Purchased – Page 47 – Carol's Notebook

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...

Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker

March 4, 2020March 4, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

Bruno is the only municipal policeman in the small town of St. Denis, France. He's a good guy, he is not a brooding policeman, he is not corrupt, he is not plagued by guilt, he does not go renegade. He's a good guy. He teaches tennis to local kids, he organizes parades, he makes sure the "hygiene" police don't catch locals selling cheese that doesn't meet the standards. He also cooks and has a wonderful vegetable garden. In general, the people of the town get along, with a couple of minor exceptions. And then the murder occurs. An Algerian grandfather is found brutally murdered in his cabin, a swastika carved into his chest and his medal of honor and a treasured photo missing. Members of the right-wing National Front, a political party that opposes immigration, immediately rise to the top of the suspect list. Given the background between France and Algeria, along with some anti-immigration sentiment, the investigation is...

Mailbox Monday – 2/17

February 17, 2020June 27, 2022 by Carol9 Comments

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. Tell us about your new arrivals by adding your Mailbox Monday post to the linky at mailboxmonday.wordpress.com. I used my Barnes and Noble gift card to get two books (and a coffee and cookie)....

Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

I'm a fan of Albert Campion. I like how he pretends to be a little dull and inoffensive, but is really pretty brilliant, daring and rather charming. The bad guy in Sweet Danger knows him pretty well too. Savanke went on impassively. "I know your success, your association with Scotland Yard. Let me see, you are unmarried, unattached." "Fancy-free," remarked Mr. Campion mildly, "is the term I've always liked.""You are thirty-two years old," the voice went on inexorably. "You are reputed to be comfortably, but not lavishly provided for. You are reckless, astute, and quite extaordinarily courageous.""I take number nine in shoes," said the young man with the toothache with sudden irritation. "I always wash behind my ears, and in my mother's opinion I have a very beautiful tenor voice. Suppose I decide not to play revolutions with you?""I don't think you would be so stupid." Oil has been found in Averna, which is on the Adriatic Sea. Big Oil in the...