Book Reviews – Page 134 – Carol's Notebook

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

October 2, 2018 by Carol5 Comments

It's funny, when I saw Lethal White was out, I had to pick it up. I remember loving Cormoran Strike, the detective, and really enjoying the novels. I apparently had absolutely erased Career of Evil (#3) from my mind. Looking back at my review for that one, I almost DNF'ed it, but finished only because, well, I love Cormoran Strike. That's fine, because Lethal White was a return to the series I enjoy. The mystery begins, as the blurb states, with a young man's visit to Strike's office. The young man, Billy, clearly has mental health issues, but he also clearly believes he saw a child strangled years earlier. Separately, Strike is hired by Jasper Chiswell, the Minister of Culture, who is being blackmailed by Jimmy Knight, Billy's older brother, and Geraint Winn, the husband of the Minister for Sport. Chiswell wants Strike to get dirt on Winn and Knight that he can use against them, but won't tell Strike what information...

In at the Death by Francis Duncan

September 28, 2018September 14, 2018 by Carol4 Comments

I've been reading a lot of vintage mysteries lately, Hercule Poirot, Roderick Alleyn, Sherlock Holmes. Mordecai Tremaine is one of the lesser-known detectives of the era, at least now, I'm not sure about when the stories were originally published. I like him though; I'm glad the books are being reissued. Mordecai is a retired tobacconist, a bachelor, and a bit of a romantic. He's an amateur detective who solves mysteries by observing, by understanding people. He also blends in well, he's unobtrusive and people tend not to notice him or not be threatened by him, which allows him to sometimes learn things quicker and easier than the police. In In at the Death, Mordecai is actually invited by his friend Chief Inspector Jonathan Boyce to tag along on an investigation, beginning to end. Mordecai can be rather introspective too. "It was when you came up against the thing in its actuality that its atmosphere changed; from being a fascinating problem to intrigue the brain,...

Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure by Torben Kuhlmann

September 27, 2018September 27, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

I loved Kuhlmann's Armstrong, so was happy to have the chance to read Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure. I adored it. A little mouse, Pete, wants to find his ancestor's treasure. The problem is that all the little mouse knows is that his ancestor sailed across the Atlantic and was never heard from again. He asks Professor Mouse to help him and together they find the ship that the mouse sailed on. Unfortunately the boat sank in the middle of the ocean, presumably with the treasure on board. Just like so many other mice, the Professor and Pete are very clever. It requires a lot of experimentation, research and a trip to the museum, but they build a mouse submarine that allows them to get to the bottom of the ocean and retrieve the treasure. They also discover what happened to Pete's ancestor - don't worry, he had a happy ending. He was rescued from the ship, just like all the...

The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart

September 26, 2018September 27, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

The Circular Staircase is the first of Mary Roberts Rinehart's novels I've read. I don't know why it has taken me so long to get around to reading her. The Circular Staircase is apparently the first example of the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing. The Had-I-But-Known mystery novel is one where the principal character (frequently female, in this case Rachel Innes) does things in connection with a crime that have the effect of prolonging the action of the novel. Ms. Innes keeps information from the police, does her own investigation, actively hides things the police should know - basically she's a standard amateur detective. I take that back, she literally hides people, which is taking the whole thing a little far. Of course, she's surrounded by people who are keeping secrets too, but they are suspects, so that's expected. So, Ms. Innes, her niece and nephew, and her maid move into a rented country house for the summer. The owners, a rich...

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

September 21, 2018November 30, 2021 by Carol5 Comments

Yes, Poirot again. I've been on a bit of a kick lately, I know. I'm almost reading/re-reading the series in order. I #4 earlier this year and obviously still remember it well. I skipped #5 because I don't like it. So now we're at #6, The Mystery of the Blue Train. There's a lot of lead up before the murder. We meet an heiress whose millionaire father gives her a fabulous ruby to cheer her up a little. She and her husband are having problems and, as the father sees it, her only real option is to divorce him. We meet the husband and his mistress, a dancer who is only interested in rich men, which he won't be if his wife divorces him. We meet a not necessarily above-board jewelry merchant and his daughter. Finally, I think, we meet a lovely young woman, Katherine Grey, who has recently become rich herself, after the elderly woman she was a companion to...

True Fiction by Lee Goldberg

September 19, 2018 by Carol2 Comments

I originally picked up True Fiction as a Kindle First for free, but decided I'd rather listen to it, so ended up picking up the Audible version for $1.99. I've enjoyed the Fox and O'Hare series Goldberg writes with Janet Evanovich, but had never read anything else by him. I'm glad I took a (cheap) chance. True Fiction was a fun read, a bit over the top, in a good way. Ian Ludlow writes a thriller series featuring an assassin named Clint Straker. True Fiction includes snippets of the Clint Straker novels and they are perfect- cheesy clichés. I love that Goldberg is poking fun at the thriller genre while writing one. Years ago, Ludlow and several other authors participated in a weekend where the CIA asked them to come up with disasters, in theory so that the government can be prepared for the worst. But now, the scenario Ludlow came up with has happened, and a bunch of people are dead. Turns...