Biggie and the Quincy Ghost - The Biggie Series - by Nancy Bell
I'm always on the look out for new fun mystery series and this one was recommended to me. Since I'm just trying it out, I grabbed it from the local library so it falls somewhere in the middle of the series. The hook to this mystery series is that it is told from the perspective of 13 year old J.R. who is living with his grandma Biggie and a colorful assortment of characters in east Texas. In this mystery, Biggie, et all head to the town of Quincy to learn about their historical society. Instead of history, they become embroilled in a murder that Biggie, with the help of JR, must solve.
I liked this series but I think I may have to go back a few novels. This was a nice, light read with funny characters and an Agatha Christie like ending of rounding up the suspects and confronting the killer. I liked having the book narrated by JR but every now and then I found myself wondering if a 13 year old really thought/acted that mature. When I head back to the library, I'll try another in this series just for the fun factor.
A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies by Ellen Cooney
I found this novel in the new arrivals at the library and the excerpt enticed me to give it a try. In 1900, Charlette Heath has just recovered from a wasting illiness that left her bedridden for the last 10 months. Healthy at last, she harnesses her horses and heads to town to find her husband. When she finds him, he is kissing another woman. Startled and hurt, Charlette heads to Boston to stay at a hotel with a her aunt. What she discovers is that this hotel, for ladies, employs a host of young and handsome young men. These men "entertain" various high class wives discretely in the hotel. Charlette finds comfort and romance as she tries to come to terms with the status of her marriage.
It took a while for this book to get going. Charlette spent a great deal of time "confused" about what went on in the hotel even thought it was quite clear to everyone else what was happening. Once she caught on, the book picked up interest and pacing. My biggest complaint was by the time the story got interesting, the book ended. I wish the author had spent a little less time on the set up and more time developing the resolution to Charlette's love triangle. This was a work of fiction with a heavy dose of romance. Always a good combo in my book!
Birds of A Feather - A Maisie Dobbs Mystery - by Jacqueline Winspear
The second in the Maise Dobbs series proved just as delightful. A little more development of Maise and her co-horts along with a good mystery. I think I enjoy the way the story unfolds best. Maise is hired by a wealthy business man to find his daughter. She's run away from home again and he wants her found quickly and quietly. Within the first few chapters, Maise has a good idea of where she has gone but instead of locating her and bringing her home, Maise digs deeper and discovers some frightening facts. Three close friends of the daughter have been murdered in the same manner. Perhaps the woman's flight was not a rich girl's tantrum but a flight of fear for her own life. The clues lead Maise once again to dig into actions during WWI. Maise solves the mystery and learns something important about herself in the process. A great sequel to a great series. Can't wait for the next book to come out in paperback!
The Big Over Easy - Jack Spratt Investigates by Jasper Fforde
This is a new mystery series by Jasper Fforde who is also writing another line of great mysteries staring Thursday Next. This book, however, is a bit Terry Prachett meets Mother Goose.
It revolves around Jack Spratt. As in, Jack Spratt would eat no fat, his wife would eat no lean.... and Mary Mary from Mary Mary quite contary how does your garden grow.... They are both dectectives in the NCD or Nursery Crimes Division whose jurisdiction covers all crimes commited by or upon nursery rhyme characters. As a mom with a very comprehensive knowledge of Mother Goose, I found this book hysterical.
It opens with a despondent Jack. His prosecution of the three little pigs for willfull boiling of a wolf was dismissed and his career teeters on the brink of disaster. He's given a new partner, Mary Mary, and sent out to investigate the death of Humpty Dumpty who has fallen off a wall. At first glance, it appears a susicide but further investigation reveals foul play. And so Jack and Mary are off to try and apprehend the killer. There's a bean stalk, a mad scientist, aliens, and an arch rival thrown in for good measure. Basically, hilarious.
The next in the series is titled The Fourth Bear and I can't wait to get my hands on it!
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Oh how I loved this book! I thought this book was so wonderful that as soon as I finished it, I threw both girls in the car, drove to the mall, dragged them both to the bookstore and let them run/crawl rampant while I found the next in this mystery series. I can only hope it's as well written as this one.
So, what did I like? I loved the setting for this book, the characters and, of course, the mystery. The main character is Maisie Dobbs. A woman who has risen above her birth in England and survived the horror of WWI. She was a nurse during the war and has now set up her own office which is a bit detective agency and a bit counselling mixed together. It's hard to describe what Maisie does. She watches, listens, and thinks. I loved how she will often times mimic a persons stance to understand how they are feeling. She'll follow the bend of their sholders, how they hold themselves, what they are doing and get a glimpse into their psyche in the process. She practices a bit of yoga and good old fashioned deduction to solve her case.
It starts off innocently enough. A husband thinks his wife is cheating and wants Maisie to find out where she is going. Maisie discovers she is visiting a grave for a dead soldier and reports her findings. But the case doesn't end there. The mystery continued to unravel and Maisie finds herself reliving the horror of her days as a front line nurse.
She's a wonderful heroine. Smart, funny, caring and kind. She has a very mysterious mentor who I hope we learn more about. Best of all, the author gives you a real sense of what it must have been like after WWI in England. The social order was in upheaval. Women were entering the workforce and everything was turned upside down. I loved everything about this book. I can't wait for more.