Author: Cheryl Russell

Book Notes: Lost Hours by Paige Shelton

Cheryl Russell

Lost Hours
Book Five in the Alaska Wild series
by Paige Shelton

Beth’s past collides with her present when a kidnap victim arrives in Benedict.

Summary

In this fifth book in Paige Shelton’s Alaska Wild series, readers return to Benedict, Alaska, an isolated town on the edge of the Alaskan wilderness. Beth Rivers has made Benedict her home to recover from a violent kidnapping months earlier. She’s decided to take a boat tour to see glaciers, but before she and her “man-friend” Tex can reach their destination the tour is diverted by a woman in distress on the shore of one of the islands in the area. She’s covered in blood and it’s obvious she needs help. Once she’s brought aboard, Beth finds out Sadie Milbourn, the rescued woman, is a kidnap victim. Her story is similar to Beth’s and it’s through that similar experience the two women establish common ground. Sadie reveals to Beth that Sadie is in witness protection and has lived in Juneau for the last six years. As the investigation into Sadie’s case continues, more questions than answers arise. Another kidnapping takes place. Beth suspects the two cases are connected but can’t find the answers she needs.

Lost Hours-Likes

The characters. Benedict is a small, isolated town on the edge of the Alaskan wilderness. The only ways in or out are either plane or ferry. Internet is spotty at best and any emergency help is hours, if not days, away. Because of the isolation, the people in and around Benedict are self-sufficient, but also ready to help anyone needing it. Beth’s estranged father has also moved to Benedict, and she’s still trying to figure out what kind of relationship to have with him. The relationships are complicated, changing, and greatly influenced by the setting.
The setting. The Alaskan wilderness. It’s beautiful but potentially deadly. Alaska is one of my favorite places, ever. (At least in the summer. I haven’t experienced winter. Yet.)

The mystery. The twists and turns in Lost Hours kept me on my toes and the ending was one I didn’t see coming. Well-done.

Lost Hours-dislike

The plot line that has been running through the series took a predicable turn. As I read the book, my hope was that particular plot point wouldn’t come into play, but it did, and I was disappointed.

Recommendation

I’ve read all the books in the series, usually ordering them as soon the pre-orders are available. The mysteries keep me guessing, the Alaskan setting and characters draw me into the books, the covers are gorgeous, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
If you haven’t read any of the other books in the series (Thin Ice, Cold Wind, Dark Night, and Winter’s End) you can read this as a stand-alone, but I would recommend starting with Thin Ice and working your way through the series.
4/5 stars.

 

Publishing Info

Imprint: Minotaur Books
Pub date: 12/5/2023
ISBN: 9781250846617
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 288

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for a copy of #LostHours. All opinions are my own.

Book Notes The Curse of Penryth Hall

Cheryl Russell

Black background with red apples, a village skyline on the bottom and The Curse of Penryth Hall centered on the cover.

The Curse of Penryth Hall
by Jess Armstrong

The Curse of Penryth Hall is a historical cozy mystery with supernatural elements and Gothic overtones.

Summary

Ruby Vaughn has vowed to never return to Penryth Hall after the marriage of her best friend Tamsyn to Sir Edward Chenowyth. But her boss, Mr. Owen, has sent her to the village of Lothiel Green to deliver a trunk full of books to a man named Ruan Kivell. Before Ruby makes her delivery, she stops at the hall and finds a much-changed Tamsyn. Tamsyn is much thinner and has a bruised face. That evening at dinner, Ruby exchanges barbs with Sir Edward, until he excuses himself from dinner when he suddenly falls ill. The next morning his mutilated body is found by the housekeeper on the estate’s grounds. She insists the curse, which killed Edward’s uncle and his wife thirty years prior, is back and has killed Edward. When Tamsin hears the news, she insists the curse is coming for her next and forces Ruby to swear she will keep Tamsyn’s young son safe. Ruby’s scientific mind refuses to believe a curse is at work. She resolves to find the murderer behind Sir Edward’s death.

My Thoughts

This is a solid mystery with all sorts of twists and turns and an ending I didn’t see coming. The atmosphere is spooky with a castle falling into ruin and gloomy weather. Ruan Kivell, the local Pellar (a role which Ruan inhabits with mixed emotions), is a man with skill at healing others and putting Ruby’s emotions in turmoil. The verbal sparring between the two is funny and one of the best parts of the novel.
Ruby’s relationship with Tamsyn is complicated. They’ve been friends since Ruby was shipped from New York City to London after being seduced by an older married man when Ruby was sixteen. Ruined for a society marriage, her father sent her to live with his old friend and his family in London so Ruby could have a new start. At some point, Ruby wanted more from the relationship than Tamsyn could give-I think-and their friendship disintegrated. This relationship felt forced to me and distracted from the mystery.

Ruby is a deeply troubled character. Forced to leave home at such a young age, she loses her parents and younger sister years later at sea. She was an ambulance driver for the Great War, moving wounded soldiers from the front lines. Her relationship with Tamsyn fell apart during this period. Once Ruby returns to Penryth Hall, those old feelings for Tamsyn return, and Ruby doesn’t handle them well. Ruby becomes a bit self-centered and that was off-putting.

Overall thoughts

This isn’t a bad book. The mystery gets lost at times, and when that happened, I forgot why I was reading the book. As far as characters go, Ruan Kivell is the most interesting character, in my opinion. As far as the villagers are concerned, he has supernatural powers and is seen as the Pellar. Ruan is conflicted about his role and the pressure he is under to have all of the answers, especially when murder and an old curse is involved.

If historical mysteries set in the twenties, old English castles, and a hint of the supernatural is your thing, then this book may be for you. It really didn’t resonate with me, and if there are more books after this one, I probably won’t be reading them.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Publisher
St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 336
Pub date: 12/05/2023

Book Notes Review: I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died

Cheryl Russell

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Amanda Flower

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died

 

Book 2 in the Emily Dickinson Mystery series
By Amanda Flower

The way Amanda Flower writes it, before Emily Dickinson was a published poet, she was an amateur sleuth, solving murders in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, with her sometimes reluctant maid, Willa Noble.

Summary

In I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died, the murder victim is Luther Howard, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s personal secretary. The eminent poet was invited to Amherst by Susan Dickinson, Emily’s dear friend and her brother, Austin’s, new wife. Things were going well with the visit; Emerson was a popular speaker with people flocking to hear his talks. Dinners were held at Austin and Susan’s new home, a wedding present from his parents. At dinner one night, Luther excused himself. He was acting oddly and was later found dead in the gardens at Emily’s father’s house, next door to Austin’s home.
When a suspect is arrested, Emily is certain the police have the wrong man. Emily and Willa investigate on their own and risk becoming a murderer’s next target.

My Thoughts

Even though the books are in the Emily Dickinson Mystery series, Emily isn’t the point of view character. Willa Noble, Emily’s maid, is the one telling the story, and through her eyes there is more to the books than just the mystery. The series is set in the years before the Civil War and class distinctions are firmly rooted in society. Maids, like Willa, are part of the working class and aren’t friends with their wealthy employers.
Emily refuses to acknowledge this distinction, even though the rest of her family and her friends don’t hesitate to remind Willa of her place. It is a friendship that frequently places Willa in awkward positions, which Emily doesn’t see. But Willa can also talk to people that, because of the class division, wouldn’t speak freely to Emily. Without Willa, Emily couldn’t solve any mysteries.
I also like the different, albeit fictional, take on Emily Dickinson. She is a woman before her time-independent, rejecting social expectations of women’s roles and class distinctions. This independent streak drives Emily to take the steps she does in order to solve whatever mystery she’s involved in. There were plenty of viable suspects for Emily to deal with and that kept me guessing the murderer’s identity up until the reveal. The killer was one I didn’t see coming.
I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died is a stellar addition to the Emily Dickinson Mystery series.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing Information

Penguin Random House 
Paperback $17.00
Nov 14, 2023
ISBN 9780593336960

 

Book Notes Review of The Fatal Folio

Cheryl Russell

 

Book cover with cat looking out big window while sitting on bookshelves

The Fatal Folio

Book Three in the Cambridge Bookshop Series
by Elizabeth Penney

If you’re going to commit a murder, do it on a night when mask-wearers abound.

 

The Fatal Folio Summary

During Guy Fawkes celebrations, student Thad Devine is murdered on the grounds of St. Aelred, one of Cambridge, England’s, oldest and smallest colleges. The prime suspect is Oliver Scott. A professor up for promotion, Scott held a grudge against Devine. Oliver Scott is also cousin to Kieran Scott.

Kieran is Molly Kimble’s boyfriend, and she has a knack for stumbling into murders. Having her boyfriend’s cousin the prime suspect in Devine’s murder isn’t a spot she wants to be in, but here she is.

Before Molly can make any headway on the murder, the priceless manuscript The Fatal Folio is stolen during the Gothic Literature symposium, and Molly finds herself in the middle of mystery #2.

As Molly investigates both cases, the circle of suspects widens beyond Oliver, but not by much. All of Molly’s murder suspects either work for or are students at St. Aelred’s and also have ties to the symposium, meaning not only are they murder suspects, but suspects in the theft of The Final Folio. Will her investigating lead to a murderer? Will she recover the stolen manuscript before it’s sold to the highest bidder on the black market?

My Thoughts on The Fatal Folio

The Final Folio is a quick and easy read. The number of suspects kept me guessing about the murderer’s identity and the murderer’s motivation. Another plus was the inclusion of an old library. Molly was hired to catalogue the library at Hazelhurst House, the Scotts’ ancestral home and that was a definite plus in my book. (Pun intended.) If you like old libraries, rare manuscripts, and murder, then this novel may be for you.

 

Publishing Information

St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery
ISBN 9781250787743

 

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing a free copy of #TheFatalFolio for review. All opinions are my own.

Book Notes Review of Dating Can Be Deadly

Cheryl Russell

 

Book cover for Dating Can Be Deadly two goats pulling at a quilt with a skull on it.

Dating Can Be Deadly

An Amish Matchmaker Mystery #5
by Amanda Flower

In Dating Can Be Deadly, childhood friends Milly Fisher and Lois Henry are pulled into another murder mystery when a quilting contest turns deadly.

Dating Can Be Deadly Summary

Readers are back in Harvest, Ohio, this time for the county fair. Millie Fisher is, for the first time, entering a quilt into the quilting contest. Lois Henry, Millie’s lifelong best friend, is there to meet a man (potentially husband #5) she connected with on a dating app. But when the head judge for the competition is murdered, Millie and Lois make finding the murderer their top priority.

Thoughts on Dating Can Be Deadly

I love the pairing of Millie Fisher, a widowed Old Order Amish woman and Amish matchmaker, and Lois Henry, an over-the-top Englisher. The contrast between Millie, with her quiet demeanor, demure prayer cap, Amish dresses in dark colors, and Lois, with her spikey purple-red hair, bright colored patterned clothing, chunky costume jewelry, heavy use of eye shadow, and a bag Mary Poppins would envy for the amount of items it contains is one of the best things about the novel. Even though they are as different as night and day, their lifelong friendship is strong. They model what true friendship looks like-accepting of each other, even though they may not understand each other (esp. Millie when it comes to Lois’ English ways) or agree 100% of the time.
The small village atmosphere encompasses both English and Amish communities, and the friction as well as the friendships are well-written into the novel. While the Amish way of life is a strong part of the series, it isn’t a whitewashed way of life. Flower’s characters reflect both the good and bad of members in both cultures.
Characters from Flower’s Amish Candy Shop Mystery series also make appearances. It’s fun to see which ones make cameo appearances.

The plot is also strong. Flower excels at planting red herrings and plot twists, and I found myself going back and forth between several viable suspects. This one kept me guessing until the final reveal.

There are four other books in this series, and while you can read this as a standalone, I would recommend reading the other books in the series first. You can read a sample from Dating Can Be Deadly here. If buying the book is too much of a commitment, then check out a copy from your local library. However you obtain your books, get a copy and read Dating Can Be Deadly.

Publishing Information

Published by: Kensington
Imprint: Kensington Cozies
336 Pages, 4.11 x 6.79 x 0.86 in
ISBN: 9781496737489
ON SALE: 10/24/2023
FICTION / MYSTERY & DETECTIVE / AMATEUR SLEUTH

Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonCozies for providing an electronic copy for review. Thanks to the author for providing
a hard copy for review. All opinions are my own.