Murder by Death

I thought it was time to mix things up a bit and get out of my cozy-mystery rut, and I had just received this book in the post so I thought 'why not?'

Mud Season is a memoir of sorts.  Ms. Stimson discusses her family's move to Vermont and the subsequent trials and tribulations of those first 2-3 years as they try to fit into a new small town and start a local business.

First I have to say, I didn't laugh as much as I should have reading these stories.  I don't know why - some of these stories are quite funny and the author has a great style of writing for telling them;  still, nothing.  And I feel quite bad about that really.  This is a well written book that had me 'seeing' her family's life unfold as she told the stories.

The stories are more or less linear, but she does jump around a bit and foreshadow a lot.  All of them lead to the culmination of what will be their biggest failure overall.  But this isn't a doom or gloom story by any stretch (as long as you avoid the In Memorium at the back).  Rather the overall theme of the book is a very tightly knit, close family overcoming a bunch of struggles in order to live a better life than the one they had.  And while the author may not have made me laugh, she definitely succeeded with this theme. 

Overall, a nice read for a rainy Saturday (in keeping with the title). 

Best line from the book:  "Um, do we even like Grandma?"

Recipes are included.