Review: Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

Author: Alice LePlante
Publisher /Format: Atlantic Monthly Press (2011), Hardcover, 320 pages
Subject: murder, aging, alzheimer's disease
Genre: murder mystery
Source: e-galley from the publisher via NetGalley
Rating: 4.8 of 5

Brilliant! A murder mystery interwoven with a look deep into the mind of an Alzheimer's patient.  I've read several other books about demetia this year, so I think I was expecting more same old same old, but Alice LePlante has definitely written something fresh and provocative.  As a mystery, it's first rate and as a treatise on mental illness it's not far behind.

As Dr. Jennifer White, a renowned orthopedic hand surgeon drifts in and out of periods of coherent thought, we take a journey with her through well-remembered long -term memories of childhood, early adulthood and raising her children, her early career, her marriage, and then through the terrifying lapses of short-term memory - of not knowing who these familiar looking faces are, of waiting for visitors who will never come, of escapes from her care-giver, and ultimately of her confinement to a more secure facility.  We see the patient from within her warped and failing brain synapses, and from the view of her daughter, her son, her mentor, and the detective investigating the murder of Jennifer's life-long friend, found dead with four fingers of her hand surgically removed.  Did Jennifer kill her? If she did, could or should she be tried given her current mental state?  Can she remember?  If she didn't, who else would have had the surgical skills to amputate fingers that cleanly?

It is a fascinating study, a thrilling murder mystery with a stunning surprise ending, and a work that definitely makes the reader anxious to see what will follow this fantastic debut.

Many thanks to Atlantic Grove for making the ARC available through Net Galley.

Review: The Sherlockian

Author: Graham Moore
Publisher/Format: Twelve (2010), Hardcover, 368 pages  
Characters: Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Harold White, Alex Cale
Subject: Missing diaries of Arthur Conan Doyle
Setting: London, New York, Switzerland
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: ARC from the publisher

The author claims this is a book of historical fiction. It is certainly heavy on the fiction. I am nowhere close to being an expert on Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle so I'm unable to judge whether the history is accurately portrayed.  I didn't have to read the author's notes to decide that he probably took a lot of liberty with history, and  I had to suspend a lot of belief to get through this double layered story.

The reader is presented a mystery - ala Sherlock Holmes- with many quotes from the venerable clue solver, about events that took place between 1890 and the early 1900's in England, and events that took place in the US in 2010.  The 2010 story involves a young member of the Baker Street Irregulars--Harold  White --who sets out to solve the murder of one of the other members --Alex Kale.  Alex claimed to have been in possession of Arthur Conan Doyle's missing diaries covering a crucial period in his history.  In the meantime, the other story gives us the details of the events as they "actually happened" during the missing diary period.  How the two tie together is revealed at the end.  The stories galloped along, and were fun to read...as long as you are not interested in total historic accuracy.  The device of the two stories running parallel was well done and held my interest.   I'd really be interested in reactions from Sherlock Holmes fans in that Sherlock himself played only a minor role in the story.

Many thanks to Hachette Book Group for providing a review copy.

Review: Too Many Murders

Author: Colleen McCullough
Format: Simon & Schuster (2009), Hardcover, 371 pages
Characters: Detective Carmine Delmonico, Desdemona Delmonico
Subject: murder and espionage
Setting: small town Connecticut
Series: Carmine Delmonico novels
Genre: Mystery- police procedural
Source: public library

Aptly titled, there were almost too many murders to keep track of in this mystery.  At first I thought I'd never be able to keep all the players straight without a scorecard, but that proved to be an unfounded worry.  Suddenly on April 3rd, twelve people are murdered in the small town of Holloman Connecticut.  Police detective Captain Carmine Delmonico is faced with not only trying to solve each of them, but trying to figure out whether the police are dealing with one murderer or twelve totally unrelated deaths.  Each murder was separate in place, method, and discovery. Some of the victims worked together, but others seemed to have no connection to any of the others.

McCullough uses some very interesting police investigative techniques that allow the reader to track these crimes and the police who are tasked with finding the answers.  In doing so, we are quickly and aptly able to follow all the separate threads.  It was a tightly woven story that kept me on the edge of my chair, and surprised me several times.  Even the very ending is a surprise.  I will not spoil it any more than that.  And I will definitely be going to look for others in this series.  In fact, according to FictFact there's a new one due out later this month!  I'm off to find it.

Review: A Bad Day For Pretty

Author: Sophie Littlefield
Format: ARC galley 304 pages
Characters: Stella Hardesty, Sheriff "Goat" Jones
Subject: crime
Setting: non-specific town in the tornado belt
Series:  "Bad Day for...."
Genre: crime fiction
Source: Library Thing Early Review Program
Challenge: ARCs completed

Stella Hardesty makes her living "convincing" abusive males they really don't want to be abusive any more.  Her methodology is best described as extra-legal, and she withholds most of the details from her beau the local sheriff.  This episode of her adventures is the sequel to A Bad Day for Sorry, which I have not read, but I don't think that created any problem in understanding and enjoying this one.

Stella is called by a former client to help prove that her husband is not guilty of a murder he is suspected of.  While she's investigating this, Stella is still recovering from physical wounds suffered in a shooting during her previous adventures, and she is dealing with the sudden reappearance of Goat's ex-wife Brandy.  Or is she an ex-wife?  She's also breaking in a mysteriously adopted dog, training a new partner, and feeling quite jealous at the sudden arrival of a female forensic team member who obviously has her sights set on Goat also.

The plot in this one is somewhat convoluted, but I loved the characters, and I adored Stella's smart-ass take on life.  She is not going to let any man get the better of her, having already killed abusive husband #1.  Nuf said.  I don't want to ruin a solid read.  It's not great crime fiction, but it's more than just chick-lit.  Littlefield has given us a character who has much potential for future adventures.  Think Kinsey Milhone with a chip on her shoulder.

I received this free copy for review from the Library Thing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Case of the Missing Servant

Author: Tarquin  Hall
Format: audio book 8 hrs, 23 minutes, equivalent 340  pgs
Characters: Vish Puri, Rumpie, Tubelight, Facecream, Flush
Subject: solving crime in India (non-fiction)
Setting: modern day India
Series: Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator Series
Genre: mystery - private detective
Source: Overdrive download from public library
Challenge: Support your local library, Thrillers and Suspense, Audio  Books

I thoroughly enjoyed this one.  The author manages to take a basic mystery cozy format and give us a well drawn portrait of life in modern day India by contrasting the lives of haves and have-nots.  Vish Puri is a fascinating, intelligent, well-educated, detective who lives with his "Mummie-ji" (think Grandma Mazur from Janet Evanovitch), his wife Rumpie (she calls him "Chubbie" and tries unsuccessfully to regulate his caloric intake) and several servants who are well paid and well treated.

Puri's office crew all have wonderfully descriptive nicknames (they call him "Boss") -Tubelight, Flush, Facecream-- and they go about helping him not only serve a large clientele of parents researching prospective spouses for the arranged marriages so common in India, but also helping to prove the innocence of a famous lawyer accused of the murder of his servant Mary who has disappeared.  The family only knows her name was Mary and she was not from their town.  No last name, no picture, no registration papers, etc.  Puri smells a rat and goes about trying to find Mary (how many gazaillion women in India are named Mary?) find out if she was murdered, and if so, who did it.

The portrait of India reminded me of Alexander McCall Smith's loving portrait of Botswana in the 1st Ladies Detective Agency series.  Vish Puri is a believable, likeable detective and readers should hope that more of his adventures are forthcoming.

Review: A Fatal Grace

Author: Louise Penny
Format: audio -8 discs (10 hrs), 368 pages equivalent
Characters: Armand Gamache, Jean Guy Beauvoir
Subject: murder in a small town
Setting: Three Pines, outside Montreal
Series: The Three Pines Mysteries
Genre: mystery, detectives
Source: public library audio book



Once again, Louise Penny takes us to that idyllic village in the Pines outside Montreal, where we all want to go on our vacation to experience the beauty, the quiet, the inhabitants whom we are beginning to regard now as friends.  In this 2nd of the Three Pines Mystery series, we even begin to like that eccentric old lady Ruth, the poet, the head of the volunteer fire department.

Inspector Gamache and his team must find out who killed a woman who was electrocuted on a frozen pond while watching the town's annual Boxing Day curling match.

The fact that absolutely no one in the town liked the victim, or even seemed to know much about her, makes the job even harder.  Penny is beginning to hit her stride in this one, as she offers us several different possibilities for the perpetrator, introduces some new characters, and expands on the character of Armand Gamache that we met in her first book "Still Life."

When we finally figure it out (or did we?) there's still several chapters left, and we find perhaps we didn't get it right after all.

I listened to this in audio and it's such a treat to hear the bi-lingual give and take, the elegance of the Quebecois as they go about day to day life.  To read (or listen) to these books is to fall in love with characters, a town, a region. I can't wait to read more.


Challenge: Supoort Your Local Library, Audio books, Thrillers Suspence and Mystery

Mini-Review: The Black Echo

By now most of the literate western world is aware of Michael Connelly's Harry (Heronimous) Bosch-- a rugged individualist with great detective instincts.  I finally got around to reading him last fall when I got an ARC of The Brass Verdict and decided I wanted to go back to the beginning of this fascinating character.  Black Echo is the first of what is now up to fifteen adventures.

With still vivid memories of his days serving in Vietnam, Bosch is called to investigate the murder of someone who served with him. In a plot with many twists, and indelible characters who keep us guessing as to who is on which side of good or bad, Connelly presents us with a protagonist who shows humanity along with ingenuity. Paired with a female FBI agent, Bosch is soon on the trail of bank robbers who seem to be tied to his homicide victim. There are Internal Affairs investigators, pompous Police Captains, and officious FBI operatives, but somehow Connelly avoids stereotyping. Definitely recommended.



Challenges: , Audio Books, Thrillers Suspense, Support Your Local Library

Review: Death of a Valentine

Author: M.C. Beaton
Format: Hardback, 246 pages
Characters: Hamish Macbeth, Josie McSween
Subject: murder, romantic entrapment
Setting: Scottish Highlands
Series: Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Genre: mystery- cozy, police procedural
Source: ARC from Hachette Books

Hamish Macbeth finally goes to the altar??  

The story opens with Hamish standing before the altar as the minister asks the familiar "If any amongst you know of any reason why this man should not be joined to this woman...."

After being assigned a wee lassie female police constable as his assistant, Hamish is confronted with a series of murders, and he suspects they're related.  While he tries to avoid the amorous advances of Constable Josie McSween, he manages to investigate, and solve the crimes. Throughout the story though the reader anxiously waits to see.  Does Josie get her man?

Hamish Macbeth fans would lynch any reviewer who tells!  If you are a fan of this wonderful cozy police procedural series set in the Scottish highlands, you will surely enjoy this one.  If you've not read any before, it works as a stand alone.  And I'll never tell............


Challenge:ARC

Review: The Body in the Cast

Author: Katherine Hall Page

Format: 275 pages, hardback
Characters: Faith Fairchild, Penny Bartlett, Tom Fairchild
Subject: murder, catering, movie making
Setting: fictional town of Aleford, Massachusetts
Series: Faith Fairchild Mysteries
Genre: mystery- amateur sleuth
Source: public library


A well-developed mystery featuring amateur sleuth, Faith Fairchild.  This is the fifth in the series, but the first I have read.  Although there are references to previous episodes, the story stands alone quite well.

Faith Fairchild, married to the local minister, mother of two pre-schoolers, runs a catering business "Have Faith."  She is hired to provide food to the cast and crew of a big Hollywood movie being filmed in their small town outside of Boston. The film is to be a modern take on The Scarlett Letter. At the same time, the town is having an election with an unheard slate of three people running for one vacancy on the town select board.  One of the candidates is royally detested by most people in town.

As the filming begins, bodies start turning up, discovered by Faith.  Her black bean soup seems to be the culprit in a mass food poisoning that hits the entire crew. And everytime these incidents occur, filming must be delayed, and the director goes into a frenzy over his budget.

There is a cast of typical hollywood divas, under-appreciated crew members, spoiled children, all harboring enough secrets to keep NSA busy decoding for a year.

I enjoyed this book and will certainly look for at least one more in the series.  Faith seems to be a tick above the standard amateur sleuth.  She is helpful, thoughtful and quite intuitive, but does not strike off on her own, put herself in danger, or forget to involve the local police.  A thoroughly pleasant book with the added feature of recipes for several of the offerings from "Have Faith" catering.






Challenges: Audio Books, Thrillers-Suspense-Mystery,  Support Your Local library,

Review: A Fountain Filled with Blood

Author: Julie Spencer-Fleming
Format: audio, 11 discs, 12 hours, 320 page equivalent
Narrator: Suzanne Toren
Subject: gay bashing, murder, environmental impact from developments
Setting: Upstate New York
Genre: mystery-police procedural + amateur sleuth
Source: Public library Inter-library loan



In this second of the series, Spencer-Fleming gives us another great thriller.  I really enjoy the combo of the amatuer sleuth, Clare Ferguson, priest of the local Episcopal Church (and oh, by the way, retired Army helo pilot) and the professional crime fighter, police chief Russ Van Arsdale (oh,by the way, retired Army MP).

The story begins with the vicious attack on the town's Medical Examiner, who just happens to be gay, and shifts quickly to a demonstration against a resort development on the site of some alleged PCBs.  Here we meet Russ's mother, a real pistol of an active elder, who gets herself thrown in jail by her son for demonstrating without a permit.

There is more murder and mayhem, and an incredible helo scene (we KNEW sooner or later Clare was going to fly again!).  So no spoilers, but this plot was gut churning, and there were enough suspects to keep three police forces busy.  I don't do spoilers, so we'll leave the story line there.

The issue of gays and same sex marriage is treated with delicacy and compassion, but in the end, I couldn't quite figure out if the issue of gay bashing was a red-herring to hide the real reason for the crimes.

I do have very mixed feelings about the blossoming romantic relationship between the two main characters however.  We have yet to meet Russ' wife--she's always off working on her curtain business, and Spencer-Fleming has the two protagonists playing with fire.  I can't wait til book #3 to see if sparks ignite.


Challenges: Support Your Local library 2/50 , Thrillers and Suspense 2/12 , Audio Books 2/20.

Review: Tooth and Nail by Ian Rankin

Title: Tooth and Nail
Author:  Ian Rankin
Format: audio: 8 discs (9 + hrs)
Characters: John Rebus
Setting: London
Series: Inspector Rebus
Genre: mystery - police procedural
Publication: 2001, Recorded books
Source: public library

I have another Rankin Exit Music to read as an ARC, and since that is supposed to be the last (#16) in the series, I decided I wanted to read at least one of the earlier ones (this is #3) before reading the last.

Inspector Rebus is a dour Scots detective summoned to London to assist the local police in solving a series of nasty murders by a perpetrator dubbed 'the wolfman' because of the bite marks found on the stomachs of each of the victims.  Not readily accepted (or easily understood) by several of the London team, Rebus has a tendency to stalk out on his own.

We have the divorced wife, the rebellious teenage daughter, a rather straight-laced (as far as Rebus is concerned) London detective, a delightfully rambunctious judge, and a shabby love interest, for backup characters.  A well written plot give us hints of the killer's motivation and identify, but not enough to spoil the story. A good solid police procedural.

I'm looking forward to reading more of these in this series.

Review: In the bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Rev Clare Fergusson, retired Army helo pilot, sports car driver, and admitted tomboy, has only been assigned to her upstate New York parish for a week when she discovers an abandoned newborn on the church steps.  The baby has a note pinned to it asking that he be given to a couple from the church for adoption.

Russ Van Alstyne, former MP, has been Chief of Police of the small force in his hometown  since he retired from the Army 8 years ago.  He does not like the couple designated to be the adoptive parents.

When the priest and the policeman meet up, we don't see sparks fly, but the embers have been lit.  Together, they go about trying to find the parents of the baby.  The mother turns up murdered, and the plot thickens.  The Chief wants to pin it on the obnoxious attorneys named in the note, but Clare wants to see the good in everyone and refuses to believe they could have murdered a young woman just to get a baby.  She keeps galloping off on her own; he keeps having to dig her out (sometimes literally) of the messes she gets into.

This is an extremely well plotted book.  We don't really get a hint of the true murderer until close to the end.  There is action adventure (perhaps a bit too much description), the barest hint of promised romance, and characters who ring true.

When I finished reading it, I went directly to the library catalog to discover happily that there are several more in this series.  I can't wait.

edited to add a title to the post duh!!!

Review: Fire and Ice by J.A. Jance

One of my favorites has always been J.P. Beaumont, the irrascible go-it-alone homicide detective who has retired from the Seattle PD to join SHIT-- the Washington state Attorney General's  Special Homicide Investigating Team. I also have enjoyed the Joanna Brady series about the sheriff in Arizona married to a writer, mother of a teenager and a one year old.

In a previous story, Partners in Crime, author Jance had these two law professionals working together in a story that was very exciting. This 2nd attempt to pair them on a case just doesn't do as much for me. I found it very off-putting when each chapter switches back and forth constantly between in Seattle and Arizona.

Beaumont is investigating the brutal murders of 6 unidentified (and badly burned) females, while Joanna is trying to solve the murder of an ATV park manager. I could see almost from the beginning where the story was going, but Jance took so much time backfilling the history of each of the protagonists, that the current story almost took a back seat.

Her characters seemed almost cardboard in this one, and the story seemed contrived to try to fit them together. These two characters are strong, likable, and have great stories to tell on their own. I hope Jance sticks to two separate series and doesn't try to force this relationship too much in the future.

Amateur female sleuths

Thanks to my sister Cheli (she of Cheli's Shelves) --aka Queen of the Cozies, I seem to be picking up quite a few 'cozies' featuring amateur detectives who happen to be female. While I can't handle a steady diet of cozies, I think of them as treats to 'cleanse the pallet' between doses of hefty, heavy, depressing, or horrifying reads. The cozy mystery always has a lovable, almost huggable hero or heroine, a plot that's relatively easy on the brain cells, settings that inspire (in fact I've often thought as I finish one of these that I'd love to visit the scene), and believable, almost happily-ever-after endings.

Here are a few that have tickled my fancy in the past few months:

Sr. Mary Helen in...........

A Novena for Murder

by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie

 A sweet and sassy cozy written by a nun featuring a 70 year old nun as the amateur sleuth.  Sent  against her wishes to her alma mater to "retire,' Sr. Mary Helen finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation, helping a former student who is now a San Francisco police detective find out the who and why.

I went to a school exactly like Mt. St Francis (mine was Mt St Agnes) and our dear Auntie whom you've heard me speak of so fondly lived right where this is set, so I could really relate to this.  Besides, some of the main suspects (and the victim) were Portuguese, so this was a no-brainer for me to pick up and read.  It's not Nobel Prize lit, but it's fun. A nice afternoon's read--perfect for the fog and rain of the San Francisco setting.
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 Dead Cat Bounce

by Sarah Graves

"Home Repair is Homicide" Series

This was originally slotted to be a group read by our Read Around Maine group, but that group seems to have dissolved. I decided to read it when I needed something less cerebral than some of the other books on my list. It was actually a delightful little mystery, set in small town Maine, capturing the flavor of the town, the culture of those living by the sea and making their living from the sea. Jacobia Triptee lives in a falling down Victorian house which she is remodeling, has an ex-husband who is the proverbial jerk, and a teenage son trying to adjust to living in a small town after having lived in a big city.

When the dead body shows up in the pantry, and her friend confesses to the murder, Jake sets out to prove her friend innocent. There are several suspects, and the plot is convoluted enough to make it really interesting. This was the first in the "Home Repair is Homicide Series" and I'll definitely look for more.
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Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon
by Nancy Atherton

I've read several Aunt Dimity stories before, and enjoy them alot. I've just started this one and suspect that it will be neither more or less pleasant than those before it.  Lori Shepherd, the mother of twins, moves to a tiny village in the Cottswolds, and there makes the acquaintance of "aunt Dimity" --actually a haunted journal who ''writes" to Lori explaining and/or giving clues to the mystery du jour.  The stories are almost non-sensical, but the sense of whimsey and the pleasant English countryside setting redeems them.

Wednesday Earplugs- the Weekly audios

This week's audios were mostly mysteries...I also read Shanghai Girls  (my first Lisa See) and The Mysterious Affair at Styles (my first Agatha Christie) in an audio format.  Both of these got their own post (click the links) because they were Soooooo good.  I definitely intend to read more by both authors, either in paper or on audio.

The others I 'ear-read' were

Death is a Cabaret

Deborah Morgan
Narrated by Reed McColm


This was quite a nice little surprise. I chose this as my audio read to balance the heavier pschycological and fantasy reads I was doing: A Circle of Souls, and Spellbinder, were pretty meaty for me.

Anyway this delightful little cozy tells the story of an auction of the Empress Josephine's tea cabaret. I had no idea until I read this that a 'cabaret' is a tea set...and what a specimen this one was.

Our protagonist, antique dealer Jeff Talbott, a 'retired' FBI agent, who is trying to find the long lost Cabaret for an elderly client who claims it was her mother's, finds himself on Mackinaw Island  at a weekend auction when his rival 'picker' and then the auctioneer are found dead.

The supporting cast includes a rich couple who love to dress up, a trio of loony ladies from the South, a stuffy hotel staff, and the local police department who are all too happy to have a 'fed' solve the murders for them.....they haven't had one in almost 50 years!

It was a fun audio, well plotted, and a little deeper than I expected. I'm going to look for more in the series.
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Brass Verdict
Michael Connelly
narrated by Peter Giles

This was an ARC I received earlier from Hachette Audio.  I had never read any of the Harry Bosch stories, and was curious to see what all the hype was about.  This particular story actually has Harry in a secondary role to that of Mick Holler, a defense attorney who suddenly finds himself inheriting the entire caseload of a recently and unexpectedly deceased (as in murdered) fellow attorney.

Mick has been 'out of the loop' for over a year recovering from addiction to pain killers, but he accepts the appointment from the Chief Justice of the state superior court, rounds up his ex-wife (who is still a great case monitor) and her current significant other (who is a great investigator) and gets to work on the case load.  Paramount in his work schedule is the defense of a big money movie mogul who insists that his trial cannot be delayed.  He is accused of killing his wife and her lover.  Messy, messy....

As Mick clashes with Bosch, who is trying to investigate the original lawyer's murder, they both come to an understanding that the two murders may be related.  Connelly leads us on with tantalizing leads, excellent characters, and a story that can't be put down. 
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Review: A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi

All I can say is Wow!  Anyone who knows me can tell you that I don't normally read scary stories, stories about child murders, and I normally shun anything that is about the "paranormal."  So why am I reading so many of them lately?  A Circle of Souls was sent to my by the author Dr. Preetham Grandhi back in July and I'm ashamed that I haven't gotten to it sooner.  It's a winner!

I've finished it, and I'm not quaking in my boots, and I don't think I'm going to have nightmares.  While the subject matter is unpleasant, the writing is so crisp, clear and centered on the good guys that it quickly becomes a real page turner.

This debut book is extremely well-written, has a tightly woven plot, and well-developed characters.  Beginning with seemingly separate stories: a brutally murdered young girl and another young girl with hellacious nightmares, the author moves us inexhorably toward the meeting of these two separate stories and blends them believably into one.  In the beginning,  there are no clues to the murder, and no reason (either physical or mental) for the nightmares, but they are related, and the pychiatrist treating the young nightmare victim intuits their relationship from drawings made by his patient.  As he searches for the meaning of her drawings, and recognizes the locale in the pictures, he anguishes over how to help his patient and whether he should share his intuitions with the special FBI agent who has been called in to help local police investigate the case.

This is not a normal murder mystery suspense thriller.  The characters are the strong point in this story: even the bad guys are well developed, with sound background and motivation presented to pull the reader in.  There is a large dose of the paranormal entwined with Indian cultural traditions, and Jamaican/West African folklore.  There are several side issues and players building enough doubt in the reader's mind to make it interesting and challenging to figure out 'whodunit.'

It was written in short chapters that encouraged the reader to read 'just one more' before putting the book down, and in the end, to just continue reading to the climax.  Let's hope that Preetham Grandhi has more such well-written tales up his sleeve. 

Just a note:  I find it fascinating that two of the best books I've read this year are debut crime stories written by doctors...the other was "Wife of the Gods" by Dr. Kwei Quartey.  We may not be able to read their prescriptions, but their books are great.

Edited later to add a note:  I just found out that A Circle of Souls has just been announced as the winner of the General prize for Fiction in the 6th Annual National Best Books Awards sponsored by USA Book News. Congratulations to Dr. Grandhi.  It's nice to know others thought as much of this book as I did.

Hidden in Plain View Thursdays

Monk's Hood: A Medieval Whodunit

By Ellis Peters

Welcome to the weekly feature where we use Random.org to pick a book from our library shelves (real or virtual) and bring it out into daylight.  To join in, pick a random book from your library and tell us:

• title, author, #of pages, edition, (tags, and collections if LT)
  
• why that book is in your library, (how and when you acquired the book)
• whether you've read it or not
• if so did you like it and why;
• if not, do you plan to read it?

Be sure to leave us a link to your post so we can compare notes.

Can you spot today's book?  Answer at the bottom.


Ellis Peters' Brother Caedfael series is a favorite of mine and my husband.  We got hooked on them over 25 years ago when we found them in a bookstore in HongKong.  We had read one of them, and when we spotted the whole series, we gobbled them up.  This week's random pick is Monk's Hood, no. 5 in the series.

I'm refreshing my memory here from other reader's reviews on LT, but the story involves a rich nobleman who is murdered by poison (Monk's Hood) stolen from Caedfael's own dispensary.  When Caedfael  begins to help investigate, he discovers his first love (from his pre-monastic/pre-crusade days) is the newly widowed spouse of the deceased.  All the usual players are present- the sheriff, the abbot, and several colorful townsfolk.

These mysteries are excellent, almost but not quite cozy, with well developed plots, well researched early forensics, and characters who stay with the series and grow as you read each book in the series.  You can pick up any of them without reading the others, but they are all worth a peek.

They're also great videos to watch on a dark and snowy night...we often check them out from Netflix.  Derek Jacoby does an outstanding portrayal of Caedfael.  Either reading or watching, they're both enjoyable.

Now --did you find the hidden book.  It's the 4th to the left of the center bookend on the very top shelf. here's what it looks like.

Mini Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Normally, I would have included this in my weekly audio post, but since this is my very first Agatha Christie I wanted to post it separately.  I've seen several Hercule Poirot mysteries on TV, and Agatha Christie has received millions of words of praise for her writing abilities, so I have no intention of doing a formal review.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Poirot story in which not only Poirot, but also Hastings, his sidekick are introduced.  Poirot's sartorial fastidiousness, his tendency to assume Hastings is making the same assumptions he does--only to discover that Hastings is often in the dark--and his meticulous methodology are well established even in this first story.

I found reading this (even with my ears) a delightful experience and look forward to many more Christies.  I think that I had been afraid that perhaps the writing would have had an old-fashioned stiltedness that I would find boring.  I assure you it wasn't the case.  This was every bit as fun as the TV series--in fact I suspect I will find the rest even more so.

Nadia May(aka Davina Porter) did her usual good job of narration.

Guest Review: Sand Sharks

Today we have a guest review from one of my fellow library workers, a retired Washington journalist who wants to stay anonymous. I'm really behind on my reading and since she is a huge Margaret Maron fan, I offered a quid pro quo: "You can read the book now and not wait for me to finish it, but you have to write a review." She finished it in record time and sent me the following:

I’ve recently discovered that there are genres of mysteries that I’d never even thought of – cosy, cottage, needlework, etc.  Silly me: I’d divided them into categories like simple-to-read; boring British inspectors with no personality; fun with-a-hook, as in Monica Ferris’ needlework tales; and the continuing adventures of one main character or family, written so well that every new title is like a visit with a dear friend you haven’t talked to for some time.

Since I don’t dote on solving the crime before the author does, this last category is my favorite, with one big caveat: the writing must be good enough and sophisticated enough to tell a story with some momentum while it furthers (is that a word?) your acquaintance with a previously-met character.

That’s a long introduction to Margaret Maron’s fifteenth Deborah Knott novel Sand Sharks, set in yet another North Carolina locale.  We first met Deborah Knott in The Bootlegger’s Daughter, and have watched the Southern Belle mature from a somewhat wild child/lawyer to a cool, thirty-something judge in a District Court. Along the way, a husband and stepson have been added to her life. She’s related to many of the people in her town, and is the youngest child and only girl in a family of twelve children. Daddy the bootlegger is still alive and kicking, but his independent daughter tends to make her own way.

One of the charms of these books is that each takes place in a different locale in North Carolina, and the reader picks up a working knowledge of potteries, autumn tourism in the mountains, the furniture markets, etc.

Sand Sharks  takes Deborah to the coast at Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach for a Judicial Convention. Well-written prose ensures that soon your body has relaxed in the warm, sunny white sand, lulled by the cries of gulls overhead and the shrieks of happy children playing at the ocean’s edge.  And soon there is a dead body claiming your attention – and Deborah’s. The convention is peopled with Deborah’s cousins, old friends, a few old amours, and several stories of injudicious behavior that could set someone up as a murder victim. The question of who did it and why is irresistible to Deborah.

If this is your type of mystery – readable in just a couple of days, making you feel like you’ve caught up with old friends and distant relatives – then this is for you.  And you’ll probably want to go back to the beginning and read the 14 preceding titles.  One other note:  Maron’s book is set in a generous type that makes reading it easy as you stay up an extra 20 minutes to finish the book.

Wow...I think we should invite her back to review more books for us.  Don't you just want to dive right into this one?  Thanks again, oh ghost friend. We look forward to seeing you some more.

Review: Murder on K Street

Another good solid mystery by one of my favorite mystery writers. Having lived in the DC area for over 15 years, I enjoy these stories. While the premise may be a tad farfetched, I listened to pompous politicians on the evening news for enough years to know that it's not out of the realm of possibility. Senator Lyle Simmon's wife is found murdered inside their Georgetown home. The senator, who is about to run for president, seems more concerned with his image than in finding the killer. His two children, a wimpy son who is president of a lobbying firm, and his politically active (on the opposite side of her father) daughter, are devastated. Add a best friend who was in the love with the wife, some questionably legal doings by the lobbying firm, throw in another murder, and it makes for a good who-dunnit. Nothing extravagant, but it was a good easy read while I was on cruise.