Here it is the end of August already. Must be time for my reading summary for the month. No update to the index this month. Too much else going on and my computer is acting up.
The links will take you to my full review.
All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).
The Last Mrs. Summers by Rhys Bower (Royal
Spyness #14) – 4
It’s fall 1935, and Lady Georgiana O’Mara is back from her
honeymoon and settling into her new married life until Darcy is called away on another
of his assignments. Suddenly at loose
ends, Georgie jumps at a chance to join her friend Belinda is looking at the
cottage she just inherited in Cornwall.
However, the cottage turns out to be more of a shack. The friends are deciding what to do when they
run into Rose, a childhood friend of Belinda’s.
Rose announces she is now the mistress of one of the nearby mansions,
and insists that Georgie and Belinda stay with her. However, something is off about life at the
mansion. Will Georgie figure out what is
going on before tragedy strikes?
It's always fun to slip back into Georgie’s world, and I
picked up this book with anticipation.
As usual, the book opens with updates on Georgie’s various friends and
family, and I enjoy finding out how life is going for them. Once the story gets going, we are treated to
a mystery filled with confusing happenings and plenty of atmosphere. The plot is minimally inspired by the classic
Rebecca, and it uses the gothic elements well. I’m not familiar with Rebecca, but not
picking up on nods to that book didn’t diminish my enjoyment at all. The new characters we meet along the way help
pull us into the book. Naturally,
everything makes sense once Georgie figures it all out. When you pick up this book, be prepared to be
swept back in time. Fans of the series
will be thrilled to catch up with Georgie’s latest adventures.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Killer Chardonnay by Kate Lansing (Colorado
Wine Mysteries #1) – 5
Parker Valentine’s dream is coming true today with the
opening of Vino Valentine in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. However, her joy turns to worry when renowned
local food and wine blogger Gaskel Brown shows up. He is notoriously hard to please, and his
blog can make or break local restaurants.
After sampling her chardonnay, Gaskel dies, and the police are quick to
label it poison. Everyone is blaming
Parker for the crime, and no one is coming to her store for fear they will be
next. In order to save her dream, she
has to find the killer. Can she do it?
Since I don’t drink wine, I almost passed on this debut, but
I’m glad I picked it up. The book starts
quickly, introducing us to characters while also setting the murder in
motion. The pace continues to be strong
with plenty of secrets and motives before we reach the climax, where everything
fell into place. All the characters were
also fantastic, with some good growth thanks to the subplots. The book is written in first person present
tense, which is a bit unusual, but I quickly got used to it as I read. There are a handful of four-letter words, but
they are worth noting mostly in passing.
If the food descriptions make your mouth water, you’ll welcome the three
recipes and wine pairings at the end.
This book was aged to perfection, and I’m already looking forward to
Parker’s next case.
The Key Lime Crime by Lucy Burdette (Key West
Food Critic Mysteries #10) – 4
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is proving to be
very busy for Hayley Snow. In addition
to her regular food related articles for local magazine Key Zest, she is
also covering the key lime pie contest, which is filled with more tension than
Hayley expected. Meanwhile, her new
husband, cop Nathan Bransford, is working overtime due to all the visitors on
the island for the holiday. So when
Nathan’s mother decides to come visit, Hayley finds herself playing hostess for
a woman she’s never met before. Even
worse, the pair stumble upon one of the pie contestants dead. Has the contest turned deadly? Or is there another motive for murder?
I’m always happy to escape to Key West via the pages of this
series, although after reading this I may skip the New Year’s time period when
I get to visit in real life. It sounded
a little too crowded for me. Still, I
loved getting to catch up with the characters, who are always a delight. We got to know one of the regulars much
better here, which I really appreciated.
The mystery itself could have been stronger, although we did have some
good suspects and I was engaged and kept guessing until the end. Plan ahead before you pick up this book – I
had to buy a key lime pie I was craving it so much. There isn’t a recipe for the pie at the end
(we’ve gotten one in an earlier book), although one of the eight recipes is for
a delicious sounding key lime parfait.
This is another pleasant trip to Key West that will please the series’
fans.
NOTE: I received and ARC of this book.
Murder on Sisters’ Row
by Victoria Thompson (Gaslight Mysteries #13) – 5
Midwife Sarah Brandt’s latest client
is a woman in an elegant house. However,
over the course of her labor, Amy reveals that she is being held against her
will by a madam. Sarah enlists some
others to help her free Amy and her baby only for someone to turn up dead. With Frank Malloy assigned to the case, the
duo finds themselves investigating another intriguing mystery. Can they figure out what happened?
While the book delves into a
serious subject, it does it without forcing the details on us, something I
appreciated as I read. Instead it does
an excellent job of bringing life in 1890’s New York City to life once again
and shining the light on another part of society during the time. I love Sarah, Frank, and the rest of the
gang. While all the characters shine,
there isn’t any movement in the ongoing storylines, so you could jump in here
without being too lost. The new
characters represent a wide part of society, and they are all brought to life
well. The plot kept me engaged. I was a step or two ahead of Sarah and Frank
at times, at others I was heading in the wrong direction. Everything comes together for a page turning
climax. I’m doing my best to catch up on
this series. If you are as behind as I
am, you’ll be delighted with this entry in the series.
The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan – 4
Rachel North is a non-traditional law student at 36, but she
plans to join her husband, Jack Kirkland, in his practice as of one Boston’s
premier defense lawyers once she graduates.
But first she has to survive a summer internship with ADA Martha
Gardiner. To say that Jack and Martha
hate each other is putting it mildly, but Rachel thinks it will a good
opportunity for opposition research.
When Martha takes a personal interest in Rachel, Rachel is
flattered. But can she navigate the two
lawyers now in her life? Or is she being
played?
This book not only switches between the present and when
Rachel first met Jack and Martha six years ago, but it also incorporates all
three character’s viewpoints. Don’t
worry, it all flows smoothly, and you can always tell who and when you are
currently learning about. I will admit I
had a bit of a different idea what a book called The Murder List might
be about, but I quickly got hooked on the story being told here. This is a suspense novel, with plenty of
twists and surprises along the way. My
biggest struggle was the characters.
This really is Rachel, Jack, and Martha’s story, and all three are
deeply flawed. I found it hard to root
for them at various points in the story; I usually like to have at least one
character I can root for. Overall, I did
enjoy this book and I’m glad I read it.
Bad News Travels Fast by Gar Anthony Haywood
(Joe and Dottie Loudermilk #2) – 5
When Joe and Dottie Loudermilk sold everything to enjoy
their retirement on the road, one advantage was that it would make it hard for
their kids to drag them into difficult situations. However, when they arrive in Washington DC,
Dottie arranges for them to have dinner with their son Eddie. The next morning, Eddie is arrested for
killing his former roommate. The murder
weapon is Eddie’s knife, and the victim was killed after Eddie had a very
public fight with him. Despite all of
this, Joe and Dottie believe Eddie when he claims to be innocent. But can they prove it?
I’m glad I got to revisit these characters this year because
this was a delightful mystery. It was a
fast read, but there wasn’t a wasted word as Joe and Dottie track down one lead
after another. The twists and turns kept
me engaged the entire way through. Joe’s
temper is toned down a bit from the first book, and Dottie is a strong narrator
of the events. The rest of the cast is
just as sharp. While travel is a theme
of the series, the little bit of sightseeing that Joe and Dottie do always also
serves the plot. I could have done
without the smattering of foul language scattered throughout the book, but that
is worth nothing mainly in passing.
Everything is mixed together with a dash of humor that I enjoyed. If you’ve missed this book, I’ve got great news
– you’ll enjoy it.
The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell
(Trixie Belden #2) – 5
Jim's run off, and it's up to Trixie and Honey to find him.
But trailer thieves and a family on the run complicate things. A very fun book
with great characters. And it includes one of my all time favorite scenes in
the series, too.
Digging Up the Remains by Julia Henry (Garden
Squad Mysteries #3) – 4
Fall has arrived in Goosebush, Massachusetts, and Lilly
Jayne is busy with the two weekend fall festival. Kicking things off is a 10K through
town. Lilly and her friends Delia and
Roddy are making sure the path is clear before the race starts when the find
the body of reporter Tyler Crane partially buried in a pile of leaves. Tyler hasn’t been in town long, but he’s made
several people upset as he has dug to uncover family secrets. He was teasing new stories coming soon. Was one of those the reason he was murdered?
I really enjoyed getting to visit these characters
again. Lilly leads a large and diverse cast
of characters, and they are all charming.
They are also distinct, so it is easy to keep them all straight. The book reintroduces us to the characters
and town while introducing Tyler and the suspects. The pacing is a bit off early on, but the
time is being put to good use as it sets up the mystery. Once Tyler is found dead, we are off with
suspects as strong as the main characters and many secrets for Lilly and the
others to uncover before we reach the climax.
Meanwhile, we get some advancement in storylines introduced in earlier
books. I suspect we’ve got some seeds
that will bloom in future books here as well.
I wish I could garden as well as the characters in this series, but I
can dream while I read these fun mysteries.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Cat Me If You Can by Miranda James (Cat in the
Stacks #13) – 4
Charlie Harris, his fiancée, and his cat, Diesel, are
heading to Asheville, North Carolina for a week of tourism and talking about
favorite mystery authors with the members of the Athena Public Library mystery
group. Unfortunately, an outside member
has crashed the trip and picks a fight with several members. When he turns up dead the next morning, Charlie
feels the obvious suspect couldn’t have done it. Can he figure out what really happened?
Pulling off a vacation mystery in a series can be
tricky. In this case, it works well
since we have several of the supporting players on the trip and we get updates
from some of the others. Of course, the
series really belongs to Charlie and Diesel, and we get plenty of both, but I
was happy to see more of Helen Louise than usual, and I enjoyed spending time
with the other regulars on the trip.
Unfortunately, some of the suspects could have been stronger, but that
didn’t stop me from getting involved in the mystery. As usual, the tension is high and the twists
are plentiful. While the climax does
answer all our questions, I felt a few lines made it more preachy than it
needed to be. Still, this is a strong
book that fans of the series will find hard to put down.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
What Happened at Midnight by Franklin W. Dixon
(Hardy Boys #10) – 4
Frank and Joe Hardy are shocked when they get the new
request from their father, famed detective Fenton Hardy. He wants them to break into a house and steal
something. Of course, it is to keep an
invention for his client safe. However,
doing that puts the boys on the radar of a gang of smugglers. Will they be able to protect the invention
and round up the smugglers?
I remember as a kid the title really intriguing me. Yes, several scenes take place at midnight,
but the title isn’t as relevant to the story as it might be. That hardly matters since the story is so
action packed that it is hard to put it down.
Coincidence rules quite a bit, and the characters are thin. Elements are also very dated today. So in other words, it’s a typical Hardy Boys
book. Still, I take that into account
when I pick up one of these books, and I enjoy the nostalgia I get from revisiting
these old friends.
The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews
(Meg Langslow #27) – 5
Meg Langslow is spending the summer at her grandmother’s
craft center helping with the Renaissance Faire Cordelia is hosting on weekends
as Cordelia’s second in command as well as doing blacksmithing
demonstrations. Her husband, Michael, is
in charge of the actors in “The Game,” which is the code for the improvised
scenes he and the rest are doing during the day about who will inherit a
fictional kingdom. They are mostly
having fun with it, but Terence, one of the other actors, is making life
difficult for everyone. Meg isn’t super
surprised when he is found dead one morning, but as she goes about her day, she
keeps picking up information related to the murder. Will she solve it?
This entry is the series at the top of its game. The murder may take place a little later than
some books, but the time is well spent setting up the suspects and
motives. I was hooked before the body
dropped and happily followed the investigation after it happened. Everything is wrapped up in a climax that has
us on the edge of our seats and makes us laugh.
The characters are at their most charming – funny without being
annoying. I laughed many times as the
pages flew by. All the characters are
great, and I found myself tearing up at some of the development we got thanks
to some strong sub-plots. Since Meg is a
blacksmith (not that we see her doing it much in the series), I’m surprised we
haven’t been to a Renaissance Fair with her before, but this entry was well
worth the wait.
