Welcome to June! Let's start the month by looking back at what I read in May. I keep saying I don't feel like I'm reading that much more than normal, but this list proves otherwise.
After several months, I missed updating
the index this month. Next month!
All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great). The links take you to my full review.
Nancy and her friends Bess and George are returning from a
shopping trip when they meet Joanne on the train. She is heading to try to find a job to help
her grandmother save her farm. The four
quickly become friends, and Nancy gets involved in helping her find a job. However, several strange things happen to them
along the way. Can Nancy figure out what
is going on now?
When I pick up a Nancy Drew book, I expect coincidence to
drive the plot a little. Here, there was
so much of it early on that it was hard to overlook it. Fortunately, that lessened as the story moved
forward. The story was still action
packed and kept my attention. The
characters are thin as always, but I still enjoyed spending some time with them
again. Kids will probably more easily
overlook both of these things. They
might get confused by a few dated references, however, including using an old,
now unacceptable, term for a minority.
Still, I suspect they will enjoy this page turning story.
It’s Assembly Day, a day set aside near the end of the
school year when professional women from Ohio come to talk about their
careers. Jazz winds up as a last-minute
replacement, so she sets up in the unused fourth floor, hiding a few bones for
Gus, a friend’s cadaver dog, to find during a demonstration. However, Gus goes to an unused closet. Sure enough, Jazz opens it to find a
skeleton. Things left with the body make
it easy enough to identify the victim as Bernadette Quinn, a teacher who
resigned abruptly 3 years ago. Obviously,
she didn’t really resign, but what happened all those years ago?
After enjoying the first in this series, I couldn’t wait to
get back and visit Jazz again. I wasn’t
disappointed at all. The book is so well
written I was engrossed from page one.
Jazz’s world and the characters all come to vivid life, and the animals
are fun. The plot gives us several good
suspects and clues that are confusing until Jazz pieces it all together at the
end. If you are familiar with some of
Kylie Logan’s lighter cozies, know that this is a few shades grayer, falling
more in the traditional realm instead of being a pure cozy. However, that is no reason to skip this
book. I was so engrossed in this book, I
read almost two thirds of it in one day instead of saving some for the next day
like I normally would. Now comes the
long wait for the next book in the series.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Paramedic Zoe Chambers is shocked to hear that two of her
co-workers were ambushed when out on a call.
One of them is dead, and the other is in critical condition. The sniper got away without a trace, leaving
Zoe and police chief Pete Adams scrambling to understand what is going on. Was it a random attack? Or was someone out to settle a score with
these two paramedics? Will the shooter be
caught before Zoe goes back on duty?
If you aren’t familiar with this series, you should probably
back up to the earlier books first. This
one contains some spoilers to earlier books as Zoe deals with the aftermath of
events from them. Once you get here,
you’ll b hooked on this entry. The story
is fast moving and, because of the personal nature of the plot, it becomes a
thriller the further we go into the book.
That personal nature also makes it a bit more somber. In fact, I classify this series as a
traditional mystery because of that, as well as the smattering of foul language
and violence we don’t see in the cozies I typically read. The characters are sharp, both the main
characters and supporting characters.
Zoe and Pete spend almost equal time as our point of view characters,
and the transitions are always easy to follow.
This technique is used perfectly to ramp up the suspense as we neared
the climax. This is another excellent
book in a fantastic series.
Today is Brody Steele’s first day running The Red Herring, a
mystery bookstore in Pleasant Valley, Maine.
However, he’s not a reader. So
what is he doing here? It’s a cover
since Brody has just entered the Witness Protection Program after turning on
his former motorcycle gang. Brody is
sure he will find his new life too quiet.
However, as he tries to settle into town, he begins to find questions. Is there danger lurking just below the
surface?
I’m always looking for something different, so I was
intrigued by the premise of this book when I first heard about it. It took a while for the story to get going,
but once Brody started to realize something was wrong, I was hooked all the way
until the climax. I enjoyed the
character growth we saw in Brody, and I liked several other characters as
well. I did think the writing could be a
bit more polished. I also found a few
things about the Witness Protection Program, as described here, a little hard
to swallow. Then again, I haven’t done
any research on it and instead learned everything I know about it from the TV
show In Plain Sight, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the story, which
I most certainly did. Despite the series
name and book title, we do get more violence than in a typical cozy. Overall, I’m glad I gave the book a chance,
and I’m curious to see where the series will go from here.
When Conor Knighton’s fiancée left him, he wasn’t sure quite
what to do until he saw a promotion talking about the National Park’s 100th
anniversary. Soon, he was making plans
to visit all of the official National Parks in 2016, reporting on some of them
for CBS Sunday Morning. After
experiencing sunrise on New Year’s Day in Acadia, he crisscrossed the country
numerous times in his quest to experience all of them.
When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued. I’ve long wanted to visit all of the parks
myself, not that I’ve done much more than think about it. When this book focuses on the parks and some
of their history, it is fascinating. The
writing is excellent, and it is easy to feel you are right next to him as he
experiences the parks. However, at times
he gets distracted trying to push an agenda on us, and when that happens, the
parks get shafted. A few of the parks he
barely describes, focusing instead on the bad he feels needs to be fixed or
pointing out the bad in the past that has been fixed. Even when I agreed with his point, I found
this frustrating because it’s not what I wanted to read about when I picked up
the book. He definitely made me want to
visit several of the parks as soon as I can.
His brief stories about his life and his stories about the people he met
along the way were fun and fascinating.
There are two inserts of pictures from his journey; I would have loved
more, but I enjoyed what we got. I wish
the book had focused more on the parks themselves. Then it would have been fantastic.
When Joe Loudermilk took his retirement from the Los Angeles
police department, he and his wife, Dottie, bought an Airstream trailer and hit
the road, enjoying the sights and sounds of wherever they decide to visit. They also left their grown kids behind, so
returning to their trailer one day, they are surprised to find their youngest
son inside. Even more surprising is
their son’s announcement that there is a dead body in the bathroom. None of them recognize the corpse. Who is he?
Why is their son there?
I grew up camping, so this is one of several series I’ve
wanted to try that involve camping. The
plot is fun, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the
end. I did find a couple of the
characters – Joe especially – annoying.
I’m sure he was supposed to be funny, but the fact that he seemed to
always be mad at others didn’t make me laugh.
Still, this is a minor complaint, and I loved Dottie, our main
character. The book was originally
released in the mid-90’s, so it provides a fun reminder of just how much our
life has changed since then. At least
the physical book I read does; I don’t know if anything was updated before the
ebook was released. This book has been
sitting on my to be read pile for years, and I’m glad I finally pulled it out
and read it.
Ricky Kidd is surprised when his younger brother, Joel, is
given six tickets to spend 10 days down in Mexico. He’s even more surprised when his parents
agree to send the two of them plus his friend Mike, Ralphy, and Lisa, along
with Old Lady Bugsby as their chaperon, down there. When the group arrives, they learn they are
there to be part of a dig at Chichen Itza.
It sounds great, but Ricky soon begins to get new worries. Like why is everyone afraid of the leader of
their dig? Are the rumors of an ancient
legend come back to life true? Or is
something more sinister happening?
Normally, I love this series, but this is definitely the
weakest book. The mystery starts slowly
with a travelogue as Ricky and the gang head south. Once the plot does begin, it moves quickly,
but Ricky has to have much of it explained to him at the end. He does have a few insights, but not the
usual ones that solve the case. The
short story used to introduce the plot also causes some issues with the book
overall, ignoring some of Ricky’s drive for justice we’d normally see. It twists the broader story instead of just
introducing it. Fortunately, the
characters are as wonderful as always, and I enjoy spending time with
them. It also has some funny moments,
including a great running gag. If you
are already a fan, you’ll want to pick up this book, but if you are new to the
characters, start with one of the earlier, better ones.
Meet Trixie, Honey, and Jim as the trio form a friendship
and hunt for the treasure that is supposed to be in Jim's great uncle's old
house.
This is a very favorite series from childhood on, and I just
love meeting the characters again for the first time. They aren't quite themselves yet, and can be
annoying as a result. Just know they
grow stronger from their friendships by the next in the series. Meanwhile, the books packs so much action it
is hard to believe everything that happens in just a few days. I may know what is coming next, but I still
get caught up in the action and friendships from the very first page.
It’s been four months since we last checked in with Sylvia
Stryker, and in that time, she’s had one thing on her mind – freeing Neptune,
her mentor and friend, from prison for a crime he sort of committed. She’s come up with the perfect plan,
too. She’s going to have him declared
dead so she can slip him out of prison. However,
when she goes to file the paperwork, she learns that there has been a murder in
the prison and Neptune is the only suspect.
Her original plan out the window, she has to act fast to free him and
clear his name before he disappears for good.
Can she do it?
Yes, this sounds like many of the cozy mysteries I read a
love, but there is a twist to it – Sylvia’s adventures all take place in
space. The setting is fun and detailed,
but it never takes away from the action.
I got lost in Sylvia’s world very quickly, and I suspect you will as
well whether you love science fiction or not.
The plot is fast paced with plenty of twists and turns. Unfortunately, a few of them were a bit
abrupt. The story makes sense in the
end, but I wish things had been explained a bit more. The characters, some human and some alien,
are all fully developed, and I was thrilled to get to spend more time with
them. If you are interested in something
new and different, be sure to check out this series, and if you are already a
fan, you’ll be happy with Sylvia’s latest case.
Annie “Halsey” Hall is enjoying her new life in Mar Vista,
California, although she’s not so sure about her birthday present from the
women in the Rose Avenue Wine Club – a plot of dirt in the community
garden. She’s hoping to turn it into a
small vineyard, but her first day digging in it turns up the body of a missing
elderly neighbor. With the police again
looking at Halsey as a suspect, she and her friends begin to try to find the
killer. Will they succeed?
I had a mixed reaction to the first book in the series when
I read it last year, but since I already had book two, I decided to give this
one a chance. The plotting is better and
more focused here with sub-plots that stay in the background. I enjoyed the story and trying to figure out
what was going on, although one part of the plot was dropped. The rest reached a logical conclusion. Once again, the story takes place over
several weeks, but I was expecting that, so I wasn’t nearly as confused by the
timeline. Unfortunately, the characters
are still thin outside of Halsey and one or two others. I love the Southern California setting; those
always appeal to me. If you enjoy wine,
you’ll enjoy the wine list and pairings at the end of the book. I wanted to like this book more than I did,
although there were definitely things that appealed to me, and it does show the
author is improving.
Lila Maclean has been taking a fall semester sabbatical,
staying with family friend Bibi Callahan while finishing up her book on mystery
author Isabella Dare. She’s become
friends with the people in Bibi’s life, so she is delighted to join them one
night for a book discussion of the first Isabella Dare mystery. The night, which starts as fun and laughs,
ends in tragedy when one of the women is murdered. Bibi asks Lila to figure out what is going
on, but the present seems to be fed by secrets from the past. Which one of them lead to murder?
After the way the previous book in the series ended, I
couldn’t wait to dive in and see what would happen next. I was well rewarded. The mystery starts quickly and is strong with
some twists I didn’t expect and a logical climax. The timeline was a bit squishy, but it didn’t
impact the story itself – this is just a personal pet peeve. The characters are strong, making us care
about the story and the outcome. A
sub-plot involving Lila’s personal life felt a bit rushed, but I still liked
how it ended. This book is set during
the Christmas season, and those elements added a fun, festive nature to the
story. The charming characters and
engrossing plot made the pages fly by all too quickly.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
With a record setting blizzard on the way to Cabot Cove,
Maine, Jessica Fletcher is planning to hunker down in her temporary home – the
Hill House hotel. Before she can do
that, she joins Sheriff Metzger when he gets a call about a man found in his
car on the edge of town. What at first
looks like a tragic accident is indeed murder.
On arriving at the hotel, Jessica learns she will be joined for the
weekend by a wedding party. But with the
bride and groom missing, tempers begin to flair. Then a dead body appears. Are they trapped with a killer? Is it connected to the man outside of town?
This is another fast-moving mystery that obviously pays
homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. I felt it was a bit more of a thriller (minus
the language and violence) than a true cozy, but I’m not complaining since I
couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen
next. Much of the book features Jessica
and those trapped in the hotel with her, and they are all strong enough
characters to carry the story.
Unfortunately, the little bit we did see of the recurring characters
fell into predictable patterns, although I still enjoyed spending time with
them. The writing was so vivid, I felt
the cold as I was reading. Any
complaints are minor, and I’m happy I picked up this fast-paced book.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Poppy Redfern is the new air-raid warden for her village in
England in 1942. This has become an
important job since an American Air Force base as recently moved into the
area. Some of the young women have
started dating Americans, but when two of them turn up dead, it sets up a
divide in the village. Even though an
American has been arrested for the murders, Poppy doesn’t think he is guilty. She sets out with one of the American pilots
to figure out what really happened. But
has she just made herself a target?
I’ve been trying to read more historical mysteries this
year, and this one was already sitting on my shelf. The author clearly did her research as the
details of life at the time came to life.
Unfortunately, they tended to overshadow the plot, so the pacing was
uneven. Poppy was an interesting main
character, and I can easily see her growing as the series continues, but much
of the rest of the cast never really came alive for me. While the book wasn’t bad, it wasn’t as good
as I hoped it would be.
Stars: 4 out of 5
