""24 Sussex Drive: The Past and Future of Canada’s Official Residence" by Ian Bailey & Dean Beeby

This past weekend, I dived into "24 Sussex Drive: The Past and Future of Canada’s Official Residence"  by Ian Bailey & Dean Beeby, with an introduction by comedian Rick Mercer. Mercer has visited the house three times and calls it "the greatest still-standing monument we have to that grand Canadian tradition of avoiding tough political decisions and kicking the can down the road." 

As the subtitle suggests, the book is both a history of the house and its evolution/devolution, its pros and cons as an official residence (as well as a family home), and a look at what the future might hold. It was originally built in 1868 by a local lumber baron, Joseph Merrill Currier, who named it Gorffwysfa (a Welsh word meaning "place of rest"). The Currier family sold it to another lumber baron, William C. Edwards, in 1902, and remained in the Edwards family until the late 1940s, when it was expropriated by the federal government for use as an official residence for the prime minister. The house was stripped of its exterior Gothic/Victorian-era features and embellishments, gutted and almost completely rebuilt inside, and Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent and his wife Jeanne became its first official residents in 1951.   

In the decades since then -- and the past 40-50 years in particular -- the house has been badly neglected:  politics took precedence over maintenance, because no prime minister wanted to be the one to approve costly repairs and/or renovations to the old house, particularly during times of austerity or periods when the prime minister was leading a precarious minority government. The only major work done on the house since 1951 was a new roof, following a destructive ice storm in 1998. 

Sadly, no one has lived at 24 Sussex since Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his family left in 2015.  The incoming PM, Justin Trudeau, had lived there as a child (when his father, Pierre, was prime minister), but the house was in such poor shape he opted to live at Rideau Cottage, on the nearby grounds of Rideau Hall (the residence of the governor-general). Public opinion, fuelled by eye-popping (albeit possibly overblown) cost estimates of what it would take to repair and restore 24 Sussex, was in favour of demolition. In 2023-24, the vacant house was stripped down to its studs, awaiting a decision one way or the other about its future.  

By then, however, those in favour of preserving 24 Sussex began to rally, arguing that it is worth saving. A new wave of national pride, in response to a hostile administration in the U.S., also generated renewed interest in saving the historic property. In June this year, current Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a design-and-build competition to restore 24 Sussex, with the winner to be announced by Canada Day 2027.  (Earlier he said, "You're not going to see me at 24 Sussex, but I would like to see my successors at 24 Sussex in some way, shape or form... It's a responsibility to hand things off better than you found them.")  He also invited the public to donate to the project.  The goal is $50 million;  I checked while writing this review, and more than $8 million has been donated to date.   

There's a brief, interesting appendix which discusses how similar Commonwealth countries -- the U.K., Australia and New Zealand -- have handled their official residences.  

My main criticism of this book is that there's a lot of detail (which some will find interesting and some won't), and a lot of repetition, including interviews with experts all saying essentially the same things. It's not a long book (about 170 pages in hardcover -- I read the bulk of it in one day), but it could arguably have been even shorter. 

If you're not Canadian, or not interested in Canadian history and/or politics, this book probably won't appeal to you.  But I'm a Canadian who loves history, appreciates heritage homes and buildings, and studied political science at university -- plus my family has a long history in the Ottawa area, dating back to at least the early 1820s. (An Ottawa newspaper item about the 1892 death of my great-great-great grandmother noted that "she came to Ottawa 75 years ago [as a girl, from Ireland] when there was only one house here.")(!)  

So, overall, I enjoyed this book.  :)  And I hope work on a revitalized 24 Sussex will begin soon.       

3.5 stars. 

This was Book #36 read to date in 2026 (and Book #3 finished in November), bringing me to 90% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently 2 books ahead of schedule to meet my goal! (4 books to go!) You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

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Personal note:  I've driven past 24 Sussex a few times when I've been in Ottawa. You really can't see anything of the house from the street, certainly not when you're just passing by in a car.  The first time was in May 1979, when Pierre Trudeau and his family were still in residence -- although there was a federal election a week later, which resulted in a minority government led by a new prime minister, Joe Clark. I was on a bus full of kids from all across Canada, part of my Adventure in Citizenship, sponsored by the Rotary Club (which I wrote about here). We were probably going to or from the governor-general's residence across the street (Rideau Hall). The bus driver pointed out the PM's residence, and everyone craned their necks to catch a glimpse.  We did see a small structure by the gate (apparently what was once the coach house), and I distinctly remember one guy snickering, "That's where they keep Margaret" (the PM's estranged wife). (She actually lived in the attic at 24 Sussex for a while, before buying a house nearby. What can I say;  it was the 70s, we were kids, and we didn't know Margaret's full story yet.)  

"What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust" by Alan Bradley

The 12th and final book in the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley -- "Numb Were the Beadsman's Fingers"  -- was released earlier this week. However, I still hadn't read #11 -- "What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust" -- and decided it would be my next read, once I'd fulfilled some book club obligations.   

As usual with a new Flavia book, it didn't take me long to read.  And, once begun, it didn't take long for the new mystery at hand to reveal itself.  Mrs. Mullet, the de Luce family's cook/housekeeper, becomes the prime suspect in the death of Major Greyleigh -- a reclusive local man and (it's rumoured) retired hangman (!) -- after he eats some mushrooms she picked and cooked for him. 

Of course, Flavia sets out to clear Mrs. Mullet's name and find the real killer.  Along the way, she's assisted by Dogger, the family's faithful gardener/chauffeur/retainer, and both helped and hindered by her obnoxious orphaned younger cousin Undine. (I will admit I found Undine as annoying as Flavia does -- but she does redeem herself by the end of the book. Sort of.)

In the process, she makes a startling discovery.  I will admit, I my jaw dropped here. At the same time, I found myself wondering whether the series had perhaps jumped the shark at this point. 

But there were also some moments of brilliance, and moments where I was laughing out loud (as usual!).  

I'm hoping to get to "Numb Were the Beadsman's Fingers" shortly -- although I will be sad to read it, knowing it's the last in the series:  the author, Alan Bradley passed away in May this year at the age of 87. What a gift he gave us! 

It's probably best to read the series in order. You'll understand and get more out of this book if you've read the previous volumes first.  

After a long internal debate over the rating, 4 stars 

This was Book #35 read to date in 2026 (and Book #2 finished in November), bringing me to 88% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently 1 book ahead of schedule to meet my goal! (with 5 books to go!) You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

"Anna and Her Daughters" by D.E. Stevenson (re-read)

Back in September, my D.E. Stevenson fan group decided on "Anna and Her Daughters" (first published in 1958) for our next read.  We last read this book just four years ago, in the summer of 2022. 

(To be honest, I would have much preferred to read one of the several DES books we haven't yet covered since I joined the group 12 years ago -- or at least one we haven't covered quite so recently -- but, majority rules, and we had a willing discussion coordinator, so... !)  

(I had read the book through on my own before re-reading with the group back in 2022, and you can read my two previous reviews from then here and here. Since I was already pretty familiar with the story, I opted not to do a readthrough first on my own this time around and simply followed along with the group reading schedule.) 

The book is titled "Anna and Her Daughters," but Anna is actually not the main character. The novel is narrated by her youngest daughter, Jane, who is 17 as the story begins. Jane and her next-oldest sister Rosalie (a classic middle child) have always lived in the shadow of their oldest sister, the beautiful, spoiled and selfish Helen.  Their comfortable lives in London are interrupted when their father dies suddenly, leaving them with no income and very little savings. His brother, the girls' Uncle Leonard, urges them to downsize to a small flat and find jobs -- but Anna is determined to sell the house instead and return to Ryddelton, her hometown in Scotland (and the setting of several other DES books), where they can buy a small house and live more cheaply.  

Their lives are further changed when Jane meets tall, dark, handsome Ronnie Ferguson... but the relationship doesn't evolve quite the way you might think...  

Jane is an appealing heroine who grows and matures over the course of the book, and (as you might suspect!) ultimately gets a happy ending -- but (as I mentioned in my previous reviews), there were just a few too many plot twists and manouevres and holes along the way for my liking. There's a section set in colonial Kenya that's pretty wince-inducing for modern readers. Not my favourite DES book, but it has its moments. 

Our next group read will be determined soon.  

I previously rated this book at 3 stars, and that still sounds right. 

This was Book #34 read to date in 2026 (and Book #1 finished in November), bringing me to 85% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently 1 book ahead of schedule to meet my goal! (with 6 books to go!) You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

'Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" by Satoshi Yagisawa

My co-host at the Childless Collective Nomo Book Club and I were looking for something short and not too taxing (if not Christmas./holiday-related) for our group to read and discuss during the busy month of December -- and she suggested "Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated from Japanese by Eric Ozawa).  (Bonus: a touch of diversity from our usual choices, as the book is set in Japan.)  

Takako is 25, working at an office job in the city, enjoying life and expecting a proposal from her boyfriend, Hideaki -- until he announces he's getting married -- to one of their coworkers. In despair, Takako quits her job, holes up in her apartment, and falls into depression.  

As her savings dwindle, she gets a call out of the blue (prompted by her mother, she suspects) from her uncle Satoru, who runs the second-hand bookstore originally owned by Takako's great-grandfather, in Jimbocho, a Tokyo suburb famous for its many used bookstores.  Takako was close to Satoshi in her childhood, but hasn't seen him in years. Nevertheless, when he throws her a lifeline -- a room above his bookstore, in exchange for helping out in the store -- she accepts. 

Satoru is in his mid-40s, slightly eccentric, and separated from his wife Momoko, who left him five years ago. He and Takako make an odd couple -- but they gradually begin to rebuild their once-close relationship. Satoru introduces her to his regular customers, as well as the coffee shop where she becomes a regular and makes new friends. Constantly surrounded by books, it's probably inevitable that Takako eventually becomes an avid reader. 

I enjoyed this book overall. It was a short, pleasant read, and it was nice to read something on the cozy/lighter side as autumn set in -- albeit it does touch on a few darker angles/triggers, including (content/ALI warnings/potential spoilers) depression, abortion, stillbirth, serious illness (possibly terminal) and suicidal ideation. I enjoyed that the book focused on the relationships between an uncle (and aunt) and niece, and how they helped to heal each other. And it's always fun reading a book that's about/touches on books and the love of reading. There's a note at the back about some of the books mentioned and which ones are available in English. 

3.5 stars on Goodreads and StoryGraph.   

This was Book #33 read to date in 2026 (and Book #4 finished in October), bringing me to 83% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

"The Everest Mystery" by Julie Summers and Jochen Hemmleb

I don't remember when I first heard the story of George Leigh Mallory and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine, who disappeared while heading for the summit of Mount Everest in June 1924 -- but the story, and Everest generally, have fascinated me for years.  I read and enjoyed "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer when it was first published in 1997 (he may have been the one to introduce me to Mallory and Irvine).  And I still find myself thinking about "Into the Silence" by Wade Davis, which I read and reviewed here in 2013. 

Mallory has long been the better-known half of the duo, amplified by the discovery of his frozen corpse on the slopes of Everest in 1999.  Then, just two years ago, in 2024, a boot containing a foot and a sock -- labelled with Irvine's name -- was discovered.  

Now Irvine's great-niece and biographer, Julie Summers, has teamed up with Everest historian Jochen Hemmleb to turn the spotlight on the great-uncle she never knew and analyze all the existing evidence as to what might have happened to him and his climbing companion in a new book: "The Everest Mystery: Sandy Irvine, George Mallory, and the Truth Still Buried on Everest." (I learned about it when I read a review in the New York Times in September.) 

The first part of the book recounts Irvine's growing-up years and pre-Everest accomplishments, as well as the early days of the 1924 Everest expedition, in alternating chapters that draw on his diaries and letters home -- many of which languished for decades in a trunk in the attic of his family's home. He was just 22, and did not have as much climbing experience as some of the other members of the group, but he was an excellent athlete, who rowed crew at Everton College, Oxford, and took part in an Arctic sledging expedition in Norway, in 1923. Moreover, his engineering background and his ability to fix all kinds of mechanical issues made him an invaluable member of the team, particularly when it came to monitoring and  repairing their newfangled oxygen tanks. 

The middle section deals with the group's repeated attempts to climb the mountain, culminating in Mallory & Irvine's final and ultimately fatal journey.  The last few chapters recount what happened next, including subsequent Everest expeditions, the artefacts they discovered from the 1924 climb, and other evidence, over time, that points to several theories of what might have happened to Mallory & Irvine and whether they might have reached the summit before they died.  

The earlier chapters were a bit slow-moving. Later, the questions of who found what, when and exactly where on the mountain, how the various accounts differed, and all the alternate routes Mallory and Irvine might have taken during their climb, had me somewhat dazed.  (Experienced climbers might react differently!) Some photos or maps/charts, plotting out the various sightings, etc., might have been helpful. There are some photos and charts in the book, but not alongside the text, and they were rather small (at least they were in my e-reader). It might have been easier to flip back and forth in a paper book.  

I most enjoyed this book when it gave us glimpses into who Irvine was as a person and the lingering impact his disappearance has had on multiple generations of his family. I was moved to tears at several points, reading about what happened after Mallory and Irvine disappeared into the mists of Everest, and the Irvine family's ongoing grief.  For example, Sandy's father learned of his son's death through a telegram from the Everest committee. He'd been expecting a telegram, but one bearing good news.  Until the end of his life, he believed his son had reached the top of the mountain before he died. Another example:  in 1930, a sherpa from the 1924 expedition handed a cloth-wrapped package to the British member of another Himalayan mountain expedition, and asked that it be delivered to Sandy's sister Evelyn (the author's grandmother). It contained 31 Himalayan garnets. Evelyn never opened the package;  her son Peter (the author's father) found it after Evelyn's death in 1978, and -- 21 years later -- gave it to the author to unwrap.   

An interesting addition to my Everest library. :) 

3.5 stars on both Goodreads & StoryGraph. (Goodreads now allows quarter & half-star ratings!) .  

This was Book #32 read to date in 2026 (and Book #3 finished in October), bringing me to 80% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

"The Women" by Kristin Hannah

"The Women" by Kristin Hannah is the November selection for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club, and the first Kristin Hannah novel I've read. 

Frances (Frankie) McGrath is a newly graduated nurse, the sheltered daughter of an affluent, conservative California family who live near a naval base. Growing up, her father proudly regaled her and her older brother Finley with tales of the heroic military service of generations of their ancestors. The book opens in May 1966 at a farewell party for Finley, who is heading off to Vietnam, in a supposedly "safe" staff position.  

"Women can be heroes," Finley's military college buddy Rye tells Frankie, as they look at the uniformed family portraits displayed in her father's office. For Frankie, it's a revolutionary thought.  Inspired by the family photos, Rye's words and an encounter with a wounded soldier at the hospital where she works, and missing her brother, Frankie decides to enlist as an army nurse immediately after her 21st birthday. While her parents were proud of her brother's service, they're shocked -- and ashamed -- when she tells them what she's done. (Her father refuses to add her photo to the collection in his office -- he tells her he'll put up her wedding picture when she gets married.  That, in his view, is an appropriate achievement for a woman.)  Frankie is shocked by their reaction -- and it's only the first of many traumas and disappointments she endures over the next 15 years.   

I was on the fence about this book for the first few chapters. I was a little irked by Frankie's family's affluence, when so many men who served in Vietnam were black and/or came from poor families and had no easy way of dodging the draft (although Frankie's youthful naivete and privilege does create an effective contrast to the culture shock she feels as a newbie in wartime Vietnam!).  And Rye's comment to Frankie -- "Women can be heroes"  -- seemed a little too modern/progressive for a young military college graduate in 1966.  (Kristin Hannah was born in 1960 -- so she's about the same age as me, and was a pre-teen/young teenager when the war ended.)  

Once Frankie arrives in Vietnam, though, the story quickly became a lot more interesting. Like many readers, I'm sure, I'd never really thought much about the nurses who served in Vietnam and what their experiences must have been like, and this book was a real eye-opener in that respect.  About halfway through, Frankie returns home to America, and her difficult adjustment to civilian life was just as absorbing to read about -- perhaps even more so -- than the section about her war experiences. Like many of the male veterans of that war, Frankie suffered from PTSD (although it was not called that at the time), made worse by the people who shunned her, spat at her and called her "baby killer."  The staff at the hospital where she gets a job after the war ignore her deep experience and put her to work emptying bedpans, as if she was a candy striper.  Rubbing salt in these wounds, she learns her parents have told their friends she's been studying abroad in Italy (!).  And whenever she tells people that she served in Vietnam -- even those working in government agencies, who are supposed to be helping veterans -- they don't believe her:  "There are/were no women serving in Vietnam."  

However -- I thought the story was just a LITTLE too predictable at times, with just a few too many improbable coincidences and other plot developments: (**SPOILERS AHEAD**)  For example: I had a gut feeling Finley was not coming home, and sure enough, within minutes of Frankie telling her parents she's enlisted (!), the doorbell rings and two uniformed officers appear at the door with bad news for the family. I also KNEW she was going to run into Rye in Vietnam... and that he was going to show up in Hawaii when Frankie is there on leave.  I correctly guessed that Frankie was going to lose both of the men she loved in Vietnam (although I dared to hope she wouldn't... and I did not see the twists coming later in the book, although perhaps I should have!).  And as soon she encounters Henry Acevedo, I knew she/we would be seeing him again. A friend had told me (**SPOILER & ALI note**) that Frankie becomes pregnant later in the book and then has a miscarriage (possibly caused, at least in part, by her exposure to Agent Orange during the war) -- but the timing (what came just before the miscarriage, and what was scheduled to happen a few days later) was kind of unbelievable. 

The last chapter -- which takes place at the 1982 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC -- had me in tears. But it also had me exclaiming aloud, "Oh COME ON!!" (I mean, really??) 

Hannah has clearly done a ton of research -- but I sometimes felt like she was trying to cram in everything that ever happened to someone who served in Vietnam (and every notable 1960s event or experience) into Frankie's story.  (On the plus side, the frequent musical references reminded me that if there's ever a film version of this book, it's going to have a kickass soundtrack...!) 

All that said -- despite these flaws, I kept turning the pages, and read the bulk of it over just two days. (It's a long-ish book, almost 500 pages.) I particularly appreciated its depiction of complicated grief, loss and trauma, the toll that disenfranchised grief can take -- and the realization that, despite the attempts (and constant advice) to forget, you can't. Frankie learns (as so many of us eventually do) that that the best way to heal is to remember and to share your story with others, particularly those who have had similar experiences. (Although many aspects of Frankie's story were very different from mine, there was a LOT here I could relate to!) 

Overall, "The Women" was a compelling read, and a story that richly deserved to be (finally!) told. Kudos to Kristin Hannah for doing so!  

4 stars on both Goodreads and StoryGraph. 

Tip:  Have tissues handy -- especially for that last chapter. 

ALI note: As mentioned above, Frankie becomes unexpectedly pregnant after she returns home, but has a miscarriage, and remains childless.    

This was Book #31 read to date in 2026 (and Book #2 finished in October), bringing me to 78% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently back on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

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I was born in 1961, and I remember the Vietnam war pretty well, although I didn't always completely understand what it was all about (I think a lot of people today STILL don't understand what it was all about..!) -- poring over the newspaper headlines, hearing the latest casualty figures on the evening news (particularly when we were visiting my grandparents and watching John Chancellor on NBC).  I was 12 when the war ended in 1973, and 14 when the U.S. exited the country.  I vividly remember watching the footage of desperate Vietnamese people at the gates of the U.S. embassy in Saigon, clinging to the last helicopter lifting off the roof (and then dropping off as it flew away). 

My mother's small hometown in Minnesota lost several young men in Vietnam. At the county fair one summer in the early/mid-1970s, I was fascinated by a booth run by families of men missing in action (MIA), drawing attention to the issue, selling MIA/POW bracelets and handing out bumper stickers and buttons. (I had a couple of those in my scrapbook.)  A woman at the booth was a high school classmate of my uncle's, I think, married to a classmate of my mother's. Her younger brother was a helicopter pilot who went missing in action after his aircraft was shot down in early January 1973 -- a little over a month after he arrived in Vietnam, and less than three weeks before American involvement in the war came to an official end. He was 23 years old. One of my (second) cousins wore a bracelet for him. For a while there were rumours that at least some of the helicopter crew had survived and been taken prisoner, but he was officially declared killed in action in 1979. 

Years later, in 1994, an investigative team learned that a farmer who lived near where the helicopter was shot down had found a body and buried it in the village cemetery. The body was recovered and identified as the missing soldier from Mom's hometown, and returned to his family there.  He was finally buried there n 1996.   

His name is inscribed on the memorial wall in Washington, D.C.  If & when I ever get there (as I have wanted to do, ever since I was kid), his is the name I will look for. I won't be able to tell my mom I was there... but I know she'd like that. 

I was also reminded, as I read this book, that Phan Thi Kim Phuc -- the little girl who appears in one of the most famous photographs from the war -- lives in the Toronto area now, in the next town over from the one where we had our house for 26 years. She & her husband were granted political asylum in Canada in 1993, and became Canadian citizens in 1997.  It took her years to recover from the napalm burns she suffered, and her body is still covered in scars. Today, she's 63 years old, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and an advocate for child victims of war. 

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I haven't read a whole lot about the war before this, but I did read and love "The Long Gray Line" by Rick Atkinson, about several members of the West Point Class of 1966 and what happened to them over the next 25 years. As you can imagine, Vietnam figures prominently in the story, including the fight to build the memorial wall. It's been a while since I read it, but I remember the ending had me in tears. 

I can also highly, highly recommend Ken Burns's documentary series on the war, which ran on PBS a few years back, and which I wrote about here. 

(There's a scene in the book where vets protesting against the war throw their medals on the steps of the Capitol in Washington D.C.  I was reminded of a scene in Burns's documentary where one vet describes throwing his medal away at this or a similar protest. Back in his hometown, he was criticized for doing this -- and his father, who had never had much to say about his service, stood up for him and said something to the effect of "It's his medal, he earned it, he can do what he wants with it."  Recalling this  years later on camera, the vet gave a quiet smile and said, "Way to go, Dad.") 

While I was reading this, I was also reminded a lot of "M*A*S*H*" -- the original 1968 book, the 1970 movie and the long-running (1972-83) TV series -- which was set during the Korean War, but widely interpreted to be a thinly-disguised stand-in for Vietnam. 

I've also seen several movies about or touching on the Vietnam war -- most notably "Apocalypse Now, which my first-year university film studies prof assigned us all to see, shortly after it came out, in early 1980.  A classmate & I went to see it in a grand old movie palace with a big screen, and took notes for class as we watched!  

"We Chase Shadows" by Richard Osman

Like Richard Osman's other books, "We Chase Shadows" was hard to put down. It's a follow-up to "We Solve Murders" (which I read last year -- twice! -- and reviewed here and here), the first volume in a new series outside of his popular Thursday Murder Club books.  

Retired cop Steve, his professional bodyguard daughter-in-law Amy, and famous mystery author Rosie formed a detective agency (called We Solve Murders) at the end of the first book -- but in the six months since then, they haven't had one case. That's about to change: a new client hires them to find out who killed one of his bodyguards -- and left the body on the steps of his Italian villa with a threatening note. But the more our trio digs into the case, the more suspects they find. Travelling aboard Rosie's private jet, their search takes them from Italy to Palm Springs, Barcelona and Malaga, Rosie's castle in the New Forest and back to Steve's village pub. (A few familiar faces from "We Solve Murders" pitch in to help too.)    

This book was everything I've come to expect from Osman:  quirky characters, a fast-moving, convoluted plot with lots of twists and turns and red herrings and dead bodies, and lots of laughs. In short, it's a lot of fun. I actually guessed the identity of the killer (one of them!)(yay!), and also the source of the background noises that Amy hears over the phone, near the end of the book.  

There's an extended lunch scene in a restaurant in Chapter 55, involving talk of murder and a hapless waiter with a bread basket that had me in stitches. And there's the hint of future crossovers with that other Osman series in the Epilogue that made me smile. And look forward impatiently for the next books in (both) these series.  

If I had one quibble about the book (and Osman's writing in general), it's that he sometimes stuffs the pages with long, rambling introspective passages inside the minds of his characters (both major and minor) -- which may or may not be relevant to the plot. But this is also part of the charm that makes his books what they are. 

Bring on the next Osman book (soon, please!). 

4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.  

This was Book #30 read to date in 2026 (and Book #1 finished in October), bringing me to 75% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently back on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

Right now

Right now...* 

*(A (mostly) monthly series/meme.  Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first (similar) "The Current" post, here.)

September was pretty quiet, with nothing much special going on.  (How is it already October?)  The weather was very hot, early on (with a really wild storm one afternoon that had me taking cover in the walk-in closet, as hail pounded against our windows!), but it's cooled off nicely (happily, not TOO much yet!).    

Some of the things I/we did this month include: 

• Shopped and walked at the mall (Sept. 1st). Returned there on Sept. 23rd, after avoiding the place for several weeks around the start of the school year! lol  (Also, we were busy!)  And returned again on Sept. 29th. 
• Stopped en route home at the drugstore to pick up prescriptions. (Sept. 1st & 29th) 
• Spent a few hours with both Little Great-Nephews & their grandma (SIL) (Sept. 2nd).   
• Continued weekly visits with Younger LGNephew & SIL since Older LGNephew went back to school. (Sept. 9th & 15th)
• Stopped en route home at the supermarket to pick up some soup or pizza slices for lunch. (Sept. 9th)   
• Browsed at the bookstore with a tea latte in hand (hadn't had one of those in a while...!). :) (Sept. 4th & 11th)
• Stopped at the supermarket for a few things on the way home. (Sept. 4th) 
• Went grocery shopping, and picked up some soup or pizza slices for lunch. (Sept. 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th). 
• Went out for brunch on the first day of school hereabouts (Sept. 8th -- see "Eating/Drinking," below). 
• After brunch, went shopping for a new dishwasher (!) (and found one!).  I'm happy to report we are very pleased with it, too! :) 
• Drove into the city (midtown) for dentist appointments (Sept. 16th). (Dh had to return a few days later for a filling -- I stayed at home then.)   
• Stopped at the supermarket en route home to pick up some pizza slices for lunch. 
• Went over to BIL & SIL's (Sept. 22nd morning):  BIL needed to take his car to the dealership for some repairs, and asked dh to follow him in his car and then bring him back to the house (after which BIL headed off to work in his work-supplied truck).. The LGNephews were both sick, so their mom kept them home (and took them to the doctor later)  :(  but SIL made cappuccinos for the two of us while they were gone, and we had a nice chat over those and some delicious lemon biscotti she'd found at Costco.  :)  
• Picked up a few things at Staples and Dollarama later that afternoon.  

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Also right now:  

Reading:  I finished 4 books in September (all reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2026 books").  Year to date, I've read 29 books,  reached 73% of my Goodreads Challenge goal, and am currently on track to achieve it by year end!  

Read this month: 

• "The Wedding People" by Alison Espach (the October choice for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club).. (I previously read and reviewed this one, here;  rated 4-4.5 stars. This time around: 5 stars. My review.)
• "The Forsyte Saga" by John Galsworthy. After mulling it over (see this post!), I accepted a commenter's suggestion to do a readalong together, as the new TV series was beginning on PBS.  (4 stars;  my review.)  
• "Trespasses" by Louise Kennedy. (The TV version begins on PBS on Sept. 20th.) (4.5-5 stars;  my review.)  
• "Happiness Included:  Jan Brady and Beyond" by Eve Plumb. (3.5-4 stars;  my review.) 

Current reads: 

• "We Chase Shadows" by Richard Osman. #2 in the "We Solve Murders" series. 47% completed. 
• "Anna and Her Daughters" by D.E. Stevenson, with my DES group. We started Sept. 7th and will finish in early/mid-November;.  (Last read 2x in 2022;  my reviews here and here.)  42% completed.  
• "The Children’s Book" by A.S. Byatt -- a "slow readalong" with Footnotes & Tangents, which started Sept. 4th and will end Dec. 18th.  27% completed. 
• "Childless: A Woman and a Girl in a Man's World" by Fabiana Formica.  This one is beautifully written, but slow going, and I was reading it (or trying to...!) at Mom & Dad's last summer (2025), where there were a lot of distractions. I've put it aside for the moment to focus on other reading priorities, but I've completed 33% to date.
• "L.M. Montgomery and Gender," an essay collection edited by E. Holly Pike & Laura Robinson. Slowly working my way through, in between the other books...! 

Coming up: Most of my book groups have their next reads plotted out for a few months in advance -- and listing them here helps me keep track of what I should be reading next. ;)  

• For my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club:  
• "The Women" by Kristin Hannah (November)
• "Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" by Satoshi Yagisawa (December) 
• "The Mitford Affair" by Marie Benedict (January). (Previously read & reviewed here; 4 stars). 
• "The Other Bennet Sister" by Janice Hadlow (February) 
• "Big Swiss" by Jen Beagin (March) 
• For my D.E. Stevenson group: Future reads TBD...
• Footnotes & Tangents slow readalongs for 2027 TBA (on Friday!). 

A few recently purchased titles (all in digital format, mostly discounted ($5-10 or less) or purchased with points): (No links this time, sorry!) 

• "1929" by Andrew Ross Sorkin
• "Enshittification" by Cory Doctorow
• "The Everest Mystery" by Julie Summers & Jacob Hemmleb
• "Wreck" by Catherine Newman 
• "The Shampoo Effect" by Jenny Jackson 
• "American Struggle" by Jon Meacham
• "She Wanted More" by Poorna Bell 
• "A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever" by Rob Reiner 
• "You With the Sad Eyes" by Christina Applegate 
• "The Astral Library" by Kate Quinn 
• "The Typewriter and the Guillotine" by Mark Braude 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Watching: 

• "The Marlow Murder Club" (season 3) on PBS (began Sept. 6th & will end on Oct. 11th;  four of six episodes featuring two of three storylines aired to date), based (in part) on the third book in the series by Robert Thorogood, "The Queen of Poisons" (reviewed here). 
• The first two episodes/first storyline once again played up the "mom" angle for Becks and Tanika (which is non-existent in the books). However! In episode 2, Becks asks DC Alice Hackett why she joined the police force.  Alice tells her that her aunt was a police officer, and she looked up to her when she was growing up. Judith chimes in that her great-aunt was so important to her too -- and they clink glasses and make a toast: "To aunts and great-aunts!"  (Hear, hear!!)  
• "Marble Hall Murders" on PBS (began Sept. 6th; will end on Oct. 11th -- four of six episodes aired to date), based on the book by Anthony Horowitz (reviewed here). I love these books, and I love the very clever adaptations -- particularly Lesley Manville as the heroine, book editor Susan Ryeland. 
• "Trespasses" on PBS (began Sept. 20th and will end Oct. 11th -- two of four episodes aired to date), based on the book by Louise Kennedy (reviewed here). The scenery (outside the city of Belfast) is gorgeous, the atmosphere is suitably drab and oppressive, the period details are spot-on (including a great 1970s soundtrack!) and there's some amazing casting, including Gillian Anderson (Agent Scully!!) as Cushla's alcoholic mother Gina, and Tom Cullen (Lady Mary's lover Tony Gillingham in Downton Abbey!) as Michael. The actress playing Davy's mother Betty McGeown is a dead ringer for Canadian actress Megan Follows, best known as THE best-ever Anne of Green Gables!
• I'm very glad I read the book first.. I'm generally not bad at deciphering accents -- most British TV shows are no problem for me -- but these Irish accents are pretty thick!  I really had to listen carefully, and it was hard to understand the dialogue, especially early on.

Playing:  

• Heardle Decades: (as of Sept. 30th):  
• Heardle 60s: 74.6% (1006/1349, 408 on first guess), up 0.2%. since Aug. 31st. Max streak: 21.  
• Heardle Super 60s: 55.6% 25/46, 6 on first guess), up 11.9% since Aug. 31st. Max streak: 5.  
• Heardle 70s: 74.6% (813/1090, 454 on first guess), down 0.1% from Aug. 31st.. Max streak: 18. 
• Heardle Super 70s: 55.3 61.1% (26/47, 14 on first guess), down 5.8% since Aug. 31st. Max streak:  3. 
• Heardle 80s:  42.2% (399/945, 161 on first guess), up 0.8% from Aug. 31st. Max. streak: 6.
• Heardle Super 80s: 38.9% (23/47, 9 on first guess), down 1.1% since Aug. 31st. Max streak: 6 (up from 4).. 
• Heardle 90s: 32.7% (342/1045, 88 on first guess), down 0.3% from Aug. 31st. Max. streak: 9. 
• NYT Connections: 
• As of Aug. 31st, I'd played 746 games and won 90% of them (unchanged since Aug. 2nd), including 400 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors, and 22 where I got the most difficult/purple category first (an increase of 2 since Dec.  31st). Maximum (and current!) winning streak: 47! (an increase of 2 since June 30th, 2025). . 
• By Sept. 30th, I'd completed 776 games, won 90% of them (unchanged since Aug. 2nd), including 417 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors, and 22 where I got the most difficult/purple category first (unchanged since Aug. 31st). Maximum winning streak:  52 (an increase of 5! since Aug. 30th).  (I will admit to using hints at times...!)  

Eating/Drinking:  

• Over the past two years (since some less-than-stellar bloodwork results for both of us in October 2024), we've been trying to eat healthier and lower our cholesterol levels -- and avoid having to take on another prescription. 
• Results have been mixed -- initially good, less so more recently. It's been a busy, stressful year (starting on Jan. 1st, when my mom basically dropped dead while I was there visiting), and as a result, my diet has not always been the best (often more about what's available/convenient than what's healthiest). 
• I'm heading back to the blood lab on Monday (Oct. 5th) to get my levels checked (6 months-ish after my last bloodwork) -- wish me luck...!! (I'm not overly confident...!) 
• I'm down 0.6 pounds this month. Overall, I'm down more than 15 pounds since late October 2024 -- close to my lowest weight in more than a decade -- and more than 27 pounds from my heaviest-ever weight  (in August 2021). 
• (Dh  has gained a little weight back this summer, but is currently down more than 20 pounds since fall 2024.)
• Takeout meals this month included the usual pizza slices, soup and teriyaki rice bowls from the supermarket, Swiss Chalet rotisserie chicken, and our favourite wood oven thin-crust pizza. (It's gotten a little boring lately, to be honest -- but it's not easy finding takeout meals that are (a) cheap-ish -- especially lately! (b) not too horrible in terms of cholesterol and (c) something that appeals to both dh & I!)  
• Went out for brunch at a local brunch place on Sept. 8th --  first day of school hereabouts! -- because we're retired, and don't have any kids or grandkids to see off -- and also because this is a great place for brunch -- nice atmosphere and good food. I had the scrambled eggs with bacon (crisp, the way I like it), potatos and sourdough toast;  dh had a western omelette, also with potatos and toast. 

Wearing:  I WAS wearing lots of shorts, tank tops and T-shirts at the beginning of the month... but the weather has turned cooler recently, so I've shifting back towards short and then long sleeves vs tank tops.  I even had to bring out a sweatshirt on one recent evening! and I've been wearing slippers around the house too (vs bare feet). I traded in my shorts for capri yoga pants around the house, and I suspect longer pants are just around the corner...!   

Buying (besides books, lol):  Stuff for the great-niblings' Halloween goodie bags. We'll bring them when we see them for (Canadian) Thanksgiving (the weekend after this one coming up). 

A new KitchenAid dishwasher! (This post explains why!) We went shopping and bought it on Tuesday, Sept. 8th (after brunch);  it was delivered and installed and the old one removed and hauled away on Sept. 14th. The installers were polite, cheerful and efficient.  Appreciating that the new machine is ultra-QUIET (yay!)!  It also seems to have a little more room in the tub (including a shallow third rack near the top) and it cleans and dries very well!  So far we are very happy with its performance!  

Prioritizing/Trying: To read more books (to spend at least a few minutes a day reading a chapter -- or more), and do less scrolling/fewer news stories & opinion pieces.  

 

Wondering:  How to time our next few haircuts between now & Christmas?  (I normally like to get a trim every six weeks, and we're just about due...)  

Wanting: A little more sunshine. It's been grey & overcast (again) these past few days.  :(  

Noticing: Lots of noise coming from the hallway/neighbouring units again lately... a wailing toddler kittycorner from us, who is particularly noticeable every weekday morning around 8 AM (presumably when Mommy heads off to work), and several barking/yelping/whining dogs. I like dogs, but this drives me crazy after a while -- I suspect some of them are being left alone for long periods of time while their owners are out -- one reason why I never wanted to get a dog, especially when we were working!  Poor things! Sigh... 

Not noticing:  A lot of fall colours (yet!). 

Loving: The glimpses of yellow and orange and red that I am starting to see on the treetops, just these past few days... 

Missing:  Being at dh's cousin's cottage this fall, and the pretty fall colours there! We've been there the past several years for a weekend in September, and so I've been seeing photos in my Facebook and Google Photo memories.  They've been busy, so we didn't get an invitation this year. They DID have ALL of dh's cousins on that side of the family there in May (the ones in Canada, anyway), but it's gorgeous there in the fall!   

Enduring: Seasonal allergies (ugh!) -- for almost the entire month!! -- sneezing, irritated eyes, post-nasal drainage, leading to a scratchy/ticklish throat, resulting in coughing (through the night) = fatigue... I had a look at my datebook notes from the same time last year and realized I was dealing with exactly the same thing then too...! -- although I think it's worse this year...!  :p  (I've taken note for September 2027...!)  

Feeling: A little sad that winter is fast approaching (much as I enjoy fall). A little bored. (I am rarely bored, but I feel like we've been stuck in our routines a little too much lately...!). I feel like we haven't done much that is different or fun lately, and I'm getting an itch to go somewhere, even for just a weekend. 

Coming up in October: (Canadian) Thanksgiving (Oct. 12th -- likely to be spent at BIL's). Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day (Oct 15th/Month). The annual meeting of owners for our condo corporation (we recently changed property managers -- this should be interesting...!). The start of the figure skating season, with the first two of six Grand Prix circuit events. Bloodwork to check my cholesterol (wish me luck...!), and optometrist check-ups. My 19th (!) blogoversary (!!).  And (of course), Halloween.  :)  We don't get any trick or treaters in our building, but I'm looking forward to seeing photos of the great-niblings!  :)  

"Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond" by Eve Plumb

I was scrolling through some special offers from Kobo early last night, and saw "Happiness Included:  Jan Brady and Beyond," a recently published memoir by Eve Plumb of "The Brady Bunch."  I'm a sucker for show-biz memoirs, and couldn't resist having a peek at the online preview (about 10% of the book's contents). 

Of course, once I did, I was hooked. I wound up buying and downloading the book to my e-reader (it WAS on sale...!), and set aside the other book(s) I was reading.  It was a fast, light, easy read (a great follow-up to the heaviness of "Trespasses" and the Troubles of Northern Ireland in the 1970s):  by the time I went to bed a few hours later, I'd read 25%, and I finished it earlier tonight, a little more than 24 hours after I first picked it up (!).   

I wasn't a HUGE fan of "The Brady Bunch" (I was more into "The Partridge Family" -- which ran in about the same time frame, and featured David Cassidy, after all...!), but of course I watched it as a kid. The youngest Brady kids were my age (Susan Olsen, who played Cindy is, like me, a 1961 baby);  the oldest (Barry Williams/Greg) is not quite seven years my senior, with the others falling somewhere in between.  My sister and I even had one of their singing group albums (!) (which I found in a pile of old LPs at my parents' house this spring when we were emptying it out. They all went to the thrift store.).  Our (second) cousins actually saw the Bradys in concert at the Minnesota State Fair with their mom. (None of them were overly impressed, although their mom, who attended with them, thought Bobby/Mike Lookinland was the most talented of the group!) 

I'm pretty sure I've read at least one other Brady memoir in the past (pre-tracking on Goodreads) (possibly Barry Williams's "Growing Up Brady:  I Was a Teenage Greg"), although I don't remember for sure.  At any rate, there were not many huge revelations about the show and cast members that I hadn't read or heard about elsewhere. 

Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning more about Eve and her family, and especially her pre- and post-Brady life.  While Eve's Brady character Jan was a classic middle child, she was actually the youngest of three children, by quite a few years, and grew up as a virtual only child.  She was "discovered" by her next-door neighbour, an agent who represented her throughout her childhood and teen years. Her dad was a musician who later worked for RCA as a scout and a producer.  Among his discoveries:  Jefferson Airplane (!) and the Monkees (!!). Pre-Brady Bunch, Eve attended one of their recording sessions and had her photo taken sitting on Davy Jones's lap. (He told her he'd marry her when she grew up -- sorry,  Marcia!  lol)  

Eve credits her parents for shielding her from the less savoury aspects of the business and emphasizing professionalism, something that was also modelled by her TV parents, Robert Reed and Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis, who played the family's housekeeper, Alice. Eve remembers them with great love and respect. She does not see her Brady "siblings" often, but they enjoy being together whenever they do meet up, and continue to regard each other as family. She says she's closest to Christopher Knight, who played Peter, and he wrote the book's affectionate introduction. 

While parts became further and fewer between in the post-Brady years, Eve has continued to work as an actress, in television, films, on stage and behind the scenes as a voiceover artist, in Los Angeles and in New York City, where she now lives with her husband, Ken. She's also an accomplished painter, and has launched a line of home decor products (called PlumbGoods, with the marketing slogan "Happiness Included"). She's also a breast cancer survivor.  

The writing is nothing special, and while the actress reveals some details, she keeps others private (as is her prerogative).  But if you're a fan of "The Brady Bunch," or interested in the experiences of child actors, you will probably enjoy this book. 

(ALI note:  Eve is childfree by choice.)   

3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 4 stars on Goodreads.  

This was Book #29 read to date in 2026 (and Book #4 finished in September), bringing me to 73% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently back on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

"Trespasses" by Louise Kennedy

PBS will be showing a four-part adaptation of Louise Kennedy's debut novel, "Trespasses," starting this Sunday night (Sept. 20th).  I like to read the book a TV show or movie is based on before watching, if I can, and so I picked this one up about a week ago.   

"Trespasses" takes place in a small town near (suburb of?) Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1975 -- during a fraught period of violent sectarian conflict between Catholics and Protestants, republicans and loyalists to the British Crown, known as "the Troubles."  Cushla Lavery is a 24-year-old Catholic primary schoolteacher. She's concerned about Davy McGeown, one of her young pupils, who is the target of bullying, and whose family is struggling. In the evening, she often works a shift in the bar her brother inherited from their father, while also tending to her alcoholic widowed mother at home. 

One night at the bar, she meets Michael Agnew, a much-older, married, Protestant lawyer, who (nevertheless) defends suspected IRA terrorists in court. Sparks fly, and a passionate affair begins... 

Given the time and setting, I knew when I started reading that there wasn't going to be a happy ending for at least one (and probably more) of these characters. (I was right.)  It was a grim read in some respects -- but I kept turning the pages as the tensions mounted, and wound up staying up late to finish it off last night. I could not put it down. 

Framing the book are two brief chapters set in 2015, which rounded out the story beautifully (particularly the final chapter) and gave us a satisfying glimpse into what happened to some of the main characters during the 40 years in between. (And confirmed a couple of things I'd guessed while reading!)  

Midway through, I wasn't sure what the rating for this book was going to be -- but towards the end, I knew it would be at least 4 stars if not higher.  

4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.   

I'm looking forward to seeing how this story is handled on screen!  

Content warnings/ALI notes: There are sex scenes.  There is an authoritarian priest who, quite frankly, gave me the creeps.  Obviously, there is violence and threats of violence. A man is horribly beaten. A minor character tells Cushla about a recent miscarriage (one of several she's endured). 

This was Book #28 read to date in 2026 (and Book #3 finished in September), bringing me to 70% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently back on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."