Category Archives: Book Reviews

Reviews of Books

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The Killings at Badger’s Drift by Caroline Graham

 

I have watched all the seasons available on Acorn TV of Midsomer Murders and finally decided to read one of the books.  This is the first book in the series that Midsomer Murders is based on.  In this book, we meet Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sargeant Troy and the additional characters of Joan, Barnaby’s wife and Cully, his actress daughter.  I have seen the episode based on this book so there was not much to surprise me, especially because the book and TV show were very similar.

This is a well written, at times humorous introduction to the series.  It captures the classic English village mystery feel to a T.  The characters are well drawn and interesting and the mystery is well plotted with red herrings and misdirection.  I am really glad I finally read one of the books and will look to read others in the series.  Very enjoyable read that immersed me in the world of Midsomer Murder.

 

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The Chessmen & Knots and Crosses

Two more books down from my giant TBR list…The Chessmen by Peter May is the final book in a trilogy that included The Blackhouse and The Lewis Man.  At this point in the books, Fin is no longer a police man.  Now he is private security and is given the job of stopping poaching that is occurring on the estate.  His job reconnects him with Whistler, a childhood friend, and then embroils him in a mystery involving a missing airplane and pilot  from decades before.

First rate writing and plotting of the mystery.  There is some resolution of events from the first two books, so I would suggest reading the trilogy in order, I’m not sure how it would do as a stand alone.  The setting and the characters, especially Fin, really are what makes these books stand out among many of the other mystery/thrillers that are out there. This is a fast paced read, yet it manages to have a dark, moody feel to it.  Fans of atmospheric thrillers, such as Ann Cleeves work will enjoy this!

Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin is the first book in the Inspector Rebus series.  This is a mystery novel in which the focus is really on the detective more than anything else…and he is a hard character to like, seeming to be tortured by demons from his past, related to SAS training, he drinks and smokes too much.  He is divorced and doesn’t seem that close to his daughter, although he does love her.  His performance in the police force has not led to promotions or success.  His relationship with his only brother, Michael, is strained.  Perhaps as the series progresses and he faces some of his issues he becomes a more likable character.

The mystery although initially presented as a random serial killer, has a personal connection to Rebus.  I don’t want to say anything more to spoil the book for anyone else, but just that some of his actions made no sense to me, but I suppose they are intended to demonstrate the depth of his issues??  I might pick up and read a later one in this series to see how it progresses.

 

 

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2 from Marian Keyes

Picked up these two from one of my favorite authors, Marian Keyes.  Just what I need to see me through my recovery.  About a month ago I sprained my ankle, really badly, rolled it completely.  We’ve tried the casts and the braces and just giving it time and….nothing.  Finally, I had an MRI and they determined that I had 1 torn tendon, 1 inflamed tendon, and a hairline fracture of my ankle…fun times.  Anyway on Thursday, they did an Amniofix implantation to try to fix it.  My doctor raved about the procedure..”it’s great, I’ve done hundreds recently, only about 2% of people need surgery after it”…all happy, happy about this, then the tagline  “there is something I need to make you aware of …you will be in excruciating pain for 3 to 4 days afterwards and there is nothing I can do about it, any pain killer I give you will just take the edge off, won’t really touch the pain”  He made this announcement with a big smiley happy face.  Anyway, I stocked up on books to read through my “excruciating pain period” and thought Marian Keyes would be a good option.

Anybody Out There, is a book about recovery, grief, and of course as in most of the Marian Keyes’ books I have read, family.  I love the way this book drew me completely in, I felt immersed in the characters, their lives and their neighborhood.  I can’t really discuss the main point of the book without giving away some key points, but enough to say that the book tackles real world problems, with Marian Keyes’ unique perspective.  The writing style is highly engaging and pulls the story along at a pretty quick pace.  First rate storytelling, wonderful characters, humor and emotion realism, all aspects of truly great fiction.

The Other Side of the Story, has darker humor and less lightness than other Marian Keyes’ works.  The focus in this book is on the mother-daughter dynamic, which most people would agree (or maybe it is just me) is a dynamic filled with landmines.  A great study of the effect of infidelity on, not just the partners involved,but the extended family as well.  The push and pull of a young career woman, whose mother’s needs conflict with her employers and even her own, is extremely well drawn here.  Excellent storytelling, characters and pacing.  Anyone who has ever felt pulled in all directions will be able to relate to this story.

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Pearls and Poison by Duffy Brown

 

Just finished this last night, the third in the A Consignment Shop Mystery series.  I am really enjoying the humor in this series!  The antics of Reagan, her Aunt Kiki and the rest of her sidekicks add quite a bit of comic relief to the mystery.  The plot is peppered with red herrings and lots of clues to follow up on.

This series is very character driven and that definitely adds to the appeal.  I enjoy series in which the reader really gets to know the characters and this is certainly one of them.  The dialogue is very well done and part of the humor of the book.  The consignment shop theme is kept relatively low key and doesn’t get in the way of the characters or the mystery.   All in all, a very well done mystery in a fun series.

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Honor Hartman: The Unkindest Cut

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Just finished this book, the second, and unfortunately to the best of my knowledge the last in the A Bridge Club Mystery series.  I loved the Bridge theme.  I used to play years ago and this was so much fun to “play” vicariously with Emma and her friends.

The series premise is a widow moves to a new home to be closer to her best friend for support and gets involved in a local bridge club.  Through her activities with the club she stumbles on murders which she solves.  The character of Emma is very believable and likable.  She is a widow and still grieving and that is dealt with in a realistic manner, but the book is not depressing at all.  Her friends make up an eclectic group and support her sleuthing activities.

In this episode, Emma travels to a bridge conference to support a friend and learn more.  At the conference, a “celebrity” is murdered and Emma is right in the  middle of it.  The mystery is will crafted and has many probable suspects to spread suspicion  among.

A very enjoyable read and I am sorry that there are not going to be more in this series!

 

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Back from Hiatus

A number of events have kept me from posting book reviews recently.  Coffee splashed on the laptop being a  one;  I had to send it back to Toshiba to have the keyboard replaced. My Mom needed emergency surgery and my daughter had her own crisis.  Moving and all that  that entails was another hurdle.  To top that all off I tore ligaments in my ankle and have been trying to get it resolved, all while dealing with the busiest time of the year at work.

I have been reading off and on just a little, Iced to Death and the The Dark Room are two books I read during all this chaos.

I really enjoy the A Gourmet De-Lite Series by Peg Cochran and look forward to reading more about Gigi and her budding diet catering business.  In this book, a new character, a somewhat obnoxious younger sister, Pia is introduced. Gigi is still torn between an attraction to Declan and Mertz.   The pace was very good and the mystery kept me guessing. The writing in this series surpasses what one finds in many cozies.  Iced to Death  is a cozy that I would highly recommend!

The Dark Room is definitely NOT cozy, a psychological thriller is probably what I would call it.  I have never read anything by this author, at least not that I remember.  This book uses a lost memory device and the plot surrounds the  victim, Jinx’s, struggle to remember the series of events that led up to her “accident”.  Although there are many books with this same general plot, this is particularly well done and suspenseful.  Lots of misdirection and changing view points to make this an engaging read.  Elements of an unreliable narrator, that leave the reader doubting the character’s perspectives and serve to deepen the mystery.  Very good read!

 

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I don’t think so.

So true!

Heather Wheat's avatarWandering Bark Books

Image courtesy of stockphotosforfree.com Image courtesy of stockphotosforfree.com

On the way home yesterday, I heard an NPR story about how a computer program at MIT has apparently learned how to “help” an MIT media lab student “compose” a sonnet using a database of Shakespeare’s works.

Including only words used by Shakespeare, the program suggests words that The Bard might have used in “that situation,” or, when writing a sonnet.

The transcript clarifies: “It was [Mathias’] sonnet confined to authentic Shakespearean language. It’s the same predictive software we see when our devices try to finish our sentences and suggest the next word.” Great, so a new application of technology.

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Exile by Denise Mina

Just finished Denise Mina’s , Exile, book 2 in the Garnethill Trilogy.  I did enjoy book 1, Garnethill, however this book was much better!  Maureen’s character is in a self-destructive post-traumatic stress downward spiral fueled mainly by alcohol.  She is investigating a murder at the request of her friend Leslie, who is not much less of a mess.  A woman has been brutally tortured and murdered with her body dumped.  She was recently a resident at a battered woman’s shelter, so all fingers point toward the husband, Jimmy, who is the only surviving parent for their 4 small boys.  Only things are not what they seem and Maureen through her alcohol induced haze and her desire to maintain her friendship with Leslie seeks to prove that Jimmy didn’t kill his wife.

The characters are what makes this work stand out.  Denise Mina has crafted incredibly human characters with all the dirt and despair that one could stand to read.   Maureen is a walking train wreck, yet in this book she comes across as more intelligent, not just crafty in the way of many street survivors, but also analytical.  Jimmy is a portrait of despair and a born victim.  Even Winnie, in her own alcohol fueled rages, is a fully developed character.

Liam and Vik are some of the only positive characters in the book.  Liam has made great strides to pull himself out of his past.  Vik is strong enough to insist that he deserves to be treated right by Maureen.  There are still differences between these two:  Liam wants to save or protect Maureen, while Vik wants her to save herself.  After the ending of this book, I will be interested to see what happens here.

The mystery is well done  with great twists and turns and an ending that I did not see coming.  There is a great sense of place in this book, even though most of the places are nowhere the reader would want to be.

Great read!  I can’t wait to read the third one.

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The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths

I should begin by saying that I have read all of the books so far in the Ruth Galloway series.  I truly love this series, it is one of my favorites.  I have been eagerly awaiting this, book 6, in the series.  And it was fine, but for some reason, just fine.

The characters of Ruth, Cathbad, and DI Harry Nelson are excellent as usual. The reader can see growth in these characters, within themselves and their relationships with each other and other characters.  The mystery still involves a background of archaeology, but certainly not to the extent of earlier books.  The plot is  a little overly crowded with characters and story lines.  It involves the discovery of an executed Victorian “child killer’s” body, a TV crew anxious for a high profile story, a child’d death and mother’s suicide, and  current child abductions.  Ruth is right in the middle of all of it, from discovering the body, to being involved in the TV program, and investigating the abductions.

This book, The Outcast Dead, was more about relationships, particularly the relationship between parent and child, Mother Hook and her “children”, Ruth, DI Nelson and Kate, Judy, Cathbad, and Michael, among others.  Children are involved in every plot line, in every conceivable way.  This seems to have occurred at the expense of the archaeological aspects, the mystery, and for me very importantly, the setting.  I missed that mood that the setting of these books usually evokes.  It was just not here in the this outing.

I will continue on with this series and see where it goes from here.  I am hoping the next book returns more to the feel and style of the early books.

As a side note, there are several references to early books, so I think this would be best read as part of the series, not a stand-alone.

 

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As the Crow Flies by Damien Boyd & Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo

crow  grounds

Sitting home with a leg in a cast has at least let me do some reading!  Both of these were this month’s selections from book clubs.

As the Crow Flies is the selection for the Kindle English Mystery Club on Goodreads for the month of April.  This is the first book in which we meet DI Dixon.  DI Dixon has relocated from a more prestigious posting to a small outpost, much to the dismay of his family and the confusion of his new colleagues.  DI Dixon is a former rock climber and rock climbing is the back drop for this thriller.

Dixon is called to investigate a death of a former rock climbing partner, Jake, by Jake’s parents. The opening scene of the book is actually Jake’s death in a tremendous fall.   The first few paragraphs worried me a little because of all the climbing jargon.  I wondered if I would be able to read it, but it was pretty easy to catch on to and the pace of the book swept me along.

The mystery takes a few twists and turns and several probable theories of the crime are put forth.  Dixon is an intelligent sleuth, who manages to be smarter than most of those around him but does not come across as arrogant about it.  As a reader, I can understand his family’s dismay at his apparently throwing away his shot at a more promising career for life in “the slow lane”.  On the way to solving the main mystery, Jake’s death, there are other cases that may or may not be connected and that Dixon tackles proving his worth as a sleuth.

Very fast paced mystery making for a quick read. It definitely kept me turning the pages.  My only critique is that the book is too short, I got to the end too quickly.  However, better a little  short than stuffed with unneeded filler.

Uncommon Grounds is the selection for the Cozy Mystery Corner Group on Goodreads.  This is the first in a cozy series based around a coffee shop.  Maggy Thompson, partner in a coffee shop venture to the murder victim Patricia Harper, takes her turn as a sleuth to solve Patricia’s death.

I read another coffee shop based mystery, Cleo Coyle’s Coffee House Mystery series and could not help making comparisons between the two. Unfortunately  Uncommon Grounds comes out the loser in this comparison. Maggy is no Clare Cosi.  In fact, Maggy seems to have entered into a business venture with someone she knows very little about or is just woefully uninformed and didn’t care to investigate.  Wouldn’t the fact that your new business partner was the member of some cult like church be of concern to the average person?

I will just leave it with this book didn’t work for me.