Anything to Declare?: The Searching Tales of an HM Customs Officer
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In more than twenty years, Jon Frost has worked with the mad, the bad, the brave, the stupid, the...
The Immortal Detective (The Immortal Detective #1)
6.0
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Book
Sometimes being immortal makes you wish you were dead. Celeste Crenshaw has survived her...
Paranormal Detective Mystery Fantasy Hybrid
We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence
1.0
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Book
You have to remember, he reminded me, that Harvard is older than the U.S. government. You have to...
Escape from New York
3.0
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Tabletop Game
"Snake, I thought you were dead!" This modest board game, based on the John Carpenter movie, casts...
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2478 KP) rated Murder at the Mushroom Festival in Books
Oct 8, 2022
It was nice to get to reconnect with Kelly and her friends. They make a great group of characters, and I love seeing their relationships grow in this book. It was also interesting to watch the suspects evolve as the book progressed. The book managed to surprise me as to who the victim was going to be, something that doesn’t often happen. It kept me guessing on the killer until Kelly figured it out, too. If you are looking for a light cozy, this is the book for you.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2478 KP) rated Homicide in the Indian Hills in Books
Mar 26, 2025 (Updated Mar 26, 2025)
I enjoyed this trip to India in 1927. The country and time really came to life for me. Jane and Redvers are the only returning characters, and it was nice to spend time with them again. This also means you can jump in here if you want to. The new characters are a mixed bag, but they are strong enough to pull us into the story. The mystery kept me intrigued until we reached the logical and suspenseful climax. Those who missed the electronic only Christmas novella from a year and a half ago will be happy to see it included here as an extra. Anyone looking for some travel with their historical mystery will be glad they picked up this series.
Hamnet is an imagining of what could have happened to Shakespeare’s son - even in the parish records it doesn’t say what his cause of death was. Maggie O’Farrell makes this version completely plausible though: plague should have been a real threat at this time. It killed indiscriminately: young and old, rich and poor, weak and strong. They were all vulnerable to illnesses with no cures. I’m something of an emotional reader at the best of times, but as Agnes, Hamnet’s mother, was preparing her son for burial, I was crying in to my breakfast. My 16 year old son looked at me over the top of his bacon butty and said:”Another sad bookthen, Mum?”, and shook his head. To read of a mother and her dead son, and see my 13 and 16 year old sons merrily tucking in to their bacon sandwiches, may not have been the ideal time to be reading this.
This is the kind of book that makes you really look at how precarious life was in those times, and how lucky we are today to have so few worries on this scale (Covid-19 aside!).
The writing is so beautiful, so descriptive and emotive: it picks you up and sets you down squarely in Elizabethan Stratford, making you feel exactly how Agnes must have felt. Honestly, it broke my heart to read of her pain.
If you haven’t read this yet, you’re in for a treat. This deserves ALL the awards.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Hope to Die (DI Adam Fawley #6) in Books
Aug 14, 2022
I have said it before and I will say it again, what an absolute cracker of a book this is and, once again, an excellent addition to this excellent series. Please be reassured that you don't have to have read the others as this works well as a standalone however, I recommend you do ... you won't be disappointed.
DI Fawley and his team are called after the violent death of an unidentified young man shot dead in an isolated farmhouse in an apparent burglary but things just don't add up and so begins a complex, challenging and thrilling investigation which uncovers secrets and lies and so, so much more.
Cara Hunter uses, very cleverly, other media to provide different perspectives to the story including Netflix and voicemail transcripts. This helps the story to flow and provides another element and makes it feel current and relevant. The only thing that I have a small quibble about is that some of this didn't work very well on my Kindle as it's quite small writing and I found myself constantly adjusting the font size but that may have been because I received an advance copy so I felt it was a small price to pay for what is an excellent addition to the way of telling the story.
Highly recommended to lovers of police procedurals with twists and turns that keep you guessing ... roll on number 7!
Many thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for enabling me to read Hope to Die and share my thoughts.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2478 KP) rated Dating Dead Men in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-dating-dead-men-by-harley.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Setup (2011)
3.0
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When Sonny (50 cent) is betrayed by is life long friend during a diamond heist and left for dead he...