The Maid by Nita Prose

The Maid by Nita Prose

by Carol4 Comments
Molly Gray is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, a five-star boutique hotel. She loves her job, from her uniform to her daily tasks. She is efficient and detail-oriented. She does think a bit differently from the average person. She has trouble with social cues and tends to take things literally. When she discovers a hotel guest dead, her whole life is disrupted. She quickly becomes a suspect. The Maid is told from Molly's point of view. She's delightful and endearing, socially awkward, and honest to a fault. I liked her, mostly. I also wanted to shake some sense into her. She's clearly neurodiverse, but that is never explicitly mentioned. She's also inconsistent, which works well with the plot, but doesn't feel true to her character. To the reader, it seems absurd that anyone would consider Molly capable of murder. We've seen her be manipulated and misunderstanding situations. We're thankful that it turns out she has friends on her side. We...
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The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

by CarolNo Comments
I always say that I don't read time travel books, but really I do, just not often. There has to be a good reason to read it. The author is Claire North is a good reason. I've loved almost everything I've read by here and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is no exception. Okay, I'm not sure Harry August actually counts as a time traveler. He basically lives his same life over and over, but he makes different choices, others like him make different choices, so each time around is at least a little different, sometimes vastly different. The catch is that he remembers each life perfectly, a memory that completely forms between the ages of 4 and 6. So, knowing all he does from 80+ years of living, he has to go through childhood and adolescence again. And again. And again. There are others like him, kalachakra, who have formed a sort of secret club that he joins....
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Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

by Carol2 Comments
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is simple, lovely, and quirky. There's a cafe in Japan where you can travel in time if you sit in a certain chair. Of course, there are restrictions, as you can read in the blurb above. All of the book happens in the cafe, so we get to know the people who work there and the regulars. I don't know if we really get to know them or just get a peek into their lives. We see who they are at the cafe, how they interact with the others there, but not what they do, who they are otherwise, aside from what we're told. It's interesting that, unless someone is there specifically to go back in time, time travel is rarely talked about. It's just part of the cafe, unremarkable to those who are most familiar with it. In this book, we see four trips in time. Each individual knows that the present can't be...
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Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

by CarolNo Comments
Black Sun is the first book in Between Earth and Sky trilogy, and it is a high fantasy inspired by the civilizations Pre-Columbian Americas. The winter solstice in the holy city of Tova usually means a time for celebration and renewal. But this year a solar eclipse will occur with the winter solstice. The story marches toward that Convergence. I listened to the audiobook and each of the four points of view had their own narrator. We have Xiala, a boat captain who can control both water and people with her Song. We have Serapio, a blind man who Xiala needs to make sure is in Tova before the Convergence. The chemistry between them is fabulous. Naranpa is the Sun Priest, doing her best even though she has more enemies than she understands. Last is Okoa of clan Carrion Crow, who we know the least, but seems the most willing to accept what he doesn't understand. They're all compelling...
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Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg

Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg

by Carol4 Comments
Gated Prey is a popcorn book for me. It's the kind of book that seems like a mystery/action movie or tv show. I mean that as a good thing. It's action-packed and the setting and characters are described well. Eve and Duncan are on an undercover sting operation, trying to catch some home invaders. The sting goes wrong and all three of the perpetrators end up dead. While still investigating the robberies and whether there was an accomplice, they get called to what should be a routine stillbirth in another of the gated communities, but it turns out to be much more complicated. For once, the two mysteries are not actually connected. Gated Prey is the third in the series and I would recommend reading them in order. Eve's background and previous cases definitely affect what's going on here and even though they're mentioned, you'll have a better idea of what's going on in the background if you've read the others...
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Body at Buccaneer’s Bay by Josh Lanyon

Body at Buccaneer’s Bay by Josh Lanyon

by Carol4 Comments
Ellery once again finds a dead body, this time while diving with his boyfriend, Chief Police Officer Jack Carson. The body is sealed into an old diving suit they find in a shipwreck. Then, Odette Wallace, a wealthy widow, hires Ellery to find out who is trying to kill her. Apparently, she's a big believer in the ability of amateur sleuths. Of course, the two mysteries are connected The mystery was interesting. Everyone on the island has an idea about who the man in the suit was, but no proof. Odette and the step-children are not the nicest people, and Ellery probably shouldn't have taken the case but he needs the money. Ellery figures out the solution in the end, just a step or two behind Jack. The wrap-up was a bit anti-climactic though. Ellery is his usual smart, but bumbling self. Jack is very competent, and to me his concerns regarding Elliott getting swept up in cases make sense. I...
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