Category Archives: Currently Reading

Currently Reading

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I was on vacation the last two weeks, coming back to summer. Although we were at Disney World, with all the busyness that suggests, I did read a lot.

The Unsettling Crime . . . by Terry Shames was the first of her books I read. And it was very very good. So good I have already ordered the first one in the series.

In this one, Craddock, a very young lawman in Texas, gets pulled into the execution style murders of a black family squatting nearby. No one will talk to him, When a friend from ‘Darktown’ is arrested by another agency, Craddock jumps in with both feet to free the innocent man and see justice done. A+

Another excellent mystery is Deborah Crombie’s A Killing of Innocents.

A young woman, a doctor in training, hurries across London. A man bumps into her, and a few steps later Sasha collapses and dies on the sidewalk. Who could possibly want to kill her? The roots of the crime are hidden in the past. Another stellar mystery.

Julia Kydd leaves London for New York City and her half-brother. Phillip controls her inheritance but she is due to receive it in a few weeks when she turns twenty-five. But Phillip has begun a legal case designed to show their father did not intend to leave half his estate to her. The murder of a suffragette offers Julia the chance to prove the death was murder and thus win a wager, and her inheritance, with her brother. Only the case proves much more involved than Julia could have guessed. Another great mystery.

Saffron Everleigh wants to be a botanist like her father but in the 1920s it is a struggle. But when her mentor, Dr. Maxwell, is accused of poisoning the wife of another academic, Saffron jumps in to prove his innocence, She almost dies trying. Light, frothy and with a dash of romance.

In 1920s Bangalore, the British are still a formidable presence. Kaveri’s husband Ramu is a doctor; they are invited to the Century Club for a mixed gathering. A man is found stabbed to death outside. That sends Kaveri on a hunt for the murderer.

Charming, joyful, exotic. I loved this book.

Finally, I read number fourteen of the Hannah Ives series and it is another winner. Hannah and her husband Paul buy a small cottage on the shore, While the renovations are going on, the mummified corpse of a baby is found hidden in the chimney. Hannah begins investigating, trying to determine the identity of the baby and understand exactly what happened. One of Talley’s strengths is weaving in serious subjects (in this case, racism) and still keeping the book fun and not too dark.

On to fifteen.

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The first book I read was a novella by Gigi Pandien: The Lost Gargoyle of Paris. This is a spin off of the Accidental Alchemist, and I liked it so much I am now going to read the Accidental Alchemist series right from the beginning.

A sketch of a gargoyle, supposedly by Victor Hugo, and a journal by one of the stonemasons has been found at Notre Dame after the fire. Zoe Faust and her gargoyle sidekick journey to Paris to investigate the drawing. Then the sketch is stolen. How could that happen with such tight security?

Fun and charming.

I reread Styx and Stone by James Siskin, remembering how much I enjoyed this series.

Ellie Stone’s father is attacked. Ellie races to New York City and discovers a nest of secrets among the renowned scholars of Columbia University. The police at first think it is a random mugging but Ellie soon proves it was attempted murder.

Finally, I read A Mansion for Murder by Frances Brody. I’ve read quite a few of this author’s books and enjoyed them all. Lo

Ronnie Cresswell’s letter draws Kate Shackleton to Milner Field and the great house said to be cursed. But when Kate arrives, it is to hear the devastating news that Ronnie has been found drowned. Ronnie’s father is convinced it was murder and the postmortem proves him right. Then his younger sister Nancy goes missing.

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Last week I read Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings.

When Violet Manville’s Aunt Adelia leaves, she bequeaths her role as advice columnist Miss Hermione to Violet. One of the letters leads Violet into the death of one of the correspondents, Ivy Armstrong. At the same time, her sister Sephora is engaged in a very unsuitable relationship with Franklin.

Similar to some of the mysteries by Georgette Heyer.

Although I guessed the solution about halfway through, I didn’t mind. I thoroughly enjoyed this charming cozy mystery,

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This week I read Tomorrow’s Vengeance by Marcia Talley.

In the thirteenth Hannah Ives mysteries, Hannah volunteers at an assisted living home. (It is more like a resort than a residence, but I digress.) As she reads to the memory care residents and eats lunch in the dining room, she is embedded in the lives of the staff and people who live there, from the two lovebirds Nancy and Jerry to Christie with her thirty year old boyfriend, and Izzy, survivor of Nazi Italy.

Then one of the townhouse residents, Masud, is found dead in the Tranquility Garden. Hannah is well positioned to delve into the mystery. The murder, the theft of Jewish artworks , and the restrictions of the residents are stirred into a captivating whole.

Marcia Talley rarely disappoints, Even though the murder frequently does not occur until the halfway point or beyond, I almost don’t care. The characters and their situations are so interesting I am always fascinated. Her easy relaxed style also makes for a fast read. Another winner.

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Since I’ve begun working on the next in my Bronze Age Crete Mystery series (beginning with In the Shadow of the Bull)

I’ve been doing research. The first book is Arcadian Days, a retelling of several of the Greek myths.

I’ve read in the Edith Hamilton collection of myths – in eighth grade. The retelling by Spurling lays out those myths he chooses in a much clearer way. My goodness, the Greeks were a bloodthirsty lot. I don’t know how they slept at night. The story of Medea is the stuff of nightmares.

Jason, of Jason and the Argonauts, meets Medea when he goes for the Golden Fleece. She agrees to help him if he will marry her and he agrees. Big mistake! As they are fleeing with the fleece, she arrives on board with a bundle, which turns out to be her step-brother. As her father pursues them, she slits the toddler’s throat and dismembers him, throwing limbs in the water so her father will stop and pick them up.

It doesn’t get any more cheerful from here. Medea, it is apparent, is a psychopath.

Other myths are no so violent but all of the families, no matter how favored by the Gods they seem, have terrible lives.Greek Myths

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This week I read Bombay Monsoon by James W. Siskin.

I have read several of his Ellie Stone mysteries and enjoyed them greatly. I found this book puzzling. I kept expecting a murder but the mysterious death happens well into the novel. I finally decided this stand-a-lone is not a mystery per se.

Danny Jacobs is a journalist in India in 1975. He meets his enigmatic neighbor Willie Smets and promptly falls for Sushmita, Willie’s lover. His feelings are reciprocated.

Danny begins working on a story involving a bomber but is stopped cold by the Emergency, a coup by Indira Gandhi and the arrival of a censor in the newsroom who cuts all the stories to ribbons before publication. Since I knew very little about this time period, particularly in India, the setting is fascinating.

Not a mystery but really good historical fiction.

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Another busy week now that tax season has begun. I only managed to read one book, Breaking the Circle by M.J. Trow.

Margaret Murray is an archaeologist who frequently consults with the Metropolitan Police on cases in Victorian England. In this outing, several mediums are found murdered with some unusual clue left behind; for example, a feather in the mouth or a tarot card crushed in one hand. Murray joins a local spiritualist group, with which the group had been affiliated, to dig up information. Few of the members are what they claim to be and someone does not like Murray poking around. One of the group’s members, who bears a close likeness to the archaeologist is found battered in the street.

Fortunately, Margaret Murray has a plan.

This is light but enjoyable. Just one note. This is the third mystery involving spiritualism I’ve read in a month. I guess it’s a thing?Breaking the Circle

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I read one book this week; Courting Dragons by Jeri Westerson.

I was a huge fan of Jeri’s Crispin Guest mysteries so I was curious about this new series. In this one, historical personages are more than cameos. Henry VIII, his wife, Anne Boleyn, Cromwell and quite a few others prance through these pages. The historical backdrop is Henry’s effort to divorce Catherine so he can marry Anne Boleyn.

Will Somers, the King’s jester, is a supporter of Catherine.

The first murder is that of a Spanish courtier who is charged with protecting Catherine.

But another murder occurs, by crossbow, and the bolt comes perilously close to Will Somers love. Already investigating, Will now has a personal reason to find the murderer.

An interesting mystery set in a fascinating time period.

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This week I read two books that were really average. The first was the better of the two; Tendrils of the Past by Anthea Fraser.

I have read quite a few by Fraser and enjoyed them. This one, in my opinion, was not up to par.

The basic story is this: Charles and Sarah have a happy marriage. They socialized regularly with another couple: Lily and Luke. Luke becomes obsessed with Sarah but after a short affair, she attempts to break it off.

Fifteen years later, the deaths of Sarah and Charles are still a mystery. But their two daughters begin remembering the night in question. The stories of two other couples cycle in and out as well as Sarah’s mother’s. The adulteries and near adulteries are difficult to keep track of. The mystery is not much of a mystery.

The second book I read was more of a novella. I read it because it is set in the twenties.

It reads like it too with mysteries royalty, a secret treasure, and a key to the treasure that Pip, the protagonist, figures out. This one was very Nancy Dervish.

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With the preparations for the release of the fist book in the new series (more about that in a few days), I have not been able to read as much as usual. However, I did finish two books, both about Maine.

The first is Death in Acadia, a nonfiction book about the park.

These are true stories about usually fatal misadventures in the park. The first section is devoted to rogue waves coming off the ocean and whisking away people seated on nearby rocks. Some are dashed against the rocks but survive; some succumb to hypothermia. A few entries deal with Thunderhole, an iconic tourist stop on Ocean Drive. I now understand why the steps leading down to the inlet are frequently closed off.

I also read Almost Midnight by Paul Doiron, another in the Mike Bowditch series.

Mike is called away from his vacation by an old friend, Billy Cronk. Billy is in prison and is suspicious about one of the guards. Mike looks into her but he suspects Billy is seeing a conspiracy when there isn’t one. Now what to do with the rest of his vacation? In quick succession, Bowditch is given an ultimatum by his girlfriend, Dani Tate, and is called to a Veterinary Clinic because his wolf dog Shadow has been shot by a crossbow. Mike, of course, decides to investigate on his own time and runs afoul of some of the scary characters in Northern Maine.

Darker than some of his others but captivating.