Deadly Deeds - Neal Sanders
I can't blame you for thinking that I like reading books by Neal Sanders because I do. I enjoy his writing, and I enjoy his stories. And if I had an estate that was worth worrying about, I think I would hire him to organize it. This is one of those books where the plots pile on top of other plots and you have to wonder how the author is going to untangle them and bring the story back together. That's one of the things about life: it's not just one simple plot like they write for TV scripts where the whole case has been researched, brought to trial, and adjudicated in forty-five minutes or less. Life is a complicated but integrated system no matter how much we try to screw it up.
Deadly Deeds is part of Sanders' Garden Club Gang series. One of the members dies in a very expensive nursing home/retirement community under, what appear to be, natural circumstances. But the Gang has its doubts.
This investigation is layered on top of a previous investigation involving the gang bringing down a crooked car dealer.
And that, in turn, is remotely entangled with an investigation at a fairground. In some serial stories, one has to have read the previous books to understand what is going on, but Sanders does a masterful job of providing enough backstory information to provide depth to the characters while allowing the present story to carry its own narrative.
As I said before, I enjoy reading Neal Sanders' books.
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Second Law of Thermodynamics
You might be wondering why I would title my new book Second Law. Among the wonders of the second law of thermodynamics is that it describes the fact that heat moves to cold, wet moves to dry, and high pressure moves to low pressure. A cup of hot coffee cools. The paper towel 'picker-upper' soaks up the spilled milk. And if you pop a balloon, it explosively deflates.
The second law is everywhere. It explains why insulation works. Different materials resist the flow of heat at different rates. That's why insulation is rated in 'R' values, demonstrating its ability to keep the heat in and the cold out. It's not the glass fibers in fiberglass insulation that slows the movement of the heat. Glass is a good heat conductor. It's the little pockets of air, trapped between all the fibers. Air is not a great heat conductor. The still, un-moving air in the insulation makes it work.
The people in my novel are learning about energy issues, but they are also under pressure. The pressure keeps increasing in the story until it has to be released - like popping the balloon. Love, murder, and finding the true path in life are all elements of pressure in life. Some days in our lives are peaceful and calm and the pressure is neutral. But some days, the pressure is intense - pressure to meet a deadline, make a payment, fire an employee, or propose marriage to the love of your life. All of those high pressure moments have to be relieved.
I regard all those moments as evidence of the second law.
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