Musing Monday - Dec 18

Musing Monday is hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker.  It is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK'S RANDOM QUESTION:   Have you ever wanted to become a character in a book so you could actually experience the world you’re reading about?

Last week was a busy week--two home inspections, an open house, two doctor appointments, and the regular run of the mill stuff. With any luck real estate will be slowing down after this week...though someone did stop by today's open house to say they want me to list their house. :)

You'll notice I posted my review of Lethal in Old Lace, the sixth book in Duffy Brown's Consignment Shop Mystery series. If you haven't read any of these you really need to. They are fabulous!

Right now, I am reading The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page.

The inimitable Faith Fairchild returns in a chilling New England whodunit, inspired by the best Agatha Christie mysteries and with hints of the timeless board game Clue.

For most of her adult life, resourceful caterer Faith Fairchild has called the sleepy Massachusetts village of Aleford home. While the native New Yorker has come to know the region well, she isn’t familiar with Havencrest, a privileged enclave, until the owner of Rowan House, a secluded sprawling Arts and Crafts mansion, calls her about catering a weekend house party.

Producer/director of a string of hit musicals, Max Dane—a Broadway legend—is throwing a lavish party to celebrate his seventieth birthday. At the house as they discuss the event, Faith’s client makes a startling confession. "I didn’t hire you for your cooking skills, fine as they may be, but for your sleuthing ability. You see, one of the guests wants to kill me."

Faith’s only clue is an ominous birthday gift the man received the week before—an empty casket sent anonymously containing a twenty-year-old Playbill from Max’s last, and only failed, production—Heaven or Hell. Consequently, Max has drawn his guest list for the party from the cast and crew. As the guests begin to arrive one by one, and an ice storm brews overhead, Faith must keep one eye on the menu and the other on her host to prevent his birthday bash from becoming his final curtain call.

Full of delectable recipes, brooding atmosphere, and Faith’s signature biting wit, The Body in the Casket is a delightful thriller that echoes the beloved mysteries of Agatha Christie and classic films such as Murder by Death and Deathtrap.

*

Interesting question this week. Have I ever wanted to be a character in a book? Probably not. I like being me. That said, I have wanted to temporarily be transported to the setting of a book. As a lover of historical fiction, I would love to visit early America or America in the mid-late 1800s. Sure would be a cheap way to travel the world too. :) 

That's it from my neck of the woods. Hope you have a great week!

Book Review: Lethal in Old Lace by Duffy Brown

Wedding planning, a dead body or two, a plethora of suspects, and a whole lot of southern food and charm are to be found in Lethal in Old Lace by Duffy Brown.

All Reagan Summerside wants to do is put her history of finding dead bodies behind her and focus on her upcoming wedding to Walker Boone. Alas, dead bodies seem to get in her way. When the body of a resident from Pines Retirement Center is found in the Abbot sisters' pink Caddy and another recently deceased resident of the Pines may have swindled the sisters out of some money, they quickly become primary suspects. It will be up to Reagan, Boone, Auntie Kiki, Bruce Willis and their good friends to uncover the truth.

This series keeps getting better and better. Brown really outdid herself with this latest Consignment Shop mystery. Some of these things could only happen to Reagan Summerside! The great thing is that this masterful storyteller keeps it fresh while making the reader feel right at home with so many familiar faces. She develops her characters well and you learn a little bit more about each of them as the series progresses. Reagan's mother is becoming my favorite.

I'm still jealous that Brown can keep me guessing all the way to the end. Oh, how I wish I could write a mystery like that. There are so many twists and turns. People are on the suspect list. They are off the list. New people are added to the list. I rarely guess the culprit until it's revealed.

Lethal in Old Lace is another perfect and fun cozy mystery by Duffy Brown.

Highly recommended!


Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (March 13, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1683315359
ISBN-13: 978-1683315353


I received a digital copy from the author through Netgalley. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Musing Monday - Dec 4

Musing Monday is hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker.  It is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK'S RANDOM QUESTION:   Do you prefer plot driven books or character driven books?

Happy first Monday of December! How is that decorating going? I have candles in the window, a tree without lights in my family room, and garland on the stairs. It will be slow going and I might have to put up only one tree this year to save time and protect them from the dog.

I'm currently reading A Wanted Man by Robert Parker, which I'm due to review on Thursday. It's a busy week so I hope I finish it on time. It's definitely a page turner.

I'm also reading the next book in Duffy Brown's Consignment Shop Mystery series, Lethal in Old Lace. Love this series and the publisher sent me a copy via NetGalley. Not my preferred method of reading, but more cost effective for authors and publishers.

There are two social functions in Savannah guaranteed to get people talking: weddings and funerals. And just as consignment shop owner Reagan Summerside agrees to marry the hunky Walker Boone, her neighbors, sisters Annie Fritz and Elsie Abbot, step up their business as professional mourners. They are so successful that the Sleepy Pines Retirement Center has hired them as a part of their retirement package. But the celebration over good business is cut short when the residents at Pines suddenly begin dying at an alarming rate. And the sisters are the first suspects.

Reagan has her doubts, however, and begins to look into the strange phenomenon. But then something even stranger happens: a body winds up in the sisters’ pink Caddy. The evidence begins to pile up and the suspicious case of Willie Fishbine, who swindled the sisters out of a fortune and coincidentally died prior to the Pines case, is reopened.

Not wanting Willie to be buried until they can find the killer responsible for the murders, Reagan must catch the culprit in time to walk down the aisle. Witty, fabulous, and full of charm, Lethal in Old Lace is perfect for fans of Ellery Adams and Jenn McKinlay.

As for this week's question, should I even bother answering it? You all know I am a character-driven reader. It's probably why I like mysteries and psychological thrillers so much: I am hyper-focused on the reason characters do what they do.

Hope you all have a great week and read some fabulous books.