This month I began a theme of books with food in the title which will continue into June, but I was a little distracted by reading a financial self help book that I had reserved at the library and which finally came in. My sister and I also read the same advanced reader's copy at the same time; it'll be interesting to hear what she thinks of the Tamara Berry book.
The Great Money Reset by Jill Schlesinger I enjoy listening to the Jill on Money podcast, so thought I'd read her latest book. It's not a book that outlines financial concepts, discussed the Federal Reserve, or anything like that. It presents the summarized stories of callers to her podcast, and how they made major changes to their lifestyles. Those major changes were made possible by money resets: either changing jobs, retiring, going back to work, etc. While a large number of the stories she recounts concern people financially better off than me (even if not wealthy by our current overinflated concept of that term), the concepts and strategies on how to plan a major change are useful for anyone, regardless of income level.
Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie by Sarah Graves Sarah Graves wrote 16 books over 17 years in the Home Repair is Homicide series starring Jake Tiptree. Jake was involved in some shady dealings in her life in the big city, but when things got too close, she and her son took off for a small town in Maine. Over the series, Jake worked on remodeling her house, raised her son, made a best friend in Ellie, and fell in love. After a few years' hiatus, Ms. Graves reintroduced Jake and Ellie, but in a new series, one centered on a chocolate bakery opened by the best friends. I admit that I had fallen behind in the home repair series and didn't realize there was a new one, but kudos to Ms. Graves--this a great way to take familiar and well-known characters and yet challenge them (and herself as a writer) by putting them in a new situation. Not entirely new, as they are still in Eastport, Maine, and Jake and Ellie still find themselves embroiled in mysteries, but a great way to shake things up. In this book, number 6 in the series, Ellie's daughter has requested a chocolate and marshmallow pie for her birthday. While trying to create a new recipe, the two friends are worrying over a new chocolate shop in town that is directly vying for their patrons. Then Ellie finds the competition dead, and things get very complicated, very quickly. With Ellie's arrest imminent, Jake is determined to find the real killer. I love the Maine setting, and I loved that the characters actually have to do things like open their shops, cook and burn recipes while experimenting with versions of the birthday pie, fall in the woods while hiking, they do things normal people do. The lack of gore means this is considered a cozy mystery, but the writing is top notch, the trials and tribulations the characters face are real and relatable, and I think this series is one of the best series in the genre. Recommended. (Net Galley)
A Clue in the Crumbs (Key West Food Critic Series 13) by Lucy Burdette Earlier this year, I read the eleventh entry in this series, A Scone of Contention, and enjoyed it enough that when I saw this advanced reader's copy on NetGalley, I immediately read it. Coming this August, the Scone Sisters of Book 11 reappear in this story. After they won the scone contest in England, they starred in a British cooking show, and they and their show have come to the US to film the show with US contestants. They convince the producers to start the competition in Key West so they can visit Hayley and Gloria. The series includes characters that appeared in earlier stories, it seems from a brief perusal of the earlier titles, and I imagine that just like other long-running series, the author could run out of ways to get Hayley involved in murders that don't result in people running from her as soon as she steps foot in their restaurant for a review. The characters are likable enough, although I found Nathan's reluctance to do things Haley likes to do a little annoying. When he's working his police detective job, he can't go to dinner, but the fact that he doesn't like fancy meals, he doesn't want to go on the evening cruise with the Scottish visitors, and other instances make me wonder how much this pair has in common. Granted, I've only read two books in the series, but still, I wonder. In this book, the baking contest is close to collapsing when one contestant's husband is murdered and she withdraws, leaving only two competitors whose baked goods are not quite edible to do culinary battle. The murder and the reason for the murder are realistic, but the mystery surrounding the Scone Sister's agent seemed a little farfetched. But it's a pleasant enough series with pleasant enough characters, and that makes for a good beach read. (Net Galley)
Murder Off the Books (By the Books Series 3) by Tamara Berry Just published this week, this is the third in a great new series that I started reading this year. A few months ago, I read the second book, On Spine of Death, and I loved it. I mentioned to my sister how much I enjoyed it. The publisher is one of her company's clients, and so she decided to read it with me. In this entry, Tess' bookstore is ready for its grand opening. Gertrude is busy catering the event for her mother, and Tess is busy with all the other details. The last thing she needs is the unexpected appearance of her mother. What she needs even less is the man her mother has in tow--a much younger man who is suspected of committing three other murders but who has not been arrested because of a lack of evidence. Following the two is a popular podcaster, Neptune Jones, who is convinced that Tess' mother will be the next victim. But Neptune is wrong. It's Levi, the suspected widow killer, who is murdered, and it's Tess' mom who is under suspicion. Tess immediately sets out to clear her mother. Her investigatory attempts are thwarted at most turns, and that makes this book a little different from the second in a welcome way. Tess is trying to honor the sheriff's request that she not investigate and put herself and her loved ones in harm's way. This time around, even though she shares information with Sheriff Boyd, she still makes the connections to solve the murders before him. I enjoyed this book just as much as the the other I read (and I have the first on hold at my library). The story is engaging, the characters are well constructed and fleshed out, and the reason Tess gets embroiled in the mystery is realistic. With a big dash of humor and a minor bit of slapstick comedy relief, this is a well-written and enjoyable series. Recommended. (Net Galley).
No comments:
Post a Comment