Under Vixen’s Mere is one of those novels that quietly gets under your skin and then refuses to leave.
From the opening pages, the prose immediately stood out to me. It’s spare without ever feeling sparse—clean, confident, and quietly assured. Dialogue and description are held in careful balance, each doing its work without calling attention to itself. Nothing strains for effect, and that sense of restraint builds trust early on, inviting the reader to settle in and follow where the story leads.
What makes this book especially satisfying is its sensory richness. The attention to detail is so precise you can practically smell the bread cooling on the racks, the sharpness of cheese, the damp stone after rain. It is comfort reading with substance: sunshine and laughter paired with the everyday complications life throws at us, and the quiet resilience required to meet them.
This is not a book about capital-H heroes. Instead, it centers on people who engage in small acts of service, kindness, and yes, heroism—not for recognition or glory, but because it was the right thing to do in the moment. These are stories of people showing up when it would have been easier not to.
The Locked Room is clever, cozy without being complacent, and deeply satisfying for puzzle-lovers. If you adore classic detective fiction but crave a fresh perspective, Harriet White deserves a place on your shelf—and very likely, in your reading rotation for a long while to come.
About the Book: A Treatise on Martian Chiropractic Manipulation and Other Satirical Tales Human beings are flawed creatures, and humor is the perfect means to exploit the endless fodder of our shortcomings. This multi-genre collection of twenty-one short satirical stories will leave you smirking, chuckling, scratching your head, and maybe even muttering to yourself […]
I love a good roasted chicken, but it’s never going to come from my oven…Costco has chicken better than I’ll ever be able to scratch, so I go the easy route to Poultry Consumption.
I do make a mean meatloaf, though ;)
Here from Michele’s today!
interesting…
Gasp!
If you eat bacon, try covering the bird in bacon slices before cooking, and cooking in a hot oven — 425 or more — until the bacon is crisp: take the bacon off and crisp the skin.
It’ll remain moist and juicy and be delicious….
N
Oh, and of course, Michele sent me today!
Wow, I really like that bacon on the bird idea. I’m going to steal that. :)
That sounds delicious. I’ve never roasted a chicken either. I need that recipe. ;)
Your post made me imagine the “chicken that is garlicky and herby…” Hmmmm.. You made me hungry.. too bad I don’t know how to roast a chicken.. but fried chicken will do.. Hehhe