mystery

Book Review: The Return of Sherlock Holmes

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes #6
by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

I wasn’t all that impressed by this collection of stories. Some of it just felt like it had been done before, others seemed like a bit of a stretch to get to the end. At least one was almost too obvious. I’m not a fan of the cavalier response to the murder of a man in one of the stories, criminal though he may have been. I didn’t even realize why Mary Watson was suddenly gone in this book until I read some other reviews (I thought maybe Holmes’s “death” and return must simply have taken place before Watson was married, since I’ve never really paid much attention to the dates), because it was so vaguely alluded to. I would really have hoped for at least a little more consideration for the loss of the woman whose relationship with Watson came about in a previous book. But I guess the weak ending to the relationship mirrors the weakly shown beginning to it. I’ve come this far, so I’m determined to finish out the entirety of these stories, but I hope to see a return to some of the more interesting and inventive stories of the earlier books.

Find out more about The Return of Sherlock Holmes

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Sword Thief

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Sword Thief
The 39 Clues #3
by Peter Lerangis

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s mystery, adventure

9/18/24 update after listening to audiobook: Now that I’ve read the rest of the main series, I have a much better overall handle on the characters that I felt acted out of character in this book. While I still feel that the characters tend to swing from one direction to another too quickly and too often for my taste, I no longer chalk it up to the switching in authorship for the series. Overall, I enjoyed the story a lot more the 2nd time through, listening to the audiobook, a bit more than I did the first time, and have thus raised my rating from 3 to 4.

When their next clue leads them to Japan, siblings Amy and Dan Cahill may have no choice but to team up with their uncle Alistair Oh. They can’t really trust anyone in their family, since they all want the final reward from the 39 clues for themselves, but sometimes an alliance is necessary…right?

I felt like the different-author-for-each-book aspect posed an issue for me this time. Because we have a new mind behind this book, I wasn’t sure if the fact that it seemed like so many personalities set up in the first two books were reversed in this one was the author wanting to do his own thing or was a natural part of the flow of the story. But somehow, Alistair is suddenly not such a bad guy, as confirmed by a scene from his own point of view. Amy suddenly isn’t so awkward around Ian Kabra, even letting down her guard quite a bit. Those aren’t the only examples, and in the end, much of what seemed to be reversed in this book was…unreversed? But on the other hand, some of it is left muddy. Anyway, it all distracted me enough from the rest of the story that I can’t really say how much I liked it. I do think it fell a little short of the first two in the series, but I hold out hope that the next author will get back to the intrigue and history I enjoyed in those first two.

Find out more about The Sword Thief

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Blood Rites (DNF)

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Did Not Finish: Blood Rites
The Dresden Files #6
by Jim Butcher
Read by james Marsters

My rating: DNF, no rating
Genre: Paranormal mystery

I’ve never DNF’d a book this far into a series, but I had to. I’m also calling it quits on the series, which I’ve rarely done this far into a series either. Though I mostly enjoyed the previous books, I commented about the amount of sexual content in each of my reviews. Jim Butcher’s main use for female characters seems to be as sexual objects, and their body parts are described often and in far too much detail. This makes me uncomfortable both as a woman and as a Christian.

So you can imagine my discomfort and frustration with this book that has a main setting of a porn movie set. At the 26% mark, I realized that just wasn’t worth it. I have enjoyed James Marsters’s narration, which might be the only reason I continued as long in the series as I did, but that’s it for me.

Find out more about Blood Rites

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: One False Note

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

One False Note
The 39 Clues #2
by Gordon Korman

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s mystery, adventure

Through the canals of Venice Amy and Dan Cahill race to find the next of the 39 clues that lead to untold power—and to stay alive. The Cahills may be the most powerful, influential family in history, but they’re also the most deadly.

I enjoyed this book a little more than the previous. It’s probably mostly due to the story already being in progress, whereas the previous one had to start the train going. I feel like there’s a little less cut-and-dry logic to some of what they’re solving and the clues they get, which kind of bothers the escape room enthusiast in me. But I’m liking the series so far and looking forward to continuing it.

Find out more about One False Note

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Death Masks

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Death Masks
The Dresden Files #5
by Jim Butcher
read by James Marsters

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Paranormal mystery

Professional wizard Harry Dresden is still dealing with the backlash of his crimes against the Red Court and now has to try to track down the missing Shroud of Turin.

I’ll be honest—I never really cared about Harry’s relationship with Susan. She was just kind of there, and suddenly they were a couple. Then she was gone, and he was devastated in a way I didn’t really understand, given what we’d seen of their relationship. So when she comes back in this book…I still don’t really care. Besides, the sex scene was far more graphic when I prefer, so it just made me all the more glad she’s not around more.

The rest of the book was sufficiently interesting. The duel hanging over Harry’s head while he tries to solve the mystery of the missing shroud makes it all the more intense, though of course we know he’s going to make it out okay somehow, since he’s the start of the series and by now we know several more have been written after this. So the outcome of the duel wasn’t a huge surprise, but I didn’t know how it would come about, and it all comes together pretty well. I was super excited in general to see Michael again in this book, though his wife, while I can understand how she feels, is starting to annoy me. I really hope that at some point, Butcher will include female characters for more than sex appeal (though Murphy is the exception to that), but so far, I plan to continue the series. If you’re interested in these books, I highly recommend the narration by James Marsters.

Find out more about Death Masks

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Valley of Fear

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Valley of Fear
Sherlock Holmes #7
by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

Like A Study in Scarlet, this novella is in two parts—the mystery being solved by Holmes and the backstory of the principle character in the mystery. Each part has a bit of a twist near the end. The mystery section is interesting enough, though doesn’t stand out much from the others I’ve read so far. I was spoiled on the twist (people seem to care a lot less about spoiler tags and warnings when leaving a low rating), so it’s difficult to say how I would have felt about it. It didn’t seem particularly inspired, that’s all I can really say. The backstory portion I found interesting and unnecessarily long in turns. It’s very difficult for me to get into the head of someone who is so brutal and uncaring. The twist, though, was probably one of the most surprising twists I’ve read. I did not see it coming and mentally applauded Doyle for the misdirect. I raised the story at least half a star, maybe a full star, just because of that twist.

I have to say that screen writers over the years have really done a number with Moriarty. I am sure I’m not the only person who has read these stories after seeing and hearing about Holmes over the years and imagining Moriarty as a dastardly foil for the great detective, only to realize that book Moriarty is nothing compared to his on-screen counterparts. This book had even less Moriarty than the short story in which he was introduced (“The Final Problem” in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes), and now that I’ve read both stories with the infamous villain in them, I really can’t believe how big of a deal the character became. We really only know he’s brilliant because we’re told he is. There’s no proof given; Sherlock says he’s a criminal mastermind, so that’s all we need to make up stories about his treachery. Anyway, all of that aside, this was a more memorable Holmes story for me, so that’s something (though it has nothing to do with Moriarty).

Find out more about The Valley of Fear

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Summer Knight

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Summer Knight
The Dresden Files #4
by Jim Butcher
read by James Marsters

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Paranormal mystery

Professional wizard Harry Dresden is recruited by the Winter Queen of Faerie to solve a murder, which ends up having bigger consequences than he originally imagined.

This book had all of the good of the previous ones in the series with almost none of the not-so-good. The stakes are high, Harry seems stronger and less generally unlucky, and the side characters are interesting and different. I like the way Billy and the werewolves sort of act as disciples of Harry’s, but also come in really handy when he needs help. And the humor…it was one of the things that first interested me in this series, and it seemed doubled in this installment. I chuckled quite a few times, and there was one particular moment during the climax that I had to back up and hear again. It’s one moment that I can say for certain would not have been as funny if I’d read it, rather than listening to it. James Marsters is a great narrator, and that moment in particular was brilliant.

There was a lot less sexual content in this book than previous ones, which I appreciated, though it still seems like most of the women characters, large or small, are just there to be leered at in text. If you’re interested in the series, I highly recommend the narration by James Marsters.

Find out more about Summer Knight

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (re-read)

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
by Stuart Turton

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery, thriller

See original review here.

I don’t normally write a new review when I read a book I already reviewed on my blog. But this is a special case. The first time I read this book, I gave it 3.5 stars. I like it, but had enough issues to lower the rating. This time, though, I enjoyed the ride so much more! I think that’s partly because I already knew the ending was going to be not only really interesting, but also contain more of an explanation than I had originally expected. It allowed me to enjoy the journey more. Similarly, with a better understanding of how the narrator’s 8 days were going to unfold, I wasn’t as impatient for it to get going. And because I knew it was going to have some brilliant time-travel mechanics, I loved watching out for those and seeing the plot play out. I can’t imagine what the storyboarding for this book must have looked like.

I also knew enough to start skimming the somewhat lengthy descriptions much earlier, which I think made for an easier read for me. The manor is old and crumbling, rain makes things wet, got it. Let’s get to the action! And even though I’d read it before, I’d forgotten the couple of twists along the way—and this time, I was more invested, so they got me even more than they probably did the first time (I doubt I’ll forget about them after this, but that might just depend on how long I wait to read it again, which I do expect to do someday).

I think there’s another reason that I liked it more this time, though, and that has to do with me, not the story. I read this book at the very beginning of my push to getting back into reading regularly, after losing the habit for close to 20 years. I’ve now been reading daily for over 3 years, and I think my own tastes and how I enjoy a story have changed. I don’t even normally have much desire to re-read a book that I rated below 4 stars, but since my original rating was based as much on the book’s atmosphere as anything, while I did really like the plot, it still made my re-read list. And I’m sooo glad it did, because it’s now one of my favorites!

Find out more about The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle*
*This is the US title. The book is elsewhere titled The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Maze of Bones

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Maze of Bones
The 39 Clues #1
by Rick Riordan

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s mystery, adventure

When Amy and Dan’s grandmother dies, her will reading sets off a hunt for treasure that no one in the vast, powerful Cahill family can fully comprehend. The vague prize will make the finder or finder’s team the most powerful members of the Cahill family, which has had some pretty powerful members in the past. Amy and Dan have nothing to lose as they do their best to outsmart and outrace the wealthier, older, and deadlier members of their families.

This book reminded me a lot of some other series I’ve read recently—unrealistic, over-the-top action, characters that know everything they need to know to progress, and one can never be quite sure who to trust. And yet, I enjoyed it more than I feel like I should have. By the time I got to the end, I was invested. I don’t normally enjoy a book where you can’t trust anyone, because characters are betraying each other left and right, but I still couldn’t help but start to trust a couple of the potentially treacherous side characters by the end. And now I want badly to know how it will turn out with those characters. I also can’t help but want to know what the big prize is, even though I suspect it will either be ridiculous or a letdown.

I’ve heard of this series for a long time and considered reading the books years ago, but never have until now. I wonder if I might not have been ready for the style and tone of the book until now, since I’ve read a few other series with the same kind of wildly unlikely storylines—at least one of which I liked and one of which I really didn’t. Now, I’m more able to let some of the things that might have bothered me in the past go and enjoy the story for what it is. I’m not sure how I’ll like the change of authors throughout the series, but I’m definitely going to keep going.

Find out more about The Maze of Bones

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Cozy Up to Christmas

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Cozy Up to Christmas
Cozy Up #5
by Colin Conway

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery, Christmas

Ed Belmont just wants to make it through the Christmas season doing his job as mall Santa. But someone else is committing crimes around town wearing a Santa suit, and the cops are looking at Ed. Since he’s an ex-con in witness protection, the attention could be a problem.

I haven’t read any of the preceding books in the series, but events from them were brought up in this book a few times. Belmont (not really his name) was the bookkeeper in a gang and reluctantly became a witness against them, and now he’s force to move from place to place, job to job, to keep ahead of the danger. While it seems that previous identities were compromised and required relocation, this one had an expiration date—Christmas. Yet he does end up under suspicion for ongoing criminal activity, which also seems to be a theme in the series.

From start to finish, this is a fairly straightforward story with a protagonist who could be interesting, but feels like a caricature. He learned to enjoy reading, specifically mystery novels, in the first book in the series, and while I have nothing against a hardened gang member becoming a reader, it somehow felt forced to me. I could see what the author was trying to do in showing changes in this man who had been forced into situations and lifestyles he never would have chosen for himself, but for me, at least, it didn’t work very well.

I also think the overall story could have done with another round or two of edits. Maybe some dialog read out loud, some actions acted out. Characters were all the time touching each others arms and sleeves while talking, which I’m not sure is natural. And a lot of people in the story tended to act out what they were saying with their hands, again not necessarily common. While both of these things could have been a trait assigned to one character, having them be so widespread was odd. It also seems really important to the author that I know what everyone is wearing. It’s generally the first thing we’re told whenever anyone new is in a scene. There’s a woman who comes onto Ed so strongly it made me uncomfortable, and imagine if the roles were reversed and it was a man trying to convince a woman to let him touch her (sit on her lap, because, well, she is Santa, after all). It would be considered creepy, and he’d be labeled a perv, not just a humorous device to make the MC all the more annoyed at his lot in life.

The mystery wasn’t bad, but wasn’t super interesting or difficult to solve. There was a small twist regarding the various crimes that had been committed, and it did give Ed a chance to grow more in the story. I think with some refining, this could be a good book and a series I’d be interested in. It is a mostly clean book, with almost no profanity and nothing else that would bother me, minus the aforementioned woman trying to force herself onto Santa. While I don’t plan to read any other stories about Beauregard Smith (Ed’s real name), plenty of others have enjoyed it more than I did. If you’re interested, be sure to check out other reviews at the link below.

Find out more about Cozy Up to Christmas

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!