Tag Archives: Currently Reading

Currently Reading

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Death Among the Ruins is Susanna Calkins seventh Lucy Campion Mystery. (And I have read the entire series!)

Lucy Campion is a printer’s apprentice, quite a step up for a servant in the Middle Ages. She is engaged to Adam Hargreaves, the son of the family she served, although she is quite nervous about the marriage because of the difference in their stations.

Death Among the Ruins begins with a rag picker approaching Lucy because she has found a dead body. Lucy accompanies her to the ruins, some of the many left by the Great Fire of 1666. It is immediately apparent the rag picker has not told the entire story.

An expensive dress leads Lucite the Mobley family, and the sickly daughter Charlotte. Lucy quickly realizes that all of the family members have secrets. But is any one of them the murderer?

Calkins’ real strength is her depiction of the 1600s in London. The descriptions, the characters, even the writing style puts you right there. Highly Recommended.

I have been a fan of Simon Brett for many years, right from his beginning with the Charles Paris mysteries. Mrs. Pargeter is one of his newer series. Mrs Pargetr’s Patio, which will be released later this month, is number seven.

Mrs Pargeter is enjoying the fine weather on her patio when one of the stones cracks, and reveals a human skull. What to do?

Fortunately, the now deceased Mr. Pargeter knew an array of dodgy characters that will gladly assist Mrs. Pargeter until it is the right time to call the police.

Funny as usual. Even the names: Concrete Jacket. Fixin’ Nixon, Truffler, are amusing. Fun.

Currently Reading

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Chertsey Park is the fourth in the Sophie Burgoyne series by G. J. Bellamy.

In this outing, Sophie and her intrepid crew focus on the evil Stokely. Servants are requested from the Burgoyne Agency, giving Sophie and the others an opportunity to spy on Stokely.

Sophie’s investigations lead her into danger – from the police as well as from Stokely’s crew. While following one of his thugs, Sophie almost witnesses a murder, coming upon the body seconds after the murder has occurred.

When she is questioned by the police, Sophie refuses to give her name or any other pertinent information and ends up in a cell. Penrose has to give her a false name and spring her from jail.

This series is many things: a mystery, historical fiction, a spy thriller and it is all wrapped up in a cozy package.

Long but great fun.

More about Bouchercon

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I am home from the San Diego Boucheron. a bit jet lagged and tired. The blog is late going out since, when I arrived home in a storm, I discovered we had no power and no Internet. We limped along on generator and only just got the power back.

Bouchercon panels. – My first panel was the one I participated in. 20 panels in one. The audience put in questions that we then had to answer off the cuff. Not easy. Questions ranged from whether we authors outlined to what did we think of paranormal or romance in out books. Since none of us write either, this was a tough question.

My jacket was purple, not blue, by the way.

Besides the author interviews, previously discussed, I attended several panels. A historical panel, of course, with Susanna Calkins, Richard Korea, A.E. Wasserman Frances McNamara and Vanessa Riley. I found the panel on dealing with rejection interesting and helpful. Just for fun, I went to the panel on Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the so-called Ghosts of Honor. Lots of Fun.

Currently Reading

I read only one book: Dredemere Castle by G. J. Bellamy. This was the third in the Sophie Burgoyne series and it was fun!

Sophie and her bank of spies are hired to attend a large party at Dredemere Castle. A meeting between an Egyptian official and a British official to discuss Egypt’s autonomy is slated to occur at the same time as a large house party. Flora/Gladys takes the part of a lady, purporting to be wed to Lord Landlord, Ada is her maid and Sophie takes the part of chauffeur. It is expected by both the Home Office and the Foreign Office that Stokely will attempt to interrupt the talks and cause an international incident. Several of Stokely’s cronies are already in place; a known jewel thief is also on site.

Fun. But be warned: it is very long.

Currently Reading

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First, a note. I will probably not post on Monday. I will be attending Bouchercon in San Diego. I hope I see some of you there.

The first book I read this week was Exiles by Jane Harper.

Aaron Fulk travels to southern Australia for the christening of an old friend’s baby. One year ago, Kim Gillespie tucked her sleeping baby into the carriage and disappeared. Several people claimed to have seen her walking around the festival grounds or riding the Ferris wheel. But no one has seen her since. No one saw her leaving by the front entrance or the back. The local cop is stumped.

As Aaron finds his way into the tight knit group, he discovers that all of them have secrets. The group is more fractured than it appears from the outside.

And Raco, Fulk’s good friend, is sure something is off about Kim’s disappearance. He keeps looking into it.

But it is Fulk, who comes to it with fresh eyes, who realizes the truth, not only for that case, for another cold case involving a hit and run. These cases also bring about a life changing decision for Aaron Fulk.

Although I found the beginning a little slow moving, by the time I was halfway I couldn’t put this book down. A great read!

The second book I read was Lies: Secrets can kill by Linda Lovely.

When the body of Dirk Black was fished out of the Mississippi River, The corrupt small town sheriff, Chief Dexter vows that Black’s wife Catherine will hang for the murder. She swears she’s innocent, and Dexter’s associate says he’ll help her. But Cat has plenty of secrets of her own, even if she didn’t murder her husband.

Some of the common tropes of detective fiction are present here: the corrupt small town sheriff, the beautiful blonde with secrets and the small Southern town. But the thirties setting and the appealing style shine. Recommended.

Currently Reading

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I finished Fatal Legacy, the new Flavia de Luce, and it was amazing. To recap: she’s hired to prove a so-called freedman is just that, not a slave. The determination of this is tied up with the question of who owns an orchard. No one can find the will from the original purchaser.

Well, the case grows more and more complicated with many characters and several plot threads. The elopement of Costa Sabatina with the young heir of the opposing family, gives Flavia the break in the case she needs to finally understand what happened and what the dispute is truly over.

A long ago murder, adultery, and the original question of who among the cast of characters is free are all parts of this intriguing story. Highly Recommended.

The second book I read is Death of a Fox by Linda Norlander.

This is the fourth in the cabin in the woods mysteries. In this one, Jamie is hired to write the memoirs of an elderly woman living alone in the ruins of an old TB hospital. Jamie quickly realizes that the job is bigger than she thought because of the number of secrets Nella is hiding. As Jamie reads through them, though, many of the secrets are revealed. This is a really interesting part of the book.

Two of Nella’s cousins have arrived, supposedly to care for Nella, but Jamie soon discovers they are looking for money. Judd, Bella’s half-brother, spent his later years grousing about how much Dr. Fox owed him, No surprise when one of the cousins is found dead in the old hospital.

To make the matter more complicated, Jamie’s husband Andrew turns up with plans to take half her cottage or otherwise squeeze money from her.

Originally, Linda Norlander saw this as a series of four. I have really enjoyed all of them and I hope she finds a way to continue. They are very enjoyable cozies with a appealing protagonist and an unusual setting.

Currently Reading

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I read two Terry Shames books back to back. Both are Samuel Craddock mysteries.

The first was The Last Death of Jack Harbin. Jack is a severely disabled vet; blind and confined to a wheelchair. Who would would want to murder someone so disabled? The mystery is compounded by the death of Jack’s father, just a week or so before Jack. The funeral pulls together several people from the High School and Craddock slowly unravels the threads. As usual, the mystery is excellent and Craddock is a great character.

The second in this series is Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek. The town is in a terrible financial situation. They are broke, so broke they cannot afford a police force. When banker Gary Dellmore is murdered, Craddock is pulled into becoming a temporary police chief so he can investigate.

Dellmore was not a good banker; he is a little too free about spreading details of people’s finances around. As Craddock investigates, he finds that Dellmore cheated on his wife and engaged in dodgy business deals. Craddock begins to wonder what else Dellmore was engaged in. Whatever if was, it cost him his life.

The mysteries by Shames are delightful.Last Death of

Finally, I read The River by James e’toile. And independently published book, it is not available on Amazon.

On a vacation to Jamaica, two young girls disappear. The father of one and the mother of the other fly to Jamaica to find them. They barely arrive before being menaced by a thug known as the Haitian. The two parents forge on with their investigation anyway. The Haitian cannot allow that to happen.

The story is captivating and fast moving. The style needs some help, however.

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I met Tessa Wegert at the Severn dinner during Thrillerfest. I usually try to read the books of fellow writers I meet.

I read Death in the Family. And it was creepy.

Shana Merchant is a cop who recently relocated to upstate New York. Shas only recently returned to work after a traumatic experience in New York. With her partner Tim, she is called to a private island to investigate the disappearance/murder of a young man.

This was truly creepy. I plan to read the next in the series.

After that dark and creepy book, I wanted to read something lighter. I chose one of my favorite authors: Marcia Talley,

The crime is always late in the book but the reader remains captivated nonetheless.

Hannah and her sister plan to take a sister cruise. Georgina’s 14 year old daughter Julie is added. Everyone is having a good time when Hannah learns of the disappearance of a counselor on a previous cruise. As she looks into it, Julie is abducted. Although they find her unharmed, Hannah is now sure a predator sails these cruises in search of young victims. Although these seem like cozies, Talley is skilled at revealing the dark underbelly without getting too noir.

I read a true cozy last: Cookin’ the Books, by Amy Patricia Meade,

Tish Tarragon is setting up a cafe (with all things literary themed) in a small town. She is asked to cater a library event for 300 people. At this event. the Director Binnie Broderick dies – poisoned. Worried about the success of her business, Tish sets about donating home baked goodies to all and sundry, picking up clues as she goes along. Tish unmasks the murderer, natch.

This is very well written and cute, but a little too light for my taste.

Currently reading

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I missed a week of posting since I was on vacation. I even missed any celebration on the Publication Day of my new book, In the Shadow of the Bull.

Through out the week, I read a book titled Woman’s Lore: 4000 years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi, as part of my research for the next couple of books in my Ancient Crete series.

Even for the general reader, this is an interesting discussion of the treatment of women, and the goddesses women appealed to for help with pregnancy and childbirth, and how men co-opted them and turned them into sirens and succubi.

Another nonfiction title I read was Gardening can be Murder, a discussion of gardens, poisons and more in mystery fiction. For me, the most interesting and helpful section is a list of mystery authors and their books. I will definitely use that for my future reading.

I also read several fiction titles. The first was Hide Away by Jason Pinter. I met him at a Severn House dinner. I plan to read the books written by my fellow Severn authors.

I really enjoyed this book and have already ordered the second. Rachel Marin and her children are hiding under assumed names. Rachel’s husband Brad was murdered by a serial killer who is still out there. When the disgraced mayor of the little town in Murdered, Rachel calls the police and ends up involved (and accused) of the murder. A conspiracy is unmasked and Rachel almost gets killed by the murderer. A connection with a cop hints at a romance.

I also read book eight of the Deanna Raybourn series with the intrepid butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell.

In this one, the brother of Veronica’s love interest tells her he is afraid he is going to be murdered. He proactively invites everyone who was present at a long ago party. Sure enough, there is a murder. At the same time, Veronica, who is on the outs with her Lord, has to figure out a way to woo him back.

Funny, lots of fun, and with a twisty mystery. A+.

Finally, I went back to book one of the Samuel Craddock series, A Killing at Cotton Hill, by Terry Shames. I love this series. Craddock is an appealing character and the mysteries (I’ve read two so far) are great. But the best thing is the style. The books are amusingly written in a down home way. One of my favorite lines from this one: he couldn’t investigate his way out of an outhouse with two doors. A+

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Another busy week. I finished only one book, the second in the Sophie Burgoyne series.

Rumors of smuggling at Lady Holme reach Sophie’s ears. Since the Lord and Lady of Lady Holme are planning a large riding party, they need four additional maids. Sophie, Flora, Ada, and Fern a young girl with a photographic memory, are employed as those maids.



Within days of their arrival, Richard Smythe is murdered and now the hunt is on to find the murderer. There are several possibles. The Inspector investigating this case arrests Dr. Beaton but Sophie does not believe he is the guilty man.

The murder, and Lord Hazlet’s 39 year house arrest, are entangled in the smuggling. References are made to a mysterious consortium, in operation for several hundred years.

The mystery is twisty, although the identity of the murderer is soon discovered. I found the beginning a little confusing as the young women all choose different names. But the book is charming and fun and I will definitely read the next in the series.

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My schedule for blogging is out of whack because my husband and I were on vacation in Alaska. (More about that later).

I finished the Dark Queen by Faith Hunter.

Jane Yellowrock is promoted to Dark Queen by Leo Pellisier just as the European vamps arrive. Naturally, there are betrayals and wheels within wheels. During the epic battle, that the last few books have been heading for, it looks as though the New Orleans contingent will lose and the Europeans will win the United States.

Jane also meets a long lost brother, and she is not sure how she feels about that. More about her past is revealed.

This episode in the long running series ends on a cliff hanger so I now am looking forward to the next one in the series.

I also read the first in a new series for me: Secret Agency, by G. T. Bellamy.

Sophie Burgoyne is the daughter of a poor vicar. Knowing that she has to make her own way in the world, she starts an agency for hiring domestic servants. At first, the fledgling business is so slow Sophie is afraid she won’t be able to pay her bills. But a meeting with an old friend offers her another pathway. This new business quickly spirals into an investigation into an attempted murder, several successful murders, and espionage.

This was absolutely charming. I have already ordered the second in the series.

The third book I read was Marcia Talley’s The Last Refuge.

When the main female lead in a reality show withdraws because of illness, Hannah jumps in. The reality show is supposedly set in 1774 and while Hannah enjoys the clothing, she, and all the cast, struggled with the lack of modern amenities. They are supposed to be living as they would in 1774.

The murder occurs late in the book and the murder and the mystery are not the focus here. Nonetheless, a captivating story. Talley never disappoints