A Sportsman’s Sketches
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The first work by Ivan Turgenev to attain wide attention, A Sportsman's Sketches is a collection of...
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NewsBar, the top-selling Mac newsreader also available for iPhone and iPad. Simple and clean...
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News beyond the headlines, News Republic gives you all the stories you’ve ever wanted in just one...
The Immigrant Brides Romance Collection
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The Immigrant Brides Romance Collection Review ...
Christmas Past
8.0
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Behind every Christmas tradition is a story — usually, a forgotten one. Each year, as we decorate...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Christmas Dessert Murder in Books
Dec 9, 2023
In the first, Christmas Caramel Murder, Hannah gets involved when her business partner is accused of killing her husband’s new secretary, who just happened to be playing Mrs. Claus to Herb’s Santa in the community theater. This book borrows a bit from A Christmas Carol, and that makes it a little weird for fans of the series, but it is still enjoyable, with a good wrap up and cameos if not large parts for the regular characters.
The second story is Christmas Cake Murder, which flashes back to Hannah’s first Christmas after her father passed away. In an effort to get her mother out of her grief, Hannah agrees to help put on a Christmas ball filled with cakes. The mystery doesn’t really kick in until late in the story, although there are bread crumbs early on. What is most fun for fans of the series is watching Hannah build the life we are already familiar with.
Between the two stories, there are lots of recipes for you to try at Christmas.
Obviously, if you already have the two books, you’ll be fine skipping this collection. But if you’ve missed them, you might want to consider this way to get the stories.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Murder at Sea in Books
May 31, 2023 (Updated Jun 21, 2023)
While there are a couple of stories that really stood out, every single one of these eight stories is enjoyable. I can’t think of one I didn’t like. Many of the authors included their series characters here, although you don’t have to know the characters to enjoy what happens. In fact, this reminded me that I really do need to read some of these author’s novels. These stories are long enough that, by the time you’ve read all eight, you’ve read the equivalent of a full-length novel, so there is plenty here to keep you entertained. Each story features a fun twist or two, and the solutions always satisfied. Whether you are looking for a great read for a summer vacation or want something to make you feel like you are on vacation, you’ll be glad you boarded this anthology.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Kaleidoscope in Books
May 11, 2024 (Updated May 11, 2024)
Fans of the first book will be happy to hear that the format of the plot didn’t change much. Sadly, for me, that means it didn’t work as well as I would have liked. The way the stories wander around and in and out of each other without any clear beginning or climax frustrates me. One of them ends very anticlimactically. On the other hand, I do enjoy the charming characters and I liked spending time with them again. As with the author’s Mrs. Pollifax series, the characters haven’t really aged even thought it was roundly 25 years between books and both take place in their present. As a fan of the author, I’m not sorry I read this book, but I won’t be reading this series again any time soon.
ClareR (5879 KP) rated Fourteen Days in Books
Sep 22, 2024
This is set in New York, and is based around an apartment block during the Covid 19 lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic. The inhabitants meet on the roof, keeping the required distance from one another, and tell stories of their lives pre-Covid.
A constant background is the noise from the ambulances delivering sick people to the nearby hospital.
Fourteen Days was written by several authors, each telling the story of a different inhabitant of the apartment block. The reader isn’t aware of who has written which story until the end. I liked this, because it didn’t give me any preconceived ideas of what the stories would be like - and there are some very different writing styles. The janitor runs throughout the novel, collecting all of the stories, telling her own story and trying to solve an ever-present mystery within the walls of the apartment block.
An enjoyable book, and I can definitely say that its a great book to dip in and out of when you’re short on time (or read all one one go if you can!).