Middle Sister's June Reads

It's hot, hot, and hotter in the desert in June, so diving into a good book is the best way to escape.

Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham Knitwear designer Kate Davies is hosting a Summer of Mystery, with a collection of patterns based on some of Ms. Allingham's mysteries ad a read along of a dozen of her novels. I've never made a pattern designed by KDD, but I have read several Albert Campion mysteries, so I decided to participate just for the reading alone. The first book was Sweet Danger, a rollicking treasure hunt murder mystery that introduces Amanda Fitton and her family to Albert, Lugg, and the friends that tag along with Albert as he attempts to solve an ancient mystery and prevent an international incident. The various threads seem a tangled mess at first, but Ms. Allingham skillfully weaves them all together into a neat and tidy package. This may not be the easiest book of hers to start with, but it's one of the most fun.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman The second Tuesday Murder Club book is as good as the first, full of seemingly unconnected people and events that ultimately come together in a very satisfying story. This book focuses on Elizabeth, and we find out much more about her secretive past as a Cold War spy. Joyce's diary entries still begin many chapters, providing the background the reader needs to people and incidents. I wish we'd been able to read her persuasive argument to get Ibrahim to overcome his fears and leave his apartment again, but the author doesn't let us be privy to that. Again, I was surprised by the ending, although I had an inkling of the direction we were headed as every theory on whodunit I had conjectured turned out to be wrong. This might not be an easy series for everyone, with its short chapters that jump from character to character and to different points of view, but it's a good series that's very well written. And I hear it's going to be made into a movie. I can't wait. Who will be Bogdan?

Kill or Bee Killed by Jennie Marts I thought I'd enjoy this mystery that takes place at a honey festival in Colorado, one of my favorite places.  But I didn't really enjoy it all that much. At first I thought it was going to be one of those mystery-in-name-only books that is really a romance, because the first few chapters were all about Bailey stumbling and bumbling and being embarrassed, rescued, and aroused at the same time by Sawyer, who is, of course, the sheriff. I think Bailey does the exact same pratfall that lands her in Sawyer's arms at least 4 times. It was funny the first time, but not the second and definitely not the third. The author has surrounded her main character with a quirky family and friends. I think I liked her grandmother and aunts more than Bailey. The town name--Humble Hills; dreadful. The murder takes place backstage at a cooking competition, because those are all the rage now. The hook is that all of the dishes must use honey as an ingredient. The cast is cliched--there's the smarmy emcee, the best friend who's competing, the good 'ole boy, the uptight snob who slowly unravels under the heat of the competition, the production crew members who are hiding secrets. I hate to be a snob, and I am as much a fan of salami and cheese on a cracker as the next person, but it is not a "gorgeous charcuterie board" when you're serving Ritz crackers. If Sawyer "scrubbed" his hand through his hair once, he did it 5 times. Scrubbed is not the right verb here. And after coming up with some ridiculous phrases for the characters to use so they don't curse (e.g., jagoff instead of jerk), the author has a main character call someone a "douche canoe" and a "douche wad." That ain't gentlewomanly in my book at all; I find that way more offensive that a four-letter word. But Ms. Marts needed to introduce a wild side to someone, somehow to move her story along,  so she has Bailey and Evie break into a motorhome to look for clues. Evie later makes a crude allusion to sex, and so does 12-year-old Daisy, so those expecting a squeaky clean book will be surprised. I sure was--that was totally out of character for Evie and if that was my 12-year-old, I'd be terrified.  I was floored when Daisy knowingly repeated some racy dialogue she overheard. There are more instances of out-of-character or just weird behavior (Evie reaches over and starts helping herself to the funnel cake eaten by someone she's met maybe two or three times, professionally, and has only known for two days; how rude) that almost made me think a second author was writing these scenes. The book has one good thing going for it--a golden retriever. There, I thought of two nice things to say: I like the dog and I like the great aunts. Otherwise, I disliked this book a lot. It read like an unedited draft (there were many typos in the Kindle ARC) written by an immature teenager trying to act grown up and cosmopolitan and failing miserably. It's hard to write this, but avoid this book. (NetGalley)

Driven to Murder by Debbie Young  After the disappointing previous ARC I had read, I thought "Let's read one that takes place in rural England, in a bookshop--that's my cup of tea." However, as the old knight says in the Indiana Jones movie, I chose poorly. Sophie is working at her boyfriend Hector's bookshop (craftily called Hector's House; yes. that's sarcasm) in a small village in the Cotswolds. The village is in an uproar because the company that runs the only bus service has suspended operations because it's too expensive and they are losing money. The villagers are up in arms, until Janice is murdered on the bus, and then their fury turns to fear. Sophie decides to solve the mystery herself in her spare time as she learns how to drive. For someone so scared of driving (which is hammered home in chapter after chapter and lots of internal dialogue), Sophie blossoms in one paragraph from scaredy cat extreme to a seasoned driver. So confident is she that, on her second driving trip, she spends her time reflecting on the murder than on the road; completely  out of character after a lot of time has been spent on her fear of and aversion to driving. There are other very unrealistic passages, but sadly, I found the resolution of the murder mystery to be the most unrealistic of all. The pat solution to the bus crisis was so unbelievable that it was lucky that scene came at the end of the book; any earlier and I'd have stopped reading then and there in protest at the assault on our common sense. It's hard to write this, but for the second book this month, I can only say avoid this book. The story and plot are fairly ridiculous and the resolution is at best terrible; most of the characters are not likable, and the author contrives silly behavior on Sophie's part and an unrealistic ending that carried my disappointment right through the very end. The one nice thing I can say--the location is the Costwolds. (NetGalley) 

Middle Sister's December Reads

December was a busy month, but I did get to eat some really good books that I am delighted to recommend. 

The Glass Universe by Dava Sobel  The Glass Universe, written by one of my favorite science writers, is a riveting and fascinating biography of the unsung heroines whose groundbreaking work at the Harvard College Observatory helped create modern astronomy. Painstakingly working with glass photographic plates of the stars, under often punishing conditions, they were the human computers who analyzed data, creating classifications and catalogs of stars that were used by astronomers for decades. I took an astronomy class in college, and had no idea of the contributions of Cecilia Payne, Annie Jump Cannon, Willamina Fleming, Margaret Harwood, Antonia Maury, and the other women whose work was the underpinnings of what I was studying. But Ms. Sobel has brought their brilliant contributions to light, and looking up at night will never be the same for me. Much of the scientific rigor and theoretical underpinnings of the entire discipline of astronomy began at the Harvard Observatory, and while it may have been run by men, the money that made it all possible provided by women, Anna Draper and Catherine Wolfe Bruce. If you are interested in science, woman in science, or astronomy, or just love a well-researched book, The Glass Universe is highly recommended. I am so glad that some of them were recognized during their lifetimes for their contributions, and even happier that all of them, and their contributions, are now recognized and celebrated. Just one quibble: in Chapter 13, Ms. Sobel is talking about Miss Fairchild and she mentions that she has a Ph.D. in astronomy. I would have preferred she be called Dr. Fairchild--she earned that degree at a time and in a field when that was incredibly difficult. 

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman The Thursday Murder Club was mentioned by several contributors to the Mystery Reader's Journal as an excellent first mystery novel, and the premise intrigued me: a set of retired seniors in England set about to solve a murder that takes place under their noses near their retirement community. The core group of retirees (or pensioners, as this takes place in England) are quite diverse in their backgrounds but united by their interest in mysteries. The group's weekly investigations were captained by a retired intelligence agent whose illness has escalated, affecting each of her friends. The story is told largely from the point of Joyce, a retired nurse; her voice is that of the average person. We need Joyce to explain the increasingly convoluted incidents and relationships that characterize the story. I enjoyed the book; it was well written and fast paced, but did every scene need to be its own chapter (there are more than 100 chapters in the book)? There were things to which I objected: police or intelligence people planting evidence, the stereotypes of some people and classes, and the overwhelming reliance on coincidence to solve the various murders and mysteries and make them all interconnected. And I have to point out one glaring factual error this archaeologist cannot overlook: the skeleton in the grave is radiocarbon dated to 1970. Radiocarbon dates would never work on such a recent specimen to begin with, and any carbon dates from 1945/1950 onward are suspect because the atomic bombs in 1945 wreaked havoc on the natural carbon decay rates. One would never submit a 50-year-old sample for radiocarbon dating (sorry, Sir Austin, you got it wrong). Enjoyable, and hopefully the reliance on coincidence to tie disparate story lines together is not relied on to such an extent in the rest of the series.

A Surprise for Christmas by Martin Edwards Delightful anthology of Christmas mysteries published by British Library Crime Classics. Martin Edwards' prologues to the British Library Crime Classics anthologies introduce modern readers to genre authors from the golden age of mysteries, many of whose novels have been long out of print. I love this series, from the wonderful art work of the covers to the short story selections included. I recommend this series to any fan of Christie or Sayers. What a great book to curl up with on a dark winter's night, mulled cider at hand and soft holiday music in the background. (Net Galley)

It Takes Two to Mango by Carrie Doyle One of the reasons I've always enjoyed the Agatha Raisin mysteries is because she's not completely likable, but there's enough in her to make her sympathetic to the reader. Carrie Doyle has created another wonderful, flawed main character, Plum Lockhart. She's annoying, she's oblivious and self centered, and when the book opens with her getting fired, the reader thinks "yup, she served that." The only job Plum can find is on a gorgeous tropical island, but she's so determined to spend as little time there as possible that she continues the same behaviors that got her in trouble in New York City, until, that is, a murder happens in a property Plum was responsible for, and suddenly Plum realizes that she has to care and make an effort or she'll lose her job (again) and maybe her life. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. Plum herself grows as a character and this reader found herself liking her as the story went on. The setting, Paraiso, is gorgeous, snd reminded me of many places I've traveled in the tropics. Plum's new coworkers are set up perfectly to become integral to future mysteries, and the potential love interest is perfect--adult, no jubilee high school hijinks, and realistic. The pace is fast and maintained steadily throughout the novel, and the writing is mature and flows. I am looking forward to the next set of scrapes that Plum gets herself into. (Net Galley)