Killing the Story by Joan Livingston

Killing the Story by Joan Livingston

by CarolNo Comments
Isabel Long is a former journalist who now works as a private investigator. Both jobs play to her strengths; she's curious, tenacious, tough, and determined. This is the first of the series that I've read, but it worked fine as a stand alone. Isabel is hired to investigate the death of a local newspaper editor whose death was originally ruled an accident. I liked Isabel. She's older than most of the main characters in mysteries I read, especially the women. She's probably in her late 60s, has silver hair, but she's smart and funny and attractive. Her mom is her sidekick and the interactions between the two are well-done. They have a close relationship but they both realize the other is strong and smart and capable. Isabel doesn't have to hide anything from her. Isabel has a boyfriend who manages to worry about her without being over-protective. There are several reasons to believe that Estelle's death was not an accident...
Read More
The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham

The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham

by Carol1 Comment
The plot is simple: Jerry finds a lovely girl and drives her home. Just as they arrive, a shot is heard. The dead man is a neighbor, who is hated by everyone around him. It just so happens that Jerry's father is the famous Detective Chief Inspector Challenor, and aided by his son, he will do everything in his power to solve the mystery. We've got plenty of suspects. Everyone really did hate the man, although no one wants to tell Challenor why. We've got a nice batch of secrets, a few red herrings, and a bit of travel. There's even a little romance because of course, Jerry falls in love with the girl. The White Cottage mystery is an enjoyable read, but I found I didn't really care about any of the characters, maybe because the novel was so short. The final solution was well-done. All the clues added up, but I wouldn't have guessed who the killer was. I...
Read More
Who Killed Patrick? by Syl Waters

Who Killed Patrick? by Syl Waters

by Carol1 Comment
I will admit, I don't pay a lot of attention to authors' websites. I include links at the bottom of my posts, but really don't spend much time looking at them. I stopped by Syl Waters' as I was getting this post ready and her blog caught my attention. Who Killed Patrick? takes place on the island of Fuerteventura, a place I had never hear of but that Waters clearly loves. On her blog, she has several posts talking about the island, but she also has a funny one about a discussion she had with her mom. The sidekick in the book is a guinea pig, which her mom seemed to think made it a children's book until Waters told her about how many bones a guinea pig has. Apparently her mom decided that the guinea pig was not actually much smaller than a chihuahua, the critter companion in a mystery her mom had read recently so maybe it was...
Read More
Sunday Salon

Sunday Salon

by Carol2 Comments
Reading… Killing the Story by Joan Livingston Listening To… The Egyptian Antiquities Murder  by Sara Rosett Books reviewed last week… The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu Week's Highlight... We went to Shaker Woods on Saturday. With so many things being cancelled, it was nice to get to go to one of the summer craft festivals. We got some yummy food, picked up a Christmas present, and some fun things for at home. Playing... We relearned how to play Biblios. It's a set collection/auction game. The theme is you are an abbot of a medieval monastery competing with other abbots to amass the greatest library of sacred books. To do so, you need to have both the workers and resources to run a well-functioning scriptorium. It's easy to learn, but fun. In the kitchen this week… It's blackberry season in our backyard, so I made a blackberry pie. New to me stuff… We went to a wedding at the Pittsburgh Botanical Garden. I've never been there before. The part we got to see...
Read More
The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

by CarolNo Comments
The Dark Forest is amazing. While the first book in the series, The Three-Body Problem, explains the history of how contact was made with the Trisolarians and their intentions, The Dark Forest details how humanity is trying to prepare for an unknowable future and what extent will we go to for survival. Let me just say, some of the ideas in this story, while being brilliant, are also scary. Sometimes simple solutions are the best answers. But, when dealing with time and space the answers can take decades, or even centuries to show themselves. There is a mix of old and new characters in this installment. Da Shi, a planetary defense officer, has returned. He is cunning, with street smarts that a lot of the more intellectual characters lack. However, our main character, Luo Ji, is new. He is an astronomer and sociologist who is tasked with becoming part of a UN project known as The Wallfacer Project. He is lazy and somewhat self-absorbed,...
Read More

Bout of Books 29

by CarolNo Comments
Bout of Books 29 starts today! Here’s the info: The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. All reading-in-place times, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 29 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. FROM THE BOUT OF BOOKS TEAM I’ll be keeping progress here, hopefully. I'll also be on Twitter and Instragram. https://twitter.com/carolsnotebook/status/1295699195819692035 https://twitter.com/carolsnotebook/status/1296062083323383808 https://twitter.com/carolsnotebook/status/1296457914677370881...
Read More