Just by chance, I happened to pick up two knitting mysteries in a row. I spotted While My Pretty One Knits at Borders a few weeks ago, and while I was reading it, Patterns in the Sand came in for me at the library.
While My Pretty One Knits by Anne Canadeo.
This is the first in the Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series. Canadeo is the real name of Kate Little,author of several titles for various Harlequin series, as well as Katherine Spencer, ghost-writer of the Cape Light series by Thomas Kinkade.
The story revolves around five women who meet weekly at Maggie Messina's Back Sheep Knitting Shop in the fictional New England town of Plum Harbor. When the owner of a rival shop is killed, Maggie is suspected of the crime. Her four friends are certain that she is innocent, and set out to determine the identity of the real killer. This is an easy read, and I had picked out the culprit about halfway through the story. It's not badly written, but despite being nearly 25o pages long, it goes down as quickly as a ... Harlequin romance.
Patterns in the Sand by Sally Goldenbaum is the second in the Seaside Knitters series.
This series also takes place in Massachusetts, in the fictional town/artists colony of Sea Harbor.
Nell and Ben Endicott's weekly Friday barbecue is interrupted by the call from the police. The yarn store owned by their niece Izzy has an intruder, who appears to have died in the front window of the shop. Ben, Nell and Izzy arrive to find that the young woman nestled in the yarn displayed in the window was merely asleep. Izzy decides not to press charges when the young woman, a fiber-artist named Willow, explains that she has come at Izzy's invitation. After some conversation with her, Ben and Nell determine that she's not dangerous, so they allow Willow to stay in their guest house.
Though a little shy, Willow seems to adapt to Sea Harbor just fine. But the next day, a well-known artist with whom she was heard arguing is found dead. Of course
Willow is the main suspect, especially when a relationship between the two of them is discovered.
A well-written and enjoyable read, this is still a fairly predictable story, but I have to admit that I was surprised by the identity of the killer.
I look forward to trying the next installments of both series.
25 June 2009
24 June 2009
Wow! I finished something!
I've been seeing the same hairstylist for about 5 years now. I've followed her from salon to salon. But when she told me she was moving to Riverside County, I decided I just couldn't make that drive to get my hair done.
She's been very good to me. Last month, when I was broke, she gave me a complimentary color (and it looked great!). So I decided I had to make her something special.
I didn't have much time, so I decided on this Drop stitch scarf. It took me just over 2 weeks to complete it, and I think she was quite pleased. She promised to send me a photo of her wearing it.
She's been very good to me. Last month, when I was broke, she gave me a complimentary color (and it looked great!). So I decided I had to make her something special.
I didn't have much time, so I decided on this Drop stitch scarf. It took me just over 2 weeks to complete it, and I think she was quite pleased. She promised to send me a photo of her wearing it.
17 June 2009
Just finished reading...
I've read seven books so far this month. I attribute this to the fact that I haven't been called into work at all, though I thought I'd keeping myself pretty busy working on the Left Coast Crime 2010 committee, the garden, and knitting.
Death Loves a Messy Desk by Mary Jane Maffini.
In the third Charlotte Adams outing, Charlotte has been hired by the office manager of an importing company called Quovadicon to clean up an employee's particularly messy desk. When Charlotte goes to the office, the employee, Barbara not in. Loathe to do too much without consulting the desk's owner, Charlotte drops by her home. She finds the door wide open, and the landlord worried. Charlotte is convinced that Barb is in trouble, and when the police decline to search for her, Charlotte decides to investigate on her own.
Charlotte is nothing if not persistent, and comes close to getting herself killed. But despite being nosy and pushy, she is likeable enough for the reader to care what happens to her, especially since her closest friends are suddenly too busy to spend time with her.
A Night at the Operation by Jeffrey Cohen.
Another third installment.
Although Elliott Freed and his ex-wife Sharon have been divorced for some time, they are still close friends and still celebrate their wedding anniversary together. However, this time, Sharon's soon-to-be new ex-husband Gregory tells Elliott that Sharon has disappeared. Elliott is certain that this is a mistake, and that Sharon will contact him to let him know where she is, but there is no word from her at his house or his theater, Comedy Tonight. Elliott's friend the police chief says it's too soon to search for her so Elliott decides to do it himself. He goes to her office and learns of the suicide of a patient whom she apparently misdiagnosed. The staff all believe she's gone away for a few days to get her head together, but Elliott doesn't think she would do that without telling a soul, and he's convinced that foul play has come to her.
Elliott is blessed with family and friends who are somewhat eccentric, and he seems to attract disastrous incidents, such as being hit by a brick while walking down the street. The accident-prone part of me really identifies with him.
The Anteater of Death by Betty Webb.
This is the first in a new series with protagonist Theodora "Teddy" Bentley, an heiress who has decided to become a zookeeper. She works, despite her family's disapproval, at a small private zoo on the central coast of California. One morning, Lucy the anteater discovers a human corpse in her enclosure, and is blamed for the death of one of the zoo's largest benefactors. Teddy is certain that Lucy is innocent, and sets out to prove it. Her efforts are complicated by her mother's unsubtle efforts at matchmaking, the attempts of an upper-crust group to evict her from her shabby houseboat, and her ex-boyfriend Sheriff Joe Rejas, who thinks she's getting in the way of his investigation.
The unusual cast of supporting characters is somewhat reminiscent of Donna Andrews' Meg Lanslow books, where only Meg and her husband appear to be sane. I look forward to more in this series.
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey.
This classic novel from mystery's golden age was the June read for the DorothyL Book Discussion group. I'd read it years ago, in my teens, and remembered the basic plot but few of the details. It's the story (based on a real-life incident) of a teenaged girl who turns up at her adoptive parents' home after being missing for a few weeks, saying she was being held against her will in an isolated house by two elderly women. Of course, the women assert that they have no knowledge of the girl, and their solicitor Robert Blair endeavours to clear them from suspicion. This is nominally an Alan Grant novel, but we actually see very little of the good Inspector.
A great example of Tey's wonderful writing!
Murder Alfresco by Nadia Gordon.
Another third book, this is part of the Sunny McCloskey series. I met Nadia at Left Coast Crime in Hawai'i last March, and won this book for correctly answering a trivia question.
Sunny is the chef/owner of Wildside a restaurant in the Napa Valley. She leaves a boring party late one night, intending to call a taxi, but discovers that her cell phone battery is dead. Since it's only a few miles, she decides to walk home. The only vehicle she sees is a truck pulling out from the drive of a vineyard. A few minutes later, she sees something hanging from a tree branch, and upon investigating further, discovers it's the body of a woman. She breaks into the vineyard's office and calls the authories, but although she tries to forget about the incident, she finds herself obsessed with the young woman and determines to find out what kind of person she was, in the hopes of settling her mind. The story is a bit coincidence-laden, but it's well-written, and Sunny is a sympathetic protagonist.
Show No Fear by Perri O'Shaughnessy.
The twelfth Nina Reilly novel is a flashback to when she was in law school and working as a paralegal for a small firm in Carmel. Nina is pretty stressed: her mother is suffering from a severe illness and is suing her acupuncturist; the father of Nina's son Bob has suddenly reappeared and is harrassing Nina; and Nina's brother Matt is dealing unsuccessfully with his drug addiction. When the bodies of two people close to Nina turn up in rapid succession, she is one of the few people who thinks that the deaths might be connected. I didn't enjoy this as much as the other Reilly books, and I'm not sure why.
The Diva Takes the Cake by Krista Davis.
In the second of the Domestic Diva mysteries, our heroine Sophie Winston is struggling to make sure her sister Hannah's wedding goes off smoothly. Planning this wedding has been difficult for her, as she dislikes Hannah's intended, Craig, and secretly hopes that Hannah will change her mind. When Craig's ex-wife is found hanging in a neighbour's backyard, Sophie is certain that the wedding will be cancelled. However, it is not, and although Craig hasn't invited any of his family members to the wedding, his father, uncle and cousin turn up. Sophie is certain that Craig is the killer, especially when another of his relatives is found murdered, but the there are several other possible suspects.
I enjoy Davis' writing, and the little tips preceding each chapter, but I find it hard to understand why she puts up with Natasha, her ex-husband's new paramour.
Death Loves a Messy Desk by Mary Jane Maffini.
In the third Charlotte Adams outing, Charlotte has been hired by the office manager of an importing company called Quovadicon to clean up an employee's particularly messy desk. When Charlotte goes to the office, the employee, Barbara not in. Loathe to do too much without consulting the desk's owner, Charlotte drops by her home. She finds the door wide open, and the landlord worried. Charlotte is convinced that Barb is in trouble, and when the police decline to search for her, Charlotte decides to investigate on her own.
Charlotte is nothing if not persistent, and comes close to getting herself killed. But despite being nosy and pushy, she is likeable enough for the reader to care what happens to her, especially since her closest friends are suddenly too busy to spend time with her.
A Night at the Operation by Jeffrey Cohen.
Another third installment.
Although Elliott Freed and his ex-wife Sharon have been divorced for some time, they are still close friends and still celebrate their wedding anniversary together. However, this time, Sharon's soon-to-be new ex-husband Gregory tells Elliott that Sharon has disappeared. Elliott is certain that this is a mistake, and that Sharon will contact him to let him know where she is, but there is no word from her at his house or his theater, Comedy Tonight. Elliott's friend the police chief says it's too soon to search for her so Elliott decides to do it himself. He goes to her office and learns of the suicide of a patient whom she apparently misdiagnosed. The staff all believe she's gone away for a few days to get her head together, but Elliott doesn't think she would do that without telling a soul, and he's convinced that foul play has come to her.
Elliott is blessed with family and friends who are somewhat eccentric, and he seems to attract disastrous incidents, such as being hit by a brick while walking down the street. The accident-prone part of me really identifies with him.
The Anteater of Death by Betty Webb.
This is the first in a new series with protagonist Theodora "Teddy" Bentley, an heiress who has decided to become a zookeeper. She works, despite her family's disapproval, at a small private zoo on the central coast of California. One morning, Lucy the anteater discovers a human corpse in her enclosure, and is blamed for the death of one of the zoo's largest benefactors. Teddy is certain that Lucy is innocent, and sets out to prove it. Her efforts are complicated by her mother's unsubtle efforts at matchmaking, the attempts of an upper-crust group to evict her from her shabby houseboat, and her ex-boyfriend Sheriff Joe Rejas, who thinks she's getting in the way of his investigation.
The unusual cast of supporting characters is somewhat reminiscent of Donna Andrews' Meg Lanslow books, where only Meg and her husband appear to be sane. I look forward to more in this series.
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey.
This classic novel from mystery's golden age was the June read for the DorothyL Book Discussion group. I'd read it years ago, in my teens, and remembered the basic plot but few of the details. It's the story (based on a real-life incident) of a teenaged girl who turns up at her adoptive parents' home after being missing for a few weeks, saying she was being held against her will in an isolated house by two elderly women. Of course, the women assert that they have no knowledge of the girl, and their solicitor Robert Blair endeavours to clear them from suspicion. This is nominally an Alan Grant novel, but we actually see very little of the good Inspector.
A great example of Tey's wonderful writing!
Murder Alfresco by Nadia Gordon.
Another third book, this is part of the Sunny McCloskey series. I met Nadia at Left Coast Crime in Hawai'i last March, and won this book for correctly answering a trivia question.
Sunny is the chef/owner of Wildside a restaurant in the Napa Valley. She leaves a boring party late one night, intending to call a taxi, but discovers that her cell phone battery is dead. Since it's only a few miles, she decides to walk home. The only vehicle she sees is a truck pulling out from the drive of a vineyard. A few minutes later, she sees something hanging from a tree branch, and upon investigating further, discovers it's the body of a woman. She breaks into the vineyard's office and calls the authories, but although she tries to forget about the incident, she finds herself obsessed with the young woman and determines to find out what kind of person she was, in the hopes of settling her mind. The story is a bit coincidence-laden, but it's well-written, and Sunny is a sympathetic protagonist.
Show No Fear by Perri O'Shaughnessy.
The twelfth Nina Reilly novel is a flashback to when she was in law school and working as a paralegal for a small firm in Carmel. Nina is pretty stressed: her mother is suffering from a severe illness and is suing her acupuncturist; the father of Nina's son Bob has suddenly reappeared and is harrassing Nina; and Nina's brother Matt is dealing unsuccessfully with his drug addiction. When the bodies of two people close to Nina turn up in rapid succession, she is one of the few people who thinks that the deaths might be connected. I didn't enjoy this as much as the other Reilly books, and I'm not sure why.
The Diva Takes the Cake by Krista Davis.
In the second of the Domestic Diva mysteries, our heroine Sophie Winston is struggling to make sure her sister Hannah's wedding goes off smoothly. Planning this wedding has been difficult for her, as she dislikes Hannah's intended, Craig, and secretly hopes that Hannah will change her mind. When Craig's ex-wife is found hanging in a neighbour's backyard, Sophie is certain that the wedding will be cancelled. However, it is not, and although Craig hasn't invited any of his family members to the wedding, his father, uncle and cousin turn up. Sophie is certain that Craig is the killer, especially when another of his relatives is found murdered, but the there are several other possible suspects.
I enjoy Davis' writing, and the little tips preceding each chapter, but I find it hard to understand why she puts up with Natasha, her ex-husband's new paramour.
03 June 2009
May reading
I got a bit behind on my book reviews last month, so I'm going to just do a series of mini-reviews.
A Date You Can't Refuse by Harley Jane Kozak.
In Kozak's latest Wollie Shelley book, Wollie gets a job as an undercover FBI agent at a media training company called MediasRex (isn't that a great name?). Wollie gets into some hilarious an outrageous situations, but Kozak makes that completely believable.
Killer Keepsakes by Jane K. Cleland.
Josie Prescott's assistant Gretchen fails to appear for work two days in a row, which is completely out of character, so Josie and the rest of her staff are alarmed. Josie goes over to check Gretchen's apartment and finds the bloody (dead) body of a man she's never seen before. The only unusual thing about him is his antique belt buckle, so Josie begins her investigation there. This is Clelands fourth Josie Prescott Antiques mystery, and I'm beginning to like Josie more and more.
Wormwood and Dead and Gone were reviewed in my post of May 18th.
The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King.
Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes have returned home after several months abroad, to find that an entire colony of Holmes' bees have disappeared. Then they are visited by a young man from Holmes' past who wants them to find his wife and daughter. At first Russell is upset that Holmes disappears without a word, but then she decides to aid his investigation the best way she can, which involves a considerable amount of risk for both of them.
My review of The Kitchen Linens Book is in the previous blog post, dated May 30th.
Quick Study by Maggie Barbieri.
While doing community service at a soup kitchen, English professor Alison Bergeron befriends Ecuadorean immigrant Hernan Escalante and his family. In an effort to be helpful, she hires Hernan and his nephew to paint her living room, but Jose disappears the next day. Between fending off her ex, who happens to be the marketing director for her favourite hockey team, the New York Rangers, and trying not to upset her current significant other, NYPD detective Bobby Crawford, Alison keeps herself quite busy! I loved the hockey thread in this book.
What Would Jane Austen Do by Laurie Brown.
Yes, this looks like a bodice-ripper, but I try not to judge books by their covers. Surprise, surprise, it is a bodice-ripper, though an unexpectedly well-written and absorbing one. Eleanor Pottinger, a costume designer, is at a bed-and-breakfast not far from Chawton, for Regency week. Her reservation is misplaced and she's put into a normally unused suite purported to be haunted. She doesn't believe in ghosts, until they appear and send her back in time to prevent the duel that killed their brother. This was a fun twist on Austen!
Wow! I can't believe I read EIGHT books last month. No wonder I wasn't able to keep up with the reviewing.
A Date You Can't Refuse by Harley Jane Kozak.
In Kozak's latest Wollie Shelley book, Wollie gets a job as an undercover FBI agent at a media training company called MediasRex (isn't that a great name?). Wollie gets into some hilarious an outrageous situations, but Kozak makes that completely believable.
Killer Keepsakes by Jane K. Cleland.
Josie Prescott's assistant Gretchen fails to appear for work two days in a row, which is completely out of character, so Josie and the rest of her staff are alarmed. Josie goes over to check Gretchen's apartment and finds the bloody (dead) body of a man she's never seen before. The only unusual thing about him is his antique belt buckle, so Josie begins her investigation there. This is Clelands fourth Josie Prescott Antiques mystery, and I'm beginning to like Josie more and more.
Wormwood and Dead and Gone were reviewed in my post of May 18th.
The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King.
Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes have returned home after several months abroad, to find that an entire colony of Holmes' bees have disappeared. Then they are visited by a young man from Holmes' past who wants them to find his wife and daughter. At first Russell is upset that Holmes disappears without a word, but then she decides to aid his investigation the best way she can, which involves a considerable amount of risk for both of them.
My review of The Kitchen Linens Book is in the previous blog post, dated May 30th.
Quick Study by Maggie Barbieri.
While doing community service at a soup kitchen, English professor Alison Bergeron befriends Ecuadorean immigrant Hernan Escalante and his family. In an effort to be helpful, she hires Hernan and his nephew to paint her living room, but Jose disappears the next day. Between fending off her ex, who happens to be the marketing director for her favourite hockey team, the New York Rangers, and trying not to upset her current significant other, NYPD detective Bobby Crawford, Alison keeps herself quite busy! I loved the hockey thread in this book.
What Would Jane Austen Do by Laurie Brown.
Yes, this looks like a bodice-ripper, but I try not to judge books by their covers. Surprise, surprise, it is a bodice-ripper, though an unexpectedly well-written and absorbing one. Eleanor Pottinger, a costume designer, is at a bed-and-breakfast not far from Chawton, for Regency week. Her reservation is misplaced and she's put into a normally unused suite purported to be haunted. She doesn't believe in ghosts, until they appear and send her back in time to prevent the duel that killed their brother. This was a fun twist on Austen!
Wow! I can't believe I read EIGHT books last month. No wonder I wasn't able to keep up with the reviewing.
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