The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle

The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle

by CarolNo Comments
I've read a couple of the previous Bibliophile Mysteries and enjoyed them well enough, so since I'm a sucker for Christmas cozy, I picked up The Twelve Books of Christmas. This time around Brooklyn gets a call on Christmas Eve from her good friend Claire, who is in Scotland. Claire is preparing to marry Cameron, a castle laird, on New Year's Day and wants Brooklyn and Derek to be there. So the couple, along with Brooklyn's parents, fly to Scotland. Claire also hopes that while she's there Brooklyn will help solve a mystery- a dozen Christmas-related books, some quite valuable, have gone missing from the castle library. Of course, there's trouble. Most of the women in town, including the castle's new librarian, seem to be anti-Claire. Then, Brooklyn and Derek find a dead body in one of the castle's closets. They, of course, have to investigate the murder in addition to the missing books - which may or may not be...
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Treats, Tricks, and Trespassing by Kathleen Suzette

Treats, Tricks, and Trespassing by Kathleen Suzette

by CarolNo Comments
Treats, Tricks, and Trespassing picks up six years after the Pumpkin Hollow Mysteries left off. I haven't read any of the Pumpkin Hollow books, but this sounded like a perfect Halloween-ish read, so I picked it up. The author does a good job of introducing the characters, although there are a lot of them. The town itself is fun and quirky, embracing Halloween all year round. Mia and Christy are candy makers and have a cute shop in town. When a local woman is killed in the abandoned mansion, Mia's husband, Detective Ethan Banks, is put in charge of the case, but Mia and Christy decide to do some snooping, and trespassing, on their own. I didn't love the characters, maybe because I didn't know them well. The mystery was okay, with several suspects and a good mix of clues and red herrings. It was fun enough as a seasonal read, but probably not a series I'd pick up outside of...
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Dead to Rights by Jasmine Webb

Dead to Rights by Jasmine Webb

by CarolNo Comments
Who wouldn't love to find out they've inherited a house and bookshop near the sea in Cornwall? And from a relative they didn't even know? Sign me up. It's not going so great for Mack, though. First, someone else is living in her house - a grandmother she never knew. Then, there's a dead body in her bookstore, and somehow the police have settled on her as a main suspect. I liked a lot of things about Dead to Rights. Mack is a good character - funny, tenacious, a bit snarky. Her grandmother is a hoot. The two make a good team and even their bickering is funny. I like the town with the bookstore, Ugly Mug coffeeshop, and amazing hiking trails. I even like the cat. I didn't like how stupid the cops seem to be. Yes, the detectives in cozy mysteries tend to be a bit bumbling, but this was over the top. I didn't like how Mack trusted a...
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The Map Thief by Michael Blanding

The Map Thief by Michael Blanding

by Carol2 Comments
I found The Map Thief absolutely fascinating, not so much because of map dealer turned thief E. Forbes Smiley, but because of all the information about the history of mapmaking and map collecting. I will admit that I did pick it up because it's a true crime story. Smiley was a respected antiquarian map dealer in who ended up over his head and began stealing rare and famous maps from universities and turning around and selling them. Eventually, he got caught, but it was surprising how little security the rare book/map rooms had. And how incomplete the record-keeping was. And collectors and most other dealers never questioned his finds either. My favorite parts of the book were when Blanding spent time explaining the maps that were stolen and their significance. It was well-researched and easy to read. I learned so much about maps, their uses, the history of map making, and the historical figures behind them. I probably won't remember much...
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Murder at the Castle by M.B.Shaw

Murder at the Castle by M.B.Shaw

by CarolNo Comments
Murder at the Castle is the second in the Iris Grey series, and while it can certainly be read as a stand-alone, events from the previous book are referenced. The author gives enough information that a new reader wouldn't be lost, but since that case is why Iris is in Scotland and does affect how she views things, I think it's worth reading. Iris is commissioned to paint a portrait of Kathy Miller, a beautiful American due to marry a wealthy elderly Baron, Jock MacKinnon. MacKinnon's adult children dislike Kathy intensely - she displaced their own mother in the castle and she's much younger than the Baron. The townsfolk don't like her because she has some new ideas about how things around the castle should be run - and she's American. Kathy's been receiving threatening letters, which she wants Iris's help putting a stop to. There's already plenty of tension before the two women's bodies are found buried on the castle...
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Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

by CarolNo Comments
Midnight Riot was so fun, in the way that murder, magic, ghosts, and British slang can sometimes be. Constable Peter Grant is on probation and about to be assigned a post where his days will be filled with paperwork. It is only by (bad?) luck, that he stumbles on a murder scene and meets an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost, a ghost he can see and talk with. Peter ends up being assigned to assist Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who runs the Special Operations Unit, responsible for investigating the "unusual" in London. In this first in the series, the two are dealing with a spike of unusual murders in the city while also trying to broker a deal between the gods and goddess of the Rivers of the Thames. Peter, from whose viewpoint we see the story, is a fabulous character. He has is self-deprecating and firmly rooted in the modern world. He also has an interesting family...
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