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 Polar Bears in the Kitchen
Published: 2009
Polar Bears in the Kitchen available at
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Publication Reviews Steppin' Out, September/October, 2009 Look Out For "Polar Bears In The
Kitchen" by Leslie Woodruff Fans of Joan Leslie Woodruff's work will be delighted with her new novel, "Polar Bears in the Kitchen." New readers will quickly become fans, if they can enjoy her brand of intense mystery, blended with spiritual journeys. The review found it captivating. Woodruff lives near Mountainair, NM. and her writing has appeared occasionally in Steppin' Out, as well as reviews of her other books. Some of the book's references to her earlier novels may be just a tad confusing to those who have not read "The Ghost in the Rainbow" or "Neighbors." However, this is a very minor factor, and it does not interfere with the new book's meaning or the readers enjoyment. "Polar Bears in the Kitchen" stands alone, but it entices readers to hunt for more. One of the beauties of Woodruff's writing is the authenticity, the genuine nature of the feelings expressed. She does not create some abstract irrelevant scenario, but rather speaks from real emotions she knows intimately. Her medical background and her experiences assisting law enforcement also aid in building believeability. But at times the reader is left wondering about which things in the fictional story "really" happened and which were beyond worldly reality. The book begins with a death and then a murder, but the trajectory is not all downhill. Light, humorous touches make the story brighter amid the gloom, but it's tough enough on the edges to not be recommended for pre-adolescent readers. Woodruff's heroine, Myra Whitehawk, is dealing with her own troubled past, family tragedies, and psychological injuries, while trying to solve a serial mystery. As in her other books, Woodruff's use of words, sentence structure and imagery is very creative, unusual, quirky. Native American spirituality is woven throughout the story, as are references to multiple animal friends. The book reads like Myra Whitehawk thinks -- which is from an Indian set of sensibilities, with a more than a few twists, time-shifts or compressions, and revelations along the way. Woodruff also slyly slips in a few environmentalists points of view, but she bars no holds when it comes to describing tantalizing food, including luscious dessert that may send readers scrambling to the fridge for a calorie boost. Fans will also want to know more about the apparently blossoming relationship between Myra and a couple of male characters in the book. Readers in New Mexico should have not trouble finding "Polar Bears in the Kitchen" in local bookstores or on-line. But be fore-warned: better set aside some hours and have some snakes at hand. It's a fast read, but this reviewer couldn't put it down. Get ready to be entrapped! About the Reviewer: Laura L. Klure is an independent writer based in Riverside ,CA. She has written more than 900 articles and reviews for local, regional and national publications.
The Independent, Vol. 11, Number 27, July
8, 2009 The comment aptly sums up the ambiance of Polar Bears in the Kitchen, a mystery novel whose primary roles are played by spirits with human beings mostly in supporting roles. Earlier the narrator tells one of her few flesh-and-blood friends: “Lots of things we don’t understand in this universe. I don’t worry about trying to understand everything. There was a time in my life when I did try. Too many things don’t have answers. It’s a waste of time trying to figure them out. Besides, I don’t think we need to understand.” To enjoy this pleasant romp along the borderland between the known and the unknown, this attitude is the one a reader must adopt. The ghosts include centuries-old American Indians ... There is a mule, a rabbit, and a family of polar bears ...
The menagerie helps the narrator, a middle aged journalist and potter,
solve the mystery of a serial murderer. The best parts of the book are the psychological insights that Woodruff comes by quite honestly. Holder of (post) graduate degrees in education and counseling, and a certificate in psychometrics/evaluations, she has worked, among other things, as a forensic counselor for courts. Interviewing a witness, the narrator remarks: “I studied her face. Each time I asked her to recall something, her eyes glanced to the left. Not exactly a science, but when people are telling a story, trying to find pieces to fill in what they don’t remember, their eyes look to the right. If it’s all fabrication, they glance to the left.” Describing a story told by the truck driver who becomes her friend, she observes: “A few small details change between what he
told me the first time and what he described now. That was normal. Our
memories alter things as time passes. People who repeat the same identical
story over and over, Noticing the differences between two people’s versions of an occurrence, she says, “No two people ever view the same event, and later recall it in the same way.” Woodruff, who has written for the Independent and lives on a ranch outside Mountainair, is a skilled observer, often seeing what would elude another’s eye. The Mountain View Telegraph “These are the ones who taught me about storytelling,” she says quietly with a smile, lightly running her slender fingers from face to face. She stops at a dark-haired woman, a full blood Shawnee with strong cheekbones, her maternal great-grandmother “I never met her,” she says, “but I know her.” Woodruff, whose ancestry includes Shawnee, Eastern Cherokee, German, and Russian descent, grew up listening to American Indian stories. She said the spirits of her ancestors guide her work. A native New Mexican and accomplished author of both fiction and nonfiction, Woodruff grew up in Corrales, with an older brother. She now lives at a remote ranch near Abo, where she moved 18 years ago. While her books don’t have the same themes, there are characters who stay with her, guiding the words, the story. “The characters wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote (the story),” she said. They come not only from people she knew, even animals she knew, but from the spirits of the Anasazi people who once lived where the Abo ruins lay. “I would just sit outside on the hill. After a while I heard people talking, pretty soon it was funny,” she says. That’s the thing about Abo; if you sit quietly long enough, you can hear the people. They were family people with a tremendous sense of humor.” Grounded in nonfiction
writing, Woodruff got started by publishing articles in medical journals.
While living in California, she spent nearly 20 years working as an
occupational therapist. Her first book, Traditional Stories and Foods: An
American Indian Remembers, is a folkloric collection of traditional stories
and recipes from Native She moved into fiction after reading a true story of California nuns murdered and dumped in a river in Nicaragua in the early 1980’s. “I wanted to change history,” she says. “I wanted to let them live. So I created a soldier who was told to kill them, but he didn’t. He told them to disappear.” That’s what she loves about fiction, taking true facts and putting a unique twist on them.
She researches more for fiction than nonfiction. Her book, The Shiloh
Renewal, published in 1998, tells the story of a young girl who is injured
in an accident and is visited by ghosts of the Civil War, soldiers killed in
the Battle of Shiloh. (The book was included in a group by the state of
Tennessee as being one of the best historical Countless short stories, magazine and newspaper articles, and books later, Woodruff has turned to writing full time. Her most recent novel, POLAR BEARS in the KITCHEN, released (July 2009) is her favorite, and the first written with no other jobs or commitments pending. A copy sits with the rest of her books on top of a table between two book end in her parents’ living room. POLAR BEARS in the KITCHEN is Woodruff’s making good of her promise to her mother days before she died of heart failure a year ago. “My mother worried about the polar bears. She would stay up at night and worry that they were drowning. One of the last things she said to me was, “Who’s going to care for the polar bears?” And I told her I would. And I did what I promised her. I brought attention to the polar bears -- just not in a way you’d expect. Her mother, a registered nurse, taught her to love reading. “She read all the time. She told me to go the library and bring home as many books as I could carry. And I did. I read everything.” She is now working on her next project, a book revision with Mark Blotcky, MD, a psychiatrist from Dallas. She mainly writes mysteries and suspense novels, but New Mexico is usually the fixture in her work, a place close to her heart. “I’ve been all over the world, and there’s no place like this place,” she says. “They call it the Land of Enchantment. And it is.” To learn more about Woodruff and her work, visit her
web site at Reviews from Amazon.com A burning car on a desolate New Mexico property is one thing. A burning car with a dead woman's body is quite another. Myra Whitehawk is still recovering from the death of her beloved cousin when she finds the car with the body on her property. Myra sets off on a mission of discovering who the woman was and why she died which puts Myra in danger when she discovers a serial killer may well be responsible. Myra's ancient spirit friends help her on her quest or, perhaps, it may be better phrased, they try to help her. The ancient spirits do a better job of helping Myra cope with the loneliness that often attacks her when she reflects on how much she misses her cousin. The spirits and the polar bears are delightful characters in a charming book. And if you are wondering why polar bears dance across the pages of a book set in New Mexico then you must read Joan Woodruff's Polar Bears in the Kitchen. It's a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. -- S. M. Schauer I was blown away by the realism of this
book. I could feel, taste, and smell each location. From the La Fonda in
Santa Fe, to the convenience stores in Los Lunas (Valencia County), it all
came to life as if i was sitting in the seat next to Myra. -- An Amazon.com customer Dana has wise words for us all. The Happy Hens
return! -- Thomas Tetzlaff Myra's friends in the spirit world are an everyday part of her life and now they've come to her aid in solving a horrific crime. The author has very creatively intertwined the real world with these spirits to make for a heartwarming and also thrilling story. What a thoroughly enjoyable read! -- C Baca Post your own comment here at www.JoanLeslieWoodruff.com
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