WWAR August 2023
Show Notes
In our first episode together since vacation, we have 4 books that involve heat.
Misty reviewed When She Gets Hot by Miriam Allenson. Tootsie Goldberg was never one to rock
the boat. Witnessing tragedy after a seemingly harmless protest taught the Jersey native to
keep her mouth shut, even when she's fuming. But when her elderly coworkers lose their radio
station jobs due to a shady business deal, this feisty fifty-year-old decides it's never too late to
use her smart mouth for something other than talking in circles.
Standing up for her friends lights a fire in her to confront injustice, starting with the questionable
new owners of the station. But being a sassy sleuth sometimes means tweaking the rules. And
as her fight for the little guy garners the delicious attention of a stoic and sexy cop, can Tootsie
toe the line between what's right and what's legal?
When She Gets Hot is the scorchingly witty first book in the Tootsie Goldberg amateur sleuth
seBuy now to solve the mystery of what happens When She Gets Hot! fries. If you like strong
Jewish female leads, a dash of danger, and spicy heroines over fifty, then you'll love Miriam
Allenson's later-in-life take on growing older and bolder.
Tracey reviewed Hot Time by W. H. Flint. New York, August 1896. A “hot wave” has settled on
the city with no end in sight, leaving tempers short and the streets littered with dead horses
felled by the heat. In this presidential election year, the gulf between rich and poor has political
passions flaring, while anti-immigrant sentiment has turned virulent. At Police Headquarters, the
gruff, politically ambitious commissioner Theodore Roosevelt has been struggling to reform his
notoriously corrupt department. Meanwhile, the yellow press is ready to pounce on the
peccadilloes of the Four Hundred, the city’s social elite—the better to sell papers with lurid
stories and gossip or perhaps profit from a little blackmail on the side. When the body of Town
Topics publisher William d’Alton Mann is found at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, any number of
his ink-spattered victims may have a motive.
Hot Time is an immensely entertaining, deeply researched, and richly textured historical novel
set in a period that reflects our own, with cameos by figures ranging from financier J. P. Morgan
to muckraking journalist Jacob Riis. Our guides through New York's torrid, bustling streets are
Otto “Rafe” Raphael from the Lower East Side, one of the first Jewish officers in the heavily Irish
force, who finds as many enemies within the department as outside it; Minnie Kelly, the
department's first female stenographer; Theodore Roosevelt himself; and the plucky orphan
Dutch, one of the city's thousands of newsboys, who may have seen too much. lder and bolder.
Ann reviewed Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant. The heat is intense. The secrets are stifling.
And there is no escape.
In a tiny village in Provence, nine guests arrive at a luxury holiday home.
The visitors know each other well, or at least they think they do.
The only stranger among them is Lulu, the young woman catering their stay. But Lulu is not
exactly the woman on the video the guests thought they’d hired. Turns out Lulu has plenty to
hide—and nowhere to run as the heat rises.
In this seemingly idyllic getaway, under the scorching sun, loyalties will be tested, secrets
exposed, and tensions pushed to the brink . . .
Dripping in intrigue, Sun Damage is a glamorous, witty, and totally riveting story chock full of
secrets, lies and . . . more lies.
Finally, Ann reviewed a second book called Death In the Sunshine by Stef Broadribb.
After a long career as a police officer, Moira hopes a move to a luxury retirement community will
mean she can finally leave the detective work to the youngsters and focus on a quieter life. But
it turns out The Homestead is far from paradise. When she discovers the body of a young
woman floating in one of the pools, surrounded by thousands of dollar bills, her crime-fighting
instinct kicks back in and she joins up with fellow ex-cops—and new neighbours—Philip, Lizzie
and Rick to investigate the murder.
With the case officers dropping ball after ball, Moira and the gang take matters into their own
hands, turning into undercover homicide investigators. But the killer is desperate to destroy all
the evidence and Moira, Philip, Lizzie and Rick soon find themselves getting in the way—of the
murderer and the police.
Just when they think they can finally relax, they discover that someone has infiltrated their ‘safe’
community. Can they hunt down the murderer and get back to retiring in peace? And after all the
excitement, will they want to?
TRIVIA:
Last week's question was:
Which beloved author of children's literature also wrote songs that made the Top 100 Hits List?
a. Raold Dahl
b. Judy Blume
c. Shel Silverstein
d. Dr, Seuss
The answer is c. Shel Silverstein.
This week's question is:
Which author did not attend school full time until the age of 12?
a. Margaret Atwood
b. Robin Cook
c. Mary Robert Reinhart
d. Charles Todd
Tune in next week for the answer.