All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).
The Watchman by Robert Crais (Cole & Pike #11) – 4
When a favor is called in, Joe Pike finds himself as the
bodyguard for Larkin Conner Barkley, a spoiled rich young woman who has become
a witness in a Federal investigation thanks to a traffic accident. But when people come for them twice within
just a few hours, Pike must go to extreme measures to protect them both. The bigger question becomes, what is really
going on?
From a mystery standpoint, this book is outstanding, which
several wonderful twists and surprises.
I had a hard time putting the book down.
Since this book focuses on Pike, it is interesting to get some more
perspective on this character, although I did feel some flashbacks slowed the
book down. Don’t worry, we do get Elvis
Cole as well. My biggest beef with the
book was two characters who I found super annoying. We were supposed to find them comedic, but I
wanted to slap both of them.
Additionally, some characters can’t seem to remember when events they
just lived through took place.
The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew #4) – 3
Nancy Drew and her friend Helen are traveling to Lilac Inn,
which their friend Emily just bought.
Before they can even arrive, the canoe they were traveling in
capsized. Things get even more
mysterious at the inn, where unexplained things have started happening. And back in River Heights, someone is
impersonating Nancy. What is going on?
The mystery only gets more complex from there, and that’s my
biggest complaint with the book. So many
different elements are introduced that it becomes overly convoluted and takes
the villain explaining everything for the better part of a chapter in the end. Still, all the action does keep the reader glued
to the page. The characters are
sympathetic enough to make us care about the outcome but are their usual thin
selves. Most of the dated elements will
be okay, although kids might be thrown by Nancy’s charge plate. I know I was.
Fiction Can be Murder by Becky Clark (Mystery Writers Mystery
#1) – 4
Melinda has a reputation for taking pleasure in being mean
to people. Even though Charlee Russo is
an author this agent represents, she’s seen Melinda’s mean streak before. So it isn’t necessarily a surprise when
Melinda winds up murdered. What is a
surprise is the method – straight out of Charlee’s just submitted book. Clearly, someone in her life is trying to
frame her for murder. But which of her
friends could it be?
Early on, I was worried that I was about to be flooded with
suspects. While there are a lot, they
were presented in a way that it was easy to remember them as the book went
along. It also helped that potential
series regulars are also suspects and that the characters are distinct. I did feel like the plot focused on one
aspect of the mystery over some of the others, but there was still a good twist
or two and the ending had me turning pages as quickly as possible.
In Cave Danger by Kate Dyer-Seeley (Pacific Northwest Mysteries
#5) – 4
Meg Reed is off to Bend, Oregon, to write a feature on the
lava caves in the area. The future of
the caves in in doubt thanks to a bill that would open the Federal land up to
private use. The fight over the bill is
creating a lot of tension, but when the group Meg is exploring the cave with
makes their way to the bottom, they find a dead body. What is going on?
Those new to the series will be a little frustrated by this
book. We’re almost a quarter of the way
into the book before Meg makes it to Bend, for example. That time is spent updating us on several
storylines introduced in the previous books, so fans will be satisfied. As the book progresses, we get some good
suspects and twists to this mystery as well as a great wrap up to several
series storylines, which is nice since this is the last book in the series (at
least for now). Wrapping things up does
overwhelm this book, so really, don’t start the series here.
If You Ever Want to Bring a Circus to the Library, DON’T! by
Elise Parsley – 5
Magnolia has noticed that sign at her local library
proclaiming that “You can do anything at the library.” She takes that as an invitation to put on a
circus for the kids in the library. Of
course, they all need to be quiet – this is a library after all. But really, what could possibly go wrong?
This is another delightfully silly picture book as Magnolia
shows us just why the library and the circus shouldn’t mix. Adults and kids alike will enjoy the story,
and the pictures by Elisa Parsley add to the fun. The climax is definitely the best part of the
book. Even though Magnolia is the one
causing the problems, the book is narrated in second person, which actually
works to add to the fun here.
Claws for Alarm by Karen MacInerney (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries
#8) – 4
Natalie’s current guests at her bed and breakfast are on a
yoga retreat, but any thoughts she’d had of peace and quiet have vanished. They are demanding different food and
squabbling amongst themselves. However,
the real drama is happening elsewhere on this island off the coast of Maine
where newcomer Francine is making everyone’s life miserable in her efforts to
remake the island into what she thinks is should be. After a particularly memorable fight with
Claudette, Francine winds up dead.
Natalie knows her friend couldn’t have done it. But who did?
I do need to get one issue out of the way first. There is a timing issue in the plot that
keeps me from giving the version I read five stars. Once it is edited (and the author is working
on the revisions), that won’t be an issue at all. And that’s great because this book is
wonderful. I love the setting of the
series, and always feel like I’ve gotten to relax when I am reading about
it. Natalie and the usual cast are old
friends, and I was glad to get updates on them.
The new characters are just as strong and memorable. I thought I had the killer pegged early, but
it turned out I was wrong, yet all the twists made sense at the end.
NOTE: I received a copy of the book.
Murder on Mulberry Bend by Victoria Thompson (Gaslight
Mysteries #5) – 4
Midwife Sarah Brandt has gotten involved with the work of
the Prodigal Son Mission which helps teenage women learn skills to keep them
off the streets. That’s how she is able
to identify the body that Detective Sergeant Frank has found in a park – it’s
one of the girls from the mission. With
no one to push the police to find justice for this girl, Sarah insists that
Frank figure out what happened, with a little help from her. Will they find the killer?
I was compelled to read this book soon after I read the
previous one with the promise of an update on an ongoing storyline. We do get quite a twist there before this
book is over. The main mystery was a
little weak, however. I didn’t feel like
it had the twists we normally get, although maybe that’s because I had an idea
what was going early in the book. The
pages still flew by since the characters are strong and the time period comes
to vivid life. Any time spent in this
series is time well spent.
The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven by Sigmund Brouwer
(Accidental Detectives #12)
Ricky, his brother Joel, and their friends are off to San
Diego to help Lisa’s uncle paint his new house.
When they arrive, they learn a local legend about a pirate who has
buried his treasure in the area. It
sounds crazy until Joel finds a couple of silver coins. Meanwhile, Lisa’s uncle is acting strangely. Can Ricky figure out everything that is going
on?
I’ve read this book a couple of times now, although it’s
been over a decade since the last time I read it, so pieces of the plot came
back to me as I was reading. Even so, I
was still blown away by how well plotted the book is, with all the clues needed
in very plain sight. The characters are
strong as well, and they provide some wonderful laughs along the way. The Christian elements is woven in seamlessly
and never overwhelms this plot driven middle grade book.
With a Little Bit of Blood by D. E. Ireland (Eliza Doolittle
and Henry Higgins #4) – 5
Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins have been invited to the
first house party thrown by the new Lord and Lady Ashford (she the former Clara
Eynsford-Hill). The timing is perfect
since a couple of strange things have forced the duo to look for a place to
stay. However, the first morning a
fellow guest is killed during the rabbit hunt.
Henry is sure it was a hunting accident, but Eliza isn’t so sure. Who is right?
This is another fun mystery with the characters made famous
by Pygmalion and My Fair Lady. The plot did
seem to start slowly, however by the end I realized how things played into the
overall story. A few of the regulars are
reduced to cameos, but it was still nice to catch up with them. We have a rather large cast of characters,
but it was always easy to keep them straight as the story unfolded. We get some fun with new (for 1913) things
like airplanes and cars as well as mentions of the more serious things
unfolding in the world at the time.
Back in the Habit by Alice Loweecey (Falcone & Driscall
Investigation #2) – 4
The last thing former nun Giulia ever wanted to do was go
back to her former life, but that’s just what she’s had to do. Her PI company has been hired to find out why
a Novice committed suicide, and the best way to do that is for Giulia to become
Sister Mary Regina Coelis again. Not
only is she confronting her past 18 months on the outside, but she’s having to
look for secrets. Was it a simple
suicide? Or will Giulia uncover more?
I waited too long to get back to Giulia, but I’m pleased I
got to visit her again. This book really
allows her quite a bit of character growth since it is forcing her to face her
past. We do not see as much of the other
series regulars as a result, but when we did, we got some of the laughs I
expect with the characters. The mystery
does take us to some darker places, but it is good. I do feel that the character growth
overshadowed the mystery at times, but overall I enjoyed this book.
“K” is for Killer by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone #11) – 5
PI Kinsey Millhone’s latest case is a cold one. Lorna Kepler has been dead for 10 months, and
when she died she had been dead for two weeks before she was found, so the
police couldn’t even determine the cause of death. As Kinsey begins to investigate, she realizes
that Lorna had a completely secret life, and the investigation causes Kinsey to
become a night owl like Lorna was. Will
following her footsteps lead to her killer?
This is another great mystery. The cold case quality leads to some
interesting complications to the investigation.
Lorna’s life included some things that don’t normally pop up in my
cozies, but we didn’t get gratuitous detail, which I appreciated. The ending was a bit rushed, but that’s a
minor complaint. We don’t see much of
the other series characters, but Kinsey is fantastic as always, and the book is
populated with real people that draw us into the story.
Italian Iced by Kylie Logan (Ethnic Eats #3) – 5
The Terminal at the Tracks diner is featuring Italian food
this month, and Laurel is thrilled with how popular the choice has been on the
first night. However, she returns home
to find that it has been trashed.
Nothing appears to be taken, but someone was searching for
something. Before she can figure out
what they were looking for, she makes an even worse discovery, the body of mega
movie star Meghan in the freezer down at the diner. Laurel has had no contact with Meghan for the
past year since Meghan fired her. What
was she doing in town? And how did she
come to die in the freezer?
The mystery is great with a steady stream of clues,
surprises, and red herrings to keep us guessing until the end. Laurel also gets a chance to reflect on her
life then versus now, and the growth we see in her is wonderful. There are only a few series regulars, but it
is fun to spend time with them again.
The suspects are strong and do a great job of keeping us guessing until
the end.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book.
Marked Masters by Ritter Ames (Bodies of Art Mysteries #2) – 5
This book opens with Laurel Beacham in Florida with Jack
Hawkes. Despite what they have just gone
through in the first book in this series, Laurel still doesn’t trust Jack and
is only reluctantly working with him. He
is keeping too many secrets from her while demanding she share everything she
know. They are continuing to work
together, however, in order to stop a major art heist, and Florida is their
most promising lead. A kidnapping and a
dead body prove that they are on the right track. Will they learn more about the plans in order
to stop the heist? Or will they be
stopped permanently?
There is a strong on-going story line in this series
involving an upcoming art heist, so I definitely recommend you read these books
in order. In fact, I wish I had read
this one closer to the first. The author
does do a good job of filling in the blanks on what has happened before, which
helped me remember the events of the first book. The story starts strong and keeps going from
twist to turn as the pages fly by, resolving enough to make this book feel like
it has resolved while still leaving plenty for Laurel and Jack to face in the
next book. The duo make for intriguing
leads, and the characters we meet along the way hold our interest as well.
This was a really good reading month! Happy July!
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