Category: Fiction

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 Review: Some of Us Are Looking

Cheryl Russell

Book cover For Some Of Us Are Looking by Carlene O'ConnorSome of Us Are Looking
Book Two  in the County Kerry Series

By Carlene O’Connor

 

Set in Ireland and Irish culture, O’Connor weaves a tight, tense tale of murder and revenge.

Description

In late summer, the Dingle peninsula is thronged with tourists drawn to County Kerry’s dark mountains and deep, lush valleys. For Irish vet Dimpna Wilde, who has returned to run her family’s practice after years away, home is a beautiful but complicated place—especially when it becomes the setting for a brutal murder . . .  

In Dimpna Wilde’s veterinary practice, an imminent meteor shower has elevated the usual gossip to include talk of shooting stars and the watch parties that are planned all over Dingle. But there are also matters nearer at hand to discuss—including the ragtag caravan of young people selling wares by the roadside, and the shocking death of Chris Henderson, an elderly local, in a hit-and-run.

Just hours before his death, Henderson had stormed into the Garda Station, complaining loudly about the caravan’s occupants causing noise and disruption. One of their members is a beautiful young woman named Brigid Sweeney, and Dimpna is shocked when Brigid later turns up at her practice, her clothing splattered in blood and an injured hare tucked into her shirt.

Brigid claims that a mysterious stranger has been trying to obtain a lucky rabbit’s foot. Dimpna is incensed at the thought of anyone mutilating animals, but there is far worse in store. On the night of the meteor shower, Dimpna finds Brigid’s body tied to a tree, her left hand severed. She has bled to death. Wrapped around her wrist is a rabbit’s foot.

Brigid had amassed plenty of admirers, and there were tangled relationships within the group. But perhaps there is something more complex than jealousy at play. The rabbit’s foot, the severed hand, the coinciding meteor shower—the deeper Dimpna and Detective Sargeant Cormac O’Brien investigate, the more ominous the signs seem to be, laced with a warning that Dimpna fears it will prove fatal to overlook.

Some of Us Are Looking-Likes
The characters.
First is Dimpna Wilde. Dimpna is a veterinarian and she’s returned home to take over her ailing father’s practice. Dimpna has had a hard life (the story is in No Strangers Here), but she is well on her way to rebuilding it. Her practice is thriving. She may or may not have a potential relationship in the works with Detective Sargent Cormac O’Brian.

Detective Sargent Cormac O’Brian isn’t sure what to make of his relationship with Dimpna either. There’s an attraction there, he thinks, but he’s not sure. He does know he is attracted to her and really doesn’t want her to find out about his latest indiscretion, one he needs to tell Sargent Barbara Neely about and the sooner the better.

Then there’s Sargent Barbara Neely. Instead of retiring, she transferred to the Tralee Garda Station from Dingle and is now regretting her life choices. Elderly Chris Henderson, on his third visit of the week, barged into her office and announced he caught a pervert. Inspector O’Brian obviously has something he needs to tell her, but Henderson interrupted O’Brian before he had a chance to start, and now she has a circus in her office. All before lunch. She has her hands full at the start of the book, but her life is about to get much more difficult when the murders start.

The Murders
First, Chris Henderson is killed in a hit-and-run and witnesses say he was targeted. Then Dr. Wilde discovers the body of Brigid Sweeny. The beautiful young woman had been in the news and in contact with the police as a member of a caravan. Her death is a gruesome one.
Someone has also vandalized shops in Dingle. They’ve chalked messages across several of the shops referencing a cold case from 1944, in England.
The murders take place against the backdrop of the Perseid meteor shower, giving Dr. Wilde, Sargent Neely, and DS O’Brien an endless pool of suspects and a short time to solve the murders. Once the meteor shower is over, the crowds will disperse all over Ireland, the killer going with them.

I really love the immersion into Irish culture and life.

Dislikes
I didn’t really buy into the gravity of O’Brien’s indiscretion, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying this book.

My Thoughts

If you’re familiar with O’Connor’s writing through her Irish Village cozy mystery series, the County Cork series is not that. Some of Us Are Looking is darker in tone than a cozy; the murders are more brutal and more detail is on the page (but not excessive, just enough to give this reader chills). To me it has more of a traditional mystery/thriller slant, but still has Connor’s distinctive sense of humor and complex characters found in her other books. I fell in love with this series with the first book No Strangers Here, and quickly read this one. Recommended.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Kensington for providing a copy of #SomeOfUsAreLooking for review.

Publishing Information

Published by: Kensington
Imprint: Kensington
368 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in

ISBN: 9781496737557

ON SALE: 10/24/2023

FICTION / MYSTERY & DETECTIVE / INTERNATIONAL MYSTERY & CRIME

Book Notes Review-A Most Agreeable Murder

Cheryl Russell

 

A Most Agreeable Murder

By Julia Seales

 

 

Publisher’s Summary

My Thoughts

This book was fun to read. Why? The characters, especially “I’m drawn to you but you also irritate me to no end” relationship between Beatrice Steele (main character) and Inspector Vivek Drake. The setting, an area in England known as Swampshire (which turns the quaint English village trope upside down), is replete with too many luminescent frogs, squelch holes, and atrocious weather. The mystery twists and turns constantly, (or so it seemed) and kept me on my toes trying to figure out the murderer’s identity and motive.

The influence of Jane Austen and Emily Brontë (possibly more, but these are the ones I picked up on) are present throughout the book, but Seales’ writing takes what sounds familiar and turns it in new directions adding to the humor. It was fun when I recognized those spots which added to the fun.

The mystery was difficult to solve, and that is a good thing. A lot of well-placed red herrings kept me off-balance and guessing up until the reveal.

The only thing that kept tripping me up was the number of characters. It was hard at times to keep everyone straight, but not so much it threw me out of the story.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #randomhouse for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Product Details

Hardcover | $27.00
Published by Random House
352 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4| ISBN 9780593449981

Book Notes-Murder At An Irish Bakery

Cheryl Russell

book cover for Murder at an Irish Bakery

Murder At An Irish Bakery
Book Nine in the Irish Village Mystery series

By Carlene O’Connor

Fia O’Ferrell’s family bakery, Pie Pie Love, is in danger of shutting down. Her hope is a week-long baking contest, featuring Ireland’s best bakers. Even famous Irish baker Aoife McBride, not seen since a public meltdown a few months ago, is coming to Kilbane to compete. The competition is also being filmed for television, bringing Pie Pie Love much-needed publicity.
The promise of endless baked goods, specifically desserts, means this baking competition is Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan’s dream assignment. The assignment quickly turns into a bad dream when a protester, trying to stop the show, is murdered. The bad dream morphs into a nightmare when bodies begin to pile up, but clues and the murderer’s identity remain elusive.

In Murder at an Irish Bakery, the O’Sullivan Six have moved to a new home. They are growing up and branching out into new lives and careers. Siobhán, married a year, is a happy as she’s ever been, while at the same time is she is trying to come to grips with the fact her siblings are spreading their wings.

The mystery is also tricky to solve. Figuring out the puzzle isn’t just figuring out the ‘who dun it,’ but also the ‘how was it done.” Sometimes the ‘who dun it’ isn’t hard to pinpoint, but the ‘how was it done’ keeps me guessing until the end of the book. I’ve read all the books in this series, and what keeps me reading are not only the tricky mysteries, but the way the characters continue to evolve and change, without losing their strong family bonds. That foundation is what gives them the courage to grow into individuals, knowing there is a safe place to land if needed.

Other books in the series
Murder on an Irish Farm #8

Murder in an Irish Bookshop #7

Murder at an Irish Christmas #6

Murder in an Irish Cottage #5

Murder in an Irish Pub #4

Murder in an Irish Churchyard #3

Murder at an Irish Wedding #2

Murder in an Irish Village #1

Publishing Information
Kensington Cozies

320 Pages, 5.90 x 8.54 x 1.10 in

ISBN: 9781496730817

ON SALE: 02/21/2023

FICTION / MYSTERY & DETECTIVE / WOMEN SLEUTHS

Thanks to #NetGalley for providing a copy of #MurderAtAnIrishBakery

Book Notes-In Farm’s Way by Amanda Flower

Cheryl Russell

Book cover for Amanda Flower's book In Farm's WayIn Farm’s Way
A Farm to Table Mystery
by Amanda Flower

When the husband of Shiloh’s best friend becomes a murder suspect, Shiloh starts investigating to clear his name.

Wallace Field is the owner of Field’s Brewing Company, located in Shiloh’s hometown of Cherry Glen, Michigan. Even though the brewery is relatively new, it’s grown quickly and Wallace has plans to go national. But before he can do that, he needs to find a new brewmaster for the brewery. The purpose of tonight’s event is to name a new brewmaster. Shiloh was invited to the reveal party by her best friend, Kristy Garcia Brown. Kristy’s husband, Kent, is one of the bartenders at the Field’s Brewing Company and one of two finalists for the brewmaster’s job.

Other attendees at tonight’s event are members of MOBA, Michigan Organic Beer Association. Wallace is a member, but there is no love lost between Wallace and fellow MOBA members, as Shiloh learns when she overhears a conversation between two members. Wallace is suspected of cheating—stealing others’ recipes for home brewed beers and passing them off as his own.
The brewmaster position is up for a vote. The voters sampled two cherry flavored beers-one developed by Kent and the other developed by Jason Brennan. Wallace declared Jason the winner, to the shock of nearly everyone there.
The next day, Shiloh discovers Wallace’s body at an ice fishing competition. She’s determined to stay out of the investigation, but when Kent becomes a strong suspect in the murder—because he was the last one to see Wallace alive—she needs to get involved.

Thoughts on In Farm’s Way

In Farm’s Way is the 3rd book in the Flower’s Farm to Table series. Shiloh Bellamy is still struggling to get the farm on firm financial footing. She’s in the process of certifying the farm as organic, but her father doesn’t encourage her efforts. Shiloh must also contend with her rocky past. I’ve enjoyed watching her confront her obstacles and move past them as she reinvents herself and the family farm. The series as a whole is a fun one, and one I’ve enjoyed reading.

Other books in the series:
Farm to Trouble
Put Out To Pasture

Other books by Amanda

Thanks to #NetGalley for providing a copy of #InFarmsWay