Posts Tagged ‘Mystery’
Reading a Kinsey Millhone book is like spending time with a dear friend. She tells you a great tale–all true of course!–and then she leaves. You’re left with disappointment and despair that the visit is over and the tale has ended. It’s even harder to take because you know she won’t be back for awhile. Probably not for another two years!
Sue Grafton has captured my attention with her Alphabet Series since the letter A. I’ve eagerly followed along with Kinsey Millhone as she flits from adventure to adventure. She even discovered her long lost family around the time I discovered mine! So we have a tight bond! Interesting how Kinsey never seems to age much, while I am nearing the age of dirt. Hmmm
V is for Vengeance brings back Kinsey Millhone feisty as ever. Along with her there are a cast of characters you will love and ones you will hate. Grafton has a way of making the bad guys likable and some good guys despicable.
The story begins with Kinsey witnessing a woman shop lifting pajamas and lingerie. Her previous career as a police officer is brought to the surface as she remembers how much shop lifters cost retail businesses. To that end, she reports the criminal to the sales clerk.
Despite being injured in the parking garage when the shop lifter’s accomplice tried to run her down, Kinsey goes about her business. Until she reads that the woman arrested ultimately ended up dead. The police are saying suicide. The woman’s fiance is saying foul play because she was upset but not the type to kill herself. He asks Kinsey to investigate and she does.
Professional criminals, organized crime, romance (none of it Kinsey’s), family loyalties, and friendship are all featured in this can’t-put-down book. Grafton has done well, delivering another addition to the Alphabet Series that I was sorry to see end. Seriously, I cried just a little when I finished because I want more.
Do yourself a favor and read this book. Take the time to savor it. Kudos to Sue Grafton for another well-written story to fuel my imagination.
I had the pleasure of reviewing Ann Charles’ Nearly Departed in Deadwood last month. I jumped at the chance to review Dance of the Winnebagos. I’m glad I did. Ann Charles might be my new favorite mystery writer!
Yes, the winnebagos mentioned in the title are the recreation vehicle type. Claire joins in when her grandfather and his friends meet up for the camp-out of the season with women they met over the internet. Claire’s job is to keep him out of trouble, which isn’t an easy task when he’s surrounded by his ornery friends. When his dog finds a bone–a human bone–Claire is determined to find the rest of the skeleton.
Clair joins forces with Mac, a geotechnician, who’s in town to help his aunt Ruby get a fair price for the mines she owns in addition to the campground. Ruby is in debt and the only way she can see to save herself is to sell the mines. Mac aims to get her the best price possible.
But someone doesn’t want anyone snooping around the mines and will do whatever it takes to keep Claire and Mac far away from them. Nothing is off limits to stop them…not even murder!
The novel has spunk and pep! Its quick pace tells the story of Claire and Mac as well as those around them. The characters are likable–except when they aren’t supposed to be! The mystery of sun-bleached femurs and the value of the mines is only part of the story. The growing romance between Claire and Mac is the other part. Ann Charles’ tells a darn good romantic tale as well!
Ann Charles is an award-winning author who writes romantic mysteries that are splashed with humor. Her first book, Nearly Departed in Deadwood, won the 2010 National Daphne du Maurier for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense award AND the 2011 National Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award. A member of Sisters in Crime, the Guppies, and Romance Writers of America for many moons, she has a B.A. in English with an emphasis on creative writing from the University of Washington. When she is not dabbling in fiction, arm-wrestling with her children, attempting to seduce her husband, or arguing with her sassy cat, she is standing on her workshop soapbox, blabbing about what she has learned over the years.
Visit her at www.anncharles.com or www.anncharles.com/deadwood. You can also find her hanging out on Facebook (on her Author Page or Personal Page) or Twitter (as Deadwood Violet or AnnWCharles).
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I was provided with a free copy of Dance of the Winnebagos to review and participate in the blog tour.
I love books set in Chicago and this one is no exception. Gail M. Baugniet describes a city quite different that the one I am familiar with, but just similar enough to keep me on my toes.
Set in 1968, For Every Action There Are Consequences tells the story of Pepper Bibeau. The former Army nurse has returned from Vietnam and is working as an insurance investigator. Questions in a case take Pepper away from her Wisconsin office and into the city of Chicago, days before the Democratic Convention. The city is ill at ease, as are the people Pepper encounters. When her friend Ursula is murdered while wearing Pepper’s coat, questions are raised about the real intended victim. Investigations twist together, bringing Pepper into contact with Detective Tobias “Toby” Robertson. Toby knew Ursula and is determined to discover her killer.
Reading about Chicago in 1968 was fun. When Baugniet describes the Janet Joplin concert at the Auditorium Theater, I was excited. I had both my college graduation ceremonies there! Even more fascinating are the descriptions of police work in the late 1960s. Reading about the dispatch area of the police department made me appreciate technology even more than I already do!
The book is laid back. That’s the best way I can think to describe it. It’s the polar opposite of a James Patterson novel. That’s not to say there is anything lacking in For Every Action There Are Consequences, it simply has a different feel. The easy-going pace of the story goes with the slow-paced life before technology took over.
According to Baugniet’s website, there is another Pepper Bibeau novel in the works. I can’t wait to read it. I hope Toby is involved because I think they could work well together!
Alex Delaware is one of my favorite fictional characters. I imagine him looking just like James Kellerman’s book jacket photos. I feel a connection to him as a therapist. I want to solve crimes with him and Lieutenant Sturgis.
Mystery was the perfect way to spend time with the Delaware gang. By chance Delaware and his long-time love, Robin, learn that a favorite spot is about to close and they attend the final night’s festivities. Which aren’t very festive, but do allow them to do some people-watching and speculating about a young women who later turns up as Lieutenant Sturgis’ latest murder victim.
The story is twisting, as are all Kellerman’s mysteries. It touches on Internet dating (and manipulating), family interactions, terminally ill clients, and long-ago film legends. We are taken on a ride through the ritziest to the more mundane areas surrounding Hollywood.
Kellerman does a great job at helping me lose myself in his imaginary world. As always, I was sorry to finish the last page and close the book. I wanted to keep peeling through the layers of this case. I wanted to know more about the how and why.
I’m not implying that Kellerman leaves holes in the story. I just put on my therapist cap and want to know more and more about everyone. It’s not often these days that I get that urge. Hats off to Kellerman for waking up that piece of me!
I highly recommend this book. It was a fast and hypnotic ride.
