Sucked Into the Depressing News Rabbit Hole

 

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I do not watch the news on a regular basis, however, if a "train wreck"-type story pops up (which it often does), I get sucked in. I want to know everything I possibly can about the story. I often let myself be consumed by the hunt to find details, digest them, and then speculate, speculate, speculate. It can be mentally exhausting. I liken it to how I feel after watching an Intervention marathon. Major downer! 

The latest I am trying to distance myself from is the Murdaugh saga.

OK- this is just plain nuts. I first heard about it on an Instagram story for someone I follow (a "guilty pleasure" kind of follow, so I think I'll omit her identity...LOL). I heard Southern wealthy family mixed up in/with a handful of murders.

I then took off to find information. The Murdaughs have been influential in the judicial system in the Lowcountry of South Carolina for over 75 years. They run one of the most powerful law firms in Hampton County. In June, Maggie Murdaugh and her son Paul (22) were shot to death. Found at the family's hunting property (that should clearly indicate how much money we're talking here...) by Alex Murdaugh, Maggie's husband/Paul's father. Just last week, Alex Murdaugh was shot in the head- at first he claimed someone tried to murder him. He then recanted and admitted he hired someone to shoot and kill him so his other son (Buster) would get a $10 million insurance policy. Say what???? (Oh and he said he has an opioid addiction, thus causing this crazy action.)

Oh, it gets weirder. In 2019, Paul Murdaugh, his girlfriend, and two other couples were heavily intoxicated and riding in Alex's boat. Paul proceeded to crash the boat. One girl did not emerge from the water and her body was found a week later. Alex went from hospital room to hospital room telling the young adults not to talk to anyone about the accident and he'd "take care of it." Paul was scheduled to be arraigned for BUI charges just a short time after he was shot.

But wait...there's more. In 2015, a young man was allegedly killed in a hit and run on a rural road in South Carolina. Evidence points to this not being a hit and run. Multiple people interviewed by law enforcement indicated that they'd heard that Buster Murdaugh was involved. There are no records indicating that he was ever interviewed.

Lastly, in 2018, the Murdaugh's long-time housekeeper died in an alleged trip and fall accident. However, her death certificate indicates she died of "natural causes." There are rumors that Paul Murdaugh had something to do with her death.

Yeah, so totally Crazytown. Further proof that all the money and power in the world cannot buy you brains, morality, common sense, etc. etc.

One last thing- IF you are prepared to get sucked down the rabbit hole, check out Mandy Matney's podcast, Murdaugh Murders Podcast. She's a SC reporter that's been covering the Murdaugh family for over two years.

BOOK REVIEWS 2021

Book #44: The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

Summary: Eva and Jim are nineteen, and students at Cambridge, when their paths first cross in 1958. Jim is walking along a lane when a woman approaching him on a bicycle swerves to avoid a dog. What happens next will determine the rest of their lives. We follow three different versions of their future - together, and apart - as their love story takes on different incarnations and twists and turns to the conclusion in the present day.

Rating: C+. Meh. The premise is a good one but the back and forth in time and the interweaving of multiple characters made it hard for me to follow and enjoy.

Book #45: Death du Jour by Lou Jane Temple

Summary: Fanny Delarue is a young cook for a wealthy family in the Place Royale. In her heart, she is keeping two fires burning-for food, and for her head chef, Henri. Together they feed the household, above stairs and below, and take lessons from Henri's mentor, Etienne de la Porte, chef to a neighboring household. Tempers flare and nerves are strained, until one day, Etienne is found dead under suspicious circumstances. The Place Royale is in tumult, and Fanny must solve the crime before the flames converge on her hopes for her own future.

Rating: C. Double meh. This is the second in Temple's Spice Box mystery series. It will be my last.

Book #46: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

Summary: The story takes place in Sweden and follows Elsa, a 7-year-old who knows she is different from other children her age. Elsa has a habit of correcting others' grammar, she is smart for her age, and is especially close with her grandmother (Granny). When Granny dies, Elsa slowly discovers more about her grandmother's past identities, as well as the lives of people affected by her grandmother.

Rating: A-. I've read other books by Backman and really enjoyed them, but for whatever reason had not picked this one up. My friend Andrea mentioned how two of her friends read it and had completely opposite reactions to it. This intrigued me. Of course, I saw her in person not that long ago and she asked me what I thought. Do you think I could remember? No. In writing this, I do remember enjoying it. Backman has a "unique" way of storytelling and I think you like it or you don't. There was also an element of repetition in this book and I could see how it might wear the reader down. But, don't let me sway you- read it and form an opinion on your own!

Book #47: Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Summary: Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors. When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

Rating: C+. This book had potential to be hilarious. Great premise, just too much. Too many unbelievable mishaps and coincidences. 

Book #48: The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone

Summary: Almost everybody who has grown up in Chicago knows about the Thorne Rooms. Housed in the Children’s Galleries of the Chicago Art Institute, they are a collection of 68 exquisitely crafted miniature rooms made in the 1930s by Mrs. James Ward Thorne. Each of the 68 rooms is designed in the style of a different historic period, and every detail is perfect, from the knobs on the doors to the candles in the candlesticks. Some might even say, the rooms are magic. Imagine—what if you discovered a key that allowed you to shrink so that you were small enough to sneak inside and explore the rooms’ secrets? What if you discovered that others had done so before you? And that someone had left something important behind?

Rating: B+. In case you couldn't tell from the summary, this is a children's book. I have a thing for dollhouses and I recently read something from the New York Public Library that listed books featuring dollhouses in their storylines. I decided to give this a shot. It was pretty darn good. This is a series and I plan to read the next one.

Under the Boardwalk...We'll Be Havin' Some Fun

We are back from our (sort of) annual vacation to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware! We've been going for ~10 years, with hiatuses for a wedding in Aruba, a cancer battle, and COVID. (We didn't have COVID [thankfully, ::knocking on wood::], but didn't go last year due to quarantine.)

It was great to be back (although certainly a different experience from years past). The one constant is the boardwalk. It's a great place to do a brisk two mile morning walk when the beach is not yet crowded or take a stroll early evening when the sun is setting. It's also beautiful at night- especially when there is a concert at the bandstand and the moon is shining down on the beach.

There were not nearly as many people as in years past, but it was still crowded (neither of us had been around this many people & although the crowds were mostly outside, we wore masks.) Many restaurants & shops had limited hours due to lack of help and we also found that quality of food/drink was diminished from previous years. 

However, we expected this to some degree and enjoyed our time away from home/work. We also got to stop in Washington, DC on our way home and visit with little John and our friend Andrea. Yay!

Time to get back to business, however. I am 17 (eek!) books behind on my reviews. I'll do a handful here and hope I can catch up in short order.

BOOK REVIEWS 2021

Book #39: Motif for Murder by Laura Childs

Summary: As a memorial to the late Uncle Henry, Carmela puts together a sentimental scrapbook of memories and keepsakes. What she doesn't realize is that her altered book holds clues that could identify the fiend behind the kidnapping and killing. And when the murderer finds out that she may be on to him, he's going to try to close the book on Carmela once and for all.

Rating: A-. This is the fourth in Childs' scrapbooking mystery series. I really enjoy the New Orleans setting and the creative ideas shared in Carmela's shop.

Book #40: Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

Summary: In 1948, Iris Digby vanishes from her London home with her American diplomat husband and their two children. Four years later, Ruth Macallister receives a postcard from the estranged twin sister she hasn’t seen since 1940. Since that one catastrophic summer in Rome, as war was engulfing Europe and Iris was falling desperately in love... Within days, Ruth is on her way to Moscow, posing as the wife of Agent Fox in a precarious plot to extract her sister from behind the Iron Curtain. But the truth behind Iris’s marriage threatens to unravel everything, and as the sisters race to safety, a dogged Soviet KGB officer forces them to make a heartbreaking choice...

Rating: B. I had higher hopes for this book. I've thoroughly enjoyed many of Williams' previous books but this one didn't have the spark that took me in like the other ones.

Book #41: Being Heumann by Judy Heumann

Summary: Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy Heumann began her struggle for equality early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license, to leading the section 504 sit-in that led to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Judy's actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people around the globe.

Rating: B-. Another book that I had higher hopes for. I previously worked at a non-profit that educated parents of children with disabilities about their rights, relative laws, advocacy, etc... I met Judy at a conference I attended and knew her influence on the disability rights movement, so was eager to read this memoir. I felt that this was a case where there was a good story to tell but the voice/pen telling the story was not strong, clear or fluid (if that makes any sense.)

Book #42: The Paper Bark Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu

Summary: Su Lin is doing her dream job: assistant at Singapore's brand new detective agency. Until Bald Bernie decides a 'local girl' can't be trusted with private investigations, and replaces her with a new secretary - pretty, privileged, and white. So Su Lin's not the only person finding it hard to mourn Bernie after he's found dead in the filing room. And when her best friend's dad is accused, she gets up to some sleuthing work of her own in a bid to clear his name.

Rating: B. This is the third book in Yu's Su Lin series. I appreciate Ovidia Yu's main character being a person with a disability defying the odds.

Book #43: You're Leaving When? by Annabelle Gurwitch

Summary: In these essays, Gurwitch embraces homesharing, welcoming a housing-insecure young couple and a bunny rabbit into her home. The mother of a college student in recovery who sheds the gender binary, she relearns to parent, one pronoun at a time. She wades into the dating pool in a Miss Havisham-inspired line of lingerie and flunks the magic of tidying up.

Rating: B-. I generally don't like books of essays and admittedly I don't think I knew this was that before I started reading it. However, it seemed to flow more easily than a book of choppy/random essays. I found this book pretty funny, but not hysterical. If your child has just left the nest, you might enjoy it.