Books – Page 22 – Carol's Notebook

Review: A Question of Belief by Donna Leon

January 30, 2013January 30, 2013 by Carol6 Comments

Title: A Question of Belief (Commissario Brunetti #19) Author: Donna Leon Published: 2010 Category: Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository Commissario Guido Brunetti must contend with ingenious corruption, bureaucratic intransigence, and the stifling heat of a Venetian summer. As he plans a trip to the mountains with his family, he learns that cases at the local court hardly known as a model of efficiency are being delayed to the benefit of one of the parties. A creative new trick for corrupting the system, perhaps, but what can Brunetti do about it? Just when it looks like he will be able to get away, a shocking, violent crime forces him to stay in Venice. This is one of those series I'm listening to out-of-order, based on what our library has available on audio. This one was actually read by a different narrator than the others, David Colacci, and while he did a good job, it took me a...

Review: Vacant Graves by Christopher Beats

January 29, 2013February 19, 2013 by Carol8 Comments

Title: Vacant Graves (Magnocracy Series #2) Author: Christopher Beats Published: February 18, 2013 by Carina Press Category: Mystery - Steampunk Rating: 4 out of 5 Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon Donovan Schist's current job was supposed to be an easy one: grab Phoebe Mosey before pimp and murderer Stanny Slash does, and drag her back home to Ohio—kicking and screaming if necessary. But when a blazing river halts their steam train in the middle of nowhere, the veteran turned detective starts to wish he had stayed in New York. With a homicidal Stanny hot on their trail—maybe poisoning Stanny's man was a bad idea—Donovan needs to get Phoebe out of Juniper Junction fast. Even if that means taking a few jobs for some quick cash. He doesn't expect to find a mining company on the brink of war with a union, or bloodthirsty strike-breakers itching to use a steam tank and other weapons he hasn't seen since the War of Southern Secession. Or that underneath it all lies something much darker—an unspeakably...

Review: Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo

January 27, 2013May 20, 2014 by Carol5 Comments

Title: Pray for Silence (Kate Burkholder #2) Author: Linda Castillo Published: July 22, 2010 Category: Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository One family. One horrific murder. An entire town under suspicion… The Planks moved from Lancaster County Pennsylvania to the small Amish community of Painters Mill, hoping to resume the comforts of the Plain Life in Ohio. Less than one year later, the family of seven is found dead—slaughtered on their own farm. Police Chief Kate Burkholder and her small force have few clues, no motive, and no suspect. Formerly Amish herself, Kate is no stranger to the secrets the Amish keep from their “English” neighbors—and each other. When the diary belonging to the rebellious teenager Mary Plank turns up, Kate is surprised to find not only a kindred spirit but a murder suspect: the charismatic stranger who stole Mary’s heart. Then there’s Mary’s brother, Aaron. Shunned by his family and the rest of the Amish community, could he have returned to seek...

Review: False Scent by Ngaio Marsh

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013 by Carol9 Comments

Title: False Scent (Roderick Alleyn #21) Author: Ngaio Marsh Published: 1959 Category: Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound In a poisonous cloud of spray, the curtain falls on a drama queen. Little did beloved British actress Mary Bellamy know that she would be done in at her own birthday party-choked by toxic mist from the bottle of "Slaypest," a deadly insecticide. Basking in the glow of her most adoring fans-who all happened to be her most duplicitous enemies-Mary would make her final performance. When Superintendent Roderick Alleyn arrives, he smells a rat amongst the contemptuous collection of theatre types detained at the party, for this case has the unmistakable scent of murder... Mary is quite a diva and at the beginning of the book she is imaging what her funeral will be like. she doesn't want to die and isn't expecting to, she's just relishing the thought of who all will attend, who will be devastated, how many people will say she influenced...

Review: The Adventurer’s Guide to Living a Happy Life by Matt Mosteller

January 23, 2013January 23, 2013 by Carol9 Comments

Title: The Adventurer's Guide to Living a Happy Life Author: Matt Mosteller Published: October 3, 2012 Category: Self-Help Rating: 2½ out of 5 Stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound The Adventurer's Guide to Living a Happy Life is a no nonsense, straightforward collection of tips that will guide you forward on your journey to a happy life. Leave it to Powder Matt, professional coach, executive, family man, lover of life and outdoor adventurer to provide simple tips that you can easily use to enhance your own life. Distilled from Matt's vast knowledge and experience, from heart pounding adventures, to walking in his local park, to preparing and training for one of the world's toughest adventure races or his harrowing life changing experience of surviving a grizzly attack, he boils down what works for his happy life, into this easy to read guide consisting of 63 simple tips to add happiness to your life each and every day. The 63 simple tips will help you to: • Stick to adding happiness to...

Review: Murder on the Yellow Brick Road by Stuart Kaminsky

January 20, 2013January 20, 2013 by Carol4 Comments

Title: Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (Toby Peters #2) Author: Stuart Kaminsky Published: 1977 Category: Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound It is November 1, 1940. In the famous sound stage of the Wizard of Oz on the MGM lot, a little man is lying face-up on the yellow brick road. Someone has murdered a Munchkin. Toby Peters is summoned to the scene of the crime by a very young and frightened starlet named Judy Garland. He begins to put together the scanty clues. Within an hour, he is hired by Lewis B. Meyer himself to keep the name of Judy Garland (and MGM) clean of the scandal, and to hold off the police and the newspapers. But before long, Peters realizes that he is on to nothing less than a plot threatening the life of Judy Garland. Enlisting the aid of Judy, Clark Gable, and Raymond Chandler, Peters uncovers clue after clue. But the odds are heavily stacked against...