Hickory Dickory Death by Agatha Christie

Hickory Dickory Death by Agatha Christie ISBN-13: 9780671702632 Mass Market Paperback: 222 pages Publisher: Pocket Books First Released: 1955

Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Book Description from Goodreads:
An outbreak of kleptomania at a student hostel was not normally the sort of crime that aroused Hercule Poirot's interest. But the list of stolen items - including a slashed rucksack and a diamond ring - made no sense. And why was everyone so afraid?


My Review:
Hickory Dickory Death is a historical mystery set in 1955 England. (Of course, it was a contemporary novel back when it was written.)

The characters were interesting, varied, and acted realistically. The mystery was a clue-based puzzle mystery. It was interesting because there were several levels of mystery to uncover. I could identify a lot of whodunit, why, and how before or at about the same time as Poirot did, and yet there were still aspects that surprised me. The suspense was mainly from wondering whodunit.

There was no sex. There was some explicit bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

April Lady by Georgette Heyer

April Lady by Georgette Heyer ISBN-13: 780373810888 Mass Market Paperback: 348 pages Publisher: Harlequin Released: 1957; January 2005

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
When the new Lady Nell Cardross begins to fill her days with fashion and frivolity, Lord Giles has to wonder whether she really did marry him for his money as his family suggested.

Nell's mother told her that this was a marriage of convenience: Giles had a mistress, so Nell must be polite and undemanding. But when Nell finally realizes that Giles did marry her for love, it's too late. She's run up a terrible debt, and asking for more money will only confirm his growing belief that she only loves his money.

She asks her brother for help, but he's perpetually in debt due to gambling. He comes up with some imaginative ways to raise the money that are sure to get him in trouble. Nell's sister-in-law (Giles half-sister) is determined to marry against Giles wishes even if it means eloping. Nell is worn thin between her brother's scrapes, her sister-in-laws drama and maneuvering, and Giles' cold, suspicious attitude. What will it take for the lovers to admit their love?


My Review:
April Lady is a Regency romance novel, except it isn't really a romance. The hero and heroine are rarely together. They only act like lovers toward each other at the very end, and Giles doesn't save her from anything except her bills. It's more a humorous historical.

The story revolves around Nell getting into debt because she isn't used to having so much money and it seemed limitless. Giles pays her bills, but scolds her. She assures him there are no more bills and she won't go into debt again. Only, there was one major bill that she overlooked.

There are so many ways--moral ways--to deal with this situation. Two characters keep suggesting very poor methods, and I liked that Nell didn't give in to them. However, it's a story where everything would be quickly solved if the hero and heroine would simply talk to one another. Instead, Nell lies, then gets nervous, and Giles gets suspicious and acts coldly toward her. Things spiral downhill. Yet even when Nell learns her lesson about lying, she immediately does it again.

If anyone but Heyer had written the story, I would have thrown the book across the room. As it was, Nell's brother, his friend, and her sister-in-law add a lot of comic relief that made the story bearable. I think I would have liked the story better if Heyer hadn't tried to sustain the unpaid bill storyline for so long. There were other misunderstandings that could have become the focus. The characters acted realistically, and I could understand how a girl as young as Nell could get trapped into the course that she did. Yet I still found it frustrating.

There were no sex scenes. There was some explicit bad language (most of it swearing using "God"). Overall, I guess I'd recommend this novel to Heyer fans, but I have no plans to read the book again.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Teacup Turbulence by Linda O. Johnston

Teacup Turbulence by Linda O. Johnston ISBN-13: 9780425259979 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: January 7, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Los Angeles animal shelter manager Lauren Vancouver is busy: Thanks to a savvy ad campaign featuring teacup pups sporting HotPets Bling—a new line of faux jewelry dog collars—small dog adoptions have skyrocketed across the city. So when Lauren discovers a shelter in the Midwest with more toy dogs than it can handle, she arranges a private plane to swoop in and fly the pups back to LA.

Rescue worker Teresa Kantrim arrives with the dogs. Teresa has cared for the dogs since they were found and doesn't trust anyone from La-La Land to take over the job. Her biting comments don't earned Teresa any new friends. When she turns up murdered, Lauren digs into Teresa’s past and find out who wanted her put down.


My Review:
Teacup Turbulence is a cozy mystery. This book is the fifth in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunit of a previous books.

This book was primarily about the making and marketing of upscale pet collars and the animal shelters' teacup dog adoption efforts. The author did a good job of describing these features and created an interesting story around them.

The heroine did a better job (compared to the previous book) at asking good questions to uncover clues to the murderer, so the reader could guess whodunit from the clues. However, Lauren's main method of identifying the murderer still seems to be asking every suspect (even her friends) if they did the murder in the hopes of getting a confession...or an attempt on her life. When that didn't work, she set up a decent trap. In a sense, this is more of a suspense novel than a puzzle-mystery.

There were no sex scenes. There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this novel to dog lovers or those who are interested in these aspects of the pet industry.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson

The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson ISBN-13: 9780310724414 Trade Paperback: 302 pages Publisher: Zondervan Released: November 23, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher received through Booksneeze.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Gisela’s childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father’s death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother. So when Gisela learns the duke’s son, Valten---the boy she has daydreamed about for years---is throwing a ball in hopes of finding a wife, she vows to find a way to attend, even if it’s only for a taste of a life she’ll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten’s eye. Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.


My Review:
The Captive Maiden is a young adult retelling of Cinderella. It's based in "Spring, 1412, Hagenheim Region" to give it a historical feel, but it still reads like a fantasy. Every time Gisela needed a fancy dress or perfect-fitting dancing shoes, someone had some lying about that fit Gisela like it was made for her. During the jousting, charging knights repeatedly used pointed lances to hit the other's helmet...yet they walked away without a scratch. No broken necks, no poked-out eyes, no deaths. Gisela routinely rides spirited horses, yet when she considers throwing herself off a horse in an attempt to escape, she's convinced she'll die when she hits the ground. So it's not really realistic.

The story was primarily a romance. Valten was heroic and manly. Grisela was determined but nice. But the repeated capture and escape scenes just didn't work for me. The bad guys think it's torture to frequently let the two love birds snuggle together and plot their escape. Once, when they should be escaping from Valten's imminent death, Grisela is more focused on kissing Valten than escaping. It's all wonderfully "romantic" stuff, but it's not really what I care for.

There was an ongoing theme of needing to trust God rather than trusting in their own strength to escape the bad situation. There was no sex and no bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this book to teenagers who like romances where the hero is willing to die to save his love-at-first-sight beloved.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Home for the Homicide by Jennie Bentley

Home for the Homicide by Jennie Bentley ISBN-13: 9780425260494 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: December 3, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
For Avery and her husband Derek, renovating the Craftsman Bungalow was like stepping back in time. The quaint old home was just as its original owners had left it—from the beautiful butler’s pantry to the surprisingly exquisite ribbon tile. But it’s the attic that yields the most heart-stopping surprise.

In a discreetly hidden antique crate, Avery finds a clue to a decades-old missing persons case. As Avery works on the house and delves deeper into the sinister story, it becomes clear that someone very crafty wants the Craftsman home’s secrets to stay that way!


My Review:
Home for the Homicide is a cozy mystery. It's the seventh in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one and this story didn't spoil the whodunits of the previous novels.

The history behind the mystery was an interesting event that I could see really happening. Based on the current-day and historical clues, I had a pretty good idea of who was whodunit and why before Avery even got started on the right track. But no one said Avery was a great sleuth, just very nosy. She wanted to know things that were none of her business and she'd pout (yes, pout) and manipulate people to get her own way. She wasn't mean, just self-centered, insecure, and childish. I didn't dislike her, but I didn't admire her, either, and that detracted from my enjoyment of the mystery.

There were no sex scenes. There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. I'd recommend this mystery to people who like both mysteries and doing home decorating projects (since several are described in detail in the story).


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

The Sayers Swindle by Victoria Abbott

The Sayers Swindle by Victoria Abbott ISBN-13: 9780425255292 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: December 3, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Jordan Kelly is delighted to make money tracking down rare and valuable mystery novels for her employer, Vera Van Alst, an avid collector and the most difficult woman in Harrison Falls, New York. But now her boss’s complete set of Dorothy Sayers is missing, and finding them may lead Jordan to a murder suitable for Sayers’s esteemed sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey…

When Jordan manages to locate her boss’s missing books, they are in the possession of Randolph Adams, an elderly man in a nearby town. Offering a valuable Hemingway first edition as an incentive, Jordan thinks she’s about to seal the deal—but some of Randolph’s family think he shouldn't take it.

Then the entire family disappears—and a dead body shows up. Jordan tries to find Randolph (so she can get those Sayer books)—and makes sure a killer gets booked.


My Review:
The Sayers Swindle is a cozy mystery. It's the second book in the series. It doesn't spoil the whodunit of the first book, but you'll probably understand the second one better if you've read the first book. The author assumed you read the first book and didn't explain some could-be-confusing references.

The story is a situation comedy, going from one funny situation to another. The characters were enjoyable, but it was hard to take them too seriously. Since I've read so many mysteries, it wasn't too difficult to spot the suspicious behavior, take the information that Jordan discovered, and have a fair idea of where the story was headed. The question was more "how many awkward situations will Jordan get into while figuring this all out."

There was no sex. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this humorous mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Quilt Trip by Elizabeth Craig

Quilt Trip by Elizabeth Craig ISBN-13: 9780451240637 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Obsidian Released: December 3, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Retired folk art curator, Beatrice Coleman, and her fellow quilt guild member, Meadow Downey, are headed to a Victorian mansion in the mountains. Meadow is determined to convince elderly Muriel Starnes to pick their guild to receive a quilting scholarship instead of one of the quilters that she has summoned to a meeting.

But once they arrive at the mansion, it seems they may never leave. An ice storm sends an old tree crashing across the driveway, leaving them stranded for the night. And by the next morning, they are one fewer—for Muriel has been sent to meet her maker. With everyone in the house a suspect, it’s up to Beatrice and the Village Quilters to figure out who has a guilty conscience before someone else gets tied up in knots.


My Review:
Quilt Trip is a cozy mystery. It's the third book in a series. You don't need to read the previous novels to follow this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous novels.

Though set in modern day, it was a classic murder-at-the-mansion setup. A number of guests arrive at a mansion, someone dies, and they can't leave. Beatrice and her friends question the other guests to determine whodunit since they are a neutral party. Everyone had the opportunity to kill and secrets to hide. While there were clues, I wouldn't call this a clue-based puzzle mystery as the clues didn't slowly build up to point at one suspect.

Though I prefer puzzle-mysteries, I still enjoyed the varied characters who acted in realistic ways. The heroine and her friends were likable, nice people. I don't know enough about quilting to follow the various designs they were working on, but they did sound pretty.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable cozy mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.