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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2682 KP) rated A Parfait Murder in Books
Dec 9, 2019
Can Tally Clear Her Cousin of the Parfait Crime?
The country fair is in fully swing, and Tully Jones is hopping between her ice cream store and the booth she’s set up at the fair. Things get even more complicated when her cousin Bree’s ex-husband Sonny walks back into town after fifteen years. Bree is considering going after him for years of back child support, but before that can happen, he slaps her with a paternity suit, trying to claim that Alice isn’t really his daughter. The next day, Sonny’s lawyer is shot inside the haunted rodeo attraction at the fair, and the only other person in the ride is Bree. Tally can’t believe her cousin would do something like this, and Bree flat out denies it. But who else could it have been?
This is a great third book in the series. I loved the twist on the locked room puzzle presented here. There are several good suspects and clues that kept me reading as Tully worked to match the right suspect with the ability to pull off the crime. I also love the characters. Tully and her family are strong, and their relationships go through quite a bit here. I appreciate the growth it showed us for them. Naturally, the suspects are just as strong. I also appreciated that the characters understood why the police were focusing on Bree. They disagreed, but they worked to change their minds. Naturally, as an ice cream lover, I also enjoyed the ice cream descriptions. The book left me smiling and yearning for ice cream.
This is a great third book in the series. I loved the twist on the locked room puzzle presented here. There are several good suspects and clues that kept me reading as Tully worked to match the right suspect with the ability to pull off the crime. I also love the characters. Tully and her family are strong, and their relationships go through quite a bit here. I appreciate the growth it showed us for them. Naturally, the suspects are just as strong. I also appreciated that the characters understood why the police were focusing on Bree. They disagreed, but they worked to change their minds. Naturally, as an ice cream lover, I also enjoyed the ice cream descriptions. The book left me smiling and yearning for ice cream.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2682 KP) rated Revenge is Sweet in Books
Mar 11, 2020
Tally Holt has just opened a vintage sweets shop next to the basket shop operated by her best friend, Yolanda Bella, in the town of Fredericksburg, Texas. Tally’s opened in time for tourist season, and she’s hoping that will give her new business a boost. However, things get derailed when she finds a body in her kitchen. The victim was Gene Faust, the mayor’s adopted son. Gene didn’t have a good reputation, dating multiple women and borrowing money from all of them. Yolanda was one of his victims, and her scissors are the murder weapon. Can Tally and Yolanda figure out what really happened before one of them is arrested for the crime?
This book gets off to a good start, with several strong suspects before Gene even dies. From there, we have fun watching Tally and Yolanda try to figure out who actually committed the crime. The clues are woven into the story well, but one aspect of the plot is never fully explained. Who killed Gene and why is solved, however. The book is written third person from both Tally and Yolanda’s points of view. These switches definitely help tell the story and are always easy to follow. The characters could have been stronger at the beginning of the book, but we do get some development by the time the book is over. This is the first in the series, and I’m sure the characters will get stronger as the series progresses. There is a recipe at the end for one of Tally’s specialties – homemade Twinkies. This is an entertaining debut in what could turn into a series as addicting as Tally’s sweets.
This book gets off to a good start, with several strong suspects before Gene even dies. From there, we have fun watching Tally and Yolanda try to figure out who actually committed the crime. The clues are woven into the story well, but one aspect of the plot is never fully explained. Who killed Gene and why is solved, however. The book is written third person from both Tally and Yolanda’s points of view. These switches definitely help tell the story and are always easy to follow. The characters could have been stronger at the beginning of the book, but we do get some development by the time the book is over. This is the first in the series, and I’m sure the characters will get stronger as the series progresses. There is a recipe at the end for one of Tally’s specialties – homemade Twinkies. This is an entertaining debut in what could turn into a series as addicting as Tally’s sweets.
Colin Newman recommended Deja Vu by Matty in Music (curated)
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Just Another Liar [Audiobook] in Books
Jan 30, 2022
![Just Another Liar [Audiobook]](/uploads/profile_image/89f/7973ada8-8c82-45a8-a625-75c11ae0e89f.jpg?m=1643549499)
I really quite enjoyed listening to this audiobook and although there were points when the story ebbed a little, it kept my interest.
Three women from very different backgrounds join a dating website and all think they have met the man of their dreams - Dr David Kingfisher. They are all convinced he is 'the one' despite never having met him in person. None of the three know of the others existence until a Facebook post by one of them asking for help to find him after he disappears. Cue an investigation by the three but in their attempts to find him, they put one of their lives in danger.
The main characters are well developed with Denise being my favourite but Petra and Anna, not so much. The other characters weren't particularly likeable at all but they all had a part to play in the overall story. The pace is mixed - it ebbs and flows with a lot of the 'action' taking place in the last third of the book. The plot is relevant and topical and the vastly different lives of the three main characters is interesting.
The narrator is good and whilst there were some distinctions between the voices of the characters, I think it would have worked better if different narrators were used for the three main characters. That being said, Melissa did a good job particularly with the voice of some of the male characters where she captured their 'smarminess' perfectly.
Overall, a good book that works well in audio format.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Three women from very different backgrounds join a dating website and all think they have met the man of their dreams - Dr David Kingfisher. They are all convinced he is 'the one' despite never having met him in person. None of the three know of the others existence until a Facebook post by one of them asking for help to find him after he disappears. Cue an investigation by the three but in their attempts to find him, they put one of their lives in danger.
The main characters are well developed with Denise being my favourite but Petra and Anna, not so much. The other characters weren't particularly likeable at all but they all had a part to play in the overall story. The pace is mixed - it ebbs and flows with a lot of the 'action' taking place in the last third of the book. The plot is relevant and topical and the vastly different lives of the three main characters is interesting.
The narrator is good and whilst there were some distinctions between the voices of the characters, I think it would have worked better if different narrators were used for the three main characters. That being said, Melissa did a good job particularly with the voice of some of the male characters where she captured their 'smarminess' perfectly.
Overall, a good book that works well in audio format.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Glen More II: Chronicles
Tabletop Game
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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Court of Broken Knives in Books
Aug 7, 2018
Finally, well executed, gritty literary fantasy
I had skimmed some reviews of this book after seeing glowing recommendations of it in different facebook groups. I was warned the tone of the narrative was off-putting and very different to the genre. I have read a few authors who try and put a more literary, almost poetic slant on the narrative in fantasy books and I always found it a bit flowery and took me out of the story.
Not so here. I'll admit the tone took me a couple of chapters to get to grips with, but I am so glad I stuck with it. The lyrical poetry contained within the narrative is so good that it adds to the story being told, it puts some emotion into the storytelling, something that is so sorely lacking from many books in third-person narrative.
Descriptions of people, places, feelings, events take on a whole new level of tangibility so rarely felt in fantasy fiction (without going down the Stephen King route of describing everything, and avoiding the Robert Jordan horse/riding dress description pratfalls).
The only place this becomes an issue is at times in the action scenes. On occasion I had to re-read a passage to work out what had actually happened - while I enjoyed the words I had struggled to pick up on what had occurred.
The story itself is not overly elaborate and unfolds before you with little warning. It felt like a natural, flowing journey than a series of events loosely tied together. We have the gritty mercenary company en route to unleash hell on the Empire, the great priestess of the God of living and dying (who has to sacrifice someone every few days to ensure life and death continue to operate properly) and we have the political manoeuvrings of the high lords within the Empirical council. This is all weaved together in the first third of the book to an excellent, surprising conclusion (in what many authors would have filled a whole book with ad nauseum), with the remainder of the book being a journey through wild country while everyone double-crosses everyone else.
This is of the grim-dark sub-genre, which basically means everyone is a bit of a shit, and bad things happen to nice people. There are no heroes here. There are characters you come to rout for (or despise) but you know it is wrong to do so as they are all so nasty and flawed in so many ways, like humanity itself.
Don't be expecting a happy ending!
Not so here. I'll admit the tone took me a couple of chapters to get to grips with, but I am so glad I stuck with it. The lyrical poetry contained within the narrative is so good that it adds to the story being told, it puts some emotion into the storytelling, something that is so sorely lacking from many books in third-person narrative.
Descriptions of people, places, feelings, events take on a whole new level of tangibility so rarely felt in fantasy fiction (without going down the Stephen King route of describing everything, and avoiding the Robert Jordan horse/riding dress description pratfalls).
The only place this becomes an issue is at times in the action scenes. On occasion I had to re-read a passage to work out what had actually happened - while I enjoyed the words I had struggled to pick up on what had occurred.
The story itself is not overly elaborate and unfolds before you with little warning. It felt like a natural, flowing journey than a series of events loosely tied together. We have the gritty mercenary company en route to unleash hell on the Empire, the great priestess of the God of living and dying (who has to sacrifice someone every few days to ensure life and death continue to operate properly) and we have the political manoeuvrings of the high lords within the Empirical council. This is all weaved together in the first third of the book to an excellent, surprising conclusion (in what many authors would have filled a whole book with ad nauseum), with the remainder of the book being a journey through wild country while everyone double-crosses everyone else.
This is of the grim-dark sub-genre, which basically means everyone is a bit of a shit, and bad things happen to nice people. There are no heroes here. There are characters you come to rout for (or despise) but you know it is wrong to do so as they are all so nasty and flawed in so many ways, like humanity itself.
Don't be expecting a happy ending!
Brothers in Arms® 3: Sons of War
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Join the heroic MULTIPLAYER shooting action of World War 2! *IMPORTANT* Brothers In Arms® 3: Sons...