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The Gifted Hands (2013)
Movie
A little girl is kidnapped and murdered in the jurisdiction of gang buster detective Yang Chun-dong,...
Four Parties and a Funeral
8.0
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Book
Agatha Award-winning author Maria DiRico returns with the fourth book in the Catering Hall Mystery...
Playing Possum (A Kristy Farrell Mystery #3)
Book
Murder, mayhem, and crawling with animals… When animals start mysteriously disappearing from...
Cozy Mystery
ClareR (5996 KP) rated How to Kill Your Family in Books
May 19, 2022
Imagine the injustice of being sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder you didn’t commit. Not that Grace Bernard is actually innocent. I mean, she HAS murdered six (or is it five? I lose count) members of her own estranged family. Not that they didn’t deserve it.
This was a dark, funny book, and I found myself laughing at the most inappropriate moments. Grace plans her murders meticulously: she finds out what each family member likes to do, where they live and who their contacts are. She’s calm, collected and seriously scary. Grace is a prime example of a psychopath. She has no real attachments, she’s calm and collected during her murders, and her life otherwise appears to be normal.
But if anyone had found the memoir she starts to write whilst jailed for the murder she didn’t commit, she would have had a much longer sentence.
As you probably know by now, I always seem to end up with a soft spot for the more unpleasant, dare I say, naughty, characters. If you count six murders as a bit naughty, then yes, Grace has been added to my list of favourite characters. She really is something special!
Thanks to The Borough Press for my copy of this book to read through NetGalley.
This was a dark, funny book, and I found myself laughing at the most inappropriate moments. Grace plans her murders meticulously: she finds out what each family member likes to do, where they live and who their contacts are. She’s calm, collected and seriously scary. Grace is a prime example of a psychopath. She has no real attachments, she’s calm and collected during her murders, and her life otherwise appears to be normal.
But if anyone had found the memoir she starts to write whilst jailed for the murder she didn’t commit, she would have had a much longer sentence.
As you probably know by now, I always seem to end up with a soft spot for the more unpleasant, dare I say, naughty, characters. If you count six murders as a bit naughty, then yes, Grace has been added to my list of favourite characters. She really is something special!
Thanks to The Borough Press for my copy of this book to read through NetGalley.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2434 KP) rated Murder in the Piazza in Books
Sep 10, 2022 (Updated Sep 10, 2022)
Murder in Rome
Maggie White’s husband has been sent to Rome for two years for his job, and she’s gone along with him. After a few months of living the life of leisure, she has found a job working for Masterpiece Tours, a specialty tour company that offers painting lessons and tours of some of the museums and famous locations in the city. She’s barely started and she’s already fantasizing about ways to kill her boss, Lord Phillip, an English expat. However, she is shocked to find him shot in his office one evening. The police don’t seem that interested in figuring out what happened, so Maggie starts investigating. Can she figure out what is going on?
This was a good travel themed mystery. It brought Rome to life in such a way that I felt I was there with Maggie. Unfortunately, the pacing of the mystery was off early on, but I did appreciate how everything came together at the end. We met many of the characters in a group setting, but they became distinct people as the story progressed, so it wasn’t really an issue. If you are looking for a virtual visit to Rome with a side of murder, this is the book for you.
This was a good travel themed mystery. It brought Rome to life in such a way that I felt I was there with Maggie. Unfortunately, the pacing of the mystery was off early on, but I did appreciate how everything came together at the end. We met many of the characters in a group setting, but they became distinct people as the story progressed, so it wasn’t really an issue. If you are looking for a virtual visit to Rome with a side of murder, this is the book for you.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2434 KP) rated Wined and Died in New Orleans in Books
Feb 8, 2023
Murder is Nothing to Wine Over
Ricki James-Diaz is on hand when a great discovery is made at Bon Vee - crates of a valuable and old wine. The hope is that they can sell it to raise much needed money. However, the discovery starts bringing long lost relatives to New Orleans. When one of them turns up dead, Ricki jumps in to figure out what is really going on. Can she solve the case?
It was great to be visiting these characters again. I enjoyed the growth that Ricki and several of the other characters, both new and old, got here. Yes, we do see more from the cliffhanger at the end of book one here, and I loved how it contributed to the story in this book. The plot took a bit of time to set up before the murder took place, but that time wasn’t wasted. We had lots going on to keep us engaged on the way to the great finale. The author’s love of New Orleans comes through on every page without slowing things down. There are five recipes at the end adapted from vintage cookbooks. This is a fun second book in a delightful series.
It was great to be visiting these characters again. I enjoyed the growth that Ricki and several of the other characters, both new and old, got here. Yes, we do see more from the cliffhanger at the end of book one here, and I loved how it contributed to the story in this book. The plot took a bit of time to set up before the murder took place, but that time wasn’t wasted. We had lots going on to keep us engaged on the way to the great finale. The author’s love of New Orleans comes through on every page without slowing things down. There are five recipes at the end adapted from vintage cookbooks. This is a fun second book in a delightful series.
Make Me Clean
10.0
Rate It
Book
She will leave your surfaces sparkling. But she may well leave you dead... Maria is a good woman...
Trigger warning: domestic violence & murder!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2434 KP) rated A Bird’s Eye View of Murder in Books
Mar 19, 2022
Frankie Finds that Murder Isn’t Flighty
Frankie Chandler’s hardly recovered from the murder she got involved in the month before when her aunt comes for a visit. The aunt has scored some tickets to the taping of a live baking show, and Frankie joins her. That’s how Frankie stumbles on the dead body of the contestant winner. With the police looking at her aunt, her aunt hiding secrets, and animals starting to talk to Frankie again, can she figure out what is really going on?
Yes, this book falls into the paranormal cozy subgenre, which I tend to avoid. I appreciated how Frankie wrestles with her gift and what it means since those are the same things I struggle with myself. And it’s a minor part of the book anyway. In fact, this is more comedic, at least to me. I enjoyed laughing at the antics of the characters as the book progressed. The story started a bit slowly, but it grew stronger as it went along, and I was surprised by the ending. Do keep in mind that there is some violence to animals, but they are treated no worse than the human characters in the story. I really enjoyed the characters. I’m hoping I can get to the next in the series soon.
Yes, this book falls into the paranormal cozy subgenre, which I tend to avoid. I appreciated how Frankie wrestles with her gift and what it means since those are the same things I struggle with myself. And it’s a minor part of the book anyway. In fact, this is more comedic, at least to me. I enjoyed laughing at the antics of the characters as the book progressed. The story started a bit slowly, but it grew stronger as it went along, and I was surprised by the ending. Do keep in mind that there is some violence to animals, but they are treated no worse than the human characters in the story. I really enjoyed the characters. I’m hoping I can get to the next in the series soon.
To Kingdom Come (Art History Mystery #4) by Claudia Riess
Book
Amateur sleuths, Erika Shawn-Wheatley, art magazine editor, and Harrison Wheatley, art history...
Mystery
Merissa (13389 KP) rated Black Water Magic (Teagan Blackwater #1) in Books
Feb 24, 2021 (Updated Aug 3, 2023)
BLACK WATER MAGIC is the first book in the Teagan Blackwater series, and it starts with the magical murder of Nola as Teagan lazes around in post-coital bliss. Now Teagan is on the back foot as she tries to figure out her new role, gain the respect of the magical community, solve a murder, and break a curse.
I enjoyed this book from start to finish, with the different characters and their secrets. It is only the first book in the series, so I expected there to be parts of world-building, back-story, etc. I can't say as I particularly liked Colby, ignoring the fact that he's a Viking Demi Demon!
The tropes of gay best friend and being naïve are a bit overdone for my liking, but it works for this story. I really can't wait until Teagan grows into her powers though, and fights on an equal footing.
A smooth pace, well-written, and with a great storyline, this is definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 24, 2021
I enjoyed this book from start to finish, with the different characters and their secrets. It is only the first book in the series, so I expected there to be parts of world-building, back-story, etc. I can't say as I particularly liked Colby, ignoring the fact that he's a Viking Demi Demon!
The tropes of gay best friend and being naïve are a bit overdone for my liking, but it works for this story. I really can't wait until Teagan grows into her powers though, and fights on an equal footing.
A smooth pace, well-written, and with a great storyline, this is definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 24, 2021