Adventure – Carol's Notebook

The King’s Ransom by Janet Evanovich

December 12, 2025December 12, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

The King's Ransom is fun in an over-the-top way. Gabriella Rose is adept at finding things, usually for insurance companies or private individuals who are paying her. This time around her ex-husband, Rafer, and his charming but slightly dumb cousin Harley need her help. Harley was acting as a bank president and part of his job involved insuring priceless artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone and a golden Egyptian coffin, at his Board's suggestion. But when the artifacts are stolen, and it looks like Harvey may take the fall for the thefts, Rafer convinces Gabriella that it's up them to find the artifacts and save Harvey's life. The adventure takes us from New York City to London to Cairo to Florida to Italy. We've got plenty of action, murder, corruption, threats, kidnapping, and a fun conspiracy. We got some sparks between Rafer and Gabriella but they both realize they're better off not married. We also meet a handsome, enigmatic Egyptian man...

Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz

April 14, 2025April 14, 2025 by Carol4 Comments

I like Horowitz. I enjoy James Bond. Apparently the two put together are annoying. It’s the early ‘50s and British intelligence is worried about unusual activity in Marseille’s underworld so they send one of their elite agents to check it out, but 007 is murdered. His replacement? A young man named Bond. James Bond. And it is a stereotypical Bond story. We have a beautiful, intelligent woman and the bad guy is appropriately evil and easy to describe. We have food, drinks, cars, gambling, and plenty of violence. Maybe that's what had me rolling my eyes. It was predictable. The plot does move along quickly and if you're looking for a James Bond story, it is definitely that. Maybe that's just not what I was in the mood for....

The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan

March 27, 2025March 27, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I wasn't a fan of The Treasure Hunters Club, but the twist was surprising - even if it was more annoying than clever. I listened to the audiobook and while the narrator was competent, I may have been a little spoiled by some of the fabulous readers I listened to lately. Or maybe it's tough to do three main characters make them all convincing. We forty year old Peter who is new to town, hoping to make a connection with the grandmother he never knew. Cass is house sitting and trying to write a new book. And finally, there's self-proclaimed teenage detective Dandy, who is grieving after the death of her grandfather. We got a couple murder, a lost treasure, and families keeping secrets. The concept is great, but the story itself fell flat for me. Each of the characters, and half the town, had good backstories, but weren't fully developed as characters. I didn't really care about them. And the...

The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne

May 30, 2023May 30, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

The Antiquity Affair is a fun book. It's got history, action, suspense, family drama, and a bit of romance. Our main characters, sisters Lila and Tess, are wrapped up in a race for the Serpent’s Crown, a powerful legendary relic. They have friends and family on their side but of course, there's an evil brotherhood that also wants the crown so they can control Egypt and then, presumably, the world. I liked Lila and Tess and how they come to understand each other better throughout the book and work on repairing their relationship. Each of the women is capable in her own way and their skills play off each other's well. I listened to the audiobook and having two narrators, one for each of the women, worked out well. I do wish their voices had been a little more different. The book touches on women's place in society and the questionable ethics of removing historical artifacts from their countries of...

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

January 30, 2019January 29, 2019 by Carol8 Comments

I knew I'd love The Three Musketeers. The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas is one of my favorite all-time books and this is even more mentioned/read/known. So, I was happy when the Classics Club Spin hit #1 and my challenge was then to read The Three Musketeers by the end of January. Dumas takes the historical events of France, 1625-27, and plays with them to bring us one of the best adventure stories ever. The beautiful Anne of Austria is Queen of France, but she is lukewarm, at best, toward her husband, XIII. Cardinal Richelieu, the true ruler of the country, has made advances towards her, but been rebuffed; he's eaten up by jealousy and spite, especially since he knows through his network of informers that Anne's heart in fact belongs to the handsome Lord Buckingham. These fictionalized historical figures are at the center of the story, it's their loves, desires, conquests and favors that everyone else's life revolves...