Audiobook – Page 48 – Carol's Notebook

Reindeer Runes by Danielle Garrett

November 17, 2021November 16, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

Reindeer Runes is the second in the Winter Witches of Holiday Haven series, but it stands alone. It's written by a different author and features different characters, but takes place in the same world. Rudolph and Jack Frost are missing! In this fun Christmas cozy mystery Lumi and Corbin, Jack Frost’s brother, must find the missing icons before Santa finds out Rudolph is missing and before Jack misses his coronation as the Frost king. Lumi and Corbin are likable and their interactions feel real. Corbin is powerful but funny and a good detecting partner for Lumi, who is smart and quiet, and laid back. Their blossoming attraction didn't feel forced or overly rushed. The mystery was well-done. We had several possibilities and the "deadline" added some urgency. The supporting cast is a colorful collection, including pixies. With mystery, magic, and a bit of romance this book is a perfect read for this time of year....

Sleigh Spells by Bella Falls

November 12, 2021November 22, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

Mystery, magic, and romance at Christmas - Sleigh Spells is such a fun, sugary book. Aurora has a bit of a history, but serving probation in Holiday Haven has given her a fresh start. I love Holiday Haven. It's one of the towns near the North Pole and it is all about Christmas, even more so when the holiday is just days away. Then Santa's sleigh goes missing and none other than Mrs. Claus asks Aurora to investigate. Aurora is a witch, but wary of her magic — ice and especially fire can cause plenty of damage. She makes several new friends, most of whom are a little magical. My personal favorite is Nutty, her roommate who is a talking squirrel and also on probation, for stealing nuts of course. She also has a potential love interest. It's nice to see Aurora have a group of people she can rely on for help, it's something she hasn't had before in...

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....