Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

The Last Party is also an e book bargain

Are you a person who finds getting on an airplane to be an adventure or are you a nervous flyer? Either personality type may well be riveted by this thriller in which much of the action centers on a long haul flight from London to Sydney (20 hours in the air!). In some ways, the story is a take on a locked room mystery in that much of the action is confined to the plane and the stories of its passengers and crew. However, there is also backstory so some time is spent on the ground and with other characters.

The book’s protagonist, Mina, is on the flight when…a note is given to her. What does it say? How will it influence what she does? In order for there not to be spoilers, it is not possible to say more except that this is a story that may well put readers on the edges of their seats.

My only quibble with this story is that I did not absolutely love some of the characters and I don’t just mean the “bad” ones.. I do, though, admire Ms. Mackinstosh’s imagination and storytelling ability. Readers, remember that this is fiction!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

#GoodCompany #NetGalley

Good Company is an absorbing novel that follows four intertwined lives and the lives of those around them. The title refers to an acting company in which some of the protagonists are involved and, of course, also could refer to who enjoys spending time with whom.

Flora and Margot met when they were both starting their careers. They know a good deal about one another but there is also at least one big secret waiting to be revealed. Margot, for much of the novel, is a doctor on a long running tv series, while Flora has opted to spend more of her time doing voice overs so that she can spend more time with her precious daughter Ruby.

Flora is married to Julian an actor and one of the company managers. Margot is married to David. His medical career was upended and reinvented.

The novel covers a number of years and moves back and forth seamlessly. The story unfolds on both coasts and also in Europe for a bit.

As the blurbs for this book note, Julian’s wedding ring takes on a great deal of importance in the novel. Its history and whereabouts becomes a theme that involves the primary characters.

This novel offers a well told story and nuanced characters. The lives of the actors, their choices and stresses, feel authentic. I definitely recommend this title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

A Novel

by Brenda Novak

The Bookstore at the Beach is the second title that I have read by Ms. Novak, following her earlier novel, One Perfect Summer. As was true of that book, this is a long (448 pages) story that is filled with plot and character.

Readers follow and get to know the lives, struggles and joys of three generations of women from one family. The oldest is Mary. She runs a bookstore in a small town and leads a fairly insular life. Mary is not a risk taker. Why? What happened to her in the past that formed her attitudes and character? No spoilers so you have to read the book to find out.

Next up is Autumn, Mary’s daughter. She has come with her two children to spend time with Mary over the summer. Readers learn early on that Autumn’s husband has been missing for nineteen months, most likely related to his travel in Ukraine. Should Autumn hold on to hope that he will come back or…should she again become involved with her high school crush who lives in the town where Autumn is summering?

Finally there is Taylor, Autumn’s daughter. She was feeling numb and engaged in sexual activity without using birth control. Is she pregnant? If yes, how will this define her life? There is also a strong plot line about Taylor’s friendship with Sierra as Taylor wonders if she is in love with her.

The author holds onto all of the many plot strands without losing any of them. She tells a story that has some depth and that held my interest.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

An e book bargain for 10 May 2024

by Camilla Trinchieri

This is the third novel in a series that features ex-cop Nico who has moved to a small Italian town following the death of his beloved wife. Over the course of the stories, he has established himself in his new community.

Nico works at a relative’s restaurant for the joy and focus that it offers. He also helps the police in some of their murder cases. Given his avocations, readers get to know police officers, Nico’s family and friends, and some eccentric locals as they experience the story. Readers are also treated to many descriptions of cooking and foods. There is even a bit of romance. All of this makes me pretty certain that readers who enjoy the novels of Donna Leon will also want to read these stories.

This time, an elderly bartender is murdered. Was it because of his family land, his being gay, his connection to hotel owner Laura, or something else entirely? To what extent, will a tragedy in Laura’s past play into the story? All will, of course, eventually be revealed.

This book can be read as a standalone or readers may want to begin at the beginning. Either way, this leisurely paced series is one to savor.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub Date 13 Sep 2022

An e book bargain for 10 May 2024

#TheSunsetYearsofAgnesSharp #NetGalley

Older characters and detectives are having a moment in the mystery genre. It may have begun with Richard Osman and Robert Thorogood has also followed this path. In this novel, we have the older characters created by Ms. Swann in this title that was originally published in German.

A number of older folks live together. Referred to as hippies, they have their limitations.  Somehow they manage the indignities of aging. However, when two murders occur will they be able to manage…and to solve the cases?

I wanted to like this book based on all I had heard but I just found it to be okay. An issue for me was that I did not especially care for the characters who were living at Sunset Hall. I did love the illustrations and the tortoise though.

Note the following though so don’t just go by me.

A Washington Post Best Mystery Novel of 2023
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
Book Riot Most Anticipated Beach Reads of 2023
A LibraryReads August Bonus Pick

Many thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press/Soho Crime for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 29 August 2024

Four stars****

This book will absolutely delight cozy mystery fans and royal watchers. What a premise it is to have Queen Elizabeth discreetly investigating murder and mayhem. She may well become many readers favorite amateur sleuth.

In this third in the series, the Queen is in Norfolk for the festive December holidays. However, all is not well. A hand has turned up on the beach. The hand sports a specific signet ring which leads the Queen to name the owner of this body part. No, She is not squeamish. What happened? Who was responsible? Will justice be achieved?

The mystery itself is well done although I confess that, at times, I had a bit of trouble keeping all of the characters distinct in my memory. But, that did not pose any major difficulties and I very much enjoyed this book.

The delight of this novel lies in the insider feel that Bennett gives readers into royal life. The house and grounds of Sandringham feel accurately described as do events such as Boxing Day shoots and the exchange of gag gifts.

At Sandringham with the Queen are Anne, Charles, Beatrice, Phillip, Harry and others. No William however as he and Kate are at the Middletons. Every one is made to feel very real with personalities that reflect the sense that readers may already have of them.

As was true in the earlier titles in the series, 6 foot tall, Black, Rozie, the Queen’s APS, make her appearance. She is such a fun character.

I highly recommend this one. Readers who have not read the other books in the series will be fine here but many will want to go back to the first two just for the fun of it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.

From the Publisher

A Novel

by Nina de Gramont

An e book bargain for 10 May 2024

Avid readers of Agatha Christie’s novels may well know that the famous author herself was the star/subject of one of her greatest mysteries. Why did Mrs. Christie disappear for all those days? It is not really a spoiler to say that she learned that Archie was having an affair. Still, where did she go? What made Archie seem so appealing to two very different women?

In addition to that mystery, who was the other woman? What was her story? Can readers empathize with her?

Learn more about both women in this historical fiction title. Nina de Gramont tells her story well. She makes Nan’s story believable and this is more her story than Agatha’s.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub Date 01 Feb 2022

From the Publisher

Death Comes to Marlow is the next in a series, following on The Marlow Murder Club. I enjoyed this title even more than that first book. The author knows how to tell a story; he is also known for TV’s Death in Paradise.

Anyone who enjoys Richard Osman’s series is sure to enjoy spending time with Judith, Becks and Susie. They help the police and specifically Tanika to solve another case in these pages.

Judith is in her 70s and deliberately eccentric. Susie finds it hard not to blurt and has a dog walking business, while Becks is married to the local vicar but…who is she seeing now?

One day, a man named Sir Peter invites Judith to his posh engagement party. He has had an intimation that he will be murdered and indeed he is. There are many suspects in the pages that follow, including his son and daughter, and his new fiancee, or is it someone else?

The plot just rattles along and I liked spending time with Judith and Co. I highly recommend this title to those who enjoy cozy mysteries and women of a certain age. I am eager for the next book by this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Five Stars

And, this just in from PBS

New Series: The Marlow Murder Club

A four-part adaptation of Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Murder Club is coming to MASTERPIECE! Find out all about the new mystery starring Downton Abbey and Home Fires favorite Samantha Bond as  retired archaeologist Judith Potts, Jo Martin (Doctor Who) as local dog-walker and empty-nester Suzie, and Cara Horgan (The Sandman, Traitors) as unfulfilled vicar’s wife Becks.

FIND OUT

A Novel

by Robert Thorogood

An e book bargain for 10 May 2024

Readers who devoured Richard Osman’s two mysteries are pretty sure to enjoy The Marlow Murder Club. It has many similar good eccentricities while telling its own story.

As in Osman’s novels, our woman on the scene is a pensioner. Eccentric Judith Potts is in her seventies. She may be a little too fond of whisky. She sets crossword puzzles to earn money, lives in an inherited property and observes everything around her. She is also intrepid.

One night Judith hears a shot. Her neighbor Stefan is dead. It is quickly established that Stefan was murdered. His character is less clear; there are those who saw him as a good and kind man and others who did not. What was the nature of his association/relationship with an antiques business and Elliott, its proprietor? How, if at all, is Stefan’s death connected to another victim, a well-liked taxi driver named Iqbal? And, what about the people Judith gets to know along the way? There are a mysterious redhead, a dog walker and a vicar’s wife among others. It all crescendos in a satisfying story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 03 May 2022

A Novel of World War II

by Madeline Martin

An e book bargain for 10 May 2024

Pub Date 06 Apr 2021

As soon as I saw the title of this book, I wanted to read it. The magic word, of course, was bookshop. I also found the cover to be very appealing. So, I initially judged this one by its cover. That said, I wasn’t’ disappointed.

This novel’s protagonist, Grace, is a young woman who recently lost her mother. Along with her best friend, Viv, she moves to London to stay with a family friend. The two arrive only to have war declared not long after. Viv enters one of the women’s units while Grace remains with her mother’s friend. She takes a position in a bookshop and the shop is also a character in the book.

This story points out the importance of literature. In a lovely scene, Grace goes underground during a bombing raid where she begins reading Middlemarch to those who are stuck in the shelter over night. Those stuck there look forward to additional chapters when the next call to go underground comes.

Grace organized the bookshop and develops a relationship with its curmudgeonly owner. She studies way to make the shop successful and, for example, advertises buying books to read while unable to sleep in one’s beds due to the bombings.

The author does a good job of portraying wartime Britain. There are losses of people, property, usual foods, a way of life. There are also the joys of friendship, love, books and connection.

There are so many WWII set novels being written now. My theory is that, awful as the war was, it is more reassuring to look back at that time than our current one. For all of the suffering, the reader knows that eventually Britain will declare victory.

I think that this title is worth reading. Let me know what you think!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.