Mystery

The Man Who Died Twice

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by Richard Osman

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“More women are murdering people these days,” says Joyce. “If you ignore the context, it is a real sign of progress.”

“I’m involved about as much as I want to be with the Thursday Murder Club. If they can plant cocaine in someone’s cistern, I don’t want to think about what they’d do with my love life.”


The Thursday Murder Club, the initial book in this series is about what happens when a group of murder mystery-loving retirees are confronted with a real life murder in their own retirement community. I liked it quite well. I do not remember too much about the actual mystery, except that I have the vague feeling I was a little disappointed in that part. What I liked was the writing, the humor and the characters. However, books two, three, and four came out in the series and I let them go by with only just a little regret. But with all the publicity about the upcoming Netflix movie they came back to my attention and I decided to listen to the second one on Audible. With The Man Who Died Twice, I got the whole package. The mystery and the other goings on interested me much more than the first one, and the humor and characters were even better. I really grew attached to all in the club and their allies and the bad guys were equally entertaining. The conclusion was touching and satisfying. Justice was done, and extraordinarily so. I also want to add that the narration by the great actress Lesley Manville was brilliant.

Elizabeth, the formidable and fascinating ring leader of the Thursday Murder Club, is contacted by her ex-husband, Douglas, who wants to engage her and her friends to protect him from several organizations or personages that are looking to get back 20 million pounds worth of diamonds that they think he stole. (That pounds as in monetary unit, not weight-Ha Ha.) He believes his life is in danger and he would be right. Meanwhile, Murder Club mainstay Ibrahim, beloved by all, is attacked and beaten by a teenage thug and it is heartbreaking. Murder, Mayhem, Skullduggery, and Retribution ensue. In undertaking their changing goals as far as the Douglas assignment and their relentless pursuit of justice for Ibrahim, much is revealed about our crew. And of course our crew includes Chris, the local DCI and his partner Donna, a police constable. They are trying to put away Connie Johnson, a menace of a drug dealer and all around baddy, who has been a thorn in their side for ages.

Bogdan, a character whom I don’t even remember in the first one, was one of my favorites in this one. He is vital to the success of the Club’s missions, and and there are some personal developments regarding him, as well as Chris and Donna, that make me eager to read the third in the series to see where it all goes. The often underestimated Joyce’s emotional intelligence and Elizabeth’s experience and savvy continue to delight and amaze. We learn a lot more about Elizabeth’s background and adventures as a MI5 agent. Although it is tinged with sadness, her loving relationship with her Dementia-stricken husband Steven, was one of my favorite aspects of the book. I fully expect Ibrahim’s physical and mental recovery to be all but settled in the next entry.

I enjoy being surprised and confounded when reading a mystery as well as seeing through some red herrings and predicting some twists. This one delivered with both. I fear I may have gotten into spoiler territory in a couple of places which is not good territory to be in when reviewing a mystery. If, like me, you had some reservations over Richard Osman’s first book even if you enjoyed it on the whole, please give this one a go.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Mysterious Half Cat (Judy Bolton #9)

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By Margaret Sutton

“Holy Christmas!” Horace exclaimed way down in his throat. “What do you call that?” “The Half Cat!” gasped Scottie, one had to her heart. Even Judy found herself clutching Arthur’s coat sleeve in that moment of frozen terror… Let’s get out of here,” Horace whispered hoarsely and began helping Scottie through the window…..“Wait a minute!” Judy detained him “I have an idea.”

I had decidedly mixed feelings about this one. At the beginning of the book, Judy is awakened from a horrible nightmare in which Blackberry, her beloved cat, is hit by a car and cut in half! Peter and Arthur appear and Blackberry, still cut in two, gets up and follows them. The top half follows Arthur and the bottom half follows Peter as they head in opposite directions. Although obviously symbolic of Judy’s feelings being torn between the two young men, this image was very disturbing to me and it is one of the recurring themes in the book. An old beggar approaches the front porch where Judy is telling Honey about her dream and Honey buys the old man’s dream book to interpret it. The old man warns her against dreaming of cats, a coincidence which startles Judy. Peter comes by and shows the girls a mysterious coded note which he found in front of Wing Lee’s Chinese laundry. Judy is intrigued.

When the mail comes, Judy is surprised and pleased to receive a letter from an old playmate, Dora ”Scottie” Scott, who had moved to Alaska before the Roulsville flood. Scottie is coming back home with her little sister Carol. She is all alone in the world now and hopes to stay with the Boltons while she searches for lost relatives. Judy is very excited and of course the Bolton family starts making preparations to welcome Scottie and Carol into their home. Remembering that Scottie was always one for adventure and excitement, Judy thinks that maybe the mysterious note might be a good mystery for them to solve together. Judy goes to talk with Wing Lee about the note and he tells her that “spooks” come to his laundry every Wednesday. This is right up Judy’s alley and she hides out in his basement overnight (on a school night no less!) to investigate. She gets locked in and hears strange sounds and someone talking about splitting a cat in half! What?! How can Judy’s dream be connected to an old beggar, and nefarious doings in Wing Lee’s cellar? I, for one, was baffled. Surely Judy does not have psychic dreams?!

In addition to the mystery of the coded note and the “Half Cat”, Scottie and Carol’s troubles take center stage. When Scottie arrives, she is nothing like the girl Judy remembers. She is unpleasant, ungrateful and unappreciative of Judy’s efforts to make her welcome and involve her in adventure. She is also exhausted because she can not let Carol out of her sight. There is something wrong with Carol’s brain which causes her to go into trances or fly into destructive rages. She also seems to be hearing impaired. Poor Scottie has a lot on her plate, but sometimes the interested, curious, and fun-loving Scottie peeks through. Judy powers through Scottie’s sometimes nasty behaviour and sets to work to help her and Carol and solve the mystery of the “half-cat” into the bargain.

One has to appreciate the unusual step of incorporating a child who, these days, would be considered “on the spectrum” or having serious brain damage into a children’s mystery series. But it was disturbing and painful. Margaret never shied away, even in her early books, from addressing controversial topics to her young readers. In fact, Carol’s problems reflect a tragic circumstance in Margaret Sutton’s own life. How Carol’s behavior affects Scottie emotionally is very layered and authentic. The portrayal of the old beggar is also complex with paranoia, guilt, hoarding, the corruption of wealth, and repentance coming into the mix.

How Judy’s dream seemed to be repeated in real life is neatly explained at the end, to my satisfaction and relief. And Judy’s efforts, with the help of the whole gang, result in tying a kind of “half-cat”, the old beggar, and Scottie and Carol together into a hopeful happy ending. The end of the book sees Judy graduating from high school and and anxiously looking towards an uncertain future.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The Voice in the Suitcase (Judy Bolton #8)

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By Margaret Sutton

It’s a man!” Honey, do you think he’s dead?”

“I guess so.”

“Maybe he’s just drunk,” she said…”I just want to shake him to see.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Why not? If he’s dead he can’t hurt us and if he’s only drunk it may rouse him up….”

“I don’t want to rouse him up,” cried Honey in a panic…If you touch him I’ll scream!

“That might rouse him too.”

So, this was the first Judy Bolton I ever read. It got my attention to say the least. It starts off pretty tamely with Judy and Honey at a school picnic discussing a recent burglary of the Hamilton house. They are at a state park and the kids encounter some bums begging for food.  Remember this was written during the depression. Judy is intrigued to hear what sounds like a voice coming from one of their suitcases. Due to a misunderstanding, the school bus leaves without them and they start to walk home (40 miles!). On the way, they encounter one of the bums seemingly dead or drunk in a ditch with his suitcase. Luckily, because a girl named “Tagalong”, of the prominent Hamilton family, alerted  Peter and Horace that Judy and Honey had been left behind, they show up in the car to pick them up. They give the man a ride, but on the way he asks to be let off at a lonely house in the middle of the boonies. The name on the mailbox is “Brady.”

Back at home, Judy’s young friend Tagalong introduces her to the poor but proud Brady family. Tagalong’s BFF is Selma Brady, a friendship she keeps secret from her socially prominent and snobby family. Tagalong is a little rebel.  The Brady father’s parents, who live at the old house that “the bum” asked to be dropped off at,  are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary on Thanksgiving weekend. Selma has been dragooned into  visiting them to help them prepare for the big party and Judy volunteers to go in Tag’s place to help her. Also, Selma is afraid to go their house alone. Of course, Judy’s main interest is to further investigate the talking suitcase which she believes is still at the Brady home. To add to the excitement, we also learn that Selma’s father, Walter Brady, has been arrested for the burglary of the Hamilton home, one of a series of recent burglaries in Farringdon.

What really stood out about this, my first Judy Bolton, was how many times I thought to myself when reading, “This would never happen to Nancy Drew!” Selma’s grandmother is a hateful old witch who claims to have psychic powers. She threatens to shoot her granddaughter (and Judy) and resents all of their hard work trying to clean the house and prepare for the family reunion/anniversary party. Their house is absolutely filthy and every inch is covered in trash and dirt except for some paths through the dirty clothes and litter. Margaret description of the house and its inhabitants  is priceless. For dinner, they have dry bread dunked in milk, which the Grandfather eats  with “a sucking sound.” That night, Judy and Selma sleep in dirty beds, and are awakened by scurrying sounds and chains rattling. That morning, when Judy looks in a mirror, she sees animal tracks across her face, which Judy surmises are rat tracks. Judy’s Thanksgiving was shaping up to be one to remember, and it is just the beginning.

By the end of the story, The Brady’s house is clean, the party is a great success, The old couple have mellowed (a bit), and a falsely accused man has been proven innocent. And the voice in the suitcase has been revealed. No spoilers but the clues are all there for the alert reader

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

First Lie Wins

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By Ashley Elston

I don’t have to know these people to know everything about them. They are the ones who started kindergarten together, their circle remaining small until high school graduation. They fled town in groups of twos and threes to attend a handful of colleges all within driving distance of here. They all joined sororities and fraternities with other groups of twos and threes with similar backgrounds, only to gravitate back to this small Louisiana town, the circle closing once again. Greek letters have been traded out for Junior League memberships and dinner parties and golf on Saturday afternoon, as long as it doesn’t interfere with SEC football.
I don’t fault them for the way they are; I envy them

.
This isn’t your usual domestic thriller which is my preferred choice with my thriller reading. I’d call it an undomestic thriller, maybe. “Evie Porter”, one of many aliases, has been employed by the mysterious and menacing Mr. Smith ever since she was barely out of her teens. She is one of his operatives whom he assigns to infiltrate the life and environment of an unsuspecting target in order to get something he or one of his wealthy and powerful clients wants. She is a scam artist and, yes, engaged in criminal activities. But we like her a lot. She has “a particular set of skills,” but she is shown to have vulnerabilities, which means, the more her story is unfolded, the more we fear for her.

As the book begins, Evie has established herself as the serious girlfriend of a socially prominent small town golden boy who runs a very shady secret business on the side. Mr. Smith is very interested in this highly profitable business, and Evie’s job is to find out everything about it and report back to him. But there are two complications. The first complication is that Evie really really likes Ryan, and Ryan seems to be seriously in love with her. She wants this peaceful ordinary life in this idyllic southern town. It is the life she and her late mother used to dream of. The second complication is that even though she knows she is his best operative, she has been on seriously thin ice with Mr. Smith who has been displeased with her since she failed at her last job. She cannot fail again. Actually, a 3rd complication soon emerges. At a party with Ryan she is introduced to a new girlfriend of an old buddy of his who has recently returned to town. She bears a noticeable physical resemblance to Evie and she is introduced as Lucca Marino, which is Evie’s real name. Uh Oh. In fact, her whole closely guarded secret identity has been hijacked by this woman.

As Evie deals with “Lucca” and does her work for Mr. Smith, we get flashbacks of Evie/Lucca’s origins and how she came to work for him. We are taken through her previous missions for him: In no particular order, stealing a valuable painting from a burglar-proof safe room, framing a squeaky clean politician to make him vulnerable to bribery, retrieving damaging information that could bring down a crime boss, posing as a Nanny for a young family to retrieve a flash drive hidden somewhere in the house, and getting a successful college football coach released from his contract. The more we learn about Evie, the more we like and admire her. And the more we loathe and fear Mr. Smith. We also see that Evie is accumulating assets with each job she does, and even a friend or two. Clearly she is up to something behind the scenes. And who is Mr. Smith really? Can she ever escape this life or is she trapped until Mr. Smith decides to dispose of her?

There are, are like all good thrillers, much cleverness, many twists, and surprising reveals. I loved the ending with many threads coming together. All is revealed in great detail, which I loved and reveled in. And the final little twist….Well. I’d love a sequel.
And Bonus! No alcoholism!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Mystic Ball (Judy Bolton #7)

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By Margaret Sutton

As Judy stepped upon the stage she lifted her chin proudly and looked straight into Madame Wanda’s cat-like eyes….she walked cautiously over and peered down into the mystic ball….Madame Wanda burst out explosively.”Tell me! Tell the audience! Tell the whole world what you see!”
Was the woman crazy?…But to her great disappointment, there was nothing there. …“What’s the matter with it? I don’t see a thing.”
“Ah clever weren’t you?” she mocked. ”But not clever enough to see your own future! Why? Because you haven’t any future.”
Gasp went up from the audience. “Don’t you know what it means…? “Have you never heard the word–Death?”

This book has some of Judy’s best sleuthing as well as plenty of personal drama regarding one of Margaret’s most interesting character creations, Judy’s friend, Irene. I would call Irene a divisive character, but I doubt that there is any serious Judy Bolton fan who would not admit the girl is flipping crazy (as much as they might defend her and try to explain her.) Thankfully, she does get better as the books go on. And her fiance Dale is another piece of work. Irene and Dale met and got engaged in the previous book, The Yellow Phantom. In this one, they are almost torn apart thanks to Irene’s stubborn belief in a fortune teller.

The adventure begins with Judy and all of her Farringdon friends going to the theatre to watch a movie and a show featuring Wanda the Wonderful. While passing by the theatre, Judy notices a lot of electronic equipment being carted into the theatre. Now these days, anyone would know that electronic equipment + a psychic predicting the future = Fraud and Skulduggery. But remember this book was written in the 1930s when the X-ray machine was considered the latest in medical innovations and a source of amazement. Wanda singles out Irene and tells her a disastrous fortune with enough details from her past life to win her trust. The most alarming part is that she tells her that her father will die and Dale doesn’t really love her and is after her money. Like several other victims, she is given a card and sent to a special room in the back for “the remedy” to the horrific fortunes.

Judy is suspicious but as convinced as she is that Wanda is a crackpot and a con woman, she cannot convince superstitious Irene to believe in Dale’s love rather than a creepy stranger and her crystal ball. And how was Wanda so accurate about Irene’s music, her engagement to Dale and the Tower House? Irene seems to be almost under a spell by the menacing fortuneteller and insists on going back to the theatre to give her a sealed envelope. Knowing that doing so would be the last straw as far as Irene’s nerves are concerned, the girls decide they will change places with each other with Judy delivering the envelope to the theatre and Irene going back to Dry Brook Hollow to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Smeed. Irene insists that when she gets Dale’s next love letter, Judy read it and answer back in her place. I’ll let that sit a minute. I told you she was crazy. When Judy does exactly that, it results in Dale almost breaking the engagement and Irene angrily repudiating Judy as a friend. It’s quite a letter, but poor Judy meant well.

By the end of the book, Judy meets a new friend, Sylvia, gets on stage and challenges Madame Wanda, is trampled during a fake fire alarm, is hospitalized, exposes the crystal-gazer and sees her convicted of grand larceny, wins back Irene’s friendship and re-unites the two lovers. Also, the differences between Judy’s two potential swains, Peter and Arthur, are highlighted. As always with Margaret Sutton’s series, we will meet young Sylvia again in future books and will even see the Crystal Ball again which was given to Judy as a reward for her outstanding sleuthing which resulted in getting a cruel and dangerous fraudster off the streets.

This is one of Margaret’s most entertaining books, in my opinion. Irene and Dale never disappoint.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Welcome to Temptation

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by Jennifer Crusie

“That’s a movie quote, right? You know, if you do that with books, people think you’re intelligent.”
Sophie lowered her chin. “If this is your pathetic attempt to seduce me again, you’re falling miserably.”
“I don’t seduce women.” Phin shoved back his chair and stood up. “They fall into my open arms.”
“Clumsy of them.”

I first read this about 25 years ago (it seems longer). Back then, some of its aspects made me slightly uncomfortable although I loved it. I don’t take my romances as seriously as I used to. Good ones are few and far between now, but they were really really scarce back then, and much harder to find. I had a good time with this one on Audible this time around.

We meet Sophie and Amy, two sisters on their way to Temptation, a town in southern Ohio. They have a photography business and are meeting a “C” list actress there to film a movie, which is Amy’s dream. Sophie is only mildly interested but is there as Amy’s sensible overprotective older sister. Also to keep Amy on the straight and narrow. Both Amy and their brother Davy take after their father, a notorious con man and grifter. Sophie knows her way around a good con as well, but she has chosen to stay on the right side of the law and ethical behavior. Well, she tries, anyway. As they start filming their movie, Sophie to her exasperation and disapproval, sees that the movie is borderline porn. This does not make the good citizens of Temptation or their mayor, Phin Tucker, happy. Actually, Phin couldn’t care less, but duty calls and he is up for election.

This book was not the first award winner that Crusie wrote, but it was the first one that made it to the New York Times Best Seller List. It was her third non-category novel (not a Silhouette, Loveswept, or such). It’s the first “big” book by Jennifer Crusie that I remember reading and while it is the one that made me a fan of hers, I had kind of shied away from re-reading it until, a year and a half ago, I read the sequel to it, Faking It. That one picks up the story of Davy Dempsey who has business with Clea, the movie actress, in this one. Temptation, Sophie, and Phin make a brief appearance in the sequel and it put this one back on my radar.

Crusie’s books are all about humor and romance in equal measure. They are very fun and fast-paced. This one has more crazy characters than usual who are either good guys or bad guys (or gals). There are really only 3 normal sensible people in it: The two main characters, Sophie and Phin, and Phin’s best friend, the sheriff of Temptation, Wes. Oh, and Phin’s 9-year-old daughter, Dilly. Everyone else has issues galore which play out all kinds of ways that kept me turning the pages (figuratively). And then, as there often is in Crusie’s books, there’s a murder. And since this victim was poisoned, drowned, shot, and run over by a car (twice) and the body moved across town by an innocent party, it is quite the mystery.

This one was another wild ride. I think I have at least one more of her books left to re-read, but first I have to take a little break.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Here One Moment

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by Liane Moriarty

It has just occurred to me that I haven’t yet introduced myself. I apologize. One should always introduce oneself quickly!

Investing in life insurance does not increase your risk of dying. Correction: Investing in life insurance may increase your risk of dying if you are married to a murderer. I’m not trying to be funny. Just accurate.

It’s interesting when you suddenly behave out of character. An example: I went tandem skydiving for my sixtieth birthday. It was exhilarating! Obviously, I will never go skydiving again. Not if you paid me. I still have nightmares about it.

I’ve read all of Liane Moriarty’s books. They have all kept me engaged although, of course, I have liked some more than others. But I know when I pick one up, though bad and sad things might happen it will all come together in the end to a satisfying conclusion full of hope. This one kept me on the edge of my seat. Things looked pretty dark for some of the characters this book centers on, but my faith in the author was rewarded in spades.

On a shortish flight from Hobart, Tasmania to Sydney, Australia, an older woman gets up from her seat almost in a trance-like state and goes from passenger to passenger implacably predicting their time and cause of death. This book centers on 6 of them and their families, as well as Cherry, who comes to be known as“The Death Lady”. In Liane Moriarty’s signature fashion, the tension mounts as we jump from one main character to another, learn their stories, and how the prediction clouds and complicates their lives. But we spend the most time getting to know Cherry. At first, I was impatient with that because I was so worried about the other characters, whose deaths, except for one, were predicted to be imminent and shocking. That exception was the prediction for the baby son of a young mother. Her boy will drown at age 7. We see the forces of their doom gathering even as we come to care about them and their loved ones. But it was not long before I was caught up in the life of the brilliant and funny Cherry, who, it turns out, was well worth knowing. Even more than learning the fates of our principal characters, we wonder throughout what in the world possessed her to stand up in that plane and do something so devastating and so out of character.

Are Cherry’s predictions to be taken seriously? As three people on the flight die exactly as predicted, it seems maybe so. But are the apparent fates of those that remain preventable? Will believing the predictions to be true become a self-fulfilling prophecy? What about free will? Or are our futures ruled by determinism? There is lots to think and wonder about in this novel besides the gripping plot and masterful character development. How does Chaos Theory come into it? It’s the cover of the book! Or The Many Worlds Interpretation? We learn about the Monte Carlo Fallacy(or the Gambler’s Fallacy), The Call of the Void (or The Vertigo of Possibility), and The Just World Fallacy. (There’s no such thing as Karma? Shoot!) Why does Cherry look so familiar to one of the passengers? What is the significance of her strange brooch? How odd that we don’t remember the 4th person who dies. And what about Cherry’s famous fortune-teller mother? Will her beautiful predictions for Cherry come true or was she a well-meaning charlatan? What are the notebooks she speaks of?

After coming to it’s moving and satisfying (even triumphant) conclusion, I thought back on all that occurred in the book. I was amazed at how Liane brought it all together like an intricate puzzle successfully solved. She really outdid herself. Many seemingly insignificant details are important clues but I didn’t grasp their meaning and how they all came together until the end. Liane Moriarty leaves none of her signature devices and tactics by the wayside and they certainly worked to keep me enthralled. Here One Moment was brilliantly crafted and hugely enjoyable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for a free Uncorrected Digital Galley of this book in return for an unbiased review. This book will be published September 10, 2024.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Yellow Phantom (Judy Bolton #6)

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by Margaret Sutton

“Irene, nothing!” she fumed. “That girl’s Johanna Holiday, the wench who made away with her mother’s poetry. I know you!” She pointed a shaking finger at the trembling Irene.

Judy, standing near the old lady, caught a whiff of her breath and guessed that she had taken an overdose from the bottle that she called her tonic. She had noticed how frequently her employer resorted to the stimulant.

Margaret Sutton originally wrote this book as a stand-alone unrelated to the Judy Bolton series. When it didn’t sell, she revamped it into a Judy Bolton book. In many ways, it falls very seamlessly into the series, but it does incorporate some elements that seem a little unusual for a girl’s series book. Judy’s friend, Irene, who is barely 17 and still in high school has a serious romance with and becomes engaged to a man who is well into his 20s. One of the characters is an eccentric literary agent with a drinking problem and some of the situations in which Judy and her girlfriends find themselves seem more appropriate or realistic for older girls.

At the end of The Ghost Parade, Judy’s friend Pauline, the daughter of Dr. Faulkner who made an appearance in The Invisible Chimes, invites Judy and Irene to her home in New York City to finish out their extended summer vacation while Farringdon’s new high school is being built. Dr. Faulkner really gets around. Apparently, every crazy person in New York City was or is a patient of his. Lots of coincidences in this one. On the bus to Pauline’s luxurious home in Gramercy Park, the girls’ attention is caught by a handsome young(ish) man. Irene declares him her “ideal” and the girls hope to meet him in New York. It seems unlikely but Judy discovers he is an author of murder mysteries. She has no trouble getting a job with his agent, the eccentric and gruff Emily Grimshaw, in an effort to pursue their acquaintance. And, indeed, it isn’t long before Dale Meredith shows up. When Judy brings Irene along to the office, the formidable tough-as-nails editor takes one look at her, goes into hysterics, and insists she is someone named “Joy” who we find out is the dead daughter of one of her clients, the poet and recluse, Sarah Glenn. Dale and the 3 girls become friendly but it isn’t long before Dale’s preference for Irene becomes obvious (much to Pauline’s irritation). In fact, it is love at first sight. Meanwhile, some valuable manuscripts of the poet mysteriously disappear and Irene also mysteriously and alarmingly disappears soon after. Is there a connection between Sarah Glenn, her dead daughter, Joy, whom Irene so strongly resembles, Irene, and the stolen manuscripts?

Judy has her work cut out for her in this one. In her desperation to find Irene while fearing the worst, she is also trying to protect her from being suspected of stealing the manuscripts. She is at her wit’s end when Peter, Arthur, and her brother Horace show up to help her with the search, ably supported by New York’s finest.

The Yellow Phantom makes good use of its New York City setting. the girls have a night out on the town, and later, Judy ventures alone into the wilds of Brooklyn following clues to Irene’s whereabouts. In addition to the baffling mystery of what happened to Irene and how the manuscripts disappeared from Ms. Grimshaw’s secure office in broad daylight, we have a bonafide serious romance, attempted murder, evil villain, fear of insanity, and a sad tale of a tragic romance, bad poetry, and a yellow phantom in a tower window. Peter and Judy’s relationship is moved forward, and the hapless Irene seems to have fallen into a secure future with an inheritance and Dale. Lord knows she needs someone willing and able to take charge of her. The only quibble I have is the solution to how the manuscripts disappeared is pretty preposterous and somewhat of a letdown.

We can only hope that it will be nothing but smooth sailing ahead for Dale and Irene’s romance. I guess we will find out in The Mystic Ball. Wink, wink.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The Truth about the Devlins

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by Linda Scottoline

“TJ, that’s why I give you so much credit.” “Me?” I asked, astonished. “Yes, you took responsibility for what you did. When you pleaded guilty, you accounted. You weren’t trying to get away from the consequences. Mom and Dad hired Angela for you, and they all wanted you to fight the charge. You’re the one who said no. You’re the one who wanted to plead guilty, and I watched you in that courtroom. I could see you felt terrible. You thought it was your worst day, but I thought it was your best.” Whoa. I’d never thought of it that way. I couldn’t speak for a moment.

This was my first introduction to Edgar Award-winning author Lisa Scottoline who has written a ton of books but only slightly more than 1 a year. That is a good sign and something I look at with an author that is new to me. She doesn’t churn them out like a book assembly line. I will be reading more of her books. A nice balance of mystery, suspense, and family drama, it is a little old-fashioned in that much of it is the detective work of a private investigator wrapped up with a smidgeon of courtroom drama at the end. Two smidgeons, actually.

The tale is told in first person by TJ, a recovering alcoholic and the youngest son of the powerful Devlin family. Mom, Dad, and 2 of their 3 children, ambitious MVD (Most Valuable Devlin) John and do-gooder, Gabby, are lawyers and are devoted to their family law firm. TJ is not a lawyer, but a college dropout and ex-con who served time in prison for a bad act he did while drunk. He is the black sheepiest of black sheep and has been viewed as a screw-up his whole life, usually for good reason. He is now out, sober, and employed as a private investigator for the firm, a job that the family gave him to keep their eyes on him and keep him on the straight and narrow. Also, it would look bad for a Devlin to be unemployed or flipping burgers somewhere.

TJ is devoted and loyal to his family some of whom deserve it and some who do not. He is a very good guy. We like him right away for his sweet disposition and snarky humor. No one is more surprised than he is when his brother John comes to him for help when he thinks he has murdered a client. TJ is anxious to prove himself and takes matters in hand very competently. But it is not long before we hate and suspect brother John as much as we love TJ. And dear old Dad is no prize either.

While TJ is putting his life and his freedom in danger by trying to save his brother, he has been asked to work on another case by his sister who is seeking justice for a group of ex-prisoners who were experimented on by the government with awful consequences. Although the stakes are high, and we stress over TJ and the injustices he continually deals with, the book somehow maintains a light atmosphere. It doesn’t keep us mired in darkness or on edge for too long although there is plenty of drama, suspense, and surprises. TJ goes to a dark place at one point but Truth, Justice, and the American Way prevail and I loved it. There is even a tiny little romance to provide TJ with a personal happy ending and hope for the future.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Housemaid

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by Freida McFadden

“What did she mean by that? Is Nina more than just an eccentric and demanding boss? Is there something else going on with her?”

This was a fun and fast-paced domestic thriller that seemed shorter than it actually was. It just sped along which was very welcome after the last few books I’ve read. I read it on Audible, narrated by Lauren Allman.

Millie is an ex-con who was imprisoned for reasons unknown. She is also young and beautiful. After being fired for reasons unknown from her last job, she is hired as a live-in housekeeper and nanny for the fabulously wealthy and socially prominent Winchesters. It is well-paid and if her room is a little small, with no working windows, locks on the outside rather than the inside  and deep scratch marks on the door, well, after living in her car, who is she to complain? At first, it seems like a dream job but it’s not long before her sweet and friendly employer, Mrs. “call me Nina” Winchester starts to show a very very dark side. Nina seems to delight in gaslighting Millie, lying to her, setting her up for failure, blaming her for things that were her own fault, and otherwise mentally torturing her. And then there is her 9-year-old daughter, Cecelia, who is a spoiled mean brat and more than a little strange. Think Rhoda in The Bad Seed. But Millie puts up with it because anything is better than destitution and living in her car. Not to mention that Mrs. Winchester has the power to send her back to prison. Millie seems to be utterly in her power. And, you know, sometimes with her unpredictable mood swings, she is quite nice. Thank Goodness for Mr. Winchester, who is kind, handsome, and seems like a port in the storm.

This one has lots of twists and turns, and although I guessed the big twist because it was the only thing that made sense based on some of the behaviors, I enjoyed the ride anyway. It wasn’t deep, complex, or flawlessly planned or plotted. There were ways that Millie could have handled things that would have made her life easier. And some of the ways things were handled at the end to ensure a happy satisfying resolution would make no sense in real life. But I was in it for the thrills, chills, and schadenfreude, not the intellectual exercise. Also, “things” went a little too far for my liking.

But, Yeah. There are two sequels and I am definitely up for the next book in the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.