When Good Writers Go Bad and the Vicissitudes of Life Life

     On a personal level life has been fairly horrendous as of late. Two weeks ago I had to take our beloved Yorkie, Teddy, to the vet and have him put to sleep. We had him for almost sixteen years and he had recently suffered a series of mini-strokes, was blind and mostly deaf and had lost control of his bladder and bowels and was basically in pain all the time. This was only the second time in my entire life I had to put a dog to sleep. It is not an easy thing to do. One questions themselves for days and weeks as to whether it was too soon or if I could have done something differently. On a brighter note we did get a new puppy. His name is Neville (from Harry Potter). He was the last one in his litter, nobody had chosen the little guy, so we did. He's a fluffy ball of happiness; a Morkie with so much love to give. He has alleviated our pain at losing Teddy and has entertained us for hours on end. Hence the lack of reviews lately. I haven't been reading like I normally would and what I have read leaves me unimpressed. I have a huge problem when highly successful authors just "dial it in". I am not going to name these authors but I have reviewed some of their books before and at the time was wildly impressed. This time, not so much. Therefore I have decided that my next review will be the new novel by Cornelia Read, VALLEY OF ASHES. I can always count on her to write well. She never rests on her laurels and she never disappoints. I need a good book and I know she will deliver. As a matter of fact I started the book last night and was impressed from the "git go". If anyone is exhausted from reading books by authors that have made little to no effort in their later books, please read anything by Cornelia Read. She doesn't skate, she isn't lazy and her social commentary is snarky enough to be featured in Vanity Fair. Dominic Dunne and Christopher Hitchens may be dead but their laser ability to dissect a certain segment of Society lives on in the books by Ms. Read.