Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache #1) - Louise Penny

Still Life by Louise Penny
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was my local book club pick for the month. It has been on my TBR list for quite awhile as Anne Bogel (Modern Mrs. Darcy) and others have been raving about the series for years. Because of that, I think it was a case of expectations and reality for me that I ended up thinking the book was just “meh.”
This is the first book in the series by Louise Penny that centers around Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. On Thanksgiving Sunday, he is dispatched to a murder scene in the rural village of Three Pines, Quebec. Jane, who seems to be universally loved by the town members, is dead in the woods. Inspector Gamache and his team need to determine foul play and whodunit.
There were a lot of nuances and mentions about the English Canadians and the French Canadians throughout the book. Those were completely over my head.
There was one character, Agent Nichol, who’s continued story I would like to know. But not enough to invest reading time into the other books in the series (13 to date).
A lot of emotions and thoughts. I felt some characters were decidedly stereotypical.
However, I will say this book (and series) has won numerous awards. And everyone else I know who has read it really enjoyed it. So, I’m the odd one out. Give it a go if you like mysteries, especially of the somewhat cozy variety.



View all my reviews

The Wife, the Maid, & the Mistress - Ariel Lawhon

The Wife, the Maid & the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

Genre:  historical fiction, mystery

Pages:  304

Publishing Date:  January 14, 2014

Synopsis from Goodreads:

One summer night in 1930, Judge Joseph Crater steps into a New York City cab and is never heard from again. Behind this great man are three women, each with her own tale to tell: Stella, his fashionable wife, the picture of propriety; Maria, their steadfast maid, indebted to the judge; and Ritzi, his showgirl mistress, willing to seize any chance to break out of the chorus line.
As the twisted truth emerges, Ariel Lawhon’s wickedly entertaining debut mystery transports us into the smoky jazz clubs, the seedy backstage dressing rooms, and the shadowy streets beneath the Art Deco skyline.

My Thoughts:

This was the book my book club chose for October.  I don’t remember who suggested it or any compelling arguments for it.  We just compile a list and take votes.  It’s very democratic like that.  I had heard of the author and her website SheReads.org though.  And I think have even listened to her on a podcast.

Anyway, starting the book I was not convinced that I was going to like it. There was a lot going on and I wasn’t finding the characters initially engaging.  But then…

About a quarter of the way in I was hooked.  I didn’t want to put the book down.  My workouts at the Y shifted from classes to walking the treadmill so I could read more. 

Stella…Maria…Ritzi – oh my!   Those three ladies drew me in.  Maria probably more than the other two.  I could feel her.  I think they were each very well-drawn and nuanced.

And just the era – I learned a thing or two.  There was definitely a lot of corruption and a seedier side to life represented. 

The twists and revelations were the best part though.  I didn’t see a lot of it coming – something I really love in a book because it tends to be rare.  Looking back, I can see the hints…sort of.

There are some trigger warnings.  We’re talking showgirls and mistresses and drinking – a lot of drinking.  Violence – but more alluded to than graphically described. 

I’m glad I stuck it out and got past the beginning.  The last 4 pages make it so worth the read.  I also appreciated the author’s note at the end that detailed some true information about the people involved in the story versus the parts she created. 

The Fruitcake Murders - Ace Collins

Title:               The Fruitcake Murders

Author:            Ace Collins

Publisher:        Abingdon Press

Market:           General

Genre:             Fiction, Mystery

Length:            320 pages

Pub. Date:       October 6, 2015

Description (from Amazon):

As Christmas 1946 draws near, thirty-something marine officer-turned-homicide detective Lane Walker has his hands full. Three men with seemingly no relationship to each other have been murdered, including the powerful District Attorney. The only connection between the crimes? The weapons: twenty-year-old unopened fruitcake tins manufactured by a company that is no longer in business.

While some foods may be to die for, fruitcake isn't one of them! This heaping helping of murder will be no easy task for Walker, and he certainly doesn't need the determined and feisty Betsy Clayton, the political reporter for The Chicago Herald, getting in the way.

Employing witty dialogue and historical accuracy, The Fruitcake Murders offers equal parts murder, mystery, and mayhem in a perplexing whodunit set in the days just after World War II.

My Review:

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy via the publisher at NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I picked this book as I was in the mood for a good mystery.  And, hello, the author’s name is “Ace Collins;” how cool is that?  Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed in the actuality of the novel.

The first turn-off was all of the issues with the text.  Several of the time stamps were off or out of order or didn’t jive with the content of that section.  There were many contradictions and inconsistency as well as poor grammar, misplaced words and missing quotation marks.   As a former English teacher (as well as having a penchant for details), all of those things strongly affect my overall reading experience even if the story itself is exceptional.

Also, just the whole tone of the book was a bit over the top for me.  I think the author was going for a “classic Dick Tracy movie” type feel with the swapping between first and last name usage, trying on the 1940’s vernacular, etc.  But it just didn’t work.  And the continued reference to how good looking, gorgeous, and handsome everyone was drove me a bit batty.  Even with some of the content and the date/time tags, it was hard to remember the historical setting of the book.

That being said, I think the mystery itself has good bones.  While I was pretty certain “whodunit” by the end, I was waffling between a few different possibilities for most of the book. 

The characters were definitely very character-y.  They were entertaining but hard to get attached to.  And the love triangle was flat ridiculous. 

The start of the story had me fairly lost.  However, I think that’s pretty typical of mystery books. That’s what helps make them mysterious.  So I was okay with it.  Especially as the book kept me guessing through most of it.  I changed my thoughts on the murderer a couple of times throughout the course of reading.  That always makes it more enjoyable. 

I don’t recall any spiritual or supernatural elements.  If they were there, I missed them.  As far as questionable content, there are murders.  But I think any reader would expect that from the title.  I really can’t think of any particular triggers this book might contain for a more sensitive or conservative reader.  Even the descriptions of the murder scenes were pretty tame.

Readers who enjoy easy to read mysteries would like this story as well.  There were actually a few different mysteries to be solved throughout.  However, I don’t know that I’ll be rushing out to buy the next thing Ace Collins writes.  Maybe, though. 

***This review is also posted on The Christian Manifesto and my Goodreads account.***

Pros:

·       Good mystery elements

·       Kept me guessing

·       Easy to read

Cons:

·       Grammatical errors

·       Inconsistencies and contradictions

·       Annoying character interactions

My Rating:  2.5 out of 5  (I feel like it was poor from a grammatical and consistency standpoint.  But as the mystery itself was good, I’ll give it a 2.5 for average)

A Red Herring Without Mustard - Alan Bradley

Synopsis from Borders.com: In the third installment of Bradley's bestselling series, Flavia de Luce must clear a woman's name to prevent a grave injustice, while trying herself to avoid an early (and unjust) grave.Award-winning author Alan Bradley returns with another beguiling novel starring the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. The precocious chemist with a passion for poisons uncovers a fresh slew of misdeeds in the hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey—mysteries involving a missing tot, a fortune-teller, and a corpse in Flavia’s own backyard.


I, of course, read this novel without having read the previous two. I'm not sure if that hindered my enjoyment of it or not.

I enjoyed Flavia's character. She is precocious and likeable. Her sisters (and even her father), on the other hand, not so much. The de Luce family history is one of the parts I do feel I was lacking from not having read the previous two novels.
Overall, though, I have to say the book was just okay. I don't read a lot of mysteries (usually more political espionage or true crime), so that may be why. I was able to figure out most of the mystery before it was revealed and really had little to no attachment and saw no development in any of the characters.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Book club book for April


The paths of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and hacker Lisbeth Sanders cross…and unite. They couldn’t be more different, but they must work together to solve the disappearance of Harriet Vanger – a case that is now forty years old.

I really enjoyed the story line. A lot. I enjoyed the character detail and the plot itself.

The fact that it was set in Sweden was a bit confusing at times, just because references were occasionally made that I couldn’t quite understand. However, that in no way hindered my enjoyment of the book.

I could have done without the language and graphicness of parts. I would like to read the following two books as I’m certain the stories will be well told. However, I’m not sure I want to subject my mind to more of the same. So we’ll see.