Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

by Carol4 Comments
In the 1870s the Osage were forced from their lands in Kansas to Oklahoma, a seemingly useless land. The Osage were in a better position than most tribes. The sold their land in Kansas to the government for a decent price, and so were one of the few nations to actually buy their reservation land. And then oil was discovered on that land and the Osage became some of the richest people in the world. Grann does an excellent job telling us what happened next. The Osage started dying. They were shot, poisoned, left to die after "accidents," blown up. At least 24, probably closer to three times that number, of the Osage were killed for their oil money. Killed by people they thought loved them. Killed by people who were supposed to be protecting them. Killed by friends. And the doctors, coroners, lawmen, all contributing to covering up the crimes. It wasn't just a couple mean, greedy people. It...
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Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham

Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham

by Carol7 Comments
After listening to the first Albert Campion mystery I wasn't sure how I felt about the series. Look to the Lady is definitely a funner book. Campion is our main character now, and while he's still an odd duck, he clearly knows a lot about what is going on and has quite a few influential friends. The chalice is a priceless, ancient relic and a rich collector wants it. This collector is a member of a group that has its own methods and rules, and Campion is quite familiar with their system. Campion is becoming an interesting character. He is not quite a detective, more like a clever, innocuous man for hire. His plan this time is to figure out who the collector's agent is and basically make sure that person ends up dead. I listened to this one right after the first, so comparisons are inevitable. Allingham took more care of the secondary characters this time around. They were more fully...
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The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

by Carol6 Comments
I knew going in that The Crime at Black Dudley is not the best of Allingham's Albert Campion series, but it's the first even if he is only a minor character, and if you can start a series at the beginning, why not? Allingham, along with Christie, Sayers, and Marsh, is one of the "Queens of Crime," the only one I hadn't read. I love Christie and Marsh, couldn't care less about Sayers, and am undecided on Allingham. We've got a country house party with an odd assortment of guests. And then somebody's killed, but then it kind of runs amok and the younger set of guests, in their 20's give or take, are held hostage by a batch of criminals, and they need to escape before they end up dead. I'm not a big fan of the international gang type of mysteries. I want smaller mysteries if that makes sense, not ones that could have CONSEQUENCES. It all...
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The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

by Carol10 Comments
The Dispatcher was one of the the free Audible Originals this month and since I'm a Scalzi fan of course I picked it up. At heart it's a mystery. A man is missing, probably kidnapped based on the evidence at his home. One of his co-workers is coerced by the investigator on the case to help her, since he knows the ins and outs of the victim's job better than she does. The kicker is that the man was a dispatcher. In a world where it's almost impossible to be murdered—you can die of natural causes or an accident, but those who are murdered come back 99.9% of the time—dispatchers provide a second chance. They kill you if an operation goes awry, if you're injured beyond hope in a car accident. Then, you wake up at home, naked, but otherwise fine, just like you were in the few hours before the trauma. Tony is a good guy, at least at the...
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Blood Money by Doug Richardson

Blood Money by Doug Richardson

by Carol2 Comments
Blood Money is an action-packed thriller with plenty of violence—it's not surprising to learn the author is also a screenwriter of action movies. The book is non-stop, it never gives you time to breathe. There are several people whose lives intersect in disastrous ways. Few of the characters are likable, but you get their motives. Lucky Dey is out for revenge against the man who killed his brother, if he can find him. He is relentless and is basically a renegade cop at this point. He is hard to like. He's mean and single-minded and just a tough guy. He is joined by Lydia "Gonzo" Gonzalez, his "chaperone" from the LAPD, who is my favorite character. She's a single mom who realizes how close to out of control Lucky is, but still hangs on for the ride. Lucky's interactions with Gonzo and her son let you see his softer side a bit, which helps. The man Lucky is hunting is a...
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Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh

by CarolNo Comments
The Final Curtain has a lot of similarities to many of Marsh's other mysteries. We've got a country house party. Inspector Alleyn doesn't show up until about halfway through. We've got a young couple who are meant to be together but have difficulties in the way. We've got a tie to both art and the theater. But Marsh winds these bits together with a pretty terrible family and comes up with an enjoyable mystery that had me stumped. WW 2 is over and Agatha Troy is waiting for her husband, Inspector Alleyn to return from New Zealand. To pass the last couple of weeks, she accepts a commission that takes her to Ancreton Manor to paint a portrait of Sir Henry Ancred, a famous Shakespearean actor in his Macbeth costume. The first half-ish of the book shows us the Ancred family from Troy's point of view and they are overall a melodramatic, argumentative bunch, not people to enjoy spending...
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