The Secret, Book and Scone Society

Title: The Secret, Book and Scone Society
Author: Ellery Adams
Published: October 31st 2017 by Kensington
Format: eBook, Hardcover: 304 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Miracle Springs, North Carolina #1

This is a new series by Ellery Adams revolving around four women that come together to solve a murder, but at the same time, to create a friendship that is centered around each woman telling their deepest secret.

Nora Pennington walked away from her previous life that left her scarred and is looking for a new beginning. She can read peoples troubles and in doing so recommends books from her small bookstore, that if read in specific order, can help people find the answers that they are looking for. Hester Winthrop creates comfort scones in her bakery. Estella Sadler, who is called nasty names behind her back and has a flair for the dramatic, is the local salon owner and June Dixon who works at the local thermal pools.

Together the women of Miracle Springs set out to find the answer as to why Neil Parrish, either fell or was pushed in front of a train. Sheriff Todd, also known as the Toad around town, calls it suicide but that quick answer does not hold up for the women. As they sip their coffee and gather around a table with a secret compartment, they begin to compare their notes on Neil. Something is very fishy in Miracle Springs and with a new housing development going in, that Neil was part of, the women set out to solve a murder, expose a fraud, and help to get one of their own out of jail when she has been accused of killing yet another person involved in the Pine Ridge development.

I enjoyed the first book in this new series. With interesting women and a bit of mysticism on the side, they take the reader through their lives and the small town that they call home. I can’t say that this book fully falls under the cozy mystery heading, but then again, it does not fall fully under romance, because you know that there has to be some, and it does not fit completely under women’s fiction or paranormal. Just little bits and parts of all of them, which leaves something for everyone.

Mystery at the Manor

Title: Mystery at the Manor
Author: Matthew Costello and Neil Richards
Published: January 16th 2014 by Bastei Entertainment
Format: Kindle Edition, 106 pages
Genre: Short Story / Mystery
Series: Cherringham - A Cozy Crime Series #2

I love these short stories. Jack and Sarah are teaming up again to figure out if one of Victor Hamblyn’s children set the fire that took his life. What they did not expect to find was that old Vic had a buried secret of his own.

To back up, Victor Hamblyn, the owner of Mogdon Manor needs a bit of help around the house, the chair lift was not his idea, but the stairs are getting to be too difficult to maneuver on his own. So one evening after his caregiver has gone home, Victor rides up to his bedroom, settles in for the night and that is when he smells smoke. He needs to get to his most treasured possession, unfortunately it is up in the attic and when his body is found, no one understand not only how did he get there, but what was he looking for.

Jack, a retired NYPD homicide detective and Sarah a Cherringham local, start banging about and soon discover why Victor was willing to risk his life. This will leave Victor’s conniving brood stunned and pointing fingers but a hidden chapter of their father's life will be revealed, a love story will be told, and souls can finally find peace.

Forbidden Falls

Title: Forbidden Falls
Author: Robyn Carr
Published: December 29th 2009 by Mira
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 371 pages
Genre: Romance
Series: Virgin River #8

There is something simple, though not in a bad way, about Virgin River. The people are warm and inviting and if you are on the skeptical side, a little too good to be true.

After putting a bid in on a dilapidated old church with a stunning stained glass window, Noah Kincaid, son of a televangelist father whom he does not get along with, moves to Virgin River to start his ministry and to lend a helping hand where he can. With more work needed on the building and a phone that is ringing, Noah needs a very industrious helper. As the pinched and prune-faced women of the nearby areas apply for the job, Noah knows that finding what he needs might be harder than he thought – that is until ex-stripper Ellie Baldwin walks in the door.

I know, I was rolling my eyes too, how cliché to match up a stripper with a man of the cloth, but Noah needs a helper and when he finds out that Ellie is a single mother that just lost custody of her children to an ex-husband with a couple secrets of his own, he is riding in on his white steed to save the day.

The town of Virgin River comes to their aid, no one here judges, they just pitch in where they are needed and if the minister and the stripper are not enough drama for this town, recurring character Paul receives a call that he was not expecting. Remember back when Paul’s ex-girlfriend Terri tried to tell him that she was pregnant with his child. Turned out he was not the father but Terri has unexpectantly passed away and has left her daughter to Paul and Vanni to raise.

Of course, that causes all sorts of upheaval but this is Virgin River and if there were not a crisis, this town would not know what to do with themselves. Are the people of this town too good to be true – of course they are but that is why the readers keep returning. It is a nice break, a refreshing breather when the real world gets too crazy and you want to take a day or two to sink into someone else’s life and know that just possibly there are good people out that just want to help where they can and in doing so, make a better life for those around them.

Quicksand

Title: Quicksand
Author: Malin Persson Giolito
Published: Hardcover: 512 pages
Format: eBook, Hardcover: 512 pages
Genre: Legal Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

This is not a book that I could recommend. The first quarter was interesting, but then my attention began to wane as the narrator went on incessantly. The middle part, I skimmed and feel that I missed nothing and then the ending was somewhat interesting but I had lost patience with the whole thing and was just glad that it was over.

Told from the perspective of 18-year-old Maria “Maja” Norberg, currently on trial for her involvement in a school shooting that was carried out by her boyfriend Sebastian. Until the very end, the reader is not completely sure of her participation. Was she part of the initial strategy that Sebastian, the son of Sweden’s richest man, had planned or was she just caught up in events that she was unaware of until the final defining moments.

Told in a teenage voice full of condescension and a story that unfolds too slowly for my tastes, I had a hard time with this book. Maja just seems to drone on in an unfiltered diatribe of those around her and her trying to come to terms with what happened and her part in it. Was there deeper meaning and societal innuendo that I miss – probably, but at the same time, the author should do their part in keeping my attention.

A Burial at Sea

Title: A Burial at Sea
Author: Charles Finch
Published: November 8th 2011 by Minotaur Books
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Series: Charles Lennox #5

I enjoyed the first two books in this series, A Beautiful Blue Death and The September Society, ever since then, I have been disappointed but continue on in hopes that they will return to the where they had first captured my attention.

Charles Lennox is asked by his brother to leave his pregnant wife for a clandestine mission to Egypt to help the British government. Unable to say no, he boards the sailing ship Lucy. Of course, there is no such thing as a retired sleuth so when the ship’s second lieutenant is found butchered, the ship’s Captain implores Charles to find the culprit. Very much a locked room scenario since the ship is at sea, Charles sets off to answer the questions only to discover that there is a possible mutiny afoot and now the Captain has been murdered.

What is funny about this book is that by the time the murders on the ship are solved, I had completely forgotten the reason why Charles Lennox was on the Lucy in the first place and found myself frustrated that they book had continued when I thought that the climax had been reached.

For me, the Egypt meeting was completely unnecessary but then I had remembered that Teddy was on the ship and now I am pretty sure that this whole thing was a ruse by Sir Edmond to make sure that his son was safe. Maybe there was more to the meeting, but either way, my brain checked out during the last third of the book.

Goodbye to the Dead

Title: Goodbye to the Dead
Author: Brian Freeman
Published: March 8th 2016 by Quercus
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Genre: Suspense / Police Procedural
Series: Jonathan Stride #7

Well, did the brilliant Dr. Janine Snow kill her husband Jay Ferris nine years ago or did she not. That is what is keeping Lt. Jonathan Stride of the Duluth Police Department up at night. Nine years ago, he got the conviction for this murder and Janine is doing time, but now that a gun and jewelry have been found no one knows for sure.

At this time, Stride’s wife Cindy was still alive and she and Janine were close friends. They had worked together and on the fate-filled night, Cindy was the last to see Jay alive and she knew that Janine was there. She needs to testify but is conflicted.

Howard Marlowe, a Janine worshiper, just so happens to be placed on her jury. He is determined to be the lone holdout but the evidence is too strong and votes to convict her. Feeling as if he has betrayed her, he then spends the next nine years visiting her and searching for proof of her innocence much to the chagrin of his wife.

Brian Freeman does not let his audience down, interspersed with Janine Snow, the reader is juggled a mall shooting, sex trafficking, the continuing reappearance of troubled teen Cat Marlowe, the beginnings of Cindy’s illness, and how two unrelated cases, years apart, can be connected, but most importantly – can Stride find a way to come to terms with his past and move forward with Serena Dial.

Brian Freeman does not draw simple lines with his characters. Not everyone is good, not everyone is bad, you see them develop and change. They will infuriate you one moment and then you see a human side underneath and there is no easy answers for anyone involved.

The Western Star

Title: The Western Star
Author: Craig Johnson
Published: September 5th 2017 by Viking
Format: *Hardcover; 336 pages
Genre: Suspense
Series: Walt Longmire #13

Thank you for the epilogue otherwise I would not have been able to pull all of those parts together. I did notice Cady asking why it took them so long to have her, but that was brushed over and I was hoping that by the end, that part would have been explained and when it was, I have to admit that I did let out a very loud gasp.

Current day and flashbacks divide each chapter. In 1972, Walt Longmire returned from Vietnam and joins Sheriff Connelly as his deputy on the annual Wyoming Sheriffs’ Association outing across the state of Wyoming from Cheyenne to Evanston and back on the Western Star. Taking plotlines from Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and her credence “he did it, she did it, no one did it, or they all did it”, Longmire sets off to solve a murder that takes place on the train and intermeshes it with the present day where he is fighting the compassionate release of one of the most dangerous killers that he has ever encountered.

Present day has Walt, Vic and Henry at Cady’s home helping her with her daughter and preparing for their fight against the compassionate release board. Craig Johnson has done his homework here and goes into great length explaining this process to the reader. What you do not realize at the time is who the inmate is and why Walt is taking it so personally. You think you have an idea because of earlier points, but the truth is a surprise.

The bouncing back and forth is not hard to follow. The trainload of Sheriffs is hard to keep straight but fortunately, there are only a couple of names that you have to remember. It truly is not until the ending where Craig Johnson pulls this tightly wound narrative together and when he does, it is truly a “oh, wow” moment.

What is even more surprising is the postcard with one word written on the back that has Walt Longmire boarding a plane with his trusty Colt. He is on a mission, a mission that will not be disclosed until the next book and has me wondering what that one word could be.

The Light We Lost

Title: The Light We Lost
Author: Jill Santopolo
Published: May 9th 2017 by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Format: Hardcover, 328 pages
Genre: Romance

A heart-wrenching story is the easiest way of describing the relationship between college students Lucy and Gabe who meet on September 11th, 2001. As they stand on the top of a building at Columbia University, they see the devastation that takes down the twin towers and in its place, their shifting thirteen-year relationship takes form.

Lucy is consumed with her immediate connection with Gabe, but when he suddenly returns to his ex-girlfriend she pines and wallows until they meet up by chance a year later. They are drawn to each other but they each have careers that they are equally passionate about and have agreed to never dissuade each other from their dreams.

As Gabe’s career as a photojournalist takes him to war torn regions, Lucy develops her ideas for children’s programs that build young minds. Then Lucy meets Darren, a stable and settling force. He is not as exciting as Gabe is, but he is dependable. Something that Gabe never was. She settles for the man that does not tick all the boxes, but is home every night for dinner. Their life together grows, her career fulfills her, yet her husband Darren discounts her dreams. He thinks that what she does is unimportant and wishes that she would just stay home with their children. Something that Gabe would have never asked of her.

This is the danger point in her marriage. Lucy sees excitement in Gabe that is missing from her life at home. Maybe just one last time and she will finally be able move on, but fate hands her one last trick. As Gabe, lies injured in a hospital in Gaza City, Lucy rushes to his side. Trying to keep him engaged in this world instead of letting him float off, she recounts their dreams, desires, jealousies, betrayals, and, ultimately, love.

No stone is left unturned in this bittersweet love story. A story that will stay with you and at points make you question your own life choices. This book is both beautiful and devastating so grab the tissues because you are in for a bumpy ride.

The Witches' Tree

Title: The Witches' Tree
Author: M.C. Beaton
Published: October 3rd 2017 by Minotaur Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover 244 pgs
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Agatha Raisin #28

After the last book, ‘Pushing up Daisies’, I had hoped that MC Beaton has turned a corner and her Agatha Raisin series would get back to what they had previous been with multiple story lines that bounced back and forth effortlessly. Unfortunately, this book returned to the usual drivel that has become her norm.

Fifty-three year old Agatha is in her usual depressed mood when there is no man in her life and work is the usual boring assortment of missing pets, marital affairs and wayward teens. Agatha is still the “pet hate” for Wilkes since she tends to solve more crime by “bumbling about” then he does. Thus begins the tale of the Witches’ Tree when the body of Margaret Darby is found hanging from a tree that has a curious past.

The story gets a bit twisted with several dead bodies, a coven, and a will that has gone through several revisions, but when it comes down to it, the village of Sumpton Harcourt has some very odd people not to mention too much affinity for Agatha Christy and romance novels.

Things were touched on in the book, involving the wife of the new vicar, that I did not think belonged in a cozy mystery and I was rather surprised to see it brought up here. There were parts that did not seem to be fully addressed by the end of the book and characters that took up more room than they should have. Overall, if you have read the full series to this point, you would not be able to pass by a new Agatha, but if you are just staring out, I suggest that you start at the beginning and develop you own love for the people of Carsley.