NetGalley – Page 5 – Carol's Notebook

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! is # 34 in the Meg Langslow series, but the first I've read. Honestly, the bird titles just never grabbed my attention. But this one takes place at Christmas and I always love a fun Christmas mystery. It worked fine as a stand-alone, although I assume I would know the characters way better if I had started at the beginning. Meg is a wife, mother, and blacksmith - which really has nothing to do with birds. She has been roped into competing on Blades of Glory, a weapon-making reality show being filmed at Ragnar's house right before Christmas. The show has a variety of competitors, all men except Meg, some of whom are nice and some are total jerks. The two producers and the director are not so great either and want to keep any holiday feel out of the show. Sabotage, an attack, and a murder occur on the set,...

‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas by David Rosenfelt

September 29, 2023September 29, 2023 by Carol2 Comments

Honestly, I'm pretty sure I could listen to Grover Gardner read the phone book. And even then he'd still sound sarcastic and self-deprecating, just like he does as Andy Carpenter. As always, Andy reluctantly takes on a case, this time around he's defending Derek, who has adopted two dogs from the Tara Foundation. Derek's been arrested for murder, and although the evidence is stacking up against him, Andy believes he's innocent. There are a lot of characters in this story. Much of the plot revolves around gangs and gang activity, so we've got bot bosses and former associates, both dead and alive. We've also got Andy, of course, his family and the investigative team. That being said, if you've read any of the series before, you know all the regulars and their dogs. The mystery portion is put together well. There's a lot going on and the murder Derek is accused of is just the tip of the iceberg. The story...

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

September 26, 2023September 26, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

Starter Villain is just fun, from beginning to end. Charlie is down on his luck. He's divorced, living in a house his half-siblings want to sell, and working as a substitute teacher. All he wants to do is buy the pub downtown, but he has no money and can't get a loan. Then his estranged uncle dies and leaves him his business - parking garages/ villainous empire. Suddenly he's the owner of a top-secret lair (under a volcano, naturally), though the "sinister mission control room" is somewhat lacking. And now some people are pressuring him to join the Lombardy Convocation, a group of supervillainous villains who just happen to be having their annual meeting. This story is laugh-out-loud funny. Charlie is in over his head but has some good guidance, including from his cat, Hera (who I adore by the way). Turns out villany is much more corporate than one would have thought. In addition to explosions, Bond-style bad guys, and...

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

I don't read a lot of horror, but once in a while once grabs my attention. Hemlock Island revolves around Laney Kilpatrick, an English teacher and thriller author who is recently divorced and is grieving her sister who lost her battle to cancer. She is raising her 16-year-old niece, Madison, and reluctantly renting her vacation home on a remote island to strangers. Things get out of control when the renters call her in the middle of the night to inform her that there are blood and nail marks all over the guest room's closet. Laney goes out to the house with her niece Madison. Her ex-husband, Kit, also shows up with his sister, Jayla. And then, we have Sadie, a former friend from high school, and her brother, Garrett, who is now a cop. There is so much tension in the group, but we gradually learn about their relationships and secrets. Then one of their group goes missing - and...

The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge by Martin Edwards

September 7, 2023September 8, 2023 by Carol2 Comments

The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge is set in Yorkshire in the 1930's. Nell Fagan is somewhat desperately trying to find a great story to get back in the good graces of a good London newspaper. She's on the trail of something possibly big in the small town of Blackstone Fell, looking into historic and modern disappearances as well as the local sanatorium. When she realizes the extent of her possible case, she decides to consult Rachel Savernake, our "amateur" sleuth. She is not 100% honest about what's going on however and Rachel dismisses her. Nell returns to Yorkshire to continue her investigation alone and with difficulty. Meanwhile, Rachel enlists some associates to look into the matters, too. It's a good story with a lot going on. The disappearances are a locked room mystery, but more of a sidelight to the main plot. We've got seances, dangerous caves, and a spooky tower, and Nell was right to be suspicious of the...

Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald

August 31, 2023September 7, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

I loved about 80% of Prophet. It's a slightly creepy sci-fi thriller with a slow-burn romance between the two leads. The end kind of went off the rails for me, but I liked Rao and Adam enough for it not to matter. Wonder if they could get a sequel? Prophet is set circa 2010, in more or less our world, but a sergeant has died in a mysterious fire on a US base in the UK. Around the base, dozens of objects appeared ranging from familiar, nostalgic childhood toys, to a full American-style diner in the middle of an empty field. Enter Adam, a surly American military officer, and Rao, a sort of ex-MI6 spy pulled out of rehab who can tell what's true, whether it be if something's real and not a forgery or if a statement is true - a power that conveniently doesn't work where Adam's concerned. It's up to them to figure out what's going on. Oh,...