A Lady, an Engagement and an Adventure.

Our Lady of Pain by M.C. Beaton is a lighthearted and adventurous murder mystery set in the early 1900's.  Lady Rose Summer is engaged to private detective Captain Harry Cathcart in order to thwart off her parents from shipping her off to India to find a proper husband.   In the interim, Captain Cathcart's new client,  Delores Duval, who has a seductive french accent appears everywhere with the detective which annoys Lady Rose. Ms. Duval mysteriously turns up dead the next day and unfortunately is found by a very jealous Lady Rose who had threatened her because of her association with Captain Cathcart.  From England to Paris to Scotland, Captain Cathcart, Superintendent Kerridge of Scotland Yard and some other friends and colleagues race against time to keep Lady Rose out of jail and alive long enough to prove who the killer really is.Murder by the Book

A teacher trying to find his way

Sometimes I pick up a book that is ridiculously funny and unbelievably shocking.  That's what The Mystic Arts of Erasing all Signs of Death by Charlie Huston conveys.  Webster Fillmore Goodhue (Web) makes a career change because of a tragedy, from teacher to joining the clean team.  The clean team cleans up grisly L.A. crime scenes.  Web feels that he has a steady gig but of course nothing is ever simple.  One job is for him and the clean team to sponge up a Malibu suicide's brains from a bathroom mirror. While doing his job, Web starts flirting with the deceased man's daughter and afterwards things turn weird when the deceased man's daughter asks Web for a favor.  Someone normal would run away but Web agrees to meet her at midnight to see what she needs.  After meeting her he sees that gun-toting California cowboys start showing up on his doorstep.  Something is going on and he finds himself an unfortunate victim in this whole mess.  If you are looking for a funny disturbing and entertaining read then this is the book for you.

Mississipppi's secrets

Being born and raised in New York, the story The Help by Kathryn Stockett was a bit foreign to me.  It's not that I am not aware of the history and stories I heard about the south, it's just that I never experienced the things the people in this book experienced.  The Help is set in 1962, Jackson Mississippi and it's an extraordinary story surrounding Abilene and Minny who are maids and Skeeter, a white woman writer who befriends these ladies.  Skeeter is also looking for her nanny Constantine, who mysteriously disappeared.  Her mother never tells her what really happened to Constantine.  Skeeter decides to write a book about the Help with assistance from Abilene and Minny and they get the other maids to tell their stories.  The Help was an eye opening fun book.  I can't wait to see the movie.  I highly recommend reading this exceptionally written book.

The Crossing Places - An archaeologist dream

The crossing places by Elly Griffiths is a murder mystery about the disappearance of a little girl 10 years ago.  When some human bones are found, Detective Chief Inspector Nelson looks for help in identifying these bones.  He solicits the help of Dr. Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist who lives near the salt marsh where the bones were found for help.  When she finds that the bones go back to the Iron Age, Nelson and Galloway start to unravel and try to put the pieces of this puzzle together when another little girl goes missing.  The Crossing Places is the first book in this series.  Griffiths skillfully takes you into the world of archaeology and puts in a lot of little twists and turns on the way to solve this mystery.  I highly recommend it.  I couldn't put the book down.

Blind Justice - An unusual judge

This book by Bruce Alexander was a surprising  find.  I never heard of this author and then found out that he died in 2003.  Blind Justice is the first in a Sir John Fielding series.  The setting is in London in 1768 when a thirteen year old child named Jeremy Proctor ends up in the court of Sir John Fielding because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  However, Sir John, the founder of the Bow Street Runners and who is also blind finds an  intelligent young lad in Proctor and allows him to work for him.  When a man's body is found in a locked room dead, Sir John asks Proctor to be his "eyes" for him.  The police first suspect suicide until the man's wife says that her husband has been murdered.  Now Sir John and young Proctor need to not only find out how the person got into the room but who did it and why.  These two "men" find out more about themselves when they work together to solve this suicide/murder.  Mr. Alexander has a way of putting you right in the setting of the time and keeps you wanting more.  This reviewer finished this book in two days.  Great series to get into if you like murder mysteries. The writing world lost a talented and expressive historical fiction author.

The Good Earth - China back to basics

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is a classic and detailed story about a man named Wang Lang and his quest for wealth, peace and happiness during the pre-revolutionary time period in China.  In this story, Wang Lang is a determined young man who realizes the importance of land and family.  He is driven throughout his lifetime and maintains this attitude throughout the book.  O-Lan through her tragic and humble beginnings is the support that binds their family through good and bad times.  Ms. Buck took a beautiful country and its people and made it accessible to America. The way she describes the detail of the land and its people at a time of devastation made it hard for this reviewer to put the book down. Many Asian writers get wrapped up in the culture of their people then the actual story of the characters.  Buck holds on to the integrity of the characters and the country in which she lived and was able to honor this in her novel.  If you read The Good Earth years ago, it's time to read it again and if you have never read it, it is a wonderful book to start.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

Wm. Paul Young tests your faith in The Shack.  The main character, MacKenzie Allen Philips's daughter Missy is kidnapped during a family vacation.  They finally find evidence of her being murdered in the "Shack".  MacKenzie and his family is devastated and finding it hard to move on.  The Shack makes you take a leap of faith in thinking outside the box on what you believe and don't believe as a christian or whatever faith you are.  The book is well written and fast reading.  The beginning is difficult emotionally but you will have a profound understanding as to what the author is trying to convey throughout the rest of the book.

Cocaine Blues

Cocaine Blues (don't let the title scare you) by Kerry  Greenwood is a delightful and adventure filled series starring the Honourable Phryne (pronounced Fry-nee) Fisher.  She can fly a plane and has worked in the Great War.  She left England and started her life over in Melbourne, Australia where she is now a lady detective.  The time period is the late 1920's.  There are a cast of characters that bring color and life to her adventures.  Bert and Cec, heavy men for Phryne and cab drivers, Dot her personal assistant and a host of other characters that are introduced later throughout the series. The Phryne character can be a little risque at times.  Readers who are sensitive to women choosing their own way of thinking may think twice before reading this series.  The books are lighthearted, fun and a quick read.  If you are looking for something to relax the mind between classes or other stresses in your life, then by all means try out this series by Kerry Greenwood.  Cocaine Blues is this first book in the series.

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http://www.murderbythebook.com/

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