3.5 stars out of 5
If it involves a library, it's likely to get my attention; holding that attention is another matter entirely. Clearly, it's a solid series - this is the 18th in the Fethering Mystery books, so just as clearly, plenty of readers are enthusiastic. And fact is, I can't say I didn't enjoy it - I did, and I'd definitely say yes to reading the next one. But for whatever reason, I just didn't feel much snap, crackle or pop.
The story begins at the Fethering Library in West Sussex, where reasonably successful author Burton St. Clair has been invited to speak and promote his popular book. A long-ago friend of Jude Nicholls, who lives in the area, he invites her to attend (part of their long-ago friendship includes a brief affair, but that's not something on which Jude wishes to dwell). She's long since moved on, both figuratively and literally, and she's now a "healer" who uses potions and a touch of psychology to make her clients feel better.
The meet-and-greet session has its ups and downs, the latter of which include a couple of gropes by the not-so-honorary guest; he also manages to antagonize a few others in attendance. That's all well and good and everyone goes home to forgive and forget - all, that is, except one: St. Clair makes it out of the building to his car, but that's as far as he gets before getting very dead.
Needless to say, several people at the library event are not inclined to mourn his demise, including Jude. In fact, once her prior relationship to St. Clair comes to light, she ends up the primary suspect. That, of course, is not okay with Jude; to help ferret out the truth, she enlists the help of her neighbor, Carole Seddon. Apparently, the two women have a history of solving crimes, but their strange, sometimes adversarial relationship was more than a little off-putting to me. Maybe it's because Carole seemed, well, stuffy, while Jude leaned more toward the flower child personality with which it's much easier for me to identify.
The police don't charge Jude with the crime, but they threaten to lock her up if she doesn't back off the investigation (warning the heroine to mind her own business seems to be a staple of the cozy mystery genre). Unlike most of those heroines, though, Jude pays attention; but that warning doesn't apply to Carole, who keeps on digging around. Nor does it stop Jude from investigating the mystery of a missing Polish uncle (a diversion I took to be a clue that the disappearance and St. Clair's murder just might somehow be connected).
Any more details and I'll be in danger of tripping over the spoiler line, so I'll just leave it at that. I will add that while this book stands alone well, I'm pretty sure reading previous books in the series would have added to my enjoyment. And of course, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett (Black Thorn, June 2019); 192 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Ask me on any given day what my favorite mystery/thriller "theme" is, and my answer will be either medical or legal. Back in a much earlier life, I was a legal secretary - and actually looked into training to be a court stenographer (this was before machine transcription took over, of course). On the medical side, authors like Patricia Cornwell and Tess Gerritsen have long been favorites; and as a journalist, I've covered health-care issues long enough to at the very least have a good handle on the terminology.
So when I got the chance to read this book - the first in a series featuring defense attorney Lucius White - despite a backlog of pre-publication review copies from NetGalley publishers languishing in my must-read stack, I simply couldn't say no. The verdict? Very good. Clearly, the author (who is a practicing attorney) has a handle on the minutiae of law as well as a clever mind capable of devising a complex, but believable, plot. It doesn't hurt that he grew up in nearby Cleveland (for an undisclosed reason, I'm totally ignoring his birth in Pittsburgh, but here's a hint: Go Browns!)
At the start of this one, Martin Bower, CEO of Florida's Coastal Regional Hospital, is unceremoniously ejected from his position amid charges of the embezzlement of about $3 million. He turns to long-time friend Lucius for help and Lucius, not entirely convinced that Martin is innocent, agrees to take the case. For better or worse, that pits him against a federal prosecutor whose goal is getting ahead at any cost. But for her, that price may not be all that high; happily for her career, the hospital's attorneys and board members seem more than willing to provide any evidence she can use to ensure Martin's conviction.
Complicating matters is a potentially lucrative takeover of the hospital and surreptitious money transfers that may be covering up the theft of drugs. Besides that, Lucius's in-house companion Leslie, who, besides being hot to trot in the bedroom (and other parts of the house), works at an AIDS clinic that's experiencing an unexplained loss of newly developed drugs. Is it possible there's a connection to the hospital's missing medications? To help in the investigation, Lucius turns to his very competent law partner, Harry Harris, and computer wizard, "Horse" - both very likable additions to the cast of what I assume will be ongoing characters. Everything is resolved rather neatly in the end, with all who deserve comeuppance being appropriately rewarded.
It's all done in a very intriguing but rather complex plot with a ton of characters - all of which taxed my aging brain a bit trying to keep everything and everyone straight, especially those who are sometimes referred to by their first names and other times their last. As for the legal aspect, I personally take great enjoyment in the kind of in-depth explanations that happen here with regularity; but some readers, I think, might find a few of them a bit ponderous.
In particular, I enjoyed the back-and-forths in the courtroom scenes; it's always fun to see the trip-ups and slip-ups by opposing attorneys as they devise and revise strategies for witness interrogations that are designed to captivate - and hopefully sway - the juries while avoiding the judge's wrath. There's plenty of that here, and without giving away any details, I must say Lucius (with help from partner Harry) adds some well-earned "gotcha" notches in his belt. Put another way, if I needed defending in a court of law, I'd want him next to me at the defense table.
Hopefully, nothing I do for the rest of my life will require his services. In the meantime, I'll be content to get my legal "fix" by way of my Kindle - with the next book in this series on my want-to-read radar.
Kaleidoscope by Alan P. Woodruff (Amazon Digital Services LLC, April 2019); 415 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Delightful! It's been a long time since I've read a book with so many characters as engaging as these - starting with book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright. That probably won't come as a surprise to those who found her long ago - this is the 13th book in the series - but she's new to me. And for sure I'll be following her from now on.
The story begins as Brooklyn is with her newly minted hunky former spy husband, Derek, in Paris (she'd met him on a murder case, apparently a book or two ago. Turns out she loves Ian Fleming's James Bond books (another reason I love her), so while Derek chats with a friend they bumped into as they browsed street vendors, she finds and buys a first-edition copy of "The Spy Who Loved Me." As she joins Derek and Ned to show them the book, she spots a suspicious character wearing a hoodie; nothing bad happens, but Ned clearly is upset.
Back home in San Francisco, they visit with another of Derek's spy-days cohorts, Owen, who runs a shop called "Spectre" that sells all kinds spy-related things and manages several very popular escape rooms. There, she meets a group of young would-be writers, a couple of whom work at Spectre. Brooklyn also offers her newly purchased book for a display that might help boost Owen's business - and he snaps up the offer.
Owen then puts the book on display under lock and key. Not long after that, though, there's a break-in - and one of the young writers ends up dead (several items have been stolen, but thankfully, the book is safe). Derek gets a sad letter from Ned, who refers to a "list" in a "book." But what book? Could it be he's referring to Brooklyn's rare find and, if so, was it the real target of the break-in? Even more important, can Brooklyn and Derek figure out what's going on before someone else gets killed?
I can't give out the details, but I can say it was great fun learning the answers to those questions. For the record, I also enjoyed reading the details of Brooklyn's book-binding and restoration work, and the recipes at the end of the book sound yummy even though anything with more than three ingredients isn't likely to get made in my kitchen. Loved this one, and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
The Book Supremacy by Kate Carlisle (Berkley, June 2019); 332 pp.
3 stars out of 5
Ooh, I love him - but does he love me as much? Ooh, he smiled - but wait; his lip curled ever so slightly. What did I do to make him angry? Oh, silly me - a bug must have flown up his nose. But why didn't he tell me, and why didn't I see it fly out? I know I'd have sneezed, so why didn't he? Silly me again because I still love him. Don't I? Ah, but if he lied about a bug, what else is he hiding from me?
And there you have it - at least two-thirds of this book. So suffice it to say that with a main character this insecure, it'll never make it to my list of favorites. But bear with me: There's also a pretty good story in here - a thrilling one, even - it's just that after the first chapter, all I cared about was throttling Chloe's incessant second-guessing to the point of hoping that Dan not only wanted to do her in, but would be successful. Put another way, if my new (or in my case, old) husband treated me anywhere near the way Dan treats Chloe, he'd be toast. And waste even a second worrying whether his self-centered, controlling behavior toward me was MY fault? Fuhgettaboutit!
Still, the writing is excellent, and done in such a way that it's very easy to read. There's a rather chilling plot, beginning with Chloe's whirlwind marriage to the man of her dreams (well, depending on which hour you ask her) and a honeymoon that takes her away from her physical therapist job and caring for an ailing grandmother who would rather she didn't. But her longed-for honeymoon could put things right; that is, until Dan pulls a last-minute hustle that takes her to a place she didn't know they were going and doesn't want to be. And then, for reasons he doesn't want to reveal, he insists that they stay there. Forever.
Clearly, Dan isn't the man Chloe thought she married - and now she fears the worst (that part's nothing new; I'm sure she'd have feared the worst even if he'd taken her to Disneyland). And putting the blame on him goes only so far; it seems she's brought a few secrets of her own to their secluded location. Twists and turns as the end nears add some spark - once I got to the last quarter of the book, I didn't put it down till I got to the last page.
Overall, then, it does have thriller appeal - and I'm sure many readers of this genre will love it. Even if it's not quite my cup of tea, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall (Bookouture, June 2019); 314 pp.
4 stars out of 5
A clever twist on a classic real-life murder case makes this book - the fourth featuring former FBI agent Brigid Quinn - a standout. I've not read any of the preceding books, but the excellent writing and tough but likable lead character have convinced me this one won't be my last.
The gruesome real-life murder of the Clutter family was chronicled in the late Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" (and for the record, I'm old enough to remember both the murders and the almost astonishing success of the book). Here, though, the author explores the possibility - discussed and mostly discounted at that time - that at least one other person was involved besides the two men who were later apprehended, found guilty and executed. Further, she posits that those two men, and whoever was with them, may have committed similar murders of a family in Florida not long before the attack on the Clutters.
It is from that premise that this book develops, beginning with the somewhat early release of long-time prisoner Jerry Beaufort from the same prison at which the Clutter murderers were housed. Now an old man, he wants to live out the rest of his life in relative anonymity - but there could be a fly in that ointment: One of the executed killers, he believes, named him in an eleventh-hour confession to the Catholic priest who was the prison chaplain at the time. Beaufort's goal is to find that priest and make sure his secret stays secret. After all, times have changed; if his actions come to light, DNA and other evidence not available 30 years ago could be used to determine his guilt.
As the plot would have it, Brigid and Carlo, her philosophy professor husband of three years, are living not far from the prison. A former Catholic priest, Carlo not incidentally spent time as an assistant chaplain there. The details I'll leave for you to read for yourself, but it's pretty clear early on that the lives of Beaufort, Brigid and Carlo will become entwined in some pretty scary ways.
It's a well-written, easy-to-read story; but aside from the unique tie-in with the real-life murders, the basic plot isn't too different from other books I've read (but for the record, I enjoyed those, as I did this one). As a senior citizen myself, reading about strong characters who aren't young whippersnappers made for a refreshing change.
One thing that struck me, though, is that I found myself more "connected" to Brigid's husband, Carlo, than to Brigid herself. That's reminiscent of J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas; I like Eve, but her hunky husband with a dark past, Roarke, is one of my all-time favorite characters (now that I think about it, Brigid shares quite a few similarities with Eve). Likewise, on one of my favorite TV shows, "Madame Secretary," I'm more drawn to Elizabeth McCord's husband, Henry - played by Tim Daly - than to Tia Leoni's title character.
As I said at the beginning, though, I'm really looking forward to the next installment, and I hope to see it soon. Meantime, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this one.
We Were Killers Once by Becky Masterman (Minotaur Books, June 2019); 312 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Sometimes, you just need a little nudge. I've seen this book on best-seller lists for months now, but thinking it fell outside my usual mystery-and-thriller genre, I paid little attention. Then came high words of praise from a friend on Facebook, and I took another look, realized it has elements of mystery and decided to jump in. The verdict? No wonder it's been a top-seller for so long and garnered so many 5-star ratings. Add mine to that list; in fact, if I could give it more stars, I would - I was absolutely blown away.
Taken as a whole, the story does seem a bit implausible: A young girl nicknamed Kya grows up in a remote North Carolina marsh, abandoned first by her mother, then her siblings and finally her father (the latter not a moment too soon). Eventually, she learns that human life exists beyond the walls of her tiny shack, but she's none too thrilled at the prospect of interacting with any of it. Just the agony of growing up alone, the heartbreak of losing your entire family and the eventual realization that they're not coming back, plus the knowledge that her hurt is so deep that she'll never be able to trust anyone were enough to bring tears to my own eyes (more than once). Her story is told so eloquently and engrossingly, in fact, that not once did it even cross my mind that it probably couldn't really happen.
The "mystery" part comes in at the beginning, when local football hero Chase Andrews, now grown up and married, is found dead under an abandoned outlook tower in the marshland - an apparent accident. But on further investigation, clues emerge that suggest his death might have been murder. And who might be a better suspect than the so-called "marsh girl" - the one who's shunned by everybody in surrounding civilization - and the one who is believed to have been unceremoniously dumped by Chase after spending, euphemistically speaking, quality time with him.
In between all this is the story of Kya's coming of age and, with help from a friend she loves but who, like everyone else around her, she can't trust, becomes a widely respected expert on marsh flora and fauna. It's an emotion-filled adventure packed full of the ups and downs of love, hate, betrayal, resilience and, of course, murder. My own emotions ran right along with Kya's, and it almost seemed that I sucked in a breath at the beginning and didn't let it out till the end (with a huge whoosh, for the record). Also for the record, it haunted my head for days afterward - totally unlike most books I read that I've forgotten the main character's name half an hour after I turn off my Kindle. Mostly, I think, I just wanted to wrap my arms around Kya and assure her everything would be all right - even with the full realization that she could never believe me.
In short, this is a must-read masterpiece. If you haven't grabbed a copy before, do it now. Awesome read!
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (B.P. Putnam's Sons, August 2018 ); 384 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Last month, I accepted an offer of advance copies of two books featuring Susan "Sukey" Reynolds, a civilian scene-of-crime officer who works with the local police department (Death at Dearly Manor, which I read, is the second in a fairly lengthy series and this is the third). Despite reservations about both being so-called cozy mysteries, I thoroughly enjoyed the previous book and was eager to start this one.
It's also enjoyable, though not quite as much as its predecessor. Mostly, I think, the plot just wasn't quite as interesting to me personally, and the cast of characters was a little harder to keep straight. On the other hand, I didn't lose a whit of enthusiasm for Sukey (nor her police colleague and significant other, Jim Castle); if I can get my hands on other books in the series, I fully intend to read them. I love that while Sukey gets deeply involved in ongoing investigations, unlike most cozy heroines, she actually listens to what others tell her and doesn't go off the deep end on her own.
This one begins as Sukey is called to a manor house at which there's been a break-in. It is, it appears, one of several such art-and-valuables burglaries in the Cotswolds. Better still, the police reel in a suspect - a man Sukey has never laid eyes on before - but when he sees Sukey, he looks shaken and calls her by a different name. Confusion abounds, and when the suspect turns up missing, the safety of Sukey (and by extension, that of her son Fergus, who lives with her) is called into question. That fear escalates when other bodies turn up, all murdered in the same fashion.
Is Sukey next on the list? Can Jim and his department cohorts get to the bottom of things before something dreadful happens to her? Needless to say, since there are several more books in the series, readers can safely assume that Sukey makes it out alive. But as for the details, you'll just have to read it for yourself. Excellent series!
Death at Beacon Cottage by Betty Rowlands (Bookouture, June 2019); 249 pp.
5 stars out of 5
The author is one of my all-time favorites (meaning anything he writes, I want to read). And from the start four books ago, his "Memory Man" series was a big hit with me. This one, the fifth, adds another five-star entry.
Detective Amos Decker is a very intriguing character; as a result of a football injury, he developed hyperthymesia, which causes him to remember every detail of every single day (whether he wants to or not) as well as synesthia abilities - associating colors with people and objects. But I have to admit my initial attraction was at a far more human level: He played football at THE Ohio State University (go bucks!!), and the aforementioned football injury that ended his sports career happened on the first play as a member of the Cleveland Browns (yep, my favorite NFL team - needless to say, I live in Ohio).
Earlier in the series, Decker's wife and daughter were murdered (imagine being forced to remember every detail of that for the rest of your life), and in this book, he's returned to Burlington, Ohio, to visit the cemetery as he always does on his daughter Molly's birthday. An aging, tattered and battered man interrupts Decker, who realizes it's Meryl Hawkins, his first arrest for murder back when he was a newbie on the force. Released from prison because of a terminal illness, Hawkins knew of Decker's annual cemetery visits, thanks to information from Decker's former partner, Mary Lancaster. When he gets Decker's reluctant attention, Hawkins insists he was not guilty as charged and pleads with Decker to prove his innocence.
That's not a project Decker wants to undertake, given that it could mean he was instrumental in putting an innocent man behind bars. Besides that, Decker's boss back at the FBI isn't happy that he's thinking of going rogue yet again - and he orders Decker's current partner, Alex Jamison, who's with him in Burlington, back to the office (as an aside, another personal coinkidink: My mother's maiden name was Jamison).
But when evidence turns up that Hawkins might have been wrongly convicted, Decker (and his memories) can't walk away even if it jeopardizes his FBI work. Complicating matters further is that a personal connection means Lancaster, who was willing to help out, is forced to recuse herself from the investigation - leaving Decker pretty much on his own. On the plus side, Jamison contacts Decker's old friend Melvin Mars, who insists on helping despite Decker's protests. The two make a great combination, and that makes for a great story that's both complex and exciting.
For the record, this book stands well on its own, but I have no doubt I enjoyed it more because I'd read its predecessors (which I recommend that others new to the series should do as well, not only for that reason, but simply because they're all so enjoyable). As for me, I say keep 'em coming!
Redemption by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing, April 2019); 433 pp.
If it involves a library, it's likely to get my attention; holding that attention is another matter entirely. Clearly, it's a solid series - this is the 18th in the Fethering Mystery books, so just as clearly, plenty of readers are enthusiastic. And fact is, I can't say I didn't enjoy it - I did, and I'd definitely say yes to reading the next one. But for whatever reason, I just didn't feel much snap, crackle or pop.
