Library – Carol's Notebook

Dark Chocolate Demise by Jenn McKinlay

April 23, 2025April 22, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

The Cupcake Bakery Mysteries are typical cozies. This time around Mel, Angie, and the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew have the truck set up at a local zombie walk. Of course, the event takes a horrible turn when one of the "zombies" is killed and left in their prop casket, a zombie whose outfit is strikingly similar to Angie's. I've complained before about over-arching storylines taking over a series. This time, it's Joe's super-important, super-dangerous case against a mob boss. It came up in the book previous to this one, maybe, when Joe had to break up with Mel. (But don't worry, he's still spying on her.) Since Joe is Angie's brother, everyone's worried that she might have been the actual target. The mystery is pretty obvious. And I'm tired of Angie and Mel's love lifes. Of course, next time I can't decide what to read, I'll probably borrow #8 from the library. The characters are decent and I love cupcakes....

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

April 22, 2025April 22, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

I don't really know where to start with Death in the Spires. Jem, our main character/amateur sleuth, has just lost his job thanks to an anonymous letter accusing him of murder. It's not a surprise. He's been getting letters on and off for ten years and he is tired - tired of the insinuations, tired of the not knowing, tired of his empty room. So he decides it's time to ask questions and find a killer. Jem is not a "good" amateur sleuth. What he is is dogged and determined. The story is told from his point of view, both in the present, 1905, and ten years before. We see the school and the people through his eyes, and he's not without biases. It's a sad, moody book and even the weather plays along, with plenty of fog and drizzle, and clear, but melancholy, nights. We have a closed circle of suspects. It had to be one of the six...

Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz

April 14, 2025April 14, 2025 by Carol4 Comments

I like Horowitz. I enjoy James Bond. Apparently the two put together are annoying. It’s the early ‘50s and British intelligence is worried about unusual activity in Marseille’s underworld so they send one of their elite agents to check it out, but 007 is murdered. His replacement? A young man named Bond. James Bond. And it is a stereotypical Bond story. We have a beautiful, intelligent woman and the bad guy is appropriately evil and easy to describe. We have food, drinks, cars, gambling, and plenty of violence. Maybe that's what had me rolling my eyes. It was predictable. The plot does move along quickly and if you're looking for a James Bond story, it is definitely that. Maybe that's just not what I was in the mood for....

Killing in C Sharp by Alexia Gordon

April 11, 2025May 9, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I read the first Gethsemane Brown mystery back in 2016 when it came out, but never got back to the series. Last year I watched the show on Hallmark mysteries, which was fun. Killing in C Sharp has been sitting on my to-read list for probably years now, but the audio was available from the library and I was in the mood for something light. (I'm always in the mood for something light.) There is a lot going on in this one. Ghost hunters have come to Gethsemane's cottage to prove her friend and resident ghost, Eamon, exists. A true crime writer is in town working on an updated version of the book she wrote on Eamon and his wife. Aed, a once-famous composer, is premiering his new opera at the opera house and giving a couple guest lectures at the school. He is followed by the reviewer who nearly killed his career with a bad review. And the opera manages...

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie

April 3, 2025April 3, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I've read most if not all of Christie's book before, but The Seven Dials Mystery is not one I remember well. Maybe Battle just doesn't grab my attention like the rest of Christie's detectives. It starts out promising. We've got a weekend house party at Chimneys. One of the young men, Gerry Wade, always sleeps late and the others decide to play a prank on him, setting eight alarm clocks in his room to ring one after another. But then he still doesn't wake up - turns out he died overnight. Of course, since this is a Christie, we know it wasn't just coincidence. Then another man is killed and Lady Eileen 'Bundle' Brent decides they need to investigate. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the audio or maybe all the young people just blended into each other, but I got a little confused. And then it veers off into international intrigue, and it turns out I just wanted a traditional...

The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch

April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I've read a couple of the Rivers of London books, which gave me enough background to enjoy The Masquerades of Spring, but since it's a novella that falls outside of the regular series, I also didn't feel like I was missing anything plot- or relationship-wise. We are in the 1920s in Harlem. Augustus Berrycloth-Young is a very British wizard, who has taken refuge in America. His life is pretty decent - he spends his time listening to jazz, enjoying the city, and being in love with his boyfriend, Lucien. It can be difficult, gay men are hassled by the cops and Lucy, being black, is not allowed into some of the nicest restaurants, even in Gussie's company. And then Thomas Nightingale arrives asking for Gussie's help in finding the original owner of a cursed saxophone. What follows is a decent little mystery, with plenty of action and magic. I loved the characters in this one. Nightingale is his usual self, if...