Mary Rosenblum (1952–2018)

Another fine mid-90s scifi author's first short story collection from Arkham House. Unbelievably I think I am the first person to rate this book (so I'm giving it the five stars it deserves from someone). The stories in this book mostly take place in a near future dystopian California. Water is the main problem but oil and other natural resources are as well. There are basically two places: the Dry inland and the heavily urban coastal area (where the icebergs are melted, and the seawater desalinated).

The stories are pretty much split between these two environments but also cover the range from the fabulously rich to the deeply impoverished. They also range from very scifi dependent to nearly scifi free. Some of the stories are wonderfully interconnected which is not obvious at first. Each story explores a unique theme so the repetition of settings does not get tedious. There are a good number of strong female characters. The best capsule description I can think of is a cross between Ray Bradbury and Paolo Bacigalupi.

So who the hell is Mary Rosenblum and why don't I know who she is? Well, she made a small splash in the early 90s and seemed to almost disappear after all. Some of her novels, which are all OP, I think all her books may be OP, were well reviewed also; the Stone Garden seemed to be particularly well regarded. So as they say, I sat me down to write a little letter. To my amazement I actually got a reply.

Mary has had only a handful of scifi books published, but she also switched genres mid-career to write primarily mystery novels (I don't read many mysteries so this partially explains why I had never heard of her). You DO have to pay the bill! She has written over sixty scifi short stories for the rags but this is her only book collection, nine stories. However, she is working hard to get all her writing back in print in ebook form but has to take time for her other priorities, which are helping other writers get published and making goat cheese.… (mais)

Deadly Nightshade by Mary Rosenblum is the second book in the Rachel O’Connor Gardening Mystery series. Rachel O’Connor and her Rain Country Landscaping business have just been awarded a contract by the city of Blossom, Oregon. She has a new employee from the Youth Farm named Spider Train. He is sixteen years old. The town is in an uproar over the proposed annexation of outlying areas. They want to prevent the building of condos and mini malls (which is a good thing). However, Rachel’s Uncle Jack is against the new annexation. He is quite vocal at the town meeting and against Councilman Bob Dougan (who changed his vote).

The next day Rachel and her crew go to dump the mulch from the truck and find the truck has already been emptied. When they start putting it into wheel barrows, they find a body. Rachel immediately gets the police. When they uncover the body, it is Bob Dougan. The main suspect is Uncle Jack. Rachel immediately starts investigating the crime (she just cannot help herself) despite Police Chief Jeff Price (and her boyfriend) asking her not to look into the crime. Who killed Bob Dougan? Did it have to do with the annexation?

Deadly Nightshade is a cute cozy mystery, but I did not feel that the writer spent enough time on the actual mystery. There are many descriptive paragraphs (about characters, the town, and gardening) that detract from the story. I wanted more time spent to providing clues and tracking down the killer. The book is easy to read (nice writing style) with good characters and a lovely setting. I give Deadly Nightshade 3.75 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of Deadly Nightshade from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/09/deadly-nightshade.html… (mais)

I read this book years ago and remember enjoying it, so I picked it up again used to have a re-read.

Overall, it's a good story with a solid plot. I thought the solution seemed obvious, but that could memories of the first read. The characters lack a bit of spark, but they are pretty likeable and each one is unique - I didn't mix up any of the characters in my head like I do in some mysteries. The setting in Oregon is picturesque and the writer made it easy for me to 'be there' as I read.

I can't say I loved it - but I enjoyed it.… (mais)