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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2277 KP) rated Christmas Cocoa Murder in Books
Nov 8, 2022
Drowning in Hot Chocolate
This story finds Siobhan O’Sullivan, the main character in the popular Irish Village Mysteries, a few weeks from joining the local police department in her small Irish village. Even though she’s not supposed to officially join until after the first of the year, she finds herself getting involved in a case just before Christmas. First, her family’s dog goes missing. Then the intermission entertainment at the holiday panto goes horribly wrong. Paddy O’Shea, the village Santa, has been obsessed over how to top the Santa from the neighboring village, and he’s come up with what he thinks is the perfect way. He’s had a custom-built dunk tank made, and he’s going to challenge people to dunk him in hot chocolate. However, before the show is over, Paddy is found floating face down in the hot chocolate. Who killed Santa?
This was my introduction to the characters, and I did struggle a bit keeping Siobhan’s family straight, and there are some references to things going on in her personal life that I didn’t get. However, these were very minor issues in an overall fun story and easy enough to ignore. As you might have guessed from the description of the story, there is some humor involved in the events, but it does have plenty of serious moments as well. These were balanced perfectly. I really enjoyed getting to know Siobhan and the suspects were all strong enough to be believable as the killer. The plot kept me engaged until we reached the great climax.
NOTE: This story is a novella, roughly 100 pages, and was originally part of the novella collection Christmas Cocoa Murder. If you have that book, there is no need to buy this ebook. If you haven’t read the story, now is the time to sit back and enjoy this Christmas mystery.
This was my introduction to the characters, and I did struggle a bit keeping Siobhan’s family straight, and there are some references to things going on in her personal life that I didn’t get. However, these were very minor issues in an overall fun story and easy enough to ignore. As you might have guessed from the description of the story, there is some humor involved in the events, but it does have plenty of serious moments as well. These were balanced perfectly. I really enjoyed getting to know Siobhan and the suspects were all strong enough to be believable as the killer. The plot kept me engaged until we reached the great climax.
NOTE: This story is a novella, roughly 100 pages, and was originally part of the novella collection Christmas Cocoa Murder. If you have that book, there is no need to buy this ebook. If you haven’t read the story, now is the time to sit back and enjoy this Christmas mystery.
CA
Como agua para chocolate, the novel and film version - Critical Guides to Spanish and Latin American Texts and Films, 74
Book
Covering both the novel and the film, Nathanial Gardner provides a fascinating introduction to Laura...
David McK (3505 KP) rated The Furthest Station (Peter Grant, #5.5) in Books
Feb 19, 2019
I read the first entry in Ben Aaronovitch's Peter grant series (Rivers of London) a few years back.
It was an OK read, but didn't really grab me enough to want to go out and pick up others in the series.
However, this novella was recently on sale on Amazon Kindle a while back for something like 99 pence, so I thought I would give it another go. And what is immediately obvious is just how much I've missed by skipping those full-length novels in-between Rivers of London (#1) and this (# 5.5).
Which is probably why I struggled to get into this: as before, I found this an OK read (once I got past the initial "who's s/he now? What're they talking about?" confusion, but nothing that would pull me back into the world of PC Grant
It was an OK read, but didn't really grab me enough to want to go out and pick up others in the series.
However, this novella was recently on sale on Amazon Kindle a while back for something like 99 pence, so I thought I would give it another go. And what is immediately obvious is just how much I've missed by skipping those full-length novels in-between Rivers of London (#1) and this (# 5.5).
Which is probably why I struggled to get into this: as before, I found this an OK read (once I got past the initial "who's s/he now? What're they talking about?" confusion, but nothing that would pull me back into the world of PC Grant
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Wild Thing (Includes: Warriors of Poseidon, #1.5; Guardians, #1.5) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
I picked up this book solely because it contains "Hunter Kiss," the novella that precedes <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2281814.The_Iron_Hunt">Iron Hunt</a></i>. Liu certainly didn't disappoint me.
The other three novellas didn't suck as much as most romance-centered works do. Maggie Shayne's "Animal Magnetism" was working for me, but then a mention of a dog seeing a color brought my suspension of disbelief crashing down around me. "Paradise" by Meljean Brook was, eh, okay, I guess. I just couldn't really get excited, and the "plot" seemed a lame excuse to bring the man and woman together. Alyssa Day's "Wild Hearts in Atlantis" would have been much, much better without the all-too-common "Oh, I'm so unattractive!" crap from the female lead. I suppose it would be fine for romance fans.
The other three novellas didn't suck as much as most romance-centered works do. Maggie Shayne's "Animal Magnetism" was working for me, but then a mention of a dog seeing a color brought my suspension of disbelief crashing down around me. "Paradise" by Meljean Brook was, eh, okay, I guess. I just couldn't really get excited, and the "plot" seemed a lame excuse to bring the man and woman together. Alyssa Day's "Wild Hearts in Atlantis" would have been much, much better without the all-too-common "Oh, I'm so unattractive!" crap from the female lead. I suppose it would be fine for romance fans.
Caffeinated Zombie (3374 KP) rated How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea in Books
Jan 9, 2019
Description from Mira Grant's website: Post-Rising Australia can be a dangerous place, especially if you’re a member of the government-sponsored Australia Conservation Corps, a group of people dedicated to preserving their continent’s natural wealth until a cure can be found. Between the zombie kangaroos at the fences and the zombie elephant seals turning the penguin rookery at Prince Phillip Island into a slaughterhouse, the work of an animal conservationist is truly never done–and is often done at the end of a sniper rifle.
This novella is part of the newsflesh trilogy and explores how Australia would deal with a zombie outbreak. The answer is they would not bat an eyelid. This book is hilarious, well written and we get more of an insight into Mahir as he investigate's a story in Australia.
This novella is part of the newsflesh trilogy and explores how Australia would deal with a zombie outbreak. The answer is they would not bat an eyelid. This book is hilarious, well written and we get more of an insight into Mahir as he investigate's a story in Australia.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Holiday for Skins (Bongo Fury #2) in Books
Nov 11, 2019
Following on from the events in the first Bongo Fury book, this novella once again follows the music shop owner Jimmy Black as he unwillingly gets mired in the underworld of Northern Ireland. After the events of the first book, a silent struggle for power among the criminal elements is escalating and people are dying. All Jimmy wants to do is make sure he isn't one of them.
As with the first book the charm of this sequel is in the leading character. Wry, witty, foul mouthed with an eye for the darkly humorous observation, having Jimmy once again show us his world is very welcome. Together with the twists and turns of the plot (a little less straightforward than the first novel) this makes a cracking quick read that combines noir thriller and laugh out loud humour.
As with the first book the charm of this sequel is in the leading character. Wry, witty, foul mouthed with an eye for the darkly humorous observation, having Jimmy once again show us his world is very welcome. Together with the twists and turns of the plot (a little less straightforward than the first novel) this makes a cracking quick read that combines noir thriller and laugh out loud humour.
The Silent War
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Curvy and the Canid: A Wolf Shifter Fairy Tale Retelling
8.0
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The Great God Pan
5.0
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The Great God Pan" is a novella written by Arthur Machen. A version of the story was published in...