mystery

Book Review: Cards on the Table

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Death in the Clouds
Hercule Poirot #15
by Agatha Christie
read by Hugh Fraser

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

Not my favorite in the series, at least part of which is because it seems like a knowledge of the game of bridge would have helped me understand the story, or at least Poirot’s investigation, more. I also felt like I did near the beginning of the series—like the plot was a bit bloated. On the other hand, I enjoyed some of the characters involved, especially those who were working to solve the crime along with Poirot. There are a few twists at the end of this book, and because I’m gullible and these books aren’t exactly cozy mysteries (meaning they don’t necessarily give you the clues you need to solve the murder along with the investigator), I fell for each one of the misdirects. So overall, a decent read, but I still feel like it’s a bit of a let-down from some of the previous ones I enjoyed more.

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Book Review: Who Let the Dog Out?

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Who Let the Dog Out?
Andy Carpenter #13
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a dog is stolen from Andy Carpenter’s dog rescue organization and the thief is found dead with the dog still in his possession, Andy surprises himself by taking an interest in the case of the man accused of the murder. The accused man knows nothing about the dog theft, so Andy knows there has to be something else going on, and who better than Andy’s team to track down a conspiracy?

This was not my favorite book in the series, but not my least favorite either. It was still a fun listen—Andy is as witty and sarcastic as ever, and I love it. but the grand conspiracy that is the most common formula for these books is a little too loose this time. There were a lot of people who were involved for weak reasons. What bothered me most in this story, though, is how Andy treats his son. He’s always been very immature in his relationship with his wife, Laurie, but she’s mature enough to ignore and actually see past his idiocy. But Andy full-on pushes his favorite sport on Ricky, who flat out tells his dad he doesn’t enjoy it. I get that Andy had a son kind of dropped on him, so maybe it makes sense that he wouldn’t be the best dad, but I expect better from this series than a cliché like this. Overall, I enjoyed my time listening to the book, and I recommend the book (especially Grover Gardner’s narration) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Death in the Clouds

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Death in the Clouds
Hercule Poirot #12
by Agatha Christie
read by Hugh Fraser

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this book, partly because I’m getting behind on my reviews due to being so busy right now and partly because this wasn’t a standout installation in the series for me. It was another locked-room-type setting, albeit it an interesting one. Other aspects of the story seemed a little too similar to previous books in the series as well. I did suspect some of the solution, but like normal, I was missing a lot still by the end. There were some slight twists, but overall, I wasn’t super engaged in the story. However, since I’ve started to enjoy the series a lot more than I did early on, I’ll just consider this a bump in the road of my trip through the series. And I still appreciate the narration by Hugh Fraser.

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Book Review: Hounded

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Hounded
Andy Carpenter #12
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When one of Andy Carpenter’s few actual friends, police lieutenant Pete Stanton, is charged with murder, it’s no question whether or not Andy will defend him. At the same time, Andy and his live-in girlfriend Laurie take in the 8-year-old son of the man Pete is accused of killing, so he doesn’t end up in the system. Murder suspects Andy can handle, but a child is a whole other story.

I really enjoyed this book all the way through. I don’t know if it was just the mood I was in while listening this time, but I actually chuckled out loud while listening to it at least 3 times—I always find this series funny, but this book seemed even more so. I said in my review of the book literally before this one that I would be okay with smaller conspiracies in these books sometimes, since it seemed like they’d gotten pretty bloated in the last several installments I’d read. And then this book gave me just that. The addition of Ricky, the murdered man’s son, added a new dimension to the formula that I appreciated. Andy took some major steps in his life in this book, which I knew would happen, because I’ve read some of the later books in the series, and it was nice to see them finally happen. Overall, this was a solid addition to the series, and I recommend the book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Trust No One

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Trust No One
The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers #5
by Linda Sue Park

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade mystery, adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Maze of Bones.

Amy and Dan Cahill continue to jump through hoops for their enemy, Vesper One, trying to save the lives of their abducted friends and family members. Meanwhile, the in the Cahills’ inner circle will be exposed.

I kinda don’t know where to begin with this review. The story really ramps up in this penultimate book, and yet at the same time, it’s still stagnant in some ways. The fact that my synopses for these books basically always have some version of “Amy and Dan continue doing Vesper One’s bidding to try to save the lives of their hostage loved ones…” means that there’s not a whole lot of variation in the plots. And what they’re doing for the Vespers is always stealing something that’s priceless or super heavily guarded or just missing from history. I will say, though, the historical treasure involved in this book was really interesting. I was curious enough to look it up online and learn more about it.

I mentioned before that this series is a bit darker than the original, and that is especially true when you consider the body count to this point. Not that no one died in the original series, but here it seems like a Cahill or Cahill ally dies every book. I’m not a huge fan of that, especially considering who some of the characters are that are dying, some that I really like. Some of the danger elements in this book seem a little forced and unnecessary, which is the main reason for my lower star rating. There are some explanations given in this book as well as some questions left open still for the final in the series. I have my own theories as well, including a counter theory to one made by Dan near the end of this book. Then the book ends on a major cliffhanger, and I have high hopes for the last book (while also being trepidatious, since it’s written by an author brand new to this series and has quite a few loose ends to tie up).

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Book Review: The Murder at the Vicarage

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The Murder at the Vicarage
Miss Marple #1
by Agatha Christie
read by Richard E. Grant

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

After reading several Poirot mysteries, I thought I’d try out a Miss Marple. However, similar to the early Poirot novels that I didn’t care for before I started to really enjoy them, I felt this book was a bit bloated and slow. I don’t yet know if Miss Marple herself being such a side character, then swooping in to solve the murder, is normal for this series, but of course at the time, Christie might not have planned for her to be the star of a series of books. The investigation is conducted throughout the book by the vicar himself, in whose home the murder took place, at times working alongside a rather odious inspector. I didn’t mind his perspective and even liked his wife, despite his apparently negative feelings for her, shown to us right at the beginning of the book. Still, it’s a good thing I was listening to an audiobook, or it would have probably taken me forever to get through it, simply due to the plodding feel. The narrator took some getting used to, but he wasn’t at all bad. I will try another Miss Marple book or two in the future, but I’m going back to Poirot for now.

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Book Review: Under Lock & Skeleton Key

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Under Lock & Skeleton Key
Secret Staircase Mystery #1
by Gigi Pandian

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

When a terrible accident forces Tempest Raj to end her career as a stage magician and return home, she never expects her show business world to follow her home. But then her stage double’s dead body is discovered in the wall of a home that her father’s construction business is renovating, and the question on everyone’s mind is: was Tempest the intended target?

Between the stage magic angle and Tempest’s dad’s construction business specializing in installing secret rooms and passages into homes, I felt that this mystery would be right up my alley. Sadly, my high expectations were met with a mediocre, at times confusing, story and a mystery that, only 8 days after I finished it, I barely remember the final resolution to. There were a lot of characters, including Tempest’s eclectic and spread-out family, and I had a difficult time keeping everyone straight. 

I did like the many references and homages to classic mysteries, some of which I missed out on when I was younger but have read lots of recently (Holmes & Poirot, for example). I really liked the idea of the secret staircase construction company; it seems like the kind of company that would be awesome to work for, similar to working at an escape room company (which I did for a while). The stage magic aspect wasn’t a huge part of the story, though Tempest does a lot of…I guess dance moves, when she’s stressed or thinking or whatever, which are moves she used in her show, and there are some tricks performed both by her and a fellow magician friend of hers. Overall though, we’re mostly just told about the story she used to tell in her show and that she was really good at what she did.

I can say for sure that a lot of what fell flat for me in this book is personal preference or experience. I didn’t connect with Tempest or her large, somewhat intrusive family. I’m not super interested in the different dishes of food that are described in the book, which makes the abundance of them and the details about them a bit much for me. But if the different elements I mentioned throughout this review sound interesting to you and you enjoy mysteries, you might be the perfect audience for this book. Please do click the link below to check out the more favorable reviews, of which there are plenty!

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Book Review: Unleashed

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Unleashed
Andy Carpenter #11
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When an old friend of Sam Willis dies in a plane crash—a plane Sam was meant to be on with him but missed—the man’s widow is charged with his murder. Sam asks his friend, reluctant defense attorney Andy Carpenter to defend her, certain that the woman he once had a fling with himself couldn’t have done it.

This is another good addition to the series, with some twists and turns and just enough changes to the formula I’ve come to enjoy to keep it fresh. I got a kick out of Sam’s team of elderly Jewish computer students, chuckled at Marcus’s stoicism and Hike’s expert knowledge of poison, and felt indignant for Andy when his character was besmirched (more indignant than even he seemed to be). Andy’s snarky and self-deprecating humor that first drew me to the series is just as strong as ever.

The standard-fare conspiracy in this book is thankfully simple enough that there didn’t seem to be as many away-from-Andy POV sections as some of the previous ones have had. I was glad for that, because it means more Andy, but to be honest, I’d be okay with Rosenfelt throwing in some simpler mysteries now and then too, or at least conspiracies on a smaller scale. They don’t all have to involve high-profile targets and be nationally (or internationally) reaching. I don’t want this to sound like a complaint, though, because I did still enjoy this book as much as any of the others (or more, in some cases). I love this series and recommend the book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Shatterproof

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Shatterproof
The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers #4
by Roland Smith

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade mystery, adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Maze of Bones.

First Berlin and then Timbuktu, Amy and Dan Cahill continue to jump through hoops for their enemy, Vesper One, trying to save the lives of their abducted friends and family members. Meanwhile, the hostages are hatching a scheme of their own.

For as much as I’m enjoying this series, I’m glad it’s a little shorter than the original. I really thought that the premise set forth at the beginning of the series—Cahills and friends taken hostage and Dan and Amy given various tasks to ensure their safety—would be a launching point to a greater story, but it’s really just been the same premise all the way through. Though Dan and Amy have traveled all over, been in and out of trouble, and scrambled to keep up with Vesper One’s demands, the hostages’ plight has gotten a little stale. This book did shake things up a bit for them, but I would have preferred a little more.

I like the team of Amy, Dan, Atticus, and Jake. They complement each other well, and I’m intrigued to hear more about Atticus’s role in the whole Cahills and Vespers thing. I expected there to be more about the ring that Amy was entrusted with at the end of the original series by now, but apparently we’re saving a lot for the last 2 books in the series. As for Amy and her romances, I could do without most of it. The surprising thing (for me) is that I do actually like a couple of these guys for her…which means I care about which one she picks, if any. Oddly enough, the one I don’t really care about is the one that is currently her boyfriend. In fact, based on how this series has gone in the past, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out he was a mole. I also have to say that these writers are not against having a bit of a body count, which has been surprising in a series for pre-teens. Still, I’m quite invested in these books and look forward to seeing how this plot arc turns out.

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Book Review: Anchor in the Storm

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Anchor in the Storm
Waves of Freedom #2
written by Sarah Sundin

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Historical Christian romance, mystery

When Lillian Avery moves to Boston to be a pharmacist in 1941, she has a long way to go to overcome her boss’s prejudices against her as both a woman and a handicapped one at that. She’s determined to win him over, but her task is made more difficult when suspicious prescriptions come in to be filled. Arch Vandenburg, naval ensign serving aboard a battleship, has some questions of his own when some of the men on his ship are acting drowsy on duty. Lillian and Arch will have to work together to get to the bottom of what’s going on in Boston.

After finding the first book in this series only okay, I was pleased to enjoy this one all the way through. Arch was in the previous book, the best friend of the male main character. He came across as a bit of a player, at least to me, but Sundin was already setting up his backstory, his baggage. As the heir to a fortune, Arch tends to attract the wrong kind of woman, which has led to trust issues. Lillian has her own version of the same, having been hurt badly in the past by a man who was controlling and at least a little abusive. The progression of their relationship is mostly natural and sweet, though it also becomes a little predictable about halfway through the book. Despite some clichés (and more kissing than I need in a romance book), the backstories and personalities are well set up, and I enjoyed the follow-through.

My preference when reading romance is that it not be the only focus of the plot, and I got my wish with this book. The mystery side, while not exactly a twisty whodunit, was intriguing and kept me engaged. When the romance went the way of cliché, the mystery sped up a bit, which evened things out for me. I was really caught up in it by the end. I also want to mention that Arch’s best friend Jim, the male MC of the previous book, is also Lillian’s brother. And there is a moment in the book where Arch does/says something really stupid and Jim reacts exactly how I wanted to react. I practically cheered! I recommend this book for fans of Christian romance, especially those set during WWII.

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