Books Can Be Deceiving

by Jenn McKinlay

  “Well, you have to tie off the last row, but yes, you’re done,” Violet said. “You did good.”

  She reached over and patted Lindsey’s knee.

  “Good job,” Mary said.

  “It’s perfect,” Charlene added.

  “You should be proud of yourself,” Beth said. “It looks great.”

  Lindsey sat back and marveled that she had managed to wrestle that pretty blue ball of yarn into a hat. She put it on her hand and turned it this way and that. She could just see it on her dad’s bald head, and she smiled.

  Why this felt like the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest without a Sherpa, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t have wiped the grin off of her face if she tried. Such a little thing, and yet it brought her such a huge sense of herself and her possibilities.

  She wished life could have been this simple for Ernie.

  She’d thought a lot about Sydney Carlisle, Ernie Shadegg and Astrid Blunt over the past few weeks.

  It turned out that Sydney had not known that Ernie had stolen Astrid’s work and that she had believed that Astrid was a crazed stalker, not too far off the mark there, and had encouraged him to acquire the name Rick Eckman and sever all ties with his past so that Astrid couldn’t find him.

  And Rick, well, he’d been so desperate to prove his worth artistically that he’d betrayed the people who had cared about him the most, both Astrid and Beth. The lack of personal effects at his cabin turned out to be because he had already begun to ship his things out of the cottage. He had been planning to move away before the book came out, so his breakup with Beth at the Blue Anchor on that stormy night had really been quite convenient for him.

  And then there was Astrid, who was now a guest in the county jail and likely to acquire permanent residency in the state penitentiary. Her life decisions had particularly bothered Lindsey. Perhaps it was because Lindsey knew what the sharp blade of betrayal felt like when it was jammed right between the ribs, but still she couldn’t imagine allowing herself to become so consumed with her bitterness that she would be driven to commit two, and almost four, acts of murder.

  She glanced around the room at these women who had become her friends over the past few months. She valued them and the time they spent together. In the end, when she thought of Rick and Astrid, it was with pity. Life was full of so many precious gifts, and they had missed the greatest one of all: friendship.

  She shook off her sad musings and glanced back down at her hat. She really was so pleased with it, but then a thought struck her and she frowned.

  “Um, can someone show me how to tie it off?” she asked. “Or I’ll be forced to go into a very long-winded monologue on how novels help us to understand historical events and put them in an appropriate contemporary construct.”

  All five of her crafternoon buddies roared forward in a mad scramble to help her with her rolled hat, and Lindsey grinned. She glanced around the room and down the hall to the main part of the building, where she could see the patrons come and go, and she noticed that at the moment, everything felt right in her world. As much as her life had changed over the past six months, she knew there was no other place she’d rather be.

  The Briar Creek Library Guide to Crafternoons

  What is a crafternoon? Well, in Briar Creek, it is a meeting between close friends where they share a craft, a good book and some yummy food. Here are some ideas for having your own crafternoon.

  Start with a good story. Lindsey recommends The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene, which comes with a handy discussion guide in the back of the book. The reading guide is also enclosed here to give you a sense of the novel.

  Share a craft, such as knitting, where participants can work on their own projects at their own pace. See the next page for the pattern Lindsey used to make the rolled hat for her father.

  Enjoy some delicious food. Nothing brings people together like good food. Recipes for Mary’s clam chowder and Sully’s hot chocolate follow the knitting pattern.

  Lastly, the most important part of crafternoons is to relax and have fun with people you enjoy!

  Readers Guide for

  The Last Time I Saw Paris

  by Lynn Sheene

  1. Claire’s most prized possession when she left Manhattan was her Cartier jewelry. How did the importance of this jewelry change for Claire throughout the book? Do you have a piece of jewelry that holds meaning for you? Is its worth measured in monetary or sentimental value? Have you inherited an antique or valued treasure from a loved one that carries important memories for you?

  2. The book described the elaborate floral displays that Claire and Madame Palain created for the Nazi-occupied hotels, as well as flowers tumbling down a garden wall and a bucketful of simple stems that Claire loved. What did these different flowers represent in the book? What did they mean personally to Claire? Do certain flowers hold meaning for you?

  3. Did you find elegance in Claire’s expensive Manhattan brownstone, or in the simple wine and bread dinners Madame Palain served, or in both? Give other examples of elegance from the book. How do these different examples each represent elegance? In today’s society, do you believe people define elegance based on material things, or is it an attitude and an approach to life?

  4. Madame Palain told Claire that “elegance is in the details” the first night they met. How did Madame demonstrate this belief in her daily life and in the way she ran La Vie en Fleurs? Did Claire embrace this way of living? How did it shape her actions and beliefs? Have you had a similar mentor in your life?

  5. Claire went to Paris to change her life. She did, but was it in the way she’d expected? Where in the story did you see a dramatic shift in Claire? How many people were touched by Claire’s character growth? Have you had an experience that transformed your life in unexpected ways?

  6. How did Claire’s changing perception of Grey mirror her own shifting consciousness? Did your opinion of Grey change along with Claire’s? How was he different from other men whom Claire had known? What was it about Grey that drew her in?

  7. Why did Claire assume that the Oberons would take in Marta and Anna? Would you risk your safety and open your home to children in peril?

  8. Odette pressed Claire to put her life in danger to save the Resistance leader Kinsel, and justified it by saying, “We are in a war, Claire. I must sometimes act as a soldier, not as a friend.” Could you ask your friends to risk their lives in an attempt to fight a great evil?

  9. What historical details of life under the Occupation were most surprising or moving for you? In what ways do novels provide a means for understanding history?

  LINDSEY’S KNITTING PATTERN FOR A ROLLED HAT

  One skein Loop-d-Loop River (90 percent cotton, 10 percent cashmere), 103 yards

  One size 10.5 US circular needle and one set 10.5 US double-pointed needles (or a second 10.5 circular needle) for working the top of the hat

  Scissors and yarn needle

  Gauge

  14 stitches and 20 rows per 4 inches in stockinette stitch in the round. Take time to check gauge.

  Pattern size is for an average adult.

  Cast on 76 stitches. Join in round, being careful not to twist.

  Work in stockinette stitch for 9 inches.

  Next round, *knit 2, knit 2 together. Repeat from * around.

  Work in stockinette stitch for 1 round. Change to double-pointed needles or work in second circular when needed. Divide the stitches evenly among the needles.

  Next round, *knit 1, knit 2 together. Repeat from * around.

  Work stockinette stitch for 1 round.

  Next round, *knit 2 together. Repeat from * around.

  Work in stockinette stitch for 1 round.

  *Knit 2 together. Repeat from *, ending knit 1.

  Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread tail onto the yarn needle, slip stitches onto needle and pull yarn tight, closing the top of the hat. Weave in ends.

  Recipes

  SULLY’S HOT CHOCOLATE<
br />
  ¾ cup bittersweet chocolate chips

  2 tablespoons sugar

  1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

  1 pinch salt

  3 ½ cups milk

  ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

  ½ cup half-and-half

  ¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

  2 cinnamon sticks, broken into two pieces

  Bring all ingredients (except cinnamon sticks) to a simmer in a medium saucepan, whisking often. Remove from heat, add cinnamon sticks, cover and let sit for five minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks, bring to a simmer again, whisking often. Pour into mugs and serve hot.

  MARY’S CLAM CHOWDER

  New England clam chowder is very particular; for example, don’t even try to put a tomato in it or any self-respecting Yankee will not eat it. Also, those thick chowders that they serve in restaurants come from using too much flour. The real deal uses cream, which is much lighter and enhances the flavor of the clams instead of hiding it.

  2 pounds chopped clams with liquid (quahogs, cherrystones or littleneck clams)

  1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

  2 cups onions, chopped

  3 slices of bacon, diced

  3 cups clam liquid, either broth from cooked clams or bottled clam juice, plus water to total 3 cups

  1 cup milk

  1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream

  Kosher or sea salt and pepper to taste

  Heat a heavy pot over medium heat and add bacon. Cook, stirring until lightly browned. Add onion and cook, stirring until soft and translucent. Add 3 cups reserved clam liquid or bottled clam juice and water, and increase heat to high. Add chopped potatoes and cook until potatoes are just soft—about 10 minutes.

  Add milk and half-and-half or cream and chopped clams, lower heat and simmer until clams are cooked (4–8 minutes, depending upon the size of the chopped clams). Add salt and pepper to taste.

  YIELDS 4 LARGE SERVINGS.

  Turn the page for a preview of Jenn McKinlay’s

  next book in the Library Lover’s Mysteries . . .

  DUE OR DIE

  Coming soon from Berkley Prime Crime!

  “I could not believe that Lucy agreed to marry Cecil when she was so obviously in love with George,” Violet La Rue declared.

  Lindsey Norris glanced up from the lace scarf she was attempting to crochet. What had she been thinking when she thought she could do anything with this cobweblike yarn? It was maddening.

  Violet’s crochet hook was swooping away, row after row, on a lace pillow cover that she was making for her niece, who was getting married in the spring. It was to be the ring-bearer’s pillow, and it was sure to be lovely.

  “She was expected to marry within her station,” Nancy Peyton said.

  Nancy was Lindsey’s landlord and had been teaching her a variety of needlecrafts for almost nine months now. Currently, their crafternoon club was working on crochet projects. It wasn’t going well for Lindsey.

  As Nancy took Lindsey’s mangled mohair out of her hands and began to fix it, Lindsey was pretty sure Nancy was setting herself up for sainthood.

  Both women had about twenty years on Lindsey, and she tried not to take it personally that they could manage to have an in-depth discussion about E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View and crochet at the same time.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve started already,” Charlene said as she entered the room. “You always do that.”

  “That’s because you’re always late,” Violet said.

  “No, I’m not,” Charlene argued. She took off her coat and hat and hung them on the rack. She glanced at the three women looking at her. “Am I?”

  “Uh, yeah, you are,” Lindsey said.

  Charlene huffed out a breath. She was wearing a stunning red turtleneck sweater that complemented the rich brown hue of her skin, over tailored black corduroys and black boots.

  “Well, as Oscar Wilde said, ‘He was always late on principle, his principle being that punctuality was the thief of time,’” Charlene said as she took the cushy seat beside Lindsey.

  “Very clever, but you might want to go for ‘Better never than late,’ ” Violet said. “George Bernard Shaw.”

  Lindsey and Nancy glanced between the mother and daughter. Charlene was the image of her mother, Violet; in other words, she was gorgeous, but even more than that she shared her mother’s formidable intelligence and love of literature.

  Violet had been a stage actress in New York in her youth, while Charlene was currently a local newscaster in New Haven, but both women had the ability to command the attention of any room they entered. Lindsey figured it must be in their genetic code.

  “Nicely played, Mom.” Charlene laughed and Violet bowed her head in acknowledgment. “But I thought we were discussing E. M. Forster today. What have I missed?”

  “Not much,” Nancy said. Her blue eyes twinkled as she added, “Just Violet being testy because Lucy didn’t go off with George right away.”

  “Not much of a book if Lucy picked the right man at the start,” Charlene said. She pulled the ripple afghan she was working on out of her bag.

  The small room boasted cushy chairs and a toasty fire in the gas fireplace. Recently, Lindsey had added a couple of short bookshelves where she kept extra copies of their crafting books for the club to use during meetings.

  The lone large window in the room looked out over the town park and a picturesque view of the bay beyond. Today the sea was a deep gray, reflecting the steely cold January skies that loomed above.

  The crafternoon club met every Thursday in this small room in the Briar Creek Public Library, of which Lindsey was the director, to work on a craft, discuss their latest book and eat. This week it had been Lindsey’s turn to provide the food, so she had baked apple-cinnamon muffins, brought a large block of Brie with wheat crackers and made both coffee and tea.

  “Who picked the right man at the start?” Beth Stanley asked from the doorway. She was dressed as a giant spider, and the other women looked her up and down as she turned sideways to fit her eight legs, four of which were add-ons suspended by fishing wire from her arms, through the doorway.

  “Here, let me help you,” Mary Murphy offered as she followed Beth into the room and helped her out of her story-time costume.

  “Thanks. I have a new respect for spiders,” Beth said. “I had a heck of a time getting all my legs to go in the right direction while I read Mrs. Spider’s Tea Party to the kids. I whacked poor Lily Dawson in the bum with one of them.”

  Lindsey exchanged a smile with Charlene. Beth was the children’s librarian, and the kids adored her. Mostly because she was a big kid herself. When she did the hokey pokey, her enthusiasm made everyone in the library feel the need to put their left foot in, as it were.

  Beth hung her spider outfit on the coat rack by the door, which was already straining under the weight of all their winter coats and hats, and plopped into one of the available seats.

  Mary hung up her coat as well, sat beside Beth and pulled out the tea cozy she was working on for her mother. It was white with retro aqua starbursts on it. She thought it would match her mother’s vintage 1950s kitchen perfectly.

  Mary was a native of Briar Creek and had grown up on one of the Thumb Islands out in the bay. Currently, she ran the Blue Anchor Café with her husband, Ian, and was known for making the best clam chowder in the state.

  Her parents still lived out on Bell Island, and Lindsey wished she could see what their vintage kitchen looked like. As she watched the cozy take shape in Mary’s skilled hands, Lindsey couldn’t help but feel the teensiest bit jealous. She had a feeling if she attempted a tea cozy it would turn out looking like a muffler for an elephant.

  “How far have you gotten in the discussion?” Mary asked.

  “Not very. We were talking about how short A Room with a View would have been if Lucy had picked the right man from the start,” Lindsey said. She glanced at her watch. It was only fifteen minu
tes past the hour, which gave them plenty of time to finish their discussion. Being employees of the library, both Lindsey and Beth had to confine their crafternoon club time to their lunch hour.

  Beth glanced around the group. “Well, I for one am relieved that she picked the clunker first and stayed with him. It made me feel like less of an idiot.”

  Violet reached over and patted Beth’s knee in sympathy. “It happens to all of us.”

  “Which is why sometimes it is easier to fall in love within the safety of a book,” Nancy agreed.

  “I hear that,” Charlene said.

  This was one of the many reasons Lindsey loved her crafternoon friends. They were made up of all different ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, but the one thing they had in common was a deep and abiding love of books. Yeah, basically, they were all nerds.

  “Well, the only man I plan to date for a while is Austen’s Mr. Darcy,” Beth said. “He always makes such a nice transitional man between boyfriends. Honestly, neither Cecil nor George is really doing it for me.”

  Beth had recently gotten out of an unfortunate relationship, and Lindsey was sure it had clouded her reading of the novel.

  She knew her own recent breakup had changed her take on the story. Her former fiancé, John, had taken up with one of his graduate students while Lindsey was in the midst of being downsized from her archivist job. John was a law professor at Yale, and he had never seemed the type to be interested in chasing the cute, young coed, but obviously a good education was no buffer against the male midlife crisis.