Book Reviews – Page 99 – Carol's Notebook

Clammed Up by Barbara Ross

May 19, 2020May 19, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

In Clammed Up, Julia Snowden, our amateur sleuth, has a legitimate reason to investigate the crime. Her family's business, the Snowden Family Clambake, was already having financial difficulties, but finding the dead body on the island has shut them down, and each day of business missed is one day closer to the bank calling their loan. Oh, and the guy she has a crush on seems to be one of the main suspects. Julia and her family are easy to like. They stick together, even when they fight. The small town feel was well-done too. The locals all know each other and know how much the tourist season means to the town. Old friends are loyal, but know each other's backgrounds too. I also loved the Maine setting. It's nice to visit other places while we're all stuck at home. I went to Maine with my family once when I was younger. Pretty much all I remember was cold and gray, so...

An Implacable Woman by K.T. Findlay

May 16, 2020May 12, 2020 by Carol5 Comments

An Implacable Woman is the second of the Sally Mellors books, and I really think it's best to read the first, A Thoughtful Woman, before starting this one. It will give you a fuller picture of Sally and her friends and Sally's ruthlessness. An Implacable Woman was not as good as the first. We have Sally being the vigilante again, this time tracking down and killing men who abuse their wives. Sally's friends still feature in the book, one being the very cop who is still trying to catch "Selina," from Sally's last outing. The cops are not very competent. Yes, this is the 80s, but they solved a lot of crimes then, even without cell phones and DNA analysis. I bet Jessica Fletcher would have no trouble figuring out who the killer on the loose was. I think, even though the way she killed was different this time around, it still felt too similar to the first. Sally kills some men,...

Rethinking Positive Thinking by Gabriele Oettingen

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

I mentioned before that I've been doing The Science of Well-Being class on Coursera. Another book the professor, Laurie Santos, mentioned was Rethinking Positive Thinking by Gabriele Oettingen, and she interviewed the author for one of the segments, so I picked it up. If I spend 80% of my reading this year on mysteries and being happy, I think that'll be a good year. The blurb above gives a good summation of the book. Oettingen and others have done a lot of research on wishes, how they affect our actions, and what helps us achieve or not achieve them. She shares the results of a lot of studies, mostly college kids - who are probably the easiest to recruit - but other groups too. She also shares individuals' experiences, people she's worked with through training sessions or friends. Interestingly enough, the science demonstrates that it is not necessarily helpful to fantasize about achieving some wish because it makes us feel relaxed, and thus...

The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

May 14, 2020May 22, 2020 by Carol6 Comments

I've read a couple of Griffiths' other books and enjoyed them well enough. Honestly though, I picked up this series because of the magic connection. I love a good magician and here we have one helping solve crimes. When the head and legs of a young woman are discovered in two black cases at Brighton train station, the case falls to Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens. Then the woman's torso is sent to him at the department, addressed to him using his military rank, Captain. The state of the woman's body in the three boxes reminds Edgar of a magician's trick, known as the Zig Zag Girl, performed by an old army buddy, Max Mephisto. The two had served with a group known as the "Magic Men" who were tasked with setting up deceptions to make the Germans think that the east coast of Scotland was well defended. Edgar tracks down Max, now a popular theater magician. Edgar and Max believe the...

London Calling! by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

May 13, 2020May 12, 2020 by Carol4 Comments

Sir Harry Mortimer and his American wife, Kat, are settling into married life in the small town of Mydworth. London Calling! is the third in the Mydworth series and can be read as a stand-alone, but since they’re each only a little over 100 pages, it might just make as much sense to go back and meet Harry and Kat at the beginning. They make a good couple. They’re both smart and resourceful. Kat is definitely a “modern woman” for the times, the late 1920s, and Harry seems quite happy that she can ride a motorcycle and throws a mean hook when she needs to. Harry is a nice, friendly, refined man who can also be tough when it’s called for. This time around they head to London to find the daughter of Glenys and Aubrey Spense. She's gone to try her luck at making it big as a dancer, but the couple hasn't heard from her. Actually, the wife is...

A Study in Murder by Callie Hutton

May 12, 2020May 12, 2020 by Carol4 Comments

I thoroughly enjoyed A Study in Murder. It's set in Bath, England in 1890, but features a fairly modern woman. Lady Amy is a mystery writer, although she writes under a pseudonym at her father's insistence and no one, aside from family and one close friend knows she's E.D. Burton. She and her Aunt live at the house in Bath while her father and brother mostly stay in London. She chafes under the restrictions placed on women at the time and counts herself a suffragette. She's twenty-five, not quite a "spinster" but older than most unmarried women, but that gives her the benefit of not actually needing a chaperone when she is out and about. Her Aunt Margaret is also single and a bit rebellious. She's in on Amy's secrets and supports her with a smile. In a cozy mystery, there needs to be a reason the amateur is investigating. In this case, Amy is the main, possibly only, suspect. The...