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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated Paint the Town Dead in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Rory Anderson is thrilled about the decorative painting convention coming to Vista Beach, California, her hometown. She’s looking forward to the classes and helping her mom, one of the vendors for the event. However, she is shocked when her friend collapses and dies just as the week is getting under way. The police think it was a tragic accident, but Rory is sure it was murder. Can she prove it?
I love the beach, so the beach town setting is perfect for me. The characters are good, although I did feel they could have been just a little stronger. However, the plot was plenty strong with things progressing at a steady pace all the way to the climax. I was sure I had it completely figured out multiple times only to change my mind a couple of chapters later.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/11/book-review-paint-town-dead-by-sybil.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I love the beach, so the beach town setting is perfect for me. The characters are good, although I did feel they could have been just a little stronger. However, the plot was plenty strong with things progressing at a steady pace all the way to the climax. I was sure I had it completely figured out multiple times only to change my mind a couple of chapters later.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/11/book-review-paint-town-dead-by-sybil.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Sammeh Lowry (15 KP) rated The Girl You Left Behind in Books
Jul 13, 2019
Okay so! Throughout this book my thoughts swapped and changed first I thought I can't get into this, then I thought oooh I wonder what I would do? then I thought I would enjoy the part in the present more because in the words of Giles from Buffy's quote that goes "She lives very much in the now, and history of course, is very much about the then" sums me up perfectly but noo! The present bit began and I found it a little slow, but I got more into it as the story went on. I jumped from person to person like well I think they should have the painting, followed by oh no I don't!, followed by OH BUT! I finally settled on the fact that I thought Liv should get to keep it :) Although slow in places I thoroughly enjoyed this book alot more than I thought I would!
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Picture You Dead (Roy Grace #18) in Books
Oct 2, 2022
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.
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.
ClareR (5603 KP) rated Two Women in Rome in Books
Jun 15, 2021
Two Women in Rome is a truly captivating story set in two time periods. In the present day, Lottie is an archivist working in Rome who comes across a painting once owned by an English woman called Nina who died in the late 1970’s. The painting appears to be valuable, painted in the fifteenth century.
Lottie also finds Nina’s journal in her personal effects, and the more of it she reads, the more she wants to find out about her life.
I loved the details about Rome in both timelines - I’ve visited Rome and loved it. The strong female characters were also a big plus point for me. Lottie is a head archivist, she really knows what she’s doing and is confident in her abilities. Nina is also an assertive woman - she is often in new situations that many would find themselves floundering in (Ok, that sounds really vague, but I don’t want to give anything away!)
This is a book about secrets: about keeping them, and what happens when they are revealed - both good and bad. This isn’t a book that goes fast and hard in its revelations. Quite opposite in fact, and probably why I liked it so much. I love a well told story, and I really felt that I knew the women in this because of that feeling of not being rushed through the story.
There’s a fair amount of Italian politics in this, some of which I had never known about, so that was another plus point. I hadn’t realised that Italy had had quite such a tumultuous political life for so long after World War Two. The novel has a great mix of themes, actually: secrets, history, politics, life in Rome, betrayal, guilt. I think I’m becoming a bit of an Elizabeth Buchan fan because I really enjoyed her last book The Museum of Broken Promises, as well. Both books are set in Europe, with the aftereffects of great political upheavals, ostensibly going back to World War Two. This book is well worth reading - I’d definitely recommend it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and NetGalley for my copy of this book.
Lottie also finds Nina’s journal in her personal effects, and the more of it she reads, the more she wants to find out about her life.
I loved the details about Rome in both timelines - I’ve visited Rome and loved it. The strong female characters were also a big plus point for me. Lottie is a head archivist, she really knows what she’s doing and is confident in her abilities. Nina is also an assertive woman - she is often in new situations that many would find themselves floundering in (Ok, that sounds really vague, but I don’t want to give anything away!)
This is a book about secrets: about keeping them, and what happens when they are revealed - both good and bad. This isn’t a book that goes fast and hard in its revelations. Quite opposite in fact, and probably why I liked it so much. I love a well told story, and I really felt that I knew the women in this because of that feeling of not being rushed through the story.
There’s a fair amount of Italian politics in this, some of which I had never known about, so that was another plus point. I hadn’t realised that Italy had had quite such a tumultuous political life for so long after World War Two. The novel has a great mix of themes, actually: secrets, history, politics, life in Rome, betrayal, guilt. I think I’m becoming a bit of an Elizabeth Buchan fan because I really enjoyed her last book The Museum of Broken Promises, as well. Both books are set in Europe, with the aftereffects of great political upheavals, ostensibly going back to World War Two. This book is well worth reading - I’d definitely recommend it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and NetGalley for my copy of this book.
Sue (5 KP) rated Death al Fresco in Books
Apr 23, 2018
Sally Solari is working very hard to make a name for herself at her recently inherited restaurant, but her father has different plans. He doesn’t seem to remember that she no longer works at the family restaurant Solaris’ and keeps pulling her in. While taking an open-air painting class of the Monterey Bay coastline, Sally’s dog Buster finds a corpse tangled up in the kelp.
The body is identified as Gino, a local fisherman and regular patron at Solaris’. Is it true what everyone is saying? Is Sally’s dad negligent for allowing an inebriated customer to leave the restaurant alone at night? Witnesses claim that Gino was drunk when he left the restaurant, but his waitress swears that she only served him to beers with a full meal. Can she find out the truth before her father’s reputation and that on his restaurant goes down the drain?
This is not your average cozy mystery full of cuteness. Sally is a smart and multifaceted character that has you cheering for her to find the bad guys.
The body is identified as Gino, a local fisherman and regular patron at Solaris’. Is it true what everyone is saying? Is Sally’s dad negligent for allowing an inebriated customer to leave the restaurant alone at night? Witnesses claim that Gino was drunk when he left the restaurant, but his waitress swears that she only served him to beers with a full meal. Can she find out the truth before her father’s reputation and that on his restaurant goes down the drain?
This is not your average cozy mystery full of cuteness. Sally is a smart and multifaceted character that has you cheering for her to find the bad guys.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Scottish Werebear: Books 1-3 (Scottish Werebear, #1-3) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
Overall, this was an enjoyable series. There are a few story devices that I am over such as the cheating boyfriend and one true mate but the author has an easy style that, once you get into the story, the story seems to fly by. I didnt even realize how far into the story I was until I had to set it down.
Derek and Claire are not my favorite couple. Claire comes off as a bit childish despite being 30 something years old, and, honestly, I felt her little pity party early on in the story that brought about the accident was poor storytelling. That being said, I thought Derek was precious in in subtle courtship of her. He wanted to make her happy but thought he couldnt be with her so he left her little presents. I mean how adorable?
But I digress. The author is skilled with painting a clear portrait of the scenery events. While I wasnt overly fond of her leads, I was still invested in their HEA.
Derek and Claire are not my favorite couple. Claire comes off as a bit childish despite being 30 something years old, and, honestly, I felt her little pity party early on in the story that brought about the accident was poor storytelling. That being said, I thought Derek was precious in in subtle courtship of her. He wanted to make her happy but thought he couldnt be with her so he left her little presents. I mean how adorable?
But I digress. The author is skilled with painting a clear portrait of the scenery events. While I wasnt overly fond of her leads, I was still invested in their HEA.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated Hearse and Gardens (Hamptons Home & Garden Mysteries #2) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Meg and her friend Elle are cleaning out a cottage when they stumble upon a skeleton sealed in a forgotten room. While the identity of the skeleton isn’t really a mystery, it does give rise to a lot of questions. Who sealed the man in the room? Where is the woman he supposed ran off with? Or is she the killer? Where is the painting the pair supposedly stole?
As you can see, there is plenty of compelling stuff here for a good mystery. Sadly, the book is slowed way down by Meg living her life, including things she finds for her decorating business. Ironically, I found two sub-plots that doesn’t tie into the mystery to be more compelling than the mystery for much of the book. We do get some great twists before the end, and the characters are great. Sadly, it isn’t enough to raise the book above average.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/01/book-review-hearse-and-gardens-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
As you can see, there is plenty of compelling stuff here for a good mystery. Sadly, the book is slowed way down by Meg living her life, including things she finds for her decorating business. Ironically, I found two sub-plots that doesn’t tie into the mystery to be more compelling than the mystery for much of the book. We do get some great twists before the end, and the characters are great. Sadly, it isn’t enough to raise the book above average.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/01/book-review-hearse-and-gardens-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Dana (24 KP) rated The Fellowship of the Ring in Books
Mar 23, 2018
So I listened to the audio book for this because I don't actually have the physical book and my library has it online that way. This was a dramatization of the book, more like a radio play than anything, and I really enjoyed it! It was like watching a full production while I was painting!
I have obvivously seen the movies quite a few times and I feel that they tie in very well together. There were a few things I did not recognize. I think a lot was left out, at least in the prose sections, not the dialogue, so I will go back and hopefully read this when I actually have the book. It has been something I have been wanting to do for a while. I did think that the audio book would be more like a traditional one, but this was the only one the library had, so there we go.
I am going to read the other two as soon as they become available!
I have obvivously seen the movies quite a few times and I feel that they tie in very well together. There were a few things I did not recognize. I think a lot was left out, at least in the prose sections, not the dialogue, so I will go back and hopefully read this when I actually have the book. It has been something I have been wanting to do for a while. I did think that the audio book would be more like a traditional one, but this was the only one the library had, so there we go.
I am going to read the other two as soon as they become available!
Sarah has been working hard to set up the largest community yard sale in New England. When the day arrives, some fires outside of town are the only thing that goes wrong – or so she thinks. After the day is over, she learns her friend Carol was robbed of a painting she was doing on commission. The next morning, Carol finds a dead stranger in her shop. What is happening?
This is a very fun mystery filled with great characters. Seriously, I love spending time with them. The plot includes a few intriguing sub-plots that all tie together in some way at the end of the book. The result kept me turning pages. One word of warning, one part of the first book is spoiled here, but there is no way to continue Sarah’s personal life without doing so.
NOTE: I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/06/book-review-longest-yard-sale-by-sherry.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This is a very fun mystery filled with great characters. Seriously, I love spending time with them. The plot includes a few intriguing sub-plots that all tie together in some way at the end of the book. The result kept me turning pages. One word of warning, one part of the first book is spoiled here, but there is no way to continue Sarah’s personal life without doing so.
NOTE: I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/06/book-review-longest-yard-sale-by-sherry.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.