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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated Death at the Salon in Books

Mar 31, 2021 (Updated Mar 31, 2021)  
Death at the Salon
Death at the Salon
Louise R. Innes | 2021 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder Hits too Close to Home
Daisy Thorne is closing up her hair salon in the small British village of Edgemead one Saturday when she finds the dead body of one of her clients in the alley behind the shop. Worse yet, Daisy’s scissors are sticking out of the victim’s back. Naturally, suspicion falls on her, so Daisy has to figure out what really happened so she can clear her name. The big question comes down to who had access to steal Daisy’s scissors. Can she figure out who did it?

I enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was looking forward to revisiting the characters. I’m happy to say I found this one just as engaging. Because the action focuses on the salon this time, we get to know her employees better, and I really enjoyed that. The rest of the cast is back, and the suspects are strong. I also appreciated the fact that it is obvious the characters’ lives were progressing between books, a fun change from most series I read. I’m not sure if it was just me, but I did feel like the pacing was a little slow early on, but once the plot really got going, there were more than enough twists and surprises to make up for that. The climax was wonderful and kept those twists coming. If you enjoy a cozy set in England, you need to check out this series.
  
Death Troopers (Star Wars)
Death Troopers (Star Wars)
4
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Take a classic Space Opera saga (Star Wars), add a soupcon of horror (Aliens), and a large dose of Zombies (Resident Evil), and what do you have?

This book.

The plot? An Imperial prison barge breaks down, and then comes across a seemingly abandoned Star Destroyer out in the wastes of space. It transpires that the Destroyer is not abandoned after all, and that it had been carrying out bio-weapon experiments ...

Definitely felt like the author was (heavily) inspired by the Resident Evil games/films: the Zombies are such not as the living dead back-to-life of Romero, but as a result of a engineered virus. The Aliens link I mentioned comes in on the 'set-on-prison-<s>planet</s>barge' setting, and I'm also not entirely sure why he felt the need to drop Han Solo and Chewbacca into the mix, unless that was just so you would know it is a Star Wars novel?

Not the best Extended Universe book.
  
Picture You Dead (Roy Grace #18)
Picture You Dead (Roy Grace #18)
Peter James | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I can't believe I'm saying this but ... this is the first book by Peter James I have read!!! I know, where have I been all this time given that this is book 18 ... living under a rock obviously!!! Although this is book 18, I think it worked well as a standalone; there is obviously character development and back stories that I've missed but it didn't detract too much from the story as a whole.

The story delves into the world of art dealing and centres around the potential discovery of an extremely rare and sought after painting which, if genuine, is worth a fortune. The plot involves a cold case, murder, forgery, burglary and the Antiques Roadshow!

With all manner of twists and turns, this is a highly entertaining story with great characters and I must give a thank you to Pan Macmillan, Macmillan and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Picture You Dead.
  
Only You Can Save Mankind (Johnny Maxwell #1)
Only You Can Save Mankind (Johnny Maxwell #1)
Terry Pratchett | 1992 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
8
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
"After all, joysticks don't have 'Don't Fire' buttons on them ..."
Only You Can Save Mankind!
Why me?
If not you, who else?

I first read this not long after it was published, back in the early-to-mid 1990s, at which time I was exactly it's target audience being in my mid teens myself.

By that point, I had already discovered Terry Pratchett's wonderful Discworld novels, but hadn't read many - any? - of his non-Discworld books.

That changed when I read this, which would go on to become the first in his so-called Johnny Maxwell series (comprising this, Johnny and the Dead and Johnny and the Bomb).

Reading this now (in the early 2020s), it still holds up remarkably well, even if it is noticeable how much society has changed: mobile phones weren't really a thing back in the 90s, personal computers were relatively new, the Gulf War was still ongoing ...
  
King Series Bundle (King, #1-4)
King Series Bundle (King, #1-4)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read the first one back in December and was drawn into the story especially with how it just ended. Then I saw the four book box set for 99p and bought it straight away.

KING - 4 stars

WTF?! You can't just end it like that!

What a way to end it. Who's the kid? Where's Max?

I really need to read Tyrant now to see how it all plays out. I'm sure everything will work out in the end but something tells me it's going to be a bumpy ride.

TYRANT - 3.5 stars

I finished it a little before midnight and got all the answers I needed but I honestly didn't see a lot of it coming. I liked how the author put some serious thought into who was who and how it was going to link it all together in the end.

I still love Preppy!!

LAWLESS - 3 stars

I liked Bear so I was interested in what girl was going to turn his head and never did I think a little girl who he made a promise to ten years ago would be the one. I loved that scene! BUT what is with this series and ten year age gaps?

I have to also admit that by the end of this that I was beginning to lose interest in this series. It's being dragged out for too long. Just go and kill your arse of a dad already!

SOULLESS - DNF

I lost interest in this. I got fed up of the same stuff happening. People want him dead. People just seem to want everyone dead in this series and I didn't care anymore, hence me getting to chapter four and not wanting to carry on.

It might have been better if i'd read something in between each book to break them up somewhat.

I stand by what I keep saying about Preppy being my favourite and I might read his story when it's released but for the rest of them. Nope.