eBook – Page 17 – Carol's Notebook

The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories edited by Martin Edwards

December 11, 2019December 11, 2019 by CarolNo Comments

I thoroughly enjoyed the storied in The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories. Each short story/mystery is set around Christmas, but aside from that one connecting feature, it's a great variety, from typical whodunnits, to spy stories, to a ghost story. The stories are as follows: "A Christmas Tragedy" by Baroness Orczy "By the Sword" by Selwyn Jepson "The Christmas Card Crime" by Donald Stuart "The Motive" by Ronald Knox "Blind Man's Hood" by Carter Dickson "Paul Temple's White Christmas" by Francis Durbridge "Sister Bessie" or "Your Old Leech" by Cyril Hare "A Bit of Wire Pulling" by E.C.R. Lorac "Pattern of Revenge" by John Bude "Crime at Lark Cottage" by John Bingham "'Twixt the Cup and the Lip" by Julian Symons Most of the authors were new to me, but there wasn't really a bad one in the bunch. Granted, some are better than others, as in any collection, but there's...

Christmas at the Chateau by Lorraine Wilson (with giveaway)

December 5, 2019December 5, 2019 by CarolNo Comments

I love Poppy. She's an artist who has followed her dream to France, has adorable puppies and is in love with the perfect man. Christmas at the Chateau is a sweet romance, perfect for holiday reading. It's short, but the characters are charming and kind. The treasure hunt was cute even if the treasure itself was a bit predictable. I do love a Christmas romance with a happy ending. Giveaway to Win a Signed paperback copy of ‘Poppy’s Place in the Sun’ (1st book in the ‘A French Escape‘ series), hand-embroidered makeup bag (made by the author) and some artisanal French chocolates (Open INT) a Rafflecopter giveaway *Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative...

Murder at Melrose Court by Karen Baugh Menuhin

November 13, 2019November 12, 2019 by Carol2 Comments

If you know me as a reader, you know a country manor house at Christmas is my favorite setting for a murder. After finding a dead man on his doorstep - apparently from natural causes - Lennox heads to his uncle's manor house for Christmas. Unfortunately, one of the other guests, his uncle's fiancee, is murdered and Lennox becomes the chief suspect. When the house gets snowed in and the police can't come, Lennox does his own investigating. He's a charming character. He fought in the war and is now mostly gathering debt, but he's intelligent and funny and willing to act in his own self-interests. He's a bachelor and has the most adorable dog. Of course one of the house party must be guilty. Lennox knows it's not him or his uncle, but is suspicious of almost everyone else. They all have secrets and potential motives. Even the servants come under Lennox' scrutiny, if only temporarily. It's a good set...

Nogged Off by Barbara Ross

November 7, 2019November 11, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

Yes, I've started reading Christmas books. No, I haven't started Christmas shopping. I read a Halloween novella in the Maine Clambake Mystery series and enjoyed it, so I picked up this Christmas one. I do love seasonal reads. Nogged Off was fun and light and has a bit of a twist at the end. Julia is trying to wrap everything up in New York, bringing all of her belongings back to Maine. The problem is that Imogene, who was going to take over the apartment, has just lost her job and broken up with her boyfriend. Julia takes pity on her and brings her to Maine for Christmas. And that's when all the trouble starts. Imogene just attracts disaster. And then Imogene's ex-boyfriend shows up, murdered in the back of the moving truck. This is a novella, and the focus is mostly on Julia and Imogene. The mystery itself was good. We see the clues along with Julia and the cops are...

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain

October 15, 2019October 16, 2019 by Carol6 Comments

Up until a few years ago, I was an insurance agent, but not like Walter Huff. Huff is good at his job, hard-working, and knows the insurance business inside-out. Then he meets a married woman who he falls for immediately. Her name is Phyllis and she has a thought, not even a plan, just a thought of what she would like to do about her husband. We don't realize at the time, but Phyllis knows exactly what she's doing, exactly what she's suggesting, and really has no qualms and is perfectly capable of holding up under pressure. She is not a nice girl, no matter how she seems at first. It doesn't take Huff long to come up with full-blown plan. They'll kill the husband and they'll get away with the insurance money. He has been in the insurance game for a long time and he knows about every angle ever thought up by anyone to try and pull one over...

Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers

October 3, 2019October 3, 2019 by Carol2 Comments

Did you listen to the bell video above? Do, because it's the background to the book. We start with church bells and end with church bells, but it's not a tune like the carillon at our church plays. It's change ringing, more mathematical than melodic. The story actually talks about it a fair amount, but basically, the bells are rung in a sequence, but then go through the "changes" or permutations of that sequence. It can more complicated and the jargon itself is interesting, with bobs and hunts and dodges. Lord Peter Wimsey is the series' amateur detective, an English gentleman, second son of a duke, who is wealthy and solves mysteries for his amusement. On New Year's Eve, his car goes off the road near the village of Fenchurch St. Paul. It just so happens that the church has a fabulous set of bells and Wimsey is recruited to help ring a nine-hour peal, as one of the regular ringers is...