Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Carolyn Hart

Carolyn Hart is a mystery writer who has won multiple Agatha Awards.

Her books include the popular "Death on Demand" mystery series, the "Henrie O" mystery series, and Letter from Home.

Last week I asked her what she was reading. Her reply:
So many books, so little time . . .

I am currently reading My Heart May Be Broken, But My Hair Still Looks Great by Dixie Cash. A delightful entertainment, authentic as Tony Llama boots and genuinely heartwarming.

Recently read:
Holidays and Homicide by Dorothy Howell, forthcoming in 2008 from Kensington. Clever, fun, and sure to succeed.
A Vicky Hill Exclusive! by Hannah Dennison, forthcoming in 2008 from Berkley. A riotous romp.
Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality, collected by Raymond Arroyo. A savvy nun with a gift of gab who knows life and shares her faith.

Recently re-read:
A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie. One of her cleverest.
Think Fast, Mr. Moto by John Marquand. A fly-on-the-wall view of life in China and Hawaii in the nineteen thirties.

In the stack to be read:
Still Life by Louise Penny
Hard Row by Margaret Maron.
Set Sail for Murder is the latest "Henrie O" mystery. About the book, from the publisher:

When retired newspaper reporter Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins, Henrie O to her friends, receives a call for help, she discovers that love once kindled never burns to ashes. Although she refused Jimmy Lennox's marriage proposal, there is still a special place for him in her heart. She wished him well when he found happiness with Sophia Montgomery, world-famous documentary filmmaker and stepmother to the now grown heirs of a great fortune. Sophia is at odds with the heirs, and Jimmy fears for her safety. He asks Henrie O to come along with the family on a Baltic cruise. Henrie O can't turn down her old friend, though old passions are stirred when he calls.

On the voyage she soon realizes this dysfunctional family is plunging toward destruction and one of the travelers has murder in mind. As the ports of call pass — Copenhagen, Gdynia, Tallinn, St. Petersburg — death inexorably approaches. Henrie O works desperately to save Jimmy and to bring hope to lives blighted by anger, resentment, and heartbreak.

Read more about the author and her books at Carolyn Hart's website.

--Marshal Zeringue