Tag: female sleuth

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 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: 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-Stalking Around the Christmas Tree

Cheryl Russell

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree
Book Four in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series
by Jacqueline Frost

Publisher’s Summary

Tis the season to solve a murder—and innkeeper Holly White knows she’ll have to make her list and check it twice if she wants to catch the killer in the 4th Christmas Tree Farm mystery from bestselling author Jacqueline Frost.

For inn keeper Holly White, Christmas time in Mistletoe, Maine, is the ultimate holiday gift. Business at the Reindeer Games Inn is booming, her wedding to Sheriff Evan Gray is nearly here, and the annual parade is about to begin. The town is lucky to have another gift this year with the state’s ballet company staying for several performances of The Nutcracker. But disaster strikes when Tiffany, the lead ballerina, shows up dead on a float during the parade, the Rat King’s mask nearby. Holly will have to spruce up her sleuthing skills if she wants to catch the killer before Christmas—and her wedding day.

Immediately, Holly discovers that Tiffany had more than a few secrets. She finds out that the star of the show had a super fan that no one knows anything about. And the show’s understudy slips some other intriguing information Holly’s way: not only was Tiffany secretly seeing someone romantically, but there seems to be more than one rat in this company. When Holly discovers a secret passage leading to Tiffany’s dressing room, with footprints leading out; she wonders if this is evidence of a secret lover—or a stalking killer.

With an impending snowstorm and the ballet company on the way out of town, Holly must act quickly if she wants to find the person responsible for this terrible murder. Will she be able to save Christmas—or will her investigation turn cold like the weather?

My thoughts on Stalking Around the Christmas Tree


I’ll say it up front-this is one of my favorite series, even though the murders occur around Christmas. Reindeer Games is a Christmas tree farm Holly White’s family owns and they put their all into the business. There’s the café, Hearth, which Holly’s mom keeps stocked with all sorts of Christmas-y goodies. It’s a life-sized gingerbread house and popular with the locals and the visitors. The farm also has games-reindeer games-in the twelve days leading up to Christmas. Some are indoors, some are outdoors, but all are fun. There is also an inn on the property. Holly is the inn keeper and in this week before Christmas the inn is hosting a ballet troupe from Maine’s capitol. The ballet troupe going to perform The Nutcracker for several nights before returning to the capitol for a final performance on Christmas Eve. It’s all set for a perfect Christmas. But of course, this is Mistletoe and for the last three years a murder has occurred close to Christmas and this year is no exception.

What I like about Stalking Around the Christmas Tree


The setting. Mistletoe, Maine, and especially Reindeer Games Tree Farm, are places I’d want to visit. Frost does an excellent job immersing the reader into the fictional town and tree farm.
The characters. Over the series characters have broadened Holly’s circle of trusted friends. She has a solid relationship with her parents. She’s found a keeper in the sheriff. Her circle of friends includes old and new friends, and those friendships also cross generations.

The mystery in Stalking Around the Christmas Tree


There’s mystery upon mystery in this book. The super fan with the large online following and influence, that no one has ever seen. The dead ballerina-why would anyone kill her? The sheriff’s sister, Libby, has become withdrawn and no one knows why. All were well-written, with plenty of red herrings to throw a reader off. Solving one mystery doesn’t necessarily make solving the mystery of the killer’s identity or motive any easier.

Some of the tropes present in Stalking Around the Christmas Tree


Happily ever after
Enticing village
Close relationships.

My thoughts

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree is a tightly written cozy mystery that will keep

you guessing up until the reveal. Recommended.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for giving me a copy of #StalkingAroundTheChristmasTree in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.