Reading Fanatic Reviews
General Mysteries & SuspenseTwo Scandals are Better Than One by Nancy Yeager
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Two Scandals are Better Than One*
Steamy Victorian Suspense
Luci is concerned about her missing father and goes to a gentleman’s house party—code word for a den of iniquity—in hopes of gaining information that will help her find him. She doesn’t quite realize the dangerous world she is dipping her toe into. She is surprised to find Steady Eddie there, who has been a friend of her of the family since she was a child. She had a crush on him until she realized that he was much too dull for her to truly consider as a life mate. This is why it is such a surprise to find him at this party that is only a step above a brothel. While he doesn’t recognize her at the party, he is intrigued by her scandalous persona, and he soon finds out who she really is. Once he knows what is going on, he insists on helping her figure out what’s going on with her father so he can protect her.
I so enjoyed this romantic Victorian suspense! Early on, the author did an excellent job portraying Edward as a proper English gentleman in a very uncomfortable setting; he usually didn’t go to debauched house parties; he wanted just one night of craziness. She was even able to give him speech patterns that make him sound like a toff but not so much that it sounds like unnatural speech; I think this is a hard line to straddle, but the author did this perfectly. The hero and heroine have fantastic chemistry. He is willing to put himself in harm’s way to protect her and help her figure out the mystery. The more time they spend together, the more steamy the book becomes, but the progress of their romance seemed appropriate to their characters. I love the suspense element in this plot and enjoyed seeing what the characters had to do as they became more deeply involved in the criminal underworld. The ending was very satisfying.
Luci and Edward are a delightful couple to watch as they try to unravel all that is going on while falling more deeply for each other. This is the second book I’ve read of the Harrow Five series, and I look forward to the next installment. If you like historical romance with a bit of suspense, you will most likely enjoy this book.
The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Library of Lost and Found*
Unlikely Protagonist Becomes Hero of Her Own Story
I am always drawn to a book about books! The cherry on top of that for this book is that the middle-aged main character works at her local library as well. The author does a brilliant job at the beginning of the book showing, not telling, of Martha’s fussy and pedantic yet selflessly giving nature. Martha lives on her own but fills her time doing thankless tasks for family and neighbors, like fixing her nephew’s trousers and repairing a paper mache dragon. Her insular world is broken apart when she receives a book left at the library’s door that was inscribed by her beloved grandmother who died when Martha was young. This opens up a whole new world for Martha as she tries to puzzle out the mystery of how her grandmother could have inscribed a note to her in the book months after the elder lady supposedly died.
This is the first time that I have read this author, and I was delighted by her in-depth characterization in this book. Martha at the beginning could very well have been a pitiable martyr, but the author managed to make her real in such a way that didn’t allow for such a simple take. The book does meander a bit, but I have found that to be quite often the case for certain British writers that I’ve read (and enjoyed, like the delightful cozy mystery writer V. S. Vale). While some may find this annoying, this author pursues this path deftly, in part because of the very excellent characterization of not only Martha but the secondary characters she meets along her path but also because of the depth of the backstory and its secrets that are slowly revealed. I quite enjoyed Martha’s transformation over the course of this book. A wonderful read.
Prose and Poison by Jennie K. Brown
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Prose and Poison*
More General Mystery Than Cozy
This book is the cozy mystery debut of a writer who has written in different genres. Unfortunately, this mystery seems more like a general mystery than a cozy to me. To me, cozy mysteries must be filled with quirky characters in a zany small town. There’s at least one familial relationship that bolsters the protagonist in a way that is not typical of the family relationship; usually this is with an aunt or a grandmother. The protagonist is usually involved in one of the funky businesses in town. There may or may not be a pet. This book did have an amateur sleuth (and even a pet!), but the feel of the entire book was not like a cozy. It lacks the quirkiness factor. Yes, there were some funny-named businesses, but that was the extent of it. The secondary characters weren’t really quirky at all; they seem like ordinary people. I didn’t feel like there were enough progressive complications to keep the middle of the book interesting, especially considering that there wasn’t the quirkiness factor that normally keeps me engaged while reading a cozy.
A Plain Vanilla Murder by Susan Wittig Albert
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
A Plain Vanilla Murder*
All About Vanilla… Murder and Recipes!
Despite the title of this novel, the murder mentioned in the title is anything but plain vanilla! Of course, the author would state that there is no such thing as plain vanilla anyway; I would agree. A professor of botany who has a great interest in vanilla has been murdered. The murder at first looks like a suicide, but it soon becomes clear that it is not. His ex-wife is the first suspect, of course. But then it turns out that the professor might have been involved in this several shady dealings, perhaps smuggling or taking full credit where it should have been shared.
While I read a lot of mysteries, this was a new author for me. The research is very detailed; I liked the extra details included in the author’s note and the vanilla recipes at the end. These aren’t baking recipes; instead, they are recipes that can serve as foundations of other dishes, like homemade vanilla extract, vanilla powder, and even vanilla salt. The author has created a cast of characters whom I could tell had been together for a long time in the earlier books of the series. I like how the narrative focus shifted between the amateur sleuth and the detective. I appreciated that they weren’t at odds and actually worked together; they do have different approaches, so they come up with different information. I am used to reading stories where part of the conflict involves the relationship between the amateur and the real detective. It was refreshing to read a different take. The mystery itself had lots of twists and turns—like the many different notes as pure vanilla—creating a delightful rabbit hole to go down in order to figure out the who and the why. While this might have been my first book by this author, I’m sure it won’t be the last.
Baskerville for the Bear by Jessa Archer
Available at Amazon Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Baskerville for the Bear*
Not Long Enough for Much Depth
After a divorce, Ruth is returning to her small town after 30 years as a reporter in the big city. She plans on restarting the town’s paper and restarting her life as well at the same time. A neighbor has been hunting on her property, her parent’s old place, but now she’s found a headless bear in a trap. While bear hunting is not illegal, trapping one is. When Ruth attempts to get law enforcement to look into this, she is brushed off. But Ruth will not be satisfied by this, and she starts to look into it herself.
This is a super short cozy mystery. I found it suffered from the faults typical of short cozies, specifically having a data dump at the beginning to set up the world and not having enough space to develop the characters and mystery. Aside from these two issues, the story itself was well-written with visual detail. If you think you might delve into the rest of the series, it is worth a read.
Missing You by Shereen Vedam
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Missing You*
Spy Heroine in Cozy Mystery?
I am a big fan of cozy mysteries, so I was intrigued by this book. Cozies usually take place in small, made-up towns full of quirky characters; the mystery of themselves can be either silly or serious. I found I didn’t particularly like this book because I just couldn’t get behind the idea of cozy mystery heroine being an actual spy. Whenever the heroine mentioned her job, it just didn’t ring true for a cozy mystery. It seemed to make the whole book too serious for a cozy. Also, parts of the book took place outside of a small town (yes, I know it is listed as a travel mystery!); to me, that is one of the requirements of a cozy (that and an amateur sleuth). The concept just didn’t work for me. The writing itself is fine, at times humorous though not as often as is usually the case for a cozy mystery. It took a while, too, to get to the actual mystery of the book; it felt like the book meandered for quite a while without much purpose (or interest). The romance line fell flat for me as well. I’ve read other books by this author and enjoyed them, but this one was not my cup of tea.
Avoiding Matthew by Caroline Bell Foster
Available at Amazon only currently
Not with Kindle Unlimited
Avoiding Matthew*
Story Overwhelmed by Technical Errors
I typically enjoy romantic suspense or suspenseful romance, whichever way the plot tends to skew. I was looking forward to this one, as the blurb suggested it had a globe-hopping thriller element as well. Unfortunately, the book had so many technical errors that I found myself overly distracted and could not enjoy the story.
What kind of technical errors? The author doesn’t seem to have a clear grasp of grammar, punctuation, and usage to such an extent that barely a paragraph goes by without some sort of error. Clearly, this was not professionally copyedited or proofread. Commas were sometimes missing altogether or used when they should not have been. Sometimes I had to reread a line because the lack of punctuation (or wrong punctuation) made it confusing. At least one sentence ended with a comma instead of a period. There was a lot of headhopping in this book; the narrator did not always stay consistent for a particular scene or segment of a chapter. The author quite often confused person and tense in the areas where she had a character think or muse about a specific idea. In one instance in two paragraphs right next to each other, she had a character “muse” in the second person and then “think” in the first person! Same character, same train of thought.
The two characters have a sexual history, and the book does get sexual very fast. Their lust for each other frequently overwhelms the rest of the story. The author does use some profanity and crude words, which I’m not a fan of. At times, it felt like the characters were just toying with each other, and that started to grate on my nerves.
Force Majeure by Ashley Barner and Jennifer Sanders
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Force Majeure*
Magical Quirky Cast… and Mystery
The book begins at the reading of the heroine’s grandfather’s will. She, her brother, and her sister are all his heirs, each getting a generous stipend from his business. But Hulda receives his house, which she silently understands means that she is to take over his position in the community—running a group of witches! But before things get too far, a storm forces an unlikely group of characters together.
The authors have done an excellent job of creating a cast of quirky characters. I have a hard time choosing which of the van Dusen siblings I like more. They’re each distinct and add a unique perspective to the twists and turns of the plot. Parts of this book felt very realistic, but it had a magical overlay that made it so much more than regular day-to-day life. I like how at the end the authors left so much open. What will be the next adventures for this group? I am interested in finding out.
The Last Van Gogh by Will Ottinger
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robinson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Last Van Gogh*
Compelling Mystery with Historical Backstory
What a well-written page-turner! This book is essentially a quest to find the last painting that van Gogh created and weaves in the story of how it became lost. Three distinct time periods are followed throughout the narrative, Van Gogh’s time, the 1930s before World War II, and present day (2018). The author does a fantastic job keeping these threads separate so they are not confusing. He does this both visually and using the writer’s toolbox. Van Gogh’s scenes are written in italics and from an omniscient viewpoint (well done for once by a modern writer), the pre-World War II scenes are in alternating third-person viewpoints, and the modern-day sections are written in the first-person vantage point by one intimately involved in the quest.
The characters in all timelines are well drawn, and I appreciate that the bad guys are complex, not just two-dimensional villains. The pace is tight, making you not want to put the book down. I found myself wanting to get to the next sections in the three different threads. The mystery here is complex in its heart as is the quest to unravel it.
I enjoy mysteries that have a historical element like this one, and this is one of the better ones that I have read. If you enjoy mystery like that as well, you might enjoy this book.
The Reaper by Rob Jung
Available at Amazon, Thalia, and Bol.de
The Reaper*
Speculative Fiction about the Disappearance of Miro’s The Reaper
I usually like to start my book reviews with a little tease about the first eighth or quarter of the book plot and characters. This particular book does not lend itself to that kind of a review. It is comprised of two separate parts, one that takes place in the 1930s at the Paris World’s Fair (in part) while the larger second half takes place in 2009 and 2012. A prologue introduces us to the painter Joan Miro as he is finishing up his masterwork The Reaper.
The 1930s portion of the book is firmly set in Paris against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and the looming world war that is to come. The author meticulously researched both the exhibitions at the World’s Fair and the greater world beyond it. Ernest Hemingway even shows up. The painting mysteriously disappears at the end of the exhibition; this is a historical fact, and the painting is still missing to this day. The 2000 portion of the book revolves around a mother and her estranged son. The son is an artist who makes good reproductions of paintings for use in private homes or businesses. A stranger approaches him with the desire for a reproduction of The Reaper, for which he will pay a large sum. It turns out that this is at his mother’s behest as a way to make amends to her son.
So much goes on in both halves of this book. In the 1930s portion, I can imagine myself in the exhibition hall and other places described. The author pays good attention to the details about these historic places and facts.
Unfortunately, the book felt a little overwritten to me. An excess of adjectives and adverbs cluttered of the work, sometimes giving strange juxtapositions like *vapid feel* when describing a room. I found myself wondering if the book would have been better served by being organized differently. The two halves of the book seem so separate from each other that I wonder if it would have worked better to interleave the two plot lines together, alternating every chapter or small section, like the movie about the Klimt painting, Woman in Gold.
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