I remember him as a marine biologist gonnabe with a soft Lowcountry drawl, a guy who felt at home ankle deep in pluff mud. (For those of you who haven’t had the privilege of experiencing coastal waterways of South Carolina at low tide, pluff mud is odoriferous marsh muck.)
We haven’t seen each other in decades. Soon after I moved back to State College, Wally somehow dredged me up from cyberspace and since then, we exchange occasional emails. His last note was in the comment section of my blog, thanking me for the mystery series recommendations.
Charleston, S.C., would be the perfect setting for a collection of murder mysteries. Spanish moss dripping from ancient live oaks, ghosts of the “War of Northern Aggression,” and lots of local color—Charleston racehorses (BIG cockroaches), carriage horses wearing diapers (at least I think they still have that local ordinance), women who weave baskets of sweetgrass, and heck, the father of the detective story, Edgar Allen Poe, was stationed at Fort Moultrie and set his short story “The Gold-Bug” on Sullivan’s Island.
I took to the Internet and sure enough, Charleston is home to the Tea Shop Mysteries, about 20 books by Laura Childs. Titles include Death by Darjeeling, Shades of Earl Grey, Sweet Tea Revenge, Chamomile Mourning, and, I especially love this title, Scones and Bones. Somehow, I don’t think these would be Wally’s cup of tea. He is much more of a pint and Cormoran Strike kind of guy.
The Fleur-de-Mystery blog brought others to my email Inbox, with lots of titles to seek.
Although it’s not a series, Valerie recommends The President Is Missing, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson. James Patterson isn’t my favorite author and Bill wasn’t my favorite President, but Valerie and I go way back, so I’m going to give it a try. And, if we’re not only talking series, I must recommend Educated by Tara Westover. Haunting.
Tim, my frequent book swapper, suggested a six-volume autobiographical series (not a mystery series but perhaps a mystery how one person could write six autobiographical novels.) Anyway, Karl Ove Knausgard is Norwegian and his series is called My Struggle. I don’t want to be too repetitious, but if you are looking for a memoir that reads like a good novel, Educated by Tara Westover. Daunting.
Alicia recommends a series of Irish doctor books by Dr. Patrick Taylor, who grew up in Northern Ireland until his family emigrated to Canada during “The Troubles.” Now living in British Columbia, Taylor has written a series of 13+ , starting with An Irish Country Doctor and has at least one spinoff, An Irish Country Cookbook, which Alicia gave her dad for Christmas. In my youth, I was a Perry Mason fan, forget Dr. Kildare, but I plan to check these out.
The books are set in Northern Ireland, another place I’ve never been, but dear to my heart. Memories of Project Children (begun during “The Troubles”) and the youngsters we hosted at Fleur-de-Lys Farm come back to me. Shauna King, Danielle, Dan (“I-eat -every-meal-at-McDonald’s) McDonald. Those memories drew me to my computer keyboard and I dashed off a quick email to Shauna, who visited over three summers and became an unofficial niece.
Like Dr. Taylor, Shauna emigrated to British Columbia. She emailed back and sent a photo of her 10-month-old son Caleb at his first Vancouver Canucks’ ice hockey game. The wee one is already cheering for Fin the Whale. Laurie Lynch
Written on Slate: “Reading old travel books or novels set in faraway places, spinning globes, unfolding maps, playing world music, eating in ethnic restaurants, meeting friends in cafes…all these things are part of never-ending travel practice, not unlike doing scales on a piano, shooting free throws, or meditating.” Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage
Fleur-de-Blog 