carolsnotebook's reviews
1615 reviews

 

The Secret Bookcase Mysteries is one of those series with an overarching plot that hasn’t been resolved yet. That is both my least favorite thing about the series and why this one doesn’t work well as a stand-alone. Annie’s best friend, Scarlet, was killed over a decade ago, but Annie has some new information and is working on solving the cold case. I’m just not a fan of those overarching mysteries.

Annie’s works full-time at a bookstore, where part of her job is coordinating events. For Valentine’s Day, the store has teamed up with a matchmaker for a weekend of books and romantic events. Early the morning of the second day, a well-liked member of the community is found dead near the store. While the event continues as planned, Annie is determined to help the local detective, Dr. Caldwell, discover who the killer is.

The mystery is fine. The plot moves along well. We have three potential suspects and a few red herrings, but it’s not too difficult to guess the killer. It’s still fun seeing Annie and her friends get to the solution.

I listened to the audio. It’s an easy book to listen to while walking the dog or doing chores. The narrator’s tone is appropriate to the story and the characters are easy to distinguish. Overall, it’s a fun, light series and I enjoyed the touch of Valentine’s in this one. 

 

I’ve read this series from the beginning and thoroughly enjoy seeing Queen Elizabeth II as an amateur sleuth. She knows people well and has access to a lot of information but needs her assistant private secretary to do most of the legwork. This time around we’ve gone back in time to the late 50s. It’s early in the Queen’s reign and she has two young children. She and Prince Phillip have been married about 10 years and their marriage has more stressors than most, one being that a club Prince Phillip attends has been connected to a murder.

Joan, the assistant private secretary, is bold, resourceful, and intelligent. She is the only one the Queen can truly trust, since in addition to the murder case, they are trying to figure out which of the Queen’s advisors has been attempting to sabotage her trips abroad.

The peeks into royal life are fun. The queen visits a few other countries in this one and it’s interesting to get a fictional look behind what the cameras show. Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother are around, adding humor and bringing out the personal side of the Queen.

The post-war setting was interesting, with the places and famous people. The attitude of the times also left the Queen and Joan underestimated by the mustached men. They use it to their advantage but it had to be frustrating.

The mystery is good, with several suspects and red herrings. The police are making little progress, which is why the Queen decides she need to find information to help prod them along.

I listened to the audio and the narrator did a wonderful job. The characters were distinct and the pacing was good. She handled the humor well and made the Queen kind and relatable and solid and practical. She really is a fabulous character.

Looks like the next in the series will take place in 1961. I’m looking forward to Joan and the Queen solving another murder. 

 

The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea is the second in the series and it’s probably better to read them in order. You’ll get a better feel for the characters and why Freya ends up in her current position.

We learned in the first book that Freya and her Aunt Carole inherited Arthur Crockleford’s antique shop when he was murdered. They are also trying to continue his project of hunting down stolen treasurers and making sure they’re returned to their rightful owners. Freya and Carole have officially founded “The Lockwood Antique Hunter’s Agency,” and the first case that comes their way is a painting that was stolen from a small semi-local Maritime Museum was stolen. The police are concentrating on the murder that accompanied the theft and the museum volunteer is afraid the painting will be forgotten. It turns out Arthur had donated the painting to the museum, making it even more interesting to Carole and Freya. The two follow the trail and end up on a specialty cruise, filled with Antiques Roadshow type celebrities, lesser known art experts, collectors, and a private collection of marine-themed exhibits. And an undercover FBI art crimes agent, Phil from book #1, they happen to recognize.

Of course it’s not smooth sailing. Turns out there’s something big happening on board. The legendary “Collector,” infamous on the black market, is turning over the reigns of his empire to a successor. Maybe Freya, Carole, and Phil can take down the whole operation.

There’s a lot going on and few people aboard the shop are who they seem to be. Freya and Carole are not just dealing with murder, stolen antiquities and blackmail – someone is determined to find out what the pair know and will take whatever means necessary to get the information.

We have some great characters here. Freya is dedicated and determined, if a bit naive. Carole is full of life, a bit eccentric and nosy, but more intelligent than she wants people to think. There are several other fabulous women characters, both good and bad and in-between. And we get some lessons on antiques, which I found interesting. The author clearly understands antiques and the world that revolves around them.

I’m looking forward to the next in the series, especially now that Freya and Carole have a group around them that they can trust. 

 

Curds & Whey has only been open two years and Willa needs to solve a sixth murder.

Willa’s ex-fiancé, Pierce, and his partner, Willa’s former best friend, Riley, have opened a pop-up chocolate shop in the town’s revamped bakery. Willa is, reasonably in my opinion, angry that the pair has chosen her town for their newest store, but when a reporter is killed by poisoned chocolates, she knows she’s not guilty, even if the police chief isn’t so sure. I felt a little bad for the character who got killed. We met him, saw he was pushy, and then he was dead. There was never much consideration that he was even the intended victim.

The reader has several suspects to look at, although Willa would rather not believe any of them are guilty. And was destroying the business’s reputation the point, or was someone trying to kill AJ, the newspaper editor, or Willa herself? Turns out Pierce is not a very nice guy – no surprise, and not entirely honest. Duncan, the store manager, is unhappy with the contract. The owners of the town’s candy shop aren’t thrilled with the competition. And the bakery’s former bread baker/manager is out of a job due to the change in the bakery’s focus.

As always, I enjoy the friendship and banter between Willa, Archie, Baz, and Mrs. Schultz. Detective Heath annoys me a bit – I wish he could be more supportive, but the ending gives me hope.

I was surprised by who the killer turned out to be, but I probably should have seen it coming.

There are also a couple of recipes in the back that I might try: a creamy dip that sounds perfect for game night and pizza smashed potatoes.