Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri

by Carol1 Comment
I've read/listened to several of the Montalbano mysteries over the years. It's a series I know what to expect from. The main characters don't change much over the years and the food always sounds delicious. For me, this is one of the series I turn to when I want something that I know I'll enjoy. This time around we've got a couple of bombings, but they both take place at empty warehouses, which is odd. Montalbano has a sexy new (married) neighbor who seems determined to seduce him. Her car's been vandalized and her computer salesman husband is never around. To top it all off, anonymous letters and phone calls are being sent to citizens, the prosecutor and a television station, all pointing in different directions. We've also got a couple of drug gangs that may or may not be involved. Of course, Montalbano manages to tie all the seemingly random events together. I often listen to the audios for this series, rather...
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Love Does by Bob Goff

by CarolNo Comments
I picked up Love Does on the recommendation of a friend. On the one hand, I can see why she liked it, on the other hand I expected more from it. Love Does is about getting out there and doing things, not just talking about them or wishing them. It's about going big. To illustrate this, Goff uses a story from his life - and man does he have some stories, and connecting it to a Biblical truth. Sometimes those connections are stretching a little and some of his stories are not necessarily as amusing or relatable as he seems to think. I am glad i listened to the audio, which is narrated by Goff. It's like he's telling you the stories himself. In print some of them may have come off as bragging, but from his voice he seems honest and like a truly good guy who takes advantage of any and all opportunities life gives him and makes his own....
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Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley

by Carol4 Comments
I loved The Rook last year, the first in this series and was looking forward to Stiletto, even though based on reviews I read I had my high expectations tampered a bit. Happily, because while Stiletto was enjoyable, it didn't blow me away like The Rook. Rook Myfanwy Thomas is in the midst of negotiating a way for the Grafters to join the Checquy. The two groups have been enemies for hundreds of years, each believing the other to be monsters, but having the two join forces is rather brilliant. The two groups definitely have different strengths and ways of looking at the world that could complement each other. But Myfanwy is not the main character here. Yes, she gets some screen time, but the stars are Pawn Felicity Clements and Grafter Odette Leliefeld. Odette is a sad young woman, mourning the loss of her closest friends and unsure of her part in the Grafter Delegation. Felicity is assigned to be her bodyguard,...
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Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod

by Carol1 Comment
I had never read anything by Charlotte MacLeod until I read her story in Mistletoe Mysteries a couple of weeks ago. When I was looking for a Christmas mystery that I hadn't read yet, I ran across Rest You Merry. Since her story in the collection had been fine, not one of my favorites but not one I disliked, and this is the first in a series, I decided to give it a listen. I'm glad I did. Peter Shandy is a great character and the way the holiday tied into the mystery was well-done. I don't want to spoil anything but the way the murder was covered up was very Christmassy. I loved the beginning. After being begged for years to decorate his house for the annual celebration/fundraiser, Peter finally does, and goes purposely way overboard and tacky -  and then leaves town. Perfect. Of course, he has to come back and face the (too loud) music earlier than he...
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The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay

by Carol4 Comments
The Santa Klaus Murder is a vintage mystery, set in a country home where the family, and a couple of others, are together to celebrate Christmas. Add in a murder and it should be a perfect read for me. Unfortunately, I found it rather lackluster. It starts off slow, with members of the household telling their version of the events leading up to the murder. Sir Osmond was not a nice father, overbearing and holding the children's inheritance over their heads so that they would marry someone he deemed appropriate. Everyone had their own reasons for not liking the man. I was listening to the audio version and it got a little confusing as to who was who. It definitely picked up once Colonel Halstock takes charge of the investigation, but it's still has a few too many problems for me to really recommend it. - Just too many characters. Maybe it was because I was listening to the audio, but between the family,...
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Through a Glass,Darkly by Donna Leon

by Carol2 Comments
It always seems like Leon has a topic she wants to discuss and works her mystery around that. This time around it's pollution and the environment. This was not my favorite in the series. The mystery doesn't really get started until maybe half way through. Up until them Brunetti is investigating even though the only "crime" was that a woman he barely knows is worried that her father will harm her husband. I'll grant you that does tie in to the eventual mystery, but a lot of Brunetti's investigating and thinking happens before the actual murder. And someone entirely different is killed. I enjoy the bits of daily life, Brunetti's conversations with his wife and kids, the delicious food. In this one, I found the glass making process interesting. It works better as a novel the a standard mystery I think. I hated the ending. I listened to the audio version, as I always do with this series and I felt like the...
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