The Fatal Chapter

Title: The Fatal Chapter
Author: Lorna Barrett
Published: June 2nd 2015 by Berkley
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Booktown Mystery #9)

First Sentence: “Say cheese,” Russ Smith called, and Tricia Miles watched as her sister, Angelica, and Pete Renquist dutifully smiled for the camera.

Blurb: While out walking Sarge, her sister’s bichon frise, Tricia is led by the agitated dog to a man lying in a gazebo. She’s startled when she recognizes Pete Renquist, the president of the Stoneham Historical Society, who appears to be suffering from cardiac arrest. When Pete later dies in the hospital, the discovery of a suspicious bruise and a puncture mark on his arm suggests he may have been murdered.

Haunted by Pete’s enigmatic last words to her, Tricia begins to consider who had a motive to kill her friend. Did Pete take his flirting too far, only to have a jealous husband teach him a lesson? Or did he discover something in the town’s historical records that his killer wanted kept secret? Tricia is determined to get to the bottom of things before someone else becomes history. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Nine books in, and it didn’t occur to me who Nigela Ricita is, and my brain did not catch on to the anagram. Good Job, Lorna!

The storyline follows the usual fill-in-the-blank progression with Sarge and Trisha finding a body. The victim is barely hanging on and whispers a cryptic message. Now Trisha needs to find the killer, save the day, and be one step ahead of the police. What surprised me about this book was how the murder seemed to fall by the wayside. There are too many distractions, and it isn’t until the last few chapters Lorna Barrett decides to go back to fill in the blanks.

On the downside, I continue hearing whiny voices when I read this book. I don’t know what it is, but both Angelica and Tricia come across as having bothersome voices. This series is not my favorite, but I can’t walk away since I am a stickler when it comes to finishing, no matter how many years it takes me.

The Vanishing Type

Title: The Vanishing Type
Author: Ellery Adams
Published: April 26th 2022 by Kensington
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Amature Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Secret, Book, & Scone Society #5

First Sentence: Nora Pennington dropped multicolored marshmallows into a mug of hot chocolate and then smothered them with whipped cream.

Blurb: While January snow falls outside in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, Nora Pennington is encouraging customers to cozy up indoors with a good book. Even though the shop and her bibliotherapy sessions keep Nora busy during the day, her nights are a little too quiet—until Deputy Andrews pulls Nora into the sci-fi section and asks her to help him plan a wedding proposal.

His bride-to-be, Hester, loves Little Women, and Nora sets to work arranging a special screening at the town’s new movie theater. But right before the deputy pops the question, Nora makes an unsettling discovery—someone has mutilated all her store’s copies of The Scarlet Letter, slicing angrily into the pages wherever Hester Prynne’s name is mentioned.

The coincidence disturbs Nora, who’s one of the few in Miracle Springs who knows that Hester gave up a baby for adoption many years ago. Her family heaped shame on her, and Hester still feels so guilty that she hasn’t even told her future husband. But when a dead man is found on a hiking trail just outside town, carrying a rare book, the members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society unearth a connection to Hester’s past. Someone is intent on bringing the past to light, and it’s not just Hester’s relationship at stake, but her life. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: The problem with waiting until the end, to tie up all the parts of the book, is that it comes across as rushed and all the pieces don’t fit together. For most of the book, the premise of the mystery didn’t make sense to me. While following along with the ladies, I couldn’t understand why would Nora and McCabe wasted time tracking down the remaining books of the Lady Artist series when there would be online copies of the covers. Wouldn’t they, along with Bobbie (who was dropped like a hot potato when she fulfilled her purpose), be able to find those covers and see the clue? This kept distracting me throughout my reading. Then again, with a made-up book series, Ellery Adams can also make up the inability to find what they are looking for.

This is a slow meandering story that breaks off into minor tangents involving others in the community, but they are only slight distractions and do not carry the strength of their own narratives no matter how hard the author tries.

The premise of this book is flimsy at best and I was disappointed since I have enjoyed so many of Ellery Adam’s previous books – namely the Book Retreat Mysteries.

22 Seconds

Title: 22 Seconds
Author: James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
Published: May 2, 2022 by Little, Brown and Company
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Women's Murder Club #22

First Sentence: Cindy Thomas was working at the dining table she’d bought at a tag sale down the block.

Blurb: SFPD Sergeant Lindsay Boxer has guns on her mind.

There’s buzz of a last-ditch shipment of drugs and weapons crossing the Mexican border ahead of new restrictive gun laws. Before Lindsay can act, her top informant tips her to a case that hits disturbingly close to home.

Former cops. Professional hits. All with the same warning scrawled on their bodies:

You talk, you die.

Now it’s Lindsay’s turn to choose.

My Opinion: I usually complain about Patterson being formulaic and barely a step up from brain candy, but there is something about 22 Seconds that caught my attention early. More than the usual single file march, multiple things are going on from the start, which I assumed would eventually meld together.

But not this time.

Usually, the women’s murder club ties the four women together in one case. Maybe that did happen, but only by a mere fringe. Other than to bring Claire into the book, there was no point to the earlier autopsy she was part of. Cindy is constantly being told “off the record” which is usually the point of having her. Then there is the slight mention of Juki in the courtroom. To be honest, this is a Lindsay and Joe book. And unless I missed it, or it was mentioned in a previous book, why were people blaming Lindsay alone for the crackdown on high-power weapons?

If there was a preamble for either the Claire or blame Lindsay situations, I missed it.

Aunt Dimity and the Enchanted Cottage

Title: Aunt Dimity and the Enchanted Cottage
Author: Nancy Atherton
Published: May 3rd 2022 by Viking
Format: Hardcover, 240 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Aunt Dimity #25

First Sentence: The Little Deeping River would never be mistaken for the might Mississippi or the Nile.

Blurb: It's early May in the small English village of Finch and the air is crackling with excitement: a newcomer is about to move into Pussywillows, a riverside cottage with a romantic reputation. Will the cottage's newest resident prove yet again its enchanting ability to match-make? But when Crispin Windle arrives, no one knows what to make of him: seemingly a loner, he repels every welcoming gesture and appears altogether uninterested in being a part of the community. Soon, the townspeople have all but dismissed him.

Only Lori and Tommy Prescott, a young army veteran who recently moved to Finch, refuse to give up. They orchestrate a chance meeting that leads to a startling discovery: a set of overgrown ruins. They are, Aunt Dimity shares, the remains of a Victorian wooden mill that once brought prosperity to Finch.

As the three explore, they stumble upon the unmarked graves of children who died working at the mill. Heartbroken, Lori, Tommy, and Mr. Windle get to work on the seemingly impossible task of identifying the children to give them a proper burial. And as Mr. Windle works tirelessly to name the forgotten children, he slowly begins to open up--giving the romantic cottage a chance to heal his heart, as well. (Goodreads)

My Opinion: The dear charming people of Finch are at it again. There are strict rules when it comes to contacting new arrivals, yet there are no rules regarding snooping from afar and jumping to conclusions. This is where Lori Sheppard steps in, and with her insight and cautions from Aunt Dimity, she reaches out to the new arrival since she does have the best interests of others at heart.

If you are not a dedicated reader of this series, the multitude of names that Nancy Atherton throws out will have new readers flummoxed. There is no need to list everyone in the church and then expect the names to be remembered.

As the story languishes — it is surprising how many pages it takes to share what little is known — the author tries to add a nuance of interest with Bree. Unfortunately, that also fell flat. Sad that much of this book seemed irrelevant until the literal end when Atherton revealed the most interesting part.

Cold Snap

Title: Cold Snap
Author: Marc Cameron
Published: April 26, 2022by Kensington Books
Format: Kindle, 399 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Arlis Cutter #4

First Sentence: The bow of the little skiff slammed into another frigid wave, sending Supervisory Deputy US Marshall Arliss Cutter’s badge flying out the collar of his immersion suit.

Blurb: After an early spring thaw on the Alaskan coast, Anchorage police discover a gruesome new piece of evidence in their search for a serial killer: a dismembered human foot.

In Kincaid Park, a man is arrested for attacking a female jogger. Investigators believe they have finally captured the sadistic serial killer. But one deputy is sure they have the wrong man.

In the remote northern town of Deadhorse, Alaska, Deputy US Marshal Arliss Cutter escorts three handcuffed prisoners onto a small bush plane on route to Anchorage. The men have been charged with racketeering, drug trafficking, and kidnapping. But Cutter doesn’t expect any trouble from them. It’s a routine mission and a nonstop flight—or so he thinks. When the plane makes an unexpected landing in the middle of nowhere, all hell breaks loose. The prisoners murder a pilot and guard. The plane is torched and blown up. And the last few survivors are forced to flee into the wilderness. But their nightmare’s just beginning. Back in Anchorage, deputy Lola Teariki has traced the dismembered foot to a missing girl—and the serial psychopath who slaughtered her.

It’s one of the prisoners on Cutter’s flight. . . .

Now it’s a deadly game of survival. With no means of communication, few supplies, and ravenous grizzly bears and wolves lurking in the shadows, Cutter has to battle the unforgiving elements while the cold-blooded killer wants his head on a stick. Here in Alaska, nature can be cruel—but this time, human nature is crueler. (Goodreads)

My Opinion: I love the Arliss Cutter series. The combination of humor, multiple storylines, great characters, and how Marc Cameron does not let out too much too quickly.

The beginning might feel a little slow, but you know the intense, disturbing, and graphic depictions are imminent, so you stick with it until the good stuff grabs you. Some of the scenes may be too much, but then there is humor peppered in to alleviate some of the rougher parts and you are back to turning the pages as fast as you can read them. Not every part is tied in a neat little bow, but a good writer doesn’t need to do that for you. Cameron gives you what is necessary to weave the dangly parts together allowing you to see the bigger picture all on your own.

From the end of Cold Snap, you can predict where the next Arliss Cutter will begin and this will be an emotional journey for Arliss and Mim.

Murder Most Wild

Title: Murder Most Wild
Author: Matthew Costello, Neil Richards
Published: October 19th 2015 by Bastei Entertainment
Format: Kindle Edition, 111 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Cherringham #21

First Sentence: Sarah pushed her way through the crowd towards the Village Hall, Chloe trailing a few feet behind.

Blurb: When the Zakro Corporation attempts to build a mammoth supermarket outside Cherringham, the whole village is up in arms. But the accidental death of lead environmentalist Sam Lewis seems to hand victory to the developers. Could Sam's opposition to the project be the real reason he died? When Jack and Sarah take on the case, they will learn that what looked like an accident was - in fact - one very wild murder.

My Opinion: It’s in the little details, and with that, Jack and Sarah solve the case of Sam Lewis, a farmer who just wanted a corporation to go away therefore allowing him to enjoy his simple life with his wild boars. Others may not agree with me, but as the series goes on, the mystery part is getting more obscured. The reader may think a certain person knows more than they are telling, but another part will throw you off the trail -- not quite a red herring, but more along the lines of a distraction.

Then we get to the end, Sarah lets a feeling slip, and Jack falls back into a memory. The way these two dance around each other is delightful. I only wonder how long it will take for the idea to hit them at the same time.

Shadow in the Glass

Title: Shadow in the Glass
Author: M. E. Hilliard
Published: April 5th 2022 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: Kindle, 336 pagess
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Greer Hogan Mystery #2

First Sentence: It is a truth, universally unacknowledged, that a single woman in possession of a good fortune has no practical need of a husband.

Blurb: : Librarian Greer Hogan is on hand to celebrate her old friend Sarah Whitaker’s nuptials at the Whitaker summer home on beautiful Mirror Lake, just outside the upstate New York village of Lake Placid. But Greer has an ulterior motive—to gather information that could reopen the investigation into her husband’s murder, a crime for which she believes an innocent man went to prison. Her plans come to a shuddering halt when a wedding guest goes missing and turns up dead in the lake. The guest, Brittany Miles, was an employee of the Whitaker family whom Sarah had long suspected was up to no good at work.

The police have no leads, but Greer—an avid reader of crime fiction who possesses an uncanny knack for deduction—begins her own investigation. She learns that the victim was seen with a mystery man right before she disappeared. Then the autopsy reveals that she didn’t drown in the lake after all, but in the reflecting pool in the Whitaker garden.

The suspect list is as long as the guest list itself, with no apparent motive. Now, Greer must rely on the wisdom of her favorite fictional detectives to tease out truth from lies—and keep herself out of the killer’s sights. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: : This book might lose readers early on since M. E. Hillard takes a slow meander through the people attending Sarah’s wedding and the secrets they keep. It isn’t until the end of Shadow in the Glass, literally the last two chapters, before the reader needs to brace themselves, break out the murder board and red string, and follow her convoluted plotting.

Where will Greer’s future lead -- no one knows for sure -- but if Shadow in the Glass held any clues, she will plunge headlong into the secrets surrounding her husband’s murder, which was touched upon in book one, The Unkindness of Ravens, and will hopefully answer the questions for both Greer and her readers.

Bitter Roots

Title: Bitter Roots
Author: Ellen Crosby
Published: April 5th 2022 by Severn House Publishers
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 297 pages
Genre: Amature Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Wine Country Mysteries #12

First Sentence: Julia Child once said that every woman should have a blowtorch in the kitchen. To that I would add: and a chain saw in the garden.

Blurb: In just over a week vineyard owner Lucie Montgomery and winemaker Quinn Santori will be married in a ceremony overlooking what should be acres of lush flowering grapevines. Instead they are confronted by an ugly swathe of slowly dying vines and a nursery owner who denies responsibility for selling the diseased plants. With neighboring vineyards facing the same problem, accusations fly and the ugly stand-off between supplier and growers looks set to escalate into open warfare.

When Eve Kerr, a stunning blonde who works at the nursery, is found dead a few days later, everyone wonders if someone in the winemaking community went too far. What especially troubles Lucie is why Eve secretly arranged to meet Quinn on the day she was murdered - and whether Lucie's soon-to-be husband knows something he's not telling her.

Then a catastrophic storm blows through, destroying everything in its path. With no power, no phones, and no wedding venue, Lucie needs to find out who killed Eve and what her death had to do with Quinn. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: If it wasn’t for the fact I have made it thus far in the series -- I may have given up. The first twenty percent of the book is a history lesson on the area, a wine-making dissertation, and a deep dive on root goo. Except for the root disease, this has been covered in practically all previous books and feels like filler. I had started scanning until something piqued my interest.

Forty percent into the book, Lucie Montgomery, amateur sleuth, finally has something to investigate. With her soon-to-be husband considered a suspect, Lucy has no other choice than to dive headfirst into questioning her likely suspects, but then again, I wonder if she would have bothered with a wedding to plan and failing vines.

Three-quarters through the book, Ellen Crosby decides to slot the pieces together and gets back to the mystery part of the book; instead of the repetition of climate change, root goo, and a great deal of background noise.

At least Thelma and her word usage were entertaining. In the future, Ellen Crosby needs to decide what story she wants to tell since this mash-up seemed to have been chaotic and off-putting.