Book Review: Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #14)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Action keeps the reader engaged

Cons: Plot weak overall, Bosch at times

The Bottom Line:

Not your average case

Contained in average book

Huge impact on Bosch

Monumental Book but Average Entry

While I have been listening to Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch books in order, I did listen to his Mickey Haller books first.  Since all of Michael Connelly’s books intertwine a little, that meant that I was spoiled for the events of Nine Dragons before I started the book, although I didn’t realize the events would happen here until I started it.  Maybe it was knowing what was coming, but I found this book to be weaker than most of Michael Connelly’s books.

It seems like a normal case.  In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that the South LA bureau is too busy, Harry and his partner would never have taken on the case.  The owner of a convenience store has been shot and killed.  Because the owner is Asian, Bosch quickly calls in the Asian Crime Unit, and the trail seems to lead to the Chinese triad.  But that’s when things get personal, and Bosch finds himself heading to Hong Kong on a personal mission.  Will he succeed?  Will that impact his case at home?

The book started out well.  I knew there would be more to the convenience store murder than there first appeared to be or it wouldn’t be a Harry Bosch book.  The book had some elements we’ve seen before, including Bosch’s frustration with his partner and his supervisor.  Okay, so it was a bit cliché, but it wasn’t too bad.

It was when the book shifted to Hong Kong that things got bogged down.  At this point, the book becomes a ticking clock thriller, and I was willing to go along for the ride.  Some of the clues Bosch follows are thin and a tad convenient, but again, I didn’t mind.  That’s how a thriller works.  My biggest frustration here was with Bosch himself.  He wants to go charging into the unknown, and I understand his feelings, but he keeps overriding or ignoring people who would actually know the situation better than he does.  I kept wanting to scream to him to slow down and listen.  Honestly, his arrogance has begun to be an issue for me in the last few books, so I hope he begins to mature and not assume he knows best as a result of what happens here.

For the final part of the book, the action returns home to Los Angeles.  And here’s where the plot suffers.  I didn’t feel like the twists in the final portion were worthy of all that had happened before.  They felt forced just we could have some twists.  Ironically, I think I would have liked them in other circumstances.  But in this case, I didn’t think they worked.

Of course, even subpar Michael Connelly is still good.  I was engaged by the story, and I do like Bosch, so it was easy to root for him to succeed, even though I knew the outcome.  I couldn’t get to the end of the book fast enough.

And Len Cariou is still doing a good job with the narration of the audio books.  I did find a few of his choices as he was reading a big odd, but they were minor issues overall, and I was able to get lost in the story.

Nine Dragons is an important story in Harry Bosch’s life, so for that reason, fans of the series will want to read it.  I just wish it were stronger overall.

Enjoy the rest of the Harry Bosch mysteries.

August 13th's Book Beginnings and Friday 56

It's Friday the 13th!  But I'm still considering it a good day because it is a Friday.  And I'm kicking it off with Book Beginnings and Friday 56.

Usually, I try to pick one of the books I'm reviewing the following week when I participate, but I had a real struggle this week.  I'm reviewing three books next week, and all three of them had strong openings.  So I let the 56 decide which one I would choose.

And the winner of this contest?  With Vics You Get Eggroll by Diane Vallere.

No, I'm not going to skip ahead of the 56.  I'm starting with the opening:

The flashing red and blue lights remained visible in my rearview mirror far longer than I would have liked.  I accelerated through the twists and turns of Gaston Avenue's residential streets, almost lost control and swing wide when the road cut to the right, but kept going.  If the police officer behind me wanted to catch up with my zippy Alfa Romeo, he was going to have to put pedal to the metal.

That really caught my attention.  I mean, this is the third book in the series, and we are starting with the main character on the run from the cops?  I had to read more.

And now we get to the exchange from page 56:

"Do you want to talk about this things that's going on with you?" I asked.
"Not much to tell.  Not yet, anyway."
"I saw the news."
"That's only half of the story."
"If I thought it was the whole story, I wouldn't have gotten into your car."

Whose car?  What is going on with them?  Is the main character really safe?

My review of this book won't be up until NEXT Friday.  But trust me, it's a great book, so if you want to get it now, go right ahead.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Movie Review: Sweet Revenge - A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Some characters, good mystery

Cons: Some characters annoy more than entertain

The Bottom Line:

Revisit Hannah

Off from earlier movies

Wanted to like more

“You Didn’t Talk to Him, Did You?”  “No!  Of Course, Not.  I Might Have Talked to His Wife.”

I’ve often started that the Murder, She Baked movies were my gateway drug to the Hallmark mystery movies.  I started watching them because I’ve been a longtime fan of the Hannah Swensen book series they are very loosely based on.  I was disappointed when the movies stopped four years ago and the actors went on to other things, so when I heard that Sweet Revenge was in production for the newly retitled Hannah Swensen Mysteries, I was excited.

While it’s been several years for us, it’s only been six months for the characters.  Hannah Swensen (Allison Sweeney) and Mike Kingston (Cameron Mathison) haven’t set a date or done much else toward planning their wedding, much to Hannah’s mother’s dismay.  Delores (Barbara Nivens) wants to start planning the day to be the social event she wants it to be.

But all that gets pushed aside when an early morning trip to the gym leads Hannah to discover the dead body of Ronni Ward, the new fitness instructor at the Heavenly Bodies fitness club Hannah has joined.  Since Hannah found the body, she can’t help but get involved.  Will she figure out what happened?

I have thoughts.  Lots of thoughts.  Honestly, I’m not completely sure where to start.

This movie is very loosely based on the book Cream Puff Murder.  I say loosely based since it takes out most of Mike’s connection to the victim, having Ronni just be a neighbor instead of an ex-girlfriend.  Honestly, it’s been so long since I read the book that I couldn’t tell you who did it in the novel or how the story unfolded.

Having said that, I did enjoy the mystery.  It followed a logical progression including some nice red herrings and detours on the way to the climax.  It could have been a little stronger overall, but this is a minor complaint.

It’s the characters where I have more of an issue.

From what I’d seen, I knew that Hannah’s sister Andrea, who had been played by Lisa Durupt in the earlier movies, wasn’t going to be in this movie.  They wrote her out with a couple of sentence explanation fairly early in the movie.  That left room in the cast for Hannah’s other sister, Michelle, as played by Tess Atkins, to show up.  Since I love Michelle in the books, I was happy about this.

That is until we actually saw Michelle.  This is not the Michelle I love from the books; she’s a bit of a brat here.  I was disappointed with her portrayal and her scenes in general.

Then there’s Delores.  It’s been years since I watch the original movies, so I couldn’t tell you if this is how Delores acted in those films, but she was so overbearing here it was painful.  Granted, she was overbearing in the early books in the series, but she’s softened as the books have gone on.  Maybe I’m just used to that version of Delores now.  A sub-plot of the film, taken from the book, is a launch party for Delores’s debut novel – a Regency romance.  I saw where that storyline was going very early, and I was cringing the entire time.  It was supposed to get a laugh, but it wasn’t funny.  It was so painful, and I had to give Hannah props for not blowing up and yelling at her mother.  She had every right to.

Not that all the character interactions were bad.  Allison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison have excellent chemistry.  While I did find their characters’ engagement rather abrupt at the end of the last movie, they really sold their relationship here.

Fans of the book series know that it is infamous for the ongoing love triangle between Hannah, Mike, and Norman (Gabriel Hogan).  (Trust me, don’t ask us about that.)  Obviously, the movies have resolved that, but Norman was still a character in this movie.  I loved his sub-plot and scenes.  While I am Team Norman in the books, I’m Team Mike in the movies.  Anyway, it was nice to see Norman’s character still a part of the story and still part of the Hannah’s life.  Heck, I think he got more screen time here than he did in some of the earlier movies.

All of these notes on the characters have nothing to do with the actors.  They all do a good job of bringing their characters to life based on the script.

I find all this comparison funny since, as I watched the earlier movies, I was able to separate the book characters from the movie characters.  I said over and over when they were airing that I viewed them as an alternative universe Hannah, and I enjoyed them as a result.  So why I am nitpicking this movie based on the books so much, I’m not sure.  I guess it just felt off compared to how I remember the earlier movies.

Maybe I was expecting too much from Sweet Revenge, or maybe too much time has passed to recapture the magic of the earlier movies.  While I would love to revisit the characters in a future movie, I hope next time, it feels more like the original movies.

Book Review: Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron (Cajun Country Mysteries #7)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters, mystery

Cons: I kissed off all cons

The Bottom Line:

Restaurant comes to town

With opening night murder

Entry fans will love

Celebrity Chef Comes to Call

I say over and over again that one reason I love the series I read is because revisiting them is like checking in with old friends.  The Cajun Country Mysteries from Ellen Byron are another wonderful example of that, and I was soon under the spell of Cajun Kiss of Death.

The series takes place in Pelican, Louisiana, a typical cozy small town.  However, being in Cajun Country gives it a special flair, and we do take a few trips into some of the larger, more famous cities in the state.

The series focuses on Maggie Crozat.  She’s an artist who helps at a museum created at her mother’s family’s old plantation while helping her parents run the bed and breakfast they’ve opened at the plantation owned by her father’s side of the family.  Given her connection to the community, it isn’t any wonder that Maggie is able to go in and ask questions when murder happens.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and the town is buzzing about the new restaurant getting ready to open.  It’s the latest from celebrity chef Phillippe Chanson, and this one will have an emphasis on Cajun food.  However, Phillippe isn’t ingratiating himself with his new community, and several people have fights with him, including Maggie’s friend, JJ, the owner of a popular local restaurant, and Maggie’s own mother.  The night of the restaurant’s official opening is more explosive than anyone planned, and in the aftermath, someone is dead.  Will Maggie figure out what is going on?

I’ve got to admit, I had a couple different thoughts on who the murder victim would be before the body dropped.  Those other potential victims naturally turned into suspects immediately.  There are actually several different storylines going on here, and the result kept me engaged the entire time.  Once again, Maggie’s eye for detail, honed as an artist, provides the clues she needs to solve the crime, something I always appreciate about this series.

As I said earlier, it is the characters that keep me coming back to these books.  We’ve seen relationships grow and change drastically over the course of the series, and I am thrilled to see how that plays out here.  While you could certainly jump in to the series here, what happens will mean so much more if you already know and love the characters, especially what happens in the opening chapter.  And yes, the suspects are just as strong as the series regulars.

As always, we get some recipes at the end.  This time around, we have seven delicious sounding Cajun inspired dishes to try after we’ve finished the book.  Plus, I always enjoy the notes at the end that provide some facts that helped shaped the fiction we just finished reading.

Sadly, this is going to be our last visit to Pelican, at least for the immediate future.  However, fans will love the epilogue we get.  I know I did.

Cajun Kiss of Death is another delightful visit to Maggie and her family and friends.  Fans will delight in the story.  If you haven’t started this series yet, you really are missing out.

Don’t miss the rest of the Cajun Country Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Ornament Review: A World Within #7 - Gingerbread Man in a Gumdrop House - 2021 Hallmark Release

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Cute scene

Cons: Miss details behind the gingerbread man

The Bottom Line:

Grinning gingerbread

Welcomes us to gumdrop house

In cute mini piece

The Gingerbread Man Says, “This Ornament is Goody Goody Gumdrops.”

Over the years, Hallmark released an unofficial series of mini ornaments that featured gumdrops.  While I never bought any of those, this is clearly the inspiration for 2021’s entry in Hallmark’s A World Within mini ornament series.

You see, this year, the main feature of the ornament is a gumdrop.  It’s red, and the ornament is covered with glitter to represent the powdered sugar you might see on the treat.

But this is A World Within.  That means this gumdrop is serving as the home for a gingerbread man.  He’s standing in the doorway waving at us.  And his doorway is outlined in small silver pearls.

This ornament is cute – don’t get me wrong.  However, I do wish it had more to it than it does.  I’ve been in awe of the scenes that have been suggested in some of the others in the series.  While there is some amazing detail on the gingerbread man himself, we can’t see anything behind him.  That would absolutely blow me away here.  As it is, I definitely like this ornament, but it isn’t one of the best of the series.

Being a gumdrop, this ornament has a nice flat base.  You could easily set this out and display it if you so choose.  You’ll find the series marker on the bottom of the ornament as well.  Given the shape, it’s no surprise that the ornament hangs straight as well.

I mentioned at the beginning of the review that this is a mini ornament.  Keep that in mind before you purchase it.  It’s just over an inch tall.  That’s what makes the detail we do have so outstanding.  And I’m probably asking too much to have a scene behind the gingerbread man.

While this gumdrop house might not be the best ornament in the A World Within series, it is still cute.  Fans of the series will be pleased with it.

Here are the rest of the A World Within ornaments.

Book Review: A Scone of Contention by Lucy Burdette (Key West Food Critic Mysteries #11)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters, travel and mystery combined

Cons: Climax is weak

The Bottom Line:

A trip to Scotland

Filled with conflict and murder

Detour fans will like

Food Critic in Scotland

I’ll admit, I was a bit worried when I learned that the eleventh Key West Food Critic Mystery wasn’t going to be in Key West.  But, being a fan of the series, I had to go along on Hayley’s latest adventure.  Turns out, I mostly enjoyed A Scone of Contention.

Hayley and her new husband, Nathan, are finally getting their delayed honeymoon.  Well, sort of.  For their honeymoon, they are going to Scotland to visit Nathan’s sister Vera, and they are taking along their neighbor and friend Miss Gloria.  Oh, and Nathan’s mother has decided this is the perfect time to visit Vera as well.  Sounds like the honeymoon every newlywed dreams of, right?

It turns out that Vera is trying to put the finishing touches on a book about Scotland she’s working on with college friends.  But an attempted poisoning followed by a mysterious death lead Hayley to believe that the visible tension in the group of coauthors is over more than creative differences.  Can she figure out what is really going on?

Vera’s project gives this book a reason to turn into part travelogue while keeping all the suspects involved in the story.  I appreciated the creativity shown and the way that the tourist portions didn’t slow down the plot.  If you’ve always wanted to visit Scotland, this book will only make you want to go more.  Author Lucy Burdette brings Scotland to life like she does Key West.

Speaking of which, Key West is a major character in the series, which was one reason why I was worried about this book.  I wasn’t sure how I would feel about leaving it behind.  Fortunately, we don’t leave it behind completely, and the characters who aren’t part of the trip are still given cameos.  That’s all I’m saying about this, I’ll leave the rest for you to discover.

As much as I found the set up a little hard to believe, I did enjoy having all the characters who are major presences in this book.  Miss Gloria is a hoot, and I definitely would have missed her if she had only gotten a cameo.  Nathan’s mother is an interesting character, and I appreciated seeing her again.  And the new characters got their moments to shine as well.

The plot was interesting and kept me engaged.  My frustration is that the wrap up felt rushed.  Don’t get me wrong, it answered all our questions, but it felt anti-climactic.  I actually felt the same way with the sub-plot.  It was like the author ran out of time.

As always, this book will leave you hungry – which means the recipes at the end are a good thing.  There are recipes for a variety of Scottish foods, including several varieties of scones.

Fans of the series will be glad they, too, can crash Hayley and Nathan’s honeymoon.  A Scone of Contention will definitely leave you hungry for more.

 Don't miss the rest of the Key West Food Critic Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Disney Pin Review: Casey at the Bat - All Star Trading Cards #8 - 2020 Release

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Lesser known player in an obvious choice for the series

Cons: No signature

The Bottom Line:

Baseball gets a pin

Casey takes swing at spotlight

Missing signature

Batter Up!

When I think of sports trading cards, the ones that immediately pop into my mind are baseball cards.  So it makes sense that Disney would include baseball as one of the sports in their All Stars Trading Cards pin series.  And who to represent that sport better than Casey.

Casey tends to be a Disney character best known and remembered by DisNerds.  His story was one of the segments in Make Mine Music, one of the almost forgotten package films from the 1940’s.  It’s also been released as the short “Casey at the Bat.”  In the story, based on a poem, Casey is a talented and popular baseball player who is trying to win a championship for his team.

And the pin captures Casey at the bat.  (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)  He’s at home plate with a bat in his hand getting ready to hit the ball out of the park.  We can’t see the people behind him, but there are suggestions of the crowds in the stands.  As always, we have Baseball in a blue banner at the bottom of the pin, and Casey himself is raised slightly from the rest of the pin.

There is something missing from this pin.  This is the first to not include the character’s signature.  Maybe it’s just my pin and others have the signature on it, but that surprised me when I was looking at the pin.  From the pictures of the pin I’ve seen online, I do believe that none of them have his signature.  My guess is, this is a character they’ve never had in the parks, so they haven’t created a signature for him, and decided to leave it off the pin as a result.

That issue aside, I do enjoy this pin.  It’s nice to see a lesser character get a pin.  As I stated at the beginning, baseball is an obvious choice to be included in this pin series, and choosing to release this pin in August when baseball is the sport most of the country is focusing on was smart.

Even without a signature from our star, I am enjoying this Casey at the Bat pin.

August 7th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Once again, not much on except for the Olympics.  I've mainly been watching diving this week; it's been all I can do to keep up with that.

But here's what I watched outside of the Olympics this week.

Wipeout – I get it, this was a great cross promotion opportunity since John Cena was starring in the new movie.  But some of the Suicide Squad references were making me roll my eyes.  On the other hand, others really were clever and fun.  And it worked, I’m much more interested in seeing the movie now than I was.  Still probably won’t.  Not surprised the fire fighters made it as far as they did.  They proved to be powerhouses all along.

Monsters at Work – They haven’t softened Fritz at all yet.  Bummer.  Can’t they dial him back 10 %?  Overall, a fun episode.  Although those darn accountants, driving the plot of the story.  They do have something about moral, however.  I know the more I’m enjoying work, the better work I do.  Maybe they don’t need to go quite so far as Mike did here, however.

August 6th's Book Beginnings and Friday 56

 Welcome to another Friday.  We're almost there!

Time again for Book Beginnings and Friday 56.

This week's book is A Scone of Contention by Lucy Burdette.

This is book eleven in the Key West Food Critic Mysteries.  As you might have guessed, this one actually takes place mostly in Scotland.  The official release date is this coming Tuesday.

Here's how the book begins:

The phone rang, and I felt a shiver of worry as my guy's name flashed on the screen: Nathan Bransford.

Hayley is the main character.  Does Hayley have anything to worry about with this phone call?  I'll leave that to you to find out while I jump ahead to 56%:

What I wanted to say was "Why in the world are you working with these people, when the tension is thick as frozen Irish butter between all of you?"  I tried to frame it more gently.

I'm starting out the week next week by reviewing this book, so I hope you'll come back on Monday to see what I thought.

In the meantime, as always, have a wonderful weekend.

Book Review: One for the Books by Jenn McKinlay (Library Lover's Mysteries #11)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love, enjoyable story

Cons: Could have used one final polish

The Bottom Line:

Wedding approaching

But murder complicates it

Rewarding for fans

Lindsey and Sully Face Complications on the Way Down the Aisle

It’s funny how this worked out, but Jenn McKinlay had weddings for the main characters in two of her cozy mystery series happen in books that came out within a few months of each other.  And, while Lindsey and Sully technically got married first in One for the Books, I’m just now attending their wedding.  Of course, being a cozy mystery, they also have to deal with a dead body in the week leading up to their wedding.

With a week to go before her wedding, Lindsey suddenly realizes her small wedding is going to be larger than she had planned.  That necessitates a trip to Bell Island, the island where Sully’s family lives and where the couple is planning to get married.  Once there, Lindsey and Sully make a horrific discovery – the body of Steve Briggs, the justice of the peace who is supposed to marry them.  Sully has been friends with Steve since they were both kids, so he takes the death hard.  For Sully’s sake, they start seeing what they can uncover.  Can they solve the crime, find a new officiant, and still get married as planned?

I know, I jumped in a bit more with my plot teaser than I normally would.  Honestly, if you aren’t already reading the series, I don’t recommend you jump in here because this is a book for the fans.  There are so many great moments that won’t mean anything to you if you aren’t already familiar with the characters.  I definitely recommend the series, so I recommend you go back to the beginning and read all of them so you can enjoy this book.

For fans, this will be a rewarding read.  There is so much to love about the character interactions here.  The growth we’ve been seeing in the characters and their relationships continues to pay off here, and I love that.

Unfortunately, the book isn’t as strong as it could have been.  It just felt like it needed one final polish to work out some rough spots.  We get some information after the fact and there’s a timeline issue in an already squishy timeline.  The climax to the mystery seems a bit rushed, too.

But, as I say, there is still much to enjoy.  I wasn’t really buying one particular sub-plot, but I forgave it when I saw how it played out.  The story kept me engrossed the entire time, and the climax was wonderfully captivating.

One thing I especially appreciate about this series was driven home for me as I was reading.  Emma is the chief of police in town, and she discourages Lindsey and Sully from getting involved in the murder – as she should.  However, she also listens to them when they come to her with information.  And she makes it clear at various points that she is doing her job and following the evidence when she takes certain actions.  It’s refreshing compared to a typical cozy series.

The book is set in December, so we not only have a wedding but the beginnings of Christmas as the story unfolds.  While not a heavy Christmas book, I enjoyed the bits of Christmas that did creep into the story.

And, of course, there’s the humor.  It takes quite a bit to get me to laugh out loud at a book, but I was doing that at a couple of scenes here.  I might have teared up at the wedding, too.

There really is much to enjoy here, and fans will be thrilled when they set down One for the Books.  If that isn’t you yet, don’t wait any longer to check out this series.

Need to back up?  Here are the rest of the Library Lover’s Mysteries in order.