Carol's Notebook

Thanksgiving Dinner Death by Leighann Dobbs

November 20, 2024November 20, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

I love a good holiday cozy mystery. I did read the first in this series a couple of years ago, but it's an easy one to just pick up. Juniper Holiday has invited lots of people to her Thanksgiving dinner, including the local police detective, Desmond Mallard. But when someone is poisoned, Juni somehow ends up both the prime suspect and potentially the intended victim. She of course decides she has to figure out what's going on. Juniper is funny and eccentric and not afraid to speak her mind. There’s a touch of paranormal: a few helpful ghosts, and a friendly neighborhood potions master. The whodunnit was a little obvious, but I don't typically mind that too much as long as the rest of the story is enjoyable, which it was. I listened to the audio and my one complaint is that the narrator was awful. Her inflections were over-the-top and didn't always seem to fit the story. This is one...

All’s Fair in Love and Treachery by Celeste Connally

November 19, 2024November 19, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

All's Fair in Love and Treachery is the second book featuring Lady Petra, but I didn't read the first. I do think I missed out a little by not reading the first. The author did a good job of catching the reader up on the relationships, but a lot of it had to do with wrapping up events from the first book. Petra has discovered her childhood best friend and current lover, Duncan, may have murdered her fiancé’s three years ago. Duncan, of course, leaves before Petra can confront him and she thinks the worst of him Why do women in cozy mysteries always do that? Assume that the man who has always been nothing but honest and caring is actually lying to her and making a fool out of her? In the meantime, Queen Charlotte has asked Petra to look into the death of the matron at the Asylum for Female Orphans. The matron was probably murdered and there...

The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime by Vicki Delany

November 13, 2024November 13, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

This time around Gemma and the gang are in London for her sister, Pippa's, wedding. Her ex-husband, Paul, asks her to meet him in his bookstore to see a rare used book, but when she and Grant arrive, they find him dead in his office. Gemma feels like she owes it to Paul to help find the killer. I've read enough of the series to know most of the characters so I didn't feel overwhelmed by all the people we only meet briefly before they get sidelined for most of the story. Gemma and friends traipse all over London, to mansions and nightclubs and coffee shops. The clues lead in several directions, but at the same time Pippa is dealing with a government situation and it's no surprise when Gemma's case and Pippa's job overlap. The story is a little far-fetched and the motive a little weak, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I would rather have been on the Holmes...

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

November 12, 2024November 12, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

In this Christmas novella, which is the third book in the series, Ern once again finds himself on the case of a murder. This time the victim is the current partner of his ex-wife Erin. And of course Erin's been arrested. Ern doesn’t think she's guilty, but can he prove it? I don't usually like meta-fiction, but this series is an exception, mainly because it's fun and funny and knows exactly how hard it's trying. I listened to the audiobook which is the perfect way for me to read it. The story is told in the first person, which works super well for audiobooks. It's like Ern, who is likable as always, is telling us how events unfolded and it even has some minor nods to the listener. The set-up goes along with the season - and the story- 24 chapters, one for each day leading up to Christmas, one for each door in an advent calendar. The murders are clever...

She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke

November 6, 2024November 6, 2024 by Carol2 Comments

I should have enjoyed She Doesn't Have a Clue. It has so many of the elements I like - an isolated location, a closed circle of suspects, a spooky mansion, a quirky main character/ amateur sleuth. Turned out I was annoyed by it most of the time, but not quite enough to quit, probably because it was on audio. The narrator did a good job. Her pace fit the story well and she managed to keep the (too many) characters distinguished from each other. Quite honestly, she's the reason I stayed around for the reveal and the happy ending. Kate has come to her ex-fiancé's wedding at a mansion on an island in the middle of a storm. Kate is a mystery writer and has a habit of lapsing into thinking about her characters and how they would respond to events in her life, which can be a little confusing at first. The first person she runs into is Jake, aka...

November Cloak and Dagger Link-Up

November 1, 2024October 29, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

Happy November! My birthday’s later this month, which is one of the few good things about this month. Here in Ohio, it’s mostly cold and rainy — not my favorite. But it is a good month to curl up under a blanket with a book. What are your reading plans this month? Any thing you’re especially looking forward to? Link your reviews below. You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter...