Audiobook – Page 65 – Carol's Notebook

Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

Campion is contacted by Joyce Blount, who is engaged to a friend of his. Joyce lives in Socrates Close, Cambridge, surrounded by the old, eccentric Faraday family. The matriarch of the family is Caroline Faraday, widow of a famous academic. However, Uncle Andrew has gone missing and all is not well within the household. As a favor to his friend, Marcus, Campion goes to the house and helps with the investigation. Upper-class families are always at least a bit more open to others like themselves than to detectives. It turns out Uncle Andrew is dead, just the first of the murders. The family members don't get along well, but they all rely on Mrs. Faraday, since none have money of their own. To be honest, I really enjoyed them. One Aunt was a bit of a religious fanatic, an uncle is a closet drinker who wants to be braver than he is, Joyce is just sweet, Carolin is as tough as...

Why We Can’t Sleep by Ada Calhoun

January 13, 2020January 13, 2020 by Carol1 Comment

This summer was the first time someone referred to me as "middle-aged." I'll be honest, it threw me for a bit of a loop. Usually, people tend to think I'm younger than I am, but this person has known me since I was a kid and knows exactly how old I am. He's also not the most tactful of people. Apparently, Gen X-ers are hitting middle-age. Why We Can't Sleep is for and about us - middle-class Generation X women in America. Calhoun has done a lot of research, historical and social, and spent a lot of time interviewing women from across the country. If you're one of us, at least parts of the book will strike a chord. She talks about watching the Challenger explosion at school, about Oregon Trail, about being new to the workforce during the early-2000s recession and about buying our houses right before the housing crisis. She looked into housing costs, HR trends, credit card...

Crowned and Dangerous by Rhys Bowen

January 10, 2020January 10, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

I promise this is the last Lady Georgiana Rannoch book for a while. I need a break, even though they are a lot of fun. In this one, Georgie fiance's father is accused of murder. Darcy tries to keep her out of the whole situation, but of course Georgie, thankfully, has a mind of her own and joins him in Ireland to help prove his father's innocence. I enjoyed the move in the action to Ireland. Darcy's family are kooky, but fun and solid people. While this can be read as a stand-alone, you'll miss some of the history of Georgie and Darcy's relationship. The fact that the mystery is so personal keeps Georgie and Darcy focussed. The few clues were slowly revealed and I found the solution a bit unlikely, even if not surprising. There was one moment at the end that was unexpected. I actually really enjoyed Georgie's maid, Queenie, this time around. She is devoted if nothing else,...

Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen

January 7, 2020January 6, 2020 by Carol4 Comments

I've been on a bit of a Royal Spyness kick lately. They're light and easy to follow when I'm doing other things. Georgie is delightful as always. This time around, Georgie is staying at Kensington Palace and showing Princess Marina around London. She is the fiancee of the King's sons, George. And then a dead body shows up in the courtyard, a woman who had plenty of lovers including George himself. Georgie gets roped into helping the detective due to her position, but also does a fair amount of investigating on her own. The mystery was fine with a few suspects and some red herrings. Malice at the Palace touches on the plight of unwed mothers at the time, too. The characters are really the highlight. Georgie is fun and caring and smart. She's a bit naive, but I'm not sure how, given the behavior and talk of her mother and her best friend, both of whom are far from innocent....

The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen

December 30, 2019December 30, 2019 by Carol2 Comments

The Twelve Clues of Christmas was such a fun mystery! I don't know why I have never read any of this series before, but this not only worked as a stand-alone, it was good enough that I've already picked up the next. Lady Georgiana Rannoch escapes her brother's bleak castle in Scotland by accepting a job as hostess at a house party held by Lady Hawse-Gorzley in the village of Tiddleton-under-Lovey. The house party is made up of mosty paying guests there to celebrate a traditional English Christmas, complete with caroling, parlor games, and some of the villages more peculiar customs. The problem is that people are dying, one a day, seemingly from accidents, but really how many accidents can occur in one small village? Of course they're murders. Although all the dead are villagers, Georgie feels she must do what she can to help stop the killings. Georgie is smart and independent, and flat broke. She's entertaining and just delightful....

The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

December 19, 2019December 19, 2019 by Carol2 Comments

The Christmas Pact was a short, sweet romance with a lot of Christmas decorations in the background. On the surface, it's a fun story. The couple meet after occasionally, accidentally receiving each other's work e-mails. Riley Kennedy and Kennedy Riley - you can see how that might get confusing. Riley is pretty sure Kennedy is a jerk, he insists on actually reading her e-mails and adding his two cents before forwarding them to her. They agree to pose as a couple over the Christmas holiday. It will help them both with family issues. Surprise, surprise, they actually start to have feelings for each other. I sound sarcastic, but the story was full of tender, endearing moments when they connected well. And of course, we get a happy ending. Riley was a good character, funny, insecure, cute. Kennedy, however, I wasn't actually fond of. When he was on his good behavior, he was sweet, amusing, and of course sexy, but his...