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The More the Terrier–guilty or not?
The More the Terrier
by David Rosenfelt
To read this book as a stand alone, you really only need to know two things. Both the author David Rosenfelt and the protagonist Andy Carpenter are crazy about dogs, particularly rescue dogs. Also, you will soon find out that Andy Carpenter is a crack, trying to retire lawyer in New Jersey who seems not to need money but maintains a small office above a fruit stand and a team of specialists to help him with investigations. Marcus is a man no one would want to mess with. Andy’s wife Laurie is a former cop. He also has a computer specialist on his staff along with others who can do research, act as bodyguards, etc.
Andy’s passion for dogs and justice intersect in The More the Terrier when a dog Andy formerly fostered finds his way back to Andy’s house. When he tries to return him to Brian, the young man who adopted him, Andy discovers Brian has been jailed for murder and has a lawyer with a dubious funding source. The prosecutor claims it is a clear case of guilt. Andy can’t imagine Brian doing anything violent, and the case is anything but clear cut. Throw in Russian gangs, professors who write secretive software, multiple other deaths and kidnappings, and a girl whose avatar was sexually attacked on metaverse. What emerges is no proof that Brian is innocent, but lots of criminal types who could have tried to frame him. It’s up to Andy to figure it all out if Brian is not going to spend the rest of his life in prison.
I like a good mystery, one that takes thought to figure out, a puzzle. This novel ranks high in that category, but my favorite aspect is Andy’s dry wit. He is able to insult and move on without the other person being able to figure out how to respond. Although there is a lot of planning, there is also action. All of his team are players; they do their jobs well, giving input as appropriate, but when all is said and done, Andy takes responsibility for the results and feels the pressure of doing what is right while helping his client. Andy has three dogs who are family and so are mentioned a lot. Murphy, Brian’s terrier, kicks off the story and is there when the plot comes full circle and resolves. The author says of Murphy: “…perky is pretty much his default position. Murphy is the type of dog that brightens up every room and car he is in.” The author’s love of dogs shines through in his books.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, Fiction
Notes: 1.#30 in the Andy Carpenter Mystery Series, but can be read as a standalone. I have only read a few in the series, but I found background information was not needed to enjoy them.
2. Clean in all aspects
Publication: October 15, 2024—St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books)
Memorable Lines:
I can’t understand why anyone would want to barrel down a frozen mountain at high speed on two narrow ironing boards, carrying a couple of sticks and dodging trees and other lunatics out on the same mountain.
She is counting on me to give her back her son. That pretty much defines the word pressure.
Winter is coming to an end; the weather people are saying we won’t be getting any more snow. That means we’re heading for a few pleasant weather days before the mosquitoes start arriving. They’re probably making travel plans now.
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel–romance in Paris
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel
by Rebecca Raisin
When Anais discovers her husband and new housekeeper in bed, she divorces him. He is a smarmy leech and a serial adulterer. Using the many lawyers in his family, Francois-Xavier drains Anais’ financial resources leaving her with a decrepit hotel in Paris. As a romance writer, the dissolution of her marriage drains her of her professional motivation as well. She has the dreaded writer’s block, has spent her advance, and has a deadline looming.
Anais’ wild and unpredictable cousin Manon undertakes the rehabilitation of the hotel with her. Together they dedicate themselves to making the boutique hotel profitable so they can sell it. Along the way, there are potential romances and roadblocks in the reconstruction. More importantly, they discover a wall that blocks off two rooms on the top floor. Thus emerges a bookish mystery, and they have to discover why the rooms are sealed and who occupied them.
If you have any interest in Paris, you will enjoy this book. There are French phrases thrown in for flavor along with descriptions of the neighborhoods, foods, and Christmas markets. Manon is French and Anais is of mixed heritage and speaks French with a British accent. She has lived in Paris for 16 years. Friends since childhood, they are very different but get along well. There is a lot of humor that is derived from this pair.
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel is a very literary book. The hotel will have a library, and the rooms will be named for authors. Anais and Manon seek out bookish items to be part of the decor and are researching bookish places to provide on a map for their guests. They visit many of Paris’ various vintage shops, libraries, and bookshops in their search for decorative items and furniture for the hotel.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: a small amount of swearing in English and French
Publication: September 26, 2023—Boldwood Books
Memorable Lines:
“We’re stuck in a time-warp. The seventies called and they want their avocado green drapes back.”
“He has the IQ of an oyster.” “That’s being unkind to oysters.”
I must leave for my own sanity. While he may do his best to besmirch me, he cannot take away the words I am yet to pen. Those words, they are all that matter. I’ll never publish another novel as long as I shall live, thus he cannot profit from me. That will be the best revenge. The man is dangerous. I must tread ever so carefully.
Gingerbread Danger–compulsive thief
Gingerbread Danger
by Amanda Flower
Bailey is a prominent chocolatier who owns and manages a candy shop in Harvest, Ohio, with her grandmother. She returns to New York occasionally to film episodes of a cooking show. In Gingerbread Danger, she has just opened a candy factory, Swissmen Candyworks, now selling her famous candy online. Her best seller is Jethro the polka-dotted pig bars, fashioned after her mother-in-law-to-be’s potbellied pig who is frequently left with Bailey for pig sitting duties. Fortunately, Jethro gets along well with Bailey’s huge rabbit Puff and her grandmother’s cat.
A young man falls off the icy roof of Bailey’s candy factory when he is setting up a sign for Harvest’s latest tourist attraction for the Christmas season—a life size version of the board game Candy Land. Is his fall an accident or murder? Meanwhile, Bailey’s parents are in town. Her mother has hired a wedding planner to create the wedding she has always dreamed of for herself, but this one would be for Bailey who really just wants a simple wedding. There are also multiple robberies occurring at Amish stores in Harvest. An Amish Robin Hood seems to be at work. Now Aiden, Bailey’s fiancé, has to try to keep her safe while she insists on investigating; and as sheriff, he is playing “whack a mole” with all the crimes in what should be a quiet tourist town.
Gingerbread Danger is a good cozy mystery, at Christmas, or year round.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1.#9 in the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries. I advise reading some of the other books in the series first for character development, but I recommend all of the books in this series. They contain a good mystery, humor, and both Englisch and Amish characters.
2. Do you like gingerbread? There is a gingerbread house contest for Bailey’s staff that produces a standout food artist. Also included is a recipe for Maami’s Gingerbread Fudge!
Publication: October 22, 2024—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
At times people could be so caught up in their own lives that they were unaware of the suffering around them. It happened to everyone. I was guilty of it myself. Now I couldn’t say it happened to me when I was standing twenty feet from a dead body…
Grief. It was a feeling I knew well…There was a ringing in my ears that wouldn’t go away for weeks. It was as if I was tuned in to every electric hum around me…I was in the candy shop. I was present. But at the same time, I wasn’t. My soul felt as if it was somewhere lost in space.
“I told my husband that I should at least be there to represent the mothers in the district and show our support. He told me nee.” She sniffed. “He is my husband and I must do his bidding, but if he thinks he is getting a roast when he comes home, he is sadly mistaken.”
Evergreen Christmas–a place to call home
Evergreen Christmas
by Janet Dailey
Tucked away in the Appalachians is Noel, North Carolina, known as “America’s Christmas Tree Capital.” In Evergreen Christmas, Jordyn moves to Noel looking for a home in a small town with big community feels. She spent most of her life bouncing from one home to another in foster care—no real home, no love, and certainly no Christmas trees. Jordyn establishes herself as a winning barrel racer and earns enough to buy a small house with acreage. Her goal is to breed horses and teach barrel racing.
A group of four women, known affectionately in the community as “The Nanas” immediately take her under their collective wing to help her get established and fit in. They also encourage her and mentor her with the goal of defeating her neighbor Nate in Noel’s annual Christmas Competition. He has won the Christmas Crown nine years in a row, but the Nanas think Jordyn could change that by entering “Fabio Fraser,” a fir tree on her property in the contest. There are actually 12 Christmas themed contests involved in winning the crown.
Nate is a handsome tree farmer who sells Christmas trees and has a gift and decorations shop on his property with his brother Tucker, a bull rider. Together they are raising Nate’s daughter Roxie. She is an adorable, polite, and kind six year old. Her mother died in childbirth and Nate has made himself “unavailable” to local women to protect his own heart and Roxie’s.
The story is a delightful adventure through many of the Christmas contests. Jordyn and little Roxie develop a friendship. Jordyn and Nate struggle with their attraction for each other, both wanting to do what is best for Roxie. The Nanas are in charge of the Christmas Competition which they champion to encourage town spirit. Except for one family who only appears in a few of the contests, all of the characters are people you would want to know making this a fun, clean Christmas romance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance
Notes: #1 in the Frosted Firs Ranch series. Evergreen Christmas gives a hint at the end of the book that the next book in the series will probably feature Nate’s charming, handsome brother, Tucker.
Publication: September 24, 2024—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
She smiled full blast, her worries melting away like a mini marshmallow tossed into a blazing bonfire.
Life can be scary and painful—but the unexpected gifts it gives us along the way, especially when we’re not looking for them, make it all worth it in the end.
“The Nanas care about people. They help them when they’re in need, look for ways to make other people’s lives better. They fuss over you, bring welcome baskets if you’re new to town and”—she winked—“knit wool caps for your head so your ears don’t get cold.”
Silent Nights Are Murder–finding family
Silent Nights Are Murder
by Libby Klein
For once, Poppy McAllister is not the one to find the dead body, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be dragged into a murder investigation. Her cop friend Amber convinces Poppy to go undercover at her ex-boyfriend’s restaurant because the body was discovered in Tim’s walk-in freezer. In a previous book in the Poppy McAllister Mystery Series, Poppy decided to drop Tim in favor of a relationship with the handsome barista Gia who thinks she is gorgeous. Now as Poppy tries to help, she discovers that Tim’s new work and personal partner Gigi is pregnant with a due date set 9 months after Tim and Poppy broke up!
It is hard for Poppy to gain the trust of the restaurant staff and sort out the lies they tell. Most of them seem to be hiding some secrets. As Poppy explains to a frustrated Tim, “a killer will lie about their alibi.” Someone seems to have been messing with the books and the inventory also.
There are so many plots going on all at once. When Poppy was almost nine, her mother dropped her off with promises to return for her. She does—thirty-five years later—and checks into the Butterfly Wings B & B. Poppy and her Aunt Ginny, who helped raise her, spend time trying to figure out what Iris wants and how to get rid of her. Meanwhile, Figaro, Poppy’s cat, does battle with Christmas ornaments that appear to be birds, complete with feathers (until Figaro get ahold of them). Guests at the B&B enjoy a decoration daily murder scene villa setup by an unknown person at the inn.
Aunt Ginny’s friends, the Biddies, add hilarious fun as there might be a wedding coming up and they want to be a part of it. Aunt Ginny, as usual, has some wack-a-doodle plans. In this case, the Christmas season calls for some competition. Aunt Ginny is determined to have both the prize winning recipe and the house with the most Christmasy ambiance (think National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but on steroids).
Gia’s son Henry is adorable and refuses to tell anyone what he is asking Santa for. As you read Silent Nights Are Murder, I think you’ll know what he wants for Christmas, but will Santa be able to deliver?
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #9 in the Poppy McAllister Mystery series. It could be read as a standalone, but would be enjoyed more if some of the earlier books were read first.
2. seven gluten free recipes for Christmas goodies
Publication: September 24, 2024—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
There were three seasons to obsess about the weather. Tourist season—when guests considered it a personal failure on my part if it rained during their vacation. Hurricane season—because my creditors don’t care about safety cancellations, they just want to be paid. And Christmas season—because I was delusional enough to want snow like I was living in a Bing Crosby movie. Irving Berlin had set sixty percent of the country up for annual disappointment.
Flashing police-car lights blazed through the night, and the men tried to look like three normal guys waiting for a table. They looked as normal as a trio of gorillas in hoop skirts.
He ran his hands through his hair and looked like he was about to fry up a conniption and serve it with a big side of meltdown.
Winter Wishes in the Scottish Highlands–connecting at Christmas
Winter Wishes in the Scottish Highlands
by Donna Ashcroft
This story is about friendship, handling grief, and being controlled by others. Ross feels guilty over his parents’ deaths and his grandmother and older brother Simon seem to blame him as well. Grandmother Miriam is extremely harsh and controlling and has been grooming Simon for his role as Laird since his parents’ passing. Anything to do with Ross warranted only a passing thought.
Ivy Heart had lost her father to a heart attack. Her mother had to try unsuccessfully to salvage his failing business and wants her daughter to never have to struggle to survive. So she tries to control Ivy’s career choice.
There are interesting characters along the way—supportive ones like Connell and Bonnibell, part owners of Christmas Resort where Ross works as an adventure guide, and the curmudgeon loner Grizzle, a reluctant friend to Ross. Ross has two pets: a golden retriever Moose and a wild boar Snowball.
Ross and Ivy are attracted to each other, but Miriam’s manipulations cause trouble. Ross and Ivy have to come to grips with their pasts and what they want for the future.
Ivy and Ross were not really characters that drew me in. I liked the animals in the story better than the people. I found Ross’ relationship as an adult with his grandmother and Ivy’s with her mother to be unrealistic. The expectations of the adults were intertwined, but focused on their own emotional needs more than those of Ross and Ivy.
I enjoyed Winter Wishes in the Scottish Highlands to the extent that I wanted what was best for the protagonists, but I wasn’t engaged in how they accomplished that end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. #4 in the Christmas Village Series, but can be read as a standalone
2. Contains one open door bedroom scene.
Publication: September 18, 2024—Bookouture
Memorable Lines:
…he turned and headed towards the hallway, leaving Ivy feeling even more confused—because this was a man who wouldn’t speak to his own grandmother, but who’d brave bad weather to check on a friend.
“It takes a brave person to risk love and a stupid one to think they’d be happier without it.”
His whole life felt like it had just been through a washing machine cycle and everything he used to take comfort from had been rinsed away.
Finlay Donovan is Killing It–dark, comedic mystery
Finlay Donovan is Killing It
by Elle Cosimano
Normally a cozy mystery/Agatha Christie reader, I decided to see what all the buzz is about with Finlay Donovan is Killing It and the other books Elle Cosimano has written in this series. The author has created a protagonist that many women can related to. Finlay finds herself in a morally shaky and sticky situation. Her happily ever after has disintegrated under her feet. She is divorced from her ex-husband who is a philanderer and a manipulator. She is deeply in debt to so many people including her ex who has become her landlord.
When a private conversation at Panera is overheard and misunderstood, Finlay becomes entangled in a scheme to murder a serial date-rapist who drugs and then blackmails his victims. He also works for the mob.
I don’t want to give away more of the plot. I can share that despite the dark nature of the predicaments, the author includes many humorous situations and twists and turns that are truly unpredictable. Characters are a big part of this book. Finlay is motivated to keep her two preschool age children safe and retain custody of them. To do that she needs reliable childcare and financial independence from her ex-husband. She is a writer and her profession plays a large role as fiction and non-fiction intertwine. There are two romantic interests, a detective and a law student. She is supported in many ways by her sister Georgia, a cop, and by Vero, her babysitter and partner in crime.
I did enjoy this book. It has lots of women-focused themes and ethical issues. It addresses practical concerns—nosy neighbors, malfunctioning alternators, and inoperative garage doors—and issues that we hope we will never encounter like hitmen, affairs, and date rape drugs.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. very insightful discussion questions
2. a fair amount of swearing
Publication: February 2, 2021—St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books)
Memorable Lines:
If you’ve never had to wrestle a two-year-old slathered in maple syrup into a diaper while your four-year-old decides to give herself a haircut in time for preschool, all while trying to track down the whereabouts of your missing nanny as you sop up coffee grounds from an overflowing pot because in your sleep-deprived fog you forgot to put in the filter, let me spell it out for you.
Patricia withered, clearly mistaking my mom face for something else…some callous expression worn by contract killers and hit men. Maybe they’re similar. I wouldn’t know.
Theresa was all about social cachet and prestige. If there was a chance to flaunt a high-profile client like Feliks by sticking her head out of the roof of his slick black limousine and shouting it to the moon, she wouldn’t miss a chance to do it.
A Christmas Gift–sacrificing during hard times
A Christmas Gift
by Glendon Swarthout
illustrated by Myles Sprinzen
The story of this novella is told from the viewpoint of James Chubb, a thirteen year old boy who is sent from his home in Pennsylvania to his grandparents’ farm in Michigan. In the Great Depression, James’ father can not find work, any kind of work, to support his family. Like many other children in that generation, James was shipped off to live with relatives he had only visited twice. His grandparents were nice, however, and James worked hard for them.
A Christmas Gift covers several generations with a special focus on James’ great-grandfather who died in the Civil War. The reader sees the effect of war on multiple generations and the impact of the Great Depression on hard-working men who feel the shame of not being able to put food on the table. Many of those people would not accept government handouts, which even if accepted were still not enough for survival.
It was certainly not a good year for Christmas gifts. Some children received one practical gift like galoshes or a handmade gift such as a scarf. Many, of course, did not get anything for Christmas. In this story we see an abundance of love in a sacrificial gift.
Swarthout describes in detail the melodeon and the OilPull tractor that play key roles in the plot. He writes about the events of this story in such a way that you feel like you are there witnessing the difficult birth of an out of season lamb and the exhaustion of his grandfather during an evening like no other. He inserts some amusement in the participation of a family of daughters and some wonder in a magical Christmas Eve rescue.
Swarthout is an award winning writer, and his expertise shows in A Christmas Gift as he takes the reader on a journey back in time and into a rural farm setting. There are terms that the modern reader will find unfamiliar as James uses slang from the day. One funny touch is the inclusion of the use of a “party line” on their telephone service.
The trip skillfully manipulates emotions so that the reader feels close to this thirteen year old. Although it is not light-hearted,there is joy and also melancholy to be found in the tale. It is a story that in many ways defies typical genre classification. It is a good read, but each reader needs to decide if it achieves the classic status some feel it deserves.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Novella
Notes: 1. This book has also been published under the name The Melodeon (Doubleday, 1977) and has been made into a movie with the title A Christmas To Remember (1978).
2. YouTube has some great videos that will help the author’s wonderful descriptions of the melodeon and the Rumely Oil Pull tractor come alive.
Publication: 1992—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
Ella kept two hundred chickens. “Good layers,” she called them — a characteristically rural understatement. Those Leghorns of hers were cornucopias, mother-lodes, veritable volcanoes of eggs.
Our ring was three long and one short, and after five minutes I decided some of the garrulous wives in the neighborhood must be on the line, so I lifted the receiver and listened in. Universal sin absolves individuals, and since everyone did it in those days, listening in on a party line was not considered sinful.
“You have to take the vinegar with the honey. That’s marriage for you.”
A Slay Ride Together with You–who’s causing trouble?
A Slay Ride Together with You
by Vicki Delany
If you enjoy cozy mysteries in small towns, but want a Christmas flair, then A Slay Ride Together with You is the perfect combination.
The protagonist, Merry Wilkinson, owns a gift shop, Mrs. Claus’s treasures while her best friend from childhood, Vicky, owns Victoria’s Bake Shoppe. The story is told from Merry’s point of view, but Vicky plays a huge role as she is a wonderful pastry chef, is planning her wedding to Mark, the chef at The Yuletide Inn, and is writing a cookbook. Mark and Vicky are also restoring an old home that has garnered a reputation for being haunted.
Characters you will enjoy include three dogs with prominent roles. Vicky’s dog Sandbanks is an “ancient golden Labrador” who frequently sleeps through excitement. Merry’s dog is Matterhorn (Mattie), a faithful Saint Bernard. Alan, Merry’s boyfriend, adds to the canine mix with Ranger, his “overly active Jack Russell.”
Vicky is not sleeping well in her new home because of weird sounds all through the night. These noises come to a climax when Merry is visiting and someone knocks on the front door and then the back, disappearing before the doors can be opened. This is a cozy mystery, so expect a murder and lots of suspects including Vicky’s fiancé Mark. I have always found references to extended family members of an ever widening circle to be confusing. That turmoil happens to Merry also as she investigates the various people that might want the victim dead. There are inheritance and relationship issues that emerge too.
I enjoyed A Slay Ride Together with You and will jump at the chance to read more in this series. Delany has written several more cozy mystery series. One I particularly enjoy is the Tea by the Sea Mystery Series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. I started Delany’s Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series with #6. A Slay Ride Together with You is #7 in the series and I had no problem jumping into either book. I believe the setting of Rudolph, New York, with the nickname of “America’s Christmas Town,” is standard from one novel to the next and the characters recur, but Delany does a great job of giving background on the characters so the reader’s introduction to the series is almost seamless.
2. Includes recipes for several cookies and a fall soup that Vicky makes at her cafe.
Publication: September 24, 2024—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
Mattie sat next to me, hoping for some lunchtime tidbit to drop. It never does, but he never gives up hope. A lesson for us all, perhaps.
Jim was a reverse Santa Claus. He made enemies and spread ill will everywhere he went.
Vicky and I had changed out of our wet clothes and were wrapped in sweaters and thick blankets against the cold that seemed to have penetrated into our very bones.
Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates–historical look at Holland
Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates
by Mary Mapes Dodge
illustrated by Edna Cooke
This children’s novel depicts life in Holland in the early 19th century and according to the author “aims to combine the instructive features of a book of travels with the interest of a domestic tale.” Dodge has done of lot of research so much of the book focuses on Dutch history and customs. Although Hans Brinker is the protagonist, he is not even a character in a large part of the book that describes a skating trip a small group of boys undertake traveling on frozen canals and rivers to various cities.
Hans and his family live in deep poverty because the father Raff had a work accident ten years prior that affected his brain. His wife also can not work because she has to stay home to look after her unpredictable husband. Hans and his sister Gretel are not always treated well because of their social standing. The author states that the circumstances of Raff’s situation were true.
Hans and Gretel have only inefficient wooden skates that Hans carved for them, but both are good skaters. Surprisingly, not much of the story deals with the race for silver skates. Hans is an honorable young man as is shown many times in the story.
The fictional part of Hans Brinker is interesting, even exciting, but the historical portions are less interesting. The boys visit museums on their trip and the history bounces from one item to another just as it would if you were visiting a museum. There are a lot of events referenced that students today do not have the historical background for (e.g. Prince William of Orange who freed Holland from Spain and became King of England). For further personal education on Dutch history or if working with homeschool students, Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates could be a valuable resource. Unless I were teaching a unit on Holland in a classroom, I doubt I would read this to or with Middle Grade students. I found the Preface to be a valuable introduction to what was to follow. I also liked the satisfying Conclusion which shared what happened to the characters as life moved on for them.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Children’s fiction, Historical fiction
Notes: 1. Intended for children 8-12 years old
2. I found this to be a slow read, but there were others in my book club who found the historical references very interesting.
Publication: 1865—George W. Jacobs & Co.
I obtained my copy from Gutenberg Press.
Memorable Lines:
“…the father and I saved and saved that we might have something laid by. ‘Little and often soon fills the pouch.’ ”
“We cannot say what we might have become under other circumstances. We have been bolstered up from evil, since the hour we were born. A happy home and good parents might have made that man a fine fellow instead of what he is. God grant that the law may cure and not crush him!”
Ten years dropped from a man’s life are no small loss; ten years of manhood, of household happiness and care; ten years of honest labor, of conscious enjoyment of sunshine and outdoor beauty, ten years of grateful life—One day looking forward to all this; the next, waking to find them passed, and a blank. What wonder the scalding tears dropped one by one upon your cheek!
education pathways 