Polish Mrs. B is elderly and leads a quiet life in her neighborhood. She interacts with her friends at St. Mary’s Senior Citizen Center, has lunch in the afternoons with friends, and spends quiet evenings at home with her coffee, books, or the movie channel.
Wearing her babushka and comfortable shoes, Mrs. B might possibly be thought of as a nosy old woman, but no one would never suspect her of being a detective.
One of her friends is worried that her son is going to end up going to jail for something she knows that he couldn’t have done. But it does look like he is guilty. Will Mrs. B prove that the police are wrong?
Mrs. B’s quiet life is about to become a little more exciting. Between the secrets that start popping out of the woodwork all around her and learning to use the internet, Mrs. B has her hands full. And the new little girl next door takes a liking to Mrs. B.
Stolen money, a suspect’s possible connection with the IRA (Irish Republican Army), and anonymous notes make Mrs. B wonder just what she has gotten herself into. Will Mrs. B succeed in making things right before the entire neighborhood suffers?
This story does fill one with questions about what is going on, but you aren’t gripping the couch cushions in anticipation of what is going to happen next.
You know the warm glow you get from drinking a cup of hot tea or coffee? This book will warm your insides in the same way. For those of you who love frogs as much as I do, how about the pleasure you get from listening to the spring peepers at the beginning of each spring? Reading this book gives one the same feeling. Hmm. Is there such a thing as a warm, comforting mystery? If so, this one definitely falls into that category.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you would like to read your own copy of this book, I’ve provided an Amazon link below.
Amazon Link: A Question of Devotion
Recommended Article: Mrs. B and Her Polish Immigrant Heritage – Guest Post by Anita Kulina
Favorite Sentences:
We are never too old to learn.
How could anyone see an old lady like Mrs. B as a threat?
All her life she’d had a dim view of cowards, and an anonymous note was the most cowardly thing she could think of.
Everything Mrs. B knew about detectives was from movies and mystery books.
Mrs. B hadn’t uttered a profane word in twenty years, but the first thing that came to her mind was—what the hell is going on here?
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New Words Learned:
babushka – a woman’s scarf, often triangular, used as a hood with two of the ends tied under the chin
barcalounger – a deeply padded lounging chair
Bloody Sunday – an incident that took place on January 30, 1972, in Derry, Northern Ireland, in which 26 unarmed civilians were shot by British soldiers during a peaceful protest march against internment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1972)
chifforobe – a piece of furniture having both drawers and space for hanging clothes
klops – Polish meatloaf
novena – a devotion consisting of nine separate days of prayers or services
reticent – reluctant or restrained
The Troubles – a violent thirty-year conflict framed by a civil rights march in Londonderry on 5 October 1968 and the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998. At the heart of the conflict lay the constitutional status of Northern Ireland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/troubles
About the Author:
Like most people who love to write, Anita Kulina has been telling stories since she was old enough to hold a pen. Her first publication was in the letters-to-the-editor column of Adventure Comics #341. Nowadays, much of her work centers on the rich and colorful lives of Pittsburgh’s working poor. Since Anita spent much of her life in those ranks, it’s a subject dear to her heart.
Her book Millhunks and Renegades won her the Achievement in Literature award from the community of Hazelwood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is currently at work on the next two Mrs. B books.
Website: http://www.brandtstreetpress.com/books/mrsb1.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anita.k.smith
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-kulina-smith-4094812?trk=hp-identity-na
I’m so glad you enjoyed ‘A Question Of Devotion’!