Review of two books by Erika Chase: 1) A Killer Read and 2) Read and Buried

A Killer Read is the first in the Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series. Lizzie Turner is a reading specialist in the Ashton Corners school system, and a member of the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society, a local book club. During the first meeting of the book club, a stranger is found murdered on the property.  The members of the club decide to help with the investigating, as the gun belonged to Molly, the owner of the home, and one of the members of the book club, and is under suspicion.

I enjoyed this book, especially the mystery story, and the subplots that wove in and out of the main storyline.



Read and Buried is the second in the Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series.
An author comes to town, and a local bookseller suggests the author give a lecture at the book club's next meeting.  While he is at Lizzie's house to get more information on the book club, he is murdered.

Lizzie is under suspicion, and her book club friends rally around to help her clear her name.  She is also dealing with a jealous boyfriend, who happens to also be the local police chief, and a female police officer with a bad attitude.

I enjoyed this book, the quirky characters, and the mystery itself.  I will be reading other books in this series.

Review of two books by Kate Carlisle: 1) Homicide in Hardcover and 2) One Book in the Grave

Homicide in Hardcover is the first in the Bibliophile Mystery series.  Brooklyn Wainwright does book restoration, and is invited to attend a celebration honoring her friend and mentor Abraham Karastovsky. They had had a falling out earlier, and she was glad of the chance to regain their friendship. Abraham invites her to visit in his workroom after the event, but she arrives there to find Abraham dying.  As she becomes the main suspect in the murder, she attempts to solve the crime while dealing with a handsome British security guard who is sure she is the murderer.
I enjoyed this book, and the humor in it.  It has some way-out-there characters, and is a fun read.

One Book in the Grave is the sixth in the Bibliophile Mystery series, and I enjoyed it as much as the first one.  When Brooklyn Wainwright is given a book to restore, she realizes that it is a book that had been stolen from a friend of hers.  While investigating the book, she discovers the body of a very recently murdered book dealer, and becomes involved in solving the crime to keep herself from becoming the next victim.

Reviews of two books by Elizabeth Lynn Casey--1) Dangerous Alterations and 2) Reap What You Sew

I hadn't read any of the previous books in this series, but didn't feel that I was put at a disadvantage because of it.

Dangerous Alterations by Elizabeth Lynn Casey--The fifth in the series.  Tori Sinclair had moved to Sweet Briar, South Carolina, from Chicago to start her life over again after breaking up with her fiance.  When someone she knows dies, and she and her current boyfriend are under suspicion, she and her Sewing Society Circle friends try to solve the crime.  The only negative for this book is that I was sure who the murderer was several chapters before Tori found out, and I wasn't really trying to solve it.

Reap What You Sew by Elizabeth Lynn Casey--Tori Sinclair and the Sweet Briar Ladies Society Sewing Circle try to discover who killed Anita Belise, an actress starring in a movie being filmed in their small town, when one of their members is under suspicion.  This is the sixth in the series.  The characters have flaws, and are charmingly eccentric. 

Cake on a Hot Tin Roof by Jacklyn Brady review

Cake on Hot Tin Roof is the second in the series.  Rita Lucero is the owner/chief baker of Zydeco Cakes in New Orleans, due to her soon-to-be ex-husband dying before signing the divorce papers.  Her mother-in-law feels sure they would have reconciled, and so pushes Rita into becoming more involved in New Orleans high society.  She is talked into throwing a Mardi Gras party, even though she is over-worked and totally stressed making King Cakes for Mardi Gras at her bakery.

When the aunt and uncle that raised her arrive for a visit unexpectedly, she talks them into attending her party, where her uncle gets into an argument with a local celebrity.  Shortly thereafter, the celebrity is found murdered, and Rita's uncle is the number one suspect.  Rita feels she must clear her uncle's name, and gets involved in the investigation.

This was a light and easy read, and I enjoyed it.  I was a bit disappointed in Rita, and how she gave in so often to the demands other people placed on her, even though it added to her stress.  I hope she develops more of a backbone in future stories.

This is one of the books for the 2014 Around the World Challenge --United States (North America)

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith review

This is the first in the series featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe, who opens a private detective agency in Botswana with the money left to her by her father.  She is the first woman detective in that country.


Precious seems able to see through to the core of the matter most of the time when problems are given to her, although not all of the time.  The stories use the setting to great advantage, and presents a different view of Africa, and the people of Botswana.

The book is more a series of short stories strung together, than an actual novel.  I enjoyed it, although the pace seemed to be rather slow.  I'm looking forward to reading others in the series.

This is a part of the  2014 Around the World Challenge.  Africa--Botswana