The Heiress of Linn Hagh by Karen Charlton

by Carol3 Comments
I have a fondness for historical mysteries, so the setting of The Heiress of Linn Hagh caught my attention. It's a gothic mystery, complete with the rundown manor home, a missing heiress, gypsies, a madwoman, a beautiful Spanish woman and family secrets. The mystery itself is a little predictable, but I enjoyed seeing Lavender pull all the clues together. I don't know that Lavender himself is particularly likeable - intelligent, dedicated, tenacious, but perhaps not likeable. He knows it though, and brings Woods along. Woods is more likely to be able to get the non-gentry locals to talk. They are a good pair, each with his own strengths and weaknesses. I wasn't terribly fond of Lavender's obsession with the Spanish widow though. She could have been a fascinating character, but Lavender's lusting felt a bit forced. Woods may have been my favorite of the two. He's more down-to-earth, friendlier, is a family man. He's just a solid good guy who will have your back. The...
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The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

by Carol7 Comments
First off, The Janus Affair overall was better than the first in the series for me. I liked the suffragette connection and I thought the gadgets and machines were cooler this time around. It's a funner book. Braun and Books are a great team. I enjoy their interactions. They are both witty and have wonderful comebacks and one-liners. They make me smile. There's some sexual tension, but the romance touches don't overpower the story. However, the introduction of Eliza's old flame leads to one of my quibbles. While his presence pushed Books to look a little more at his feelings for Eliza, I could have done without him. I almost quit partway through. There were two male secondary characters, one being Eliza's old friend and the other a fellow Ministry worker, who I just didn't enjoy. They were jerks, and not integral enough to the story to make up for the amount of time spent on them. I really just strongly disliked...
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“B” Is for Bad Girls by Rebecca Cantrell and Sean Black

by Carol1 Comment
"B" Is for Bad Girls is #2 in the series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. It's short, funny and has a good mystery. Sofia is a great lead character. She's new to the detective business, although she played one on tv— literally, she quit acting to become a detective. The paparazzi is still happy to get pictures of her in awkward situations though, like peeing in public or coming out of a rehab facility for example. Part of what makes it fun is that her semi-celebrity status in Malibu lets us meet other celebrities, like the bad girls at the rehab center where she is undercover. Well, not really undercover, since she's still being herself, just pretending to be a drug addict, which she is not. It's neat to have the entertainment industry in the background of the series. Sofia is a riot she has a great sense of humor about herself and about life. Her friends and...
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Thursday’s Tale: Grimm’s Fairy Tales

by Carol3 Comments
Today I wanted to spotlight an audiobook coming out next week. As you know, I love the Grimms' tales and this looks like a fabulous collection. I'll have to pick this one up next week when it comes out. Just look at that list of stories and the all-star narrators. I can't imagine it being anything less than wonderful. I think I've read most of the stories, but I have to imagine hearing them told will enhance them for me. There are also a couple that I don't think I've gotten around to yet. It's suggested age is 10 and up and if it's true that theses are the earlier versions of the tales, they can be a bit bloody and less happy than the stories we are used to. Maybe I should just go ahead and pre-order it. Thursday's Tales is a weekly event here at Carol's Notebook. Fairy tales, folktales, tall tales, even re-tellings, I love them all. Feel free to join in....
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Arcadia by Iain Pears

by Carol4 Comments
First a note on the title, since I'd heard of "Arcadia" but really had no clear knowledge about what it was. And it's not actually mentioned in the book, I don't think. Arcadia is a mountainous, landlocked region of Greece. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. The Roman poet Virgil recognized that Arcadia's isolation and bucolic character make it a perfect setting for pastoral poetry. Now English speakers often use arcadia to designate a place of rustic innocence and simple, quiet pleasure. Arcadian can mean "idyllically pastoral" or "idyllically innocent, simple, or untroubled." Anterworld is our would-be Arcadia, the land Rosie, from the blurb, enters into. Why did I pick up Arcadia? It embraces things I usually avoid - mainly time-travel, but also science fiction and dystopian and post-apocalyptic societies. Now spies, cheesy romance and fantasy I'm all for. Yes, it does manage to smash all of those together. I also tend to not like audiobooks with two narrators. I...
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The Bughouse Affair by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini

by Carol4 Comments
I expected to really enjoy this one. I'm a sucker for historical mysteries and pair a couple of sleuths with a maybe Sherlock Holmes- ti should have been right up my alley. Turned out it was just kind of meh. Sabina and Quincannon were a little bland. To be honest, it's a few days after i read the book and I can't really think of anything particularly interesting about either. She's a widow. He's a bit full of himself. They're both clever enough, but I guess I don't feel like we really got to know them, or maybe there's nothing much to know. Then there's the Sherlock, who may actually be him but may not. i don't understand shy he was there, if this is a series focussed on the otehr two, the authors should have just left him out. He didn't add much to the story, besides being annoying. I assume he'll show up in later books in the series,...
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