Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri

by Carol1 Comment
I've read/listened to several of the Montalbano mysteries over the years. It's a series I know what to expect from. The main characters don't change much over the years and the food always sounds delicious. For me, this is one of the series I turn to when I want something that I know I'll enjoy. This time around we've got a couple of bombings, but they both take place at empty warehouses, which is odd. Montalbano has a sexy new (married) neighbor who seems determined to seduce him. Her car's been vandalized and her computer salesman husband is never around. To top it all off, anonymous letters and phone calls are being sent to citizens, the prosecutor and a television station, all pointing in different directions. We've also got a couple of drug gangs that may or may not be involved. Of course, Montalbano manages to tie all the seemingly random events together. I often listen to the audios for this series, rather...
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Love Does by Bob Goff

by CarolNo Comments
I picked up Love Does on the recommendation of a friend. On the one hand, I can see why she liked it, on the other hand I expected more from it. Love Does is about getting out there and doing things, not just talking about them or wishing them. It's about going big. To illustrate this, Goff uses a story from his life - and man does he have some stories, and connecting it to a Biblical truth. Sometimes those connections are stretching a little and some of his stories are not necessarily as amusing or relatable as he seems to think. I am glad i listened to the audio, which is narrated by Goff. It's like he's telling you the stories himself. In print some of them may have come off as bragging, but from his voice he seems honest and like a truly good guy who takes advantage of any and all opportunities life gives him and makes his own....
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Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley

by Carol4 Comments
I loved The Rook last year, the first in this series and was looking forward to Stiletto, even though based on reviews I read I had my high expectations tampered a bit. Happily, because while Stiletto was enjoyable, it didn't blow me away like The Rook. Rook Myfanwy Thomas is in the midst of negotiating a way for the Grafters to join the Checquy. The two groups have been enemies for hundreds of years, each believing the other to be monsters, but having the two join forces is rather brilliant. The two groups definitely have different strengths and ways of looking at the world that could complement each other. But Myfanwy is not the main character here. Yes, she gets some screen time, but the stars are Pawn Felicity Clements and Grafter Odette Leliefeld. Odette is a sad young woman, mourning the loss of her closest friends and unsure of her part in the Grafter Delegation. Felicity is assigned to be her bodyguard,...
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Through a Glass,Darkly by Donna Leon

by Carol2 Comments
It always seems like Leon has a topic she wants to discuss and works her mystery around that. This time around it's pollution and the environment. This was not my favorite in the series. The mystery doesn't really get started until maybe half way through. Up until them Brunetti is investigating even though the only "crime" was that a woman he barely knows is worried that her father will harm her husband. I'll grant you that does tie in to the eventual mystery, but a lot of Brunetti's investigating and thinking happens before the actual murder. And someone entirely different is killed. I enjoy the bits of daily life, Brunetti's conversations with his wife and kids, the delicious food. In this one, I found the glass making process interesting. It works better as a novel the a standard mystery I think. I hated the ending. I listened to the audio version, as I always do with this series and I felt like the...
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The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon

by Carol2 Comments
We've got two "mysteries" in The Girl of His Dreams, the death of the girl mentioned in the blurb and a potential scam being run by a man claiming to be a priest of some kind. Both are solved even if the resolutions aren't entirely satisfying, but I guess that's a bit like real life, not every mystery gets tied up in a neat little bow. Sometimes politics and money and being at the right place a bit too late all get in the way. I like Brunetti. He's happily married and actually enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife love books and conversation. While his superior is not ideal, he's not a loner, he works well with the competent members of the force. He cares about his case, perhaps more than he should at times. While the mystery steers the book, the musings on life, death, religion, the mafia make it slower than the typical mystery. There is less...
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Bangkok 8 by John Burdett

by Carol2 Comments
Bangkok 8 has been on my to-read list for a while, and I finally got around to picking up the audio from the library. Let's be honest, it was an obvious choice for me. It's a mystery in an exotic locale and the detective has a philosophical streak. The murder itself was unique - the snakes in a locked car- and although it's a shame that Sonchai's partner was killed too, it was the only reason the crime was actually investigated thoroughly. The cops in Bangkok are mostly corrupt and add in that the US government would really rather at least one of the suspects not be looked at too closely, they likely would have let it drop. Sonchai can't though and his search for the truth leads us across the city and has us meet drug dealers, prostitutes, and business owners from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of vices and interests. Sonchai is a complicated man. He's the son of a prostitute and American...
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