tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74628365753323971312024-03-13T03:26:05.460-07:00The Maine Suspect-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-92173596501404223042015-04-09T09:43:00.009-07:002021-02-25T06:07:28.525-08:00Who is The Maine Suspect?Katrina Niidas Holm is a voracious and opinionated reader. She's also the wife of fabulously talented writer <a href="http://www.chrisfholm.com/" target="_blank">Chris Holm</a> and an unabashed fan of <a href="http://www.visitportland.com/" target="_blank">Portland, Maine</a>. She writes features and reviews for a number of sites and publications, including <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/" target="_blank">Publishers Weekl</a>y, <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/" target="_blank">Kirkus</a>, and <a href="http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/" target="_blank">Mystery Scene</a>, where she is the small and independent press reviews columnist. She also contributed to the <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/" target="_blank">Los Angeles Review of Books</a>, was <a href="http://thrillbegins.com/2016/02/05/an-interview-with-katrina-niidas-holm/" target="_blank">interviewed</a> by The Thrill Begins, and did a stint as editor and social media maven for The Life Sentence.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1127628605"></span><span id="goog_1127628606"></span><br />-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-57612985156250557002015-03-26T09:05:00.000-07:002015-04-09T09:33:44.991-07:00REVIEW: Murder BoyMurder Boy by Bryon Quertermous<br />
Polis Books (256 pages)<br />
March 31, 2015<br />
<br />
Dominick Prince is in a bit of a bind. Unless his advisor, Parker Farmington, signs off on his thesis, Dominick can’t graduate, and if he doesn't graduate, he can’t accept the teaching fellowship he has lined up in New York. Mind you, Farmington has already rejected said thesis three times and Dominick has little hope he’ll do an about-face without encouragement, so Dominick does what any desperate and delusional crime writer would do: he hatches a plot to kidnap Farmington and forcibly secure his approval. What could possibly go wrong?<br />
<br />
Welcome to the literary rock-tumbler that is Bryon Quertermous’ mind. One part manic and one part meta, MURDER BOY is as much a meditation on love, loss, dashed hopes and second chances as it is a crime-filled, gonzo-pulp fever dream fueled by booze and bodily fluids.<br />
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The book’s narrative style is idiosyncratic yet engaging, and the same could be said of its protagonist; from page one it’s clear that Dominick is both screwed and screwy, and yet still you can’t help but root for his success (albeit from a safe distance, lest his misfortune be contagious). The pace is breathless. The plot has more twists and turns than a carnival ride. The cast is a bizarrely charismatic crew of academics, thugs, and sociopaths (though you can never tell at any given moment who falls into what category). And while the tone is bleak and the humor is dark, there's a kernel of optimism at MURDER BOY's core.<br />
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By the time you reach the final page you may not know which end is up, but that doesn't mean you won’t enjoy the ride; just channel your inner Dominick Prince and go with it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.polisbooks.com/books/murder-boy/">http://www.polisbooks.com/books/murder-boy/</a><br />
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<br />-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-11678143321658482662014-04-12T07:14:00.000-07:002015-02-01T09:10:21.235-08:00Movin' Right AlongHey, there! As you may have noticed, it's been a while since I've posted anything here. You can rest assured that I haven't given up on reviewing, though; I've simply taken my show on the road.<br />
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These days, I spend most of my time writing up new mystery releases for Smitten By Books and Crimespree Magazine. You can get to their respective sites by clicking the links below:<br />
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<a href="http://smittenbybooks.com/" target="_blank">http://smittenbybooks.com/ </a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://crimespreemag.com/" target="_blank">http://crimespreemag.com/</a><br />
<br />
I also occasionally write posts for <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/" target="_blank">CriminalElement.com</a>. You can find those by clicking here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Katrina%20Niidas%20Holm#filter" target="_blank">http://www.criminalelement.com/Katrina%20Niidas%20Holm#filter</a><br />
<br />
So there you have it. Thanks for visiting, and happy reading.<br />
<br />
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<br />-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-63665692607154877092013-04-20T07:03:00.001-07:002014-10-02T13:28:18.576-07:00REVIEW: The Beggar's Opera<br />
<div class="p1">
The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair</div>
<div class="p1">
Pintail (352 pages)</div>
<div class="p1">
February 26, 2013</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Rating: 9 (Excellent!)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
When Canadian police detective Mike Ellis takes his wife Hillary to Old Havana for Christmas, he hopes the trip will repair both his damaged psyche and their failing marriage. Mike would have been better off staying home for the holidays, though, for not only does Hillary leave him (and Cuba) on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas Day, Mike is taken into custody by the Cuban police for a heinous crime he didn’t commit. Or, at least, he doesn’t <i>remember</i> committing it…</div>
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<br /></div>
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Cuban law dictates the police have three days from the time of arrest to indict a suspect or they must let him go. Inspector Ricardo Ramirez, head of the Havana Major Crimes Unit, is determined to make a timely case against Mike lest he be freed and flee the island. Mike is positive he’s innocent, but unless he can prove it, he’ll be transferred to prison where he’ll either be killed in his cell or die in front of a firing squad (whichever comes first). </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
The clock is ticking. What <i>really</i> happened in Old Havana on Christmas Eve? Does Inspector Ramirez actually care? Will Mike Ellis live long enough to find out? A lot can happen in three days’ time… </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Equal parts mainstream thriller and David-Lynchian fever dream, The Beggar’s Opera by Peggy Blair is a beautifully written, quickly paced, cleverly crafted novel that is singularly unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Blair’s storytelling style is perhaps best described as teasing. Her characters may be under the gun, but Blair herself suffers from no such affliction, instead opting to slowly, methodically, <i>stingily</i> dole out the pieces of her puzzle in order to create an aura of tension, menace, and dread. The Beggar’s Opera is chock full of challenging subject matter, but to her credit, Blair never shocks without good reason; be it sexual abuse, rape, murder, prostitution, poverty, gender reassignment, corruption, physical deformity, or terminal illness, her button-pushing is always done in service of the plot. To a one, her characters are unique, compelling, and fully fleshed, and Blair does a remarkable job of bringing Cuba to life on the page. She somehow manages to deliver lessons on history, politics, and culture without making them feel like lectures, and successfully highlights the blatant corruption, shocking brutality, and devastating poverty that plague Cuba without appearing to pass judgment on the island or its people; she neither romanticizes nor vilifies, but instead does her best to paint an honest portrait of the country – warts, beauty marks, and all.</div>
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The Beggar’s Opera informs, it entertains, it’ll break your heart and then lift your spirits a dozen times over, and it’ll almost certainly convince you the only way you want to visit Cuba is via the pages of a good book. As someone from the Canadian embassy tells Mike after his arrest, “There’s no point sugar-coating things: Cuba is what it is. If you’d asked me where to go for a Cuban holiday experience, I would have told you to go to Miami and eat a jerked pork sandwich. I wish people would inform themselves a bit before they come here. It would really make things easier.” Consider me informed, Ms. Blair – thank you, and well done.</div>
-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-2061469866480294152013-02-26T00:00:00.000-08:002014-09-29T08:34:34.012-07:00REVIEW: Assaulted PretzelAssaulted Pretzel by Laura Bradford<br />
Berkley Prime Crime (288 pages)<br />
March 5, 2013<br />
<br />
Rating: 8 (Good!)<br />
<br />
For fans of: Paige Shelton<br />
<br />
Claire Weatherly loves the life she’s carved out for herself in the small town of Heavenly, Pennsylvania. She loves living in Sleep Heavenly, the bed-and-breakfast owned by her Aunt Diane. She loves running her own gift shop, Heavenly Treasures, and selling local products to the tourists who pass through. And she loves how much quieter and simpler life is in Heavenly, thanks in no small part to the presence of the Amish families who also call the town their home.<br />
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But that quiet simplicity is shattered when toy manufacturer Rob Karble is murdered during a visit to Heavenly. Rumor has it that Karble came to town under the pretense of forging a partnership with local Amish toymakers, but backed out of the deal after procuring copies of the toymakers’ designs. Did Karble’s backroom dealings get him killed – or is there more going on in sleepy little Heavenly than meets the eye? <br />
<br />
Assaulted Pretzel is the second in Laura Bradford’s Amish Mystery series, and it’s a wonderfully engaging read. The book has a strong sense of place; Heavenly comes to life on the page by virtue of Bradford’s vibrant prose, and in Sleep Heavenly, she’s created one of the warmest, coziest, most inviting retreats a reader could ever hope to visit (in person or via fiction). The story is cleverly plotted and quickly paced, and the mystery is remarkably well constructed, with a nice collection of plausible suspects and a host of expertly deployed clues. <br />
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Bradford does a fantastic job of introducing the reader to what’s essentially a foreign culture. The rules by which the Amish live are complex and are vastly different than those followed by their “English” counterparts, but Bradford not only manages to explain them without employing a single info dump, but uses them to enrich and complicate her tale, as well. The interpersonal relationships alone are enough to make your head spin, and Bradford deserves a ton of credit for choosing such a unique and fertile theme for her series. <br />
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Bradford’s character development skills are strong. Claire’s occasionally a little too earnest for my taste, but when she’s not busy channeling Pollyanna she makes for a strong and determined heroine. Good friend and potential love interest Jakob is a skilled and dedicated detective, and is made all the more interesting by the fact that he decided to leave Heavenly to become a cop after he was baptized into the Amish faith – an act that earn him ostracization by his family and his community. And the love triangle that’s developing between Claire, Jakob, and Jakob’s still-Amish childhood rival Benjamin is positively riveting. To call the situation complicated would be a gross understatement, and the relationships forming between the three of them alone are reason enough for me to seek out the next installment of Laura Bradford’s Amish Mysteries. <br />
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-Kat-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-21708485652467745982013-02-23T00:00:00.000-08:002014-09-29T08:34:46.143-07:00REVIEW: Sweet Tea RevengeSweet Tea Revenge by Laura Childs<br />
Berkley Prime Crime (336 pages)<br />
March 5, 2013<br />
<br />
Rating: 6 (Just okay. It had its strong points, but...)<br />
<br />
For fans of: Joanne Fluke<br />
<br />
When Indigo Tea Shop proprietress Theodosia Browning agrees to be Delaine Dish’s maid of honor, she assumes her biggest chore will be keeping the high-maintenance bride from melting down long enough to officially become groom Dougan Granville’s problem. Unfortunately, however, that accomplishment isn’t meant to be, for Theodosia finds poor Dougan dead in his room just minutes before the ceremony’s scheduled to begin. Who killed Delaine’s fiancé, and why? Theodosia must help the local police get to the bottom of this particular mystery if her friend’s ever to receive any closure.<br />
<br />
Sweet Tea Revenge is the fourteenth of Laura Childs’ Tea Shop Mysteries, and it’s a decidedly ho-hum addition to the series. Childs’ prose is, as usual, overwrought and preposterously florid; the book is drowning in so many adjectives, adverbs, metaphors, and exclamation points that you occasionally lose track of the plot. The pace is slow, there isn’t much action or drama, and the stakes are incredibly low, with nobody of import in danger of being killed or arrested, and no real pressing need to solve Dougan’s murder. The mystery itself is hastily sketched and shoddily constructed, with both the circumstances of the murder and the investigation into it straining credulity. There aren’t enough clues, the suspects are woefully underdeveloped, and the Big Showdown between Theodosia and the murderer is nothing short of ridiculous. <br />
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That’s not to say that Sweet Tea Revenge has no redeeming qualities, however. Theodosia and the other Indigo employees, Drayton and Haley, are charming as ever, and actually make for pretty great company. For you camellia sinensis aficionados out there, this tale contains a ton of information about exotic teas (and even features some tips and a lengthy list of tea resources). And the book has an incredibly strong sense of place, with Charleston and its homes and businesses coming to life in Childs’ hands. In particular, I find myself wishing the Indigo Tea Shop actually existed; between Drayton’s amazing collection of teas, Haley’s drool-worthy assortments of sweets and savories, and the tranquil and cozy yet still genteel atmosphere of the space itself, I can’t imagine a better place to escape to on a sunny afternoon. Ultimately, that’s what keeps me coming back to this series, installment after installment – because everybody needs a cozy getaway, even if it’s located between the covers of a book. <br />
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-Kat<br />
<br />-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-35737634354018627842013-02-19T00:00:00.000-08:002014-09-29T08:34:56.230-07:00REVIEW: Nickeled-and-Dimed to DeathNickeled-and-Dimed to Death by Denise Swanson<br />
Obsidian (272 pages)<br />
March 5, 2013<br />
<br />
Rating: 9/10 <br />
<br />
For fans of: Jenn McKinlay, Diane Kelly<br />
<br />
When Elise Whitmore shows up at Devereaux "Dev" Sinclair's five-and-dime store and offers her a fantastic price on some antique Easter-candy molds, Dev doesn't think too much of it; the woman is probably either cleaning out her attic or needs some extra spending money. But then Dev learns that Elise is going through a nasty divorce and has been sticking it to her husband by systematically unloading all of his family heirlooms, and she feels a twinge of concern; in buying the molds from Elise, did Dev take possession of stolen property?<br />
<br />
That question falls to the back burner when Elise turns up dead, though – particularly since Dev's friend Boone is the one to discover the body and immediately becomes the police’s prime suspect. Dev knows Boone is innocent, but the chief remains unconvinced. Can Dev exonerate Boone and help the cops catch the real culprit, or is her friend doomed to do time for a crime he didn’t commit?<br />
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Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death is the second of Denise Swanson’s Devereaux’s Dime Store Mysteries, and it’s a fabulously entertaining read. The pace is quick, the prose is snappy, and the dialogue is sharp. The mystery is incredibly successful, too – elegant in both design and construction. Yes, the clues are smart, the suspects are well developed, and the solution is satisfying, but Swanson also manages to connect the book’s central whodunit to the series as a whole; the Big Reveal not only ties off the book’s loose ends, but casts a whole new light on Dev’s past – and possibly her future, as well. <br />
<br />
I do have a minor complaint regarding the way Swanson chose to tell this particular tale. The majority of the book is recounted in the first person from Dev’s perspective. Dev has a very engaging and propulsive narrative style, and her chapters read very naturally. Unfortunately, however, for whatever reason, Swanson chooses to occasionally slip into the third person and tell snippets of the story from Dev’s high-school sweetheart Noah’s point of view. Not only are the transitions from first-person to third-person awkward and jarring, but Noah’s voice never quite rings true, and I actually found that I liked him a little less every time I was forced to spend a chapter in (adjacent to?) his head. <br />
<br />
That said, the cast of Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death is flush with incredibly well drawn characters, each with his or her own unique personality, motivation, mannerisms, and background. Dev is as sweet, loyal, and stubborn as they come. Her good friend Poppy, bartender and antagonistic wild-child daughter of the local police chief, is both a supportive sidekick and fantastic comic relief. And Dev’s high-school sweetheart Noah proves a surprisingly likable addition to the group – and does a great job of throwing a wrench into the post-adolescent existence Dev’s been carving out for herself. The relationship between Dev and Noah is at once incredibly complicated and yet very simple, and does a great job of illustrating just how difficult it can be to put the past behind you in matters of romance – particularly when you live in a small town. <br />
<br />
-Kat<br />
<br />-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-86826063100980412042013-02-12T00:01:00.000-08:002014-09-29T08:35:05.672-07:00REVIEW: Evil in All Its DisguisesEvil in All Its Disguises by Hilary Davidson<br />
Forge (352 pages)<br />
March 5, 2013<br />
<br />
Rating: 9 (Excellent!) <br />
<br />
When travel writer Lily Moore signs on for an all-expenses-paid press trip to Acapulco, Mexico, she expects to spend a few days seeing the sights and being pampered in a ritzy hotel. She does not, however, expect for said ritzy hotel to be owned by her ex-fiancé. Or for fellow travel journalist Skye McDermott to vanish in the middle of dinner, just moments after dropping hints to Lily about a new exposé on which she’s working – an exposé that may or may not be about said ex-fiancé. And yet…<br />
<br />
Before Skye went missing, it was Lily’s plan to decamp to a new hotel ASAP. But since neither her fellow travelers nor the hotel staff will lift a finger to help her find her friend and the police in Mexico are notoriously corrupt, she decides that before she can leave, she must first endeavor to locate Skye herself. That task isn’t as simple as it sounds, though – particularly since it seems Lily’s been lured down to Acapulco under false pretenses and is now essentially a prisoner.<br />
<br />
Evil in All Its Disguises is the third of Hilary Davidson’s Lily Moore novels, and it’s her best to date. A twisty, turny tale, full of cons within cons and feints within feints, Davidson’s latest is so compulsively readable, the pages practically turn themselves. Every time you think you've got it all figured out, the story takes another left turn and deposits you back at square one. And Davidson’s cinematic storytelling style coupled with her prose – at once elegant and refined, yet still lush, vivid, and approachable – only adds to this book’s rather considerable charms. <br />
<br />
Most people think of hotels as homes away from home; places of safety and refuge, where at the end of the day, you can lock your door and let your guard down, secure in the knowledge that you’re on friendly soil. In Evil in All Its Disguises, Davidson beautifully illustrates – and then mercilessly exploits – that concept, exploring what it means for one’s sanctuary to become a cell – and a claustrophobic one, at that. The clouds are low, the air is close, and the hotel in which she’s being held captive is not only isolated, it’s practically deserted, all of which conspire to make it feel as though Lily's trapped in a twisted Hitchcockian nightmare.<br />
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Davidson tells this tale with a glorious economy of characters, which helps her to achieve two things. First, it lends the book an air of intimacy and intensity, making the whole thing feel a bit like a locked-room mystery. And second, it causes the reader to wonder whether he or she is truly watching a conspiracy unfold, or is instead witnessing Lily’s Poe-like descent into madness. Because Lily is traveling alone and therefore lacks a trusted ally to ground her and lend her perspective, the reader has no way of knowing whether Lily’s single-minded obsession with Skye’s disappearance is warranted, or is just bugnuts insane. Lily’s suspicions are so elaborate, and she’s so intent on solving a mystery whose existence nobody else is even willing to grant, that you genuinely start to consider the possibility she’s delusional. And while that’s not great for Lily, it definitely makes for entertaining reading. <br />
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Do yourself a favor and add this one to the TBR pile, and stat.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-2865651137088506572013-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:002014-09-29T08:35:14.164-07:00REVIEW: One Hot Murder<div class="MsoNormal">
One Hot Murder by Lorraine Bartlett</div>
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Berkley Prime Crime (304 pages)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
February 5, 2013</div>
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For fans of:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maggie
Sefton</div>
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Rating:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>7 (A decent read.)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ever since Katie Bonner inherited the failing artists' co-op
known as Artisans Alley, she's had to work extra hard just to keep the place
from falling into bankruptcy. The Alley needs to draw in every customer it can to
stay afloat, so when one of the neighboring shops is torched by an arsonist and
the police find an unidentified corpse inside, Katie worries the negative
publicity associated with the crimes could do serious damage to the co-op's
bottom line. Can she help the police catch the culprit and close the case
before the customers start to flee, or will the criminal's next victim be the
Alley, itself?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">One Hot Murder</b> is
the third of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lorraine Bartlett’s</i></b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Victoria
Square Mysteries</i>, and about half of it is a really entertaining read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, it’s the second half of
the book that’s worth your time, which means that in order to get there, you’re
going to have to slog through the first 150 pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that the first 150 pages are unreadable; far from
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the pace is slow, there’s not
much action or drama, and the drama that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i>
there feels forced and manufactured. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the scenes have little, if anything, to do with the
central mystery, and instead only serve to document the petty infighting that’s
taking place amongst the vendors and merchants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, being in Katie’s head for this part of the book
makes you feel like you’re tagging along with someone as they progress through
an incredibly aggravating workweek, and that’s not much fun for anyone
involved. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody really seems to
care that someone’s dead or that there’s a killer on the loose, which means
there’s no sense of urgency, and Bartlett never quite brings Artisans Alley to
life, which makes it even harder to get caught up in Katie’s narrative.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The back half of Bartlett’s tale is actually quite
engrossing, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mystery is
complex and very neatly constructed, and there are some genuinely clever twists
and red herrings mixed in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bartlett’s fashioned a puzzle that will definitely keep readers
guessing, and if you can make it this far, you’ll have a hard time putting the
book down until you’ve reached the end. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Katie is a decent heroine; she’s definitely got gumption and
isn’t afraid to take control of a situation to get what she wants, even if it
means stepping on some toes or ruffling some feathers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I really like the way her
relationship with formerly grumpy Detective Ray Davenport is progressing; it’s
sweet, and it’s funny, and there’s not an ounce of romance to it, which is kind
of refreshing for a traditional mystery cop-sleuth partnership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, however, she shares
almost no chemistry with purported love interest Andy, which makes for some
awkward scenes. The couple comes off more like brother and sister than a pair
of lovers, and I found myself desperately hoping some new potential suitor would
appear on the scene. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The best traditional mysteries are never all about the
mystery – I know that; but there should never be so much padding that one occasionally
can’t even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">find</i> the mystery. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially if said mystery is good
enough to deserve center stage. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
-Kat</div>
-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-61680494044588529032013-01-29T00:00:00.000-08:002014-09-29T08:35:21.455-07:00REVIEW: Buried in a BogBuried in a Bog by Sheila Connolly<br />
Berkley Prime Crime (304 pages)<br />
February 5, 2013<br />
<br />
Rating: 8 (Good!)<br />
<br />
For fans of: Nancy Atherton<br />
<br />
When Maura Donovan agrees to grant her grandmother Nora's dying wish and travel to Ireland to visit the village of Leap (where Nora was born), she doesn't think she's signing on for anything that'll take longer than a week. She figures she'll seek out some of her grandmother's old friends, see the sights, and come home again.<br />
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Life never works out quite as one plans, though, and before she knows it, Maura's befriending the locals and lending a hand down at the village pub. It's only for a few months, she tells herself – just until the pub's managers can figure some things out, and until Maura decides what she wants to do with her life now that there's nothing keeping her in Boston. But when a body's pulled out of the bog, another villager turns up dead, and Maura starts receiving threats, she's forced to wonder if she's destined to become a permanent resident of Leap – with an address in the local cemetery.<br />
<br />
Buried in a Bog is the first of Sheila Connolly’s new County Cork Mysteries, and if the quality of this book is any indication, Berkley has another winner of a series on their hands. Connolly’s latest is a captivating tale – sweet, nostalgic, and full of Irish charm, but also tightly plotted and full of twists, turns, and shocking reveals. There's a strong sense of place; Connolly's lush and vivid descriptions virtually transport the reader to the Irish countryside. And the book reads almost like a love letter to Irish history, culture, and genealogy; Buried in a Bog is as much a mystery as it a story of self-discovery and rebirth – of uncovering one’s history, and in doing so, stumbling across one’s path to the future.<br />
<br />
Connolly’s characters are likable and well drawn, but I must admit to mixed feelings regarding Maura as a heroine. On the one hand, you can’t help but feel sorry for her; her father’s dead, her mother abandoned her, and the grandmother who raised her just died of cancer, essentially leaving her both homeless and penniless. And you have to admire her sense of adventure, what with her spur-of-the-moment decision to (at least temporarily) relocate to Ireland and to try and make a go of it. But neither of these things quite makes up for the fact that Maura’s about as judgmental as they come – especially considering her young age, her relatively poor upbringing, and her current station in life. Her critical nature makes it difficult to truly like her, no matter how much you may want to do so, and that’s probably my biggest knock about this book. She does mellow a bit over the course of this first installment in her tale, and I have a feeling she’ll continue to do so as she acclimates to her new life and the people in it, but for this book, at least, Maura comes off more like a cranky, bitter old lady than she does a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. <br />
<br />
That said, Connolly absolutely nails the book’s ending, tying up all the story's loose ends and rather nicely setting up the rest of the series. Sheila Connolly’s County Cork Mysteries have a ton of promise, and I, for one, can’t wait to see where Connolly chooses to take her readers next. <br />
<br />
-Kat<br />
<br />
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</style> -khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-50361397129408323892013-01-26T00:00:00.000-08:002014-09-29T08:35:29.250-07:00REVIEW: Town in a Pumpkin Bash<div class="MsoNormal">
Town in a Pumpkin Bash by B.B. Haywood</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Berkley Prime Crime (336 pages)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
February 5, 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For fans of:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Joanne Fluke</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rating:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>8 (Good!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Maine blueberry farmer Candy Holliday agrees to help
her friend Maggie tend old Mr. Gumm’s pumpkin patch through the fall season,
she figures it’ll be an easy way to have some fun while making some extra
cash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She does not, however,
expect that she and Maggie will stumble across a dead body buried in a pile of
pumpkins just days before Halloween, or that the discovery will land her smack
in the middle of yet another murder investigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The deeper Candy digs, the more it seems the killer meant
for her to find the corpse and become involved in the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if so, who?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And perhaps more importantly, why?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Town in a Pumpkin
Bash</span> is the fourth of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">B.B. Haywood’s</span></span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Candy Holliday Mysteries</span>, and it’s her best to date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The previous installments in Haywood’s
series have been entertaining, but historically, her attempts to make her books
and her characters seem authentically Maine-y have been so over-the-top that I
actually found them insulting. (Yes, I’m from Maine, so I may be a little
overly sensitive about such matters, but to me, it felt like Haywood spent half
of each book waving her hands and screaming, “This is what Maine people eat!
This is what Maine people wear! This is how Maine people talk! Isn’t it
craaazzzyyyy?” Maine is a state, people – not an alien planet; get a grip.) </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m happy to report, however, that with <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Town in a Pumpkin Bash</span>, Haywood has finally written a book that
feels like it actually takes place in Maine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The characters are quirky and colorful, but not too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The town is small and quaint, but not
nauseatingly so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she drops
just enough Maine facts and trivia into the mix to lend context and veracity to
her tale, but not so many as to disrupt the flow of the story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Haywood’s prose is artful and fun, her narrative style is
engaging, and the two central mysteries (one past and one present) are clever,
complex, and connect quite seamlessly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The story is perfectly paced, with twists, clues, confrontations, and
red herrings dropped in all the right places, and Haywood manages to keep the
reader guessing until the very end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I confess, I wish she’d spent a little more time developing her suspects
(after I read the Big Reveal, I didn’t recall having met the culprit and had to
page back and figure out who said culprit was in relation to the rest of the
story), but in the grand scheme of things, that’s a relatively minor quibble.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’re sick of the cold and the snow and are yearning to
escape to someplace a little more exciting and a little less bleak, look no
further than <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Town in Pumpkin Bash</span> by
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">B.B.
Haywood</span></span>; come for the beautiful Maine foliage, stay for the intrigue
and the dead bodies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-Kat</div>
-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-82431955867612866272013-01-24T18:26:00.000-08:002014-10-02T13:28:57.801-07:00REVIEW: Murder Hooks a Mermaid<i>Note: This review was originally written for inclusion in The Season E-Zine's January mystery section.</i><br />
<br />
Murder Hooks a Mermaid by Christy Fifield<br />
Berkley Prime Crime (304 pages)<br />
December 31, 2012<br />
<br />
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good) (The Season's rating scale now runs from 1 to 5.)<br />
<br />
For fans of: Lorraine Bartlett<br />
<br />
When Glory Martine inherited a 55% share of her Uncle Louis’ souvenir shop, Southern Treasures, she didn’t realize she’d also be inheriting the ghost of her Uncle Louis. Or that Uncle Louis’ ghost would opt to communicate with her via the shop’s mascot, a potty-mouthed parrot named Bluebird. Quirks be damned though, Glory’s proud of what she’s been able to do with her new business, and is determined to make a go of things in her old hometown of Keyhole Bay.<br />
<br />
Spring break is right around the corner, which means Glory should be dedicating all her free time to preparing for the inevitable influx of tourists. Instead, she’s stuck trying to help her best friend Karen clear the name of Karen’s former brother-in-law Bobby, who’s been arrested for murder. It’s pretty clear Bobby’s been set up – but by who and why?<br />
<br />
Murder Hooks a Mermaid is the second in Christy Fifield’s Haunted Souvenir Shop Mystery series, and it’s a bit of a slow burn. I actually wasn’t quite sure what I thought of this book for the first hundred pages or so; the setup is clunky, the story has no real sense of place, and Fifield doesn’t do a great job of establishing the stakes. You never get to know murder suspect Bobby (in fact, I don’t even remember meeting him), which makes it difficult to care whether he’s been wrongfully accused or will be wrongfully convicted, and the pace starts off a bit slow. The premise is quirky and unique, though (the idea of a haunted parrot amuses the heck out of me), and in Glory, Fifield has created a heroine for whom you can’t help but root, so I stuck with it. And I have to tell you, I’m glad that I did.<br />
<br />
Yes, some of the supporting characters feel a bit flat, but the book’s key players – namely Glory, Karen, and Glory’s love interest, Jake – are entertaining and well drawn. The friendship between Glory and Karen rings true, and Fifield does a great job fleshing out the developing relationship between Glory and Jake. The mystery is clever (if a little predictable), and once the action and drama pick up in the third act, the story really sucks you in. <br />
<br />
Final verdict? If you’re looking for a fun and easy read (now with bonus haunted parrot!), check out Murder Hooks a Mermaid by Christy Fifield. It’s not going to change the way you view crime fiction or anything, but it’s certainly an enjoyable way to pass an afternoon.<br />
<br />
-Kat<br />
-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-10206141465725252662013-01-21T09:48:00.000-08:002014-10-02T13:28:57.689-07:00REVIEW: Fonduing Fathers<i>Note: This review was originally written for inclusion in The Season E-Zine's January mystery section. </i> <br />
<br />
Fonduing Fathers by Julie Hyzy<br />
Berkley Prime Crime (304 pages)<br />
December 31, 2012<br />
<br />
Rating: 4.5/5 (Amazing) (The Season's rating scale now runs from 1 to 5.)<br />
<br />
For fans of: Diane Mott Davidson<br />
<br />
White House Executive Chef Olivia “Ollie” Paras is no stranger to danger, drama, and intrigue; in the past few years, she’s helped foil terrorist plots, thwart assassination attempts, and has even survived a kidnapping. But none of the crazy situations she’s faced while in the employ of the First Family has sufficiently prepared her for her latest adventure: the quest to learn the truth about her father, Anthony Paras, who died when Ollie was just a child. <br />
<br />
You’d think it’d be easy for someone with Ollie’s connections to gain access to the information she seeks; unfortunately, though, every answer she procures only raises more questions. Was her father really the victim of a homicide, and not an accident as she’d been led to believe? If so, who killed him, and why? And if her father truly was dishonorably discharged from the military, how did he end up buried in Arlington? Can Ollie get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Anthony’s death – or is she doomed to fall prey to the same criminals who claimed his life?<br />
<br />
Fonduing Fathers is the sixth of Julie Hyzy’s superlative White House Chef Mysteries, and it’s a riveting read from cover to cover. Hyzy quickly and efficiently establishes the mood, setting, and stakes for her tale, and then goes on to build one heckuva fabulous puzzle. Twists, turns, clever clues, and expertly deployed red herrings – Fonduing Fathers has it all and then some, the end result being (as per Hyzy’s usual) an elevation of the genre and one of the best books I’ve read this year.<br />
<br />
In a break from form for the series, Ollie actually spends most of the book outside the confines of the White House; I’m happy to report, though, that Fonduing Fathers is no less thrilling for it. Because the subject of this particular mystery is so personal to Ollie, she’s even more invested in seeing it through to its conclusion. Ollie’s always had moxie; it’s one of her most endearing qualities. But the Ollie of this book is not only tenacious, but, for the first time, she’s angry, too, and this fire only serves to make her all the more compelling and relatable. <br />
<br />
That’s not to say, however, that our heroine’s gone hard; to the contrary, Fonduing Fathers offers readers the chance to see Ollie at her warmest and most tender, as well. Her developing rapport with First Kid Josh will warm the cockles of even the hardest of hearts, and the chemistry Hyzy’s cooked up between Ollie and Secret Service Agent Leonard “Gav” Gavin is nothing short of stellar. The couple’s romance has been progressing for at least a couple of books now, but it really comes into its own here. Gav’s the Frank Hardy to Ollie’s Nancy Drew (oh, c'mon – they were SO TOTALLY a thing). He treats her like a partner and a respected equal, which is a refreshing change from the stereotypical cozy (but then, nothing Hyzy does is stereotypical), and I, for one, can’t wait to see what the future has in store for these two.<br />
<br />
-Kat-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-44852987851358353262013-01-20T09:00:00.000-08:002014-10-02T13:28:57.720-07:00REVIEW: What a Ghoul Wants<i> Note: This review originally appeared in The Season E-Zine's January mystery section.</i><br />
<br />
What a Ghoul Wants by Victoria Laurie<br />
Obsidian (352 pages)<br />
December 24, 2012<br />
<br />
Rating: 4.5/5 (Amazing) (The Season's rating scale now runs from 1 to 5.)<br />
<br />
For fans of: Juliet Blackwell<br />
<br />
Ghost hunters M.J. Holliday and Heath Whitefeather have traveled all over the world filming their reality television show, Ghoul Getters. They’ve visited some incredibly creepy locations and faced down some extraordinarily powerful spirits, but none of their experiences has sufficiently prepared them for their current project: a shoot at Kidwella Castle in northern Wales.<br />
<br />
Kidwella is haunted by a number of spooks, but perhaps the most legendary is the one known as the Grim Widow. The Grim Widow is a ghost so dangerous she’s rumored to have claimed nearly a dozen lives in the past forty years – and it seems she has no intention of retiring anytime soon, as a body is found floating in the moat soon after the crew arrives. Their very first encounter with the phantom proves to M.J. and Heath that the Grim Widow's not only real, but is even more malevolent than they were led to believe. But is she actually responsible for all of Kidwella’s corpses – or is a flesh-and-blood killer using her for cover?<br />
<br />
What a Ghoul Wants is the seventh of Victoria Laurie's fabulously entertaining Ghost Hunter Mysteries. Laurie's among my very favorite authors and this is my favorite of her two series, so I'm happy to report that What a Ghoul Wants doesn't disappoint. I've always been a sucker for a good ghost story, and What a Ghoul Wants is certainly that. The woman knows how to bring the creepy; the spectral encounters she writes are the stuff of nightmares – what you desperately hope for when you tune in to an actual ghost-hunting reality show, but unfortunately never get. She has a genuine talent for creating unique spirits with compelling origin stories and then using those creations to scare the crap out of her characters and her readers, alike. <br />
<br />
That said, What a Ghoul Wants isn’t all thrills and chills; it’s as much a cleverly plotted mystery as it is a ghost story, and there’s plenty of humor and goofy charm to be found here, as well. The setup is marvelous, the pace is quick, and the stakes are high; Laurie wastes no time plunging you straight into the center of the action and doesn't pause to let you catch your breath until she’s got you good and hooked. This is the kind of book you consider calling in sick just to read, and it will pain you to put it down in between sittings.<br />
<br />
The characters are fantastic to a one. I adore M.J. as a heroine; she’s strong, smart, loyal, brave, and incredibly resourceful. She’s also doggedly determined without being reckless, and that’s a rare trait amongst traditional mystery heroines. For his part, Heath is both a perfect partner and a perfect love interest (and a darned intriguing character in his own right), and the developing relationship between he and M.J. just serves to make the two of them even more likable. Best friend, technical advisor, and all-around-scaredy-cat Gilley is, as usual, completely over the top, but he's great comic relief. And bit player Inspector Lumley very nearly steals the show. He flies in the face of everything you've come to expect from a traditional mystery cop, and his presence adds a goodly amount of heart to the tale, as well.<br />
<br />
The upshot? Buy this book. Buy it now. Who needs Dickens and his lame assorted Christmas ghosts when you've got Victoria Laurie and her merry band of ghostbusters?<br />
<br />
-Kat<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-6775127894569593062012-07-08T09:18:00.000-07:002014-10-02T13:28:57.786-07:00REVIEW: The Diva Digs Up the Dirt<i>Note: This review originally appeared in <a href="http://theseasonforromance.com/june2012-mystery-at-a-glance.php">The Season E-Zine's</a> June mystery section.</i> <br />
<br />
The Diva Digs Up the Dirt by Krista Davis<br />
Berkley Prime Crime (290 pages)<br />
June 5, 2012<br />
<br />
Rating: 5/5 (Chart Topper) (The Season's rating scale now runs from 1 to 5.)<br />
<br />
For fans of: Diane Mott Davidson<br />
<br />
Domestic diva Sophie Winston knows that her boyfriend, Detective Wolf Fleishman, used to be married. She also knows that Wolf's wife Anne disappeared without a trace four years ago, and that a lot of people – many of them fellow cops – believe Wolf was responsible for that disappearance. But Wolf insists Anne left of her own accord, and Sophie believes him; Anne's body's never turned up, Wolf was never charged with any crime, and most importantly, Sophie knows that Wolf is incapable of murder, so she's never felt unsafe in his company, nor has she ever doubted his innocence.<br />
<br />
But then one afternoon she slips into Wolf's backyard to surprise him by planting a rosebush and instead unearths Anne's purse, and everything changes. Thanks to her discovery, Wolf is once more the center of a homicide investigation. Sophie’s still relatively certain her boyfriend’s not a criminal – but why would any woman bury her own wallet in the ground before leaving town? Sophie can't seek solace in her party-planning work, because all hell has broken loose on her current job and someone appears to be trying to poison her clients. And then there's the small matter of the home improvement show her friend Natasha’s sicced on her quiet little refuge of a backyard... <br />
<br />
The Diva Digs Up the Dirt is the sixth in Krista Davis' Domestic Diva Mysteries, and it's one heck of a fantastic read. Davis’ latest fires on all cylinders; the plot is tight, the setup is smart, and the mystery is rich and multi-layered and really will keep you guessing until the very end. The pacing is perfect and she sets just the right mood and tone in every scene, knowing exactly when to undercut heavy with humor and when it’s better just to let a serious moment stand. The book has a strong sense of place, and her characters are so strongly developed and skillfully drawn they practically come to life on the page. <br />
<br />
Sophie is one of my absolute favorite traditional mystery heroines. She’s smart, she’s kind, she’s funny, and she’s strong, and she has a down-to-earth quality about her that makes her incredibly relatable. She has a fantastic narrative voice that sucks you in and forces you to become emotionally invested in the tale she’s telling. The relationships she shares with her neighbors, friends, and even her clients all feel genuine and earned, and each adds something unique and worthwhile to the story. In particular, her rivalry (and reluctant friendship) with the high-energy, high-maintenance Natasha adds the perfect amount of comic relief to an otherwise intense plot. And the way Davis paints Sophie’s relationship with Wolf in this book is nothing short of brilliant. She loves him and is determined to do everything in her power to save him, but the fact that she’s uncertain as to the truth surrounding his wife’s disappearance, coupled with the fact that he refuses to even discuss the matter with her, makes it exceedingly difficult for her to determine what’s a help and what’s a hindrance. Regardless, her dogged determination to do what’s right in the face of her certainty that the outcome of the police investigation will ultimately have a serious impact on her future with Wolf adds layers of intensity, uncertainly, and melancholy you don’t often find in a traditional mystery.<br />
<br />
The fact that the B-story involving her rich, crazy, back-stabbing, poison-happy clients is just as complex and wonderfully developed as the mystery surrounding Wolf and Anne is just icing on the cake. <br />
<br />
I’ve long been a fan of Krista Davis’ Domestic Diva Mysteries, and The Diva Digs Up the Dirt is without a doubt the finest installment thus far. Buy it, read it, love it. <br />
<br />
-Kat-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-62232181519925256142012-06-30T11:47:00.004-07:002014-10-02T13:28:57.762-07:00REVIEW: Murder for Choir<i>Note: This review originally appeared in <a href="http://theseasonforromance.com/2012/mystery/jul-murder-for-choir-joelle-charbonneau.php">The Season E-Zine'</a>s July mystery section. </i><br />
<br />
Murder for Choir by Joelle Charbonneau<br />
Berkley Prime Crime (July 3, 2012)<br />
304 pages<br />
<br />
Rating: 4.5/5 (Amazing) (The Season's rating scale now runs from 1 to 5)<br />
<br />
For fans of: Diane Kelly, Wendy Lynn Watson<br />
<br />
Paige Marshall is a struggling opera singer. A struggling, out-of-work opera singer with bills to pay, to be more precise. Which means that until her manager can find her a paying gig, she's stuck living with her Aunt Millie in Lake Forest, Illinois and coaching the Prospect Glen High School show choir. The job should be easy money, but unfortunately for Paige, it’s anything but; her students neither like her nor have any confidence in her ability to lead them to the championships, and her co-coach, Larry DeWeese, is utterly lacking in creativity and completely intimidated by Greg Lucas, the slimy, egotistical coach of their show choir rivals from North Shore High.<br />
<br />
Paige is determined to win over the kids and lead them to victory – or, at the very least, to make a go of it until something better comes along – but then Greg Lucas is found dead, a microphone cord wrapped around his neck, and she’s forced to wonder just how much more impossible that task can become. Not only is Prospect Glen’s best male singer at the top of the police’s suspect list, but Paige’s co-coach has been acting awfully suspicious, as well. Paige knows Prospect Glen doesn’t stand a chance of winning this year if either man winds up behind bars (and she’s pretty sure neither of them is a murderer), so she decides to do some digging and solve Greg’s murder herself. That should win her brownie points with her students, right? If her investigation doesn’t get her killed first, that is…<br />
<br />
Murder for Choir is the first of Joelle Charbonneau’s Glee Club Mysteries, and if the debut is any indication, Berkley’s got a winner of a series on their hands. Charbonneau writes with a young, hip voice that’s witty, engaging, and perfectly suited to the story she’s telling. The book has a strong narrative drive and the prose has a snappy, staccato rhythm to it that keeps the pace moving right along. The setup is fun; the mystery is cleverly constructed with viable suspects, clues, and red herrings galore; and the book manages to be riotously funny without falling into farce, which is no mean feat. The book contains just enough music and show choir references to earn its theme, but not so many as to turn off the non-musically-inclined among us; Glee, it’s not (and that’s a good thing).<br />
<br />
Charbonneau’s character work is strong, as well. Paige is everything you could hope for in a leading lady. Strong, smart, funny, and charmingly self-deprecating, she’s the kind of character you’d happily befriend if you met her in real life, and her sweetly antagonistic relationship with her Aunt Millie's misanthropic poodle, Killer, is both hilarious and heartwarming. Aunt Millie is a hoot and a half, and (like her poodle) adds equal measures of heart and comic relief to the story. Curmudgeonly Detective Mike Kaiser and rakish drama teacher Devlyn O’Shea make for compelling potential love interests, and the triangle developing between the two of them and Paige promises to provide no shortage of drama for books to come. And poor Larry manages to be at once pathetic and threatening – an entertaining and unexpected combination in a murder suspect, to be sure.<br />
<br />
Like a little harmony and humor with your homicide? You’ve found your match in Joelle Charbonneau’s Murder for Choir; it’s heckuva fun read, and a great way to kick off your summer reading season.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-7218342886575802692012-02-01T08:35:00.000-08:002014-09-30T07:24:43.655-07:00REVIEW: The Next One to FallThe Next One to Fall by Hilary Davidson<br />
Forge, February 2012<br />
<br />
Rating: 9/10<br />
<br />
Travel writer Lily Moore and her best friend, photographer Jesse Robb, traveled to Peru to see the sights, hike the Inca Trail, and shake off the dark cloud that’s been trailing Lily ever since tragedy rocked her world just three months prior. It seems a carefree vacation is not the cards for the pair, however, for when they reach Machu Picchu, they happen across a woman clinging to life in the ruins. Jesse runs to get help, but the woman’s beyond saving, and before she passes, she tells Lily the name of her killer and implores her to share this information with the police.<br />
<br />
The local authorities conduct a brief investigation and ultimately rule the death an accident, but Lily’s convinced there’s more to the story. Jesse begs her to let the matter drop, but Lily refuses, and before long, the two find themselves ensnared in a web the likes of which they may never escape – a web of violence, lies, money, and murder.<br />
<br />
The Next One to Fall is the sequel to author Hilary Davidson’s stellar debut, The Damage Done, and it’s quite simply a fantastic read. Equal parts action-adventure thriller and classic paranoia tale (with a touch of Peruvian travelogue thrown in for good measure), Davidson’s latest is an intelligent, atmospheric, heart-stopping tour-de-force, guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. The prose is graceful, the pace is electric, and the mystery will keep you guessing until the very end.<br />
<br />
The book has a timeless quality to it that, when coupled with the exotic locale and the story’s quiet air of menace, puts me in mind of Katherine Neville’s The Eight, and Davidson’s plot is positively Hitchcockian; rife with staircases, trains, mistaken identities, and charming sociopaths, everybody’s lying about something and everyone’s got an agenda, making it impossible for Lily (or the reader) to determine who – if anyone – can be trusted. <br />
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What I find most impressive about this book, though, is the way Davidson uses the fact of the mystery, itself, as a plot device. The Lily we meet at the start of this book is a ghost of her former self; unable to come to grips with all that’s happened to her, she’s drifting through life on autopilot, keeping everything and everyone at arm’s length. But while the events of The Damage Done served to tear Lily down, that which transpires over the course of The Next One to Fall is what builds her back up, and in that sense, this book is as much an origin story as it is a mystery. -khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-88502756211465560412011-11-27T10:14:00.001-08:002014-09-29T08:35:49.036-07:00REVIEW: You Might as Well DieYou Might as Well Die by J.J. Murphy<br />
Berkley Prime Crime, December 2011 (304 pages)<br />
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Rating: 9<br />
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Everyone’s shocked when decidedly mediocre illustrator Ernie MacGuffin slips a suicide note into Dorothy Parker’s purse and takes a leap off the Brooklyn Bridge; MacGuffin may not have been a successful artist, but at least he was a happy one. Perhaps even more surprising than the man’s death, however, is his posthumous success: as soon as the news of his suicide hits the wire, his work triples in value and the editor of <i>The New Yorker</i> wants Dorothy and fellow Algonquin Round Table member Robert Benchley to write an article about MacGuffin for their inaugural issue. <br />
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The pair accepts the assignment, but the more they look into MacGuffin’s life, the stranger they find the circumstances surrounding his death. For example, the market is now being flooded with new MacGuffin originals, but where are they all coming from? Why isn’t MacGuffin’s widow more grief-stricken? And what’s with the mysterious clairvoyant who’s holding nightly séances in order to communicate with MacGuffin’s spirit?<br />
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<b>You Might as Well Die</b> is the follow-up to author <b><i>J. J. Murphy’s</i></b> stellar first <i>Algonquin Round Table Mystery</i>, <b>Murder Your Darlings.</b> I’ll admit, this book made me nervous. I mean, I flat-out adored <b>Murder Your Darlings</b>; what if Murphy was unable to capture lighting in a bottle a second time? It turns out I worried for naught, though; <b>You Might as Well Die</b> is a madcap tale of murder, lies, mystery, and intrigue, with some bootleg gin thrown in for good measure, and it doesn’t disappoint. (Think <b><i>Dashiell Hammett’s</i></b> <b>The Thin Man</b> meets—well, any of <b><i>P.G. Wodehouse’s</i></b> <i>Jeeves & Wooster</i> novels, and you’ve got the picture.) Murphy’s prose is witty and graceful, his imagery is striking, and his story positively drips with atmosphere. The mystery is cleverly plotted, and though I both anticipated Murphy’s plot twist and correctly guessed the identity of his killer, the ride was no less enjoyable for it. And while we don’t get to spend quite as much of this book lunching with the Vicious Circle or drinking in Tony Soma’s speakeasy as I might have liked, getting to watch Alexander Woollcott and Harpo Marx wreak havoc on the streets of New York with their own unique brand of extreme croquet and witnessing Houdini perform the halftime show of the very first NFL game ever played fills the void quite nicely.<br />
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The humor in this second <i>Algonquin Round Table Mystery</i> is less Dorothy Parker than it is “Who’s on first?”-era Abbott & Costello, but Murphy prevents things from becoming too vaudevillian by tackling some heavier issues than you might expect to find in a traditional mystery. From discussions of suicide to lonely moments spent in the special hell that is unrequited love, Murphy knows exactly when to undercut a serious scene with humor and when to just let that moment be, and he does so here with grace and aplomb.<br />
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And then, of course, there’s Dorothy Parker. In my review of <b>Murder Your Darlings</b>, I complimented Murphy on the way he managed to humanize Parker without diminishing her, and with <b>You Might as Well Die</b>, that compliment still stands. Murphy paints Parker as equal parts caustic and insecure. Readers are just as likely to identify with her as they are to sit in awe of her, and in my mind, you can’t hope for much more from a heroine. <br />
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The best books don’t merely entertain, they transport, and in <b>You Might as Well Die</b>, <i>J.J. Murphy</i> has created a time machine you’ll want to fire up again and again.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-37628632714818895522011-10-07T15:12:00.001-07:002014-09-29T08:35:58.773-07:00REVIEW: Death, Taxes, and a French ManicureDeath, Taxes, and a French Manicure by Diane Kelly<br />
St. Martin’s, November 2011 (368 pages)<br />
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Rating: 9<br />
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For fans of: Susan Isaacs<br />
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Tara Holloway hasn’t seen a dull moment since starting work for the Treasury Department’s Criminal Investigations Division. She used to spend her days pushing paper in a tiny cubicle, but her new career has her carrying a badge, wielding a gun, and conducting investigations in the field. She’s even been tasked with helping the DEA bust an ice cream man who’s selling a lot more than popsicles to the neighborhood children (drug money’s taxable, dontcha know).<br />
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Her love life’s gotten more interesting too, thanks to a burgeoning romance with hunky landscape architect Brett Ellington. But just as things are starting to heat up for the couple, Tara uncovers a link between Brett and a suspected Ponzi scheme operator that causes her to slam on the brakes. Are the ties between the men mere coincidence, or does Tara not know her boyfriend as well as she thinks she does? Can she date someone she’s investigating? Can she investigate someone she’s dating? Ah, the perils of mixing business with pleasure…<br />
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Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure is the first of author Diane Kelly’s Tara Holloway Novels. I confess, I worried whether any book with an IRS agent for a protagonist and the word “taxes” in the title could keep me entertained for 368 pages, but Kelly defies expectation with this smart, sexy debut. Her prose is witty and stylish. Her mystery is seamlessly constructed, and includes just enough banking and finance information to inform the story, but not so much as to bore or confuse the reader. And for those of you who like a little sizzle with your intrigue, well – let’s just say there’s a reason this book garnered Kelly an award from the Romance Writers of America. The story is a bit of a slow burn, as Kelly definitely takes her time setting the scene and moving her pieces into place, but the narrative drive is strong, and like a good game of Mouse Trap, the payoff is well-worth the wait.<br />
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When I started this book, I wondered if perhaps its characters would be its downfall; to a one, they’re bold and brash and larger than life. Now, don’t get me wrong – big is better than boring, and I’d take a caricature over a piece of cardboard any day of the week. But when an entire cast is turned up to eleven, it can be exhausting to try and spend the length of an entire novel in their company.<br />
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Thankfully, however, in fiction as in real life, relationships inform character, and Kelly’s characters’ relationships are their saving grace. Case in point: Tara, our heroine, is introduced to us as a sharp-shooting, ass-kicking country girl by day, and a merlot-sipping, stiletto-sporting, semi-sex-obsessed woman by night. She’s irreverent and entertaining, yes, but a little too self-consciously so – like maybe she’s trying too hard to make us notice her or something. (Who the hell puts maraschino cherries in their red wine?) This hyper-color version of Tara is just a first impression, though; as soon as she starts interacting with her fellow castmates, her true colors shine through. From her unlikely friendship with "Latina Barbie" DEA Agent Christina Marquez to her schizophrenic romance with mysterious boyfriend Brett, Tara’s relationships serve to humanize her, the end result being a charming, likable, and thoroughly unique protagonist. <br />
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Looking for a fun new read? Check out Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure by Diane Kelly. Part romance, part thriller, and part comedic mysery, it's just the thing to help keep you warm on a chilly autumn night.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-27100486764092883612011-08-22T15:16:00.001-07:002014-09-29T08:36:07.837-07:00REVIEW: Skating Over the LineSkating Over the Line by Joelle Charbonneau
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Minotaur Books, September 2011
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Rating: 8
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It’s a dream come true for Rebecca Robbins: someone finally wants to buy the Toe Stop roller rink. She should be overjoyed at the prospect of selling the business she inherited from her mother; after all, it’s the only thing keeping her in the tiny berg of Indian Falls, Illinois – especially now that her no-account flim-flam artist of a father has returned to town. So why is she so hesitant to start packing her bags?
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Before she can dwell too long on that question, though, another mystery drops into her lap. It seems someone in Indian Falls has developed a penchant for stealing old cars – and then setting them on fire. Though her grandfather and the gang down at the Senior Center want Rebecca to use her sleuthing skills to catch the criminal, the local sheriff’s department is none too keen on the idea of her nosing around yet another of their investigations. But then some mysterious strangers start lurking around the rink and threatening the lives of her friends and family, and Rebecca comes to the realization that there's no way she can sit this one out.
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Skating Over the Line is the second installment in Joelle Charbonneau’s Rebecca Robbins Mystery series. Given that the book’s cast includes an elderly Elvis impersonator and a hat-wearing camel, you might think that Charbonneau’s latest is all slapstick and no substance. You’d be wrong. Yes, Skating Over the Line is a comedy with more laugh lines than you can shake a jar of wrinkle cream at, but it also has plenty of heart.
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Rebecca is a sassy, determined heroine for whom readers will want to root. Not only is she an intrepid amateur sleuth and a doting granddaughter, but as we learn with the introduction of her father, she’s also a girl with some serious abandonment issues. The scenes Rebecca shares with her father have surprising emotional resonance and shed a nice light on the choices she’s made in life (romantic and otherwise), giving her character a depth the likes of which you don’t often find in a cozy. Though Charbonneau’s no slouch at penning punch lines, I think her true talent may lie in writing sucker punches, and I, for one, hope we see more of this from her in books to come.
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Rebecca’s somewhat stunted romance with the handsome-yet-patronizing Lionel Franklin is entertaining enough, but the most intriguing relationship here is the one between Charbonneau’s leading lady and cantankerous sheriff’s deputy Sean Holmes. Holmes’ interactions with Rebecca are suffused with the sort of smoldering chemistry that can only come from a good love-hate relationship, and I sincerely hope to see the pair thrown together more often in the future.
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The rest of the cast is entertaining as well, comprised almost entirely of the sort of larger-than-life characters you’d find in a Maddy Hunter novel. Randy septuagenarians, spandex-clad roller-skating instructors, and sexually frustrated former strippers, the little town of Indian Falls has more color than your average double rainbow.
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I confess I found the book’s mystery to be a tad predictable (I had the killer pegged from early on), but the pace is quick and the plot is fun, making this flaw easy to forgive. Looking for a light, fun small-town cozy to scratch that Joanne Fluke itch? Search no further than Skating Over the Line by Joelle Charbonneau.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-62742956460538863202011-08-03T17:51:00.000-07:002014-10-02T13:28:57.780-07:00REVIEW: A Taste of the Nightlife<span style="font-style: italic;">Note: This review originally appeared in the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://theseasonforromance.com/july2011_a-taste-of-the-nightlife-sarah-zettel.php">The Season E-Zine's</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> July mystery section.</span><br /><br />A Taste of the Nightlife by Sarah Zettel<br />Obsidian, July 2011<br /><br />Rating: 8 (Very Good) (The Season's rating scale runs from 1 to 10.)<br /><br />For fans of: Juliet Blackwell and Charlaine Harris<br /><br />Nightlife isn’t exactly your typical fine-dining establishment. The restaurant, run by Chef Charlotte Caine and her blood-sucking brother Chet, is one of the few places in New York where humans and vampires can not only dine together, but where a portion of the menu is catered specifically toward vampires. Nightlife is still relatively new on scene and has yet to actually turn a profit, so when undead food critic Anatole Sevarin shows up one night to dine, Charlotte and Chet set about trying to make sure Sevarin has a perfect evening; after all, a good review from him could make or break them. But then a drunk wizard stumbles in, tries to pick a fight with a vampire at table two, and nearly sets the restaurant on fire. The sprinklers engage, the restaurant empties, and their chance to impress the critic goes up in smoke.<br /><br />To make matters worse, the next morning Charlotte shows up for work only to discover the scene-causing sorcerer from the night before drained of blood and lying on the restaurant floor. Nightlife’s declared a crime scene, and once the police discover Chet’s the only vampire with after-hours access to Nightlife, they haul him off for questioning. Charlotte believes her brother’s innocent of the crime, but she’s equally sure he’s hiding something from her. He may not be a murderer, but is he the reason a dead body was dumped at their door? Until the mystery is solved, it’s unlikely the police will allow Nightlife to reopen. Can Charlotte exonerate her brother and catch the real killer in time to save her beloved restaurant, or will she fall victim herself?<br /><br />A Taste of the Nightlife is the first in author Sarah Zettel’s new Vampire Chef Mystery series. I admit, for the first 100 pages or so, I wasn’t quite sure what I thought of this book; the start is a little rocky, due in large part to the excessively detailed, info-dump-y manner in which Zettel introduces the reader to rules of Charlotte’s universe. Once Zettel gets past the formalities, however, she seems to find her flow, and the story just takes off from there. The premise is unique and fun, the plot is intricate and clever, and the mystery is sure to keep you guessing until the very end. Zettel has a young, hip writing style and an easy way with snarky dialogue, both of which to help set her apart from the other authors in her genre.<br /><br />Charlotte’s an incredibly likable heroine for whom readers will want to root; strong, witty, and independent with a good head on her shoulders, she’s more than capable of carrying a series. Her emotions and interactions with other characters feel genuine, and they serve to not only further the plot, but to add depth and complexity to her personality, as well.<br /><br />Zettel also does a good job of fleshing out the other characters who populate her book. Sorcerer-slash-sidekick-slash-knight-in-shining armor Brendan Maddox is a perfect love interest, and the chemistry between he and Charlotte positively sizzles. Chet is perfect as the screw-up brother whom Charlotte loves, but feels a constant need to protect. And Charlotte’s roommates, cosmetics saleswoman Jess and lawyer Trish, help to ground the story in reality and provide a nice counterpoint to all of the crazy supernatural high jinks that otherwise characterize Charlotte’s life. Zettel’s only real failure, character-wise, is restaurant critic Anatole Sevarin. Don’t get me wrong – I find Anatole intriguing, but despite her best efforts, I just don’t think Zettel successfully sells him as a potential love interest for Charlotte. She seems to have been aiming for someone akin to Charlaine Harris’ Eric, but I have a hard time not picturing him as Bela Lugosi. (A very smart, charming, and debonair Bela Lugosi, but still.) For this reason, Zettel’s attempts to fashion a burgeoning love triangle between Charlotte, Anatole, and Brendan fall kind of flat.<br /><br />A Taste of the Nightlife ends so strongly and on such sure footing that I was very tempted to give it a nine; ultimately, however, the weak start dragged the score down to a very high eight. That said, I have incredibly high hopes for the series, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun summer read.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-27080973176577579082011-07-04T11:47:00.000-07:002014-10-02T13:28:57.701-07:00REVIEW: A Parfait Murder<span style="font-style: italic;">Note: This review originally appeared in </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://theseasonforromance.com/mystery_at-a-glance.html">The Season E-Zine's</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> June mystery section.</span><br /><br />A Parfait Murder by Wendy Lyn Watson<br />Obsidian, June 2011<br /><br />Rating: 9 (Excellent) (The Season's rating scale runs from 1 to 10)<br /><br />For fans of: Donna Andrews and Madelyn Alt<br /><br />Tallulah "Tally" Jones is living the good life: summer has returned to Dalliance, Texas; her ice cream shop, the Remember the A-la-mode, is doing a respectable business; and she’s once more happily ensconced in a relationship with her former high-school sweetheart, Finn Parker. But then her cousin Bree’s no-account ex, Sonny Anders, returns to town, a new woman on his arm and a wad of cash in his pocket, and Tally’s happy existence is thrown into a tailspin. Bree threatens to sue Sonny for child support, and Sonny responds by serving Bree with papers questioning the paternity of their daughter Alice. Tally is hopeful that a simple DNA test will bring the family drama to an end, but when Sonny’s lawyer is shot dead and Bree is found standing over the body holding the gun, she’s forced to admit that their troubles have only just begun. Bree swears she’s innocent of the crime, and Tally knows her cousin is incapable of murder, but the police remain unconvinced. Can Tally and Finn work together to exonerate Bree and catch the real killer?<br /><br />A Parfait Murder is the third in Wendy Lyn Watson’s Mystery a la Mode series. I flat-out adored both the series debut, I Scream, You Scream, and its sequel, Scoop to Kill, so I had high hopes for Watson’s latest, and I’m happy to report it doesn’t disappoint. As always, Watson’s prose is lush, vibrant, and chock full of Texas charm. Her story is rich and complex, her dialogue is sharp, witty, and natural, and her descriptions are so vivid the imagery practically leaps off the page.<br /><br />Watson’s characters are marvelous to a one, each with their own distinct personality and unique motivations. Tally makes for a fantastic main character – a strong, smart, funny, heroine with whom you immediately empathize and identify – and the people who populate her life add wonderful depth and texture to the story. From fiery yet vulnerable Bree, to sweetly serious Alice, to steel magnolia Grandma Peachy, these are characters you can’t help but feel affection for, and by the end of the book, you’re bound to feel as though you’re part of the family, yourself.<br /><br />The mystery is intriguing and expertly crafted, full of twists and turns that you’ll never see coming, but it’s the interpersonal dramas that play out over the course of the book that really make it shine. The relationships Watson has created here – between Tally and Finn, Tally and Bree, Tally and Alice, and even Tally and her ex-husband, Wayne – are realistic and complex and beautifully illustrate the idea that when it comes to matters of love and family, things are never as black and white as they seem.<br /><br />Wendy Lyn Watson’s books are simply a must-read. Go buy A Parfait Murder and while away a sunny afternoon with Tally in Dalliance; it just may be the best part of your week.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-388408350602417542011-07-01T11:41:00.000-07:002014-10-02T13:28:57.716-07:00REVIEW: Ink Flamingos<span style="font-style: italic;">Note: This review originally appeared in the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://theseasonforromance.com/mystery_at-a-glance.html">The Season E-Zine's</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> June mystery section.</span><br /><br />Ink Flamingos by Karen E. Olson<br />Obsidian, June 2011<br /><br />Rating: 9<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style:italic;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><span style="line-height:115%;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-font-style:normalfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;color:black;" ></span> (Excellent) (The Season's rating scale runs from 1 to 10)<br /><br />For fans of: Victoria Laurie<br /><br />Brett Kavanaugh owns The Painted Lady – a high-end, custom-art tattoo shop located in Las Vegas’ swanky Venetian Hotel. Thanks in part to her high-profile address, she’s done tattoos for some big names, the most famous being pop-icon and Flamingos-lead-singer Dee Carmichael. Brett’s the only person Dee trusts to do her tattoos, and as a result, she’s become a fairly frequent customer, coming in for fresh art every time she passes through town.<br /><br />Brett’s association with Dee has always been good for business – that is, until the singer turns up dead in a shady hotel room, her body surrounded by inks and needles, and a fresh tattoo on her body. And to make matters worse, witnesses report seeing someone who looks an awful lot like Brett leaving the scene of the crime. Brett has an alibi and quickly takes herself off the LVPD’s suspect list, but that doesn’t stop an anonymous blogger from launching an internet smear campaign against her, claiming it was a botched tattoo done by Brett that killed Dee. Pictures of Brett taken by an unseen stalker start popping up all over the internet, and it seems someone has been going around town impersonating her. Can Brett catch the killer and silence the blogger in time to save her business, her reputation – and her life?<br /><br />Ink Flamingos is the fourth in Karen E. Olson’s Tattoo Shop Mystery series. It’s the first I’ve read of Olson’s books, but it certainly won’t be the last. Simply put, Ink Flamingos is a fabulous read, full of twists, turns, tattooed corpses, and more red herrings than you can shake a needle at.<br /><br />I love that the conceit of the series is something off the beaten path, something with a little edge to it. There are dozens of mysteries about knitters and bakers and scrapbook-makers, but a tattoo artist with a shop in Vegas? Bad-ass. I’m also incredibly impressed that the mystery is not only intriguing and wonderfully complex, but actually tattoo-related, as well – it’s not just a murder mystery in which a tattoo artist happens to become involved. Too often these days, the central mystery and the series conceit are almost incidental to one another, making you wonder if the author is simply picking plot-points from a hat.<br /><br />Olson does a marvelous job of giving the book a dark, ominous, menacing vibe. The stakes are high – not only are her career and her reputation in jeopardy, but her life is threatened, as well. You really get the impression that Brett is in real and constant danger, and that helps to create a tension that pushes the pace of the book. And the fact that Brett’s identity has been stolen only serves to heighten the sense of unease, giving you the feeling that, try as she might, Brett’s not in control of what’s happening and is instead being forced to play victim to the whims of a vindictive psychopath.<br /><br />Brett makes a great heroine – smart, likeable, headstrong, and fearless – and her chemistry with friend-slash-rival-slash-budding-love-interest Jeff Coleman is so hot it practically sizzles. The cast is rounded out by an ensemble of quirky and entertaining characters, most of whom I wish were a little more fully fleshed, but who are still far from cardboard cutouts, and all of whom add color and dimension to the plot.<br /><br />Looking for a fun roller-coaster ride of a summer mystery? Check out Karen E. Olson’s Ink Flamingos. Come for the fabulous cover, stay for the thrilling conclusion.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-73924152213911141372011-06-07T17:24:00.000-07:002014-10-02T13:28:57.793-07:00REVIEW: Flowerbed of State<span style="font-style: italic;">Note: This review originally appeared in </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.theseasonforromance.com/may2011_dorothy-stjames-flowerbed-of-state.php">The Season E-Zine's<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"></span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> May mystery section.</span><br /><br />Flowerbed of State by Dorothy St. James<br />Berkley Prime Crime, May 2011<br /><br />Rating: 10 (Perfection!) (The Season's rating scale runs from 1 to 10)<br /><br />For fans of: Julie Hyzy<br /><br />When Assistant White House Gardner Cassandra “Casey” Calhoun heads out to Lafayette Park in the pre-dawn hours to do a little weeding, she has no idea that later that morning, she’ll be waking up in that same muddy flowerbed with a head wound and ligature marks around her neck. Or that just feet from where she wakes, she’ll find the body of a woman in a trashcan. A woman with hair the same color as Casey’s own, who’s wearing a suit that resembles the one Casey is wearing – and who appears to have been strangled to death.<br /><br />The police, FBI, and Secret Service seem convinced the woman was killed by one of the protesters picketing the banking summit that’s underway at the White House, and that the murder is part of a larger plot in place against the President. But then why attack Casey? As the only living witness to the crimes, Casey knows there’s a good chance she’s still in danger, despite the fact that she has little memory of the morning’s events. Can she help catch the killer before he has a chance to come back and finish what he started?<br /><br />Flowerbed of State is the first in author Dorothy St. James’ White House Gardener Mystery Series, and it’s a stunner of a debut. The book is perfectly paced, dropping you straight into the middle of the mystery with very first scene and then hurtling you like a freight train toward the thrilling conclusion. The prose is witty and smart and wonderfully descriptive. The mystery is dazzlingly complex and brilliantly plotted. Every suspect, every clue, every red-herring – all work together to form a compulsively readable, masterfully crafted tale of intrigue, betrayal, and suspense.<br /><br />St. James’ character development is simply marvelous. Casey is a funny and winsome heroine with one of the most interesting (and tragic) backstories I’ve seen in a cozy heroine to date. Every member of the supporting cast you meet, from to sleazy banking exec Brooks Keller to fatherly head gardener Gordon Sims to roguish billionaire Richard Templeton is richly developed and does his or her part to add texture to the story and meat to the plot. And Special Agent Jack Turner is a Top Ten love interest in the making, the development of the relationship between him and Casey pitch-perfect at every turn.<br /><br />By having the attack on Casey closely resemble the manner in which the murder victim was killed, St. James provides her protagonist with the perfect motivation to get involved in the investigation. Casey may be a little indiscriminate with the information she possesses regarding said investigation and a little naïve as to who should and shouldn’t be a suspect, but as she hastens to point out, she’s never solved a mystery in her life, and her only qualification as a detective is the fact that she reads quite a lot of detective novels.<br /><br />Oh, and I'm happy to report that the book is info-dump-free! There's plenty of information about gardening to be found here, but St. James manages to seamlessly incorporate it into the storyline – a skill that's all too rare among her peers.<br /><br />Simply put, I adore this book, and I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel. Go out buy it now – you can thank me later.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7462836575332397131.post-49205085900236124162011-06-04T16:06:00.000-07:002014-10-02T13:28:57.734-07:00REVIEW: ANGEL'S VERDICT<span style="font-style: italic;">Note: This review originally appeared in </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://theseasonforromance.com/february2011_mystery_2.php">The Season E-Zine's<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"></span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> February mystery section.</span><br /><br />Angel's Verdict by Mary Stanton<br />Berkley Prime Crime, February 2011<br /><br />Rating: 9 (Excellent) (The Season's rating scale runs from 1 to 10)<br /><br />For fans of: Nancy Atherton and Madelyn Alt<br /><br />The two branches of Beaufort & Company, the Savannah law firm Brianna “Bree” Winston-Beaufort inherited from her uncle, couldn’t be more different. When Bree’s in residence at the Bay Street office, she and her mortal staff handle “temporal” matters – the same sorts of cases you’d expect to find at any other small firm in the city. When she heads across town to the Angelus Street office, however – that’s when things get interesting. This celestial branch of Beaufort & Company is staffed by angels and deals exclusively with sentencing appeals brought by condemned souls before the Celestial Courts.<br /><br />The caseload at Bay Street – the only office that brings in any money – has been kind of light since the firm changed hands, so when aging actress Justine Colville makes an appointment to discuss changes to her will, Bree jumps at the business. When Justine shows up to meet with Bree, however, it becomes apparent that her will is the least of her concerns. Justine has been cast to play a role in Bitter Tide, a TV movie about the murder of 1950s B-movie actress Haydee Quinn, and it seems someone is trying to sabotage the production and make it appear as though Justine is to blame. Bree agrees to look into the matter, but after some digging, she discovers that the mystery surrounding the movie might be linked to the original mystery of Haydee’s murder. Who really killed Haydee Quinn? Did the police send the wrong man to his death? Who’s responsible for the trouble on the set of Bitter Tide, and why is someone so determined to shut down the movie and end Justine Coleville’s career? Does Bree have what it takes to find the answer to these questions and bring justice to those involved – both living and dead?<br /><br />Angel’s Verdict is the fourth in Mary Stanton’s Beaufort & Company Mystery series. I don't know what I expected when I picked up Angel's Verdict, but it wasn't this. Stanton’s book is a pulp mystery wrapped in an urban fantasy wrapped in a traditional mystery, and it's fantastic. Angel’s Verdict has a marvelous sense of atmosphere, the pacing is perfect, and the mysteries, both past and present, are engaging and incredibly well-constructed. Stanton’s prose and dialogue are a pleasure to read. And with regard to the more otherworldly aspects of Bree’s existence, Stanton does exactly the right amount of world-building – enough to prevent you from becoming confused but never so much as to distract you from the story.<br /><br />Stanton’s characters are fabulous to a one. From the tortured and deeply flawed Dent to the regal and mysterious angels who work with Bree, even Stanton’s minor players are complex and richly textured with their own unique motivations. And for her part, Bree makes a wonderful heroine – strong, steely, and determined, yet still warm and caring underneath it all. I love that she can tell the more mystical side of her profession is changing her in some way, but she isn’t sure how, and she’s at least a little frightened about the potential consequences of those changes. Bree’s budding romance with Savannah Police Lieutenant Sam Hunter has real potential, as well. I would have liked to see little more interaction between Bree and Sam in Angels’ Verdict because the chemistry they share is quite compelling, but that's not really what this book is about. Rather than complain, then, I'll just have to go out and pick up the rest of the series.<br /><br />Looking for a fun new series that’s a little off the beaten path? Check out Mary Stanton’s Beaufort & Company Mysteries; you’ll be glad you did.-khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07558894439105120950noreply@blogger.com