Here we are at the end of May. Must be time for this month's monthly reading summary. As usual, the links take you to the full review. And no,
the index didn't get updated this month. I even had a long weekend, and I still didn't do it.
All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).
Jazz Ramsey is working on training Luther, a cadaver dog, in
a construction site in her native Cleveland.
She has already planted something for him to find, but Luther indicates
a find in a completely different room.
Sure enough, he’s found a body.
Even worse, it is the body of a former student at the all-girls school
where Jazz works. Jazz’s former
boyfriend Nick has been assigned the case, and Jazz knows it is in good
hands. But she still can’t help but
wonder what it was that lead the girl to her death. As she begins poking around, she begins to
uncover secrets. Can she find out what
got the young woman killed?
I’ve enjoyed several other books by Kylie Logan in the past,
so I am not surprised I enjoyed this one.
But I am surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. This is a little more serious than some of
her other books, but that is no reason not to pick up the book. The characters are compelling; even those we
don’t spend much time with come across as real.
Jazz herself is fully formed and a wonderful main character. The plot is strong with a steady helping of
twists and clues to guide us to the logical conclusion. The writing makes Cleveland come alive
without distracting from the characters or the plot in any way. This is a solid debut that already has me
anxious for more.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Mel Cooper is less than excited about her high school
reunion because of all the bad memories she has from those years, yet she gets
talked into going by her best friend, Angie, mainly because of the gig Angie
gets them providing cupcakes for the event.
Once there, Mel finds herself beginning to make peace with her past,
that is until she finds the dead body of Cassidy in the bathroom. Cassidy was the worst bully in school, and
just a couple hours with her has proved that things haven’t changed. With her classmates looking at her as the
killer, Mel knows she has to clear her name.
Can she do it?
Fortunately, most high school reunions aren’t nearly as bad
as this one is. But all the horrible
people from Mel’s past make for wonderful suspects as she attempts to figure
out what really happened to Cassidy.
What impressed me was that this book allowed for some growth in Mel and
it showed us deeper suspects than I was expecting from the first few chapters. This allowed the plot to move along at a
quick pace with plenty of twists to keep me engaged. Trust me, I didn’t want to put this book down
until I reached the great climax. There
is a dose of humor mixed in that kept me smiling and laughing as I read. Cupcake fans will be pleased with the three
new cupcake recipes included at the back of the book. It’s hard to read just one book in this
series, and I’m already hungry for my next visit with Mel, Angie, and the rest
of the gang.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book.
A Deadly Feast by Lucy Burdette (Key West Food Critic Mysteries
#9) – 3
Hayley Snow’s wedding is just a few days away, and her list
of things to do is long, as you’d expect.
She’s got family coming in from out of town, Thanksgiving the day
before, and contractors to get working on the houseboat she wants to move into
soon after she gets married. So the last
thing she needs to do is find herself embroiled in a mystery. But when a woman on a seafood tour Hayley is
covering for work drops dead, Hayley is asked by the friend who owns the
company to find out what happened. Can
Hayley squeeze that into her busy week?
As you can see, there is plenty happening here, and I found
the pages turning quickly.
Unfortunately, I felt the mystery suffered as a result. It was often buried in everything else going
on, and the resolution was rushed as a result.
But I do love these characters, and getting to spend time with them is
wonderful as always. I enjoyed getting
to see a different side of a couple and have others return. Thanks to these books, I’ve fallen in love
with Key West, so it was fantastic to get to visit again. It was a much-needed mini vacation. There are nine new recipes for us to try;
personally, I’m most intrigued by the pumpkin pie recipe. While newcomers to the series won’t be as
charmed with this outing, longtime fans will be happy to visit Hayley again
here.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book.
Ben Ripley and his team of fellow spies think they have been
handed the key to finally taking down the evil organization SPYDER. As it so happens, the key is a literal
key. Ben’s friends piece together that
it most likely belongs to a storage space under the British Museum. Since no one knows who in the CIA is really a
SPYDER double agent, only Ben and his friends from Spy School can be trusted to
go and retrieve whatever the item might be.
And so Ben, Mike, Zoe, Erica, and Erica’s parents make their way to
London. What will they find when they
land?
This book picks up moments after the previous book in the
series ended, so it does discuss some of what happened in that book. As a result, if you want to go into that book
completely surprised, you’ll want to read the books in order. But that’s no problem since the entire series
is so fun. Once again, we get a wild
ride filled with twists, turns, and extremely narrow escapes. Yet in the quieter moments, we get to see
some depth and growth in the characters, which I loved. The action can be a bit over the top, but
that plays into the comedy of the book and series perfectly. I might not have laughed quite as much as I
did while reading the previous book, but I was chuckling before I finished the
first page, and I did grin and laugh the entire way through. Middle Graders will love this book, and
anyone looking for a fun read will be glad they picked it up as well.
Former police officer Davis Way has finally landed a new
job. She’s working as undercover
security at the Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The first thing she’s asked to do is figure
out how someone is rigging the Double Whammy machines to win the jackpot. She’s just started the investigation when she
makes a startling discovery – the person getting the jackpots is her
ex-ex-husband, a man she doesn’t want back in her life. Can she figure out how he is rigging the
machines without crossing his path?
I’ve had this series and this book on my radar for a
while. While I don’t gamble, the casino
setting intrigued, and I know this series is very popular. Unfortunately, this is one of those books
that entertains while you are reading, but when you set it down, you begin to
see the flaws. There is a good plot
here, but it gets distracted several times with sub-plots that slow things
down. I did like how Davis’s complicated
past is given to us in flashbacks spread out over the entire novel; it helps
give some of her actions more context.
Unfortunately, I felt she made some very stupid decisions over the
course of the novel, especially in the final third. There’s a complication in that final third
that stretched my ability to suspend disbelief as well. It’s a shame because I liked the characters
and can see them growing even more over the course of a series. This book describes itself as a comic caper,
and I’ve found that some just don’t work for me, and I think that’s the case
here. I know the series has many fans,
but this debut didn’t work for me as well as I wanted it to.
NOTE: I bought the original release of this novel a couple
years ago, but I read the edited special edition thanks to the author.
Midwife Sarah Brant is called to the Ruocco family for a
birth in their home over their Italian restaurant. Antonio’s new Irish wife is in labor, but she
is two months early. However, when the
baby arrives, Sarah begins to suspect that the baby is actually full term and Nainsi
lied about when she got pregnant. When
Sarah returns for her follow up visit the next day, she finds that Nainsi died
in the night – although she quickly realizes that Nainsi didn’t die from complications
from child birth and sends for Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy. Since Frank is Irish, his presence draws
suspicion from the family. As the racial
tensions in the city over this incident begin to rise, Frank must find a way to
solve the case. Can he do it with
Sarah’s help?
This is another engrossing trip back in time. These books suck me into another time and
place. The mystery here is strong and
takes up much of the book, only allowing for brief updates on ongoing
stories. However, the case is more than
enough to keep us turning pages. Frank
and Sarah continue to be strong leads.
Frank is a little more dominant in this book, but Sarah still makes
significant contributions to solving the case.
There are twists, red herrings, and a strong group of suspects. I really could have believed anyone was
guilty until Frank and Sarah figured things out at the end. As always, this book was over all too
quickly. You can bet I’ll be back in
time with these characters soon.
The Poet is back, and he is calling out FBI agent Rachel Walling. She has been summoned from a field office in
South Dakota to a burial scene in Las Vegas to help the FBI track down this
serial killer once and for all.
Meanwhile, retired LAPD detective Harry Bosch has been asked to
investigate the death of a friend by his widow.
Everyone thought this death was natural causes, but Bosch begins to
agree that there was something suspicious about his death. Where will the investigation lead?
While The Poet wasn’t
originally part of the Harry Bosch series, this is a direct sequel to that
Michael Connelly book. If you haven’t
read it, you’ll definitely want to since it spoils twists in that book, and the
story here will mean more to you as well.
It is obvious to us that these two investigations are going to come
together, and Connelly does a great job of keeping us entertained as he lays
that ground work. We get plenty of
twists as we go along, and the book kept me engrossed until we reached the very
end. We get some follow up on the twist
in Bosch’s personal life from the end of the previous book, and I enjoyed
seeing his character grow as a result.
The rest of the cast is just as strong, which is no surprise. We get the story from Bosch’s first-person
point of view as well as the third-person point of view of other characters;
these switches are never confusing and really enhance the story. Obviously, this is a darker book than my
normal cozies, but I knew that going in and that didn’t bother me. This is another masterpiece from a wonderful
writer.
Three teachers have gone missing in San Francisco, and all
eyes are on San Francisco police officer Lindsay Boxer as she is leading the
hunt for them. Unfortunately, there are
few leads. Can she find anything before
it is too late? Meanwhile, her new
husband, Joe Molinari, has found a woman near the FBI’s San Francisco
office. This woman, Anna, claims to have
just seen a known war criminal from her native Serbia in the city. Is she right?
What is he doing there? Can Joe
make sure this man receives the justice he deserves?
Outside the prologue and epilogue, this book takes place
five years in the past, meaning that some of the recent stupidity in Joe and
Lindsay’s marriage has been forgotten. I
couldn’t be happier about that. The
story is another fast-paced mystery against overwhelming odds that keep the
pages turning. It even gave me something
I’ve been wanting for a long time in this series (no spoilers, don’t
worry). Unfortunately, most of the Women
in the Women’s Murder Club are reduced to cameos as the plot drives
forward. The characters continue to be
fairly thin, but that’s no surprise to fans.
We get into Anna’s past and the war crimes that took place in Serbia, so
expect the heavier subject matter when you pick up this book. Overall, fans of the series should be happy
with this latest offering.
Martha Rose and her friends Lucy and Birdie was considering
expanding their Tuesday quilting group, but when they show up to Claire Terry’s
house that Tuesday morning, they find Claire’s dead body. Then, one of her quilts is stolen from an
expo that weekend, and Martha really begins to wonder what is happening. Is the quilt theft related to Claire’s death?
I don’t tend to pick up as many crafting cozies as I do
other sub-genres, but I’m glad I made an exception for this book. The pacing was a little uneven early on, but
the book is setting up a great second half, and that half completely had me
hooked as the twists began to come quickly, leading to a great climax. The book does venture into some darker waters
for a cozy, but I felt it handled them well.
The characters, both series regulars and suspects, are all strong, and I
really began to like the main trio by the end.
I did find the very occasional political sniping in the first half a
little off putting. I suspect it was
supposed to be funny, but I didn’t find it that way. Hopefully, this is dropped as the series
progresses. Unlike many cozies, this one
is set in the suburban sprawl of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles
County. This is just south of where I
live, so I enjoyed seeing places I recognize in the book, and I still felt this
had the cozy charm despite the larger setting.
It is easy to see why this series has done well, and I hope to find time
for the sequel at some point soon.
Murder in Red by Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land (Murder, She
Wrote #49) – 4
When Jessica Fletcher’s friend Mimi Van Dorn collapses,
Jessica is naturally concerned, but when Mimi passes away later that night, Dr.
Seth Hazlitt thinks she had help.
Naturally, Jessica starts investigating, and she quickly finds evidence
that Mimi was indeed murdered. Does the
new clinic outside town hold the answers to Mimi’s death? Or is a secret from her past responsible for
her murder? Jessica will have to figure
it out fast since another old friend has checked into the new clinic and could
be in mortal danger himself.
Yes, we are once again in Cabot Cove and environs for much
of the book, although Jessica finds herself traveling quite a bit as she tries
to piece together this puzzle. Things
start off a bit slowly, but they gain speed as the book progresses, and by the
end I was completely hooked. Part of the
early slowness are attempts to develop Jessica with her thoughts about life,
but they come across as forced and don’t add much to the book. Still, I was turning pages quickly at the end
to see just how Jessica would bring everything together. I was happy to find that the foul language
that has bothered me in the last two books wasn’t present here, which is much
more like the franchise of old. I was
also happy to find that Jessica’s relationships with Seth and Sheriff Mort
Metzger were much closer to how I remember them from the TV series. George Sutherland, a recurring character in
the books, is present here and I enjoyed getting to meet him for the first
time. Fans of the franchise will be very
happy with this book. I know I was.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book.
The Big Kahuna by Janet Evanovich and Peter Evanovich (Fox and
O’Hare #6) – 2
Unlikely duo FBI agent Kate O’Hare and former (maybe) conman
Nick Fox have been asked to look for a tech billionaire known to pretty much
everyone as The Big Kahuna. He
disappeared a few days ago, but Kate and Nick are shocked to find that both his
wife and his business partner are already hoping to have him declared
dead. Kate and Nick aren’t willing to
declare him dead yet; they think he might be hiding out in Hawaii. With Kate’s father and Cosmo, another FBI
agent, tagging along, they set out to see if they can find him. However, it appears someone wants The Big
Kahuna dead. Can they find him in
time? Or will they lead the killers
right to him?
The last book in this series was three years and a different
co-author ago, and it shows. Nick and
Kate are shadows of themselves, with Kate going to Nick for plans on everything
instead of them working as partners.
Their romantic relationship has gone back several books, too, and yet
they don’t appear to be hiding the fact that they work together professionally. Kate’s dad is just a caricature now, and the
new characters are one note jokes, per se, which makes spending so much time
with them painful. While the plot does
include a couple of small cons, it is nowhere near as elaborate and therefore
fun as the previous books. Really, any
group of characters could have been the stars of this plot. The pacing is uneven, especially early on
when we get travelogues of Hawaii. We
could have easily cut 30 pages without noticing at all, and in a book that
already reads short, that is saying something.
I did get hooked as I went along, but I think the flaws would have been
more frustrating if I hadn’t been able to knock the book out in a couple of
days. I borrowed this book from my local
library, but I’m not sure even that price (free) will be enough to get me to
come back if Nick and Kate have any more adventures.
