Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

by Carol2 Comments
The dog and I were home one Saturday night when Amber and David went off to watch a hockey game. I hadn't been able to dig out my box of Christmas books yet, but was in the mood for a vintage seasonal mystery. Someone, somewhere said good things about Mystery in White by Farjeon (if it was you, thank you) so I picked it up. I love how many old mysteries have been re-released as e-books in the last few years. As the blurb says, a train gets stopped by a blizzard on Christmas Eve and a mismatched group of people decide to leave the safety of the train and attempt to make it to the next station on foot. Of course they get lost, but happily stumble upon a house - that is empty but has fires roaring and tea set out. "“Don’t disappoint me? Don’t tell me you cannot supply the corpse? A bread-knife on a floor, a boiling...
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The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon

by Carol2 Comments
We've got two "mysteries" in The Girl of His Dreams, the death of the girl mentioned in the blurb and a potential scam being run by a man claiming to be a priest of some kind. Both are solved even if the resolutions aren't entirely satisfying, but I guess that's a bit like real life, not every mystery gets tied up in a neat little bow. Sometimes politics and money and being at the right place a bit too late all get in the way. I like Brunetti. He's happily married and actually enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife love books and conversation. While his superior is not ideal, he's not a loner, he works well with the competent members of the force. He cares about his case, perhaps more than he should at times. While the mystery steers the book, the musings on life, death, religion, the mafia make it slower than the typical mystery. There is less...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Corn People

by Carol1 Comment
The Corn People, illustraded by José Carlos and translated/edited by Kelly Carlos, is a mix of Aztec and Mayan mythology, and presents a lovely creation story. It's available on Amazon. It's a bilingual book, the Spanish on the top of each page, the English translation on the bottom, which I like, even though I can't pronounce the Spanish at all. In the beginning there was silence and Heart of Sky was very lonely, so he made planets to keep him company. Heart of Water was his favorite. He asked Heart of Water whatshe thought of their world and she asked that her oceans be opened, allowing land to rise. The land became mountains, valleys and hills covered with tall pines. Heart of Sky made fish, mammals, reptiles, and birds. Both Hearts were happy with so much company, but the creatures couldn't praise them. Heart of Sky, with Heart of Water, first created mud people and the wooden people, but neither would praise their makers...
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Friend of the Devil by Mark Spivak

by Carol2 Comments
First a confession, I watch a lot of the Food Network, so I couldn't pass up a "culinary thriller." Friend of the Devil turned out to be a fun thriller full of drugs, sex and food. Not a bad combination. David is a writer who first meets  Joseph Soderini di Avenzano while doing a story. He is then hired to write the famous chef's biography and is summoned to the Chateau de la Mer, where the menu is amazing, the chef a brilliant, if often drugged-out, showman, and the hostess irresistible. Actually, that is my one complaint, how quickly David and Alessandra hook up. I guess they have to for the rest of the story, but it just seemed a little quick. Of course, everything at the Chateau is a little intense. For me, it wasn't a quick read. I'm not sure why exactly. The pacing was good and there was enough action to keep the story moving. I enjoyed the bits of history that Avenzano...
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The Sculthorpe Murder by Karen Charlton

by Carol2 Comments
I enjoyed The Sculthorpe Murder so much more than #2 in the series. Lavender and Woods are sent out of London to Northamptonshire to investigate the killing of an elderly man, presumably by a gang that has been terrorizing the area. I like that the trip takes Lavender away from his love interest. I really can only stand them as a couple for short periods of time. The plot was well-done with a good array of suspects and clues. I like that Lavender doesn't take things for granted and as an outsider can be more suspicious of certain people than the locals are. Wood gets a lot of screen time in this one, which I appreciated. He's a good, kind man and I liked his interactions with                                           . (Don't want to give anything away.) He tends to put people, including children at ease. Lavender, on the other hand, tends to make people a bit uncomfortable. He's the thinker where Woods is the talker. Together...
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Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett

by Carol2 Comments
I did not like Bangkok Tattoo as much as the first in the series, Bangkok 8. Sonchai is the same- a loner Buddhist cop who tends toward philosophical ruminations, but now he's also part owner of a brothel, along with his boss and his mom. The atmosphere's the same- the seedy side of an exotic city, but we do have the addition of Muslims and the mob. And Sonchai has a new partner, a transgender young man who wants to be a dancer of some kind. The plot was interesting, if a bit meandering. The killed man was CIA, and of course the case is not as clear-cut as it might first appear. There's also drugs involved. To be honest, I finished listening to this a week or so ago and don't remember how exactly the drugs and the serial killer tied together. I think they were two separate plot lines pulled together by the corrupt superior and the good-hearted prostitute. What I do...
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