The Tale of Hawthorn House

I have truly enjoyed all the stories in this particular series. The characters (both human and animal) are all likeable and well-developed. The mysteries are gentle, and a pleasant change from the stress, blood, and guts of the average new mystery produced. The only other author who I have found to have written anything in a similar vein is Van Reid in his "Moosepath League" novels (also excellent). I hope Ms. Albert keeps these coming, and often! True quality!

The Tale of Hawthorn House: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter (Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter Mysteries) Albert and the Folk score one for the grownups. This "tale" is a melt-in-the-mouth, high-class bon-bon that has one reaching for the next one out of the box. It is genteel excitement with a few catch-on-quick puzzles. Enjoy.

This is Susan Wittig Albert's fourth Beatrix Potter mystery (after 2006's The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood) and it's a charming addition to the series. Beatrix, to her profound surprise, finds a lovely baby girl left on at doorstep of her Tree Top Farm. Unbeknownest to all, Baby Flora was stolen from her teenage mother, Emily, by a stange old lady, Mrs. Underthewall. Emily, agast at the theft of her baby, and a bit muddled in the head, takes this as an omen, and decides to leave her life as a maid and runs off to London to begin a new and exciting life. Beatrix suspects the child of having gypsy origins and proceeds to investigate the abandonment of the baby. Capt. Miles Woodcock and his sister, Dimity, temporarily give Flora a new home, while leaving Beatrix to solve the mystery of her old one. Meanwhile, the animal characters also have issues and problems to solve. Jemima Puddleduck broods over a nest of long overdue eggs; Reynard the Fox, smitten by Jemima, struggles with his unnatural and unforseen love for Jemima; and the whole village is talking about a marriage between Beatrix and the highly eligible Captain Woodcock, and his sister, Dimity, and the highly unsuitable Major Kittdrige. Meanwhile, on a business trip to London, Beatrix accidently meets Emily and gets to the bottom of the mystery of the stolen baby. This charming book with its whimsical blend of mystery, romance and the cozy descriptions of English village life and Beatrix Potter's Tree Top Farm, will delight all cozy mystery lovers. I suggest that if you haven't read the other 3 books in the series, you begin with the first one and proceed happily through to the present volume.

If you are a fan of Beatrix Potter you have already read the first 3 books in this series AND have seen the film "Miss Potter"! If not I would suggest you begin with the open mind and heart of a child and read this book with the abandonment of conventional ideas. Animals speak, humans listen, mysteries occur, mouth-watering desserts are served and the villages will become home. I have reluctantly left the last book and wish to return. Jan Karon and Susan Albert have both created a haven for readers to dwell in and forget 9-11, Iran and money problems. You will love this style of writing if you remember to "let go and enjoy". Start with the first book - and when you are finished this series move on to the mystery series Ms. Albert has written. She is a writer worth the time and money.

That's an oh-so-polite way of saying that the residents of the Land Between the Lakes have a tendency to gossip. But they have a lot to talk about. The theme of this fourth episode of The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter is motherhood. A foundling, Baby Flora, is deposited on Miss Potter's stoop by one of the Hawthorn Folk, who have an affection for young bairns. Where did she come from? Whose daughter is she? Why was she abandoned? How can the errant mother be located? Who will take care of her in the meantime? At Hill Top Farm, Jemima Puddle-duck has been sitting on a nest for several months. Are those eggs hers? If not, where did she get them? What will happen when her ducklings finally hatch? And whatever became of that fox who was trying to seduce her a while back? Something must be in the air in that part of England in 1908, for several individuals who are not part of a pairing are beginning to look around at the options, making decisions about whom they might like to spend more time with. Who will propose marriage in this book? Will everyone find a chair before the music stops? As in the previous books in this series, Susan Wittig Albert shows her adeptness at weaving plotlines between the humans and the animals. The story is told in the all-knowing view of an omniscient narrator, who uses "I" and the royal "we" in asides to the readership, just as Beatrix herself did in her own tales. Fans who have grown disgruntled with Rita Mae Brown's mysteries would do well to make the leap to this strong series.