Author: Book Girl

Five Golden Wings

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Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews

Another welcome cozy holiday mystery by Andrews, in the much-loved Meg Langslow series. Meg and her family live near Caerphilly, Virginia, and her parents and other relatives live nearby. Meg’s mother has a large extended family who are descending on Caerphilly the weekend before Christmas for two family weddings. Cousins Lexy and Emily are both getting married at Trinity Episcopal Church and have receptions planned for the lovely Caerphilly Inn. But this is definitely not a double wedding. The cousins have different styles and color schemes and won’t even agree to share a room at the inn to display their wedding gifts. Emily has also chosen a bridesmaid who used to date Lexy’s fiancé. Unfortunately, Meg is hosting some of the wedding party at her house, and they are being rude to both her mother and her favorite cousin, Rose Noire.

Meg’s husband and grandfather keep the kids amused at the local zoo, including zoo sleepovers, but even the kids are arguing with each other, over an upcoming holiday musical. When Meg finds a dead body with a connection to both wedding parties, she has to work fast to make sure the weddings can proceed as planned. I liked the connection to the first book in the series: Murder, With Peacocks, where Meg is the maid of honor for three summer weddings and has to arrange many of the details, such as getting the brides to select their wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses. I always enjoy this series, and especially appreciate the humor and Meg’s large, lovably quirky family. Enjoy!

Brenda

The Shattering Peace

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The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi

It’s been way too long since I reviewed a fun science fiction novel, but the wait is now over. This is space opera at its snarkiest and most enjoyable. I enjoy many, but not all, of Scalzi’s books. This is set in The Old Man’s War series, and as it’s been ten years since the last one my memory of the series is rather hazy. It doesn’t matter, and you can just jump, or skip, right into The Shattering Peace without having read the previous books.

Gretchen Trujillo is a diplomat with a fairly unimportant job. At least her occasional orientation session for Colonial Union Diplomatic Security Force recruits is entertaining. And her assistant, Ran, an Obin who can turn off its consciousness, makes a great sidekick.

Then her high-ranking father sends Gretchen and Ran to investigate a missing colony. How thousands of colonists of multiple species inside a large asteroid can go missing is puzzling and alarming. It’s no surprise to the reader when the colony is located, or that Gretchen and Ran end up facing off with some scary smart Consu who don’t really care if the colony, or even Earth itself, is safe. Other than a bar fight, this is a mostly nonviolent science fiction novel, and all the more entertaining for it. I can’t, of course, reveal any more of the plot or where cats or bacon might come into the story. Pure escapist reading is too scarce to spoil any of it. Enjoy!

Brenda

Thus With a Kiss I Die

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Thus With a Kiss I Die by Christina Dodd

Well, that’s not a very cheerful title, is it? Since I thoroughly enjoyed the first Daughter of Montague novel, A Daughter of Fair Verona, I knew the book would be much more entertaining than a quote from Romeo and Juliet would lead the reader to expect. In Christina Dodd’s fictional Verona, Romeo and Juliet are alive, in love, and married with several children. Rosaline, called Rosie, is 20 and helps run the Montague household. While dreaming about handsome Lysander, she has somehow become betrothed to Escalus, the prince of Verona.

Rosie is not at thrilled by her betrothal. But she likes Escalus’s little sister, Isabella, his Nonna Ursula, and his father’s ghost. The ghost of Escalus the Elder is problematic as no one else can see or hear him and he never saw his murderer, who was masked and cloaked. Escalus, nicknamed Cal by his ghostly father, also enjoys spending time with Rosie’s large, chaotic family. When there is unrest in the city, even the prince’s home isn’t safe. On one eventful night Rosie must get home to her mother, then quickly solve two crimes and decide how she really feels about Cal. Of course, both Cal and Rosie are in danger, and deciding who to trust is key.  

This historical novel has witty banter, quirky characters, and is full of adventure, humor, mystery and some romance. The next book, Much Ado About Mistletoe, will be published in late October.   

Brenda

Murder on the S.S. Cleopatra

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Murder on the S.S. Cleopatra by Sara Rosett

This historical mystery is the sequel to Murder Among the Pyramids, with a third book planned. In 1924, Blix Windway, an adventurous lady traveler, embarks on the Blue Lotus Line steamer S.S. Cleopatra for a cruise down the Nile, as does her new friend Hildy Honeycutt. Blix takes photos and gives lectures about her travels, occasionally funding her travel by working as a paid companion.

Blix has a small but charming cabin, while Hildy has a much larger one. Blix is startled to meet Rafe Briarcliff on board, the handsome but annoying man who shared some of her recent adventures in Cairo and at the pyramids. Rafe is travelling undercover, assessing the ship and crew for the Blue Lotus Line. Hildy gets a couple of anonymous threatening notes and reluctantly shares a big secret with Blix. They get to know the other travelers before a suspicious death, or possibly two, occurs.

The captain asks Mr. Briarcliff and Blix to interview all of the travelers in hopes that they can solve the mystery before the ship arrives at Luxor. The ship is described in just the right amount of detail, as are the travelers, crew, and their activities. Rosett really did her research on 1920s Egyptian tourism, but shares just enough of what she learned to enhance the mystery, not overwhelm it. Gossipy tidbits from a fictional newspaper begin each chapter. I read the deluxe trade paperback, which includes extras such as photographs of the main characters, the deck plan of the ship, and color illustrations of a blue lotus. I enjoyed this book just as much as Murder Among the Pyramids, and look forward to reading about Blix’s adventures in Luxor.

Brenda

The Harvey Girls

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The Harvey Girls by Juliette Fay

I enjoyed this absorbing historical novel set in 1926. Two young women, each with a big secret, train together in Topeka, Kansas, to become Harvey Girls. Billie, the oldest girl in a large hardworking family, is still 15, not 18 as required. She is homesick and a little clumsy, but very kind and charming to the customers at the Harvey House restaurant at the Topeka train station.

Charlotte, six years older, attended Wellesley College before dropping out to marry Simeon. Simeon is a brute, and hits Charlotte. She runs away to be a Harvey Girl, always worried he’ll find her. After training, Billie and Charlotte travel to the Grand Canyon, and are assigned to work as waitresses at the fancy El Tovar Hotel.

Charlotte doesn’t like to get close to the rim of the Grand Canyon while Billie befriends a park ranger and is eager to hike down into the canyon. Both of their secrets eventually cause problems, especially when they both meet men they really like. Charlotte becomes a part-time tour guide and makes a Hopi friend. Billie sends money home and worries about her family. The author has experience working as a waitress, which adds authenticity to Billie’s and Charlotte’s experience as Harvey Girls. A bit dramatic in spots, this is a very appealing read, with an excellent sense of time and place. An epilog fills the reader in on what happened after they left the Grand Canyon. I might need to watch Judy Garland sing “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” again in the 1946 movie “The Harvey Girls”.

Brenda

Brigands & Breadknives

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Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree

Fans of Legends & Lattes, your wait for a sequel is almost over. Brigands will be published November 11. I was lucky enough to read a digital review copy. The title confused me for quite a while; I thought there’d be more of a bakery setting with Breadknives as part of the title. I am happy that the author didn’t want to write another book too similar to Legends or the prequel Bookshops & Bonedust. Not really a cozy fantasy, this is still a very satisfying read.

Fern, a ratkin, instead of running a bookshop, finds herself on an adventure with Astryx One-Ear, the famous elf oathmaiden, along with Nigel, an Elder Blade, Bucket the horse, and Zyll, a gnome who is definitely serious trouble. Fern isn’t brave, doesn’t have a plan or a clue, and swears a lot, including in gnomish. She also feels guilty for going on an adventure without telling her friends first. Enjoy!

Brenda

Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library

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Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman

Not the historical mystery I was expecting, but a very cleverly written contemporary mystery set in New York City. Tory Van Dyne, a book conservator, lives and works in a large house that belonged to her grandmother and overlooks Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Tory’s flat occupies the top two floors, and she works in the basement. The other two floors house the fictional Mystery Guild Library, which includes the Christie Room. This room duplicates the personal library of Agatha Christie, the queen of mysteries.

Tory is stunned to encounter a woman in the Christie Room who introduces herself as Mrs. Max Mallowan, or Agatha Christie. She claims to be visiting from Eternity and has returned to help Tory solve a mystery. When told there isn’t a mystery, the woman assures her that a crime will be committed soon. In a short time, the Christie Room becomes a weekly gathering place for amateur sleuths and Detective Sebastian Mendez-Cruz, along with a small dog. Tory introduces her cousin Nic, librarian Adrian, and young Mairead to Mrs. Mallowan. After two suspicious deaths, the group has much to discuss, usually over cocktails, with a Shirley Temple for Mairead. Mrs. Mallowan, when not quoting fictional detectives, says that she’s no longer a teetotaler.

Tory mostly stays home, traveling by bus to Sunday dinners with her family or to a favorite bookstore. But now she expands her horizons, attending an occasional event and getting closer to her friends in the Christie Room. Very smart, Tory gradually learns to accept advice and finds that she can be brave when needed. This book is the first in a planned series. If you can accept the presence of Mrs. Christie, readers are in for a witty and memorable mystery.

Brenda

Royal Gambit

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Royal Gambit by Daniel O’Malley

I found it very hard to put down this supernatural thriller. Set in and around London, it features Alix, Lady Mondegreen, a Pawn in the Checquy Group. When Alix was six, she was found to have a unique supernatural power, and began instruction and training with the Checquy, a secret organization that investigates supernatural crimes and disturbances. Unusually, Alix still got to attend a private school with normal children, and became friends with Princess Louise. The British Royal Family in this novel are not the same as in our London.

Alix is stunned when she is named one of four ladies-in-waiting to Princess Louise. This unpaid position, while part-time, is usually permanent, and will make her work with the Checquy more difficult. I enjoyed the unusual combination here of descriptions of royal life, detecting crime, and the incredible stories made up to explain supernatural events, along with some humor, as well as several scenes with an adorable Australian quokka. There is some violence as well. While occasionally getting to wear glamorous gowns and, twice, a tiara, Alix frequently gets summoned from one of her jobs to the other just as she’s about to eat. Often, her very curly hair and clothes are a mess. There are some perks to the lady-in-waiting position, including a gorgeous pair of boots that attracts attention on social media.

If you like an occasionally humorous thriller with supernatural elements, or if you read or saw The Rook, the first Checquy novel, I think you’ll enjoy Royal Gambit.

Brenda

Six Weeks by the Sea

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Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula Byrne

In 1801, Jane Austen, her parents, and sister Cassandra moved from the vicarage at Steventon to the city of Bath. Jane was upset at the news, and later at the loss of her piano. At 25, Jane is not yet a published author. She agrees to the move only after her parents promise a seaside holiday every summer.

This novel tells the story of that first summer by the sea, at Sidmouth. Author Paula Byrne, a biographer, wondered if Jane had ever been in love, as she wrote of it so wittily. In Sidmouth, Byrne introduces two suitors and a young biracial girl to the Austen family. Jane uses her connections to help find a foster home for the little girl, and has hopes of a possible romance between her favorite brother, Captain Frank Austen, and Martha Lloyd, the best friend of Jane and sister Cassie.

The holiday is full of seaside walks, dips in the sea, assemblies, a play, and plenty of tea and cocoa. Jane writes whenever she has time, but doesn’t share her work with anyone outside the family except Martha. The reader knows that Jane Austen never marries, so will not expect a traditional happy ever after. Jane Austen is also featured in a mystery series by Stephanie Barron, is which Jane is an amateur sleuth, and has another potential suitor, but it’s set a few years after this novel. The first book in that series is Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. This was quite an enjoyable read, and is suggested for Anglophiles as well as Janeites.

Brenda

For Duck’s Sake

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For Duck’s Sake by Donna Andrews

Twice a year, I delight in a new cozy mystery from Andrews, featuring blacksmith Meg Langslow, her large extended family, and plenty of humor. A huge dog and puppy adoption event, complete with a parade, has taken over Caerphilly, Virginia. Many of the animals are being cared for on Meg and Michael’s farm, and Meg walks to her brother’s new home for some peace and quiet. A contractor excavating a duck pond for Rob and his wife finds some bones, old but not ancient. Meg helps Chief Burke search for stories of younger men who left Caerphilly a few decades ago. She does some research at the library, searching the local paper online and on microfilm, and also talks to some of Caerphilly’s oldest residents. Two older ladies steal several of the scenes, along with the adoptable animals. To add to the chaos, someone starts leaving ducks on Rob’s porch. Five Golden Wings will be published in October. These very cozy mysteries make for great escapist reading and rereading, and the audiobooks are excellent.

Brenda