Mystery – Carol's Notebook

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley

November 4, 2026November 4, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I have mixed feelings about Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel. Foley has a formula, which she uses here. Take a fabulous setting (this time the Grand Alpine Hotel) and add an event of some kind (which she doesn't actually do here, though having Miss Marple show up is similar). Give us a dead body on the first couple of pages, but don't tell us who it is until later. Give us multiple points of view, each with their own narrator on audio, and make sure they all have secrets and connections. If possible, cut them off from the outside world. It wasn't my favorite of Foley's books. It wasn't as suspenseful as it could have been, and, to be honest, I didn't really care much. And neither did the guests at the hotel. Yes, there's a murderer on the loose, but let's continue with our spa days and sled racing. As a Miss Marple mystery, it wasn't exactly a hit...

A Murder at Midnight by Ellie Alexander

November 3, 2026November 3, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I've been reading this series from the beginning and always enjoy them. This time around, Annie and Fletcher have agreed to let a ghost-hunting television show film at the bookstore right before Halloween. Quite honestly, they should have known it was a bad idea. When the crew arrives, the tension is palpable and it's no surprise when one of them ends up dead. The mystery was fine. The people working on the show gave you plenty to be suspicious about, with plenty of resentment and old secrets to go around. we have several clues and a couple red herrings. I didn't love how it was wrapped up, the method the killer used seemed a little unclear or maybe I missed something. We don't see as much of the usual friends this time around. The investigation is pretty much centered on the Sleeping with Spirits crew and the town suffers a major storm that same evening, so everyone's got their own...

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

October 31, 2026October 30, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

New Zealander Gwenda Reed, who thinks she has never been to England, buys an old house on the south coast with her husband, Giles. But when she moves in, she gets this strange feeling that she’s been there before. She remembers things she shouldn't and then has a terrible vision/memory while attending a play. She thinks she’s going mad, and Miss Marple steps in to help. Gwenda and Giles are a lovely couple. They decide they need to investigate what happened in the house all those years ago, even though Miss Marple warns them that they may not like the consequences. The story moves along at a steady pace and the plot is rather clever. Miss Marple stays a bit in the background, but you can see her guidance throughout. She's as shrewd and intelligent as always. The whodunnit made sense, but the whole thing was a little sad. When I first started reading Christie's books (40 years ago?!), Poirot was my...

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

October 30, 2026October 29, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I usually don’t review Sherlock Holmes books. Let’s be honest, everyone knows who the character is and most will either love him or not. It also won’t surprise anyone that I love the stories and novels, some more than others of course. This collection is probably my favorite. The stories are clever and entertaining. Holmes is at his best. We meet Irene Adler and the horrible Dr. Grimesby Roylott. I listened to the audio this time, narrated by Stephen Fry who did a fabulous job. I wasn’t surprised by any of the twists or turns – I’ve read them all multiple times, but enjoy them none the less....

A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L. Cullen

October 29, 2026October 29, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I picked up A Field Guide to Murder because I won the second one in a Facebook group and thought, since there are only two, I'd go ahead and read the first. The setup is good. Harry is a widower recovering from a broken hip, and Emma is his caregiver. When one of Harry's neighbors dies, maybe poisoned, maybe not, Harry and Emma get caught up in figuring out who the killer is. Harry was interesting but annoyed me after a while. He spends a lot of time alternating between feeling sorry for himself and bragging about how amazing his career was before he retired. He seems to have gone everywhere, done everything, and taken an interest in every aspect of anthropology. It was a bit much. And Emma? I don't know why the women in the books I've read lately are all engaged to men they don't really want to marry but seem unable to stop the ball from rolling....

Jay to the World by Donna Andrews

October 23, 2026October 27, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

Yes, I might be starting my Christmas reading a little early this year. No, I don't care. Jay to the World is #40 in the Meg Langslow series, but I haven't read even close to all of them. I like that you can jump in and out of the series without feeling like you've missed much. It's almost Christmas in Caerphilly, and we all know that means family, food, and chaos. Meg's mom, Margaret, has a lot going on - family and old friends are in town, she's working on a playhouse for two-year old Brynn, is decorating a room in the annual "Show House." It's all (almost) under control, until Margaret finds the playhouse vandalized and is attacked. It turns out she has several potential enemies in town, and it's up to Meg and the police to keep her safe and figure out who the bad guy is. I like how well Andrews balances the mystery and cozy aspects of...