
types who refuse to go to Facebook and other commercially
profitable websites for their discussions that are mostly
there to feed advertising to the masses. Very impersonal
too, not like the friendly and more interactive babble
that has gone on in Usenet for decades. And NO advertising!

Nyssa, who has been reading some non-mysteries lately but
will report in when she cycles back to the thrillers and
mysteries