I mentioned a time or thirty on Facebook how much I love this series of audible books but I think I’ve figured out (in part) why these simple little “Murder She Wrote” mysteries ping my heart.
For some reason, the sisters remind me (in ways big and small) of my mom and Aunt Connie.
Sister (real name Mary Alice Crane) is bossy, stubborn and quite self assured. She’s happy barking commands to “Mouse” (real name: Patricia Ann), her younger sister.
The bossy, stubborn parts are not at all like my Aunt Connie. But the self-assured part suits my aunt well. She’s always had an air about her that is confident and at home in her own skin. Same with Sister. The best parts of that character remind me of my aunt (whom I love dearly).
Mouse is only a wee bit like my mom so I think it’s more the dynamic of the relationship that reminds me of my aunt and mom. I imagine, though, if mom had been more mobile and not stuck with a blind, legless husband (and me), she might have been more inclined to go on jaunts with my aunt. I can totally see these two ladies in my life getting caught up in all kinds of mayhem (hopefully not murder!).
They’re best friends even if they snark on each other and boss each other around. And that was mom and Aunt Connie. Best friends through thick and thin.
This part surprises me, though!
You know what else feels nice to me? The comfortable relationships the characters share with each other. The kind where they just pop over to each other’s house (Mary Alice often appearing out of thin air in Patricia Ann’s house!).
As you all know (because I tell you eleventy five times every day), I am rather a hermit. I don’t like to entertain, need a buttload of space and quiet and don’t care much about cleaning or things domestic. Yet, there’s some allure to me in the familiarity of these relationships. Each sister has a daughter with whom they are quite close. I like that the sisters and the daughters are like one big group and sounding board for each other.
I think I’d rather like having that in my life.
(Gasp! I cannot believe I even said that! After all, it would require people just showing up at my house and suppose I don’t want them to?)
Anyway, it’s a nice fantasy I can have in my head of that kind of relationship. While I am close with a couple of my girl cousins, I can’t say I have that relationship with them. Maybe if we lived closer to each other but we don’t. :(
I’ll just have to be content to live in the world of Sister and Mouse as voiced through audible books (the narrator Ruth Ann Phimister does a spectacular job in bringing all the characters to life.).
If you like the genre of “cozy mysteries”, you can’t go wrong with these books. Some of my very favorites.
I wish I had more close friends. BUT I hate the thought of people just showing up at my door. My shrink used to tell me I have a fear of intimacy and I like to “control my backstage.” She didn’t get those letters after her name for nuthin’.
Also, my sisters are a huge disappointment to me (and, I suppose, I to them). If we met under different circumstances we would (at best) have nothing in common. So the thought of having more of them just makes me think I’d be faced with more disappointment.
But I do love those books. The gentleness and the humor, as well as how comfortable the characters are. That’s so important with series like these. I miss my continuing adventures of Aunt Sister and Mouse.