Review: Shakedown by Newt Gingrich and Pete Earley

Shakedown (Mayberry & Garrett, Book #2)

by Newt Gingrich

Release Date: March 24th 2020

2020 Broadside Books

Hardcover Edition; 368 Pages

ISBN: 978-0062860194

ASIN: B07VK9CZS9

Genre: Fiction / Thriller

Source: Review copy from publisher

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary

When a former Iranian scientist is assassinated in Washington, D.C., the former counterintelligence agent and ex-SEAL are pulled back into the world of clandestine ops—and the fate of the entire East Coast is at stake. Joining ranks with a heralded Mossad agent, Mayberry and Garrett pursue an international killer whose motives remain a mystery.

 

But he isn’t the only threat. They uncover another planned attack—with too many potential enemies to track down and too little time. When Iran offers to help, the already tense political situation gets more complicated. Operating outside official channels, maneuvering between enemy powers, the two know they must tread carefully to prevent an international incident and keep themselves alive. 

My Thoughts

Shakedown was actually pretty good.  I really wasn't sure what to expect, but I did enjoy a couple of his non-fiction books (mostly historical non-fiction) so I thought, Why not?  Especially when I saw he collaborated with Pete Earley, of whom I am a huge fan.  This book was entertaining, and included some current political strife, but it did have some slow moments in it where I did have to put the book down for a while and pick up something else.

First of all, while I don't have a problem with multiple POV, I do think it can be overused and take away from the tension of a book.  And I do feel this is exactly what happened in this one.  Sometimes focusing on just one character (or two or three) and following their journeys, even if it is confusing and you have no idea what is happening, builds up tension and suspense.  Flipping back and forth through EVERY POV really deflated the tension for me as there was no guesswork involved.as you knew exactly what was happening. That made is really predictable and I don't like predictable.  

 

The plot itself was interesting, and I definitely liked the use of modern day politicking in this book, especially between old school and new school technology.  That seems to be a common topic in suspense novels lately, whether technology is better than old school spying, and I am enjoying the debate that is going on.  Where do I sit on this one? I think there is room for both as I feel that technology can never replace gut feeling and intuition of seeing things for yourself and not through a lens.  Social interaction will always be important, in my view.  Some of the plot was a bit far-fetched for me though, which is why I gave it the rating I did, so I just went along for the ride and enjoyed it for what it is, a thriller.

 

I like the development of the relationship between Garrett and Mayberry, and I really liked how they supported one another.  Mayberry was nursing a possible career-ending injury and I liked how Garrett was trying to show her that her career can follow a different path from the one she was expecting and still be highly useful in her job.  I think it's important for books to show the negative effects of these jobs and the mental stress that people in these positions go through to protect us from dangers of which we are not even aware half the time.  One of my favourite scenes in this book was Garrett's interactions with the homeless man in front of his building and how he went out of his way to help him.  Such a nice touch in this book.  

 

Verdict

Shakedown had an interesting, if not necessarily believable, plot, and I definitely liked Mayberry and Garrett as main characters.  I do wish more of the focus was on them and not the many multiple POV that kind of take away from the overall suspense of the book.  How much influence Pete Earley had on this book is hard to say, but I definitely recognize his style of writing in this book.  Maybe it's time Earley wrote more of his own thriller/suspense series too? I do recommend this book, and I will definitely pick up the next book in this series.

 

 

 

 

Review: One by One by Ruth Ware

One by One

by Ruth Ware

Release Date: September 8th 2020

2020 Scout Press

Softcover Edition: 372 Pages

ISBN: 978-1501188817

ASIN: B084G9Z5C3

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

1.5 / 5 Stars

Summary

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

 

My Thoughts

I went into One by One with higher expectations simply because I had enjoyed The Death of Mrs. Westaway, and was hoping this book was similar, in writing style, to that one. Unfortunately, this was not the case; I slugged through this one but really it should have been a DNF for me.

 

**Warning: Spoilers ahead**

 

First of all, on a positive note, I loved the location and the setting.  As an avid skier, put me in a cozy chalet surrounded by mountains and snow and you have me hooked.  However, this is where my first problem arises with this book.  As an avid skier who has been skiing for a long time, there is absolutely no way a beginner skier would be able to learn enough in one morning to be able to handle a blue hill in these conditions. This is skiing in the French Alps, where you need to take a lift to get to the chalet. This may work on someone who has never skied, or who has only skied small mountains, but when you have skied much bigger mountains and more difficult terrain, we DON'T BUY IT.  Second, when a hill closes, so does the lift.  Any avid skier would know this.  Unless they magically flew up the hill, one scenario would never happen.  They don't keep a lift running if the hill is closed; I have never seen that happen. Which now takes me to the 'gripping chase down the mountain'.  I actually chuckled at the descriptions of that chase.  Not at the death, but over the descriptions.  If you are a skier, when you read that scene, you will understand why.  

Problem #2: The characters. I knew pretty much from the first page who the killer was.  This wasn't a problem of too many characters, this was a problem of an author having too many characters and not using her skill to develop them wisely or not being able to keep track of them all.  There was even a couple of times when the names were wrong in the middle of a conversation and I had to backtrack to take a look and see if I| missed something.  I think if the narrative had been told from one perspective, it would have been a stronger book, but there was absolutely nothing going for one of the narrators and she brought the whole story down. Whiny, annoying as anything, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why she was even there.  The reason the author gave was so lame it made me smirk.  

Problem #3: The plot. Boring, boring, boring.  Sorry, I hate writing so many negative things in a review, but other than the setting, there really wasn't a lot of positives in this book.  But the story line took forever to get going, there was so much talk about this app, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why anyone would even want to purchase this thing.  It had something to do with listening in on playlists of the rich and famous so you could listen to what they were listening to.  Seriously, who cares? It's not the app that was the problem, it was all the senseless info dump that was so unnecessary to the plot and was boring.  Even the ending dragged on and on, and I remember thinking, There are still 4 chapters left? Really? 

Verdict

One by One was a huge disappointment. The murderer was obvious from the beginning, the plot was boring, the characters were not developed and we didn't really get to know any of them as the author was more focused on how many followers they had, and the ski scenes drove me nuts.  I feel really sad about this as there was huge potential in this book. Definitely not a book I would recommend. 

 

 

Review: Lady Rights a Wrong by Eliza Casey

Lady Rights a Wrong (Manor Cat Mystery, Book #2)

by Eliza Casey

Release Date: June 2nd 2020

2020 Berkley

Kindle Edition; 325 Pages

ISBN: 978-1984803900

ASIN: B07Y7NP4FK

Genre: Fiction / Cozy Mystery / Historical

Source: Review copy from publisher

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary

Lady Cecilia of Danby Hall feels adrift. She couldn’t be less interested in helping to plan her brother’s upcoming wedding, nor finding a husband herself. Instead, what excites her most is the Woman’s Suffrage Union meeting she has just attended.

Inspired by the famous and charismatic leader of the group, Mrs. Amelia Price, Cecilia is eager to join the Union—if she can hide it from her parents, that is. But when Mrs. Price is found dead at the foot of the stairs of her home, her Votes for Women sash torn away, Cecilia knows she must attend to a more urgent matter: finding the killer. With the help of her lady’s maid Jane and intelligent cat Jack, she hopes to play her part in earning women’s equality by stopping the Union’s dangerous foe.

 

My Thoughts

Lady Rights a Wrong is the second entry in the Manor Cat Mystery series, and I definitely liked this entry more than I liked the first one.  The first one wasn't bad by any means, but I think this one was better written and the characters felt more fleshed out with developing quirks that are making them a lot more interesting.  

I really enjoy Cecilia as a main character as she is intelligent and quick-witted, but somewhat bored doing 'lady' things that are expected of her.  After her adventures in the first book, she is no longer satisfied with the mundane tasks of a lady, and is looking for something more fulfilling and challenging; she is just not interested in getting married and becoming lady of the manor, so to speak.  The author did have this tendency to dwell on Cecilia's station and lack of opportunities for women quite a bit, which took away from the overall story at times as it came across as a bit preachy.  I don't have objections to reflections on this type of thing, but it was constant, and I think a tad overdone.  I often think an author can get the same message across through actions and storytelling without so much reflection.  Anyhow, Cecelia was a likeable character, often confused about her place in the world, wanting to experience the world, but caught in a web of expectations for women.  Because of this, she becomes fascinated by the suffragette movement.  And I can see the appeal of this movement for her.

And while I enjoyed Jane as a character, I did feel like the relationship between Cecilia and Jane was a stretch simply because a lady's maid would have been restricted in her freedoms a bit more than in this book.  While Cecilia could depend on Jane quite a bit, and have affection for her, there would definitely be a line between them that neither would be allowed to cross.  

The mystery itself was amusing, but it did take a long time for the mystery to really present itself, and it did get a bit slow in the middle.  There were a lot of suspects, but not too hard to figure out if you pay attention.  I was glad to see the cat actually play a role in this one though.

Verdict

Lady Rights a Wrong is an enjoyable historical mystery with the suffragette movement front and center this time.  The author highlights some of the tensions that existed within the movement during this time period as well as the traditional roles of women and their struggles to free themselves from those roles.  I enjoyed the characters as they were better fleshed out than in the first book. And while the mystery was amusing, I did think it lacked depth and punch.  Will I read the next book in this series? Yes, I believe so as there was enough development from the first book to this one that I am curious to see what the author will do next. 

Review: The Split by Sharon Bolton

The Split
by Sharon Bolton

Release Date: April 28th 2020

2020 Minotaur Books

Hardcover Edition; 382 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250300058

ASIN: B07S6J6T4N

Genre: Fiction / Psychological

Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary

The remote Antarctic island of South Georgia is about to send off its last boat of the summer – which signifies safety to resident glaciologist Felicity Lloyd.

Felicity lives in fear – fear that her ex-husband Freddie will find her, even out here. She took a job on this isolated island to hide from him, but now that he's out of prison, having served a term for murder, she knows he won’t give up until he finds her.

But a doctor delving into the background of Felicity and Freddie's relationship, back in Cambridge, learns that Felicity has been on the edge for a long time. Heading to South Georgia himself to try and get to her first is the only way he can think of to help her.

 

My Thoughts

The Split is a standalone novel by one of my favourite psychological mystery writers, and while it was very well written, there just seemed to be something missing from this one that captivated my attention 

so absolutely in her Lacey Flint series. And while I was expecting there to be a different feel to the novel, I just couldn't seem to empathize or connect with the characters like I usually do. Bolton's books are typically dark, full of twists and turns, and often leave me guessing the truth throughout, often incorrectly.  This one was predictable right from the get-go, and took away some of the enjoyment I usually get from the twisted and complicated plot lines.

 

The book was separated into four parts, the first part on South Georgia Island, where we meet Felicity and learn about her anxiety over the tourists arriving in such a remote spot as it seems like she is on the run from someone.  I loved the atmospheric setting during this part and couldn't get enough descriptions of the glaciers and the environment, especially as I didn't know you could visit like that.  It was enough to send me to Google and add it to my bucket list of places to visit once COVID finally ends and travelling becomes a normal part of society again.  However, I do have to admit that the first part was not overly exciting in terms of mystery or even with regards to setting up set mystery.  

 

Parts two and three take place earlier and you learn more about how and why Felicity is actually in such a remote spot.  The action picks up somewhat here, and while it is still atmospheric (it is Cambridge, after all), it was extremely predictable.  Rather than stringing the reader along, she might as well have just told the reader straight out what illness Felicity was suffering from, it was that easy to figure out.  The reader spends the majority of this part dealing with a psychologist and learning about Felicity's past and her marriage.  I felt a bit uncomfortable with the relationship between Felicity and her psychologist as he definitely crossed some lines he should not have crossed, but the author just sort of brushed it off.  I'm not opposed to relationships beginning between a client and a psychologist, but not when he is treating her and has to sign off on her mental health for her to take an important job.  Can we say unethical?

 

The last part of the book takes us back to South Georgia Island.  I did find this last part to be the most interesting and it's too bad the rest of the book didn't have the intensity of this section as it would have been more exciting otherwise.  

 

Verdict

The Split didn't quite do it for me, and as I am a huge fan of her other books, this was a bit sad.  I did struggle to get through the middle sections, and I really felt like I was reading a completely different author.  Bolton can typically write a gripping story, one that grabs your attention from the beginning and doesn't let go until the end, with twists and turns that tear at your gut.  Unfortunately, this one didn't have much of that.  A slow start, a fairly predictable plot, and a lack of intensity made this one a tough go. I would highly suggest you read this one for yourself however, and judge it yourself.  Will I read another book by this author?  Oh, yes, absolutely.    

Review: How to Disappear Completely by Ali Standish

How to Disappear Completely

by Ali Standish

Release Date: April 28th 2020

2020 HarperCollins

Hardcover Edition; 384 Pages

ISBN: 978-0062893284

ASIN: B07R6MNNKR

Genre: Fiction / Juvenile / Contemporary

Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary

While her grandmother was alive, Emma’s world was filled with enchantment. But now Gram is gone, and suddenly strange spots are appearing on Emma’s skin. Soon, she’s diagnosed with vitiligo—a condition that makes patches of her skin lose their color—and the magic in her world is suddenly replaced with school bullies and doctor appointments.

But when Emma writes one last story in the journal she shared with Gram, something strange happens. Someone writes back to her, just like Gram used to. Who’s writing to Emma? And just what is her story going to be, now that everything is so different?

 

 

My Thoughts

How to Disappear Completely is one of those books that I appreciate as I didn't really know what to expect going into it, but enjoyed it so much just because I didn't know much about it.  Emma is a 7th grader who recently lost her grandmother and is grieving her loss.  She spends her time escaping to their special spots, one spot where they shared special stories with each other, and Emma decides to write one last story.  To her surprise, she gets a response.  And the story takes off from there.  I was pleasantly surprised by the character developments, the special bonds that grew between these characters, and the story itself.  

 

Emma was a great character.  And I just didn't identify with her because we share the same passion for books.  I think I enjoy these books as it brings back that magical time of being twelve years old again and at my age, it is really easy to forget.  And when you throw in a medical condition that affects your skin, this can be quite traumatizing for a pre-adolescent girl.  Emma discovers these white spots on her skin at her grandmother's funeral and doesn't know what they are.  However, they soon spread and can't be overlooked.  She is soon diagnosed with vtiligo and has to now navigate a world where people stare at her as the spots can not longer be covered up.  I thought the author treated the issue with compassion and thoughtfulness for Emma's feelings and concerns as well as highlighted the peer issues she would face. Vitiligo is non-contagious but the author was able to highlight how people can be afraid of things they do not know, which can cause problems for people and set up situations for bullies to come forward.  This story did not steer away from these issues, for which I am glad, as that would be fake in this world we live in.  However, the author did manage to evoke feelings of empathy in me even towards the bullies as they behaved the way they did through misunderstanding and not always because they were mean.  There were definitely a lot of thought-provoking issues in this book. 

 

The secondary characters were just as interesting as Emma and I was particularly interested in the relationship between Emma and her older sister whom she thought was so perfect.  Her sister was in high school and was dealing with applications for universities and it was sweet how they learned about each other through Emma's diagnosis and bonded.  It's a good lesson that not everything is as it seems and nobody is perfect.  And misunderstandings often happens because of assumptions.   

Verdict

How to Disappear Completely is a beautifully written story. of friendship, misunderstandings, grief, self-esteem, and family.  And while I appreciated the descriptions of Emma's learning to accept herself as someone with vitiligo and to use that as a source of strength, I wasn't as crazy about the 'fantasy' elements in this book.  I get that they are being used more as metaphors for her life, and the book is written for juvenile readers, but that wasn't my problem with these elements, they just felt like they didn't quite mesh with the rest of the story, that's all.  Otherwise, I loved this book and enjoyed Emma's journey of acceptance.  Highly recommended. 

Review: A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

A Murderous Relation (Veronica Speedwell, Book #5)

by Deanna Raybourn

Release Date: March 10th 2020

2020 Berkley

Kindle Edition; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-0451490766

ASIN: B07T51QLH8

Genre: Fiction / Historical / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary

Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian colleague Stoker are asked by Lady Wellingtonia Beauclerk to help with a potential scandal so explosive it threatens to rock the monarchy. Prince Albert Victor is a regular visitor to the most exclusive private club in London, known as the Club de l'Etoile, and the proprietess, Madame Aurore, has received an expensive gift that can be traced back to the prince. Lady Wellie would like Veronica and Stoker to retrieve the jewel from the club before scandal can break.

Worse yet, London is gripped by hysteria in the autumn of 1888, terrorized by what would become the most notorious and elusive serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper--and Lady Wellie suspects the prince may be responsible.

Veronica and Stoker reluctantly agree to go undercover at Madame Aurore's high class brothel, where another body soon turns up. Many secrets are swirling around Veronica and the royal family--and it's up to Veronica and Stoker to find the truth, before it's too late for all of them.

 

My Thoughts

A Murderous Relation is the latest entry in the Veronica Speedwell series and I enjoyed parts of it.  However, the combination of the setting, the mystery, and the characters is what truly made this series unique, and while the characters were as interesting as always, the mystery fell flat for me.  Unfortunately, the  mention of Jack the Ripper actually did the book more harm than good as it didn't really feature in this book other than I think to try to draw people into reading it. Not a big fan of commercial manipulation being used in this way.

 

Okay, I was finally ready for some interesting scenes between Veronica and Stoker, but all the author did was dance around their relationship; unfortunately, this left me with more of a feeling of negativity towards their developing personalities rather than something positive and I was ready to set them up with couples counselling.  I know authors often use this trope to keep readers on the tip of their toes in a 'will they, won't they' game, but as a reader, it's extremely frustrating.  It's interesting for a while, but it does eventually get old, fast.  

 

That being said though, I was thrilled that Veronica got to spend time with her brother.  If you are not familiar with the stories, I won't spoil it for you, but while her brother is incredibly naive and a bit thoughtless, he is definitely earnest and means well.  I was surprised to find myself really liking his character and feeling sorry for him.

 

This particular mystery runs parallel to the Jack the Ripper trauma and while it definitely impacts the story, it is not about the story, contrary to the synopsis.  I definitely thought there would be more interaction between the two cases but unfortunately, there was not and I think this is one of the problems with this particular entry in this series.  Things started off pretty well in the beginning of the book, and I was hoping that sentiment would hold out for the rest of the book as the previous instalment had a few plot holes to complete.  Unfortunately, at least for me, it went in a completely different direction than what I expected, almost going back to earlier instalments, which felt more like a rehash of an earlier book that I thought had been completed.   I am sincerely hoping this plot is now finally complete and new plot developments can finally be worked on and completed.  

Verdict

A Murderous Relation had its moments that were definitely interesting, but I was not a fan of  the mystery as it seems like its become more plot convenience than plot development.  Furthermore, I am not a fan of the relationship dance over multiple books as it just becomes annoying after a while.  Either get on with it or get on with the story development.  However, I am not quite ready to give up on this series quite yet, so I will read the next book in this series and hope that we return to the interesting mysteries of the first three books.  As for these last two, I will leave that up to you to decide. 

Review: The House of Whispers by Laura Purcell

The House of Whispers

by Laura Purcell

Release Date: June 9th 2020

2020 Penguin Group

Softcover Edition; 336 Pages

ISBN: 978-0143135531

ASIN: B0818ZPHDJ

Genre: Fiction / Gothic

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

2 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Consumption has ravaged Louise Pinecroft's family, leaving her and her father alone and heartbroken. But Dr Pinecroft has plans for a revolutionary experiment: convinced that sea air will prove to be the cure his wife and children needed, he arranges to house a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease in the cliffs beneath his new Cornish home. While he devotes himself to his controversial medical trials, Louise finds herself increasingly discomfited by the strange tales her new maid tells of the fairies that hunt the land, searching for those they can steal away to their realm.

Forty years later, Hester Why arrives at Morvoren House to take up a position as nurse to the now partially paralysed and almost entirely mute Miss Pinecroft. Hester has fled to Cornwall to try and escape her past, but surrounded by superstitious staff enacting bizarre rituals, she soon discovers that her new home may be just as dangerous as her last.

 

My Thoughts

The House of Whispers, also released as Bone China, is the latest Gothic book by Laura Purcell.  While I enjoyed her previous book, The Silent Companions, I was not a big fan of some of her other work, and this book, despite its sweeping timeline and its eerie setting, left a lot to be desired.  The author tried very hard to convey this eerie atmosphere with the isolated house, the dark secrets, the 'adopted' strange daughter, the mysterious past, and the strange behaviour of its owner, but the whole thing was a mishmash of nothing and I only finished it because I..., and I hesitate to say 'was curious, wanted to see how the author was going to pull it all together.  And I'll be honest in admitting it just didn't work for me.

 

What I did like: The atmosphere and the writing.  I will admit this author can write really well and create an atmospheric story.  She was able to take a lot of the local folklore and weave it into her story and I did find that part of it quite interesting.  Typically, her work will take this atmosphere and weave it around the tensions and personalities of her characters to create an interesting story line and lots of tension.  However, in this book, the characters were quite weak and I didn't really enjoy the story line as I found it to be quite disjointed and by the midpoint of the book, I was still searching for the whole point of the book.  Dual timelines have never bothered me, but for the life of me, I just couldn't figure out the point of them in this book.  The way it was done left me feeling uncertain as to which person the author wanted me to focus on and therefore, neither story line felt developed.  Personally, I would have focused on Hester, developed her story line, give her a personality, and used that amazing atmosphere to really create something interesting and mysterious.  Unfortunately, the way it was done became a crutch that I just couldn't get through.  

 

As for the characters, they were definitely under-developed.  I personally didn't like Hester as a character, but if more time had been devoted to her story line, perhaps I would have been able to empathize with her a little bit more.  However, she came across as so needy and selfish, trying to ensure her mistresses really needed her to the point of being obsessive and while I think I was supposed to be sympathetic, it actually turned me right off her character.  While the author described her being strong during a time period where women were not treated equally to men, she certainly didn't come across that way.  Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with a character being unlikable, but there usually is a reason for it, whether through a character's thoughts, deeds, actions, and so on, but there was really nothing given to the reader for her behaviours.

 

Verdict

The House of Whispers, as a whole, did not work for me.  I hated the ending simply because the author did not pull all the plot lines together and simply left them creating a disjointed mess at the end.  I don't have a problem with ambiguous endings, however I do have a problem with endings that are left so loose you can't find the threads floating in the wind.  And if you are going to create a spooky atmosphere, you really need to use it and exploit it, not use familiar tropes to do so, especially ones that don't develop the plot or the characters.  As usual however, I always encourage people to read a book and judge it for themselves, and while I am really sad to say it, I think it may be quite a while before I read another book by this author.

 

Review: The Grim Reader by Kate Carlisle

The Grim Reader (Bibliophile Mystery, Book #4)

by Kate Carlisle

Release Date: June 22nd 2020

2020 Berkley/Penguin Publishing House

Kindle Edition; 336 Pages

ISBN: 978-0451491435

ASIN: B07XNG23QN

Genre: Fiction / Cozy mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary

Brooklyn and her new hunky husband, Derek, are excited to be guests at Dharma’s first annual Book Festival. The entire town is involved and Brooklyn’s mom Rebecca is taking charge. In addition to all of her other event related duties, she’s got Brooklyn doing rare book appraisals and is also staging Little Women, the musical to delight the festival goers. If that wasn’t enough, she and Meg—Derek’s mom—will have a booth where they read palms and tarot cards.

Brooklyn couldn’t be prouder of her mom’s do-it-all attitude so when a greedy local businessman who seems intent on destroying Dharma starts harassing Rebecca, Brooklyn is ready to take him down. Rebecca is able to hold her own with the nasty jerk until one of her fellow festival committee members is brutally murdered and the money for the festival seems to have vanished into thin air. 

Things get even more personal when one of Brooklyn’s nearest and dearest is nearly run down in cold blood. Brooklyn and Derek go into attack mode and the pressure is on to catch a spineless killer before they find themselves skipping the festival for a funeral.

 

My Thoughts

The Grim Reader is the fourteenth instalment in the Bibliophile Mystery series, and I will admit right off the top here that I am so glad that Brooklyn and Derek are back to normal in this one.  I wasn't a big fan of the previous book which made me sad as I have really enjoyed this series; I just felt like there was something off about the two of them as they didn't behave as they normally did and it drove me crazy.  People do not change that much after they get married.  So I was really hoping things were back to normal in this book, and happily, they were.

 

What I really enjoyed about this book is the setting.  I love Dharma and have always enjoyed every visit Brooklyn has made to this place; there are just so many interesting people to meet and get to know better that I always felt a little cheated when there were only snippets here and there.  So, to have the entire book set in Dharma was wonderful.  And to be there in the midst of planning for a book festival, even better.  

 

Brooklyn's mother, Rebecca, is in charge of the book festival, and naturally things are far from smooth.  Throw in a rare edition of Little Women, a belligerent wine owner who has ambitions to take over other wineries, a committee member who whines over everything, a committee member who may not be what he seems, and a few other mysteries, and now you have a whole lot of interesting developments happening in a town that will soon be hosting thousands of people.  

 

The action moved fairly easily, but not all that quickly. I did find it predictable and it was easy to figure out the culprit.  I will admit that I did find Derek and Brooklyn to be a bit 'quiet' in this book and not as much in the centre of things; I mean, Brooklyn didn't even find the body this time.  However, the author has an easy writing style that makes you want to visit Dharma and the people who live there, she makes you care about them.  I have always enjoyed the relationships that have developed over these books and it is always fun to revisit characters who appeared in previous books.

 

Verdict

The Grim Reader is very enjoyable, and if you enjoy wine and books then you will definitely enjoy this book.  While you can read this as a standalone, I do recommend that you start from the beginning as the author writes in such a way that assumes you have read the earlier novels.  And while I find the mysteries are getting easier and more predictable, they are still fun and I do enjoy them a lot.  At least they are believable.  And as I've already mentioned, I love the community and the characters in Dharma, so I am happy to see that we will back there again and again.  Looking forward to the next instalment.