Book ~ "The Widow" (2025) John Grisham

From Goodreads ~ Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune and no one knows about it. 

Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder. 

Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. To save himself, he must find the real killer. 

Simon is a small-town lawyer in rural Virginia barely keeping his life together ... his marriage is over, his finances are a mess, he has a gambling problem and his career feels stuck. Then Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow, walks into his office and becomes the most interesting client he’s ever had. She wants to redo her will and hints that she has a huge secret fortune. Simon thinks he’s finally caught a break and befriends her. But the more he gets involved in her life, the stranger things get. Eleanor has secrets, her family is complicated, she won't reveal her true assets and nothing about her past adds up. She has no one else so Simon ends up doing everything for her.

Then Eleanor ends up in a serious car accident and dies of what they suspect is pneumonia but is determined to not be. Suddenly Simon is in the middle of a murder investigation. Everyone’s pointing fingers and most of the clues seem to point to him. To clear his name, Simon has to dig into Eleanor’s hidden life and figure out who actually had something to gain from her death. What starts as rewriting a will turns into a messy, twisty mystery full of money, lies and people who aren’t at all what they seem.

It's been almost 10 years since I've read a John Grisham novel and I thought this one was okay. It was a bit long and draggy. It's written in third person perspective, usually with Simon being the focus. I found Simon to be very unlikable so it was hard to cheer for him after Eleanor died and his life got even worse. I wasn't buying the ending ... it came out of nowhere and was a disappointment considering the time I'd put into reading the book.

Knitted beanie

I knitted these beanies recently to donate. I combined two Red Heart Neon Roll With It Tweed skeins (both had colourful intertwined strands to start!) because my pattern calls for a 6 ply yarn and they were only 3 ply.

"DNA", The Theatre Centre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I volunteered this evening at The Theatre Centre (Queen Street W/Dovercourt Road) for DNA, which is there until Saturday. It's an interesting story with a surprise twist at the end and the performers acted well in their parts. 

In the sprawls of an urban cityscape, ten teenagers grapple with the consequences of their actions. Adam is dead, and it’s everyone’s fault. So what now? Fixated on the adult lives ahead of them, they’ll do anything it takes to avoid responsibility. The good news? Ray has a plan but she needs everyone’s help. Presented for the first time in Toronto, Dennis Kelly’s DNA investigates morality, leadership, and the primal nature of youth.

Left Field Brewery, Toronto, ON (Liberty Village)

Gord & I had supper this evening with Christine & Alfred and Rosemary & Kevin Left Field Brewery in Liberty Village. 

Remembrance Day, Fort York, Toronto, ON

Gord and I attended the The Remembrance Day service at the Strachan Avenue Military Burial Ground on Garrison Common at Fort York. It’s always a lovely one with local politicians, representatives from the police and fire departments, soldiers and more.

There are various speakers including someone from the indigenous community and a minister.

Book ~ "Torn Asunder" (2024) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ A short boat ride from Busman’s Harbor, Maine, Morrow Island is a perfect spot for a wedding - and a Snowden Family Clambake. Julia Snowden is busy organizing both - until a mysterious wedding crasher drops dead amid the festivities.

Julia’s best friend and business partner, Zoey, is about to marry her policeman boyfriend. Of course, a gorgeous white wedding dress shouldn’t be within fifty yards of a plate of buttery lobster - so that treat is reserved for the rehearsal dinner. Julia is a little worried about the timing, though, as she works around a predicted storm.

When a guest falls to the floor dead, it turns out that no one seems to know who he is, despite the fact that he’s been actively mingling. And when an injection mark is spotted on his neck, it’s clear this wasn’t caused by a shellfish allergy. Now, as the weather deteriorates and a small group is stranded on the island with the body - and the killer - Julia starts interrogating staff, family members, and Zoey’s artist friends to find out who turned the clambake into a crime scene.

Julia is living on Morrow Island, running the family’s clambake business while helping plan her best friend, Zoey’s wedding. Everything’s set for a perfect weekend until, during the rehearsal dinner, an uninvited guest collapses and dies. What first looks like a medical emergency quickly turns into a murder investigation. Then a storm traps some of the guests, along with the soon-to-be bride and groom, on the island giving Julia and her boyfriend, state police detective Tom, opportunity to ask questions.

This is the 12th (and last) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. It's written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It's a quick read and a cozy mystery so there is no violence, swearing or adult activity. The "whodunit" was obvious but I was okay with that. It was farfetched that so many of the guests happened to be connected not only to Zoey but randomly to each other.

Since it was the last in the series, all the loose ends were tied up and everyone had a happy ending. At the end of the book, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story including baked lobster tails, fennel and orange salad and chocolate-covered toffee squares.

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

I stopped by Trinity Bellwoods Park this morning and visited KC's tree. It's been snowing since yesterday (our first snowfall of the season).

Mill Street Brew Pub, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper at Mill Street Brew Pub in the Distillery District this evening.

I had Buttermilk Chicken Tenders and Fries with plum sauce on the side. I left a lot of fries and took a couple chicken fingers home for lunch tomorrow.

"The Comeuppance", Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw the Canadian premiere of The Comeuppance this afternoon.

The past never really stays in the past. 

A group of old classmates — self-declared the “Multi-Ethnic Reject Group”—reunites to pre-game their 20th high school reunion, but nostalgia quickly turns into something darker. As drinks flow and old wounds resurface, they confront the choices that shaped them, the friendships that endured or crumbled, and the presence of something—or someone—they can’t escape. Sharp, theatrical, and deeply moving, The Comeuppance is a reckoning for elder millennials, caught between who they were, who they’ve become, and the world they never saw coming. When the night ends, will they still recognize themselves?

It was at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Distillery District. Our first snowfall of the season started that day.

Me!

Gord and I

Book ~ "Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice" (2025) Virginia Roberts Giuffre

From Goodreads ~ The world knows Virginia Roberts Giuffre as Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s most outspoken victim: the woman whose decision to speak out helped send both serial abusers to prison, whose photograph with Prince Andrew catalyzed his fall from grace. But her story has never been told in full, in her own words until now.

In April 2025, Giuffre took her own life. She left behind a memoir written in the years preceding her death and stated unequivocally that she wanted it published. "Nobody’s Girl" is the riveting and powerful story of an ordinary girl who would grow up to confront extraordinary adversity.

Here Giuffre offers an unsparing and definitive account of her time with Epstein and Maxwell, who trafficked her and others to numerous prominent men. She also details the molestation she suffered as a child, as well as her daring escape from Epstein and Maxwell’s grasp at nineteen. Giuffre remade her life from scratch and summoned the courage to not only hold her abusers to account but also advocate for other victims. The pages of Nobody’s Girl preserve her voice and her legacy forever.

This is a look at Giuffre's life, written in her voice from her troubled childhood to becoming one of the most well-known survivors connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking ring.  She opens up about being abused as a young girl, running away from home and later being recruited by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell when she was just a teenager. She describes how what started as a supposed “spa job” turned into years of manipulation, control and exploitation. The memoir tells of her escape and how she tried to rebuild her life in Australia. It's about how she decided to speak up, take legal action and fight for justice not just for herself but for other survivors too. 

I like reading bios/autobios and I knew this one would be a hard one. She went into a lot of detail at times about what what done to her. You can ask yourself why she stayed with Epstein and Maxwell as long as she did. She didn't have the best childhood which probably didn't help her decision making ability. She said she stayed because Epstein had threatened to harm her brother if she left. Eventually she did break away when she married her husband after knowing him for 10 days.

It's a tragic story but I did have some issues. The way she spoke about Robbie, her husband, sounded like he was the most loving and supportive husband ever. Yet there were incidents of domestic violence that had happened during their marriage where Robbie was arrested. You'd never know it by reading her story. After all she'd gone through, I would have thought she would never ever put up with any abuse at all. Shortly before she passed away, they were separated and there was an incident with Robbie and she ended up being prohibited from having contact with her children.

Not only did Giuffre's father sexually abuse her when she was young but he passed her over to his buddy who did the same. And her mother let it happen. When she had children, she had the need for them to get to know her parents and have a relationship with them. Huh?! After all she went through with her parents, if it was me, I would never had spoken to them again.

Knitted beanies

I knitted these 11 beanies over the last couple weeks to donate. I used a Caron Anniversary Cake (the colour is Tropical Breeze).

I found the pattern here and it was an easy pattern. 

I don't have a small 5.5mm circular needle so used 6.5mm so it's a bit bigger than a beanie and fits like a comfy hat.

With A and circular needles, cast on 80 sts. Place marker, join being careful not to twist sts.

• Rounds 1-8: Work in 2x2 Rib stitch pattern until beanie measures 2” (5 cm) from cast-on edge
• Rounds 9-22: Knit around

Shape Crown

• Round 1: Knit. 
• Round 2 (dec): *K6, K2tog; repeat from * around — 70 sts. 
• Round 3: Knit. 
• Round 4 (dec): *K5, K2tog; repeat from * around — 60 sts. 
• Round 5: Knit. 
• Round 6 (dec): *K4, K2tog; repeat from * around — 50 sts. 
• Round 7: Knit. 
• Round 8 (dec): *K3, K2tog; repeat from * around — 40 sts. 
• Round 9: Knit. 
• Round 10 (dec): *K2, K2tog; repeat from * around — 30 sts. 
• Round 11: Knit. 
• Round 12 (dec): *K1, K2tog; repeat from * around — 20 sts. 
• Round 13: Knit. 
• Round 14: *K2tog; repeat from * around — 10 sts. 

Finishing

Cut yarn leaving a 6” (15 cm) tail. With yarn needle, draw tail through remaining 10 sts twice, pull tightly and fasten off. Weave in ends. Block lightly. 

Book ~ "Hidden Beneath" (2023) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ Julia and her mother, Jacqueline, have come to the exclusive summer colony of Chipmunk Island to attend a memorial service for Jacqueline’s old friend Ginny, who’s been officially declared dead half a decade after she went out for her daily swim in the harbor and was never seen again. 

But something seems fishy at the service - especially with the ladies of the Wednesday Club. As Julia and Jacqueline begin looking into Ginny’s cold case, a present-day murder stirs the pot, and mother and daughter must dive into the deep end to get to the bottom of both mysteries.

Julia and her mom, Jacqueline, get invited to a memorial service on Chipmunk Island, the fancy summer community off the coast of Maine, which isn't far from their home on Morrow Island. The service is for Jacqueline’s childhood friend, Ginny, who disappeared five years ago during her daily swim and was never found. Everyone assumed she drowned. Though Jacqueline and Ginny haven't seen each other in about 35 years, Ginny had appointed her as the executor of her estate. It's the busy time for the family's business so things are stressful with this extra responsibility. As Julia and Jacqueline start going through Ginny's things and distributing them, Julia finds Ginny's diaries and starts reading them, hoping to figure out what happened to her.

This story was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It's a quick read and a cozy mystery so there is no violence, swearing or adult activity. At the end of the book, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story including apricot squares, fried chicken and lobster fried rice. The "whodunnit" made sense and I was okay with that. It's been two years since Julia had broken up with Chris, her boyfriend of a couple years, and she's still dwelling on it. It was good to see there was finally some movement for her on this.

This is the eleventh (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I started the series recently and will keep moving through (only one more to go!).

HOTHOUSE, Toronto, ON

I had supper this evening at HOTHOUSE at Front Street W/Church Street with Franca, my pal of about 30 years (we worked together many years ago) and Anne, my pal of a few years. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten together so it was nice to catch up. 

Here we are ...

Anne, Franca and I

I had Chicken Brochette (Moroccan spice marinated grilled chicken skewer, served with lemon scented rice, herb fingerling potatoes, tzatziki … I think it was just plain rice as I didn’t taste any lemon).

Franca had Cape d’Or Salmon (pan-Seared organic Newfoundland Atlantic salmon, lemon scented rice, butter poached broccolini, sauce vierge).

Anne had Spaghetti Alle Vongole (fresh Spaghetti Quadri, fresh Canadian Manila clams, heirloom cherry tomatoes, parsley, aglio e olio). 

Patty was friendly and took good care of us.