A Legacy of Murder

Finished June 23

A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry

This is the second book in the Kate Hamilton mystery series, set around American antiques dealer Kate as she visits the United Kingdom. Here, she is visiting her daughter Christine. Christine is starting an internship at the estate of Finchley Hall in Long Barston, where she will be organizing the archives. Kate will also be visiting with Tom Mallory, a policeman she met on her recent visit to Scotland.

Kate begins her visit with a tour of the estate, but the tour begins late, and ends abruptly when one of the tour attendees, a young boy, discovers a body in the lake. The body is one of the other interns and Kate's observant nature and curious mind have her giving tips to Tom, who is in charge of the investigation, and digging deeper herself. 

She gets to know local antique dealer Ivor Tweedy, who proves very helpful, and becomes friendly with the owner of the estate, Lady Barbara. There is an odd collection of items known as the Finchley Hoard, that was buried to protect them from theft and then rediscovered more than a century later. This collection will be on display for the first time during an upcoming ticketed event at the estate. Lady Barbara's butler Mugg is worried about the possibility of theft and security for the event is ramped up due to the recent death. 

There has also been mention of a 'strange foreign gentleman' hanging about nearby and rumours link him to Lady Barbara's missing son. Christine, Kate's daughter, is also having relationship issues, something common for her, but these issues bleed into other happenings at the estate and bring Christine under suspicion in the investigation. Kate is now motivated more strongly to get to the bottom of things.

I like this series, finding the antique aspect interesting and I like Kate's character for the most part. She is relatable and interesting. 

Busted

Finished April 28

Busted by Karin Slaughter

This novella is in the series featuring Will Trent, an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the state equivalent to the FBI. Here, Will is undercover and headed towards his assignment, one that took a lot of effort and planning to set up his identity. He's stopped at a convenience store for an icee, but the machine is super slow. As he's waiting a cop arrives and comes in to use the washroom, but after that things begin going very wrong. 

This is fast-paced, with a lot of action including a chase scene. There are a few bodies, many stories that don't stand up to scrutiny, and an unexpected mastermind behind the crime. 

Despite the short length of the story and the fast pace, you don't need to be familiar with the series to enjoy the read. If you are familiar, there are a few subtleties that make it even better. 

The Armada Boy

Finished November 27

The Armada Boy by Kate Ellis

This novel is the second in the series featuring Devonshire police officer Wesley Peterson. In the small coastal town of Bereton, a group of American veterans has gathered, partly to visit where they were stationed for a while during World War II, just before D-Day, and partly as a memorial to those fellow soldiers who never returned. When one of the men, Norman Openheim is killed in the ruins of an old chantry chapel, the police find themselves both looking at current young criminals as well as delving into the activities that took place 50 years earlier. 

Before Wesley became a police officer he got a degree in archaeology, and it happens one of his friends archaeologist Neil Watson is doing work both in the chapel where the murder took place and in the coastal waters of the village. This work is around a ship and the Spanish men who were on it, as they were wrecked while trying to limp home after the defeat of the Armada. The bodies of the men are buried in the chapel, rather than in the churchyard with the locals. 

As the case moves on, Wesley and his fellow officers uncover information from both the more recent and the more distant historical events. Ties to the present and those connected wtih related local crimes also come to light. 

This read got me interested enough to order more books in the series. 

Bittersweet

Finished September 4

Bittersweet by Susan Wittig Albert

This novel is part of the series featuring herbalist China Bayles. Here, the story is set in a more remote part of Texas, in the small community where China's mother Leatha and stepfather Sam live, in the week around the Thanksgiving holiday. China and her family are planning to go to Leatha and Sam's for the holiday, but Sam is now in the hospital with heart issues. Sam is insisting the plans continue, so they do.

Besides China's family, Leatha has also invited China's friend Mack Chambers, a game warden in the area, newly transferred there after a recent divorce. Mack loves her job, and her previous husband had issues with her long and sometimes erratic hours, and with her less feminine interests. Mack lives alone with her dog and horse, but wouldn't say no to a relationship. She's recently started dating a divorced man who recently moved to the area, but isn't feeling the passion she's had before. 

Leatha and Sam have been converting the ranch that has been in his family for generations into a birding destination, redoing the lodge onsite, and building a viewing tower and other amenities. China worries about whether they can handle the operations with Sam's medical situation and their age. 

A more common use of cattle ranchers locally are canned hunting camps, with the owners importing a variety of animals, some for their value as trophies, and having hunters pay big bucks to shoot them onsite. The regulations around this activity are still in development, but for a lot of ranchers, this offers them a way to hang onto their land. 

There is also a new technology coming into play: drones as surveillance and investigative tools.

All of these elements come into play in the plot here. 

I found the first scene made me uncomfortable, but as the plot begins to move back and forth between China and Mack for most of the stories, I soon found myself captivated. 

There is also a lot of information at the beginning of chapters on plants from herbs to bushes, and invasive species versus local ones. At the end of the book are a few recipes from scenes in the story, a nice and useful addition. 

Cat in the Dark

Finished July 2

Cat in the Dark by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

This is a small town mystery book, part of the Joe Grey series. Joe Grey is one of the main cat characters, with the other being Dulcie. They are not ordinary cats, but have higher intelligence and can talk with humans. Only their owners know this about them, and they take care to hide it when others are around. This is the fourth book in the series, and they've already solved a couple of mysteries in town, leaving anonymous messages for the local sheriff. 

As this book opens, in the course of night prowling they come across a cat they haven't seen before and observe him letting someone into a closed business. They also discover this strange cat is named Azrael and has the same ability that they have. They don't want to draw attention to this feature, so think hard about how to stop the crimes without revealing that some cats exist that have extra abilities.

Joe Grey lives with Clyde Damon, a man who loves restoring old cars and has recently bought a small apartment building that he is renovating. Clyde has hired his girlfriend Charlie Getz to do some of the work on the building, as she is very handy, running her own cleaning and repair business. Charlie employs Mavity Flowers to do some of the cleaning work. 

Dulcie lives with librarian Wilma Getz, Charlie's aunt, and spends a lot of time at the library, although the current director of the library, Freda, doesn't like it. 

There are a number of other residents of the town involved in the story as well as visiting family of Mavity. Her brother Greeley and his daughter Dora along with Dora's husband Ralph have come to visit as the do once a year or so. 

There are several storylines in this small town novel, and one can see opportunities for more books. Joe Grey and Dulcie are interesting characters with characteristics of both people and cats. This is the first book I've read of this series and it was an interesting read.  

Parallel Lines

Finished October 29

Parallel Lines by Steven Savile

This suspense novel has a unique plot. Adam Shaw is dying of ALS, and his is worried about what will happen to his eleven-year-old son Jake when he can no longer care for him. Jake has Down's syndrome and Adam's wife Lily has predeceased him. Adam works for an insurance company and calculates numbers for a living, and he has determined that he needs 2.5 million dollars to ensure Jake is cared for. Adam can see no way of getting this outside of a unique way of robbing a bank, and so armed with a gun for show, he puts his plan in motion. 

The branch of the bank he chooses is a small one, and he's visited a couple of times before to get the lay of the land, but now that he has put his plan in motion, the other people in the bank and those connected to them also play a role and he can't predict their actions. There are two customers in the bank, a man and a woman, one of whom tries to interfere with his plans. The bank manager has issues and worries that go beyond the current situation. Of the four tellers, one is a widow with a secret friend and a regret, one is just out of a relationship and wonders about her future, one has a strong moral center, and one has a past that makes her a threat. The loan officer has recently had a series of losses in her life and during the robbery has a revelation that is unexpectedly hopeful. The security guard has a past as well, one that feeds directly into the current situation. 

Adam's own body is also unreliable, even with his medications, and he must rely on these strangers in ways he never expected. 

I read this book in one sitting, needing to know what happened to each character

Bitter Orange

Finished June 9

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

Most of the action of this novel takes place at a country house in 1969, but the narrator is looking back on this time as she is dying some years later. Her name is Frances, and she is a woman out of sync with her times. She has lived with her mother until her mother died recently and has taken on work to catalogue the outbuildings and external elements of a country house for the American that recently purchased it. She is a large woman with no experience with men, other than her father who left the family for another woman when she was a child. 

She has developed an interest in architecture of the type she has been hired to describe and written articles, for free, for a small publication in the field, which is how her new employer discovered her.

When she arrives at the house where she will stay due to her tight financial situation, she finds a couple already there. The man in this twosome, Peter, is also working for the American, describing the house itself, and its contents. The woman is Cara, who seems to wild swings of emotion and who is very attached to Peter, although they are not married. Despite herself, Frances gets drawn into their strange relationship, and ends up caught in a situation that will change her life forever.

For me Frances was a victim of her upbringing, her parents' lack of good parenting, and her naivety. Cara is unwell, and prone to violent emotions and wild stories. Peter is both mercenary and weak. Frances just wants to have a friend. 

This is a sad story and I both felt for Frances and was annoyed at her acceptance of her situation. The story is very well written and I found myself caught up in it, both wanting to find out what happened and dismayed with the way things developed. 

The title related to a fruit tree found on the property, which had an abundance of ripe fruit, but it was not edible.

Proof I Was Here

Finished April 2

Proof I Was Here by Becky Blake

I love finding another great Canadian author and this book is a great read. The main character Niki has moved to Barcelona to join her fiance. He is working here and she arranged the packing up of all their stuff in Toronto and followed him. Their wedding is set for a few weeks after she arrives. But days after she arrives, he calls off the wedding, and says that he no longer wants to marry her. 

Niki grew up poor and she was flattered by her fiance's attention, but now she is left reeling. She leaves their apartment in a panic to get away and takes nothing with her, no wallet or keys or anything of real value. She finds herself living among the homeless, among pickpockets and buskers, squatters and graffiti artists. 

To add to the situation, just before leaving Toronto, she gave in to a strange impulse and tried to shoplift a scarf, and she got caught, She has a summons to appear in court shortly after her wedding date, but has no intention of going. Still, there is a worry in the back of her mind about what that will mean.

Now, on the streets she is stealing again, learning how to pick a mark, how to distract attention. She is also learning to see those people she really didn't notice before and the things that people throw away that are still of value. 

Her life has changed dramatically and she has to determine how she will live. 

I liked seeing how Niki adjusted to her situation, connecting to others, and discovering a side to Barcelona that she wouldn't have seen if this hadn't happened. 

Niki isn't a bad person, but she's made some bad choices, and had some bad things happen in her life, both recently and long ago. I liked seeing how she discovered herself in new ways. This book really grew on me the further I got into it.

The Christmas Cowboy Hero

Finished November 2
The Christmas Cowboy Hero by Donna Grant

This light romance is part of the Heart of Texas series. Ex-Navy SEAL Clayton East has avoided going home since he retired from the military, but a family crisis drives him home to the small town of Clearview and the family ranch. The ranch's accountant has disappeared, along with most of the money, and so has a hundred head of cattle and a prize bull. He finds his father recovering from a health crisis, and his mother needing help to deal with it all.
Meanwhile Abby Harper is a young woman in town struggling to raise her two younger brothers after her mother took off on them. She is dependable and loving, but hasn't had the time to find her own future after being derailed from her studies. She is working at a local accounting firm, and studying for her certification through distance learning. As the book opens, she finds herself called out to the local jail to deal with one of her brothers who has been caught stealing cattle from the local East Ranch. Her brother is mum on who else was with him, and she despairs of his future, until Clayton decides to give him a break by working off the loss as a ranch hand after school.
And so the two protagonists are brought together.
There are strong families on both sides, regrets about past actions, fear for the future, and a strong work ethic, along with the mutual attraction.
A pleasant read.

Old Bones

Finished January 25
Old Bones by Gwen Molnar

This novel is part of a teen mystery series facing Casey Templeton, a young man with a good head on his shoulders. Casey's dad was with the RCMP, and as the youngest of three brothers, Casey is an independent kid. After his dad retired, they moved to Richford, a small town in Alberta, and his dad became mayor of the town soon after. Casey and his dad, now that they are spending more time together have been forging a deeper relationship. One example of this is how Casey thinks through problems and explains his thought process to others.
As the book begins, Casey's class is on an overnight field to Drumheller to visit the Tyrrell museum and experience archeological work. Casey and his best friend Mike, find parts of a tooth, but Casey ends up sunburnt from being a bit too interested to take the precautions he should have. Later that night at the motel, Casey overhears a conversation, but is forced to wait some time to report it.
As Casey is offered the opportunity to take a summer job at the Tyrrell to follow up, he also becomes better friends with Mandy, a girl he already knew through their parents' friendship. The pair go on a couple adventures together and end up in danger.
I liked Casey, and how he used the tools his father taught him to keep his head in the various situations he encounters. I also liked how relationships grew through the novel.
A good read.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

Finished January 22
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett, read by Judith Brackley

This book I picked to fulfill one of my reading challenges for the year, a book on True Crime. Of course, I had to pick one with a literary slant!
Bartlett is a freelance journalist who grew interested in the world of book theft when a friend was left a book as part of an estate that came with an instruction to return it to its rightful owner. The task wasn't as easy as she might have thought, and it led her to wonder who stole books and why. This led her to the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (the ABAA) and bookseller Ken Sanders, who took his job as security officer for the organization seriously, setting up online alerting processes and other tools to help quickly disseminate information about stolen books and people suspected of such crimes. Sanders told her about the different types of thieves: those who steal for profit, those who steal for a specific purpose, and those who steal for love.
This led her to John Charles Gilkey, a man who has stolen hundreds of rare books from book sellers across the United States, seemingly for love. Gilkey rarely resells his books, although he doesn't necessarily steal them to read either. He steals them for the image of himself owning rare books of literary merit portrays to him, that of an esteemed gentleman. He is a charming, polite conman and came up with innovative ways to steal the books that he thought "it wasn't fair" that he couldn't afford. His methods and the fact he didn't resell them often are what made him harder to catch.
But Sanders was instrumental in catching him, and when Bartlett approached him in jail, he was willing to talk. However after a while, she began to realize that instead of merely telling the story, she was becoming part of it, and had to consciously take a step back and remove herself from it to complete this book.
Her book explores the reasons people steal, the world of rare books and book collectors, and the temptations within that world.
A very interesting book.