A Stroke of Malice (Lady Darby, #7)

A Stroke of Malice
by Anna Lee Huber
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780451491381
Series: A Lady Darby Mystery #7
Publication Date: April 7, 2020
Pages: 372
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

A solid, dependable series, which makes it sound like a beloved pair of sneakers, but I can’t think of one of the books in the series that’s really let me down, although some are better than others.

A Stroke of Malice takes place during a weekend at a Duke’s castle in Scotland, celebrating Twelfth Night, with Keira 6 months pregnant. Call me unnatural, but this might be part of the reason it’s not my favorite of the series; there was much rubbing of the belly and cradling of said belly with heaps of overly sentimental musings about the sanctity of life and blah blah blah. Just not my jam, but the mystery was extremely diverting and for almost all of it, I had no clue, though I should have. Which makes the writing even better, in my opinion, since the answer was right there but she managed to keep me from seeing it. A secret paternity is revealed too, which kept things interesting.

So generally, a good one but not the best, and likely other readers with even an ounce of maternal feelings won’t be as critical as I’ve been.

Purrfectly Dead (Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery, #5)

Purrfectly Dead
by Dixie Lyle
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9781250078445
Series: Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery #5
Publication Date: January 1, 1970
Pages: 325
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

I’d given up on this series. Purrfectly Dead was one of those books whose publication has been slated for years, but whose release date was always being pushed back. I’d accepted it was something of a zombie. And then a few months ago, there it was, released and waiting for me.

The series itself always leaves me baffled – not least because I thoroughly enjoy it in spite of myself. I must not be alone in this feeling, as the author recognises this in the first chapter, in a clever breaking of the fourth wall combined with a series world-building summary: the MC can communication with animals telepathically, and part of her job is overseeing the pet cemetery, which serves as a crossroads for animal spirts travelling to visit their former owners (also dead).

I’ve never been a fan of talking animals so I shouldn’t enjoy this series as much as I do (and the cat calling the MC ‘toots’ grates on my nerves), but I love the idea of the crossroads, and the mysteries are usually pretty good, so it works.

I enjoyed the book, including the incredibly fast, witty dialogue, and not only laughed out loud, but had to read MT passages about the rock star with writer’s block and his efforts to overcome it (all of which involve copious amounts of recreational drugs). But there’s a theme to the plot that’s based on Native American mythology – Thunderbirds – that I’d have liked to have enjoyed more, but didn’t. There was no reference to Native Americans or their myths beyond using Thunderbirds, and the themes behind averting a supernatural war were heavy-handed. A tad preachy. However, the murder mystery was excellent with very clever plotting and possibly the best method of hiding by a villain I’ve ever read. Admittedly impossible, but so much fun anyway.

I hope the reasons for the series hiatus are behind it and there’s a 6th book in the works; the premise is a bit silly, as the author acknowledges, but it’s also so heart-warmingly wonderful and fun at the same time. So fingers crossed I can look forward to another one.

An Unexpected Peril (Veronica Speedwell Mystery, #6)

An Unexpected Peril
by Deanna Raybourn
Rating: ★★★½
isbn: 9780593197264
Series: Veronica Speedwell Mystery #6
Publication Date: May 8, 2021
Pages: 340
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Berkley

Not every book in a series can be the best, not even in a series as fabulous as this one. There’s always one that just doesn’t quite meet expectations. This is that book in the Veronica Speedwell series, for me.

In previous books, Veronica has always been larger than life and proactive, doing what must be done, and damn the consequences. She’s strong, independent, confident in who she is, and makes no apologies.

She’s none of that in An Unexpected Peril. She’s still running full steam ahead, but this time it’s a reactive sort of running, going against the grain of her own personality by charging into an investigation that does not involve her as a means of running away from her own anxieties. A woman who willingly discussed anything in the previous 5 books, now avoids discussing anything of import. And given her character and Stoker’s, it’s a bit of a letdown in its predictability, something neither character had been thus far.

Still, putting that aside, the rest of the story is fun and kept my attention. Veronica gets to pretend she’s a princess, giving her the opportunity to see what she’s missed all these years, and the killer was a mystery until the end when it all came together beautifully. It would have been a far better story overall without the angst and repression, but I suppose it had to happen at some point.

I’m still eager for the next one and hope that in book 7 the true Veronica will return in all her bossy, outrageous glory.

Death Comes to the Nursery

Death Comes to the Nursery
by Catherine Lloyd
Rating: ★★★
isbn: 9781496723222
Series: Kurland St. Mary Mystery #7
Publication Date: February 3, 2020
Pages: 264
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Kensington

Meh. A generally solid cozyish historical series, this one fell flat for me. It wasn’t bad, but it felt too busy and a tad too contrived. Some characters veered into tropes, which is something previous books avoided. That a woman (a nursery maid) so beautiful could come on the scene and suddenly make historically staid and responsible male characters start following her around (3 of them, at least), forgoing their responsibilities and breaking out in fisticuffs over who gets to walk with her is just too far beyond reasonable for me.

Further adding to the mediocrity of the story, the man who turns out to be the murderer was obvious from the start, because the author’s red herrings were just too, too red.

I have the next one and still have hopes it will be enjoyable. Though this historical series is cozy in its atmosphere, the author doesn’t shy away from bringing real issues to her characters: women who struggle through miscarriages, women who don’t want children at all (a challenging thought in the 1700’s), a bit of PTSD for the main male character, making the characters more interesting, rather than more romantic.

Beguiled (Betwixt and Between, #3)

Beguiled
by Darynda Jones
Rating: ★★★½
isbn: 9781734385267
Series: Betwixt & Between #3
Publication Date: February 15, 2021
Pages: 254
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Feather & Leaf

Newly indoctrinated witch, and a charmling to boot, Defiance Dayne discovers there’s more to life after forty than she’d ever imagined possible. Especially since one neighbor is trying to seduce her, another neighbor is trying to steal her house out from under her, and a third neighbor is trying to get her kicked off the planet. Oh for three, but things start to look up when a new witch moves to town, one who says she’s been sent to thwart an attempt on the charmling’s life.

Dephne decides she has three things to do before she can die. Find out who killed her beloved grandmother, teach her BFF, Annette, the finer points of spellcasting before she blows up the world, and figure out how serious her relationship with the Adonis living in her basement really is. If it’s heading in the direction she’s hoping for, she can die happy. Though, admittedly, she’d rather not.

None of that will matter, however, if she can’t figure out how to foil the supernatural assassin who’s been sent to kill her. Until then, it’s business—and hopefully romance—as usual. Now if she can only figure out how to tame a lacuna wolf.

(Sort of a) Paradox: I dislike, in general, self-published books, but there are a few authors I love enough to find myself unable to stay away from them. Ilona Andrews is one example, and Darynda Jones another.

From what I gather, this self published series is part of a larger effort by several authors to publish books whose main characters are over 40 and still living la vida loca. Or something like that. Regardless, I picked up the series because, like Chloe Neil, Jones can write the snark and the humor and sometimes, with a very few authors, that’s enough.

So, in spite of the self-published-ness of the series, I look forward to each one. They’re unfettered by anything resembling an editor’s reins, which, in a paranormal story is pretty damn unfettered, but the grammar is polished and copy-edited, which goes a long way. Given the general joie de vivre Jones’ characters usually display, the MC could as easily be 30, 40 or 50, so while the story might be meant for ‘mature’ (I hate that word when applied to my gender) women, the story would resonate with anyone.

It was a fun, flirty, fast read, easily enjoyed on a cold winter’s holiday before the slog back to working on-site begins again tomorrow.

The Gazebo (Miss Silver Mystery #27)

The Gazebo
by Patricia Wentworth
Rating: ★★★★½
Series: Miss Silver Mystery #27
Publication Date: January 1, 1958
Pages: 255
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Hodder And Stoughton

For Althea Graham, suffering the whims of her malevolent invalid of a mother, the old family home is a prison. So when two strangely competitive offers for the Graham's house are made to her it suggests that house may hold some dark rewarding secret.

Then old Mrs Graham is found murdered in the gazebo . . .

Best Miss Silver I’ve read yet! Though, to be fair, I’ve only read 2-3 others, so I’m not in a position to judge too objectively thus far. Still, a great mystery with rational characters (unlike her earliest books) and while there’s still a romance at the hinge of the story, it’s not a soppy one. Mostly.

There were obvious references to previous books, but no spoilers; tangential characters in earlier mysteries are now the focus of this one. The murder could not have happened to a more deserving victim, and generally, the plotting was rather weak, not that I think about it. The murderer becomes rather obvious so that there’s no real reveal, just a crises averted and justice served. There’s also a connection to the Gordon Riots which lends an air of fun to the story, though when I write it like that it doesn’t make sense. Nothing fun about the Gordon Riots, except the link to the present day story is, but I can’t be more specific than that without spoiling.

A fun, traditional mystery.

The Windermere Witness (Lake District Mystery, #1)

The Windermere Witness
by Rebecca Trope
Rating: ★★★
isbn: 9780749012694
Series: Lake District Mystery #1
Publication Date: August 26, 2013
Pages: 414
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Allison & Busby

Following a personal tragedy, florist Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown has moved to the beautiful region of the Lake District to be nearer her charismatic parents. Things are going well, with her latest flower arrangements praised and Simmy content to lose herself in her work. But the peace she has found is shattered when, at the wedding of a millionaire's daughter, the bride's brother is found brutally murdered in the lake.

As the wedding florist, and one of the last people to talk to Mark Baxter alive, Simmy gradually becomes involved with the grief-ridden and angry relatives. All seem to have their fair share of secrets and scandals - an uncaring mother, a cheating father, and a husband twenty-five years older than his bride. When events take another sinister turn, Simmy becomes a prime witness and finds herself at the heart of a murder investigation. The chief suspects are the groom and his closely knit band of bachelor friends. They are all intimidating, volatile and secretive - but which one is a killer?

I picked this up at a used book shop during our aborted Christmas travels; having spent time in the Lake District, specifically, the towns of Windermere, Bowness, and Ableside that this story is set in, it appealed to me instantly.

Alas, it was no more than a drab average. The characters didn’t know what they wanted to be: the MC tells an inspector at the beginning she’s moved to Windermere after her divorce, that she was childless and insisted that there were “compensations”. By the end of the book she’s barely coping with the stillborn birth she had 2 years before. Coping and repression are likely, of course, but they aren’t part of of the narrative, so the reader is left with no grasp of this MC. The Inspector is either attractive and friendly or greasy-haired and antagonistic. The MC’s mother is supposed to be a hippy, but acts more like a criminal attorney; I never once got the impression she liked her daughter. The bride of the story is either flaky, naive and needs to be protected, or a headstrong woman who is the only one that can steer her much older husband’s life. Flip-flop.

The elements of the plot were interesting, but the plot itself wasn’t anything special. The motivation was pathetic and unbelievable, given the characters, and the murderer pretty obvious after about half-way.

The setting was what I’d hoped for, at least. My memories of the Lake District are still vivid, and I loved the area, so ‘re-visiting’ it through the book kept me picking it back up. This is the first in a series all set here, and while weak, not so bad that should I come across another one at a used book shop, I’d probably pick it up.

A Pretty Deceit (Verity Kent, #4)

A Pretty Deceit
by Anna Lee Huber
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9781496728470
Series: Verity Kent #4
Publication Date: October 14, 2020
Pages: 362
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Kensington

In the aftermath of the Great War, the line between friend and foe may be hard to discern, even for indomitable former Secret Service agent Verity Kent, in award-winning author Anna Lee Huber’s thrilling mystery series.

Peacetime has brought little respite for Verity Kent. Intrigue still abounds, even within her own family. As a favor to her father, Verity agrees to visit his sister in Wiltshire. Her once prosperous aunt has fallen on difficult times and is considering selling their estate. But there are strange goings-on at the manor, including missing servants, possible heirloom forgeries, and suspicious rumors—all leading to the discovery of a dead body on the grounds.

While Verity and her husband, Sidney, investigate this new mystery, they are also on the trail of an old adversary—the shadowy and lethal Lord Ardmore. At every turn, the suspected traitor seems to be one step ahead of them. And even when their dear friend Max, the Earl of Ryde, stumbles upon a code hidden among his late father’s effects that may reveal the truth about Ardmore, Verity wonders if they are really the hunters—or the hunted . . .

Aside from my subjective issues with the path Huber chose for these characters, I like this series; you could say I enjoy them in spite of myself. But while this book was a 4 star read on the strength of its plot, it might have been a 4.5/5 star read if not for the weakness of the editing.

The narrative is much longer than it needed to be because Huber, with admirable motivation, spends a lot of time ruminating on the devastation wrought on both the soldiers who fought in WWI, and those left behind to cope in fear and anxiety. She does bring light to many aspects of the horror that is war, especially the first world war, but she spends too much time doing it, and this is a murder mystery, after all. I’m confident a lot of it could have been cut without losing the more important message, and the overall story would have been a lot better for it.

Still, the plot is a strong one, with aspects of scavenger and treasure hunting spicing up what would otherwise be an ordinary nemesis plot running parallel to a murder mystery. I’m still kid enough to enjoy rhyming clues and secret codes, as well as the touch of cloak and dagger when used judiciously, and it is here.

As I opened the post with, I still don’t like what Huber is doing with the characters; while there are no love triangles or quadrangles, she has two other men in love with Verity who are dedicated to uncovering the series’ plot; there seems to be no plan for this to change and it’s tiresome. Luckily, the murder mysteries have so far made up for it. Can’t see that lasting much longer though.

A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder

A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder
by Dianne Freeman
Rating: ★★★★
Series: Countess of Harleigh Mystery #3
Publication Date: July 24, 2020
Pages: 278
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Kensington

London is known for its bustle and intrigues, but the sedate English countryside can host—or hide—any number of secrets. Frances, the widowed Countess of Harleigh, needs a venue for her sister Lily’s imminent wedding, away from prying eyes. Risings, George Hazleton’s family estate in Hampshire, is a perfect choice, and soon Frances, her beloved George, and other guests have gathered to enjoy the usual country pursuits—shooting, horse riding, and romantic interludes in secluded gardens.

But the bucolic setting harbors a menace, and it’s not simply the arrival of Frances’s socially ambitious mother. Above and below stairs, mysterious accidents befall guests and staff alike. Before long, Frances suspects these “accidents” are deliberate, and fears that the intended victim is Lily’s fiancé, Leo. Frances’s mother is unimpressed by Lily’s groom-to-be and would much prefer that Lily find an aristocratic husband, just as Frances did. But now that Frances has found happiness with George—a man who loves her for much more than her dowry—she heartily approves of Lily’s choice. If she can just keep the couple safe from villains and meddling mamas.

As Frances and George search for the culprit among the assembled family, friends, and servants, more victims fall prey to the mayhem. Mishaps become full-blooded murder, and it seems that no one is safe. And unless Frances can quickly flush out the culprit, the peal of wedding bells may give way to another funeral toll. . . .

Historical mysteries seem to be all the rage at the moment, and fortunately, publishers have yet to monetise and ruin the trend to such a degree that you can’t find a selection of well written series to enjoy. While the quality of cozy mysteries has been abysmal the last several years, Historical Mysteries have filled in the gap nicely for me.

A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder is the 3rd in a series I discovered at my first (and so far only) Bouchercon convention. It’s a good series, and this book is a strong 3rd book, moving the characters’ arcs along quickly, while presenting an interesting stand-alone plot, with clues easily missed and writing that skilfully misdirected the reader down several false avenues. As the story moved along, some of the misdirection became obvious, but some of it didn’t, rendering a delightful mystery well done.

My only groan over the book was the introduction of Countess Harleigh’s mother who was caricatured for most of her page time, only to do the whole mama-lion thing and achieving what to me was an insincere redemption in the final pages. Fortunately she’s not around much in this book and it wasn’t enough to really weight the book down.

Death in Daylesford (Phryne Fisher Mystery, #21)

Death in Daylesford
by Kerry Greenwood
Rating: ★★★
isbn: 9781743310342
Series: Phryne Fisher #21
Publication Date: November 15, 2020
Pages: 321
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Surrounded by secrets, great and small, the formidable Miss Phryne Fisher returns to vanquish injustice.

When a mysterious invitation arrives for Miss Phryne Fisher from an unknown Captain Herbert Spencer, Phryne's curiosity is excited. Spencer runs a retreat in Victoria's spa country for shell-shocked soldiers of the First World War. It's a cause after Phryne's own heart but what could Spencer want from her?

Phryne and the faithful Dot view their spa sojourn as a short holiday but are quickly thrown in the midst of disturbing Highland gatherings, disappearing women, murder and the mystery of the Temperance Hotel.

Meanwhile, Cec, Bert and Tinker find a young woman floating face down in the harbour, dead. Tinker, with Jane and Ruth, Phryne's resilient adopted daughters, together decide to solve what appears to be a heinous crime.

Disappearances, murder, bombs, booby-traps and strange goings-on land Miss Phryne Fisher right in the middle of her most exciting adventure.

I’ve been a fan of this series from the beginning but this one was phoned in, either by the author herself or Allen and Unwin, or, possibly, both. I still enjoyed the hell out of catching up with Phryne and friends, but in quality, this was disappointing.

Death in Daylesford is one of her longer entries, and the story meanders quite a bit across at least 3 different plot-lines taking place in two different places: Melbourne’s mystery being solved by Phryne’s three adopted kids and her assistant’s fiancé (a police detective), and one in Daylesford, a spa town about an hour away from Melbourne, spear-headed by Phryne and her assistant Dot.

The Melbourne plot could have been scrapped and I’d have never missed it. While I like Jane and Ruth as characters, I found their plot/mystery to be too Nancy Drew for my tastes. The death they investigated was tragic, and it’s solution sad, but it was superfluous to requirements.

Phryne’s mysteries were more interesting and more diabolical, but poor editing and the inclusion of the Nancy Drew parallel plot detracted significantly from what it might have been. The poor editing is obvious – and surprising – in the form of missing words, and one scene where the dead body is removed from the scene twice. Blaming the parallel plot is just speculation on my part, but so many things in Phryne’s mysteries were glossed over and she reached conclusions with no discernible process to the reader, that I have to believe Greenwood just didn’t have the page space to expand on plot points the way she might have. Which is a shame, because the plots were interesting and deserved more than they got.

In spite of all this, I enjoyed the read, and I’m thrilled to see a new Phryne Fisher mystery out, after I’d started to believe the series was over. I hope there will be more, and I hope the author and the publisher both get their groove back.