A Christmas Candy Killing / Christina Romeril

 

3.5 stars

Since I couldn't decide between 3 or 4 stars, I guess 3.5 is my final answer. This was a very typical cozy Christmas mystery. Instead of just one woman moving to a small town, the author serves up twin sisters. Alex runs the mystery bookstore, Hannah is the chocolatier specializing in poison themed Killer Chocolates. 

Alex and Hannah are both single, of course, although Hannah is divorced (luckily she is still friends with her policeman ex-husband). As is usual in cozies, there is romantic speculation about both women. Piles of cookies, scones, and chocolates get consumed during the course of the investigation. Despite the fact that they set up a “murder board" to keep track of their thoughts, it often seems that Alex is just randomly poking at things without much thought to her own safety.

Another frequent trope used in the cozy mystery is the incompetent law enforcement officer, driving the main character to investigate for themselves. In this case, it's a smug sheriff who has pegged Alex as her best friend's murderer. So it's okay to interfere in an investigation under those circumstances, right? Hah!

Although there's no mention of it yet, I'm pretty sure there will be another book. Hannah may have found a new admirer, but Alex hasn't sealed a deal yet. I'm glad that this book was good enough for Christmas reading (I'm more forgiving of Christmas books), as the author is a local and I'd like to see her do well.

Sad Cypress / Agatha Christie

 

4 out of 5 stars

The final Appointment with Agatha book for 2022 and it's one I liked. Despite the fact that I am getting mightily tired of Poirot! He was less annoying than usual in this book, to my way of thinking.

I am rather pleased that I had worked out the identity of Mary Gerrard well before the end. However I can't be too proud of it, as Dame Agatha practically laid it out on a silver platter (or silver picture frame, maybe). I was reasonably sure that Elinor was too obvious to be the true murderess, but I also know that Christie plays with the reader's expectations and assumptions. The whole situation was quite damning and I can see why Elinor had quite given up.

As for the man in the mix, Roderick is a useless sort. I can't imagine falling in love with a man I grew up with, but it is a frequent plot point in books of this vintage (and older). I guess it was a way of keeping resources in the family? Roddy is a Barbara Pymian guy, shifty, feckless, selfish and self-dramatising. He likes his relationship with Elinor because she has pretended not to be head-over-heels in love with him. It makes it more comfortable to represent himself as a sensible man, settling for a good financial prospect, not a passionate man marrying for love. It's a pretty tepid thing on his side of the engagement.

It's the doctor who believes in Elinor's innocence and ropes in Poirot. I'm not well versed in the niceties of the English class system—is Elinor normally out of his league? I suspect so. Despite that, he is the passionate one.

At some point in the future, I may reread the book to note the placement of clues and red herrings. And perhaps to figure out the title!

Jailbird / Kurt Vonnegut

 

3.3 out of 5 stars

”This is just the dream of a jailbird. It's not supposed to make sense.“

Reading Vonnegut in your sixth decade is much different from reading him in your third decade. I see much different things in his work now and I'm not as enthusiastic as I once was. His books are still worth reading, but I find them much sadder, less funny. The Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon seem like ancient history now, but it was the biggest news when I was in junior high school. Frankly, it now seems laughably simple and straight forward, but then it required all of us to sit up and pay attention to the behaviour of our elected officials.

I'm struck by Vonnegut's characters who wander through their lives, bouncing off events nearly randomly, giving up much hope of achieving any goals. This was well before the concept of “six degrees of separation,” but these people run into acquaintances frequently and accidentally. Serendipity and bad luck seem to dominate their lives. They meander, wide-eyed, from one circumstance to another, strangely accepting of whatever good fortune or mistreatment they encounter.

”All happiness is religious, I sometimes have to think.”

Perhaps because happiness is down right miraculous in Vonnegut's universe, which highlights the grand indifference of capitalism, the grinding effects of poverty, the duplicitous nature of politicians, the uncertainty of justice and the futility of planning or trying to control anything.

”The economy is a thoughtless weather system and nothing more.”

The Lost Child of Lychford / Paul Cornell

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Although this tale takes place at Christmas, it is not really what I think of as a Christmas story. On the other hand, telling stories of the supernatural during the shortest and darkest days of the year has been going on a long, long time.

Our three witches, Lizzie, Autumn, and Judith, must save their town (and likely humanity and Christmas to boot). They have found an uncomfortable way of relating since the close of the first book. Judith has apprenticed Autumn and Autumn has hired Judith to work in her magic shop. Neither is the boss all of the time, which makes them both cranky. Lizzie is trying to maintain her friendship with both of them without compromising her Christian faith. When a ghost boy appears to Lizzie in her church, she heads directly to the magic shop to consult on the matter.

Perhaps this was not as gripping as the first installment or perhaps I was in a different headspace—I certainly know that the last three years have destroyed a lot of my concentration and that interferes with my ability to appreciate what I read. However, I still enjoyed it very much and will likely read the following Lychford books.

Mutts and Mistletoe / Natalie Cox

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

The main character, Charlie, is in a bad place in her life. Her boyfriend has taken off with his personal trainer and her London flat has been badly damaged in a gas leak explosion. She is in no mood to celebrate Christmas and is having a hard time even being nice to her cousin Jez, who has scooped her out of the hospital and transported her to Devon and Cozy Canine Cottages, Jez's dog sitting service. After a few days there, Jez gets an opportunity to go meet her internet dating interest and she convinces Charlie to take over canine care while she travels.

Charlie's is a fish out of water story. She's a city girl in the country, a computer worker confronted with lots of biological processes, a determined grinch in the holiday season, and a disliker of dogs running a kennel. Unlike Ebenezer Scrooge, she does not encounter ghosts. Instead, she has a collection of mutts with special needs and neighbours she wants to figure out. As she tells one of her London friends, dogs mostly eat, sleep, and poop. What's to be interested in? She is reluctantly attracted to the equally cranky vet, Cal. Both of them have brutally blunt communication styles, so they manage to offend each other every time they meet. Instead of a meet-cute, they have a meet-crank.

Now, I have some sympathy for Charlie, being relatively unexcited about Christmas and having zero desire to live with a dog. (I'm a former rabbit owner, they're my critter.) But you can't live with animals and remain indifferent to them (unless you're a monster) so Charlie's destiny is clear. She may still be a bit squeamish about administering suppositories to an elderly, constipated dog, but at least she has come to feel sympathy for him.

Charlie could just maintain the status quo, but she takes on an enormous deaf Great Dane and a valuable show dog in addition to the regular denizens of the kennel. Then the heating in the dogs' quarters goes out just before Christmas when it's impossible to get a repairman. All the various dogs join Charlie in the house. Plus, she must also deal with the handsome owner of the Great Dane and try not to ruin her chances with the handsome vet.

Lots of amusing situations, as Charlie figures things out. The ending is predictable because, hey, this is a romance. You know where things are going to end up but doggie adventures provide plenty of entertainment while we take the trip.

Cheddar Off Dead / Julia Buckley

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Another enjoyable cozy mystery from Julia Buckley. So far, I'm finding Lilah Drake to be an engaging main character and I feel like I understand her. I haven't lived in a small town for many years, but I still remember how interconnected everyone was. It was difficult to get very much privacy. It seems like someone who knows who you are is always watching and is willing to share those observations. That's why Lilah's undercover food deliveries amuse me so much. The skulking about and the elaborate pseudo explanations are fun (and in a real small community would be pretty hard to conceal from nosey neighbours). 

Lilah and Parker's on-again-off-again courtship seems to be on again. That's probably the safest situation for Lilah, who seems to have a talent for witnessing murders. However, Parker has to be running the investigation of this crime, so we get to meet Wendy, Lilah's police bodyguard. Wendy is a great character, the right balance of protective, professional, and friendly. Parker finally realizes that people open up to Lilah, a useful skill that he can benefit from. This is a big improvement in their interaction. 

There really are too many books and too little time, but I hope to get to the next volume sooner, rather than later!

Midwinter Murder / Agatha Christie

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

This collection of Christie's short stories features many of her fictional characters. What would an anthology of her work be without Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple? But it was much more fun to get another visit with Bunch Harmon in "Sanctuary" and with Tommy and Tuppence in "The Clergyman's Daughter". I haven't yet made a proper acquaintance with Harley Quinn or Mr. Parker Pyne, but I have at least glimpsed them at work now. And how could I forget Mr. Satterthwaite, who shows up in a few of the stories? Delightful to run across old literary friends!

The staying power of Christie's fiction is remarkable, but I think she was expert at zeroing in on issues that will trouble all of history: the aftermath of war, PTSD, economic uncertainty, social change, and, that particular landmine, unsteady personal relationships. Plus the omnipresent issue of crime. Where you find people together in groups, you will also find politics and criminality. 

A nice little selection of short stories which reveal to me how much I have learned about Christie's fiction over the past couple of years.

'Twas the Knife Before Christmas / Jacqueline Frost

 

4 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed this second book of the series, despite the strong similarities in the plot to the first book. A member of Holly White's circle is implicated in a murder. Holly can't quit thinking about it and can't restrain herself from asking questions about the people who are potentially involved. Threats start arriving almost immediately. At the end of book one, it seemed to be a pretty sure thing that Holly and the sheriff would be romantically involved, but since then their bond has cooled. He has less patience with Holly's independent investigation in this volume (and truly who can blame him?) His concern this time seems much more professional than personal.

Holly’s workload is exhausting! She works in her mother's restaurant, runs Christmas contests outdoors, makes kitschy Christmas jewelry which she sells online, and is supervising the construction of a new inn, which her parents intend her to run. Plus she goes to town regularly to pursue her notions about the murder and spends time with her close friends (albeit often multitasking with one of her aforementioned activities). That kind of schedule would kill wear me right out, plus the unrelenting Christmas themed life would turn me into a Scrooge in no time. Bah, humbug! 

One of my favourite details of the book is Holly's rescue cat, Cindy Lou Who (what an inspired name). She is demanding, moody, and rarely affectionate. She regularly dumps her food and water bowls and then loudly demands they be refilled. To Holly's credit, she cleans up and fills bowls with no resentment at all. 

Frost gives us several plausible red herrings and plenty of distractions. I didn't positively identify the murderer until Holly did. Frost didn't give us much to work with in that regard to make the connections, so that's not too surprising. But it isn't Sheriff Evan who saves the day in this installment. The circumstances are fitting but not the slightest bit realistic. It's a Christmas miracle for sure.

There's a third book which I will read sooner or later, though I'm not sure what still needs to be resolved. However, I enjoy Frost's writing enough that I will gladly read it. I don't know about you, but I have slightly different standards for Christmas books--I'll put up with more schmaltz than at any other time of year!

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon / Donna Andrews

 

3 out of 5 stars

This may not be a fantasy world, but it's not the usual world that I live in either. Where else but in Caerphilly would you find an injured vulture kept as a company mascot with no one blinking an eye? But Meg Langslow gets on with things no matter how weird the surroundings, acting as if everything is just hunky-dory normal.

When we met Meg in the first book, she was organizing three family weddings because she was the only member of her family who seemed to be able to focus on anything long enough to see a project to the finish. Now she has been co-opted into being the office manager for her goofy brother's gaming company because he suspects nefarious goings on. Take Meg's large flakey family, add stereotypically eccentric computer programmers, then throw in a murder and you have this novel. There's a lot of silly behaviour which all the characters placidly accept. Each thing individually could pass for realistic (except the vulture) but the combination is a bit overwhelming.

These books feature a trope that is common in cozy mysteries: the Caerphilly police seem to be barely competent to investigate anything and Meg's random poking around in their case doesn't draw any censure. This is the aspect of cozies that annoys me the most. Small town police everywhere must grit their teeth with frustration when someone they know reads this genre.

Once again, I didn't have quite as much fun as I did when I read the first book. But I like Meg a great deal and I'm invested in her ongoing story now. Perhaps seeing a life much more chaotic than mine is comforting? The three ring circus that is her life continues to entertain.

A Sense of Danger / Jennifer Estep

 

4 out of 5 stars

I have finally figured out the basics of accessing e-books through my library and this has potential to seriously complicate my reading life. There I was last night, uninspired by my library books, despite having picked up new ones that day. This little volume called to me and I answered that siren song.

Jennifer Estep has ideas for books that interest me. I read eight of her Elemental Assassin series before I got distracted. I enjoyed the first book of her Crown of Shards series, although I never felt the need to continue on. I got to know Estep a little when she attended a writers conference here in Calgary in 2017 and she struck me as a hard working, disciplined writer and very pragmatic business woman. This is the best book of hers that I have read so far.

This author has imaginative magic systems and I was quite taken with the various talents of the characters in this world. The paramortals keep their talents hidden from regular human society, but their abilities are harnessed by the low-profile spy/assassin organization known as Section 47. Of course there are similarly skilled criminals.

Charlotte Locke has an interesting variant of synesthesia, allowing her to see colours when someone is lying, in speech or in print. This sense also detects danger and allows Charlotte to avoid or at least mitigate what happens to her. Under normal conditions, an analyst like Charlotte would remain in the bowels of the Section 47 building and never require her early warning system, but Charlotte's brilliant reports and accurate analysis has attracted the interest of a high ranking cleaner (i.e. assassin) who is on a revenge mission.

I really liked Charlotte as a character. She has learned so many skills from her mundane grandmother and her deadbeat father (who was a well known cleaner who screwed up royally). She has skills and brains, a delightful combination and Desmond, the vengeful cleaner, recognizes her worth. That's the big fantasy as far as I am concerned—a man who actually sees a woman's abilities and appreciates her as a person equal to him. Desmond's skill set includes seeing people's auras and detecting strong emotion and he likes what he sees in Charlotte.

Within minutes of meeting, these two have given each other nicknames. Desmond is Australian and Charlotte calls him Crocodile Dundee, shortened to Dundee. Desmond calls her Numbers, for her sure analysis of a spreadsheet. These epithets are a bit corny, but serve the purpose of establishing a link between the two agents.

Estep uses my favourite romance trope, enemies to lovers. They aren't really enemies but they are definitely hostile! I loved all the action and the plotting as they pursued the criminals and attempted to uncover the mole in Section 47. There is much more going on than a simple romance story. My library has the second book, Sugar Plum Spies, and I can see myself picking it up soon.

Miss Buncle Married / D.E. Stevenson

 

4.25 out of 5 stars

Having read the absolutely charming Miss Buncle's Book last year, I was delighted to get my hands on this sequel. I could hardly wait to renew my acquaintance with Barbara Buncle, who is now of course Barbara Abbott. Barbara and Arthur have been married long enough to settle into some patterns and not all of these habits are making them happy. They are going out socializing far too frequently and Barbara dislikes playing bridge. However, each thinks that the other is enjoying themselves and they are resigned to being accommodating spouses. When Arthur suggests that they move out of town to get away from it all, Barbara leaps at the chance. She is intensely gratified when Arthur's cranky house staff aver that they could never leave the city neighbourhood—she gives them their marching orders toute de suite.

Of course the perfect house is located, despite an identity mix-up at the local lawyers' office. Barbara has a grand time getting the house clean, redecorated, and furnished, but the best part seems to be providing a haven for her beloved husband. Ms. Stevenson manages to take the mundane details of life and spin them into gold. Anything that attracts Barbara's interest involves the reader as well.

Barbara isn't an extrovert, she is an observer of humanity. In her quiet way, she is fascinated by the wide variety of humans around her. The children next door show her their prized button collection, declaring that no two are the same. I think Barbara feels the same way about her friends and acquaintances. Stevenson proves herself to have a shrewd view of human nature too. With all the new material from their new location, Barbara finds herself madly writing another book. This time, however, she realizes the consequences of publishing and refuses to let anyone but Arthur read it.

Very nearly as good as the first book, but I was not nearly as pleased with the ending of this one. It was clichéd and rather boring. Endings do not seem to be Ms. Stevenson's strong point.

Cursor's Fury / Jim Butcher

 

3 out of 5 stars

Tavi continues on with his roll of invincibility in this third book of the Codex Alera series. He seems to come up with a working plan for every occasion and they always more or less work out. People die, but never one of those that we've come to know. Amara and Bernard are cut from the same cloth. The one dose of reality is Isana's situation, manipulated by aristocrats and then struggling to save a life despite being warned that it would be suicidal.

Tavi's farm boy background comes in handy in this installment. He has learned things that the average soldier hasn't had the opportunity to experience, like the flammability of sawdust and the use of blood to attract sharks. There is a big reveal of his parentage, something we have been anticipating since the first volume if we've been paying attention. The orphan boy with talent always has extraordinary heritage.

The rebellion is at the very least deferred, possibly halted, but there are thousands of the Canim still at large in Aleran territory, so there are plenty of problems to fill the next volume. Now we wait for Tavi's grandfather to acknowledge him. As one of his minions says, Tavi has stopped the Canim invasion, made peace with the Marat, and prevented his grandfather's assassination, all without knowing who his father is. Apparently he is just a chip off the old block, although up to this point, without those helpful fury powers. Butcher hints at the end that the fury problem may be solved, another reason to read on.

Book number 477 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

A Fantastic Holiday Season / edited by Kevin J. Anderson and Keith J. Olexa

 

3 out of 5 stars

So I admit that I bought this anthology expressly for the Patricia Briggs short story, the first of the dates that unknown pranksters have set up for the ancient and tetchy werewolf, Asil Moreno. But it's the final story in the volume. This is an interesting assortment of holiday fiction. Some are ghost stories in good Victorian tradition. The darkest days of the year are appropriate for tales of the supernatural, so I was not too surprised to find zombies and other creatures in these pages. Some science fiction, some stories with a Western flavour, all with holiday details: caroling, gingerbread, lights, and Christmas trees.

Like most collections, there were some tales that I enjoyed more than others. I liked them all but preferred the sci fi offerings. The print on the pages was awfully close to the edges of each page, plus there were a few odd spelling mistakes (mind instead of mine, for example). A little bit of googling revealed that WordFire Press is partially owned by one of the editors of this book, Kevin J. Anderson. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it did make me wonder if a more traditional publisher would have looked twice at it. (I encountered Mr. Anderson at a conference here one summer and he is brimming with self-confidence. Rachel Caine was there too, and I was nearby as they discussed something. KJA strode off, pleased as punch with himself, and Ms. Caine met my gaze and rolled her eyes. It is one of my favourite book conference memories).

The Patricia Briggs short story was not as good as the subsequent offerings on this theme to my way of thinking, although I read it a second time and came to appreciate it more. But I have a weakness for Asil. He is a great character, capable of many outrageous things. Briggs obviously feels the same way. Maybe it's just that I read the first dating story after the second and third that coloured my opinion. If I'd read them in order, I might feel entirely differently

A Death in Door County / Annelise Ryan

 

3.5 out of 5 stars

This book was worth waiting for on hold at the library. I quite enjoyed it and it broke me out of a cycle of rereading old favourites instead of my library books. But it was missing some je ne sais quoi that would boost it to 4 stars.

It is highly unusual for a cozy mystery. I don't think I've ever run across a cryptozoologist main character before outside of fantasy fiction. I loved that Morgan was a skeptic and insisted on empirical evidence. I think I had the outline of what was going on figured out at the two thirds mark in the novel, but that's a good long time to keep the secret going.

Cozy mysteries seem to be obliged to have a romance subplot and Ryan provides an acceptable match for Morgan. Jon Flanders, the chief of police on the island, is a decent guy with concerns and history of his own. It's Morgan Carter, the main character, who has the least plausible background. She’s from wealth, but her family used it in quirky ways. Add to that a fiancé who hid his true identity and seems likely to have murdered Morgan's parents, leaving the police to suspect Morgan herself. That's a big burden when you are attracted to a law man.

Morgan's unusual store, Odds and Ends, combines a bookstore and a curiosity shop, two rather appealing settings rolled into one. Getting Morgan to also combine monster hunting and police investigation is another twofer. I may not be sure what's missing, but there's a lot of good stuff to be found here. I will be interested in book two when it's available to see where Ryan goes with this setup.

The Young Clementina / D.E. Stevenson

 

3.75 out of 5 stars

I find myself delighting in the writing of Ms. Stevenson. She is by turns amusing, gentle, and ruthless. This story reminded me of both Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The first because of the failed marriage, I think, and the second because Charlotte’s attempt to accept the upset of her future plans reminds me of Elinor in S&S. At any rate, Dorothy Stevenson proves that her relative Robert Louis Stevenson was not the only good writer in the family.

Now, if you're like me, you've got a pretty shrewd idea of where the problem lies between Charlotte and Garth. Charlotte chalks it up to Garth's WWI experience, not an unreasonable conclusion. She's pretty sure that Garth asked her to wait for him, which she did, only to watch, heartbroken, as he marries her shallow, pleasure-seeking younger sister, Kitty. Charlotte lives in a shabby flat in London, works at a dead end job in a bookstore, and tries to forget that she ever had any dreams of her own. She has mostly managed to tamp down her disappointment (she does, after all, really love books) until her manipulative sister arrives on her doorstep, demanding her assistance to fight a divorce from Garth. Char feels the responsibility to family of a Victorian heroine, despite the more modern setting.

Needless to say, things do not work out to Kitty's liking and she disappears from Char's life once again. But Garth needs a responsible adult to look out for his daughter, Clementine, while he adventures in Africa. He is bound and determined that Char, Clementine’s godmother, will be that adult. Char is uncertain that a childless spinster is a good choice for the self-possessed young woman or for running a country house ecosystem. She also wonders why her brother-in-law, who has been dismissive and cruel to her, has suddenly decided that she is his choice of guardian.

Love is the answer to most childrearing issues. Love and honesty bring aunt and niece together. They share horseback adventures and school lessons, plus they run the gauntlet of disapproving neighbours who feel the need to separate themselves from a home tainted by divorce. They lean on each other as they learn of the deaths of Clementine's parents.

I saw the book's conclusion coming from a mile away, but I found myself unable to hold that against the author. It was a good ending, despite its predictability. I will definitely read more titles by D.E. Stevenson.

Never Look a Polar Bear in the Eye / Zac Unger

 

3 out of 5 stars

This was an interesting memoir to me because it dealt with two overlapping interests of mine: polar bears and the town of Churchill, Manitoba. Churchill is located on the shore of Hudson's Bay, the most southerly spot where one can “easily” go to see these giant predators. I use the quotes because it is not as easy as you think to get to this tundra town. You either fly on one of the limited number of flights or take a long, long train trip.

I went in 2014 on a one day trip, flying out of Calgary really early one Saturday morning, returning on the same plane and getting home after 10 p.m. School buses met us at the airport and trundled us out to the tourist facility where we were quickly herded onto tundra buggies. (Unger was right, the ramps to get into the buggies are reminiscent of cattle chutes.) The bliss of watching big white bears ensued.

I really enjoyed the history of the Churchill area and the town that Unger summarized here. On my trip, we never made it into town, so I got to see it through his eyes. When I was in high school, I had the thought that I'd like to spend time living in the north and now I'm kind of relieved that I never got to do that.

Unger himself wasn't really a guy that I'd want to have a coffee with. He comes across as pretty rigid and judgy. Maybe because I've been one of the tourists that he despises, I found his condescension hard to take. I can appreciate his grumpiness about the politics of polar bear research--it's complicated and it's not advisable to get too black and white in your thinking. You have to be able to multitask and believe several impossible things before breakfast. He seems very invested in right and wrong, picking sides, when I felt that an open mind would have served him much better.

I also hope that he spent more time than it sounded like with his wife and children during their couple of months sojourn in Churchill. His wife must truly love him to put up with his hare-brained schemes. Living in an unfurnished suite with three children, minimal possessions, and the limitations of northern living would be a strain on any relationship. It seemed like he got to do all the cool stuff that cost money and the family had to linger in the unfurnished suite, avoiding bears.

Despite Unger's disdain for people like me, I am seriously considering returning to the tundra as a tourist. No matter what he says, seeing polar bears is an awesome experience.

 

And Then There Were Nuns / Kylie Logan

 

4 out of 5 stars

Since I just did a re-read of Christie's And Then There Were None, I figured it was an excellent time to follow up with this cozy mystery. If a mystery can be called cozy when nuns are getting bumped off. I was glad to have the Christie original in mind, as Logan very skillfully works details from it into her novel.

I was a trifle disappointed that the group of librarians staying at Bea's bed and breakfast didn't play a larger part in the unraveling of the plot, as I worked in a library for most of my career and always felt that many library employees would make good detectives. They did notice some unusual behaviour that tipped me off about part of the answer. After the first reveal, however, the second was pretty obvious. Still, adjusting the details of And Then There Were None to suit a retreat for 10 nuns provided plenty of entertainment.

There are several revelations not related to the mystery. Bea confesses her true story of why and how she came to the island. We find out the real story of Levi too. Bea does not react well to that, despite her strong attraction to the guy. In addition to those details, Chandra starts acting more weird than usual, seemingly trying to pick fights with the other members of the League of Literary Ladies. We have to wonder what's up with that?

There is only one more volume to the series, which I suspect will wrap up all the loose ends and tie them in a bow. I must confess that I will be sad to finish, as I truly enjoy the Ladies, their friendship, their book club, and their crime fighting escapades. I think I will save that final book for when I need something special for some reason.

The Dangers of Dating Rebound Vampire / Molly Harper

 

3 out of 5 stars

The last Molly Harper book that I read (Better Homes and Hauntings) had a teaser chapter for this book in the final pages. That story was a ghost story and I felt that it came up short in the humour department for a Molly Harper novel. So I impulsively requested this book, hoping to recapture my love of Harper's fiction. Unfortunately that didn't quite work out as planned.

This isn't a bad book nor is it without humour. You can hear the “but" coming, can't you? Gigi is very young and has very little life experience. I didn't see what interest she would hold for a centuries old man. Another reservation: the obstacles to true love are awfully easily overcome. There's no real struggle here. The worst thing Gigi must deal with is an overprotective family. (That family includes, of course Jane Jameson and Dick Cheney [not that one] which is a check on the pro side of the chart.)

I also find myself rolling my eyes at the “together forever" assumptions. Just find “your" vampire and eternity is all wrapped up. This is the whole "happily ever after" notion taken to ridiculous lengths. If you've got forever, that's a lot of time to get on each other's nerves or get bored. So another tick on the con side.

So, will I read the next volume in the series? Well, Harper ends this book with a change in Dick and Jane's positions in the vampire hierarchy and I might just read on to see what happens with that. Will they finally make Dick go legit? Or wear something besides t-shirts with offensive captions on them? At least board meetings should be more entertaining. I guess the answer is yes, I'll be reading on.

A Foreboding of Petrels / Steve Burrows

 

4 out of 5 stars

Domenic Jejune is suspended. Not to be working on police investigations. Not to be getting information from his fellow officers. And yet, somehow he ends up looking into a suspicious death in Antarctica. The victim was a refugee with no family and no strong ties to any country. The Antarctic base is on land not claimed by any country. There is literally no jurisdiction. Lots of wiggle room to allow Jejune to insert himself.

At first, the schedule at the police station is so quiet that Colleen Shepherd starts a painting project to clean up the place. Then there are fires, some of the birding blinds in the saltmarsh and part of the Institute that the murder victim worked for. Coincidence? Nobody really thinks so—now Shepherd has to convince Jejune to drop his investigation or risk losing his job.

It's a small police department, so the politics are personal. Jejune may not be present, but all the others feel his influence in their work. They know they have to pick up their games. And yet, they manage to get tangled in a mess like kittens in a yarn basket.

Burrows really faked me out at the end. He did a real Agatha Christie move, playing with my emotions relentlessly. Well done, sir. Some things are resolved, but important questions remain, indicating, to me at least, that there is at least one more volume of the birder murder mysteries still to come.

And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie

 

4 out of 5 stars

This is one of the few mysteries where I went into a second reading very certain that I remembered the ending and the murderer. As it turns out, I was both right and wrong. I knew the perpetrator, but had forgotten details of the crimes. That's okay by me, as it made for an enjoyable re-reading experience.

It made me laugh when several of the men were fixated on homicidal spinsters as the most probable solution. Trust me, guys, spinsters such as myself probably have better mental health than women who are married to the wrong men. Plus, unlike the two unpleasant spinsters in this novel, we usually have circles of friends who keep us well socialized and happy. Far from being dismayed that we are single, many of us are relieved, having observed the relationships of our friends and relatives.

The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym / Paula Byrne

 

4.4 out of 5 stars

The whimsical and perilous charm of daily life

Many biographies are written in stiff, academic style, but that just would not be appropriate for the biography of Miss Barbara Pym. Pym, as many of her friends called her, was a highly intelligent woman with a lively imagination. She chose to dramatize her own life with love affair angst, sometimes even through made-up romances with men who weren't even aware of her. I am surprised that she didn't want to be an actress—she certainly threw herself into romantic roles.

I think I'm being mostly fair when I say that Barbara Pym was a boy-crazy young woman. However, her adventures gave her abundant fodder for her fiction. Pym was very observant and kept diaries which only sharpened her memory. And, as the author notes, “Barbara Pym's male characters are more often than not shifty, feckless, selfish and self-dramatising, relying on excellent women to solve their difficulties.” One of the reviewers of her first novel said it was “so gentle that the reader scarcely notices the claws.” As a woman who has occasionally weaponized “niceness,” I can fully appreciate and approve of this description.

I think Pym suffered from the same problem as Dorothy L. Sayers: she couldn't find a man as intelligent as herself who would take her seriously. They both enjoyed their time at university, although Sayers seems to have been more academically inclined. But Pym got her source material and her close friend Jock Liddell out of those years, both things worth having. Although she avidly pursued men and relationships, I suspect she would have found marriage dull as dishwater. As Pym found during WWII, housework is repetitive and boring. Laundry, cleaning, and cooking are all necessary, but are mostly noticed if you don't do them, rather than when you do keep up. Pym liked to be appreciated, not taken for granted. At some level, I think she was aware of this part of herself, as she had a talent for choosing unavailable men (been there, done that).

I now realize why I love Barbara Pym's writing as much as I do. Barbara Pym is my spirit animal. Independent, intelligent, wanting a relationship, but unwilling to give up her options, especially since she can't find a decent, compatible man. I identify with her far more closely than I would ever have believed if I hadn't run across this book.

As the author says in her afterword, “Pym is one of the great writers of the human heart.” She also states “Pym was a courageous writer and a brave woman. Women are at the heart of her stories. They are not all ‘excellent women’, but they are flesh and blood.” I wholeheartedly agree.

Final Heir / Faith Hunter

 

4+ out of 5 stars

An amazing conclusion to an entertaining series! Hunter has been regularly upping the stakes with each novel, making Jane Yellowrock wade through all kinds of tribulations that just get worse. She faces all kinds of bad guys, everything from Naturaleeza vampires, the Sons of Darkness, demons, hostility within the paranormal community, and politics.

I wasn't sure in the beginning why Hunter wrote Jane as a woman of religious convictions, but those ideals make her love all her people, human, vampire, witch, werewolf, am I forgetting anyone? Ah yes, the citizens of NOLA. Vampires have lived so many centuries without love, kindness and compassion and they are bowled over that their Dark Queen wants to protect them, is loyal to them, and cares about them. Koun, Jane's hulking Celtic vampire, reminds us regularly that Jane doesn't need blood bonds to keep vamps by her side. They want to be there, basking in her care.

The angel who has intervened in Jane's life in the past now needs her help. The final heir of the Sons of Darkness is trying to bind both the angel and a demon to cement incredible evil power for himself. But Jane is fighting with love of her people and an assortment of magical accessories. There's no doubt who's going to win, but it doesn't come easy.

I bet Faith Hunter is celebrating the end of this long, long series, freeing her to write other things. The ride has been very enjoyable, Ms. Hunter, thank you.

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead / Kim Harrison

 

4 out of 5 stars

I had a lot of pauses during the reading of this novel. Mostly, that's on me, because I'm struggling to maintain my focus on anything these days. But I found myself setting the book down whenever Rachel got in a snit, trying to use assumptions as proof. I couldn't yell at her, but I could go do something else and ignore her for a while. For someone with her skills, she is very impulsive and difficult to reason with.

Poor Ivy gets kicked around in this installment and Rachel is both brave and compassionate in her care of her friend. Ivy gets the best of her attention. Her putative boyfriend, Nick, gets unintentionally abused when Rachel performs a new spell with unexpected consequences and when she draws power through their link. Needless to say, their relationship is strained by this, as well as by their joint association with a demon (whom they refer to as Big Al). My prediction is that Nick won't remain her boyfriend for long. Rachel and her arch-enemy, Trent Kalamack, talk smack, admire each other, and flirt altogether too much for this to remain an adversarial situation. I'd say they are on their way to a torrid affair of some kind.

Meanwhile, Rachel is building her base. If Ivy isn't an even better friend after this, she's an ungrateful vampire. The pixie, Jenks, is still firmly on Rachel's team, along with his family. Nick is still linked to her by magic, but may be on his way out, if they can find a way to reverse the binding. Now, however, the FIB, in the persons of Edden and Glenn, are pleased to be associated with her. Even Trent seems to want to spend time with her.

The demon is a lingering problem, but we need a hook to encourage us to read the next book, don't we? Will Ivy recover? Can Nick and Rachel sever their binding? Will Trent supersede Nick in Rachel's affections? Once I punch through a bunch of library books, I'll grab volume three to find out. Wish me better luck with my attention span!

Book number 476 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

How to Murder a Marriage / Gabrielle St. George

 

4 out of 5 stars

This book lived up to its awesome cover, at least for me. Although I must confess that I would not want Gina Malone for a friend, she was an entertaining companion for the duration of this mystery. I assume that St. George is planning to write more adventures of Gina, since it is billed as book one of the Ex-Whisperer Files.

Gina is impulsive, loud, brash—all those things that women are not encouraged to be. Just what women should appreciate, instead of knuckling under to “properness" as her two Italian aunties would have her do. Yes, she made a stupid choice with her husband (now ex-husband), but members of my own family have been fooled by narcissistic, manipulative men. They can hide the crazy long enough to reel in their fish.

Giving relationship advice is probably not what Gina should be doing, but she does have a lot of painful experience and acquired wisdom to share. Solving other people's problems is an excellent way to distract yourself from your own crap and avoid doing anything about it. A classic procrastination ploy.

I'm glad to have enjoyed this book, as I recommended that my library purchase it.

Runaway Vampire / Lynsay Sands

 

3.5 stars

It's not ideal to start a series with number 23. There are a few things that are a little puzzling, although the author did a good job of seeding that information into the dialogue, both between the characters and in Mary and Dante's inner monologues.

The humour in the book derives from the flipping of some romance tropes, the exaggeration of others, and the sheer nuttiness of the plot. Obviously, paranormal romances do not regularly star older, retired women, especially matched with a man who appears to be much younger. Despite Dante's assurances that he is actually older than Mary, she realizes how the people in her life will perceive their relationship. Then there is the unusual situation of Dante appearing in her life stark naked and seemingly not caring about it. He’s like an alien, unaware of normal human mores. Mary's struggle to get him appropriately covered, so as to attract less attention, is also funny.

One of the least believable parts of the book is Dante's wild kidnapping story that precipitated his collision with Mary's RV. But I can identify with Mary's feelings of guilt for having hit him and responsibility for his continued well being. She doesn't easily buy into his story, but is gradually worn down by things that happen along the way. But her initial impressions are quite realistic: “Mary tore her gaze from him and back to the road ahead, her mind filled with disbelief. After a moment, she heaved a sad sigh and shook her head. Of course she'd run over the crazy guy. Gorgeous, but completely bonkers was her diagnosis. Such a shame.”

Dante keeps throwing new ideas at Mary so fast and furiously that she can't regain her equilibrium. She gets swept along on his crazy train and she finds herself doing things she would never normally do: flee from kidnappers, evade pursuit, invent lies to tell her friends, and cope with this guy who is young in appearance, who claims to be immortal, says that she is his lifemate and is making sizzling sexual advances whenever things slow down enough that she could otherwise think more rationally. Mary has been a successful psychologist and labels all the “lifemate" talk as complete bullshit, so why is a sensible older lady responding so strongly to this strange, impulsive man?

Apparently I require a bunch of paranormal details to make romance novels more palatable. And although I frequently struggle with written humour, this author's wit is fun for me. I do have reservations about the author's move to rejuvenate Mary, restoring her to youth physically. It's so rare and wonderful to find a main character of my own age with a romance structured around her. At least she got to keep her hard earned experience and education.

The Bullet That Missed / Richard Osman

 

4+ stars out of 5

“It's the people, in the end, isn't it?” says Viktor. “It's always the people. You can move halfway around the world to find your perfect life, move to Australia if you like, but it always comes down to the people you meet.”

It is certainly the people in the Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim have unofficially expanded the club, accumulating quite the circle of crime fighters. Is it my imagination, or are our beloved club members slowing down just a bit? When even Elizabeth questions her fitness for duty, that's not good. Being reunited with her old frenemy Viktor, however, has been a tonic for her. Ron seems to have found a match and Joyce has her eye on someone again. Ibrahim may find himself the odd man out in the next book.

Elizabeth is receiving anonymous threats when the Club digs in to a local murder case. She realizes that she's been missing the adrenaline and the opportunity to exercise her wits. Always the instigator, she determines what seems to be the best course of action. Then they are off! No more details—you must discover them for yourself.

If you, like me, enjoy our visits with the Thursday Murder Club, you will also be delighted that Osman promises in the acknowledgements that there will be another book next year. Mr. Osman, I shall await it with pleasure. (My auto-fill wanted to say that I would await it with mango chutney, which may also be true.)