The Chow Maniac by Vivien Chien

The Chow Maniac by Vivien Chien

by CarolNo Comments
The Chow Maniac is the 11th in the Noodle Shop series, but I think it could be read as a stand alone. There is no over-arching plotline to the series and although we have lots of returning characters, I think they're introduced well. This time around, Lana, our amateur sleuth, is approached by Lydia, a private detective we've met previously, with a case that involves the Asian community. Lydia has been hired to look into a century-old Asian organization known as the Eight Immortals. Three members have already died under seemingly natural circumstances, but the client believes they were actually murdered and that he may be next. Lana is a great character. She manages her family's restaurant, but has solved enough murders for people to notice her. She's funny and sassy and does not know how to keep a secret. Per usual cozy rules, she has an adorable dog and is dating a police detective, although neither play a huge part...
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Mozzarella Murder by R.M. Murphy

Mozzarella Murder by R.M. Murphy

by CarolNo Comments
I love pizza - extra cheese, no pepperoni if it's from DiCarlo's, add some veggies if it's from another pizza place, which is more or less why I picked up Mozzarella Murder. Denny, our main character/amateur sleuth, is a widower in his 40s who has left his job as a copy editor to open a pizza truck. He is back in his hometown in Eastern Pennsylvania to sell pizzas at the annual Summerfest. His first stop in town is at the cheese shop run by his old friend Ruben. In the shop, the two find the dead body of motivational speaker and former classmate, Charlie Sampson. Denny decides he needs to investigate because it looks like Ruben might be the chief suspect. It turns out Charlie had more than one enemy. Denny has been out of town for a while, but he reconnects with several old friends and knows enough people in town that he still fits in well. He has...
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Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

by CarolNo Comments
I can't tell you why I picked up Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng. I don't read a lot of horror, I avoid serial killers, and I haven't been reading many pandemic books. But it was fabulous, in a gory, violent, haunting way. It's Summer, 2020 in New York City. In the opening scene, 24-year-old Cora Zeng and her sister Delilah are waiting for the subway when a man appears just as the train approaches. He calls Delilah a "bat eater" and pushes her onto the tracks. She is killed by the train and the man is never caught. resulting in her brutal death before Cora's eyes. Unfortunately, the man escapes. The second chapter picks up a few months later. Cora is now working as a crime scene cleaner, a job that fits Cora and her need for cleanliness well, but a disturbing number of the jobs have been cleaning the apartments of murdered Asian women. It's also Ghost...
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And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

by CarolNo Comments
I don't know how many times I've read And Then There Were None or books inspired by it. I know I've watched at least one tv adaptation. This is one of those novels that is surprising and tense the first time through. The second (and third, etc.) time, the reader knows the twist, knows who is terrorizing the characters, knows who is guilty and who isn't, but can appreciate how well Christie puts the plot together. Ten people, strangers to each other, are invited to a remote island by someone they each think they are acquainted with. They are a mix of personalities, but according to a record played the first evening, they are all guilty of murder or causing someone's death. They are then killed, one by one, and a storm means they have no connection to the mainland. They have to trust each other if they want to survive, but know that none of them is as innocent as...
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Just Try One Bite by Adam Mansbach and Camila Alves McConaughey

Just Try One Bite by Adam Mansbach and Camila Alves McConaughey

by Carol1 Comment
I made an unofficial resolution to review every book I read this year. I don't usually review kids books. They are typically ones I just happen to pick up and read without much planning. I work at a United Way and we're the local partner for Dolly Parton's Imagination library, which means books with wrong address get returned here. Just Try One Bite is one of those. It's a book about smart, healthy kids trying to convince their parents to eat better. I will say the bits about the parents not liking broccoli and trying to feed it to the dog hit a little close to home. The illustrations are cute, colorful and feature a multi-racial family, which is nice. I don't have any kids in the household and don't know how much they would enjoy it. And it did not convince me to eat my broccoli - I can just buy donut holes on my own and eat them all myself....
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The Serpent Under by Bonnie MacBird

The Serpent Under by Bonnie MacBird

by Carol1 Comment
I guess we need to look at The Serpent Under in a few different ways. First, Victorian London. MacBird does a fabulous job of bringing the foggy, damp, crowded city to life. We see the people, issues, and prejudices of the time. Second, our main characters. Holmes and Watson feel like the originals, if that makes sense. They have the mannerisms and partnership they always have. Yes, Holmes' attitudes towards women, Roma, etc. are more modern, but he was never conventional. And here it particularly works well since it doesn't allow him to just go along with the easy solution. We only get brief glances of Lestrade and Mycroft, which is appropriate. Heffie, a former irregular who now works with the police, is a good addition. She's tough and reliable and very good at working undercover. The dead woman's family and friends are all a bit odd and she seems to have been the only truly likeable one of the bunch. Plot...
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