Book ~ "No Safe House" (2014) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ Seven years ago, Terry Archer and his family experienced a horrific ordeal that nearly cost them their lives. Today, the echoes of that fateful night are still audible. Terry’s wife, Cynthia, is living separate from her husband and daughter after her own personal demons threatened to ruin her relationship with them permanently. Their daughter, Grace, is rebelling against her parents’ seemingly needless overprotection. Terry is just trying to keep his family together. And the entire town is reeling from the senseless murder of two elderly locals.

But when Grace foolishly follows her delinquent boyfriend into a strange house, the Archers must do more than stay together. They must stay alive. Because now they have all been unwillingly drawn into the shadowy depths of their seemingly idyllic hometown.

For there, they will be reconnected with the man who saved their lives seven years ago, but who still remains a ruthless, unrepentant criminal. They will encounter killers for hire working all sides. And they will learn that there are some things people value much more than money, and will do anything to get it.

Caught in a labyrinth between family loyalty and ultimate betrayal, Terry must find a way to extricate his family from a lethal situation he still doesn’t fully comprehend. All he knows is that to live, he may have to do the unthinkable.

There is a lot of tension in the Archer family.  Cynthia's past causes her to be overprotective of her fourteen-year-old daughter, Grace.  Grace, in turn, pushes back.  Terry tries to be the peacekeeper between his wife and daughter.  It comes to the point where Cynthia feels she has to step away from the situation and moves out for a while.

One night, Grace and her boyfriend, Stuart, break into a house with the intent to "borrow" the car keys and take the car for a ride.  But all doesn't go as planned.  Terry tries to protect Grace, which draws in Vince, a criminal from their past who is somehow involved in it.

This is the 12th book I've read by this author.  I've enjoyed many of his books while I found others just okay.  I hate to say it but I didn't enjoy this one. 

It is the sequel to No Time for Goodbye, which I read (and enjoyed) in 2008.  I don't think the author did a good job tying it in with the earlier book. He'd drop tidbits of info from the first book to catch you up but I didn't find it was enough ... it has been eight years since I've read the first one so I couldn't remember what had happened.  He would have been better off not making it a sequel and using the same story but with new fresh characters. 

It is written in first (in Terry's voice) and third person perspective.  As a head's up, there is swearing.  It's a big book (almost 500 pages).  The writing could have been tighter so it wouldn't have seemed so draggy.  Also, it seemed like the author was trying too hard to establish the suspense ... nameless people have conversations, etc.

I found I couldn't get into the characters.  I didn't find them likeable and couldn't muster up any sympathy or compassion for them.

KC's tree, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, ON

I bought a couple pair of sneakers today at the Running Room (Kaitlin was very helpful!).

I took the fuscia pair out for a 4km walk this evening.

I made a detour on my way home and walked through Trinity Bellwoods Park to check on KC's tree.

It looks great!

It probably won't be long 'til the leaves start changing colour.

Book ~ "Six Metres of Pavement" (2011) Farzana Doctor

From Goodreads ~ Ismail Boxwala made the worst mistake of his life one summer morning twenty years ago: he forgot his baby daughter in the back seat of his car. After his daughter's tragic death, he struggles to continue living. A divorce, years of heavy drinking, and sex with strangers only leave him more alone and isolated. 

But Ismail's story begins to change after he reluctantly befriends two women: Fatima, a young queer activist kicked out of her parents' home; and Celia, his grieving Portuguese-Canadian neighbour who lives just six metres away. 

A slow-simmering romance develops between Ismail and Celia. Meanwhile, dangers lead Fatima to his doorstep. Each makes complicated demands of him, ones he is uncertain he can meet.

Ismail and Celia are neighbours.  They live across the street from each other ... six metres of pavement apart.

Ismail is originally from India, in his early fifties and works for the City of Toronto as an engineer.  Twenty years ago, he made a mistake that changed his life forever ... he'd forgotten to drop his young daughter off at daycare and had left her in her car seat in his car and she died in the heat.  Within a year, his marriage was over and Ismail consoled himself over the years with too much drinking in his local pub.

Celia is a Portuguese Canadian and was almost fifty.  Within a couple weeks, her husband and mother passed away, she lost her home due to her husband's debts and she was forced to move in with her daughter and her daughter's family.  She spends her time dressed in widow black, taking care of her young grandson, sleeping and looking out the window, watching Ismail, who is also watching her.  A couple years pass and they eventually started to talk and start to find in each other the happiness they had given up on.

In the meantime, Ismail meets Fatima, a 20-year-old Indian whose parents kick her out when they discover she is gay, and they become friends.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  It is written in third person perspective with a focus mainly shifting between Ismail and Celia. I liked the writing style and found myself caught up in the story and the characters.  I liked the main characters, Ismail, Celia and Fatima.

I liked that there were non-traditional elements (an older Indian guy dating an older Portuguese widow and befriending a younger woman who likes other women).  It was interesting to read how the author handled the unlikely friendships, acceptance and forgiveness, and moving forward to finding out who they were today, given the events of the past.

The story is set in Toronto ... Ismail and Celia "live" just northwest of me (maybe 10 minute drive) in the Lansdowne Avenue/Dundas Avenue W area.  They shop where I shop in our 'hood ... at the Dufferin Mall, the No Frills at Lansdowne Avenue/Dundas Street W, the liquor store on Brock Street, etc.

I would recommend this book.

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Toronto, ON

Through work, I received a ticket to see a movie in the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this evening.

TIFF is dedicated to presenting the best of international and Canadian cinema to film lovers. What began as a ten-day film festival has grown to embrace programming 365 days a year. TIFF offers screenings, lectures, discussions, festivals, workshops industry support and the chance to meet filmmakers from Canada and around the world.

TIFF started Thursday night.  They have closed King Street W off from Peter Street to University Avenue for the weekend for the festivities.

I walked east along King Street W just after 5pm ... the street was jammed.

No one was playing in the bandstand

Book ~ "Toronto: The Way We Were" (2008) Mike Filey

From Goodreads ~ For decades Toronto historian Mike Filey has regaled readers with stories of the city's past through its landmarks, neighbourhoods, streetscapes, social customs, pleasure palaces, politics, sporting events, celebrities, and defining moments. Now in one lavishly illustrated volume, he serves up the best of his meditations on everything from the Royal York Hotel, the Flatiron Building, and the Necropolis to Massey Hall, the Palais Royale, and the Canadian National Exhibition, with streetcar jaunts through Cabbagetown, the Annex, Rosedale, and Little Italy and trips down memory lane with Mary Pickford, Glenn Miller, Bob Hope and Ed Mirvish.

Filey recounts in vivid detail the devastation of city disasters such as Hurricane Hazel and the Great Fire of 1904 and spins yarns about doughnut shops old and new, milk deliveries by horse, swimming at Lake Ontario’s beaches, Sunday blue laws and how both World Wars affected Torontonians.

Mike Filey had a column in the Toronto Sun for about 30 years and I read it for many years (I like learning about the history of Toronto) ... this book is a compilation of some of his columns.

It is divided into sections ... there are lots of stories and pictures:

1. Toronto's passing scene - the CNE, water tanks, police, car phones and more
2. Toronto's war years - William Winer Cooke (Colonel Custer's second-in-command was a Canadian), celebrating the end of the wars and remembering those who never came home, and more
3. Toronto's pleasure palaces - the dance halls, Palais Royale, the theatres, and more
4. Toronto at work - the birth of Canadian Tire, the origins of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, the history of Henry's, and more
5. Toronto and disaster - the Great Toronto Fire of 1904, the fire on the Noronic, the Torontonians who died on the Empress of Ireland, Hurricane Hazel, and more
6. Toronto landmarks - the Flatiron Building, the Roundhouse, the CN Tower, Casa Loma, and more
7. Toronto then and now - One Bloor Street E, Spadina Hotel, Campbell House, and more
8. Toronto on the move - ferries to Toronto Island, the Toronto-Rochester ferry (alas, I never go to go on it), airports, TTC, and more
9. Toronto at play - hockey, the CNE, bathing cars, and more
10. Toronto streetscapes
11. Toronto neighbourhoods
12. Toronto waterfront
13. Toronto's famous and celebrated - Marilyn Bell, Glenn Miller, Mary Pickford, and more

For example, we learn about Palace Pier, which was an amusement pier and the development was proclaimed as one of the biggest landmarks to ever be built on the Toronto waterfront and would be similar to the many amusement piers found along the coast in England. The proposed pier would include a 30,000 sq ft ballroom that would accommodate 3,000 couples, a roller rink (converted for ice skating in the winter months), 1,400-seat theatre, an outdoor Band Pavilion seating 1,500, and several restaurants and souvenir stores. The pier would also allow for steamer ships to dock alongside the structure, easing congestion for the 50,000 people a day the prospectus claimed would attend the amusement facility.

What Palace Pier was supposed to look like

Only the first phase of the redesigned amusement pier, 90 metres long, was opened on June 10, 1941, and it became popular as a major dance hall of the big band era during World War II and the postwar years. Hollywood celebrity Bob Hope, who was in town promoting his latest film, officially opened the new Palace Pier by doing a few laps around the roller rink in front of fans.

What it ended up looking like

As big band music faded away, boxing and wrestling matches, religious revival meetings, country and western concerts, and high school proms became the major events to frequent the Palace Pier.

The pier was destroyed by fire in 1963 and the site later redeveloped into condos and a public park (Sheldon Lookout).

If you live in Toronto or are from Toronto, you will find this book interesting.

Book ~ "Real Murder" (2014) Lauren Carr

From Goodreads ~ When Homicide Detective Cameron Gates befriends Dolly, the little old lady who lives across the street, she is warned not to get lured into helping the elderly woman by investigating the unsolved murder of one of her girls. “She’s senile,” Cameron is warned. “It’s not a real murder.”

Such is not the case. After Dolly is brutally murdered, Cameron discovers that the sweet blue-haired lady’s “girl” was a call girl, who had been killed in a mysterious double homicide.

Meanwhile, Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Thornton is looking for answers to the murder of a childhood friend, a sheriff deputy whose cruiser is found at the bottom of a lake. The deputy had disappeared almost twenty years ago while privately investigating the murder of a local prostitute.

It doesn’t take long for the Lovers in Crime to put their cases together to reveal a long-kept secret that some believe is worth killing to keep undercover. 

There are three timelines in the book ...

In 1976, Ava, a call girl, and her guest are found murdered in Dolly's, the gentleman's club where she works, and the case is never solved.

In 1996, Mike, a sheriff's deputy, disappears on his way to meeting an informant on a case he was working on and is never found.

It's now 2014.  Joshua is a prosecuting attorney and Cameron is a homicide detective and they've recently gotten married, though is adult children, especially his daughter, Tracey, aren't too crazy about the idea.

Mike's body has just been found at the bottom of a lake, still in his cruiser and the investigation begins to find out what happened. In the meantime, Cameron befriends Joshua's elderly neighbour, Dolly.  Dolly tells Cameron about the murder of Ava, one of her "girls", many years ago and how the murder was never solved.  Then Dolly is found brutally murdered.

As more deaths are rediscovered and reinvestigated from the past, it seems like they may be connected ... but are they?  I was okay with how everything came to together and the murders were solved in the end.

This is the third book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it ... it is the second I've read in the Joshua and Cameron series.  I liked the writing style and it kept my interest ... I kept wanting to read more to find out what was going to happen.  It's written in third person perspective.

There were a lot of characters.  In case you have a hard time keeping track of them, there was a cast of characters list in the front of the book to refer back to if needed.  I liked Joshua and Cameron and thought they were good together.  Donny, Joshua's youngest son, is fifteen and lives with them and accepted and liked Cameron in his life.  Dolly, though not in the book long, sounded like a feisty colourful old girl who had lots of stories to tell (Al Capone was her "Uncle Al").

I look forward to reading more in this series.

Book ~ "Death, Taxes, and Silver Spurs" (2014) Diane Kelly

From Goodreads ~ He's one of America's brightest stars. 

So maybe it goes without saying that IRS Special Agent Tara Holloway is star-struck?  In "Death, Taxes, and Silver Spurs", she's head over heels … in trouble. 

Easy's getting harder every day for Tara. A tax-evading pet groomer managed to buzz off a big chunk of her hair … just in time for her date strictly - business meeting with country-music heartthrob Brazos Rivers. Of course Tara shouldn't care - she's devoted to Special Agent Nick Pratt, after all - but Rivers does know how to steal a woman's heart with a song.

Tara is an IRS Special Agent and she's working on two cases.  One is that of a young sexy country singer named Brazos Rivers who has never paid his taxes ... and they are accruing at over $2,000 a day!  Every time Tara catches up with him, he has another excuse and she keeps falling for them.  Needless to say, Nick, Tara's boyfriend, isn't too pleased with Tara's crush on Brazos. Her other case is the mysterious purchase every week in some serious cash of "drill bits" by the owner of an energy company ... an employee rats her boss out prompting Tara to investigate.

This is the seventh book in the Tara Holloway series (I've read the previous ones) and the ninth book I've read by this author.  It works as a stand alone as there was enough information from the past ones so you know what's going on.

This book is written in first person perspective from Tara's point of view.  I found the last two in the series just okay so it was good to see this one go back to being fun and sarcastic (in my opinion, the last two were missing this) ... I enjoyed it so much more. As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

I liked Tara ... she was the Tara of old.  Her one year joboversary is coming and she's got to get these two cases settled before then.  And she'll do whatever it takes to do that ... even if it means hanging out with goats.  Something traumatic happens in Nick's world which makes him more human rather than just being the fun flirty boyfriend and sometimes partner to Tara.

Nanny Hudson's Homestyle Ketchup

I received an email last week asking me if I wanted to receive product sample. Of course, I said yes!

It arrived on Tuesday while I was in Montreal.  It was a gift box with a couple bottles of Nanny Hudson's Homestyle Ketchup, a large measuring cup and a thermometer.

Evelyn "Nanny" Hudson
and Arthur Hudson

Burnbrae Farms' new product, Nanny Hudson's Homestyle Ketchup, has been a well-loved condiment on the tables of generations of Hudsons. Often referred to as Tomato Butter, we believe the recipe travelled to Canada in the early 1800s with our family's early Scottish settlers. Our grandmother, Evelyn Hudson, whom we all called "Nanny", began preserving tomatoes with vinegar, spices and brown sugar on the farm in the early 1900s when she was a young nineteen year old bride. She met the nutritional needs of her fast growing family by canning the vegetables our grandfather, Arthur Hudson fondly known as Bompi, grew in their large garden. When the fall fruit was plentiful, she canned that too. By the time the autumn leaves fell, her basement shelves were filled to the rafters with quart jars of homemade ketchup, pickles, relishes, apple sauce, vegetables and fruit, enough to last the winter.

Nanny taught her three daughters and two daughters-in-law to make their family favourite, Homestyle Ketchup. Many of her sixteen grandchildren enjoyed this preserve and went on to make it for their own families. Jars given as gifts have been happily received by friends and relatives who cannot take the time to make this family favourite, termed "red gold" by some.

A few years ago, a couple of the Hudson cousins began to inquire why Burnbrae has never considered making available Nanny Hudson's ketchup to all the those who enjoy Burnbrae Farms eggs. Nothing goes better with scrambled eggs and omelettes than a big spoonful of Homestyle Ketchup. Sadly no one listened.  Then, Margaret Hudson, President of Burnbrae Farms, ran out of Homestyle Ketchup and had no time to make it!

It is now with enormous pride that we offer you our family's speciality. This preserve, with its beautiful aroma, evokes so many happy memories for us. Our Nanny was beloved in the small village of Lyn where many of the children called her Nanny Hudson. We hope that as you savour our product, you share in her warmth and love.

In addition, there are also a couple coupons for a dozen eggs and Egg Creations, and two recipes that sound delicious ... one for Nanny's Apple Maple Pork Ribs and Gourmet Mexican Fried Rice.

Can't wait to try the ketchup!

Westin Hotel, Montreal, QC

I was in Montreal for a few days for meetings ... the company I work for is based here.

I stayed at the Westin Hotel Tuesday and last night, near Old Montreal.  I've stayed there a few times before and like it.

Notice the bluish square on the ceiling?  It's the glass-bottom pool.  No one was swimming by when I took this picture.

Here's my room ...

A comfy king bed ... all for me!

Here's the bathroom ...

Accords, Montreal, QC

Some colleagues and I had supper tonight at Accords on rue Notre Dame Ouest in Old Montreal.

It was really nice inside.

I'd love to be locked up in this room!

Some ordered appetizers ...

Book ~ "Toronto Sketches 4: The Way We Were" (1995) Mike Filey

From Goodreads ~ Mike Filey's "The Way We Were" column in the Toronto Sun continues to be one of the paper's most popular features. In Toronto Sketches 4, the fourth volume in Dundurn Press's Toronto Sketches series, Filey brings together some of the best of his columns.

Each column looks at Toronto as it was, and contributes to our understanding of how Toronto became what it is. Illustrated with photographs of the city's people and places of the past, Toronto Sketches is a nostalgic journey for the long-time Torontonian, and a voyage of discovery for the newcomer.

Mike Filey had a column in the Toronto Sun for about 30 years and I read it for many years (I like learning about the history of Toronto) ... this book is a compilation of some of his columns.

We learn about Scadding Cabin, transit, Mother Parker's Tea Company, Hurricane Hazel, the Santa Claus Parade, Walt Disney's Canadian connection, the Toronto Postal Delivery Building (which would became the Air Canada Centre), Telemeter (pay-per-view back in 1960), the organ that was in Shea's Hippodrome and now in Casa Loma, and more.

Even though the book was published in 1994, it was still an interesting book because it dealt with many historical events in Toronto ... for example, the Air Canada Centre (ACC) was still in the discussion stages (it opened in 1999) when the book was published.

Toronto Postal Delivery Building  (in the foreground) in 1944

Now the Air Canada Centre (ACC),
where the Toronto Leafs, Raptors and Rock play

If you live in Toronto or are from Toronto, you should check it out.

Brit & Chips, Montreal, QC

I'm in Montreal ... the company I work for is based here and is having meetings for us over the next couple of days.

I didn't feel like going far from my hotel for supper this evening ... Brit & Chips on McGill was nearby and that's where I went.

It's a cute spot ... you can eat in or take out.

I ate in ... here's the view from my table in the back.

Book ~ "Death, Taxes, and Green Tea Ice Cream" (2013) Diane Kelly

From Goodreads ~ Fired. Tara Holloway can’t believe it. After all she’s done for the IRS, a few too many shots fired from her weapon and suddenly she’s public enemy number one. To add insult to injury, another agent has replaced her and a ten-million-dollar assault case is hanging over her head. So much for traveling to Tokyo with Special Agent Nick Pratt, former partner and current boyfriend. Tara’s stuck in Texas, and using green tea ice cream to soothe her disappointment, as well as the terrifying prospect of a life behind bars. 

 Tara’s former boss, Lu “the Lobo” Lobozinski, has a plan - to stick Tara in auditing, where she can’t possibly get into trouble. But between bumping into a college frenemy whose family business is under audit, Tara’s stubborn determination to keep an eye on Nick behind the scenes and her new long-range rifle, she’s about to get a taste of just how dangerous her life can be.

Tara has recently been fired as an IRS agent because in her last case, she fired four shots into Don, a slimy dog's leg.  In addition, she is being charged with using excessive force and Don is suing her for $10 million dollars in damages.   She hires a lawyer and is counting the days 'til she may lose her freedom.  In the meantime, her former boss gets her a job in the audit department ... she misses the action of being an IRS agent but at least she's making money again.

This is the sixth book in the Tara Holloway series (I've read the previous ones) and the seventh book I've read by this author.  It works as a stand alone as there was enough information from the past ones so you know what's going on.

This book is written in first person perspective from Tara's point of view.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.  I thought this book was just okay ... it's my least favourite of the series.  I didn't find it as fun as the others.  I know Tara had a lot going on but I didn't find her overly likeable until the end.  I thought it was impulsive and wrong how she'd shot Don in the first place and that she deserved having to go through the trial.  She was lucky that the Lobo found her a new job.

Despite being involved in cases which have him flying to Japan and India in the same week, Nick is very supportive as are her friends, former colleagues and family.

BBQed Balsamic Honey Tenderloin

Gord has been enjoying our new BBQ this weekend ... and I have been enjoying his enjoyment.

For supper tonight he made Balsamic Pork Tenderloin.

The ingredients:

• 2 tbsp (30 ml) liquid honey
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) grainy mustard
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) pepper
• 2 pork tenderloins

Everything but the tenderloin is combined in a large bowl and whisked.  He also added a splash of beer, maybe three or four tablespoons (an American pale ale, you can use any kind). Place the tenderloins in the sauce, rolling each as you do to thoroughly coat. 

It's better to leave overnight but he left ours in the fridge for six hours turning them and spooning over the sauce once an hour.

 

Spray the BBQ grill and turn the heat to medium high. Grill with the lid closed turning every four and a half minutes or so. Tenderloin is somewhat round so think of it having four sides and needing to grill on each side.

 

After about 18 minutes, it should be done with just a touch of pink in the middle.