Purchased – Page 3 – Carol's Notebook

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan

June 10, 2024June 10, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

The Justice of Kings is a compelling mix of fantasy, mystery and legal thriller. The novel follows Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an itinerant Justice of the Empire of the Wolf. His job, and life's purpose, is to fairly uphold the empire's laws and mete out justice as appropriate. He is accompanied by his taskman and friend, former soldier Dubine Bressinger, and his clerk, Helena Sedanka, a 19 year old woman who was essentially rescued by Vonvalt from a life on the streets. The three travel to Galen’s Vale where Vonvalt takes on an investigation into the murder of a noblewoman, but the case has Empire-wide ramifications. The story is told through the first-person perspective of Helena. We’re hearing, since I listened to the audiobook, Helena’s recounting of the past, which worked well. It showed us Vonvalt's actions and his reasoning as he discusses things with Helena, but also lets us know that he's not infallible, that Helena can't always agree with him. Vonvalt protects...

Ithaca by Claire North

May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

I have loved everything I've read by Claire North, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to pick up Ithaca. Maybe the mythology/ Ancient Greece setting just didn't grab my attention and seemed so different from the others I've read by North. But I ended up loving it. It has been seventeen years since Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War, leaving Penelope and their son, Telemachus, behind in Ithaca. Penelope is left to fend for herself and her son and to run the kingdom with the help of her advisors, men who of course think they are both more competent and powerful than Penelope. They're wrong. Penelope is intelligent and cunning and she and her maids wield their power subtly and behind the scenes. Hera, goddess of women, marriage and childbirth, is our narrator and is perfect for the part. She's sarcastic and funny and allows us to see all that's going on, but from her own...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

May 16, 2024May 17, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a true crime classic and I don't know why it's taken me so long to read it. I will say it reads more like a novel than non-fiction, in part because the author inserts a fictionalized version of himself meeting the people of Savannah long before he actually arrived in town. He gives us a front-row seat to the characters and events leading up to the day Jim Williams shoots Danny Hansford and what follows. The first third or so of the book is meandering in a good way. We meet some of the people of the city, from the old money folks to the "upstarts," from pianists to drag queens. Some characters are so over the top that knowing they were true is fun. We also learn some of the history of the place and the historical figures associated with it. After the death (murder?) of Hansford, we see how old rivalries,...

A Rather Dastardly Death by Anthony Slayton

March 27, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol2 Comments

A Rather Dastardly Death is the second of the Mr. Quayle Mysteries and the Lord Unsworth and his family are on vacation in the French Riviera, trying to get some distance from the events of A Quite Deadly Affair. Of course, it's not long until someone is murdered, a woman Lord Unsworth knew decades earlier, and the family gets caught up in another investigation. Mr. Quayle, at Lord Unsworth's request, agrees to assist in solving the mystery and protecting the family's reputation if possible. This is a fun old-fashioned murder mystery with plenty of suspects and possible motives. The dead woman, Lady Rosaline Barrett De Marchi, Widow of Treville-Sur-Mer, was surrounded by "admirers" and hangers-on, any of whom could have killed her. We also have a side plot regarding a jewel thief who may be in the Riviera and a statuette from Lady Rosaline's collection is missing. All of the characters are notable, but Quayle is what makes this series work...

A Canadian Werewolf in New York by Mark Leslie

March 15, 2024March 15, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

A Canadian Werewolf in New York is a fun book. Michael Andrews is a best-selling author living in New York who is also a werewolf. He's just back from a night roaming the city as a wolf when his ex-girlfriend shows up at his apartment, asking him to help find out what her fiancé is involved in. Michael has heightened smell and strength, thanks to his wolf half, which is helpful when it comes to tracking down the fiancé and the bad guys he's dealing with. This is a light book - some adventure, some humor, some bad guys, a potential love interest that knows he's a werewolf and is okay with that. I was looking for a werewolf book that wasn't a romance or horror and maybe had a bit of a mystery. This was a perfect pick....

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller

March 9, 2024March 9, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

I'll admit, the whole Agatha Christie/ Antiques Roadshow/ Indiana Jones vibe is what drew me to The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder. When Freya learns that Arthur Crockleford, her aunt's best friend and her own mentor, is dead, Freya Lockwood heads back to her hometown. When she gets there, she and Aunt Carole become suspicious of the events surrounding Arthur's death and become convinced they can find answers at an antique retreat Arthur arranged for them to attend before his death. I wanted to like Freya. She's middle-aged, and recently divorced from her negative, controlling, husband. Decades ago, she had been an antiques hunter, repatriating stolen antiques and antiquities, but she left that world due to "what happened in Cairo," which she dwells on a lot. Now that she's single and her daughter is studying in America, maybe it's time for her to rediscover herself. I enjoy her when she's tough and uses her skill and knowledge, but she spends...