The Ninth District-An excellent start to a new series

An excellent start to a new series. There were points where the plot felt a little thin and there was some padding with some of the family stuff but I think this series will get better and better. Looking forward to the next installment.

Would I pay money for it?

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a freebie February 14, 2013

The Girl with the Cat Tattoo-Like the fluffy frosting on a cupcake

This was quick to read and fun. A little mystery, some romance, some fun with a cat and a lot of quirkiness and whimsy. It felt light and fluffy and a great read for when you just want entertainment. No deep thinking here. It's actually a chance to let your mind relax and just go with the flow. Good escapism.

Would I pay money for it? Yes but it's short so it couldn't be too much

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a freebie March 13, 2013

A Bobwhite Killing-A fun piece of entertainment

A Bobwhite Killing is quite a fun piece of entertainment!  It's cozy, it's funny, it's engaging and it has a decent mystery.

Bob White has decided to spend the weekend bird watching with Jack O'Keefe's birding group to escape his sister's relentless preparations for her upcoming wedding.  It's been reported that the Northern Bobwhite, which was thought to be extinct, has been spotted in the area.  It's enough to get any true birder's heart beating fast!  When he arrives, he finds that the leader of the birding weekend is now married to Bob's teenage crush.  When he later finds that leader murdered, it's clear the weekend won't turn out as he's planned.

This is pure escapism.  It has a gentle feel that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It had a lot of humour and I like the Minnesota setting.  I could feel the atmosphere of the forest. 

The only slight drawback to me was how many characters there were.  I had to go back a couple of times to see who was who.  I actually laughed when I read this sentence, "I think Billy called up Ben after he followed Jack to Kami's at Shana's request."  So many names!  I wondered if the author meant that to be humorous or if it just came across that way to me. However it was meant, this is an enjoyable cozy that gave me several hours of pleasure and I'm sure the others in the series will do the same.

Would I pay money for it?   Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a freebie July 10, 2013

Inn Keeping with Murder-I'm a sucker for a big old Victorian House even if there's a murder in it

I have a thing for big old Victorian houses,(yes, I live in one) so the cover of this book drew me in immediately. The characters drew me in further. An good start to what is evidently going to be a new cozy series.

Julia Applegate owns the St. Claire Inn on Mercer Island which has been converted into a high end B&B. She and the close friends in her book club have formed a tight bond that is almost family. When a good friend of theirs apparently commits suicide and then one of their own members drops dead in the Inn right in front of them, they are determined to find the culprit.
The St. Claire Inn is haunted and even the ghosts get in on the action of helping to solve the murders. A Great Dane and two dachshunds round out the cast of pretty interesting characters.

I felt the answer to the mystery was telegraphed pretty early in the book. I'm not usually good at figuring out whodunit so it was unusual for me to have nailed it so early. I did enjoy the characters and the setting. I'm enjoying books where the characters are a bit older and yet are still fully drawn individuals. I love this trend of older characters in mysteries.

If there are more books forthcoming, I'll be back for them. I think the potential in the characters is enormous and the setting of an Inn with strangers coming and going could be a great platform for mysteries. I'll watch and see where this goes.

Would I pay money for it?   Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

The Case of Jenny Brice-One of the most interesting settings for a mystery that I've read!

A very interesting little book! Interesting setting, interesting plot twists.

Mrs. Pittman keeps in a boarding house in the section of Pittsburg that floods regularly every year. This was one of the most interesting settings for a mystery that I've read. Imagine know that every year your bottom story would flood so you would just plan to move everything and everyone upstairs until the water recedes! Hard to imagine in this day and age. You would just keep a boat on the first floor and use it for transport as long as needed. This setting fascinated me and really added to my enjoyment of the whole story.

When one of Mrs. Pittman's boarders disappears and her husband claims she got mad and left town, Mrs. Pittman is sure that he has murdered her and dumped the body in the flood waters. The investigation of the case and the ultimate denouement is far more complex and kept my attention from start to finish of this very quick to read book.

While I love contemporary cozy mysteries, these Old Masters are just a delight to me also. Mary Roberts Rinehart is an author revisiting over and over.

Grayson Manor Haunting-Was there a horror story cliche that this book missed? I think not!

So Addison Lockhart's mom passes away and Addison inherits a very grand house in the country that she didn't even know existed but is where her mother grew up. When she arrives at the house she find that it comes with locked rooms, a hunky contractor willing to work on it, a ghost haunting it unable to move on because of unfinished business and...Wait a minute. Do these elements feel familiar? Is there any cliché for haunted house stories that this book has missed? I don't think so. The longer I read, the more it felt like every plotline I've ever seen used in a haunted house story was here in this book. The grandmother that she didn't know she had reappears. The blood stained dress found in the house. I found it so cliché that I had a hard time enjoying it.

There are many types of horror stories that I have no interest in but haunted house stories are one type I really enjoy. This looked like a slam dunk for me. Unfortunately, it felt like a retread of many other haunted house stories and a shallow one at that. I didn't feel like there was much depth to the story or to the characters. The one thing that I always need in my stories is atmosphere and that was sadly lacking here. It wasn't creepy and it didn't make me feel haunted. When we had “an eerie stillness” and “a deadly quiet” in the same paragraph, I felt like the author was just trying too hard. I would be willing to give this author another try because I know she has written other things that have been well received, but this one did left me very flat.

Would I pay money for it?   No

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? No

City of Darkness-A Victorian mystery that kept me interested to the last page

City of Darkness by Kim Wright is the first in a series of mysteries featuring prominent European cities from the Victorian era. This first one is set in London.  It features many of the staples you would expect in a Victorian era mystery, crime, family scandal, romance and Jack the Ripper. It evokes the atmosphere that I expect from a book of this location and time period.  I'm very susceptible to atmosphere so I was pleased with that. 

Jack the Ripper is causing panic in London and the police are doing everything they can think of to track him down.  The fledgling science of forensics is just barely being used and many think it is a lot of baloney.  Seeing the beginnings of scientific investigation was very interesting. The officers involved were fighting very hard to make it acceptable and reliable. Even though this is fiction, this is a probably a fairly realistic look at how forensics was treated in the beginning of the science.

I really enjoyed this book.  It is a very character-driven story and the personalities of the people are developed throughout the book.  The action is driven by the characters' reaction to events rather than plot-driven and I find that very satisfying. I'm glad this is a series so that I can revisit these people again.