It's time to start holiday reading! Continuing from last month, I read a holiday book and a book that would make a great gift for the dog lover in your life.
Christmas Candy Corpse by Rosemarie Ross The popularity of reality shows has resulted in several mystery series that revolve around reality TV shows, some more successfully than others. This was a new series to me, although this is the third in the Courtney Archer series. Courtney is a chef and cooking show hostess whose network has tapped her and her co-host to record a holiday-themed cooking contest. This is a great boost for her show and career as well as for the contestants, but from the start, things go off the rails. One of the judges, Shannon, keeps disappearing from the set, and one of the contestants is refusing to wear the aprons supplied by the show because they are part of a line of products developed by Shannon. Tempers flare and everyone is on edge with a condensed shooting schedule. But things take a serious turn when the assistant director is murdered, and Courtney finds herself trying to film two shows while figuring out whodunnit before they strike again. The book is well written overall, although there are some glaring grammatical mistakes and weird word choices and typos, and the pace is fast. But this is apparently the third murder in just a few months involving the same crew and show at the same resort, and I cannot believe that the network would not have cancelled this program as fast as possible. Ms. Ross really needs to move the show and introduce characters not related to it as suspects because the resort as the setting for yet another murder involving the exact same group of people is mentioned several times, which underscores that this is either lazy writing or unimaginative writing. Why not send them on location? Why not have Courtney stumble on a murder while on a publicity tour for her show? Why not have Courtney involved with publishing a book of the show's recipes, and someone is killed who is unrelated to the show--a bookstore owner, a restauranteur in another city, an editor, or a network executive is murdered when she's visiting HQ? How about a murder while she's on vacation? There was also a major story line that irritated me--Shannion's multiple disappearances throughout the day. Several times Courtney sees Shannon in a place she shouldn't be, many times Courtney talks to her coworkers or herself about how Shannon is not acting like herself, yet it takes the entire book for her to just ask her what the heck is going on? Shannon is supposed to be her good friend, yet Courtney treats her like a stranger and avoids trying to help her. Very irritating. Fans of cooking shows and baking contests will enjoy the book, but I won't read another unless the book jacket assures me it doesn't take place at the resort and on set. Recommended. (Net Galley)
Adventure Dogs by Fern West Dog lovers will enjoy this book that celebrates a variety of activities that Fido and their human can enjoy together. Full disclosure: I work part time as a dog trainer and am heavily involved with Pet Partners, the oldest therapy dog registry in the world, and used to volunteer with a breed rescue. So I love dogs. And I love doing things with my dogs. I'd love to receive this book as a gift. It's lavishly illustrated, with the author's own dog starring in some of the adventures. The book is broken down into categories of activities, with guest essays accompanying many of them. Places to visit and stay, activities to try, advice for beginners and those already expert at a sport will all find some fun new things to try with their canine companion. And if all the reader wants to do with their dog is snuggle on the couch while looking at the photos, that's covered here, too! This would be a great holiday gift for the dog lover in your life. Highly recommended. (Net Galley)
Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews Meg's husband Michael, the drama professor, is staging the Scottish play, and their family home is overrun with actors and drama and history department professors, while a group off medieval re-enactors has camped in the woods. Someone is disgruntled and has been playing nasty jokes on people, nasty jokes that are increasing in ugliness. And then someone is murdered, and the underlying tensions crisscrossing the actors, the re-enactors, and the academics explodes. The cast of characters is much larger than usual in a Meg Langslow mystery, but Ms. Andrews keeps the list of possible suspects small enough in number to be tracked but disparate enough to have these different groups under suspicion. There is always a lot of humor in the series. and this one is no different. I'm sorry that Meg's parents, who are two of my favorites characters, make barely an appearance, but we do get to spend more time than usual with Rose Noire and meet another nephew, Kevin, who takes on the role of tech geek that Meg's brother usually fills. I'd love to be part of Meg's huge and lovable and eccentric family, and that is high praise indeed. Highly recommended (Net Galley)
The Secret Staircase by Sheila Connolly Ms. Connolly writes five series, and this is book three in the Victorian Village series. The premise is intriguing, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Kate Hamilton has left her job and returned to her hometown because her childhood friend has convinced her to help resurrect the dying town. Asheboro had only one real industry, and when that folded, a long, slow economic decline began. But because no other industry was present, the Victorian houses that were built during the town's heyday are still intact, if in need of remodeling. Kate's idea is to start with a remodel of the home of the town magnate who'd become a recluse in his home for years, and create a living history village that would attract tourists. After finally finding a contractor who shares her vision of remodeling the mansion, the murder of a sub-contractor and the discovery of a skeleton hidden behind a wall threaten to derail the project before it has even begun. Full disclosure--I've worked in an industry that includes historic preservation, and Kate getting a huge grant to finance this, without any background in historic preservation or conservation, is, frankly, not realistic, but I try to suspend my disbelief when reading mysteries. But even someone without any background in preservation would recognize instantly that the timeline Kate sets is utterly fantastical, and she is a terrible project manager. There are a thousand things to do, the reader is told, yet she spends hours reading a diary because she feels an intense connection with and fascination about the late owner. And that is part of the rub of why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I would have liked: Kate is in love with the idea of the project and the romance of the project, but she (and the author) have no idea of how such a project would be actually unfold, and so therefore neither does the reader become invested in this project. Perhaps the author has too many series that she's responsible for, and the quality may be suffering from her scattered attention. But I doubt I'll return to Asheboro to see what happens with this project. The title reminded me of Nancy Drew books, which I loved as a girl, but I can only recommend it with the caveat that it's not dreadful, it's just not great. Recommended (Net Galley)
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