Mystery – Page 2 – Carol's Notebook

A Victim at Valentine’s by Ellie Alexander

February 6, 2025February 6, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

The Secret Bookcase Mysteries is one of those series with an overarching plot that hasn't been resolved yet. That is both my least favorite thing about the series and why this one doesn't work well as a stand-alone. Annie's best friend, Scarlet, was killed over a decade ago, but Annie has some new information and is working on solving the cold case. I'm just not a fan of those overarching mysteries. Annie's works full-time at a bookstore, where part of her job is coordinating events. For Valentine's Day, the store has teamed up with a matchmaker for a weekend of books and romantic events. Early the morning of the second day, a well-liked member of the community is found dead near the store. While the event continues as planned, Annie is determined to help the local detective, Dr. Caldwell, discover who the killer is. The mystery is fine. The plot moves along well. We have three potential suspects and a few...

A Death in Diamonds by S. J. Bennett

February 5, 2025February 5, 2025 by Carol2 Comments

I've read this series from the beginning and thoroughly enjoy seeing Queen Elizabeth II as an amateur sleuth. She knows people well and has access to a lot of information but needs her assistant private secretary to do most of the legwork. This time around we've gone back in time to the late 50s. It's early in the Queen's reign and she has two young children. She and Prince Phillip have been married about 10 years and their marriage has more stressors than most, one being that a club Prince Phillip attends has been connected to a murder. Joan, the assistant private secretary, is bold, resourceful, and intelligent. She is the only one the Queen can truly trust, since in addition to the murder case, they are trying to figure out which of the Queen's advisors has been attempting to sabotage her trips abroad. The peeks into royal life are fun. The queen visits a few other countries in this one and...

The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea by C. L. Miller

January 31, 2025January 31, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea is the second in the series and it's probably better to read them in order. You'll get a better feel for the characters and why Freya ends up in her current position. We learned in the first book that Freya and her Aunt Carole inherited Arthur Crockleford's antique shop when he was murdered. They are also trying to continue his project of hunting down stolen treasurers and making sure they're returned to their rightful owners. Freya and Carole have officially founded “The Lockwood Antique Hunter’s Agency,” and the first case that comes their way is a painting that was stolen from a small semi-local Maritime Museum was stolen. The police are concentrating on the murder that accompanied the theft and the museum volunteer is afraid the painting will be forgotten. It turns out Arthur had donated the painting to the museum, making it even more interesting to Carole and Freya. The two follow...

The Library Game by Gigi Pandian

January 27, 2025January 27, 2025 by Carol8 Comments

The Library Game is the fourth in the Secret Staircase series, and I do think they are best read in order. Tempest, a former stage magician, is enjoying her work with her father’s Secret Staircase Construction company. This time around they're working on changing a Gray House, large private home, in to a classic mystery library and will be presenting an escape room/mystery play in the house for the town's "Summer Stroll" weekend. During a play rehearsal, one of the actors is murdered during a planned on-stage blackout, but the body disappears when everyone leaves the room to get their phones. Tempest's friend, Sanjay, aka "The Hindi Houdini," is one of the suspects - or maybe he was supposed to be the victim. Either way, Tempest and her "Scooby" gang, Ivy, Gideon, and Sanjay, need to solve the case. The author does a great job of weaving in the elements important in stage magic like forcing choices, misdirection, and sleight of...

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

January 24, 2025January 24, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I usually don't review Sherlock Holmes books. Let's be honest, everyone reading this 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 and the reason I chose it when I was looking for something I felt like reading that is in the public domain (for a challenge). 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. We also watched Sherlock Holmes (2009) starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, which is always fun. I really like how Holmes is portrayed and...

Bait and Swiss by Korina Moss

January 23, 2025January 23, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

Curds & Whey has only been open two years and Willa needs to solve a sixth murder. Willa's ex-fiancé, Pierce, and his partner, Willa's former best friend, Riley, have opened a pop-up chocolate shop in the town's revamped bakery. Willa is, reasonably in my opinion, angry that the pair has chosen her town for their newest store, but when a reporter is killed by poisoned chocolates, she knows she's not guilty, even if the police chief isn't so sure. I felt a little bad for the character who got killed. We met him, saw he was pushy, and then he was dead. There was never much consideration that he was even the intended victim. The reader has several suspects to look at, although Willa would rather not believe any of them are guilty. And was destroying the business's reputation the point, or was someone trying to kill AJ, the newspaper editor, or Willa herself? Turns out Pierce is not a very...