Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol1 Comment
I love Marsh's books. They tend to be decent puzzles and I adore the characters. In Death in a White Tie we have a glimpse of upper society London, with it's gossip and cruelty and caring too. Some of the characters are quite self-important, but other realize how amusing it all can be. Bunchy, the victim, is someone we as the readers actually like, someone who enjoyed the season, but who understood it's underside too. We've gotten to know him before he's killed and are genuinely sad, although not surprised, when he's dead one. Alleyn is determined to find the killer and sure that it's connected to the blackmailing. Alleyn is a little tough on some of the spoiled brats young people he interviews - which is good. The clues all tie together well in the end and the whodunnit was actually a bit surprising. One of the highlights of this particular book is the developing relationship between Alleyn and Agatha Troy. I've been reading these out...
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The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keeffe by J. Michael Orenduff

by CarolNo Comments
I'm sad. Why did no one tell me about this series before? The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O'Keeffe is smart, laugh out loud funny, and a good mystery. It throws in bits of history, literary references, and culture, and word play. It's just fun. Hubie is a criminal. He digs up pots illegally and sells them, but he justifies it well. He says, and I think believes, that the women who made the pots would rather have them in a household that cherishes them than a museum where they are rarely visited, or, even worse, left in the ground unappreciated. He's also a talented potter in his own right, making reproductions. The dead man is one of Hubie's associates, the one who had a buyer for the Tompiro pot. Hubie doesn't seem to broken up over the death, but I'm kind of assuming he was a character we would have met in a previous book or two. We've got his widow, a couple...
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Night Shift by Charlaine Harris

by Carol2 Comments
I had this review all written - and lost it. I hate when that happens. At the beginning of the month, I had finished the audiobook I was listening to, had listened to a couple of short stories, and couldn't decide what to listen to next. Happily, I noticed that Night Shift was out. I was glad I hadn't spent the Audible credit on something else first, since I do love this series. Night Shift is third, and last, of the Midnight, Texas books, and I've listened to the three in order. I do think it's a bit better to start this series at the beginning. The characters are an odd lot, and there are a few things from previous books that impact this one. I guess it also has some cross-overs from Harris' other series. I've read a couple of those books, but it was a while ago and I don't remember much about them. I don't feel like that lack made me...
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The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

by Carol4 Comments
Even though I had an eARC of The Cracked Spine, I listened to the audio version. I think it was a good choice. I could relax and listen to the words and accents. It was fun to listen to the Scottish lilt in the dialogue. I looked at my digital version, and I think actually reading the accent in print could have been a bit difficult. I would have almost had to read some portion aloud, at least at the beginning, just to get ahold of what was being said. I love the setting- a bookstore in Scotland, and I enjoyed the plot, unless I think about it too much. Delaney's off on an adventure that most of us can only dream off, and she's a nice lady who I enjoyed spending time with. I didn't quite understand her immediate jump into trying to figure out who killed a woman she had never met, the sister of her new boss who she...
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The Heiress of Linn Hagh by Karen Charlton

by Carol3 Comments
I have a fondness for historical mysteries, so the setting of The Heiress of Linn Hagh caught my attention. It's a gothic mystery, complete with the rundown manor home, a missing heiress, gypsies, a madwoman, a beautiful Spanish woman and family secrets. The mystery itself is a little predictable, but I enjoyed seeing Lavender pull all the clues together. I don't know that Lavender himself is particularly likeable - intelligent, dedicated, tenacious, but perhaps not likeable. He knows it though, and brings Woods along. Woods is more likely to be able to get the non-gentry locals to talk. They are a good pair, each with his own strengths and weaknesses. I wasn't terribly fond of Lavender's obsession with the Spanish widow though. She could have been a fascinating character, but Lavender's lusting felt a bit forced. Woods may have been my favorite of the two. He's more down-to-earth, friendlier, is a family man. He's just a solid good guy who will have your back. The...
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Cat’s Paw by Bill Pronzini

by Carol3 Comments
"Cat's Paw" is my first experience with the new Audible channels, which are free for members. It's one of the selections available on the mystery channel. I wasn't sure how it was going to work, but you click on the channel and it gives you a list of available titles and how long the selections are. I was on my lunch hour, taking the dog for a walk, so 40-ish minutes was perfect for me. I will definitely be seeing what other stories are available on the various channels. "Cat's Paw" won the Shamus Award in 1984 for "Best Private Eye Short Story." The mystery itself was good. I've never read any in Pronzini's "Nameless Detective" series, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of this short story. The zoo makes for an interesting setting and Pronzini is wonderful with descriptions. What starts for our nameless detectives as a job investigating rare animal thefts turns into discovering who is a killer. It's...
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