Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

by CarolNo Comments
A couple of caveats: this is the first book by Kingfisher I've read and I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings, even if I don't read enough of them. In this loose retelling of the Snow White story. We have Snow White, of course, apples, and mirrors, but no dwarves. Our main character is a healer, Anya, a poisons expert who is summoned by the King to discover how Snow is being slowly poisoned. Anya, of course, has no choice but to go. Anya is essentially a spinster who has devoted her life to her studies, made possible thanks for her father being a wealthy merchant. She's smart but her discussion of poisons and poisonous plants tends to be a bit much for people in social situations. Anya is aided in her investigation by two of the royal guards, one of whom is a potential love interest, and a talking cat, who is just as haughty as you might expect. . I...
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Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg

Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg

by Carol1 Comment
Forgetting for a moment the serial killer angle, I should have loved Murder by the Book. We've got murders, classic literature, and classic art combined with a small college setting, but in the end I was a bit disappointed. When a female college student is murdered and the scene is elaborately staged to resemble a famous painting, Detective Ian Carter is stumped. Thankfully he recently met Professor Emma Reilly, whose area of study might help give him some insights. Of course, after "accidentally" allowing her to see the crime scene photos, he is emphatic that he does not want her help, which accomplishes two things: 1.) pushing her to gather a group of friends to help her with her own investigation instead and 2.) cooling any romance that might have been developing between the two. Emily is the frazzled, socially awkward amateur sleuth who is rather over-confident in her ability to help. She's irritating. At the same time, our tough on...
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Sounds Like Trouble by Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith

Sounds Like Trouble by Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith

by CarolNo Comments
Sounds Like Trouble picks up where the first in the series leaves off. Jackson and Mac have combined their PI offices and are working together. This time around they are "hired" by some major bad guys to find a certain package. These are not clients they can refuse. To make it worse, someone else is after the package an that someone is willing to kill whoever he need to to get it. There's a lot of action, plenty of good dialogue, and a bit of sparks, but some of their decisions are just not good. And they believe people when they obviously shouldn't. They are a nice break from my usual cozy mystery sleuths, though, so they get extra points for that. I listened to the audio and appreciated having two narrators, one for Mac's point of view and one from Jackson's. Both did a great job bringing the characters to life. They also kept the tension and humor balanced well. Overall,...
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Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

by CarolNo Comments
Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is a decent cozy murder mystery set on Chicago's south side. I love Savvy, who owns a soul food restaurant and does some catering. Business is good, until Grandy Jaspers drops dead while eating her famous sweet potato pie. Even though it was ruled an accident, people are avoiding the restaurant. And to be honest, while Savvy knows it wasn't her pie that killed Grandy, she does think he might have been murdered. Savvy is a middle-aged widow who is smart, sassy, and determined, but maybe not the best detective. This is her first case though. And it's a tough one. We have tons of characters, most of whom she knows from one place or another, and they all seem to have secrets, even her assistant/side-kick, Penny. I actually had a hard time keeping everyone straight, and since I listened to the audio, I couldn't exactly flip back to see who was who....
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Written in Stone by Paige Shelto

Written in Stone by Paige Shelto

by CarolNo Comments
I love Delaney and the crew at The Cracked Spine and this series always leaves me wanting to visit Edinburgh. And I love Delaney and her quirky friends/co-workers. It's also nice that she's happily married to someone who is not a cop. This time around a visiting professor who is attempting to sell a Pictish artifact is killed. We get some good background on the Picts and, randomly, dinosaurs, which was fun. This series always does a nice job weaving history with the current mystery, The whodunnit was a little too obvious and, while the 3D printing aspect added a contemporary touch, i just can't believe it would dupe anyone. There's no way 3D printed artifacts/ fossils would hold up to even a cursory look, so why bother with the printing part at all? Why not just bluff that you have them? I did enjoy the story, even if it wasn't quite as good as some of the others. It's...
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The Fatal Flying Affair by T.E. Kinsey

The Fatal Flying Affair by T.E. Kinsey

by CarolNo Comments
The Fatal Flying Affair is the first in the series that I've picked up, but it worked fine without having read the previous installments. Lady Hardcastle's brother, Harry, who works for the Secret Service Bureau, stops by with an assignment. He wants Emily and her maid/best friend, Florence, to look into the death of a pilot who was testing a parachute and to find the person who is leaking top secret intelligence. Harry believes airplanes are going to have major military I just didn't love this one. The banter felt a bit too clever, if that makes sense, and I didn't care about the solution to the mystery. The village talent show was fun, but I'm not sure I'll pick up another in the series....
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