The Case of the Cursed Dodo by Jake G. Panda

by Carol4 Comments
I listened to the full cast audio of The Case of the Cursed Dodo. I am not used to listening to books with more than one, or at most two, narrators, so it did take me a chapter or two to get into the groove of it. It was an interesting set-up though. The book is written in kind of a screen play style, so on audio it felt like you were listening to an old-style radio show, which was pretty neat. I liked the characters, all endangered species, and the hotel that serves as the base of operations. Jake is a good semi-hard-boiled detective, gruff and tough, but also loyal. We've even got a dame, although condors are not really my idea of sexy birds. My one complaint is that there are a few too many bad guys, it got a bit confusing who was on which side and why. I also expected to learn a bit more about the...
Read More

Slade House by David Mitchell

by Carol8 Comments
Maybe I should have read The Bone Clocks first. Maybe I just don't get what makes people love David Mitchell. (Do people love David Mitchell?) Maybe it's just not my typical genre? I read Slade House for the RIP XII Group Read. I don't know if I expected it to be spookier or more interesting or what. It was fine, but when I wasn't listening to it, I didn't think about it. I didn't feel the need to share bits of it with anyone or tell my daughter she needs to read it - she's a horror fan. Slade House is a type of haunted house story. Basically, every 9 years a victim is lured into the house. Each time we get to know the victim; they each have a distinct personality, their own quirks, tragedies, or fears that make them relatable. We get some standard spooky house fare, portraits, creeky stairs, mysterious women looking out the windows, warning disembodied voices. But...
Read More

Scared to Death by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

by Carol2 Comments
Scared to Death was my first visit to Cherringham, but I'm sure it won't be my last. It's a novella, as are most of this series and I really enjoyed it. Sarah and Jack are well-known for solving local mysteries, so when someone is "playing pranks" on Basil Coates, an elderly man who was once the horror film star, his still enchanting wife, a former star herself, calls on the duo to find out what's going on. It's a quick story, but self-contained. We get a good feel for who Sarah and Jack are, although I'm not sure if they're just friends or if there's a potential for more there. I'm hoping the former. The authors also do a good job at fully developing the secondary characters, the Coates househould. There are a couple plausible suspects and Sarah and Jack do a good job at following upon the clues. There was one choice Sarah made that I wish she hadn't, but women amateur...
Read More

Death at Breakfast by Beth Gutcheon

by Carol8 Comments
I expected to enjoy Death at Breakfast. It seemed right up my alley. Recently retired Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, Hope Babbin, are staying at an inn in Maine and attending a week-long (I think) cooking class held by the chef. A great setting, two intelligent but quirky amateur detectives and food - a promising set-up. Quick review: Fine, but not outstanding. It's not exactly a waste of time, but if you have something you're dying to read, skip this and pick that one up instead. On the other hand, the choice of murder weapons is semi-unique. I guess my main problem with the book is that the character I found most interesting is the one who ends up dead. And he was interesting because of his thoughts, his way of seeing the world, things that we no longer see once he's dead. Maggie and Hope are nice and smart, but I didn't connect with either of them. There are a lot of...
Read More

The Haunted Season by G. M. Malliet

by Carol6 Comments
I skipped #4 in the Max Tudor series, mostly because Father Max was getting married and having a baby and I just didn't want to read about the new family, but I just couldn't pass up the cover for The Haunted Season. Apparently I didn't need to worry about the baby. He is so well-behaved and calm and peaceful that he barely causes a ripple in Max's life. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised, his mother after all is nearly perfect and a healer to boot. Hmm, that sounded meaner than I meant it to. I don't dislike Awena, and in all honestly she's not in much of this book. Lord Baaden-Boomethistle is our deceased, decapitated by a wire strung between two trees while he was out riding his horse. We've got several suspects, mostly members of his family. There are a couple clues, a few secrets, and of course Max manages to put it all together, with some help from...
Read More

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

by Carol8 Comments
I had wanted to read Murder on the Orient Express again before watching the movie, and was lucky enough to win a copy in a Goodreads giveaway. This is at least the third time I've read it, but it's one of those ones that I wish I could re-read for the first time. The solution is so perfect, but also so memorable. Poirot is one of my favorite all-time detective and this particular mystery showcases his reasoning skills. The setting is perfect, a group of people are trapped in a train stuck in the snow, and clearly there is a killer on board. There is no access to people's records, no way to check on their true identities, not contact with the outside world at all. I'll grant you he manages to make some leaps in his deductions, but that's part of his charm. It's by no means a fair mystery, the reader can't solve it, but I do love how...
Read More