The Literate Kitty

Imagine for a moment that you’re a chef—brilliant, by all accounts—until one day, everything goes horribly wrong. You lose your career, your family, and your reputation. (Oh, and also your freedom, because you wind up in prison.) The police think you burned down your own restaurant for an insurance scam—even though you insist you didn’t. So you do your time, and it’s not great... but because this is Iceland, it’s not unbearable, either.  You make friends with other inmates—and get to impress them with your talent, because you’ve earned kitchen privileges. And then you’re released... carrying the baggage of being an ex-con. Reykjavik Fusion  is the story of what happens next. And that “next”? Should’ve come with a big ol’ warning sign.   When Jónas (played by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) gets a job cooking at an elementary school, he considers himself lucky; no one else had shown any interest in hiring him.  But when parents learn the new cook making such tasty meals for th...

A troubled cop—who battles his demons in spectacularly-destructive ways. A host of coworkers—superiors, equals, and underlings—who unfailingly believe in him...up until the point he slips. Again. And one coworker-slash-rival who harbors a monumental grudge. All brought together by a murder that has some strangely-symbolic overtones. And then another... with the same symbolisms. Meanwhile, a major controversy is brewing over whether or not the police should be armed, as Oslo faces a scary upswing in gang activity... and homicides. And then, there’s also the question of corruption, within the force. Enough signs are pointing to it for Harry not to notice. This is the powder keg we step into, in  Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole , on Netflix.     Anyone who’s worked with Detective Harry Hole generally has one of two opinions about him—he’s a brilliant cop, somehow able to get into a killer’s mind—including the terrifying headspace of a serial killer, or, that he can be a good cop.....

Millennials: The demographic cohort born between 1981 and 1996, they were the first generation to grow up with internet technology and digital literacy, and are typically described as tech-savvy, socially-connected, and civic-minded.  Also, Millennials: The Snowflake Generation (derogatory). Often used to imply members of this generation are fragile, oversensitive, and entitled.  It is the (untaught, though clearly passed-down through the ages) duty of every generation to mock the generations that follow. [Not convinced? Ask yourself if you’ve ever heard a parent, grandparent, or elderly neighbor starting a sentence with, “When I was your age,” then end it with something like, “...walked three miles in the snow, uphill, to go to school,” and you’ll likely understand.]  Anyway, all of that was firmly in the back of my mind during my read of J.D. Brinkworth’s amusing detective mystery, The Pie & Mash Detective Agency .  Thoroughly-Millennial Jane Pye and Simon Ma...

I’ve never been one of those people who say they can’t wait to “grow old”. I couldn’t wait to grow up , but  old ? No way. And yet, as I suspect most of my fellow Gen Xers—and probably  all  Boomers, out there—have gradually come to realize, doing so sure beats the alternative. So maybe it’s time to reframe how we look at aging. If we do our best to maintain our health, stay as fit as possible, keep our brains active, and hang onto our friends, then getting old... er ... doesn’t sound like such a scary and dreadful future, right ? Not convinced? (I ’m still trying to convince myself, here; this is a work in progress. 🙃 )  Anyway, just do yourself a solid and pick up a copy of Fergus Craig’s delightful  I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home , and see if reading it doesn’t put your mind at ease a bit.     After spending too many decades in prison, just-released ex-serial killer Carol feels like she’s suddenly landed in the middle of a dream, g...

The cut-throat, “publish-or-perish” world of academia.   Ancient manuscripts.  An historian with a secret side quest. An ex-bestie turned bitter rival. A tiny, elite college, nestled high in the stunning peaks of the Rocky Mountains... where winter is always coming. These are the bones of McCormick Templeman’s gothic-leaning thriller,  Atlas of Unknowable Things .     Ever since Robin Quain and her best friend, a fellow historian, fell out, it seems like nothing’s been going right. Her beloved dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Her boyfriend unceremoniously dumped her. And, she hasn't experienced a breakthrough in her dissertation—arguing the European witch hunts were as much about getting rid of powerful women as eradicating suspected practitioners of witchcraft—leaving her PhD more pipe dream than reality. Until, that is, she runs across a letter mentioning correspondence between Joan of Arc and the infamous French knight, Gilles de Rais, which sparks new avenues...

Jetting off for cool photoshoots in exotic places.  Being the instantly-recognizable face of high-end luxury products and fantasy experiences. Enjoying the rush from seeing “likes” numbering in the hundreds of thousands on your last Instagram post or TikTok video. Ah, the glamorous life of the Influencer... Or so it’s easy to think.  But, like the old saying goes, “all that glitters is not gold”, there’s a less-shiny, less-sexy side to being a social media darling. Tanya Grant peels back the curtain to give us a peek at what being an internet sensation is  really  like in her debut thriller,  Made You Look .      A week-long, all-expenses-paid trip to Reverie Retreat, a posh, not-yet-open-to-the-public ecolodge nestled deep in the Catskills. For mega-Influencer Sydney Kent—along with her little entourage of fellow influencers, stylist, photog, and publicity manager—it’s a sweet gig, posting content hyping the new retreat prior to its grand opening...

Some jobs just lend themselves to stereotypes.   Take librarians. Say the word, and almost everyone envisions  something .   For most people, that probably looks like an older female—matronly, with grey hair, a cardigan over her buttoned-up dress, high-Rx glasses, sensible shoes, and a stern expression. (Lots of “shushing” with this one.)   The rest go straight into fantasyland, with the “Sexy Librarian” trope—beautiful younger woman, long hair in a messy bun, buxom chest straining at the buttons of her shirt, snug pencil skirt, not-really-necessary glasses, and impractical high heels. (The secret dominatrix just waiting to get her freak on.)    So it’s like a breath of fresh air, that Sherry Thomas offers up not one, but  four , stereotype-busting librarians in her latest mystery novel,  The Librarians ... and tosses in a murder or two for them to solve, as well.     A cozy, suburban branch of the Austin, Texas public library system....

Who  doesn’t  love a great big wedding?   The idea of two people, symbolically sharing their Happily-Ever-After with those nearest-and-dearest... even for the semi-cynical amongst us, it’s hard to resist.   But make it a  celebrity  to-do—where one of them is famous (or infamous), or insanely-wealthy—and suddenly, it’s a whole different ballgame.   [Plus, zero chance most of us would merit an invitation...]   If any of us had the opportunity to attend The Wedding of the Year, we’d RSVP “Yes!”, wouldn’t we?   Especially if we had no clue, going into it, that we’d be RSVPing to the scene of a murder... as in Joan O’Leary’s  A Killer Wedding .     It’s quite a coup when Christine, a lowly staff writer for elite  Bespoke Weddings  magazine—which only covers the  most -fabulous nuptials—is singled out to cover the Wedding of the Year, the Ripton-Murphy union.    Grandmother-of-the-groom, octogenarian Gloria ...

The job market is TOUGH. So what’s a recent college grad to do, armed with a shiny degree in whatever, saddled with a mountain of debt... and finding few—if any—job prospects?   Go to work for a secretive multinational corporation dealing in “problem-solving”... essentially, a “fixer” for issues no one dares talk about, outside of hushed boardrooms?    You bet.   And then one day, make a deal with what may be an  actual  agent of Hell... all for the sake of a promotion?   I mean, sure, that's a plan.   Of course, such deals never come without a few strings... as one young man quickly discovers in Mark Waddell’s darkly-satirical take on climbing the corporate ladder,  Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World .     After several years of feeling like the lowest man on the totem pole in Dark Enterprises’ Human Resources department, earnest, cardigan-clad Colin receives the dreaded notice: he has one week to fix his latest screw-up, or f...