July 2020's Monthly Reading Summary

July has come to an end, so it's time to look back at what I read during the month.  Yes, the Index has been updated.

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

No Saving Throw by Kristin McFarland (Ten Again Mysteries #1) – 5

Autumn is happy running Ten Again, the gaming store she owns in the small Wisconsin college town where she grew up.  Things are going well until one of the regular gamers in the store dies in the mall.  Things quickly turn on Autumn and the rest of the gamers, with some of them in particular in the police’s spotlight.  But Autumn doesn’t think her gamers, who have become her friends, could really be killers.  Can she prove it?

While I’m not much of a gamer, this book still sounded like lots of fun, and I was right.  There are some references to geeky things, most of which I got, but if you don’t get the reference, it shouldn’t interfere with your enjoyment of the book.  That’s because the mystery is strong, with lots of events and clues to keep the pages turning until we reach the logical and suspenseful climax.  The characters are wonderful, and I love how much they care for each other.  I also appreciated Autumn’s debates about being involved in the investigation.  It felt realistic when she would try to get out before something pulled her back in.  I do wish Autumn swore a little less, but that’s my only complaint about this fun debut.

Super Puzzletastic Mysteries presented by Chris Grabenstein – 5

This book for middle grade readers features twenty stories by members of Mystery Writers of America.  Each story provides the clues and puzzles you need to solve it along with the characters.  In fact, the solutions are at the back of the book to give you time to figure out what is really going on before you see if you got it right.  While a few authors feature series sleuths, most of the stories feature original characters.

And all of them are fun.  Many are straight up mysteries, but some feature puzzles we can learn about and solve with the characters along the way.  The stories average about 15 pages each, so they would work well for reading aloud and solving as a group.  It might take a group to solve some of them.  I figured a few out, but many left me stumped until I turned to the end.  There isn’t a bad story in the bunch, and kids will certainly enjoy this collection as much as I did.

The Brim Reaper by Diane Vallere (Samantha Kidd #3) – 4

Perpetually unemployed Samantha Kidd has agreed to help her friend Eddie with a fashion exhibit at the local museum featuring vintage Hollywood costumes.  However, when the shipments of hats at the center of the exhibit arrive, the boxes are empty.  Then Samantha and Eddie find a dead body in the museum.  After calling the police, Samantha fully intends to walk away from the case and focus on a job she’s taken working for her boyfriend, Nick, as he launches his own shoe design studio.  However, she can’t just walk away.  As her attention continues to be divided, will she be able to balance her new job and her relationship with finding a killer?

This is another delightful mystery.  The plot is strong, with plenty of suspects, clues, and events to keep us engaged until Samantha finds the killer.  I’m really like Samantha and the rest of the regular characters.  The suspects aren’t quite as well developed, but that’s more due to lack of page time than anything else, and they are still strong enough to make us care about the outcome.  There are a few minor timeline issues and typos; I wish the book had gotten the final edit it needed.  While this isn’t a laugh a page mystery, there are some fun scenes and phrases that made me grin if not laugh out loud.  Overall, this is another diverting mystery.

Hems and Homicide by Elizabeth Penney (Apron Shop Series #1) – 4

Iris Buckley is happy to be opening a new shop in her native Blueberry Cove, Maine.  Partnering with her grandma, Anne, the shop will be a physical location for her internet business selling original apron designs and vintage linens.  However, while starting the renovations, Iris discovers a skeleton in the basement.  Anne immediately identifies the remains as belonging to her friend Star Moonshine.  Anne always assumed that Star just drifted out of town back in the early 1970’s, but clearly something happened to her.  Anne wants to make sure justice is served for her friend.  Can Iris help her do that?

I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about this book, and it is easy to see why.  Author Elizabeth Penney has created a wonderful location.  Blueberry Cove is the kind of town I’d love to visit.  Iris leads a cast of charming characters that I can’t wait to get to know better as the series progresses.  While the plot got out to a great start, I did feel it bogged down a bit early on in the book.  But once it kicked into high gear, we got some great twists before everything was neatly tied up.  Prepare to be charmed when you pick up this book.

Sowing Malice by Wendy Tyson (Greenhouse Mysteries #6) – 5

When the von Tresslers moved to town, they didn’t make the residents of Winsome, Pennsylvania, very happy.  They’ve mostly kept to themselves except when they were pushing to do things their way.  Now, David von Tressler has died, and most of the mourners are from out of town.  That includes three women that Megan Sawyer runs into at the local nursery.  Shortly after Megan meets them, one of the women disappears.  Then a body turns up at Megan’s farm.  What is going on?

I was thrilled to see another entry in this great series, and I wasn’t disappointed.  The mystery is strong.  It starts quickly and there are plenty of twists and turns before we reach the end.  The characters continue to be wonderful.  We got updates on the series regulars and the new characters were well developed.  There’s nothing here that spoils previous books in the series, so you could jump in here, but to fully appreciate the character growth, I do recommend reading the series in order.  This series is more of a traditional mystery than a lighter cozy, but as long as you know that going in, you’ll be fine.  I definitely recommend this book and the entire series.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette (Ice Cream Parlor Mysteries #1) – 4

Bronwyn “Win” Crewse is ready to reopen Crewse Creamery, the ice cream parlor founded by her grandparents in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, after some renovations.  Unfortunately, opening day sees an early October snow storm and no customers.  However, Win’s day gets even worse when she stumbles upon a dead body after she’s closed the shop for the day.  The man turns out to be someone who crossed paths with Win’s family years ago, and not for the better.  Before Win knows it, the police are looking at her father as the killer.  Now, Win needs to figure out what really happened so she can clear him of a crime she knows he didn’t commit.  Can she do that and get customers into the ice cream parlor?

I love ice cream, so that was a draw to this series, and the ice cream descriptions definitely made me drool.  The delicious sounding recipes at the end will help with that.  The mystery started out a little slowly.  It did eventually get going, and we had some good suspects and twists before Win figured everything out.  The characters were a mixed bag.  I loved Win, and her family is wonderful as well.  I especially appreciated the close relationship she has with both her parents and her grandfather.  Her friends were more caricatures than fully developed characters, and as a result, they amused me at times and annoyed me at others.  I can see them getting more developed as the series goes along, however.  This is still a tasty treat, and I can see it developing into a favorite series for many.

“Q” is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone #17) – 5

Private investigator Kinsey Millhone is feeling a bit restless when Lieutenant Conrad Dolan walks into her new office.  Eighteen years ago, in 1969, he and his friend, Stacey Oliphant, found the body of a young woman.  Both men have pursued the case over their careers with the police, but they haven’t figure out who she was.  They want to take one more look at it, and they want to hire Kinsey to help them with the leg work.  Will the three of them find any new leads in this cold case?

I’m sure it’s no surprise to say they do indeed begin to make some headway as they go back over the case.  I enjoyed being along for the unpredictable ride.  I thought I had things figured out a few times before we reached the real climax.  The characters are as strong as ever.  I loved seeing the growth in Kinsey, especially with a recurring sub-plot popping back up.  There are a couple of other fun sub-plots with the regulars.  Dolan and Oliphant could be a bit annoying at times, but that never lasted for very long.  This book is based on a real-life Jane Doe, and there is information in the back on how Sue Grafton became interested in that case, which is still unsolved best I can tell.  It’s always a pleasure to see a long running series that is still this strong and entertaining after so many volumes.

Quiche of Death by Mary Lee Ashford (Sugar and Spice Mysteries #3) – 4

Sugar Calloway and Dixie Spicer, owners of Super and Spice Cookbooks, are spending a weekend with the Arbor family gathering material for a cookbook to preserve family favorite recipes, some of which have been turned into the frozen meals the family is famous for.  However, the weekend gets off to a rocky start when Theo, the only grandchild, arrives with his fiancée, Collette.  This is the first time Collette has met the family, and things don’t get well.  Then Sugar finds Collette’s body the next morning on her walk.  There is a possibility it was a hunting accident, but could it be murder?

I really have grown to love the characters in this series, so I was happy to be visiting them again here.  Don’t worry, we do get to see all the regulars as the story unfolds.  It was a bit overwhelming meeting the Arbor family all at once, but it wasn’t long before I had these suspects straight in my mind.  Unfortunately, the plot could have been better.  One aspect wasn’t fully developed, and the pacing was uneven.  However, Sugar does uncover some interesting information, and I was engaged the entire time I was reading.  In fact, I was sorry to reach the last page of this quick read.  I enjoy the setting, Iowa, since it is one we don’t get to see very often, at least in the books I read.  Naturally, we get three delicious sounding recipes at the end to enjoy once we are done with the book.  If you are looking for a fast, fun read, this is the book to pick up.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Dead Body Language by Penny Warner (Connor Westphal #1) – 4

Connor Westphal has moved from San Francisco to the town of Flat Skunk in California’s gold country, where she is running the weekly paper she inherited from her grandparents.  When Lacy Penzance comes in to place an ad to track down her long-lost sister, Connor readily agrees.  Then Lacy takes back her ad.  The next morning, Lacy is found dead.  The sheriff doesn’t think it is the suicide it was staged to look like.  Under the guise of writing an article about Lacy, Connor begins to investigate.  Will she find the killer?

What I haven’t mentioned so far is that Connor is deaf.  I found this character trait to be an interesting addition to the mystery, and it really added suspense to the climax.  Connor is an all-around strong character, and I enjoyed getting to meet her friends here as well.  The plot is strong, although I have a couple niggles about who the killer turned out to be.  Even so, I have to admire the strong plotting; I missed several major clues.  I did find there to be a few more four-letter words than I was expecting, and I think there were timeline issues, although I might have added an extra day in there somewhere as I was reading.  I originally read this book close to when it was originally released in 1997, but I never read the rest of the series.  I’m looking forward to fixing that soon.

From Beer to Eternity by Sherry Harris (Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon Mysteries #1) – 4

When Chloe Jackson promised her friend Boone she would help his grandmother, Vivi, if something happened to him, she never expected she’s have to follow through.  But after his untimely death, she heads to Emerald Cove, Florida, to help her with her beach side bar.  Things get complicated when Chloe finds one of the regulars dead behind the bar one morning.  With the police looking at Vivi as a suspect, Chloe has to figure out what really happened.  Can she do it?

Picking up this book, I was immediately transported to the beach, a place I love.  The setting was fantastic, and I would love to visit in person.  The mystery was a little slow to get going as we were introduced to the characters and setting, but once it did, I was fully engaged.  There were plenty of twists along the way.  The climax was a bit rushed, but it still answered all of my questions.  There are several times where Chloe seemed to have more time in her day than normal, and one chapter with a wonky timeline, but none of this impacted the plot in a meaningful way.  Chloe had been working as a children’s librarian before this story started, so I loved the occasional references to children’s books.  She leads a group of fantastic characters, some of whom already feel like friends.  I will definitely be back for the next round.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

A Chorus Lineup by Joelle Charbonneau (Glee Club Mysteries #3) – 4

The high school show choir Paige Marshall has been coaching has been invited to the national finals in Nashville.  She expects that only complication will be the career making audition back home in Chicago she’s been invited to in the middle of the competition.  But that’s before someone sabotages all the team’s costumes and band instruments.  Then a murder takes place.  Can Paige figure out what is going on?

It's been years since I read the first two books in this series, but I was soon back in Paige’s world thanks to reminders in the text about what had happened before.  Some of them do get spoilery, so keep that in mind if you are interested in the series.  Thanks to the references, I was able to fully appreciate the character growth in the regulars we saw here.  The new characters were just as strong.  The plot was good and kept me guessing.  I was surprised by a sub-plot that took over in the final quarter, completely slowing down the momentum.  But we are then flung back into the mystery for a climax that had me turning pages while it successfully wrapped everything up.  It also wrapped up these characters’ arcs, so fans of this series will be able to walk away satisfied with the time we’ve spent with them.

Echo Park by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #12) – 5

Since Harry Bosch joined the open unsolved squad of the LAPD, he has been actively working on one of his own unsolved cases, that of a young woman who vanished thirteen years earlier.  He has a suspect, but it is just based on gut feeling.  Then he gets a surprising call.  A man who was recently arrested with dead bodies in his car has reached a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.  He’s going to confess to several other crimes, including Bosch’s cold case.  Is the confession credible?

I had missed Harry Bosch, so I was thrilled to be back in his presence when I picked up this book.  He’s a fantastic character, and he comes to life once again in these pages.  FBI agent Rachel Walling is also present, and I enjoyed their interactions.  The rest of the characters, returning and new, are just as vivid.  I knew to expect twists, but they still caught me off guard when I reached them.  Yet each one was logical.  This series has more sex, language, and violence than my normal cozies, but they are never gratuitously put into the book but used to tell the story.  I definitely count myself among Michael Connelly’s fans, and I can’t wait until I find the time to visit Harry Bosch again.