Purchased – Page 45 – Carol's Notebook

The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham

March 25, 2020March 25, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

"The main thing to remember in autobiography, I have always thought, is not to let any damned modesty creep in to spoil the story. This adventure is mine, Albert Campion's, and I am fairly certain that I was pretty nearly brilliant in it in spite of the fact that I so nearly got myself and old Lugg killed that I hear a harp quintet whenever I consider it. It begins with me eating in bed." The Case of the Late Pig is narrated by Albert Campion himself, which takes away a bit of the charm of the characters for me. Part of the fun is how he lets others see him as silly and perhaps not too bright, but with him telling the story we don't get that full effect. Also, even though he's telling us what he did and what he thought, he leaves his conclusions until the end. He has to, it's a mystery novel, but would you really...

The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker

March 19, 2020March 19, 2020 by Carol1 Comment

I picked up The Dark Vineyard not long after finishing the first in the Bruno, Chief of Police series. The town of Saint-Denis and the people are just so wonderful, and I'm glad this second in the series was just as good as the first. This time around, Bruno is investigating an arson at a GMO-research facility, a fire that destroyed crops and burned a shed to the ground. At the same time, an American is in town thinking about developing a large wine tourism center in the district. While it would bring jobs, Bruno is worried that it would also change his town. But the Mayor seems to be behind the scheme. Then the two bodies are found, and it becomes (maybe) a case of murder. And who wants to invest in a town where arsons and murders occur? The mystery itself was well-done. We follow Bruno as he talks to people and finds the clues that eventually lead to the...

Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

Reviews for Death in the Family both drew me to the book and made me wary. "A Christie-inspired mystery." "This is an Agathe Christieesque murder mystery." "If you loved Agatha Christie you are going to have a new author to fill that void." I love Christie and that era of mystery in general, but rarely do modern novels actually pull off that feel. While Death in the Family has some of those classic elements, a rich family, an isolated manor, but I feel like "Christie-esque" has come to mean that it's a good puzzle type mystery, but the comparison isn't really fair to Christie or Wegert. I really enjoyed it. It's a good mystery, tense, atmospheric, but our sleuth especially would not fit in a Christie novel; which is neither good or bad. Detective Shana Merchant has relocated to upstate New York after being kidnapped by a serial killer. She is still dealing with her PTSD and flashbacks but has been...

Flowers for the Judge by Margery Allingham

March 12, 2020March 12, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

On a beautiful morning in 1911, Tom Barnabas, a director of the publishing firm Barnabas and Company, left his London house and walked down the street. Somewhere along that street, before he reached the tobacconist’s shop on the corner, he disappeared. His disappearance was never explained – or solved. Twenty years later, another director of the firm disappears. His family turns to Albert Campion for help, but before he can get far on the case the man turns up dead. A great deal of circumstantial evidence points at the victim’s cousin, a young man who is clearly in love with the victim’s widow. The cousin, Mike Wedgwood, is arrested, and the police are quite satisfied. Flowers for the Judge is a true mystery. Mr. Campion here is clever and follows the clues. He allows his intelligence to show throughout. He believes Mike is innocent, as do other members of the family, including Gina, the victim’s widow. And so Mr. Campion...

A Shot in the Dark by Neil Richards and Matthew Costello

March 11, 2020April 16, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

I've listened to several of the Cherringham series by this Richards and Costello, so when I stumbled across A Shot in the Dark, the first in their Mydworth series, I went ahead and picked it up. I enjoy a light mystery novella, and this fit the bill. Lord Harry Mortimer and his new wife, Kat have just arrived in England, when Harry is called to Whitehall on urgent business. So Kat decides to drive herself to their new home, but when she arrives, it's all locked up. She walks across the fields to "nearby" Mydworth Manor where Harry's aunt, Lady Lavinia, lives. As she arrives she hears gunshots, a man falls from a window and more shots are fired in her direction. Not quite what she was expecting. Harry arrives and they search the body and find jewelry in his pockets. The man was Lady Lavinia's driver, who was apparently shot while attempting to rob one of her guests. She asks Harry,...

Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham

March 6, 2020March 6, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

I do have a fondness for mysteries involving art. In Death of a Ghost, a young artist is killed at the showing of a painting, not his painting, one of his mentor's, Lafcadio. Lafcadio, before he died, left instructions to have one of his paintings that he had boxed up shown each year beginning several years after his death, and his wishes have been faithfully carried out by his widow- quite a strong woman by the way, the kind of woman who takes everything life throws at her, straightens her shoulders, and carries on. Campion, luckily, was at the party/showing, so even though he didn't actually witness the murder, as a friend of the family he takes an interest in the mystery. There is a lot of art talk in this one, which I find fascinating. I even took a picture of at least one page and sent it to Amber, since the description of the area where the paint was...