The Bilbao Looking Glass by Charlotte MacLeod
In ten words or less: Annoying old woman bumped off; too many suspects to list.

Review: When Sarah Kelling visits her summer home after a long absence, she finds a precious antique looking glass in the hall. It doesn't belong to her, and no one else but a trusted caretaker has a key. Her friend--soon to be fiance--art investigator Max Bittersohn--calls the police, only to be accused of stealing the piece. When Sarah and Max aattend a party at a neighbor's house, one of the hosts is killer, a spiteful gossip whose death is little mourned. Again, Max is accused of the crime. Even though Max's family is from the area, he's not one of the yacht club elite. Sarah and Max team up to exonerate him of the crime, with the help of both his and her relatives.
Why bother? MacLeod is the master of the clever, cozy mystery.

The Silver Ghost by Charlotte MacLeod

In ten words or less: Which eccentric relative or friend committed murder at Renaissance Revel?

Review: Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn attend the Renaissance Revel of Sarah's family friends, Bill and Abigail Billingsgate. During the festivities, one of the Billingsgate's employees is killed, and Sarah's Aunt Appie goes missing. The Billingsgate's valuable antique cars have been going missing, and Sarah and Max investigate. The local police are incompetent, and the couple must interview the eccentric collection of Kelling relatives in attendance.

Why bother? MacLeod's description of the Revel alone is worth reading the book. Who knew Morris dancing could be so funny? Sarah and Max are a pair of level headed thinkers among the assortment of odd ducks that are Sarah's old monied family.

Death Wore White by Jim Kelly

A blizzard strands eight cars on a lonely coastal road. When one of the drivers is discovered dead--a chisel through his eye--the detectives are stymied. None of the drivers has seen anything suspicious, and there are no footprints leading to or from the vehicle.

Detective Inspector Peter Shaw, recently promoted and now paired with his father's former partner, has not only got the murder to solve, but a body has washed up on the beach, with a suspicious bite mark. And Shaw wants to re-open the case of a child murder that caused his father to leave the force in disgrace.

Lots of suspects and red herrings. Fans of British police procedurals will want to give this author a try.

No Colder Place by S.J. Rozan

Bill Smith goes undercover at a construction site as a bricklayer--he hasn't laid a brick in more than twenty years. Equipment has been stolen, and one of the laborers has gone missing. When the missing worker is discovered, dead, in a pit on the site, Smith asks his partner Lydia Chin to join the investigation as a secretary in the construction office on site. She grumbles that her skills are wasted working as a secretary, and tells Bill as much. But when an experienced site supervisor falls to his death, Smith and Chin know it's not an accident.

This is the fourth book in the series--I stay up until all hours to finish these books. Every one has been exciting, with great characters and enough plot twists to keep up the interest.

November's Books

Esther Averill wrote her series of thirteen stories about Jenny Linsky, the little black cat, from 1944-1972. Jenny, who wears a red scarf, lives with retired sailor Captain Tinker. In Jenny's Moonlight Adventure, she faces down dogs to retrieve her friend's nose flute. A charming book.
Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver
Dying for a Date by Cindy Sample
Jenny's Moonlight Adventure by Esther Averill
A Killer's Christmas in Wales by Elizabeth Duncan
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
Making Spirits Bright by Fern Michaels
House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz