Catching Up on Book Reviews

 

Here I've been, chugging along posting just one book review per week. I know that you know that's just the tip of the iceberg, although I do admit to reading much less when Denis was in the hospital and our niece Karen was here. So... it's time to do a little catching up. 

These will be short reviews. I'll provide links to Amazon in each title in case you want to learn more about any of the books. Let's get started!

The Girl in Cell A by Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781399707725

Hodder & Stoughton, Ltd. © 2025

eBook, 515 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: D+

Source: Net Galley

My Thoughts: This standalone thriller is a departure for one of my favorite authors. 

Orianna Negi was convicted of murder at the age of seventeen. She's always maintained her innocence, even though she has dissociative amnesia. Released from prison on parole, she returns to Eden Falls to uncover the truth, no matter the cost.

At 515 pages, The Girl in Cell A needed some editing. There were too many twists, too many turns, too many about-faces, and the book's length gave me plenty of time to tire of them all. If I'd warmed up to Orianna, I might've enjoyed the book more, but she left me cold. So did the rich and powerful Wyclerc family. (I think I've reached my saturation point on entitled rich folk.) The only reason why I kept reading was to find out the truth. In that, I was just as stubborn as Orianna. 

 

The Irish Convict by M.J. Lee

ASIN: B0CFFDRJRD

M.J. Lee © 2023

eBook, 287 pages

Genealogical Mystery, #10 Jayne Sinclair

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: M.J. Lee's genealogical mysteries consistently impress me. With his main character, Jayne Sinclair, he consistently centers engrossing mysteries around puzzles that can be unearthed when researching family history. 

In The Irish Convict, Jayne is in lockdown in Australia, and she agrees to research a well-known family's history. It should be easy, but it isn't. I love watching this character uncover the truth. Having helped my grandmother and mother in researching our own family history, I also know that she's giving valuable tips to anyone who might want to do the same. As always, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power

eISBN: 9780063281110

William Morrow © 2023

eBook, 304 pages

Multi-generational Fiction

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: A Council of Dolls covers almost two hundred years in the lives of Indigenous women, from the ancestral lands of the Lakota to twentieth-century Chicago. Readers learn of the lives of Sissy (born 1961), Lillian (born 1925), and Cora (born 1888) in part through the stories of the dolls they carried.

From life on their ancestral lands to Indian boarding schools to inner city Chicago, I found this book to be compulsive reading and, at times, emotionally draining. 

The Verifiers by Jane Pek

eISBN: 9780593313800

Vintage Books © 2022

eBook, 336 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Claudia Lin

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: Claudia Lin is used to disregarding the expectations of her domineering Chinese mother, and she's certainly used to keeping secrets from everyone in the family. A lifelong mystery reader, Claudia believes she's landed her ideal job with Veracity, a referrals-only online-dating detective agency. When a client vanishes, Claudia breaks protocol to investigate and uncovers personal and corporate deceit.

I liked Claudia well enough; she has a penchant for comparing things to various books that I found enjoyable ("That man is harder to read than Finnegan's Wake"). I also enjoyed the insider's look at online dating services. But... there was something about the book that just didn't make me want to read more. 

City of Destruction by Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781399707671

Hodder & Stoughton © 2024

eBook, 359 pages

Historical Mystery, #5 Malabar House

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: After gunning down a man trying to assassinate the defense minister at a political rally, Detective Persis Wadia is tasked to hunt down the assassin's co-conspirators. Britain's MI6 immediately shunts her to the sidelines, but she rapidly picks up another case.

I really enjoy Khan's series set after India's Independence and the Partition. City of Destruction shows Persis learning a bit of spycraft as well as the relationship between Great Britain and India at this time. She's finally beginning to learn how to work as part of a team, but I am tiring of her knowingly running into danger without backup. Of course, this behavior can be laid at the feet of her fellow (male) officers, most of whom believe she has no business being there. This is a good, fast-paced read, even though it has a few too many (albeit excellent) similes.

Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw

eISBN: 9781728295466

Sourcebooks Landmark © 2025

eBook, 304 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: This dual-timeline historical novel was a match made in heaven for me. Inspired by the life of paleoanthropologist Dr. Mary Leakey, Follow Me to Africa moves from 1930s London to the Serengeti plains of 1980s Tanzania.

Seventeen-year-old Grace Clark's mother just died, and now she's been sent to help a father she barely knows on an archaeological dig at Olduvai Gorge. Here she meets the indomitable Mary Leakey, a scientist and rebel. With the help of Lisa the cheetah, Mary encourages Grace to think for herself, to choose what she wants to do before someone else does it for her, and she's stuck in a life she doesn't want. The friendship between Mary and Grace, the archaeology, the wildlife... marvelous. (And the Author's Notes and bibliography are must-reads.) I hadn't read a book by Penny Haw before, but now I'll be looking for more.

Am I all caught up now? Ummmm... nope! But I will get there eventually. Promise!

Did I tempt you with any of these books? Have you already read any of them? Which ones? What did you think of them? Inquiring minds would love to know!

The Museum Detective by Maha Khan Phillips

 

First Line: Gul was dreaming of Mahnaz when her phone rang.

A call in the middle of the night from the Sindh police makes Dr. Gul Delani think that they've finally found her missing niece, Mahnaz, who's been gone three years. Delani, a talented curator at the Museum of Heritage and History in Karachi, is consumed by grief and buries herself in her work.

But there is no news of Mahnaz. As one of the country's leading experts in archaeology and ancient civilizations, Delani has been summoned to a narcotics investigation in a remote Pakistani desert region. She can't believe what she finds: a mummy-- life-size, seemingly authentic, in a sarcophagus decorated with symbols from the ancient Achaemenid Empire in Persia. 

The discovery is too good to be true and too precious to leave in the wrong hands. Delani will stop at nothing to get to the truth even as her work puts her in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy and even threatens to interfere with her search for Mahnaz.

~

Although I was fascinated by the archaeology and the history contained in The Museum Detective, it really wasn't my cup of tea. With the current political turmoil here and abroad, I find myself having little patience with the restrictive lifestyles of more traditional Muslim women, and that is what Dr. Gul Delani has dealt with most of her life. It's been tremendously difficult for her to work her way up into her position at the museum in Karachi. Moreover, I wondered why she was still so determined to find her niece and why her parents seemed eager to write the girl off. 

The angst piled higher and higher as the story veered from archaeology and history to drugs, the illegal antiquities trade, corrupt police, and other people in power who couldn't be trusted. Perhaps if I had been in a different mood, I would've enjoyed this book more, but I didn't. I just couldn't warm to Delani or care about her search for her niece.

The Museum Detective by Maha Khan Phillips

eISBN: 9781641296571

Soho Crime © 2025

eBook, 337 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Dr. Gul Delani

Rating: D+

Source: Net Galley

Perfect Storm by Paige Shelton

 

First Line: "Beth Rivers, you are under arrest for the murder of Travis Walker."

 

Convicted kidnapper Travis Walker, the man whom Beth Rivers barely got away from, has escaped and is on the way to Benedict, Alaska, to exact his revenge. All of Beth's friends in Benedict agree: she needs to disappear.

She and her boyfriend Tex make their way to a camp out in the woods, but when they get close to a small community known as Blue Mine, their plans are upended. When Beth and Tex start to take the widow of a recently murdered man back to Benedict to talk with the police chief, the woman disappears.

Beth and her friends have their hands full. Who else is going to suddenly appear... or disappear... in this remote area?

~

This is a series that I've enjoyed from the very first book. I've enjoyed learning about life in a remote area of Alaska, the customs that have come about due to the land and the weather, and the way the people band together in difficult times.

In Perfect Storm, Beth Rivers learns just how many friends she's made in tiny Benedict. When they learn that the man who kidnapped and almost killed her has escaped and is on his way there, they form a united front to keep her safe. However, when Tex and Beth come across a woman walking to Benedict to bring in the body of her murdered husband, all their planning runs right off the rails. Between trying to find the woman when she vanishes, trying to keep Beth safe, trying to locate a missing man, and trying to figure out what's going on at a tiny place called Blue Mine, all the characters scatter in different directions. Here Beth is, trying to keep out of the hands of the man who kidnapped her, and she can't keep track of anyone there in town. She's trying to herd cats.

But the book truly begins to shine when things get darkest. Beth has had so much trauma in her life. She's felt so frightened and helpless for so long. When all her friends seem to run off and desert her, does she fall apart? 

You're just going to have to read Perfect Storm to find out. What a character Beth Rivers is!

Perfect Storm by Paige Shelton

eISBN: 9781250910479

Minotaur Books © 2024

eBook, 256 pages

Amateur Sleuth/Thriller, #6 Alaska Wild

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon

 

First Line: Quill ran the snow-covered trail.

 

Ever since she saw Jimmy Sky jump off the railway bridge on the Red Pine Reservation in Minnesota, Quill hasn't stopped running. Now in training for the Boston Marathon, she's running in the woods when she hears a scream that chills her to the bone.

 

When she returns to search the area, all she finds are tire tracks and one beaded earring. Quill is filled with dread for the woman who screamed. She knows what happens to women who look like her. She also knows how fortunate she is. She has two good friends, Punk and Gaylyn, a loving husband, Crow, and two beautiful children. They all challenge her to be the best she can be. So when Quill learns that a second woman has been abducted, she knows she must do something about it.

 

As Quill closes in on the truth about the missing women, someone else disappears. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? She's putting everything on the line to make a difference in this bystander culture... to do something about the long-lasting trauma of being considered invisible.

 

~

 

Just like in Marcie Rendon's hard-hitting Cash Blackbear trilogy (Murder on the Red River, Girl Gone Missing, Sinister Graves), When They Last Saw Her gives readers an unflinching portrait of life on the reservation for Native American women. It's a life filled with danger-- especially when "man camps" for pipeline workers are built on reservation land. Even tribal police don't do their due diligence when Quill reports the heart-stopping scream she heard when out running in the woods. When more women disappear, she and fellow runners must go in groups guarded by husbands, brothers, and boyfriends in pickup trucks. 

Rendon not only paints a portrait of women living in fear, but she also shows us the loving family life Quill has with her husband, Crow, and her two young children. Quill's refusal to "let it go," to let "boys be boys," is admirable and frightening all at the same time. Readers know how easy it would be for her to disappear, too.

Readers can also learn how government policies, like the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, have changed family dynamics within the Native community. Rendon's books are poetic, life-affirming, informative, and compelling. Quill is a force of nature every bit as strong as Cash Blackbear, and I didn't want When They Last Saw Her to end. I can't wait for Rendon's next book.

Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon

eISBN: 9780593496510

Bantam Books © 2024

eBook, 272 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, Native American Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Red Gold by Robert D. Kidera

 

First Line: I knelt by my wife's grave, as I had each day for more than a year.

 

Professor Gabriel McKenna is still grieving the death of his wife, so when he learns that his great-aunt has left him an inheritance, he looks forward to a change of scenery and heads to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

Once in his great aunt's house, Gabe finds himself up to his eyebrows in a mystery involving the legendary Lost Adams gold. His life is in danger. Old friends and new rally to his side.

 

People are willing to kill for this treasure, and Gabe's life depends on his ability to find it first... if it even exists.

 

 

~

 

The best part of this first Gabe McKenna mystery is the pursuit of the Lost Adams gold. The author's description of being out on the trail in a remote area brought back memories of many pleasurable hours my husband and I spent doing the same thing in our Jeep. I also liked following along as McKenna did his research and began putting all the clues together. (I can't resist old maps and manuscripts.)

But I also had problems with Red Gold. I have very few hot buttons in my reading, but alcoholism is one of them. When McKenna's wife died, he fell face-first into a bottle, and I tired of his constant reaching for one. An example? "I felt overwhelmed. So I walked into a bar at the end of the block." He knows people are trying to kill him, but he makes sure he has a flask of booze at hand when he's heading out to a dangerous situation. I know we're supposed to feel compassion for this man, but I just rolled my eyes. However, when things really began heating up, he started forgetting to reach for the bottle, so there was hope.

It also felt as though the author was trying to make his main character all things to all people. He's an alcoholic. He's a college professor and published author. He won the 1977 Golden Gloves in boxing. He was an Army Ranger in Grenada. He has a Ph.D in Pre-Columbian history. And he's the lucky recipient of a sizable inheritance. I only wish that Golden Gloves of his had been more useful because Gabe spent entirely too much time getting the stuffing knocked out of him (which is something of a hot button, too.)

Although I did enjoy the search for treasure, Gabe McKenna just didn't do a thing for me. Your mileage may vary, and I hope that it does.

Red Gold by Robert D. Kidera

ASIN: B092TTXVFW

Suspense Publishing © 2015

eBook, 232 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Gabe McKenna

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Pentimento Mori by Valeria Corciolani

 

First Lines: Yellow. Everything is dry and yellow.

 

Art historian Dr. Edna Silvera becomes an amateur detective when she stumbles across a medieval painting in recently murdered Nando Folli's junk shop. She also turns into a thorn in Public Prosecutor Jacopo Bassi's side as she tries to learn more about the painting and why the junk dealer died.

 

~

 

Valeria Corciolani's Pentimento Mori was irresistible to me because it's almost impossible for me to turn down a mystery that deals with any art history. In that respect, this first Edna Silvera mystery is brilliant. In fact, the fascinating nuggets of history and art often outshine the plot. I soaked up each one of Corciolani's factoids, including the significance of colors and pigments in medieval art as well as why Popes bless people with three fingers. 

Some of the similes used in Pentimento Mori are a bit clunky and make me think that they sound better in the original Italian, but that didn't stop me from trying to solve the mystery, and it certainly didn't stop me from liking the misanthropic Dr. Edna Silvera with her chickens named after movie stars. There is also quite a bit of humor to be found, and between the mystery, the characters, and the humor, I was reminded of my favorite Italian mystery writer, Andrea Camilleri.

Between the art history and the reminder of Camilleri, I am looking forward to seeing Edna Silvera again. She's the kind of quirky character that I love.

Pentimento Mori by Valeria Corciolani

Translated from the Italian by Unknown.

eISBN: 9781948104289

Kazabo Publishing © 2024

eBook, 299 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Edna Silvera

Rating: B+

Source: the publisher

Death in the Air by Ram Murali

 

First Line: Ro Krishna crouched on a white wooden dock and peered into the rapidly darkening Harrington Sound.

 

The American son of Indian parents, educated at all the best schools, at home in London's most exclusive clubs, Ro Krishna finds himself at loose ends when forced to leave a high-profile job. Deciding that he needs some R&R, Ro heads to Samsara, a world-class spa for the global cosmopolitan elite in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. 

 

However, the cast of characters Ro meets harbors a murderer among them. Maybe even more than one. As more people die, Ro finds himself a reluctant sleuth.

 

~

 

I had high hopes for Ram Murali's Death in the Air. Unfortunately, almost none of those hopes were realized. First of all, the writing style kept me at a distance. I felt like I was peering down at the stage from the nosebleed seats. This kept me from being fully engaged in the story.

 

Secondly, the setting in the Himalayan foothills was one of the major reasons why I chose to read this book. As far as the setting goes, Death in the Air could have been set anywhere. 

Thirdly, the cast of characters did nothing to engage my interest. They were an assortment of entitled young people swanning around the resort in designer clothing and jewels. Oh, and most of the men had great hair, too.

The only thing that truly interested me was the mystery itself even though one of the reveals at the end wasn't a surprise to me. Death in the Air is a mystery for the plot-driven reader, who should enjoy deducing whodunit. Alas, I am not a plot-driven reader.

Death in the Air by Ram Murali

eISBN: 9780063319325

HarperCollins © 2024

eBook, 368 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, Standalone

Rating: C-

Source: Net Galley 

The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy Schillace

 

First Line: The house was enormous.

 

After losing her job, her mother, and her marriage all in one year, divorced neurodivergent, hyperlexic book editor Jo Jones is happy to inherit a family estate in North Yorkshire and leave New York City behind. 

 

Jo is used to not fitting in, and she expected her Americanisms and her autism to set her apart in the English countryside. What she didn't expect was finding the body of the estate's caretaker-- a man she'd fired the day before-- dead on the rug in her cottage. Not only is she in potential danger, but Jo is also a potential suspect. 

 

When a strange family portrait disappears from Jo's inherited manor house, she finds herself on the trail of the missing painting... and a killer.

 

 

~

 

When I read the synopsis of Brandy Schillace's The Framed Women of Ardemore House, I couldn't resist. A transplanted American in the depths of Yorkshire? A book-loving heroine who just doesn't fit in? A derelict mansion with secret rooms? A neglected garden? A missing painting? A murder? It's as if the author knew all my hot buttons and tried to press as many of them as she could in one book. Was she successful? Yes, she was!

 

Jo's voice immediately drew me into the story. Her inheritance is an estate that's been vacant since 1908. It's in bad shape, but at least there's also a cottage she can move into. When she first arrives, the solicitor tries to shuffle her off to the cottage and away from the ramshackle country house, but "Jo was standing in front of Wuthering Heights, and no, she did not want to go poke around a cottage." I don't blame her, especially when she goes inside and "...her heart leapt; she'd caught a glimpse of distant book spines. 'It's a library?' she asked."

 

This book may be Jo's show, but Schillace surrounds her with an excellent supporting cast. There's the lovestruck Welsh antiques dealer, Gwilym; Tula, the innkeeper's wife who's a fellow outsider; and DCI James MacAdams, who "looked like Sam Spade tangled with Columbo and got the worst of it." 

The solution to the mystery was something completely different, and I didn't pick up on it although my hindsight showed me where clues had been planted all along the way. I was even suspicious of a character whom I should have been suspicious of, but I couldn't figure out how that person fit in. I love it when that happens!

If you're in the mood for a fun read, by all means, pick up The Framed Women of Ardemore House. The ending is rather open-ended, and I'm really hoping that I'll have a chance to see Jo Jones again. I love her.   

The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy Schillace

eISBN: 9780369747716

Hanover Square Press © 2024

eBook, 355 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Netherleigh mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Over the Edge by Kathleen Bryant

 

First Line: Early morning sun warmed the sandstone cliffs around me, and from behind closed eyelids I sensed the orange glow.

 

After a disastrous mistake cost her her job and almost her life, ex-crime reporter Delilah (Del) Cooper has returned to Sedona, Arizona to rebuild her life. Now working for a company that takes tourists through Red Rock Country, everything is peaceful and calm until she finds a body while hiking in a remote canyon.

 

At first, Del believes that the murdered man is connected to a proposed land trade that will pave the way for a luxury development on the edge of town, but money may not be the only motive. The more she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and they all lead to Lee Ranch, a former filming location for Western movies. And the more secrets she uncovers, the more she knows that someone is watching her.

 

~

 

I picked up Kathleen Bryant's Over the Edge primarily for its Sedona setting-- one that I am very familiar with-- and the setting certainly did not disappoint. Bryant had me deep in Red Rock Country, visiting ancient Indian ruins, hiking remote canyons, slapping off orange-red dust, and thirstily emptying my water bottle while watching tourist-laden Jeeps jounce past. And speaking of them,

anyone who's been to Sedona has seen the ubiquitous Pink Jeeps, and I enjoyed learning more about that part of Sedona's tourism industry. 

The mystery is a strong one that kept me guessing, and the action unfolds at a steady pace. Unfortunately, I never warmed up to Del Cooper, and that definitely is a problem. If Del makes another appearance, will I read the book? Probably, if it's also set in Sedona. But if I still don't warm up to her, I'll have to find another fictional way back to Red Rock Country.

 

Over the Edge by Kathleen Bryant

eISBN: 9781639107599

Crooked Lane Books © 2024

eBook, 298 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Del Cooper

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley 

The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman

 

First Line: It was really getting to Jane now, tormenting her nights, raiding her head as soon as she awoke in the mornings.

 

It may be the height of summer in Herefordshire, but dark clouds are gathering over a converted hop kiln where the last owner was savagely murdered. The current owners are convinced that the place is haunted, but even though their story becomes headlines in a Sunday newspaper, the local vicar dismisses the idea as nonsense. 

 

Always leery of bad press, the Bishop of Hereford directs Merrily Watkins, priest and exorcist for the diocese, to put the situation to rest. It makes no difference that Merrily already has her hands full with a woman who is convinced that her adopted daughter is possessed by an evil spirit.

 

~

 

It had been years since I'd first enjoyed the first three books in Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins series. Then the day came when I saw the next three sitting on my bookshelf, and I knew it was time to pick up book four, The Cure of Souls. Rickman knows how to blend many elements into a compelling, atmospheric tale. 

 

There's the element of the supernatural that makes the story a tiny bit eery, even though the cause of mayhem is always rooted in very earthbound human behavior. There's the element of setting in which I always learn something about the area. In The Cure of Souls, this element is threefold: a bit about the history of hop growing and picking, the making of guitars, and Romany (gypsy) traditions. There's the ecclesiastical element which is done with a light touch. There's the strong element of mystery which keeps readers wondering what in the world is going on, and then there's my favorite-- the element of character. I truly enjoy the characters in this book.

Merrily Watkins is a woman with a true calling. She wants to do good. She wants to help her fellow human beings. She wants to raise her teenage daughter to be a good person, and she's still not convinced that she's the right priest for the job of diocese exorcist, but she's working hard to learn as much about it as she can. She has to work hard because too many people still look at her and think, "You're the wrong sex, you're too young, you're too small."

 

At the beginning of this series, I couldn't stand Merrily's daughter, Jane. Jane just got right up my nose, but I'm happy to say that, as she gets older, she's begun to realize that the world doesn't revolve around her and she needs to take other people into account. She's got good instincts in this book, and it's fun to watch the evolution of her character.

 

I love how Rickman begins his tales with overtones of the supernatural-- Ouija boards, fortune tellers, demonic possession, ghosts-- and then turns everything inside out to show how the mystery is actually rooted in the here and now. That takes skill, and when that skill is joined with an atmospheric setting and a strong cast of characters, it turns this series into a winner. 

The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman

ISBN: 0330487566

PanMacmillan © 2001

Paperback, 566 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #4 Merrily Watkins mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Paperback Swap

A Girl Called Justice: The Ghost in the Garden by Elly Griffiths

 

First Lines: September 1937. "It seems strange to think we'll be third years," said Stella. "Yes," said Justice. "I thought I'd get expelled long before this."

 

Justice Jones and her friends are third-year students now at boarding school, and there's a new girl in their group. Leticia has never been to school before, and although she doesn't care for rules, the teachers don't seem to mind! She decides that Justice is going to be her particular friend, much to the dismay of Justice's closest chums, Stella and Dorothy.

 

The girls in Justice's school group sneak out to the barn one night for a midnight feast and see a ghost in the garden. Then one of the girls disappears and ransom notes appear, torn from the pages of a crime novel. Now Justice has to find the missing girl and learn the identity of her kidnapper.

 

~

 

Although written for children between the ages of nine and eleven, I enjoy reading Elly Griffiths' Justice Jones series, too. I really get the feel for life in an English boarding school in the 1930s, and the mysteries are fun to solve. 

 

I'm reminded of Harry Potter whenever one of the job positions at the boarding school is mentioned, and Justice finds even more hidden rooms in the huge old mansion. I can't resist hidden rooms... 

 

It's a good thing that Justice has good reasoning skills because they're put to the test with her friends. The new girl, Leticia, monopolizes Justice, and Stella and Dorothy become quite upset. Justice finds it's not easy trying to keep everyone happy. 

 

I'm looking forward to the next book, one, to see if the teachers continue trying to knock some of the independence out of this young sleuth, and, two, to see how one of the characters deals with her good news. If you're a fan of Elly Griffiths' adult mysteries, don't be surprised if you enjoy this series for younger readers, too. Indulge your inner child!

A Girl Called Justice: The Ghost in the Garden by Elly Griffiths

ISBN:  ‎ 9781786541338

Quercus Children's Books © 2021

Paperback, 200 pages

 

KidLit, #3 Justice Jones mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from Amazon. 

Lost Hours by Paige Shelton

 

First Line: I lifted my face to the cool wind and breathed in the crisp air.

 

After a year of living in Benedict, Beth Rivers is feeling at home in Alaska. One day in July, she boards a tourist ship to see the glaciers, but her trip is cut short when the captain of the ship navigates around an island and a woman is seen on shore, covered in blood and waving for help. When she's brought on board, she claims she was kidnapped and that a bear on the island killed her captor.

 

The woman, Sadie, tells a sympathetic Beth that she's under witness protection and that the police in Juneau where she's been living don't like her. Then another kidnapping occurs. Beth and the Benedict police chief can't help but think that the two cases are tied together; however, unraveling all the clues to solve the cases will not be easy.

~

Paige Shelton's Alaska Wild series continues to be my favorite, and Lost Hours is another strong entry. This fast-paced mystery gives us the next step in Beth's continuing recovery from her horrifying experience of being kidnapped. She's made friends, she's continuing to write her bestselling thrillers while publishing the local paper, and she's getting to know her estranged father.

One of the things I like the most about Beth is the fact that she has no moments that I call TSTL (To Stupid to Live). After what she's already lived through, she doesn't take unnecessary risks. She's quite happy to let trained professionals do the work, and she communicates with them whenever she has pertinent information. Her strength and resilience are quite admirable, and I enjoy watching her form strong friendships and carve out this new chapter in her life. 

The mystery in Lost Hours is multi-layered, and it was a treat to see how all the various elements came together: who was coming and going, the witness protection program, bears, and even how Beth reacts to a teenage fan.

If you enjoy intriguing mysteries with a strong lead character in a wild and often unforgiving landscape, give Paige Shelton's Alaska Wild series a try. A word of advice: Because of Beth, it's best if you start at the beginning with Thin Ice.

Lost Hours by Paige Shelton

eISBN: 9781250846624

Minotaur Books © 2023

eBook, 288 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #5 Alaska Wild mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Death on the Trans-Siberian Express by C.F. Farrington

 

First Line: It was eight o'clock on Friday morning, and Olga Pushkin was weeping on the arm of her new sofa.

 

Only Dmitri the hedgehog keeps Olga Pushkin, Railway Engineer Third Class, company in her tiny rail-side hut outside the small Siberian town of Roslazny. When she's not busy taking care of the tracks, she's hard at work on her book, Find Your Rail Self: 100 Life Lessons from the Trans-Siberian Railway. She longs for escape and the opportunity to study literature at Tomsk State University, the Oxford of West Siberia.

 

But life begins to intrude on Olga. She receives a hurtful poison pen letter, Roslazny experiences a minor crime wave, and then she's knocked unconscious  by a man falling from the Trans-Siberian-- an American tourist with his throat cut and his mouth stuffed with ten-ruble coins. When another death occurs, Roslazny's new police sergeant, Vassily Marushkin, takes on the case, only to find himself arrested as the killer. Olga wants to help prove Vassily's innocence, but how will she do it?

 

~

 

Death on the Trans-Siberian Railway is a book that I wanted to like much more than I did. The mystery was intriguing and kept me guessing, and I did enjoy the setting and cultural insights into Siberian life; however, the author's writing style let his story down. There was too much tell and not enough show. In addition, the pace dragged and didn't show signs of life until past the halfway mark. The-- to me-- all-important cast of characters never really came to life either. Yes, Olga was the best of them all, and I did like getting to know her, but there were too many times when I felt that she was vying for sainthood. Her cretin of a boss, her verbally abusive father, her money pit of a best friend... Olga wants to be all things to all people whether or not they deserve it, and it was exhausting watching her tying herself in knots to please them all.

There is a second book in this series, Blood on the Siberian Snow, but I won't be reading it. I do, however, wish Olga well.

Death on the Trans-Siberian Express by C.F. Farrington

eISBN: 9781472133113

Constable © 2021

eBook, 303 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Olga Pushkin mystery

Rating: C-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne

 

First Line: Tiko kicked the deflated soccer ball down the alley, laughing as MauMau, the tan puppy with the chewed-up ear, chased it into the puddle, his too-big paws splattering mud and droplets everywhere.

 

After using revolutionary scientific methods to catch one of the most prolific serial killers in history, Professor Theo Cray has found himself cut off from university research. He's trying to rebuild his life, but when the desperate father of a missing child comes to him for help, Cray finds himself drawn into another unsolved case.

 

The only clues he has to go on are children's drawings and an inner-city urban legend about someone called the Toy Man. To unravel this mystery, Cray is going to have to set aside his scientific preconceptions and learn to embrace a world where dreams and nightmares carry just as much weight as reality. 

 

~

 

When I read the first book in this series, The Naturalist, I felt as though I'd hit the jackpot with the main character, Dr. Theo Cray. This feeling continued in Looking Glass. In my review of the first book, I said: "Cray is a wimp. He's a nerd. He has trouble relating to people because his head is so thoroughly buried in science and he spends so much time alone on field trips." In this second book, Cray isn't such a wimp anymore. His experiences have changed him, and he's learned how to protect himself better and how to minimize the risks he takes. What hasn't changed is how much I love watching how this character's mind works and how he tracks things down and puts them together. He sees patterns that no one else can, and that's highly important in his search for the Toy Man and the missing children. Cray may say that he can't read his own moral compass, but he definitely has one. When he sees something wrong-- especially something that others are knowingly turning a blind eye to-- he will not quit until the bad guys are caught. No matter what it takes.

Shunned by fellow academics, Cray is looked upon as the Dark Knight in defense intelligence circles, and they're hoping that he'll develop programs they can use both in war and in law enforcement. He's doing his best to steer clear of the war part of the work, and he made me smile when he uses his clearance and some of the tricks he's learned in his new job to help him on his quest to find the missing children. 

Andrew Mayne certainly knows how to write a story and a main character that set fire to my imagination, and although I did find the serial killer in Looking Glass to be a bit over the top, both the killer and the events surrounding him aren't completely out of the realm of possibility. I've grabbed a copy of the next Theo Cray thriller, and I know that I'll enjoy reading it.

Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne

eISBN: 9781542047999

Thomas & Mercer © 2018

eBook, 317 pages

Thriller/Amateur Sleuth, #2 Dr. Theo Cray mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn

 

First Line: "Hello, it is I, your grandson, insert name here," said Dinu.

 

71-year-old widow Loretta Plansky is relieved that her hip replacement hasn't affected her tennis game. She's settling into her Florida retirement, keeping an eye on her feisty 98-year-old father, and being inundated with requests for money from her children and grandchildren.

All's well until she's rudely awakened in the wee hours of the morning by a phone call from someone claiming to be her grandson Will, who needs $10,000 to get out of a jam. Of course, Loretta sends him the money. That's what grandmothers are for. 

A few hours later, Loretta has lost everything, and law enforcement has informed her that it was no use to try to find the scammers behind the theft. Once the humiliation wears off, Loretta becomes furious and refuses to become just another victim.

She's only got one clue, but it's enough to have her board a plane to Romania in an attempt to regain her money and her dignity.

~

If you're in the mood to suspend your disbelief for a few hours, Mrs. Plansky's Revenge is guaranteed to be a light, fun read. Of course, you may first have to overcome the desire to lock up all her family members who take her for granted as their Cash Cow of Choice.

 

It's easy to find yourself firmly on Loretta Plansky's side as she navigates tidal waves of humiliation and fury. Loretta is no fool, yet a pair of young Romanian scammers take her in. This book is even better because author Spencer Quinn makes those two scammers, Dinu and Romeo, sympathetic. They aren't mere cardboard villains. 

 

Loretta really doesn't have a clue of how much danger she's courting once she's in Romania, but Quinn keeps it light by showing how so many of her life experiences save the day. We should all be so lucky in our own adventures.

 

If you've enjoyed Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie mysteries (as I have) and are in the mood for something light and fun, you should give Mrs. Plansky's Revenge a try.

Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn

eISBN: 9781250843340

Forge Books © 2023

eBook, 294 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

A Deadly Bone to Pick by Peggy Rothschild

 

First Line: "Please be careful with that."

 

After the death of her husband, ex-police officer and former P.I. Molly Madison and her golden retriever, Harlow, move cross-country from Massachusetts to California to start over. 

 

On her first day in her new house as the movers are bringing in the furniture, a very large, slobbery Saint Berdoodle wanders in. Molly winds up taking on the responsibility of training Noodle for his busy owner. During one of their beach walks, Noodle digs up a severed hand. 

 

When Molly alerts the local police, they run a background check on her, and a past incident they find makes her the prime suspect for one of the investigating homicide detectives. Now it's up to her to clear her name.

~

When I read the synopsis of A Deadly Bone to Pick, I was intrigued by the main character's background as an ex-police officer and former private investigator. Being a lover of canines, Molly's current calling as a dog wrangler was icing on the cake. I was ready to see how well the crime solving blended with the dog walking.

As it turns out, very well indeed.

 

After the fracas surrounding her husband's death, Molly has shut herself off from almost everyone, only letting in her mother and a trusted friend. Her friend worries about her and keeps telling her to get out and meet people. Molly's not so sure, but she soon finds that walking two large dogs down to the beach every day is a guaranteed way to make new acquaintances. 

 

After learning that Molly has a collection of signed first editions of Sue Grafton's mysteries AND that one of her first stops in her new hometown was the used bookstore, I wanted to go knock on her door and introduce myself. (And pet her golden retriever, Harlow, but I digress.) Whether she wants to be or not, Molly is a magnet for both people and dogs. In no time flat, she's made friends with eight-year-old Ava and is helping her train her puppy, Butterscotch. The precocious Ava actually sets her up as the local dog wrangler, and her "collection" of canines begins to grow.

 

One of the things I liked the most in A Deadly Bone to Pick was the fact that the dogs aren't just a prop to draw people to read the book; they are an important part not only of the book but of Molly's life. Harlow goes through agility training. After watching him, Molly thinks Noodle would benefit from scent training, and she also takes on the training of a deaf puppy. Whenever she's questioned by the police, she sees to the needs of the dogs first.

The mystery also kept me guessing, although when whodunit was revealed, I mentally slapped myself upside the head. I guess I was enjoying being around those dogs so much that I forgot to pay attention to the clues Rothschild planted all along the way.

If you love crime fiction and animals and are looking for a mystery where the animals do more than demand to be fed or let outside, A Deadly Bone to Pick is the book for you. With an engaging main character ("Why didn't you like me?"..."You weren't nice to your dog."), an intriguing mystery, and plenty of canine involvement, I find myself looking forward to the next book in the series with a great deal of anticipation.

A Deadly Bone to Pick by Peggy Rothschild

eISBN: 9780593437094

Berkley Prime Crime © 2022

eBook, 304 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Molly Madison mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Blow Up by Ellen Crosby

 

First Line: I was standing on a hilltop surrounded by twenty-two Corinthian columns that had once graced the US Capitol when Quill Russell finally told me the truth about my husband's death-- or at least he told me part of the story.

 

Photojournalist Sophie Medina is out jogging with her friend, Father Jack O'Hara, on Capitol Hill when they find the body of Associate Supreme Court Justice Everett Townsend lying in the alley behind his house. Townsend, a diabetic, is barely alive and later dies in the emergency room. 

Townsend's tragic death has unexpected repercussions for Sophie when a young homeless man is murdered. Shortly before his death, the young man told Sophie a shocking story about Townsend that could have a devastating impact on the Supreme Court.

Sophie finds herself running for her life, and the only thing that can possibly save her is a photograph from a series she's been doing on the homeless people of Washington, DC. Will she be able to find it in time?

~

I loved the first two Sophie Medina mysteries and was disappointed when there were no more, so it's no surprise that I did a little happy dance when I learned about Blow Up. This third in the series certainly does not disappoint.

Sophie is just the sort of protagonist that I like. She's talented, smart, and caring, and has a lot to deal with in Blow Up. She's still grieving over the death of her husband, and she will continue to ask questions until she knows how he died-- no matter how much the CIA tries to stonewall her. Her beloved grandfather, a famous photographer in his own right, recently died and left a will that profoundly shocked his family. Going through his papers and photographs brings even more surprises. 

The mystery involving the death of the Supreme Court justice is strong and compelling, and although it's filled with danger for Sophie, it brings to the fore another reason why I like her so much. As a photojournalist who has covered extremely dangerous and life-threatening situations, she doesn't take unnecessary risks. When she started, her boss enrolled her in a two-week intensive course in hostile environment training, which certainly stands her in good stead. Sophie's life may be threatened in Blow Up, but it's not due to anything stupid that she's done.

After reading both her Sophie Medina series and her Wine Country mysteries, I can only say that Ellen Crosby is one of my favorite writers and deserves to be much better known. Her writing is intelligent and engaging, and not only do I get to enjoy a well-told mystery with a fine cast of characters, I learn things along the way. You can jump right into this series with Blow Up and not be the least bit confused, but don't be surprised if Sophie gets under your skin and you find yourself looking for the other two books in the series, Multiple Exposure and Ghost Image. I'm really looking forward to the next book.

Blow Up by Ellen Crosby

eISBN: 9781448308040c

Severn House © 2023

eBook, 240 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #3 Sophie Medina mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley