eARC – Page 7 – Carol's Notebook

A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

May 27, 2023May 31, 2023 by Carol2 Comments

I didn't realize from the synopsis just how "funny" A Most Agreeable Murder was attempting to be. Comedy can be a tough sell for me - the joke around our house is that I don't have a sense of humor. Which is not true, by the way. This book is trying so hard to be funny, but, especially at the beginning, it strays over the line into silly and annoying. After the murder occurs and Beatrice and Inspector Drake have to work together to solve the killing, it improves. There are a lot of over-the-top twists and turns and several one-dimensional characters, but I found myself enjoying it. I wondered what was going to happen next and who was going to be accused next. It turned out to be a fun, light-hearted read that was different enough to stand out in the sea of historical cozies. There was also maybe a werewolf....

Lament at Loon Landing by Josh Lanyon

May 15, 2023May 12, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

Lament at Loon Landing brings a once-famous folk singer to Pirate's Cove. Unfortunately, her comeback performance is surrounded by death threats and dangerous close calls. Ellery's close friend, Dylan who is on the festival committee, asks him to help find out if the threats are real. Ellery's not sure what he's actually supposed to be doing, but he asks questions and tries to keep an eye on things. Then, Ellery find Dylan's girlfriend dead and Dylan becomes the main suspect in her murder. I like Ellery a lot. He's snarky and nice and has an adorable dog. He's also getting used to the whole investigating things, along with the Silver Sleuths. His boyfriend, Jack, is Chief of Police, and of course that makes things both more complicated and easier. I am awfully tired of the cop/detective as the boyfriend/love interest in cozy mysteries. I enjoyed my trip to Pirates Cove. The mystery was fine, but I mostly enjoy the quirky characters...

Hard Dough Homocide by Olivia Matthews

May 12, 2023December 12, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

Hard Dough Homocied picks up where the first in the series left off, with the Murray family busy running their family bakery. They've been asked to cater a local high school principal's retirement party, a woman Lyndsay's mom, Della, dislikes. And of course, when the woman dies in the bakery, Della becomes the chief suspect in the murder investigation. Lyndsay decides she has to investigate to clear her mom's name and save the business - being connected with two murders just months apart is definitely not good for customer retention. I can't tell if the cops are actually incompetent or not, since we only see things thru Lyndsay's eyes. There are several suspects and at least from Lyndsay's point of view, the cops aren't investigating them all as well as they should. We've got a few clues that definitely point to people aside from Della. Lyndsay and her family are very close. They always have each others' backs. The family even joins...

Fateful Words by Paige Shelton

March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

I have read the Scottish Bookshop mystery series from the beginning and look forward to each new addition. I don't think you need to have read others in the series to enjoy this one, but it never hurts either. Delaney is left in charge of a small tour group when Edward and Hamlet take off to London. I don't understand why their reason for going had to be kept secret. I think it was something I would have let my friends/employees know about for a couple of reasons, but I guess it adds to the tension. The tour starts off on the wrong foot, with the manager of the inn where the group is staying falling to his death from the roof. Then, at lunch the next day, one of the tour group goes missing. I'm happy that the remaining three continue on with the tour, although it's probably a questionable decision. I liked the mini-tour of Edinburgh and hearing the...

The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian

February 14, 2023February 14, 2023 by Carol2 Comments

There are some things I loved about The Raven Thief and some things I could do without. The mystery itself is well-done. Tempest and her grandfather are invited to a "seance" to rid a woman's house of the bad vibes of her ex-husband. Right in the middle, however, her ex drops onto the table - dead, surrounded by raven feathers. Ash, Tempest's grandfather, becomes the chief suspect, so of course, Tempest has to do everything she can to clear his name. Tempest is a former stage magician, so is the perfect person to figure out how the "trick" was done. I'm pretty sure it's a fair play mystery, that the reader gets all the same clues as Tempest and her sidekicks, but I didn't put them together. These books rely a lot on misdirection on the killer's part that our magicians and builders need to unravel, which is fun. I enjoy the puzzle of it. Tempest is a great character, too...

A Death in Tokyo by Keigo Higashino

January 20, 2023January 19, 2023 by Carol2 Comments

A Death in Tokyo is the third entry in the Detective Kaga series that has been translated into English. Once again, it's a solid, enjoyable read, with a couple of good twists. Kaga is part of a squad investigating the brutal murder of a middle-aged man. The man was stabbed but stayed alive long enough to drag himself to the famous Nihonbashi Bridge, in order to die at the foot of the statue of a kirin adorning it. Not far away, a young man in a park flees police and runs out into traffic where he is struck and seriously injured. The young man, Yashima, is carrying the murdered man's wallet. Unfortunately, the man ends up in the hospital in a coma, unable to answer questions. This is a police procedural. Kaga is unsatisfied with Yashima as the killer, so he keeps questioning people and walking the neighborhood where the crime occurred. He's persistent, follows his hunches, and step by step...