December Cloak and Dagger Links

December Cloak and Dagger Links

by Carol8 Comments
Happy December! And Happy Holidays! Our Christmas tree is already up and most of our decorations. And I've got Christmas music playing at work and in the car. I’m sometimes a seasonal reader, so expect at least a few of my links this month to involve Christmas and winter mysteries/thrillers. Leave your December links below or in the comments. Also, leave the link to your wrap-up post if you did one. The link up for next year’s challenge is already up. You can find the link in the sidebar or click here. I hope everyone will be joining in again. You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter...
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Candy Cane Conspiracy by Cate Lawley

Candy Cane Conspiracy by Cate Lawley

by Carol2 Comments
Candy Cane Conspiracy is fun and cute. I did read "Tea with a Demon" first, which is a short story telling about the book Trixie and her grandmother are updating, All Things Magical and Bumpy Things in the Night. It's also the first time Trixie meets Sylvester, a very handsome, very gentlemanly, very knowledgeable demon who plays a major role in the Candy Cane Conspiracy. Trixie has moved to Idaho to escape her magical creature problem, but of course, it's not that easy. The local furry fairies who look a lot like squirrels have been bothering her. And then one day close to Christmas, she comes out of her house one morning on her way to work to discover that her bushes and trees are filled with candy canes, thanks to the fairies. Turns out there's been a murder in town. A local witch is dead, stabbed with a candy cane just like the ones in her yard. Sylvester, newly arrived...
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The Railway Detective’s Christmas Case by Edward Marston

The Railway Detective’s Christmas Case by Edward Marston

by Carol2 Comments
The Railway Detective's Christmas Case is the first I've read in the series. It works fine as a stand-alone, but I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more had I been more familiar with the characters. Colbeck's family is featured often, mostly hoping he gets home in time for Christmas and, for me, those interludes were distractions from the plot, but if I cared more about the characters I might have been more interested. Colbeck and Leeming are charged with finding the killer of a well-respected man, Cyril Hubblesday. Hubblesday was not a nice man though and there are a fair number of suspects, from employees at the works to his daughter's former suitor. The clues the pair dig up point in several directions, and it turns out there is more going on than was originally suspected. I don't know. The case was interesting and I enjoyed the historical details, but it dragged a bit. There were a lot of...
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The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz

The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz

by CarolNo Comments
First off, Rory Kinnear does a fabulous job as the narrator of The Twist of a Knife. The story is told in the first person by the fictionalized Anthony Horowitz, so hopefully, I'll never hear the real Horowitz speak, since I'll expect Kinnear's voice. Beyond that, though, he does all the characters' voices well, inserting their personality and feelings into their dialogue. When I first started this series, I wasn't a fan of Horowitz inserting himself into the story as the detective's sidekick, but I've changed my mind. The bits of his real-life intermingled with the fictional plot are fun. For example, he really did write a play called Mindgame that really was performed at the Vaudeville Theatre. As the blurb states, Horowitz is the main suspect this time, accused of murdering a theater critic, and the evidence is mounting. Of course, he turns to Hawthorne, who takes the case. (He has his own reasons for doing so; it's not just out...
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The Game Is a Footnote by Vicki Delany

The Game Is a Footnote by Vicki Delany

by Carol4 Comments
I don't know why it took me so long to read this series. I jumped in with this one #8 and felt like it stood on its own fine. I love the Sherlock Holmes bookstore and wouldn't mind having scones next door at the tea shop. Gemma has been asked to see if Scarlet House is haunted. Of course, it isn't - probably - but something strange is definitely going on. When someone ends up dead on the premises, Gemma allows herself to be dragged into finding out what's going on, to the dismay of the police. There are plenty of secrets at the museum and plenty of people going in and out all day. Gemma is observant and smart. I liked her and adored the town and her shop. Her friends seem nice and willing to help out when needed. There was a side plot involving one of the employees that I found a little out of place, but did introduce...
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Frozen Detective by Amanda Flower

Frozen Detective by Amanda Flower

by Carol2 Comments
Frozen Detective is a fun, wintery mystery that takes place at New Year's. Darby and Tate take on a case for Tate's old friend, Cecily (CeCe) Madd. Cecily's husband has been receiving threatening notes and she's worried his life is in danger, but of course, she wants to avoid the publicity that calling in the police might bring. Darby and Tate go undercover to a New Year's party Cecily and Dr. Madd are holding at the nearby ski resort. And, of course, first thing on New Year's Day, Dr. Madd is killed, shot with a crossbow on the ski slope. The Police close the lodge and ordered the guests to remain. Darby and Tate must find the killer before the weekend ends and the guests leave. I enjoyed Darby and Tate. Darby is an experienced PI, but Tate is pretty new to the agency and it was good to see how they have to learn to trust each other and recognize...
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