Let me begin by saying that, although there are plenty of theories about burial practices, there are very few facts we know for certain. However, I gleaned what I could and imagined the rest. Since…

I finished The Secrets of Hartwood Hall. This reminded me of the romantic suspense that was popular a number of years ago. With that said, the ending was quite different than it would have been in …

Is there a kernel of truth to the legend of the Minotaur? We already know there are many theories regarding the location of a labyrinth as described in the Greek myth. One theory mentioned previous…

I read only one and a half books this week, but for a good reason. U received the edits for the second in the Bronze Age Crete Mysteries, On the Horns of Death. No cover or pub date yet. The Lindbe…

The word labyrinth is from Bronze Age Crete. Labrys refers to the double-headed axe used in religious rituals. It definitely was not a tool. Labyrinth did not refer to a maze. (Perhaps to a place o…

This week I read two books. One might be surprising: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I remember reading this many years ago, Now my fourth grade grandson had read it so I reread it so I could talk …

This past week I read Shadow Rites, Number ten in the Jane Yellowrock series and The Fourth Enemy by Anne Perry. Shadow Rites opens with a bang. Jane wakes to a magical green fog sweeping through t…

The society in Bronze Age Crete was extremely sophisticated. Besides toilets with running water, they had bathtubs. (found during digs).The mosaics and frescos with which they decorated their homes…

I was on vacation the last two weeks, coming back to summer. Although we were at Disney World, with all the busyness that suggests, I did read a lot. The Unsettling Crime . . . by Terry Shames was …

Bull leaping is probably one of the most well-known -if not the most well-known – image of the Minoan civilization. Most people believe the account written in the myth of Theseus and the Mino…

The first book I read was a novella by Gigi Pandien: The Lost Gargoyle of Paris. This is a spin off of the Accidental Alchemist, and I liked it so much I am now going to read the Accidental Alchemi…

Last week I read Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings. When Violet Manville’s Aunt Adelia leaves, she bequeaths her role as advice columnist Miss Hermione to Violet. One of the letters le…

This week I read Tomorrow’s Vengeance by Marcia Talley. In the thirteenth Hannah Ives mysteries, Hannah volunteers at an assisted living home. (It is more like a resort than a residence, but …

Arthur Evans, who excavated Knossos, estimated the original Neolithic settlements on Crete stretch back to 8000 B.C.E. By 2000, the civilization had transitioned from wattle and daub huts to an aff…

Since I’ve begun working on the next in my Bronze Age Crete Mystery series (beginning with In the Shadow of the Bull) I’ve been doing research. The first book is Arcadian Days, a retell…

The Bronze Age Crete civilization worshipped snakes. Snakes are pictured on seals and in frescoes, and statuary of either priestess or goddesses, twine snakes around their waists and hold them alof…