This Book Went Too Far? - Seeing Reality of Life? - Or Is It A God Incident? - Open Memoir

 

I finished reading the book by Nick Russell this morning... It was the last in a combined author book, apparently used as a promotion to give potential readers a taste of the writing. If the last book, a free-standing story, had not been added, I probably would have continued with my plan to discuss each of the books... But I was so disgusted when I finished that I had no plans to do anything other than to avoid my computer for the weekend...

So I got dressed and sat down to turn on the television to see what I could find... Absolutely nothing... seriously. I have nothing but problems since Direct TV "changed" their entire programming... At first, I was losing favorite shows I wanted to view at my time choice... but then, they placed one of my favorites--Tracker--on Sundays. Only to also schedule games on that day, which ran over into the time for the supposed most watched new show... and those who recorded it, always missed part or all of the program depending upon the game! How RUDE... First they advertised the show so much that you didn't want to miss it and recorded it, but then made no provisions for ensuring that the program would be available as  recorded... Let's just say that it has gotten worse as time goes by... Something is definitely wrong. They know it; I knows it. I've already said that before... But everyday a different coded message is to be used, now, or whatever... it requires I call in to fix it... Well, I had many recorded already so I was watching those during the past week as I did things that I personally needed to do other than fix my own television for which I pay... Any way, I got nothing this morning, so came to pull up YouTube. Thankfully, my Hughes Net computer system rarely fails me... I decided to pull up Jesus Christ Superstar, original version... to be my background music as I did other things...

But as soon as I pulled up the site, three songs were there... The titles pulled me in...

Yeah, I have a tendency to consider whether I'm getting a message when that happens... Truthfully, I kinda got excited... Because almost immediately I realized that my reaction to this book was meant to be thought about... I admit that I had already begun to wonder so those of you who don't believe that God talks to us can assume that it's my my mind connecting once again... Hey, whatever works for your justification... But since it's my mind I choose to believe in the Holy Spirit's presence in my life...

Especially since I had not been sitting writing, but that I was up and about, starting my day... But by that time, Superstar had reached one of the fun songs and I started singing... What's the Buzz, Tell Me All About It!... Jesus, I want to know...

Yeah, I was supposed to deal with Black Friday immediately after I finished reading...and share my personal thoughts and feelings while I was reading. Please recognize that these thoughts and reactions are purely mine and has to do with what I've been doing for about a decade... Bottom line... Something's Gonna Change...

As soon as I got online this morning, I went out to see how the ranking was for Black Friday on Amazon... Just what I thought--most were high ratings, but two individuals who's nixed the book used a specific  word. Depressing...

When you see the book title, you should realize that the Black Friday that all of us know about these days, means exactly that... The book begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Upfront I quickly say that I'm not a Black Friday type of person. Regular shopping is something I rarely do as a day-to-day event. So you might say that I find black Friday something that I ignore...

The main character Raymond, felt the same way as I do... With a major difference, however. He had a Shrew, Battle Axe, and any other derogatory term that is considered when a woman treats a husband like dirt... How mean was she? So mean, I resented how the author had created her! Surely no woman could be this bad?

Then I got to wondering... In real life, are there such women? Remember I grew up in a fatherless home--my father had been killed in a mine accident while my mother was pregnant... But then, I began to consider the main character, the husband. I considered him, frankly, a wimp... And I also began to question just how this character was created, and the purpose in creating an obviously crazy situation...

The book opens as Black Friday has begun. Raymond and Sheila had been married for years and had two teen children, both of whom totally ignored their parents routinely, but seemed to have been turned off their father by their mother, even though they were "living the life" most would be happy with... Sheila began her morning with a migraine and told Raymond he would have to do the Black Friday shopping, specifying what she wanted for the kids... It should be noted that migraines come routinely--whenever the wife doesn't want to do what Raymond needs or wants... Here is a man who has made it to be manager of a local grocery store, but also comes home and does all of the cleaning, and apparently most of the cooking or obviously the cleanup of dishes...

Raymond hated Black Friday but nevertheless chose not to argue and left home to join the crowds, mostly women, excited, to be out and about before the store's doors opened... Raymond had kept back from the door, thinking he would wait until the crazies were already inside... By the time he got to where laptops were cheaper, he discovered that they were all gone... Further, after complaining and asking a clerk to go get more, he discovered the store's gimmick for black friday sales... Have a small number of, for instance, laptops available, but after selling out those few, more would come, to be sold at the regular price! He was disgusted enough to turn around and leave the store rather than deal with the madness of customers he was watching....

But he was a little surprised because a woman started talking to him--and agreeing what a mess it was. They talked awhile, she suggested that she had two extras computers in her car and would sell them to him... Long story short, lunch first, hotel room next, woman was murdered. Police went after Raymond...

Think about that, please...Because Raymond is an innocent man. Readers will easily accept that, even if we think his personal life is, yes, depressing... Made even more depressing since Raymond's mother was worse than Sheila and, after his father left home, she expressed to Raymond daily that he was just like his father and would never succeed in anything...

So readers are first meeting many different characters with a storyline which is in no way, somebody you enjoy meeting in a book... "Family dysfunction at its best..."

Then the police and lawyers get involved... There was NO good cops, only bad cops and a loser lawyer... I was ready to stop reading... Was the book supposed to be humorous, a satire, or, was this indeed small town USA? Add to that was an immediate need for paying a significant sum of money for a defense lawyer--which a store manager couldn't afford--and we begin to see how dysfunctional families normally are also involved with money problems...

Right from the beginning, I was seeing connections of what is happening in the United States at this time. This book was written in 2016. So I began to correlate characters with politicians, DOJ, Epstein Case, and more... ICE supposedly gathering up the crazies and sending them out of the country or being killed on the streets because of increased violence in reality...

But it was a murder mystery and was readable as a mystery. The question then, of course, was "whodunit?" But there was literally no character within the book that was not evil enough to be selected... Only question I had was how and why my grandfather's name (Phil Bixler) was chosen to be the lawyer's PI...

Evil choices abound within this story... 

• Customers get screwed, but apparently didn't mind 'cause Black Friday was so much fun??? 
• An individual meets a stranger and finding them attractive,, decides to cheat on his wife for the first time ever, even though readers are wondering how two people so incompatible and obviously not in love, can still decide to live together...
• Stereotypical cop and prosecutors are fully disgusting and unwilling to LISTEN to the potential person of interest...
• Defense lawyers first discuss money before even considering whether they will represent you... And then demand absolute truth, even if you forgot something and didn't immediately report it...
• Dysfunctional marriages fully involved with every single situation being based upon somebody's childhood...
• The concept of retribution, payback, and threats are used in every situation, with violence of each revelation plays a significant role in "moving the story forward..."
• Even the main character's one joy, fishing, is destroyed for purposes of horror effect...
• And he also discovered that his past was a major reason why somebody was working night and day to convince the world that he was guilty....
• It kinda turns your stomach - and often did for Raymond... Maybe that's why when he was set free, he took another road that led nowhere except where they played Jimmy Buffet songs...

Like I said earlier, when I finished the book, I was not in a mood to share it, or even talk about it further.  When a main character is left with nothing in his life to be able to depend upon, this reader was at first also depressed, but then as I reviewed every single character and realized that the emotional impact of each was just as devastating as millions of people are feeling all over the world, and especially for the first time in the United States, I knew more than any other time that what the republican party is doing right now will destroy the world if God doesn't intervene-- that's the great I Am Not the Christian Nationalist version...

And, for me, I needed to accept that when I was told "I've Got This..." that He meant it... Raymond in this book never met Jesus or even God the Father. I have. So I won't be, at least not as much, LOL, referring to videos to document just how bad things are... I figure that the entire world is watching. Including the Pope... And Other Christians speaking for Him... And I need some time not in Margaritaville, but in Jesus Christ Superstar... Especially when I admit, even at my age, I still don't know how to Love Him...enough to trust... I'll be working on that... In the meantime, I won't be discussing the other two books in this set... 

God Bless Us All

Gabby

Cat, Elvis, Takes Lead Sleuth in Second Chance Mystery Series by Sofie Ryan - Character Review, plus spotlight excerpt on "Scaredy Cat"...

 

The story goes a little like this...a stray cat. maybe from a ghetto, showed up around the big garbage bin of a local restaurant and the owner came out and gave him a little food. Much later that night, the cat showed up during the Thursday Night Jam and decided to sit down and listen while the owner and his band was playing a set of Elvis' music. The cat stayed until that set was over and they moved on to "Satisfaction." The cat immediately left, but came back the next morning and the owner saw him and called to him, "Come on, Elvis, you ready for breakfast?" And the cat followed him...

Later that day, Sarah stopped in for coffee and stayed to talk. Seeing the cat, she immediately asked her close friend and owner of The Black Bear, Sam, where it had come from. Sam told her the story, but added that he couldn't exactly call him Mic, when the cat had left when they started playing Satisfaction. And so the name stuck... 

And, when Sarah was ready to leave, Elvis immediately followed her and jumped up onto the front seat! Yeah, you all are going to enjoy meeting Elvis in this very special and wonderful series! Now Sarah was...all shook up...when she couldn't get the cat to leave her car and wondered just how she was going to be able to live with a pet for the first time. Well, let's just say, Elvis was a one person cat and intended to stay, so he treated her gently until she started to love him tender... Soon she was a cat lover just like me! LOL

I added the above, after I started this article--so much has happened since I originally read this tenth book in the series. Namely, I have gone back, started from the first book and read straight through! During that time, I lost my baby, Stevie. She was borne by the cat who lived at my cabin when I first came well over a decade ago. Bill, my brother-in-law fed her so she stayed. The country is not an easy place for cats, and I remember once, years ago, Stevie had disappeared for a few days and then one day she came wobbling back. I was so upset, that I went to her, picked her up and brought her into the cabin, wrapped her up in a towel, and just held her. She stayed mostly inside thereafter. I really miss her and even though there are other cats that live outside, it had taken many years to establish our relationship. She was a one-person cat and she had selected me, just as Elvis chose Sarah... Although Elvis, unlike Stevie, was quite amenable to meeting and greeting other people, especially if they had food to offer... 

Stevie was growing old with me... and I am reminded of many of her antics and changes as she slowed down as well...

While I was reading I also started physical therapy 3 days a week, which cuts into my time, since it was nearby but I still had to leave the house and go there. Additionally, I developed an infection and had to have tests to determine what medication I could be given. So I'm still weaker than normal and finding it hard to find time to writing about all the Second Chance books I read (most of the time at bedtime and even during the night if I woke up)...

So, back to this wonderful series, in addition to talking about Elvis, I decided to talk about the characters in this series. I must first say that I've never read a book series that has included such loving characters... Some are related, but most of the relationships have been formed as friends, as well as relatives... And that does make a difference, doesn't it? Many of you will know what I mean. You may love relatives as relatives, but a very few also become close friends... I've been thinking about each character for days, trying to fit somebody you might know to "play" each of them...

Sarah is the focal, main character and owns a shop called Second Chance, which means that they sell just about anything that somebody has thrown out just because it was old, broken, out of fashion... and more. I must admit that this basic business activity was a main reason for my high level of enjoyment. We live in a "throw-away" world, it seems... What is in fashion quickly goes out of fashion, so that new can be purchased! 

But not when Sarah is around! Most of the time you'll see her in work clothes as she sands the top of a new cabinet or shelf. You may recognize Angie Harmon as Ruzzoli and know how she moves and thinks... Sarah takes one look at what the options are and selects based upon her "vision" of what it could become...and moves on from there... Second Chance has just about anything you can think of but they do more with the shop, they "create" the scene where you might place this new addition to your home--a refurbished dining set will also may be covered with pristine white lace or an older and precious heirloom tablecloth that was saved for when guests came. That's the time they also brought out the cloth napkins that matched and used the silver that somebody had received for their wedding years ago and sold at an estate sale. 

You'll be watching a relationship develop for Sarah and Mac, so I'm not going to talk much about him except to select a hottie that I was able to picture from Sarah's descriptions, sighs, and later, hugs  that seems to fit how Sarah describes him as she slowly considers her future... If you don't know Shemar Moore from Criminal Minds, I've even seen him pulled into some daring acts for commercials recently! But as he and Sarah watch each other carefully, he hides a big secret and shyly works beside her quietly proving to her that he could do just about anything at Second Chance...and, maybe, for her, starting with moving into a small space in the shop attic and having coffee ready each morning when she gets there...

Now the fun part... Let me tell you about the Angels!

No, not the ones that work for the hidden boss on Charlie's Angels! But, a group of friends that have, based upon helping with a few mysteries, now formed Angel Investigations or just The Angels...For surely, in the time to create ten books--and counting, the Last Chance crew has increased greatly and has a staff that are also now involved in another enterprise --Angels Investigations has officially opened an office that is now part of the fairly large complex where friends have come together to work, play, and solve crimes as needed...LOL

This unlikely character eating ice cream and commonly called Mr. P, is actually the genius and official licensed private investigator who officially began (Charlotte's) Angels! He has a way with computers that far surpasses anybody I ever knew... Plus in his spare time, he is teaching and coaching his assistant to sit for the test to become a PI... So, just so you know, this character probably solves most of the crimes because she provides all the baked goodies for their meetings...

Yes, if you haven't already picked up on it, all of the team, except Sarah, is what you might call of the silver generation...

Sarah's early years brought her to the small, but bustling, town where she decided to settle when she lost her job on the radio by being replaced by "canned music" with stops for commercials. Almost as bad a chopping block as I went through years ago... 

Anyway, the lovely lady that does most of the baking for everybody is Rose, who was also a school teacher and now works part-time at Last Chance. She is the one that has the greatest interest in helping people in need, even if it it as small a task as helping to find a missing cat... And, yes, she's very involved with the PI, who often stays overnight--working on cases, of course...

Another teacher, Charlotte, is also a member of the Team of both Angels and those working at Second Chance... and Nick's mother She is also very much interested in having Sarah a member of her family and has been pushing her son about possible marital bliss so that she could have grandchildren. She also keeps those needy people who cannot cook or wish not to, to eat a good meal once in a while. If you have watched Rachel Maddow, a newscaster on MSNBC, you just may be able to picture how she will be found in this series...

Nick is her son and Sarah's best friend since early school years. They love each other, but everybody around them wants much more than friendship for them... Nick is a law officer who is decidedly against senior citizens working as PIs...until he, too, is pulled in to help once in a while...

I love Seely Booth in Bones so you can now consider just what you might find with Nick as he and Sarah work together... Of course, that did end in marriage, but I don't think Seely, is Sarah's type... For one thing, Sarah and Mac are sympatico... and that's what evolves into a great relationship it seems to me...

And then there is Liz. I immediately thought of how Elizabeth Warren speaks out and moves quickly to act... In fact, I thought I'd include the book descriptions on her:

Liz was Elizabeth Emmerson Kiley French. She was elegant and imposing and she had zero tolerance for people who had no thought for others. She ran her family’s charitable foundation, the Emmerson Foundation, and she was also very generous with her own money, although she tended to keep that kind of thing quiet. She was not someone who took no for an answer when she had decided to do something... Of course, I admire Warren and think of her as a role model for women...so Liz struck me in the same way, although Warren is probably a lot more outspoken whereas Liz wa subly sneaky, at least in my opinion. For instance, when she wants Sarah to go with her as part of a case, she will often tell her what to wear...and remind her to show her legs (See pic above, you rarely saw Ruzzoli in other than slacks.)

In other words, Liz had been around enough to know how to play the games that people play and if it involved possible financial malfeasance, Liz was the Angel they had conduct any interviews...

Her grandmother, a minor character timewize, who married a much younger man is away touring on a long honeymoon for most of the series, but it is her friends that have stayed close to Sarah and soon bonded into a close-knit and extremely intelligent group of ladies! Can you think of a sassy older woman who married...and became a "cougar?"

Also, another character I really enjoyed is Avery, Liz's granddaughter who is staying with Liz... She also started working at Last Chance and soon began to exhibit some rally great creative skills, as well as an above-average teenager intelligence... Can you think of anybody that could "play" Avery in a movie? Well, I have one idea... She's Rachel, with a portrait below who is already in a similar business of refurbishing furniture. Her skills in bringing mid-century furniture back for use today is, to me, quite exceptional at her early twenties age!

Now that you've heard about the main characters who appear or are mentioned in each book, check out a short preview of Scaredy Cat!

~~~

I looked around the office. “Was Elvis with you?” “I haven’t seen him this morning,” Mr. P. said. “The furball is probably sleeping on your desk,” Avery said. “I’m going to get a muffin.” She looked at Mr. P. “And I’ll get your coffee.” He smiled at her. “Thank you.” Elvis wasn’t on the workbench or anywhere in the workroom. He wasn’t in the shop, either, and Avery said she couldn’t find him anywhere upstairs. “I’m going out to make sure he didn’t wander over to the workshop,” I said. Elvis wasn’t there. He wasn’t hiding under my car, either. How could a small black cat seemingly vanish? I was about to text Mac to see if he had any ideas when I saw Emily Hastings coming along the sidewalk with Elvis in the wicker basket of her bike. I felt a rush of relief. Emily raised a hand in hello when she spotted me. I walked down to meet them. “Hi, Sarah,” she said. “I found this guy two streets over just sitting at the corner. I thought I better bring him back.” She reached down to stroke his fur. “Thank you,” I said. “We’ve been looking everywhere for him. He’s never wandered off like that before.” I looked at Elvis. “What were you doing?” He ignored me and nuzzled Emily’s hand. “I think you have a friend for life,” I said. She smiled. “Elvis is a great cat. I’d like to have a cat of my own but some guests can be allergic or just afraid of them.” She looked down at Elvis. “How could anyone be afraid of him?” Elvis murped his agreement. “How’s the case going?” Emily asked. “Mr. P. is working on a couple of things,” I said. Looking at Emily standing there scratching behind Elvis’s ear I just couldn’t believe she had killed Mark Steele. With her warm smile and kind eyes I couldn’t imagine her stomping on a cockroach. “Good,” she said. “I wish I knew who killed Mr. Steele or that there was at least some kind of way I could help figure that out. And I really wish that stupid car of Gram’s hadn’t gotten a flat tire.” So she had been driving Annie’s car. “I know,” I said. “Gram says I’m lucky. Because of that flat tire everyone knows I didn’t kill Mr. Steele, but if that hadn’t happened, I might have been a suspect.” She shook her head. “I better get going,” she said. She picked Elvis up and handed him to me. “Thanks again for rescuing him,” I said. “You’re welcome to stop in and visit him any time. He really does like you.” “Thanks,” she said. “I will.” Emily waved to Elvis, got on her bike and rode away. I shifted the cat so we were face-to-face. “You scared me,” I said. He licked my chin. 

I thought about the expression on his face while Emily was stroking his fur and talking about the murder. He had looked blissfully happy the entire time. No sour look of annoyance. “Did you go looking for Emily?” I asked. He didn’t blink or so much as twitch a whisker. I realized how crazy what I was thinking was. My cat hadn’t orchestrated a meeting between Emily and me so he could prove she hadn’t killed Mark Steele. That wasn’t possible. He’d just gotten bored and wandered off while Charlotte and I were talking. It was the only thing that made sense. That and the fact that Emily Hastings wasn’t our killer. So now what?

I met Elvis in 2016 in The Whole Cat and Caboodle. Check out my review and get a feel about how this series began... Recently, I saw the notice that a new book was out - and it was tenth(!) in series! I got it immediately and was thrilled that it explored something that I've gained a new interest and appreciation for! You see, my caretaker, in addition to helping me get to appointments on time and to help deal with medical and other issues, my niece Rachel has started a refurbishing business as well! I've been so proud of what she has done to mid-century furniture to give it a new face that others will want to buy for their homes. 

I was so invested that I went out and bought books 2 through 9 to read and digest any ideas that I may be able to pass on to her! But Rachel gets her interest and some training from her parents who enjoy shopping for antiques and her father builds furniture... Still, it's the business management that I find interesting in this book in particular. 

Especially how work gets done while solving criminal cases!

We stepped into the store proper. “Perfect timing,” Charlotte said. She was with a customer who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was checking out our selection of guitars. “Tell me about this one,” he said, pointing to my latest find. I lifted the instrument down from the wall and offered it to him. -

Once someone played one of our guitars they were more likely to buy it. “This is a Seagull guitar,” I told him. “They’re made in Canada. The top is solid spruce and the sides and back are cherry.” He tried a couple of chords, adjusted the tuning a little and then played something I quickly recognized as Neil Young’s “Long May You Run.” I saw a smile play across the man’s face and I knew I’d made a sale. 

A couple of weekends ago Mac and I had driven down to Port Clyde to see a man who was building his third wooden boat. While they talked I had spent some time prowling around a flea market that was being held at the local high school. I’d spotted the guitar in a back corner of one of the booths. I’d offered forty dollars for it, seeing the amount as a point to start dickering over the price. To my surprise my offer was accepted. The woman running the booth wrapped the guitar in a large blue recycling bag and as she took my money something about her smile and the gleam in her eye gave me the feeling that as far as she was concerned she was the one who had gotten the deal. The rest of the afternoon was busy. Right after the guitar player left, a tour bus returning home to Nova Scotia after a couple of days in Atlantic City stopped in. Two of the picnic baskets sold, along with several of the framed maps, a set of dishes that Rose and Avery carefully packed for the bus ride home, and a small table I swaddled in an old moving blanket, which Mr. P. and the bus driver managed to fit in the luggage compartment of the bus in a space that it really shouldn’t have fit in but somehow did.

~~~

This is the first cat mystery cozy series that includes a number of individuals working on the inevitable "murder mystery."  A legit PI also is rare in cat mysteries, at least in my experience. And, in addition, having a group with the majority main characters  in their retirement years and having a new, second professional career makes this, indeed, My Own Type of Favorites! May this series run far into the future! I loved every single story that was written for the Second Chance crew to solve! Tell others about these books!

GABixlerReviews