Like an old friend. ( )

Classic Maupin storytelling in all ways. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this latest story in the series and look forward to catching up on some of those I missed. ( )

I have to thank Armistead Maupin for bringing Mary Ann back and redeeming her; I now understand why he dedicated the book to Laura Linney.

I read this directly after finishing 'Michael Tolliver Lives', and even though I liked that book, it was a relief to step back into the old TotC formula, complete with a mystery.

So wonderful to find out what everyone is up to these days. My favorite 21st century transformation was DeDe Halycon-Wilson.....I just love who she has become since I remember her last in 'Significant Others'.

Roman, of course, is my favorite new character. One of the reasons I adore Maupin's writing is because of the way he writes about animals. He is intimately familiar with the codes and customs of dog-people; mainly just the things that happen on walks and at the dog park, the social behaviors of humans and canines when they all interact in public together.

There are two surprise reprises from the past which actually turn out to be one great big reprise. It didn't take long for me to figure out half of it, but there was a unexpected turn of events in the end. Not quite as shocking as the Episcopalian cannibals, but still pretty creepy.

One burning question left unanswered: Is Lord Teddy Rushton still living? If not, is Wilfred now the new Lord Rushton? I really hope so. ( )

Like coming back to a comfortable chair, how could I not enjoy these well loved characters, although it had a silly, pat ending that tried to have all the pieces fit together. Still room for a lot more tales to be told! ( )

Wonderful addition to the Tales series. I love that it linked back to the first book of the series, which was a nice parallel with the story of Mary Ann moving to SF for the first time in that book, and returning after 20 years in this book, so having one of those old plot threads resurface in an unexpected way was really wonderful for someone who is a fan of the entire series.

What's interesting about Maupins style is just how much he documents daily life. It felt a little awkward at times seeing iPhone and Blackberry mentions, along side jokes about "Whole Paycheck" instead of Whole Foods, and stuff like that. But then when I thought about it, all his books have simply documented how people were living in that place at that time, but still using his characters and telling his stories.

There's a certain comfort in reading new stories featuring characters you know and love already, but there's still enough that is new thrown in to keep the book interesting and I really have to say that I love that this book linked back to the very first one, and finished off a storyline that was introduced way back then. ( )