This is the third in the Gardening Mystery series. Rachel O'Connor, owner of her own landscape business, is offered a dream job. A famous local botanist, Eloise, has given Rachel an unlimited budget and the freedom to restore the botanist's grounds to their original glory before she donates it to a nature conservancy.
Shortly after making the plans, Eloise is found dead. Rachel starts investigating who would want to kill such a wonderful gardener, and finds there are quite a few possible suspects.
This was an interesting and exciting book to read, and I enjoyed the characters and the info on gardening that is thrown in.
Now to find the fourth, and last, book in the Gardening Mystery series.
This is part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge, 17 out of 48. Bought 2014, finished March 3, 2015.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Monday, June 8, 2015
Deadly Nightshade by Mary Freeman review
Deadly Nightshade is the second in the Gardening Mystery series. It takes place in the Hood River Area of Oregon, and features Rachel O'Connor, a young landscaper.
Rachel is trying to improve her business, and gets a city landscape contract. She runs into trouble when a city councilman is found dead, under a huge pile of her mulch which was dumped from a truck to which she had the key. One of her employees was Spider, from the Youth Farm work skills program, and he becomes a suspect because he had argued with the councilman. Another suspect is Rachel's uncle, who resents the coucilman because he is trying to annex part of his orchard.
The book was well written, the characters were interesting, and there is a little romance thrown in between Rachel and the local police. Looking forward to the next in the series.
This is part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge, 16 of 48.
Rachel is trying to improve her business, and gets a city landscape contract. She runs into trouble when a city councilman is found dead, under a huge pile of her mulch which was dumped from a truck to which she had the key. One of her employees was Spider, from the Youth Farm work skills program, and he becomes a suspect because he had argued with the councilman. Another suspect is Rachel's uncle, who resents the coucilman because he is trying to annex part of his orchard.
The book was well written, the characters were interesting, and there is a little romance thrown in between Rachel and the local police. Looking forward to the next in the series.
This is part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge, 16 of 48.
Devil's Trumpet by Mary Freeman review
Devil's Trumpet is the first in the Gardening Mystery series. It is set in the Hood River area of Oregon, and the main character, Rachel O'Connor, is a young landscaper with her own business.
Rachel is landscaping the old Columbia River Inn, which the owner, Henry, hopes to repair and open. When Henry falls from a dangerous bridge between the main grounds and a stone gazebo, the death is looked into by the police. Rachel's employee, Julio, is one of the suspects. He is a young immigrant with limited English skills, and Rachel feels she needs to protect him.
I enjoyed the book, and the descriptions of the area. The characters were interesting, and the story moved along fairly well. I have 2 other books in the series I'm reading soon.
This is part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge, 15 out of 48.
Rachel is landscaping the old Columbia River Inn, which the owner, Henry, hopes to repair and open. When Henry falls from a dangerous bridge between the main grounds and a stone gazebo, the death is looked into by the police. Rachel's employee, Julio, is one of the suspects. He is a young immigrant with limited English skills, and Rachel feels she needs to protect him.
I enjoyed the book, and the descriptions of the area. The characters were interesting, and the story moved along fairly well. I have 2 other books in the series I'm reading soon.
This is part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge, 15 out of 48.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
More short reviews of books I've read in the last couple of months
Archie Meets Nero by Robert Goldsborough. This is a prequel to the Nero Wolfe series of books, written by the man who continued the series after Rex Stout's death.
I generally liked this book, even though I thought a lot of the regular characters were a little off. I also thought the book felt a little rushed in a couple of places. It does answer the question as to how Archie and Nero began working together, and it wasn't a bad read.
A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell, is the first in A Local Foods Mystery series. Cam Flaherty is laid off from her computer programming job, and takes over her uncle's farm when he can no longer run it. She is in the process of turning it into a Certified Organic Farm, when she discovers her employee was going to use a pesticide. She fires him, and shortly after she finds his body with a pitchfork in his chest.
I liked the concept, and the story line was okay, but there were a couple of things that could have been improved. The romance parts were not very intriguing, and it annoyed me that she didn't turn over evidence to the police. However, it is a first book, so I'll probably read the next one in the series.
The Curious Case of the Black Swan Song by Andrea Fraser. After reading her Cocktail Mysteries, I thought I'd try another of her books, the first in the Holmes and Garden Mystery series. It features a current imitator of Sherlock Holmes, and his assistant, John Garden.
I thought the book was fine, for the first in a series. There were a several times I thought it needed a little something more, it seemed to work at being a Sherlock Holmes imitator. I also thought the mystery was a little easy to solve. I'll probably read another in the series.
I generally liked this book, even though I thought a lot of the regular characters were a little off. I also thought the book felt a little rushed in a couple of places. It does answer the question as to how Archie and Nero began working together, and it wasn't a bad read.
A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell, is the first in A Local Foods Mystery series. Cam Flaherty is laid off from her computer programming job, and takes over her uncle's farm when he can no longer run it. She is in the process of turning it into a Certified Organic Farm, when she discovers her employee was going to use a pesticide. She fires him, and shortly after she finds his body with a pitchfork in his chest.
I liked the concept, and the story line was okay, but there were a couple of things that could have been improved. The romance parts were not very intriguing, and it annoyed me that she didn't turn over evidence to the police. However, it is a first book, so I'll probably read the next one in the series.
The Curious Case of the Black Swan Song by Andrea Fraser. After reading her Cocktail Mysteries, I thought I'd try another of her books, the first in the Holmes and Garden Mystery series. It features a current imitator of Sherlock Holmes, and his assistant, John Garden.
I thought the book was fine, for the first in a series. There were a several times I thought it needed a little something more, it seemed to work at being a Sherlock Holmes imitator. I also thought the mystery was a little easy to solve. I'll probably read another in the series.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Short Reviews of Several Cozy Mysteries
The Sleuth Sisters by Maggie Pill is the first in the series. Barbara Evans retires from her law career and moves back to her small Michigan hometown, and is getting restless. Her sister, Faye, has lost her job, and with a disabled husband needs to find another. Faye decides they should open a detective agency, and talks Barb into it. Their first big job is to find a woman's brother, who had been missing for several years--his wife had been murdered then, and he was the main suspect, when he disappeared.
Another sister, Retta, is a state trooper's widow. She helps the other two with information she can pick up from her wide social circle. She would like to be a part of the detective agency, and not left out. The book was set up so one chapter was from one sister's viewpoint, and the next was from another sister's viewpoint . This highlights the different personalities of the sisters.
I enjoyed the book, it was a fairly easy read, although I did suspect who the culprit was. I especially like that fact that the story takes place in my home state, Michigan.
3 Sleuths, 2 Dogs and a Murder also by Maggie Pill. This is the second in the series, and I enjoyed it fairly well. The two older sisters run a detective agency. The youngest sister, Retta, is a widow, and has just started seeing Winston Darrow. She finds out that he is married only when he becomes a suspect in his wife's murder. She doesn't think Winston is capable of murder, in spite of his less than stellar character, and she and her sisters investigate the crime to prove his innocence.
I mostly enjoyed this story, although there were a couple of things that were a little unbelievable, but I got past that.
High Anxiety Dye Job by Molly Dox. This is the third in the Annie Addison mystery series, and I haven't read the first two. I didn't make very good notes on this one, and I don't remember it in detail. Annie is a beauty parlor operator in a small beach town.This story took place during the off season. There was a murder and some blackmail, very short book, about 50 pages long, It was okay, but I'm not going to be looking for more of this series.
Another sister, Retta, is a state trooper's widow. She helps the other two with information she can pick up from her wide social circle. She would like to be a part of the detective agency, and not left out. The book was set up so one chapter was from one sister's viewpoint, and the next was from another sister's viewpoint . This highlights the different personalities of the sisters.
I enjoyed the book, it was a fairly easy read, although I did suspect who the culprit was. I especially like that fact that the story takes place in my home state, Michigan.
3 Sleuths, 2 Dogs and a Murder also by Maggie Pill. This is the second in the series, and I enjoyed it fairly well. The two older sisters run a detective agency. The youngest sister, Retta, is a widow, and has just started seeing Winston Darrow. She finds out that he is married only when he becomes a suspect in his wife's murder. She doesn't think Winston is capable of murder, in spite of his less than stellar character, and she and her sisters investigate the crime to prove his innocence.
I mostly enjoyed this story, although there were a couple of things that were a little unbelievable, but I got past that.
High Anxiety Dye Job by Molly Dox. This is the third in the Annie Addison mystery series, and I haven't read the first two. I didn't make very good notes on this one, and I don't remember it in detail. Annie is a beauty parlor operator in a small beach town.This story took place during the off season. There was a murder and some blackmail, very short book, about 50 pages long, It was okay, but I'm not going to be looking for more of this series.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Short reviews of two books by Amy Korman, and one by J.J. Chow
I'll start with the J.J. Chow book, Seniors Sleuth. Winston Wong is pudgy, smart, a little insecure, and a bit of a nerd. No longer a game tester for video games, he decides to become a private investigator. He puts an add in the local Pennysaver, and soon has his first client, a woman who wants a death at a nursing home to be proven a natural death. Winston goes from clue to clue, changing his mind about the death, and possible suspects, until he inadvertently discovers the answer. For a first book in a series, it wasn't too bad.
Killer WASPs is the first in a series by Amy Korman. Kristin Clark is barely making her rent, running an antique store inherited from her grandparents. She lives in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where almost everyone she is friends with is extremely well-to-do. Her high school pal, Holly, is an heiress married to a very wealthy man in his own right, and her hobbies include shopping and looking good in clothes. Another friend, Bootsy, is also well-to-do, a preppy married to a lawyer, and she works part time for the local paper, mostly as an excuse to gossip and snoop around and know everything that is going on. She is also friends with Joe, a good looking decorator, who would love to land a TV show.
One night, when walking her dog, she meets a handsome stranger, then they find a local real estate developer lying under a bush, unconscious. He had been attacked by an unknown assailant, and with his shoddy workmanship and pushy ways, the list of suspects was overwhelming. When the attacker strikes again, Holly and her friends decide to investigate before someone else is hurt.
This was a fairly interesting and entertaining story, and I looked forward to reading the second in the series.
Killer Getaway is the second in the series, and isn't a bad story. The group ends up in Florida, leaving the bad Pennsylvania winter behind, and end up investigating another mystery. Two of their friends have opened a restaurant, Vicino's, and while they are there visiting, bad things begin to happen. One of the owners bad-tempered ex-boyfriends arrives to open another restaurant directly across the street from Vicino's. A bad batch of clams causes a patron to be violently ill, and being a local mover and shaker, she tells everyone in detail of her illness to discourage anyone else from going to the restaurant. Then the restaurants air conditioning is destroyed.
The group of friends start investigating, and discover there are several possible villains in the area, and several different motives.
I enjoyed this story, except for one huge problem. Early in the book the author refers back to the first book, doing a short recap, and identifying the perpetrator! As I quite often read books out of order, I find this extremely annoying. Luckily, in this instance, I had already read the first book, but I really don't understand why an author would do this.
Killer WASPs is the first in a series by Amy Korman. Kristin Clark is barely making her rent, running an antique store inherited from her grandparents. She lives in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where almost everyone she is friends with is extremely well-to-do. Her high school pal, Holly, is an heiress married to a very wealthy man in his own right, and her hobbies include shopping and looking good in clothes. Another friend, Bootsy, is also well-to-do, a preppy married to a lawyer, and she works part time for the local paper, mostly as an excuse to gossip and snoop around and know everything that is going on. She is also friends with Joe, a good looking decorator, who would love to land a TV show.
One night, when walking her dog, she meets a handsome stranger, then they find a local real estate developer lying under a bush, unconscious. He had been attacked by an unknown assailant, and with his shoddy workmanship and pushy ways, the list of suspects was overwhelming. When the attacker strikes again, Holly and her friends decide to investigate before someone else is hurt.
This was a fairly interesting and entertaining story, and I looked forward to reading the second in the series.
Killer Getaway is the second in the series, and isn't a bad story. The group ends up in Florida, leaving the bad Pennsylvania winter behind, and end up investigating another mystery. Two of their friends have opened a restaurant, Vicino's, and while they are there visiting, bad things begin to happen. One of the owners bad-tempered ex-boyfriends arrives to open another restaurant directly across the street from Vicino's. A bad batch of clams causes a patron to be violently ill, and being a local mover and shaker, she tells everyone in detail of her illness to discourage anyone else from going to the restaurant. Then the restaurants air conditioning is destroyed.
The group of friends start investigating, and discover there are several possible villains in the area, and several different motives.
I enjoyed this story, except for one huge problem. Early in the book the author refers back to the first book, doing a short recap, and identifying the perpetrator! As I quite often read books out of order, I find this extremely annoying. Luckily, in this instance, I had already read the first book, but I really don't understand why an author would do this.
The Perennial Killer by Ann Ripley review
This book is part of the Gardening Mystery series. It features Louise Eldridge, a gardener with a syndicated television show, Gardening with Nature. In this story, Louise is on location in Colorado. While scouting out locations, she, her resource person, Ann, and her video cameraman,Pete, discover the body of Jimmy Porter, an older rancher, on his ranch, with his head blown off by a shotgun blast.
Jimmy had been about to sell his ranch to a government conservation program, which was going to make a lot of his friends, family and developers very unhappy. This made for a long list of possible suspects. Louise, in spite of misgivings, ends up investigating the murder, aggravating the local authorities.
I didn't really care for this story. It is the second in the series I've read, and I didn't like the first one I read, either, but wanted to give the author another chance. Between chapters there are mini-chapters with information on plants and gardening, which I find distracting. I also found the story to move very slowly, and I never really started caring about the main character, even though there are parts where her personal life and problems are shown.
I'm not going to read anymore in this series.
This was part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge. This is the 14th out of 48 books I've committed to reading.
Jimmy had been about to sell his ranch to a government conservation program, which was going to make a lot of his friends, family and developers very unhappy. This made for a long list of possible suspects. Louise, in spite of misgivings, ends up investigating the murder, aggravating the local authorities.
I didn't really care for this story. It is the second in the series I've read, and I didn't like the first one I read, either, but wanted to give the author another chance. Between chapters there are mini-chapters with information on plants and gardening, which I find distracting. I also found the story to move very slowly, and I never really started caring about the main character, even though there are parts where her personal life and problems are shown.
I'm not going to read anymore in this series.
This was part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge. This is the 14th out of 48 books I've committed to reading.
The Case of the Haunted Husband by Erle Stanley Gardner review
This is the eighteenth in the Perry Mason series, and was published in 1941. As is usual in the early Perry Mason books, there are a lot of plot twists and turns, red herrings, and slightly less than legal activities.
This story begins with Stephanie Claire Olger, a hatcheck girl who is fired from her job in San Francisco. She decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles, and does okay until Bakersfield. She accepts a ride from a handsome man in a fancy car, who starts taking little drinks from a flask, and wants her to join him. He also starts getting a little too fresh, so Stephanie yanks the keys from the ignition so she can get out, but it causes the driver to lose control and cause an accident. Stephanie is knocked unconscious, and when she awakes she is being pulled from the vehicle, which everyone assumes she was driving, as the real driver has disappeared. She is going to be charged with manslaughter, as one of the other people in the accident has died.
Perry Mason is called upon by a friend of Stephanie's, and asked to represent her, which he agrees to do after Drake tells him something fishy is going on with this situation. In addition to the manslaughter charge, it seems that the car had been stolen from a hotshot Hollywood producer in Beverly Hills, and the DA assumes that it had been abandoned by joyriders in Bakersfield, whereupon Stephanie stole it. It is up to Mason and Drake to discover the truth, and get Stephanie out of trouble, which they finally manage to do.
I enjoy the Perry Mason books, the plots are usually pretty involved, with plenty of misdirection, and I usually can't come up with the answer until near the end. A good read, looking forward to reading several other Perry Mason books I have in my TBR pile!
This is 13 out of 48 books in my Mt. TBR reading challenge. Bought 7/20/14, read 2/20/15.
This story begins with Stephanie Claire Olger, a hatcheck girl who is fired from her job in San Francisco. She decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles, and does okay until Bakersfield. She accepts a ride from a handsome man in a fancy car, who starts taking little drinks from a flask, and wants her to join him. He also starts getting a little too fresh, so Stephanie yanks the keys from the ignition so she can get out, but it causes the driver to lose control and cause an accident. Stephanie is knocked unconscious, and when she awakes she is being pulled from the vehicle, which everyone assumes she was driving, as the real driver has disappeared. She is going to be charged with manslaughter, as one of the other people in the accident has died.
Perry Mason is called upon by a friend of Stephanie's, and asked to represent her, which he agrees to do after Drake tells him something fishy is going on with this situation. In addition to the manslaughter charge, it seems that the car had been stolen from a hotshot Hollywood producer in Beverly Hills, and the DA assumes that it had been abandoned by joyriders in Bakersfield, whereupon Stephanie stole it. It is up to Mason and Drake to discover the truth, and get Stephanie out of trouble, which they finally manage to do.
I enjoy the Perry Mason books, the plots are usually pretty involved, with plenty of misdirection, and I usually can't come up with the answer until near the end. A good read, looking forward to reading several other Perry Mason books I have in my TBR pile!
This is 13 out of 48 books in my Mt. TBR reading challenge. Bought 7/20/14, read 2/20/15.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Very Short Reviews of several Andrea Frazer Belchester Chronicles Books
I read 5 books in the Belchester Chronicles, three of them within a couple of days, and then a couple of weeks later the fourth and fifth in the series. These are fairly short reads, books are around 170-200 pages each.
They seem to be a parody of the aristocratic sleuth of the 1920s, but taking place in the current time, featuring Lady Amanda Golightly, an eccentric but rich arisocrat, who is short, stout, forthright and inclined to be bossy. They also include Hugo Cholmondley-Crichton-Crump, an old friend she finds living unhappily in a nursing home, who she installs in her home, and proceeds to involve in her sleuthing (whether he wants to or not). She also has an outstanding butler, Beauchamp, who manages to (mostly) keep her out of trouble.
The story is filled with cliche lines, based on drinking a lot of cocktails (the names of the books are based on unusual cocktails), and unusual situations. I believe it is meant to be a light-hearted read, with a bit of a mystery thrown in. The cliches may be overdone a bit, the characters are a little over-the-top, and I hate that the stories end with a to-be-continued, however, I found them fun and easy to read (mostly).
Strangeways to Oldham is the first in the series. Lady Amanda goes to visit an old friend of her father's, who is in a nursing home. He is dead, and Lady Amanda suspects murder. She also discovers an old friend unhappily living in the nursing home, and takes him home to Belchester Towers with her. When she reports her suspicions to the police, she is dismissed as an old, slightly batty, bitty. She begins her own investigation to show up the young whipper-snapper and to prove him wrong. Enjoyed this book, it was a fast read, and it was entertaining.
White Christmas with a Wobbly Knee is the second in the series. Lady Amanda is going to open up her castle to guided tours, and as a trial run invites a group of old friends to Belchester Towers at Christmas for snacks and a free tour. Lady Amanda is drawn into another investigation when one of her guests is discovered dead, killed several different ways. Hugo is drawn in again, as is Beauchamp and Lady Amanda's friend, Enid Tweedle. I enjoyed this story, even laughed out loud a couple of times. A fun read.
Snowballs and Scotch Mist, the third in the series, takes place in Scotland, where Lady Amanda has been invited for a visit. She doesn't want to go, but Hugo pleads as he wants to experience Scotland, tartans, kilts and the like, and Lady Amanda finally agrees. She and Hugo, accompanied by Enid and Beauchamp as their personal servants, visit Castle Rumdrummond during January. Scotland in January is very cold, and the castle is very old-fashioned, and Lady Amanda is not used to "roughing it", preferring a life of comfort. Beauchamp and Enid manage to make the visit bearable, and then the inevitable body shows up. Again, an amusing read.
Old Moorhen's Shredded Sporran, the fourth in the series, takes place immediately upon their return from Scotland. They arrive to find a letter from Hugo's sister, informing them she will be arriving for a visit the very next day, and will be staying a month. Lady Amanda is not fond of Hugo's sister, Tabitha, who picked on her at school, and was overbearing and hard to get along with, so the visit is annoying to her, especially as she was already upset to find out that Beauchamp and Enid have become engaged. With this hanging over her head, they discover that while they were in Scotland, several items have been stolen from Belchester Towers, and then a member of their staff is murdered.
While I still enjoyed this story, it seemed a little rough compared with the others. There were a couple of places where the scene didn't seem quite finished, and the characters seemed to be a little off from what they had been. And the ending was annoying.
Caribbean Sunset with a Yellow Parrot, is the fifth in the series, and takes place on a Caribbean Island. An old school friend of Lady Amanda's arranged a school reunion on a small, privately owned island, with the idea to sell some of the villas she has built, some of which have already been bought by old school chums. Lady Amanda and Hugo join several of her friends who are traveling by sea to attend the reunion, sailing on the same ship, as are poor newlyweds, Beauchamp and Enid. The sleuths are soon involved in solving blackmail, murder and possible smuggling.
All in all, the stories were a light, fun, read, and I enjoyed them, even if some of the parody seemed a little heavy-handed.
They seem to be a parody of the aristocratic sleuth of the 1920s, but taking place in the current time, featuring Lady Amanda Golightly, an eccentric but rich arisocrat, who is short, stout, forthright and inclined to be bossy. They also include Hugo Cholmondley-Crichton-Crump, an old friend she finds living unhappily in a nursing home, who she installs in her home, and proceeds to involve in her sleuthing (whether he wants to or not). She also has an outstanding butler, Beauchamp, who manages to (mostly) keep her out of trouble.
The story is filled with cliche lines, based on drinking a lot of cocktails (the names of the books are based on unusual cocktails), and unusual situations. I believe it is meant to be a light-hearted read, with a bit of a mystery thrown in. The cliches may be overdone a bit, the characters are a little over-the-top, and I hate that the stories end with a to-be-continued, however, I found them fun and easy to read (mostly).
Strangeways to Oldham is the first in the series. Lady Amanda goes to visit an old friend of her father's, who is in a nursing home. He is dead, and Lady Amanda suspects murder. She also discovers an old friend unhappily living in the nursing home, and takes him home to Belchester Towers with her. When she reports her suspicions to the police, she is dismissed as an old, slightly batty, bitty. She begins her own investigation to show up the young whipper-snapper and to prove him wrong. Enjoyed this book, it was a fast read, and it was entertaining.
White Christmas with a Wobbly Knee is the second in the series. Lady Amanda is going to open up her castle to guided tours, and as a trial run invites a group of old friends to Belchester Towers at Christmas for snacks and a free tour. Lady Amanda is drawn into another investigation when one of her guests is discovered dead, killed several different ways. Hugo is drawn in again, as is Beauchamp and Lady Amanda's friend, Enid Tweedle. I enjoyed this story, even laughed out loud a couple of times. A fun read.
Snowballs and Scotch Mist, the third in the series, takes place in Scotland, where Lady Amanda has been invited for a visit. She doesn't want to go, but Hugo pleads as he wants to experience Scotland, tartans, kilts and the like, and Lady Amanda finally agrees. She and Hugo, accompanied by Enid and Beauchamp as their personal servants, visit Castle Rumdrummond during January. Scotland in January is very cold, and the castle is very old-fashioned, and Lady Amanda is not used to "roughing it", preferring a life of comfort. Beauchamp and Enid manage to make the visit bearable, and then the inevitable body shows up. Again, an amusing read.
Old Moorhen's Shredded Sporran, the fourth in the series, takes place immediately upon their return from Scotland. They arrive to find a letter from Hugo's sister, informing them she will be arriving for a visit the very next day, and will be staying a month. Lady Amanda is not fond of Hugo's sister, Tabitha, who picked on her at school, and was overbearing and hard to get along with, so the visit is annoying to her, especially as she was already upset to find out that Beauchamp and Enid have become engaged. With this hanging over her head, they discover that while they were in Scotland, several items have been stolen from Belchester Towers, and then a member of their staff is murdered.
While I still enjoyed this story, it seemed a little rough compared with the others. There were a couple of places where the scene didn't seem quite finished, and the characters seemed to be a little off from what they had been. And the ending was annoying.
Caribbean Sunset with a Yellow Parrot, is the fifth in the series, and takes place on a Caribbean Island. An old school friend of Lady Amanda's arranged a school reunion on a small, privately owned island, with the idea to sell some of the villas she has built, some of which have already been bought by old school chums. Lady Amanda and Hugo join several of her friends who are traveling by sea to attend the reunion, sailing on the same ship, as are poor newlyweds, Beauchamp and Enid. The sleuths are soon involved in solving blackmail, murder and possible smuggling.
All in all, the stories were a light, fun, read, and I enjoyed them, even if some of the parody seemed a little heavy-handed.
The Gourmet Who Kept Diamonds in the Kitchen by Kee Patterbee review
I'm so annoyed with myself. This is the second in a series about Hannah Starvling. While I have the first one (I actually bought it several months before this one), I haven't read it yet. However, it didn't diminish the enjoyment I found while reading this one.
Hannah Starvling is a former FBI agent, who is now a culinary consultant and detective. She is attending a cooking contest as a judge, when her friend, Elias Babel is found on top of a car, either having fallen or been pushed from his hotel room balcony. Hannah, of course, gets involved in trying to find out what had really happened.
I enjoyed the story, especially Hannah's family--her grandparents are interesting and engaging characters, bickering with each other in a fun way. I also liked that there were several twists and turns in the story to keep me guessing.
On the down side, there were a couple of places that dragged a bit, and it seemed to start off pretty slow in grabbing my interest. Maybe if I'd already been familiar with the characters from having read the first book, it wouldn't have happened.
This is mostly mystery, with some romance thrown in, and a little culinary information added.
Part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge (bought 10/14/14, read 2/12/15), 12 of 48 books read.
Hannah Starvling is a former FBI agent, who is now a culinary consultant and detective. She is attending a cooking contest as a judge, when her friend, Elias Babel is found on top of a car, either having fallen or been pushed from his hotel room balcony. Hannah, of course, gets involved in trying to find out what had really happened.
I enjoyed the story, especially Hannah's family--her grandparents are interesting and engaging characters, bickering with each other in a fun way. I also liked that there were several twists and turns in the story to keep me guessing.
On the down side, there were a couple of places that dragged a bit, and it seemed to start off pretty slow in grabbing my interest. Maybe if I'd already been familiar with the characters from having read the first book, it wouldn't have happened.
This is mostly mystery, with some romance thrown in, and a little culinary information added.
Part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge (bought 10/14/14, read 2/12/15), 12 of 48 books read.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
List of Books I've read to date for my Mt.TBR challenge
I found my list of books read, and with those books, and the ones I've read recently, I'm so far behind on my reviews it is sad.
Besides the 11 books in my Mt. TBR Challenge I've already written reviews for, I've read:
The Gourmet Who Kept Diamonds in the Kitchen 2/12/15 Review written
The Case of the Haunted Husband 2/20/15 Review written
The Perennial Killer 2/25/15 Review written
Devil's Trumpet 2/27/15 Review written
Deadly Nightshade 3/1/15 Review written
Bleeding Heart 3/3/15 Review written
The Diva Digs Up Dirt 3/5/15 Review written
The Cat Next Door 3/6/15 Review written
A Pedigree to Die For 3/7/15 Review written
The Case of the Blonde Bonanza 3/15/15 Review written
Antiques Slay Ride 4/1515 Review written
Death Pays a Visit 4/27/15 Review written
Gator Bait 5/2/15 Review written
Spinsters in Jeopardy 6/2/15
Murder at Monticello 6/10/15 Review written
This is a total of 26 books read for my challenge of 48. I need to concentrate on my older books and get them read!
I've read an additional 50 books that I bought this year, and have written reviews for only 6 of them. Though I'm not buying as many as I bought last year (750 books for the entire year), I still bought 214 books. I really need to watch my buying, and get off the computer and start reading!
I also need to start getting those reviews written! I'm going to try to write at least one review (14 done) of my Mt. TBR books, and at least 10 (14 just done) of my other books within the next couple of days!
Edits added in red.
Besides the 11 books in my Mt. TBR Challenge I've already written reviews for, I've read:
The Gourmet Who Kept Diamonds in the Kitchen 2/12/15 Review written
The Case of the Haunted Husband 2/20/15 Review written
The Perennial Killer 2/25/15 Review written
Devil's Trumpet 2/27/15 Review written
Deadly Nightshade 3/1/15 Review written
Bleeding Heart 3/3/15 Review written
The Diva Digs Up Dirt 3/5/15 Review written
The Cat Next Door 3/6/15 Review written
A Pedigree to Die For 3/7/15 Review written
The Case of the Blonde Bonanza 3/15/15 Review written
Antiques Slay Ride 4/1515 Review written
Death Pays a Visit 4/27/15 Review written
Gator Bait 5/2/15 Review written
Spinsters in Jeopardy 6/2/15
Murder at Monticello 6/10/15 Review written
This is a total of 26 books read for my challenge of 48. I need to concentrate on my older books and get them read!
I've read an additional 50 books that I bought this year, and have written reviews for only 6 of them. Though I'm not buying as many as I bought last year (750 books for the entire year), I still bought 214 books. I really need to watch my buying, and get off the computer and start reading!
I also need to start getting those reviews written! I'm going to try to write at least one review (14 done) of my Mt. TBR books, and at least 10 (14 just done) of my other books within the next couple of days!
Edits added in red.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Bless her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James review
This is the first in the Southern Ladies Mysteries series. I had previously started reading a different series by Miranda James, The Cat in the Stack mysteries, and enjoyed those books. When I started reading this series I was delighted to see that some of the characters were already familiar to me from the other series.
Angel and Dickce Ducote are elderly sisters, and are cat-sitting Diesel for Charlie while he is out of town. These southern ladies are surprised when Rosabelle Sultan, a sorority sister who they haven't seen for years, shows up at their door, claiming her family is trying to kill her and begging to stay with them for a few days.
Before long, Rosabelle's entire family arrives, including her daughters, son and daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. When someone is murdered in their home, the Ducote sisters try to help the police by telling the Deputy Sheriff, Kenesha, everything they find out.
I really enjoyed this book, looking forward to more in the series.
This is the 11th of 48 books I've read for my Mt. TBR reading challenge.
Angel and Dickce Ducote are elderly sisters, and are cat-sitting Diesel for Charlie while he is out of town. These southern ladies are surprised when Rosabelle Sultan, a sorority sister who they haven't seen for years, shows up at their door, claiming her family is trying to kill her and begging to stay with them for a few days.
Before long, Rosabelle's entire family arrives, including her daughters, son and daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. When someone is murdered in their home, the Ducote sisters try to help the police by telling the Deputy Sheriff, Kenesha, everything they find out.
I really enjoyed this book, looking forward to more in the series.
This is the 11th of 48 books I've read for my Mt. TBR reading challenge.
Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh review
This is the twelfth book in the Inspector Roderick Alleyn series by Ngaio March. I've read about Ngaio Marsh and Inspector Alleyn, but hadn't actually read any of the books until this one.
Many of the reviews and blogs I've read compare Marsh to Agatha Christie, a favorite author of mine. I was eagerly anticipating a wonderful afternoon reading this book, but found myself a little disappointed. I found the first few chapters to move fairly slowly, and I couldn't seem to care about the characters.
Perhaps it is because it was written about New Zealand, a place I'm not really familiar with, and the attitudes were a little strange to me. The story also took place during World War II, and apparently New Zealand was a bit different than what I've read about the U.S. during that time.
The plot revolves around the possibility of Nazi spies, and centers about a hot springs resort near the coast. Several people are suspected in turn of being a spy, and then there is a murder. Inspector Alleyn is incognito, and doesn't reveal himself until near the end of the story, and he reveals the plot.
The book improved as I read it, but it still isn't one of my favorite books. I will read the other books I have by Marsh (I bought a box lot of paperback mysteries in early 2014), hoping I develop a better liking for the writing.
This is part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge, 10th of 48 books.
Many of the reviews and blogs I've read compare Marsh to Agatha Christie, a favorite author of mine. I was eagerly anticipating a wonderful afternoon reading this book, but found myself a little disappointed. I found the first few chapters to move fairly slowly, and I couldn't seem to care about the characters.
Perhaps it is because it was written about New Zealand, a place I'm not really familiar with, and the attitudes were a little strange to me. The story also took place during World War II, and apparently New Zealand was a bit different than what I've read about the U.S. during that time.
The plot revolves around the possibility of Nazi spies, and centers about a hot springs resort near the coast. Several people are suspected in turn of being a spy, and then there is a murder. Inspector Alleyn is incognito, and doesn't reveal himself until near the end of the story, and he reveals the plot.
The book improved as I read it, but it still isn't one of my favorite books. I will read the other books I have by Marsh (I bought a box lot of paperback mysteries in early 2014), hoping I develop a better liking for the writing.
This is part of my Mt. TBR reading challenge, 10th of 48 books.
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