I Hope Autumn Is Treating You Well So Far

One of my favorite lines in The Great Gatsby is spoken by Nick’s short-term girlfriend, the professional golfer Jordan Baker. She tells him, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” Well, it’s hard to think of life starting all over again this fall, isn’t it? But I’m sure, like me, you’ve been making a to-do list of various projects to keep you energized while having to spend so much time indoors. A few of my simple goals? Clean out (even more) drawers, be religious with my Spanish homework, and attempt to read 25 pages of a book every day. “Try new recipes” is no longer on the list! I’m exhausted from that one.

And oh, can I just say how grateful I am this fall for the instant COVID test—because it meant my fabulous son, Hunter, could finally come visit for a few days last week. Up until now we’ve only seen him for outdoor picnics. Are you lucky enough to be able to see family this fall? I hope so!!

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A Special Way to Read a Book

Have you ever read a novel during the exact time of year the story in the book takes place? I find it can make the reading experience even more interesting. My most recent suspense thriller, HAVE YOU SEEN ME?, takes place in mid-October with lots of autumn references, so if you haven’t read it yet, this would be the perfect time. It’s about a young woman who can’t recall the past two days of her life. It soon becomes clear that not only did something very scary happen during those forty-eight hours, but someone is trying to make sure she never figures out the truth.
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Verified Five Star Reviews from Amazon for HAVE YOU SEEN ME?

–“Buckle up! A compelling rollercoaster of a read with unexpected twists and turns throughout.”

–“Absolutely breathtaking.”

–“Kate White does it again. A total can’t put it down, deliciously crafted offering.”

–“A very suspenseful page-turner that will keep you up all night.”

–“Wow what a ride. When I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about it.”

–“Riveting. Couldn’t put it down. Kate White writes a superb mystery.”

What I’m Reading/Watching:

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His & Hers
By Alice Feeney

Books with an unreliable narrator can be such page-turners. This new novel doubles the fun with TWO narrators you can’t trust: a BBC correspondent and her ex-husband police detective. On separate paths they’re trying to figure out who killed a woman they both shared secrets with. I didn’t love Feeney’s Sometimes I Lie—it seemed too farfetched for my taste—but I found her latest to be very compelling. Feeney’s a very good writer, and this book is wickedly funny at times.

Criminal
Netflix

I am totally hooked on the UK drama Criminal, as well as all of its international spin-offs (with the same set!). If you haven’t seen the series yet, definitely check it out. Each episode has the police interrogating a suspect in an interview room, with additional cops behind a two-way mirror. Every single episode features a delicious game of cat and mouse with incredible twists along the way.

What I’m Cooking/Fixing

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As I indicated above, I’m really a bit fried, so to speak, from all the meal prep I’ve been performing during the pandemic. To lighten my load, I’ve been cooking extra food for dinner on as many nights as possible and then repurposing it the next day for lunch, artfully disguised (well, at least some of the time). For instance, I often use left-over roast chicken to make chicken salad. I love my go-to chicken salad recipe, but it was starting to bore me to tears (gosh, do I sound jaded?). So recently I tried this kind-of-secret ingredient I noticed in the fabulous take-out chicken salad from one of my favorite restaurants, Canal House Station. Drum roll, please: a teaspoon of lemon zest. It gave the salad (really just chicken, celery, walnuts, and mayo) such a bright, unexpected taste, and now I’m totally hooked on this recipe. If you give it a try, let me know what you think.
Until next month,

Kate White