Middle Sister's March Reads

Midwestern murder! The people may seem nice, but murder lurks under all that wholesomeness...

Death Checked Out (A Larkspur Library Mystery) by Leah Dobrinska A small town librarian solving cime? Sounds straight up my alley. Greta Plank is the new librarian in Larkspur, Wisconsin, and like the doctor in last month's Scottish mystery, she is haunted by something in her past that the author takes three-quarters of the book to reveal. Honestly, but the time Greta's secret came out, I didn't care, and when I learned what it was, I cared even less. Mountains out of molehills, indeed. I'm assuming this is the first in a new series, so here's your synopsis: Greta's hermit-like neighbor is found dead, and while it looks like an accident, Greta is not convinced it was. When she finally manages to convince Larkspur's new detective that he was murdered, she finds herself as the number one suspect. Greta and her two library colleagues set out to uncover the murderer. I did like Greta's happy and healthy relationship with her parents, whom I'd have liked to see more of (they are more interesting that her, to be honest). No blood or gore or cursing or sex, for those who like their mysteries squeaky clean. (Net Galley)

Bake Offed (Five Ingredient Mystery) by Maya Corrigan I'd not read any books in this series, but I was tickled by the idea that a young woman and her grandfather were the amateur detectives. I started reading this on a flight to Washington DC. and was delighted to find that the book was set in Maryland. Val is helping her friend host a mystery convention, with one of the highlights a baking contest, and Grandad is one of the participants. Someone slips a warning message in his conference tote bag, and then one of the participants is found dead by Val. It's not a difficult mystery to figure out, but the characters were pleasant enough to spend some time with, and I do like the idea of a multi-generational amateur detective team. I won't go out of my way to track down any more in there series, but if one comes my way, I'll probably read it. Another squeaky clean mystery. (Net Galley).

On Spine of Death (By the Book Mysteries 2) by Tamara Berry After all this midwestern mayhem, I ended the month in one of my favorite states, Washington, and the fictional town of Winthrop, where mystery writer Tess Harrow and her daughter Gertrude have settled  down permanently after Tess' divorce.  Tess is remodeling her grandfather's hardware store when a body is found, and then a second body, and soon Tess realizes that the murders are eerily familiar. Funny and delightful, with engaging secondary characters, a realistically healthy yet imperfect mother-daughter relationship, and a small town full of very quirky inhabitants make for a very fun read. Yes, I figured out the whodunnit pretty early on, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book. I want to read the first in the series now, and hope I don't have to wait too long for Tess and Gertrude's next adventure. (Net Galley)

Out to Canaan by Jan Karon I needed an audiobook for some car time, and I remembered how popular these were in the 1980s when I worked in a wonderful independent bookstore. Father Tim and all the secondary characters and the setting have held up fairly well, although readers will think it takes places further in the past than it does given the lack of technology. Gentle stories about ordinary things, which I generally like, but I couldn't get into the series when it was first published and this one still left me cold. I think everyone is just a little too bland for my liking. 

Middle Sister's June Reads

You might think I haven't been reading much this past June, but I am in the middle of a thick non-fiction book I'll review next month. I did manage to take a few breathers with some cozy mysteries:

Final Fondue by Maya Corrigan Val Deniston has had to start her life over again on the Eastern Shore of Maryland after an unpleasant encounter cost her her job. She's moved in with her grandfather and is running the cafe at a local athletic club. Her new hometown hosts a festival every year and Val convinces her grandfather to rent his spare bedrooms to tourists to earn some money. Naturally, one of the renters ends up murdered in Granddad's backyard. I loved the setting, as this is one of my most favorite parts of the country, but I was a bit more ambivalent about Val. I think her interactions with her new boyfriend colored my opinion of her. But Granddad is adorable and I hope we see more of him. There was plenty of evidence that the book needed editing: bridesmaid's parties are called hen parties in England, but I'm from New Jersey; we don't use that term in the mid-atlantic or anywhere else in the US. Granddad is happy Val will be staying with her cousin and out of danger, but Val seems to be unconcerned with his safety, sleeping in the house with a murderer (and basically says so, twice). The police chief told her, twice, not to talk about the murder, so what does Val do straightaway? Tells her cousin all about it. Okay, this isn't an editing complaint, it's a character complaint, but it's symbolic of many of the little things that bothered me about Val. Big editing mistake: a supposedly high-powered New York City chef threatens Val that he will send a photo of her cafe "to Monsieur Michelin" so she can get a star. Umm, there is no Monsieur, just a publishing house that reviews restaurants. We know he's obnoxious, but this is not a threat to a chef and cookbook publicist nor a joke a high-powered chef would make; wouldn't both know what Michelin ratings are. Doesn't the author? Who gets severance pay when fired, Gunnar? You get that when you're laid off. And what amateur-trying-to-be-a-professional wedding photographer owns face-recognition software? Too many niggling things like this ruined my enjoyment of the book, so I'll conclude this by saying there are some potentially interesting characters (although Gunnar and Val both need to grow up), a lovely setting, and with some tighter editing and better character and mystery development, this could be a nice series. (NetGalley)

Murder Has Nine Lives by Laura Levine Laura Levine's Jaine Austen series is reliably laugh-out loud funny, and this entry in the misadventures of Jaine doesn't disappoint. Jaine's latest mystery centers on a cat-food commercial for which Jaine's cat Prozac has been hired. The cat food producer is murdered, and Jaine gets involved. Her bumbling detective work is punctuated by hilarious dates with a man who's not what he seems, her attempts to write the copy for Toiletmasters revolutionary new toilet, and her parents' emails re: the Big Scrabble Tournament and an Alex Tribek sighting. There's a little bit of Jaine and her zany folks in all of us. Granted, I'd figured out the whodunnit halfway through but that in no way affected my enjoyment of the book, and that is the hallmark of a fine mystery writer, when the reader doesn't even mind having figured out the murderer because the story is so much fun. Enjoy Jaine's latest misadventure with a cocktail and some ice cream.