More books read, July 1, August 30

I've read several other books over the summer, that were not part of my Mt. TBR Reading Challenge 2015.   I'm not going to write full reviews for them, but will just mention whether or not I liked it, with a few words to describe them.

Taylor, Phoebe Atwood--Diplomatic Corpse (bought 7/31/2015, read 8/3/2015).  Really liked this one!  This is the last in the Asey Mayo series, and has the Cape Cod ambience that really makes the books.

Frazer, Andrea--Choked Off (bought 7/29/2015, read 8/2/2015).  Another one I liked.  This is the second in the Falconer series.  The villagers are excited that a radio broadcaster will be reviewing their Arts festival, until he arrives in the village the day before the event.  He is not a nice person, and takes pleasure in hurting the people around him. When he is found dead, no one seems to be overly dismayed. However, DI Harry Falconer and his Sergeant, "Davey" Carmichael, are on the case.

Allingham, Margery--Coroner's Pidgin (bought 7/22/2015, read 7/23/2015).  I liked this, but not as much as some of her others. Albert Campion returns from several years overseas, and while refreshing himself in his apartment, he sees his servant, Lugg, entering the apartment with a Lady, and a woman's corpse.  Campion is then forced to detect, which he does with his usual skill.

Hamilton, Donald--Matt Helm-The Terminators (bought 7/9/2015, read 7/10/2015).  Liked this, really like the character and the style of the writing.  This is one of my favorite series from that era.

Bowers, Mary--Murder in Tropical Breeze (bought 7/6/2015, read 7/10/2015).  This one was okay, and I might try the second in the series, but I'm not really big on paranormal, although it wasn't too intrusive in this story, it still lessened my enjoyment a little.

Johns, Madison--High Seas Honeymoon (Bought 7/2/2015, read 7/2/2015).  This is the seventh in the series, and I thought it was just okay.  Agnes and Eleanor and their new husbands go on a honeymoon cruise, and find out that several of their friends and neighbors are also there.  Then they find a body, which disappears.

Rice, Craig--Murder, Mystery and Malone (borrowed 6/28/2015, read 7/3/2015).  A collection of a dozen stories, most of them featuring John J. Malone, a lawyer who claims he has never lost a case.  I thought this was pretty good, considering the limitations of short stories.  But then, I am a fan of the  1940s hard boiled detective stories, with a dash of screwball comedy.

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen review

 Her Royal Spyness is the first in the Royal Spyness Series.  It is set in England in the early 1930s, and features Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, who is 34th in line for the English throne.  While she has a title, and is a member of high society, she doesn't have any money.  As Royalty, and a woman, she can't really take a job, which would be hard to find during the Depression in any event.

She is being supported by her brother and lives with him and his wife in their castle in Scotland.  However, her sister-in-law isn't happy they have to support her, and wants her to marry, preferably some one rich. And if not, then she wants her to become the companion of some elderly relative.

Lady Georgie runs away to London, and decides to stay in their family house.  It had been closed up, and there are no servants there, and no heat. To keep herself, she decides to start a housecleaning business, but keep her name out of it. 

When she returns one day, she finds a body in the bathtub.  The dead man was someone trying to collect on her late father's gambling debts, and had set up a meeting with Lady Georgina's brother, known to his family and friends as Binky.  And Binky had returned to Scotland, which Lady Georgie meant he would be the main suspect in the death.

She decides to investigate to clear her brother's name, and then the Queen wants her to go to a house party to see how infatuated her son is with the divorcee, Mrs. Simpson.  Lady Georgie is supposed to become the Queen's spy. 

While trying to solve the murder, and spying for the Queen, Georgie is also becoming terribly accident prone.  It finally occurs to her that someone is trying to kill her. 

Lady Georgina is a bright, determined, independent woman ahead of her time, and manages to solve the murder and finish her spying while managing to stay alive.

This was an interesting read, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

This is #35 of 48 for the Mt. TBR Reading Challenge 2015. Bought in August, 2014, read November, 2015.

Two Widows and the Thrift Store Murders by Ruth Ross review

A mother and daughter, both widows, love to visit thrift stores, more for the entertainment value than actually needing to watch their pennies.

To their dismay, one of the thrift store workers is found murdered.  Then another of the workers is also found murdered.  When they realize one of the board members, an elderly woman, had also died recently, they become suspicious and begin to investigate.  As they found out information, they let the police know of their findings, which is rare in a lot of the current mysteries.

I thought the book was interesting, although it was what I would call an easy read. I bought this book in August of 2014, and finished it November of 2015.

 34 of 48 for the 2015 Mt. TBR reading  challenge.

The Betrayers by Donald Hamilton review

This is the tenth of the Matt Helm spy series.  Another enjoyable read.

Matt takes a vacation in Hawaii after his last assignment was completed.  The agent in charge of operations there is someone Helm hasn't gotten along with, and who is suspected of being a rogue agent. 

Lots of action, a little romance, and a straight forward spy plot.  Who could ask for anything more?

I enjoyed this story as much as the others I've read in the series, and looking forward to reading more.


Bought October 15, 2014, read July 2, 2015.  This is number 33 of 48 in my 2015 Mt. TBR reading challenge.

Flying too Hign by Kerry Greenwood review

Found a note with several of the books I had read last spring/early summer.  While I had remembered most of them, and  reviewed them (or at least put them on another list to write the reviews), there were a few that I had forgotten.  This was one of them.

Flying Too High is the second in the Phryne Fisher series of books, and like the others, takes place in Australia.  I enjoy the descriptions of 1920s Australia, similar to the U.S. at that time, but different, too.  Phryne, of course, is a one of a kind heroine, with flaws.

Phryne is approached by Mrs. McNaughton.  Phryne is hired to stop Mrs. McNaughton's son, Bill, from killing Mr. McNaughton.  Bill has a temper and is short money, and Mr. McNaughton is pretty nasty himself, and the two are in the middle of a disagreement about a loan.  Phryne takes the case, but Mr. McNaughton ends up dead, anyway. 

Phryne now has to prove Bill innocent, but along the way decides to solve the kidnapping of a little girl, and protect her from the pedophile who is one of her kidnappers.

Phryne flys an airplane, has hot sex with a couple of different men, procures a prostitute, and solves the cases. 

Enjoyed the book, especially the recurring supporting characters of Dot, Bert and Cec, and the new characters of Mr. and Mrs. Butler.

Part of my 2015 Mt. TBR reading challenge. #32 of 48.  Bought Mar 21, 2014, finished late May, 2015.