2016 reading, September
I wish to point out that I put two lines of space between each book, but the software is eliminating them. Drat.
30 books! Ahead of schedule!
Plainly Murder - Isabella Alan 9/28/16 Amish Murder #0.5 (prequel) Evelyn, an elderly Amish woman has died, leaving a quilt to Angie's aunt Eleanor, whom Angie is visiting - Eleanor is dying of breast cancer. The quilt is to go to Lily, who had been quilting with Evelyn when Evelyn's son fell from a barn roof during a raising. Was it an accident, or was he pushed? No one believed Evelyn while she was alive, except the murderer. Angie & Eleanor find several suspects. Novella. Enjoyed also 4 other books in series - #5 just out.
The Final Curtsey - Margaret Rhodes 9/28/16 Autobiography of Queen Mother's niece, who also served as Lady-in-waiting. Nice.
The Bark Before Chirstmas - Laurien Berenson 9/28/16 Melanie Travis #18 She's drafted by her employer/private school principal to run the annual bazaar a week before it happens. A West Highland White terrier is dognapped during the bazaar, the dognapper dies of being tased, the police are totally uninterested in the dognapping (of course) & have no ideas about the death. The missing dog belongs to an alumna just starting a divorce. I suspected her husband from the beginning of using the dog as a bargaining chip against a prenup.
Calamity Jayne - Kathleen Bacus 9/25/16 Iowa country girl working 2 jobs finds body in what she thought was her car, the body & the money gone when she brings fuzz back to the car > not believed; her trailer & her sister's car trashed when she doesn't hand over the drug money she found, et cetera. Not funny enough.
Pie a la Murder - Melinda Wells 9/22/16 Della Cooks #4 Della's fiance Nicholas' daughter Celeste moves in with him after growing up in Vienna with her mother. Celeste wants to be an actress, Alec Redding (famous photographer) shoots a number of good pics and at least one salacious one, Celeste's mother Tanis and father Nicholas go ape. Della goes to his house to try to get back the pic & finds Nicolas there, who has just found Redding's body. Nicolas is #1 suspect, but Della thinks Tanis & her lover Frederick, Celeste, Redding's wife Roxanne are equally possible, plus more that she doesn't know enough about Redding's life to think of. Great plotting, well written. Only one more book in this series, & I'm sorry.
Tom Sawyer, Detective - Mark Twain 9/19/16 Tom & Huck go to Uncle Silas via steamboat, encountering the identical twin brother Jake of the neighbor twin Jubiter and the pestiferous brother Brace, who is pissed because Silas' daughter Benny won't marry him. Jake has stolen 2 diamonds & is being chased by his partners. Uncle Silas had been pressured into hiring Jubiter as farm help; Jubiter is under instructions from Brace to be as annoying as possible. Uncle Silas loses his temper & hits him the same night Jake is caught & killed by his accomplices, Jubiter poses as Jake, Silas is prosecuted for murder of Jubiter. Tom figures it out.
Tom Sawyer Abroad - Mark Twain 9/19/16 Tom, Huck, & Jim go to Africa on a balloon, the Professors falls overboard over the Atlantic, they argue about longitude, time zones, & the Arabian Nights, & nearly get smothered in a sand storm. They reach Cairo & land Jim on the Sphynx's head, tour the pyramids & Cairo. Tom's corncob pipe breaks, he sends Jim home for it, but Aunt Polly catches Jim, who returns for Tom & Huck, & they go home awaiting Aunt Polly's wrath to break.
So, Anyway - John Cleese 9/19/16 autobiography, dwelling largely on childhood & education. Entertaining. In spots, guffawed.
Maui Widow Waltz - JoAnn Bassett 9/18/16 #1 Pali Moon owns a wedding planner business in Pa'ia, Maui. It has rained steadily for 2 weeks, the tourists have fled, and she & all the other tourist businesses are hurting financially between the rain & the economy downturn. Lisa Marie Prescott comes in to set up her wedding, as meek as a mouse, but her fiance has gone missing - the boat ran ashore without him, the Coast Guard gives up a week later, nothing. Since the wedding license application has to be signed by both bride & groom, Pali can organize the wedding - Lisa Marie has Kevin, Brad's business partner, to act as proxy, since he has Brad's power of attorney. Lisa Marie turns into a BRIDEZILLA the second day. Her father Marv is the sole owner of a national waste disposal company, so Lisa Marie isn't marrying Brad for his money. Software Company. Pali is behind on her mortgage and owes many suppliers and is not able to tell Tank, a local financial hooligan, where to stuff his lowball offer for her business. She is trying to clear enough on Lisa Marie's wedding to come out even on her debts, so that the rest of her friends aren't left holding her bags. Tank wants to knock down her building for a high-rise parking garage - Pa'ia needs more parking space, to which I can attest. All ends well, mostly on Haleakala, 10,000 feet up. Enjoyed, especially the Hawai'ian words thrown into conversation.
Livin' Lahaina Loca - JoAnn Bassett 9/20/16 Islands of Aloha #2 Pali is in the Witness Protection Program on Lana'i, (awfully close, to me,) hiding from the drug dealers she may have to testify against from the previous book. She gets a short term job running a bed & breakfast inn while the owners are off to Oahu to have their baby. Only two sets of guests: one a single man, Hollywood producer/actor who wants Quiet & Privacy but his fiancee wants the Four Seasons Lodge at Po'eke; the other guest a family with two young boys in destructive mode, which Pali is able to counter. The fiancee calls the tabloids, her fiance is furious & talks to Pali, and his fiancee is killed while he is with Pali. The time of death is originally not within the time Pali is with him, & she finds the evidence, to the annoyance of the detective, who also is trying to keep her hidden & threatens to ship her off to the mainland without clearing the fiance.
Lana'i of the Tiger - JoAnn Bassett 9/20/16Islands of Aloha #3 Pali is in the Witness Protection Program on Lana'i, (awfully close, to me,) hiding from the drug dealers she may have to testify against from the previous book. She gets a short term job running a bed & breakfast inn while the owners are off to Oahu to have their baby. Only two sets of guests: one a single man, Hollywood producer/actor who wants Quiet & Privacy but his fiancee wants the Four Seasons Lodge at Po'eke; the other guest a family with two young boys in destructive mode, which Pali is able to counter. The fiancee calls the tabloids, her fiance is furious & talks to Pali, and his fiancee is killed while he is with Pali. The time of death is originally not within the time Pali is with him, & she finds the evidence, to the annoyance of the detective, who also is trying to keep her hidden & threatens to ship her off to the mainland without clearing the fiance.
Kaua'i Me a River - JoAnn Bassett 9/29/16 Islands of Aloha #4 Pali finds out her father was rich & has left her & his widow his estate, stiffing the rest of his children & 5 ex-wives as already oversupplied in the past. Pali is more interested in what happened to her mother, who died when Pali was 5. Murder? Stroke? Death certificate says cerebral hemorrage. Someone is also trying to kill Pali now.
O'ahu Lonesome Tonight? JoAnn Bassett 9/29/16 Islands of Aloha #5 Pali goes to Honolulu to meet her mother's son for a vacation and also meets two of her father's sons. The elder of the two brothers is thrown into the AlaWai during a time when sewage overflow is also diverted there during several days' rain. He dies of a triple bacteria infection, Pali is convinced it is murder, not from sewage contamination, and finds the evidence. Not funny, but lightish.
I'm Kona Love You Forever - JoAnn Bassett 9/30/16 Islands of Aloha #6 Pali's latest clients at Let's Get Mau'ied are two 17-year-olds who have forged parental permission. Lili, the bride, also has a crumpled Xerox of a birth certificate, which turns out to be of a baby who died at 4 days, i. e., not hers. Both Lili & David were born on Hawai'i, so they all go to Kona to find out what's what. Lili was adopted by comparatively wealthy parents; David's family is not quite dirt-poor, but close. Pali finds the midwife who signed the dead baby's birth certificate & the death certificate, the woman is very hostile, David's mother's murder is faked as a suicide, and what are the connections?
Two more books in the series I've not read yet.
The Man Behind the Mask - Lorrie Bannett 9/17/16 awful
The Hot Rock - Donald E. Westlake 9/17/16 Dortmunder #1 Dortmunder is paroled from prison & is immediately roped into planning the theft of an emerald owned by a small African country but worshipped by its neighbor, from a traveling display at the NYC Coliseum. The caper goes astray: one of the thieves is trapped by the guards, he swallows it, and it takes 4 more capers to recover it. Sort of funny, but I didn't love it.
The Black Seraphim - Michael Gilbert 9/17/16 non-series. Dr. James Scotland, pathologist, is ordered to take at least a month's leave - exhaustion from overwork. He goes to his cousin, who is headmaster at Melchester's choir school. Melchester Cathedral is having financial problems & has an offer for land right across the river from the Cathedral, but fiddles are suspected: the widow of one of the canon's was swindled by the same man who proposes this land sale. The Dean is a former missionary with a 20-year-old daughter and somewhat ruthless, the Archdeacon was an accountant before taking orders and is equally ruthless. The Archdeacon is poisoned at the Dean's garden party at least halfway through the book - pages taken up showing motive for possibles. The autopsy would have had very different results had not Dr. Scotland coaxed the not really competent pathologist to take samples, for which the Dean's daughter upbraids him. Very good!
Whiskey and Soda - Nina Wright 9/16/16 #6 Silly book about Whiskey (Whitney), a high-end realtor in SW Michigan, 6 months pregnant by her ex-husband Jeb, who does want to remarry. She's not so sure. The headmaster of Bentwood, the local private K-8 school, is shot with an arrow right in front of her; the president of the school is the grandson of the founder & screws most of the mothers of the students; and the school is really run for the convenience of the Parent-Teacher Organization, all the members of which are spoiled and entitled and raising their children that way and affronted that the kids aren't going on to good prep schools, which is no wonder - Homework? What's that? We're going on a trip. Make up the work? What? Do you know who I AM? Whiskey is plagued by her escaping misbehaving female Afghan Abra, Jeb has brought his rescue dog, a female French bulldog named Sandra Bullock, and Abra attacks Sandra whenever she sees her. One of the locals teaches archery and is a pet psychic, among other woowoo businesses, and thinks she can get the girls to live together amicably. The local police chief Jenks is a childhood friend of Whiskey's & uses her as a Volunteer Deputy. Chester, the neighbor 9-year-old boy, is brilliant even though he goes to Bentwood and decrypts the encoded flash drive, giving Whiskey & Jenks the motive but not the name of the killer, who Whiskey stumbles on during a real estate consult.
Whiskey, Large - Nina Wright 9/17/16 #7 Whiskey is in her 40th week of pregnancy. She signed a contract with clients to sell their house; the next day the house blew up, there are two human bodies, and she has to identify them. One turns out to be not the male householder, but one of her competitors, whose widow accuses her of stealing the client - major sin in realty world. Whiskey has no Twitter account, something Chester, the 9.5-year-old next door says she must have for business, and someone tweets libel about her. Chester sets her up with one of his mother the celebrated pop artist/diva's publicity agents to counteract the bad press. Her Afghan hound Abra has a steady beau - Napoleon, a champion black standard poodle, but Abra has been spayed, so no Afghadoodles to come, though why Abra is still a sex fiend I don't get. We have murder, we have the pregnancy coming to term, we have Abra's mischief.
A TreacherousTrader - J. B. Stanley/Ellery Adams 9/15/16 #4 Molly Appleby goes to Burlington, Vermont, to set up her wedding. A local photographer is murdered - total sleazeball who deserted his wife & year-old daughter, became a registered gemologist & stole jewelry from his photographic clients. The ex-wife & daughter also come to Burlington - daughter's fiance wants a VT wedding. Daughter knows her father is there, but ex-wife doesn't. Very few in town like him - he hit on nearly all the women, regardless of age-appropriate. One of the exes is the owner of a bridal salon, so miserable about the breakup she alienates all her customers, including Molly, who is a size 14 & wants a vintage dress, which mostly aren't available that large. Betsy, the friend of Adele, a woman who just died at ninety, brings a dress to the shop to sell, but Molly buys it before Betsy goes in. Adele died of the shock of being burgled during her birthday party and also had a diamond & pearl tiara stolen. The photographer has a partnership with an antique jewelry dealer, with whom he is also breaking up. Lots of suspects: half the women in town, the bridal salon owner, the jewelry dealer, assorted men attached to the women he affronted taking offense at his behavior. The tiara is significant.
Girl in the Shadows - Angela Pepper 9/14/16 Abby Silver goes on a temp job with a private detective who turns out to be an insurance investigator. Shipping executive murdered, wife, daughter, former mistress, & CFO all have perfect alibis, so who? Didn't really care for, 2 stars.
Pen and Prejudice - Claire M. Johnson 9/14/16 Pride & Prejudice knockoff. Lizzie is a divorced-with-two-children former chef now a legal secretary mystery writer up for an Agatha, her ex also a chef, Jane her best friend from college a legal secretary who writes historical mysteries that get awards but don't sell well, her brother Theo (= Lydia) a professor at a small third-rank college in NYC, Charles another mystery writer, William a major publisher of mysteries. Left Coast Crime, Bouchercon, the Agatha Awards all major things. LOVED it, 5 star, & I say that very seldom. I read it via Kindle Unlimited, and will actually BUY it. Necessary for rereads.
Death in the Old Country - Eric Wright 9/11/16 Charlie Salter #3 Charlie & Annie go to England for a long vacation; Charlie tries to stay incognito, but the hotel owner is murdered. Lots of changed identity, Charlie gets into a contest with Inspector Hamilton solving the murder. In my opinion, Charlie wins, but no further spoiler.
The Square Root of Murder - Ada Madison 9/11/16 Somehow I suspect the author's pseudonym's first name was devised to fit the math department. Professor Sophie Knowles #1 Sophie is an associate professor of Math at a small women's college about to go co-ed in Massachusetts, when Keith, a chemistry professor, is poisoned. Sophie's assistant Rachel is framed for the murder, but Rachel & 3 of Sophie's students lie about their actions, though none of them committed the poisoning. Sophie's boyfriend Bruce is a medevac chopper pilot who helps get the data to convict.
Cloche and Dagger - Jenn McKinlay 9/8/16 Hat Shop #1 Scarlett Parker's cousin Vivian insists she return to Notting Hill to the hat shop they inherited from their grandmother after a disastrous romantic breakup, but Viv isn't there when Scarlett arrives. Lady Ellis, a most demanding client, comes to the shop to pick up the hat for her garden party, & to mollify wrath at Viv's absence, Scarlett suggests she come with a photographer before the party. But Lady Ellis is lying nude except for the hat, stabbed, when Scarlett arrives. Viv has history with _Lord_ Ellis & would be a suspect, if she could be found. Scarlett is worried that something has Happened to Viv, and things keep happening at the shop.
Death of a Mad Hatter - Jenn McKinlay 9/9/16 Hat shop #2 Scarlett & Viv are hired to make hats for a family hosting a benefit tea with an Alice in Wonderland theme. The only son of his generation/heir of his house has the Mad Hatter's hat & is poisoned & dies during the party. A suspicion is raised that the Hat is the means of administration; Scarlett has to clear the shop's responsibility. A very messy situation: father deserted his wife & 4 children 30 years earlier & decamped to Italy with his mistress, wife goes mildly nuts & maintains that he is away on business, wife also will not recognize that Viv is not her grandmother & calls Viv her dear friend Ginny. After the son is killed, she insists that he too is away on business. Mistress shows up at the party demanding her share of the estate - father left her destitute as well.
Button Holed - Kylie Logan 9/5/16 #1 Josie was a theater major specializing in costuming, Hugh a classmate now a producer/director. He sends Kate, the star of his current movie, to Josie's shop for buttons for her wedding dress - marriage to a European prince. The morning of Kate's appointment with Josie two goons are waiting for her, having dumped everything on the floor looking for something. What? Josie can't tell before she resorts everything. 2 days later Kate returns early to make her final choices - Josie is out & finds Kate dead on the floor, a button not in Josie's inventory beneath her. Kate had a bad case of ego & made many enemies. Was her death related to the button, or other ego problems? Hugh is arrested, Josie has to clear him. New-to-me series. Enjoyed a lot. Set in Chicago.
Hot Button - Kylie Logan 9/6/16 #2 Josie is the chairman of that year's annual button collectors' con, dealing with a surprisingly ill-behaved guest of honor, Thad, the owner of the button Geronimo cut off his shirt nearly a century ago & sold to a collector, complete with a letter authenticating it. Thad is murdered the 2nd day of the conference, and other odd things keep happening: a woman has an argument with Thad but can't be found, the salads were canceled for lunch, 14 sets of buttons entered in the contest are missing, and so forth. Now were these other things related to Thad's murder, or is something else going on? And who killed Thad, and why?
Panic Button - Kylie Logan 9/7/16 #3 Josie appraises a charm string (1000 buttons) for Angela, who is strangled with it and the string broken. All but 3 buttons are found, showing that at least one of the buttons is a clue. Angela's town was drowned in a reservoir 30 years earlier and rebuilt faux Victorian, with a museum holding, among other things, the artifacts of the town bad boy 100 years earlier. Motive for Angela's death: the charm string, jealousy by her cousin who didn't get any of their aunt's estate, sexual jealousy from the woman who had been dating the man Angela was seeing, fear of prosecution from the woman who was pilfering from the aunt?
The Private Dining Room And other new verses - Ogden Nash 9/5/16 Light verse of Nash's particular lightness. Delightful. Found in the bookshelves in the living room of Ye Ship's Lantern (my father's family summer cottage) & given to me by its current owners.
Angels - Reba White Williams 9/2/16 Two sisters, Ida & Polly, living just above poverty level, rescue Ida's orphaned granddaughters Dinah & Coleman, ages 5 & 7. Coleman had been in terrible situations but had been taken into good programs - angels/gatekeepers for Head Start, the woman who rescued her from her dead father's girlfriend, then finally returned to family. Very smart, reading at 4th grade or higher level at age 5. Coleman turns out to be her other grandmother's heiress - not rich, but a bit more comfortable. She thinks of all sorts of improvements for their lives and how to work to afford them. Ida & Polly have catering & sewing businesses, the girls add to them - garden stand, preserves, take-out meals, & frozen food for the garden stand, which becomes a county destination. Thsi is #1 of at least 4.
Out of the Ruins - Sally S. Wright 9/2/16 Cumberland Island, Georgia, now a US National Seashore. Set mostly in 1961. Family disagreements about it being sold, either for development or the park. Euthanasia, more than one case. Another family feeling (wrongfully) that it was stolen from them. Jealousy, not really shown until the end, as a motive. Gentle manipulation/passive control/gentle blackmail for one's soul's good. Very well written.