Book Reviews – Page 108 – Carol's Notebook

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

February 20, 2019March 11, 2021 by Carol12 Comments

The Stranger Diaries is a contemporary mystery, but with the feel, and potential hauntings, of a gothic novel. Modern gothic novels don't always work for me, but the combo was flawless here. Clare Cassidy is an English teacher at Talgarth High; she is divorced and has a 15 year old daughter, Georgia. At the school, there is a building where R. M. Holland, a reclusive Victorian writer, lived. Clare is writing a biography of R. M. Holland and is interested in the death of his wife, Alice Avery, whose ghost haunts the school. Then, Clare's best friend and colleague, Ella Elphick, is found murdered with a note that is a quote from Holland's "The Stranger": "Hell is empty." The whole story is actually framed by Holland's creepy "The Stranger," with bits thrown in at just the right times. The Stranger Diaries is told from three female points of view, Clare, her daughter, and DS Harbinder Kaur, the lead investigator on the case....

Something Fresh by P. G. Wodehouse

February 19, 2019February 19, 2019 by Carol7 Comments

I've read several of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Bertie books, but Something Fresh is the first of his Blandings Castle series I've picked up. It was funny and light-hearted and just a nice break. Lord Emsworth, owner of Blandings Castle, accidentally stole a valuable scarab from his son's fiancée's father, a millionaire American. Our two main characters, Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine, are headed to Blandings Castle for a house party, both trying to retrieve the scarab and receive the reward. They both are impersonating servants, so we see a lot of what is happening downstairs. Ashe and Joan have a lot in common even though they have only recently met; they are both writers, both live in the same building, both could use a new direction, something fresh. In the meantime, Lord Emsworth son may or may not be a spot of trouble over a former crush. Now that he is engaged, those letters he wrote to another woman may cost...

The St. Valentine’s Day Cookie Massacre by Elisabeth Crabtree

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 by Carol6 Comments

If I've learned anything from cozy mysteries, it's that holidays go perfect with dead bodies. So, instead of reading a romance for today, I went with The St. Valentine's Day Cookie Massacre and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Kat has must moved back home from a stint in Miami and is working at a small local paper. The staff is small and while her heart is in investigative journalism, mostly she's covering community events and doing the food critic column. She covers a local bakery opening where a fight breaks out. Later that evening, an anonymous caller asks her to meet him behind the bakery - he has information for her. When she shows up, she finds a dead body, a bakery employee who also happens to be one of the men who was in the fight earlier. Of course, she starts investigating. And ends up almost dead herself before she tracks down the killer(s). So, ...

The World Beneath by Rebecca Cantrell

February 13, 2019February 13, 2019 by Carol6 Comments

The World Beneath is just a fun book. Joe Tesla is rich and extremely intelligent, but can't go outside due to extreme agoraphobia. While in the tunnels under New York, he meets a man who is then brutally murdered near a long bricked in train car. Joe has to make sure he doesn't get killed too, and in the process stumbles into a nightmare of a conspiracy. Joe is charming and while obviously not fearless, he is determined and inventive. He's a whiz with computers, but also understands people, which is a nice change. His service dog Edison is adorable, and I was more worried for him than I was for Joe. He also has a couple people who are wholly on his side, and they each bring their own strengths. The plot is well-done. The tension holds throughSubwayout and even though the reader knows who all the players all, you still wonder what can happen next. And the fact that Joe...

Hibernate with Me by Benjamin Scheuer

February 12, 2019February 12, 2019 by Carol9 Comments

Hibernate with Me is a wonderful picture book. The story features a little bear and his mom/dad. No matter how rough life can gets or how shy the little bear feels, little bear always has a safe, warm home to go to. The words have a gentle rhyming pattern, and the illustrations accompany it perfectly. They are detailed, colorful and fit the moods, seasons of the story. The story was originally a song. The melody is in the back of the book. The lullaby quality of the story makes it a perfect book for bedtime. I think I'm going to give my copy to either my brother or my mom. A couple of my brother's kids are still young enough for picture books and I really like this one. Hibernate with Me is a gentle reminder that no matter how sad, small, or scared you feel, you are always worthy of love, and that brighter days are always ahead. I have one copy to...

Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri

February 7, 2019February 7, 2019 by Carol2 Comments

It's been a while since I listened to a Commissario Montalbano mystery, but Voice of the Violin was part of Audible's 2-for-1 deal, so I picked it up. They're always enjoyable, well-thought-out mysteries and I love the cast of characters. In Voice of the Violin a young woman has been murdered and Montalbano is determined to find the killer, in spite of his new boss's manipulations. Montalbano may not always do things the legal way, but for him finding the truth is more important. Even though it's a pretty gruesome murder, there's humor sprinkled throughout the book that lightens it up. And Camilleri does a great job with depicting Sicily, the people, the weather, the food. These books always make me crave pasta - as if I didn't already. I especially liked how the violin plays into this one. I'm still not a fan of Montalbano's relationship with his long-distance girlfriend Livia. I'm pretty sure I say that every time....