A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons / Kate Khavari

 

Halloween Bingo 2024

I finished this book this morning while waiting on an oil change for my car. It is set post-WWI, at University College London. The main character, Saffron Everleigh, has been hired as a research assistant in the Botany department. She is following in her father's footsteps in that same department, trying to find her footing as a woman in the old boys club. The professor she reports to is supportive, but the head of Biology has assaulted her and continues to make demeaning comments.

Rumours, spread by the rejected department head and other men who feel that Saffron should be sexually receptive to them, cause her concern, especially when she meets a young man in Biology who interests her a great deal. Alexander Ashton has his own set of problems, namely shell shock/PTSD from the war, which makes him a bit unpredictable.

Saffron meets Alexander at a school dinner party, where everyone is shocked when a professor's wife collapses, apparently poisoned. Saffron has overheard the poisoned woman discussing the state of her marriage and quickly realizes that there are both personal and political currents swirling around the event. She soon also comes to the conclusion that she, as a botanist, knows more about poisons than the police do and she is determined to protect her employer.

Predictably, Saffron feels the need to conduct her own investigation into the matter and Alexander gets dragged along with her out of both worry and attraction. Also predictable is a bit of B&E using hair pins and some slinking around in greenhouses and gardens. If you have read any of the Victorian murder mysteries featuring female investigators, you will recognize the formula. The author doesn't make effective use of the 1923 time period, beyond Saffron not needing a chaperone while spending time with a male colleague. Alexander is damaged and attractive, but I didn't get a real feeling of who he truly is. He is apparently going on a university research trip to South America, so he must be a competent academic, but those three things plus his mutual attraction to Saffron are all I really learned about him.

What the author does represent well is the struggle that women experienced while trying to establish themselves in these patriarchal bastions, being sexually harassed, talked down to, and dismissed as lightweight (and sometimes still do).

I read this book for the Arsenic and Old Lace square of my Bingo card. That category has already been called, so I get to claim my first square!

Dead Man's Folly / Agatha Christie

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

This is me being efficient and using my Appointment with Agatha book for this month as a Bingo book as well. This novel was published in the same decade as my last book, Death in Kenya. Both Christie and Kaye could see what their characters refer to as wickedness in the world that results in murder. Just as police know these days, it's usually someone close to the victim who has committed the crime. Plus ça change plus la même chose.

This is one of the better Hercule Poirot novels in my opinion. The little Belgian is actually more humble than usual, a very pleasant change. The addition of Ariadne Oliver was a big plus. Her career as a mystery author often makes her into an alter-ego for Ms. Christie, which makes me laugh—in this book, Christie makes her more scatty than usual. Poirot just prepares to be confused when she struggles to explain the game that she has devised or to answer a question coherently. As Poirot observes at one point, she fills in for Arthur Hastings during this outing. (Where is Hastings, anyway? I've lost track of him.)

All my theories were for naught. Christie fooled me yet again. I am getting used to being wrong repeatedly. I cannot criticize Hastings!

Okay, now the Halloween Bingo machinations: I used The Tell Tale Heart wild card to substitute Christie, a favourite author, for my Day of the Dead square.

Death in Kenya / M.M. Kaye

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Halloween Bingo 2024

I owned this book decades ago and gave it away at some point. I came to regret that decision and hunted down a replacement copy to add to my permanent collection. I have great fondness for Kaye's murder mysteries and it was a treat to revisit this one, even though my views of it have evolved. Unfortunately for me, my unreliable memory supplied me with the identity of the murderer. Thankfully most of the details had been expunged, giving me the ability to enjoy the structure of the mystery as well as the historical context.

Published in 1958, this was a very contemporary setting. In Kenya the Mau Mau Rebellion was underway and Kaye used it as the background for this story. She was married to a British military man and they were stationed in Kenya during the Mau Mau years, so she knew what life was like for those of European descent in that time period. This novel shows us the colonial mindset clearly and honestly it made me cringe. I didn't notice it nearly as much when I was younger, so I feel that I have progressed.

The mystery is pretty good, but the focus is on relationships: family, neighbourly, and romantic. Victoria is summoned to Kenya by her aunt, Lady Emily, owner of the Flamingo estate. Having been engaged to Emily's grandson, Eden, years ago, Victoria feels safe answering the call, as she knows that he has married. The author knows better, however, that being married doesn't mean safety. As Victoria gets to know the characters around the Flamingo, she realizes that there is Lisa (married to the land manager Gilly) who is obviously pursuing Eden. Then there is the son from a nearby property, Ken, who had an unrequited thing for Eden's wife, Alice. Victoria's flight lands the day after Alice has been murdered and she is immediately plunged into the middle of themurder investigation.

Having lived around many ex-pat communities in the British Empire, Kaye no doubt observed these kinds of interactions many times. She uses them in all of her murder mysteries to great effect. She also used lived experience—she was pregnant with their second child when her military man got his divorce and was able to marry her. Kaye claimed it was love at first sight, another phenomenon that occurs in these books regularly. It happens in Agatha Christie's fiction too. Perhaps that's why there are so many wayward spouses in their fiction. Insta-love doesn't seem like a stable basis for a long, happy marriage.

Okay, now the Halloween Bingo machinations: I used The Lottery wild card to abracadabra my Dark Academia square and replace it with Romantic Suspense.

This is also book 18 of my 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge.

There Should Have Been Eight / Nalini Singh

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

This title was so unlike anything else that I've read by Nalini Singh, it's hard to believe she wrote it! It's oh so gothic: an isolated huge country manor complete with burnt out wing and creepy family history. The insanity and suicide of Beatrice nine years before still haunting this group of close friends.

The seven friends arrive for a vacation in Darceline & Beatrice's family home, with Luna, our narrator, mourning Beatrice and believing with all her being that there should have been eight. They have Aaron's new wife Grace as their eighth member but that can never replace the missing one. But Luna has her failing vision to deal with—blindness seems to be her ultimate future, a scary proposition for a dedicated photographer. Still, Luna is the first to see a pattern when weird things start to happen to the group. Paintings defaced, accidents injuring people, drugs slipped into drinks…. And then the weather changes, bringing snow and freezing temperatures. The road is closed and mobile phones are basically useless. Will they get out alive?

The whole set-up had distinctly And Then There Were None vibes. A house full of people being struck down one by one with no access to help. Everyone getting more and more paranoid as the situation deteriorates. I will admit that I had half-assed guessed what was happening, but I only made it part way to the answer. The last several chapters were very tense, forcing me to take frequent reading breaks. I wasn't sure about Singh's thriller writing abilities, but I have been convinced. Yes, I would read another.

A Ruse of Shadows / Sherry Thomas

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Book 14 of the 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge

Sherry Thomas writes a delightful historical mystery. I was concerned that the eighth book in this series would be tired, but instead it pulsed with intrigue. Charlotte Holmes embodies the canonical Sherlock Holmes very well. Her use of disguise is prominent in this installment and her plans within plans match or exceed those of the original Holmes.

Where she differs from her progenitor is in her ability to love, albeit in her own way. This whole book was devoted to the possibility of uniting her sister Olivia with her beloved Stephen. The plot of the book was intricate: it alternated between the interrogation of Charlotte in the present concerning the death of Lord Bancroft following his escape from prison and the elaborate back story of what actually happened. It was the gift of a loving sister, to give her sibling happiness and hope.

Also unlike Sherlock, Charlotte has her devoted Ash. We know from early volumes of the series that she has always sought his company and that he has come to feel deeply for her. I think it is safe to say that this is the book where their relationship levels up. Indeed, he is among the most important people of the circle of friends that Charlotte has built for herself. Although she appears emotionless at times, Charlotte obviously feels deeply and values friendship and loyalty.

I love books that feature found family as this series does. I find more of this in fantasy literature so it is a treat to find it in the mystery genre. As Moriarty is still on the loose, I assume that at least one more book will be forthcoming. Bring it on!

A Tidy Ending / Joanna Cannon

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

I have to hand it to Ms. Cannon, she kept me off kilter for all but the last few pages, when everything clicked into place. I kept reading, wondering what is wrong with Linda? She obviously doesn't understand people—is she autistic? What about her germ phobia? I spent a fair amount of time also considering what happened when she was a child in Wales. That at least became clearer as the novel progressed.

Was her mother actually as awful as Linda leads us to believe? Maybe she's trying to support a child with emotional problems and is being misinterpreted by that child. How in heck did Linda end up married to Terry? I had so many, many questions. Linda seems far too trusting and I cringed as I see dishonest people trying to take advantage of her. But Linda has a secret power: she has carefully observed other people all her life and she sees the details. She sees past the surface despite having difficulty determining the motives of salespeople.

I wasn't sure what I thought of the novel right until page 382. Those last two chapters blew me away! I can't give any details, much as I would like to, or I would be spoiling things for other readers. Give Linda a chance. She will frustrate and amaze you.

The House at Sea's End / Elly Griffiths

4 out of 5 stars

Forensic archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway is back, this time investigating a gruesome World War II war crime.  Now the beloved forensic archeologist returns, called in to investigate when human bones surface on a remote Norfolk beach.  

Just back from maternity leave, Ruth is finding it hard to juggle motherhood and work. The presence of DCI Harry Nelson—the married father of her daughter, Kate—does not help. The bones turn out to be about seventy years old, which leads Nelson and Ruth to the war years, a desperate time on this stretch of coastland. Home Guard veteran Archie Whitcliffe reveals the existence of a secret that the old soldiers have vowed to protect with their lives. But then Archie is killed and a German journalist arrives, asking questions about Operation Lucifer, a plan to stop a German invasion, and a possible British war crime. What was Operation Lucifer? And who is prepared to kill to keep its secret?

This is an example of what I truly enjoy in a mystery series--the combination of the mystery in each book and the relationships between the main characters that carry on between the books. Griffiths is developing a number of the secondary characters too. I am particularly fond of the Cathbad, the druid, with his penchant for showing up unexpectedly but at just the right moment.

The main character, Ruth, is juggling an academic career and a baby and is finding the balancing act difficult. As an older mother and a woman who really didn’t ever spend any time in her life dreaming of weddings or babies, she feels out of step with the other mothers around her. And there are always people willing to judge without knowing the circumstances--just ask any mommy blogger! This is the reality that even married women with careers must face, that they will be judged for going back to work instead of devoting themselves to full-time motherhood. Frankly, I’d rather stick needles in my eyes than get relegated to domesticity, so I’m pretty sympathetic to Ruth’s situation.

Harry isn’t the guy that I would choose. He kind of isn’t the guy that Ruth would choose either, it just happened. But you know, I like him a lot better when I see him trying to bond with this baby! Maybe he’s not the complete jerk that I have been imagining for the first two books.

If you enjoy the setting for this series, I would also recommend A Siege of Bitterns by Steve Burrows. It also takes place in the Norfolk area, with the same darkly looming environment. It’s protagonist, Domenic Jejune is also a specialist, just in birds not archaeology. If it’s the relationships that entice you, try In the Bleak Midwinter, the first book in Julia Spencer-Fleming’s The Rev. Claire Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series. Like this series, Spencer-Fleming’s series keeps me reading to find out where Claire and Russ are headed.

I like all three series, so if we have similar reading tastes, I would encourage you to sample them all.

The Sanctuary Sparrow / Ellis Peters

4 out of 5 stars

In the gentle Shrewsbury spring of 1140, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate with an unholy sound—a hunt in full cry. Persued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life. When the frantic creature bursts into the nave to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man. Accused of robbery and murder is Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of a local goldsmith's son. The cold light of morning, however, will show his supposed victim, the miserly craftsman, still lives, although a strongbox lies empty. Brother Cadfael believes Liliwin is innocent, but finding the truth and the treasure before Liliwin's respite in sanctuary runs out may uncover a deadlier sin than thievery—a desperate love that nothing, not even the threat of hanging, can stop.

It’s been quite a while since I visited Brother Cadfael and perhaps because of that time lapse, I really enjoyed this novel. There truly aren’t too many options for murder in the 12th century, so one story is very like the last. I would classify these books as “cozy mysteries,” and it surprises me how much I like them, not usually being a fan of the cozy. I think it’s the historical nature of the tales that grabs me. It’s like learning history by osmosis while enjoying a good story.

Probably it also helped that I felt like I was getting away with something! I have a stack of previously signed out library books and theoretically this one should have waited until I made some progress on them. Instead, I plunged into this one right away and finished it in only an evening.

Peters does such a wonderful job of populating the abbey with the full spectrum of human frailties! The arrogant, the snob, the teacher, the compassionate, the seeker of justice, everybody is present and we get to observe their interactions. Her grasp of human behaviour is so accurate!

The result may not be tremendously surprising, but the journey is always enjoyable.

Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen / Vicki Delany

3 out of 5 stars

In Rudolph, New York, it’s Christmastime all year long. But this December, while the snow-lined streets seem merry and bright, a murder is about to ruin everyone’s holiday cheer…

As the owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, Merry Wilkinson knows how to decorate homes for the holidays. That’s why she thinks her float in the semi-annual Santa Claus parade is a shoo-in for best in show. But when the tractor pulling Merry’s float is sabotaged, she has to face facts: there’s a Scrooge in Christmas Town.

Merry isn’t ready to point fingers, especially with a journalist in town writing a puff piece about Rudolph’s Christmas spirit. But when she stumbles upon the reporter’s body on a late night dog walk—and police suspect he was poisoned by a gingerbread cookie crafted by her best friend, Vicky—Merry will have to put down the jingle bells and figure out who’s really been grinching about town, before Vicky ends up on Santa’s naughty list…

I tried to get ahold of this book for the Christmas season, but was way too late! But, since this author will be attending a conference that I will attend in August, I decided that I would read it anyway. I have previously read her Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries, so I thought it would stand me in good stead to see what else she had to offer.

Imagine my surprise then, when I felt like I was re-reading the Bookshop Mysteries! There are so many details in common. The protagonists are both young women who moved away from small communities and returned, both of them have set up speciality shops, both have best friends who run bake shops, both re-encounter a man they used to date, both have dogs that they barely have time for, both meet an attractive man who has newly moved to the community, both of them discover dead bodies, both have a member of the police force that they don’t get along with, and neither of these women trust the police to fully investigate the deaths. That’s a lot of overlap.

Don’t get me wrong--I finished the book. It was good enough to hold my attention to the end, although I was pretty sure of the destination. There were details that were delightful. This one is set in Rudolph, N.Y., billing itself as Christmastown USA. The main character is called Merry of course and her father (born on Dec. 25) is Noel and he is a dead ringer for Santa Claus. Merry’s dog, a young Saint Bernard, is called Matterhorn (though she calls him Mattie most often). Delany shows talent in naming her characters although I raised an eyebrow when the BFF in this one was named Vicky!

I realize that if you enjoy a particular pattern, you will enjoy a repeat of it. Witness myself and my obsessive reading of Ilona Andrews’ writing. Those novels too repeat a formula over and over and I shamelessly enjoy them. So, if you enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries, I have absolutely no doubt that you will enjoy the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries and vice-versa.

Bloody January / Alan Parks

3 out of 5 stars

When a teenage boy shoots a young woman dead in the middle of a busy Glasgow street and then commits suicide, Detective Harry McCoy is sure of one thing. It wasn't a random act of violence.

With his new partner in tow, McCoy uses his underworld network to lead the investigation but soon runs up against a secret society led by Glasgow's wealthiest family, the Dunlops.

McCoy's boss doesn't want him to investigate. The Dunlops seem untouchable. But McCoy has other ideas . . .

In a helter-skelter tale - winding from moneyed elite to hipster music groupies to the brutal gangs of the urban wasteland - Bloody January brings to life the dark underbelly of 1970s Glasgow and establishes Alan Parks as a new and exciting voice in Scottish noir.

Wow, this is down and dirty Tartan noir! Harry McCoy is not your typical main character detective. Harry grew up in care, in a church run institution and his best buddy from those days is now one of the major crime bosses in Glasgow. This, obviously, is going to cause some issues for McCoy. Talk about conflict of interest!

I generally prefer noir mysteries to the cozies. And I did like this one, but I found some of the over-the-top violence and a lot of the language off-putting. It’s not like I have never sworn in my life, but I do try to moderate it (my mother taught me that people pay more attention when you swear if you don’t do it very often). Probably the amount of profanity is accurate for 1970’s Glasgow, but it was a little much for 2020 me. There’s a lid for every pot, but this one doesn’t fit me.

I was excited to recognize Irn Bru when one character was guzzling a bottle of it. I’d just heard a radio program about small brands that stood up to huge ones and Irn Bru in Scotland outsells CocaCola! Recognizing the brand gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling in an otherwise cold and gray book.

If you love dark and gritty crime fiction, this is the book for you.

The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl / Theodora Goss

4 out of 5 stars

Life’s always an adventure for the Athena Club...especially when one of their own has been kidnapped! After their thrilling European escapades rescuing Lucinda van Helsing, Mary Jekyll and her friends return home to discover that their friend and kitchen maid Alice has vanished— and so has their friend and employer Sherlock Holmes!

As they race to find Alice and bring her home safely, they discover that Alice and Sherlock’s kidnapping are only one small part of a plot that threatens Queen Victoria, and the very future of the British Empire. Can Mary, Diana, Beatrice, Catherine, and Justine save their friends—and save the Empire? Find out in the final installment of the fantastic and memorable Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series.

Forget the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, because now we have The Athena Club. I guess we could call it the League of Monstrous Gentlewomen. Another of the feminist versions of the Victorian time period with plenty of girl power (although the main characters do get justifiably huffy about being called girls when they are full grown women).

Even the female villains outsmart their male counterparts in this particular volume. The women of the Athena Club may sometimes doubt their abilities, but they pull off the caper (with the help of Ayesha of course). Just like most women, they doubt themselves unnecessarily. Plus, they get to rescue Sherlock Holmes!

I know that this series is technically wrapped up with this third book, but it seems to me that there are enough loose threads and unexplored avenues that further adventures could follow, if the author can persuade the publisher to continue. Fingers crossed that there will eventually be another book about the Athena Club!

The Art of Theft / Sherry Thomas

4 out of 5 stars

As "Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective," Charlotte Holmes has solved murders and found missing individuals. But she has never stolen a priceless artwork—or rather, made away with the secrets hidden behind a much-coveted canvas.

But Mrs. Watson is desperate to help her old friend recover those secrets and Charlotte finds herself involved in a fever-paced scheme to infiltrate a glamorous Yuletide ball where the painting is one handshake away from being sold and the secrets a bare breath from exposure.

Her dear friend Lord Ingram, her sister Livia, Livia's admirer Stephen Marbleton—everyone pitches in to help and everyone has a grand time. But nothing about this adventure is what it seems and disaster is biding time on the grounds of a glittering French chateau, waiting only for Charlotte to make a single mistake...

One of the best aspects of my 2019 summer reading list (The Summer of Sherlock) was the discovery of this charming series, the Lady Sherlock series. I’m really enjoying a lot of these feminist revisionist Victorian adventures! The Victorian age as it should have been.

I love Charlotte Holmes as a character and I relate to her when she would rather be at home with a cup of tea and a pastry than out in the world pursuing criminals! I rather favour coffee and popcorn, but it’s the same idea. I have to laugh at her concept of Maximum Tolerable Chins, which is the point at which she restricts her pastry consumption until her clothing fits more comfortably. Been there, done that, my dear Charlotte!

My only disappointment with this book was that it did not deal with the Treadles’ plot line until the very last pages! I really want to know what happens between Inspector and his wife, but it seems that I must wait for the next book.

In the meanwhile, I have to applaud the author for being able to bring Charlotte and Lord Ingram together and then separate them so skillfully, retaining the romantic pursuit and it’s accompanying plot tension into the fourth book of the series. Of course I am also interested in the Livia and Stephen Marbleton situation, but it is Charlotte & Ash who command my attention in terms of relationships.

Ms. Thomas also uses the Maharani’s character deftly as a way to explore colonialism and to introduce a person of colour into the very white, upper-class world that the main characters inhabit.

All in all, I will be very excited when Book 5 is published, hopefully next year.

Penguins and Mortal Peril / Ruby Loren

3 out of 5 stars

When the penguin keeper is found dead at the bottom of the penguin pool, zookeeper Madigan Amos is determined to find out what happened to him… even if it means apprehending armed intruders, getting caught in the middle of a terrorist attack, and sparring with a machete wielding murderer.

The police struggle to conclude whether or not the death was accidental, but it’s not the only recent, unexplained happening at Avery Zoo. Since the tragic, avoidable death of a serval, animal rights activists have plagued the zoo. Activists with a reputation for extremism. Do they have something to do with the penguin keeper’s demise?

Madi also has her suspicions about two new zoo employees, but what exactly do they have to do with the goings on? Are they activist spies, or do they have their own scores to settle?

I read this book to fill the Amateur Sleuth square of my 2019 Halloween Bingo Card.

I couldn’t resist buying this book--it had too many things that were irresistible. Penguins, my favourite birds. A zoo setting, when I volunteered in the education department of my local zoo for 17 years. A mystery, and me a fan of that genre. I wasn’t expecting wondrous things, which is good, because this was a serviceable little cozy mystery, but nothing exceptional.

I lent it to a zoo friend, for whom it was a “meh” experience. He is a retired penguin keeper, so maybe he didn’t appreciate that this book’s penguin keeper ended up at the bottom of the pool during the first few pages of the novel. I thought that the author did a pretty fair job of showing the kind of politics and personal interactions that complicate the zoo workplace. She was probably a little kind though. It’s the people who are the vicious ones in the zoo world (but don’t go in with the bears or big cats anyway). The things she was realistic about? The people who put their children right into harm’s way, seemingly not realizing the dangers.

One thing I give full marks for is the beautiful cover. I love it.

Die on Your Feet / S.G. Wong

3 out of 5 stars

Lola Starke is a PI with a trust fund. Not that she gets everything she wants—or doesn't want. Like being rid of her Ghost, Aubrey O'Connell, for instance. But in Crescent City, Ghosts are commonplace and Hosts are supposed to be happy about it. So Lola's learned to bide her time. It's served her well as a gwai girl raised in a Chinese city.

When two disparate clients won't take 'no' for an answer, Lola reluctantly agrees to both. She and Aubrey are quickly entangled in a murky puzzle of government officials, drug addicts, angry cops, and the gossamer threads of a dangerous plot. Soon enough, the past comes calling with bad news and worse enemies.

This is the '30s and this is Crescent City, where mah-jongg parlours and film studios hold sway. Where the City's highest official is a Ghost with unimpeachable power and a history with Lola's mother. Where secrets last only as long as it takes money to change hands—or a gun to pry them loose.

I read this book to fill the Ghost Stories square of my 2019 Halloween Bingo Card.

I bought this book at the annual writers & readers conference that I attend because I heard the author speak in several sessions that I attended and I was intrigued by her description of her work. Unfortunately, the fit between my tastes and her writing isn’t the best, but it was still a decent read.

Wong has created an interesting world for her characters to inhabit--she doesn’t exactly specify where it is located, but with it’s mash-up of Asian culture, hard-boiled detective, and paranormal elements, we can assume that it is an alternate version of California. She works very hard to make Lola into a female version of Philip Marlowe. The problem is that it’s really difficult to write anywhere near as elegantly as Raymond Chandler, making the comparison of Lola and Marlowe quite unequal.

This seems to be a California that has been dominated by Asian influence, with Christianity and European culture being minority elements. It gives the Caucasian reader of European background a small taste of what it is like to be a minority group, a salutary experience.

Ghosts feature as major characters, but I found them to be much more limited than what I expected. The majority of ghosts are tied to a human host, although the ghostly Mayor of this fictional city has seemingly found a way to stay vital in the world without such tethering. I guess it is realistic that each ghost would have different abilities, just as each person does.

I’m glad that I finally read this book, which I’ve owned for several years now. I like to support local writers and I’m glad that I liked the book.

Cold Moon / Alexandra Sokoloff

3.5 stars out of 5

The hunt for mass murderer Cara Lindstrom is over. FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke has been working for this moment: the capture of a killer who savagely hunts the worst of humanity. But Roarke remains traumatized by his own near-death at the hands of the serial killer who slaughtered Cara’s family…and haunted by the enigmatic woman who saved his life.

Then the sixteen-year-old prostitute who witnessed Cara’s most recent murder goes missing, and suddenly pimps are turning up dead on the streets of San Francisco, killed with an MO eerily similar to Cara’s handiwork.

Is a new killer on the loose with a mission even more deadly than hers? In the pulse-pounding third Huntress/FBI Thrillers book, Roarke will have to go on the hunt…and every woman he meets, even those closest to him, may prove deadly. 

I read this book to fill the Full Moon square of my 2019 Halloween Bingo Card.

It took me a couple of false starts to get going on this novel, but when I finally was able to engage, I remembered why I’ve been working my way through Sokoloff’s Huntress/FBI series. Once I gave in to the reading experience, I was gripped with the need to keep turning pages. I maybe wasn’t as thrilled with this third book as I was with the previous two, but it was still a page turner. I’ve been going through a mini-reading-slump this month, having a difficult time motivating myself to pick up a book. Highly unusual for me. This is the one that got me back on track, ready to fight the good fight again.

Sokoloff was definitely tapping into an issue that we’ve just recently begun to seriously deal with, namely the sexual abuse of women. Her main character, Matthew Roarke, expresses the disgust that most of us feel about the human traffickers, pimps, and johns who all participate in the sex trade and who don’t see themselves as doing anything wrong. Women are just conveniences and playthings to these low-lifes. Sokoloff taps into female anger as she sets up Cara Lindstrom as a vigilante killer of these abusive men and has Matthew and members of his FBI team come to identify with her and her mission.

I’ve come to realize what a sheltered, pampered life I have led and what a lucky woman I am. It therefore seems highly appropriate that I read this shortly after the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday and I am so thankful to live where I do and in the comfort that I do.

Dark Road to Darjeeling / Deanna Raybourn

3.7 stars out of 5

After eight idyllic months in the Mediterranean, Lady Julia Grey and her detective husband are ready to put their investigative talents to work once more. At the urging of Julia's eccentric family, they hurry to India to aid an old friend, the newly widowed Jane Cavendish. Living on the Cavendish tea plantation with the remnants of her husband's family, Jane is consumed with the impending birth of her child—and with discovering the truth about her husband's death. Was he murdered for his estate? And if he was, could Jane and her unborn child be next?

Amid the lush foothills of the Himalayas, dark deeds are buried and malicious thoughts flourish. The Brisbanes uncover secrets and scandal, illicit affairs and twisted legacies. In this remote and exotic place, exploration is perilous and discovery, deadly. The danger is palpable and, if they are not careful, Julia and Nicholas will not live to celebrate their first anniversary.

Maybe 3.7 stars? I didn’t like this book quite as much as the first 3 volumes. Part of this, I’m sure is because Julia and Nicholas are a married couple now, so the romantic suspense dimension of the narrative is much more limited. We know that they are unlikely to part, that they care about each other a great deal, so the author must re-create that tension with differences of opinion regarding their matrimonial roles. Slightly less effective for me than the courtship question.

The mystery plot reminded me rather of M.M. Kaye’s mysteries, like Death in Kashmir. I can see why the author chose the place--it’s exotic to those of us in North America and Europe, plus it was part of the British Empire during the time period. She had sent Jane there in the previous book, so it made sense to have Portia and Julia follow her in this volume. However, I find I prefer Victorian plots set in England, so this may be another reason that I prefer the previous books.

However, the setting stirred up memories of the days I spent in Assam and Bhutan in 2010, seeing the dark green tea plantations, laden elephants on the edges of the roads, and the many prayer flags and prayer wheels along our route. Good memories of a beautiful place and encounters with many friendly people.

Elephants come to drink at a river in Assam

Prayer flags across a Bhutanese river

Many prayer flags at the Chele La Pass, Bhutan

To Darkness and to Death / Julia Spencer-Fleming

4 out of 5 stars

Millicent van der Hoeven has decided to sell her family's Adirondack estate to a nature conservancy. But on the day of the land transfer, her brother frantically calls the police. Millie has disappeared in the cold November forest…
 
Reverend Clare Fergusson gets an early morning phone call to join the Millers Kill search and rescue operation. As a former Army helicopter pilot trained in survival skills, she can't refuse the request—even though it's the day of the bishop's annual visit. Worse for Clare, the search operation will link her up with Russ Van Alstyne, the very married local police chief who is her greatest temptation. Now, as Clare and Russ race time to find Millie van der Hoeven, they soon discover the secrets of someone who is desperate to stop the sale...and a deadly madness waiting to destroy them all.

Let’s face it, those of us who are still reading this series at volume four are probably reading it more for the Claire/Russ relationship dynamics than for the mysteries. Not that the mysteries are bad, they just aren’t really the main point of this series to my way of thinking.

In fact, there are a couple of turns in this particular book that I didn’t find realistic. The villains are just too impulsive, one beating a young woman almost to death, then running in a panic and the other accidentally killing a man, then trying to bend events to benefit himself. The first situation is the most believable of the two--I can see that happening to someone with poor impulse control, which fits the author’s characterisation of him. I’d like to think that people are less cold blooded than the accidental killer, but perhaps I’m a hopeless optimist. However, if one is going to accept those actions as possible, the way the author linked them together was well done.

I’m definitely going to be reading the next book, because Claire and Russ either have to do something about their attraction or quit tormenting each other. Russ seems to have some idea of what he’s going to do by this book’s end, and Claire has found someone to talk to about the situation, so I’m sure that things are going to shift in the next volume. However, I have reading goals to meet before the end of 2019, so I’m not sure when I will get back to this series. Rest assured that I’ll be back to check on the situation in Miller’s Kill as soon as I can.

The Moonstone / Wilkie Collins

3.5 stars out of 5

The Moonstone, a yellow diamond looted from an Indian temple and believed to bring bad luck to its owner, is bequeathed to Rachel Verinder on her eighteenth birthday. That very night the priceless stone is stolen again and when Sergeant Cuff is brought in to investigate the crime, he soon realizes that no one in Rachel’s household is above suspicion. Hailed by T. S. Eliot as ‘the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels’, The Moonstone is a marvellously taut and intricate tale of mystery, in which facts and memory can prove treacherous and not everyone is as they first appear.

I read this book to fill the Gothic square of my 2019 Halloween Bingo Card.

Well, finally, I have managed to read this Wilkie Collins classic, and I’m glad that I did. It is remarkable for the way it got detective fiction started. I could certainly see the roots of the genre in it and it reminded me strongly of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four. Sergeant Cuff, with his eye for detail and absorption in rose cultivation, seems like a clear predecessor of Sherlock Holmes, with his predilection for violin playing and smelly chemistry experiments. Both novels result from treasures stolen from the Indian subcontinent and Indian people appear in England in both cases to retrieve the ill-gotten valuables. Also appreciated was one of the earliest crime scene re-enactments in literature.

The Moonstone doesn’t rush it’s way to the finish line. Instead, it meanders and circles a bit, as the literature of the time period does. I thought that Collins must have had great fun writing the first two narrators--both Gabriel Betteredge and Drusilla Clack are entertaining for their eccentricities. Both have placed their faith in a particular book: Gabriel relies on Robinson Crusoe, while Drusilla trusts more to the Bible, or rather interpretations thereof by her favourite religious people. Each of them regards people who don’t pay attention to their book as heathens. Probably most of us have encountered a Drusilla at some point or may even count them as family members--we hope we see them before they see us, allowing us time to hide or flee!

Collins certainly reveals his excellent understanding of people with his characters. I found his depiction of Godfrey Ablewhite especially interesting, as it related to Collins’ own personal life. Godfrey proposes to Miss Rachel Verinder, but seems to be rather easily made to back away from their engagement, though it makes his father apoplectic. We learn later that he has been keeping a woman in grand style and had he succeeded in marrying Rachel, this woman would have been sure to ruin his reputation! Perhaps this is why Collins maintained two households without ever marrying either woman--they could tolerate being equal, but his marrying one would have automatically made the unmarried woman into the Other Woman, with the concomitant social censure.

Collins certainly set a pattern in literature with valuable gems being the centre pieces of mysterious goings on. I think even of modern urban fantasy such as Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews with it’s pillaged Indian crown, featuring a beautiful stone, which is used for nefarious purposes and eventually returned to India where it belongs, with the knowledge that nothing good comes from stealing from other cultures.

A Mind to Murder / P.D. James

4 out of 5 stars

When the administrative head of the Steen Psychiatric Clinic is found dead with a chisel in her heart, Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate. Dalgliesh must analyze the deep-seated anxieties and thwarted desires of patients and staff alike to determine which of their unresolved conflicts resulted in murder.

Very reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s work. P.D. James really does demonstrate the same mystery writing skills that Christie did. She lays out the crime and all the various suspects and then sets Dalgleish and Martin among them to sort things out. Two police cats amongst the psychiatric pigeons. Just like Poirot, Dalgleish is able to see through the clutter to the heart of things. Unlike Poirot, he is able to do so without being annoyingly self-satisfied.

Perhaps because I just recently read Christie’s They Do It with Mirrors, set in a juvenile reform school, this novel seemed similar. In fact, they were written within a few years of each other and share the institutional settings and “closed room” aspects to the stories. James throws plenty of details of the psychiatric setting at the reader, using them as distractions from the usual motivations for murder.

As I said when I reviewed the first Dalgleish novel, I see this detective as one of the sources of one of my favourite policemen, Armand Gamache, Louise Penny’s main character. Which reminds me, I need to track down the next book in that series too.

The Janus Stone / Elly Griffiths

4 out of 5 stars

It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?

Ruth and Detective Harry Nelson would like to find out—and fast. When they realize the house was once a children’s home, they track down the Catholic priest who served as its operator. Father Hennessey reports that two children did go missing from the home forty years before—a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child’s bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the trail by frightening her, and her unborn child, half to death.

Okay, I have definitely become invested in this series. I really like the main character, Ruth Galloway, probably because I can see a fair number of my own beliefs and qualities reflected in her. Ruth is a professional woman, working for a university, building a life for herself as a single woman, pretty immune to religion of any flavour but willing to contemplate the faith of her friendly neighbourhood Druid, and reserving the right to tell everyone else to bugger off.

I must confess that I don’t know how I would have responded to finding myself pregnant after a one night stand, but I think I would have waded into the situation just as Ruth has done. I find myself both fascinated by her situation and glad that I never had to face it myself (although I’m aware that it could easily have happened).

I found it amusing that this self-sufficient woman, who never really expects to have a stable relationship with any of the men in her life, ends up in hospital with no fewer than three of them in tow. When I’ve ended up in hospital, its always been my female friends and relatives who have surrounded me!

I’m so tempted to just barrel along through this series, but I also find myself wanting to draw out the reading experience and not finish it up too quickly. I do enjoy the anticipation of waiting to read the next installment! I guess that’s my way of saying that I’ll definitely read The House at Sea’s End, but I’ll save it for a special occasion or when I need a pick-me-up.