The book "Only dead people don't lie" by Katarzyna Bonda fell into my hands completely by chance. I didn't know that it is part of a trilogy, and I didn't read any review regarding the author and her work. My first meeting with her criminal stories was not burdened with either positive or negative independent opinions. And it was good, because even if I try to be objective and not to take into consideration others' opinions, their attitude always stays with me. This time I can with a clear conscience say that I have formed my own opinion.

"Only dead people don't lie" is the second volume of the Hubert Meyer series about the police psychologist-profiler who when running an investigation creates a psychological picture of the murder. He is one of the main heroes in this novel. Meyer, the prosecutor Weronika Rudy and homicide policeman Waldemar Szerszeń are introduced to us at the scene of a macabre crime in Katowice center. The victim is trash baron Schmidt, murdered in the flat belonging to a well-known sex therapist in a historic townhome. The profiler has to prepare expertise leading to the murderer's capture. The first examination of the murder scene indicates the reason for the robbery, and the next traces and interrogations lead the investigators' line of thought to the world of business. It turns out that the beautiful townhome hides another crime mystery that was apparently solved more than 17 years before. Is it a coincidence that in the same place two people lost their lives? Are both crimes somehow connected?

The author masterfully leads us through a maze of plot threads and new witnesses. We think that the case's solution has emerged from a fog, that the murderer is just behind the corner, that the next answer will give us the final solution to the mystery. In the meantime it emerges that the interrogations only multiply the doubts and the uncovered mysteries deepen the investigation more and more. Is it really the case that only dead people don't lie?

When the school year was finished my daughter moaned that she didn't want to be on holiday. When the holiday was finished she moaned that she didn't want to go back to school. It is difficult to please young people. It is good that at least my little son is distinctly happy starting school. Maybe because for the first time he will cross the doorstep of the school and he doesn't know what he should anticipate.

I wanted to sugar the pill of the school year starting, so I prepared some almond-orange cookies in chocolate. My effort was appreciated. Spanish cookies suggestive of florentynki (in Poland, cookies with nuts, almonds and honey) are crunchy, and the orange aroma is clearly discernible. Chocolate, almonds and orange are definitely a perfect trio.

The recipe comes from the Lidl cookery book.

Ingredients:
3 oranges
150g of sugar
250g of almonds cut into pieces
200g of milk chocolate

Ipomoea batatas called sweet potatoes come from Central America. They were brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus, then the Portuguese relocated them to Africa and India. Now the main producers of these vegetables are India, Vietnam, Japan and China.

Though we most often buy orange sweet potatoes, there are about 400 known varieties, from white and yellow to red and purple. Depending on their colour they have different nutrients and composition and they also have another properties.

The red variety is recommended to fight against heart diseases, whereas the purple one contains strong antioxidants, so it is an ingredient of an anticancer diet. The yellow variety, which contains lutein, is recommended for people who need to look after their eyes.

You may bake, boil and grill sweet potatoes. They are excellent ingredients of puree, spreads and soups. Reportedly, you can also eat the leaves, not only the tubers. They are used in Chinese, Japanese and Filipino restaurants. Today in my kitchen sweet potatoes and carrots were soup ingredients. I served it with bacon and smoked goat's cheese rolls.