Well, I intended to get this post up much sooner today, but that's the kind of day it's been so far. But here is my monthly reading summary for December!
The Index will be updated next month. I've got too much else to do today, and it just isn't going to happen.
As always, the links take you to my full review if you'd like to read more.
All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).
Sally is shocked to learn that her aunt Letta has been
murdered in the restaurant that Letta owns in Santa Cruz. The evidence seems to point to Javier,
Letta’s sous chef. Yet Sally doesn’t
think he’d murder Letta, so she starts digging into Letta’s life. She uncovered some surprising secrets, but
which of them might have gotten Letta murdered?
I really enjoyed this debut.
It got off to a bit of a slow start as Sally dealt with the aftermath of
having a relative die, but this section does help develop her character and
sets up suspects. Once she fully commits
to the investigation things pick up. We
are introduced to several viable suspects.
The story touches on some other issues as well, presenting them in a
well-rounded manner and never forgetting that this is a murder mystery, both of
which I greatly appreciated. The climax
was creative and fun. I’m definitely
looking forward to finding out what happens to Sally next.
Adam Raccoon works every day in the forest with King Aren,
but when the circus comes to town one day, Adam is enchanted and decides to run
away to join the circus. Will that be a
good idea? What will happen if Adam
changes his mind?
This picture book is an obvious retelling of Jesus’s parable
of the prodigal son, but that isn’t really an issue because the fresh settings
gives it fresh life and drive home the point of God’s love and forgiveness
anew. The colorful pictures will help
hold kid’s attention in this fun book.
Emma and Phil are in Massachusetts at the invitation of
mystery writer Gino Costello. He plans
to include ghosts in his next book, and plans to use Emma’s expertise to get
that part right. However, tension
between Gino and Vanessa and the presence of many ghosts looking for Emma’s
help will keep this trip for being restful.
While I don’t read many paranormal cozies, I enjoy this
series because the characters are so much fun.
We only really see Emma, Phil, and Granny here, but they are fantastic,
and the new characters more than make up for any characters you might
miss. The pacing is a little uneven, but
the plot is good and the further I got into the book, the harder it was to put
down.
Note: I received a copy of this book.
It’s time for the annual Food and Wine festival in town, and
this year Violet Waverly is adding a Poe-try reading at Charming Books to the
week’s line up. However, when one of the
readers is found dead at the bottom of the shop’s steep stairs during the
event, things take a tragic turn. The
police quickly decide it was murder and start looking at Violet’s friend
Sadie. An Violet prove her friend is
innocent?
I absolutely love the bookstore in this series, a shop where
the perfect book finds you. That’s
really the only bit of magic in the series, and Violet is left to use old
fashion methods to sift through clues and motives to find the killer. I did feel some of the characters could be
stronger, but the mystery is strong with plenty of red herrings before things
fall into place at the end.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book.
A string of fires in the village of Winslow Falls, New
Hampshire, turns deadly when the body of Beulah Price is found in the town’s
museum after it had burned. Volunteer
fire chief Gwen Fifield finds herself teaming up with Hugh Larsen, the state’s
arson investigator to figure out what is going on. The locals are ready to point the finger at
the immigrant family in town, but Gwen suspects someone else is behind the crimes. Can she find out what is going on?
Having read Jessie’s other books, I had to go back and read
her debut. While it was good, it needed
more polish. Some of the characters
tended to blend together, and I was really bothered by how all the villagers but
Gwen treated the immigrant family. One
scene introduces a sub-plot that is left hanging as well. However, the mystery itself was good and kept
me turning pages. My irritants were all
minor, and overall I did enjoy this book.
The Yuletide Inn is a cornerstone of Rudolph, New York,
offering a nice place to stay and nice restaurant for the many people who come
to take part in the Christmas festivities that the town hosts all year
long. When the owner has a heart attack
just a couple weeks before Christmas, his son Gord comes to town to help run
things, but he immediately starts making plans for big changes – changes that
could hurt the town. Merry is concerned
about what this will do to her own shop, her friends, and family. But when Gord is killed, she has a new
concern – find the killer before someone she loves his arrested for the crime.
I was in the mood for a Christmas cozy, and this one
delivered in spades. Being set in
December certainly helped. The author
does a good job of setting up suspects and motives before the murder happens,
but I did feel the book stalled out a bit in the middle as events pushed actual
investigating to the background. The
characters are wonderful and charming once again.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book in hopes I would review
it.
It’s Christmas time again in Lake Eden, but trouble is
brewing for Lisa, Hannah’s partner at The Cookie Jar. Her husband, Herb, is working late every
night, and his new assistant is Phyllis, his high school girlfriend. Then Phyllis is cast as Mrs. Claus opposite
Herb in the community play. Naturally,
when Phyllis shows up murdered, Lisa and Herb are both suspects, and Hannah
must work hard to clear their names.
Those familiar with the series will enjoy a chance to check
in with the gang in this Christmas novella.
The book is short, just 200 pages, including a dozen recipes, and the
result is that some characters are reduced to cameos or even just
mentions. The story touches all the
usual bases, but it is fun and works its way to a logical climax. A few scenes take their cue from A Christmas
Carol, but being a fan of that book I enjoyed them although they are certainly
different for the series. Most
interesting to me, this was a flashback, ignoring the events of the last couple
of books, and a major character from those books only appears in the wrap
around prologue and epilogue.
The Athena College Library has a new director, and Oscar
Reilly seems determined to drive all the staff away. The heads of the library’s departments hate
him and Charlie’s friend Melba is ready to quit. In fact, Charlie’s issue, that Oscar is
claiming allergies as a reason that Charlie can’t bring his cat Diesel to work
anymore, seems minor. It’s not terribly
surprising when Oscar turns up dead, but who actually killed him?
Those who like this series will love this installment. The characters are as delightful as ever, and
we get some advancement on series plot threads.
The murder is set up well with good suspects and motives that Charlie
has to work his way through until we reach the logical solution. This is my favorite to date in the series.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book in hopes I would review
it.
Carol Childs is making a career change to reporter for a talk
radio station in Los Angeles, and she jumps on any scoop she can get. Which is why she uses her relationship with
her neighbor Samantha to get inside scoop on the death of Sam’s aunt Pepper
Millhouse, one of Hollywood’s top agents.
However, when what appeared to be an accident looks like murder, Carol
begins to wonder if she is in over her head.
Can she use her insider status to uncover the truth?
I really enjoyed this debut.
It starts strong and never lags as we go from one twist to another until
we reach the ending. Along the way, we
get to know the cast of characters, all of whom come across as developed
here. I did find one character, a
psychic, more annoying than entertaining.
Additionally, the book had several handfuls of typos scattered throughout
the book, which annoyed me. Still, both
of these were minor, and I will be reading about Carol’s further adventures
soon.
The Poet by Michael Connelly (Jack McEvoy #1) – 4
Crime reporter Jack McEnvoy’s world is turned upside down
when his twin brother Sean, a cop, commits suicide. But when Jack goes to write a story on it, he
discovers a disturbing pattern that will take him cross country and ultimately
to the FBI. But will he learn the truth
about what happened to his brother?
This book is praised as one of Connelly’s best, and I can
see why. This book introduces an entire
cast of characters, and they are all strong.
The plot is ingenious, and I was on board for all the twists. Unfortunately, it is 20 years old, and the
parts of the book that attempt to profile the villain and the scenes that are
written from the villains point of view felt clichéd to me. Maybe it is because it has been done so often
since this book. Whatever the reason, I
found this the only flaw in an otherwise outstanding book.
Iced Under by Barbara Ross (Maine Clambake Mysteries #5) – 5
It’s a cold, quiet February in Busman’s Harbor until Julia’s
mom gets a mysterious package in the mail.
Inside is a necklace, a family heirloom worth seven figures, that
disappeared in the 1920’s. What happened
to it all those years ago? And who sent
it today?
This is definitely a different plot for a cozy, but I really
loved it. Yes, there is a murder, but it
comes in later and the mystery of tracking down family and the story behind the
necklace takes center stage. Honestly, I
like the break from the familiar formula.
The characters are fun as always, especially the new ones. And I might have cried (in a good way)
through the last couple of chapters.
Fans of the series will appreciate this one best, but they will love it.
Note: I received an ARC of this book.
Stan’s mother is engaged to Frog Ledge’s new mayor, and the
pair are throwing a big engagement party.
However, the groom to be isn’t there.
Instead, Stan is running into several people she is less than happy to
see again from her days in the corporate world, including her ex-boyfriend. The night gets worse when a body is found
upstairs. The police quickly make an
arrest, but something seems off. Are
they trying to cover something up?
Since the last book took place out of town, it was wonderful
to be back in Frog Ledge and spending time with our favorite characters. The author has really built a sense of
community, and I love how she is growing Stan, the others characters, and their
relationships. The downside of that is
the murder moves slowly in the beginning as the sub-plots that help with the
community building are front and center.
But the mystery takes center stage in the second half, offering us
several viable suspects and some great twists and surprises.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
