Audiobook – Page 67 – Carol's Notebook

Doctored Evidence by Donna Leon

March 5, 2020March 5, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

I finished Doctored Evidence about a week ago- I'm a little behind on posting. The thing is, when I sat down to think about it, I remembered how unlikeable the victim was and really how good it was for the neighbor to come forward with her evidence that the maid, now dead too, was not guilty. What is took me a while to remember though was the killer's identity. I liked the basic plot - Brunetti sets out to clear the Romanian maid's name and find the real killer. It's the kind of thing he would do. I like Venice, the food and the characters as usual. I didn't care for the seven deadly sins conversations and obviously the mystery itself was not memorable. It had a lot to do with money and blackmail. Eh, maybe I've just read too many of hers lately....

By Its Cover by Donna Leon

February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 by Carol6 Comments

It's probably not a surprise to anyone that I'm a book lover, and I love the setting of the original crime here, a library in Venice. The descriptions of antique and rare books are fabulous. The original crime is that someone is stealing pages, mostly illustrations, from rare books as well as stealing whole books. I really found the whole topic of book theft pretty interesting. Of course, the thefts are followed by a murder, but it takes a little while to get there. The investigation was not particularly interesting, but I do like Brunetti. He and Venice are what keep me returning to these books. This one wasn't as rich as some of the others, but it's an enjoyable, quick read. Once again, we have an abrupt ending, something I realize I should just expect from Leon. We learn who the killer was and the why, but there's no wrap up that's become traditional with mysteries....

They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall

February 20, 2020February 20, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, so when I was They All Fall Down is an adaptation of And Then There Were None, I was of course interested. Seven people are lured to an island in Mexico and if you've read/seen And Then There Were None, you have a basic idea of what's going to happen. In this case, I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say they all end up dead. The setting is great, an isolated private island in Mexico with a gorgeous house. The premise is obviously good, it worked for Christie, it works here. The people gathered each have their own secrets that have now caught up with them. The characters are mostly memorable if a bit caricature-ish. I didn't like any of them, but I wasn't supposed to either. The story is told in the first person by Miriam, a dance mom who has some definition. She is not a nice person...

Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

I'm a fan of Albert Campion. I like how he pretends to be a little dull and inoffensive, but is really pretty brilliant, daring and rather charming. The bad guy in Sweet Danger knows him pretty well too. Savanke went on impassively. "I know your success, your association with Scotland Yard. Let me see, you are unmarried, unattached." "Fancy-free," remarked Mr. Campion mildly, "is the term I've always liked.""You are thirty-two years old," the voice went on inexorably. "You are reputed to be comfortably, but not lavishly provided for. You are reckless, astute, and quite extaordinarily courageous.""I take number nine in shoes," said the young man with the toothache with sudden irritation. "I always wash behind my ears, and in my mother's opinion I have a very beautiful tenor voice. Suppose I decide not to play revolutions with you?""I don't think you would be so stupid." Oil has been found in Averna, which is on the Adriatic Sea. Big Oil in the...

Becoming by Michelle Obama

January 31, 2020January 31, 2020 by Carol6 Comments

In Becoming, Michelle Obama tells her story. She talks about growing up poor in Southside Chicago. She talks about the love of her family, the value they placed on hard work and education. She discusses her career, the right path she started on and the twists and turns it took. She talks about meeting Barack, their early marriage, and how they function as a couple. Of course, she eventually gets around to the presidential campaign and their time in the White House, but she (mostly) stays with her point of view, her difficulties, and her initiatives. She also touches on her difficulties with putting her career on hold to support her husband's career and how unfair things could feel. She talks about the difficulties of raising two girls, the tightrope of keeping them safe but allowing them to have "normal" childhoods and teen years, of appreciating the luxuries they have but still being grounded in "regular" life. Michelle Obama is...

The Black Cat Murders by Karen Baugh Menuhin

January 22, 2020January 22, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

I'm becoming rather fond of this series. This time around, Lenox visits another country house, this time the home of a childhood friend for her wedding celebration. There are several activities leading up to the wedding including a couple of operas performed in the theater on-site. (Yeah, several of the guests find this a bit odd, too.) During one of these performances, a man is killed when a trapdoor gives way under him. It's considered an accident at the time, but the doctor thinks it's fishy and asks Lenox to do a bit of investigating while he's there. Lenox is in the difficult position of helping Scotland Yard's investigating, pursuing his own leads, and not disrupting the wedding party. I liked how everything wound together, the paintings, the various characters, the swords. I felt all the clues fell together well, although I'm not sure I actually liked who the culprit turned out to be. It made sense, but only up...