Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Gimme Five: Even More Halloween Mysteries






Albert, Susan Wittig.  Witches’ Bane
Texas herb shop owner and part-time private eye China Bayles sets out to catch a Halloween night killer when one of her friends turns up dead at the witching hour and another becomes a prime suspect.

Allan, Barbara.  Antiques’ Maul
As Halloween approaches, Brandy and her meddling mother must unmask a killer when a body is found at the antiques mall, supposedly mauled to death by a good-natured pit bull, launching an investigation that results in the disappearance of her ten-year-old son.

Bain, Donald and Jessica Fletcher.  Trick or Treachery: A Murder She Wrote Mystery
With the arrival of a spiritual medium in town, the annual Halloween party in Cabot Cave takes on a real scary tone. When a self-proclaimed witch ends up dead in the graveyard, Jessica stirs through a witches' brew of motives--and concocts a scary scheme of her own to make sure the guilty ghoul doesn't get away with murder.

Burley, W.J. Wycliffe and the Scapegoat
Each year at Halloween, high on the Cornish cliffs, a life-size effigy of a man is strapped to a blazing wheel and run into the sea—a re-enactment of a hideous ancient legend of human sacrifice. So when Jonathan Riddle, a respected local builder and undertaker, disappears, it seems all too likely that his corpse has gone the way of the historic “scapegoat.” As Wycliffe begins to investigate Riddle’s family life, more and more unpleasant facts begin to emerge, until eventually he’s left with an incredible, seemingly impossible, solution.

Campbell, Ann. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
On Halloween night, Annie O'Hara's elderly tenant is found murdered, and her brother Tom is the number one suspect. With the help of her hot-tempered canine, Claudius, Annie must fetch the real killer.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Longbourn by Jo Baker








While the Bennet girls were giggling over officers and practicing piano, the servants of the household were boiling laundry and emptying chamberpots. “Longbourn” is Jo Baker’s look at what life is like downstairs at the Bennet residence during the same period of time as “Pride and Prejudice.” While Elizabeth Bennet drags her petticoats through the mud to visit Jane at Netherfield, it is housemaid Sarah who, with cracked and bleeding hands, has to launder them. And when new shoe-roses are wanted for the upcoming ball, it is Sarah who is sent out in the rain to get them, only to suffer miserably from the cold she caught while on her errand.
Elderly Mr. and Mrs. Hill, and young Polly, a maid, and the sum total of help who run the household of the Bennets and their five marriageable daughters. That is, until the mysterious James Smith is hired on as a coachman and all around laborer.
Readers expecting the gentle narrative of the original book should expect some graphic scenes of war, flogging, and expletives that the genteel folks would not use. A fresh look at the Austen classic, and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Gimme Five: More Halloween Mysteries





Hayter, Sparkle.  Revenge of the Cootie Girls
New York TV producer Robin Hudson invites Kathy, an intern, to a girls' night out. When Kathy fails to show up Robin and the girls go looking for her, encountering murder and men from their past.

Greenwood, Kerry. Trick or Treat
When a cut-price franchise bakery opens its doors just down the street from Earthly Delights, Corinna Chapman is understandably nervous. Meanwhile, Daniel's old friend Georgiana Hope has set up residence in his house, and it doesn't take Corinna long to discover that she's tall, blonde, gorgeous and up to something. Daniel is making excuses and Corinna is worried about his absences and also the strange outbreak of madness which seems to be centered on Lonsdale Street.

Lavene, Joyce and Jim. Ghastly Glass
At her glass-blowing apprenticeship, Renaissance reveler Jessie Morton's crabby boss and his creepy nephew are causing her problems. But when the man playing the Grim Reaper is killed, Jess has to find the lady, lord or serf whodunit.

Meier, Leslie. Trick or Treat Murder
It's going to be one heck of a Halloween for Lucy Stone and Tinker's Cove...It's October in Maine, and everyone is preparing for the annual festival. While Lucy is whipping up orange-frosted cupcakes, recycling tutus for her daughters' costumes, and helping her son with his pre-teen rebellion, an arsonist is loose in Tinker's Cove. When the latest fire claims the life of the owner of the town's oldest house, arson turns into murder. Trick-or-treat turns deadly as a little digging in all the wrong places puts Lucy too close to a shocking discovery that could send all her best-laid plans up in smoke.

Myers, Tamar.  Nightmare in Shining Armor
Den of Antiquity owner Abigail Timberlake's Halloween costume party is a roaring success -- until an unexpected fire sends the panicked guests fleeing from her store. One person she is only too happy to see leave is Tweetie "Little Bo Peep" Timberlake -- wife of Abby's faithless ex, Buford. But not long after the fire is brought under control, the Abby discovers an unfamiliar suit of armor in her house. And stuffed inside is the heavily siliconed, dead body ofTweetie.
Certainly some enraged collector of medieval chain mail has sent Abby this deadly delivery. But asking questions could prove a lethal proposition for the plucky antiques dealer. And even a metal suit may not protect Abby from the attentions of a crazed killer.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

September's Books

Who would belief there could be murder on an organic farm? In Edith Maxwell’s “A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die,” there’s more mischief than mulch on the farm. Cam Flaherty traded in her high tech job to run an organic farm. Things were off to a good start, she thought, until she catches Mike, the farm hand she inherited from her uncle, using pesticides in her greenhouse. She fires him on the spot, and hours later discovers his body with her pitchfork run through his neck. While police investigate, while believing Cam is the prime suspect, her farm is the target of vandalism. Is the vandal the same person who killed Mike? If you can’t visit the farmers’ market, this is the perfect book for a lazy summer afternoon.
 



Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee
Engaging Men by Lynda Curnyn
Red Means Run: a novel by Brad Smith
Ingenious: a true story of invention, automotive daring and the race to revive America by Jason Fagone
Traveling in Place: a history of armchair travel by Berndt Steigler
A Deadly Draught by Lesley Diehl
A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell
Persuader by Lee Child
The Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn
One-Eyed Jacks by Brad Smith
Thomas Jefferson's Creme Brulee: how a founding father and his slave James Hemings introduced French cuisine to America by Thomas J. Craughwell