Paperback – Page 5 – Carol's Notebook

The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis

October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

This is the first Domestic Diva Mystery I've read. I won it from Krista Davis' Facebook page, and it's a perfect read for this time of year. The fact that I jumped in with #5 in the series. The characters were introduced well and we're given enough backstory to get to know how people fit together, but not so much that it's boring. The Diva Haunts the House has everything I want in a seasonal cozy. Halloween is present on almost every page, including costume parties, haunted houses, holiday recipes (included in the back of the book), and ideas for decorating and party-planning at the beginning of each chapter. We've got a cast of entertaining, quirky characters, including several suspects, and even a couple of adorable pets. There were a lot of kids in this one. They were all 12-year olds and they did help move the plot along and kept it entertaining; I just don't really enjoy reading about kids...

Murder by the Book edited by Cynthia Manson

September 22, 2020September 22, 2020 by Carol6 Comments

Like a lot of anthologies, Murder by the Book is a mixed batch. All the stories have some literary connection, whether it be books, or a character or is a writer or whatever, and most have a crime that needs solved. Several authors I've read before and was not surprised that their stories were good like Dorothy L. Sayers (even though I don't think I'll ever be a Wimsey fan), Edward D. Hoch, Margaret Maron, Bill Pronzini, and Lawrence Block. I really enjoyed the "Jane Austen Murder" mostly because the main character was a hoot. I will be on the lookout for more by Knowlden. In "A Women's Voice," Hansen did a great job of letting us get to know the characters, even though it's a short story, and surprising me with the whodunnit. I didn't care for "In the Bluebell Wood" or "Body Language." Overall, though, I enjoyed the collection. I think I need to pick up a Halloween...

The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham

August 26, 2020August 25, 2020 by Carol1 Comment

The plot is simple: Jerry finds a lovely girl and drives her home. Just as they arrive, a shot is heard. The dead man is a neighbor, who is hated by everyone around him. It just so happens that Jerry's father is the famous Detective Chief Inspector Challenor, and aided by his son, he will do everything in his power to solve the mystery. We've got plenty of suspects. Everyone really did hate the man, although no one wants to tell Challenor why. We've got a nice batch of secrets, a few red herrings, and a bit of travel. There's even a little romance because of course, Jerry falls in love with the girl. The White Cottage mystery is an enjoyable read, but I found I didn't really care about any of the characters, maybe because the novel was so short. The final solution was well-done. All the clues added up, but I wouldn't have guessed who the killer was. I...

The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham

August 13, 2020August 13, 2020 by Carol4 Comments

The Tiger in the Smoke is an intelligent crime novel set just a few years after World War II. It's a tough time in London. Many people are quite poor and many ex-servicemen are having a difficult time. London is also being plagued by a pea-soup fog, which lends a darkness and opaqueness to many scenes in the story. The story starts with Meg, who is soon to be married, has been receiving photos showing, in theory, her husband, who was presumed killed in the war, walking around modern-day London. She calls on Campion to help her. At first, the mystery seems to be who is planning on blackmailing her, but soon it becomes more of a thriller than a mystery. We know who the bad guy is: Havoc, an escaped convict, a psychopath. The man sending Meg the photos had been one of his lackeys. Now, it becomes a race for the detectives to catch him before there are...

The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne

April 29, 2020April 28, 2020 by Carol4 Comments

It's a shame Milne only wrote one mystery. The Red House Mystery is clever and funny and charming. From the dedication: Our amateur sleuth is Antony Gillingham. He stops at The Red House to visit his friend, Bill Beverly, but as he gets there he finds a frantic man banging on the door of a locked room, trying to get in. Antony and the man run to the back of the house and break in the window, finding a dead man, shot. The man who was breaking into the room was Mr. Cayley, cousin and assistant to Mark Ablett, owner of The Red House. The dead man is Mark's brother, Robert, newly arrived from Australia. Mark himself is missing. Antony is an outsider at The Red House, but allowed free reign that the detectives don't have. The mystery is well-done, the clues make sense. I knew who the killer was, but not the hows and whys until the end. The characters are...

A Scandal in Belgravia by Robert Barnard

April 27, 2020April 24, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

I picked A Scandal in Belgravia up at a library book sale. I had never heard of Barnard before, but the title grabbed my eye because of the Sherlock episode. After i read the blurb on the back it sounded like one I'd enjoy and I think it was like 50¢. I have to say I'm really pleased I picked it up. Peter Proctor, a former politician, is writing his memoirs. Or at least trying to. But his mind keeps going back to the murder of his friend, Timothy Wycliffe, some 30 years ago. I liked the pace of this mystery. It's an old murder. The police think they knew who did it and the killer is safely out of the country. There's no rush; no one's in danger; there's nothing to be gained by solving the case aside for peace of mind - and maybe a book that will sell better than his memoirs. Peter can go around talking to people,...