The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

by Carol4 Comments
Walter Hartright, is walking down the street, his mind absorbed with his own problems, when suddenly a woman, dressed in white appears. She is clearly scared, and he walks with her toward London, eventually putting her in a cab and seeing her off. Shortly thereafter he is informed by two men who are chasing her that she had escaped from an asylum. And that's all we see of the lady in white for now. Hartright is left with a mystery. He takes a job as a drawing master, instructing two half-sisters as different as night and day. One is fair, and one is dark. One is pretty, and one is…well…unattractive. Marian is brave, brilliant, and resourceful, a marvelous character given the time period. Marian can hold her own. Hartright, of course, falls in love with Laura Fairlie, the fair and beautiful one, an heiress, an orphan, a woman in need of protection. Unfortunately, she is engaged to Sir Percival Glyde....
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The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis

The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis

by CarolNo Comments
This is the first Domestic Diva Mystery I've read. I won it from Krista Davis' Facebook page, and it's a perfect read for this time of year. The fact that I jumped in with #5 in the series. The characters were introduced well and we're given enough backstory to get to know how people fit together, but not so much that it's boring. The Diva Haunts the House has everything I want in a seasonal cozy. Halloween is present on almost every page, including costume parties, haunted houses, holiday recipes (included in the back of the book), and ideas for decorating and party-planning at the beginning of each chapter. We've got a cast of entertaining, quirky characters, including several suspects, and even a couple of adorable pets. There were a lot of kids in this one. They were all 12-year olds and they did help move the plot along and kept it entertaining; I just don't really enjoy reading about kids...
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An Old Money Murder in Mayfair by Sara Rosett

An Old Money Murder in Mayfair by Sara Rosett

by Carol2 Comments
Olive is staying at the home of her school friend, Gigi, and enjoying the champagne lifestyle of the ‘bright young things’ of the 1920s while employed to look into Gigi's grandmother's fears that someone is trying to hurt her. Of course, grandmother does end up being killed, and several people have motives, not the least of whom is Gigi. If her grandmother did change her will like she threatened, it would be Gigi who was left out in the cold. I enjoy this series. The regular characters feel like old friends and the plots are entertaining. I adore all the 1920s details - the fashion, etiquette, and colloquialism. It also paints a good picture of the gap between the servants, the upper class who have money, and the upper class who don't, like Olive. This feels in a lot of ways like a vintage mystery. It's an easy read, without any real violence or graphic scenes. It's well-written and the solution was...
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Chaos by Iris Johansen

Chaos by Iris Johansen

by CarolNo Comments
It's been a long time since I've read any romantic suspense and I don't think I've read anything by Johansen before. Our main characters here are CIA agent Alisa Flynn and billionaire inventor Gabe Korgan. They both want to be in charge and while they bicker a lot, the attraction is clear. And that's one thing that sometimes annoys me about romantic suspense: we're in the grimy wilderness, desperate to stop the bad guy and save the teenage girls, but my mind just keeps going to sex. Really?  As a couple, though, they're pretty good. They're both strong, a little short on trust, and long on independence. The bad guys are really awful human beings. The story is violent, with rapes and beatings, but not overly graphic. And while you know Alisa and Gabe will rescue the girls, even Sasha, Alisa's ward, the tension lies is how they'll do it and how much harm will be done to the girls...
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Without a Brew by Ellie Alexander

Without a Brew by Ellie Alexander

by CarolNo Comments
Sloan Krause and her business partner Garrett are ready to make their Nitro Brewery opening into a bed and breakfast. They plan on a soft opening, but things get out of hand when a lack of local hotel rooms means they end up with a full house. When one of the guests is discovered missing the following morning, and her room ransacked, Sloan immediately calls the police chief. With the guests as the prime suspects, Sloan must use her resources to find out what is going on, and keep the business thriving. I like while Sloan helps solve the mystery, she always lets the police take the lead. She serves as an extra set of eyes and ears, but always shares her information with the police chief. Sloan is good at listening and talking to people, which is how she picks up clues. The mystery was well done. There were several suspects and a couple of twists. Everything pulled together well...
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Death in Damascus by Karen Baugh Menuhin

Death in Damascus by Karen Baugh Menuhin

by CarolNo Comments
I've been thoroughly enjoying this series. I love Lennox and his relationships with his butler Greggs and with his friend Detective Swift. I love his affection for animals, especially his delightful dog, Mr. Fogg. That being said, I did not enjoy this as much as the others. In this one he and Swift go off to Damascus, Syria, to help out lovely Persi Carruthers, the archaeologist we met in the previous book and who now may be Lennox's love interest. It seems she needs help proving the innocence of her ex-fiance, who has been accused of murder and is in the custody of the French police in Damascus. I don't know if it's the change of scenery, maybe I prefer Lennox to stay in England, or the not very believable romance- Lennox and Persi have little chemistry and most of their interactions are stiff- but this one was just not as good as the first three. Percy's ex-fiance has been accused...
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