This should have been flagged in February when they sent a statement which (incorrectly) stated that they owed me £350, then couldn't give me an actual statement based on the meter reading I took, refused to come and do an actual reading themselves, and didn't send the revised statement they promised. Now they want to increase my payment by a whopping 150% and I want them to put me on the tariff we agreed last year and not to pay more than I should have on that. Sorting that out is tomorrow's promised treat - if the resolution team actually call me back. Not holding my breath for this.
Between that and getting thoroughly depressed and angry every time I see or hear a news bulletin I'm feeling at a particularly low ebb. Holidays cannot come quickly enough.
'Murder, Mr Mosley' was an impulse purchase a few weeks ago and is part of the pretty looking Pan reprints of books that mostly seem to be from the 1980's. The covers of these are curious. They have a deliberately nostalgic feel about them that makes you think you're picking up something golden age, or at least 1950's, and feel somewhat disconnected from the contents.
To be fair it's hard to imagine how you could evoke '80's book covers and still appeal to the target audience for these books, but I wish they would try. 'Murder, Mr Mosely' isn't a masterpiece, but it has a certain charm and it made me laugh - I'd definitely pick up another Greenwood for more of the same.
I think this one must be the first in the Mosely series, mostly because it refers to his lack of experience with murder cases, but it feels like it could come half way through which was occasionally irritating (it felt like I'd missed a chapter which explained this or that piece of background, but I hadn't). The plot goes a bit crazy too, but Greenwood's sense of humour and eye for odd details carries it through so that those things don't matter very much, and over all there was a lot to enjoy about this.
The plot, such as it is concerns the return of Brenda Cryer to the village of Parson's Fold, and her subsequent murder. She'd been gone for 17 years, her past is mysterious, and so is the source of her income. Mosley is the local man, more used to dealing with missing fruit and rustled geese, but somehow more on the ball than the extremely up to date Seargeant Beamish, thanks mostly to an extremely efficient network of gossip.
The question is, what has Brenda been up too, does it have anything to do with her murder, and what other connections might the investigation uncover...
On our island we are lucky to have homeowner's insurance at all and it is incredibly expensive. So are utilities. When I think of what I am paying for what is actually pretty minimal phone service plus internet access (no TV) I break out in a cold sweat. In contrast the electrical bill is actually pretty low. Worse yet we are building up into the worst and most crazy summer ever. Our island goes from a busy 16,000 year round population to well over 100,000. Just writing that makes me feel like gagging. And then we have to think about the current administration which is the WORST ever. Ah well, at least I am alive and well albeit arthritic and I do enjoy the winters here. Despite New England weather.
ReplyDeleteHow on earth do you cope with that kind of population increase? I'm curious about why the services are so expensive as well. That seems very unfair. The images and news coming out of America at the moment is beyond shocking - and are surely going to poison the well for years to come.
DeleteOh, I should have wished you good luck with the insurance company and with the other issues. Do show us some more of your gorgeous knitting! Or baking!
ReplyDeleteWaiting for that call! Thank you. I've been knitting, but nothing very interesting so haven't been sharing, and not baking at all - it's been to hot. Bring on the autumn.
DeleteThere was a comment from someone that her homeowner's insurance and gas and electric bills are high, and I think mine are very reasonable. I live in a temperate climate so not many months where heat is required and people here don't have air-conditioning where I live, in this part of California. So different areas have different costs, apparently. That book you describe sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteI finally got the bills sorted out, but need to change suppliers. The cost has gone up by £18 a month. For a 1 bedroom flat, and as someone who's quite conscientious about energy use I think that's quite a hike. The book was fun, but not very serious. I'm on holiday now and have tried to pack a bit of a variety - hopefully I'll get plenty of reading time.
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