Mystery – Page 65 – Carol's Notebook

Nemesis by Agatha Christie

July 16, 2021July 15, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

Miss Marple is shrewd, observant, and calculating, but she uses her identity as an older woman as a disguise, allowing herself to appear confused, fragile, doddering. In this outing, an acquaintance, wealthy financier Mr. Rafiel, has sent her on a mission after his death. She is to bring justice, but to whom or why, he doesn't give her any clues. I like that the focus here is on Miss Marple, she is doing the investigating, not playing back-up to someone else. Love is the theme here. All kinds of love: family, romantic, deadly. Miss Marple talks to everyone, first to figure out what exactly the mystery is and then to solve it. She does a good job pulling out information and putting it all together. She's a character I appreciate more now than I did when I first started reading Christie's books as a teenager. She's not flashy, but she is sly and convincing. This is not the strongest of Christie's...

Mystery at the Masquerade by Josh Lanyon

July 15, 2021December 3, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

Mystery at the Masquerade is the third in this engaging cozy mystery series. I have to say reading them in order really is best to give you a full picture of the characters and the town of Pirates Cove. This quick, entertaining read finds our amateur sleuth, bookshop owner Ellery Page, dragged into another murder investigation. This time the murder occurs in the middle of the Marauder’s Masquerade, the town's most highly anticipated social event of the year, and, again, Ellery is there when the body is discovered. For once, he's not the main suspect but a new friend is. I thought the mystery was well-done. Honestly, this is the best in the series so far. Yes, maybe it was a bit easy to figure out the culprit, but it is a cozy, the characters and relationships are as important as the plot. We get to know more about Jack in this one and I like how the relationship between Ellery...

Secret at Skull House by Josh Lanyon

July 14, 2021July 13, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

Secret at Skull House is #2 in the Secrets and Scrabble series. It could work as a stand-alone but as with so many series it's best to read Murder at Pirate's Cove first to get a better feel for the characters and setting, Things are starting to settle down for Ellery. That is until the news that a famous author of supernatural mysteries – Brandon Abbott – has purchased Skull House, a large, dilapidated house outside of town. Well, almost everyone is excited. Nora, Ellery's assistant, had hoped the place would be the new home of the local historical society. Ellery is also not thrilled. He and Brandon had been in a relationship several years earlier that didn't end well. Ellery doesn't want to see him again, but it's a small town and that's impossible. It only gets worse when Brandon is found dead on the rocks below the house. Once again, Ellery is the main suspect and starts asking...

Murder at Pirate’s Cove by Josh Lanyon

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

Ellery Page moves to Pirate Cove after inheriting a book store and a huge house from his great great great aunt Eudora, whom he had never actually met. It's actually a great time for Ellery to start a new life, after his ex cheated on him and his screenwriting career is not going great. But of course, it's not smooth sailing. The house is in need of endless repairs and the bookshop is in the red. Ellery is facing pressure from Trevor Maples, a mayoral candidate to sell, but he doesn't want to. And then Trevor ends up dead, murdered, laying in a pool of blood in the bookstore. And, of course, Ellery is the main suspect and as in any good cozy mystery starts investigating on his own. I like Ellery. He's charming and funny and sweet and I love his dog. Police Chief Carson I'm not sure about yet. He's a good guy, steady and honest, and the...

A Racing Murder by Frances Evesham

June 15, 2021June 8, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

This is the second of the Ham Hill mysteries and, while it works as a stand-alone, you will definitely get to know the characters better by reading them in order. Adam is a pub owner and retired police officer and Imogene owns the local hotel. They are the main investigators, although this time around they have the help of a couple of friends, Steph, a reporter, and Dan, a painter. All four are competent and intelligent and each adds their own skills. Belinda is the main suspect in the death, and her desperate mother asks for Adam's help. The local authorities deem the death an accident due to lack of evidence, but the local chief inspector asks Adam to continue looking into the case, not convinced it wasn't murder. It turns out there are actually plenty of suspects, although no one has a really good motive. There are the investors who own the horse that Belinda rode. There are the grooms and...

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

June 4, 2021June 3, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

The Secret of Chimneys is one of Christie's earlier works and she tends to not be at her best when her books wander off into international politics and intrigue. However, I found this one surprisingly funny and enjoyable, even if a little far-fetched. Anthony Cade agrees to take on two jobs for his friend James McGrath. Anthony heads for London to deliver the draft of a memoir to a publisher, and to return letters to the woman who wrote them. In England, politician George Lomax persuades Lord Caterham to host a house party at Chimneys. George's cousin Virginia Revel is invited, as is Hiram Fish, a collector of first edition books, along with the principals in a political scheme to restore the monarchy in Herzoslovakia – while assuring that newly discovered oil there will be handled by a British syndicate. Then, a member of the house party is killed. House party mysteries are probably my favorites. I like the...