Never too late for a Halloween image or two.
This week, Melbourne and Palm Bay suffered 18-24" of rain in 24 hours. NOT a hurricane. Just a weird weather event. Many of the worst-hit areas were not designated as flood plains; so, no flood insurance. Below, a pic taken by a Florida Tech student from the 6th floor of a dormitory. I suspect the FIT students were more enjoying a day off than worrying about the flood.
To end the Gallery on an Upbeat . . .
Pic by Tim Wilcox
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MYSTERIES TO CHALLENGE BRIGHT MINDS
Dorothy Dunnett is best known for her impressive series of Historical novels, but it's her mysteries that most captured my heart. Her mysteries are called the "Johnson Johnson" series, yet oddly enough, each book is narrated in first person by a female.
The world lost Ms Dunnett's brilliant mind to cancer to 2001, but her Johnson Johnson mysteries live on as some of the most brain-challenging stories around. (When I first discovered them, I read each through 2 or 3 times. And, as I vividly rediscovered when I recently began to re-read the series after a pause of a good many years, they are even more astonishing than I recall.
Is it possible for an American to understand all the references? I doubt it. The same for younger readers, as the books were written in the 70s. Nonetheless, they will still "blow away" anyone who appreciates multiple of characters of exceptional intelligence.
Which brings me to a Grace RANT . . .
Those who handled Ms Dunnett's estate seemed to think that changing the titles of her books would make them more appealing to a general readership. And—horror of horrors—The Photogenic Soprano became Dolly and the Singing Bird, then deteriorated still further some years later to Rum Affair. Another example: Match for a Murderer became Dolly and the Doctor Bird and eventually Operation Nassau. The same massacres applied to each of the seven books in the series. Aargh!
What was the problem with the Dolly names? 1) no one unfamiliar with the series could have any idea "Dolly" wasn't some child's doll or maybe Dolly Parton; 2) the titles were far too frivolous for the dramatic, action-filled mysteries, spiced with sophisticated humor that Ms Dunnett wrote. But, sadly, the third versions of the seven titles were even worse. Also, a book that came much later in the series is currently listed as Number One - a huge mistake that completely ruins what is supposed to be a major revelation at the end of the actual Book One, The Photogenic Soprano (now Rum Affair).
Nonetheless, do not be put off by the title shifts. The CONTENT remains the same. If you want great mysteries while pitting your mind against Ms Dunnett's sharp-edged one-liners, indulge yourself. (Even if you're not a member of Mensa.) Just DO NOT begin with Tropical Issue. (I recommend inserting it after Roman Nights.)
The Johnson Johnson mysteries are for readers who like to have their minds challenged. Also, you need to be able to accept that some references will go over your head (as some very Scot & Brit references did for me, even though I read the books shortly after they were published).
I am embarrassed to list the perfectly awful titles below, but here is what currently comes up on Amazon Kindle:
Though I'm quick to say my mysteries are not even in the ballpark with Dorothy Dunnett's magnificent works, my favorite is the one set at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. The cover is a bit dark, but that's a man hanging from one of Ringling's many banyan trees.
Someone is killing people at the Bellman Museum, staging the deaths as bizarre works of art scattered over the museum's sixty-six tropical acres. FBI Special Agent Aurora "Rory" Travis, broken in body and spirit, shunning the world as a tram driver at the museum until a friend becomes a suspect in one of the deaths. Rory's self-appointed investigation is complicated by the appearance of a mystery man who hops onto her tram in the midst of a thunder storm and the arrival on site of a determined Sarasota PD detective. In the end, only one of the new men in her life is watching her back when Rory is forced to confront her worst fears as she goes one-on-one with the villain.
Review:
"This is an engaging Florida investigative thriller starring a likable cast to include eccentric seniors especially Aunt Hy, polar opposite sleuths with a common interest in Rory, and a terrific heroine struggling to regain her sea legs. . . ."
Harriet Klausner
