Rating: 4/5
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Unitarian Church, remodeling houses
Part of a Series? YES
Review
For once I managed to read the first book in a series! It was purely by coincidence, I assure you. However, it piqued my curiosity enough to make me want more. While I am not a member of the Unitarian church, I still found the book to be a good read. I like the main character, a mother and wife of a Unitarian minister. While I can't relate to either situation in life, I liked the fact that this lady, as well as other characters, were portrayed as having both good and bad qualities. The main character's children are older so she's looking for work outside of the house while still keeping the house clean and the family fed. She faces animosity from some of the women in her husband's church, a bewildering and senseless animosity which, regardless of specific origin, we have probably all experienced at one time or another. At the end of the book, one of her friends ropes her into a new career flipping houses (remodeling them and selling them for a profit). I'm curious to read the next book and see how this new job pans out. I'd also like to keep reading to get to know the character better and see how her children grow up, especially as the older one enters her teen years (AUGHHH!!).
The only thing that kept me rating this book as a five was the level of emotional attachment (or lack thereof) that I formed for the main character and the degree to which I was able to relate to the characters and the storyline. I can see how another person could easily rate this book a "5".
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Thief in Retreat/Aimee and David Thurlo
Rating: 5/5
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Nuns/Monasteries/Religious Artifacts/Dogs/Vehicular Repair
Part of a Series? YES
Review
I finished this book and loved it, and am now backtracking and reading the first book in the series, Bad Faith, in which Sister Agatha acquires her lovable canine and her Harley Davidson.
Reading this book, I fell in love with Sister Agatha's character. Creating the character of a nun who is completely relatable to the average non-cloistered person must be a monumental literary challenge, but the Thurlos pass with flying colors.
Unlike most of the sisters at the monastery, Sister Agatha is an extern, which means she has regular contact with the outside world. She acts as sort of a go-between between the sisters and the outside world. This book, the second in the series, takes place outside of her monastery at a place called The Retreat where valuable works of art have been stolen. Sister Agatha must find the thief, working in tandum, as in the previous book, with her former lover, Sheriff Tom Green. Their past history makes for some interesting dynamics, but the two manage to get along amicably, having squared away their differences in the first book in the series (I won't ruin the first book for you by telling you how that all goes down - besides which, I haven't gotten to that part in the first book yet!).
This book left me wanting to know more about Sister Agatha and her awesome adventures with her canine buddy whose favorite pasttime is riding in the sidecar of her cherry-red '86 Harley Davidson motorcycle. A nun on a motorcycle - what could be better than that? Only her crowning glory - a red helmet painted with a white nun on a motorcycle, emblazoned with the title, "Heaven's Angels."
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Nuns/Monasteries/Religious Artifacts/Dogs/Vehicular Repair
Part of a Series? YES
Review
I finished this book and loved it, and am now backtracking and reading the first book in the series, Bad Faith, in which Sister Agatha acquires her lovable canine and her Harley Davidson.
Reading this book, I fell in love with Sister Agatha's character. Creating the character of a nun who is completely relatable to the average non-cloistered person must be a monumental literary challenge, but the Thurlos pass with flying colors.
Unlike most of the sisters at the monastery, Sister Agatha is an extern, which means she has regular contact with the outside world. She acts as sort of a go-between between the sisters and the outside world. This book, the second in the series, takes place outside of her monastery at a place called The Retreat where valuable works of art have been stolen. Sister Agatha must find the thief, working in tandum, as in the previous book, with her former lover, Sheriff Tom Green. Their past history makes for some interesting dynamics, but the two manage to get along amicably, having squared away their differences in the first book in the series (I won't ruin the first book for you by telling you how that all goes down - besides which, I haven't gotten to that part in the first book yet!).
This book left me wanting to know more about Sister Agatha and her awesome adventures with her canine buddy whose favorite pasttime is riding in the sidecar of her cherry-red '86 Harley Davidson motorcycle. A nun on a motorcycle - what could be better than that? Only her crowning glory - a red helmet painted with a white nun on a motorcycle, emblazoned with the title, "Heaven's Angels."
Splendor in the Glass/Tamar Myers
Rating: 3/5
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Antiques
Part of a Series? YES (A Den of Antiquity Mystery)
Review
In this mystery, the main character is believable but not lovable. Her friend CJ is crazy without being endearing. And while the plotline is captivating and the setting description makes me wish I lived in the south, I'm not sure if I'll be coming back for more.
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Antiques
Part of a Series? YES (A Den of Antiquity Mystery)
Review
In this mystery, the main character is believable but not lovable. Her friend CJ is crazy without being endearing. And while the plotline is captivating and the setting description makes me wish I lived in the south, I'm not sure if I'll be coming back for more.
Peril in Paperback/Kate Carlisle
Rating: 2/5
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: books, esp. first editions, old or out of print books, re-binding books
Part of a Series? YES (The Bibliophile Mysteries)
Review
I love the idea of a book about books. Inception! I also love the setting of this book, a millionaire's mansion with changing passageways and trap doors! A Nancy Drew for adult readers. Unfortunately, other aspects of the book were also Nancy Drew-esque. Case in point: the main character's boyfriend who shows up at just the right time at the end of the book to save the day (Really? Do women still need men to come in and hog tie the bad guy?) Additionally, the boyfriend drama throughout the book (Is he cheating on me? Why haven't I heard from him? Is he ok? Maybe I like this other guy who's really hot.) comes across as somewhat juvenile as well. Then there is the event, quite disconnected from the story line, of a baby who randomly shows up in the middle of the story and is given to the care of a lesbian couple.
This book didn't make the cut, but now I'm curious to find out how "One Book In the Grave" did make the cut and end up on the NYT best seller list. Maybe I'll have to read it and find out!
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: books, esp. first editions, old or out of print books, re-binding books
Part of a Series? YES (The Bibliophile Mysteries)
Review
I love the idea of a book about books. Inception! I also love the setting of this book, a millionaire's mansion with changing passageways and trap doors! A Nancy Drew for adult readers. Unfortunately, other aspects of the book were also Nancy Drew-esque. Case in point: the main character's boyfriend who shows up at just the right time at the end of the book to save the day (Really? Do women still need men to come in and hog tie the bad guy?) Additionally, the boyfriend drama throughout the book (Is he cheating on me? Why haven't I heard from him? Is he ok? Maybe I like this other guy who's really hot.) comes across as somewhat juvenile as well. Then there is the event, quite disconnected from the story line, of a baby who randomly shows up in the middle of the story and is given to the care of a lesbian couple.
This book didn't make the cut, but now I'm curious to find out how "One Book In the Grave" did make the cut and end up on the NYT best seller list. Maybe I'll have to read it and find out!
The Chocolate Bridal Bash/Joanna Carl
Rating: 3/5
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Chocolate/candy-making
Part of a Series? YES (Chocoholic mysteries, first book in the series is The Chocolate Mouse Trap)
Review
In order for a book to receive a score of 5/5, I must have formed an emotional attachment to a character by the end of the book. I should be left wanting to know what happens next to this character. Or in my case, since I never seem to start with the first book in any series, what happened to him/her before this.
While I didn't come away from Chocolate Bridal Bash with this sentiment, the book was satisfactory in other ways. I like chocolate, I like books, and so a book about chocolate seemed ideal. And it was!
The storyline is as solid as a solid-chocolate Easter Bunny (also made in the book, by the way). From the beginning, I was hooked on the mystery (which, incidentally, doesn't start out as a murder, but involves one along the way). I skipped paragraphs and whole pages just to find the solution to the mystery. It's a great read and keeps you interested throughout.
My other complaint is that the main character makes malapropisms in every other sentence which seem a bit over the top. Is anyone really that stupid or clumsy when it comes to words? As a word-fiend, I couldn't connect on an emotional level to a character who was always saying the wrong word. Unlike M.C. Beaton's Lady Godolphin from the Six Sisters series who provides comic relief, my reaction to this character was a groan rather than a laugh. Give me an intelligent, witty character over a bumbling malaprop any day.
Nevertheless, my love for chocolate will see me coming back for more. I'll probably start with the first book in the series this time, The Chocolate Mouse Trap,
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Chocolate/candy-making
Part of a Series? YES (Chocoholic mysteries, first book in the series is The Chocolate Mouse Trap)
Review
In order for a book to receive a score of 5/5, I must have formed an emotional attachment to a character by the end of the book. I should be left wanting to know what happens next to this character. Or in my case, since I never seem to start with the first book in any series, what happened to him/her before this.
While I didn't come away from Chocolate Bridal Bash with this sentiment, the book was satisfactory in other ways. I like chocolate, I like books, and so a book about chocolate seemed ideal. And it was!
The storyline is as solid as a solid-chocolate Easter Bunny (also made in the book, by the way). From the beginning, I was hooked on the mystery (which, incidentally, doesn't start out as a murder, but involves one along the way). I skipped paragraphs and whole pages just to find the solution to the mystery. It's a great read and keeps you interested throughout.
My other complaint is that the main character makes malapropisms in every other sentence which seem a bit over the top. Is anyone really that stupid or clumsy when it comes to words? As a word-fiend, I couldn't connect on an emotional level to a character who was always saying the wrong word. Unlike M.C. Beaton's Lady Godolphin from the Six Sisters series who provides comic relief, my reaction to this character was a groan rather than a laugh. Give me an intelligent, witty character over a bumbling malaprop any day.
Nevertheless, my love for chocolate will see me coming back for more. I'll probably start with the first book in the series this time, The Chocolate Mouse Trap,
Eggs Benedict Arnold/Laura Childs
Rating: 3/5
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Cooking/food, knitting
Part of a Series? YES (A Cackleberry Club Mystery)
Review
This book jumped out of the shelf at me because of the title, which clearly screamed, "FOOD!" As a chef, I love food, and as a reader, I love mysteries, so this book promised to be the perfect blend of culinary mayhem. Alas, I found the dish a bit flat. The conclusion of the mystery seemed somewhat contrived. A well-written mystery should provide the reader some clue as to who might be the culprit, but this seemed to spring out of the blue, as if the writer decided mid-book who should be the culprit.
Character development was lacking, but I started with the second book in the series. Perhaps by starting with Eggs in Purgatory, I might gain a deeper appreciation for the people in the book. Secondary characters were of a cookie-cutter typology - too stereotypical and one-sided to be real.
On the plus side: the Cackleberry Club (the name of the restaurant in the book) boasts a knitting room for its guests and serves tea and scones and other delightful culinary creations. The setting of the book appealed to me greatly and made me wish I lived near such a place so that I could go there and knit, or sip tea and nibble a tart while reading my favorite book.
The author has also written a series of Tea Shop Mysteries as well as a series of Scrapbooking Mysteries. While I'm not a scrapbooker, the tea shop mysteries do appeal to me, so I might check out Death by Darjeeling, the first in the series of Tea Shop Mysteries.
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Cooking/food, knitting
Part of a Series? YES (A Cackleberry Club Mystery)
Review
This book jumped out of the shelf at me because of the title, which clearly screamed, "FOOD!" As a chef, I love food, and as a reader, I love mysteries, so this book promised to be the perfect blend of culinary mayhem. Alas, I found the dish a bit flat. The conclusion of the mystery seemed somewhat contrived. A well-written mystery should provide the reader some clue as to who might be the culprit, but this seemed to spring out of the blue, as if the writer decided mid-book who should be the culprit.
Character development was lacking, but I started with the second book in the series. Perhaps by starting with Eggs in Purgatory, I might gain a deeper appreciation for the people in the book. Secondary characters were of a cookie-cutter typology - too stereotypical and one-sided to be real.
On the plus side: the Cackleberry Club (the name of the restaurant in the book) boasts a knitting room for its guests and serves tea and scones and other delightful culinary creations. The setting of the book appealed to me greatly and made me wish I lived near such a place so that I could go there and knit, or sip tea and nibble a tart while reading my favorite book.
The author has also written a series of Tea Shop Mysteries as well as a series of Scrapbooking Mysteries. While I'm not a scrapbooker, the tea shop mysteries do appeal to me, so I might check out Death by Darjeeling, the first in the series of Tea Shop Mysteries.
A Murderous Yarn/Monica Ferris
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Cross-stiching, Stanley Steamers (turn of the century cars powered by steam engines)
Part of a Series? YES
Review
I liked this book because in addition to giving me some light-hearted reading, I learned something about Stanley Steamers, a type of vehicle I'd never heard of before I read this book. Also, while I don't cross-stitch, I did learn a bit about it from this book, and also received a free cross-stitch pattern with the book (which I'll probably never use, but still).
Overall the book was well-written. The reason I didn't give it five stars is because when I read a book, I want to "like" the characters by the end of the book. Perhaps it was because I started in the middle of the series of needlecraft mysteries, but this book did not have the desired effect. In comparison, when I read the second "Sister Agatha" book (David and Aimee Thurlo), I had developed an affection for the character at the end of the book. Not much character development or personality description takes place in this book. Characters seem more or less one dimensional with the sole purpose of unraveling a mystery (pun intended). Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning about steamers and needlecraft, and if I'm looking for a light read, I just might start at the beginning and read A Crewel World.
Genre: Murder mystery,
Tangential Interests: Cross-stiching, Stanley Steamers (turn of the century cars powered by steam engines)
Part of a Series? YES
Review
I liked this book because in addition to giving me some light-hearted reading, I learned something about Stanley Steamers, a type of vehicle I'd never heard of before I read this book. Also, while I don't cross-stitch, I did learn a bit about it from this book, and also received a free cross-stitch pattern with the book (which I'll probably never use, but still).
Overall the book was well-written. The reason I didn't give it five stars is because when I read a book, I want to "like" the characters by the end of the book. Perhaps it was because I started in the middle of the series of needlecraft mysteries, but this book did not have the desired effect. In comparison, when I read the second "Sister Agatha" book (David and Aimee Thurlo), I had developed an affection for the character at the end of the book. Not much character development or personality description takes place in this book. Characters seem more or less one dimensional with the sole purpose of unraveling a mystery (pun intended). Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning about steamers and needlecraft, and if I'm looking for a light read, I just might start at the beginning and read A Crewel World.
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