Carol's Notebook – Page 108

The Old Fox Deceiv’d by Martha Grimes

December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

The Old Fox Deceiv'd is the second in Richard Jury series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. This time around, Jury is sent to Rackmoor to investigate the killing of a woman whose identity is in question. If she really is the prodigal ward returned, old jealousies, angers, and future inheritance money all come into play. Jury is patient and thorough. As expected, he is focused on solving the mystery, but his soft side does come out once in a while. I was happy that Melrose Plant was back in this one. He is again Jury's sidekick, providing a sounding board and doing a bit of his own investigating. The townspeople and those at the house are an interesting bunch, from the broke artist to the child living more or less on his own with his dog. The situation at Rackmoor is complicated and full of emotions and secrets. The plot has some surprises and the major clue was...

The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder by Marla A. White

December 2, 2021December 2, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

Mel is a former cop, now the owner of the Babbling Brook Inn. When she finds a guest dead in front of the fireplace in her lobby, her instincts won't let her believe it was a simple heart attack. The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder is a fun, Christmassy novella. Mel is a good character, smart, tenacious. She's afraid the death will scare guests away from her inn, so decides she has to do some investigating with the help of a local restaurant owner, Jackson, and the town doctor. At the same time, she's trying to perfect her grandma's cookie recipe for the town's contest. A good cozy mystery sleuth always has to juggle real life and solving the crime. I was suspicious of the killer pretty quickly and it turned out I was right. That didn't stop me from enjoying the book though. The clues are well-placed and the story moves along quickly. We had a couple of suspects and Mel tries...

The Twelve Deaths Of Christmas by Marian Babson

December 1, 2021December 1, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

It's twelve days until Christmas and all of the lodgers in Maude's rooming house are getting ready for the holiday - shopping, decorating, expecting guests. Outside of their door, there's a killer loose in London. The police are clueless, the victims seem random and a different method is used each time. The writing was clever. We have scenes from the boarding house, scenes with the police and their investigation, which are in the third person. Interspersed among them are chapters from the killer's first-person point of view, showing what they are feeling and thinking, but without giving away their identity. I didn't love The Twelve Deaths of Christmas, the senselessness of the crimes that kept the police from catching the killer was also what kept me from really enjoying it. The end tied things together alright, but I tend to enjoy traditional puzzle mysteries and cozies more than serial killers, even when it's Christmas....

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2022

December 1, 2021November 22, 2021 by Carol46 Comments

I’m thrilled to be hosting the Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge again this year. I love mystery and crime novels! Challenge Rules: You can read any book that is from the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres.You don’t need a blog to participate but you do need a place to post your reviews to link up. (blog, Goodreads, Instagram, etc.)Make a goal post and link it back here with your goal for this challenge.Books need to at least 100 pages long. Please no short stories.Crossovers with other challenges are fine.The Challenge will run from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st. (Sign up ends March 15th) We still have our facebook group so if you haven’t joined we would love for you too! Here’s the group’s link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/350512171977943/. It’s a closed group so just ask to join and we’ll let you in. There will be a monthly link-up so we can see what everyone’s reading – and probably add some...

December Cloak and Dagger Link-up

December 1, 2021November 30, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

Happy December! Here in Ohio, it's been cold and we've had a little bit of snow on the ground the past couple of days. I'm sometimes a seasonal reader, so expect my links this month to involve Christmas and winter mysteries/thrillers. Okay, I actually started reading Christmas books at the beginning of November. What about you, is your tbr list affected by the time of year? Leave your December links below or in the comments. Also, the link up for next year's challenge will be posted today. I hope everyone will join in again. You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter...

Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany

November 30, 2021December 2, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen is a fun cozy mystery set in the quirky town of Rudolph, New York. I love Rudolph, where it’s Christmas all year round. Rudolph is a tourist town and it's December, the time of year when they have the most visitors and make the most money. But then a poisoned cookie kills a journalist who was doing a feature on the town. Was the journalist the target or is someone trying to ruin Christmas? It’s up to shop owner Merry Wilkinson to figure it all out, to keep her best friend Vicky, the baker of the cookie, out of jail and save Rudolph's reputation. While Merry is smart and resourceful, she gets some help from the locals, who are all charming. And her family is fabulous, from her Santa Claus dad to her former opera singer mom. Everyone in town, except for the killer, pulls together to salvage what they can of Christmas and the tourist...