A Midnight Puzzle is the third 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. So, when a customer who is filing a lawsuit against the company is murdered, Tempest decides she has to investigate to save the family business.
This time around the connection to Tempest's family is clear. The man is murdered by a booby trap at the theater Tempest is renting for one final show, the theater where Tempest's mom disappeared. I'll be honest, this overarching mystery about the family curse has not been my favorite part of the first two books. I'm glad we get a solution here, but for me, this book just wasn't as fun as the last one. And I did guess the killer before it was revealed, although there were a couple of decent twists before we got there.
I listened to...
The blurb for The Fury grabbed my attention. A famous former movie star and her friends trapped on a Greek Island and someone is murdered - sign me up.
Elliott Chase is our narrator and listening to the audio worked perfectly for the writing style. Elliott constantly addresses the reader, tells us the events but only from the angle he wants us to see, and acknowledges his flaws as a narrator. It was interesting how he goes back over scenes, each time adding new details, but how he could have known some piece is unclear. Jennings does a good job of hitting Elliot's tone and moods. Honestly, the fact that it was an audiobook is what allowed me to finish it.
The setup was so promising, but the book never lived up to it. The narrative style came across as trying too hard to be clever. I didn't care about any of the characters and while the island should have been gorgeous,...
Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! is # 34 in the Meg Langslow series, but the first I've read. Honestly, the bird titles just never grabbed my attention. But this one takes place at Christmas and I always love a fun Christmas mystery. It worked fine as a stand-alone, although I assume I would know the characters way better if I had started at the beginning.
Meg is a wife, mother, and blacksmith - which really has nothing to do with birds. She has been roped into competing on Blades of Glory, a weapon-making reality show being filmed at Ragnar's house right before Christmas. The show has a variety of competitors, all men except Meg, some of whom are nice and some are total jerks. The two producers and the director are not so great either and want to keep any holiday feel out of the show. Sabotage, an attack, and a murder occur on the set,...
Honestly, I'm pretty sure I could listen to Grover Gardner read the phone book. And even then he'd still sound sarcastic and self-deprecating, just like he does as Andy Carpenter. As always, Andy reluctantly takes on a case, this time around he's defending Derek, who has adopted two dogs from the Tara Foundation. Derek's been arrested for murder, and although the evidence is stacking up against him, Andy believes he's innocent.
There are a lot of characters in this story. Much of the plot revolves around gangs and gang activity, so we've got bot bosses and former associates, both dead and alive. We've also got Andy, of course, his family and the investigative team. That being said, if you've read any of the series before, you know all the regulars and their dogs.
The mystery portion is put together well. There's a lot going on and the murder Derek is accused of is just the tip of the iceberg.
The story...
I don't read a lot of horror, but once in a while once grabs my attention. Hemlock Island revolves around Laney Kilpatrick, an English teacher and thriller author who is recently divorced and is grieving her sister who lost her battle to cancer. She is raising her 16-year-old niece, Madison, and reluctantly renting her vacation home on a remote island to strangers. Things get out of control when the renters call her in the middle of the night to inform her that there are blood and nail marks all over the guest room's closet. Laney goes out to the house with her niece Madison. Her ex-husband, Kit, also shows up with his sister, Jayla. And then, we have Sadie, a former friend from high school, and her brother, Garrett, who is now a cop. There is so much tension in the group, but we gradually learn about their relationships and secrets. Then one of their group goes missing - and...
I have to admit that the reason I listen to the Andy Carpenter series is that Grover Gardner narrates them. He has such a distinctive voice and it works so well with Andy's sarcasm and humor. I've never read on of the series in print, and I have no desire to stray from the audio versions.
This time around Andy is defending hometown girl turned Hollywood star, Jenny Nichols. And of course, Jenny has a dog, Mamie, who she adopted through Andy's rescue program. She is accused of killing her former boyfriend, current co-star, Ryan Griffin.
Andy, of course, wants to get a "not guilty" verdict but the evidence is not in their favor. So he and his team get to work on trying to figure out who really killed Ryan and why. They uncover a lot in their digging including money laundering, organized crime, Interpol's most wanted, cybercrime, drug trafficking, and murders. Even with all the complications, I did manage to...
