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Hazel Holt: Mrs. Mallory Investigates

This is a new cozy mystery series, new to me i should say. First interesting thing is that the protagonist’s name is spelled differently on the cover of the edition I have than everywhere else in the series. On the cover it is Mallory and inside the book and for the rest of the series it is Malory. Just weird, maybe an American versus English difference, I don’t know. Anyhow, on to the rest of the book.

Traditional British cozy village mystery with a middle aged (50s) widowed protagonist. I really liked the book the mystery was engaging, the main character was interesting and likable, and the rest of the cast was nicely rounded out. I did solve the mystery prior to the resolution but that was okay.. it was not too terribly early on and it did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

I am definitely going to read more in this series. It is everything that i like in a cozy mystery. Love the village setting and the animal components…..cats and dogs and horses, oh my! I would say that if you are a fan of MC Beaton, Simon Brett, Ann Purser, Veronica Heley, etc. you will enjoy this. I would say that if those writers are 4s, this book was a 3 – 3.5, however it was the first in the series and in my experience they get better after the first book.

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“Winter is Coming”

“Winter is nature’s way of saying, “Up yours.”
― Robert Byrne

or as my grandmother used to say, “It’s cold as a witch’s tit.”  What is up with this?   Helloooo,  Mother Nature,  it is May,  May 25th, you know barbecue, open the pool, all that good stuff?  Definitely not – huddle in my recliner with a comforter and a bottle of wine, (today it is Jersey Red for those of you are interested) time.

Good points though:

  •  Mowed the lawn without breaking a sweat, wearing a sweatshirt at that.
  • Went to Booktrader of Hamilton and found several of my TBR books.
  • Three day weekend.
  • There is wine.

So, with that in mind, guess I’ll be reading and drinking this evening.

Keep warm everyone, just remember “Winter   Summer is Coming.”

 

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Marcus Sedgwick: White Crow

This is my second Marcus Sedgwick book and I will say that I thought that MidwinterBlood was the better of the two. This book was advertised as horror and is undeniably creepy and suspenseful. Sedgwick’s prose once again has the same sparse quality that I admired in MidwinterBlood and while it works, especially for the setting and atmosphere, I feel character development was lacking in this book. I am left unsure if this was purposeful, to leave it up to the reader to come up with some of their own ideas about the characters or if it really was due to being rushed, which was how it felt to me.

The most intriguing character in the book is Ferelith, (even though I found her name a little pretentious and annoying) but I really wanted to know more about her. The story is told in alternating POVs of the girls and a rector or priest from the 1790’s. There was a very interesting historical tie in that I was already familiar with and so I found it a good hook for the story for me. The book certainly was creepy, however not in the same league as Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, which I read as a teen and it had me sleeping with the lights on for weeks and making sure my curtains were shut tight at night. The ending was good and had a twist to it.

On the whole, very quick, easy read, lovely succinct prose, but felt rushed with not enough meat to the characters.

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Jane Green: Family Pictures

 

Finished Family Pictures this evening and just would say very disappointing read.  Very obvious plot that took far too long to build to the (did I say obvious already?) reveal (over 100 pages).  Some  elements of unbelievable coincidence to make the plot work.  Sylvie was not a very sympathetic character, I didn’t like her very much.  The only character that showed growth or positive change was Maggie and  it appeared that the author didn’t want you to sympathize with her.  I got the sense that the author preferred Sylvie, as a character and we were supposed to be on her side until close to the end, but that didn’t work for me.   The teenage girls are very stereotypical cardboard characters.  We don’t really get to know Mark at all and I assume that is because he is really just the catalyst for the whole story and not a fully developed character.

 

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Tana French: Faithful Place

This is the first of Tana French’s books that I have read.  I have always meant to read the other two, In the Woods and The Likeness, but haven’t gotten around to them yet.  I picked up this because it was a group read for a mystery club on Goodreads.

The story primarily centers around a missing woman, who had apparently ditched her young boyfriend and run off years before, at least that was what was assumed, until her suitcase turns up.  The characters, especially Frank and his family, are painfully realistic, very well done.  The mystery unfolds as Frank, who is now a police officer with a child, returns to the place of his youth and investigates.  The suspense builds at a good pace for a thriller.  I finished the book in one sitting.  The mystery plot was intriguing and I didn’t figure it out beforehand.

The subplots were just as interesting, Frank and his family and Frank and Olivia.   The damage done to Frank by his family and the early loss of Rose is an integral part of his character.  A character study in love, loss, and family, as dysfunctional as it may be.

The only thing negative I have to say is about the ending.  After the mystery plot is resolved the story continues on for a little while and though there are some parts that are significant and add to the resolution, the rest of it just seems drawn out.  Interestingly enough that is the same criticism that I have heard about Into the Woods.  This however is just a minor hiccup in an otherwise excellent thriller.

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Marcus Sedgwick

I read some blogs about Marcus Sedgwick and decided to pick up a couple of his books from the library, so I selected this one and White Crow. I am not normally a reader of YA so this is not something I would ordinarily pick for myself.

The book uses a very clever reverse chronology plot device. It works very well in this book. The prose is sparse, there are no wasted words here, which for me is definitely a good thing. I don’t know what I would classify it as, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller or romance. There are elements of each present here.

The book revolves around themes of sacrifice and love, which are interconnected over the span of centuries. I liked the exploration of undying love battling the obstacles of time, man and place. There is a very clever tie in to an actual painting and artist. The book “reads” as more mature than the average YA read, which admittedly I have read few of since my children grew out of them.

The mood the book evoked for me was one of despair and sadness. If you like dark, moody reads this may be perfect for you. I think it is impressive that the author can evoke mood and tension with so few words. Usually moody or emotional works rely on lengthy narration to paint pictures with words to achieve the effect, Marcus Sedgwick manages it with minimal words and some repeated imagery such as, the hare, the orchid, and the painting.

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Duffy Brown: Iced Chiffon

 

I read this book because it was the monthly read for the Cozy Mystery Corner Group on Goodreads.  I am so glad that it was selected because I really enjoyed it.  The main character, Reagan, was realistic and likable.  The other characters were entertaining and added to the story.  I am sure they will be fleshed out more in follow up books in the series.

The plot was interesting and engaging.  I almost finished in one sitting but it got too late and I had to put it down and get some sleep.  I did have an idea of who the culprit was but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the story.  A good use of misdirection cast some doubt in my mind anyway.

The theme of a high end consignment shop is fun. I tend to like cozies set around small businesses and this one also involves fashion  with a charming Savannah, Georgia setting.

I will definitely pick up the next one in this series!

 

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Library Loot

 

After walking tonight with my group, I ran over to the library and picked up a few things to tide me over for the upcoming holiday weekend.   I picked up MidwinterBlood and White Crow both by Marcus Sedgwick because several bloggers seem to like his work.  It is a different genre for me, I usually steer clear of YA novels, just not my cup of tea, but there was enough good written about these that I thought I’d give them a go.

I also grabbed some cozies. but it always seems that my library never has book one in a cozy series…sigh.  This does give me an excuse to visit Booktrader of Hamilton this weekend though.

Off now to finish up Iced Chiffon.  I’m about two thirds done and really liking it. Looking forward to book two in this series already.  I’m supposed to be reading Turn Right at Machu Picchu but can’t seem to get going on it.

 

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Peg Cochran: Allergic to Death

Very cute opening to a new series.  I liked the fact that even though it was a series about a health conscious caterer/chef, you aren’t lectured about diet or exercise.  It flows as a natural part of the story.  This was a very quick read with red herrings and misdirection to drive the mystery.  I enjoyed it and I will read more in the series.   I will say that there is not as much humor in this book as one usually finds in modern theme based cozies, there was more emphasis on setting, character building and the mystery elements.