The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay

by Carol5 Comments
The Santa Klaus Murder is a vintage mystery, set in a country home where the family, and a couple of others, are together to celebrate Christmas. Add in a murder and it should be a perfect read for me. Unfortunately, I found it rather lackluster. It starts off slow, with members of the household telling their version of the events leading up to the murder. Sir Osmond was not a nice father, overbearing and holding the children's inheritance over their heads so that they would marry someone he deemed appropriate. Everyone had their own reasons for not liking the man. I was listening to the audio version and it got a little confusing as to who was who. It definitely picked up once Colonel Halstock takes charge of the investigation, but it's still has a few too many problems for me to really recommend it. - Just too many characters. Maybe it was because I was listening to the audio, but between the family,...
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Thursday’s Tale: Yuletide Spectres

by Carol2 Comments
"Yuletide Spectres" may take place at Christmas, but it's downright creeepy. It comes from Sweden and I found it on-line at The Gold Scales. Once upon on a time (I love that beginning), there lived two peasants on a homestead called Vaderas. In those days the roads were good, and the women were in the habit of riding when they wanted to go to church. One Christmas the two women agreed that they would ride to Christmas night mass, and whichever one of them woke up at the right time was to call for the other. It was about midnight when one of the women thought she heard a voice from the window, calling, "I am going to set out now." She got up hurriedly and dressed herself, so that she might be able to ride with the other woman; but since there was no time to eat, she took a piece of bread from the table along with her. In those...
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Readers’ Workouts – 12/13

by Carol6 Comments
  My Fitbit doesn't want to sync today, so I'll update this with my steps when I can. December goals: Exercise: Walk with/without the dog - 16 days (3) Gym (cardio) - 4 days (2) Pilates/Yoga - 12 days (3) Weights - 8 days (2) Dinner: Meatless - 4 meals (2) Low carb - 4 meals (1) Seafood - 4 meals (1 ) This week: Wednesday - Pilates Thursday - Gym (elliptical and abs) Sunday - Walk with dog, Abs and arms Monday - Walk with dog, Pilates I usually listen to a book while I’m walking, jogging, whatever. This week I finished to The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay, which was not as good as I had hoped it would be. Looking at my goals, I need to get more walks in. I'll need to head inside for a few. It's supposed to get colder soon. I've been doing good at hitting the gym once a week; I go while Amber's at one of her art classes. How was your week? Readers’ Workouts is hosted by Joy...
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Mistletoe Mysteries collected by Charlotte MacLeod

by Carol2 Comments
I don't know why, but I am more likely to pick up short story collections in December than any other time of year. It's even better when they're mysteries. This collection, like most, has high points and low points. I have read several of the authors before and discovered a couple I'd like to read more of. A couple of my favorites: (okay, more than a couple. There were a lot of good stories here.) "The Haunted Crescent" by Peter Lovesey has a great twist at the end that I didn't see coming. "Dutch Treat" by Aaron Elkins was fun. I tend to like when art and murder go hand in hand. "The Touch of Koyada" by Edward Hoch was another good one. I love how some writers can just pack so much into so few pages. I think I'll read more of his Simon Ark stories. Of course, Pronzini's "Here Comes Santa Claus" was enjoyable. I like his Nameless Detective. A few misses: Dorothy Salisbury Davis'...
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Through a Glass,Darkly by Donna Leon

by Carol2 Comments
It always seems like Leon has a topic she wants to discuss and works her mystery around that. This time around it's pollution and the environment. This was not my favorite in the series. The mystery doesn't really get started until maybe half way through. Up until them Brunetti is investigating even though the only "crime" was that a woman he barely knows is worried that her father will harm her husband. I'll grant you that does tie in to the eventual mystery, but a lot of Brunetti's investigating and thinking happens before the actual murder. And someone entirely different is killed. I enjoy the bits of daily life, Brunetti's conversations with his wife and kids, the delicious food. In this one, I found the glass making process interesting. It works better as a novel the a standard mystery I think. I hated the ending. I listened to the audio version, as I always do with this series and I felt like the...
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2017 Follow the Clues Mystery Challenge

by Carol1 Comment
The Follow the Clues Mystery Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block sounds like so much fun. From her site: My Reader's Block is proud to introduce the Follow the Clues Mystery Challenge. Since mysteries are my primary genre, I wanted to develop another mystery challenge that would be more all-encompassing. Unlike the variations of my yearly Vintage Mystery Challenge, this mystery challenge will have no publication date limits. If it's a mystery--it counts and it does not matter when it was published. Your goal? To follow a set of clues furnished by the mystery books you read to create a body of evidence to support a book court case. Each book clue should lead you to your next read. The connection can be anything at all from author names to motive for murder to type of mystery (police procedural, espionage, romantic thriller, etc) to an item on the cover, but you must be able to make your case to the...
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