Tag Archives: book

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Practically Perfect by Katie Fforde

 

I was introduced to Katie Fforde’s books by chance.  My local library happens to have quite a large selection and they caught my eye one day and I began reading through them one after the other.  I’ve really enjoyed them all, well written books with realistic characters in the romance/women’s fiction genre with satisfyingly happy endings. Somehow in my binge, I missed this one, it must have been checked out at the time.  Practically Perfect does not disappoint.  I particularly connected to this book because I had two points of commonality with the protagonist, Anna, extensive DIY home renovation and dog rescue.  In her case, it was Greyhound and in mine, Siberian Husky.

Anna has purchased a small cottage as an investment property.  It was gutted by a previous owner and not put back together and she is renovating it herself.  Anna has an ulterior motive for purchasing a cottage in this particular area involving an unresolved love interest from her past.

Anna is a great character, funny, independent, and a great friend to Chloe, her next door neighbor.  She is someone I could see myself being friends with easily.  Through the course of the story, Anna meets an irritating, or maybe not so irritating, building official, Chloe and her family, a lovely greyhound, and her long lost crush.  The story lines and characters weave together in a seamless fashion making it easy to get lost in the Anna’s world.  I love it when a book can pull me into the character’s life and out of the real world.

Although, I usually see Katie Fforde’s books classified as romance, I don’t feel that classification does them justice.  In Practically Perfect, just as much attention is paid to the other threads of the plot, such as friendship, family, and work as to the romance story line.  This makes reading the book a richer experience than just a romance novel.

Highly recommended read!

 

 

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Death’s Autograph by Marianne MacDonald

 

I just found this series by Marianne MacDonald and my library system had the first book, Death’s Autograph. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the series.  The protagonist, Dido Hoare, is a book shop owner/book antiquarian, in her 30s and divorced.  She is smart and independent, a really likable character still reeling somewhat over her divorce from Davey.  Barnabas is Dido’s father, a retired professor, and her main support system. The love interest is a police officer who is working the case.

The main characters are interesting and fully developed, no ridiculously off beat people wandering around the story.  There is a slightly more menacing tone to this than most cozies, which often displace the danger or fear in a situation with humor. That is probably a marked difference from this and many newer cozies is the darker mood that it evokes.  The theme and the setting are both well done and ones that I enjoy.

The mystery has many threads that are all tied together with a common motive at the end.  In the last few chapters, everything comes together neatly.  This was a well constructed mystery with evidence of thought and care taken by the author.  I am wondering if the series is finished, the last book was published in 2006 and the website has not been updated.  Does anyone know if Marianne MacDonald is still writing?

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Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indriason

 

 

This is the second book I have read in the series.  I read Jar City,which is book 3 in the series.  Unfortunately, it does not appear that Book 1 & 2 have been translated into English.  Starting with book 3, does not seem to have impacted my enjoyment of this series.

Here in book 4, Silence of the Grave, we again meet Erlendur as he investigates a body found at the site of a now demolished chalet.  The book is told in current time as Erlendur attempts to solve the crime and also in the past with the tragic story of the family that inhabited the house.  The sense of dread builds as the book progresses.  We all know that a human body has been found, but not who is it and meanwhile we are reading about the horrific circumstances of the family.

As a story on the side, we again meet Eva Lind, Erlendur’s drug addict daughter and she has a story line within the book.  Her story line serves to reveal aspects of Erlendur’s past and more of his relationship with Eva and his ex-wife.  The mystery is surprising, especially the twists surrounding the identity of the body.

Very good mystery and I look forward to reading more in this series.

 

 

 

 

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Awakening by S.J. Bolton

I just finished Awakening by S.J. Bolton.  I will start off by saying that I love all the books I have read by this author.  Sacrifice, her debut novel, in particular sticks out in mind as excellent.  Awakening is a good mystery novel.  The snakes alone make it particularly scary, especially as someone who lives in an older house and knows how they could get in if they wanted to and hide in nooks and crannies. {{{insert shudder here}}}

The protagonist is Clara Benning, a physically and emotionally scarred veterinary surgeion, who does a great deal of wildlife rescue work.  She prefers her animal charges to people.  The other characters like Matt, Sean and Sally are well developed and fit seamlessly together.  The misdirection worked very well and I was surprised at the ending.  The novel seemed well researched in terms of the snakes, not that I am an expert by any means.

S.J. Bolton writes in an extraordinarily well paced style.  There are no dull moments or “filler, everything is purposeful.  The book is a mystery and yet it also explores a “monumental change” for Clara through the events in the book and the people she meets, in her perspective and outlook on life.  She is certainly a character that shows growth and change.

I would definitely recommend this book, although I did prefer Sacrifice over it.

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Simon Kirby-Jones Mysteries by Dean James

 

 

I just finished reading the wonderful Simon Kirby-Jones Mystery series by Dean James.  Mr. James is also writes under the pen names of Miranda James, Honor Hartman, and Jimmie Ruth Evans.

I first read Posted to Death which I found at my local library.  I loved the humorous, almost campy take on the cozy mystery series.  Unfortunately, my library didn’t carry the others in the series so I ordered the other three  and just recently received them.

Books 2,3 and 4 do not disappoint.  The character of Simon Kirby-Jones continues to be a wonderful mix of off beat humor, genuinely nice person, and sly sleuth.  The other characters develop nicely along the way, Sir Giles as his sidekick-assistant-love interest, Robin  as the police officer who respects Simon’s intelligence and help,  and Lady Prunella, village Grand Dame who becomes much more human and likable as the series progressed through the reader seeing her vulnerability behind her persona.

In these three books, Simon faces a variety of villains, a Renaissance/Medieval Faire and a classic locked room murder.  Each mystery was well crafted with twists and turns that Simon navigates with his usual cool self assurance, although we do see Simon’s feathers ruffled a little on the personal level.  Simon as a sleuth is logical and smart.  He is not one to run around throwing out accusations at random.  There are many nods to Agatha Christie and John Dickinson-Carr.  I don’t know if the author intends to end the series at Book 4, but it does offer a satisfying conclusion to an ongoing story line.

An excellent, humorous cozy mystery series written by a talented writer.  Definitely worth the read for cozy fans.  I have now read two series by Mr. James and will seek out the others.

 

 

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Final Sentence by Daryl Wood Gerber

I just picked up my copy of Final Sentence yesterday. I have been waiting for this for quite a while.  The author Daryl Wood Gerber also writes  the Cheese Shop mysteries under the name of Avery Aames.  I really enjoy the Cheese Shop series and believe  it is one of the better written cozy mystery series.

This new series, A Cookbook Nook Mystery, does not disappoint.  The character of Jenna Hart is well written and believable.  She is a widow still dealing with the grief of losing both her husband and her mother.  She returns home to run a new business with her Aunt Vera.  The other characters are interesting with a fair share of the quirky variety thrown into the mix, her Aunt Vera, Pepper and Rhett to name a few.

The mystery is well done.  I was not sure “whodunnit” until the reveal, many of the characters displayed suspicious behavior leaving the reader wondering.  Being the first in  a series, there was quite a bit of establishing the setting, the recurring characters, and some of the back story, but it did not interfere with the flow of the story.  Additionally, there was device used that I have seen recently in two other books, “dropping” the names of authors and books throughout the text.  For some reason, I found this very disruptive when I read  Death on Demand and A Killer Read, but I did not in this book.  Perhaps I am getting more used to it, being this is the third one I’ve read using this device ? Or maybe it is because it is so clearly incorporated into the plot here, Jenna is selling cookbooks and she is learning to cook?  It did not feel like just gratuitous name dropping; it felt as though it was a natural part of the dialogue and plot.  Maybe it is just that I collect cookbooks and so knew almost all the titles mentioned and didn’t feel the need to stop and look them up? Whatever the reason, I feel that it worked in Final Sentence.

The other point that I really liked was that there were some loose threads that I’m sure will be picked up in subsequent books. What is the real story behind Jenna’s husband?  Was he good guy or up to something?  What was the whole story between Aunt Vera and her fiance?  These open questions will be part of what keeps me going with the series.

Great series opener!  Can’t wait for the next one.

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Weekend Cooking II: We Love Madeleines

This is an addendum post for the Weekend Cooking meme hosted by BethFishReads who can be found here.  Today I actually tried three of the recipes from the lovely little cookbook, We Love Madeleines.  I made the:

  • Fontina and Smoked Paprika
  • Basic
  • Cherry-Cornmeal

The Fontina & Smoked Paprika was my first savory madeleine ever and I really liked it.  The “cookie” had an intensely rich cheese flavor.  We had a bean soup tonight for dinner and they went with that really well, but I could also see serving them with chili.  The texture was soft and light…like little cheesy pillows 🙂  The recipe made 24, so you would need 2 regular sized madeleine pans – or you could just wash and re-butter between batches.

The Basic recipe produced a small batch (12) of a very good standard madeleine.  I appreciate the small batch because I have little self control when it comes to cookies.

The Cherry-Cornmeal was my daughter’s favorite.  I thought the cornmeal would overwhelm such a delicate cookie but it was a just-right balance between flour and cornmeal.  The chopped dried cherries combined with a glaze of citrus made a very tasty cookie (I don’t care for orange so I made mine lemon & lime instead).  This recipe also made 24 regular sized madeleines.

Overall, a well written cookbook with successful recipes in it (so far).  I liked the organization of the book overall and of the recipes on the pages.  The pictures were bright and I always prefer cookbooks to have pictures as they inspire me.  In the front of the book is a section which is  basically the dos and don’ts of madeleines.   Helpful information in general, whether you have made them before or not.

If you like madeleines or have madeleine pans pining away in a cupboard somewhere, this is definitely a book to consider.

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Good Grief by Lolly WInston

I’m sure a lot of us hear “Good Grief” and expect it to be followed by “Charlie Brown”, but that is not what this is about.  I picked it up from the library today and read it right away.

Wonderful book, but please read armed with a box of tissues.  Unexpectedly poignant.  The reader connects instantly with Sophie and follow her “one step forwards, two steps back” journey out of grief and into life after tragedy.  I haven’t cried so much while reading in a long time.  The different ways grief impacts people are shown quite realistically, through Sophie, her mother-in-law Marion, and her grief support group cohorts.  I loved how this was not a smooth journey for Sophie, there were major setbacks along the way, just like in the real world and that the rewards or progress often came from unexpected places.

My only teeny, tiny issue with the book was I wasn’t happy about the resolution of the Drew part of the story line, but ehhh, that might just be me.  Overall, a painfully accurate portrayal of the grieving process and a message that it is a process and therefore at some point, when it is right for you and only when it is right for you, you’ll come out the other side of it.

A excerpt from early in the book:

“Lately, life requires so much self-discipline.  While most people have a to-do list, I have a to-don’t list.  Don’t eat Oreos until your gums bleed.  Don’t sleep in your clothes.  Don’t grab the produce boy’s teenage wrists and sob.”

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Death on Demand by Carolyn G. Hart

 

I have heard so much about this series, that I am really glad that I finally read it.  I like the setting and the theme of the book.  Having a bookshop is a dream of mine, so this really appealed to me.  The character of Max is outstanding.  He draws you in on his own, even though it seems as though he is intended to be the sidekick to Annie, our protagonist, he definitely overshadows her.  The mystery was well crafted.  Being a “locked room” type of mystery, you had a limited list of suspects from the start.  From that you could eliminate Max and Annie whittling down the list further.  The book was written in 1987 and so the discussion of the writer’s technology at it related to the mystery  was really quite funny to look back on now.

The issue I had, and I think this is just a personal problem for me ;p ,  was the name dropping of other authors and their books.  It is constant throughout the book, even when they drink coffee there are references to the mugs with authors and books on them.  I just found that this pulled me out of the story each time.  If  I didn’t remember a particular book or author, I needed to google it to find out about it.  I think this is just me and the fact that I can’t stand not remembering something and having the technology at my fingertips makes it easy to look it up. It really was disruptive for me and made the book take much longer than it should have.

I probably will try another in the series to see if this decreases in subsequent books because everything else was very good.  Interestingly, I just read another mystery that used the same device, A Killer Read, and it bothered me just as much in that book.

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Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert

 

This is book 1 of the very well established, 21 books, China Bayles series.  It has often been recommended to me based on other books that I enjoy.

Very quick read, pacing of the mystery is not a problem.  I loved the theme, the idea of an Herbal Remedies shop owner as the sleuth.  I just kept getting pulled out of the story by the “feminist manifesto” type comments and asides.  I didn’t like many of the characters and the attitude towards mothers/motherhood was so negative; it was big turn off for me.  The male characters were stereotypes and you feel the animosity towards them and men in general.  China’s boyfriend, a college professor, is considered good for a “booty call” and not much else, because “horror of horrors”, he has a child he is taking responsibility for.  Despite the pro-feminist slant of the book, the irony is that the “feminist model” characters don’t seem particularly happy or content, with the possible exception of Ruby who just seems ….out in left field, following her “Path” (with a capitol P, no less).

I really didn’t like the fact that China colluded with her friends to destroy evidence, just to suit their own purposes.

This book didn’t work for me and I won’t be reading more in the series.