Category Archives: Currently Reading

Currently Reading

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August 7 – 20

I went on a much needed vacation last week; a Disney cruise to the Caribbean. I don’t think traveling to the Caribbean in August is the best plan but it was fun.

Anyway, waiting for planes in airports and then the flights gave me a lot of time to read. I’d read about The Devil’s Own in a previous book so I decided to read it.

It tells the story of a teacher hired to teach in a small English town that, unfortunately, follows devil worship and other unsavory practices. This was written many years ago and I found it extremely slow moving until about half way through.

I followed it with a cozy, Kibbles and Death by S. A. Kazlo.

Samantha Davies discovers the body of the local kennel owner, bashed in the head and lying amongst scattered kibble. Her dachshund Porkchop begins nibbling on a bone, the murder weapon used to bash the victim in the head. Samantha begins investigating and soon discovers Calvin has been blackmailing a number of town residents.

The arrival of a new detective suggests the possibility for romance for the divorced Samantha.

Charming.

I went darker again with Fake, by John Dedakis.

The third in the Lark Chadwick series, we find Lark involved with the occupants of the White House. Lark has begun interviewing the First Lady for a biography and thus witnesses her sudden collapse and death. At first Lark believes Rose has died from the pancreatic cancer that is slowly killing her but the truth is much more serious, involving politics on the world scale. This is a murder mystery and a political thriller with romantic overtones.

The Ninja Betrayed was next.

This is the third and final (Unfortunately) Lily Wong. Lily travels with her mother to Hong Kong for an important meeting with her grandfather’s company. Not so much of a murder mystery but more of a story of financial malfeasance, it describes riots and unrest in Hong Kong. Lily’s romance with Daniel Kwok continues – but has several startling turns. I really enjoy Lily and wish the series had continued.

Finally, I read a Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson.

Agatha Christie’s marriage is breaking down; her husband Archie is involved in an affair with Nancy Neele. Agatha disappears, registering at a hotel as Teresa Neele. This much is true. In the novel, Wilson suggests a much darker explanation for her disappearance than her upset over the impending divorce. A Dr. Kurs approaches Agatha and, by threatening her daughter Rosalind, involves her in a plot to murder his wife.

At the same time, a young girl, Uma Crowe, investigates Agatha’s disappearance.

I found this book interesting with its mix of true and fictional. Not exactly a murder mystery but captivating for its depiction of Agatha Christie and the world she came from.

Currently Reading

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This past week I read two great books, both very different.

The first one is The Hidden one by Linda Castillo, the newest in this series.

Kate receives an appeal from three men from a far away Amish community asking her to come and help. Jason Bowman, her first flame, has been accused of murdering the Bishop of this village eighteen years ago. Kate hesitates. She will be out of her jurisdiction and with none of her support network. But she agrees to look into it.

Once she is attacked in her motel room, she knows her investigation is upsetting someone. Instead of being intimidated, she is more determined than ever to resolve this case.

Her research takes her to Minnesota, and to a failing bar outside the Amish are. She soon begins to see that the Bishop was not the man everyone thought.

I did not guess the ending. Another wonderful mystery.

The second book I read was A Killing in Costumes.

Cindy and Jay, once married soap stars, came out as gay. They remained good friends and have set up a store of movie memorabilia Hooray for Hollywood. Facing financial ruin, they are offered a way out in the offer of a valuable movie collection from an old star. But a larger company is also trying to handle the sale. After meeting with the salesman from Cypress, he is found dead and Cindy and Jay are the prime suspects.

And what’s up with the old star’s creepy son? Lots of fun.

Currently Reading – and the whiff of patriarchy?

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The first book I read this week was A Simple Murder by Linda Castillo.

I chose it because it shares a title with my first Will Rees mystery series.

I also enjoy Linda’s books and have read them all. This work consists of five interlinked short stories, all starring Kate Burkholder and the Amish.U admit I prefer her novels but these were fun and were a little lighter than her novels. (It seems funny to consider murder mysteries ‘lighter’,)

The second book is Queens of the Wild; Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe. This is nonfiction; a study of Mother Earth, the Fairy Queen, Mistress of the Night and the Old Woman of Gaelic Tradition. Hutton challenges most of the current scholarship in claiming these are NOT pre-Christian Goddesses.

I am reading it as part of my research for the new series I am working on. It will take place in Bronze Age Crete. Women figured prominently in this society and the mosaics, seals and other artifacts discovered seemed to indicate, not only a Goddess as the supreme being, but the importance of women.

Why do I find the Hutton work so disturbing?

When I began my research into what is popularly known as the Minoan Civilization, I began with a work by Nilsson, one of the first archaeologists to dig in Knossos. He was convinced that the many depictions of women in the mosaics, including a very famous one showing them participating in bull leaping, had to be showing Goddesses. Why? Because women simply couldn’t be that important. His prejudices were clear and informed his interpretation of this ancient civilization.

Granted, understanding a society that is separated from us by over 3000 years is very difficult, especially when one is working with mosaics, jewelry, seals and other artifacts, (no newpapers or written records to help) as the clues to interpret the inner workings of a culture. With that said, however, the lesson I took away is that we all judge based on the cultural mores we’ve internalized. It is important not to assume that because gender roles in the early twentieth century followed one pattern that they were set and unchangeable, and fit every human society. Most scholars now posit that women were indeed that important in that society.

So, back to Hutton. I admit I haven’t quite finished this work and maybe I will agree with him more when I’m done than I do now. His focus does appear to be more about the Christian world of the early Middle Ages and a discussion of how these pagan goddesses came to be in a Christian society. We shall see.

Currently Reading

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Week of July 11

So glad to return to my usual routine. This week I read two books: Sleep Well My Lady by Kwei Quarter and Unbreathed Memories by Marcia Talley.

Sleep Well My Lady takes place in Ghana.

A famous fashion designer, Lady Araba, is found murdered in her bed. Her chauffeur is arrested but Araba;s aunt is convinced he is not guilty so she applies to the Sowah Detective Agency. They quickly discover there are plenty of suspects, from the alcoholic Augustus Seeza to Ismael, the gardener. Although DNA evidence has been collected, it has been set aside, untested. The members of the agency go undercover to lay bare what really happened.

Although the setting is exotic, the motivations -and the people – are like people everywhere. Outside of some clunkiness in the style, probably from the translation, a very enjoyable mystery.

The second book I read this week is Marcia Talley’s Unbreathed Memories.

It is number two in the Hannah Ives series; my plan is to read them all throughout the summer.

Hannah’s sister Georgina is seeing a therapist and suffering a rather severe mental breakdown. During therapy, she claims her father sexually abused her. Worse, Georgina’s therapist has taken a header off the balcony and now Georgina is the prime suspect in her murder. It is up to Hannah to figure out what really happened.

I really enjoy these mysteries!

Currently Reading – week of June 13

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Another crazy week. A high school reunion infected myself, my husband, and a number of other friends with Covid. Light cases all but still an interruption in our usual routines.

This week I read When Blood Lies by C.S. Harris.



F

I strongly recommend this series, which begins with What Angels Fear.“ These historical mysteries take place in the Regency and follow Sebastian St, Cyr.

When Blood Lies is number seventeen or eighteen.

After years of searching for his mother, Sebastian finally locates her in Paris living under the name Sophie Cappello. He and his family travel to Paris and Sebastian makes an arrangement to meet her. He has many questions, including about the identity of his biological father. But just hours before the meeting, she is murdered. Despite being warned off the investigation, and seeing both his life and the lives of his family threatened, Sebastian (or Devlin, as he is also called), persists.

The mystery is set against Napoleon’s escape and return from Elba and the heightened tensions his imminent arrival in Paris brings.

I read and write historical mysteries because I love the historical details included in the story. I did not know that the armies went over to Napoleon instead of fighting him and he took Paris without a single shot being fired.

Another excellent mystery.

Currently Reading -May 30

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This week I read the third in the Gunnie Rose series, the Russian Cage, by Charlaine Harris.

A coded letter from Lizbeth’s sister Felicia tells her Eli is in jail. Lizbeth immediately takes the train to the Holy Russian Empire to rescue him. Once there, She is thrust into a power struggle between Alexie, the tsar and the Grand Duke who is trying to take power.

Much bloodshed ensues but the book ends with a wedding. Very enjoyable.

The second book is Three Debts Paid by Anne Perry.

Perry is now on the second generation of the Pitt family, following the investigations of Daniel Pitt, an up and coming young lawyer. Marion Ford-Croft is now a full-fledged pathologist working under another woman, Eve Hall, who has distinguished herself in the field. Daniel and Marion pursue their specialities to identify and catch a killer, nicknamed in the papers as the Rainy Day slasher. The victims are slim young women. So far, no one has seen the murderer or even has an idea whom it might be.

I enjoy these although not as much as the original Pitts.

Currently Reading – Week of May 22

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Last week was a crazy week. Instead of choosing my reading material carefully, as I usually do, I quickly picked up second books in two different series.

The first one was Charlaine Harris’ Longer Fall.

In this sequel to An Easy Death, Gunnie Lizbeth Rose is hired on a new crew tasked with protecting a large trade to the town of Sally in Dixie. The train is derailed and as Rose searches the carnage for the whereabouts of her old crew, she meets Eli Savarov, the Russian Grigori. They join forces to find the crate and, if possible, safeguard its contents.

Lizbeth is almost immediately confronted with several problems. The mores in Dixie are very different than what she is use to. Required to wear a skirt and hose and carry a purse. she and Eli must pretend they are married.

Dixie also runs on slavery. Lizbeth’s good friend Galilee has escaped from this town and the Ballards, the ruling family.

Plenty of bloodshed, betrayal as well as magic; I liked this one even better than the first. A winner.

The second book is another second: Death of a Starling by Linda Norlander.

Our intrepid poet continues to investigate in the school shooting in Cascade. She is warned repeatedly to let it drop but, although she considers it, she doggedly continues despite repeated threats against her.

Why is everyone afraid to even speak about the shooting, let alone answer questions about the teacher and the alleged shooter?

Tess, a student at the High School, tells Jamie that there is something rotten in Cascade and then disappears.

What is going on?

Highly Recommended.

Currently Reading

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Week of May 21

I read three good books this week, all purchased at Malice in April.

First up, Watch her by Edwin Hill.

The second Hester Thursby mystery. Hest, and her friend Detective Angela White are at a university function when another guest, Jennifer Mason, mentions their mansion has been broken into. Hester and Angela investigate and Hester begins to doubt the Matsons’s story. Investigation into finances connected to the university reveals financial malfeasance. How are they linked? A murder ramps up the urgency.

I really enjoy these mysteries, not least because Hester does a lot of research (she is a researcher) that reminds me strongly of library reference work.

The second book I read is An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris. I have enjoyed all of her works and this one does not disappoint.

The former United States has been broken up into five regions: Britannia (still allied with Great Britain), Dixie (the Southern States), Texoma (Texas and environs), New America, and the Holy Russian Empire (California, Oregon and Washington State). Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie from Texoma, a hired gun that signs onto crews tasked with transporting refugees from Texoma through the a bandit-ridden land to New America. This trip goes sideways and she is the only one remaining of the crew. She rescues the cargo and gets all of them but two alive to New America. Home again, she is hired for another job by rigors (Russian magic users) to find a descendent of Rasputin. A gory adventure. Highly recommended.

Finally, I read The Bone Track, the second in Sara E. Johnson’s New Zealand mysteries.

Alexa Glock is on vacation with her brother Charlie hiking in Fiordland National Park. They are independent hikers, hiking from hut to hut, under rainy conditions with regular landslides.

If that were not excitement enough, Alexa, running from a landslide, stumbles across a body revealed by the shifting early. She goes into forensic investigator mode and photographs the skeleton and takes evidence. While she is so involved, a helicopter carrying a bag of bulk rocks tries to kill her by dropping the bulk bag on her.

Simultaneously, one of the luxe hikers is missing. Alexa and her brother find it smashed on the rocks below a swing bridge over a gorge. Then Alexa discovers the marks of hiking poles used to push the victim off the cliff in her back.

Highly Recommended for both the mystery and the setting.

Currently Reading

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Week of May 8. I read the fourth Ozark mystery by Nancy Allen – The Wolf in the Woods, and my first Heather Weidner The Tulip Shirt Murders.

In the Wolf in The Woods,

Elsie’s friend Bree’s daughter is swept up in a human trafficking scheme. Elsie goes undercover and puts herself in danger to rescue Taylor and her friend. This is the fourth of the Ozark series, and there are several threads left unresolved. Unfortunately, there is not a fifth. I really enjoyed these mysteries even though Elsie, a flawed character, really needs to grow up.

While at Malice Domestic, I purchased the Tulip Shirt Murders.

Written in an episodic manner, the mystery follows the daily activities of Melanie Fitzgerald, P.I. The murders are not front and center, but a part of the many cases Delainie and her partner Duncan investigate. Very cozy. After reading this book, I am convinced I am not suited to be a private investigator.

Currently Reading

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Week of May 2. This week I read The Wages of Sin, by Nancy Allen, Death at Chinatown by Frances McNamara and Death and Hard Cider by Barbara Hambly.

In Wages of Sin, Elsie works on a case in which a man batters his 8 month old pregnant wife to death with a baseball bat.

Of course, the case is more complicated that it first appears, involving a meth lab and a traumatized young girl. Elsie is also negotiating her on/off relationship with Detective Ashcroft. Now that he has taken in his son, Ashcroft has been given a list of rules by his ex-wife and it is seriously impacting his relationship with Elsie. I really enjoy these books although they are dark, and Elsie’s success in court is never assured. Recommended.

The second book I read is Death at Chinatown, a book I picked up at Malice Domestic.

Emily Cabot Chapman is drawn into the murder of a Chinese herbalist in Chinatown. A woman doctor from China has been accused of the murder. The tension in the Chinese community between the traditionalists, (there is a description of some young women with bound feet) and those who want to see China progress – but not always with Western ideals. As in Death at the Homefront, which described the prejudice against the Germans, this book deals with the prejudice against the Chinese.

At the same time, Emily, who has two small children, is trying to balance her responsibilities as a wife and mother with Stephen’s urging for her to go back to work – and the conflict that causes.

Another good mystery, well-researched. I do wish I’d read it in order, though.

Finally, I read Death and Hard Cider. Barbara Hambly is one of my favorite authors. I began reading her when she wrote science fiction and moved with her when she began her Benjamin January mysteries.

It is 1840 and William Henry Harrison (Tippencanoe and Tyler too) is running for President. Henry Clay and his son James visit New Orleans. After one of the many events, a beautiful young girl is found shot to death. One of January’s friends, a former placee, is arrested for the murder. January and his friend Shaw are not satisfied and begin to look into the murder.

As always, the characters and the setting are top rate. I always feel as though I am right there, with the heat and the smell of the swamp and the constant danger of being a black man, although free, in a slave owning community. Highly recommended.