The Secret Life of Anna Blanc

 

Review of The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe

Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: It's 1907 Los Angeles. Mischievous socialite Anna Blanc is the kind of young woman who devours purloined crime novels—but must disguise them behind covers of more domestically-appropriate reading. She could match wits with Sherlock Holmes, but in her world women are not allowed to hunt criminals. 
Determined to break free of the era's rigid social roles, Anna buys off the chaperone assigned by her domineering father and, using an alias, takes a job as a police matron with the Los Angeles Police Department. There she discovers a string of brothel murders, which the cops are unwilling to investigate. Seizing her one chance to solve a crime, she takes on the investigation herself. 
If the police find out, she'll get fired; if her father finds out, he'll disown her; and if her fiancé finds out, he'll cancel the wedding and stop pouring money into her father's collapsing bank. Midway into her investigation, the police chief's son, Joe Singer, learns her true identity. And shortly thereafter she learns about blackmail.
Anna must choose—either hunt the villain and risk losing her father, fiancé, and wealth, or abandon her dream and leave the killer on the loose.

My Review:

I am happy to be with you again to share my thoughts about my last piece of fiction. This week I review The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe.

It features a main character who is a well-known Los Angeles socialite at the turn of the century, but that’s not all she is. As the title suggests, Anna Blanc has a secret, a whole secret other life, under the name of Matron Holmes.

Her love of playing detective and the chance for excitement get the best of her. After a failed attempt at marriage, her father literally catches her immediately after marrying someone he does not approve, another man miraculously wants her for himself and his money is something that her father can’t refuse.

After being arrested as a suffragette, Anna becomes obsessed with the idea of having a job as police matron, something that she knows her father and fiancé won’t approve of. When a positon opens up at the LAPD though, she knows that she can’t let that stand in her way. So she bribes her chaperon to look the other way, tells her new boss that she is a married woman, and gets a job as Matron Holmes.

When she visits a brothel one day, she discovers that prostitutes are being murdered on a regular basis and vows to herself to solve the crime. Meanwhile it becomes more difficult by the day to keep her double life a secret from her father, her friend, and her fiancé.

My overall analysis on this was is that it is a great story. It is nice to see a strong and independent female character from this time period. The author handles the tie-in with the suffragettes nicely.

Also the ending was something of surprise for me. Don’t worry, I am not going to give anything away but the mystery itself was interesting though I think the most interesting part of the story for me was Anna story as a girl who was ruined only to be “saved” again by the attentions of Edgar Wright who then decides to risk everything to help solve a crime that the police seem to ignore.

In the end, Anna also proves herself a capable detective in her own right who is able to make decisions for herself. It would really be nice if this story became a series complete with more mysteries to solve.

On the downside, some readers might find the mystery slow going initially but for me, that part of the story was just as interesting as the mystery. I appreciate the way the author tackled a time period that does not seem to appear much in historical fiction. It reminded me of some of the stories that my grandfather used to tell me in some ways.

I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone interested in historical fiction, particularly if he or she also likes a good mystery. The background about Los Angeles during this period as well as the Arrow Collar man is fascinating in and of itself. I am hoping someday to score an interview with author about that but in the meantime pick up a copy and read it for yourself.

Contains: language, some sexual situations

 

Half Killed

Review of Half Killed by Quenby Olson

Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: Dorothea Hawes has no wish to renew contact with what lies beyond the veil. After an attempt to take her own life, she has retired into seclusion, but as the wounds on her body heal, she is drawn back into a world she wants nothing more than to avoid.

She is sought out by Julian Chissick, a former man of God who wants her help in discovering who is behind the gruesome murder of a young woman. But the manner of death is all too familiar to Dorothea, and she begins to fear that something even more terrible is about to unleash itself on London. And so Dorothea risks her life and her sanity in order to save people who are oblivious to the threat that hovers over them. It is a task that forces her into a confrontation with her own lurid past, and tests her ability to shape events frighteningly beyond her control.

My Review:

More apologies from me as I have to ask pardon for making you wait so long for this latest review. I think I might have to amend my review schedule to one review every other week instead of every week. This, as I mentioned before, is due to me going back to school. I will publish more often when I can but I apologize in advance for the times when it is not possible.

This week’s story was sent to me by a fellow author on Facebook months ago and I am just now getting around to reviewing it. I also have another story from a fellow Facebook member whose book I will be reviewing next time which just shows how far behind I am on keeping my promises.

The story centers on a young London woman whose name is Thea Hawes. Thea has a troubled past but not in the way that most of us do, she is troubled by the spirits of the dead rather than the confrontations with the living. Specifically those of her parents who were mysterious killed years ago.

One day she receives a visit from a Mr.Chissick who claims to know her yet she knows that she has never met him before. Soon enough she finds out the purpose for his visit and doesn’t like it one bit. Chissick brings her to the body of murder girl who has an unusual burn wound across her throat, the apparent cause of death. But who or what could have done this? This is what she must find out. And the most disturbing thing of all is that it is exactly the same way her parents were found on the night they died.

The story itself gets points for uniqueness. I can’t say that I have ever read anything quite like it before. I kept wanted to turn the page. First, I was trying to figure out the time period. I knew it was historical but I couldn’t tell in the beginning if it was the 1800’s or the early 1900’s. It was only the reference to the queen that gave me any idea at all. That and the fact that there were no cars mentioned.

Later, I was drawn in further by this unusual; I guess you could call it a supernatural mystery. It becomes apparent from the beginning that this is no ordinary crime and so the perpetrator must not be any ordinary person either.

The characters were also well-done and interesting. You can feel for both Thea and her Mr. Chissick and, to a lesser extent, some of the less minor characters.

The downsides for me were the Prologue and the description. The Prologue is set in second person and this bothered me. I didn’t want to read an entire story in second person and I didn’t know whether or not it would continue on that way. I kept thinking that if the author did it intending for the reader to identify with Thea, she would have done better to use first person, and beginning in the first chapter, that is exactly what she did.

Then there was the description. Don’t get me wrong it was beautiful. It just seemed like there was too much of it. I felt like a lot of it didn’t really need to be there, especially in the beginning.

I did like it in the end. I liked it quite a lot though I don’t think I would go so far as to say that I loved it. Still it was a great story without a lot of objectionable material so that counted for a lot and it got me through it. I hope you agree.

Desecration

Review of Desecration by J. F. Penn 

Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: Death isn't always the end.

LONDON. When the body of a young heiress is found within the Royal College of Surgeons, Detective Sergeant Jamie Brooke is assigned to the case. An antique ivory figurine found beside the body is the only lead and she enlists Blake Daniel, a reluctant clairvoyant, to help her discover the message it holds.

When personal tragedy strikes, Jamie finds her own life entwining with the morbid fascinations of the anatomists, and she must race against time to stop them claiming another victim.

As Jamie and Blake delve into a macabre world of grave robbery, body modification, and the genetic engineering of monsters, they must fight to keep their sanity, and their lives.

My Review:

I return to another book by J. F. Penn with the novel, Desecration, which by the way is a very appropriate title considering some of the things that happen in this book.

Our main character is a young woman named Jamie who is also a police officer. But we don’t begin with Jamie the police officer. Instead we first glimpse the Jamie who is the mother of a dying child. This is a side of her life that she keeps secret from most of her colleagues.

She the children’s hospice for work, hoping to leave the disturbing images of her daughter dying behind. When she gets her next case though, all she gets is even more death, and we are not just talking about the murder victim, Jenna.

Digging deeper into the murder victim’s investigations she finds out about the underside of a morbid death worship type culture. One suspect, the love interest of Jenna’s, makes a living by posing dead bodies in provocative positions and then selling them to the highest bidder.

Others, Jenna’s parents, use the dead bodies for the advancement of science. At least that is what they claim but after seeing the freakish specimen’s in jars at a local museum Jamie begins to wonder how any of this can be legal.

For me it seemed to be more of a cautionary tale about how even art and science can go too far in their effort for pleasure and the greater good. This is what could happen when someone makes art or even science their god. The ends can justify the means in the eyes of such people and even make them forget their own humanity.

I will warn you. This story is macabre and downright creepy but there are some scary possibilities. I hope I don’t live to see this reality but it is something to think about, and possibly give you nightmares. Also, like the last novel I reviewed by Penn, the language is sometimes a bit strong.

It is a good book to read if you like mystery and thriller novels that make you think, and if you can stomach the dark aspects of it. In fact, you might not want to read this when you are eating. It is up to you.

I am not really sure whether I want to recommend this one or not. Just remember, you have been warned.

Hanover Square Affair

Review of Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner

Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: London, 1816
Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic Wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is piqued when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament. Lacey's search for the girl leads to the discovery of murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. At the same time, he faces his own disorientation transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world, redefining his role with his former commanding officer, and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden.
Book 1 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries.

My Review:

Captain Lacey, this week’s protagonist, is someone that I really came to like. He has pluck and cares about people who are downtrodden in his world of Regency England, perhaps because he is one of them.

Until I found this little gem I had no idea that there were Regency Mysteries. I had always heard mostly about Regency Romances and never much cared for them. I do like mysteries though so this was perfect.

And as I mentioned, I came to love Captain Lacey. He is a recent forty something former soldier who was wounded in the Napoleonic Wars. Having retired on half pay, he has few prospects and even less money. What he does have is a man commonly referred to as Mr. Grenville in his corner.

Grenville is apparently the man to know in high society and for some reason that Lacey can’t fathom, he has taken an interest in him.

It turns out to be a very good thing for Lacey when he decides to make another of his brave, spontaneous decisions to help a stranger. That stranger is a Mr. Thornton who is a broken man when Lacey discovers him one day standing outside of the home of a well-to-do London man named Mr. Horne. Thornton is shot and barely escapes with his wife, thanks to Captain Lacey.

Lacey later learns what drove Thornton to do what he did. His daughter has disappeared. She was last seen at the home of Mr. Horne. He claims to have had nothing to do with young Jane Thornton’s disappearance but Thornton thinks that he knows better. She is his only child and he is determined to get her back.

Moved by pity for Thornton’s plight, and having nothing better to do, Lacey decides to look into her case himself. I guess this is how he becomes some kind of private investigator since this book is a first in a series.

In any case, it certainly is a good start. Besides the fact that I loved Capt. Lacey as a character, the story is also very entertaining as well as moving. His weaknesses and determination to see this through somehow only make him seem more lovable, if also a little foolish.

The story of the vast London underworld is also interesting as is Lacey attempt to navigate through it without the help of the police. Grenville does however prove invaluable with his vast connections and desire to prove himself to Lacey. It was definitely a page turner and I recommend it highly to anyone who loves the Mystery or Historical Fiction genre.

Contains: a small amount of sexuality and some violence and language

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Review of Darkness on the Edge of Town by J. Carson Black

Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: Laura Cardinal: Packs a SIG Sauer P226 9mm. Investigates homicides in small towns that have limited resources. Brings justice to murder victims—and to their killers. Laura’s job description: Criminal Investigator with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. But maybe it should just say “Troubleshooter.” 

Used to be kids played outdoors until time for dinner, now social media’s the new game in town. These days, they play on their smartphones. But with more freedom comes greater danger. Mobile devices are a conduit into a child’s life, not just for friends but for those who intend harm. This is the message of J. Carson Black’s Daphne du Maurier Award-nominated thriller, DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN.

My Review:

J. Carson Black was the author of a book I previously reviewed though I don’t remember the title. I do remember that it also featured this Detective Laura Cardinal because I not only remembered the protagonist’s name, but also this habit she had of seeing her deceased mentor, Frank Entwistle, show up out of thin air whenever she seemed to need extra help.

Laura Cardinal works for some type of Arizona state police agency that is called out to smaller locations whenever a crime is committed that is too much for local authorities to handle. The murder of Jessica Parris is one of those cases so the Bisbee PD calls for assistance and Laura dashes off to the rescue.

At first there is nothing to go on, other than the strange doll-like dress that the girl is found wearing and a note on a matchbox that reads CRZYGRL12. Laura is convinced from the start that the guy is either a beginning serial killer or that there are other victims but why were they not reported?

After a lead from Riverside County, California, she discovers she just might have found a link yet some of the modus operandi from the Indio murders are different from her own. To prove her hunch correct, she takes off for Florida where her alleged suspect lives, hoping that she is not wasting her department’s time and money. Can she stop him in time?

Of course I am not giving away the ending but here’s my two cents about the book. As before, I like the protagonist Laura Cardinal and I think the idea that she still talks to her dead mentor is really unique but also makes her relatable. As she hunts down bad guys who are no doubt insane, her encounters with Frank leave us wondering if she is even sane herself.

Then with her dilemma about allowing her boyfriend of two months to move in with her we see that she has trust and security issues. Given her past experiences with men though as well as they type of work she does, I can’t really blame her.

The negative for me was mainly the language. The f word appears a little too frequently for my taste. And then there is the serial killer bit. I know that there are probably many people who like serial killer mysteries but I usually find them too gory for my taste. This one however was not as bad as I thought it would be.

In any case, if you don’t like a lot of bad language and are entirely adverse to gore, I would skip this one. For everyone else however, I think it is a pretty good story with well-developed characters that make for an entertaining story.

Contains: language (including the f bomb) and violence with mild gore.

Innocent in Las Vegas

 

 Review of Innocent in Las Vegas by A. R. Winters

Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: Cupcake-loving croupier Tiffany Black is determined to leave her job at the casino for good. She's one small step away from acquiring her Private Investigator license, and has her eye on the prize.

Accepting her first real case - investigating the murder of casino-mogul Ethan Becker - should be exciting. Instead, things spiral out of control and Tiffany finds herself in over her head, as she confronts secretive suspects, corrupt casino henchmen and her mysterious, ex-Special Forces bodyguard.

Tiffany's poker-hustling Nanna and pushy parents want her to find a nice man and settle down, but Tiffany just wants to track down the real murderer before he finds her first...

My Review:

I head back to the mystery genre this week and this time to what I think could be classified as Cozy Mystery. It’s the first in series, but aren’t they all?

If you’re wondering why I am doing so many lately it’s because I have so many of them on my Nook that I either got on Free Friday or for very little money (one was $1 for a 12 all in the same volume) that I am trying to get to them all. But I am trying to mix them in with other genres so that we don’t get too bored.

Our main character is Tiffany Black, a young lady who works at a casino by night and is studying to be Private Investigator by day. She is about to get her certification when she is offered her first case.

An old acquaintance from high school named Sophie has hired her to investigate her husband’s murder since the police seem to have already concluded that she did it. Of course it does not help that the murder weapon was found in her bedroom. Talk about a smoking gun.

Against her better judgment, Tiffany takes on the case and soon finds that there are many people involved who would rather leave the case as it is with Sophie as suspect #1 and they are also willing to kill Tiffany to see that it remains that way.

The mystery itself is unique, refreshingly so. But there was another aspect of the story that I didn’t like that sort of cropped up at the end that I wasn’t sure I would like. I suspect that the author is intending to go in the direction of a future love triangle and well, I am not sure that I want to read another one of those. I don’t know about you but I am really getting sick of love triangles.

I like the character of Tiffany Black. She is relatable and reminds me a little bit of Stephanie Plumb, the bounty hunter from one of Janet Evanovich’s novels. She is also funny and she makes the story a breeze to read as it is told in her voice. I literally read it in a few days even though I was also working those days. It went so fast I could hardly believe it when it was over.

Still not sure yet if I will continue with the series though but if I do, it will probably be a while before I get to it with all the other mysteries I have to read. I would recommend it to anyone who would like a light Cozy that doesn’t take much effort to read.

Contains: some F bombs at the beginning.

A Pedigree to Die for

Review of A Pedigree to Die for by Laurien Berenson


Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: The apparent heart attack that killed kennel owner Max Turnbull has left his wife Peg suspecting foul play. But the only evidence is their missing prize pooh--a pedigreed poodle named Beau. Then, Melanie travis, a thirty-something teacher and single mother, is talked into investigating her uncle's death. Hounding Connecticut's elite canine competitions, she's soon hot on the trail of a poodle-hating neighbor and one elusive murderer who isn't ready to come to heel.

When her Uncle Max is found dead in his championship kennel, surrounded by his prize-winning poodles, it's up to Melanie to investigate. Posing as a poodle breeder in search of the perfect stud, Melanie hounds Connecticut's elite canine competitions, and finds an ally in fellow breeder, Sam Driver. But her affection cools when she gets wind of Sam's questionable past.

My Review:

It is hard to believe that this is the first time that I have heard of this series and it has been out there since 1995 apparently. I knew about the cat murder mystery series. I see it all the time at the bookstore but never saw this one.

This was a freebie from Barnes & Noble and I have to say I think it did its job. I am hooked. I loved the protagonist, Melanie Travis, a single mother who appears to have nothing to look forward to during summer vacation since she will be without a paycheck. I do keep wondering what will bring her to her next dead body since her role as a teacher doesn’t usually provide them but I think that’s also half the fun of reading a series like this one.

Of course, the plot itself is also entertaining. To set the scene, Melanie is looking for something to do to keep her mind off of her not so great situation (her failed marriage, her crappy car, and her lack of a summer job) when an beloved uncle dies.

Everything seems cut and dried at first. The authorities conclude that it is a simple heart attack. But Aunt Peg, Uncle Max’s wife, thinks otherwise and she asks for help but not Melanie’s. Instead, she wants Melanie’s brother Frank to help her solve the mystery but Frank declines.

And then she reveals something else. One of their prized poodles, Beau, is also missing. Aunt Peg is desperate to get that poodle back, so desperate that she agrees to work with Melanie instead to find out where the poodle is and thus, who the killer is.

Looking for a distraction, Melanie takes up the challenge to pretend to be someone who is looking for the perfect stud dog to breed with her female, counting on Aunt Peg’s belief that whoever has the dog will want to breed him as soon as possible.

And thus begins her voyage into the land of dog shows and dog breeders. Yes, they love their dogs and would do anything to get their hands on their hands on the perfect specimen but would they kill for it? Apparently, yes.

When another breeder is killed things get really serious. The police, however, don’t think much of Aunt Peg’s missing dog or Uncle Frank’s death so they are on their own with almost no one to trust. No one except possible a breeder named Sam Driver but Melanie doesn’t trust him. What will she do about her growing attraction to him? And can she find the dog and the killer before someone else winds up dead?

Read the book and find out. I don’t think you will regret it.

Contains: the word “bitch” is used throughout the novel but this is about dog breeders so I don’t think that counts as foul language.

Persona Non Grata

       


Review of Persona Non Grata by Ruth Downie


Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: "When a mysterious note arrives in the mail consisting only of the words "come home," Gaius Petreius Ruso is forced to give up his career as a military doctor in Britannia and head back to his family in Gaul." "But all is not well on the home front. No one will admit to having sent for him, and his companion Tilla is neither expected nor welcome. With the family teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and the town's leading politician, Gabinius Fuscus, breathing down his neck, it's hard to imagine an unhappier reunion. That is, until Severus, the family's chief creditor, winds up dead, and the real trouble begins." Plunged unwillingly into the investigation, and struggling to help his family's financial situation, Ruso is entrusted with the welfare of the household. But no one seems able to stop meddling in his affairs, and with the pressure mounting, Ruso will have to count on his wits, his girlfriend, and perhaps - for once in his life - a little good fortune.

My Review:

This week’s story takes us back all the way to the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. It is a murder mystery with a doctor in the Legion stationed in Britannia as the protagonist and detective. Ruso is his name.

His partner in crime solving is a young British lady named Tilla. I wasn’t exactly clear on their relationship but we are told that at some point Ruso bought Tilla from some other owner yet she seems remarkably independent for a slave, even at one point during the novel, leaving to go off with a stranger so I am guessing that she might no longer be a slave to him or at least a slave who is given a lot of freedom. She still refers to him as “Medicus.”

Our story opens with Ruso hurting his leg in attempt to save a young local boy. Right after that, he receives a mysterious letter, presumably from his brother that simply reads, “Urgent. Come home.”

He manages to get leave to do just that. But that’s when his real troubles begin.

He finds his family deep in debt, a debt that is likely to go to court and prove the ruin of them all. While his brother Lucius denies having ever sent the message and to top it off the guy he owes money to (Severus) dies from an apparent poisoning. His last words are, “The b***** has poisoned me.”

Ruso suspects that the woman Severus is referring to is his wife, Ruso’s ex, Claudia but who will believe him. He owed the man a lot of money and the fact that they were reaching an agreement to settle the debt before it went to court was a moot point since there were no witnesses to their conversation. Now he must find the killer on his own before the inevitable investigator arrives from Rome and his convicted of murder.

The verdict on this one is overwhelmingly positive. I like the main characters, both Tilla and Ruso. I am now hoping to go back and read the first two books so that I can discover how they met and learn more about the nature of their relationship. I did have a little bit of difficulty with Marcia, Ruso’s spoiled sister but I did like the way he handled her which made him all the more likeable to me.

The reference to the followers of Christos and his teaches as well as the popular misconceptions Romans of this time period had about Christianity were intriguing. All in all, I think the authors’ coverage of this religion was more than fair.

I also found the story itself compelling. I always wondered how they would have investigated a crime like this during the Roman period. And having the would-be detective as a suspect made his motivation to find the killer seem all the more believable.

Contains: some foul language

Breaking Steele

       


Review of Breaking Steele by Aaron Patterson & Ellie Ann


Overview from www.bn.com: Sarah Steele has a lot to prove. Foster care brat turned successful Assistant District Attorney, she's enjoying her magical pumpkin carriage ride but knows she is only one mistake away from landing on the curb. When she's given an open-and-shut case regarding multi-millionaire Hank Williams and his murder of young Tracy Mulligan, Sarah's determined to win. But when everything goes wrong, and there's a killer on the loose, she isn't prepared for who the real battle is against: herself. Is she really willing to do anything to take Hank Williams down?

My Review:

Breaking Steele was my first introduction to what looks to be a new thriller series featuring ADA Sarah Steele, a young twenty something lawyer with a horrible past. Her case against Hank Williams (not the country singer) seems air tight so why are the defendant and his lawyers so jubilant in court?

It turns out that her case is not what it seems. First, she will have to contend with having her DNA evidence thrown out when a crime lab technician is suspected of working while high on drugs. Then there is the strange relationship between the defendant and his daughter.

Of course things just get weirder from there. They always do in these types of stories.

To be clear, this is more of a thriller than a mystery. That disappointed me a little but there were enough mystery elements in the story to keep me reading.

Sarah Steele was also an intriguing character and I think she has all the makings of a great protagonist who could not only successfully carry the series forward but also has potential to grow and change as a women as well as an attorney.

I can’t say that I loved this one. It was worth the read but perhaps not as good as some of the others I have read.

The other thing that I didn’t like about it though was that it looks like the writer might be pulling a James Patterson on us by having someone else write his book. Notice that his name is in big and bold letters but another author, Ellie Ann, is listed in smaller letters underneath. I hope her involvement will help get her name out there though I have my doubts.

I still recommend it but I consider it more of an “I like it” book rather than an “I love it.”

Contains: violence, sexual violence

Stranger in Town

       


Review of Stranger in Town by Cheryl Bradshaw


Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: Six-year-old Olivia Hathaway tiptoes down the center aisle of Maybelle's Market, stopping once to glance over her shoulder and make sure her mother isn't watching. But Mrs. Hathaway is too preoccupied to notice her daughter has slipped away. Minutes later, a frantic Mrs. Hathaway runs up and down the aisles, desperately searching for her missing daughter. But Olivia is already gone. Will PI Sloane Monroe find her before it's too late?

My Review:

A young girl is taken from a local store. The only witness to the kidnapping, an elderly woman, is dead, stabbed and run over by perpetrator’s car. As the years go by, the community never forgets.

But when another girl is kidnapped, her father is convinced that the same man has kidnapped his Savanah. He doesn’t trust the police any longer so he hires our protagonist, Sloane Monroe, a private investigator, to find his daughter and follow up on the lead he thinks he’s found.

Though this story is in many ways a typical thriller/mystery, the kidnapping is different angle from most of the novels in this genre that I usually read. For one thing the crimes are years apart from one another. And for another, two of the victims are children.

The progression of the story didn’t hold many surprises. In a way, it was probably more realistic than most thrillers since Sloane seems to know what she’s doing. She has solved every case she’s taken on or so says a police detective named Cade who later teams up with Sloane. He checked her out before making the offer apparently.

The same characteristic makes her somewhat less interesting of a detective however. She comes up against a few walls but all in all she’s a regular, modern, female, version of Sherlock Holmes. She just searches for the evidence to back up her assertions.

What kept me reading was the plot. I wanted to see if Sloane would be right or way off the mark and have to start all over again. Most of all I wanted to know why once I knew who. It didn’t make sense to me, even the way Sloane explained it Cade. Maybe that’s why no one takes her theory seriously, at first.

I didn’t want to say more since I am trying to avoid any spoilers here. Of course you can find out more by reading it. I liked it but only for readers who aren’t expecting any big surprises in their mystery/thriller novels.

Contains: some language

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

       


Review of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith


Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to “help people with problems in their lives.” Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors.

My Review:

As luck would have it, I stumbled upon this book at the library the other day when I only came there to use their printer. Ever since I read McCall Smith’s other series (Portuguese Irregular Verbs), I had wanted to give this one a try but I wanted to start it from the beginning.

We begin with our main character Precious Ramotswe, a thirty-something woman living in Botswana who has just inherited a very valuable heard of cattle from her dying father. She sells them and with the proceeds decides to open the first detective agency in her country to have a woman at the helm.

There are a few slight detours into other characters’ lives but on the whole we focus on Mma Ramotswe and her efforts to help her clients sort through the mysteries in their lives.

The story is told in much the same style as McCall Smith’s other series, that is in little vignettes (centering mostly around her cases), but it seemed less humorous too me. And for good reason, I think. Some of these stories are heart-breaking. Others are just mildly amusing.

I don’t know how authentic the characters are compared with the people who actually live in Botswana but the author appears to know more about the place than I do. I know, that’s not saying much but that’s all I can say.

I can say that I liked the character of Precious Ramotswe. She seems to be a truly kind person who cares about the lives of her neighbors and her clients. Reading her back-story of her troubled marriage made me truly sympathetic to her goal of wanting to succeed as the first lady detective in her country.

It was that sympathy that later made me fearful for her life when she got mixed up in the case of a boy who she feared was probably taken by a witch doctor. I can see how she would make an ideal protagonist for a series.

I am still not sure that I will continue to read this series yet or not. There was an enticing ending, though not the kind I expected. And I did like the story.

However, I did not love it. As I said earlier, it was not as funny for me as Portuguese Irregular Verbs but it had its own charm and pacing. I might give the second one a try yet. And I am recommending it as a good light summer read.

Contains: some violence, sexuality

SpeakEasy

       

Review of SpeakEasy by Lissa Staley

Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: It’s a chick-lit mystery with some history, written collaboratively by over 20 local authors as part of the community novel project of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. In modern-day Kansas, Ronni Long interviews 108 year old Julia, who doubts all the adventures of her long life should be revisited. As the mystery unfolds, Julia’s secrets and Ronni’s lies put both women in danger.

My Review:

This story is easily a first for me both as a reviewer and a reader. The story has multiple authors. A separate author for each chapter in fact. And when I read that (about the different authors) along with the premise of the story, I knew I just had to try this one out.

The premise I alluded to earlier center’s around the lives of two of our main characters: Ronni and Julia. Ronni is a graduate anthropology student writing her dissertation about the Prohibition Era in Topeka when she finds out about Julia Stanford.

Julia is 106 years old, I think (I don’t remember the exact age right now but it is a few years over a hundred), and has worked in a well-known speakeasy of the time called Mike’s Mirage. At the start of our story she quietly resides in a local nursing home where Ronni hopes to interview her for her project.

Of course there are several things that conspire to keep that from happening, the first of which is car trouble. But Ronni quickly finds a ride only to encounter more problems. As we are drawn into the story we find out that no one is what they seem. Nearly everyone has something to hide. We go along for the ride to find out what and why.

The positives on this one are first and foremost the premise and the story. Who doesn’t love a good mystery combined with historical fiction?

The characters are great too. Well most of them anyway. The secrets we later find out about the guys in Pete’s band and Charles as well as Pete’s grandfather seems to stretch credibility. I can understand the main characters having secret lives but in this story practically everyone has a secret and that was a little hard for me to swallow.

Also, narrative voice does seem to suffer a bit from having multiple authors. And some of the continuity isn’t there. In one of the first chapters we see that despite having spent time in the auto shop, Ronni’s car still doesn’t work quite right but then in the next chapter she is seen driving it back to Julia’a with no problems or explanations. It just doesn’t make sense.

Some of the characters even seem to speak differently from one chapter to the next. I realize that they all have something that they are trying to hide so they might act differently from one scene to the next but somehow it just didn’t fit together the way it should.

On the plus side, it was valuable lesson for me that the proverbial “they” are right when they say you can usually distinguish one author’s voice from another, even when they are trying to imitate someone else. I noticed a difference in tone from one author to another in most cases even if they didn’t all stand out like a sore thumb.

Still, I am recommending this book as a good read. It is interesting and worth the time.

Dead on Arrival

       


Review of Dead on Arrival by Lori Avocato


Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: Romance – and murder – is in the air!

Medical insurance fraud investigator Pauline Sokol likes to keep her feet firmly placed on the ground, but her new undercover assignment has the aero-phobic ex-nurse flying high and her stomach lurching! Compelled by her convictions of right and wrong, she takes off in order to ground a land-and-air ambulance company that’s been doing some rather creative billing, and needs to crash and burn before they soak the insurance company for more.

Pauline’s insides do a real loop-de-loop when the company’s owner is found dead, and Pauline starts to receive threatening phone calls. Suddenly the air feels safer than the ground! If Pauline (and handsome, irritating, fellow investigator Jagger) doesn’t solve this case soon, even a jolt of electricity from the sexy helo-pilot-paramedic ER Dano won’t be enough to revive her. 

My Review:

Part Chick-Lit, part Mystery, Dead on Arrival is funny, romp through one of the cases of Emergency Services worker and Insurance Fraud Investigator, Pauline Sokol. As an RN, her expertise is apparently in demand in the fraud investigation business and this time she’ll be working as an RN for an ambulance company along with her partner-in-crime/mentor, Jagger, in an effort to uncover who is committing fraud with a side of murder.

This one reminded me of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plumb series in that we have an amateur female detective trying to solve a case without the assistance of the police and it is funny but, for the most part, that is where the similarities end (except for the two, make that three, hot guys that she is trying for and the humorous tone).

Our protagonist, Pauline Sokol (not sure what nationality that name is), is desperate to prove to Jagger that she is improving her detecting skills and that she can handle this case by herself but she can’t seem to get totally out from underneath his shadow and expectations. We hear her thoughts as she relates how proud she is that she thought of this or that on her own so I can only assume that in previously novels she had to be told what to do.

Currently being in the medical field myself, I found the details somewhat interesting though I don’t think anyone who is not in the field would find it too boring. I never thought too much about the billing side of things before though and Pauline’s justification to her family that her investigations are important because insurance fraud raises the rates for everyone else made sense. And then you add in a murder and things get a whole lot more dangerous, and interesting.

Meanwhile Pauline’s wisecracks and weak hormones kept me laughing along with the strange cases she encounters in the ambulance rides with “Buzz Lightyear” and “ER Dano.” But when Pauline begins falling for ER Dano even though she has him on her short list of potential suspects will she be able to do the right thing and keep her personal feelings out of the case?

This case as told through Pauline’s eyes was both interesting and entertaining too. I loved some of the other characters as well, especially Pauline’s mom, Stella.

The only downside to this story is some of the profanity was a bit much at times for me and there were some typos. Plus, we are told two times about the time before the story took place when Pauline went out of town and her mother replaced all her underwear with thongs. It was funny the first time, the second time was overkill. Still, a good, lighthearted read.


Contains: profanity (including a couple of f bombs), sexuality, and psycho patients