Tag: amateur sleuths

REVIEW: The Night in Question by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

REVIEW: The Night in Question by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

Posted on by Jaymie

I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will release on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.]

Summary

Alice and Iris and their friends are with everyone who’s anyone at the Sadie Hawkins dance at Levy Castle. The history of the castle – including the mysterious death of movie star Mona Moody – is something Castle Cove takes very seriously. But two of Alice’s old friends, Kennedy and Park, seem more concerned with contemporary drama rather than history. They have a very public fight in the middle of the dance.

Then there’s the screaming.
The blood.
Kennedy is gravely injured. Park runs.
The students are trapped at the Castle due to a storm-caused mudslide – and the authorities struggle to get there.

It’s like one of Alice’s Agatha Christie novels! While Kennedy is soon taken to the hospital, and the students can finally leave the Castle, the questions over what really happened aren’t going away any time soon. So Alice, Iris, and their friends start investigating.

Review

I absolutely adored The Agathas when I first read it a year ago. In fact, it was one of my top 10 most favorite reads of 2022. Halfway through the book I was begging the universe to make this a series. I was so excited when I heard there would be a sequel!

This was outstanding! The story blew me right out of the water. Alice and Iris are back, better than ever – with a real friendship with ups and downs but a core connection and loyalty that keeps them together. The mystery is layered, and each piece is solid and meaty on its own. There’s a LOT going on here – and I loved all of it! There are real stakes here, too, which added to the tension and to my enjoyment. There were several moments when I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough.

I blitzed through The Agathas in a day before I started this so I would have the characters fresh in my mind. I am glad I did so I could jump right into this new story.  Newcomers should absolutely start with book 1, if for no other reason than the ending is “spoiled” here in book 2. You’ll be happier if you read these in order. Fans of book one should snap this up immediately – it was terrific! I can’t wait to see what comes in book 3.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!

REVIEW: The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

REVIEW: The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Last summer, Alice returned from Egypt to news that her best friend, Brooke, and her boyfriend, Steve, had “fallen in love” while Alice was out of the country. In her rage and heartbreak, Alice decides to pull an Agatha Christie and disappear. When she returns, her whole town has turned against her for the stunt. She ends up on house arrest.

Back at school in October, Alice is a social outcast. No one will have anything to do with her – except Iris, the tutor Alice’s parents have hired to help her catch up at school. But Iris is only doing it for the money.

But when Brooke goes missing after a Halloween party, and Iris and Alice are among the last people to have seen her before she disappeared,  they team up to look for clues, asking “What would Agatha Christie do?”

Review

This was exceptionally good – a perfect read for me! I loved Alice and Iris. Their individual journeys were engaging and dovetailed nicely with the mystery. I cared about the girls and loved seeing them start to lean on each other. The rest of the crew that helps with the case was great too – I’d love to see more of them.

The mystery is excellent! The pacing was perfect. There were no slow spots and plenty of twists. I loved it! This will be one of my favorite books of 2022.

By the end, I was thinking, “Please be a series. Please be a series.” There are a couple other events the characters could dig into, so I have my fingers crossed. Amazon has the Kindle version listed as book 1, so here’s hoping. I am here for anything these creators want to put out starring these characters.

Mystery fans should run right out and pick this one up. It’s outstanding! (Language, references to sex and domestic violence)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥+++*

♥♥♥♥♥+++ = Best of the best

REVIEW: Read on Arrival by Nora Page

REVIEW: Read on Arrival by Nora Page

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Cleo Watkins is a librarian in Catalpa Springs, Georgia. At seventy-five, there’s not much that flusters her anymore. Except for dead bodies, of course.

In some ways, Dixie Huddleston was Cleo’s arch nemesis. The woman checked the book Luck and Lore out from the library 45 years ago and refused to return it. Oh, she’d tease that she was going to give it back. But she was as bad as Lucy in the comic strips, yanking the football away from Charlie Brown. Whenever Cleo got her hopes up about getting the book back, Dixie would dash them once again.

The story was an oft repeated one around town. In an article about the library reopening after some major repairs, Cleo even mentioned her desire to have the book back by the re-opening. But that didn’t mean she’d kill Dixie! Who would kill someone over an overdue book? To clear her name, Cleo will be sleuthing once again.

Review

Book 2 in the Bookmobile mystery series (not to be confused with the Bookmobile Cat mystery series by Laurie Cass) was great fun. I’m going to have to go back and read the first one, Better Off Read, now.

I loved Cleo! I usually enjoy book or library related stories. But I especially liked this one with a non-traditional sleuth. Cleo is older than most cozy protagonists. And I loved that there was no love triangle in this either. The balance between Cleo’s sleuthing and the time she spent dealing with her library issues was great. The story moved at a good pace and all the pieces tied together nicely.

The mystery was terrific! There were several factors at work in the story besides Dixie’s murder. Cleo had a librarian rival. There were weird omens and threatening notes all over town. And on top of that there were several strong suspects who might have wanted Dixie dead. The solution was a fascinating choice – the author really did a fine job with the whole set up and resolution.

If you are a cozy mystery fan, be sure to check out Cleo and the gang from Catalpa Springs in the Bookmobile Mystery series!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥