The Writings of Barbara Casey ...bridging the sacred & temporal

Chief Inspector Gamache Novels in Order
Chief Inspector Gamache Novels in Order

Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache novels (Three Pines Mysteries) are best read in order This is one of my all-time favorite mystery series and a heartfelt entry on my Uncommonly Good Mysteries list. If you haven't tried the Three Pines/Chief Inspector Armand...

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Kate Shugak Novels by Dana Stabenow
Kate Shugak Novels by Dana Stabenow

Kate Shugak Novels Listed in Order Set in Alaska, this is an uncommonly good mystery series by an Edgar Award-winning author Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak novels feature well-developed, interesting characters, a locale known to few (an Alaskan national park) and...

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Inspector Shan Series by Eliot Pattison
Inspector Shan Series by Eliot Pattison

The Inspector Shan series begins with The Skull Mantra, which won Eliot Pattison the 2001 Edgar Award for Best First Novel In fact, it was The Skull Mantra that inspired my "Uncommonly Good Mysteries" list, which I first started in 2011. I had just read Eliot...

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Cold in the Earth by Aline Templeton
Cold in the Earth by Aline Templeton

DI Marjory Fleming... a character I've learned to love Aline Templeton's DI Marjory Fleming mystery series has been on my radar for four years, ever since one of my favorite mystery writers, Louise Penny, recommended it on her blog. Alas, my library didn't carry the...

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The Long Way Home by Louise Penny
The Long Way Home by Louise Penny

My review of The Long Way Home - Louise Penny's 10th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series Many readers of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache/Three Pines books don’t know what to make of the 10th installment in the series, The Long Way Home. Some found the...

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Aubrey-Maturin Series Reading Order
Aubrey-Maturin Series Reading Order

The Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian... with Reading Order List Master and Commander is the first book in Patrick O'Brian's wonderful 21-book historical fiction series known as the "Aubrey-Maturin Series." It is also the name of the adventure movie with Russel...

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Great American Cookies Cookbook
Great American Cookies Cookbook

Great American Cookies - A Vintage Cookbook That's Worth Republishing My favorite recipe books are now considered "vintage." I cannot imagine why Lorraine Bodger's Great American Cookies hasn't been reprinted, but the only versions I've found are dated 1985 (the one I...

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Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – Book Review
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – Book Review

Our book club loved Outlander by Diana Gabaldon... and then read the rest in the series, like I did (for the second time) I re-read Diana Gabaldon's Outlander for our book club... and got so caught up in the story again, that I devoured the entire series - for the...

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“Simple Suppers” Cookbook Review
“Simple Suppers” Cookbook Review

New vegetarian in search of a cookbook Moosewood Restaurant's Simple Suppers  As a fairly new vegetarian, I'm always on the lookout for cookbooks that don't make me feel like a culinary idiot, but that also reflect my cooking style and talents: simple and basic....

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