Review of two Diana Xarissa mysteries: 1)Aunt Bessie Assumes and 2) Aunt Bessie Believes

I had never heard of this author, but the books were either free or very cheap, so I thought I'd give them a try.  The stories take place on the Isle of Man, and they feature an older woman who stumbles over a body in Miss Bessie Assumes, and gets involved in the life of the family of the victim. She then becomes involved in trying to help the police solve the crime.

In Aunt Bessie Believes, a fellow classmate in a Manx language learning class ends up dead.  Her classmates originally think it is natural causes, as the victim, Moirrey, has complained quite often of a serious heart condition. Then the police suspect that Moirrey was murdered.

Although she and her friends didn't care for the victim, who was rude and hard to get along with, when they find out she may have been murdered, they believe they can help find the killer.

I enjoyed these stories, and found Aunt Bessie to be an interesting character.  I also liked learning about the Isle of Man, of which I knew almost nothing.

If there are additional books, I will make an effort to read them.

Death Warmed Up by Marian Babson review

Death Warmed up is, I believe, a stand alone mystery by Marian Babson.  It was published in 1992.  I have read a couple of books in her Trixie and Evangeline series, and enjoyed them, so when I found this one I thought there was a good chance I would enjoy this, too.

The main character in this is Jean Ainley, a caterer, who is partnered with her brother and sister-in-law.   While catering a lunch at a company in the process of a merger, Jean finds one of the company officers dead, apparently accidentally electrocuted. This starts a chain of events that involve Jean not only in other distressing happenings, but also in some romance.

I found the characters in this story very interesting, and was involved in the story almost from the beginning.  I will be reading other books by Marian Babson as I find them.

Aunt Dimity's Good Deed by Nancy Atherton review

The third in the Aunt Dimity series is Aunt Dimity's Good Deed, published in 1998.  I had previously read this one, but didn't realize it until I was a little way into the book. While Lori wasn't the main character in the second book of the series, Lori appears in this book, now married to Bill Willis, who is an overworked lawyer.  She plans a second honeymoon to England, planning to stay in Aunt Dimity's cottage with Bill, but at the last minute Bill is unable to leave due to work pressures.  In his place, his father accompanies her.

One day, Lori's father-in-law disappears, taking her childhood stuffed bunny with him and leaving a strange note.  Aunt Dimity leaves a clue in her diary, and Lori and her young next door neighbor, Nell (who happens to be the now 12 year old stepdaughter of Emma Porter from the second book), take off on the trail to find Lori's missing father-in-law.  Once again, the book is interesting, with a little supernatural help from Aunt Dimity, a bit of romance and an interesting mystery!

This is part of my 2014 Read It Again Sam Challenge.

Reviews of 2 Nancy Atherton Books: 1) Aunt Dimity's Death, 2) Aunt Dimity and the Duke

I'd previously read, sometime in the late 1990s I believe, the first in the Aunt Dimity series--Aunt Dimity's Death, published in 1993. I ran across several other books in the series, and thought I should start over from the beginning so everything was fresh as I read.  As I did the first time I read this, I thought it was interesting, enjoyed the romance, and liked the concept of Lori discovering that the Aunt Dimity her mother told her stories about as she grew up was, in fact, an actual person.  Unfortunately, she discovers this by being told that she is Aunt Dimity's heir.  The story included a mystery, romance, a bit of haunting of her cozy cottage, and of course, Aunt Dimity.

The second in the series was Aunt Dimity and the Duke, published in 1995.  While Aunt Dimity was mentioned, and seemed to be somehow involved in the mystery, she really didn't make much of an appearance.  Lori, who was a main character in  the first book, seems to have been replaced by Emma Porter, who somehow ends up taking a job to restore a garden, instead of the driving tour of England's gardens she had planned  on.  This was a surprise to me, and to begin with, a bit disappointing.  A missing rock star, the near murder of a beautiful but annoying woman, and a missing lantern are all aspects of the story, and there is romance and just a bit of Aunt Dimity, who is mentioned several times in the story.  I was surprised by several of the revelations, and once I got involved in the story line, I enjoyed reading this book.


Aunt Dimity's Death is part of my 2014 Read It Again Sam Challenge.

The Case of the Substitute Face by Erle Stanley Gardner

This is one of the early Perry Mason novels, published in 1938.  Perry and Della Street, his secretary, are on a cruise.  As is typical of the time, Perry has his own room, and Della shares hers with another woman.  During the cruise, a man is murdered, and his wife ends up with his well-filled money belt.  The man is suspected of being an embezzler, and his wife is suspected of murdering him. There are the usual plot twists in the story, and it keeps the reader guessing.  The solution is complicated, but Perry solves the puzzle.

The writing in this earlier novel is not as smooth as many of his later novels, and Perry seems to be a little rough around the edges.  Perry skirts very close to the edge of legality in this one, almost getting himself and his friends arrested.  The writing keeps your interest throughout the book.  However, when reading this, one has to keep in mind that this was written in the 1930s, and that was a different time in so many ways.

I enjoyed this book, although I don't think it was one of the best written Perry Mason books. I'll be reading more in the future, as I really enjoy this series!

This is part of my 2014 Mt. TBR Challenge,
and my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--D--Book with lawyer.

More Mini-reviews of Cozy Mysteries

More reviews of recent cozy mysteries I've read over the last few weeks.

Chaos in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon, a Ghost-in-law Mystery was published 2014.  I've read all of the other books in this series, and have found them to be very enjoyable reads.  There is humor, a little weird and mostly amusing paranormal activity, romance, and a dash of mystery.  This continues the tradition.  Jadyn St. James is the game warden, and Colt Bertrand is the Sheriff.  A fisherman finds a sunken shrimp boat, and the captain of the boat is missing.  This puts Jadyn and Colt on the trail of the missing captain, and they try to determine if the recent storm sunk the boat, or if it was sunk deliberately.

Yip/Tuck by Sparkle Abbey, a Pampered Pets Mystery, published in 2013.   Melinda Langston arrives at her Bow Wow Boutique to find local Dr. O'Doggle dead in front of her shop.  She gets involved in trying to find the culprit, while also trying alternately to steal or keep from being stolen an antique broach of her grandmothers in an ongoing feud with her cousin (Caro Lamont), while running her business.  It was an enjoyable read, with plenty of humor, a dash of romance, and plenty of focus on the pets!

50 Shades of Greyhound by Sparkle Abbey is another Pampered Pets Mystery, published in 2014.  This story revolves around Caro Lamont, a pet therapist, who attends a Greyhound rescue group fundraising gala and witnesses another guest dying.  She gets involved in trying to identify the mystery dead man, and solve the murder, while doing her pet therapy, and being involved in the long-running feud with her cousin, Melinda Langston, over an antique broach.  As with the previous books in the series, I enjoyed this.

Misadventures of the Laundry Hag: Skeletons in the Closet by Jennifer Hart (Laundry Hag Mystery) was published in 2008.  Maggie Phillips is the wife of a retired Navy SEAL, and is trying to settle into a new neighborhood and add a little money to the family income.  She is hired by a neighbor to do some cleaning, and gets involved in a murder investigation.  Very amusing and fun to read!

Mini-Reviews of Several Cozy Mysteries and one author's Not So Cozy Mysteries

I've been reading a lot while camping, and got way behind on writing reviews of books I've read, so I'm going to do several reviews in this one post.   These books were all published fairly recently (last five years).

Murder in Hatterton Crow by Ormolu Mockingbird.  This was published in 2013.  Hatterton Crow is an English village, with several quirky residents, and modern technology doesn't work very well there.  I liked the story, but it was fairly short, and the characters could have been developed a little more.  I also thought the ending was a little abrupt.  I probably won't go looking for more books in this series, but would read one if I come across one.

Queen of Poison  by Lyndsey Cole.  Published in 2014.  Lily Bloom owns a florist shop, and manages to get involved in a murder.  She is one of the suspects, so she and her mom, sister, and friends try to find the real killer.  There is also a romance with her neighbor.  This book was a nice, light read.  If I run across other books in the series I will most likely read them.

Killer Rocks by Drema J Reed.  Published 2013.  This book features DJ Kelly and her friends who are partners in an Art Gallery in Seattle.  Theses senior citizens take a vacation to Cannon Beach, Oregon, where they find a body buried on the beach, along with a box of rocks.  The body turned out to be a diamond thief, which leads to confrontations with lawyers, other diamond thieves, and the police.  All in all, I'd say I enjoyed the book for what it was--a light, easy read.

The St. Valentine's Day Cookie Massacre by Elisabeth Crabtree.  Published in 2014, this is a novella.  This takes place in Hatter's Cove, Florida, where Kat Archer works for the local newspaper.  She is assigned the opening of a bake shop, when she discovers one of the employees, poisoned.  She gets involved in the mystery of who did the poisoning.  A nice summer read, with a little romance.  I also read another book by Crabtree, which also takes place in Hatter's Cove, although it appears to be a different series.  My review of it follows.

Death by Pink Flamingo by Elisabeth Crabtree.  Published in 2014.  The Pink Flamingo Hotel is located in Hatter's Cove, Florida.  When the owner, Max dies, he leaves the hotel to his niece, Anna Hart, and his friend, Sylvia Sutton, and the two co-owner clash on everything, especially since Sylvia thinks Anna murdered Max for the inheritance.  When Anna stumbles over Sylvia's dead body, she is thrust into the middle of things she doesn't understand.  I really enjoyed this book, although the beginning premise of hiding the body seems a little unlikely.  There is also some romance as an old boyfriend shows up after nine years of no contact.  Looking forward to reading other books in the series.

And the not so cozy mysteries are several books by Abigail Keam, all featuring Josiah Reynolds.  They include Death by Honeybee (published 2010), Death by Drowning (published 2011), Death by Bridle (published 2012), Death by Bourbon (published 20120 Death by Lotto (published 2013) and Death by Chocolate (published 2014).

Josiah is a former art history professor, but she now raises bees and sells honey.  The stories take place in Lexington, Kentucky for the most part, and Josiah becomes involved in several murders and near murders.  There are some fairly dark moments in the books, which move them out of the cozy category.  I think the stories have several unusual concepts that caught my attention, and  are probably the reason I continued reading the series--along with a subplot I wanted to see worked out.  I also got them fairly cheaply.  I wouldn't say the books were great, but they were good enough for me to proceed through the series. I'm not sure I'll continue with the series, now that the subplot I was wondering about was resolved.

Hasty Wedding by Mignon G. Eberhart review

I recently read that Mignon Eberhart was known as America's Agatha Christie.  I love Agatha Christie, yet had never read anything by Mignon Eberhart.  I decided that oversight had to be dealt with, and started looking for one of her books.  Hasty Wedding was the first one I ran across.

Hasty Wedding was published in 1938, a time with different expectations for men and women, different views about sex, and not as many of the tools that are available to the police now.  Keeping that in mind, I enjoyed the book.

Dorcus, young and inexperienced, wealthy, and a member of Chicago's high society, falls in love with Ronald, thought to be an undesirable suitor by her family.  The family manage to come between Dorcus and Ronald, and just a few weeks later Dorcus is about to be married to Jevan, a man she has known since childhood, who is in her social circle.  The night before the wedding Ronald wants to meet with her one last time, and she agrees, ending up at his apartment.  After fighting him off, she returns home, with no one realizing she's left.

The next morning she discovers Ronald was killed the night before.  Jevan forces her to go through with the wedding, and after the ceremony the police come because Dorcus is the main suspect.

Throughout this story Dorcus seems to be pushed and pulled by others through life.  She breaks up with Ronald because her mother wants her to.  She married Jevan because he insists she go through with the ceremony.  She lets Jevan protect her from the police.  And to add to the whole tone of women must be taken care of, she and everyone else try to protect her mother from all of the nastiness of a murder.

I found Dorcus a little annoying, even keeping in mind that it was a different era.  I enjoyed the storyline, and the mystery kept me guessing, although I had my suspicions before the villian was revealed.  I wouldn't say the book was great, but it was pretty good, and if I come across any more Eberhart books I will probably read them.

This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO--Golden--O--an author I've never read before.

The Case of the Troubled Trustee by Erle Stanley Gardner review

I have been a long-time fan of the Perry Mason mysteries, and have liked all of the ones that I've read so far.  This one was published in 1965, and was more polished than the ones that I've read from the 1930s.

The Case of the Troubled Trustee concerns a young man, Kerry Dutton, who is the trustee of a "spend-thrift" trust established by the wealthy uncle of a pretty young woman. Over several years he has fallen in love with the young woman, Desere.  He consults with Mason about the trust, and several of the things he has done.  Mason does his best to counsel the young man. 

Complications result when some of the stock which had been in the trust, suddenly becomes much more valuable because of a proxy fight. Dutton manages to get into a fight, and then involved in a murder.  Mason is called upon to clean up the mess, as usual.  There are courtroom surprises as in most of the Perry Mason mysteries, and the solution was unexpected.

Really enjoyed this one, will be reading more!

This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO challenge--Silver--V--Book with lawyer, etc.

State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy

I've read books by Julie Hyzy before, but not from this series.  I enjoyed her Manor House Mysteries featuring Grace Wheaton, so was looking forward to reading this new series.

This is the first in the White House Chef Mysteries, and introduces Assistant Chef Olivia Paras.  She inadvertently stops a man running from the Secret Service, and gets involved in the mystery concerning him.

She has a boyfriend, Tom, who is in the Secret Service, and he wants her to stay away from the mystery, but her curiosity pulls her into it in spite of her good intentions.  She puts herself, and her job, in jeopardy, by trying to help.

I enjoyed this quite a bit, it seemed more thrilling than most of the usual culinary mysteries that I've read.  I'll be reading more.

This is part of my Read Around the USA challenge--District of Columbia

Some Lie and Some Die by Ruth Rendell review

This is the third book by Ruth Rendell that I've read in just a few weeks.  This is one of her Chief Inspector Wexford mysteries.  It was published in 1973, and features the happenings of that time in England.  It revolves around a Rock Festival taking place on an English estates grounds, with the police providing security.

Everything was going well enough, and it shows the different views of the older people of the time--some, like Wexford, remember their own youth and see the festival as basically harmless fun--others see the young people as drug-fueled sex fiends.  She also presents the younger people in different ways that seem somewhat believable, but just a smidge more than you would really expect of someone.  But then again, I never hung out with rock stars in the seventies, so I might be missing something.

Wexford is really beginning to grow on me, and I'm going to look for more of Rendell's books featuring him.

This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Silver--E--Detective Team

No More Dying Then by Ruth Rendell review

Having just discovered Ruth Rendell, I've read several of her books in quick succession.  This is the second I've read.  It was published in 1972.

This one features Chief Inspector Wexford of the CID.  A young boy is kidnapped, and he and his second in command, Mike Burton, investigate his disappearance.  His disappearance is the second kidnapping in eight months, and in both cases there are few leads to follow.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, although at times it seemed a little hard to follow along with Wexford's thought processes.  Perhaps if I was more familiar with the main characters it would have been easier.  I was quite surprised by several of the happenings in this story, especially the changes that occur in one of the characters.

I found myself very much drawn into this book, the characters seemed different but believable, and the conclusion was not what I was expecting.   I will be looking for more of Ruth Rendell's books.

This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO--Silver--S--Crime other than murder.

One Across Two Down by Ruth Rendell review

I've been doing quite a bit of reading over the summer, but our campground doesn't have very good WiFi.  It is only available at the office, so I haven't been posting my reviews.  So over the next few days (or weeks), I'm going to be playing catch up on my reviews!

The first of my reviews is for Ruth Rendell's One Across Two Down.  It was published in 1971, and takes place in London.

I hadn't read anything by Rendell that I can recall, but knew she had a great reputation.  I can see why.

The main characters are Stanley and his wife,Vera .  Living with them after having a stroke is Vera's mother, Maud.  Vera is the buffer between two opposing forces--her mother, who wants Vera to leave her husband, and Stanley, who wants Maud to hurry up and die so Vera will inherit her wealth and Stanley can put one of his get-rich-quick schemes into action. Vera is also the only one who is working out, and doing all the housework and cooking at home.  Stanley spends his time doing crossword puzzles, and planning out Maud's death.  Maud is busy playing up her illness, and planning ways to get Vera to dump Stanley.

The book was hard to put down when I started.  The characters were interesting, the conflicts understandable, but the way everything played out was riveting.  One thing seemed to somehow lead to another, and everyone seemed to get what they wanted, although not quite the way they had anticipated.  I really enjoyed this book, and will be reading more by Ruth Rendell.

This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO--Silver--I--Book With Number in the Title