“Set Sail for Murder”   by Carolyn Hart

         Review #173

         A Henrie O  Collins Mystery

Retired news journalist, Henrie O Collins sails on a two-week Baltic cruise to help out an old friend and former flame, James Lennox.   Jimmy has married the dashing documentary filmmaker, Sophia Montgomery, and he is afraid that one of Sophia's grown stepchildren, (from a previous marriage), is trying to kill her.

It turns out that Sophia's stepkids have plenty of reasons to hate her, not the least of which is she stands in the way of their inheritance.  The inheritance has been in a fund managed by Sophia for several years and the children have been receiving funds at set intervals. The time has come, however, for Sophia to decide if they are ready to take over the management of their own funds or if they will have to wait another 10 years to do so.

The whole family is required to go on the cruise, during which time, Sophia will announce her decision regarding the inheritance.  When Jimmy begs Henrie O to accompany his family on the cruise and get to the bottom of the suspicious accidents that keep befalling Sophia, she reluctantly agrees. When Sophia disappears from the ship in the middle of the ocean, Henrie O sets out to discover who made that happen!

Framed by descriptions of the lovely Baltic ports of call, Hart's seventh in the Henrie O series combines engaging subordinate characters and surprising plot twists with the charms of Henrie O herself, who grapples with her past feelings for James while trying to solve the case. 

As usual, I am a great fan of Carolyn Hart’s mysteries!

“Mad as the Dickens”         

        by Toni L.P. Kelner

Review #172

A Laura Fleming Mystery

This lightweight cozy series brings amateur sleuth Laura Fleming back to her hometown of Byerly, N.C., where once again murder and mayhem prevail. 

Five months pregnant, Laura, an MIT graduate and computer programmer, and her English professor husband, Richard, had planned on spending a quiet Christmas at home in Boston until a call came from Laura's cousin, Vasti,  begging Richard to come down to help put on a play version of Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

What begins as the fulfillment of Richard's dream to be a director soon becomes a nightmare when a series of practical jokes turns dangerous and the actor playing Scrooge gets murdered. In spite of his death, members of his family decide the show must go on.

Laura and a vacationing police chief join forces to investigate the crime. Petty conflicts between the two sleuths on how this is to be accomplished almost overshadow the dramatic and well-done conclusion that unmasks the murderer.

Constant reference to the raging hormones of the pregnant Laura, the cliché?...words of advice from doting aunts and new young mothers…the childish competition between Vasti and the town social climber (who are each vying for a place in the Junior League)… eccentric moonshiners and…Richard's frequent quotes from Dickens that fall on deaf ears, all make the reader rejoice that Byerly is a fictional town. 

This delightful character will have little interest for more serious crime fiction devotees, but, I love her!  A fun and funny book!

“for one more day”     by Mitch Albom

Review #171

Retired baseball player Charley "Chick" Benetto, facing the pain of unfulfilled ambitions, alcohol abuse, divorce, and estrangement from a grown daughter-returns to his abandoned childhood home and attempts suicide in a bungling fit of rage. He encounters the spirit of his deceased mother, Pauline "Posey" Benetto, who Chick thoughtlessly took for granted during both his formative years as cocky athlete and his booze-soaked adulthood.

Miraculously, Chick can now apologize to Posey for his ingratitude concerning the sacrifices she made as a single, working mother. Albom writes with finesse, particularly in Chick's wistful litany of his mother's pearls of wisdom, "A child embarrassed by his mother is just a child who hasn't lived long enough."  If Posey's truisms may not necessarily break new literary ground, Albom deserves credit for giving her depth and complexity that transcend familiar pop culture notions of motherhood in '50s America.

You don’t have to believe in “ghosts” to appreciate this book.   
I couldn’t put it down.

This "ghost story" provides an affirming tale of moral instruction and emotional catharsis.

“Still Life With Murder” by P.B. Ryan

Review #170
First book in the series of Nell Sweeney Mysteries

Post-Civil War Boston 1868:

After their mother died from cholera and their father ran off with another woman, the three Sweeney children are 170 the baby of a servant in the home of the wealthy Hewitt Family.

Viola Hewitt adopts the child and hires Nell to be the baby's governess. Viola sweeps Nell into a world of respect and wealth. Four years later, word arrives that the eldest son, thought to have died in the confederate prison camp in Andersonville, is alive and awaits trial for cold-blooded murder. Viola asks Nell to find evidence that will set her oldest son free since his father, August Hewitt doesn't care if he hangs (turns out he is William’s stepfather). Nell risks everything to clear Will because she believes he is innocent despite all the evidence to the contrary.

The heroine is a spunky woman who climbed out of a poverty-stricken and crime infested area to make something of herself. Readers will admire her and won't be able to resist her many charms. STILL LIFE WITH MURDER is a well-constructed and fascinating mystery in what has become a great series.

“Rumpole Misbehaves”   by John Mortimer

 

Review #169

A Rumpole of the Bailey Mystery

Horace Rumpole, a quirky English barrister, agrees to defend 12-year-old Peter Timson, who's been served with an "Anti-social Behaviour Order" (ASBO) for playing soccer in the streets of a posh London neighborhood.  The eco-freaks in Rumpole's Chambers soon award Rumpole his own ASBO for contributing to the greenhouse effect by smoking cigars.

Soon Rumpole becomes involved in a murder case, in which a civil servant has been found in a locked room with a dead Russian prostitute.  The shy, Graham Wetherby, stands accused of murdering her.  Since Wetherby prefers to be represented by a "QC" or Queens Counsel, Rumpole schemes to become a QC in an amusing subplot.

Rumpole fans will cheer the barrister's vigorous defense of his clients as well as his cutting comments on the nanny state that gives rise to laws like ASBOs.

As usual, there's humor everywhere: with the backbiting characters in Chambers; with the humorless, narcissistic judges; in his wife's (Hilda, "She Who Must Be Obeyed") efforts to read for law; and in his courtroom battles.

As always, the character of Rumpole overshadows the mystery solving.

I first met Rumpole on BBC TV.  I started reading the books and love them all because they’re fun!

“Silks” 
by Dick and Felix Francis

Review #168

Soon after London barrister Geoffrey Mason, an amateur jockey by avocation, starts receiving a series of threatening messages from a former client, Julian Trent (whose conviction for assault was overturned on appeal), Mason reluctantly accepts the defense of a jockey, Steve Mitchell, accused of the pitch-fork murder of fellow rider Scot Barlow at a steeplechase event.

Mitchell and Barlow had fallen out over Barlow's sister, a vet and Mitchell's former girlfriend, who took her own life just a short while before. When unknown parties order Mason to lose the case, he must balance his professional ethics and his sense of self-preservation. 

Mason works to discover the connection between Trent and the murder, even though doing so will endanger himself and his loved ones.

Another Francis winner!

“Unnatural Exposure”  by Patricia Cornwell

                                    Review #167

A Dr. Kay Scarpetta  Mystery

This new adventure of Virginia's Medical Examiner and consultant to the FBI, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, takes her from Dublin to Richmond, Va., making stops at a tiny barrier island in the Chesapeake Bay and the government's huge biological defense facility in Dugway, Utah. Tours of Graceland in Memphis and Atlanta's Center for Disease Control are added before the closing in London.

Dr. Scarpetta has been called to Ireland to help investigate a series of grisly murders in which the killer dismembers his victims. Imagine her horror when she returns to the U.S. and finds the killer…or a terrifying copycat…has struck at home. Worse, the victims appear to have been exposed to a deadly, highly contagious smallpox-like virus.  To complete her personal nightmare, Dr. Scarpetta may have been exposed to the virus, and the killer has started sending her gruesome e-mail messages.

With the help of her savvy FBI agent niece, Lucy, Dr. Scarpetta tracks the elusive killer as her own life hangs in the balance. The suspense builds to an unbearable pitch, but when the murderer's identity and motive are revealed, it's more puzzling than satisfying.

I love this character and this book.

“Black Notice” 
by Patricia Cornwell


Review #166

A Dr. Kay Scarpetta Mystery

Kay Scarpetta's on the case when the body of a stowaway is found in a sealed container on a ship arriving in Richmond, VA. from Belgium. This is just the beginning of a tumultuous adventure!

Evil wears several faces this time, from petty to monstrous. Most insidious is the office sabotage, insubordination, thefts and fraudulent e-mails, that are making the grieving Kay look as if she's lost her grip since the murder of her lover, Benton Wesley. More destructive are the overt attempts by calculating Richmond’s deputy police chief, Diane Bray, to ruin Kay's career as well as that of Kay's old friend, Capt. Pete Marino.

In addition, there's the wild rage that's consuming Kay's niece, Lucy, a DEA agent whose friend and partner has been injured and finally, there are the mutilation killings by the French serial killer and self-styled werewolf, "Loup-Garou".

The forensic sequences are presented with authority; the interplay between Kay and Marino is boisterous as always, and there's an atmospheric side trip to Paris and an affecting romantic misadventure for lonely Kay. I love Faye Kellerman’s books!

“The Cross Gardener”                                          by Jason F. Wright

Review #165

An automobile accident concludes with John Bevan being born on the side of the road Even as he struggles to live, his mother’s life slips away. He becomes a ward of the state and, at the age of 4, is adopted by an apple farmer with two other adopted sons.

Though John's life starts out in sorrow, he knows mostly joy growing up in a loving home in the Shenandoah Valley. John seems to know where he's going and everything works out according to plan, including marrying his high school sweetheart and working in the orchard.

Another accident, when a deer runs out in front of the family car, results in the death of his beloved wife who is 8 months pregnant with their second child. Suddenly, John's life has no direction. He can hardly care for himself, let alone his surviving five year old daughter.
Caught up in despair, John finds himself returning on a daily basis to the place where his wife and son died. The two cross memorials on the side of the road become a haven and a hindrance. And it's only when a quiet stranger, the cross gardener, happens along that John begins to truly understand his purpose in life.

"The Cross Gardener" is a quiet book with a quiet message of hope when all seems lost.  I cried my way through this book and loved every minute of it!

“Guardian Angel”   by Sara Paretsky

Review #164

A Private Eye, V.I. Warshawski Mystery

Vic’s eccentric old neighbor, Hattie Frizell, has had a stroke and V.I. (Vic) Warshawski is currently furious at Todd and Chrissie Pichea, an upscale couple on her block who have had themselves appointed Mrs. Frizell’s legal guardians. They follow this act with immediately having her five beloved dogs put to sleep. Next they begin to explore Mrs. Frizell’s financial situation!

While this is going on, Vic and another neighbor, 77-year-old Mr. Contreras, identify a body pulled from the Chicago Sanitary Canal as that of a friend of Contrera's, Mitch Kruger, who had recently boasted of having the goods on their old employers at Diamond Head Motors, a small manufacturing concern on the West Side.

Mr. Contreras asks Vic to investigate his friend’s death since the police believe he accidentally fell into the Canal while he was drunk and have closed the books on the incident.

During her investigation of Kruger’s death, V.I. uncovers an intricate bond-parking scheme that ties into the behavior of the Picheas and Diamond Head.  They appear to be offloading some dodgy bonds on local senior citizens including Mrs. Frizell who remains in the hospital.  

She also, discovers that Diamond Head has ties to a bigger steel/salvage company, which is linked to a suburban bank, which is represented by the prestigious city law firm (with Vic's pompous ex-hubby, Dick, pretty high up the corporate masthead).  It soon becomes clear that all is not what it should be with the Picheas, Kruger’s death and Diamond Head’s involvement.  A complex situation for Warshawski to untangle!

As usual, Sara Paretsky has another hit with this book!

“Murder on Bank Street” By Victoria Thompson

Review #163
A Gaslight Mystery

Midwife Sarah Brandt became a widow after her husband was murdered in 1893. In 1897, she is on the brink of a romantic involvement with Frank Malloy, an Irish cop in an era when New York City police were almost as bad as the criminals.

Fans of the ‘Gaslight Mystery’ series have been wondering for years if we would ever learn who murdered Dr. Tom Brandt. The wait is over! Police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt has given permission for Detective Frank Malloy to investigate this 4-year-old case. Even though the case is cold, Malloy feels an urgent need to solve it quickly. Roosevelt seems destined to become a part of the new McKinley administration, and as soon as Roosevelt leaves the police force, Malloy will have to resume his regular duties. Since he is racing against the clock, he reluctantly accepts assistance from a couple of detectives from the Pinkerton agency.

Malloy narrows his suspects down to the fathers of three disturbed young women, each of whom was treated by Tom Brandt. Dr. Brandt was trying to understand and cure a mental condition in which unmarried women become fixated upon men with whom they are only slightly acquainted. But when he discovers what he believes to be the truth, the shocking revelation may destroy Sarah and…Malloy’s hopes for any future with her.

There's some undercover work, some straight forward police interrogation, and an exciting finish. I love this series and the characters!

“Christmas Jars”  by Jason F. Wright

Review #162

This is the story of a newlywed Christmas tradition that evolves into a chain reaction begun by the kindness of a little girl and spanning 26 years.

Hope Jensen begins life by being left in a restaurant by her mother.  There is a note asking that she be given a loving home.  The lady who finds her does just that.  Shortly after Christmas, twenty five years later, Hope is devastated when her adoptive mother dies from ovarian cancer.   To compound her misery, Hope’s apartment is broken into and all of her valuables are stolen including $500 in emergency money.  The police haven’t been gone long when Hope discovers that someone has left her a gift…a glass mason jar labeled "Christmas Jar" and filled with money.

Using her Journalistic investigative skills, she learns that in recent years, several people have reported receiving these mysterious jars in times of need. Hope's search leads her to the Maxwell family and their generous Christmas tradition.

It will take you 3 to 4 hours to read this story.  It’s not a new idea and has some weaknesses in the story line, but Mr. Wright has presented a possible challenge for us and…some very interesting characters.  

“T is for Trespass”   by Sue Grafton

Review #161

A Kinsey Millhone Novel

Private Detective, Kinsey Millhone’s elderly next-door neighbor, Gus Vronsky, suffers a fall and needs in-home care.

After Vronsky's out-of-state great-niece arranges to hire a home aide health-care nurse named Solana Rojas, Kinsey does an employee background check and finds nothing out of order.

As Gus's condition deteriorates and Solana limits access to her patient, Kinsey and her landlord, Henry, suspect that something is a little off with Solana.  A "little off" doesn't fully describe this identity thief and true sociopath. Digging around more carefully, Kinsey unearths horrifying details of Solana's past and must act quickly to save Gus.

Since the reader knows from the start that an unscrupulous master manipulator has stolen the Rojas persona, the plot focuses not on whodunit but on the battle of wits Millhone wages with an unconventional and formidable adversary.

This is vintage Grafton, set in the 1980s but scarily current, carefully plotted, and fast paced.  Loved it!

“Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes”  

by authors…Donna Ball, Sandra Chastain, Debra Dixon,

Virginia Ellis, Nancy Knight, and Deborah Smith.

                                                     Review #160

Six Southern female writers contribute to this charming and hilarious collection of original short stories that reflect life in the American South as they knew it.

The stories found in this book, are a variety of life's lessons concerning eccentric relatives, outrageous pets, and unrepentant neighbors, to name a few of the unsuspecting victims these ladies target in their good-natured writings.


One of the stories, "Sweet Tea" by Debra Dixon, is the recounting of the Southern bride-to-be's encounter with an uppity future mother-in-law and her refusal to partake in a Southern delicacy - a cool glass of  Southern sweet tea.

Another delightful story, "Jesus Shoes" by Sandra Chastain, is set during the Depression and finds a young girl fascinated with her brand-new Sunday School sandals. This fascination takes a turn when she encounters two bare-foot brothers whose life situation would gently alter the child's outlook on what was important in life.

There are sixteen stories in this collection of poignant, heartwarming and nostalgic tales. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be glad you read this one!

There is a second book called, “More Sweet Tea”, that I can’t wait to read!

“Sanctuary” By Faye Kellerman

Review #159

A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

Orthodox Jewish housewife Rina Lazarus and her husband, LAPD Detective Sergeant Peter Decker have their hands full in this adventure. While Peter and his partner, Det. Marge Dunn, investigate the disappearance of prosperous diamond dealer, Arik Yalom, his wife and their 2 teenage sons, Rina plays hostess to Honey Klein, visiting from New York with her children and obviously escaping problems with her Hasidic diamond-dealer husband, Gershon.

When the bodies of the older Yaloms are found buried on a local mountainside, their sons are seen as possible suspects or potential victims fleeing for their lives. The Yalom case leads Peter to L.A.'s diamond center; to elegant Kate Milligan, a power in the South African diamond trade; and eventually to Israel, with Rina along as interpreter.

After Gershon Klein is found dead, Honey and her kids vanish too, further complicating this investigation. Scouring the environs of Jerusalem in their search for the missing Yalom boys, turning up bomb plots as they go, Peter and Rina get a fix on the killer and take an inside look at some Israeli institutions

As usual, the author has combined fine writing, spirited characters, and a suspenseful, original plot; has woven in enlightening facts and anecdotes about modern Judaism; has added heartwarming glimpses of Jewish family life; and has capped it all with a stunning climax!

“Murder on Marble Row”   by  Victoria Thompson

Review #158

A Gaslight Mystery

At the request of Teddy Roosevelt, one of the city's three police commissioners, Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy pursues a bomber whose infernal device has killed wealthy and influential industrialist, Gregory Van Dyke.    Owing to the method used, suspicion falls immediately on the "anarchists", who recently enlisted the victim's disinherited son.

When Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy arrives at Van Dyke's home to investigate, he finds Sarah Brandt, a widowed midwife from an upper-class family, already there. The two have worked together on other cases, but Malloy swore that he would never see her again because he knows that the rigid social hierarchy prevents the expression of his true feelings. Sarah, on the other hand, is delighted to be involved in another investigation and puts her social connections to good use.

Other suspects include the victim's much younger second wife, his alienated business partner, and perhaps even the younger son, who likes his step-mom a little too much.  Malloy learns, there are plenty of dark secrets and as many suspects on Fifth Avenue as there are in the tenements.

Another good mystery and some of my favorite characters!

“Into the Deep”  by Virginia Smith  (Ginny)

Review #157

What does a dead man (Sergio), a scuba diver (Ben), the mother of 2 year old Joshua (Nikki), a Mexican drug cartel run by a deadly man (Reynosa), a ruthless U.S. Senator and a flash drive hidden in a cave 100 feet below the surface of the ocean, have in common?

That’s easy!  A love inspired, suspense story!

Nikki left Ben in Mexico, with no explanation,  close to 3 years ago.  Now they meet again in Key West, Fl.  where, together, they begin a dangerous journey.  Nikki doesn’t tell Ben he has a 2 year son until Joshua is kidnapped, in Oregon, by the bad guys.  They want the flash drive they think Ben has and they will stop at nothing to get it!  What’s on it, who all wants it and will they get it?

You will travel from Mexico to Oregon and Key West…back to Mexico and then, Salt Lake City, Utah for the culmination of this exciting and surprise filled mystery!

This is Ginny’s 12^th book and it is just as wonderful as the first 11. Start reading this book when you have lots of time because you won’t want to put it down!