Trace Elements by Donna Leon

Trace Elements by Donna Leon

by Carol6 Comments
I've read many of the Brunetti series, but generally out of order. I like Brunetti. He's a reader and a thinker. He loves Venice, but isn't fond of the heat and the tourists. He's doesn't approve of the corruption but realizes that to some extent it's what makes Venice run. In Trace Elements, Brunetti and Claudia Griffoni are called to the bedside of a dying woman. She tells them that her husband was killed because of the "bad money," but dies before she can tell them more. With no real evidence of a crime, Brunetti and Griffoni start investigating, feeling they owe it to the dead woman. Their clues take them to a water testing lab where perhaps not everything is handled as it should be. The plot was just complicated enough. Of course, we know that it was a murder, it always is in these books, and we know that with Brunetti's perseverance and intuition, he and Griffoni will find...
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They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall

They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall

by Carol2 Comments
I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, so when I was They All Fall Down is an adaptation of And Then There Were None, I was of course interested. Seven people are lured to an island in Mexico and if you've read/seen And Then There Were None, you have a basic idea of what's going to happen. In this case, I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say they all end up dead. The setting is great, an isolated private island in Mexico with a gorgeous house. The premise is obviously good, it worked for Christie, it works here. The people gathered each have their own secrets that have now caught up with them. The characters are mostly memorable if a bit caricature-ish. I didn't like any of them, but I wasn't supposed to either. The story is told in the first person by Miriam, a dance mom who has some definition. She is not a nice person...
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Egg Drop Dead by Vivien Chien

Egg Drop Dead by Vivien Chien

by Carol4 Comments
I actually don't read many foodie cozy mysteries, but the Noodle Shop Mysteries are an exception. First, I do love Chinese restaurant food. When I was pregnant, we ate at the same Chinese restaurant in the mall that the woman who owned it gave us a baby present. Second, it takes place in Cleveland, Ohio, and I always enjoy it when a story is set somewhere I've been and Amber's college is about 30 minutes away. Third, Lana's a good character and her family is a hoot. Lana's first catering job is going well - until the murder of course. Donna Feng, a long-time friend of the Lee family, is clearly the most likely suspect to have killed her nanny, but she asks Lana to help prove her innocence by figuring out who the killer actually was. This is Lana's fifth "investigation" but this time she may be in over her head. I do think this would work as a stand-alone,...
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The Curse of Braeburn Castle by Karen Baugh Menuhin

The Curse of Braeburn Castle by Karen Baugh Menuhin

by CarolNo Comments
Heathcliff Lennox (please call him Lennox) was in WW 1 and his butler Greggs, with whom he has an entertaining and humorous relationship, was his batman. Now back home, Lennox is having a bit of an adjustment to civilian life. He prefers solitary activities like fishing or walking his dog, Mr. Fogg, in the countryside around his slowly declining estate. However, he has friends and family that can bring him out into the world beyond his gates. Lennox is likable and intelligent, tongue-tied around women, but loyal and honest. The Curse of Braeburn Castle is the third mystery I've read featuring him and may be the best so far. This third one begins when Lennox's newly-married friend, former detective Swift, asks him to come to Braeburn Castle to help with the discovery of a centuries-old skeleton. The discovery of the skeletons has brought a team of archaeologists to the castle, a group Swift doesn't trust, and now the skull and it's...
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The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes published by Dover Publications

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes published by Dover Publications

by Carol4 Comments
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of 16 classic detective stories from the late 19th through the early 20th centuries. The detectives are not so much rivals of Holmes as contemporaries. The collection is centered around when the stories were written, but they come from a variety of regions. I've read a few of the authors before and a couple of the stories, but several were to me. There were even a couple of female detectives, unusual for the era. As with most anthologies, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. The book starts off with "The Great Ruby Robbery" by Grant Allen which was clever and funny, a good combination and a good way to open. "Cinderella's Slipper" by Hugh C. Weir and his Miss Madelyn Mack also stood out for me. I met Max Carrados in "The Coin of Dionysius" by Ernest Braman. He's a blind detective, which is unique. Another, this one from America,...
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Left-Handed Death by Richard Hull

Left-Handed Death by Richard Hull

by CarolNo Comments
Left-Handed Death is the first of Richard Hull's mysteries I've read. It's got an interesting perspective. We kind of start in the middle of the mystery. Arthur Shergold and Guy Reeves are sitting in their office, discussing recent events, in particular, Reeves' lunch that day with a civil servant from the Ministry, Barry Foster. Foster has become a problem for their company, which deals with contracts for the Ministry of Defence. Neither of them particularly like the man either. The dinner seems to end with Reeves killing Foster in Foster's home, strangling him to death. Later that day, Reeves goes to Scotland Yard and confesses to the crime. Inspector Hardwick isn’t quite ready to accept things at face value, he sets out to prove Reeves innocent. It's an interesting set-up. We know that there's something fishy about Reeves' confession, but not sure quite what? Why would he confess if he hadn't done it? If he did do it, why did...
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