Review: Fatal Finds in Nuala

Fatal Finds in Nuala by Harriet Steel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just love the setting and the characters in these books--30's in Ceylon. British rule is still there and Archie Clutterbuck is the chief poombah for the Brits. In this episode his snobbish wife, Florence, is off on a cruise so Archie can get out in the field and work closely with Inspector Shanti de Silva and his two officers. Shanti is Sinalhese Buddist married to his lovely English wife, Jane. Sgt Prasanna is in his 20's, recently married and also Sinalese while Constable Nadar, a Tamil Hindu, is a bit younger and a recent Dad.

On a dark and stormy night, LOL, de Silva find himself broken down on a muddy back road with no houses in sight. He is rescued by Clutterbuck's assistant who happens by, but not before he is spooked by strange sounds emanating from the surrounding jungle..

The next day Prasanna's wife comes with an older woman to the police station to report the lady's missing husband, a villager named Venu. Before long his body is found buried in the jungle not far from the site of Shanti's disabled car. There are old coins and pieces of what appear to be gold jewelry in the vicinity of the burial. What are they doing here, did Venu have them and if so, where did he get them? The investigation is is convoluted, the characters shady. The solution is surprising. All in all a good book for a rainy day!

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Review: The President's Daughter

The President's Daughter by Bill Clinton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fast reading and interesting. Not a pulse pounding as some other Black OPs books so wouldn't call it a thriller, as the cover says. Lots of InterAgency politics --lots of politics in general. Maybe some wishful thinking on the part of the real ex-Potus co-author but then it is fiction.

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The Whitby Murders

The Whitby Murders by J.R. Ellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Beware Your Friends

This series is a favorite but I knew what happened in the escape room and who the murderer was right when it happened. Then, because Oldroyd insisted that all the friends had to be investigated, I began to doubt myself! Once the murderer was revealed, though I could not figure out the full crime or its motivation, I sort of felt like Andy. Lots of wasted time. But the characters, the team work and the personal relationships, the history and the setting made up for any weaknesses in the crime plot.


his daughter insisted

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Review: A Private Cathedral: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

A Private Cathedral: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Installment 23 of the Robicheaux-Purcell extravaganza but oh, how I hope there is not a 24th! Finished this one out of loyalty but it is as though the alcoholic brain destruction has gotten full blown for these two. If the timeline is right they are pushing 75-80 and the time has come to hang it up. Several reviewers have called the visions and plot supernatural--no, they are hallucinogenic and drugs and trips have never tempted me. I found it impossible to figure out what was real and what totally mental--and if we can believe, jLB, it wasn't much better for his imperfect heroes. I don't know if these guys are done but I pretty much am--will have to buy other books from my friend at Books Along the Teche.

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