Review: Murder at the Serpentine Bridge

Murder at the Serpentine Bridge by Andrea Penrose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Probably the thing I like most about this series is how much of the plot is based on actual historical events in actual historical locations. At time there are also real-life characters portrayed doing what they did in life. All of this adds to the depth of and interest in the plot. In addition, the fictional characters form a small but interesting group of investigators of varying ages and social standing. Led by the Earl and Lady Wrexford formerly Sloane it includes a delightful pair of street urchins known as Raven and Hawk who have become wards of the two. In this book, they are joined by a young Lord of mixed race and unhappy family situation who soon becomes known as Falcon. The Wrexfords and the others of the group refer to the three as the Weasels--so perfect!

In this story, Falcon's uncle has come up with a design for a revolver, both a hand-gun version and a long gun version. In an attempt to get the plans the uncle has been murdered. So there are two issues at hand--who is the murderer and where are the plans? Since such a weapon in the hands of any country would create a major advantage in any war, the British want it for themselves, obviously, but more importantly, don't want it in the hands of any other country, friendly or not. And just as this moment, London and Oxford are teeming with heads of state and other dignitaries of all the major European powers and America for a sort of Universal conference to set the course for a world without Napoleon, who has been sent to Elba and no longer is a power with which to contend. But the void must be filled and this weapon would be a prize in anyone's hands--but who has a dog in the fight and how are they maneuvering to get their hands on the plan?



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Review: The Mitford Affair: A Novel

The Mitford Affair: A Novel by Marie Benedict
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Received an ARC to discuss on BookBrowse. This is the second of Benedict's books that I have read and this was as difficult as the first to get into. Over half the book is written in alternating chapters, each of which focus on one of three Midford sisters, Diana, Unity or Nancy. In this half it is confusing to keep the women straight since they had cute nicknames for each other that were not always clear to whom they referred. Also in the first half there is little action since the reader is put into the mind of the narrator and therefore is made a spectator looking through her eyes. I found this boring and very distancing from the character as well as the story.

Since I never finished the first book of hers that I tried, Her Hidden Genius, I decided to stick this one out to see if there was improvement the deeper into the story and indeed there was. Still, though more active since dialogue was introduced and Hitler became a main character with which these women interacted, the story still did not engage me. It was certainly not " an explosive novel" as promised by the blurb but rather a repetitive, tedious exposure of the obsessive minds of three spoiled aristocrats who sought escape from their boredom and gilded lives by pursuing a rabid political movement headed by a mad man.

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Review: The Birthday Mystery

The Birthday Mystery by Joyce Cato
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just okay--read all the Hillary Greene books but this protagonist does not appeal to me. The mystery was too convoluted and one of the murders was mostly neglected until the very end. The characters are one dimensional. All in all a disappointment after her other books and I will not continue this series.

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Review: Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat

Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Braden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Read while waiting in the dentist office with a mask on --one other person in the room--kept looking at me strangely EVERY TIME I burst out laughing. Several times the page and accompanying picture of Henri were so funny, it was almost impossible to stop--and the more I looked at him, the more I laughed. Oh, and his distain for his white fellow feline is INTENSE. Not sure if anyone who hasn't lived with a cat can fully appreciate this guy! I'm going to read it to Shadow and Fern because THEY know!

I heard Shadow tell Fern she is nothing but a DOG when she, my sweet little kitten, played fetch with me. She happily ignored him as she trotted back with the catnip sock monkey toy and dropped it at my feet--tail up and all!

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Review: After the Storm

After the Storm by Linda Castillo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

F5 Tornado hits Painters Mill and first responder Kate and her partner, Tomasetti rescue and woman and her 4-month-old baby girl from a mobile home. Amid the devastation of the area a Boy Scout Troop is cleaning up the area around an old barn when one boy turns over what he thinks is a rock but turns out to be a human skull.

It is interesting how many different types of scientists can become involved in determining the sex, age at death, age at discovery, race ect of the person to whom this partial skeleton belongs. DNA is only one substance used and simple visual observation of the bones gives minimal information. Interesting, too, are the various levels of Amish religious observation and the depths to which hatred among them exists. The difference between Mennonite and Amish is also interesting. How this bias plays out among families is chilling at times and, in this case, deadly.

On a personal level, Kate and Tomasetti find themselves in a situation that reveals hidden attitudes about their future together. Fiction, unlike life, however, allows the problem to be solved, even if the solution is too easy and not very satisfactory. For the characters, it is not an easy outcome.

In addition to these plot points there is also the revelation about hog raising that has forever changed my viewpoint on it and them. We've raised pigs, usually two at a time and am grateful they were never starving and I was never in the pen with them. But, if ever I want to hide a body I now know how to dispose of it.

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Review: Hillary's Back!

Hillary's Back! by Faith Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Spoiler alert in regards to Hillary's private life--in first paragraph. No spoilers about the mystery to be solved.

And we're glad she is. Wendy and Jimmy are gone, so Hillary has a new team, Claire, like Hillary a retired DI, and Gareth, a wounded warrior home from Afganistan. Rollo is her immediate boss, but heartbreakingly, Stephen is dead. That was the most surprising and most disappointing aspect of this outing. Hillary and Stephen had moved in together in the last book . I was so looking forward to seeing how their relationship developed and, instead, he is barely mentioned. Somehow, this lack of acknowledgement makes Hillary seem rather heartless. So much was made of her wracking her brains and nerves to decide to commit to him, even if she wouldn't marry him as he wanted, and now he doesn't even appear in her thoughts as she goes about the business of solving this latest mystery.

But, it is 18 months since his success in putting the big drug lord away caused his to have two massive heart attacks one after the other, leading to immediate death of a man in his 40's. Hillary has just returned to work after taking leave and is faced with a cold case in which a young 20 year old drug dealer/petty criminal was found stabbed to death in the woods behind his home. His enemies are many and the clues are few. Still, with dogged investigation and leaving no small bit of gossip unacknowledged, Hillary and team get their murderer. Convoluted as always, lots of dead ends and false leads to keep the reader on his toes and turning the pages. Only one loose end--did Jason have anything to do with the murder in Reading--not very clear on that one.

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Review: Hillary's Final Case

Hillary's Final Case by Faith Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Initially, when I saw the title of this installment, I worried that, once more, a favorite series was ending. In truth, there are times when the end, though sad, is appropriate--the story line is getting repetitive, the character's life is not undergoing much more change and it is time to move on. Here neither seemed to be true. Yes, Hillary is still trying to close cold cases and most involve murder but the situations and motives and suspects are all sufficiently different to make for interesting stories. And certainly, Hillary's choice to move in with Steven and off her beloved narrow boat, the Malvern, would involve a titanic change in her personal life.

In this, her Final Case, Hillary , Steve and Rolo , the new Super, Jimmy and Wendy try to locate women listed through the years as Missing Persons. So,the new case is the MisPers file. It is made clear that often the missing person returns home or is found living somewhere else and that just as often the police are not notified of these " solutions '. Yet there are many women who remain unaccounted for. Some are alive but are drug addicts or prostitutes who are not easily found, others are dead and some, not many, have just chosen to leave their old lives and families behind and are perfectly safe but successfully hidden.

This particular line of investigation was instigated by the actions of Jake, one of the interns, in the last book. Jake's stepsister, Jasmine, disappeared eight years ago and he took it upon himself to hack Hillary's case files and contact an underworld mobster with an offer of a million dollars for information on Jas' whereabouts. Having discovered his actions but appointing Jimmy as his shadow, Hillary finally brought the info to Steven and Rolo. It was decided that, since Steven was moving up to take over the investigation and hopefully the imprisonment of the hoodlum's boss, it would be wise to use Jake's improper behavior to launch the full-fledged missing persons' case as a cover to carry it out.

And so, the book carries on a dual plot--the work of Jimmy, Hillary and Wendy and their conversations with friends and family of a select group of women AND the continued interaction of Jake and his informant under the direction and supervision of Hilary, Steve and Rolo. At the end, Jimmy, Wendy and Jake all make life changing decisions, cases are solved and Hilary and Steven move into his big home with the Malvern tied up to dock at the foot of his garden.

Happily, the end also brings the news that the series will continue with a book appropriately called Hillary's Back!

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