I have mixed feelings about Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel. Foley has a formula, which she uses here. Take a fabulous setting (this time the Grand Alpine Hotel) and add an event of some kind (which she doesn't actually do here, though having Miss Marple show up is similar). Give us a dead body on the first couple of pages, but don't tell us who it is until later. Give us multiple points of view, each with their own narrator on audio, and make sure they all have secrets and connections. If possible, cut them off from the outside world. It wasn't my favorite of Foley's books. It wasn't as suspenseful as it could have been, and, to be honest, I didn't really care much. And neither did the guests at the hotel. Yes, there's a murderer on the loose, but let's continue with our spa days and sled racing.
As a Miss Marple mystery, it wasn't exactly a hit...
Foley has a formula that works. Take a fabulous setting - this time the Manor, add an event of some kind - opening weekend/ solstice celebration. Give us a dead body, but don't tell us who it is until the last few chapters. We've got multiple points of view. Francesca is the owner and grew up spending summers there. Her husband is the architect. Bella is a guest. Eddie is the dishwasher, one of the few locals on staff. DI Walker, a specialist in cold cases, is on the team investigating the events of the weekend. They all have secrets and connections.
The setting was fabulous. The Manor is trendy, extravagant, and, in theory, relaxing. The woods surrounding it were appropriately looming and mysterious, The local legend of the Birds added a nice, if easy to predict, touch.
I listened to the full cast audio which made the characters come alive and made me care more about some of the...
One of the many lessons I've learned in over four decades of reading mysteries is avoid destination weddings. This time around the setting is an opulent castle-turned-hotel in Ireland; the murdered woman is the groom's grandmother; and our plucky amateur sleuth is ambitious, newly promoted, senior magazine editor, Christine Russo.
I did not like most of this book. While rich families behaving badly is usually a decent start, this one jus didn't work for the most part. We have so many characters and so many flashbacks and so many secrets. Everyone's a potential suspect. And Christine is a mediocre investigator who seems to be in over her head both with the family and her job. Really, the only reason she gets anywhere are the notes she's given by an unknown someone.
Now, the twist at maybe 90% made the book worth reading. It doesn't make it a good book, but it does pull everything together well and caught me off...
Eight Perfect Murders is clever. Mal posted a list of eight "perfect" murders on a blog years ago and now someone is using the list to conduct their own murder spree. Maybe.
I love all the references to other mysteries, but if they're on your to-read list, be aware that this book contains lots and lots of spoilers, and not just for books on the list. I've read several Mal references, but need to pick up Malice Aforethought and A Secret History and maybe watch the movie version of Death Trap. I found The Drowner to be the most uninteresting on the list and will just skip it.
It's probably not a good sign that my favorite parts of the book were the bits about mysteries by other authors. The mystery in Eight Perfect Murders is actually well done. Mal, who is telling us the story, is a well-rounded, flawed character. He owns a mystery bookstore but doesn't read mysteries anymore. He's...
The Body in the Casket is the first in the Faith Fairchild mystery I've read. On the one hand that doesn't matter because it stands on its own well. On the other hand, it means I didn't care as much about Faith's family and friends as I might have if I had started the series at the beginning.
I enjoyed the mystery portion of the book a lot. I'm a sucker for a good old-fashioned manor house mystery, which this was at heart, although with a New England touch. I love the addition of the theater folk and the whole Heaven and Hell theme of the weekend. I was not entirely surprised by the who dunnit, partly because it was reminiscent of a mystery I read earlier last month. Faith didn't really shine as a detective here though. I don't know I that's standard for this series or not, but she never really put any clues together or seemed to have...
I expected to enjoy Death at Breakfast. It seemed right up my alley. Recently retired Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, Hope Babbin, are staying at an inn in Maine and attending a week-long (I think) cooking class held by the chef. A great setting, two intelligent but quirky amateur detectives and food - a promising set-up.
Quick review: Fine, but not outstanding. It's not exactly a waste of time, but if you have something you're dying to read, skip this and pick that one up instead. On the other hand, the choice of murder weapons is semi-unique.
I guess my main problem with the book is that the character I found most interesting is the one who ends up dead. And he was interesting because of his thoughts, his way of seeing the world, things that we no longer see once he's dead.
Maggie and Hope are nice and smart, but I didn't connect with either of them. There are a lot of...
