Thanksgiving Stuff

 Happy Drinksgiving Eve. 

I learned online that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is known as Drinksgiving. Alcohol sales spike as people bolster themselves to spend the holiday with loved ones. Family bonds may be especially strained this Thanksgiving with the recent political turmoil. Many may want to toss back a bourbon or three before hanging out with Uncle Bob or Second Cousin Sue. That can lead to trouble. I can say with some experience that the need for criminal magistrates would fall precipitously without the job-sustaining combination of family and alcohol.

But if risking jail is not how you choose to spend your holiday, I offer a few Thanksgiving-adjacent reads. These books are from the back of the shelf; nothing is a recent publication. Nonetheless, I hope you'll find them better than incarceration. If the thought of family scares you, sequester yourself away and only read about violence. 

I've identified these books as Thanksgiving-adjacent. They are all set around the holiday, although Thanksgiving is not necessarily central to the story. 

The Wolfe Widow by Victoria Abbott

The annual dinner of the Wolfe Pack is also nearly upon us (December 7th). As mentioned in earlier blogs, several Sleuths have received the Black Orchid Novella Award at this yearly gathering of Nero Wolfe fans. This cozy, The Wolfe Widow sits at the intersection of Thanksgiving and Nero Wolfe.  

In late November, Jordan Bingham knows she has much for which to be grateful. Although she works for a reclusive curmudgeon, Jordan has a suite of rooms and regularly eats delicious meals prepared by her boss's cook. She also gets the opportunity to work with a fantastic collection of rare crime fiction, including first-edition Rex Stout's books. 

Then, she gets fired. 

Who is the mysterious woman who has hijacked her employer? Displaced Jordan must find the answer. 

I'm forever grateful to the Wolfe Pack and am drawn to any work that regularly references Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. 

Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb

This is the thirty-seventh book in the series. The author has her formula down. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her husband live in a future New York City. They prepare for a Thanksgiving celebration, during which they will host his large Irish family. Eve is still working on her definition of family, and this holiday may overexposure her. 

Unlike other "In Death" books, the reader knows the murderer's identity early in the story. In this cat-and-mouse procedural, we watch Eve balance her life and relationships while seeking to find the killer amid a rising body count.

Jumping into a series at book thirty-seven is challenging, like beginning a television serial in Season Five. Depending on how long you need to stay cloistered from your family, you may want to start with book one. 

Trap for Fools by Amanda Cross

On the Sunday following Thanksgiving, a professor's body is found on the pavement below his open office window. The police suspect suicide. The university administration knows that many people may have wanted the professor dead. Naturally, they ask a literature professor to investigate. (We can only assume that this university didn't offer a degree in criminal justice.) The title is a reference to a line in a Rudyard Kipling poem. You'll find other quotations throughout the book.

The first book in this series was published in 1964. Although the books are dated, I've always liked the Amanda Cross series. The literary drops make me feel smarter. 

Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet 

The setting is a fall festival in Nether Monkslip, England. This book may strain the definition of Thanksgiving-adjacent. The English, after all, have their own name for Thanksgiving. They call it Thursday. 

On the other hand, unlike some of the other books listed, this story centers on an autumnal celebration. The sleuth, Max Tudor, the village's Anglican vicar, investigates the death of the festival's organizer. Although her demise appears accidental, the priest has a host of possible suspects. The priest, by the way, is a former MI-5 agent. Presumably, all the literature professors and rare book assistants were busy solving the other murders on this list. 

This book is only a decade old, so it's a fresh title on this list. The author dropped some funny lines into the text, and when I laughed, the dust on the spine went everywhere. 

Maybe you can recommend some more recent choices. If not, swing by the local secondhand bookshop on your drive home from the liquor store and search for these titles. Happy Drinksgiving, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday, y'all. 

Until next time.