Tag Archives: book review

Friday Book Whimsy: Murder Under Her Skin

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Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood is the second in what now can officially be called a series. Featuring former circus worker Willowjean (Will) Parker and her boss, famed detective Lillian Pentecost, the stories take place in post World War II America.

Will’s friend and former circus co-worker Ruby Donner is found murdered, stabbed to death with the a knife belonging to Valentin Kalishenko, the circus’s extraordinary knife thrower. It doesn’t take long before the police arrest Kalishenko since he seems to be the obvious choice.

When Will hears about the troubles at her former place of employment, she and Lillian make their way to the Virginia town currently sponsoring the circus. She is certain that Valentin is innocent and determined to learn the truth. While she is welcomed heartily by all her circus friends, it isn’t long before she starts suspecting that not everyone — in fact is anyone? — telling the truth. Everyone seems to have something to hide.

What’s more, the townspeople also seem suspicious of the two outsiders who are butting into police business, despite the fact that the small police department seems unable to get past their certainty of Valentin’s guilt.

These books are fun to read. Will is an upbeat wisecracking narrator. Her love for her boss Lillian is touching. The author creates the atmosphere of a Dashiell Hammett novel, but with clever twists and turns along the way.

These novels make me want to chew gum! Highly recommend.

Here is a link to the book.

Friday Book Whimsy: A Line to Kill

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I know I am repetitive when I talk about the books written by author Anthony Horowitz, but I can’t help it. His books are simply clever. There’s no other word for it. Lots of authors are good writers and tell a good story. It’s true that Horowitz does the same. But his clever plots cannot be replicated.

A Line to Kill is the third in the series featuring former police detective inspector Daniel Hawthorne, who has the insight and cleverness of Sherlock Holmes. And like Holmes, Hawthorne has a sidekick who not only records the events around their investigation (ala Dr. Watson) but helps him solve the crime. That person is Anthony Horowitz, who writes about himself. And like Dr. Watson, Horowitz mostly gets it wrong when it comes to helping Hawthorne solve the crime.

In A Line to Kill, Hawthorne and Horowitz are invited to attend a book festival on an isolated island off of England. They, along with several other authors — including a children’s book writer, a poet, and and a chef-turned-cookbook-writer — are commissioned to present their stories and answer questions. To complicate matters, the local people of the town are caught up in an argument over a proposed power line that will disrupt the peacefulness of the island but create jobs.

Before long, the murder of one of the locals immersed in this battle is found murdered. Furthermore, it has to be someone on the island who killed the man because there hasn’t been a ferry coming or going since they arrived.

This story line, of course, is Horowitz’s take on the locked door murder mystery. It becomes increasingly clear that one of the authors had to be the murderer, but what are the motive? To complicate matters, the man who was responsible for Hawthorne leaving his job on the police department makes an appearance.

Horowitz’s writing captures his reader with its twists and turns and surprises. The author’s self-deprecating manner of presenting himself makes readers smile and like the man even more.

I hope this series never ends.

Friday Book Whimsy: The Newcomer

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Letty Carnahan’s sister Tanya told Letty that should she ever be found dead, it would be at the hands of her husband Evan. In that case, she should take the already-packed bag in her closet and grab Tanya’s 4-year-old daughter, and run as fast as she can away from New York City. So when the worst actually happens and Letty discovers Tanya’s body in her expensive townhouse, she does as she was instructed. She grabs little Maya and the bag and drives out of the city, Maya screaming and crying in terror.

Letty doesn’t know where she should go, but she discovers the bag includes a large amount of money, an enormous diamond ring, and an old brochure for a motel in a small town in Florida called Treasure Island. So, not knowing what else to do, she heads to Florida.

Fueled on fast food and fear, Letty and Maya arrive at Treasure Island to discover an old, mostly run-down motel. Letty can’t even begin to imagine how her hoity toity sister would have any kind of connection to this town or place.

What Letty soon discovers, however, is that the motel owner Ava and her teenaged daughter Isabelle are kind and gracious, and willing to offer this stranger — this newcomer — a place to live with very few questions asked. The tenants, however, are mostly long-term renters, elderly, and set in their ways. They, unlike the motel owner, are suspicious and unwelcoming. Likewise for Ava’s son Joe, who is the town’s sheriff and who is certain that there is more to Letty’s story than she is telling, and he’s determined to learn what that is.

The Newcomer, by Mary Kay Andrews, is a pleasing story about friendship, acceptance, and knowing right from wrong. The plot has few surprises, but it is twisty enough to bring a smile to the reader’s face. The romance is fun, and watching the seniors grow to accept Letty and Maya is as sweet as eating cotton candy. And I love cotton candy.

The Newcomer was a wonderful book and just what’s needed during our tumultuous times. Definite thumbs up!

Here is a link to the book.

Friday Book Whimsy: If Ever I Return Pretty Peggy-O

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If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O is one for the oldies-but-goodies department. The book is the first in author Sharyn McCrumb’s Ballad series, and one of the best. The books in the series all take place in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, in a small town in a holler, with a small-town sheriff who grew up in the community.

Sheriff Spencer Arrowood’s job is mostly arresting drunk drivers or stopping bar fights. The town receives a jolt of excitement when Peggy Muryan purchases one of the old mansions in town. Peggy was a folk singer during the 60s along with singers such as Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez. Her fame was brief, but she is still well-remembered, and the closest thing the town has as a celebrity. It doesn’t take long, however, when she begins receiving threatening postcards and begins fearing for her life.

In the meantime, the high school class of 1970 is planning its high school reunion, and Spencer is a member of that class. The reunion begins stirring up all sorts of feelings about the Vietnam War. It doesn’t take too long before Arrowood’s deputy Joe LeDonne, a veteran of that war, begins seeing ties between the postcards and the Vietnam War. When Peggy’s dog is brutally killed, followed shortly by the murder of a young girl who has a disarming resemblance to Peggy Muryan, it’s all hands on deck to find out who wants to kill the singer.

Admittedly, this was a reread, but I hadn’t read it since it was first published in 1990. The book’s publishing date makes it feel like a period piece, though back when it was written there really were no such things as cell phones and fax machines. The tie to the Vietnam War was somewhat eerie to this reviewer, who grew up in the 70s.

McCrumb’s writing is beautiful, and though the Ballad series started becoming disappointing as the books continued, If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O is one of the best.

Here is a link to the book.

Friday Book Whimsy: The Night She Disappeared

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Tallulah is a young college student who is also the mother of an 1-year-old baby. The two live with her mother, as well as the baby’s father, Zack. Zack wants to marry her, but Tallulah isn’t sure that she’s ready to settle down, or that she loves Zack. In fact, she has become interested in a pretty, but troubled young woman named Scarlett, the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in town.

In an effort to strengthen their relationship, Zack and Tallulah go out one night with some friends, while her mother Kim stays home with the baby. When morning comes and the two haven’t returned home, she begins to worry. As the hours pass, Kim is certain that something has happened to the two young adults, but no one seems to take her seriously. Scarlett and her family are the last to see them before they disappear.

In the meantime, a young man is hired to be the head teacher at a local school, and his published author girlfriend moves to the community in which this took place. It isn’t long before she discovers a note pinned to their fence that says DIG HERE, with an arrow pointing to the ground. What she discovers seems to tie in to the missing boy and girl.

What follows is a cat and mouse mystery that keeps the reader guessing up until the last page. Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite authors because she is an interesting story teller and her characters are realistic and likeable. I found myself guessing until the very end of the story.

I enjoyed this book very much.

Here is a link to the book.

Friday Book Whimsy: It’s a Wonderful Woof

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Bernie Little is a private detective, with the greatest partner of all time: his dog Chet. Chet flunked out of K-9 training school, was rescued by Bernie, the greatest human that has ever lived, at least according to Chet.

It’s a Wonderful Woof, by author and clearly dog-lover Spencer Quinn, is the 12th book in this charming and funny detective series. I wouldn’t call the books cozy mysteries, as Chet and Bernie run into some touch customers “in their line of work” as Chet would say.

Yes, Chet. Because he is the narrator of these stories, and a more loveable narrator I have never come across. I think anyone would find these books fun to read, but if you own a dog — or have EVER owned a dog — Chet’s voice will resonate with you. The author absolutely nails a dog’s personality and loyalty to their human.

In the spirit of Christmas, Bernie refers a potential client to another detective, Victor Klovsky. It isn’t all generosity on Bernie’s part, because the case sounds dull, involving mostly uninteresting online research. He and his partner Chet like to be more active than that.

Klovsky appreciates the referral, but it isn’t long before Klovsky vanishes, along with his client. What follows is a frisky romp (I couldn’t resist) between good guys and bad guys that involves old ruins, nasty bad guys, and paintings by a famous Italian artist. Whaaat? In the land of saguaros and prickly pear cactus?

I always look forward to Chet and Bernie’s latest episodes. And they always make me look at dogs a bit differently. What exactly is it that you are thinking when you look at me like that?

Five paws up for this book.

Friday Book Whimsy: The Disappearing Act

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Hollywood entices every actor yearning to make it in the competitive world of acting. British actor Mia Eliot is no exception. The Disappearing Act, a novel by Catherine Steadman, gives reader a taste of Hollywood.

Having experienced mild success in the entertainment world of Great Britain, Mia is interested in coming to Hollywood during the period known as the Pilot Season, that time when television execs are looking for actors to participate in sitcoms and other television programs. Mia has has learned that she is on the short list for a British acting award, and is eager to demonstrate her acting chops in the place where television and movies are king.

While waiting to audition for a primo spot in a movie, Mia meets Emily, an aspiring actor waiting for the same audition. While waiting, they become acquainted, and Emily asks a simple favor of Mia. Would you please feed my meter?

Mia is happy to comply until hours, and then days, pass and she doesn’t see Emily again. At first she just wants to make sure the car is taken care of while Emily is absent. Eventually, however, she realizes that something sinister is in the air. Where is Emily?

Then, when she finally believes she has located the aspiring actor, the woman who comes to pick up her keys looks a lot like Emily, but isn’t. While Mia knows she should just let the whole thing go, she is too worried, and too intrigued, to not continue to try to find the young woman.

What she discovers is the dark and sinister side of Movie City, where everyone wants to be a star and will stop at nothing to achieve success.

I found the plot to be intriguing. While I kept thinking, Mia, let it drop, I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next The plot was intricate and surprising, and the ending was satisfying.

I enjoyed this thriller very much.

Here is a link to the book.

Friday Book Whimsy: A Redbird Christmas

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No one writes the South like author Fannie Flagg, and nobody can beat her when it comes to cozy stories as well. A Redbird Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas books, and I rarely miss a year of reading it. It doesn’t take long, as it’s more of a novella than a novel, but it’s well worth the couple of hours you will spend in Lost River, Alabama, with the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society and a redbird named Jack.

Oswald T. Campbell makes his annual visit to the doctor. There he receives a startling and depressing diagnosis: his emphysema has worsened to the point that he now only has a few months — at the most — to live. His doctor suggests he can perhaps lengthen his lifespan a bit if he doesn’t spend a winter in his hometown of Chicago. The doctor recommends a spa that his own father used to recommend to his patients. It is located in the southernmost point of Alabama in a town called Lost River.

Oswald isn’t very interested in spending his remaining time alone in Chicago, and so he telephones the spa, only to learn that it no longer exists. Still, the woman who answers the phone tells Oswald to come down anyway, and he can stay with her. He agrees.

What happens next is simply magical. Oswald’s life changes when he discovers a hidden talent, makes many friends, and comes face-to-face (or maybe face-to-beak) with Jack, a cardinal that the local shopkeeper rescued several years ago. Jack is the heart and soul of the small community, and has enhanced the life of many of the townspeople. One of Jack’s biggest admirers is a young girl, crippled from abuse, who comes to live in Lost River, and is saved as well.

A Redbird Christmas is, in a word, charming. The characters are quirky but loveable in the way that only Flagg can make her characters.

You haven’t really had Christmas until you have spent it with the people of Lost River, and, of course, Jack.

Here is a link to the book.

Friday Book Whimsy: Mr. Dickens and His Carol

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Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the much-loved story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his three ghosts. A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, defines much that we know about Christmas. But apparently Charles Dickens’ life wasn’t a bed of roses when he reluctantly wrote A Christmas Carol.

Samantha Silva’s debut novel, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, provides readers with a glimpse — in novel form — of what the famous author’s life was like around the time that he wrote the famous story of Scrooge and his ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

Though he and his family had been living a very comfortable life, his most recent novel had been a flat-out bust. Money was tight, and the family members who had long lived by Dickens’ handouts, and the charities he had supported, are coming out of the woodwork asking for more funds. His wife is unaware of their dire straits, and is moving forward with their annual Christmas soiree despite its immense cost. Dickens is getting more and more frantic about his finances and his family responsibilities.

His publishers come to the rescue by suggesting, well, ordering really, him to write a Christmas story for the masses, something Dickens is loathe to do. He thinks Christmas stories are silly, and his lack of holiday spirit prevent him from writing the story that his publishers are seek Oh, if he only had a muse.

And then a muse appears in the form of an actress named Eleanor Lovejoy, who encourages Dickens to write a story with London as its background, and the Christmas spirit as its driving force. After much angst and many tries, the story Dickens writes changes Christmas forever.

Silva takes great liberties with Dickens’ story, and she admits as much in her Afterword. Her writing style reminds me of the style of Dickens himself. That, I’m sure was no accident. Dickens’ whining and moaning goes on a bit longer than necessary, but the ending, which has a surprise twist, makes up for the redundancy.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol was a wonderful Christmas story, making me want to reread A Christmas Carol.

Here is a link to the book.

Friday Book Whimsy: The Lincoln Highway

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Way back in 2018 B.C. (Before COVID), I read a book that I’ve never forgotten. It was called Be Frank With Me, by Julia Claiborne Johnson. Read my book review here. It featured a quirky but brilliant child named Frank. I hesitated reading a book that featured a child as its main protagonist, but never regretted my decision.

I chose to read The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles, for a couple of reasons. First, I enjoy Towles’ writing. Second, I love the Lincoln Highway. The Lincoln Highway — which is state highway 30 most of the time — ran through the town in which I spent my formative years. The highway, in fact, runs from Times Square in New York City, to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. While I haven’t driven all of the Lincoln Highway, I know parts of it are brick because I drove on bricks outside of Omaha, Nebraska.

What I didn’t know about The Lincoln Highway is that it would feature Billy, another precocious, funny, earnest kid as a main character. I would re-read the book simply for Billy.

In June 1954, 18-year-old Emmett Watson, is released from the juvenile work farm where he served time for manslaughter for killing another teenager. He is released early due to the death of his father, leaving his 8-year-old brother Billy alone as his mother had left the family years before. The work farm’s warden drives him to his home in central Nebraska, where Emmett is determined to gather Billy and a few of their things and leave Nebraska and all its memories for anywhere else. He’s thinking Texas, but when he tells Billy of his plans, the determined boy convinces his bigger brother to go to San Francisco, where he is sure their mother now lives.

Trouble, however, awaits, as unbeknownst to the warden, two of Emmett’s jailmates have hidden in the trunk and escape when the warden is dropping Emmett off at his home. Duchess is Nothing But Trouble With a Heart of Gold. Woolly, is the direct opposite — quiet, kind, and gentle. While Emmett and Bill plan to take the Lincoln Highway to San Francisco, Duchess and his friend Woolly steal the car and head the opposite direction, heading towards New York City. When he learns of the car theft, he and Billy head east, determined to find them.

The Lincoln Highway, much like The Gentleman from Moscow, a novel by the same author, is almost a series of vignettes about the adventures of these fellows, told from different points of view. Hopping trains, sleeping under the stars, and meeting all sorts of interesting characters along the way, the four make their way to the Big Apple. Among the few things that Billy was allowed to bring is a book of tales about famous adventurers such as Lewis and Clark. That book becomes a centerpiece of the story, and the reason I loved the character of Billy as much as I did.

Billy is adorable and despite his age, he is really the one that keeps the travelers in line. He is also the character that makes the story the most interesting.

I loved this book and recommend it strongly.

Here is a link to the book.