Tag Archives: book

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Oldies But Goodies…

I read a great deal of Agatha Christie when I was young, but I missed these two classic mystery authors.  Ngaio Marsh’s A Man Lay Dead was first published in 1934.  This is the first book in the series that introduces Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn, who is the sleuth.  I actually found this book very timely.  In current crime fiction and tv shows there is a plethora of references to the Russian Mob and that theme features heavily in this story.  It is a classic British “country house” mystery, the group of people gather in an isolated country estate and then a murder occurs.  The red herrings are very well done and this is delightful read!

The characters engage in witty banter and the manners and customs of the times feature prominently in the story.  Even though  I have read many of these type of mysteries this one certainly holds it own.  I did find it interesting that the focus seemed to be mainly on Nigel, one of the guests and not necessarily on the sleuth, but I suppose that is because this was the first in the series.  I understand that the plots in this series become more complicated in later books.

Dorothy L. Sayers was the focus of a current mystery book I read, The Sayers Swindle.  That peaked my interest in this classic mystery series.  Whose Body? is the first book introducing the Lord Peter Wimsey. First published in 1923, the series continued on for several years with Lord Peter Wimsey becoming a beloved character for many readers.

I found the book to have more of a humorous bent (whether intentional or not) than the Ngaio Marsh books.  I was not as enamored of the writing style, extremely dialogue heavy and correspondence with very little description or narration.  Still the mystery was well crafted and the sleuthing was certainly masterful.  This just didn’t work for me as well as Christie’s works or Ngaio Marsh’s.  The books certainly have a legion of fans so it is probably just me.

 

 

 

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Mind’s Eye by Hakan Nesser

I picked this up from the library in my foray for some new authors to read.  This is the first in a translated to English from Swedish series.

Anyway, I really liked Inspector Van Veeteren or maybe I just identified with him.  He is kept on the job simply because he is really good at what he does.  He is not there out of any particular passion for it or a drive to succeed.  He is like a dog with bone, when things don’t seem to jive with the case, he just keeps working at it.  Uncovering clue after clue and following them up.

I love atmospheric mysteries like this one.  The dark mood really immerses me in the story.  The husband accused of the crime and seemingly unwilling or unable to help himself is a very different character than one usually encounters and his lawyer seems almost a touch humorous with his obvious frustration with his client.

The book was a very quick and easy read and was not really that graphic.  We get descriptions of the crime scene(s) and the beginning of an attack, but no excessive gore or violence.  The plot ties together a series of tragedies in the end very neatly.

My only issue with the book was that I knew very early on who the killer was and what had happened. I don’t want to give a spoiler here so I can’t really discuss how, other than to say I spent my middle school years reading a very trashy series of novels (which are once again popular now for some reason) that sort of ran along these lines.

Overall, I will read more of Inspector Van Veeteren’s investigations as they come available.

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The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan

This is one of the Cozy Mystery Corner groups from Goodreads choices for this month.  It is a fun, quick read with a very engaging protagonist.  The mystery is well crafted and the village of Llanelen sounds beautiful, a place I would love to visit.  I started to read this and soon realized I had read it already.  I don’t know why I didn’t continue with the series, I must have just forgotten about it or maybe the library didn’t have the others.  In any case, I will definitely put them on my TBR list now!

If you like British village mysteries with an amateur sleuth, this would be a great read.

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Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly

 

This book was a Goodreads recommendation.  It is very Gone Girl-esque.  The characters are well drawn and the interactions between the not posh, not perfect Lisa Kallisto and the other mother, Kate, and her family, are well crafted.  The dynamic between Lisa and Joe and the other, much more well off, members of their community was particularly well done.  Lisa is a character that I could definitely relate to and I could  imagine the horror of having someone else’s child disappear on your watch.

Two things made the resolution very obvious to me, the fact that it was recommended for fans of Gone Girl and a revelation made about one of the characters a little over the half way mark.  Even with that I still found it a compelling page turner, I really wanted to get to the ending and see how it all turned out.

My main issue with the book is that the ending is only solved by “accident”, neither the police nor the protagonist really solve it.  It is more like the reveal is “stumbled upon” by Lisa.  There are also some strange side storylines that don’t really add to the main plot and don’t seem to serve a purpose.  Overall, there is enough good here that I would read more by this author.

 

 

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The Sayers Swindle by Victoria Abbott

This is the second book in the A Book Collector Mystery series.  The premise of this series is that a young woman, Jordan Bingham, is hired by a reclusive bibliophile, Vera Van Alst, to attempt to track down books that were stolen from her collection.  This book in the series focus is a collection of first edition Dorothy Sayers books.  Jordan comes from a dubious background and her to two Uncles are comic relief characters recurring from the first book.

The characters in these books have been great, particularly the recurring characters. Jordan is a well written character with depth and humor.  She is resourceful and intelligent, but doesn’t take herself too seriously.  The setting and the theme is very engaging to me.  My dad was from upstate New York and I visited there frequently so I am familiar with it.  Books? As a theme, can never have too many books. 🙂

The focus of this book is Dorothy Sayers and as a reader you may miss some of the references, if you have not read those books. I have not read them and it didn’t seem to impact my enjoyment of The Sayers Swindle.  What I appreciated about this book was that the authors did not spend a lot of time rehashing the first book.  Many times authors spend time explaining events from previous books in case a reader is reading out of order, but for people who aren’t that can get tiresome.  If you didn’t read The Christie Curse, you might want to do so before reading this one.

The mystery plot had lots of twists and turns.  I do think the ending was a little fast, but on the other hand I like that better than when an ending just seems dragged out for no apparent reason.

Excellent continuation in this series!

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Voices by Arnaldur Indridason

I have read the first two translated books in this series and enjoyed them immensely.  This one did not disappoint me. Again the protagonist Erlendur is called to investigate a murder of “Santa” at a tourist hotel.  Santa was the hotel’s doorman dressed up for a Christmas party for the hotel guests.  Due to his feelings about the Christmas season, the situation with his recovering drug addict daughter, and the murder, Erlendur checks himself into the hotel for the investigation.

The investigation leads into the world of rabid collectors, the kind that will go to any length to get the perfect next piece for their collection.  It also winds its way through the world of choir boy singers and child stardom. It is a fascinating mix, especially delving into how an ex-child  star ends up as the character in the book does.  The story comes across as dark and intense without the intensely graphic violence prevalent in some thrillers/mysteries.

The setting of the book, including the Christmas holiday season, enhances the melancholy feeling of the book, which has been building through this series.  I would suggest that you read the first two translated books in this series before this one, if only to get more of an understanding for the characters and their motivations.  There is enough retelling of pertinent details that you could get away with reading this as a one off, but I think it would flow better after reading the others.

Nordic Noir fans will find a lot to like in this dark, moody mystery.  I will certainly read more in the series.

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Library Loot

wpid-IMAG0484.jpg Picked up some mysteries today, not everything was in but these were.

Mind’s Eye by Hakan Nesser now translated into English #1 in An Inspector Van Vetteren Mystery series.

Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce F#1 in the A DC Gary Goodhew Mystery Series.

Voices by Arnaldur Indridason.  This is the third in the Reykjavik Murder Series translated into English, however it is the 5th in the series…another victim if TOOS (Translated Out of Order Syndrome).  I read the first two that were translated and they were great!

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart.  Say this one advertised on Goodreads and it really intrigued me. Sounds reminiscent of Elly Griffiths or Ann Cleeves, both of whom I really like.

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie is the first in a series featuring Det. Supt Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James.  Another recommendation from Goodreads that sounds promising.

 

 

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The Silence of the Library by Miranda James

This is the 5th book in the A Cat in the Stacks Mystery series.  I loved this outing in the series!  Charlie Harris, a librarian and sleuth, and his sidekick Diesel, the giant Maine Coon cat, become entangled in a murder mystery involving classic mystery series books for children in the ilk of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys to name some of the most popular ones.  The fictional Veronica Thane series that is at the center of The Silence of the Library   is closely modeled on Nancy Drew, perhaps a more over the top version, and the centenarian author character is modeled on Mildred Wirt Benson, the original Nancy Drew author.

The mystery plot was  very well done and interestingly crafted in that the Charlie Harris story is interspersed with readings from a Veronica Thane novel, so the reader goes through both mysteries together to come to the reveal.  The parallelism was a fun plot device for the reader.

This mystery series does have several recurring characters, such as Charlie’s children and Helen Louise, a love interest.  These relationships have developed over time so reading the series in order is probably ideal, however this story can stand on its own, especially for lover’s of Nancy Drew type books.

A great cozy mystery read! Highly recommended!

As an aside, the author writes this series as Miranda James, a pseudonym, but writes the Simon Kirby-Jones series under his name, Dean James.  The Simon Kirby-Jones series is a different kind of cozy, a lot of fun and I really liked it.  I read that entire series.  I have now ordered a book from a third series by this author written under the name of Honor Hartman and can’t wait to give that a try.

 

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Scandal in Skibbereen & A Spoonful of Murder

 

I was happy to get Scandal in Skibbereen by Sheila Connolly because I really enjoyed Buried in a Bog, book 1 in the County Cork series.  This second outing did not disappoint.  The mystery was full of twists and turns.  You get hints of what might be the answer but it doesn’t come all out until the reveal. The crime is connected to events in the past, a very Downton Abbey feel for that part of it.  This book,  like the first in the series, has a great sense of place.  I really enjoy books that develop the setting well.  Besides the theme, involving life as an Irish Pub owner, there are also elements of Irish history and Art history explored.  Really makes for an interesting read.

The sleuth, Maura, is also coming more into her own.  She has a personality that is more than just two dimensional.  You get to see her flaws, as well as what she is capable of achieving.  She comes across as intelligent, friendly and just a little cynical at times.  The recurring characters are developing and there were some new “tourist” characters in this book, just enough to give you a variety of suspects and informants.  In this book, there is the introduction of a romantic element, but I don’t want to say more and give anything away.

Great cozy mystery read.  Definitely looking forward to more in this series!

I picked up A Spoonful of Murder on a whim from my local indie bookshop.  I really knew nothing about the series or the author. I usually go in with a list that I am looking for but I didn’t that day.  I went home and checked the reviews on Goodreads and they were a mixed bag, but with some very critical ones.  I decided to give it a shot anyway, even though I have a great teetering tower of books on my nightstand and I’m afraid to even open my Kindle right now.  I am really glad that I did!

I really enjoyed this mystery.  A fun cozy with interesting characters.  I  liked the theme, a soup based restaurant, more of a soup and sandwich shop really.  The small town/touristy area setting worked well with the theme.  I did solve the mystery, but that was about two thirds of the way through and I still enjoyed the rest of the book.  The characters made the book for me; the protagonist, Lucky Jamieson, her grandfather, Jack, Sage, Remy, and Sophie are all engaging.  They pulled me in and I cared about the resolution.

This was an impulse buy that paid off.

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The Trouble with Witches & Murder, Lies and Chocolate

hot chocolate witches

 

 

Murder, Lies and Hot Chocolate was free Kindle read.  The supporting characters are some of the best parts of the book, her neighbor and employee.  They add most of interest to the story. The mystery was okay and was actually more about a “treasure hunt” than the murders.   This read more like a chick lit to me than a “cozy”, lots of girly-type bonding over chocolate, a no-good cheating ex, a battered wife friend, etc. I did not read Book 1, so perhaps I would have enjoyed this more if I had.  As it stands, I would just rate it as an okay mystery.

The Trouble With Witches is book 3 in a series that I have been reading.  The protagonist, Ophelia, is becoming more and more comfortable with her gifts and in this book the magic takes more of center stage. Ophelia and Abby leave home in this book to explore a “cult” that is implicated in a young woman’s disappearance.  The disappearance of Brandi, a murder, and some older crimes are all bound together and resolve neatly in the end. The “cult” has connections to magic and psychic research.  Out of the three that I have read in the series so far, I still find the first one my favorite.  I will continue to read the series to see what happens in Ophelia and Abby’s lives.