Mystery – Page 89 – Carol's Notebook

Murder at Melrose Court by Karen Baugh Menuhin

November 13, 2019November 12, 2019 by Carol2 Comments

If you know me as a reader, you know a country manor house at Christmas is my favorite setting for a murder. After finding a dead man on his doorstep - apparently from natural causes - Lennox heads to his uncle's manor house for Christmas. Unfortunately, one of the other guests, his uncle's fiancee, is murdered and Lennox becomes the chief suspect. When the house gets snowed in and the police can't come, Lennox does his own investigating. He's a charming character. He fought in the war and is now mostly gathering debt, but he's intelligent and funny and willing to act in his own self-interests. He's a bachelor and has the most adorable dog. Of course one of the house party must be guilty. Lennox knows it's not him or his uncle, but is suspicious of almost everyone else. They all have secrets and potential motives. Even the servants come under Lennox' scrutiny, if only temporarily. It's a good set...

Mailbox Monday – 11/11

November 11, 2019January 6, 2020 by Carol12 Comments

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. Tell us about your new arrivals by adding your Mailbox Monday post to the linky at mailboxmonday.wordpress.com. I received this one thanks to NetGalley....

Nogged Off by Barbara Ross

November 7, 2019November 11, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

Yes, I've started reading Christmas books. No, I haven't started Christmas shopping. I read a Halloween novella in the Maine Clambake Mystery series and enjoyed it, so I picked up this Christmas one. I do love seasonal reads. Nogged Off was fun and light and has a bit of a twist at the end. Julia is trying to wrap everything up in New York, bringing all of her belongings back to Maine. The problem is that Imogene, who was going to take over the apartment, has just lost her job and broken up with her boyfriend. Julia takes pity on her and brings her to Maine for Christmas. And that's when all the trouble starts. Imogene just attracts disaster. And then Imogene's ex-boyfriend shows up, murdered in the back of the moving truck. This is a novella, and the focus is mostly on Julia and Imogene. The mystery itself was good. We see the clues along with Julia and the cops are...

Unquiet Spirits by Bonnie MacBird

October 18, 2019October 18, 2019 by Carol2 Comments

I usually don't read two from the same series back to back, but I didn't feel like trying to decide which audiobook to listen to next, so just went with #2 in MacBird's Sherlock Holmes Adventures. It was an enjoyable follow-up to Art in the Blood. Unquiet Spirits is a fast-paced, multi-layered mystery. Of course, all three pieces of the plot are connected. They almost always are in mysteries. I loved the atmosphere of the haunted Scottish castle and liked learning the details of the whiskey industry at the time. Holmes investigation brings him to the home of the McLarens in Scotland. The McLarens are not a nice family, though they make excellent whiskey. They don't like each other, not even the married couples. They are spiteful and put ambition over just about anything else. They want Holmes to investigate a situation for them, but don't want him to expose any of their other secrets. Holmes of course has...

Art in the Blood by Bonnie MacBird

October 16, 2019October 17, 2019 by CarolNo Comments

It's not often that I say this, but what originally drew me to Art in the Blood was the cover. It's simple and stylish and while it doesn't scream "Holmes" it does give us the era with the top hat and walking stick. Add in that I love a god Holmes pastiche and I was hooked. The conceit here is that an old, unpublished adventure written by Watson has been discovered and the author is simply sharing it with us, reconstructing any pieces that time has faded. I don't know that MacBird accomplishes the task of writing in the vein of Conan Doyle. It doesn't feel Victorian. Touches of modern language sneak in and to be honest, I'm not sure that anyone else can work with a character so brilliant, addicted, prone to depression, gifted as Holmes without pushing him over one edge or the other in their attempt to send him out on new cases. But I enjoy Holmes in...

A Better Man by Louise Penny

October 11, 2019October 11, 2019 by Carol6 Comments

With A Better Man, Penny is back to the kind of mystery I enjoy, the small, personal mystery where the fate of Canada is not hanging on the outcome, which I was happy about. When the stories are too big, too political, it makes me think maybe I should step away from the series, but then one like this brings me back. It starts as a missing person case, but quickly changes to a murder investigation, all while the waters are rising around Quebec. The dead woman was abused by her husband, so suspicion quickly and naturally falls on him - and stays there. But proving he's the killer is another matter altogether. I knew the "who" although not necessarily the why or how. That's not the fault of the book, really the mystery was well-done. The trio, Gamache, Beauvoir, and Lacoste think they have a decent case against the husband, but it's blown out of the water and they...