Temple Barr, relative Las Vegas newcomer, is running her first big PR event, a major book fair, when two events conspire to derail her new life and
Temple Barr, relative Las Vegas newcomer, is running her first big PR event, a major book fair, when two events conspire to derail her new life and career. First, a body is discovered in one of the booths. Second, the body was initially discovered by an enormous black cat, who winds his way into Temple's care. Both Temple and Midnight Louie set themselves to solving the murder before the book fair closes shop and the suspects all leave town.
I picked this up at a library book sale, off a shelf called "Animal Mysteries." The combination of book fair and cat sleuth sounded promising, and I was not disappointed! This was very well-written, with a wry sense of humor that made me laugh at least once on just about every page. The story is mostly from Temple's POV, with intermittent chapters from Midnight Louie, and both were very entertaining. In addition, the mystery was excellent. The clues were all there, and the motive was understandable. How was I unaware of these books (written in the 1990's) before now?
The one thing that threw me a tad was that this felt like the second book about Temple, as her backstory includes the disappearance of the boyfriend who brought her to Las Vegas, and familiarity with the detective assigned to the murder case. (And speaking of the detective, the author pulls a sharp sleight-of-hand that I'm embarrassed to admit worked on me 30 years after this book was published!) And yet, looking over the author's book list, it doesn't look as though there was a previous book ab0ut Temple, which is a bit disappointing.
I really enjoyed this! I just recently returned this one to the same shelf at the next library book sale, and grabbed the second book in the series. ...more
Bailey King has just returned to her new hometown in Ohio Amish country to help out in her grandmother's candy store during the busy run-up to East
Bailey King has just returned to her new hometown in Ohio Amish country to help out in her grandmother's candy store during the busy run-up to Easter when one of the townsfolk immediately drops dead -- the victim of a poisoned piece of toffee. Against the wishes of her police officer boyfriend, Bailey decides to do some sleuthing. No one seems to have had a grudge against the dead man. But secrets abound, as do the efforts to keep them from being discovered.
I picked this up because it's set not too far from where I grew up in Northeast Ohio. It was very cute and fun, with plenty of eccentric characters and featuring a pet pig among other animal companions. The mystery was well-crafted and kept me guessing throughout the story. I appreciated the insight into Amish life and worldview, some of which I knew from growing up close to Amish country and some of which was new to me.
And yet ... this was just a bit too sweet for me. If you are looking for a charming, very wholesome combination mystery/romance, then I highly recommend this -- this series definitely fills a niche. I enjoyed it, and if I run across another one I might pick it up for a quick read, but I don't feel compelled to seek out any more of this series.
In 1928, a young Black woman flees from a New York mansion, clutching a painting.
In the present, another young Black woman in Was
Maybe 2-1/2 stars
In 1928, a young Black woman flees from a New York mansion, clutching a painting.
In the present, another young Black woman in Washington, DC is helping her grandmother de-clutter so she can sell her home. Gram gives Shanice a painting that's been in the family for three generations. Shanice isn't that taken with the painting -- she finds it a little disturbing. But when strange things begin happening after she takes it home, she gets a lot more interested, and determined to learn about the woman who painted it.
This poor book, y'all. This poor, poor book.
It has a perfectly solid 3, 3-1/2 star plot -- nothing amazing, but interesting, cleverly put together, and surprising enough that while one twist was glaringly obvious, I didn't figure out the others. It could have been a fast-paced, creepy suspense novel that would have made me sorry to get to my train station. Even better, it was inspired by a real-life creepy art patron in the 1920's. I wish that note had been at the front rather than the back of the book!
But there's a huge problem. Nobody loved this book. Nobody loved it enough to read it through and give it the line edit it needs. This thing reads like: 1. Author is on tight deadline and needs to start next book, so sends second draft straight to agent. 2. Agent is leaving for Big Book Fair and hopes a minion will go through the book instead. 3. No minions are available, so book goes straight to editor. 4. Editor goes into labor, or develops appendicitis, or has some other issue that prevents editing. Book goes to publisher as is.
So I spent the whole time I was reading basically crying over every page, because LS Stratton isn't one of those clearly unfixable bad writers I've occasionally come across. This isn't terrible. But it's so sloppy, and full of weird constructions ("she climbed to the balls of her feet" shows up more than once; I defy anyone to actually do this) that it slows the story to a clunking pace, or at least it did for me. And yet all it needs is one solid rewrite! How did that not happen?
Worst, the author is represented by a superstar agent. Well, maybe that agent gets her clients great deals. But she sure doesn't read the books they send her. Or at least I hope she doesn't, because I can't see how anyone could have resisted editing this book.
So honestly, if you don't notice writing, you'll probably enjoy this book. It was well plotted, Shanice grew on me as the story went on, and the other characters were decently developed and kept me interested in and guessing about their motives.
But if you have any editing experience at all, it's probably best not to try. I hate to be mean, but this poor book. Maybe one day it will be re-released with a proper edit, and I can read it without crying. ...more
Susan, formerly Jennifer, has been living a very quiet life since leaving her old one; it's imperative that no one get close enough to spot any hol
Susan, formerly Jennifer, has been living a very quiet life since leaving her old one; it's imperative that no one get close enough to spot any holes in her stories. But that's changing, as she's let herself fall in love, and she and Rob, her now-fiancé, plan to marry. As she frets about how she's going to manage, two things happen: she appears on a TV show about missing persons, and the discovery of a murdered schoolgirl dredges up memories and slips of the tongue.
I just happened to spot this book on the library shelf and the word "swimming" grabbed my eye. So even though I was a little hesitant after reading the jacket flap, I checked it out.
I'm surprised this book has so little readership and so few reviews (61 ratings, 9 reviews). Is it great, can't-put-it-down, breathless writing and storytelling? No, but it's perfectly decent and moves at a good clip. Susan/Jennifer's voice is a combination of pragmatic and guarded (she reminded me of Sookie Stackhouse). I found myself really absorbed into her inability to be authentic and her desire to get past that and have a real life with Rob. The reveal as to why she left her old life was well-paced. And the air of suspicion that was so easy to hang over all of the men in the story -- could they each reasonably be a murderer? -- was creepy and true to how women have to consider men on a regular basis. The atmosphere of the book was well done and leaked into my real life. So it's a good thing this is pretty short!
My only complaint is that there is a long -- reeeaaally long -- climax between Susan and the villain that goes on forever. And while it is a pretty clever manual as to how to save your own life in innumerable situations, there are just too many situations.
But then the ending was really sweet and I felt genuinely happy for Susan.
So all around, this was a satisfying story for me and I'm glad the hand of serendipity pushed this into my hands. ...more
Shortly after his arrival at CERN, a scientist is found dead in one of the tunnels. Speculation swirls about what he was doi
3-1/2 stars, rounded up
Shortly after his arrival at CERN, a scientist is found dead in one of the tunnels. Speculation swirls about what he was doing underground -- and why he was at CERN at all.
This is a very unusual mystery, and a little frustrating because of that.
It's told from two POVs -- Eve, another scientist who was clearly (this is not a spoiler, I swear; it's that obvious from the get-go) dead-guy Howard's girlfriend (although the book seems to try to keep that a secret for the first two-thirds, for no good reason); and Sabine, a private detective who is called in because she lives nearby and studied physics with two of the top scientist/administrators at CERN.
Eve is a bit bland, and her "Before" chapters drag with the weight of pretending that she and Howard were not sleeping together. This pretense backfires a bit. It kept me from getting attached to Howard (and instead spending a fair amount of my reading time wondering if the author was herself trying not to get attached to Howard), and it left me wholly un-invested in Eve's and Howard's relationship, because I didn't get to live with it through much of the story. Howard is like a vague, ephemeral ghost, just a memory before he's even gone. I think this portion of the book would have been much stronger if it had been more honest and upfront, and made Howard more real.
Sabine's chapters are straightforward detective work, but as a 50-something, Sabine has some history and an outlook that make her more interesting than Eve. She's pragmatic and efficient, gathering evidence and finding connections in an understated but compelling manner. Her portions kept me going when I wanted to step in and shake Eve for being so unforthcoming.
So why the rounded-up rating? First, this book set a mood that drew me in and kept me in its atmosphere even when I wasn't reading. Second, the mystery part was decently gripping and kept me searching for clues along with Sabine. And third, there is a science fiction aspect to the story that is maybe a little out of place, but which for me added an angle that cast the entire book in a more interesting light. This is a slightly different kind of mystery, fairly quiet, definitely sad, and with a creative genre overlap.
This is typical Christie -- a house with a number of residents, a locked room, desk, etc., and a body, which when alive provided nearly everyone with This is typical Christie -- a house with a number of residents, a locked room, desk, etc., and a body, which when alive provided nearly everyone with a motive for murder. Plus quite a bit of casual racism thrown about in daily conversation. Every time I finish one of these I'm so glad to live 100 years in the future!
The plot to this was very satisfactory and clever, and I did enjoy the twists. It made for an enjoyable lazy vacation read. ...more
Wow, this was impossible to put down. Lisa Jewell has a real talent for pacing and telling a tight story.
I don't want to say too much about this. I rWow, this was impossible to put down. Lisa Jewell has a real talent for pacing and telling a tight story.
I don't want to say too much about this. I read it partly because I just needed a breathless distraction, and partly because it features podcasting and I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. But I had no idea what to expect -- and at no point did I ever figure out what to expect!
I'm not sure I want to know how an author comes up with these twisted people and equally twisted plots. But I really admired this. ...more
When a gastric emergency strikes at the Crown & Anchor despite its meticulous kitchen, Jude and Carole feel compelled to dig
3-1/2 stars, rounded up
When a gastric emergency strikes at the Crown & Anchor despite its meticulous kitchen, Jude and Carole feel compelled to dig around to fins out how it could have happened.
I enjoy Simon Brett's quick mysteries. They're never too long, but still manage to bring in interesting characters with plenty of potential motives to keep me guessing. The "whodunit" in this installment turned out to be a bit unusual, too. It's always fun to spend time in Fethering, aside from the constantly increasing body count! ...more
This second techno-finance mystery (is that a genre?) featuring hidden-money-sleuth Martin Hench was just as good as the first. Rather than following This second techno-finance mystery (is that a genre?) featuring hidden-money-sleuth Martin Hench was just as good as the first. Rather than following from the first book, it starts 20 years in the past, so it doesn't matter if you read this book without reading the previous one.
These are short and biting, with much social and political commentary. And this has become a favorite series for me. I hope a few more follow, and quickly! ...more
I may manage a better review in the future, but this surprised me with how engaging it was -- it zoomed along with no wasted time, and I looked forwarI may manage a better review in the future, but this surprised me with how engaging it was -- it zoomed along with no wasted time, and I looked forward to picking it back up every time I had to stop reading. The only reason I gave it four stars is because the big reveal was a little out of left field, so it didn't feel as satisfying as I'd hoped. But it didn't fail the story in any way -- it held with everything that had led up to it. I'm definitely game to read this author's previous book. ...more
Just before Christmas, Sarah Booth Delaney's friend Cece receives a message that her young cousin Eve is being held for ransom. Complicating matter
Just before Christmas, Sarah Booth Delaney's friend Cece receives a message that her young cousin Eve is being held for ransom. Complicating matters, Eve is pregnant and due any minute, while Cece is estranged from that part of her family. Can Sarah Booth figure out who is holding Eve, why they would do such a thing, and most important, where Eve is?
I enjoyed last year's Christmas mystery in this series so much that I decided to look for another one even though I'm supposedly reading the books in order now.
This did not disappoint! I love this series. Sarah Booth has a great voice and outlook, the Mississippi delta setting is vivid, and all of the characters are great people to spend time with. The pacing is great, as always with these books, and I zoomed through the story. Everything worked out to great satisfaction. I'm not entirely sure about the medical plot driver, but that's a small quibble.
Now I've got to get back to the beginning and keep working my way forward....more
Author Finlay Donovan is recently divorced with two little kids, worse than broke, and not even started on the manuscript she's supposed
3-1/2 stars
Author Finlay Donovan is recently divorced with two little kids, worse than broke, and not even started on the manuscript she's supposed to submit in two weeks. But when a woman at the next table in Panera misunderstands a conversation between Finlay and her agent, a whole new path in life opens up -- if Finlay can live to enjoy it.
I read this because I picked up the second book out of a Little Free Library, read a few pages and enjoyed them, and realized I should probably read the first book first.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It requires a LOT of suspension of disbelief, plus Finlay is a serious hot mess, which can often drive me bananas in characters. But I really enjoyed this! Neither Finlay nor the book takes themself too seriously, and the comedic tone carries through even some very dangerous situations with cold-blooded killers. The plot twists were many, the difficulties were diabolical, and the solutions were clever. Details brought in at the beginning of the story turned out to be important at the end, which I always find satisfying.
Being me, the thing I fretted about the most was, when Finlay found herself with roughly $50k in cash, how did she get that money into the bank and out to her debt collectors without raising any financial red flags? (Banks are required to report any cash deposit or withdrawal of $10k+ to the federal government. And it certainly looks odd when a person with no money makes a big fat cash deposit even if it wasn't the whole $50k. I just wish this had been touched on, since there were explanations for pretty much everything else in the story.)
Book 2 is still sitting on my to-read pile, and I will get to it shortly. ...more
When social worker Athena Lo notices a pattern of young women disappearing and turning up dead, she decides to investigate for herself, and finds h
When social worker Athena Lo notices a pattern of young women disappearing and turning up dead, she decides to investigate for herself, and finds herself involved in the world of Carmilla's, a bar with a difficult-to-pin down owner and some mysterious staff.
I really enjoyed this explicitly queer take on this story, which modernizes it to mid-90's New York City.
The plot stays dark and gloomy and pretty scary. It's a good thing it's a pretty quick read, because it did get in my head a bit. This take on the tale also combines Chinese mythology with Sheridan LeFanu's descriptions of European vampires. I also really liked that in this world, the original Carmilla story actually exists, and Athena reads it.
I'm slightly annoyed that this ended with Athena heading off to solve another mystery -- because I want to read that next installment now!
This was a bit of a mixed bag, and like many graphic novels, felt a little too short. But I liked the artwork and the way the story was done, and I'm definitely in for whatever happens next. ...more
This is such an entertaining series. I've read the first book and the latest two books now, and thoroughly enjoyed eaHow did I forget to review this?
This is such an entertaining series. I've read the first book and the latest two books now, and thoroughly enjoyed each of them. Sarah Booth has a great voice and a terrific outlook on the world. It occurred to me that Sarah Booth and Tinkie are in some ways modern, adult versions of Trixie Belden and her friend Honey, running that detective agency they always said they were going to open when they grew up. But they are also very much their own characters. I love the setting and sense of place in these books. And the mysteries have great twists.
I'm really looking forward to reading more of this series. ...more
Martin Hench, a 67-year-old Red Team Forever IT guy, thinks he's about to retire from tracking illicit financial ventures and travel the country in
Martin Hench, a 67-year-old Red Team Forever IT guy, thinks he's about to retire from tracking illicit financial ventures and travel the country in his RV. But he gets a call from a longtime acquaintance who needs help tracking a theft from his cryptocurrency business. And that pulls Martin into some very dangerous territory that is nothing like retirement.
I'm not entirely sure why I picked this book. IT isn't my thing, even if I do always seem to be friends with IT people. And I had no idea what Red Team (or Blue Team) was until this book forced me to look it up.
But I do have objections to wealthy people offshoring their money to weasel out of taxes, and I think cryptocurrency is a total scam, so the financial detective aspect of this book intrigued me.
And this turned out to be a pretty good story. I liked grouchy Martin and the fact that he's old. I enjoyed his mix of (typical Cory Doctorow) cynicism with a desire to be a good person and work for the angels despite the cynicism. He had some really creative solutions to the puzzles he's faced with, and reading about his MacGyvering was entertaining. I did roll my eyes at how pretty much every woman he interacts with finds him attractive, but at the same time it's kind of nice that he's got a romantic/sexual life. Elderly characters don't always get that.
You don't have to know anything about IT to enjoy this book, but it might help if you care a little about finance. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and definitely plan to read the next one in this series when it arrives....more
Ellen Curtis, professional declutterer, finds one of her clients dead and assumes the cause was old age ... until the cops arrange an autopsy and s
Ellen Curtis, professional declutterer, finds one of her clients dead and assumes the cause was old age ... until the cops arrange an autopsy and start asking questions. Meanwhile, her sort-of adult children both require her attention. Life is pretty busy, but she's nevertheless determined to figure out what happened to Cedric.
I read the second book in this series a year ago because I've enjoyed a few Simon Brett mysteries when they appear on the New Books shelf at the library. I was a bit meh about last year's installment -- it was a little grey for me -- so I never looked up the first book. But when I saw this one, I knew it would be a quick read, and since I was in a bit of a reading slump, mysteries have been hitting the spot for me. So I picked it up.
And I enjoyed this much more than the previous one. Maybe it was just nice to be back in the familiar territory of Ellen's narration, or maybe it's because this story ended up feeling a little more colorful and positive than last year's, but I really enjoyed this. Enough so that I actually suffered a teeny book hangover when I finished it. Both the mystery and Ellen's life worked out very well in the end -- satisfactorily and believably. I'm looking forward to more installments in this series. ...more
Meg is in the midst of being forced to work on preparations for her brother's wedding when her nephew asks her for help. He and a friend have start
Meg is in the midst of being forced to work on preparations for her brother's wedding when her nephew asks her for help. He and a friend have started a cold case podcast, but someone just tried to run over his friend. Maybe one of those cases isn't so cold after all. Meg is thrilled to be able to dodge wedding minutiae ... and yes, round up a few peacocks in the process.
This was terrific! So much fun! Meg has a great voice; her family is crazy but within normal, enjoyable parameters; and the tension was maintained across three(!) cold case mysteries, all of which were tied up to perfect satisfaction.
This story held up fine as a standalone despite being the 31st in its series. I love the bird theme for all the titles, and I'm hoping to read all of these in order over the next couple years. How have I never heard of this series before?...more
2-1/2 stars, rounded up because it's nice out and I'm in a good mood
Summer, her husband Gabe, and her precocious 9-year-old stepson arrive at Gabe'
2-1/2 stars, rounded up because it's nice out and I'm in a good mood
Summer, her husband Gabe, and her precocious 9-year-old stepson arrive at Gabe's parents' country house for an annual week of warm weather fun and relaxation. But this year, Gabe's noncommittal brother Nick arrives with a girlfriend, Hannah. Summer knows she's met Hannah before, but when she brings up the acting/playwriting showcase they both appeared in, Hannah denies knowing what Summer is talking about. Summer is convinced that Hannah must be up to no good. And when tragedy strikes, who else could possibly be behind it?
Despite noting the generally lukewarm reviews for this book here on GR, I was intrigued by the premise of Hannah's lying and what the motive might be. Sure, maybe she didn't remember Summer. But there must be a deeper reason for not admitting to being in the play?
Sadly, the jacket flap and first couple chapters were the best things about this book. The rest of it was just a mess of meh. After their initial run-in, Summer and Hannah barely interact, so it's obvious that all things Hannah-related are nothing but (view spoiler)[misdirection (hide spoiler)]. I ended up really disliking the passive-aggressive woman-against-woman hate vibe running through this whole book. Summer isn't sympathetic; she's just crazy and apparently not very nice. I usually don't care if a character is "likable" so long as they're interesting, but Summer is kind of sullen and dull. Her one redeeming quality is that she is good with her stepson.
Also annoying is that while everyone in this book has a cell phone, the internet and social media don't seem to exist, because at no point does Summer simply Google Hannah and stalk her Facebook/Instagram accounts or IMDB page or whatever (Hannah is a working actress filming a Netflix pilot). This isn't the only book I've read recently where Googling never seems to occur to the characters in order to maintain questions/suspense about another character. But do authors really think you can just ignore the internet out of existence? This plot device drives me bananas.
Bad stuff happens; and to be fair, nearly every character except the kid has a good motive, and I suspected them all at one point or another. This did keep me reading, so that's another reason I rounded the stars up.
But somehow, none of it quite gelled. The characters are all boring. The tension between them felt petty. Their relationships felt shallow. And when all was revealed, there was no sense of "oh, I should have seen that!" but just "ugh, really?"
This was a quick but ultimately disappointing read. ...more
After the death of her husband, and with mixed emotions about her entire life, Rain heads to her family's
2-1/2 stars, but I did enjoy it all right
After the death of her husband, and with mixed emotions about her entire life, Rain heads to her family's lake house for the summer, hoping to relax and clear her mind. But her first day there, her childhood best friend Julia jumps on her about opening the community library that's part of the family cabin and traditionally run by Rain's mother. Then, a body is found at the back of Rain's family property. Thornton Hughes wasn't a Lakeside regular. But he was there long enough to stir up some rumors. And more than a few motives for killing him off. Julia's brother Jace, a cop, tells Rain to back off and let the authorities solve the crime. But Rain has some personal reasons for wanting to get to the bottom of the murder.
I have mixed feelings about this book. The library title grabbed me. And the story was well plotted and decently complex, with a number of family and other complications to carry well forward into a series. I liked Rain and her friends Julia and Marge.
But I can't write an honest review without mentioning that the writing was just not that great. The first half of the book had way too many commas, then the second half had too few. There was far too much explication in far too many sentences. There were also a good number of typos. The whole thing could have been so much tighter and so, so much better edited. It doesn't appear to be a self-published novel, but it reads like one. I feel really mean criticizing this one and I'm not sure why. Maybe because the story seems to reflect sweetness and earnestness from the author, so I feel as if I'm picking on her. But wow, the writing was awkward enough that it says a lot that I liked the story enough to read the whole thing.
I might read the next installment if I see it at my library. But I sure hope it gets better editing than this opener. ...more
In 1982, 20-year-old Viv Delaney washed up at the Sun Down Motel in tiny Fell, New York -- then washed right out of it, disappearing without a trace i
In 1982, 20-year-old Viv Delaney washed up at the Sun Down Motel in tiny Fell, New York -- then washed right out of it, disappearing without a trace in the middle of her night shift at the front desk.
Thirty-five years later, Viv's niece, Carly, packs up and heads to Fell, determined to learn something about what happened.
This was a well-done blend of a ghost story with a suspense mystery. The story goes back and forth between Viv in third-person and Carly in first person, so it was very easy to tell whose sections I was reading. The tension built quickly and never let up. I really resented having to put this book down and do real-life stuff like go to work.
I don't want to say too much about this because it took some crazy turns and really kept me on my toes. The past and present stories were woven together very well, and the whole book zoomed along nearly seamlessly. It seriously spooked me when I was reading it at home alone, so keep that in mind if you have an active imagination. The ghosts in this story are all too real.
My only complaints are that the "town where the internet never happened" wasn't really believable, there's a couple too many convenient coincidences in both timelines, and one character (view spoiler)[Callum (hide spoiler)] turned out to be exactly who I guessed he was. The ending was maybe a little too neat and tied-up, but I loved how it got there (view spoiler)[all the women worked together; sisterhood forever! (hide spoiler)] so I found it satisfying if not exactly satisfactory.
Overall, this was a breathless read for me, really well put-together. Nearly all my GR friends loved this book, and for once I'm in complete agreement with that. I can't ask for much more from a book than that I hate putting it down and keep living it in my head when I'm not reading, and this delivered solidly on both those counts. ...more
Loading...
