I really enjoy this series. Susan Boyer has the dialect of the South down just fine with her newest addition. Her Liz Talbot series is a fine and dandy Mystery. I defy anyone to stop reading in the opening Chapter when Tammy Sue sets fire to her Husband's Mustang, over his cheating, and a body is discovered. Half of the island is there to witness it.
Liz and her Husband Nate are hired to help find the Murderer in their home area. They are watched over by Colleen, who is a former deceased friend of Liz's, and guards the Island. She seems to have a stronger, human- element than the earlier Boyer books, because now she takes solid form on occasion and likes ham biscuits.This among a diet by the locals which has rich gravy, cheese eggs, and all kinds of goodies to eat. You will definitely appreciate the food.
There were quite a few characters in this story and all of them have a history with each other. Zeke, on the other hand, was a huge story- teller, but no one knew the real person. That was a page turner... to find out what happened in those twenty years- before he married, and ended up dead, in the back-end of a Mustang. The first Chapter sets a fast pace and builds to a few surprising twists.
I really liked the Characters built into Stella Maris- the island. Their warmth and family loyalties... even tempers, make it interesting. Low Country Bonfire has lots of brooding feuds, and secrets sure to keep you reading. The food, the characters, all come across as appealing. Susan Boyer writes a fun, entertaining mystery.
Victoria Hamilton writes in a smooth, cozy style. It's almost like coming home to a neighborhood and a group of people you know well. Even though this was my first read out of a series of six books, it will stand alone.
I am also drawn to her covers and titles. I admit it I am a sucker for a clever pun. I have been known to buy a book just for the cover as have many of my friends.
Although the story starts in the present, the mystery part began many years earlier. Two bodies are found murdered in bizarre ways and the town is shocked. The hunt to track a killer is on..Jaymie can help as these victims were classmates of her Sister. But will this stir up more deaths? How safe is Jaymie?
The Book is written, with chapters fluctuating between the past and present. In some Authors this is confusing but not Victoria Hamilton. She is a clever enough Writer to blend the two well. There are pending marriages between Jaymie and her Sister, which add a nice touch to the mystery. The added charm of vintage cookware and recipes made it that more palatable.This mystery is perfect for anytime reading.The pages turn by themselves.
Rita Mae Brown wrote a multi-layered story of friends and family, interspersed with historical facts, in this cozy. There are two mysteries occurring in the book. I found myself wishing I had started with the first book, because the animals in this series are full of personality and quite amusing. The beauty of fall in the Blue Ridge Mountain area of Crozet, Virginia had lovely descriptions, almost like poetry at times.
In the opening Chapter, the three animals, Pewter, Tucker, and Mrs. Murphy are wandering along as an Eagle goes over. I felt the same terror that the small animals do, at this large predator on the hunt. From the Eagle's huge talons hangs a blue eyeball. A seamless start to the new Mystery and one- I was prepared to enjoy.
The gorgeous scenery and bits of history had me so enthralled I
actually forgot this was a mystery at times. Then the bodies
started turning up and Mary Minor Haristeen ( Harry) identifies a slave pass...well, I won't say anymore.
The Mystery moves slow, layering the time frames, while the personalities of the animals and people work well together. I do like getting to know historical facts and different time frames. But the heart of this series is in the current day I felt and the charm of the animals too, while they talked, fussed and helped. The recent format of switching back and forth between past and present could be confusing to new Readers but not long- time followers. Finally, I enjoyed getting to know all the characters very much and will be adding the first few books of the Mrs. Murphy series to my reading list.
Cindy Brown manages to combine humor and mystery in a delectable little cozy. Ivy, whose real name is Olive, stars in a western- themed play set in Gold Bug Gulch. She is on the trail of a pack of Chihuahuas, who have enticed a pug to join them owned by her friends. Ivy is also trying to figure out who set up a Cowboy for death. But when the murders keep happening, Ivy follows the path of a killer- who will stop at nothing.
There are many chuckle, aloud moments, as when our heroine deals with cacti, and no toilets, to settle for a bush. The description of that little interlude alone is worth reading the book for. Although, Ivy and her costumes as a P.I. provide some pretty amusing reading as well. Can I say Nun?
The array of characters add to this neat little mystery. We have a bat-loving Conservationist and the sudden addition of a son for her friend, Arnie. There is the cast for the Arnold Opera House and multiple Investors. Let's just say there is plenty of opportunity for laughs and Ivy to track down the killer.
I have enjoyed Brown's addition to the series. It is not easy to write a mystery with this much humor.The book is a page turner and I finished it in one night.
Loren Estleman does a very clever satire of Nero Wolfe in this book. Claudius Lyon has no license to practice as a Detective. So, he never takes money and his cases are very different than Wolfe's. He has copied Wolfe as much as his life will allow. His sidekick is not Archie Goodwin but Arnie Woodbine. If you mumble, it sounds kind of alike-or does it?
The Chair in his Office is not the famous yellow of the Wolfe Books but orange. His sidekick takes every advantage of him, rounding off checks to the next hundred and his Cook serves pigeon and charges the Boss for chicken. Still they all rub along...Saints and Sinners.
If you are familiar with the Nero Wolfe stories this book has some laugh out loud moments. The comparisons are adroit and very colorful but not always to Claudius Lyon's advantage may I add. He has the girth of Wolfe but very little else. His problems are much smaller but they get solved in a timely way. The comparison of Lyon's townhouse to anything Wolfe is very aptly described as working out of a Motel Six.
So if you are a fan of Nero Wolfe you will like Nearly Nero very much. And even if you haven't read the Wolfe Books there are plenty of comparisons to satisfy your curiosity and keep you reading. Each story is different and I enjoyed the characters very much.
I had forgotten how well Mary Roberts Rhinehart puts her mysteries together. The opening page pulls you in and sets the flow. The Era she is writing in is Downton Abbey's time frame of plastic collars and alligator suitcases. The Women are Ladies even if they are scheming and old fashioned words are thrown around like "cur." Still there is a forgotten mystique about the authors who wrote and wove these tales and a charm.
Reading this story, set in another Era, you also get a social history lesson. I can spend hours just listening to the slang, savoring the descriptions of costume. As I am a train aficionado I also loved the lurid and inconvenient train trips during this murder mystery. There was a particularly amusing description of a horse and buggy ride too. But I will let you discover that for yourself.
When you read this... go into it with the enjoyment of a student in a strange land. Small details and the larger plot are both here and a cast of amusing and somewhat villainous characters. Personally I enjoyed the housekeeper very much as well as several of the side characters. But in the end the mystery stands on good writing and from her time frame Rhinehart was one of the best.
Inspector David Blest has two choices, jump or die. Trapped
aboard a
motor boat with a pistol to his head and the life of his unconscious
companion on the line, he’d better make his decision quick.
On
the trail of the mysterious death of a gentleman in the Senior Buffs
Club, young Inspector Blest is led to a fashionable seaside resort on
the English coast, where the locals appear all too happy to help his
investigation. Things take a turn when Blest meets Judy Wellington, an
apparently sickly young woman desperate to escape her past. But who is
Judy Wellington? What exactly is she running from? And how has Blest
found himself the murderer’s next target?
Margery Allingham, famous for Albert Campion, also wrote serialized stories for Magazines under the name - Maxwell March. While Campion and Black Dudley took off the serials were put together and formed three Novels. And that is the thing about Allingham, no matter what name she wrote under, the plots build nicely and are page turners. They are filled out by Characters that add interest and that I wanted to spend time with.
From the very first page, I was lost under the old spell of the Golden Age of Writers. The Characters are likeable and sometimes hold a certain naivete. The Inspectors are tough and intelligent. This mystery has a rainy night...cozy reading feel to it. I turned pages so fast,that I was through with the book, about the same time I am halfway through others.
The Characters include an intelligent Inspector, a sickly, young Woman who holds the key to a mystery and a dying, Con Man. Margery Allingham is a great, master builder of the eccentric- particularly in people. But what may be the cream of her writing is that she has preserved a certain way of life in England where the "whodunit" lives forever...like Agatha Christie, Allingham needs to be read and savored for the charm her books have.
I really enjoy this series. Susan Boyer has the dialect of the South down just fine with her newest addition. Her Liz Talbot series is a fine and dandy Mystery. I defy anyone to stop reading in the opening Chapter when Tammy Sue sets fire to her Husband's Mustang, over his cheating, and a body is discovered. Half of the island is there to witness it. 
