The Canning Season

Wow. How did I miss this when it first came out? As I blogged today, it has the best first chapter/prologue ever. Not because the main character's name is Ratchet Ratchet Clark. Not because it includes skull-boring insects, hurling placenta, Salisbury Steak, and the Pensacola Hunt Club. Not even because of the image of Ratchet's mother sliding down her hospital sheets and almost out the window. No, the reason is because after all of this fun, the premise of the book is thrown upon us the same way it's thrown upon Ratchet. Her mother has this wonderful monologue describing how Ratchet got her name. Then the monologue ends:

“... and that's how you became Ratchet Ratchet Clark. Oh, and by the way, you're going to Maine tonight.”

Genius.