Hiro and Father Mateo Seek a Murdering Ghost in A Wintery Mountain Town

Ghost of the Bamboo Road by Susan Spann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Love traveling along with Father Mateo, the Portuguese Jesuit, and his " scribe " , Hiro, who is really a samurai on a mission to locate other spies and send them back to their master for reassignment. The men are on their way to Edo but must locate a female samurai living in the foothills of the Hakone mountains. It is winter, the town is almost deserted and on the evening of their arrival the owner of the guest house is murdered while visiting her daughter's grave after dark. The superstitious residents of the town believe the ghost of the daughter, who was brutally raped and beaten and left to die in the woods, has returned and is taking vengeance on those who left her to die. Naturally, Hiro and Father Mateo, who do not believe in ghosts, think the murderer is very human. Still, they must find the spy and move on to Edo without delay. Unfortunately, the theft of the family's silver and the accusation that Father Mateo's housekeeper, Ana, is the thief, prevents their departure. As long as they must remain and prove Ana's innocence they may as well figure out who the murderer is, right?
As usual, the mystery is multifaceted and the setting is captivating--high in the mountains of Japan, snow covered ground, foggy days and nights and a hermit who lives in a cave and communes with foxes. A wonderful escape on these late Spring rainy April days.

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How I Love Life in Ballybucklebo!

An Irish Country Love Story by Patrick Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

By this time I feel like a resident of Ballybucklebo! Kitty and the Doc are happy as ever but, when a lorry crashes into Number One Main all but destroying the dining room, the community must decide whether to demolish the house to straighten out the dangerous curve on which it sits. Kinky and her new husband, Archie, are as distraught at the prospect as the O'Reilly's. Barry and Sue continue on toward their impending marriage, with Barry taking his first plane ride to France to visit her. Jasper, the black lab belonging to Maggie and Sonny runs away during a storm and does not return for days. Needless to say the community puts on an all out search. The new female doctor seems to be having a hard time pulling her own weight in the practice and has even made a few overtures toward Barry. Donal and Bertie as usual are up to tricks and Lars seems to be falling hard for Myna, though he worries about the difference in their social standing. So just another day or two in the lives of the folk of Ballybucklebo! On to the next chapter>

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The Holy City Murders--Vatican's Relics during the 30's

The Holy City Murders by Ron Plante Jr.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The premise of the book was very interesting and Duke and his partner, Jimmy as well as the young officer, Wally were all very well written and relatable. The preachy paragraph toward the end when Duke is sharing his thoughts of the danger posed to the world by Hitler was a bit overdone. The assassin was a poorly written character--more cartoonish than he should have been. I found the style very off-putting though I think it was an attempt to copy the style of writers from the 30's. But my most difficult character to deal with was Sister Addie. As a girl born in '42 and raised with nuns there is no way at that time that a Catholic nun would have been out alone at any time of day, she would NEVER have gone into a bar alone or otherwise and certainly would not have been off to all these places at all times of the day and night with MEN!! Her role was no surprise to me as a result of these impossible situations. Since this is an ARC I assume the misspellings, mixed syntax and other errors would be corrected prior to publication. Think this is a good first draft but needs work on characterization and style. Plot is intriguing.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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May Not Finish This Series

The Edge by Catherine Coulter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The setting in the beginning was so similar to another of the series that I thought I'd already read it. Continued to be sure and found the sexual overtones off-putting-- looking at the librarian and practically raping her in his mind, the actual attack by one woman of Mac, the hero. Persisted a bit further hoping it would get better, which it did to some extent but since it is the series and I'd liked the first three installments decided to stay with it. Still, not really liking it until more than half-way through at which point the struggles in the rain forest finally worth reading. The ending a let-down with loose ends not totally tied up in the postmortem letter. Several characters superfluous and merely disappear. Will try the next book in the series but if it is no better this series will not be completed by me. Great disappointment.

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Wish I'd Read This First

When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a second book in the Cuba story but I actually wish I read it before Next Year in Havana. Both, however, are engrossing and interesting. To hear the Cuban viewpoint of the rise of Fidel and what it is like to live in exile in the US is fascinating. Still, though I can understand the first arrivals to this country after Fidel took over and Batista was overthrown, it is still beyond my understanding how those born here still grieve the loss of " their " country. Although, in this book, several of the exiles seem to have begun to move on and see themselves not as Cubans living in America but Americans making a life for themselves. The stories both add to the tapestry that is the American culture, made up of many different broths. Just excellent books, both,

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Lots of Misdirection

The Vicarage Murder by Joyce Cato
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lots of Misdirection !

Fun,light who done it. Not sure why there is the suggestion of attraction between the Vicar's wife and the policeman,however.

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Very Light Reading

Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Very Light Readng

An okay mystery that is confusing rather than engrossing. Many of the characters are poorly defined and interactions are vague and boring. Good enough for a rainy day but even at that, I almost didn't finish it. Ending was abrupt and dissatisfying.

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Exciting Convoluted Thriller

Coercion by Tim Tigner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Exciting and convoluted thriller

Trying to find his team's killer takes Alex Ferris deep into the cold of Siberia and depths of a Russian conspiracy!

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