The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

by Carol4 Comments
Even though I had an eARC of The Cracked Spine, I listened to the audio version. I think it was a good choice. I could relax and listen to the words and accents. It was fun to listen to the Scottish lilt in the dialogue. I looked at my digital version, and I think actually reading the accent in print could have been a bit difficult. I would have almost had to read some portion aloud, at least at the beginning, just to get ahold of what was being said. I love the setting- a bookstore in Scotland, and I enjoyed the plot, unless I think about it too much. Delaney's off on an adventure that most of us can only dream off, and she's a nice lady who I enjoyed spending time with. I didn't quite understand her immediate jump into trying to figure out who killed a woman she had never met, the sister of her new boss who she...
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The Heiress of Linn Hagh by Karen Charlton

by Carol3 Comments
I have a fondness for historical mysteries, so the setting of The Heiress of Linn Hagh caught my attention. It's a gothic mystery, complete with the rundown manor home, a missing heiress, gypsies, a madwoman, a beautiful Spanish woman and family secrets. The mystery itself is a little predictable, but I enjoyed seeing Lavender pull all the clues together. I don't know that Lavender himself is particularly likeable - intelligent, dedicated, tenacious, but perhaps not likeable. He knows it though, and brings Woods along. Woods is more likely to be able to get the non-gentry locals to talk. They are a good pair, each with his own strengths and weaknesses. I wasn't terribly fond of Lavender's obsession with the Spanish widow though. She could have been a fascinating character, but Lavender's lusting felt a bit forced. Woods may have been my favorite of the two. He's more down-to-earth, friendlier, is a family man. He's just a solid good guy who will have your back. The...
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Cat’s Paw by Bill Pronzini

by Carol3 Comments
"Cat's Paw" is my first experience with the new Audible channels, which are free for members. It's one of the selections available on the mystery channel. I wasn't sure how it was going to work, but you click on the channel and it gives you a list of available titles and how long the selections are. I was on my lunch hour, taking the dog for a walk, so 40-ish minutes was perfect for me. I will definitely be seeing what other stories are available on the various channels. "Cat's Paw" won the Shamus Award in 1984 for "Best Private Eye Short Story." The mystery itself was good. I've never read any in Pronzini's "Nameless Detective" series, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of this short story. The zoo makes for an interesting setting and Pronzini is wonderful with descriptions. What starts for our nameless detectives as a job investigating rare animal thefts turns into discovering who is a killer. It's...
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“B” Is for Bad Girls by Rebecca Cantrell and Sean Black

by Carol1 Comment
"B" Is for Bad Girls is #2 in the series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. It's short, funny and has a good mystery. Sofia is a great lead character. She's new to the detective business, although she played one on tv— literally, she quit acting to become a detective. The paparazzi is still happy to get pictures of her in awkward situations though, like peeing in public or coming out of a rehab facility for example. Part of what makes it fun is that her semi-celebrity status in Malibu lets us meet other celebrities, like the bad girls at the rehab center where she is undercover. Well, not really undercover, since she's still being herself, just pretending to be a drug addict, which she is not. It's neat to have the entertainment industry in the background of the series. Sofia is a riot she has a great sense of humor about herself and about life. Her friends and...
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The Bughouse Affair by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini

by Carol4 Comments
I expected to really enjoy this one. I'm a sucker for historical mysteries and pair a couple of sleuths with a maybe Sherlock Holmes- ti should have been right up my alley. Turned out it was just kind of meh. Sabina and Quincannon were a little bland. To be honest, it's a few days after i read the book and I can't really think of anything particularly interesting about either. She's a widow. He's a bit full of himself. They're both clever enough, but I guess I don't feel like we really got to know them, or maybe there's nothing much to know. Then there's the Sherlock, who may actually be him but may not. i don't understand shy he was there, if this is a series focussed on the otehr two, the authors should have just left him out. He didn't add much to the story, besides being annoying. I assume he'll show up in later books in the series,...
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City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

by Carol3 Comments
First a bit of advice, read City of Stairs first. Yes, City of Blades may be almost able to stand on its own, but Stairs is so good and will give you such a better feeling for the main characters in this book and the world they live in. Although City of Blades is the second in the trilogy, it feels different from Stairs. Stairs was action and magic and politics. Blades is a little darker, sadder, tougher, but just as good, if not better. Our main character this time around is retired General Turyin Mulagesh. she may be one of my favorite heroines. She's over-50, an alcoholic, one-armed (due to an incident in Stairs), a bit lonely, and full of regrets. But, man, she is tough and smart and caring and tenacious and totally capable of killing you in multiple ways. She is awesome, period. I may still have a bit of a crush on Sigrud, but Turyin even outshines him. She...
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