Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart

 

First Lines: Eagle Springs, North Carolina, 1931. Dorothy Baker's reputation is on the line.

Walking to work one morning, Ruth Foster is stopped by the sheriff, who threatens her with arrest if she doesn't accompany him to a health clinic to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Even though she's done no more than kiss a man, Ruth finds herself at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. 

There she finds women from all walks of life, and the reasons why many of them are incarcerated are suspicious indeed. As Ruth becomes acquainted with her fellow inmates, she also learns that Superintendent Dorothy Baker is not a woman to be crossed. 

Baker takes her mission of transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society very seriously. If anyone at the Colony flouts anything listed in her rule book, the consequences are swift and harsh. Be that as it may, Ruth is determined to get out-- no matter what it takes.

~

In many respects, I've mellowed as I've gotten older, but not in all. Misogyny now infuriates me. As I learn more about the ridiculous laws women have had to deal with, I'm not only angry, but I also wonder why on earth women have put up with this treatment for centuries. When did we lose our spines? But I digress.

Donna Everhart's Women of a Promiscuous Nature is based on the long-buried history of the American Plan, set in motion during World War I to prevent soldiers from contracting venereal disease. Women could be forced to undergo testing for these diseases and placed in "industrial farm colonies" for the flimsiest reasons. Rumors. Being poor. Eating alone in a restaurant. Speaking to a soldier. Being pretty and unmarried. Yes, prostitutes were also incarcerated, but most of these women were not.

Strong characterizations make this book a winner. I couldn't help but take them all into my heart-- two in particular. Ruth, a young woman who just happened to be too pretty to be walking alone to work, and fifteen-year-old Stella, whose home life was so abominable that the farm colony felt like heaven to her. But three characters figure prominently in Women of a Promiscuous Nature. The third is Superintendent Dorothy Baker. Letting readers into her mind is a stroke of genius. We're given insight into how a woman could actually treat other women in such a horrible way and think she was helping them. Although I never did give up my hearty dislike of Dorothy Baker, her character does have depth. She's not merely the villain of the piece. 

Women of a Promiscuous Nature shines a light on a murky piece of American history, and in so doing, readers can take the book's characters to heart-- becoming angry for them, worrying about them, and wanting to help them escape from their prison. 

Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart

eISBN: 9781496740731

Kensington Books © 2026

eBook, 368 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

 

First Line: There should be some kind of warning when your life is about to change forever.

 

North Carolina's richest and most notorious woman has died. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore ruled the small town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family's estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

 

Known by locals as "Mrs. Kill-more" for being widowed four times, Ruby left everything to her adopted son, Camden, a school teacher in Colorado who wants nothing to do with the house, the money, or the surviving McTavishes. Camden's uncle's death pulls him and his wife, Jules, back to Ashby House despite Camden's feelings.

 

Back in the clutches of this money-grubbing entitled clan, Camden and Jules are surrounded by questions. Were any of the rumors about Ruby's kidnapping true? What really happened to those four husbands of hers? After all, they all died under mysterious circumstances. And why did she even adopt Camden in the first place?

 

It doesn't take long for the couple to realize that an inheritance involves far more than what's written in a will.

 

~

 

Rachel Hawkins weaves her compelling tale from the vocal strands of matriarch Ruby McTavish, her adopted son Camden, and Camden's wife Jules. It doesn't take long after readers arrive at Ashby House to realize that they've fallen into a den of vipers... and that everyone's motives should be suspect. 

 

The Heiress reminds me of one of my favorite mystery tropes: is this person the true heir? DNA tests have killed that favorite of mine, but it still lives on in books like Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar and to a tiny degree, here. After all, the McTavishes who've stayed at Ashby House would like nothing better than to take every penny of Camden's inheritance away from him, and they're not too picky about how they do it.

 

One of the highlights of the book is the letters Ruby wrote to Camden. Her words prove her to be strong, sympathetic, and devious. Those letters, combined with occasional newspaper articles, are the backbone of The Heiress, and they define a fascinating character. 

 

To one remote, beautiful mansion, add a hornet's nest of characters, and some delicious plot twists. What do you get? A wonderful story that you can't read fast enough. After enjoying The Heiress so much, I know that I'll be reading more from Rachel Hawkins. 

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

ISBN: 9781250280039

St. Martin's Press © 2024

Hardcover, 304 pages

 

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

 

First Line: On the morning of the worst, most earth-shattering day of Ray McMillian's life, he ordered room service: scrambled eggs for two, one side of regular bacon (for Nicole), one side of vegan sausage (for him), one coffee (for Nicole), one orange juice (for him).

 

Young Ray McMillian is determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing is going to stand in his way. Not the fact that his mother wants him to stop all that noise, get his GED, and start earning money for a 60-inch color television. Not the fact that he's Black and wants a career in a predominantly white profession. Not the fact that he's never had private lessons. Not the fact that he doesn't even have a decent violin to play.

Given a beat-up old family fiddle by his beloved grandmother, Ray's fortunes begin a meteoric rise when he discovers that the old fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius. All his dreams are suddenly within reach, and he qualifies for the renowned Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Then tragedy strikes. His violin is stolen; the thieves wanting five million dollars before they will return it. As the time for the competition approaches, Ray not only has to try to recover his violin but he also has to prove that-- regardless of the outcome-- there is a truly great musician within him.

~

I don't remember why I decided to pick up Brendan Slocumb's The Violin Conspiracy and read it, but I'm certainly glad I did. Slocumb's story grabbed me by the throat almost from the beginning, and it didn't let me loose until I'd turned the last page.

The story isn't new. Boy has talent. Boy needs violin. Boy gets violin. Boy works hard. Boy starts to get some breaks. Boy's violin is stolen. Can boy's dreams still come true? But if the only books that mattered were those with completely new plots, very few books would matter at all. Some stories are universal and deserve to be told over and over again.

Some of the characters aren't new either. The self-absorbed mother who wants Ray to stop making all that racket, get his GED, and get hired on at the hospital so he can buy her that 60-inch color TV she wants. The greedy family who, when they learn that the old family fiddle none of them gave a hoot about is actually a priceless Stradivarius, see nothing but DOLLAR SIGNS and insist that Ray sell it so they can wallow in millions of dollars. The evil couple who insists that the violin is theirs. The fairy godmother of a college music professor. Even Ray isn't new. 

But guess what? Those tried-and-true characters we've seen thousands of times are just as fine as that "old" story because of the way Brendan Slocumb breathes life into it all. We care about Ray. We want him to succeed. We want to tackle every bigot the young boy has to face and get them out of his way for good. Our hearts soar as music fills every pore in Ray's body and then comes out in a brilliant torrent as he plays that old family fiddle. You don't have to love classical music to enjoy this book, but-- if you do-- it's going to add that extra Something Special. 

The identity of the violin thief is easy to deduce, but how the theft was accomplished and what happened to the thief made up for that. The author explains how much of The Violin Conspiracy actually happened in his notes and acknowledgments, and I also watched a video of one of his appearances on Youtube in which Slocumb stated, "I want to be the Stephen King of musical thrillers!" After falling head over heels into this first book of his, all I can say is that I hope his wish comes true.

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

ISBN: 9780593315422

Vintage Books © 2022

Trade Paperback, 368 pages

 

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

The Enigma Affair by Charlie Lovett

 

First Line: It wasn't just the bullet passing by Patton's left ear that concerned her.

 

When small-town librarian Patton Harcourt's early morning baking is rudely interrupted by bullets whizzing past her ear and thudding into her brand-new refrigerator, she has little choice but to trust the mysterious assassin who shows up in her kitchen. 

 

While evading two German killers, Patton and the assassin, Nemo, form an alliance that takes them to Bletchley Park in England and then on a white-knuckle chase through Europe. There is something deathly important about an undecrypted message sent on one of the Third Reich's Enigma machines, and Nemo, Patton, and Patton's former lover, Ruthie Drinkwater, must find out what it says before white supremacist Ingrid Weiss does.

 

What does a message about Heinrich Himmler's research into alchemy have to do with the balance of world power? That's what Patton and Nemo must risk everything to find out.

 

~

 

I've read all of Charlie Lovett's books (except his earliest) and enjoyed them all. He became a must-read author for me when I finished his The Lost Book of the Grail. Lovett is a master of the literary mystery; however, The Enigma Affair is a departure for him-- an out-and-out thriller with whizzing bullets, edge-of-the-seat chases, witty repartee, and loathsome villains. I enjoyed every second of it.

The ensemble cast is excellent. It's soon apparent that Patton Harcourt is not your usual small-town North Carolina librarian, and Nemo (once you get a bit of his backstory) is one of the most sympathetic assassins you'll come across. Then there's Ruthie Drinkwater, who works at Bletchley Park; Alex Lansdowne, the owner of a very large collection of Nazi memorabilia; and Jean Simpson, a librarian who finds herself joining this motley crew after she becomes incensed over some stolen library books. As the cast grows-- each member adding an important element to the group's chances for success-- the witty dialogue between them provides laughs and lightens the darkness of the overall quest... because learning about Himmler's brand of alchemy has the power to suck all the light from a room. (On a personal note, if I thought any of the characters to be unnecessary, it was Ruthie Drinkwater, but your mileage may vary.)

If you're in the mood for a chase across Europe to save the world from chaos, hop aboard The Enigma Affair. It's too much fun to miss, and I certainly look forward to what Charlie Lovett will come up with next!

The Enigma Affair by Charlie Lovett

eISBN: 9781665047098

 Blackstone Publishing © 2022

eBook, 367 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Fatal Scores by Mark de Castrique

 

First Line: "There's no place where a beer tastes better than at a baseball game."

 

When a local environmentalist is found dead in the Pigeon River, his death threatens both the upcoming Asheville Luminaries Festival and the proposed expansion of a local paper mill. Since the dead man was supposed to be at the river to collect water and soil samples and there were no samples to be found, his death is highly suspicious. 

 

The victim's family hires the Blackman Agency to find the truth, and as Sam Blackman and his partner Nakayla Robertson begin to investigate, leads point them in two directions: the father and son who own the paper mill, and someone who wants to disrupt the Asheville Luminaries Festival. Sam and Nakayla have their work cut out for them if they want to see justice done.

 

~

 

This is another one of my favorite series, and it reminds me of two others. One I'll talk about right now. When I recently reviewed Ellen Crosby's latest Wine Country mystery The French Paradox, I talked about how intelligent Crosby's books are. Well, Mark de Castrique's Blackman Agency books are also a feast for the intelligent, curious reader. This series is filled with strong characters, intriguing mysteries, history, art, literature, and vivid settings. If I thought reading Ellen Crosby's books was akin to spending time with a kindred spirit, then Mark de Castrique is a kindred spirit, too.

 

I never realized how rich Asheville, North Carolina's cultural heritage is until I began reading these books. Although the Asheville Luminaries Festival is fictitious, I would love to attend it due to the wealth of leaders in the humanities who've spent time there. In Fatal Scores, de Castrique introduces us to three more: Dr. Robert Moog, creator of the Moog synthesizer, composer Béla Bartók, and environmentalist and social activist Wilma Dykeman. Although I was familiar with Moog and Bartók, I'd never heard of Wilma Dykeman, and after reading Fatal Scores, I definitely wanted to correct my oversight. (It is Dykeman who said, "As we have misused our richest land, we have misused ourselves; as we have wasted our bountiful water, we have wasted ourselves; as we have diminished the lives of one whole segment of our people, we have diminished ourselves.")

 

It is Dykeman who ties in most closely to the mystery in this book, and this allows the author to touch upon a period of horrendous water pollution: the Pigeon River in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee was once known as the "Dead River" and Hartford, Tennessee as "Widowville" due to the deaths caused by deadly chemicals being dumped by paper mills.

 

One of the things I love most about this series is that these historical personages and events are woven carefully and skillfully into the narratives; I never feel as though I've been dumped in a classroom where I'll soon be tested on a bunch of dates and facts. 

 

The mystery is a good one in Fatal Scores, as is all the fascinating information, but the main thing that brings me back time after time is the characters. Sam Blackman is a former military investigator who lost his leg in Iraq. There's a serious side to the loss of his leg, but Sam isn't above poking a little fun at it as when he tells Nakayla, "Next time you try to stop me from saying something stupid, please step on my real foot, not my prosthesis." Nakayla Robertson is Sam's partner both romantically and professionally. She's also one strong, intelligent Black woman who's more than capable of holding her own in any situation. And here is where I'm reminded of another favorite series, Todd Borg's Owen McKenna series set in Lake Tahoe. Like Owen, Sam loves a strong, independent woman, and he's willing to take her on her own terms. You gotta love a man like that.

If you're an insatiably curious reader who loves to partner with nuanced, strong characters to solve intriguing mysteries while learning all sorts of fascinating things along the way, you can't go wrong with a Blackman Agency mystery by Mark de Castrique. Fatal Scores can be read as a standalone, but I'd suggest starting at the beginning with Blackman's Coffin.

Fatal Scores by Mark de Castrique

ISBN: 9781464213151

Poisoned Pen Press © 2021

Paperback, 272 pages

 

Private Investigatior, #8 Blackman Agency mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams

 

First Line: The man on the park bench stared at the empty space above the knuckle of Nora Pennington's pinkie finger.

 

The man on the park bench seems like so many others who visit Miracle Springs, North Carolina, hoping the the hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can sure what ails them. But Nora Pennington, owner of Miracle Books, senses that he's different somehow, and when red-hot gossip tells her that he jumped in front of a train just a few hours later, she isn't as convinced that it's suicide as the lackadaisical police seem to be.

 

Nora then learns that three other women share her opinion, and-- to the hermit-like Nora's utter surprise-- she forms the Secret, Book & Scone Society to find justice for the dead man. Nora is a bibliotherapist, adept at prescribing the perfect book to ease a person's deepest pain. Hester Winthrop is the owner of the Gingerbread House and a master at baking just the right "comfort scone" for those who request one. Estella Sadler, owner of the Magnolia Salon & Spa, and June Dixon, Miracle Springs Thermal Pools employee round out the group. At their first meeting, they realize that they are all damaged in some way and that they all have trust issues-- and that the only way this group is going to work is if they each share their darkest secret, the terrible truth that brought each of them to Miracle Springs in the first place. Revealing secrets builds trust. But do they have what it takes to find the truth behind the dead man's murder?

 

~

 

I will always recommend Ellery Adams' Books by the Bay series for cozy mystery fans, even though it has a controversial ending. (A Killer Plot is the first book.) I admire Adams' willingness to risk alienating her fans in order to end her series the way she wanted to (and the ending fit the character, by the way). There can be something therapeutic about her writing and the way she deals with damaged characters. As the Secret, Book & Scone Society members reveal their secrets one at a time, a layer is pulled back, allowing us to begin to see what's behind the person's facade. 

 

Some readers may ascribe Nora's bibliotherapy and Hester's comfort scones to some sort of magic, but I don't. I think all four women are highly empathetic, and it's this empathy that helps them arrive at the truth-- as does their belief that everyone deserves a second chance. I did despair when the local law enforcement was introduced-- the nickname "Sheriff Toad" says it all-- but I should've known better since I am no stranger to Ellery Adams' writing. 

 

Reading The Secret, Book & Scone Society was balm for my spirit. I liked the mystery. I liked the setting. Most of all, I liked Nora, Hester, Estella, and June. I know that reading the second book in the series is in my future.  

The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams

eISBN: 9781496712394

Kensington Books © 2017

eBook, 322 pages

 

Cozy Mystery, #1 Secret, Book & Scone Society mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn

First Line: Summer Merriweather slipped off her flip-flops, allowing the sand's warmth to comfort the bottom of her feet like it had thousands of times before.

Shakespearean scholar Summer Merriweather has returned to Brigid's Island, North Carolina, to attend her mother's funeral, settle the estate, sell her mother's house and embarrassing romance-themed bookstore, Beach Reads, and get back to her real life. But when she stops by the bookstore and discovers threatening notes that were sent to her mother saying, "Sell the bookstore or die," she knows there's something rotten going on, and it must be dealt with.

Was Summer's mother murdered? The police don't want to hear about it, so Summer and her Aunt Agatha start their own investigation with the help of the Beach Reads book club. What Summer didn't realize is just how long the list of suspects is.

The groundwork has been laid for a very interesting second book in this new Beach Reads cozy series, and I am tempted to read it, which is somewhat of a miracle since I spent most of Little Bookshop of Murder greatly disliking the main character. 

Summer is a hoity-toity Shakespearean scholar who's much too good for her mother's taste in "worthless" romance novels, no matter how popular or essential the bookstore has become to so many people. She's so scared of spiders that she sleeps with a special blanket and a mask that's supposed to cover all facial orifices so no eight-legged beasties can get in. This young woman has to be exhausted because she's spent her entire life rebelling against her mother, Hildy, and everything Hildy stands for. And may I also say that I thought Summer shows absolutely no class in wearing flip-flops to her mother's funeral? Maybe it's just me.

If we're talking characters in this book, my favorite is Mr. Darcy, Hildy's old African grey parrot. I wouldn't mind giving him a new home no matter how many feathers the old bird sheds. As for the mystery? Little Bookshop of Murder isn't a whodunit, the killer is rather obvious from the start. No, this is a why-dunit, and I've often found that deducing why someone is killing people is much more interesting than the person's identity.

Since some of Summer's quirks are explained and resolved, and since the author has set up book two so well, I'll probably be visiting Brigid's Island again. But I'm giving her fair warning: give up that literary snob business. You're much better than that, woman.

Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn

eISBN: 9781643854397

Crooked Lane Books © 2020

eBook, 299 pages

 

Cozy Mystery, #1 Beach Reads mystery

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

Silent Creed by Alex Kava

First Line:  Daniel Tate clenched his teeth and looked away just as the needle pierced a vein in his arm.

The only real reason why Ryder Creed and his best search and rescue dog, Bolo, are at the site of a landslide in North Carolina is that he owes his former superior officer a favor. Once he's there, Ryder's all business as he and Bolo search for survivors in the treacherous terrain.

As dangerous as the terrain is, what's now below ground is even more deadly: a top-secret government research facility, and the danger increases when bodies of employees at the facility are found shot to death. It doesn't take Creed and FBI agent Maggie O'Dell long to figure out that certain people are more concerned about recovering what's in that building and hiding their tracks than they are about finding survivors.

The first book in the Ryder Creed series, Breaking Creed, knocked my socks off, and this second installment is a pageturner, too-- even though readers who don't like cliffhangers are probably going to be furious. If you enjoy being immersed in the world of working dogs, Alex Kava's series is for you. A veteran of Afghanistan, Ryder Creed has a compound in the Florida Panhandle where he trains search and rescue dogs. What earns him a lot of Brownie points from me is the fact that the dogs he trains are rescues themselves. In Silent Creed, we get to see two of his best dogs at work, a Jack Russell Terrier named Grace and Bolo, part Rhodesian Ridgeback and extremely protective of Ryder.

The plot is based on fact and may get readers' blood boiling since it does concern how cavalier some of these secret research facilities are with their test subjects. Kava also brings home how dangerous it is to work search and rescue in a landslide area.

Besides the dogs and the storylines, I enjoy these books for the characters. It was good to see FBI agent Maggie O'Dell again because she works well with Ryder Creed, who's much more comfortable with dogs than he is with humans (although he has a tough time keeping his eyes off Maggie... and vice versa). I also hope to see a minor character named Daniel Tate again.

Even though I did find the ending rather jarring, I have the feeling that the character involved is going to figure prominently in some future book, and I look forward to the return engagement.

Silent Creed by Alex Kava

eISBN: 9780698160682

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2015

eBook, 338 pages

Law Enforcement/Working Dogs, #2 Ryder Creed mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

 

Murder in Rat Alley by Mark de Castrique

First Line: The noonday heat smothered me.

A body unearthed during a forest fire at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute outside of Asheville, North Carolina, should have caused barely a ripple; the body had been there a long time. But soon thereafter, a member of a mountain music group is found murdered in Rat Alley. The victim? The fiancée of the man found buried at the Institute. There has to be a reason. There has to be a connection between the two, and private investigator Sam Blackman and his partner Nakayla Robertson are determined to find out what it is.

I never would have known how interesting a spot Asheville, North Carolina is if not for Mark de Castrique's Sam Blackman mysteries. de Castrique is a master at blending past and present into engrossing tales, and Murder in Rat Alley is certainly no exception. 

Much of the action revolves around the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, a real place that monitored space programs during the Cold War and now plays a vital role in gathering weather and climate data. The dead man was a computer genius who worked there, and the dead woman was his fiancée. Everyone assumed that the dead man just got cold feet and disappeared one night, but the discovery of his body close to the Institute buildings tells Sam and Nakayla that something more sinister is afoot. The two begin teasing out clues to what happened with some hair-raising results. When the killer was revealed, I told myself that I should have known-- much, much earlier the character had said something that should have made my clue detector go TILT.

I really enjoy this series for what I learn about Asheville's history and for the mysteries that are always fun to solve, but the glue that holds everything together is the team of Sam and Nakayla, an interracial couple who are first-rate investigators. They also have a great sense of humor and a fantastic support group that includes an eccentric lawyer and a veteran cop-- and a coonhound named Blue who likes to sleep a lot.

Whenever I know there's a new Sam Blackman mystery, I start packing my bags for Asheville. If you like the perfect blend of mystery, history, humor, and characterization, you should join me.

Murder in Rat Alley by Mark de Castrique

eISBN: 9781492699415

Poisoned Pen Press © 2019

eBook, 272 pages

Private Investigator, #7 Sam Blackman mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley 

What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr

First Line: Rose's head drops, jerks, and she's awake.

Rose Dennis wakes up in a gaping hospital gown standing out in a strange park. Her brain in a fog, she's hustled back to the Alzheimer's Unit in a nearby nursing home. Rose doesn't think she belongs there, but her brain is so jumbled that she is concerned. But she's even more concerned when she overhears a conversation in which she's not expected to make it through the week. That does it. Rose stops taking her medications then stages her escape.

But she's got a major hurdle to jump: how does she convince anyone that she's not demented? After all, her relatives were the ones who committed her, the legal papers are drawn up and on file, and the authorities are on the side of the nursing home. Even Rose herself isn't completely convinced that she sounds totally sane. But all doubts are erased when a would-be killer shows up in her house in the middle of the night. Now Rose knows that someone wants to get rid of her.

With the help of her computer hacker/recluse sister Marion, her thirteen-year-old granddaughter Mel and Mel's friend Royal, Rose begins to fight back. She wants her life back... but someone out there has other plans.

It's been too long since I had the pleasure of reading a Nevada Barr novel, and as I devoured the story of Rose Dennis, I cheered, I laughed, and after its conclusion, I closed the book with a huge smile on my face. What fun!

What Rose Forgot reminds me of Barr's Anna Pigeon mystery, Destroyer Angel, and for me, that is a very good thing. This newest story from Barr has a lot to say about ageism at both ends of the spectrum. Many of us are not very kind (or accurate) in our assessments of the old or the young, and Barr shatters the stereotypes of both age groups with ease and a maniacal gleam in her eye.

She's also blunt in what she says about life being tough on the elderly at both ends of the pay scale. When you're old and poor, chances are that no one gives a damn about you. When you're old and rich, you get more attention, but it may not be the kind you want.

What Rose Forgot is laugh-out-loud funny in many places, and-- yes-- the action is often over the top, but check reality at the door and buckle up your seat belt. Nevada Barr has written a ripping good yarn that is a delight to read.

What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr

eISBN: 9781250208033

Minotaur Books © 2019

eBook, 304 pages

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley


 

Assault and Beadery by Mollie Cox Bryan

First Line: "How did we let ourselves get involved with this?" Cora Chevalier whispered to best friend and business partner, Jane Starr.

Cora Chevalier isn't happy about being coerced into painting the backdrops for the latest production of the local theatre group, especially since she and best friend Jane Starr have their first-ever Crafty Moms' Escape Weekend coming up. The theater group always seems to be "one more thing" it wants the two women to do for them. But when Stan Herald, the obnoxious director, is found dead and their friend Zee is arrested, Cora knows that there is one more thing she must do before the final curtain comes down: find the real killer.

Author Mollie Cox Bryan has a knack for choosing and describing crafts that makes me want to head for the nearest store to buy up all the necessaries and start to work. After reading Assault and Beadery, I now want to take up beading. 

Aided by two characters from the author's Cumberland Creek cozy series, Cora and Jane have their work cut out for them in a very well-plotted mystery that will keep readers guessing. There are so many people with so many secrets and hidden pasts and agendas that Cora wonders if she should also run background checks on all the people attending their retreats as well as the teachers-- but she's not really serious. However, that passing thought does highlight one of the things I like about this series: Bryan lets readers see the business side of running a small craft retreat.

Like any cozy series worth its salt, the cast of characters is first-rate. Cora Chevalier spent many years running a shelter for the victims of abuse. She's seen more of the dark side of human nature than most people have, and she made the conscious decision to leave that life and do something that would not only help people but bring herself joy. But she cannot deny the very basic part of her nature that wants to help those in need. It's not an accident that her last name is Chevalier, which is French for "knight". Her empathy, her compassion, has made her a knight in shining armor for people in trouble.

To leaven Cora's nature, there are two other characters. Victim of domestic abuse and mother of a small daughter, Jane Starr is the very practical and logical one in the business and friendship. Her life has taught her to be cautious, and this is something that Cora needs during her murder investigations. The third character is the older woman, Ruby, whose son is a lawyer who's proven invaluable in these cases. Ruby is a local and a hard worker, but she's a gossipmonger and is a bit too abrasive for me to like her much-- but who says we have to like everyone?

Good setting, good crafts, good mysteries, good characters. That's what you get in Mollie Cox Bryan's Cora Crafts series. Give it a try!
 

Assault and Beadery by Mollie Cox Bryan

eISBN: 9781496716453

Kensington Books © 2018

eBook, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #4 Cora Crafts mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley


 

Dead in a Flash by Brynn Bonner

First Line: "Now you've gone and done it!" my business partner, Esme Sabatier, said, lifting a cucumber slice off one eye to glare at me.

Genealogists Sophreena McClure and Esme Sabatier have been hired to create scrapbook tributes for a former North Carolina senator's familiy heritage and his political career. The two learn that his baby brother died in a suspicious house fire, and the senator asks them to put a rumor to rest, once and for all: that the fire was actually cover for a kidnapping.

Sophreena and Esme set to work, but a present-day murder gives them new candidates for the crime-- and some of those suspects are in the senator's inner circle. Are these two intrepid genealogists going to be able to put that rumor to rest before a killer catches up with them?

This Family History series is one I've enjoyed from the very beginning (Paging the Dead). Sophreena and Esme are wonderful characters who really give a good idea of what genealogy is all about. In this fourth installment, they get to experience a bit of the high life by working for wealthy clients, but those "extra duties as assigned" dig up a lot of worms. If you don't think family history can contain deep, dark secrets, think again. All you have to do is watch an episode or two of Finding Your Roots on PBS (or read the books in this series) to learn differently.

The mystery is a good one. I did manage to deduce part of it, but the identity of the main villain eluded me. I like that when it happens. I also like how the past can still affect the future even though many decades-- or even centuries-- have passed.

Dead in a Flash has some life changes in store for the two main characters, and I hope to see how things turn out for them. There wasn't a fifth book in the series this year, so I don't know if it's going to continue or not. So many cozy series have been cancelled in the last year or so that it's difficult to keep track. At least if the series does not continue, Sophreena and Esme are left in a good place. I shall think of them as busy and happy and willing to share their lives with me should we meet again.

Dead in a Flash by Brynn Bonner

ISBN: 9781476776828

Pocket Books © 2016

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Cozy Mystery, #4 Family History mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Hidden Scars by Mark de Castrique

First Line: My partner, Nakayla Robertson, had taken a long weekend in Charleston with the women in her book club for the annual retreat they called "Reading Between the Wines."

When an elderly friend of private investigator Sam Blackman asks him to stop by the nursing home, Sam quickly finds out that his friend had an ulterior motive. An eighty-year-old resident wants Sam to look into the suspicious death of her brother back in 1948, even though Sam tells her that there is very little chance that he'll find anything. 

The woman's brother, Paul Weaver, was a World War II veteran enrolled at Black Mountain College, a liberal local school, with an international reputation for innovation, thanks to a stellar faculty and advisors like Buckminster Fuller and Albert Einstein. Sam learns that a movie is currently being filmed which is set at the college, so he heads over to talk with the author upon whose book the movie is based. A man helping out on the set has information for Sam, but is murdered before Sam can talk to him. This death-- and one following it-- turn a cold case white hot.

If you haven't read a Sam Blackman mystery yet, I highly recommend that you remedy your oversight. Mark de Castrique writes one of the best private investigator series going, and I always look forward to each new installment. Sam Blackman is a former Army Chief Warrant Officer who lost his leg in Iraq. He and Nakayla Robertson are partners in both their professional and personal lives; they're an interracial couple loaded with intelligence and humor and have a wonderful support team that includes a lawyer and a police officer there in Asheville, North Carolina. 

These Sam Blackman mysteries always have something to do with Asheville's little-known yet fascinating history-- this time concerning Black Mountain College. The mystery not only involves the college, it also ties in present-day political shenanigans in the state's film industry as well as lingering racial tensions. The mystery in Hidden Scars moves smoothly and steadily to its conclusion, and I've found time and again that it's very easy to be seduced by de Castrique's story and forget to come up for air. And that humor I mentioned earlier? The humans don't have all the good scenes; Blue the coonhound and a rhinestone collar-wearing raccoon also have their parts to play.

I really enjoy this author's writing style. When I open one of his books, I feel as though I've stepped into his characters' lives. With each book's past woven into the present, de Castrique doesn't have to remind me of one of my favorite lines in literature: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." Don't like The Great Gatsby? Don't let that keep you from getting acquainted with this excellent series. 
 

Hidden Scars by Mark de Castrique

eISBN: 9780464208973

Poisoned Pen Press © 2017

eBook, 229 pages

Private Investigator, #6 Sam Blackman mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Net Galley


 

Killer Characters by Ellery Adams

First Line: "All I think about is death," said Laurel Hobbs to her friend and fellow Bayside Book Writer Olivia Limoges.

Olivia Limoges may be enjoying her new marriage, but her friend Laurel Hobbs certainly isn't enjoying her own. Laurel is struggling with a demanding job, lively twin boys, a terminally ill mother-in-law, and a husband who's mostly absent-- and when he deigns to be present, he's whiny and argumentative. Catching Steve with her mother-in-law's nurse? Laurel can't take any more.

When the nurse is found dead, Olivia's husband, Chief Rawlings, has no choice but to take Laurel into custody. The Bayside Book Writers are now a group divided, and Olivia has to work fast to prove Laurel's innocence.

Ellery Adams' Books by the Bay cozy series has been a favorite of mine since its inception. The ensemble cast, the coastal North Carolina setting with its rich history, mouthwatering food, and some fine mysteries to solve have made these books something very special. When I came to the end of Killer Characters, I knew without heading to Amazon to read reviews that many readers would be outraged. If you haven't read this last book in the series and you'd like to leave the characters surrounded by a sort of fairy tale glow, you may want to give this one a miss.

Fortunately I'm an easy-going reader because I can wait patiently for the next book in a series, and I don't send authors hate mail if they don't write the way I want them to. Frankly, I want them to write the way they want to. If my favorite authors are happy, they're going to write longer. Ellery Adams chose to end her wonderful series, not as a fairy tale, but as a story showing the growth and resilience of the main character, Olivia Limoges. People grow... people endure... by experiencing both good and bad. When this series began, Olivia was an ice queen, emotionally closed off, and watching everyone from a distance. By series end, she's made and kept, protected and taken care of, her dear friends. When I closed Killer Characters, I may have had tears in my eyes, but my heart was full. I knew Olivia and the other folks she cares about in Oyster Bay were going to be all right. 

Now... I've been talking about this as though it's a character study only, but there's an excellent mystery to be found here, too-- one that I didn't have solved beforehand-- and that's another thing I've loved about this series. If you haven't read a Books by the Bay mystery, dive right in with the first one, A Killer Plot. These characters grow and change, and you don't want to miss a bit of it.

And might I just say-- Well done, Ellery Adams! I admire your bravery in ending the series the way you wanted to end it. Olivia deserved no less.
 

Killer Characters by Ellery Adams

ISBN: 9780451488442

Berkley Prime Crime © 2017

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #8 Books by the Bay mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Paperback Swap

 

No Charm Intended by Mollie Cox Bryan

First Line: I kidnapped her.

Cora Chevalier is very happy to have ended her career being in charge of a women's shelter in the big city. She's finding that running craft retreats in a big old Victorian mansion in small town North Carolina to be supremely satisfying-- especially since she's working with her best friend Jane. 

Her second retreat, which is all about wildcrafting (using items found in nature to create all sorts of things), has barely had time to get started when the local nanny, Gracie Wyke, goes missing. Jane's young daughter is quite upset over Gracie's disappearance, and so is Gracie's boyfriend Paul. The police think Paul is responsible, but Cora believes the young man is in danger. But as Cora and Jane begin uncovering clues and a body turns up in an abandoned amusement park, they begin to question Cora's decision. Not only are they facing the very real possibility that an innocent person could go to jail-- this could put an end to Cora's new business and ruin her reputation.

First off, I want it known that I would love to attend one of Cora's craft retreats. The author makes them sound like so much fun, and I like how Cora can be doing two or three things at the same time yet still plan ahead for future activities like enlarging the kitchen so she can hold baking classes. 

Bryan has skillfully put together a very intriguing mystery. It took me a long time to figure out exactly what was going on, and I love that. 

As good as the mystery is, and as delectable as all the crafts are, it's the cast of characters that makes this series a winner. Even though she's seen more than her fair share of the evil in the world, Cora still has a heart of gold and tends to be too trusting. Her friend Jane, on the other hand, is way too suspicious. I know Jane's suspicion is being used to keep Cora's good intentions in check (or at least to make Cora think twice about them), but I find Jane becoming very annoying. I hope something happens in future books to dial that element of her personality down a notch or two.

Continuing with the characters, I like seeing how some of the people signed up for the retreat join in the crime solving-- and how they all pitch in when someone needs help. Mollie Cox Bryan's Cora Crafts series encourages readers to solve crime and feel good-- all at the same time. Bring on book three!
 

No Charm Intended by Mollie Cox Bryan

eISBN: 9781496704672

Kensington Books © 2017

eBook, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Cora Crafts mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley


 

The Singularity Race by Mark de Castrique

First Line: FBI Special Agent Kim Woodson kicked the wipers up a notch in the futile effort to clear the falling snow off her windshield.

The wars of the future will be fought over information-- who has it, who controls it. To that end, a great deal of work is being done in the field of artificial intelligence. The Singularity is the looming point of no return when artificial intelligence finally surpasses human cognitive abilities.

Rusty Mullins is an ex-Secret Service agent who swore to stop risking his life on assignments, but when he's asked by his good friend to guard a Chinese scientist during a conference, he can't say no. It's just routine after all. When a team of assassins breaks into the hotel, Mullins has barely enough time to get Dr. Lisa Li out safely. Now Mullins is being asked to find the power behind the assassins. Is it local, or is it international? When eccentric tech billionaire Robert Brentwood asks him to continue to guard Li while she works on Brentwood's pet project, Mullins agrees as long as he can use Brentwood's resources to keep running his investigation. Little does he know that he's not only putting his own life on the line but the lives of Dr. Li and his own family, too.

Mark de Castrique's standalone thriller is fast-paced and absorbing, filled with hair-trigger action and cross after double cross. With the rise of computers, information warfare is "where it's at," and the need for a super computer with moral parameters is a must. I grew up on Sci-Fi movies about computers taking over the world and making Orwell's 1984 look like a walk in the park, so I definitely found The Singularity Race to be an interesting read. 

Normally I am a character-driven reader, and de Castrique's characters do not disappoint-- from Rusty Mullins to Dr. Li and Peter Wang to Brentwood the eccentric billionaire; however, I do think the story could have used a bit more about the computer that was being built. It stayed a bit too much in the shadows when it could've given the book more substance. 

If you like your mysteries and thrillers with a bit of science fiction, I think you should give The Singularity Race a try.
  

The Singularity Race by Mark de Castrique

ASIN:  B01LBVWDAQ

Poisoned Pen Press © 2016

eBook, 268 pages

Thriller, #2 Rusty Mullins

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Picture Them Dead by Brynn Bonner

First Line: Thunderstruck.

Professional genealogist Sophreena McClure is under no illusions: Detective Jennifer Jeffers does not like her. Not one little bit. So Soph is shocked beyond words when Jennie asks her for help in identifying the corpse her father dug up in his backyard. 

Word spreads about "the forgotten man" and the glass casket he's buried in, and locals begin leaving mementos for him. When the body of a young woman is found near the memorial, Sophreena and her partner Esme begin to think that this recent murder may very well help them crack the case of the forgotten man.

I have really been enjoying this Family History series by Brynn Bonner. She has a knack for combining characters, mystery, and genealogy into a recipe that I can really sink my teeth into. I like reading books set in the South, and this author is one of the best at depicting the flavor of Southern speech without making it too "cute" (and almost unintelligible).

Sophreena is the level-headed member of this team while Esme is more of the diva. Esme claims to hear voices from "beyond," but if she really does they certainly don't seem to help very much. Usually when Esme imparts one of her messages, it causes Sophreena to lose focus and mentally stub her toe. The fact that Esme is really rocking her inner diva throughout most of Picture Them Dead was a bit of a drag for me, but it's not a deal breaker. Everyone's got someone like Esme in the family. You just cope and adjust.

In each book Bonner shows a different way to learn more about someone's family history, although here we get an added extra about glass caskets as well-- which is probably more fascinating than it sounds. Sophreena gets to search through one of those attic treasure troves we all dream about and then dig through many a dusty land record in order to identify the forgotten man.

Although I found the historical mystery to be more interesting than the present-day crime, Picture Them Dead is another strong entry, and I'm glad that I'm now ready to read the recently released fourth book in the series, Dead in a Flash.  Keep them coming!  

Picture Them Dead by Brynn Bonner

ISBN: 9781476776811

Pocket Books © 2015

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Cozy Mystery, #3 Family History mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.