Welcome Spring! This has been some kind of winter! Maybe we can skip that whole “April Showers” thing and all get outside with a good book! My reading has been all over the place recently. That’s okay! I enjoy reading a variety of books and sharing them with you.
A few months ago I shared my thoughts on John Grisham’s novel “The Boys From Biloxi.” A friend recommended the nonfiction “Mississippi Mud: Southern Justice and the Dixie Mafia” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Edward Humes, which was a bestseller in its own right. If you like a crime drama or an investigative report, you will enjoy this book. Originally published in 1994, if you read it, be sure that you have the most recent 2017 edition, because there have been additions and updates. In 1987, Mississippi circuit court judge Vincent Sherry and his wife Margaret, a Biloxi city councilwoman and mayoral candidate who was intent on cleaning up the city’s crime and corruption, were murdered in their home. Their daughter fought corruption and incompetence in the Biloxi police department, as well as the sleaze and lawlessness of the Dixie Mafia for years to bring her parents’ killer to justice. Four years after the murders, four defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit the Sherry’s murder. Despite these convictions, there were still questions that only one of these people could answer, and they weren’t talking. That is until the notorious leader of Biloxi’s prostitution and illegal gambling made a deal with prosecutors to reduce his sentence. With his new testimony, the decade-long investigation finally had answers to exactly who had plotted and carried out the Sherry murders and why, and the Sherry children had some peace.
After that engrossing and 400-plus page read, I sort of cleansed my reading palate with a short story by Don Winslow. Entitled “The Heron,” this story turned out to be a little gritty for my tastes - full of misogyny, violence, and offensive language. Think 1970’s Charles Bronson movie. Since it was short, I pushed through. It was actually a well-told story, although I had figured out the ending.
Doing a complete 180, I turned to an Audible Original entitled, “Gulf Coast Cottage” by Maggie Miller. This may seem like a stretch for me, having previously written unfavorable reviews about some of Mary Alice Monroe’s “The Beach House” series. (After two, these books were banned in our book club.) Miller’s book is about Georgia, a 50-ish, soon-to-be divorcee who learns, just when she needs it most, that her great-aunt has left her a cottage on Blackbird Beach. It’s actually two cottages and a bed-and-breakfast, as well as a little money to get everything up and running again. Georgia is joined by her daughter, Mia, who left her fiancee after learning of his infidelity. Together, with the help of (you guessed it) the attractive handy-man, Travis, who lives in the other cottage, this duo makes a go of renewing the bed-and-breakfast and reinventing themselves. Trope-y? Yes! Deep? No! But sweet and enjoyable. AND the first book in Miller’s Blackbird Beach series. These books are best described as generally good things happening to good people, and other good people stepping up to help them when something bad does happen. If you need a feel-good story, this is it.
And remember, Audible Original audiobooks are usually free. Even better!
Whatever you’re reading, enjoy! And Happy Spring!
Happy Reading!
A few months ago I shared my thoughts on John Grisham’s novel “The Boys From Biloxi.” A friend recommended the nonfiction “Mississippi Mud: Southern Justice and the Dixie Mafia” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Edward Humes, which was a bestseller in its own right. If you like a crime drama or an investigative report, you will enjoy this book. Originally published in 1994, if you read it, be sure that you have the most recent 2017 edition, because there have been additions and updates. In 1987, Mississippi circuit court judge Vincent Sherry and his wife Margaret, a Biloxi city councilwoman and mayoral candidate who was intent on cleaning up the city’s crime and corruption, were murdered in their home. Their daughter fought corruption and incompetence in the Biloxi police department, as well as the sleaze and lawlessness of the Dixie Mafia for years to bring her parents’ killer to justice. Four years after the murders, four defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit the Sherry’s murder. Despite these convictions, there were still questions that only one of these people could answer, and they weren’t talking. That is until the notorious leader of Biloxi’s prostitution and illegal gambling made a deal with prosecutors to reduce his sentence. With his new testimony, the decade-long investigation finally had answers to exactly who had plotted and carried out the Sherry murders and why, and the Sherry children had some peace.
After that engrossing and 400-plus page read, I sort of cleansed my reading palate with a short story by Don Winslow. Entitled “The Heron,” this story turned out to be a little gritty for my tastes - full of misogyny, violence, and offensive language. Think 1970’s Charles Bronson movie. Since it was short, I pushed through. It was actually a well-told story, although I had figured out the ending.
Doing a complete 180, I turned to an Audible Original entitled, “Gulf Coast Cottage” by Maggie Miller. This may seem like a stretch for me, having previously written unfavorable reviews about some of Mary Alice Monroe’s “The Beach House” series. (After two, these books were banned in our book club.) Miller’s book is about Georgia, a 50-ish, soon-to-be divorcee who learns, just when she needs it most, that her great-aunt has left her a cottage on Blackbird Beach. It’s actually two cottages and a bed-and-breakfast, as well as a little money to get everything up and running again. Georgia is joined by her daughter, Mia, who left her fiancee after learning of his infidelity. Together, with the help of (you guessed it) the attractive handy-man, Travis, who lives in the other cottage, this duo makes a go of renewing the bed-and-breakfast and reinventing themselves. Trope-y? Yes! Deep? No! But sweet and enjoyable. AND the first book in Miller’s Blackbird Beach series. These books are best described as generally good things happening to good people, and other good people stepping up to help them when something bad does happen. If you need a feel-good story, this is it.
And remember, Audible Original audiobooks are usually free. Even better!
Whatever you’re reading, enjoy! And Happy Spring!
Happy Reading!
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