July 2023's Reading Summary

We're about to turn the corner to August, but before we do, let's take a look back at July and what I read.  Yes, I got the index updated this month.

All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz (Orphan X #8) – 4

Once again, the US government is tracking down assassin Evan Smoak.  Only he doesn’t know it until it is too late. When he is given an ultimatum, he does his own research into the assignment. Will he find a reason to pursue it?

There’s enough background, you could jump in here, but I’ll always recommend you read a series in order. I’m a little vague in my plot teaser since the book takes a little time to set things up, and it’s best to watch things unfold. That’s not to say we don’t get action early and often, which is always page turning. I feel like we didn’t quite get as much growth for Evan, although there was still some. And I enjoy the added bits of humor that come in as the series progresses. The story ends with not quite a cliffhanger, but definitely setting up the next book. Overall, fans will enjoy Evan’s latest adventure 

 

Gone but Not Forgotten by C. Michele Dorsey – 4

Olivia has always wondered about her past, something her mother has kept hidden from her.  Now, her mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and Olivia fears she might never learn the truth.  Then, her mother signs a legal document with a name that isn’t her own.  Is this the clue Olivia needs to find her past?

I’m a fan of the author, and the premise sounded intriguing, so I jumped in.  I was hooked early, and I enjoyed watching the story unfold.  I do feel like it has too many storylines, so a few things were rushed.  Still, I was satisfied when I set down the book.  This is almost a coming-of-age story wrapped in a mystery, so that means lots of growth for Olivia, which I enjoyed since I liked her from the beginning.  The rest of the cast, both friend and potential foe, were fun to spend time with.  This is intended as a standalone, and you’ll be glad you picked it up when you turn the final page.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

Kinsey and Me by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) – 4

This book breaks down into two unequal sections.  The first roughly 70% is made up of nine short stories featuring Kinsey Millhone, PI in Santa Teresa.  She solves a murder with a disappearing body and a case of a man who fell off his roof.  She also gets involved when an actor gets kidnapped.

The back section featuring thirteen vignettes as author Sue Grafton reflects on her life growing up with a functioning alcoholic father and a destructive alcoholic mother.  While she admits they are autobiographical, she frames them around a character named Kit.

Fans of Kinsey will delight in these nine stories, all previous published, but decades ago so hard to track down outside this collection now.  Personally, I found the back section depressing, but I suspect these stories were theopoetic for Ms. Grafton to write, and I can see others benefiting from them, too.

Overall, fans of the series will enjoy the collection.  If you are new to the series, you can jump in here, too, and meet Kinsey without ruining any of fun of the novels.

 

“The Ghost of Christmas Granny” by Sue Ann Jaffarian (Ghost of Granny Apples Mysteries) – 5

This short story opens with Emma Whitecastle receiving a cry for help in the middle of the night.  She’s confused because it doesn’t appear to be coming from a ghost.  It sounds like a young child.  Can she figure out who is calling for her help?

This is a short story in the author’s Ghost of Granny Apples series.  Fans who want a quick check-in will be delighted with it.  If you are new, it would be a good way to sample the characters, too.  The characters are solid, and the mystery is wonderful, with plenty to keep me engaged as Emma and Granny follow a logical path to a suspenseful climax.  The Christmas setting is fun, too.  Being a short story, I read this is a little over an hour.  If you are looking for a fun, Christmas themed short story, you’ll be glad you picked this one up.

NOTE: I received a copy of this story.

 

Murder at the Majestic Hotel by Clara McKenna (Stella and Lyndy Mysteries #4) – 4

This book picks up a couple of days after the third book ended.  The newly married Stella and Lyndy have just arrived in York for their honeymoon, but they discover that, despite their reservation for the honeymoon suite, it has been taken by someone else for the night.  The interloper is Horace Wingrove, owner of England’s most popular chocolate company.  The next morning, Wingrove is dead, and Stella and Lyndy can’t help but worry that this might have been their fate had their reservation been honored.  But Stella sees a few things that don’t quite make sense to her.  Will she figure out what is really going on?

If you haven’t read this series yet, be aware that this book spoils some of the previous book in the series.  It only makes sense considering what happened and how close in time this book is to the previous one.  The plot seemed to wander a bit before it came into focus, but once it did, I was hooked, and things made sense at the end.  While I enjoyed seeing Stella and Lyndy’s relationship continue to grow, I did miss some of the other regulars and the complications they bring.  But the characters we did get to meet are good.  The multiple viewpoint narration is great at bringing us the story as always.  I also enjoyed the little bit of real history that is twisted into the plot.  Fans of historical mysteries will be glad they picked up this series.

 

Teacher’s Threat by Diane Vallere (Madison Night Mysteries #8) – 4

Madison Night needs cash to buy inventory to relaunch her decorating business.  After the banks keep turning her down, she hopes that getting an MBA will change their minds.  The only class she is finding helpful in the program is Radical Business Theory, even after the professor uses her as an example on her first day.  However, when the professor is killed in the parking lot, Madison wonders what is going on at her new school.  Can she figure out how to relaunch her business while also solving the murder?

This book really is focused on both parts of that question, and new comers to the series will definitely find the mystery slow as a result.  As a fan of the series who is invested in Madison’s life, I found the dual focus enjoyable.  It certainly helps that we have an ingenious murder method and a surprising yet logical climax.  The characters, both new and returning, are great as always.  Fans of Doris Day will laugh at the massive Easter Egg in this book, but if you haven’t watched the movies, you’ll be fine since the author uses the scene to advance the plot.  If you are a fan of this mystery series, you’ll be happy with this book.  If the series sounds fun to you, I recommend you start at the beginning.

 

Death in a Pale Hue by Susan Van Kirk (Art Center Mysteries #1) – 3

Jill Madison has returned home to Apple Grove to run the new art center named after her late mother.  She is trying to prove herself to the board as she gets it ready to open, but a late night burglary causes issues, especially when the only piece stolen was something of great personal value to Jill.  Then the contractors working on the renovation find a skeleton in the basement.  When Jill figures out she knew the victim, she steps up her efforts to try to figure out what is going on.  Can she do it without putting her job in jeopardy?

This sounded like a fun debut, but unfortunately, it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be.  The book needed another edit to put in more details or make them consistent.  I was constantly spending brain power on things like how the art center was supposed to work rather than the mystery.  I found the pacing of the mystery uneven and the villain easy to spot.  On the other hand, the climax was suspenseful.  And I loved the characters.  Normally, I’d be looking forward to spending more time with them, but the rest of the weaknesses are giving me pause about continuing the series.

 

Paint Me a Crime by Holly Yew (Rose Shore Mysteries #1) – 4

Jessamine Rhodes has worked hard to open a new community art center in Rose Shore, British Columbia, and is excited that opening day is here.  She’s honored that artist Gabriella Everhart has agreed to show one of her paintings and teach a class on watercolors.  But as the event is winding down, the lights go out briefly.  When they come back on, someone has stolen the painting, and an art collector is dead.  With her reputation and new business on the line, Jessamine tries to figure out what happened.  Can she do it?

The book jumps right in with the opening, so it isn’t too long before the plot gets rolling.  I was hooked the entire way through, thinking I had it figured out a couple of times only to be wrong when we reached the logical climax.  The characters are also charming, and I loved spending time with them, although the suspects could have had a little more page time to be fully developed.  The writing kept me a little outside the story at first until I adjusted, but it was a minor issue.  One of Jessamine’s friends owns a tea shop, so there is lots of talk about food – enough to make me hungry while I read.  This is a promising debut, and I’ll definitely be looking for more by this author.

 

Murder at a London Finishing School by Jessica Ellicott (Beryl and Edwina Mysteries #7) – 5

Brit Edwina Davenport and American Beryl Helliwell first met at Miss DuPont’s Finishing School for Young Ladies and forged their decades long friendship there.  But now they’ve been hired by Miss DuPont to find out what is going on at the school that is driving down enrollment.  The duo aren’t getting far with their investigation when they stumble on a dead body.  Have the pranks escalated to murder?

If you look for the dead body to drop early, you might be disappointed with this book.  I wasn’t.  Between the early investigation and meeting the new characters, there was plenty to keep me engaged.  Of course, things kick up a notch when murder enters the story.  The ending, while logical, did feel a little rushed, but that was a minor complaint.  We don’t see much of the series regulars, although a couple do make cameos.  The new characters more than make up for it, and I appreciate how complex they were by the end.  Beryl and Edwina grow as a result of visiting some place from their past.  The story is set in the 1920’s, and things going on in society infuse the book.  If you enjoy historical mysteries or mysteries set in England, you’ll be glad you picked this up.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke (Record Shop Mysteries #2) – 4

It’s the weekend of the Bluebonnet Festival in Cedar River, Texas, and Juni Jessup and her sisters are looking forward to fun while also selling coffee and introducing the bands on the main stage.  Their first customer of the first day is Mayor Bob.  When Juni goes to drop something off at his office a little later, she finds him dead.  With their reputations once again on the line, the sisters try to figure out what is happening.  Mayor Bob was popular because he didn’t make any waves, so who would want to kill him?

After an initial strong start, the book stalled a bit introducing some sub-plots before it really got started again.  I did guess the killer a little early, but I needed Juni to fill in most of the rest.  Once again, there are some odd uses of they/them pronouns, and Juni’s first-person narration comes across as judgmental a few times.  Overall, I do like her and I love her relationship with her sisters.  The love triangle is still in play, although it takes a back seat to the rest of the happenings.  There are lots of smiles and some laughs along the way as well.  If you enjoy music and are looking for a fun mystery, this is the series for you.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan – 4

Alyssa Macallan’s life is turned upside down when her husband walks out of their house one day.  Facing a divorce she never expected, she finds herself drinking at a bar one Friday night, where she meets Bree Lorrance, who is also down on her luck.  The two hit it off, and Alyssa invites Bree to move into her guest house.  Helping Bree lets Alyssa forget her own problems, until her own problems heat back up.  Will the two be able to help each other?  Or do they have secret agendas?

I was hooked early on, although the book does take a little while to build up to the full plot.  Once it does, I couldn’t wait to see how things would resolve for the characters.  I appreciated the fact that no one seemed overly whiney here, although they could have repeated things less, giving the book more time to flesh out some of the late breaking twists.  While knowing I couldn’t fully trust Alyssa and Bree, I really did like them both and hoped things would work out well for them.  We get the book completely from Alyssa’s third person point of view which makes us question just what anyone else was thinking.  Even with the pacing issues with the plot, I enjoyed this book overall.