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Battle Cry of the Siamese Kitten: even more tales from the Accidental Veterinarian
Battle Cry of the Siamese Kitten
by Philipp Schott, DVM
I had a delightful journey through a series of tales, compared by the author to snacks, in Philipp Schott’s latest book Battle Cry of the Siamese Kitten. It is his third book of this type. It includes animal stories, vet stories, and client stories along with memories dredged up from his unusual childhood as a German immigrant. We gain insight into how he thinks and how he relates to others. There is a lot of humor in the book, and Schott doesn’t shy away from laughing at himself. He has a great way with words that lets the reader experience the animal encounters whether they be disgusting and smelly, bloodletting, or laugh out loud funny. The second tale about a two pound “gorgeous fluffy kitten who channels Satan” will ensure that you are fully engaged as this tiny, very loud, little guy “starfished himself across the entrance” to the kennel looking for a “decisive victory.”
Philipp Schott draws on over 30 years of experience with animals. He is the kind of vet you would want for your own pets—caring, hardworking, kind, intelligent, and honest. Unless you live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, you are unlikely to meet him. He lives there with his family and four animals who admittedly receive people food from time to time as treats. Although she did not contribute to this book, his wife is also a veterinarian and probably a very patient person.
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: Memoir, Nonfiction
Notes: The more I read, the more I liked what I was reading and even went back to read a few tales again for pure pleasure.
Publication: October 11, 2022—ECW Press
Memorable Lines:
Supercat put his ears back flat and stared at me with an intensity that signaled a level of hatred two steps beyond loathing.
I am not easily bored, but this was an exception. Flies fell asleep in that class.
Have you ever noticed this? The happiest dogs are the ones carrying sticks. And if the sight of a happy dog carrying a stick doesn’t gladden your heart, then what are you doing with this book in your hands?
Murder Most Fair–grief
Murder Most Fair
by Anna Lee Huber
What is the best way to grieve? Murder Most Fair weaves that theme throughout a captivating mystery by Anna Lee Huber. This novel has its basis in the spy and undercover operations of the Great War (WWI). The espionage secrets of that period are held close by those involved because of the Official Secrets Act which binds them through honor and legalities. It is in this atmosphere that Verity Kent, a spy, and her husband Sidney Kent, a war hero also engaged in undercover work, pursue what appears to be the frivolous, carefree lifestyle of the young rich.
In reality, like so many of that period, Verity and Sidney are working through grief—for Verity, the personal loss of her beloved brother Rob and for both of them, the witnessing of many soldiers and civilians killed or maimed in the conflicts. The couple is also struggling to avoid the clutches of the evil Lord Ardmore in a different type of war fallout. Meanwhile, we get a first hand view of the hatred many in England felt for all Germans. Verity’s great-aunt Ilse manages to obtain legal entry to Great Britain along with her German maid. Ilse is but a shell of her former self after surviving the war in a country where even if you had money, there was nothing to buy. Malnutrition and starvation were rampant.
The mystery becomes deadly as it progresses. Sidney and Verity are asked to investigate on the side as the local law officer has never handled a murder case. Verity’s relationship with her family is highly stressed as she has not been home in five years, including for her brother’s funeral. Her absence was quite painful for her mother.
Huber’s descriptions are outstanding, evoking a visual and emotional picture. She places the reader in the middle of the setting along with the characters. Her plot is intricately crafted with threads that seem to go nowhere…until they do. This is a good historical novel with suspense to keep you turning pages.
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: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Notes: #5 in the Verity Kent Mystery Series. I haven’t read all the books in this series, but Huber provides needed background information, so this book could be read as a standalone.
Publication: August 3, 2021—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
I wrapped my juniper-green woolen jumper tighter around me and breathed deeply of the air tinted with the smoke from the hearths burning inside, the earthy aroma of autumn decay, and a faint tinge of saltiness from the sea a short distance away. The breeze sawed gently through the trees overhead, rustling the leaves like castanets…
“Well, the Jerries weren’t happy to sit in their mudholes and cesspits any more than we were. We were both just cogs caught up in the higher-ups’ wheels of madness.”
Most of the war dead, of course, had not been repatriated, instead being buried in France, Belgium, Gallipoli, Palestine, and other far-flung places on the globe. But nonetheless I could feel their absence like the missing notes of a song or the lost verse of a poem.
Sprichst du Deutsch? Do you speak German?
Academic Curveball – Es trifft einen immer anders, als man denkt: Auf Deutsch (German Edition)
If you speak German, this is a great chance to get a start on this cozy mystery series translated into German. 5/15/20-5/19/20 for only $.99. I can’t vouch for the translator as I had to look up how to say “Do You Speak German?” but I can attest to the fun and mystery factors in Academic Curveball which has also been translated into Spanish.
The German translation of the debut book in the Braxton Campus Mysteries, Academic Curveball, is available as a .99 Kindle download from 5/15 thru 5/19. This book won a Best Fiction award and was the #1 downloaded Kindle book in the highest possible category in February 2019 during the initial promotion. There are now 6 books available in the series, so why not start reading them by getting this one for FREE!
My Real Name is Hanna–extremes of human behavior
My Real Name is Hanna
by Tara Lynn Masih
My Real Name is Hanna is the story of a Jewish girl and her family who live under horrible circumstances in Ukraine to escape death at the hand of the Nazis and others. This book by Tara Lynn Masih has much potential. Many parts of the survival tale are drawn from the story of a real family that had to live underground. The first part of the book bounces around a little and then settles down into a sequential tale. Although it is a sad story, I didn’t really find myself emotionally involved with any of the characters. Parts of the narrative got my attention, such as when family members were in danger. I wanted to see them survive, but mainly I wanted the book to be over.
The author uses words from other languages freely. I like the authenticity of that but I would have appreciated a glossary, and I think young people would find that helpful as well. The area the family lives in has been occupied by many countries so there are competing cultures and languages—Jewish, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and German.
I actually found the “Historical Notes” at the end of the book more interesting than the book itself. Unfortunately, the author includes her own political stance on current events in these historical notes. If she wants to put forth these ideas in her book, I would suggest she do it in an editorial type section separate from a discussion of the historical basis of the book. Like the author, I hope the day will come when we don’t need reminders of the Holocaust as cautionary tales against cruelty. I don’t think, however, that it is appropriate to use her historical notes as a platform for indoctrinating young people into her political views. The story should stand on its own merits, and young people are capable of reading the book and making their own moral conclusions.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Mandel Vilar Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Teens
Notes: Interest Level—Ages 12 and up
Grade Level 10-12
Publication: September 25, 2018—Mandel Vilar Press
Memorable Lines:
I see in my mind again those posters in the window, the big red letters, the lice, the blaming of Jews for the war. Someday, someone will betray us. For money, for food, for their own lives spared.
I can now hear what sounds like heavy boots approaching the house from down the lane, grinding the dirt and gravel with their murderous purpose.
When you’re hidden away, with no freedom, you crave news of the outside world as much as you crave food.
Conan Doyle for the Defence–real life detection
Conan Doyle for the Defence
by Margalit Fox
As a lover of mysteries, I enjoyed reading Conan Doyle for the Defense. Be forewarned, however, that this book is not light reading. It is the recounting of Arthur Conan Doyle’s application of Holmesian deductive skills to the real case of Oscar Slater, wrongfully found guilty of the murder of an elderly lady.
In the process of relating the details of the case, the author Margalit Fox puts the events in context. She discusses the Victorian era and the development of crime fiction, including, of course, the Sherlock Holmes mystery series. She also addresses the life and character of Arthur Conan Doyle as well as Scottish politics, police, and the penal system. Fox presents an in-depth discussion of the different types of reasoning that might be used in trying to solve crimes.
If you are looking for a beach read, Conan Doyle for the Defence is not it. If you are interested in learning more about true crime detection, and how its principles apply to fiction, then this is the right book for you.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Profile Books/Serpent’s Tail for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: History, True Crime
Notes: Includes a complete list of references, footnotes, and bibliography to support the information contained in the book.
Publication: June 28, 2018—Profile Books/Serpent’s Tail
Memorable Lines:
First joining the case in 1912, he turned his formidable powers to the effort to free him, dissecting the conduct of police and prosecution with Holmesian acumen. But despite his influence and energy, Conan Doyle discovered, he wrote, that “I was up against a ring of political lawyers who could not give away the police without also giving away themselves.”
Holmes quickly became a global sensation, not only for his investigative prowess, unimpeachable morals and ultrarational cast of mind, but also for his exquisite embodiment of an age of Victorian gentility, and Victorian certainties, that was already imperiled.
Detection, at bottom, is a diagnostic enterprise, and the late 19th century was where the shared diagnostic concerns of medicine, criminalistics and literary detection first truly converged in public life.
education pathways 