I’m Very Late to the Party

The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves

A lot of you have probably read this book, given that it was first published 24 years ago, but I’m new to the world of Detective Investigator Vera Stanhope and I had to share my excitement with you.

Three women have taken on the assignment of helping to prepare an environmental impact statement for a company that wants to build a quarry in a picturesque area not far from a small village in Northumberland, England. The people who live in the village have vehement feelings about the quarry, both for and against. The quarry will provide jobs for people in the area, but it will also blight the landscape with belching industrial buildings, roads, and lots of noisy trucks.

While the women are conducting the environmental survey, they agree to stay in a small cottage very close to the proposed site of the quarry. This will make it easier for them to get out early every morning or to go out late in the afternoon or evening to do their work. Nearby is a farm, owned by Dougie and Bella Furness, which abuts the proposed quarry land.

Rachael, the leader of the trio, is the first woman to arrive at the cottage. Bella Furness is a good friend of hers and she looks forward to an evening of catching up before the project work begins. But when she goes looking for Bella, she finds, to her horror, that Bella has killed herself. It’s inexplicable. Why would Bella have willingly left her husband to fend for himself? He is disabled and requires around-the-clock care, which she has provided lovingly and willingly. Why would she have left the farm, which was the most important thing in her life after Dougie? And why would she leave behind a cryptic note that explains little?

Bella’s death is the catalyst which ignites a series of events that leads to more death and unanswered questions.

Enter Vera Stanhope, a detective investigator with a sharp tongue and a mind of her own. This is a woman who does not suffer fools gladly. She knows all the seemingly-unrelated deaths are connected somehow—she can feel it—but she needs the evidence to prove it. Through good, old-fashioned detective work and asking the right questions, Vera gets to the bottom of the mystery and the shocking reason behind all the deaths.

I love Vera Stanhope. She’s feisty and opinionated and smart. People listen to her because she demands it and because, more often than not, she’s right. She makes things happen and isn’t afraid of stepping on toes and making people uncomfortable to get the answers she needs. But she’s also a woman with a history, and little by little, the reader learns more about Vera’s unique background as the story progresses.

Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope books are so engaging that they’ve been made into a television series (beginning in 2011). Again, because I’m apparently at least a dozen years behind the times, I’ve never seen the shows. Rest assured that’s going to change. Soon.

I plan to read every book in the Vera Stanhope series. Have you read them? Have you seen the shows? What did you think?

I would recommend The Crow Trap to anyone who loves a great British police procedural and anyone who loves a spunky female main character.

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St. Patrick’s Fray, book 7 in the Juniper Junction Cozy Holiday Mystery Series, will be released on Friday! Here’s a look at the cover and the blurb, and a link for you to preorder your copy. The paperback edition will be released very soon.

Lilly could use a little luck o’ the Irish…

When a business tycoon winds up dead shortly after unleashing a scathing and humiliating criticism of Lilly and her jewelry designs, Lilly finds herself under suspicion of committing murder. And though she has an alibi, the only person who can confirm it is a two-month-old baby.

To make matters worse, Lilly’s shop is the target of a shocking St. Patrick’s Day smash-and-grab robbery by an unlikely and frightful assailant. The real horror, though, comes after the robbery, when Lilly and her husband become the targets of an extortionist who’s willing to go to frightening lengths to get what he wants.

Can Lilly turn her luck around before the killer strikes again and she loses the people most dear to her?

Get your copy here!

https://books2read.com/u/3R0PkR

P.S. It was Murder

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths

The Postscript Murders, Book 2 in the Harbinder Kaur mystery series, is not only a great whodunit, but the author’s love letter to books.

Harbinder Kaur is an officer with the West Sussex police department, and she’s got a doozy of a murder investigation on her hands. Peggy Smith, an elderly woman with a penchant for thinking up ways to kill people, has been instrumental in helping a number of authors craft unique ways to murder characters in their books. Those authors, grateful for her assistance, have dedicated books to her and thanked her countless times in back-of-the-book acknowledgements.

But now Peggy is dead, and the question is this: was hers a natural death, or was it murder? When her demise is followed rather quickly by the deaths of authors who have used her “murder consultant” services, signs begin to point toward murder.

Harbinder is drawn into the mystery when a trio of Peggy’s friends reach out to her with their suspicions about Peggy’s demise. Natalka, Peggy’s nurse, found Peggy’s body. Her friends Benedict, a former monk who owns a seaside coffee shop, and Edwin, a retired BBC radio presenter who lives in the same sheltered living facility as Peggy, are convinced that Peggy did not die by natural means and they are determined to figure out who killed her and why.

Harbinder Kaur is a fabulous main character. She’s thirty-something, gay (but single), Sikh, and still lives with her parents. She has the complexity to carry a series, and though she was not as major a character in the first book in the series (The Stranger Diaries, see my review here), I hope readers will see more of her as the series progresses.

The story is told from the point of view of Harbinder and her three new friends, all of whom fancy themselves amateur sleuths and have backstories of their own which unfold gradually throughout the book. The relationships among all the characters are compelling and intricate, and I enjoyed getting to know each of them.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but I delighted at the literary festival in Aberdeen, the friends’ stay at a safe house, Harbinder’s partner (and the hilarious ways he is described), and the easy pace of the plot. There are plenty of juicy turns, and I loved the conclusion, which came as a series of shocking twists at the very end of the book. Each and every thread in the story is tied up neatly, and left me eager for the next book in the series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great crime mystery, a book about books, and a companionable group of friends who team up to solve a puzzle.

Reading Round-Up: December Edition

It’s almost 2021! This is my last reading round-up for 2020, and pretty soon this year will be just a memory. Though 2020 brought lots of changes and more than a few blessings to my family, I know that’s not the case for millions of people all over the world.

Reading has always been a great escape, and my belief is that books have been more important than ever during the past nine tumultuous months. I hope you’ve enjoyed my reviews and that you’ve been inspired to read and review a few books of your own. I look forward to continuing my reviews in 2021 and I hope you’ll join me.

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The first book I read this month was A Noël Killing by M.L. Longworth. I was looking for a Christmas mystery, and though I hadn’t read the first 7 books in the Provençal Mystery Series, I took a chance on this one. I enjoyed it. It’s a traditional mystery, as opposed to a cozy mystery or a thriller, and the setting in the south of France made it feel exotic. You can read my four-star review here.

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Next up was The Getaway: A Short Read Christmas Romance by Bibiana Krall. If you know someone with a humbuggy heart this year, give them this book to read. If it doesn’t bring a smile to their face, nothing will. It’s a quick read (as the title suggests), it’s got everything I look for in a Christmas story, and it wraps up with a note from the author that makes the tale even more endearing. Read my review here.

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Two books down, five to go in the Harry Potter series! Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was a great read, and my husband grabbed it up as soon as I finished it. There was really only one thing I didn’t understand in the story, and that was the presence of one particular character. But as I say in my very short review, that really didn’t matter, because the book was a treat to read. Why did I wait so long to start this series?? Read my review here.

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Mistletoe and Mayhem: Yuletide at Castlewood Manor, Book 4 in the My American Almost-Royal Cousin Series by Veronica Cline Barton, was a fun Christmas read that I devoured in a few hours. If you are a royal watcher and you like cozy mysteries, this is one for you. Read my review here.

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It seems there are two versions of Agatha Christie’s Christmas short story The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, a shorter one and a longer one, and I have to say I don’t know which one I read. Whichever one it was, it was throroughly enjoyable. I love a good Hercule Poirot mystery, and this one was fun. Poirot is hired to (discreetly, as always) spend Christmas at an English manor house where he hopes to recover a ruby that was stolen from a prince who had placed himself in a, ahem, compromising situation. What ensues is a mystery that is finally solved after a key clue is found in the Christmas pudding. Read my review here.

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Menace at the Christmas Market by Sara Rosett was a great short mystery. Though it’s not the first book in the Murder on Location series, I found that it was easy to follow. I was brought up to speed instantly with the main character and her job as a location scout in England for a Jane Austen documentary series (I want that job!) and her relationship with Alex, another recurring character in the series. This is a quick read that has all the satisfying elements of a longer novel—murder, red herrings, and a great setting. Highly recommend! Read my review here.

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This was the 60th book I read this year, and my goal was to read 59 books. So…mission accomplished! And bonus—it was a great book AND the first in a series! A Little Taste of Murder by Carolyn L. Dean was an intriguing Christmas mystery with a gorgeous setting (the Pacific Northwest), wonderful and well-drawn characters, and some engaging red herrings. I didn’t figure out whodunit, and I love that in a mystery. Read my review here and put this on your TBR list if you love a good cozy!

That’s all, folks! Happy New Year!

Until next time,

Amy