Henery Press – Carol's Notebook

The Study of Secrets by Cynthia Kuhn

March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 by CarolNo Comments

Lila Maclean has been taking a fall semester sabbatical, staying with family friend Bibi Callahan while finishing up her book on mystery author Isabella Dare. Bibi is actually Isabella, but no one aside Lila knows that. Lila, Bibi, and a few of Bibi's friends meet one evening for a book discussion. By the end of the evening, one of the women is murdered and an unpublished manuscript is missing. Bibi asks Lila to help figure out who the killer is, but the murder has ties to secrets in Bibi and her friends' pasts, secrets they don't necessarily want brought to light. The new characters are an eclectic bunch, with complicated relationships dating back to when they were children. Lila is her usually smart, suspicious self and we get to see some of the recurring characters too. The Callahan House isn't far from Stonedale after all. This is a fun mystery with a great heroine and a well-crafted plot. There were...

The Subject of Malice by Cynthia Kuhn

March 26, 2022March 28, 2022 by CarolNo Comments

In The Subject of Malice, Lila leaves campus for a convention at nearby Tattered Star Ranch. The small press that will be publishing her book is there and she's meeting with her editor, in between attending panels, tours, and odd jobs as a member of the planning committee. Her rival, Simone, and Simone’s twin sister, Selene, are also attending the conference and apparently co-writing a book on the same author as Lila, which is both bad for Lila and unprofessional on Simone's part. It's all stressful and the keynote is maybe a jerk, even if he's an incredibly popular writer. And then one of the editors ends up dead. Lex is on hand to investigate. Time passes between the books in this series and Lila and Lex have been dating for over a year now. Anyway, he actually asks Lila to consult for the department, since she knows the people and has a better grasp on potential motives. Yeah,...

The Spirit in Question by Cynthia Kuhn

March 25, 2022March 25, 2022 by Carol1 Comment

I've been reading the Lila Maclean mysteries this month. Each can work as a stand-alone, but like most series, reading them in order will give you a better feel for the characters, especially the ones in supporting roles. In The Spirit in Question, Lila has taken on (or perhaps been dragged into) helping with the production of another professor’s play, Puzzled: The Musical, a barely comprehensible mixture of detectives and dancers. The student actors and crew are having a ball - until the director is murdered during a rehearsal. At the request of Detective Lex Archer (the love interest), Lila (mostly) stays out of the hunt for the murderer, but plenty of other problems keep her busy. The play is being staged in the Stonedale Opera House, which the university owns but doesn't seem to maintain. The Historical Society is protesting the use of the building, multiple accidents happen during practices, and, to top it all off, the building might be haunted....

The Art of Vanishing by Cynthia Kuhn

March 17, 2022March 17, 2022 by Carol3 Comments

The Art of Vanishing is just a fun mystery. Professor Lila Maclean is on the committee in charge of Arts Week at Stonedale. She's intelligent and capable and maybe a bit trusting. She also has connections that come in useful. When famous author Damon Von Tussel goes missing right before he's to present at the campus Art Week, Lila has to call her mom, famous artist Violet O, who is also Von Tussel's ex to help find him. Violet is quite a character. They do find him, but there are several more "accidents" - clearly someone is trying to stop Arts week, or maybe just Von Tussel's part in it. The mystery was interesting, with several possible motives and suspects. And let's be honest, I love mysteries that involve books and authors. The politics within the English department and the pressures to publish are mixed in well with the main plot. Lila's mom is a hoot. The characters are a varied...

The Semester of Our Discontent by Cynthia Kuhn

March 3, 2022March 14, 2022 by Carol6 Comments

First off, the cat in The Semester of Our Discontent is Cady, named after the suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Our dog's name is also Cady. It's the one she came with from the shelter, but maybe I can use the suffragist line too? This is the first in the Lila Maclean mysteries, all of which I'm hoping to read during March for the Can You Read a Series in a Month? challenge. Dr. Lila Maclean, a recent PhD graduate, has just been hired at the prestigious Stonedale University, where her cousin, Calista, is also a professor. Lila loves teaching and is passionate about Gothic and Mystery writing, probably one of the reasons I like her. She is not however thrilled with the pompous, sexist chair of the English department, who of course winds up murdered. The Semester of Our Discontent is a smart, fun mystery, with a bit of humor to it. The college was a perfect setting and the...

Picked Off by Linda Lovely

July 31, 2018July 31, 2018 by Carol2 Comments

I have mixed feelings about Picked Off by Linda Lovely. I love Brie and all of her friends, who I first met in Bones to Pick. Her aunt is awesome, feisty and honest and loving. She and her friends, Mollye, Paint and Andy make a great team, even if they're a bit bumbling, like any good amateur detectives. They are funny and truly care about each other. The mystery is good. We've got plenty of suspects and motives, which is not surprising considering the victim - who doesn't actually die by the way - is a professional football player and his mother is a politician. We've got rednecks and franchise owners and gamblers. Then the author goes and ruins it all with a love triangle, which was my problem with the first in the series too. I had hoped she would let that go by the wayside, but nope. Apparently Brie can not be "just friends" with either of them -...