In post-Napoleonic England, Julian Kestrel is requested to stand up with a man he barely knows, and doesn't understand why this wedding is planned at all. But finding a murdered woman in his bed shocks Julian as well as his hosts, and he pursues the killer with the aid of his loyal servant Dipper.
This book started painfully slowly and I almost gave up on it. But once the murder occurred, the plot moved right along and held my interest. Julian is a type of hero that I like, a genuinely noble man hiding behind the mask of a fop. But the title bore no relation to the story.
Sophie Lilburn tries to be happy when husband Chris wins a coveted music and teaching position at Westmead Cathedral. Jacquie plans a licentious holiday abroad as a last fling before settling into marriage, which appalls her conventional sister Alison. Sophie cannot achieve pregnancy and sees a fertility specialist, while getting to know the cathedral denizens and hearing of a murdered girl found nearby 11 years earlier. Alison unintentionally ruins Jacquie's wedding and is banished. Years later, their father's last wish is to see Alison, and a now-divorced Jacquie determines to find her.
I gave up on this book halfway through. It was pretty obvious that the mysterious murdered girl would turn out to be Alison, which wouldn't have stopped me reading if the characters or story had been more interesting. But there was too much of an evil feel in the book, neither Jacquie nor Sophie were compelling characters, and switching back and forth between their stories felt awkward and disjointed. This isn't a terrible book, but after reading half of it I wasn't sure what genre it is and I didn't care enough about the outcome to skip to the end.
Wealthy spinster Amelia Peabody and her beautiful companion Evelyn are travelling upriver on the Nile when they re-encounter an abrasive archeologist and his charming brother. Initially they delay to help the archeologist over a malarial crisis, but when someone dresses as a mummy to drive them away from the palace site, Amelia and Evelyn determine to stay and investigate. Then Evelyn's suitor Lucas, Earl of Ellesmere, arrives to continue his pursuit and joins the fray.
Since I haven't liked any of the Elizabeth Peters books I have read, I didn't expect to like this one. But it ensnared me almost immediately. Amelia is both educated and interested in learning, and she doesn't suffer fools gladly, yet she is basically kind. And her money gives her options most Victorian women did not have. It was pretty obvious that Evelyn would turn out to be the heir after all, and who the villain would be and why, but I must admit I was surprised by some of the details. The romantic entanglements were equally predictable. However, the story was strong enough that the predictability didn't keep me from finishing and enjoying the book.
As Napoleon threatens Europe, the King of Prussia calls small-town Magistrate Stiffeniis to Konigsburg, to solve a series of horrifying murders.
I only got 47 pages into this book before giving up. It was a very slow, tedious read - lots of words with nothing much happening. An "introduction" explains that 3 years had passed since the horror he had experienced sent him into "a bottomless black pit." I do not enjoy horror. Since all the characters seemed wooden and one-dimensional, I just couldn't see any reason to keep reading.
On a progress with the Queen, Lady Grace is as horrified as everyone else at three nearly-fatal "accidents." Assigned by Elizabeth to investigate, Grace is distracted by a handsome attendant but also finds someone is misleading her.
Good story, fast read, a bit unrealistic in that Grace keeps tripping over clues but since the book models loyalty as well as brains and courage, I can forgive the lack of realism. I enjoy this series!
Desperate to save his British PR firm from insolvency, Douglas Perkins takes on the task of shepherding an obnoxious American singer and his comic opening act with an even more obnoxious mother through their European tour. But as one dark secret after another comes out, the partners' ability to keep the Client out of trouble may be overtaxed.
I couldn't manage to read more than half the book. There was a story but it wasn't interesting enough to overcome the twin debilities of dislikable characters and "if I had only known" foreshadowing. I had a feeling from the book description that it was supposed to be a murder mystery, but there was no murder in the first half of the book so I have to categorize it as regular fiction.
Pretty Kitty Charing was adopted by a miserly friend of her late father's. Now her guardian is prepared to leave his fortune to her, as long as she marries one of his nephews. Otherwise, he will leave her penniless. When the man she would have chosen is too proud or uninterested to join the parade of poor relatives begging her to marry them, she conspires with the dull but wealthy nephew to fake an engagement.
Just another of Heyer's Regency romances. While she does the form well enough, I don't like the phoniness of incredibly beautiful women and handsome, rich men who magically anticipate their desires to win their hearts, and gave up pretty early in the book.
Collection of short stories set in ancient Greece and Rome, featuring some characters who really lived (although the stories themselves are fiction).
Wildly varied stories, from a moderately funny tale in which Aphrodite investigates the murder of a mortal to a twisted Gordianus the Finder contribution to stories with disturbing elements of horror. (Don't read "The Living Tree" if you are subject to nightmares.) It was a slow read but not because the stories were uninteresting, there were just a lot of them. The only flaw was that too many of the stories featured a "justified" murder of a horrible person, with a sleuth unwilling to see the killer punished. That works for an occasional story but it happens enough in this book to almost be a common theme.
Girls' school headmistress Louisa Barrett enjoys her unusual freedom in the first decade of the 20th century, and doesn't like her suspicion that the widower of her best friend might be responsible for a murder.
There was nothing really wrong with this book. Louisa is a nice enough character, as are most of the rest. The history was accurate as far as I could tell. But it just never caught my interest. Maybe it was the endless paean to the city of Buffalo. I've been there (although not around 1900) and it's not a particularly interesting place. Maybe it was something else. For whatever reason, I gave up a quarter of the way through an admittedly thick book.
Diego Alatriste y Tenorio was a soldier in 17th century España until the king made peace. Then he hired his sword out to whoever would pay, for whatever assignment.
Narrated by a young boy who was the son of a friend of Alatriste's, this book tries to justify being an assasin for hire but still paints Alatriste as self-centered and dislikable and the boy as boring and consumed by hero-worship. It didn't help that the boy's name was Inigo Balboa. I know Inigo is a perfectly legitimate Hispanic name, but all I could hear was "You killed my father! Prepare to die!" And I know there was a lot of casual killing in that era, and not just in España. But I don't enjoy reading about it. I got a quarter of the way through the book before giving up.
Young and unconnected, Investigating Judge Bernard Martin knows solving the brutal murder of Solange Vernet can make his judicial career. With the patronizing assistance of a police inspector who wants to share the glory of catching a killer, Martin collects clues that may lead him to the live-in lover or the well-connected painter.
I wasn't sure I would like this story, since I generally don't like stories featuring real people. But this is a wild speculation based on a tiny piece of information about Cezanne, and I guess I don't know enough about the artist to be bothered by this book. Although a slow read, it provides a descriptive portrayal of a society that is ossified in some ways and too liberal in others, and the people simply trying to live their own lives in uncertain circumstances. But the murder mystery part was terribly watered-down by Martin's wafflings about his own capability and his anarchist "friend," a thoroughly dislikable self-centered jerk who used Martin (and spineless Martin allowed Merckx to use him). The mystery part was solid enough for me to want to try the next book in the series, but not to finish this one - I got halfway through and skipped to the end.
Short-story collection, including several featuring Aird’s characters Inspector Sloan (including the title story) and Henry Tyler, as well as a few historical mysteries set in 16th century Scotland and starring a local sheriff. Most are mysteries and the rest provide a twist ending, such as “A Soldier of the Queen.”
Somewhat mixed bag of stories. There were some stories that were quite clever, such as “Due Diligence” and “Losing the Plot,” as well as a few that were rather weak. But overall, an enjoyable book.
Amanda Pepper’s unsatisfactory life includes teaching at a private school for rich kids without academic ability or interest, and a mother whose goal in life is to see her married. But it drastically worsens when a casual acquaintance is murdered in her house, and everyone thinks they were best friends. Police detective C.K. Mackenzie annoys Amanda as well, first by considering her a suspect and later by telling her to stay out of the case while acting on information she supplied.
I was afraid I wouldn’t like this series, as it’s quite popular and started poorly – I don’t like whiny characters. But it quickly improved, as Amanda whined less even if she froze more. Not someone I’d want around in a crisis, but she’s a moderately interesting main character in a mystery. The resolution was weak but tolerable, and the book kept me reading all the way through.
Two new college graduates and one new highschool graduate take an apartment in NYC to get away from their families and be independent, but of course they start by mooching money from their families so they can get away from them.
I think this was supposed to be a coming-of-age story, but the characters were so unlikable and what story there was was so boring I barely got a quarter of the way through before giving up. All of them barely managed to graduate their respective schools through bad attitudes and shenanigans. There just wasn't any point to reading further.
Graduate language student William Dougal accepts a well-paid translating commission from the man who murdered his tutor. When the man is reported dead, William receives a letter that the man had been pursuing a treasure and murdered by the other claimant, but inviting him to find and claim the treasure himself. William’s greedy girlfriend Amanda urges him to find the treasure, and they are off.
This book was so full of unlikable characters I barely got into it at all. Dougal doesn’t call the police when he finds the dead body of his supervisor because it would make him late for dinner with his girlfriend. His fellow students are shallow and self-obsessed. And the girlfriend is the stereotypical gold-digger. I can’t evaluate the plot because the characters were so obnoxious I couldn’t force myself to read much. The title refers to a medieval language in which the item is written that Dougal is originally commissioned to translate.
Emily is heartbroken when George’s fancy settles on the lovely granddaughter of their hostess, but she determines to win him back. A horrifying development ends her marriage and puts her own life at risk.
I think this is the end of the series for me. Each book has been gloomier and less interesting than the one before. I wasn’t even interested enough to finish this one.
A woman is shot and crippled by a young man.
I’m giving up on this author. I like STORIES, coherent and involving plots, likeable characters. Barfoot doesn’t seem to believe in any of these. This book bounced back and forth between the woman in the hospital, unable to move after being shot in the spine, and the shooter as he is pursued. The dual narration also bounces back and forth in time – can’t really call them flashbacks because a flashback is typically a story as well, and none of the narrated episodes consisted of a story. I gave up after 40 pages.
Lake Eden is excited about a movie being shot on Main Street. Hannah’s mother is dressing some of the sets, Hannah is supplying food, and Tracey is playing a minor role. But then the director is killed by what was supposed to be an unloaded gun, and Hannah and her friends and family investigate.
Solid workmanlike mystery, with lots of red herrings among the legitimate suspects. I almost had the “how” and the “who” was on my short list.
When Mrs. Maxie hires a young unwed mother as an maid-of-all-work, the girl disturbs and threatens both family and servants. But even luring the son of the house to propose marriage doesn’t justify her murder.
Interesting-enough story, but the author didn’t give the reader all the information to identify the killer, not even the information as Dalgliesh learned it. Both my prime suspects turned out innocent, but I wouldn’t have stuck with them if I had had more information. The author also failed to give the reader reason to dislike one of the main characters. But she did stick to the rule of making the victim someone thoroughly unlikeable.
Newly-widowed, virtuous Diane de Poitiers returns to the French court of King FranVois, encountering a deadly rivalry with the King’s favourite Anne and the risky affection of the King’s rebellious second son Henri as she tries to avoid becoming one of the King’s many sexual conquests.
Mme. de Poitiers is one of the most fascinating characters in French history, but you’d never know it from this dull biography. I got a quarter of the way through the book, but gave up after multiple repetitions of the same events: Diane deftly avoiding being seduced, Anne trying to eliminate Diane as a potential rival, and Henri adoring Diane. Haeger doesn't seem to understand that a story should progress, not just repeat itself. Also, Diane de Poitiers was not a courtesan; a courtesan is a woman who uses social and sexual skills to entertain numerous men.
Killashandra is now old enough that she has forgotten much of her life. When her lover and partner becomes the new Guild Master, she runs to a tropical planet for a vacation, but is called back to fill a large order for black crystal, and cuts crystal with Lars again.
Although just as involving a story as the previous two entries in the Crystal Singer series, it is much less focused and doesn’t have a single theme as Killashandra faces different events in her life. Naturally, it’s terribly convenient that Killa is the one making discoveries affecting her memory, but it wouldn’t be a Killashandra story if someone else made them.
Faith is chosen as a finalist in a contest to be spokesdog for a new dog food. When the owner of one of the other finalists falls to his death, Melanie investigates whether it was really an accident or someone is desperate to win.
Berenson does a wonderful job hanging the necessary plot convolutions on the contest finalists, probably the best in this series. But she added not one but TWO secondary plots, neither necessary but at least she kept both to minor chunks of the book.
Morwen alerts King Mendanbar and Queen Cimorene when she finds damage in the Enchanted Forest that could have been caused by a wizard’s staff. When they discover the wizards have stolen Mendanbar’s sword and eroded the protections of the Enchanted Forest, they set out on a recovery and punishment quest.
This seemed a little slower-moving and more talky than previous books in the series, but not intolerable except for the very annoying magicked rabbit. But this is yet another book in which the title bears no relation to the story.
When a young actress friend of actor Charles Paris thinks her boyfriend is harassing her, she asks Charles to take him some blackmailing photographs she has bought to relieve him. The man is discovered dead and Jacqui is convinced his son murdered him, so Charles investigates to prove her wrong.
Workmanlike mystery, although a bit slower-moving than I like. And yet another mystery where the title bears no relationship to the story.
Veterinarian Gail McCarthy is shocked when she finds a horse trainer dead after his horses are poisoned and he blames another, more successful trainer. I really wanted to like this series; the idea of a female vet as solver of mysteries was awfully tempting. But the characters were unlikeable or unbelievable or both, the reader isn’t given the information to identify the killer, and the story itself never really caught my interest.
Gus turned her knack for cooking and entertaining into a prosperous Cooking Channel career. But the food audience has changed, and she must reinvent her show with an unwanted co-host or face cancellation. Each person on her revamped show brings emotional baggage, and they try to work out relationships and save Gus’ show. The sprawling story covers family strains, professional stresses, and the long-lasting effects of old mistakes. I had trouble putting the book down. The ending was uncomfortably pat, but winding up numous different storylines is tricky at the best of times.
Sentimental tale of the life of a loving family, told from the viewpoint of the family dog. Not particularly well-organized or believable, but an effective holiday tearjerker anyway.
Predictably sappy story of a young reporter desperate for a story, who tracks down the family who has been giving away jars full of money on Christmas Eve. No surprises but have a box of kleenex handy.
I’m not sure what the point of this book was. Starting with a vicious man beating his bride on their wedding night, it flashes back to his childhood and how his relatives, governesses, and tutors tried to curb his malice and failed. I’ve been unable to finish a number of Lofts books because the characters were so unlikeable, but this sinks to new lows.
Newly married Marigold, Countess of Tregaron, is captured and held for ransom by the highwayman The Fox. All the worst elements of historical romances and novels glorifying road thieves – I couldn’t finish it.
Wealthy Alexa Chitting had written but not signed a new will that would have left everything to a conservation group when she was found murdered. Was it a drug-related robbery as the police think? Or did one of the people who would have benefited from the current will take action to protect their interests? I don’t mind a flawed heroine, but brand-new PI Katie is a mess, emotionally scarred from a school shooting (she used to teach) as well as a divorce and growing up in an orphanage, totally lacking confidence in herself (and I don’t find wimps interesting, as a rule). However, the story itself is a well-done mystery, with lots of red herrings, a handsome man to distract her, and the reader given the clues to figure out whodunnit. (I had the murderer on my short list but hadn’t narrowed it down to just one person.)
In this start of the Phryne Fisher series, set in the Roaring Twenties, she travels to her native Australia to investigage a woman being poisoned by her husband, rescues and hires a wronged housemaid, and helps track down a murderous abortionist.
Apart from an impossibly elegant heroine who is accomplished in unladylike ways and casually puts others in danger, there is too much reliance on coincidence (one potential victim happens to look out her window at the right time to see a Bad Guy climbing up, another one is saved when a Bad Guy is reluctant to break down a bolted door). And I figured out who the King of Snow was going to turn out to be way too early in the story.
It’s not a good sign when the first part of a book is taken up with a detailed, uninteresting narrative of how the hero’s family lost their estate and his delicately-bred mother had to do her own house- and farm work. By the time he’d escaped from English soldiers and landed on a ship which was then attacked by pirates who sold him into slavery, I gave up. Disorganized as well as uninteresting.
When Inspector Pitt investigates the deaths of two babies found buried in a ritzy park, Charlotte and her sister Emily decide they have to help find the poor servant girl who must be responsible. One buried secret after another comes to light, exposing the dark side of the lovely house facades. Involving, with enough red herrings to stock a cannery, but I’m not sure the reader is given the info needed to solve the mystery.
Unfortunately dry account of an arranged marriage between two Rothschild cousins that turned into a love story as well as a political history of Victorian England and its entanglements with the rest of Europe. Interesting characters, but such a slow read I gave up halfway through.
This story of a young Jew tackling the Germans in WWII Leningrad sounded promising, but it turned out to be nothing but unlikeable characters constantly spitting curses in pursuit of some eggs for a colonel’s daughter’s wedding. I gave up halfway through.
Strange book, partially due to the setting and partially to the structure. Not too many chick lit authors set a story in an African refugee camp. Meanwhile, the story bounces around between the refugee camp and what brought the main character there, an obsession with a famous author in England. I’m not a fan of the flashback format, period, but at least if you’re going to use that format, go back once and stay there. I tried to get at least halfway through before giving up but I just couldn’t; mostly unlikable characters (including the doormat heroine) and a not-very-interesting storyline skipping around like a Mexican jumping bean were too bad for me to stick with.
Like far too many of Lofts’ books, this one featured mostly unlikeable characters in an uninteresting story. Supposedly based on a real crime, the children’s nurse accidentally kills one of her charges and the children’s father, her lover, helps her pretend to be innocent. Another book I couldn’t make myself finish.
Slow and convoluted tale of a magazine sob sister who visits one particularly mysterious writer and finds a sinister house full of people who deny the girl’s existence. I got tired of the pace after the first quarter of the book and skipped to the last quarter, and don’t think I missed anything.
Fans of this series will enjoy Skeeve taking on teaching six students, all with their own agendas. (The idea of three young female Pervects in two-piece business suits is a little scary, though. And I swear Asprin/Nye wrote this whole book in order to use one particularly horrible pun at the end of Chapter Twelve.) Those new to the series would be smarter to start with one of the earlier books, as following the plot depends a little on knowing Skeeve and Bunny, and Asprin/Nye avoid the sin committed by most writers of series, wasting the reader's time re-hashing the series' history.
One of the fictionalized biographies that Lofts does so well. Queen Isabella of Castile had a rough life, but managed to unite Spain, send daughters off to be Queen of England and Holy Roman Empress, and see the New World discovered in her name. Interesting presentation of the human side of an amazing medieval queen.
Somewhat cute mystery featuring a less-than-perfectly-gorgeous heroine whose mother is desperate to get her married off. Hannah runs a cookie emporium and helps her policeman brother-in-law on the side, especially when a milk delivery man turns up dead outside her back door. Lots of twists and turns and I got about 2/3 of the way through before figuring out whodunnit.
Reputable mystery writers eschew endings in which a critical piece of information is not given to the reader. This ending depended on a hidden piece of information. Pshaw on Clement. I'm also really tired of heroines fighting deep emotional scars, nearly every likable character being gay, and nearly every unlikeable character professing Christianity. This is part of a series but I won't be bothering with the rest.