Tag Archives: book

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An Appetite for Murder by Lucy Burdette

 

Spent a lovely afternoon window shopping, then had lunch with a couple generous glasses of sangria, and then finally settled down and read An Appetite for Murder.  This cozy has a food related theme but this time the sleuth is a wanna be food critic, Haley Snow.

Haley becomes embroiled in the murder when the police suspect her in the death of her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend.  Haley investigates as no one else seems inclined to do much investigating now that the fingers are pointed firmly at her.  Along with investigating the murder, Haley is also competing for a coveted food critic job in a new local magazine.  The character was well developed and I love that she was from Jersey, where I live now.  There is a varied cast of supporting characters, who will probably continue to be featured in the series.

The mystery was interesting and although I knew one piece before the reveal, I didn’t figure it all out.  I liked the twists and turns and the local color in the story.  Very good start to a series.  I will definitely read more.

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Coming Clean by Sue Margolis

 

I have read other books by Sue Margolis and enjoyed them, so when I saw this one I picked it up.

This was a quick chick lit read for me.  What really stood out was the realistic portrayal of a marital breakup.  In most of these type books the divorce is predicated by some great betrayal, whether it be adultery, theft, or some other deceit, but in real life most people that I know who divorced were just cases like this, people growing apart over time.  The more “apart” people feel, the less inclined they are to forgive their partner’s bad habits or faults (which is basically what happened in the story). I have had more than one friend say that their marriage turned into just a “roommate” type relationship.  I also felt that the financial situation was more realistic than in the average chick lit/women’s fiction divorce story.

I admire the writing and the character development, but that being said there was something missing.  Perhaps the story was so close to real life that it seemed a little mundane?  Not really certain, however overall a good but not great read.

 

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Death Day Party by Paula Carter

 

I picked this up at my independent bookseller after reading the first in the series, Leading an Elegant Death.

This outing in the series didn’t work as well as the first book for me.  This book used a classic plot device, the isolated house in the country, a storm, a bridge to the house washed out, and from then on it “And Then There Were None” territory.  This book was written in 1999 but it came across as a much earlier time and yet it was obviously supposed to be set currently. Although I have read and enjoyed mysteries with this “isolated country house” plot device, it just didn’t ring quite true in this case.

I still enjoyed the protagonists, although Hillary is becoming progressively sillier.  I think that I would have enjoyed another mystery set in the town so that Hillary and Jane would interact more with recurring characters, rather than introduce an entirely new large cast of characters.

I will read the third and last book in the series if I come across it because I did enjoy the first book quite a bit.

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Murder on the Rocks by Allyson K. Abbott

 I just finished this first book in a new (to me) series this afternoon, waiting on doctor’s appointments.  I really enjoyed it!

The mystery was well developed.  I loved the bar theme (and the cocktail recipes).  The protagonist Mack Dalton was really interesting and strongly drawn.  There was a plethora of suspects that Mack, with the assistance of hunky cop Duncan, sorted through, confirming alibis and uncovering clues.  A big positive was that the sleuth is actively involved in the investigation, even though she is a suspect. In some cozies, the sleuth just sort of stumbles around and doesn’t seem to actively investigate.

There is also an interesting Al Capone connection thrown in the mix.  This was a very satisfying cozy and a good start to new series.  I will be on the look out for the next book in the series and some of the other books by this author.

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The Christie Curse by Victoria Abbott

Just got around to reading this because the second book, The Sayers Swindle is out now.  I am so glad I did.  This was a very well done mystery with interesting characters and lots of twists and turns.  I loved the theme, book collecting, similar to the Dido Hoare mysteries that I like.

The main character, Jordan Bingham, is well crafted.  She is very realistic, not some simpering princess but not an unbelievable she-hulk either.  The other characters were fun and interesting, particularly her Uncles.  The book is well written and edited so that the pace flows along nicely and the ending ties up neatly and quickly.  I had figured out one of the villains, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the book.

I am looking forward to the next one of these!

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Jamie Begley – The Last Rider’s Series

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Continuing with the theme of Motorcycle alpha males began last week with Reaper’s Property, I downloaded and read the Last Rider’s Series by Jamie Begley through my turkey coma.  Fun, steamy erotic romances with alpha male biker heros and various respectable good girl heroines thrown in for the ride.

As with any of this genre, you do need to practice some belief suspension, but the characters and the pace of the plot pull the reader along.  The characters are what really drive these books, flawed but you end of rooting for them.  The characters recur throughout the books so by the third one the reader feels they really got to know them well.

The only negative that I would say is that they needed a better editor.  There were some odd or just plain wrong word usages in the books, in fact one that made me snort with laughter, and some other things that a good editor would have corrected.

I am looking forward to the next book, the one that the series has been building up to, Shade’s story.

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Rumour Has it by Jill Mansell and Getting Over It by Anna Maxted

  

I read these two over the weekend.  I picked up both them at my local independent bookshop, Booktrader of Hamilton.  

I loved everything about Rumour Has It.  From the characters (Tilly, among others, was awesome), to the interconnected plot lines, to the setting, it all made for a wonderful read with an all important (to me, for this kind of book anyway) Happily Ever After ending.  The characters that Jill Mansell created here are varied and well developed and make me care about what happens to them.  I have a hard time reading books where I don’t care what happens to the characters.  I need to make some connection and that definitely happens here.  Well written, both funny and heartbreaking, in all it is a very enjoyable read.

I picked up Anna Maxted’s Getting Over It because the cover looked interesting in part, but also because I am constantly admonishing my kids to “get over it” or “suck it up” so I connected to the title.  I struggled with this book, but I can’t entirely say why.  I will admit to skimming somewhere in the middle out of sheer  desperation.  I don’t really get the blurb on the cover – “Hilarious” -USA Today.  Hmmm, not so much, no.  

I think my major issue was that the main character seemed so self absorbed and completely in her own plane of existence.  I think this feeling really was emphasized due to the book being written in the first person, it seemed like the pages were inundated with “I”s. (really – open the book to a random page and count the number of  “I”s on that page and you will get into the double digits)   I get that she showed growth, sort of,  matured, sort of, got over it, sort of…  Anyway, not the book for me, but must have worked for many, many people because it was a National Bestseller (also on the cover) and an Independent Book Seller’s Book Sense Pick.  {{shrugs}}  Moving on..

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Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

 

Found this book at Booktrader of Hamilton and since I had read Good in Bed (Cannie Shapiro #1), I thought I would give it a try.

I have to say that I  while I was able to suspend my disbelief for many things, I had issues with the ending of Good in Bed…most significantly, why the “pusher” was not arrested and why Cannie’s family didn’t seem concerned about that.  (If you read Good in Bed you will know what I mean.)  That leads me to another warning, if you didn’t read Good in Bed, most of this book won’t make much sense to you.

In the first book, I liked the character of Cannie and felt like I could really relate to her and that was basically what held the book together for me.  Unfortunately, in this second book I don’t find Cannie very likeable (or even very rational).  She obviously has still not dealt with her own issues and yet is quick to suggest therapy the minute her daughter, Joy,  acts like a teen, which Joy happens to be.  My biggest issue is that Cannie doesn’t seem to have learned anything from everything she went through in the first book.  So, there are no spoilers, let’s just say secrets and lies.

Finally, this is really not a happily ever after book, seriously NOT happy ending.  Stop reading around chapter 35, after that it is a big downer.

 

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Mysteries….and a Lone Romance

 

   
   

I have been going to bed early because I am still sick, but then waking in the middle of the night and reading because I can’t sleep.  These three mysteries and 1 romance/chick lit were on the top of my stack next to the bed.  Very briefly:

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat, a cute cozy mystery with an slight magical slant.  The sleuth is a big city girl who has taken a job now in a small town library.  Kathleen, the sleuth was interesting and intelligent and the cats, Owen and Hercules are great as well.  The book dragged a little in the middle, it could have done with being a smidge shorter.  The ending did pick up.  The mystery and setting were both well done.

Death Al Dente, the sleuth returns home to take over or rescue the family business, a general/food/local produce and products store.  I didn’t get into this one as much as I had expected to.  I just didn’t really care about the characters and some of the  reactions/actions didn’t really ring true.  It might work for someone else.

The Body in the Vestibule, I picked this one up out of order.  I was somewhat hesitant due to the fact that the sleuth (and main character) was a minister’s wife. I was afraid that it would have heavy religious overtones, but it didn’t.  The mystery takes place in France, I loved the setting and it was very well done!  The mystery  was full of twists and turns and lots of characters.  Well written and the pace of the plot was steady.  The only criticism was that it was slightly dated (some political references to the European Union, etc) but other than that a nice, cozy mystery.

Goodbye, Jimmy Choo, not so sure what to classify this, romance definitely occurs but there is lots of family drama and shopping as well.  I guess it is a romance/chick lit.  Well developed characters and an interesting plot.  You will have to suspend your disbelief slightly on the business portion of the book, but it is quite a good upbeat (at the end) read.

 

 

 

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Sunday in Bed with… Ellery Adams Pies and Prejudice

d0728-sundaysinbedwithsmall A meme hosted by Midnight Book Girl found here.

I have had Pies and Prejudice by Ellery Adams on my cozy TBR list for quite a while.  I found a copy at my local independent book shop, Booktrader of Hamilton.

I really liked this book!  I read a lot of cozies and I will say many fall into the very light, fun read category.  This is fun and it is certainly cozy, no blood or gore here, but the writing has much more depth to it than the average cozy.  The use of metaphors and just the nature of the descriptive language goes far beyond the average cozy.  Excellent writing.  The main character, Ella Mae, is strong and independent as are the rest of her a family, a group of strong southern women.  The setting is well defined and enchanting. The mystery plot develops at a nice pace, not rushed but also it doesn’t drag.  The magical element is not overwhelming, just a touch a magic :), which is how I prefer it.

After reading this, I will definitely continue with this series and I will also read the other series by Ellery Adams, Books by the Bay.