Amiable Dorsai

And now for something completely different: a question about a word. What's wrong with "ain't?" Aside from the loss of status you get by using it, it seems to me a perfectly cromulent contraction for "am not" that is much easier to pronounce than the more straightforward "amn't" would be. Who axed "ain't and by what authority?

A little too cute or quaint. The author, Susan Wittig Albert, mostly manages to avoid this, but every once in a great while she slips. Albert's an experienced mystery writer--Mrs. Dorsai has read some of her more conventional mysteries and likes them--and that probably explains how she mostly manages to avoid this trap.

Hack, what have you been you been up to?

Would you believe The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter? Both fun and relaxing, if occasionally somewhat twee, it's a series of mysteries set in the lake country of England where Beatrix Potter in real life lived once she moved out of London. Miss Potter is a major character as are her pets, as well as many other animals. The main conceit of the books is that the animals are, in their eyes, much like the animals that populate Potter's books--they talk to each other and have a society that is entirely unperceived by humans. Not my usual fare, but the relaxing part is important-- I've been having terrible problems with insomnia lately. Exciting stories that keep me turning the pages into the wee hours would be a bad idea just now.

Once again, Dan has shown us another side of what at first glance is a completely odious character. Pandora's tragic origin is, I think, the topper, but Susan, Diane, Mr. Raven, and others all were first introduced to us as unpleasant people, but they got more interesting and sympathetic as we came to learn more about them. Even Larry seems to be rethinking things. Exceptions to this include Damien, Sirleck, and Rich. I don't hold out much hope for any of them.

Ah, I misunderstood you.

Dex has confirmed it.

Crispy and Original Recipe?

Just got an account again, now going off to vote.