Books 86-88
Pittsburgh Then and Now® by Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love this sort of thing. The book compares today's pictures against the same view from the 1880s-1930s and talks about the history of what was there then and what is there now. I learned tidbit I didn't know even growing up in the Pittsburgh area. There are some things I'm sad are gone as I prefer the Victorian aesthetic to the modern skyscraper (with a few exceptions like PPG Place). I'm filing this one away on the shelf to be pulled down for my own writing or historical tourism the next time I'm in town.
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Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I struggled hard with what to rate this one because I did like it but I didn't love it. Let's call it a 3.5 star book. (And thanks to Netgalley for the arc) My problem is the protagonist, Delilah. She's a chef opening her new pizzeria bank rolled by her billionaire fiance but when things go wrong she tears him a new one (my sympathies are more with him than her). She describes herself as a type A personality and as one myself I get it but I can admit when I'm wrong. Delilah can't and won't and that makes her hard to like, especially when she starts lying to the detective because she thinks she's right and he isn't (even in the wrap up when he's trying to explain legal reasons why they can't have contact and she's pissy as hell with him).
Delilah's Aunt Biz who has a cottage in Geneva WI, a wealthy area, has been struggling with the things that come with age but on opening night it looks like Biz might have killed her live-in caretaker,not that Delilah believes that for a moment. She has to clear her aunt's name and find the real killer.
Detective Capone (yes related to that Capone who was a big deal in this area back in the day) was a character I wanted more of (as this is in Delilah's pov). I liked him. I especially loved the nod to the fact that in general what the amateur sleuth is doing could be considered illegal and he points that out but is otherwise supportive of Delilah.
It doesn't take too much to figure out why the murder happened though the actual killer was a bit harder to swallow. Also she doesn't really guess the killer until they're in her face with a knife so she's not as good a sleuth as she thinks. That said I'd read another of these.
But back to Delilah for a moment and her cat Butterball. Sorry once again I'm with her fiance Sam. She's killing this cat by constantly feeding him cheese and other fattening things and letting him outside to get into fights. Also I struggle with the idea that a woman who is supposed to be a good business woman/chef/take charge type A personality NOT knowing a damn thing about how her restaurant is being funded or having her name on the accounts just in case Sam isn't there to write a check. Does she not have a debit card? And has she never heard jewelers will buy jewelry vs going to a pawn shop?
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The Eidlerland Incident by Geoffrey Mandragora
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is definitely a book two in a series situation where you'll be utterly lost if you don't read book one. Ian Rollings, he of the mechanical hand and eye thanks to Tesla's relative, Danjella, has been given command of the Thunderbolt, a British sub (in the Boer war era) and has been sent to help with a rescue mission in the Antarctic. However, the Germans who have lost their men aren't exactly friendly to the Brits at this time period.
'Commander Claw' as Ian is known has his work cut out for him. Being betrayed in the Antarctic could spell trouble if not outright death. The elements alone are enough to kill someone. Naturally Ian and Danjella's time in the freezing Antarctic aren't going to go easy and everyone here has a hidden agenda.
I enjoyed this. The action is even more tightly written than book one (maybe a side effect of the setting). Ian and Danjella are interesting characters (and kudos for adding a second female character in command as an engineering type)
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