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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941145574
| 9781941145579
| B014GSKOCK
| 4.11
| 1,035
| Nov 06, 2015
| Nov 06, 2015
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really liked it
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Kindle freebie at time of download Sarah M. Eden is the queen of swoony 19th-century romance and this anthology is no exception. I'll gladly read whate Kindle freebie at time of download Sarah M. Eden is the queen of swoony 19th-century romance and this anthology is no exception. I'll gladly read whatever she has to write set in that time period, at least in England. The major theme of this collection is friendship. The heroines are (historically inaccurately) friends with a young man but secretly in love with him. Some watch helplessly as the man they love courts another woman while others try to make peace with the fact they face a marriage of convenience. Sometimes Eden's editors try to force a heartwarming story over a period correct romance but she mostly overrules the inaccuracies by explaining why something works for her characters and I appreciate that. World building. It's good. The first story "A Friend Indeed" set in 1808 England, finds Caroline Downy facing a loveless marriage with her brother's best friend. While George Barrington enjoys hanging out with Tom Downy, he prefers to spend time with the lovely Caroline, his friend and the one woman he can't live without. Can he convince her this marriage is the real thing for him and court her in three weeks before she calls it off? I loved this story so much. I could feel Caroline's hurt, her past trauma and worries for the future. She is downtrodden due to her family's impoverished state and resents being sold off like a parcel of land. I would be upset too. George is the MOST swoony hero in this entire collection! He, too, has childhood trauma stemming from being new money. His mother is sincerely horrid and super class conscience. All she cares about is social climbing and only sees people for their ancestors. George sees Caroline for who she is and sets about trying to prove it to her. THIS is courtship! :fans self: If Caroline doesn't marry George, I'd take him! In "A Happy Beginning" Sophia Pemberton works as a governess in Scotland for two horrid bratty children. While she's in love with the country, she's lonely and would rather be elsewhere where she can make friends. In lieu of friends, she wants to ride on her days off and tries to befriend the stable master, Dermont Buchanan, who naturally is suspicious of the English. However, when Sophia confides in him, he becomes her friend and protector against the evil Haddingtons. Another swoony romance. I had my doubts about a governess and a stable master but Eden has exlanations and makes it work. Sophia is a bit too weak for my personal tastes but she stands up for herself when she's in danger at least. The Haddingtons are truly horrible. The children are spoiled and bratty, not to mention animal abusers. Mrs. H is ghastly and on some ego power trip probably because her husband is a skirt chaser and having control over the servants gives the poor wife some agency or at least makes her feel better her husband sexually assaults the servant women. Dermont is a bit tough to like at first. He's taciturn, suspicious and cool towards Sophia in the beginning but he's chivalrous and can't allow her to be alone and afraid. What he does for her is very sweet and lovely. The explanation of how these two can get together stretches credulty a bit but it makes for a sweet and heartwarming story. "The Road to Cavan Town" is one I read in another collection. Winter Collection In 1864 the roads to Cavan Town, County Cavan, Ireland feature a number of young bachelors headed to lake country to court the belle of the county, each hoping for a single word from the beauty. Alice Whatley is no beauty but she knows she would make Isaac Dancy a better wife than Miss Sophia Kilchrest. Alice is used to the hard work of life in service and caring for her aging relatives. Traveling back and forth she's gotten to know Isaac very well. He owns a good farm that survived the Great Hunger and he hopes to proper more. Isaac is proud of his farm and doing the backbreaking labor himself. He seeks a wife who will help connect him with the community and unite everyone with smiles and good grace. Alice wonders how he can expect a fine lady like Miss Kilchrest to give up her fancy house with servants and move to a farm. How can Alice convince Isaac that she is the one for him? This is a cute story. I liked it more the first time. The second time, knowing what happens, makes it a bit cringy to read. I liked Alice a lot both times. Alice is practical not a beauty; she's intelligent and though she's in love, she's not lovesick. She knows her limits of friendship and how much she's willing to accept. Alice won't give in to anything except true love. Isaac is a wonderful hero though completely blind to Alice as anything other than a friend. Like Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park he sees a pretty face and elegant facade and thinks he's in love. Sophia doesn't deserve him. The introduction of Billy was a little bit too much of a plot device for me. He didn't quite fit the story but serves to show the characters of both women. The final courtship scene is so adorable. I dare you not to smile! "A Christmas Promise" is one I read elsewhere and liked well enough. A Timeless Romance Anthology: Silver Bells Collection "Dreams of a Glorious Season" is perfect for Jane Austen lovers. Elizabeth Gillerford can not have her season until her elder sister Mary is wed but with three seasons behind her already and no offers, Mary has become unbearble. She clings to the belief that her childhood neighbor and unofficial intended, Julian Broadwood, is still going to propose. Julian would rather be boiled in oil. At the very least, spend time with Elizabeth who has a sense of humor and makes him laugh. Julian feels sorry for Elizabeth and tries to include her in social events, something which may just backfire on him spectacularly. Oh I loved this story! Elizabeth could have been a Fanny Price but she's more of a Lizzy Bennet. She has a sense of humor about her situation and her horrid sister. Mary is truly awful. It's no wonder no one has proposed. Even their mother pushes Mary to believe Julian is going to propose. Mrs. G holds Mary up as perfection and Elizabeth as a loser. They never miss a chance to belittle or demean Elizabeth. Mr. G isn't much better. Julian is not the most swoony hero. He's a bit pigheaded and cowardly. I think he should tell Mr. G that he has no intention of marrying Mary and WHY! Maybe someone can control the eldest daughter! If I were Elizabeth I would have told Mary what was what long ago. Caroline Bingley has nothing on Mary. At least Miss B doesn't throw tantrums. Julian's sister is charming. She's the one who sees what's happening under Julian's nose. Helene is funny and delightful. Once she intervenes, she sets her brother on the right path towards a swoonworthy courtship. The story improves from there. (Apparently I hated this one when I read it in A Timeless Romance Anthology: All Regency Collection but I have no memory of it). "A Lesson in Love" is another one I read and disliked elsewhere. European CollectionI didn't care for it much then and I didn't like it much now either. I prefer it when the h/h TALK about stuff, especially married couples. Is this how the Duke of Kielder's parents began married life? It's clear Lucy is an extrovert who thrives on social interaction - ugh. I'm with Reed, her husband. I'd rather stay home with my books! This collection tided me over until her next romance is due. I miss the Jonquils though. That's where her talent really shines. Merged review: Kindle freebie at time of download Sarah M. Eden is the queen of swoony 19th-century romance and this anthology is no exception. I'll gladly read whatever she has to write set in that time period, at least in England. The major theme of this collection is friendship. The heroines are (historically inaccurately) friends with a young man but secretly in love with him. Some watch helplessly as the man they love courts another woman while others try to make peace with the fact they face a marriage of convenience. Sometimes Eden's editors try to force a heartwarming story over a period correct romance but she mostly overrules the inaccuracies by explaining why something works for her characters and I appreciate that. World building. It's good. The first story "A Friend Indeed" set in 1808 England, finds Caroline Downy facing a loveless marriage with her brother's best friend. While George Barrington enjoys hanging out with Tom Downy, he prefers to spend time with the lovely Caroline, his friend and the one woman he can't live without. Can he convince her this marriage is the real thing for him and court her in three weeks before she calls it off? I loved this story so much. I could feel Caroline's hurt, her past trauma and worries for the future. She is downtrodden due to her family's impoverished state and resents being sold off like a parcel of land. I would be upset too. George is the MOST swoony hero in this entire collection! He, too, has childhood trauma stemming from being new money. His mother is sincerely horrid and super class conscience. All she cares about is social climbing and only sees people for their ancestors. George sees Caroline for who she is and sets about trying to prove it to her. THIS is courtship! :fans self: If Caroline doesn't marry George, I'd take him! In "A Happy Beginning" Sophia Pemberton works as a governess in Scotland for two horrid bratty children. While she's in love with the country, she's lonely and would rather be elsewhere where she can make friends. In lieu of friends, she wants to ride on her days off and tries to befriend the stable master, Dermont Buchanan, who naturally is suspicious of the English. However, when Sophia confides in him, he becomes her friend and protector against the evil Haddingtons. Another swoony romance. I had my doubts about a governess and a stable master but Eden has exlanations and makes it work. Sophia is a bit too weak for my personal tastes but she stands up for herself when she's in danger at least. The Haddingtons are truly horrible. The children are spoiled and bratty, not to mention animal abusers. Mrs. H is ghastly and on some ego power trip probably because her husband is a skirt chaser and having control over the servants gives the poor wife some agency or at least makes her feel better her husband sexually assaults the servant women. Dermont is a bit tough to like at first. He's taciturn, suspicious and cool towards Sophia in the beginning but he's chivalrous and can't allow her to be alone and afraid. What he does for her is very sweet and lovely. The explanation of how these two can get together stretches credulty a bit but it makes for a sweet and heartwarming story. "The Road to Cavan Town" is one I read in another collection. Winter Collection In 1864 the roads to Cavan Town, County Cavan, Ireland feature a number of young bachelors headed to lake country to court the belle of the county, each hoping for a single word from the beauty. Alice Whatley is no beauty but she knows she would make Isaac Dancy a better wife than Miss Sophia Kilchrest. Alice is used to the hard work of life in service and caring for her aging relatives. Traveling back and forth she's gotten to know Isaac very well. He owns a good farm that survived the Great Hunger and he hopes to proper more. Isaac is proud of his farm and doing the backbreaking labor himself. He seeks a wife who will help connect him with the community and unite everyone with smiles and good grace. Alice wonders how he can expect a fine lady like Miss Kilchrest to give up her fancy house with servants and move to a farm. How can Alice convince Isaac that she is the one for him? This is a cute story. I liked it more the first time. The second time, knowing what happens, makes it a bit cringy to read. I liked Alice a lot both times. Alice is practical not a beauty; she's intelligent and though she's in love, she's not lovesick. She knows her limits of friendship and how much she's willing to accept. Alice won't give in to anything except true love. Isaac is a wonderful hero though completely blind to Alice as anything other than a friend. Like Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park he sees a pretty face and elegant facade and thinks he's in love. Sophia doesn't deserve him. The introduction of Billy was a little bit too much of a plot device for me. He didn't quite fit the story but serves to show the characters of both women. The final courtship scene is so adorable. I dare you not to smile! "A Christmas Promise" is one I read elsewhere and liked well enough. A Timeless Romance Anthology: Silver Bells Collection "Dreams of a Glorious Season" is perfect for Jane Austen lovers. Elizabeth Gillerford can not have her season until her elder sister Mary is wed but with three seasons behind her already and no offers, Mary has become unbearble. She clings to the belief that her childhood neighbor and unofficial intended, Julian Broadwood, is still going to propose. Julian would rather be boiled in oil. At the very least, spend time with Elizabeth who has a sense of humor and makes him laugh. Julian feels sorry for Elizabeth and tries to include her in social events, something which may just backfire on him spectacularly. Oh I loved this story! Elizabeth could have been a Fanny Price but she's more of a Lizzy Bennet. She has a sense of humor about her situation and her horrid sister. Mary is truly awful. It's no wonder no one has proposed. Even their mother pushes Mary to believe Julian is going to propose. Mrs. G holds Mary up as perfection and Elizabeth as a loser. They never miss a chance to belittle or demean Elizabeth. Mr. G isn't much better. Julian is not the most swoony hero. He's a bit pigheaded and cowardly. I think he should tell Mr. G that he has no intention of marrying Mary and WHY! Maybe someone can control the eldest daughter! If I were Elizabeth I would have told Mary what was what long ago. Caroline Bingley has nothing on Mary. At least Miss B doesn't throw tantrums. Julian's sister is charming. She's the one who sees what's happening under Julian's nose. Helene is funny and delightful. Once she intervenes, she sets her brother on the right path towards a swoonworthy courtship. The story improves from there. (Apparently I hated this one when I read it in A Timeless Romance Anthology: All Regency Collection but I have no memory of it). "A Lesson in Love" is another one I read and disliked elsewhere. European CollectionI didn't care for it much then and I didn't like it much now either. I prefer it when the h/h TALK about stuff, especially married couples. Is this how the Duke of Kielder's parents began married life? It's clear Lucy is an extrovert who thrives on social interaction - ugh. I'm with Reed, her husband. I'd rather stay home with my books! This collection tided me over until her next romance is due. I miss the Jonquils though. That's where her talent really shines. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
2
|
Aug 09, 2022
not set
|
Aug 12, 2022
not set
|
Sep 24, 2024
|
ebook
| ||||||||||||||
| 1601837356
| 9781601837356
| B01N4OGF1V
| 4.15
| 171
| Oct 10, 2017
| Oct 10, 2017
|
really liked it
|
Charli is still content to be back in Hazel Rock, Texas in the community that has embraced her since her return. She's repairing her relationship with
Charli is still content to be back in Hazel Rock, Texas in the community that has embraced her since her return. She's repairing her relationship with her Daddy and as the holidays approach, missing her Momma. Too bad her love life is DOA, with Cade not calling and Mateo stepping back until Charli figures out how she feels about Cade. Charli is surprised and happy when her Aunt Violet and cousin Jamal show up unexpectedly from Denver to celebrate her 30th birthday. They also bring exciting news: bestselling mystery author Lucy Barton has agreed to do a book signing at The Book Barn Princess, thanks to Jamal's connections in the gaming world and technical know-how. Jamal has developed a new app called Book Seekers, a sort-of Pokémon Go! type game that allows book lovers to collect virtual books at various spots around town and return their full shelf to the Book Barn for a prize. Jamal has big dreams of expanding the store to a nationwide brand while Charli is content to let it be a quiet, local spot in Hazel Rock. Charli agrees to let her cousin try out his new app as a promotion for Lucy Barton's new release. Bobby Ray gets Penelope Calloway on board to do PR but when someone shoots up the Book Barn, injuring little Princess and Jamal is run off the road totaling Bobby Ray's truck, Mateo is concerned. Then other mysterious murders, mimicking Lucy Barton's book covers occur, some members of the community, led by J.C. Calloway want the app shut down. Jamal is terrified because he's in a difficult position. Can they reach a solution that will keep other people from being murdered before the killer strikes again, closer to home. A group of murder mystery loving moms tries to come to the rescue, hindering Mateo's investigation. Can he stop them and solve the murders? This plot is the most fast-paced of the three, so far. I couldn't put it down. The suspect list is pretty short given that this is the third book of the series and the regulars are established. Still, I was surprised at what happened. The plot of this novel is too dark and creepy for me. It would be a good Halloween read for those who like that sort of thing. I'm not into gaming so I don't think I'd use that app but it sounds like a good way to get young adults into the store and looking at printed pages rather than a screen. This story also deals with the underlying racial tensions between the Calloway family and Charli's family. The romantic subplot picks up, finally, with one of the men making a move. I've chosen my "team" and I hope Charli can figure it out. Charli is kind of stupid. At first she's not too bad and she doesn't even really get involved in the investigation this time but she ignores the warnings at the end and finds herself in big trouble. Always listen to your pets. They sense more and smell more than we do. They're usually right when something is wrong. Charli seems to have picked up Scarlet's big heart. She needs to work on her feelings for Cade though. He is not good boyfriend material. He needs to grow up and figure out how to be a man and not a boy trying to desperately please his father. Is his career more important than feelings? Sex appeal is not enough to make a relationship. I think Cade is too much of a gentleman for a one night stand but that might be what it takes for her to get him out of her system for good. Mateo is much more worthy. He's smart, sexy, protective without being overbearing and a MAN. He knows who he is and what he wants. He's also a gentleman and respectful of Charli's feelings and her history with Cade. Mateo is good at his job but he seems to have missed the first murder. I knew that was murder right away. Who and why is the real mystery. Maybe he just kept quiet about it. Charli's Daddy just wants what he thinks is best for Chari. He still doesn't treat her like an adult and ask her what she wants. She's happy in Hazel Rock. Why can't The Book Barn be an independent local store? I can see if it's not making enough to survive but then why expand? Daddy at least backs off with her love life. I'm not sure he's certain which man is best for his daughter. He likes them both. Aunt Violet is tough. She loves her son and will do anything for him. I was proud of her for standing up for him when he was rudely addressed by JC Calloway. She was right, especially since Mateo was right there and would protect her but I think she'd happily go to jail or even die for her son. She's his biggest cheerleader. Her energy is a bit worrisome and I am not sure Charli can keep up. How old is Jamal supposed to be? He's 6'11" so that implies he's a man but he acts and sounds like a teenager. Gaming is not a life. App development is more like it but you need capital for that. He's clearly smart and could probably work his way through a social media or online company and then develop apps and games. I don't know much about that. Jamal's immaturity shows in his assumptions about his mysterious donor. I was like really? However, I was worried too. I had a different theory in mind. The Calloway parents are different from their son. Cade clearly inherited his sense of honor and love of community from his mother but still seeks to please his father, who, in my opinion, is a douchebag. J.C. Calloway is power hungry and egotistical. He likes to be in control and makes sure everyone knows it. I wondered if some of his animosity towards Charli was because she was biracial. It seems to be a little bit of that but mostly because she dares stand up for causes she believes in and rocks the boat of the carefully crafted and calm Calloway world. Good for her! The way J.C. addresses Jamal is out of line. If Jamal spoke up, J.C. would try to have him arrested. I don't think Mateo would though and Cade wouldn't but I bet Cade would pressure Charli to beg Jamal to apologize. I would be so through with all of them if I were Charli. Penelope is lovely though, so I'd keep her around and ditch the men. Penelope is kind, enthusiastic and devoted to her community without any ego involved. Sugar has turned out to be a good friend to Charli and vice versa. I do think Sugar is deluded when it comes to Dean. If she marries him, she'll end up like Daisy "That's my husband!" Daisy has thankfully changed her one liner a bit and it's in context this time with an additional phrase tacked on. Scarlet is still a sweetheart and what happens to her is scary and undeserved. I was hoping for more amazing book art from her. I've seen those recycled book crafts from this novel before. Liza is still awful but this time she's at least trying to help. The Mystery Moms are a hoot. I don't blame them for thinking they can solve the crimes. The murder victims fit a profile. Delbert Perkins was a geeky loner and tech person. No one really knew him or much about him. He doesn't sound like he was a lovely person but he certainly didn't deserve to be hacked in two by an ax. The second victim was also a loner. He only lived in Hazel Rock for a week and was very mysterious. What they learn about him is kind of creepy. This guy was definitely not functioning on all cylinders. Delbert's brother, Marvin, doesn't seem to be grieving for his brother but everyone grieves differently. Marvin is more suave and put together. Definitely not a loner. Sterling Koch, the owner of the bookstore in Oak Grove where Matt Allen was electrocuted, is not a pleasant man. He's a shriveled up, bitter old man who doesn't understand that competition is healthy for the economy. He wants to be the only bookstore in the county! That's ridiculous! They each offer a different experience and there's plenty of room for both. Sterling is just sour grapes that Hazel Grove helped make The Book Barn Princess into a hidden gem that is rapidly becoming more and more well known, thanks to Jamal. Mac Patterson is also somewhat of a loner. He prefers the language of coding to speech. I totally get it. He was connected to Delbert through a tech project. Could he be the killer? Everyone says Mac is like a teddy bear, super sweet and very shy. I don't see him committing such a gruesome murder. Did one of them create The Book Kreeper? That thing is scary as heck and I would want it taken down too if I were Charli. I think it was Jamal's friend, Juicy Killer, who did it, to help create more interest in her mother's books. She seems like a very odd girl. My other theory is that Lucy Barton herself is behind some of these mysterious happenings. She could be getting inspiration for her next book or getting thrills from killing people, hiding behind fiction as a cover. Princess is still my favorite character. My heart dropped when she was hurt and I sped through the next few pages to make sure she was Ok. She's very sweet and very spoiled. She deserves to be spoiled after this. She had a MAJOR role in this story! Some typos interfered a bit with my enjoyment of this book but it was better than the second. On to the 4th. Books mentioned in the story Elvis and the Dearly Departed The Handmaid's Tale (not by name, but based on description, I think this is it). Marvel comics newest graphic novel Merged review: Charli is still content to be back in Hazel Rock, Texas in the community that has embraced her since her return. She's repairing her relationship with her Daddy and as the holidays approach, missing her Momma. Too bad her love life is DOA, with Cade not calling and Mateo stepping back until Charli figures out how she feels about Cade. Charli is surprised and happy when her Aunt Violet and cousin Jamal show up unexpectedly from Denver to celebrate her 30th birthday. They also bring exciting news: bestselling mystery author Lucy Barton has agreed to do a book signing at The Book Barn Princess, thanks to Jamal's connections in the gaming world and technical know-how. Jamal has developed a new app called Book Seekers, a sort-of Pokémon Go! type game that allows book lovers to collect virtual books at various spots around town and return their full shelf to the Book Barn for a prize. Jamal has big dreams of expanding the store to a nationwide brand while Charli is content to let it be a quiet, local spot in Hazel Rock. Charli agrees to let her cousin try out his new app as a promotion for Lucy Barton's new release. Bobby Ray gets Penelope Calloway on board to do PR but when someone shoots up the Book Barn, injuring little Princess and Jamal is run off the road totaling Bobby Ray's truck, Mateo is concerned. Then other mysterious murders, mimicking Lucy Barton's book covers occur, some members of the community, led by J.C. Calloway want the app shut down. Jamal is terrified because he's in a difficult position. Can they reach a solution that will keep other people from being murdered before the killer strikes again, closer to home. A group of murder mystery loving moms tries to come to the rescue, hindering Mateo's investigation. Can he stop them and solve the murders? This plot is the most fast-paced of the three, so far. I couldn't put it down. The suspect list is pretty short given that this is the third book of the series and the regulars are established. Still, I was surprised at what happened. The plot of this novel is too dark and creepy for me. It would be a good Halloween read for those who like that sort of thing. I'm not into gaming so I don't think I'd use that app but it sounds like a good way to get young adults into the store and looking at printed pages rather than a screen. This story also deals with the underlying racial tensions between the Calloway family and Charli's family. The romantic subplot picks up, finally, with one of the men making a move. I've chosen my "team" and I hope Charli can figure it out. Charli is kind of stupid. At first she's not too bad and she doesn't even really get involved in the investigation this time but she ignores the warnings at the end and finds herself in big trouble. Always listen to your pets. They sense more and smell more than we do. They're usually right when something is wrong. Charli seems to have picked up Scarlet's big heart. She needs to work on her feelings for Cade though. He is not good boyfriend material. He needs to grow up and figure out how to be a man and not a boy trying to desperately please his father. Is his career more important than feelings? Sex appeal is not enough to make a relationship. I think Cade is too much of a gentleman for a one night stand but that might be what it takes for her to get him out of her system for good. Mateo is much more worthy. He's smart, sexy, protective without being overbearing and a MAN. He knows who he is and what he wants. He's also a gentleman and respectful of Charli's feelings and her history with Cade. Mateo is good at his job but he seems to have missed the first murder. I knew that was murder right away. Who and why is the real mystery. Maybe he just kept quiet about it. Charli's Daddy just wants what he thinks is best for Chari. He still doesn't treat her like an adult and ask her what she wants. She's happy in Hazel Rock. Why can't The Book Barn be an independent local store? I can see if it's not making enough to survive but then why expand? Daddy at least backs off with her love life. I'm not sure he's certain which man is best for his daughter. He likes them both. Aunt Violet is tough. She loves her son and will do anything for him. I was proud of her for standing up for him when he was rudely addressed by JC Calloway. She was right, especially since Mateo was right there and would protect her but I think she'd happily go to jail or even die for her son. She's his biggest cheerleader. Her energy is a bit worrisome and I am not sure Charli can keep up. How old is Jamal supposed to be? He's 6'11" so that implies he's a man but he acts and sounds like a teenager. Gaming is not a life. App development is more like it but you need capital for that. He's clearly smart and could probably work his way through a social media or online company and then develop apps and games. I don't know much about that. Jamal's immaturity shows in his assumptions about his mysterious donor. I was like really? However, I was worried too. I had a different theory in mind. The Calloway parents are different from their son. Cade clearly inherited his sense of honor and love of community from his mother but still seeks to please his father, who, in my opinion, is a douchebag. J.C. Calloway is power hungry and egotistical. He likes to be in control and makes sure everyone knows it. I wondered if some of his animosity towards Charli was because she was biracial. It seems to be a little bit of that but mostly because she dares stand up for causes she believes in and rocks the boat of the carefully crafted and calm Calloway world. Good for her! The way J.C. addresses Jamal is out of line. If Jamal spoke up, J.C. would try to have him arrested. I don't think Mateo would though and Cade wouldn't but I bet Cade would pressure Charli to beg Jamal to apologize. I would be so through with all of them if I were Charli. Penelope is lovely though, so I'd keep her around and ditch the men. Penelope is kind, enthusiastic and devoted to her community without any ego involved. Sugar has turned out to be a good friend to Charli and vice versa. I do think Sugar is deluded when it comes to Dean. If she marries him, she'll end up like Daisy "That's my husband!" Daisy has thankfully changed her one liner a bit and it's in context this time with an additional phrase tacked on. Scarlet is still a sweetheart and what happens to her is scary and undeserved. I was hoping for more amazing book art from her. I've seen those recycled book crafts from this novel before. Liza is still awful but this time she's at least trying to help. The Mystery Moms are a hoot. I don't blame them for thinking they can solve the crimes. The murder victims fit a profile. Delbert Perkins was a geeky loner and tech person. No one really knew him or much about him. He doesn't sound like he was a lovely person but he certainly didn't deserve to be hacked in two by an ax. The second victim was also a loner. He only lived in Hazel Rock for a week and was very mysterious. What they learn about him is kind of creepy. This guy was definitely not functioning on all cylinders. Delbert's brother, Marvin, doesn't seem to be grieving for his brother but everyone grieves differently. Marvin is more suave and put together. Definitely not a loner. Sterling Koch, the owner of the bookstore in Oak Grove where Matt Allen was electrocuted, is not a pleasant man. He's a shriveled up, bitter old man who doesn't understand that competition is healthy for the economy. He wants to be the only bookstore in the county! That's ridiculous! They each offer a different experience and there's plenty of room for both. Sterling is just sour grapes that Hazel Grove helped make The Book Barn Princess into a hidden gem that is rapidly becoming more and more well known, thanks to Jamal. Mac Patterson is also somewhat of a loner. He prefers the language of coding to speech. I totally get it. He was connected to Delbert through a tech project. Could he be the killer? Everyone says Mac is like a teddy bear, super sweet and very shy. I don't see him committing such a gruesome murder. Did one of them create The Book Kreeper? That thing is scary as heck and I would want it taken down too if I were Charli. I think it was Jamal's friend, Juicy Killer, who did it, to help create more interest in her mother's books. She seems like a very odd girl. My other theory is that Lucy Barton herself is behind some of these mysterious happenings. She could be getting inspiration for her next book or getting thrills from killing people, hiding behind fiction as a cover. Princess is still my favorite character. My heart dropped when she was hurt and I sped through the next few pages to make sure she was Ok. She's very sweet and very spoiled. She deserves to be spoiled after this. She had a MAJOR role in this story! Some typos interfered a bit with my enjoyment of this book but it was better than the second. On to the 4th. Books mentioned in the story Elvis and the Dearly Departed The Handmaid's Tale (not by name, but based on description, I think this is it). Marvel comics newest graphic novel ...more |
Notes are private!
|
2
|
Feb 03, 2021
not set
|
Feb 04, 2021
not set
|
Sep 24, 2024
|
ebook
| ||||||||||||||
| 1941145981
| 9781941145982
| B06X16CDQT
| 3.82
| 523
| May 2017
| May 09, 2017
|
it was ok
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A collection of novellas set in or mostly in Bath. None are particularly historically accurate. I have a map of 19th-century Bath on my wall so I coul
A collection of novellas set in or mostly in Bath. None are particularly historically accurate. I have a map of 19th-century Bath on my wall so I could have followed along with the characters but all I got from this story was mostly the usual places of Pump Room and Royal Crescent. There's some place known as "the park" which I think means the parkland outside the Royal Crescent maybe? The first story, Trial of the Heart by Julie Daines features a young lady come down in life. Marianne Wood comes to Bath to testify against the man who killed her family. For the last two years she's looked over her shoulder at every turn, fearing the man has come to kill her. She can't sleep and her nightmares intensify after visiting Bartholomew Hayter in jail. Her barrister, Mr. Harby Northam is kind and charming but Marianne begins to see how he can be ruthless enough to get what he wants. Which is the real Mr. Northam and what is he hiding? Will Marianne survive her night terrors long enough to testify against Mr. Hayter? Can she ignore her growing attachment to Mr. Northam and return to her life as a governess? I did NOT like this story. It was super dark and creepy. Who wants to read about a sadistic killer in a Regency romance? Not me. I figured out Mr. Northam's secret so that came as no surprise. I really liked both the characters and was rooting for them to get together but the story around them was just so dark. Marianne is sweet, kind and treats everyone like an equal. Her chaperone, Mrs. Strumpshaw, is from a lesser background but kind and motherly. Marianne treats Mrs. Strumpshaw as an equal. In her mind, they are because Marianne is now a governess and not the young lady she once was. Mr. Northam is cheerful, kind but somewhat thoughtless. He never dreamed the affect seeing the murderer would have on Marianne and never considered her at all. She was a means to an end and not a person who may be traumatized by seeing her family killed in front of her! He can be a bit ruthless too. He says he knows how to play the game and that leaves Marianne wondering what that means exactly. I think he does show her his true self but with others, that may not be the case. Mr. Shadwell, the lawyer for the defense, is slimy and nasty. He'll do anything to get his client free, even badmouthing Mr. Northam, twisting the truth to suit his ends. The murder is downright chilling and sadistic. The second story, Lord Edmund's Dilemma by Caroline Warfield, is lighter but still tinged with a little bit of a darker note than I would like. Lucy Ashcroft serves as a companion to her elderly aunt and the other old ladies of Bath who can't afford their own subscription to the Pump Room. She's happy to help but embarrassed to be seen with so many glasses of water. When Lord Edmund Parker bumps into Lucy in the Pump Room, he's smitten. His mother doesn't approve. As the third son, Edmund is expecting to marry an heiress. He's training to become a clergyman and his father is pulling strings to make him a Bishop. Edmund is torn between duty and desire? What can he do? I really liked this story even if it didn't seem very accurate. Lucy is a bit too bland and incredibly perfect for my tastes. Her stepmother and her father don't seem to treat her very well and continually make her a drudge, favoring her stepsister. Lucy doesn't really want to go home and do all the work of helping stepmama with the children but what choice does she have? Yes Cinderella, you have choices. Can she stay with Aunt Imogene in Bath? While there's not much social life for young adults, Lucy seems to be doing OK. She and Aunt Imogene contrive to help an impoverished widow eat without wounding her pride. Lucy also helps out in unexpected ways. I liked Edmund a lot though. His mother is super nasty and snobby. I don't know how he turned out so well. Nanny? Edmund is practically a saint. He wants to do good works within the community but isn't quite sure how to go about it. He's torn between doing what is expected and doing what he wants. I kind of understand how he feels. This sweet romance was my favorite of the collection. The Art of Kissing in the Park by Jaima Fixsen is about a young lady of 25 sent to Bath with her Grandmama after the death of her fiancé and no new one on the horizon. When her dog runs away, she meets a mysterious man who asks her for a kiss! Dr. John Edward is a humble man. He has never done anything so roguish as beg a lady for a kiss. He usually leaves the mischief up to his sister. What could have come over him? When his friend and hostess, Henrietta, discovers his attraction to Caroline, she schemes to bring them together. Grandmama cautions Caroline against losing her heart. A temporary flirtation and a little pawing will do for now but she must remember her place. Caroline agrees but finds herself growing more and more attracted to John. What can she do about it? I really didn't like the meet cute. The stolen kiss ended up being funny but I didn't like that he even asked. I expected the story to be about a rake at least and thought there's be some witty banter but the romance involved a lot of clandestine kissing, kidding with tongues and petting. Yuck. I didn't get LOVE between them. John is a wonderful man. His past was difficult and he's haunted by some recent guilt he can't escape. He's a little more of a fleshed out character than Caroline. She's been treated like an ornament her whole life by her uncle and her brother only cares about her to advance his political career and act as hostess when he entertains. Her fiancé, Robert, is dull and boring. He seems to consider her a friend or worse - a sister. There's no romance there either. Then it turns out Caroline didn't know him well at all because he was an idiot who caved in to peer pressure when drunk and paid the price. So much for respectability. Ormond was a naughty puppy. He's not well trained even after 18 months and needs a firm but kind voice to guide him. Caroline is not that person. She claims to love him but doesn't do anything to train him. The one character I loved was Grandmama. She's a hoot. She comes from an earlier generation when women spoke their minds and were less squeamish discussing lust and sex. She hates her grandson and probably her son too. She lets her displeasure be known at every turn. She does seem to like Caroline but even Grandmama believes Caroline should marry well. Caroline believes it herself after being told so for so many years. I wanted an epilogue to see what happened next! Content warnings Arson murder prison visit attempted murder medical trauma PTSD kissing with tongues discussion of what an unmarried lady can and can not do with a gentleman Merged review: A collection of novellas set in or mostly in Bath. None are particularly historically accurate. I have a map of 19th-century Bath on my wall so I could have followed along with the characters but all I got from this story was mostly the usual places of Pump Room and Royal Crescent. There's some place known as "the park" which I think means the parkland outside the Royal Crescent maybe? The first story, Trial of the Heart by Julie Daines features a young lady come down in life. Marianne Wood comes to Bath to testify against the man who killed her family. For the last two years she's looked over her shoulder at every turn, fearing the man has come to kill her. She can't sleep and her nightmares intensify after visiting Bartholomew Hayter in jail. Her barrister, Mr. Harby Northam is kind and charming but Marianne begins to see how he can be ruthless enough to get what he wants. Which is the real Mr. Northam and what is he hiding? Will Marianne survive her night terrors long enough to testify against Mr. Hayter? Can she ignore her growing attachment to Mr. Northam and return to her life as a governess? I did NOT like this story. It was super dark and creepy. Who wants to read about a sadistic killer in a Regency romance? Not me. I figured out Mr. Northam's secret so that came as no surprise. I really liked both the characters and was rooting for them to get together but the story around them was just so dark. Marianne is sweet, kind and treats everyone like an equal. Her chaperone, Mrs. Strumpshaw, is from a lesser background but kind and motherly. Marianne treats Mrs. Strumpshaw as an equal. In her mind, they are because Marianne is now a governess and not the young lady she once was. Mr. Northam is cheerful, kind but somewhat thoughtless. He never dreamed the affect seeing the murderer would have on Marianne and never considered her at all. She was a means to an end and not a person who may be traumatized by seeing her family killed in front of her! He can be a bit ruthless too. He says he knows how to play the game and that leaves Marianne wondering what that means exactly. I think he does show her his true self but with others, that may not be the case. Mr. Shadwell, the lawyer for the defense, is slimy and nasty. He'll do anything to get his client free, even badmouthing Mr. Northam, twisting the truth to suit his ends. The murder is downright chilling and sadistic. The second story, Lord Edmund's Dilemma by Caroline Warfield, is lighter but still tinged with a little bit of a darker note than I would like. Lucy Ashcroft serves as a companion to her elderly aunt and the other old ladies of Bath who can't afford their own subscription to the Pump Room. She's happy to help but embarrassed to be seen with so many glasses of water. When Lord Edmund Parker bumps into Lucy in the Pump Room, he's smitten. His mother doesn't approve. As the third son, Edmund is expecting to marry an heiress. He's training to become a clergyman and his father is pulling strings to make him a Bishop. Edmund is torn between duty and desire? What can he do? I really liked this story even if it didn't seem very accurate. Lucy is a bit too bland and incredibly perfect for my tastes. Her stepmother and her father don't seem to treat her very well and continually make her a drudge, favoring her stepsister. Lucy doesn't really want to go home and do all the work of helping stepmama with the children but what choice does she have? Yes Cinderella, you have choices. Can she stay with Aunt Imogene in Bath? While there's not much social life for young adults, Lucy seems to be doing OK. She and Aunt Imogene contrive to help an impoverished widow eat without wounding her pride. Lucy also helps out in unexpected ways. I liked Edmund a lot though. His mother is super nasty and snobby. I don't know how he turned out so well. Nanny? Edmund is practically a saint. He wants to do good works within the community but isn't quite sure how to go about it. He's torn between doing what is expected and doing what he wants. I kind of understand how he feels. This sweet romance was my favorite of the collection. The Art of Kissing in the Park by Jaima Fixsen is about a young lady of 25 sent to Bath with her Grandmama after the death of her fiancé and no new one on the horizon. When her dog runs away, she meets a mysterious man who asks her for a kiss! Dr. John Edward is a humble man. He has never done anything so roguish as beg a lady for a kiss. He usually leaves the mischief up to his sister. What could have come over him? When his friend and hostess, Henrietta, discovers his attraction to Caroline, she schemes to bring them together. Grandmama cautions Caroline against losing her heart. A temporary flirtation and a little pawing will do for now but she must remember her place. Caroline agrees but finds herself growing more and more attracted to John. What can she do about it? I really didn't like the meet cute. The stolen kiss ended up being funny but I didn't like that he even asked. I expected the story to be about a rake at least and thought there's be some witty banter but the romance involved a lot of clandestine kissing, kidding with tongues and petting. Yuck. I didn't get LOVE between them. John is a wonderful man. His past was difficult and he's haunted by some recent guilt he can't escape. He's a little more of a fleshed out character than Caroline. She's been treated like an ornament her whole life by her uncle and her brother only cares about her to advance his political career and act as hostess when he entertains. Her fiancé, Robert, is dull and boring. He seems to consider her a friend or worse - a sister. There's no romance there either. Then it turns out Caroline didn't know him well at all because he was an idiot who caved in to peer pressure when drunk and paid the price. So much for respectability. Ormond was a naughty puppy. He's not well trained even after 18 months and needs a firm but kind voice to guide him. Caroline is not that person. She claims to love him but doesn't do anything to train him. The one character I loved was Grandmama. She's a hoot. She comes from an earlier generation when women spoke their minds and were less squeamish discussing lust and sex. She hates her grandson and probably her son too. She lets her displeasure be known at every turn. She does seem to like Caroline but even Grandmama believes Caroline should marry well. Caroline believes it herself after being told so for so many years. I wanted an epilogue to see what happened next! Content warnings Arson murder prison visit attempted murder medical trauma PTSD kissing with tongues discussion of what an unmarried lady can and can not do with a gentleman ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Mar 03, 2023
not set
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Mar 08, 2023
not set
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Sep 16, 2024
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ebook
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| B0DDRKCFH3
| 4.58
| 12
| unknown
| Sep 15, 2024
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really liked it
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Ailis Murray has come to Little Macclow to visit her aunt and get away from unwanted suitors and her late husband's family who think Iain's property
Ailis Murray has come to Little Macclow to visit her aunt and get away from unwanted suitors and her late husband's family who think Iain's property should have gone to them instead of Lissie. Lissie has mourned her husband and now wants to focus on her art. A London publisher wants Lissie's art for a book of wildflowers and she plans to spend her days in Little Macclow drawing and painting. Charles Reynell is no war hero. He's seeking peace and God in Little Macclow. Charles has decided he has an aptitude for easing people's pain as they die, something he would rather not know how to do as he picked up the skill on the battlefield. In spite of familial pressure to marry well and manage his older brother's estate, Charles has decided to become a clergyman. With the help of his aunt and uncle's vicar, Dr. Tamworth, Charles hopes to learn whether his calling is true and whether it is worth pursuing. When he meets a beautiful, spirited young lady arguing with her easel, Charles is smitten. As he gets to know the young lady, he begins to question his desire to enter the church for it will be a long time before he will be able to support a wife and family. When Dr. Tamworth assigns Charles the duty of helping Mrs. Murray become a part of Little Macclow society, he's delighted to take on the task. Soon the village will be celebrating the well dressing ceremony and with her talent for art, Mrs. Murray is the right person to help design the images. Lissie is determined not to get involved. She has no inclination for making new friends let alone thinking of marrying again but as she makes new friends, including Charles, she has to talk herself into staying the course with her goals. This is the best of the Little Macclow series! On the surface it doesn't sound like my kind of book. I don't care for stories about widows or war heroes or religious content but somehow this one came together to be quite charming and a lovely, sweet romance. It has just the right amount of romance for my personal tastes. Others may desire more heat but I liked the slow burn relationship built on friendship and understanding of each other's desire for independence. The well dressing ceremony is new to me and I found it fascinating. I'm not artistic and had a hard time picturing it so I looked it up and it's really cool. Like the floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade, these pictures are made from natural materials but on a MUCH smaller scale than the floats. How DO they do that? I liked how the characters acknowledge the pictures can be religious or secular and Lissie acknowledges the pagan origins of the tradition in a general way which could also be interpreted as Christian by the villagers if they choose. I'm allergic to flowers and grass so reading about the well dressing was nicer than actually participating in making the pictures but I would go see some of them if I could. I really liked Lissie. She's a relatable heroine because she is intelligent, compassionate and independent. Sometimes she's a little TOO stubborn and independent. I wanted to yell at her a few times. She was rather rude to Charles and everyone else in Little Macclow trying to be so standoffish but of course she can't help but be charmed by this little village. It's too bad she can't have love without marriage and marriage without having her identity and property taken away from her by law. I would be reluctant to remarry if I were Lissie too. What Lissie had with Iain doesn't sound like true love to me. He didn't want her to be her best self, he acted as a shield and protector until his illness. Only then did Iain encourage Lissie to go out and manage the estate and learn all she could to be independent. Poor Lissie went from her father's house to her husband's where he treated her like a cherished child and then to acting as Iain's nurse. It's no wonder she desires independence! I would too if I were her. It's exciting she's talented enough to have pictures in a book and dedicated enough to pursue art without distraction. She's hardened her heart because of all she's been through in the last few years. Having lost a child once, she fears it could happen again or she'll never have children. She's set a new course for herself to protect her heart from pain. Lissie blossoms as she gets to know the Hepstons and sees what true companionship looks like and how being a friend, and honorary auntie to a child can inspire creativity and spark joy even after heartache. Lissie's idea for a children's book is very creative and well ahead of its time. Who, at that time, had ever heard of a book teaching colors? Children's books were still pretty new, Lissie and would have grown up knowing John Newbery's stories and maybe Aunt Maddie but even his fairy tales were meant to instruct in reading and morals. Lissie's idea is clever and plays to her passion for art. Lissie has a lot to offer the village as a friend and even a wife if she'll allow herself to feel again and let love in. She's very, very stubborn. Charles is a lovely hero. He grew tired of war and the carnage at Waterloo has scarred him for life. He sold his commission, much to the dismay of his mother and older brother. Charles has, what we would call, PTSD and channels that into helping others deal with their pain. He's fortunate in that respect. He's gentle, kind and charming. I would probably find his sense of humor and cheerfulness annoying too if I were Lissie but he is the type of person you can't help but love. While Lissie is running away from her husband's family expectations, Charles is running from his mother and brother. His mother is awful. She's a terrible mother. She expects her younger son to dance to her tune and do what she wants. She doesn't understand the toll war took on Charles and doesn't understand his need for peace and independence. Marriage to a well-heeled young lady from London would suit his mother's aims. Charles's brother, Edward, would see Charles stuck managing one of Edward's estates doing whatever Edward wants. Edward is cheap and only cares about lining his own pockets. His tough on his brother and no one wants Charles to live his own life outside their sphere of influence. Little Macclow is a haven for Charles. It's where he spent his happy summer days as a child running around with Cassie Tamworth, Tom Hepston and friends. His mother's sister, Lady Anne and her husband, Squire Hammon, are more like parents to Charles than his own parents. Lady Anne is always kind and loving, even though she's meddling in his love life. She means well because she KNOWS Lissie and Charles are well suited. She isn't interfering just to manipulate people into doing what she thinks is best for them. Lady Anne wouldn't back off matchmaking but she wouldn't pressure her nephew into doing something he didn't want to do. How did she get to be so different from her sister? Squire Hammon is quieter but he watches over his nephew by marriage and offers advice when asked. He takes a liking to Lissie as well and is like a father to the young people of the village. It was fun catching up with Squire Hammon and Lady Anne and all the other villagers. Dr. Tamworth has really softened since Cassie's marriage. Lord of Misrule. He's clearly in love with Lissie's Aunt Maddie but hesitant. He seems unsure of how she feels and whether either of them wants to remarry. Both loved their spouses and have no need to marry again. I like their sparring relationship. He needs her to question him and remind him to lighten up and not take life so seriously. He's lighter and nicer when she's around. I really appreciated Dr. Tamworth's relationship with Charles. Dr. Tamworth is wise and doesn't tell Charles what to do. He advises Charles on pros and cons and to try out some of the duties of a clergyman. Of course he sort of has an ulterior motive but I think he truly wants to help Lissie and isn't just motivated by wanting to spend more time with her aunt. I haven't read Sally and Tom's story yet but now I really want to. He's had quite a colorful life and had some adventures- both good and bad. Now he's a skilled carpenter helping the village but also a devoted partner. Now TOM is a great husband, better than Lissie's Iain. Tom encourages Sally to pursue her own interests and run her own business. He helps with whatever Sally needs help with and is a devoted dad to little Julia. #couplegoals They become good friends to Charles and Lissie but don't interfere with the growing relationship. It's none of their business even if they want it. I could have done without the villains. Iain’s cousin Fergus Murray is just as much of a pawn as Edward and Lissie but unlike Edward, he doesn't have the courage to stand up to his father and break free. Angus Murray is horrid. He's cruel and abusive and doesn't value anyone as an independent entity. He's a tyrant and bully - king of his home and all he controls and aims to expand his reach by taking Iain's land away from Lissie. The only way to legally do that if she won't sell is to marry Fergus off to Lissie. Over Lissie's dead body! Fergus is gross and probably would give Lissie a social disease and not children. The Murrays would use Lissie and abuse her just for profit. In Little Macclow, the villain is Mr. Pratt, Dr. Tamworth's curate. We've met him before. With Cassie he came across as a pompous bore but with Lissie he's more smarmy and his goals are obvious. I don't know if he knows she has money but it seems like it. I really enjoyed this visit to Little Macclow. It was just the sort of gentle, nice story I was looking for. Read this when you're tired of the news. (Although there is a narcissist and a bully, they're vanquished easily). It's very sweet and gentle. Content: Though there is a lot of Christian content, there's also a mention of a visit to a bawdy house. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 15, 2024
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Sep 17, 2024
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Sep 15, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1946034304
| 9781946034304
| B0CZYLJGM9
| 4.65
| 101
| unknown
| Sep 03, 2024
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it was ok
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Libby Ballard is excited to host an antique fashion show as a fundraiser for the museum. With a new elevator and HVAC system, she hopes more visitors
Libby Ballard is excited to host an antique fashion show as a fundraiser for the museum. With a new elevator and HVAC system, she hopes more visitors will come by and look at the exhibits. The only problem is some of the outfits don't fit the models and two models are out sick. Cleo comes to the rescue introducing Libby to local seamstress Bobbi Sue Ellis who agrees to repair the reproduction clothing in exchange for allowing her and her sister, Patti Sue, to model. Libby readily agrees not realizing she's about to get involved in another murder. Everyone warns Libby against working with Patti Sue. Everyone hates her and she's been a pill her whole life. Libby can't really back down now, just hope that everything will be ok. Of course it's not. Patti Sue is heard arguing with one of the other models just before they're supposed to come strut their stuff. When Patti Sue fails to come out from the ladies' room, Libby sends a model to go check on Patti Sue. Patti Sue is dead! As usual Detective Trent settles on the easy suspect. If Libby wants to save her museum, she better figure out who the real murderer is and soon. This one was way too tropey for me. While I didn't figure out whodunit, I had another suspect in mind, I was sort of on the right track. Libby's investigation leaves a lot to be desired. She goes around questioning people and returning to grill them. Another person ends up dead because of her investigation and she's nearly killed AGAIN. Even though she promised to be careful and had a plan... The historical mystery wasn't enough of a hook for me and didn't link up to the current mystery even though it seemed like it would. On the plus side, Libby and Sam finally exchange "I love yous." Cleo is busy with family yet rushes right back to help investigate the murder. Alice has school and volunteer and family duties but also helps because Libby still hasn't gotten to know the locals. Zoe is now part of the sleuthing crew a bit and Libby has a new friend who, if she's not a murderer, will likely join in the sleuthing next time. Libby needs all the help she can get to NOT get killed. She needs to train a new dog in case something happens to Bella or Libby will end up dead. How can she be so clueless? How can a detective be so lazy? He trusts Bella. Libby is so arrogant to think Detective Trent secretly admires her. If he did, he would solve the murders himself using her methods, asking her more questions. He wants to keep her safe. That's his job! When he says no investigating, he means it. Libby doesn't spend much time working in this book which is a disappointment. I'm not even sure her facts about the parasol are correct. I've been in an adjacent field a long time and haven't come across any primary sources mentioning parasol weapon training for women. Maybe part of the suffragette movement? British women learned jujitsu. I've heard of women using hat pins as weapons. (Oh I see, the wild west of San Francisco... ONE location, https://racingnelliebly.com/strange_t...). Bobbi Sue Ellis, one of the best seamstresses in town, is friendly and eager to help Libby. She's mild-mannered and easygoing. I think though she may be harboring a dark secret. She certainly must hate her sister, Patti Sue Harrison, known as the most difficult woman in town. Imani is always so nice and cheerful and for her to repeat a negative comment her mother said, well that says a lot about Patti. Yikes. Patti was the exact opposite of Bobbi Sue. Patti was always negative, arguing with someone, cheap and mean. Alice's friend Valerie is accused of killing Patti because her outfit had a scarf that went missing and was found around Patti's neck. Valerie is an older woman who has been through a tough time. She's new in town and doesn't have a motive to kill Patti! Detective Trent is lazy and stupid. Jade is a better suspect. Patti was last seen in the girls' bathroom arguing with Jade. Patti fat-shamed Jade which is none of her business and not appropriate. It's not your fashion show and not Jade's fault if her dress doesn't fit. Clothes didn't come in the same sizes they do now, they were often custom made, people were smaller and today's fashion designers vanity size BIG TIME! Patti is Jade's employer not her doctor, nutritionist or family member. Jade, in her 20s, is the office manager at Hartley Road Apartments. She should be the property manager because she knows better how to run a successful business than Patti does. Jade knows how to spend enough money to please renters but still make money. Did she argue with Patti over wanting a larger role? Over how to run the business in addition to the fat shaming argument? Besides Jade, only Noreen and Edna had access to the corridor where Patti was killed. Noreen, in her 30s, works as an ER nurse and volunteers at the museum. She has a bit of a temper and takes offense easily. I don't blame her too much. I don't think she has a huge motive to kill Patti and why now after a whole year? Edna is older, she used to work in a local insurance agency and is quiet. She's a private person but knew Bella's former owner. Bella likes Edna and that's enough for me. I don't think Edna did it even though she has a motive. Other people may have wandered into or past the corridor where Patti was killed. Are they suspects too? I think so, especially Chip. Chip Wasserman is on the faculty at Grove University. He's a big deal in the biology department and he knows it. He acts like a big man on campus. Chip is sexist, rude and scary. He points out he knows how to kill and get away with it. Yikes! Glad Sam doesn't work in that department. Trent Miles owns a greenhouse next to Patti's rental property where Jade works as manager. Trent doesn't really have a motive. He has a bit of a temper but he's a glass half full/count your blessings kind of guy. Out of all the suspects, he had the least reason to want Patti dead. Or so he says. New information comes to light later in the book which gives Trent more of a motive. I would think he would know how Patti operated by that point and not even bothered trying to discuss anything with her. "Hot water heater guy", Gene Harrison, the local plumber, was also seen in the vicinity of the bathroom where Patti was last seen alive. He must have seen something or even killed her himself. He was Patti's brother-in-law. Perhaps he was supposed to have inherited from his brother but his brother married Patti and she inherited instead? She's mismanaged the rental property, refused to pay for services and quality upgrades and angered every tradesman in town. I can see Gene thinking this property should have come to him and he would have taken better care of it. Now he's forced to work for his *itch of a former sister-in-law instead. Yet locals think he seems like an easy-going guy. I don't care who killed Patti. She was awful. The second murder was terrible and shouldn't have happened. I'm uninterested in the historical mystery and probably won't read any more of this series unless Libby becomes a better investigator. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 13, 2024
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Sep 14, 2024
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Sep 13, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1946034282
| 9781946034281
| B0CG789KVC
| 4.58
| 210
| unknown
| Apr 23, 2024
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liked it
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Libby and the museum staff are looking forward to the Dogwood Festival. It will be Libby's first since moving to Dogwood Springs and she can't wait to
Libby and the museum staff are looking forward to the Dogwood Festival. It will be Libby's first since moving to Dogwood Springs and she can't wait to raise money for local families in need and promote the museum. Before the festival begins, Libby, a steering committee member, has to meet with the pageant photographer, Darcy, at the fairgrounds. When Darcy is not in the appointed location, Libby searches the woman out and discovers Darcy's body in the river. Festival organizer Harry rushes to the rescue but it's too late. Libby noted Darcy was bashed in the head and knows they have another murder to solve. Detective Trent arrests Darcy's very recently ex-fiancé, a local vet and Cleo's longtime crush. Everyone knows Bryce would never hurt anyone. Libby wants the festival to go on as planned and bring in new visitors to the museum so when Cleo begs Libby to solve this mystery, she has to agree to try. Promising to be careful, Libby gathers her friends to start investigating. When someone else turns up dead, Libby fears the festival will never happen. She'll have to work overtime to solve this one. In the meantime, she gets a message about a phone call coming in from someone who recognized the girl in the painting, Ivy. Libby and Sam hope to get answers to their questions but the volunteer forgot to write down contact information. It will have to wait until the festival is all over before Libby can get back to work and track down the information they seek. Could the answer be staring them in the face all along? I was far more interested in the Ivy mystery than the present day murder. I figured out whodunit right away. It was super obvious and Libby should have figured it out too. Then halfway through there was a twist and I figured my suspect could not be the murderer. Then it kept me guessing as to who and why. I also liked the romantic subplot. Libby and Sam are growing closer and she's finally ready to confront her past. Sam is a sweetheart and truly loves and supports Libby. I wasn't sure about him at first but he's very genuine. Even though he's wealthy, he doesn't care about money. He works to keep busy and not for the money. Libby is a less appealing character. She's still gun shy after her divorce even though Sam has proven he's crazy about her and not at all like Reggie. Libby is also kind of dumb. She rushes into investigating on her own and is almost killed. It's up to Bella to save the day once again. I'm a little tired of that trope so I hope she gets better at sleuthing and being safe in the next one. Bella is hands-down my favorite character. She's smart, intuitive, sweet and loyal. She deserves some people food after this! Libby doesn't deserve her friends and sleuthing crew. They're all better at getting information than she is, being long time residents of the town and knowing everyone. Alice is so lovely and I'm happy for her life decision. Cleo is weird. She's obsessed with this Bryce guy she was in love with back in high school! She moved back because of him only to find out he was engaged to another woman. Cleo claims she isn't in love with Bryce anymore but she just KNOWS he's not a murderer. Well, were you there? How many meaningful conversations have you had with him in adulthood? However, for the purposes of the novel, I'm going to agree with her. Bryce seems very sweet and gentle. He was good with his niece on Halloween and seemed to be having fun. He's a vet and therefore good with animals, loves animals and would never hurt them. I would say he's probably not the murderer. Darcy Jackson, the local banker and amateur photographer was assigned to photograph the Dogwood Queen contest. Darcy seems to be one of those women who gets under the skin of other women. She was very good at photographing the pageant participants, getting the girls to relax and have fun. She was probably good at banking but was not a nice person. Darcy had a lot of enemies- women who loved Bryce, people who tried to get loans from her, pageant contestants who were rejected and their moms and who knows who else! According to Cleo, Darcy was selfish and thought she was better than everyone else. Finding out who actually killed her is going to be tricky. Another new character is Harry Myers, the festival’s new director. A widower in his early sixties, Harry had retired as a bigwig at a major phone company, he had offered all sorts of new ideas and given volunteers a lot of freedom. Something about Harry seems off to me. I don't think he has the experience he says he does. He humble brags a lot. He pushed the longtime local vendors, like Imani's husband out of their usual spots. Maybe this was directed at Imani's husband because he's Black? That's going to really affect his business and at the worst possible time when they have a new baby. Harry says it's more fair but is it? Shouldn't regular vendors have the same spot so their customers can find them? I know where to find my favorite vendors at the farmer's market each year and seek them out. The previous director, Sylvia Snodgrass, had run the festival with an iron hand. She's still alive and her property abuts the river on the other side. Could she be angry with the way Harry is running the festival and argued with Darcy for some reason and killed her? Sylvia is a former teacher so I hope not. She seems tough in a teacher sort of way and doesn't feel the need to explain herself. Once a teacher, always a teacher. One suspect is Madison Thompson, a receptionist at the vet’s office. Her daughter Zoe really wanted to be in the Dogwood Queen contest. It meant a lot to Zoe. Zoe is a sweet girl and doesn't exert herself to get what she wants. Maybe her mother did it for her? Her mother seems a bit stage mother-y. Zoe is also under suspicion for the same reasons. She's smart, nerdy and likes Zeke so I don't think she did it. Zeke insists she didn't. He just KNOWS in the same way Cleo knows Bryce didn't do it. Libby isn't so sure. Aaron Eckhart, a park worker, was one of the first on the scene when Libby called for help after discovering Darcy's body. Aaron has a temper and a strong motive for hating Darcy. He lies to Libby and possibly even to someone else. Also first on the scene was Cameron, who works at the bank with Darcy. His stepdaughter, Noelle, is a candidate for Queen. He seems fond of Noelle and indulgent. Noelle is a mean girl and her alibi is her frenemy Kayla. The two were supposedly fighting over a boy in the bathroom when Darcy was killed. Zoe and her mom were witnesses but are they telling the truth? I can see Cameron killing Darcy in anger because she let Kayla advance in the pageant along with Noelle even though Kayla was mean and "stole" Noelle's boyfriend. Cameron is known to be a jerk and not even nice to his wife, Tiffany. Was he having an affair with Darcy? Eileen Davidson, Cameron's aunt, owns a BBQ joint in town. When she learned her food truck would be in direct competition with someone else's, she offered to make funnel cakes instead. Really? There's only room for one BBQ truck? That's weird and messed up. Not that I don't love fried dough because I am total support of funnel cakes but think it's strange that Eileen would be so selfless. Did she get a loan from Darcy at the bank to start her business? Will this food truck switcheroo at the festival affect the terms of her loan? Perhaps Eileen tried to renegotiate or something and killed Darcy in revenge? She seems nice and I don't know if she's a solid suspect. I bet she has an alibi. Jimbo, a fried macaroni and cheese vendor (OMG YES!) is an out of towner but he sure is nice and helpful. He seems protective of Libby and eager to help. Yet, when the police come, Jimbo is nowhere to be found. Again this makes me think racial tension. He's a Black man in the South. Or does he really have something to hide? I really enjoyed the new characters at the end and want to get to know them better. I need more information, like a timeline. There's also a plot error - (view spoiler)[They can't meet Emily's descendants. Emily died at 18 unmarried. Emily might have great-grand nieces and nephews but I doubt they'd know much about their spinster grand aunt who died over 100 years ago. (hide spoiler)] I'll read one more since that's a new release and see if the plot improves. I liked the "guess the antique" game (I got the bowl with the lid right, that was easy! I would have gotten the first object if I had seen it.) and want more museum! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 09, 2024
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Sep 11, 2024
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Sep 09, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1946034274
| 9781946034274
| B0C24LM129
| 4.47
| 373
| unknown
| Sep 18, 2023
|
really liked it
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3.75 stars rounded up Cordell Calhoun, a fried chicken magnate has decided to celebrate his birthday by making donations to organizations in Dogwood Sp 3.75 stars rounded up Cordell Calhoun, a fried chicken magnate has decided to celebrate his birthday by making donations to organizations in Dogwood Springs. His birthday week kicks off with a dinner at the History Museum and Libby and staff are going crazy dealing with the ever-changing demands of Cordell's third wife, Brittany. Libby is ready to tear her hair out trying to work out the seating chart so none of Cordell's ex-wives is near his current wife and none of their children have to sit with their step-siblings. Libby also has a fancy dinner at the University to look forward to and is still trying to find the girl in the painting with her boyfriend Sam. During the birthday dinner, Cordell's wife Brittany drops dead from cyanide poisoning in her wine. Everyone seems shocked and horrified, especially Rodney, the museum curator, whose sister was Cordell's first wife, the one Detective Harper has his sights set on for the murderer! Rodney fears Detective Harper won't look at any other suspects and begs Libby for help. She agrees to see justice done! With Alice, Chloe, Zeke, Sam, Bella and Alice's husband Doug on board to help, they should be able to point the detective in the right direction, hopefully before someone else dies. This series gets better and better. The solution to the mystery was not as obvious. Any of the family members could have done it but they all seemed to have alibis and weak motives. I was surprised at the twist but not totally. I was more interested in the subplot about Ivy and had already keyword searched the plot. This story provides enough answers to satisfy me for now. I don't like how dumb the police are and how Libby is nearly killed at the end of every book. She would be long dead if she didn't have Bella. I would hope by now she could work with the police. I don't mind too much but it does get a little annoying. I relate so much to Libby! I love history so much and want everyone else to learn history and love it as much as I do. I worked at a small history museum for a couple years and I think the museum admin stuff in this novel sounds spot-on. Her romance with Sam is heating up. He has turned swoony! He may be a geek but he's a sweetheart. It's cute he's learning how to cook so he can make dinner for Libby. (Béchamel sauce is not so hard to make. I've never burned it but it's been close, stuck on the bottom of the pan but it's not hard to make for homemade macaroni and cheese!) Sam loves and supports Libby and she now has the opportunity to support him. She's been hurt before so she's still wary but learning to trust her heart. Bella is the best, smartest Golden Retriever in the world! She's sweet, intuitive, clever and loyal. If it doesn't work out with Sam, Libby at least has Bella. Chloe has a sprained ankle but she's determined to help with the mystery. She's also eager to help Libby look her best. It's interesting to see her in her element and not just as sidekick. Alice is sweet and lovely but she does have a backbone and preemptively shuts down any comments about gardeners and cyanide in mystery novels. She's also made a major life decision fully supported by her husband. Doug seems nice. He loves Alice and wants her to be happy and fulfilled doing whatever she feels will make give her the most happiness. He supports her decision and has even worked on his dog allergies possibly because he knows Alice would like to have Libby and Bella over and maybe a dog of her own. Rodney is a caring brother but I think he worries too much before anything happens! I need a family tree to keep everyone else straight. Cordell Calhoun is a lively, larger than life man. He's a self-made billionaire but also a philanthropist. He seems kind and caring but absolutely clueless when it comes to his family drama! Brittany is a trophy wife, wife #3, age 28 and built like a Barbie doll. *SIGH* Yes a stereotype but it makes her death more palatable if she's awful. She's clearly a gold digger but I kind of feel bad for her because she's 28 already and trying to remain thin, pretty and youthful to keep her man. For now anyway. None of the rest of the family likes her and she doesn't have children of her own. Libby thinks Brittany is rude and flashy which bugs Libby who is more simple and uncomplicated. Brittany is rude. She doesn't listen to her husband's stories, drinks too much, ignores the rest of the family and rumor has it, she tried to keep Cordell away from his young grandsons. Only Cordell mourns her loss, unless he's faking it but he seems pretty open so I don't think he's the murderer. It's obviously not Paula wife #1 because she's the prime suspect. Paula is introverted and down-to-earth. She's in the health care profession and has a calm, caring demeanor. She married Cordell too young but that was common for the time period. Fortunately they recognized they weren't compatible and he married Leah. Paula was a better fit as a wife. Leah is catty and mean. She doesn't have anything nice to say about anyone and may be lying to cover up the murder. Either Leah or one of her sons may be the killer. Leah may feel insecure because she was the secretary and Paula and even Brittany have better jobs. She was blindsided by the divorce and angry. She still seems hurt but may just want Cordell's money. Leah claims she doesn't need the money but people with money always want more. Leah's sons Brad and Nick are very different. Brad is a stuffy businessman and not very pleasant. Nick is "sexy" in an "earthy" way and artistic. He's a potter who makes amazing pieces of art that even Paula appreciates even though she hates Nick's mother. Nick has a strong motive- he wanted money from his grandfather to open a gallery and Cordell turned him down. With $7 MILLION in inheritance, Nick could open a gallery and a manager so all he has to do it make art. Brad drinks too much. Could his drinking be causing money problems? Quick, someone look up his business online and see if any profits are posted online. Pretend to be a reporter and ask nosy questions! (Zeke?!) Paula's daughter Heather is an occupational therapist. Everyone loves her and thinks she's wonderful - EXCEPT Brittany. Brittany belittles and fat shames Heather at every turn. Heather has her own sense of style which is older and more conservative than Brittany's flashy style. Heather may be overweight but it doesn't seem like she's despondent or suicidal over Brittany's comments. If she's hiding her pain, it's easy to see why she may have lashed out and murdered Brittany. I hope not because I can relate to her and like her. Heather's grown son Emmett is also in attendance. He's under suspicion because he's a research chemist and will know how to use cyanide safely. HELLO have none of these people heard of the internet?! I'm a history nerd too but even I know of the supposed dark web. Yeesh. There's no motive unless he was trying to protect his mother. No one has a strong motive except for hating Brittany just because she was a *itch. That's not a good reason to murder someone though. There has to be a stronger motive. Was Brittany the intended target or was she merely an innocent victim and Cordell was meant to die? The suspects are the same but limited to the gold diggers. I would exclude Paula's branch of the family but include Leah and her sons, anyone else who may have been jealous Cordell wasn't donating his money to them or one of the family angry he was giving money away to schools and non-profits and not his own family? This series is simple and fun. I enjoy it for what it is and hope to keep reading it. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 09, 2024
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Sep 09, 2024
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Sep 09, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 0871319713
| 9780871319715
| 0871319713
| 2.70
| 271
| Mar 14, 2000
| Mar 14, 2002
|
liked it
|
I intended to skim over Jane's fragment, having read it several times before, but I got caught up in the story because it was so funny! I had forgotte
I intended to skim over Jane's fragment, having read it several times before, but I got caught up in the story because it was so funny! I had forgotten how funny it was after watching the dreadful TV series. Jane delightfully skewers social climbers and would be fashionable elites. At first this continuation does a wonderful job matching Jane's tone and style. The continuation features the decline of country life and the rise of the new money who lacked taste and style according to old gentry families like Charlotte's father. The subplot with Edward and Clara is amusing at first. However, when the action moves away from Sanditon, it gets boring and I lost interest. The plot ends up stereotypical and unoriginal. The romance is barely there and secondary characters' side plots are shoved aside for a summary of what Edward is up to. Edward is not the hero! The story shouldn't focus so much on him. Tom Parker is a fool. In his quest to become fashionable and bring Sanditon to notice, he's forgotten a lot of important things along the way. His wife Mary, a sensible woman, explains to Charlotte how agreeable the old Parker family home was. Built in a vale, the house wasn't disturbed by wind, it had a large, shady garden for the children to run around and play and all the vegetables they wanted for free from the kitchen garden! Tom mansplains and shuts her down at every comment with an equally ridiculous statement. It's clear Mary has more of an idea about the best place to raise a family than her husband while he's only interested in making Sanditon great. Lady Denham is also a fool and an autocrat. She wants to use her husband's estate and milch asses to make Sanditon into a health retreat. This seems to be at odds with Tom's plans. Maybe not at first but he seems to just want Sandition to thrive any way it can. Edward Denham is not a villain. He's not clever enough for that. He reads trashy novels and isn't smart enough to understand them. He takes his novels at face value and longs to be a seducer like the hero of one of his novels. Edward has no idea how to seduce a woman but he does know how to woo one with words. His letters are full of nonsense drivel, bad poetry and longing for Clara. She isn't so unaware of his motives but she needs money, a home and a husband to protect her. Lady Denham is capricious and Clara has to toe the line and cater to the old lady's whims. Clara is not devious but she's self-aware enough to allow Edward to woo him until she's got him where she wants him- at the altar. In the meantime, he gets caught up in a scheme he doesn't quite understand and romanticizes the plot to a dangerous degree. If he were more self-aware and smarter, he would be selfish but as he is not, he's just plain stupid. Esther is hardly in the story. She's cold, calculating and snobby. Her story is barely there. She's only mentioned a few times. Arthur's character development is great and I still think he'd make a good husband for Charlotte. He has his sights set on another lady though. Susan and Diana are hysterically funny. Diana is a hypochondriac who worries about her siblings too much, especially Arthur. She finds her purpose in Sanditon. She's bossy and Sanditon suits her. There's nothing about Miss Lambe until the very end and only a mention. She doesn't end up with Arthur. Now for Charlotte. She comes from a large country family and her parents are too nice to discipline their children so all the kids ran wild. Charlotte and her next brother Henry were the parents of the younger ones. Charlotte would check her siblings' behavior but her own behavior sometimes is borderline inappropriate. She makes fun of Lady Denham's late husband's portrait and makes a joke to Mary Parker. Unfortunately Lady Denham overhears and feels insulted. Charlotte recognizes her behavior was rude and reflects on her childhood freedom. She does want to grow and admires a poet, Mrs. Emmeline Turner, who has come to Sanditon for rest and relaxation. All Mrs. Turner wants is to get away from Society but unfortunately Tom Parker doesn't understand. Mrs. Turner takes Charlotte under her wing and appropriately nurtures Charlotte's interest in literature- unlike Edward. There's not much of Sidney in the book. He's a disinterest observer in his sibling's scheme until Charlotte confesses her worries that Tom's plan to make Sanditon fashionable has gotten out of hand and someone is going to get hurt. Sidney doesn't act until it's almost too late and when he does, the story just copies Mr. Darcy's actions in Pride and Prejudice. This is mostly a non-romance love story especially since Sidney and Charlotte have only met about three or four times. Charlotte's brother Henry is naive. Not for him is the life of a country squire. He heads to London to strike it rich and of course the country lad is an easy mark for the London swells. It's not his fault. Sidney's friend, Mr. Collinsworth is a London gentleman who is very much aware of the unscrupulous things his peers get up to. Mr. Matthew Dawson is the villain of the piece but he is no more evil or dangerous than any other smart, enterprising, unethical young London gentleman. He has big plans and like Mr. Wickham, is able to charm anyone into giving him what he wants. He doesn't see consequences or much care about what happens to anyone but himself. Mr. Dawson has set himself up as a Robin Hood figure when he's not at all altruistic. Not even Edward Denham is a more selfish man. It's a pity the author chose to write the same old story. It shows how incredible Jane Austen was and how no one can possibly continue her story because she was one of a kind. I imagine this would have been a sharp, witty comedy of manners, a real masterpiece if she had lived longer. This continuation is a decent read but it bored me and took forever to feel like finishing. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 08, 2024
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Sep 08, 2024
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Sep 08, 2024
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1946034231
| 9781946034236
| B0BKJPG5YB
| 4.43
| 602
| unknown
| Apr 20, 2023
|
liked it
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Kindle freebie at the time of download. All opinions in this review are my own and not affected by the giveaway.
It's the end of the summer in Dogw Kindle freebie at the time of download. All opinions in this review are my own and not affected by the giveaway. It's the end of the summer in Dogwood Springs, fall and Halloween are right around the corner. Libby is looking forward to a big donation to the museum so they can install elevator access to the second floor, expand the museum display area and bring in more money. A planned historic house tour of Dogwood Springs should bring in the necessary funds. Then Libby learns the museum needs a new HVAC system! There goes the elevator fund! Hopefully the historic house tour will go well and bring in the much-needed money. When Libby and Bella stop by one of the houses to go over details with the owner, Karl Wellston, he never answers the door. His wife, Gail, returns to find Karl's dead body on the floor with an empty box of chocolates! The coroner determines Karl didn't die from eating too many chocolates, he was murdered! Someone injected crushed up sleeping pills into a box of Karl's favorite caramel truffles and the detective is certain that person was Gail. Gail is beside herself and asks Libby to find out who really killed her husband. It's not an easy task as Karl was not well liked. Can Libby solve the murder before the house tour? Meanwhile, Libby and Sam are growing closer over the search for the girl in the painting and her parents are coming for a visit. Chloe is eager to celebrate Halloween but the real life mystery could bring horror upon their house if Libby doesn't quit investigating! This one is better than the previous mystery. The museum administration sounds more accurate. The mystery was OK. I didn't care who killed Karl. He was not a likable person. Once again Bella is the bestest, goodest girl ever! I preferred the search for Ivy much more than the main mystery. That, too, sounded accurate and the way I would have done it. Libby is very nice, too nice. She can't say no when someone asks her to investigate even though she's aware she was almost killed before. She should stick to solving historical mysteries because she never actually solves this one before the killer comes after her. Once again she needs Bella to tell her what's what. Libby is also too nice when it comes to her mother. Libby's mom means well but she is blunt and often says things that come out rude. After what she said to Sam, I would have been furious and we would have had a heated conversation about that! Libby and Sam are growing closer. He gets busy with extra work but he's learned better how to communicate and even though he doesn't have a spare moment, he does text her to let her know he's busy. They hit a little bump in their relationship but talk it out. Libby's mom, for better or worse, helped Libby figure out her feelings for Sam are becoming deeper and serious. He's a great guy and seems crazy about her too. Chloe isn't in the story as much. She's mostly in the cozy part but she does help Libby talk to people and Libby's friends go along to interview suspects so Libby stays safe. Chloe is a good friend and a supportive aunt. Zeke is worried about his SATs but he's brilliant. Sadly his dad, Chloe's brother, doesn't see it and wants Zeke to go to a school where he can pledge the same fraternity. yeesh. Alice is lovely as always. She has regrets in life though and I think she should go to college now if she feels like she missed out. She's smart and not having a degree hasn't held her back but for the personal satisfaction, I think she should. She's an amazing baker, maybe a culinary arts program might suit her? Karl Wellston was not a nice man. A family practice physician, his ego and attitude were more in line with someone of Sam's wealth! This guy was controlling in his own home, a terrible boss to his employees, lied, cheated, was too cheap to pay laborers for their work and no one except his wife seems to have liked him. Gail is sweet but it doesn't look good for her. She did know how nasty her husband was? Did she get tired of him trying to control her? Did she find out he was having affairs? She seems too meek and nice to be a murderer. Divorce would serve her better. She claims she loved Karl for all his faults and I believe her. She's freaking out because she thinks someone is trying to frame her for the crime. Someone very devious. Gary and Monica Boyd both worked on Karl and Gail's house. Gary is a contractor and Monica an interior decorator. Gary is known to have a nasty temper and perhaps flew off the handle when Karl refused to pay him and declared Gary's work incompetent. She's a decorator and a strong woman. Perhaps she wanted revenge for Karl's treatment of her husband? Perhaps she had a more personal reason to want Karl dead? I don't trust their assistant, Freddie. He's too quick to share gossip and point out Gary's computer password. Something about Freddie feels off to me. I think he is in love with Monica and she was having an affair with Karl (or vice versa... Freddie may have loved Karl) and Freddie, feeling slighted, killed Karl? Monica is callous and cold. She and Karl deserved to be together because they had similar personalities. Cheryl Nichols, a landscape planner, takes care of the plants both at Karl's office and his home. She's been redesigning the yard for him and once owned the house before the Wellstons. She has reason to hate Karl but why kill him now? The timing doesn't make sense. Marla, the housekeeper, is the next suspect. She's supposedly out of town visiting her new grandbaby but photos can be faked. Kiara Norton, co-owner of the Craftsman bungalow on the historic house tour, likes Gail and is eager to help Libby find the real killer. She knows an awful lot of gossip and has strong opinions. Can she be trusted? In the practice, Dr. Roth is the youngest and newest physician. He's arrogant and rude too but he should have been paid fairly. He claims he has a job offer somewhere better. Is he skipping town after killing his boss? Amber Riley, a nurse, was seen running out of Karl's office crying. Hmm. I don't like the sound of that. It's not what I expected but still awful. I feel bad for Amber. Karl was a terrible boss. Did she kill him? She was seen going by his office a second time when she shouldn't have been there. The killer is very clever and careful! Who was it? I like this series but I'm more interested in the historical mystery. I downloaded the next book in the series and did a keyword search and got enough of an answer to satisfy my curiosity. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 07, 2024
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Sep 08, 2024
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Sep 07, 2024
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ebook
| ||||||||||||||
| 1946034223
| 9781946034229
| B0B77TCWXM
| 4.42
| 706
| unknown
| Nov 17, 2022
|
really liked it
|
Libby Ballard is finally settling into her role as museum director of the Dogwood Springs History Museum. While the tourists are scarce, she has hopes
Libby Ballard is finally settling into her role as museum director of the Dogwood Springs History Museum. While the tourists are scarce, she has hopes of reviving the museum's finances with big plans for the future. They'll start by celebrating the town's 250th birthday with a big party and she knows exactly what she wants to draw people in. An armoire said to have been brought by the town's founder all the way from New York by covered wagon would be just the thing to display at the event. It's not the most valuable antique but the value to the town's history is priceless. First though, Libby must attend the estate auction of Marjorie Billington, descendant of Joseph Siler, the town's father. Libby is nervous because the museum's curator, Rodney, usually attends auctions but he's out on medical leave and Libby is alone. Her new best friend Cleo introduces her second cousin, Sheila, who works for the auction company. Sheila looks after Libby and helps her out but she can't identify the woman who is also interested in the armoire! The day of the auction, Libby bids on a random box of clothes and personal belongings for herself in hopes it may yield treasure. When she goes to check on the armoire again, Sheila's dead body comes tumbling out. Cleo is beside herself with grief and asks Libby to look into things even though the detective warns her away. When another dead body turns up and Cleo is under suspicion, Libby knows she has to solve this and clear her friend's name. This is a fun mystery. I liked the story of the painting more and it only came up halfway through and still isn't resolved. The plot kept me guessing because all the suspects were so obvious! I quibbled about the museum world though. I don't think this author has worked at a small history museum. No tourists don't come on beautiful weekdays in August. Yes the school groups DO bring in money even at a discount. NO the kids don't want to go to a field trip to a history museum LOL! At least there's only one last-minute group and Libby and Imani have a great program planned. I like Libby mainly because she's a history nerd and museum person. I give her a lot of credit for starting over and not returning to her home town. She's in her mother's hometown where her family were among the founders of the town. That makes the birthday celebration personal. It's a great idea and sounds like fun. Libby is also a loyal friend and a great dog mom. Bella is the smartest, sweetest, best Golden Retriever in the world! She has something to tell Libby and Libby isn't listening! I signed up for the author's newsletter to read a key scene from Bella's POV and it did not disappoint. Hopefully Libby will learn to pay better attention next time Bella has something important to say. Libby is scarred by her past experience with being cheated on by her ex. She fears all men are like that and she can't get over that fear. Instead of being a modern woman and calling Sam, she decides he's uninterested in her and tries to pretend that doesn't hurt. I feel so bad for her. What I don't like about Libby is how she reacts to being told not to investigate. She tries to share with the police but they aren't interested so she gets immature and tries to show them up. Her excuse is her feelings of inadequacy after the divorce. Sam seems nice enough but yes he ghosted her and why not send a quick text to say he was busy out of town he'd explain when he got back? He had a valid excuse and she let him get away with it but he should have been in touch or let her know he was leaving. His reaction to Bella speaks volumes about him and made me like him a lot more. I do like that he's also a history nerd. Cleo is a fun character. She's a loving, loyal friend and family member. Even though she's a hairdresser, Cleo doesn't gossip. Sheila was a good friend to Cleo and Cleo is devastated at her passing. Sheila was cool and larger than life. She made herself noticed and didn't seem to care what other people thought of her. She was devoted to her job at the auction house and her family. Her murder is a real tragedy for the family and the community. Detective John Harper is a tough nut. He doesn't like Libby and he doesn't appreciate her insights into what MAY have happened. He should listen to her. It's his job to decide what it relevant to the case and what is not. He should at least note that Sheila was wearing something different the day before and draw his own conclusions. Cleo's nephew Zeke is a very smart young man and I hope he uses his powers for good instead of bad. Alice, the president of the museum's board of director's, is older and very proper but she enjoys a good puzzle. Her mind is sharp and she is eager to help see justice done. Marjorie had two great-nephews to inherit her estate. Danny resembles a moustache twirling villain. He's sleazy and gross. He apparently needs money and needs it now. He's willing to sell his aunt's entire estate for cash in hand. Danny doesn't seem like a nice person but is he TOO obvious to be the murderer? Josh Bradford is just a high schooler working for the auction company. His reaction on seeing the body, probably his first, was too real to make him a suspect, I hope. He seems like a good kid. Another suspect is Rick Dillon, Sheila's ex-husband. When Libby questions him, he sounds sweet and caring. He recognizes he screwed up and has finally matured. Would Sheila have taken him back? Then Libby interviews someone else and gets a different picture of Rick. Who is telling the truth? Maybe everyone is and Rick is a complicated guy. I don't think he'd murder the woman he loved on purpose but perhaps they had an argument that got out of hand? Carl and Jeannie Wilson own the auction company. If anyone had means and opportunity to murder Sheila, it was them. What would be the motive though? Libby hears a rumor about Carl that would give him a motive but what about her? She seems nice and I don't see her as a murderer. Now Sandy Byers, the local gift shop owner, is a bit intense. She's a good saleswoman but she might be lying about her alibi. She isn't the nicest of the suspects at any rate. Her motive is a little flimsy. Does anyone care about a 100+ year old salacious scandal? Bill Peters was secretly dating Sheila. He seems grieved by her death yet none of the family even knew about him, let alone have met him! Is he telling the truth? He could be the murderer and no one would even think of him! I'm eager to read more of this series mainly to find out about the girl in the painting. I have a feeling her story may be similar to Marjorie's but with a different decision, different outcome. Who is the woman with the leopard print purse? Why does she want the armoire and how badly does she want it? What is she willing to do to get it? ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 06, 2024
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Sep 07, 2024
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Sep 06, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CNYH4X2G
| 4.81
| 36
| unknown
| Jan 23, 2024
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liked it
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3.55 stars/less than 4 The Bluebell Cafe is busier than ever and new life is springing this spring in Sevenoaks. Wally and Holly are about to get marr 3.55 stars/less than 4 The Bluebell Cafe is busier than ever and new life is springing this spring in Sevenoaks. Wally and Holly are about to get married but can't agree on what type of wedding to have. Claire is eager to bake a wedding cake but still commitment-phobic even though her new boyfriend pleases Harriet and everyone loves him. The town is excited because romance writer, Olivia Williams, who grew up in Sevenoaks, is coming for a signing. Her fan club has booked a dinner catered by the Bluebell Cafe and a local artist is busy making bud vases with cartoon faces of Olivia. When Olivia's book is finally unveiled, the residents of Sevenoaks are furious! Olivia has written about THEM and not in a very flattering way. How could she have done such a thing? Many of the residents, including Claire and Harriet have never even met her. Who has she been talking to and why would that person be so rude? When Olivia fails to appear at her book signing, her landlady's friend and neighbor, Ruby Meechum, heads to Fern's house to see what's going on and rushes out to share the news that Olivia has been murdered! No one saw a single soul enter the house other than Ruby and the detective on the case has set his sights on pinning the crime on her! When her husband, Detective Jamie Meechum returns to discover his wife is a murder suspect and he can't investigate, Jamie asks Harriet and Claire to look into things and find a new suspect so the focus is off Ruby. It won't be easy but they'll try. Can they find the murderer before Ruby is arrested? This was an engaging mystery. I really enjoyed the coziness of the town and the quirky residents. It took awhile for the mystery to get started but it lasted a long time as they hunted for clues. I had an inkling of who the murderer was before they figured it out but I hoped it wasn't that person. It could have been anyone, really. That shows you never to write about your neighbors! If I were Harriet and Claire I would threaten to sue. Harriet is too nice. She's only 4+ months pregnant and tired of everyone making comments about her "condition." She's not cranky about it, just annoyed. She should be MORE cranky and then they'll blame pregnancy hormones and leave her alone. Wally is so sweet. Beneath his crusty exterior, he has a heart of gold. Claire's indecision about her romances has been annoying but now she's starting to see reason! She can't find anything wrong with her new guy! Jasper is a "mega-successful owner of a slew of pubs and restaurants" but no longer interested in being a tycoon? He knows the names of ALL Claire's cats, knew them by the second date! Is this guy for real? He better be because Claire deserves nothing less but I'm skeptical. There wasn't enough Gran and Chester in this story to please me. There is one scene with Ringo, the African Gray parrot who is always hilarious and some scenes with Seamus, who seems to be sober and does indeed remember names. "Missy" is just an affectionate nickname at this point. He's kind and thoughtful when he's not drunk or maybe he is drunk and still sounds great. Olivia Williams was a nasty woman. She was a mean girl in Sevenoaks and grew up to be even worse because she now has a national/international? platform! It doesn't sound like she was very clever or an imaginative writer. I'm not surprised someone wanted her dead. Stella Cameron from Olivia's fan club seems nice. She's cheerful and perky, even after her star is dead. She seems nice but she doesn't express grief and claims her fan club is NOT obsessed. That usually means they are. They claim to be gardening enthusiasts as much as romance novel enthusiasts but what if Olivia made fun of them in her book and Stella or someone killed her? Olivia's old friend Fern is forced to put up with Olivia and walk a fine line between her old friendship with Olivia and newer friendship with Ruby. Fern tries to keep the peace but I'm not sure she's effective. Fern is an artist who works in ceramics. She's popular enough with the locals and tourists who love her cute, quirky vases. They're a sweet souvenir of Sevenoaks. Fern is a little bit of an odd one though. She's pretty meek and went along with the mean girl stuff when she was a girl. Fern is understandably freaked out because Olivia was killed in Fern's own bed. I would toss the bed and bedding and change the bedroom! Harriet and Claire's main suspects are Rodney and Maryellen Cowan. Rodney was once engaged to Olivia when he was a football star. Then he became an accountant, Olivia left town and Rodney married Maryellen on the rebound. Rodney is a sad man. Everyone can tell he's never gotten over Olivia and it's creepy weird. Did he kill her because she broke his heart? Maryellen had enough sense to finally leave her creepy husband. She has anger management issues and works out so she could easily overpower someone and hit them on the head. She seems smart enough to hide her tracks too. The sleuths also suspect Amy Haddaway, a banker who was accused of being corrupt in the novel. No one saw anything, everyone has an alibi, so who done it? Jeff, the rookie cop, is in no way competent enough to solve a murder. He's first on the scene and has never even seen a dead body before! Detective Strikland isn't any better because he's an arrogant know-it-all and very rude. He went on one half date with Claire once and it did not go well. He's super weird and very black and white by the book. In his mind Ruby is guilty, he just has to find enough evidence. I thought this charming series had come to an end with the 6th book so I was delighted to find this new one on Kindle Unlimited. I think the storyline has concluded but I would enjoy a spinoff with Gran and Chester! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 25, 2024
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Aug 26, 2024
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Aug 25, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1941145582
| 9781941145586
| B014VF8USI
| 3.91
| 750
| Dec 01, 2015
| Dec 01, 2015
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liked it
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3.5 stars Three novellas taking place at winter balls. Much Ado About Dancing by Heidi Ashworth takes place at Mrs. Smith's annual house party and ball 3.5 stars Three novellas taking place at winter balls. Much Ado About Dancing by Heidi Ashworth takes place at Mrs. Smith's annual house party and ball to find husbands for young ladies. Analisa Smith-Jones, self-proclaimed old maid, is staying with Mrs. Smith to help the younger ladies prepare for the ball. She has no hopes of finding a husband for herself. Lord Northrup, Analisa's unwanted suitor is making finding a husband extra difficult with his letters. When he turns up in person, Analisa is furious. How can she find a husband when Lord Northrup scares away her suitors? She'll never marry anyone let alone Northrup, not even if he's the last man on earth. I really didn't understand the point of this story. Lord Northrup is a creepy stalker and Analisa can't decide what she wants. I didn't like either of their behavior. I also think Mrs. Smith's house party seems a tad unrealistic given the time period and why is Analisa old at 20? This is an unmemorable story and not my favorite. In Sweeter than Any Dream by Annette Lyon, Olivia has no hopes of ever leaving her mother's house. Her autocratic mother controls every moment of Olivia's day and begrudges any moment Olivia tries to spend on her own. When Olivia's brother Andrew and his new wife arrive to attend the ball and see old school friends, Mrs. Wallingford is furious they won't be spending every waking minute with HER. While Andrew seems to be the dutiful son, he and his bride have a few secrets up their sleeves. Edward Blakemore doesn't believe in love and has no intentions of making a business arrangement known as marriage. He sees his old school friend James Clement smitten with his bride Fanny but rejects Edward's attempts at matchmaking. That is until he meets an enchanting lady in the woods by chance and can't stop thinking about her. This is my favorite story of the three. I really felt for Olivia. She is emotionally abused by her mother and aunt and kept a virtual prisoner. Anything she tries to do or say for herself results in punishment. I can't imagine living that kind of life. This story has potential to be a sappy Cinderella story but it isn't. I don't believe in love at first sight and this story is not one of those. It's love at first conversation based on a shared love of gothic literature. I adored Andrew and Emma and how Emma helps Olivia come out of her depressed shell. They're very sweet. Edward is a nice hero and is a change from the usual rakish types I normally enjoy. This is a very sweet story. An Invitation to Dance by Michele Paige Holmes is more of a traditional Regency plot. Eleanora "Ella" Whitticomb is mistress of her father's estate and has run of the wood. She loves her horse and running through the autumn woods. If she had to admit one thing she doesn't like it is the loneliness of living along. Since her Mama died, her Papa has been off adventuring but he promised to return to send for Ella when she turns 18. Mr. Alexander Darling is charged with delivering a message to Lady Ella from her late fiance, Lord Henry Benton. He desires her to come to London to find a husband who appreciates Ella as much he did. Ella is confused and upset. She wants nothing to with London or husbands, all she wants is her Papa! Alexander is less than impressed with Lady Ella but when he remarks to his friend Gregory, the late Lord Henry's brother, that he predicts that it will take someone who pities her a great deal for her to secure any sort of offer by the end of the Season, Gregory takes that as a challenge. He is willing to wager that she shall find herself betrothed by the first of May. Alexander feels this will be an impossible task but not wanting to lose, he takes it upon himself to befriend Ella in London. He is unprepared for the young lady's forthright nature and lack of pity for his disabled hand! Which gentleman will win the wager? I like this story more than the average young hoyden leads hero on a merry dance story because the hero has a permanent disability. An injury to one of his hands leaves him unable to use it normally. All he wants is to be able to do everything a man can do. It takes Ella's friendship for him to stop pitying himself and learn what he CAN do. I like the growing friendship between them. The plot twist at the end surprised me and I'm not sure I like it. It's a little unusual but the final scene is pretty swoonworthy! This is a cute story. Merged review: 3.5 stars Three novellas taking place at winter balls. Much Ado About Dancing by Heidi Ashworth takes place at Mrs. Smith's annual house party and ball to find husbands for young ladies. Analisa Smith-Jones, self-proclaimed old maid, is staying with Mrs. Smith to help the younger ladies prepare for the ball. She has no hopes of finding a husband for herself. Lord Northrup, Analisa's unwanted suitor is making finding a husband extra difficult with his letters. When he turns up in person, Analisa is furious. How can she find a husband when Lord Northrup scares away her suitors? She'll never marry anyone let alone Northrup, not even if he's the last man on earth. I really didn't understand the point of this story. Lord Northrup is a creepy stalker and Analisa can't decide what she wants. I didn't like either of their behavior. I also think Mrs. Smith's house party seems a tad unrealistic given the time period and why is Analisa old at 20? This is an unmemorable story and not my favorite. In Sweeter than Any Dream by Annette Lyon, Olivia has no hopes of ever leaving her mother's house. Her autocratic mother controls every moment of Olivia's day and begrudges any moment Olivia tries to spend on her own. When Olivia's brother Andrew and his new wife arrive to attend the ball and see old school friends, Mrs. Wallingford is furious they won't be spending every waking minute with HER. While Andrew seems to be the dutiful son, he and his bride have a few secrets up their sleeves. Edward Blakemore doesn't believe in love and has no intentions of making a business arrangement known as marriage. He sees his old school friend James Clement smitten with his bride Fanny but rejects Edward's attempts at matchmaking. That is until he meets an enchanting lady in the woods by chance and can't stop thinking about her. This is my favorite story of the three. I really felt for Olivia. She is emotionally abused by her mother and aunt and kept a virtual prisoner. Anything she tries to do or say for herself results in punishment. I can't imagine living that kind of life. This story has potential to be a sappy Cinderella story but it isn't. I don't believe in love at first sight and this story is not one of those. It's love at first conversation based on a shared love of gothic literature. I adored Andrew and Emma and how Emma helps Olivia come out of her depressed shell. They're very sweet. Edward is a nice hero and is a change from the usual rakish types I normally enjoy. This is a very sweet story. An Invitation to Dance by Michele Paige Holmes is more of a traditional Regency plot. Eleanora "Ella" Whitticomb is mistress of her father's estate and has run of the wood. She loves her horse and running through the autumn woods. If she had to admit one thing she doesn't like it is the loneliness of living along. Since her Mama died, her Papa has been off adventuring but he promised to return to send for Ella when she turns 18. Mr. Alexander Darling is charged with delivering a message to Lady Ella from her late fiance, Lord Henry Benton. He desires her to come to London to find a husband who appreciates Ella as much he did. Ella is confused and upset. She wants nothing to with London or husbands, all she wants is her Papa! Alexander is less than impressed with Lady Ella but when he remarks to his friend Gregory, the late Lord Henry's brother, that he predicts that it will take someone who pities her a great deal for her to secure any sort of offer by the end of the Season, Gregory takes that as a challenge. He is willing to wager that she shall find herself betrothed by the first of May. Alexander feels this will be an impossible task but not wanting to lose, he takes it upon himself to befriend Ella in London. He is unprepared for the young lady's forthright nature and lack of pity for his disabled hand! Which gentleman will win the wager? I like this story more than the average young hoyden leads hero on a merry dance story because the hero has a permanent disability. An injury to one of his hands leaves him unable to use it normally. All he wants is to be able to do everything a man can do. It takes Ella's friendship for him to stop pitying himself and learn what he CAN do. I like the growing friendship between them. The plot twist at the end surprised me and I'm not sure I like it. It's a little unusual but the final scene is pretty swoonworthy! This is a cute story. ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Feb 27, 2019
not set
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Apr 06, 2019
not set
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Aug 13, 2024
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ebook
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| 1990613462
| 9781990613463
| B0CFMD5T5R
| 4.71
| 435
| unknown
| Mar 21, 2024
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really liked it
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Ivy's high school reunion is coming up and she's OK with not going, she's not even invited and that's the way she would prefer to keep it! Ivy is shoc
Ivy's high school reunion is coming up and she's OK with not going, she's not even invited and that's the way she would prefer to keep it! Ivy is shocked and horrified to learn her mother is going to the reunion, as well as her brother Asher, best friend Jilly (as Asher's plus one) and surprisingly, her sister Poppy. Ivy's high school experience was made miserable by the trio of mean girls everyone was terrified of. Ivy learned to keep her head down and get out ASAP. When Ivy runs into the high school Queen Bee at the farmer's market, she's surprised to learn Tamara Duke, now Tamara Hickey is an expert beekeeper and has the best hives in Hill Country. Ivy is even more surprised when Tamara invites Ivy and Jilly to come view her hives with an eye towards selling her honey at the inn. Tamara is leaving town but her bees will stay with her best friend Kayla Bouchard so it's now or never. When Ivy and Jilly arrive at Tamara's, the pets are on the alert. Uh-oh! Someone trashed the apiary, the bees are gone and Tamara is lying dead looking as perfect as ever! Kellan warns Ivy to stay out of the investigation and Ivy promises she will stay out of the MURDER investigation but she's worried for the bees and will stop at nothing to find them, even if it means braving her old high school nemeses and teachers to save the bees. The mystery kept me guessing. I thought the murderer would turn out to be someone else because there were strong hints. This story is full of red herrings making it hard to figure out which of the suspects is the actual killer. The major mystery surrounds the bees and all of the information on apiculture (I didn't even know that was a word) seemed well-researched and informative. I was speed reading so I didn't read every word but I got the gist. The bees will die if Ivy doesn't find them soon. I'm aware honeybees are becoming a threatened species and went out in the hot sun on Sunday afternoon just to buy raw honey! I was caught up more in that mystery than who killed Tamara. Frankly, who wouldn't want to kill Tamara? Do I care? Not really. Another mystery surrounds Ivy's sister Poppy who was expelled from high school and later allowed to return in time to finish with Ivy's class. Her story seems tied to the murder. Oh boy! High school reunions? No thanks. I can totally relate to this story. While the mean girls in my school were nowhere near as bad as the ones in Ivy's school, I did exactly the same thing Ivy did - keep my head down, succeed academically and get the heck out of there! Like Ivy, I returned older and wiser. Like Ivy, I love animals and would act exactly the same way as she does in this story. However, I did not like when Ivy turned mean girl on the mean girl first. Give her a chance before you get snarky! Jilly is really Ivy's ride or die. She's terrified of bees, possibly allergic and yet still joins Ivy in the investigation. She's a very sweet and caring friend. Of course she has to come along and bring Percy, he's the murder magnet and often finds clues the humans overlook. What's an investigation without Keats? He falls down on the job at one point when Ivy is in danger but he's right there ready for action when others can not do his job. He even offers parenting advice to Ivy's dad who is back in the picture. Mandy was bullied way worse than Ivy ever was. She was an easier target without siblings although her grandmother was formidable. Mandy has come out of her shell a lot but inside she still sometimes feels like the shy, insecure, high school girl she once was. I do not think she would kill Tammi though. Ivy seems to take after her dad. He has a kind heart and is no fuss, no maintenance. He didn't have her education though and she certainly has her mother's fighting spirit. Dahlia is a mama bear ready to defend her children without thinking about consequences. Dahlia has every reason to be a murder suspect yet Kellan doesn't consider her. Poppy is a tough nut. She's been shaped by her experiences and I think she was deeply hurt by her parents' abandonment. She put up a crusty exterior and fought hard. She was rebellious in high school and broke all the rules. NO ONE, not one adult (save for one we meet late in the story) reached out to her, found the family a social worker, suggested seeing the school counselor -nothing. Only one person believed in her and she has lost confidence and doesn't believe in herself. Asher, on the other hand, has really come into his own. He's capable of leading but is too worried about Jilly. He fixates on her well being first before doing his job. Kellan is very sweet. He's grown a lot and now speaks with Keats and accepts the fur and rips in his uniform! He loves Ivy for who she is and knows the farm and animals come with her as a package deal. She would never dream of leaving them behind. Kellan sounds like he was a sweet and caring boy in high school too. Ivy's nephew Sutton is fun. He's a delinquent but a fun one. He clearly admires Aunt Ivy while also being embarrassed by her. Typical teen! Edna and Gertie of course are along for the investigation. Edna has knowledge of the students and faculty from her days as a school nurse. She also has medical knowledge in case anyone gets stung. Gertie (and Minnie) is Edna's ride or die. The two old ladies crack me up and Edna does have a point about survival skills. A homesteader really should know how to swim or at least tread water. Edna's go kits come in handy. Finch Pefferlaw is warming up to people and technology. He loves his family and wants them safe but he understands Ivy's obsession with caring for animals and is willing to help. When he needs help with Jaws, he knows he has to turn to Ivy for help because she knows the best of the best. Cori Hogan has a cameo with Clem but just a brief one. She's so funny! A brand new animal companion is on board for this adventure, Bernice, the honeybee. It's a little weird to anthropomorphize a bee but Bernice is so cute. Ivy doesn't speak bee but some internet research helps her figure out what Bernice wants and how to help. Ivy sure went to high school with a lot of awful people. Skiff Burger was a loser who wanted to ask Ivy to Junior prom. She wasn't interested in a loser like Skiff and sent him to Asher who promptly denied access to Ivy. Skiff was a stoner turned dealer and now he's a successful businessman with a grow up, however, it's not legal in Hill Country so he better be careful not to let Kellan know what he has. Ed Hickey is a more legit successful businessman. He's about to move to Boston with his wife Tammi. At first it seems Tammi has matured and is no longer a mean girl. She's devoted to her bees and they are her children. She's worked hard to cultivate her hive, breed docile bees that produce amazing honey. Her beekeeping business was worth thousands, to the right buyer. Tammi reverts back to high school at times though and isn't very nice to Poppy and makes Dahlia go nuclear on her. Who killed Tammi? Does anyone care except Kellan and maybe her husband and fellow mean girls? Her husband seems bereft but perhaps it is guilt. What is his alibi? Rumor has it he is not so bereaved. The other two bees are pretty awful. They're stuck in their hometown with the same bad attitudes. Kayla Bouchard Ware "Kayla B. Ware" is snippy, rude and mean. She hasn't grown at all in spite of being a wife and mother. She owns a shop selling crochet animals modeled after Ivy's farm friends so maybe she's not all bad? Not so fast. Her daughter, Linzy, while we never meet her, is adorable and crochets all the animals. Eldest daughter Tamlyn is a mean girl following in her mother's footsteps. She's horrid. Kayla has not been successful at anything she tried but does she have a motive to kill Tammi? Well yeah! She wants to be Tammi! Get Tammi out of the way and maybe Kayla has a chance to be as successful and popular as Tammi was. Nadia Reddy is the third mean girl. She hasn't evolved or had the opportunity for personal growth. She's married but her husband doesn't sound like he has much business sense or get up and go. Nadia is quick to gossip and point fingers at someone else. I think she may have killed Tammi out of jealousy. The school faculty are all pretty awful and openly dislike the Galloways. Several are in the bee club which is interesting. Fiona Gillespie, the principal, is carefully put together so I don't think she'd get her hands dirty to actually kill someone but she has a strong motive. She's eager to take control of the bee club. There's a lot of politics going on in this club and Fiona is exactly the negative personality to enhance the drama. She's awful. Delsie Stubbing, the school librarian, is also awful. A relic of the old days, she needs to retire. Like Fiona, Delsie is a member of the bee club. Another ex-faculty member involved with the bee club is Clint Sever, the science teacher in Ivy's day. Clint was a horrible teacher. He openly mocked Ivy for refusing to dissect a frog and supported the bullying and shaming that followed. He retired but is for some reason volunteering at the school teaching kids how to use power tools. Some fun new characters are Jay Pefferlaw and his brother-in-law Travis. Jay is less paranoid than his brother and less menacing. He's friendly and happy to help if it doesn't bring harm to his family. His dog, Persephone, is a Mastiff like Jaws but unlike Jaws, she's exuberant and friendly. Travis is a bee whisperer and a huge help to Ivy. I don't know why she doesn't like him. He teases her about his friendship with Kellan and hints at a past. I think I know why he went away and doesn't want anyone to know. It's his right not to tell Ivy but he shouldn't hint. This is a complex mystery tinged with sadness. Who killed Tammi? Where are the bees? Will they survive? This story thankfully does not end on a cliffhanger and wraps up everything nicely until next time. Another wonderful entry in this fun series! Honeymoon in a bookmobile? YES! If Kellan won't go, I say Ivy goes alone and picks up fellow bibliophiles along the way! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 16, 2024
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Jul 16, 2024
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Jul 15, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 1835257747
| 9781835257746
| B0CW1B7979
| 4.42
| 404
| unknown
| Jul 11, 2024
|
really liked it
|
Maud and Daisy are invited to a castle on a remote island by Lord Urquhart who needs them to come investigate the mystery of a missing bronze statue.
Maud and Daisy are invited to a castle on a remote island by Lord Urquhart who needs them to come investigate the mystery of a missing bronze statue. It seems Lord U has fallen under suspicion and knows Maud and Daisy can clear his name. Posing as a crime writer and her secretary, the sleuths are invited to stay at Cremore Castle at a house party hosted by Magnus Carmichael, an old school tie of Lord U's. At dinner one of the guests, Mr Neil Tremain, becomes ill with indigestion and retires to bed. The next morning Mr. Tremain cannot be roused and his door is locked from the inside. When the doctor breaks down the door and checks on Mr. Tremain, the man is dead with a small puncture wound in his chest. How can that be when the door was locked from the inside and the doctor believes Mr. Tremain has only been dead a few hours? The local police sergeant is happy to have Daisy's insights but when he, too, ends up dead, Daisy becomes the prime suspect! Everyone knows Daisy couldn't have killed the man but she's locked in her room until the bad weather subsides and the police can come from the mainland. Maud knows she has to solve this one on her own to save her friend. She's not quite on her own though, Lord U volunteers to be her Watson and help solve both mysteries! Maud is flustered and confused by his attentions and even more confused by her reaction. She reluctantly agrees to let him help if only to save Daisy. This was another great mystery and I am sad the series has come to an end. The romantic subplot was rushed because this is the last book. Haven't they only met a few times in the last 6 months? That's pretty fast even for 1912. The mysteries were twisty and though I thought I knew who the murderer was, there was a lot of obfuscation and conflicting information so I wasn't 100% certain until Maud and Daisy find the right clues. The mystery of the missing statue is tied into the murder case but there's a third mystery that is the real reason Lord U is visiting the castle. That one added a little too much on top of the romance. The story took a darker, more political turn. 1912 looks a whole lot like 100 years later and I'd rather read a more escapist story romanticizing the past right now. I loved the Austen references and the secret passage section was so funny. It was good satire. Jane would approve. Catherine Morland would be so disappointed! YET not ... a little anyway. Maud is a great heroine. She possesses an insatiable curiosity which makes her not well-suited "to the round of amusements which make up the futile existence of some parts of society." I can relate. She's so smart and well read but most of what she reads is fiction! She's a great admirer of Sherlock Holmes and apparently Jane Austen. Has she read Pride and Prejudice? LOL! She's stuck in the middle of her own Lizzie-Darcy romance. Maud is proud and she's prejudiced against Lord U because he seems like a foppish man about town with no substance. She doesn't like how he teases her and makes jokes whenever they're together. Of course the reader can see he makes her feel discombobulated because she's attracted to him. Maud takes her work seriously but she doesn't yet know how to value herself as a woman and doesn't think any man, especially a Baron, would want to marry her. She's too old, unfashionable, smart and opinionated. It seems to this reader all of those qualities attract Lord U! He just wants her to lighten up a bit more and not take life so seriously. There's plenty of evil and darkness in the world but there's nothing wrong with laughter and carrying on with a light heart. I think he likes needling Maud to get her upset on purpose. It's kind of a perverse pleasure for him, maybe. They have only met 3 times in the last 6 months and don't know each other very well yet. He dumps his backstory on her all in one scene. She kind of figured it out on her own the same way I did. Her feelings and wishes change very suddenly. I wish there was another book or two for more of a slow burn. Daisy is so much fun. She gets really into her role as crime writer's secretary and the tale she comes up with is worthy of a penny dreadful. I like how Daisy can code switch from serving class to middle class easily. She's a loyal and devoted friend and fellow detective. I don't think Maud gives Daisy enough credit for her intelligence and capability. It is amazing how resilient Daisy is even when locked up. She's also more perceptive than Maud and notices things no one else does. It's terrible that because she's a former servant and an outsider, she's a scapegoat for murder. She's the one solving the crime and not the sergeant! Perhaps locking her up is keeping her safe. Magnus Carmichael, the host, is an enthusiastic crime novel reader and eager to welcome strangers into his home when he thinks Maud is a novelist. He's not too bright. When he learns the truth he's angry and doesn't behave like a good host. Yes he was tricked and yes Lord U invited them for a purpose so I understand his anger but automatically accusing Daisy of murder is not the action of a congenial host. Then in the end, he seems to claim credit for solving the crime! His sister, Ailsa, is his hostess. An older woman and spinster, she is a content homebody who doesn't socialize much. When things go wrong she takes to her bed. Is she hiding because she's a murderer? If she pretends to be sick she can hide evidence and Maud and Daisy won't come in her room. There's very little chance she's the killer but she could be. Alisa disliked Neil for some reason. If the private detectives can figure out why, they have a motive. Houseguest Mr Neil Tremain is a grumpy old man. I get the impression he's cheap if not impoverished. It's likely he stole the statue Lord U is interested in but no one can prove it. Why did he steal the statue? Is that what got him killed? His daughter Jane indicates he's a terrible father but she sounds spoiled to me. Jane seems to be upset over her father's death but will she miss HIM or his money? Jane is a catty mean girl trying to make Maud look bad in front of Lord U but not succeeding. Jane doesn't know Maud is higher up on the social scale than she is and merely chooses to work and dress simply. Of course Maud knows what happens at a court presentation and who Paquin and Worth are but she's too sensible to let those things matter. She's also wise enough not to be catty back and put Jane in her place. If Daisy heard, she probably would go ballistic and defend Maud. Jane is trying, unsuccessfully, to "catch" Lord U. Perhaps she didn't "take" during her season because of her father. Poor young woman. I hope his death frees her to find a worthwhile purpose. She does seem aware of the world even if she claims to be anti-women's suffrage. She clarifies and makes her point logically and Maud agrees with Jane's claim that the WSPU "deeds not words" tactics are too much. I agree as well. Now, the American women chaining themselves to the White House fence is a different story... I think Jane is just young and confused. She's doing what she's expected to do but times will soon be changing and she will hopefully mature and change course. Unless she killed her father. Then she'll probably get away with it because she's young and pretty and be free to trap some more titled young gentleman into marriage with her. Sergeant McNeish, the local policeman, is a nice young man but way out of his depth. A few smiles from Daisy and encouragement and he's smitten. It makes it easier for the private detectives to direct the investigation and share what they've learned. Sargeant McNeish is smart and may have gotten the right suspect eventually but it would have taken time. Andrew, the footman, was the one who cried the alarm when he couldn't get Mr. Tremaine to answer the door in the morning. Andrew was one of the first on the scene and the one who opened the drapes. He seems a little suspicious and was in the right place at the right time for both murders. Dr. Roderick Munro, an old family friend, has the medical knowledge necessary to stab a man in the heart but why would he do that? He's a doctor. Kirsty, the maid, is one of those new socialist types. She believes she's too good to be a kitchen maid forever. In her mind, everyone is equal. She was lurking in the hallway upstairs the day before Mr. T was found dead. What was she doing there? The gardener's boy, Peddie, claims to have seen a ghost on the castle grounds. That gives us a new suspect, assuming there's no such thing as ghosts. Who is the woman in grey and what is she doing lurking around? The murderer is (view spoiler)[a sympathetic character. I understand the murderer has mental health problems but murder won't solve anything or ease the pain. The chain of events that set the murder in motion was a terrible accident and a tragedy. (hide spoiler)] I enjoyed this series and shall miss Maud and Daisy. Perhaps a spin-off? "The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency" title still works. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Sep 21, 2024
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Sep 22, 2024
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Jul 14, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0D4JDFY79
| 4.48
| 168
| unknown
| May 24, 2024
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Theodosia "Teddy" Quillfeather and Tuxedo Bird, who she liberated from the London Zoo, are off to Hardy Hall, the home of her mother's dear friend Lad
Theodosia "Teddy" Quillfeather and Tuxedo Bird, who she liberated from the London Zoo, are off to Hardy Hall, the home of her mother's dear friend Lady Gladys ?"Glitz" Turville. Teddy's mother has lined up three eligible bachelors for her consideration. Teddy must pick one to marry by the end of the weekend -OR ELSE! Teddy can't live without her car or her flat but neither can she live with any of the gentlemen attending the house party. How she can avoid marriage and survive at the same time? When Glitz shows Teddy a hideous emerald necklace she designed herself and reveals she cancelled the insurance policy just last week and now her husband fears there will be a heist this weekend and her necklace stolen. Lord Turville locks the necklace up in his safe and the next morning, the safe is wide open and the necklace missing. Tommy wants to call the police but Glitz knows the police will call the insurance company and the jig will be up. She asks Teddy to investigate the missing necklace. Tommy is less upset about the necklace than he is about his top secret formula for a type of super glue which has also gone missing! He enlists Teddy's aid to find the formula. If she does, it may just be her salvation! This is another fun, twisty mystery! This time there's no murder but there's plenty of hijinks and a couple of thefts to solve. I didn't guess who stole the necklace or why but in hindsight it seemed kind of obvious. There was too much going on to follow just one thread of the story at a time. Unlike Anty's stories, this one is told in third person. I didn't care for that as much because the formatting is odd on Kindle and there's too many italicized passages. Getting inside the head of a penguin is funny but I wish he was more of a sidekick with sharper thoughts. I noted a couple of historical and possible geographical errors. Middle School was used for alliterative purposes but I don't think they would have used that term. Skunks are native to North America but POSSIBLY could have escaped from a skunk farm or been let loose and gone wild. Woozles are a cute imaginary creature from the Winnie the Pooh stories, first published in 1926. I don't know whether Teddy would know that word but perhaps it entered the vernacular or she made it up and it was just a little nod to classic literature from the period. The word play had me in absolute stitches! If you read this in public, you have been warned - rolling on the floor (ROTFLMAO) will ensue. I really like Teddy. I don't approve of her flapper antics but she's incredibly smart, quick-witted, brave and independent. I admire and approve of her independence and lack of interest in marriage. Her mother doesn't understand her and Teddy doesn't explain herself to anyone, she just uses her quick brain to come up with a clever way of getting what she wants. I was in awe of how she manipulated everyone, especially her suitors. It was mean but not mean spirited, more cheeky. She tried to be kind to her friend and was wonderfully sensitive to the penguin's needs. No one else can hold a candle to Teddy's lightning fast thought processes and intelligence. Glitz is lovely and kind to Teddy but as she has no children of her own, she delights in playing matchmaker for other people's children. Like Teddy's mother, Glitz simply doesn't understand a young woman's need for independence. Glitz is pretty silly cancelling the insurance policy on a rare Burmese emerald necklace. Sure the policy was for a paltry some and Glitz doesn't even like the necklace but her husband did pay a pretty penny for the gem. Her husband, Tommy, is affable and generous to his wife but paranoid and nervous about his business. If the police thought a drifter stole a friend's diamond necklace, why would you a)invite those people to your house and b)suspect a heist this very weekend? Something is going on. Aunty Azalea, last seen in The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning, is back to her agoraphobic ways (or perhaps Teddy's story takes place before the murder of Aunty's neighbor). Aunty is in residence as chaperone for Teddy but spends all of her time hiding. She's paranoid, trusts no one and is easy to overlook. She must have observed some clues while hiding. Teddy is good with Aunty and doesn't mock her or dismiss the older woman because she's nervous. Teddy's friend Portia "Portion" Beanfield is here too. She's not wild like Teddy. She's respectable and more demure. She's off the market though and not there to split the suitors with Teddy. She has a young man in London but from what Teddy observes, the young man may be closer than London. The romantic drama was silly. Misunderstandings can be worked out by being honest with each other and sharing problems. It's no wonder Teddy wants to run from marriage. These suitors are undesirable! Beauregard Pilewright, on the verge of thirty, must marry before he’s thirty to collect his inheritance. He's an arrogant, sexist, egotistical mansplainer. He's condescending to Teddy and so vain and selfish, he'll never make a good husband. I don't see him as a thief though. He was too busy looking at himself in the doors to notice the safe combination. If he had more brains, I'd think he was a hustler and a con artist. He's the one voted most likely to run a Ponzi scheme but probably would never realize it. Tilden "Stilts" Stollery is devoted to Teddy. He's proposed to her dozens of times in Mayfair. Why is he here now? Poor Stilts. He's a lovely man but not too bright. He's earnest in his courtship but Teddy would run circles around him and he'd never know where he was or which end was up! However, Stilts is heir to a diamond mine and at a previous house party, a valuable diamond necklace went missing. Stilts will know the value of those diamonds. Algernon Brookbridge, son of Abernathy Brookbridge of Brookbridge Industrial Adhesives, a vital business associate of Tom's. Algie is big. He's a Rugby player and the game takes up 2/3 of his brain power. He's sweet though and enjoys poetry. Memorizing poetry IS how you get a degree in literature - it's not cheating, Stilts! Sir Oswald and Lady Woolpit were the couple hosting a party when her diamond necklace was stolen. The police claim a drifter stole it while everyone was out hunting. Riiigghttt... If this pair were smarter I'd say insurance fraud but they're both so clueless! I hate to laugh at them but they're really, really hysterical. Teddy has a lot of jokes at their expense. Lady Woolpit is vapid and has memory lapses. She's also a devoted gossip. Funny how the one thing she CAN remember is salacious and private information. She may have blabbed a secret to everyone she knows! Major Lonegrave is the one character taken straight from the time period and NOT given more modern values. He spent his adult life in India and Burma and seems to be having some difficulty adjusting. He knows the history of the emerald in the necklace and of course it's not ethical or a good story by our standards. He was a thief and swindler but after a run of bad luck, he seems to be on a straighter path, or at least mooching off everyone he can, waiting for his luck to turn. Nonsense. We make our own luck. There's no such thing as curses and bad luck, right? Instead of Vickers we have Midgeham, a member of staff at Hardy Hall for most of his life. He's very correct and considers all household problems his but a missing necklace and glue formula is beyond his knowledge. I enjoyed this foray into 1920-never and hope to meet Teddy again when her second adventure comes out. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 09, 2024
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Sep 10, 2024
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Jul 11, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1496747275
| 9781496747273
| 1496747275
| 4.14
| 431
| Jul 23, 2024
| Jul 23, 2024
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really liked it
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Tea By the Sea is happy to host private events like Hannah Hill's bridal shower but this one is turning out to be more trouble than it is worth. Hanna
Tea By the Sea is happy to host private events like Hannah Hill's bridal shower but this one is turning out to be more trouble than it is worth. Hannah is a lovely bride and her mother, Jenny, seems nice enough and the happy couple seem so in love. Lily knows this shower belongs to the wealthy Sophia Reynolds, mother of the groom. Her dislike of Hannah, Jenny and everything not under her own control is obvious and it was Sophia who planned the shower to begin with, with little input from Jenny. Not only is Sophia rude and condescending, her daughter McKenzie is bored and dismissive of everything and when the men come, the groom's father just wants to get drunk. Then someone plays a terrible prank on Hannah, giving her a gift of a decapitated Raggedy Ann doll, similar to one her late father gave her just before he died. The incident upsets Hannah so much, she retreats from her own shower. Next, later that night, after Lily has closed and baked for the next day, while walking her dog, she overhears Ralph Reynolds offer his son thousands of dollars not to go through with the wedding! Lily also spies a shadow of a person come out onto the grounds but doesn't think anything of it until morning when Mr. Reynolds fails to turn up at breakfast. Upon opening his door, Lily discovers Ralph lying dead on his bed with a bottle of Scotch. The family says he had a bad heart and his mother puts the blame squarely on Sophia for not managing her husband better. When the autopsy report reveals Mr. Reynolds had been given a lethal dose of diginin, the widow is quick to point the finger at Jenny, who has a past history with Mr. Reynolds! Lily doesn't want to get involved at first but Hannah is distraught and the wedding postponed. Lily knows in her gut Jenny didn't kill anyone and since Bernie and Rose are eager to investigate, Lily jumps in too, with assistance from Simon for protection. Can they solve this one and help bring about a happily ever after for Hannah and Greg? Even though I kind of knew who did it and why, I still couldn't put the book down. I love the tea room and if my parents had just brought me back scones and clotted cream from Virgin Atlantic airline anniversary celebration, I would be seriously craving them. Unlike Laura Childs series, this one doesn't go into detail about the tea blends or tea infused products. They don't make special meals, only tea sandwiches, scones, macarons and cookies and maybe something else upon advance request. I wish the setting was more Cape Cod specific. I like how I can read this in my head with my own educated New England accent but Mary Lou and Cheryl might speak with more of a Cape Cod Massachusetts accent. I'd like to know which small town near Boston. There aren't any really and it's such a small area we know the towns so no one says "I live in a small town near Boston" when you're visiting locally. That doesn't make sense. My other critique is sometimes the language/speech patterns sound more British English than American. For Lily that makes sense because of her grandmother but for anyone who is not Simon or Rose, it doesn't make sense. We speak New England not old England! Wow! Talk about dysfunctional family. Yikes! If I were Hannah and Greg I would just take my bridesmaid and Jenny and elope! This wedding isn't what they wanted to begin with. It's all domineering Sophia's plans. Sophia is a horrible mother. She complains that her mother-in-law wouldn't allow her son to do anything without her approval and yet she treats her own youngest son the same way. The shower is all her too, as lovely as a tea party is, it's not so lovely when someone else plans it against the bride's wishes. Sophia is quick to snipe at her husband, point fingers at his horrible mother and complain about everything. She's a control freak and all about appearances. She has to one up the country club set, the ladies who lunch and keep up with the Kardashians (not literally but monetarily). Her sons can't please her, especially Greg. Is he strong enough to go against her wishes and follow his own path? He seems very nice and truly in love with Hannah. Greg wants to follow his dreams and become a mural artist, obviously a profession that doesn't really make any money. Now concerns are normal but Sophia just shuts him down. No. Greg is too nice to stand up to his mother. He needs to man up and take control of the situation and tell his family they WILL be nice to Hannah or they'll elope and cause a scandal. Ralph Reynolds is nearly as bad as his wife. He's rude about everything except champagne and just wants to get drunk. That's a great way to welcome your new daughter-in-law! His can't stand up to his wife, they're always arguing and I gather he has other women in his life. They do have separate bedrooms and an excuse as to why but it's obvious they're married for money only. He's even more beastly to his son than his wife is, more overtly nasty. Sophia is a rich *itch who makes snide comments and smiles while stabbing someone in the back. Ralph is one of those drunks who makes snide comments and is generally unpleasant. His mother, Mrs. Regina Reynolds, is a battle axe. She's a tough old lady who is even worse than his wife. His wife is transparent but Regina is not. She thinks because she's old she has a right to be forthright and rude. She obviously and openly hates her daughter-in-law only marginally more than she hates her son! She resents her family situation and is awful to them all except McKenzie. Regina takes a liking to Rose though, bonding because of their age and widowhood. Rose is a hoot and blatantly lies and pretends her husband was cut from the same cloth as Ralph and his father. Regina is super fast to blame Sophia for her son's death, whether accidental or murder. She won't weep if Sophia is sent to jail. Regina is controlling and manipulative and I think she knows exactly what she's saying and doing. She is not the frail old lady the family wants to pretend she is. Hannah's mother Jenny seems very nice and supportive of her daughter. Jenny seems exasperated by her daughter's in-laws but I don't think she'd kill one of them. THAT wouldn't make her daughter's wedding day very happy! She has a past with Ralph - big deal. Why wait this long to kill him? She had the better end of the deal even though when her husband quit working for the Reynolds family, his income was a lot less, they were happy together for the short time they were married. Isn't that what matters? Even if she discovered some new reason why her husband had to quit/was fired/pushed out (depending on who you ask), he's long dead so getting revenge won't solve anything. It will only hurt Hannah. Plus Sophia is super quick to pin the blame on Jenny. I think she's trying to take suspicion off herself! Greg's older brother, Ivan, is supportive of his mother and not so awful. He's just an idle, rich (or not), playboy. He's not too sharp or I would suspect him of bumping off his father so he can do what he wants running the company. Dave, Greg's best man, is kind of odd. He's Greg's business partner but personally he doesn't seem to know Greg that well. I think Dave is freaked out by the murder and distancing himself from it. He's not the most supportive best man. Hannah is such a sweet woman. She doesn't deserve any of this. I think she could do better than Greg but if he makes her happy, I wouldn't be rude about it. Her bridesmaid, Samantha, seems kind and supportive but doesn't know about Hannah's past. Greg's sister, McKenzie, is awful. She's shaping up to be like her mother. Mac was spoiled and indulged by her grandmother but overlooked when it comes to businesses. Hmm I wonder if she's messing with everyone and she's incredibly smart and could run the business but they're overlooking her. She's playing a mind game with Greg to give up Hannah? I don't know what to make of her except she's very rude, cynical, bored and awful. McKenzie is obvious about hitting on Simon who doesn't want to return her attentions. He's happy with Lily and McKenzie seems to think she can openly challenge Lily and "steal" Simon. What gives? Just because he's British? She has a boyfriend, Jack, who isn't quite as useless as her family believes. She does seem genuinely upset when she learns of her father's death though. There's a group of bridge players staying at the inn. One player, Karen, is a nosy woman. She is carrying a mystery novel so of course she's curious about the police and how they're going about solving this crime. She's always lurking, hanging around and making excuses not to socialize with her Bridge pals. She's very weird. I was surprised but pleased to see Detective Amy Redmond take the lead in the investigation. She's highly intelligent and trusts Lily. She's aware of Bernie and Rose's tendencies and helps keep them safe. I like her a lot. Det. Williams is still apathetic and just wants to eat. I'm surprised he isn't trying to hush this up because of the wealthy tourists involved. He's the type to pin the crime on Jenny and not look elsewhere. Bernie is still a bit annoying but listens when Lily shuts down her latest plot changes. I do think her fears about Matt are somewhat valid but why not wait and see what happens? Maybe it won't pan out the way she thinks. He's not a fiction writer. Simon is a sweet guy who cares for Lily but he's a little overprotective. Lily has learned her lesson and goes to Amy whenever she has a thought or clue. It's not Simon's job to keep Lily safe and if he doesn't want McKenzie hanging all over him, he should politely but firmly tell her he's not interested! Rose managed not to annoy me in this book. She uses her elderly lady wiles on other older ladies to get information in a logical manner. She doesn't do anything outrageous or pretend to be what she isn't. There are recipes included if you want to eat at Tea By the Sea at home. Laura Childs's Tea Shop Mysteries have a list of tea resources if you need them! ...more |
Notes are private!
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Aug 16, 2024
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Aug 17, 2024
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Jul 05, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 0698197356
| 9780698197350
| B00NMPN1N8
| 3.84
| 2,597
| 2015
| May 05, 2015
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liked it
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3.5 stars While attending a grand affair to celebrate the opening of a a new exhibit at the Gibbes Museum, a historic Chinese tea house imported from S 3.5 stars While attending a grand affair to celebrate the opening of a a new exhibit at the Gibbes Museum, a historic Chinese tea house imported from Shanghai, Theodosia stumbles across the dead body of museum board member Edgar Webster inside a photo booth hired by her boyfriend Max, the museum's PR person. When Max winds up on the "person if interest" list, Theodosia is incensed! The police don't seem to be getting any closer to solving the murder so she must take matters into her own hands! Meanwhile, there are themed teas to hold at the shop and charity functions to participate in, plus with Halloween coming up, Theodosia and Earl Grey need costumes for a 5K charity run! How can Theodosia do all of that and solve the murder too? This is a good mystery. I figured out who about 30% in based on the pattern established in previous books. I didn't know why until the clue dropped and Theodosia figured it out. I mostly like how she handled this investigation. She kept Tidwell in the loop. The catch a killer scene is still farcical but better than the earlier pattern. I just don't like Theodosia that much. She's still rude to people she shouldn't be rude to and kind to suspects. I guess that's supposed to show her loyalty? She also needs to grow a backbone and tell Delaine there's a limit to the amount of charity functions she can handle at any given time! Plus I'm tired of reading about her beauty. Give me a break! Her references are a little old given her age but not half so weird as Haley's. If Haley is supposed to be in her 20s, her Titanic reference would be James Cameron's epic film. She wouldn't even be aware of A Night to Remember unless she caught it on late night TV. She wouldn't know The Love Boat at all. The Indigo Tea Shop's Titanic themed tea for Halloween was incredibly inappropriate. I've been to a Titanic themed tea but it wasn't for Halloween. It was in spring when Titanic actually set sail and yes one of the volunteers dressed as Captain E.J. Smith and the girls serving tea were maids but I think Theo should have had a lovely tea gown to wear. They also could have piped in the soundtrack to the 1998 film in addition to period music. If you're going with the macabre Halloween theme then yes, DO have an orchestra play "Nearer My God to Thee"! At least this time Haley did research the menu. They didn't buy reproduction White Star Line china though. I thought they should have! Yes I put more thought into this than Laura Childs did! I still don't like Max. I thought "a-ha! Now he's a suspect he'll be involved in the investigation now too!" but no. Then I saw a glimpse of the shoe on the other foot, Theo worried about Max but that also went nowhere. I don't think these two are going to last much longer. Edgar Webster was not particularly a nice man but he was a major mover and shaker at the museum. He was instrumental in acquiring the tea house from China. His wife, Charlotte, is a major mean girl. She's a *itch and a half. She's the type who says one thing while meaning another and "nicely" puts down people she considers beneath her notice, like Theodosia. She's a gold digger, is cheap and doesn't appreciate the beauty of the tea house. (While this one is fictitious, there are real life examples.) Rumor has it Edgar considered their marriage "open" so I don't blame Charlotte for being bitter and mean but divorce him! I think she killed him. Her hysterics upon discovering the identity of the victim were too over the top. She's too encouraging of Theodosia's investigation and too quick to point the finger at Cecily. Cecily Conrad, Edgar's girlfriend, acts like a child. Daddy has given her everything she's every asked for and then she grew up and moved on to a sugar daddy. She hasn't emotionally matured. She got money from Edgar to finance her business and that should have been made clear that it was a loan and not a gift or they should have had some sort of prenup (even if they weren't married). Cecily behaves like a brat through the whole thing. I believe she does miss Edgar but mainly as a sugar daddy. A good suspect for murderer, besides the wronged women, is Roger Greaves, Edgar's business partner. He was the one pushing Edgar to take the company public. Edgar was opposed to the idea. Charlotte seems very cozy with Edgar very quickly and I suspect the pair hatched a plan to murder Edgar in order to take the company public and get together romantically. However, he's married. His wife Dolly is pretty sharp when it comes to business and financial information. I wonder if she might be the killer? Harlan Duke, the man who located the tea house and persuaded the owner to sell it, is new to Charleston. He's a transplant from Texas and seems into Theo. He appreciates fine Chinese antiques and is adjusting quickly to Charleston society. He seems very persuasive. He may have had an argument with Edgar that went too far. Elliot Kern, the museum director, doesn't seem to like Max much. Elliot seems to be bowing to the whims of Edgar even after Edgar is dead. Edgar didn't approve of Max's PR style or his ideas to begin with and Elliot is quick to think the worst of Max. I think he was itching for an excuse to fire Max and the bad publicity from the murder is convenient. I don't know if he's a suspect though. What motive does he have? Percy Capers, the museum's curator of Asian Art, is Max and Theodosia's ally. He's the man they need on the inside to help them out when they need to investigate. He's the only one loyal to Max. One last new character is Delaine's Aunt Astra aka "Aunt Acid." She's a hoot! This old lady says whatever comes into her head. She disapproves of everybody and every thing - except, apparently hay rides, booze and pepper spray. Delaine can't handle having an aunt who is so "uncouth." Aunt Astra reminds me of a Georgian era old lady and Delaine a late Regency/Victorian gently reared lady. I hope Aunt Astra sticks around to annoy Delaine. This series is getting a little better and some of the recipes in the back sound good. I appreciate the lists of tea and Charleston resources. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 29, 2024
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Jun 30, 2024
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Jul 01, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 0425252957
| 9780425252956
| 0425252957
| 3.85
| 2,704
| Mar 04, 2014
| Mar 04, 2014
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liked it
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Theodosia is pleased to be attending her first wine tasting event with her dear friend Drayton at his friend Jordan Knight's Knighthall Winery. Jordan
Theodosia is pleased to be attending her first wine tasting event with her dear friend Drayton at his friend Jordan Knight's Knighthall Winery. Jordan is eager to introduce his son Drew who is missing in action just before Jordan reveals their newest South Carolina wine. When the barrel is rolled to the stage, Drew's bloody body falls out! Jordan is distraught and beside himself with grief. Drayton promises Jordan Theodosia will poke around and get to the bottom of the mystery. Theodosia isn't so sure she can solve this one on her own. All she uncovers is the family's dirty secrets. Maybe this is one murder she'll have to let go. I don't like wine and I don't know or care anything about wine. Why was this tea shop mystery about wine? I didn't love that. I did love the tea! I wanted to dive in and attend the Downton Abbey tea! However, I was disappointed Haley didn't go all out and research Victorian recipes from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management and make those. Some of her treats are close and the good people of Charleston apparently don't know or care if it's not a real Downton Abbey tea. I'd still go! Also this was the perfect opportunity for Delaine to sell some antique cotton dresses from the 19teens and 20s and she totally missed it! I bet she has something that looks similar! And the hat shop lady should have created some fascinators and hats and Brooke made some Edwardian art nouveau jewelry. Does Theo even KNOW the show is a period piece? Did she miss the memo and just know that people were requesting an English Downton Abbey tea? I'd still go LOL! I've been to a Titanic tea and the same historic house museum does a Downton Abbey tea too. The plot kept me guessing. I did know who killed Drew. It was obvious based on the pattern established in all the previous books. However, I didn't know why. I was impressed by how Theo figured it out, actually. The end is a little farcical but it's different so that was OK by me. Theodosia finally admits she's really not so good at this whole detective business and it's not her place to figure out who killed Drew. Why everyone else believes she can do it is beyond me. She's still dating Max. The story jumps into his head briefly, in the beginning. I still don't like him. He doesn't like Theo sleuthing and couches it as concern for her well-being. He's said his piece now he needs to shut up. If she can't consider his feelings maybe they shouldn't be together. Sheriff Aaron Anson is the usual arrogant cop eager to throw his weight around but he doesn't seem to be doing anything to solve the murder. Jordan Knight?! "Knight Music!" AHH I hope he's not the murderer. "Baby I believe in you!" OK this Jordan Knight is not my sister's Jordan Knight but the name and the pun is an odd coincidence. Theo likes him but she's not a great judge of character. I don't think Drayton is either. He likes classy people and Jordan doesn't seem to be all that classy. He's a self-made businessman who has turned to winemaking as a second career. He's risked everything for not much reward so far. He's counting on this new wine to put his winery on the map. His son owned a share in the business along with his wife Pandora. They're not equal partners though and Pandora wants to sell to a Japanese businessman. Jordan won't consider it. Without Drew, Pandora has the most stake in the business. Did she kill her stepson to gain control of the winery? Where Jordan is soft and feeling, Pandora is cold and calculating. She's a piece of work. A gold digger, she's Jordan's third wife and Drew's stepmother and now rumor has it this marriage is on the rocks too. Theo is surprised because Drew's death seemed to bring the Knights closer together. No Theo, no! Pandora is a piece of work and she's feeing you information she wants you to know! I think she's pointing fingers at anyone to take the suspicion off herself. Mr. Tanaka wants to buy the winery and Jordan won't sell. Mr. Tanaka was spotted with Drew not long before the murder must have taken place. Did he kill Drew to get his hands on Knighthall Winery? No no no! I don't think a Japanese person would do that. Not even a businessman. At least none of the Japanese people I know would do that. I'm sure Mr. Tanaka is trustworthy. Plus why South Carolina wine? It's not California! The winery is barely afloat. That doesn't make sense. Tom Grady, the Knighthall Winery manager, is not a loyal employee. He's gruff and tough and does his job but he'll leave in a heartbeat if he thinks leaving will benefit him. He's reluctant to talk to Theo and doesn't really share any information but I don't think he's trustworthy. Tanya, Drew's girlfriend, is freeloading off the Knights but they don't seem to like her. Rumor has it Drew had a drug problem. Could Tanya be responsible for his relapse? She isn't friendly or kind or even thoughtful. She's rude and angry. Tanya claims Theodosia is pawing through HER things. Theo was examining some artwork Drew had made for the new wine labels. Did Tanya actually draw them and Drew took the credit? Carl Van Deusen was a friend of Drew's. He works as a waiter contracted out for different events in and around Charleston. He was at the winery the day Drew was killed. Could they have had a falling out over drugs? Carl seems like a nice young man. He's nervous around Theo though and seems like he may have something to hide. Did he see something he shouldn't have? Is he afraid the killer will come after him? Donny Hedges, owner of Plantation Wilds golf course wanted to buy the winery for the land to expand his own business. He seems affable and open. Would he kill DREW though? Better to kill Jordan to get what he wants. Georgette Kroft, a rival winery owner, is a big, bold, brassy businesswoman. She's ruthless and not afraid to speak her mind. For some reason she latches on to Theo. I think Georgette Kroft is up to no good and may be the murderer. She points the finger at Alex Burgoyne, a silent partner in Knighthall Winery. She claims he's sleazy but he seems nice enough to me. He provides some background information and character witness information in Theo's investigation but I don't think he is the murderer. He may or may not have been involved in unsavory deals but what and when and where are unknown. Andrew Turner, who owns a small art gallery, isn't making much money but is eager to buy a big, fancy house like Dugan Granville's grand mansion. I'm not sure how he has that kind of money. He seems to be into Theo and then it's love at first sight when he sees Delaine. I think he may be out for her money. He's a little weird and socially awkward but seems nice enough. Delaine is a bad judge of men so I'm suspicious of Andrew but don't have a reason to be other than that. Unless Andrew is a drug dealer or somehow connected to Drew. One or two of the recipes in the back look good. I'll return to this series soon. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 22, 2024
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Jun 23, 2024
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Jun 29, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 0425245535
| 9780425245538
| 0425245535
| 3.86
| 3,093
| 2012
| Mar 06, 2012
|
liked it
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Theodosia and friends are on hand for the opening of the new Neptune Aquarium. Theo is eager to see the giant fish tank and take a break from the fest
Theodosia and friends are on hand for the opening of the new Neptune Aquarium. Theo is eager to see the giant fish tank and take a break from the festivities and avoid a run-in with her ex-boyfriend, Parker Scully. They talked and things are good with them but people do love to gossip and create drama where there should be none. She's been avoiding Parker though and going out with her new man instead. While staring at the fish, Theodosia is confused, then shocked and horrified when she sees a human body floating in the tank! The hand on the body sports one very familiar ring and Theo knows the body must be Parker! She jumps into action but it's too late to save him. The EMTs arriving on the scene too late assume Parker slipped and fell, thereby declare death by drowning. Then Theo notices some unusual markings on her ex's hands, indicating there had been a struggle. While Tidwell doesn't quite believe Theodosia, she launches her own investigation to get at the truth and find justice for Parker. Meanwhile, Delaine has signed Indigo Tea Shop up for a charity scavenger hunt to benefit Tuesday's Child for at-risk youth. Theo supports the cause and reluctantly joins the hunt to photograph various locations in the region. It's easier said than done but with trusty friend Drayton by her side, they manage to survive a rain storm and photograph a now closed run-down fish shack, among other places. She also caters a charity function for Aunt Libby and when she and Aunt Libby take a trip out to the apiary where the shop gets their honey, Theo's jeep is run into and Aunt Libby is injured in the accident. Did someone try to murder Theo or was it a warning that she is close to solving the mystery? Will she be able to figure it out before she or someone she cares about gets hurt? The plot was intriguing and I couldn't put it down. I don't enjoy stories where the victim was someone close to the main character. I didn't like Parker very much but he didn't deserve to die. There was a little too much going on in this mystery and Theo is TSTL! She walks right into a trap I saw coming. To be fair to her, the murderer isn't someone on her radar but it never is. This time the murderer wasn't quite on my radar either. I thought it was someone else not on the radar. Turns out Tidwell could have solved this one himself with a phone call! I do love all the tea information. It's so lovely. I do NOT enjoy bonsai (sorry Daddy) and there was a little too much for me but I know everyone else loves those darn trees. (Unless they're your father's favorite children and he makes you water them in the hot summer sun and calls to check up on them 3xs daily while he's away). The one other thing I disliked Theo for doing was after her investigation. She did the right thing morally but it wasn't the right thing to do. There could be a whole bunch of legal trouble after that. She doesn't use her head very often. Drayton is the tea blender, poetry reciter and bodyguard and Haley is a friend and baker. She's supposed to be a smart, successful business woman but I think she lacks common sense. The annoying characters manage to keep their annoyingness to a minimum and Delaine even acknowledges she and Theo were born with silver spoons in their mouths but not everybody was. I didn't get the impression Theodosia was but she has money because she works for it. She's mentioned she can't always afford the clothes Delaine pushes on her and couldn't afford her new cottage at first. Delaine is super obnoxious in her quest for a husband. She's latched on to Granville because he's wealthy and easily persuaded. She's nearly as cuckoo as her sister! I think she did the same thing to Granville her sister did to Bill. (No mention of Nadine in this book). Aunt Libby is the best! She's so sweet and I share her love for animals. Theo's new boyfriend, Max, is an improvement over the last two but I still get weird vibes from him. He at least cares about her in appropriate ways and listens and offers to join her in the hunt for photo locations. He's the one who has to bail on a date due to work but lets her know ahead of time which is courteous of him. Maybe he'll grow on me once I get to know him better. Who murdered Parker? Was it Chef Toby? Chef Toby claims he wasn't paying attention to Parker's new proposed restaurant because Parker planned to hire another chef. A-ha! Chef Toby was resentful and killed Parker in anger. Or maybe it has to be something about sustainable fishing. It's mentioned a few times in the story that there are laws about where fisherman can catch fish and Theo may have seen something she shouldn't have. Theo is awful to her suspects. She badgers and bullies and is generally hostile. Is it any wonder she was nearly killed? Perhaps the murderer was sleazy lawyer Joe Beaudry? I didn't think he seemed all that sleazy. He is slick and maybe unethical. Lyle Manship, a mafia type businessman/restauranteur is sleazy. He doesn't show any evidence he's with the mob but he does seem to be a ruthless businessman and shady too. A strong candidate for shady, sleazy murderer is Peaches Pafford, a restauranteur and Parker's rival. She's scary. I think she would take advantage of a man and marry him for his restaurant and then divorce him and claim the restaurant in the divorce proceedings. She has a predatory air about her and takes advantage of another character. Another strong candidate is David Sedakis, the Neptune Aquarium Executive Director. He's a shady dealer for sure. He takes kickbacks or bribes and cuts corners, probably. He's only mildly concerned about someone dying in the aquarium before it is officially open. Buddy Krebs, a fisherman, rails against poaching and wants tougher regulations. He's prepared to be a one man crusader and enforce regulations himself. He seems friendly with the aquarium guy though. That seems... at odds with each other. Other new characters include Majel Carter, director of Tuesday's Child. She seems nice but intense. She already has the wealthy museum goers donating and now she's up for this grant for her summer camp. I think she truly wants to help children and doesn't exactly see the reality in front of her that people have lives and jobs She expects Theo to drop everything and do this scavenger hunt and even stalks Theo at Aunt Libby's to ask for help. I have the next one on my nightstand to be read this weekend and I'm going to try Indigo Tea Shop's tea slushie. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 07, 2024
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Jun 08, 2024
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Jun 14, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 1942218915
| 9781942218913
| B0CW1JHPL7
| 4.41
| 601
| Jun 28, 2024
| Jun 28, 2024
|
really liked it
|
Thank you Lynn Messina, Book Whisper and NetGalley for the free advanced reading copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not aff
Thank you Lynn Messina, Book Whisper and NetGalley for the free advanced reading copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not affected by the giveaway.
The Duchess of Kesgrave is eager to help her beloved husband become closer to the half-sister he never knew but she never expected to meet Verity Lark in Newgate! When Bea tries to befriend her husband's sister she discovers Verity has been arrested for murdering the cruel woman who made the lives of Verity, her friends and fellow orphans a misery. Verity was caught with the smoking gun, literally! Verity's friends know she would never kill anyone, not even the Wraithe. Verity prefers the written word and if she did plan to kill the Wraithe, she'd make sure Agnes Wraithe knew just who it was that ended her life. Bea agrees and sets out on a wild chase to discover the nefarious plot she believes was set to entrap Verity. Who would conduct such a vicious machination? Was it a shadowy figure who hired a gunman to shoot Miss Wraithe and the Runner to find her? Or could it be the shadowy figure killed Miss Wraithe and then hired the Runner? Perhaps the shadowy figure hired the Runner to both kill Miss Wraithe and discover Miss Lark in a damning situation? TRIGGER WARNING: This has to come first. Don't read this book if child abuse is a trigger for you. This book contains mentions of lots and lots of disgusting abuse of privilege and power used against impoverished orphaned children. I don't even like children and found the stories Verity has uncovered and Bea discovers completely reprehensible. If you've read her books, you know some of it but not all of it. Warning #2: One suspect uses the term "feeble-minded". The main characters use more sympathetic, modern terms. The period correct term is used twice in one scene. Woah! This may be the twistiest mystery yet. It kept me guessing until JUST before Bea figured it out. There was a clue that gave me an inkling earlier but I thought it might be someone else. Then the clue was dropped that allowed me to realize who it must be but I didn't guess WHO exactly. It was a bit of a shocker. I didn't really like the catch a killer scene. I understand why it had to be that way - Bea is "with cherub" and needed to be safe but I think there could have been a safe way for Bea to do it herself. It's more fun and outrageous that way. Oh gosh I love Bea. I can relate to her being an introverted book nerd and in her head all the time. Poor Bea. She hasn't known her beloved Damien that long - less than a year! (It's been a fortnight since the last murder!) He has demonstrated how much he loves her and is devoted to her. He adores her and loves her wholeheartedly. However, part of her is still that emotionally starved little girl no one wants waiting for the other shoe to drop. How cruel of her parents' lawyer to threaten her with the orphanage! The threat traumatized her and turned her into an anxious little mouse, afraid to speak up lest she get sent away. She has transferred some of that fear to Kesgrave. He's a Duke! She wonders if he's getting bored with her and her investigations now. He points out she broke a marriage vow right away. Her last investigation was on behalf of his former mistress and Bea is a notorious figure in the press, hardly Duchess material. Now she's possibly carrying the heir to the Dukedom, her behavior must be beyond reproach as Duchess of Kesgrave and mother of a future duke. All this goes through her head at rapid pace and she can't help worry about how her husband feels now. She's also feeling blue because this case involves child abuse. Her own childhood trauma was NOTHING compared to what the children of Fortescue's went through. Fortunately Damien is the most swoonworthy of Regency romance dukes! He truly does love Bea with all his heart and soul. He knows her better than she knows him. He can read her face like a book and knows what she's thinking. Damien is very sweet and explains to Bea what she's thinking and why she shouldn't be thinking it. (In more ways than one...) I find it hilarious that she's turned on by his pedantry and he knows it and therefore, starts on one of his lists just to cheer her up. ("HMS Goliath, HMS Audacious, HMS Majestic"... ) The Duke of Kesgrave only pretends to be a Darcy. Like Darcy he was brought up to think highly of himself and his position. He has wealth and status and could be a total jerk (ahem like Darcy... don't hate me! Read the book!) but he's a kind, caring man. Deep down he too is emotionally insecure at times due to his traumatic childhood. "Whatever, I'm over it!" is what he would say now but he's not. His parents' cruelty and uncle's despicable behavior left a mark and he's determined NOT to be like them. Kesgrave is unfailingly kind and caring towards others. He knows just how to cheer people up and is intuitive about how Verity must feel. Verity doesn't appear much in the book but she is the focus and the center of the investigation. I agree that she preferred to make Agnes Wraithe's life miserable and ruin the lives of the Forestcue's Orphan Asylum board members. They all deserved it and she enjoyed making them miserable. Murder isn't her style and why now? She's too smart to succumb to blackmail and she even had a plan in mind. She would willingly out herself as Robert Lark rather than pay one cent of blackmail, especially to the woman who made her childhood miserable. What does she have to lose? She still has Twaddle-Thumb, although she promised to stop writing about the Duchess, and she has other identities she can use and create more. Verity is holding her own in Newgate and trying not to let her fear and worry show. Bea notes Verity is without means or protection. An unmarried, middle class woman will never be saved from the gallows. Indeed, as Lord Colson discovers, Lord Sidmouth, the Home Secretary, won't lift a finger to help, not even in thanks for all Lord Colson has done. (Apparently, Courtesans are not in danger of being hanged but nosy, meddling spinsters are fair game?!) Lord Colson Hardwicke, the disgraced second son of a Marquess, is impressed by Verity's intelligence and determination. Bea can see Colson is utterly besotted with Verity and thinks he must be a better person than his reputation because Verity is a good judge of character. Bea guesses what everyone who read A Lark's Conceit knows already but only some of it! Bea's not as clever as Verity. The Dowager Duchess of Kesgrave is back in her grandson's good books. She is trying hard to make amends to "the child" Mary Price, La Reina's illegitimate daughter who now calls herself Verity Lark. It took too long for her to share the story of how she met Verity. It was a bit frustrating for me because I knew the story and didn't know why she didn't lead with it! Unfortunately for the Dowager, every attempt she makes to help Verity ends up making the situation worse. No good deed goes unpunished! Agnes Wraithe was an unimaginative, punitive, small-minded, evil woman. She has come down in the world since her days of running an orphans asylum, thanks to Verity. She didn't have the brains to figure out Robert Lark's true identity, let alone to come up with a plan to frame Verity for murder. She doesn't even really know who Verity IS exactly - her worst enemy. Was she working with someone or did someone use her for their own evil purposes? It's odd that a Runner should just happen to appear on the scene to find Verity holding the murder weapon. Cyrus Thimble had to be a part of the vicious machinations behind Verity's arrest. Was Thimble coerced? Did he owe money to the killer? He claims he was responding to a summons but who in that neighborhood can afford to hire a Runner? Did Miss Wraithe still have dealings with Lord Condon, Fortescue's disgraced patron? Could he be the killer. I think he is. He lost the most and has the most to gain. While he's living large on his estate in Ireland, he's in exile and cannot return to London and life among the ton. I hope he is the killer. He needs to be punished for what he did to those children. I don't even like children and what he did made my stomach turn. The girls had the worst of it. It's sick how men do not see females as beings with thoughts, feelings and emotions. Even though Lord Condon is supposedly in Ireland, he has the means to return to London or hire a hit man to do the dirty deed for him. I think Lord Condon hired Cyrus Thimble to kill Agnes Wraithe and frame Verity. At the very least, I think he's the one who came across Robert Lark's identity. He must have had a letter from someone who figured it out or had so much time to think and stew, he figured it out on his own. That makes him a dangerous enemy! His representative in London, Edmund Ellis, is a sycophant and a fool. He has ethics which is normally good but in this case he won't give up information needed to solve a murder without getting something in return. Bea figures out a way around Ellis's ethical concerns. I admit that scene is funny even if I don't like the character. Cyrus Thimble doesn't seem very smart. I think he was hired by the shadowy figure but is not the shadowy figure. He doesn't have a motive to be the shadowy figure. Why would he kill Miss Wraithe? He's an officer of the law and it is his duty to follow the law and bring lawbreakers to Bow Street to start the justice process. Not much of what he says makes sense, practically speaking. He's no match for the Duchess and Duke of Kesgrave though. He provides a number of new suspects though, besides himself. It's a longshot but could one of the neighbors have been so fed up with Miss Wraithe's terrorizing their children they decided to put a stop to it, permanently? I HIGHLY doubt that. Perhaps Miranda Jones's father wanted Miss Wraithe to suffer the way little Miranda did and therefore I would guess he would manufacture a story to have her arrested and thrown in prison but not actually resort to murder. That simply doesn't make sense. Who do those in power accuse first? The ones without power. No, this case surely involves a plot to frame Verity so why would the neighbors do that when their beef was with Miss Wraithe after she was fired from Fortescue's? The investigation turns to the disgraced board members of Fortescue's at the time of Miss Wraithe's tenure. Not only did they turn a blind eye to her abuse, they perpetuated abuse of their own upon the children. Stop reading the book here if you started but can't stand to read about children being harmed! Charles Wigsworth claims to be a man of science but he is a man of science much in the way Victor Frankenstein is a scientist. Wigsworth is playing around with laughing gas and other gasses to try to invent anesthesia decades before the actual discovery. All he wants is glory and fame, recognition from actual men of science. That's not too much to ask is it? Of course it is when one becomes obsessed to the point of ignoring his family and everything else. Of course it's too much when personal gain overrides ethics! I wasn't as horrified by what he did as Bea is but the man is NOT a man of science. The children didn't understand the risks vs. the reward! They had no one to study the issue and decide if the risk was worth it to assist with a major medical breakthrough. No, Wigsworth took advantage of the children who had no protectors and used them as human guinea pigs until something went wrong. I'm sure he's understating the situation too. Wigsworth simply didn't care who he tested his gas on. Another board member, Alicia Beveridge, lives near Mayfair with her husband and children. She's a feather wit, a ninny, a shallow woman who cares more for fripperies that enhance her own comfort than for orphaned children. Her husband is a cheapskate who keeps her on a short leash and it sounds like she needs it. If she had credit cards, they would be maxed out. There was no reason for her to steal money from poor children so she wouldn't have to do without things these children never had. She tries to make herself out to be the victim. She sounds like a child. Mrs. Beveridge is typical of the ultra wealthy who don't want to give up their own comforts so someone else can have basic necessities. Still, she was the only one who befriended Miss Wraithe, tried to listen sympathetically and learn what made Miss Wraithe tick. Given this knowledge, perhaps Mrs. Beveridge is the shadowy figure? I don't think she has the brains to do it but perhaps her husband murdered Miss Wraithe to put an end to his wife's misery and to protect his reputation? After all, it's his money he's withholding that caused his wife to steal from the orphans in the first place. Alicia confides in her dearest friend, Harriet "Feathers" Featherstone-Haughton. She confided private information to Feathers. Did Alicia learn of Robert Lark's true identity? Did she tell Feathers? Did Feathers leak the news to someone else? Her husband, maybe? He sounds like a slimy worm. Caroline Knowles has a secret but I don't think she's the murderer. Her secret isn't so bad in proportion to the others. She feels proper remorse for what happened and understands why what she did was bad. She's a lonely young widow who made a mistake that ended in tragedy. She doesn't seem to be suffering too much but her secret mistake did cause her to break her engagement. I don't see why she would murder Miss Wraithe and frame Verity NOW. It doesn't seem logical. Pritchard Dibin is the most interesting board member. One report says he's a doddering old man who fell asleep and drooled through board meetings. Our intrepid sleuths think otherwise. Perhaps he has a medical condition? There are signs though that he had a motive for murder and the brains to put a dastardly scheme into place. Of all the board members, he's the one with a current motive. He doesn't have a solid alibi and his story seems a little fishy to me. I don't want him to be the murderer because he's a family man and seems like a caring father and grandfather. One final suspect is a man named Hottenroth who is worse than even Lord Condon. That man was truly evil. Trigger warning again! Giles Hottenroth was truly evil. He deserved a fate worse than death. His family didn't deserve to suffer though. Now HIS crime makes me sick to my stomach and I was shocked that it came up in a series that's usually fairly light. Someone could be out to avenge his downfall and the family's come down in the world. I just adore this series and am still hoping Bea and Verity will team up for the next investigation before the Season ends and the Kesgraves go off to the country. The Duke of Kesgrave and Lord Colson won't be able to keep up LOL! I hope there are many more adventures to come for Bea and Kesgrave, Verity and Colson too! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 05, 2024
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Jun 07, 2024
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Jun 05, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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QNPoohBear
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really liked it
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Aug 12, 2022
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| 4.15
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really liked it
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Feb 04, 2021
not set
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Sep 24, 2024
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| 3.82
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it was ok
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Mar 08, 2023
not set
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Sep 16, 2024
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| 4.58
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really liked it
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Sep 17, 2024
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Sep 15, 2024
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| 4.65
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it was ok
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Sep 14, 2024
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Sep 13, 2024
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liked it
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Sep 11, 2024
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Sep 09, 2024
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really liked it
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Sep 09, 2024
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Sep 09, 2024
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| 2.70
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liked it
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Sep 08, 2024
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Sep 08, 2024
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liked it
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Sep 08, 2024
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Sep 07, 2024
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| 4.42
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really liked it
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Sep 07, 2024
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Sep 06, 2024
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| 4.81
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Aug 26, 2024
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Aug 25, 2024
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| 3.91
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liked it
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Apr 06, 2019
not set
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Aug 13, 2024
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| 4.71
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really liked it
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Jul 16, 2024
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| 4.42
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really liked it
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Sep 22, 2024
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Sep 10, 2024
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| 4.14
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really liked it
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Aug 17, 2024
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Jul 05, 2024
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| 3.84
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liked it
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Jun 30, 2024
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Jul 01, 2024
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| 3.85
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liked it
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Jun 23, 2024
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Jun 29, 2024
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| 3.86
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liked it
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Jun 08, 2024
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Jun 14, 2024
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| 4.41
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really liked it
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Jun 07, 2024
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Jun 05, 2024
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