Category: Book Reviews

Book Review: The Chocolatier’s Curse

Book Review: The Chocolatier’s Curse

TG Wolff

The Chocolatier’s Curse by Christopher Seto is a PI mystery.

Criminology grad student Theo Chan needs a summer job. He answers a posting from the offices of Primrose Ghaust-Lee and Philip Teebin, he gets more than he could imagine when the private investigators accept a job to investigate the strange happenings at Clumindell Chocolate and Confectionery Company. Years ago, a maintenance worker died—whether it was an accident or suicide is still debated. Since her death, the Clumindell’s mascot clown has been sighted on the campus, which are then followed by injuries to an employee. Now Theo is helping Primrose and Teebin unmask a clown who may also be a killer.

Bottom line: The Chocolatier’s Curse is for you if you like murder mysteries with imaginative, fantastical characters and setting.

The story of The Chocolatier’s Curse is the imaginative premise. A little bit Willy Wonka, a sprinkling of Psych and you have the investigation of Clumindell Chocolate and Confectionery Company. The story is told by Theo Chan, hired to act as an assistant to the elderly detectives. He is the straight man who always feels one step behind his eccentric employers and is figuring out the mystery along with us. Primrose Ghaust-Lee has advanced macular degeneration. While her mind is sharp, her sight is poor. Philip Teebin is a ball of chaotic energy who excels at endearing himself to the people he wants information from. This is a highly intelligent and entertaining detective trio.

The case is initiated by Gillian Clumindell, who is dying from a heart condition. Before he heads to the big candy shop in the sky, he wants an answer to the “haunting” of his chocolate company by their clown mascot and the consequent injuries to employees. Ian Clumindell is Gillian’s grumpy older brother and business partner who does not want anything investigated. Each employee of the chocolate company and person in the town of Blue Frog, PA are quirky and individual.

Theo is our narrator, and he is reliable; we do know everything he knows. There are times when Primrose or Phillip do not share knowledge with Theo, which makes this a follow-along mystery for us readers (and for Theo too.) The logic of the overall story holds up after all the threads are unraveled. For a light-hearted and, at times, playful mystery, it is not simple.

This is Christopher Seto’s debut novel. It is an excellent first book with well developed characters, well timed humor, well-constructed mystery, and plenty to smile about. This is the first case for the offices Ghaust-Lee and Teebin. Their second case, The Vanishing Stone, comes to TBR piles on April 8.

Book Review: Zigzag Girl

TG Wolff

Zigzag Girl is mystery suspense.

It’s opening night for Magician Lucy Moon and her partners Van and Stormie, who are as close as sisters. Amid the bright lights and sparkle of illusion, murder lurks. Performing the sawing a woman illusion, Lucy lifts the lid to enter, when she finds the space is already taken. Her best friend, a black rose, a prop that has killed before—no, Lucy is not going to leave this one to the cops.

Bottom line: Zigzag Girl is for you if you like your illusions, suspense, mystery twisted together with a sprinkling of Irish magic.

Listen to the first chapter and full review on Mysteries to Die For Toe Tag

The strength of Zigzag Girl is the storytelling. From the first pages, Lucy Moon captures us with the depth of her personality, skills, and charm. She leads us through the active investigation into the death of her best friend and fellow magician and through a 1940s cold case that was closed with the wrong man being blamed. The interwoven elements of illusion, Irish magic, mystery, and suspense make this genre crosser nearly impossible to put down.

Usually, I would give more of a synopsis here, but back-of-the-book summary is intentionally scant. I see why. This is a book best experienced for yourself.

Zigzag girl will most appeal to readers who enjoy crossing genres. It is not pure mystery although there are mystery elements. It is not pure suspense, although it is suspenseful. It is not pure thriller, although the set up is thrilling.

My only criticism is a reflection on me as a reader. The story does go back and forth in time, which always is challenging for me to put events in order they happened. There were parts where I had to put my faith in Setton that the characters and actions were knitted together.

Zigzag Girl was highly entertaining and the pages flew by. The book releases March 3rd and absolutely belongs on pre-order and TBR stacks.

The Zigzag Girl was released from Black Spring Crim and is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON LINK and other book retailers.

About Ruth Knafo Setton

Born in Morocco and raised in the Lehigh Valley, Ruth Knafo Setton is the author of the novel, The Road to Fez (Counterpoint Press). Her honors include awards and fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, PEN, CineStory, Nimrod, Cutthroat, Writer’s Digest, and residencies at Hedgebrook, Yaddo, MacDowell, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is a multi-genre author whose fiction, creative nonfiction, screenplays, and poetry have won many awards and appeared in journals and anthologies. A former Fiction Editor of Arts & Letters, she has taught Creative Writing and Multicultural Literature at Lehigh University and on Semester at Sea.

RuthSetton.com

Book Review: Bait the Devil

Book Review: Bait the Devil

TG Wolff

Bait the Devilis a PI Thriller.

Dot Ybarra and T.J. Roman earned their reputations for playing hard on the battlefield. Their special skills translated well to bounty hunting and private investigating. Those skills will be needed as a simple favor to investigate a fellow veteran who no-showed a court date turns into a wasp’s nest of violent human traffickers. The only way to solve this problem is to bait the devil out of hell.

Bottom line: Bait the Devil is for you if you like fast-paced, physical thrills with a gripping plot that pulls you in and keeps you.

The strength of the story is found in the lead character, Dot Ybarra. She is a physically fit, mentally strong lead who does things her own way. She takes command of this story and drives it to its end. I liked and respected Dot in the hero role.

The supporting cast are good compliments to Dot. T.J. Roman is her equally and could carry a book himself. Yet having two strong characters are partners doesn’t cause a problem—they chose to go the same way. Dot’s lawyer cousin and her ranching family provide the stability and resources Dot needs to get the job done.

The plot was well developed. It’s not giving away spoilers to say the bad guys are human traffickers (it says it on the back cover), because it’s impossible to guess how Dot and T.J. get from a missing veteran to human behavior at its worse. You keep turning the pages, cheering the pair on.

The logic of this one holds up well. For Dot and T.J., it’s a linear story, discovering and then following the trail of breadcrumbs. The bad guys logic holds too. And when their paths cross, worlds truly collide.

Bait the Devil will be a favorite for lovers of hard-core thrillers and gun toting PI detectives. This is the 2nd book in the Bounty of Shadows series—I did not read the first. From what I surmise, Book 1 was an origin story for the partners. References were explained well enough that I felt in the know. Starting with Book 1: RIDE A DARK TRAIL, is a nice-to-have, in my opinion, but not a requirement. You can jump in right here.

MEET Winter Austin

A lifelong Mid-West gal with strong ties to the agriculture world, Winter grew up listening to the captivating stories told by relatives around a table or a campfire. As a published author, she learned her glass half-empty personality makes for a perfect suspense/thriller writer. Taking her ability to verbally spin a vivid and detailed story, Winter translated that into writing deadly romantic suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.

When she’s not slaving away at the computer, you can find Winter supporting her daughter in cattle shows, seeing her three sons off into the wide-wide world, loving on her fur babies, prodding her teacher husband, and nagging at her flock of hens to stay in the coop or the dogs will get them.

AuthorWinterAustin.com

Book Review: The Case of the Body on the Orient Express

Book Review: The Case of the Body on the Orient Express

TG Wolff

The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is an amateur detective mystery.

Paris 1928. Eliza Baker, the secretary to the secretary of the Detection Club, finds herself on the fabulous Orient Express en route to Istabul and a writer’s conference. With her is her boss, Dorothy L. Sayers, and fellow Detection Club founding member Agatha Christie. Fellow passengers include acquaintances of Dorothy’s, one of whom dies in the elegant dining car. Reunited with Theo Sharp, Eliza investigates the case that threatens to embroil her employer in accusations, scandal, and charges of murder.

Bottom line: The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is for you if you like the style of the golden-age of mysteries with your favorite authors as featured characters.

One of the many strengths of THE CASE OF THE BODY ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is the way in which Oliver crafts full, multi-dimensional characters of Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie. History often simplifies the complexity of real personalities, boiling people down to one or two trait—he was gruff, she was talkative. Oliver did not take short cuts, going far beyond simple paper cut-outs to delight us with warm, intelligent, and flawed characters. From heartache to shame, from amusement to joy, Christie’s and Sayers’ far from perfect lives make them eminently relatable.

In the Author’s Note, Oliver gives us a peak into her research at the Wade Center at Wheaton College where Dorothy L. Sayer’s archives are held. Beyond the obvious effort Oliver put into her research, her real achievement is how she was able to digest the information and, like silk, weave it into a fabric that is strong and yet delicate.

While I obviously do love the characters of Sayer and Christie, Eliza is the star of this show. At 29, she is unfashionably single and under employed. She has extra ordinary skills from her work during the war and a brief stint with Scotland Yard. She is smart and courageous, which are sometimes at odds as she will charge into situations less than fully prepared. Eliza is a fun detective to watch—while you may not know what she’ll do next, you can be sure it will not be what’s expected of her.

Theo Sharp is the son of an earl, trying to decide what his life will be. In this book, he and his friend Eric Blair, who will become the famed writer George Orwell, are working odd jobs through France, experiencing the life of the working poor, when they take positions are stewards on the Orient Express. Theo, already besotted with Eliza, becomes her side kick and confident. With his position, he gives Eliza easier access to the various cars and cabins than she would otherwise have. There is an attraction between the two that has the otherwise sharp and capable characters fumbling in the dark without a clue.

The portrayal of travel on the train is worth the read alone. The description of the décor and the dress are a step back in time. I found the peaks into the working sections of the train, such as the kitchen and dining cars, particularly interesting for their novelty.

Without giving spoilers, the logic of the mysteries … was complicated. Some elements were fully resolved and stood the test of “looking for the back.” Other elements were not fully contained within the book, hopefully setting up for a satisfying Book 3, but leaving me wanting a bit more.

This is the second book in the Detection Club Mystery. While the mystery itself is independent, in my opinion, it is best to start with Book 1 “The Case of the Christie Conspiracy” for Eliza and the Detection Club’s origin.

Book Review: The Rodeo Cowboy’s Redemption

TG Wolff

The Rodeo Cowboy’s Redemption is a sweet romance. Rhett Foster has been a rodeo cowboy most of his life. His recent retirement, prompted by needing to care of his recovering father, isn’t a comfortable glove to wear. Especially when he is pining for the untouchable—his best friend’s sister. Nora Miles wants something more out of life than a career on her family’s ranch. Now that a certain cowboy’s come back to town, she can get out of it fast enough. Because the more she’s around him, the more tempted she is to give him another chance … and her heart just might not survive that.

Bottom line: The Rodeo Cowboy’s Redemption is for you if you like sweet romances with heroes you can cheer for.

This is the third story in Jacobs’ Miles of Montana series. Nora Miles, the middle child, has watched her older and younger brothers pair off but has no illusions Fate will be as kind to her. She hadn’t always thought so. Just last year, her life long friendship with Rhett Foster sparked—which he squelched by ghosting her. Focusing now on her career, she wants to move to Boseman and get back into the design work that was were passion in college. All she has to do is win a magazine contest for her lodge renovation project. How hard could that be?

Jacobs excels at creating warm, welcoming spaces and inviting the reader in. In this series, it’s the Flying J ranch in Marietta, Montana and four generations of Miles’s. Grandparents Eli and Sunnike, parents Teddy and Daisy, children Sam, Nora, and Jaxon, and grandchild Madison are the perfectly nosy, messy, and loving family we all want to be a part of.

In Nora and Rhett, we have two capable and successful people who are adorably incompetent at connecting with the one person that matters most—the other person. Rhett is trapped behind the 10-ft thick wall of “best friend’s sister”, not realizing there’s a door in the wall. Nora is wrapped in the heartache of being ghosted, she doesn’t tug the conversation string that could free her. This friends-to-lovers story is funny and charming.

This romance is in the sweet range, at two chili peppers. All of the fun happens behind closed doors or under covers, but there’s plenty of romance and heave petting to spark the imagination.

This is the 3rd book of the series. While the story is stand-alone, the characters are not. To maximize your reading pleasure, I recommend you start with Book 1: Choosing the Montana Cowboy (Sam’s story), and then Book 2: The Cowboy’s Christmas Truce (Jaxon’s story).

I read an ARC. This cowboy is releasing Feb 24 and is available on pre-order. Books 1 and 2 are currently available.

Happy reading, sweethearts.

Book Review: Maximum Pressure

TG Wolff

Maximum Pressureis an amateur sleuth mystery. Handwriting expert Claudia Rose is headed to her 25-year high school reunion and a cold case. Lucy Valentine was a junior when she walked out of the high school and was never seen again … but she did leave a note. Now, her ex-boyfriend and current filmmaker Matt Macedo is making a documentary and enlisting Claudia’s help. As they start interviewing people, the reluctant witnesses reveal there was much more going on than a girl unhappy at school.

Bottom line: Maximum Pressure is for you if you like cold case mysteries where there is more than meets the eye.

Hear me read the first 3 chapters on Mysteries to Die For podcast to sample the pressure and decide if this one is for you!

M2D4 Podcast Toe Tag

The note Lucy Valentine left has always been a point of confusion for Lucy’s mother and now for Claudia. After examining the original, Claudia doubts everything about the note—from the message to the hand that wrote it. Twisted with Lucy Valentine’s cold case is the very fresh case of the death of Josh Dickson. Claudia finds the body of the former teacher and driver’s ed instructor at the bottom of the high school swimming pool. What is first chocked up to the sad result of too much alcohol is determined to be murder. Claudia decides to quietly ask questions to figure out exactly who was where that evening.

Claudia is our storyteller and our detective. She straddles a line between an amateur detective and an expert detective. She isn’t a cop, though she is married to one, but she is an expert in handwriting and is frequently consulted and testifies in civil and criminal court cases. Claudia knows the rules of policing and generally follows them; she is not a renegade type of character. But she has friends and isn’t afraid to use them, which makes her a resourceful detective.

As a mystery, MAXIMUM PRESSURE falls into the “ride along” category. Perhaps because this is a cold case, the clues and suspects evolve as Claudia discovers them. One of my favorite things about the book is that we do generally know everything Claudia knows. This is a pet peeve of mine, when narrators withhold information, and so I was very happy that Claudia was not that kind of narrator. Overall the pace is deliberate, taking the time to interview the witnesses in a way mystery lovers will be accustomed to.

Standing at the end and looking to the front, overall, the logic holds up. For Claudia, this was a straightforward, Point A to Point Z investigation, but then she was looking at it 26 years after the fact. Going back to the original events, I do have some questions related to timing and sequence, but what happened, why, and what happened after are solid.

MAXIMUM PRESSURE is the 9th book in the Claudia Rose series. It is the first I have read. This does work as a stand alone or a good place to jump into the series because the case largely takes place away from Claudia’s normal turf. The scenes with her husband are brief and point to their current relationship, backstory not required.

Overall, MAXIMUM PRESSURE and Claudia Rose was an enjoyable read. It kept my attention and read quickly in just a few sittings. Definitely recommended for ride-along and cold case mystery lovers and anyone looking for a new series to sink their teeth into.

Book Review: Betrayal by Ed Teja

TG Wolff

Betrayal is a thriller. Corporal Tina Clarke received a medical discharge from the Army. She didn’t want it or need it, but there she is, back in Kingman, AZ with no options, no future, and one friend who has problems of her own. A lawyer for everyman, Bobby Black, thinks Tina has potential and if she can get out from under the Army’s eye, she just might make something out of this hole she’s in.

Bottom line: Betrayal is for you if you like thrillers at an “every day” level where underdogs have heroes, too.

This is the origin story. We know Tina Clarke’s Army experience does not match working in the motor pool as her official papers show. But what exactly she did, well, that’s classified. We know she was unceremoniously discharged and returned to her point of origin: Kingman, AZ. Without an official transition, Tina has nothing but a high school BFF who is living on the lower side of life and a lawyer who gave us the high stakes game to work from a storefront.

The characters are intelligently crafted, allowing room to grow as the series develops. Tina has her secrets and is trying to figure out the game being played and who can be trusted. The lawyer, Bobby Black, is shrewd, bold, and comes at cases from all angles, even those less than legal. Beryl is the BFF who grew up to be a diner waitress who sells drugs for the local gang, Kingman Roughnecks while trying to avoid questions about her recently deceased boyfriend from the gang, the cops, and Tina. The cast of characters includes a detective trying to solve the case of a drug buy gone very wrong and the head of biker gang working to get his money and the product while keeping control of his gang. Every character is out for their own goal…maybe with the exception of Bobby. He is the white knight in the sea of gray.

The thrill comes from the conflict created when the goals of these characters collide. Tina is, to some extent, caught in the middle. Not one to run and hide, she decides to fight her way out.

The logic of this holds well. The characters act according to their primary goals and it’s a matter of who is going to come out on top. The pacing of the story is a bit slower than typical in a thriller. I chalk this up to being an origin story, which builds the backstory and motivation for the lead character to become the hero.

This is the first book in the series and was an easy read. The characters were easy to distinguish (something I often struggle with) which added to my enjoyment.

Book Review: No Room to Hide by Carol Light

TG Wolff

No Room to Hide is a cozy mystery. Crystal Ward is a professional organizer. Her latest client, Eva Rolfe, hired Crys for her de-cluttering skills but really wants her expertise-amateur sleuthing. The Victorian home Eva and her partner are flipping has a history and Crys is asked to suss out the truth that could make or break their bottomline.

Bottom line: No Room to Hide is for you if cozy mysteries and cold cases are the perfect ways to warm your Autumn nights.

The star of this show is Crys Ward. She is a charming mix of curious and practical that first gets her into trouble and then gets her out. I both liked and respected her as our detective because she didn’t let a good lead die, but she also wasn’t foolishly rushing into proverbial dark alleys. Her husband, Rick, a Chicago PD financial crimes detective, is a nice balance to her. His position gives Crys the connection to the police every good cozy detective needs while being different enough that they aren’t trampling over each other. His often grumpy disposition was a fun comic relief.

There are several storylines here nicely woven together. We have the original job Crys is hired for – going through boxes salvaged from an attic. Then there is the potential that a famed suffragist lived in the house which could make it a historic landmark. And we can’t forget the young mother who put her son to bed and disappeared from the house some 30 years ago. There’s the drama around the restoration of the house itself including interesting characters from the local board. Finally, there’s a little antagonist action with a reporter who is splashing Crys’s life on the front page. One reason I think these worked together so well is because they are all related. Where in other books, you might feel like you are jumping around from one storyline to another, you don’t get that feel here. The transitions are smooth and reasonable.

Standing at the end of the story and looking to the beginning, I did have a few questions, primarily related to the bad guy. The logic of Crys’s actions were solid as she followed the trail paved by her client Eva and her own intuition. Eva is a little more difficult to figure out but that’s intentional and part of the fun. Crys made significant contributions to the story continuing forward. Often her role was more of advisor as Eva was deciding to continue to end the project. In the end, the bad guy asserted control, creating a nice little thriller moment.

The entertainment value on No Room to Hide is high. It is a fun read at just the right pace to hold your attention. This is the fourth book in the series and I have not read the others. With the majority of this story focused on the mystery, I did not feel like I was missing information or backstory needed to enjoy the book. In my opinion, new readers are good to start here.

Book Review: Fistful of Rain by Baron Birtcher

TG Wolff

Fistful of Rain is a historical, western mystery. Summer 1975 and a culture clash is reaching a boiling point. On one side is an old school sheep rancher. On the other side is a hippie commune. In the middle are a slick lawyer, a high school teacher, hired muscle, and cattle rancher / sheriff Ty Dawson.

Bottom line: Fistful of Rain is for you if you like mystery steeped in period Americana. 

Baron Birtcher’s writing style is one of the stand-out features of this Ty Dawson mystery. Narrated by our hero, you pick up the cadence of his speech and, if you’re like me, you can “hear” him speak. It’s like listening to an old friend tell you a story from back in the day. Dawson is a man you can like and respect. He lives by a code of honor, treating the people he serves equally, equitably, no matter his personal opinion. A veteran of the Korean war, a cattle rancher, a cowboy, a husband, and a father. He is not a hippy. But he recognizes the young people not only aren’t breaking any laws, but they are contributing to the economy of Meridian with their businesses. When certain people in town want Ty to run them out, he digs in and stands his ground.

The plot is on the complex end of the spectrum. There is something going on between the Rainbow Ranch and Harper Emory’s neighboring farm. Harper’s taken a beating and he says it’s at the hands of the men at the ranch. Only he can’t identify his attackers. Ty investigates but with no evidence, no charges can be filed. So Emory freelances and things devolve first to arson and then to murder. Investigating isn’t easy between people lying or plain not talking. His gut says there’s something more to it and his gut is rarely wrong.

Fistful of Rain is the second in the Ty Dawson series. I had read Book 3 (Reckoning), Book 4 (Knife River), and Book 1 (California Purples), in that order. It is rare that I come back to the start of a series when I’ve joined mid-stream, but I am very glad I did. Having gotten to know Dawson, his family, and his ranch hands, going back to the beginning has been a treat. The mysteries between the stories are stand-alone. It’s the supporting characters and Double Diamond ranch that matures with each story.

There wasn’t much not to like. As I think about the story in the days since I finished it, I have a question or two about who did exactly what in the end. Ty is true to his character, from beginning to end. The motivation of the bad guy was crystal clear. Exactly how they accomplished it is something I’ll be thinking about for days to come.

With this story, I really came to appreciate the research Birtcher had to do into the cultural and political climate of 1975. It’s one thing for a writer to reference history-book making events like Watergate. It’s another for an author to weave individual threads of pride, distaste, faith, hope, fear, and more to the point where you can see the points of view of each of the characters. Therein lies the complexity Ty Dawson has to navigate.

Overall, this is an excellent series and is a must read for fans of western mysteries and historical/vintage mysteries.

Book Review: Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton

TG Wolff

Talking to Strangers is a women’s mystery. Karen Simmons lives the life of a vibrant, sexually healthy woman in her 40s. Her murder on Valentine’s Day draws together three unlikely allies. Detective Elise King and her sergeant conduct a police investigation. Small town reporter Kiki had featured Karen in a story. A grieving mother, Annie’s 8-yr old son died in the same forest 16-years prior. It will take all of them to find the solution to Karen’s murder.

Bottom line: Talking to Strangers is for you if you like mysteries woven into the real-life drama of the modern middle-aged woman.

The strength of Talking To Strangers is the storytelling style. This is a book in three-parts, with no part more or less important than the others. A well-balanced story, the narrators are distinct and individualistic. Karen’s death is the mechanism used to explore different but real-life challenges common in the lives of women in their 40s and beyond.

Elise is the police detective who is facing the one-year anniversary of her breast cancer diagnosis. Still recovering mentally and physically from a mastectomy and chemo, she’s working to get back to the person she was. Life suddenly looks up when a sexy new neighbor moves in.

Kiki is the journalist who gave up the big city job when she became a single mom. Now with her daughter turning 13, Kiki longs for stories bigger than the small town paper she works for. Her current feature is on the dating scene for women in their 40s and her star is Karen Simmons. Karen’s death spurs her to dig deeper, unearthing a group of twisted men who treat dating as a dirty sport.

Annie is a wife and a mother. Sixteen years ago, her two boys were playing in the forest. Only one came home. A man was arrested for his murder, but he suicided in police custody and Annie never got the answers she needed. When Karen’s murder makes the news, Annie recognizes her as the woman who cut the family’s hair in their old town. Feelings buried, memories recessed boil to the surface, driving Annie to act for Karen, for her lost son, for herself.

In the same age group, the three women have different lifestyles. Themes of loneliness and surviving mental and/or physical trauma are part of each story.

The mystery is a challenge to review. There is little evidence for Elise and Kiki to work with. The suspects are derived from Karen’s dating life and one by one, explored and eliminated until there is only one remaining. I did not think the same level of detail was given to exploring background and alibi of the last person standing as was given to the others. At the end of the book, I was left with a number of questions, which were answered in the epilogue. While this made for a feeling of closure, it highlighted that the story was not really finished when the book ended.

TALKING TO STRANGERS was very well written and the stories of the three narrating women were engaging. This was listed on Amazon as Women’s Crime Fiction, Women’s Psychological Fiction, and Psychological Thriller. The common theme is this book was written for women and their experiences in their 40s and beyond. This is stronger as a women’s fiction story than a mystery, but all around enjoyable.