Mstrust Gets To The ROOT Of The Problem

What's a bookish habit we all share? It's probably buying a shiny new book that we really, really want to read, that then gets shoved to the back of the shelf as newer books get piled on top. I'm going to get to it reeeeal soon, promise.

I'm Jennifer in Phoenix. I've taken part in the ROOT challenge for a few years and it's great for pushing me to read from my own shelves. I don't do the ticker things, instead, I like to keep it as casual as possible with a general goal of reading 50% ROOTs as my yearly goal.
Thanks for dropping in, you're very welcome.

2026 ROOTS

1. You Are The Detective: The Creeping Hand
2. The Marlow Murder Club
3. You Invited It In
4. Brothers
5. Otherwise Normal People
6. Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet
7. Diavola
8. Floriography
9. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener
10. Sugar
11. This Thing Between Us
12. Sixpence House
13. Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder
14. Very Charleston
15. The Secret House of Death
16. Creepers: The Gravedigger
17. Oddball Ohio
18. Rereadings
19. Creepers: The Scarecrow
20. Thursday Night Tiki Lounge
21. Trouble Is My Business
22. Creepers: Pen Pals
23. Voracious
24. Now You're One of Us

>1 mstrust: Here's a toast to you hitting that 50%. Cheers!

Have a great reading year!

Glad you are back with us!

Happy ROOTING in 2026

Good to see you back, Jennifer. Happy ROOTing.

>3 Nonconformisto: Why, thank you! I never pass up an offer of champagne.
>4 rabbitprincess: Thank you, Princess, and right back atcha!
>5 cyderry: Thanks, and thank you for organizing us!
>6 Robertgreaves: Happy ROOTing to you, Robert! Good to see you!
>7 connie53: Happy new year, Connie! I'm happy to see you here!

Good luck achieving your goal in 2026!

Thank you, and good luck to you this year, Lynda! Happy reading!

1. You Are The Detective: The Creeping Hand by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper
The reader is taken to 1933 and the house of a notorious London bon vivant whose sitting room is the site of a murder. Through interviews with all the guests present, illustrations that represent photos of the suspects and their personal belongings, and their backstories that link them to the murdered man, the police ask for your help in solving this case.

A hardcover with wonderfully ghoulish cover art and a bevy of likely killers, this is nothing short of fun. I also like that the answer is hidden in a sealed envelope in the back, so no "accidental" peeking. I bought this at the Sacramento Airport in late October when we went to Napa for my brother's birthday.

2. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
When Judith's closest neighbor along the Thames goes missing, she feels a sense of propriety, especially as she believes that she heard a gunshot while she was skinny dipping in the river. The police don't have a clue what's happened or where the neighbor is, but Judith is sure that it's murder and begins investigating even though she's a professional crossword puzzle maker with no investigative experience. She draws in the vicar's wife and a dogwalker to assist her. As the murders pile up, the three women know the killer is watching them.
Another fun British murder mystery that calls on amateur sleuths, and I believe this is a series. I read it for this month's MysteryKit of 'Amateur Female Sleuths'. It had been on my Kindle for a few months.

Good start, Jennifer. I aim not able to leave my jigsaw alone today. Maybe there is more reading done tomorrow.

Thanks, Connie. When I have Christmas with my Mom in a few weeks, I have a rather difficult jigsaw amongst her gifts. She loves them.

Welcome back, Jennifer, and Happy New Year!

>2 mstrust: "I will not buy any more books until I've read all the ones I've got. ... Then I laughed and laughed." Ain't that the truth!

Wishing you a good year of ROOTing.

Have a good reading year, Jennifer!

>16 atozgrl: Thank you, and Happy New Year to you!
I thought that meme would resonate with this group, ha!

>17 MissWatson: Thank you, and I wish the same for you! Happy new year!

Autumn Lives Here has returned from the holidays with the start of my state-by-state horrors. Ever wonder about the worst things in Alabama?
Drop in, it's fun and free!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

Belated Happy New Year. I'm looking forward to reading about the books you pull down from your shelves to read this year. Cheers!

Thanks, and Happy New Year to you! I'm glad you found me.

3. You Invited It In by Sarah Jules
Felix, recent widower and lifelong seer of ghosts, becomes livid when he spots an ad for a woman who claims she's a paranormal cleanser. He's so angry that he lies about his house being haunted and pays her exorbitant fee for his house to be cleansed, and that's when the trouble starts. Felix and his young son begin experiencing the very things he told the cleanser was going on, and Felix is sure that the fraudster is the cause.
Good haunted house story set in modern London.

>22 mstrust: That sounds very intriguing, Jennifer.

It's pretty good, and I see that there's a sequel. I'll likely read that too.

>12 mstrust: I am definitely intrigued by The Creeping Hand Murder. I will have to keep an eye out

I'm enthusiastic about that one!
Good to see you here too!

4. Brothers by Alex Van Halen
Going over the Van Halen family history, with their parent's marriage in Java and the family settling in their father's homeland of Holland. Then, their immigration to Southern California, and all the while, their mother forcing her sons to learn one instrument after another, which she saw as their ticket to respectability. That's something the author, drummer Alex Van Halen, makes clear: their father was a professional musician, but it was their mother who pushed them into music by forcing Alex and Ed to master one instrument after another. They didn't enjoy it as kids, but since they had no choice, eventually they started playing guitar and drums.
The author discusses putting variations of bands together as teens, meeting singer David Lee Roth, whose vocal talents take quite a hit here, and bassist Michael Anthony, who is oddly missing from so much of the story. Most of all, this is a book about the talent of Eddie Van Halen, and how much his brother misses him.

You're on a great start! Brothers goes onto the wishlist.

Thanks, and Brothers is definitely worth the time!

Autumn Lives Here has a new short story this week. It's about the perks of being overlooked, forgotten, flying under the radar. Drop in!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

5. Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening by Aurelia C. Scott
The author crosses the country to meet the most successful (circa 2005) rosarians, the people who win at the big rose competitions in America. She shadows the gardeners, almost across the board being Type-A hyper-competitive people who go to extraordinary lengths to grow hundreds of rose plants in the hopes of growing the blooms that will take the top prize of "Queen".
The book's climax is the day of the biggest competition, when most of the people interviewed gather for the Spring Nationals and affectionately trash talk their competitors.
I've had this for nearly a year.

This week, Autumn Lives Here is looking at winter books and movies, and going over the lore of the most motivated vamps ever.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

6. Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet by M.C. Beaton
When a handsome new veterinarian comes to Carsley, the village women suddenly experience problems with their cats and dogs, and Agatha Raisin is right there in line too. The vet does invite Agatha to dinner, but stands her up, and then goes on sending mixed signals, all the while talking about the big animal center he's going to build when he gets enough investors. But before Agatha can figure out where they stand, the vet is killed in an accident at the stables. Or was it murder?
The fun follow-up sees Agatha determined to ignore James Lacey, her skittish neighbor.

Hi I've read some Agatha Raisin by Beaton but really loved the Hamish MacBeth series the most so far. Happy rooting!

Thanks, and to you!
Beaton had a real knack for creating characters that readers wanted to keep up with.

7. Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
Anna is apprehensive about meeting up with her family in Tuscany for a family vacation because she has a reputation for being the family screw-up, the one who brings the drama. She does her best to remain calm as the rest of the family falls into chaos in the centuries old villa they've rented way out from the village, the name of which makes the villagers go silent.
As old wounds are reopened and new battles begin among the family, Anna is the first to admit that this beautiful old villa is haunted, but with a family that lives in denial, she feels like she's on her own.

At Autumn Lives Here, I have book reviews and oh, the Horrors of Alaska! Our biggest state really takes a beating this week. Stop by, it's a lot of fun.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

8. Floriography by Jessica Roux
Taking it flower by flower, it's surprising how much could be said by what stem or bouquet was presented. Whole conversations, apparently. Giving lavender alone meant you distrusted the person, while lavender and datura meant I see through your false facade. Magnolia and belladonna meant you wanted a friend to keep your secret, while giving tansy to someone let them know they made you sick. It's clear you had to be very careful back then, as a pretty flower wasn't just a pretty flower.

>38 mstrust: Sounds fascinating! When I occasionally go to the florist I always tell them my intentions - I know they pick specific flowers and I always like to ask about their significance. Sounds like this is a BB for me :)

>38 mstrust: I learned a little about this in the novel, The Language of Flowers. You also prompted me to look into the author, and I see she has a similar about our ROOT theme, Ornithography!

>39 Cecilturtle: This book sounds perfect for you. Nice illustrations too.
>40 detailmuse: She may have a whole series planned, and I'd welcome it.

>40 detailmuse: Interesting. I just finished a chapter this morning in my current read, What an Owl Knows, on the folklore surrounding owls around the world. I'll have to see if I can find Ornithography.

9. Agatha Raisin and The Potted Gardener by M.C. Beaton
Needing to put some distance between her and her unrequited crush, neighbor James Lacey, Agatha has been away from Carsley on an extended holiday, where she was alone and miserable. Her return to the village finds that there's a new resident, an attractive single woman who does everything well, including gardening, which Agatha hasn't been able to manage even though she's in the village garden club. Even worse, this new woman has charmed James in a way that Agatha never could. It turns out that Agatha's worry is for nothing, as the new resident becomes the latest murder victim.
The third in the series and another fun mystery with cranky Agatha.

This week at Autumn Lives Here, we're looking at the very worst of Arizona. Bring some aloe for this burn.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

This week at Autumn Lives Here, I have a short story about starting over, called "Middle-Aged Romance". It's February, love and smoke are in the air!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

This week, we're digging into culinary horror books, and the very cold missing persons case of Arkansas attorney Maud Crawford.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

10. Sugar by Mia Ballard
We meet Satara as she realizes that her husband and best friend are having an affair. She murders her husband and buries him in the backyard, then quickly sets her sights on a man at work, unbothered by the fact that he has a happy family and doesn't want to be around her.
Bouncing back and forth between the past and present day, Satara takes the reader through the circumstances of each man she had killed, because she is a female serial killer, though she doesn't see herself that way. To her way of thinking, she's just someone who won't allow a man to demean her by rejecting her.

It's a wild story and I would have scored it higher if it didn't have so many flaws. For one thing, the last two chapters are ridiculous. For another, there are too many editorial mistakes. Missing commas, a character being called by another character's name, and the anachronisms of voicemail, video stores and bottled water were around in the 60s. 3.5

>47 mstrust: What an awful cover!

Ha! The cover is the reason I chose it, as it has a bit of a Pop Art quality, and I love that. However, it turns out to have nothing at all to do with the story. Satara is anything but a happy person, there are no cherries mentioned, and even the skin tone on the cover is wrong.

This week, we go back to Fallville for "Bloody Good Coffee".
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

This week, Autumn Lives Here is diving into the very worst that California has to offer. Join us!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

Autumn Lives Here is looking into feral children and toxic plants this week!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

At Autumn Lives Here, I've got a story called "Quality Control". Drop by and see where my standards are.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

11. This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
Thiago and Vera are experiencing strange things in their new condo, almost all of it being initiated by their Itza, an Alexa-type device that speaks when no one is talking to it.
Then, Vera is killed in a gang initiation. Making things worse, her death becomes a political point, with reporters and strangers constantly trying to contact Thiago, to turn his grief into their gain. He flees to rural Colorado, but whatever was in the condo has come with him, and in a luxury cabin in the woods, it becomes more powerful.

I read this for March's ScaredyKit Haunted House month. This isn't a straightforward haunted house story though, as it mixes in technology, folk horror, demonology and witchcraft, social media, and grieving.

Come over and see all the horrible things that have happened in Colorado! Plus, workplace horror.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

12. Sixpence House by Paul Collins
A young American family move from San Francisco to the Welsh book town of Hay-on-Wye and attempt to become locals. With that goal, non-fiction author Collins, who was awaiting the publication of his first book, took a job sorting books for bookshop owner and "King of Hay" Richard Booth, getting to know some of the locals involved in the local book selling trade while he and his wife attempted to find a house. One that wasn't falling apart from age.
This is more than your typical fish-out-of-water story, as Collins digs through literal piles of books, dipping into whatever catches his eye. The reader is treated to 19th Century authors that you'd never come across yourself, and Collins combines both a dry sense of humor and sympathy as he regards the crowning achievement of many forgotten writers.

This is my third read, though the last time must be at least a dozen years ago. I'm glad to find that this story of books and book town people still takes me there.

Fake nutmeg and possessed children, Connecticut has it all!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

13. Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder by Rachel McCarthy James
Twelve true tales of people who died by the axe. Actually, some of them are pretty iffy about whether or not an axe was the instrument of death, but an axe was in the mix. Or a sharpened rock.
There's an opening with each chapter that introduces the type of axe used in the ensuing events, and it's a surprise that there are so many varieties. Who knew?

James is a thorough researcher, so there are several cases that I'd never heard of, along with ones you'd expect, such as Lizzie Borden and Candy Montgomery. The Axe Man of New Orleans and the Villisca murders are missing. They should have been here.
I'd recommend this book for the research. James isn't a natural writer and too many sentences have to be picked apart because of the clunking structure. She inserts her opinion too often, attempts at humor are flat, and she goes deep into the backgrounds of those involved, giving the reader a lot of information that isn't relevant. But that's how thorough her research skills are, so for that, I'm giving an extra half a star.

14. Very Charleston: A Celebration of History, Culture, and Lowcountry Charm by Diana Hollingsworth Gessler
The author illustrates nearly every topic in the book, creating a lovely sketchbook that covers the native plants, foods, Fort Sumter and the islands, famous people, churches, and events in Charleston history. She includes the architecture of the city, the celebrated church fashions, and aspects of the slave trade.

15. The Secret House of Death by Ruth Rendell
When the woman next door is killed in a murder-suicide with her lover, Susan finds herself playing therapist to the woman's grieving husband. He sees Susan as a kindred soul since her own husband left her for another woman. Not knowing how to stop him from coming over to talk, Susan becomes friends with the man.
David is the co-worker of the man who committed the murder-suicide, and though they weren't close, David believes the man was incapable of such violence.

My first Rendell, and it was what I would call densely written, meaning that you got lots of background and characters in a book of less than 200 pages. It had weight. The killer was pretty obvious, but still an interesting mystery set in the late 60s.

>60 mstrust: Rendell and PD James are among my favourite British Grandes Dames du crime - along with Ms. Christie, of course.

I've been a fan of James for years, and Christie even longer. I have a few more Rendells to get to this year.

This week at Autumn Lives Here, it's a short story about adopting a healthier lifestyle. I'm sure it's fine.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

16. Creepers: The Gravedigger by Edgar J. Hyde
The Price family, which includes a father, two living children, and the ghosts of a decapitated man, a vampire, a werewolf and a mummy, move into a home in the center of a graveyard. They have an instant enemy in the groundskeeper, who wanted to buy the house himself and sets out to scare the Prices away.
This is my 16th read out of a total of 30. My goal is to have 50% ROOTs, so I'm doing fine.

17. Oddball Ohio: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places by Jerome Pohlen
Pointing out lots of unique, weird or just unusual stops in the state. Some are the little museums with their displays of taxidermy animals playing pool or getting married (it's surprising how many of the entries involve taxidermy. I don't know if that says something about Ohio or the author). Some entries are about the famous people who were born in Ohio, or where the banana split was invented (Gibson's Goodies in Wilmington) or the site of the world's largest cuckoo clock (Alpine Alpa Cheese House in Wilmot).

This is a book for everything you won't find in Fodor's. One of the oddest things is that this was published in 2004, but it seems more recent, because the author sprinkles in his disdain for Republicans and then President W. throughout text that has nothing to do with politics. Anyway, looks like Ohio has a lot of unusual stuff.

18. Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love edited by Anne Fadiman
A collection of essays from authors who revisit a pivotal book of their youth. Some are childhood books that filled the young reader with aspirations, such as the Sue Barton nursing series or Treasure Island, or the works of Katherine Mansfield. Others, like the works of Arthur Rimbaud appealed to the desperately wanna-be teen intellectual, or the writings of Colette feeling like a confidante to a young woman looking for love. One of the funniest passages is by Allegra Goodman, who was reading Pride & Prejudice at nine years old. This annoyed her librarian so much that she said, "Someday, you're going to get too big for your britches!"

The latest Autumn Lives Here features Dangerous Delaware. It's the very worst of the first state!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

This week, it's a new short story about the strangeness of "Roommates".
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

19. Creepers: The Scarecrow by Edgar J. Hyde
The Davies family has just relocated to a farm that needs lots of work. The previous owner left behind an old scarecrow in a neglected field, but nobody has time to get around to removing it. Anyway, young David's dog has just run away and a local weirdo was skulking around the barn and got arrested. Then the town drunk fills David's head with a scary story about that scarecrow, and once he's paying attention, David knows the story is true.
I looked this Creepers series up and found that these were a 90s knock-off of the Goosebumps popularity. They do go a bit further in terms of death and dismemberment, surprisingly so. The new reissues can be found at the Dollar Tree.

20. Thursday Night Tiki Lounge by Jennifer Newens
A beautiful hardcover with photos of each cocktail, this would be a great gift for someone who needs classic tiki recipes. Most of the recipes here are the classics: daquiris, Navy Grog, Three Dots and a Dash, with lots created by Don the Beachcomber and a few from Trader Vic's. But there are also a couple by modern mixologist Beachbum Berry, and some original recipes or twists on the classics.

21. Trouble Is My Business by Raymond Chandler
Four short stories featuring private dick Philip Marlowe, written between 1934 and 1950.
Marlowe is hired to get a greedy beauty to unhook her talons from the son of a very wealthy man, is hired as security for a cagey gambler and his girl, and goes all the way to Washington looking for a guy who may or may not know about stolen pearls. In the last story, trouble finds Marlowe even when he's just relaxing with a drink.
I love Chandler's quick banter, the way characters throw paragraphs of slang around, yet understand each other perfectly. And boy, does Marlowe and everyone else guzzle hooch like there's no tomorrow.
I read this for May's MysteryKit "Hardboiled and Noir" theme.

22. Creepers: Pen Pals by Edgar J. Hyde
Olivia has a tight group of friends, but notes passed to her begin to isolate her, sending her to locations where the ghost of a girl who lived nearly two hundred years ago waits to warn her that she's in danger.

23. Voracious by Belicia Rhea
Lila is both pregnant and bulimic, with her biggest problem being that she believes that soon, all the insects on Earth will attack humans, something she calls "the return". Lila is deeply paranoid in her fear of insects, and so her mother finds Nazaret, a therapist who quickly finds herself overwhelmed between Lila's many dangerous beliefs, and the breakdown of her own marriage.

Also included are two short stories that focus on grief and loss.

Hi Jennifer, just popping in to say Hi and see what you have been reading. You are doing great! Keep it up!

Hi Connie! Thanks for coming by!

24. Now You're One Of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross by Jeff McDonald and Steven McDonald
If you're unfamiliar with Redd Kross, I describe them as a mash-up of the Beatles and the Ramones, with some 60s bubblegum thrown in. This is their telling of the history of both them as a family growing up in Hawthorne, Ca., and the band they formed as kids that has been nearly constant in their lives since 1979.

I had no idea about anything going on in their personal lives all these years, and I'd never heard about Steven's childhood kidnapping. I also happily listened to their albums thinking how great they were, never realizing that the frequent turnover in band members was due to their lack of commercial success, which wasn't helped by drugs. The number of times they came this close to having a song included on movie soundtracks like Pulp Fiction would be depressing for anyone. I've been a fan for decades and got Mike into them through going to their shows, but this autobiography makes it clear how grueling being a band that is constantly on the verge of commercial success is.
This book likely won't work for readers who aren't Redd Kross fans, especially the early chapters, which honestly, go on too long as the McDonalds go back and forth about their musical influences and early childhood, but fans will love it. And I bought my signed copy from Steven himself when we went to see them in April.