A Novel Death by Judi Culbertson

First Line: The day my life began to unravel-- like the sweaters my mother tried to knit for us to save money-- started much too early.

Delhi Laine, owner of Secondhand Prose, dreams of making the Great Find. When she receives a very rare and valuable children's book, she learns that treasures such as this can come at a very high cost. Within days one colleague has been killed and another left for dead. As Delhi searches for the true owner of the book, she learns that many of the people around her are not what they appear to be. But regardless of the danger, she's determined to protect the precious book.

As I began to read A Novel Death, I thought I had chosen a simple, pleasant mystery filled with fascinating information on rare books. It didn't take long for me to realize that there was much more to this mystery than had originally met my eye. 

Besides that rare book information, I found the plot engaging and with excellent pacing. Delhi is an interesting character who doesn't know when to quit. Working my way through all the suspects, their true identities, and their motivations kept the pages turning, and by book's end I knew I wanted to read more about Delhi Laine.
    

A Novel Death by Judi Culbertson

ASIN: B009OY04AE

Thomas & Mercer © 2011

eBook, 208 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Delhi Laine mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.  


 

Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman

First Lines: Some people swallow their grief. Some let it swallow them.

Tragedy strikes, and the bottom drops out of Gus Murphy's world. His marriage implodes. His daughter is on the fast track to self-destruction. Instead of being a happily retired Suffolk County police officer, Gus is now divorced and drives a courtesy van for the past-its-best hotel where he has a room. The only thing that keeps his grief at bay is the mindless routine he has created for himself.

All that changes when ex-con Tommy Delcamino asks him for help. Four months ago the brutalized body of Tony's son was found in an abandoned lot, and the police don't seem to be doing a thing to find his killers. Tony is desperate, and he's turned to the only decent cop he's ever known and trusted: Gus Murphy.

Gus agrees, more or less just to get Tony out of his face, but then he becomes committed. He learns that Tony was telling the truth. Everyone who was involved with Tony's son has something to hide-- and they're deadly serious about keeping those things hidden.

This is my first experience reading a book written by Reed Farrel Coleman, and although my reactions are mixed, I doubt that it will be my last. Where It Hurts is a bit too "noir P.I." for me, but Coleman writes beautifully and put me right inside Gus's head. At the beginning Gus is a robot, and "robots know only what they need to know." As he takes on this investigation, we get to watch him coming out of his grief-stricken inertia. 

However, the pace of this book was excruciatingly slow for two-thirds of its length, probably because we spend too much time in Gus's head, and he hasn't been properly re-introduced into society yet. Depressing and slow as it may be, after reading Where It Hurts, I can see why Coleman is admired by so many people.    

Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman

ISBN: 9780399173035

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2015

Hardcover, 368 pages

Noir, #1 Gus Murphy mystery

Rating: B-

Source: Amazon Vine


 

Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape

Title: Sketch Me If You Can
Author: Sharon Pape
ISBN: 9780425236048
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, 2010
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages
Genre: Cozy, #1 Portrait of Crime mystery
Rating: B-
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: It was over in less than three minutes.


After her favorite uncle's death, police sketch artist Rory McCain discovers that there was much more to the man than met the eye. Rory inherited his private detective business and decided to contact everyone on his client list to settle all the accounts.

However, when she moved into his beautiful old Victorian house, she discovered that Uncle Mac had a business partner-- a federal marshall named Ezekiel (Zeke) Drummond. Trouble is, Zeke was a marshall back in the Arizona Territory in the 1870s, and he had the misfortune to be murdered in Uncle Mac's... make that Rory's... house on Long Island. Zeke's not going anywhere until he finds his killer either.

Rory's still trying to decide if she's lost all her marbles when she's drawn into one of Uncle Mac's unsolved cases. As she's drawn in deeper, she realizes that she needs the help of an experienced investigator. Zeke applies for the position, but Rory's having none of that-- until a killer on the loose changes her mind.

Rory McCain is a very impulsive and very stubborn character. Zeke Drummond may be old-fashioned, cantankerous and sexist, but he also has a good sense of humor and has a steadying influence on her. Pape gives us just enough of Zeke's story to get us hooked and looking forward to more.

There's a heaping helping of humor in Sketch Me If You Can, and I found myself smiling and laughing out loud several times, as when Rory is confronted with her ghostly housemate and wonders why there aren't books like Living With a Ghost for Dummies or Chicken Soup for the Haunted House Owner. My favorite scene, however, was when Rory asked her parents and her aunt to help her investigate the scene of the crime. I hope she asks them for help again because they made quite the team!

Although it wasn't difficult to deduce the killer's identity, and I felt the cast of secondary characters outside of Rory's family needed a bit of fleshing out, I found Sketch Me If You Can to be very entertaining, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Sketch Me If You Can at Amazon.

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Sketch Me If You Can at Your Favorite Indie.