Botanical Murder Investigations and Fall Cocktails

A Botanist Solves a Murder

Imagine: You're an archaeological botanist at University College London. Your only contact with the dead is at ancient ruins, where you specialize in analyzing soil samples to determine what plants Stone Age-era people grew and ate. One quiet afternoon, you're bent over a microscope, surrounded by field notes, when the phone rings.

It’s a police officer in Herefordshire. He was given your name by the staff at Kew Gardens. He says that he he’s working on an unusual case, one in which the presence or absence of corn pollen on the accused’s car might determine guilt or innocence. He’s hoping you can help.

Fungal spores, pollen grains, bits of lichen, insect wings, and soil-dwelling bacteria have a way of sticking around. They cling to hair, persist on the soles of shoes, and lodge in nostrils. But to make sense of those microscopic clues requires a very particular kind of expert: a forensic ecologist.

Patricia Wiltshire is just that person. I reviewed her remarkable new book, The Nature of Life and Death, for the Washington Post. Read on...

Asked and Answered: Fall Cocktails

Ask me a question and win the book of your choice! This month's winner is Amy from Tucson, AZ

Amy asks: I have to cut wine out of my diet due to migraines. Do you have a cocktail recommendation that will give me the same warm experience in the fall that red wine does?

Girl, I feel your pain! I don't know how old you are, but I have to say: if you think you're cutting a lot of things out of your diet now, just wait for menopause! I made the big mistake of having a very small cocktail during one of my talks on book tour last week, and I paid the price when I had one long hot flash all the way through the talk! Honestly, my evening cocktail is much more likely to be a nice dose of CBD these days.

But...back to you! I've been wracking my brain all day, trying to remember the novel I read a few years ago in which the protagonist walked into his local bar and announced to the bartender that it was time to change from his summer drink to his winter drink. It sounds like something right out of a PG Wodehouse novel, but I can't find the line anywhere.

Regardless--I just loved the idea of (a) a regular seasonal drink and (b) a regular bartender who knows what that drink is and is just waiting for you to announce that it's time to change over.

A few suggestions for a non-wine (and non-vermouth, because vermouth is a type of wine) winter cocktail:

A Kir Normand, which is a hard cider with a splash of creme de cassis poured in. (or even a blackberry or raspberry liqueur?)

An Old-Fashioned, with one change: if this is going to be your regular evening drink, maybe serve it over a full glass of crushed ice, with a squeeze of fresh orange? Maybe even a splash of soda water? It'll be just a little lighter and brighter that way. (Real maraschino cherries are well worth the investment and can usually be found at fancy grocery stores and liquor stores.)

A Campari and soda, which sounds like a summer drink, but I drink it all year round.

Another drink that sounds summery but does have that nice autumnal ginger kick: How about a Moscow Mule? Or try it with calvados (apple brandy) for a Paris Mule. Or use dark rum and you've got a Dark & Stormy.

Does that help? Good luck!

P.S. Forgive the silly cocktail painting. I'm trying to learn how to paint with gouache. I'll get there!

Ask a Question &
Win a Book!

 Please go here to ask me a question and pick your prize. Even if you've entered before, please feel free to enter again and ask the same question or a different one. Last month I only had three entries--you have a good chance of winning this thing!

Coming to a City Near You!

I'm on tour! Come see me, and tell your friends! And if you're part of a literary series, a library event, or some other bookish gathering, please feel free to reach out to publicity@amystewart.com to see about setting up an event.

Orland Park, IL: Oct 10 Palos Reads
Chicago, IL: Oct 12 The Book Cellar
Bowling Green OH: Oct 15 Wood County Public Library
St Helens, OR Oct 22: St Helens Public Library
Houston TX Oct 30: Murder by the Book
Dallas TX Nov 2: Bouchercon

Some of these are ticketed events. More tour dates are on my website. Please confirm details with the venue.

October Giveaway

We're giving away paperbacks of Girl Waits with Gun on Goodreads. Even if you have a copy, please head over there to enter! Give it to a friend!

Would You Like a Signed Book?

Signed copies of most of my books are available at Eureka Books, the bookstore my husband and I own. 

What Are You Reading?

My Patricia Highsmith binge continues this month with The Talented Mr. Ripley, which is the first of five Ripley novels. This one is set in Positano, where I went on vacation this summer. The movie (starring Matt Damon and Jude Law) is filmed there, too. I re-watched it last night and can report that as always, the book is better.

What are you reading? Tell me about it on Goodreads or Litsy.