NetGalley – Page 32 – Carol's Notebook

Murder Has a Motive by Francis Duncan

July 26, 2018July 25, 2018 by Carol2 Comments

I admit it - I love vintage mysteries. In spite of the predictability, in spite of the stereotypes, I truly enjoy them. They're a little like stepping back in time. Murder Has a Motive was originally published in the late 1940s, a great time for mysteries. Mordecai Tremaine is a retired tobacconist with a penchant for mysteries. He had been planning on staying with friends in Dalmering, but as we all know, murder follows amateur detectives around. When Mordecai arrives, his friends tell him that one of their neighbors, a woman who was also starring in the play the community is putting on to raise money for charity, was found dead that morning - stabbed to death. His friends, of course, want him to find the killer. Mordecai is a quiet, sometimes pretentious man, but a romantic at heart. He's a quiet detective, watching, listening, having conversations. He's a little different from the other bachelor detectives of the era. He unabashedly reads...

The Annotated Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

July 5, 2018May 5, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

I read a lot of crime fiction and mystery stories, both modern and classic, but somehow I've skipped over Philip Marlowe. In this introduction to Marlowe, a dying millionaire hires him to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in. As the annotations show, even though this is the first in the series, it's not really the first time we may have met Marlowe, although under other names. Chandler apparently often took earlier short stories he had written for pulp magazines like Black Mask, and combined and expanded them into the Marlowe novels. The Big Sleep is a complicated story, set in 1930s Los Angeles, involving blackmail and a bookstore that is a rental library for pornography. The annotations provide lots of information about the time period, about Chandler's writing, and about some of...

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

May 28, 2018May 25, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

I read Ware's In A Dark, Dark Wood a couple of years ago and was underwhelmed. At the time, however, I wrote "I think she's an author worth giving another chance, even if this book had problems." I'd been hearing a lot of positive things and The Death of Mrs. Westaway seemed like one of the to-read books of this summer. I just don't think I'm ever going to be a Ruth Ware fan. Hal is a bit desperate. She owns money to a loan shark and is barely (not quite) making end meet as a tarot card reader. Out of the blue comes a letter about an inheritance. Hal knows it must be a mistake, but she's out of options, so she takes the gamble and heads out to Trepassen House. I liked Hal for the most part. She's a survivor. And the atmosphere at Trepassen House was appropriately spooky and gothic. I guess, maybe Ware can be a bit heavy-handed and...

Old Misery by James Sage

May 2, 2018May 2, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

I admit it. The drawings are what drew me to Old Misery, along with the title. The blurb above gives a good summary, but I will say I found it amusing who all managed to get stuck in her tree. The illustrations are perfect for the story, simple and amusing but grim too. But we all know that wishes can often be double-edged swords. The "surprise visitor" who really probably wasn't much of a surprise to the old woman, ends up stuck in the tree and Old Misery learns why you have to be so careful with your wished. It's a cute re-telling of the Auntie Misery folktale. It's dark and a reminder that there will always be Misery and Death in the world, but I'm pretty sure there are certain kids, some of whom may or may not be in my family, who will love it....

Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

April 23, 2018May 2, 2018 by Carol5 Comments

Codename Villanelle stars two women, a top-level assassin and the former MI6 operative whose job it is to find and eliminate her. Both women are strong and well-drawn. Villanelle is a psychopath, but one who knows she's different and uses the knowledge as a strength. Eve is a tough, but has more connections. she has a husband and subordinates; her choices effect not only her life, but theirs too. This is an action story, full of violence and sex, but happily it never quite tips over into graphic or gratuitous. It's a quick read and I enjoyed it, right up until the end. I guess this a collection of 4 novellas. It felt seamless to me, but then it ended with more or less "to be continued," which always just annoys me. If your series is good enough, I will continue to read it without a middle school book trick. Give me a semi-conclusion and leave it there. I'll know the...

Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton

April 13, 2018April 12, 2018 by Carol4 Comments

A bookshop, Scotland, and a murder - do I really need to say more? Lost Books and Old Bones is the 3rd in the series, not counting a Christmas novella (which I haven't read yet). I've read all three and definitely enjoy spending time in Edinburgh with Delaney and her crew. I don't often feel like I would actually love to hang out with the characters in books, but I would love to work in the bookshop and drink at the pub across the road, and visit the castle. Lost Books and Old Bones could probably be read as a stand-alone, but I think the first couple of books will give some needed background on Delaney and what makes the bookshop so special. All of the major characters return here, and there is a touch of romance for Delaney, but not enough to take away from the plot. This time around, Mallory, one of Delaney's new friends, is killed in the alley behind...