Mother Nature has been toying with us. We had one wonderful week in September when the high temperatures hovered around 90 and the overnight lows were inthe upper 60s. It was glorious! Two days later, it was 107 degree F. Normally I am on her side and understand why she's might be trying to rid herself of the parasite called humans that are destroying her, but on the other hand, I am done with endless hot summer.
Which means that naturally I started reading holiday mysteries this month. Of course I want to dream about cold weather, Christmas trees, coats and gloves, even snow slush.
Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly I read the first book in this series, missed the second, and am now reading the third. One big improvement--there is less gushing over all the fabulous, state of the art equipment and luxury that Emilia found in her new job as the doctor in residence on Sea Isle, Scotland. The series can be described as Cabot Cove meets CSI: tiny village where everyone knows each other and is perfect seemingly is the venue for murder after murder. This time, a holiday concert by a popular band with two locals who made good is rocked to its core when the lead singer/songwriter is found dead. Meanwhile, holiday festivities of all cultures are celebrated, a mini-UN of cultural good cheer I would not have expected in a tiny Scottish village, even a fictional one. There's even.a holiday blizzard! This story has less emphasis on romance and the attraction between Emilia and the fabulously wealthy but benevolent underwriter of pretty much everything in the village, Constable Ewan. I didn't find the mystery difficult to solve at all until the one crucial piece on information about one suspects past was revealed, and then it was clear who had done it. But the secondary character of Angie and Abigail and friends is strong, and I like them more than I like Emilia. Overall, this is a pleasant enough holiday mystery with a lovely cover. (Net Galley)
Twinkle, Twinkle Au Revoir by Heather Weidner A holiday book from earlier this year that I missed in my Net Galley ARCs. Twinkle Twinkle takes place in the very improbably named Mermaid Bay, Virginia, a small town where absolutely every business and street is named after mermaids, a setting device that I found a bit irritating. Our amateur detective is Jade Hicks, owner of holiday-themed (all things Christmas) shoppe she inherited from her aunt. The setting was really not that evocative of coastal Virginia, a location I know a little about, and I was a little disappointed in that, but the average reader may not care. The action takes place literally next door to Jade's shop and in her friend's B&B, so there is a reason for her to get involved. But as so often happens, even though her boyfriend is the sheriff and he asks her not investigate as it's dangerous, she agrees and then ignores him and he forgives it. I've mentioned before that I would read up with someone who repeatedly lied to me, but I know, that wouldn't further the plot. I do applaud the author for having Jade actually work in her shop, fulfilling online orders and restocking inventory. The murderer and the reason were very obvious, so don't expect any surprising reveal at the end. The most annoying point for me was that her friend the B&B owner called Jade over to help her with the movie people at least 4 times, if not 5, and Jade leaves her own business to go help. While that's kindly but is also done out of curiosity, at the fourth request I would probably have said "you have to handle this yourself because it's your business." Honestly, in at least half of those encounters, there was no real need for Jane to help; it was a just an easy and lazy way to get her to learn some information, It's a pleasant enough read but I doubt I'll read another. I didn't find the main characters interesting, the setting inviting, or the mystery that mysterious. (Net Galley)
Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp This graphic novel is being released this week, and it's a fun, slightly Halloween month read for older tweens. Beatrice and her sister Magnolia are as different as they could possibly be, with Beatrice the reader's point of view. The sisters live in a big house along with a family of clever spiders, but Magnolia hates the spiders. Beatrice takes some magic yarn from Bog Myrtle and her wonderful forest without asking permission, which later leads to a confrontation of sorts between the two. Great book about sustainability and resource protection and sisterly relationships. But this is not a cozy sisterly relationship, this is a contentious relationship with one sister taking advantage of the other and what could be called emotional abuse, which is why I think older tweens are the youngest readers I'd recommend read it, so that discussions of how we treat people as well as Mother Nature could be had. The graphic style is not one that I prefer, but the sharp edges and sympathetic spider faces almost made me get over my dislike of creepy crawlies. (NetGalley)
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