the author – Page 4 – Carol's Notebook

Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case by Kristen Painter

October 31, 2020October 30, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

I'm not quite ready for winter/Christmas reads yet, but maybe I am. Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case hit just the right note for this time of year for me. Jayne Frost, winter elf and niece of Santa Claus, is sent from the North Pole to Nocturne Falls, where supernaturals can live as they are because Halloween is celebrated every day of the year. She is there to investigate a series of disappearances in one of the Santa's toy stores. Several elf employees have left, supposedly quit, but with no trace of them afterward. A little bit of Halloween, a little bit of Christmas, some magic a good mystery - it's a cute book. The mystery is not terrible complicated but the clues are well-done and there are a couple possible suspects. The characters are fun. Jayne loved Dr. Pepper and all things sweet, which I can definitely relate to. She's nice and friendly and determined. She makes a few...

An Old Money Murder in Mayfair by Sara Rosett

October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

Olive is staying at the home of her school friend, Gigi, and enjoying the champagne lifestyle of the ‘bright young things’ of the 1920s while employed to look into Gigi's grandmother's fears that someone is trying to hurt her. Of course, grandmother does end up being killed, and several people have motives, not the least of whom is Gigi. If her grandmother did change her will like she threatened, it would be Gigi who was left out in the cold. I enjoy this series. The regular characters feel like old friends and the plots are entertaining. I adore all the 1920s details - the fashion, etiquette, and colloquialism. It also paints a good picture of the gap between the servants, the upper class who have money, and the upper class who don't, like Olive. This feels in a lot of ways like a vintage mystery. It's an easy read, without any real violence or graphic scenes. It's well-written and the solution was...

Murder in Black Tie by Sara Rosett

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

Olive Belgrave is about to be homeless as her landlady is getting married and selling the boardinghouse. She packs up and heads back to Nether Woodsmoor to visit her family at Parkview Manor. Aunt Caroline and cousin Gwen are hosting a house party for a small group of friends and family, including Olive's father and his wife Sonia. Olive is happy to see her cousin Peter recovering from the trauma of the war but he isn't himself yet and when a guest is murdered, Peter becomes the number one suspect. Clearly Olive need to clear Peter's name. This is a 1920s country house party murder mystery chock full of period details, especially fashion. The history of Parkview being used as a hospital during the war and how the characters were involved with that was interesting. I like the limited cast in house party mysteries. Our murder victim, Vincent Payne, is a businessman in the antique map business, maybe not wholly...

The Egyptian Antiquities Murder by Sara Rosett

September 10, 2020September 9, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

I'm on a bit of a roll with these High Society Lady Detective mysteries. The Egyptian Antiquities Murder takes us to Mulvern House where Olive Belgrave meets with Lady Agnes about her uncle’s death, a death that has been ruled a suicide. Lady Agnes is sure her uncle was murdered. Many think an old curse was responsible for Lord Mulvern's death, but of course once Olive starts to investigate she realizes that Lady Agnes is right. Now Olive just needs to figure out whodunit and why. The author introduces us to several new characters. Lady Agnes wants to keep her uncles vision alive, unlike the other heirs. Her brother Gilbert and his wife Nora care mainly about the money and themselves making them suspects on Olive’s list. The Lord’s valet/butler received a generous bequest and retired so he too lands on her list. There are several others interested in obtaining the collection and the digging location that comes with it. There...

Murder at Blackburn Hall by Sara Rosett

September 9, 2020September 9, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

Olive Belgrave is forced to take a job as a hat model to pay her bills, despite closing her first case and trying to make it as a detective. But before she can start her new job a publisher offers her a new position. He wants her to go to the English countryside and make inquiries about his bestselling author, who has disappeared. Olive travels to Blackburn Hall under the guise of a publishing house agent who is looking into a manuscript about etiquette. But soon after she arrives someone is murder, and in short order a second person dies. Olive must get to the bottom of things because the police suspect she's a killer, although why I'm not sure. She really has little connection to any one in the town. Hadsworth is full of suspects though, and plenty of secrets. Rosett does a good job at providing historical details. Full of interesting characters and a tightly woven mystery, I once again...

Killing the Story by Joan Livingston

September 1, 2020September 1, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

Isabel Long is a former journalist who now works as a private investigator. Both jobs play to her strengths; she's curious, tenacious, tough, and determined. This is the first of the series that I've read, but it worked fine as a stand alone. Isabel is hired to investigate the death of a local newspaper editor whose death was originally ruled an accident. I liked Isabel. She's older than most of the main characters in mysteries I read, especially the women. She's probably in her late 60s, has silver hair, but she's smart and funny and attractive. Her mom is her sidekick and the interactions between the two are well-done. They have a close relationship but they both realize the other is strong and smart and capable. Isabel doesn't have to hide anything from her. Isabel has a boyfriend who manages to worry about her without being over-protective. There are several reasons to believe that Estelle's death was not an accident...