September 2022's Reading Summary

And just like that the year is three quarters over.  Hard to believe the year is flying by.  I say this at the beginning of every month, don't I?  But it does seem to get faster every month.  Anyway, it's time for a reading summary, wouldn't you say?  Let's take a look at what all I read in September.

Sadly, I ran out of time to update the index again this month.  I'll make a point of updating it next month.

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

 

Union Jacked by Diane Vallere (Samantha Kidd #9) – 4

A British investment firm has bought out Travada, the local department store were Samantha Kidd works as a buyer.  She’s struggling to match what she thinks the store should be selling with her new directives.  Meanwhile, many of the employees are on strike, and Samantha is planning a retirement party for Detective Loncar.  When Detective Loncar stops by the store on day, he’s on sight when someone shoots a gun.  He and the leader of the strike are both shot.  Who was the target?  Can Samantha figure out what is going on?

Parts of the premise of this book stretch credibility a bit, but I was quickly caught up in the story and didn’t care.  With everything happening, the story was fast paced and kept me engaged right up to the ending.  The ending took a bit of thinking on my end, but it does make sense.  What doesn’t make the sense is the timelines.  It’s not anything that impacts the story, but Samantha can’t keep the days of the story straight or when some of her last adventures happened in relation to each other.  On the other hand, I still enjoyed my time in the characters, new and old, and appreciated the growth we saw in Samantha.  The humor is still sharp as well; I was grinning when I wasn’t laughing.  Fans of the series will enjoy this adventure for sure.

 

Murder in the Piazza by Jen Collins Moore (Maggie White Mysteries #1) – 4

Maggie White’s husband has been sent to Rome for two years for his job, and she’s gone along with him.  After a few months of living the life of leisure, she has found a job working for Masterpiece Tours, a specialty tour company that offers painting lessons and tours of some of the museums and famous locations in the city.  She’s barely started and she’s already fantasizing about ways to kill her boss, Lord Phillip, an English expat.  However, she is shocked to find him shot in his office one evening.  The police don’t seem that interested in figuring out what happened, so Maggie starts investigating.  Can she figure out what is going on?

This was a good travel themed mystery.  It brought Rome to life in such a way that I felt I was there with Maggie.  Unfortunately, the pacing of the mystery was off early on, but I did appreciate how everything came together at the end.  We met many of the characters in a group setting, but they became distinct people as the story progressed, so it wasn’t really an issue.  If you are looking for a virtual visit to Rome with a side of murder, this is the book for you.

 

Death in the Aegean by M. A. Monnin (Intrepid Traveler Mystery #1) – 5

Stefanie Adams is finally returning to Greece on vacation.  Her trip is timed with the debut of the gold statue of the Akrotiri Snake Goddess, a new archeological find.  She is on hand for its first viewing, but that event might turn out to be its last viewing since someone steals it that night.  The next day, Stefanie finds the dead body of a woman she’d met the day before.  With her reputation, not to mention her freedom, on the line as the police think she is tied into both of these events, Stefanie begins investigating to find out what is really happening.  The only person she might be able to trust is, Thomas, a German traveler she met along the way, but a man with secrets of his own.  Will she clear her name of not one but two crimes?

This is a fun debut.  It’s more of a caper than a traditional mystery.  The action is fast and never lets up.  Capers can seem a bit chaotic to me as a genre, and that’s the case here, but all our questions are answered by the time we get to the climax.  Stefanie and Thomas are wonderful main characters we can’t help but root for.  The rest of the cast isn’t quite as well developed, but they work for their place in the story.  The action takes place mostly on Crete, and the book does a good job of letting us play armchair tourist without slowing the action down.  I’m already booking my next trip with Stefanie.

 

Murder at Keyhaven Castle by Clara McKenna (Stella and Lyndy Mysteries #3) – 5

The wedding of American heiress Stella Kendrick to Viscount “Lyndy” Lyndhurst is just days away, and they can’t wait.  A murder in a nearby town doesn’t seem like it could interfere, until they learn the man was ranting about killing someone before he died and he had a copy of the newspaper’s announcement of their wedding in his pocket.  When another murder happens during an outing to the ruins of Keyhaven Castle, it threatens their wedding.  Are the two deaths related?  Will Stella and Lyndy be able to get married?

This is another case where you could jump in here, but the events and the characters’ reactions to them will make more sense if you’ve read the first two books in the series.  The story walks a fine balance between taking the events of the story seriously and being too dark, and I appreciated how that was handled.  I did figure out a few things early on, but there was so much happening, it didn’t really ruin the story for me.  Part of that is because of the strong romance in the series – I think I was rooting for Stella and Lyndy to get married as much as they were.  Obviously, I love them, and they continue to lead a great cast of characters.  Again, the world of 1905 was brought to life wonderfully.  If you are a fan of this series, you’ll definitely enjoy this book.  If you are new, I suggest you meet Stella and Lyndy soon.

 

Buttercream Betrayal by Kim Davis (Cupcake Caterer Mysteries #5) – 4

In an attempt to train her woefully misbehaving dogs, Emory Martinez has signed them up for a dog obedience class run by Shawn Parker.  The class has gotten rave reviews online, but Emory finds that it has done little for her two dogs, as evidenced by their misbehavior at the graduation potluck.  It’s also at this potluck that Emory begins to hear gripes and grumblings not only about Shawn but his mother, Eloise, who is President of the condo association where most of Emory’s fellow students live.  A few hours later, Emory stumbles over the dead body of Eloise in the condo’s community center.  With the rumors that Emory has heard, can she sort out who killed Eloise?

I enjoy this series, so it was wonderful to see what Emory and the rest of the cast is up to.  Once again, they were a delight to spend time with.  The suspects could have been a little stronger, but they worked for their role in the story.  The pacing of the plot could have been a little better as well, but it did keep me engaged as I was reading.  I also enjoy the Southern California setting of the stories.  The book uses its September setting to introduce lots of apple themed treats, and the recipes at the end made me drool.  By necessity, this book spoils some past events, so if you want to read them unspoiled, I recommend you go back to the beginning.  As a fan of the series, that would be my recommendation anyway.  Fans will be anxious to dive into this book, and they’ll be well rewarded.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

Under Lock and Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian (Secret Staircase Mysteries #1) – 4

After her career as a magician in Las Vegas ended in a near fatal accident, Tempest Raj has returned home to her family.  That includes time with her father’s construction business, which creates hidden rooms, secret staircases, etc., for his clients.  Tempest is on hand at his newest job site when they discover a room that appears to have been sealed for decades.  However, when they open it, a body falls out, and Tempest recognizes the victim.  So, how did the victim get there?  And who killed her?

This series is going to focus on locked-room mysteries, and it starts out with a good one.  I enjoyed the dual puzzles of who did it and how the body got into the locked room.  The beginning of the book was a little rough.  While we don’t get a complete data dump with back story, there is a lot of material here, and the constant teasing of it was almost as bad.  Still, as the book progressed, it got better, and the parts that aren’t completely resolved here will make great fodder for future books.  Tempest is a great main character, and I quickly grew to love her family and friends, including a character imported from another of this author’s series.  The magic and hidden room aspect gave this book a bit of a middle grade mystery vibe, which I completely loved.  I will definitely be back to find out what happens to Tempest next.

 

Deadly Director’s Cut by Vicki Delany (Catskill Summer Resort Mysteries #2) – 5

Hollywood has come to Haggerman’s Catskills Resort as famed director Elias Theropodous has decided to use it for some of the outdoor scenes for his new movie.  Elizabeth Grady, the resort’s manager, is thrilled with the money, but not the disruptions to life at the resort, especially with Elias’s demands.  However, when he dies after a night of eating and drinking at the resort, Elizabeth quickly realizes she has to find the killer in order to save the resort’s reputation.  Can she do it?

Hollywood coming to town is a familiar trope, especially in cozies, but authors continue to use it because it works.  That’s certainly the case here.  The plot kept me engaged, sometimes reading a little later than I had planned, and I loved how the climax played out, although there is a minor continuity error with the climax.  It doesn’t impact who the killer is.  I also appreciated how the sub-plots some of the regulars had tie in with this main story yet also felt like natural continuations of their arcs from the first book.  Naturally, the new characters are strong as well.  I enjoyed the setting; I was ready to book a vacation at the resort myself.  I also appreciated the way the 1950’s setting came to life, with little bits of everyday life infusing every page.  If you are looking for a fun historical cozy, look no further than this book.

 

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables #1) – 3

Orphan Anne Shirley is thrilled when she is sent to live with the Cuthbert siblings, Matthew and Marilla.  The problem is, they were looking for an orphan boy, someone who could help Matthew around the farm.  Still, they begin to fall for Anne and agree to let her stay.  This book follows her adventures of the next five years as she grows to become a sixteen-year-old.  What will happen over that time?

I’ve never read this well-loved classic, and I decided it was time to fix that.  It came out in 1908, so some of the language is dated, although there is nothing offensive here.  I think I needed to be a pre-teen girl to fully enjoy this book.  There were certainly parts I did enjoy, but overall, I found the book more episodic than a real novel.  That tends to happen to me when a novel covers such a span of time.  Also, the events in the second half of the book got to be too much for me.  Having said that, I can see the appeal.  The characters definitely grew on me, and I laughed at various events along the way.  I’m curious enough about what happens next that I might go on with the series.

 

Seams Like Murder by Dorothy Howell (Sewing Studio Mysteries #1) – 4

When her life in Los Angeles falls apart, Abbey Chandler heads up the California coast to the town of Hideaway Grove where she spent many happy summers as a child visiting her aunt.  Abbey’s hardly arrived before she catches a glimpse of a hit and run behind her aunt’s bakery.  Now, instead of trying to figure out what to do with her life, Abbey is trying to figure out who killed the town’s new librarian.  Everyone seemed to love the victim.  Who wanted her dead?

This book gets out to a quick start, but then the pacing becomes uneven.  There is lots of set up for future books in the series here.  I enjoyed seeing Abbey reconnect with old friends and making new ones as well as discovering a love of sewing, but it did slow things down.  Don’t misunderstand, there is a good mystery here, and I like how things came together at the end.  I also really liked most of the characters, although the sheriff was shockingly clueless.  There are many scenes in the aunt’s bakery that will have you drooling, but this is a crafting cozy series, so our extra is a guide to creating pillowcase dresses.  If you are looking for a promising new series, this is one to check out.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

Mrs. Claus and the Evil Elves by Liz Ireland (Mrs. Claus Mysteries #3) - 5

April Claus is thrilled that, for her second Christmas as Mrs. Claus, she is able to host her friend Claire at the North Pole. However, on top of the normal holiday chaos, there are new challenges. The reindeer are on strike. Someone scares the crowd at the annual ice sculpture contest with a drone-deer. And April’s friend Jupiter is worried about her boyfriend. Can April juggle all of this with her normal Mrs. Claus duties? 

Obviously, there is quite a lot happening here. It’s all balanced perfectly with plenty of action and twists in the mystery to keep us engaged the entire time. April leads a cast of charming characters, and I enjoyed the growth in some relationships. The fantasy setting is wonderfully realized. I love getting lost in this world, and I can only imagine how much fun it would be to read this in December. Then there’s the humor. Claire’s reactions to some of the things she sees are priceless, and there are other great moments, too. Yet the more serious themes and elements work as well. If you have yet to start this series, you are in for a treat. Fans will find the Christmas spirit here no matter when they pick up the book. 

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.