Audiobook – Page 31 – Carol's Notebook

Murder on a Midnight Clear by Sara Rosett

November 11, 2021November 12, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

Yes, I've started reading Christmas books already. No, our house isn't decorated yet. Does anyone have any great ideas to protect a Christmas tree from a dog? The dog in Murder on a Midnight Clear is an adorable Jack Russell terrier who is a little better behaved than mine. Olive and Jasper are officially dating now, but Olive is her usual curious self, determined to figure out Jasper's secret. She follows him and does a bit of spying, which is in character if a bit annoying. She has a car accident that lands her in the same country house as Jasper for Christmas. And of course, there's a murder - the butler is found dead. A county house murder at the holidays may be my favorite set-up. I enjoy the decorations, the food, the presents, all of which give us some clues here. This time around we have an eccentric set of characters, each with their own secrets. Well, except Olive, she...

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

November 8, 2021November 12, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

First of all Harrow is not an easy read. It's absolutely necessary to read Gideon the Ninth first then take a short break before reading this one. At least, I had to take a break. I tried going from one right into the other and found I wasn't quite ready to immerse in that world again, but maybe that's just me. It's a dark, tense world and the writing style is very distinct, which is both good in the fact that it makes it mysterious and memorable, but also meant I needed a breather. Harrow has become a lychtor, a superpowerful, immortal magical necromance knight to the Necrolord Prime, the Undying Emperor — we know that — probably. In the present, told in the second person, Harrow is having a tough time. While she is an amazing bone magician, she's finding the process of becoming a true lychtor difficult, if not impossible. Sadly enough, we have no Gideon here, just...

A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz

October 29, 2021October 29, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

The hook here is that Horowitz has written himself into the book, a Watson figure to Hawthorne's Sherlock. It seems a silly conceit to me. I guess it lets him mention his other work, but we all know this is a fictionalized version of Horowitz, basically a character, so I don't see the point. Anyway, this time around Horowitz and Hawthorne are sent to the island of Alderney for a small weekend literary festival. And of course, while they're there, someone is killed - a wealthy sponsor of the festival, murdered at his own house party. The island is locked down, no one allowed on, no one allowed off, while the police, with Hawthorne's help, try to figure out who the killer is. Everyone on the island seems to have a reason to want the man dead. The house party/isolated island gives us a limited number of suspects, but everyone here has a secret and there are red herrings galore. Horowitz...

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie

October 22, 2021October 21, 2021 by Carol8 Comments

So, my favorite part of Death in the Clouds is that a jury believes Poirot is guilty of the murder, although their opinion is not upheld. And really, someone is always dying around him. Granted, the fact that he was foreign had more to do with their suspicion than anything, but nonetheless. A woman is killed on the same plane Poirot was on. Unfortunately, Poirot was asleep at the time. Flying does not agree with his stomach. From the clues on the plane, the woman was killed by a dart from a blowgun. We have a nice limited group of suspects - it had to be someone on the train. We also get appearances by Inspector Japp from Scotland Yard and Parisian chief inspector Giraud, showing the different ways the three go about investigating. The suspects are an interesting lot, the solution's well done. It's perhaps not memorable, but it is a solid book. ...

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

October 21, 2021November 12, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

So I loved Gideon the Ninth. She sucked me right in with her attitude, her snarkiness, her sword. She's a fabulous character. She will tell the world she doesn't care, but at the same time is fiercely loyal and honestly cares about the other on this adventure. She is Cavalier to Harrowhark, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, ruler of their home planet. Harrowhark and the necromancer heirs of the other houses have all been brought Canaan House with possibility of becoming Lyctors, powerful, nearly immortal generals in the Emperor/God's army. Gideon the Ninth is maybe sci-fi. It takes place in space, there were a couple of space shuttles, but it is much more fantasy/horror. All the combat is hand to hand or with swords. Gideon and Harrowhark, her master/crush/frenemy, are exploring what basically a gothic space castle with skeleton servants and words written in blood that appear on the walls. Or maybe it's a murder mystery. The Emperor has...

Murder at the Magnolia Inn by Helena Marchmont

October 14, 2021November 12, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

I really enjoy the Bunburry stories. The characters are fun and quirky and the setting is a typical, lovely small town, with an incompetent police sergeant. This time around Alfie, Liz, Marge, and Emma agree to help the two women who are developing the old manor house into a hotel. At first, they're dealing with vandalism, then a man is killed. The characters are what bring me back to this series. Alfie is funny and in this one his women troubles are mostly set aside. Marge and Liz are smart older women and I wish I had their fudge recipe. Emma is caring and I don't know how/why she puts up with the sergeant. Oscar has an interesting part too. I'm hoping we start seeing him around Bunburry more. The mystery was a bit rushed, but the solution made sense and I liked that it took all of our investigators to find the various bits that came together in the end. I'm looking...