Behold Here’s Poison

Behold, Here's Poison
by Georgette Heyer
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 0434328448
Publication Date: January 1, 1972
Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Heinemann

This is a book I should have enjoyed more than I did. The dialog between characters is scathing, often hilarious in a ‘I can’t believe he/she said that out loud’ kind of way, and the murder was clever and the karma both just and tragic. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, so much as I think I might have been better off choosing something else at that moment, with the result that I was impatient with the reading of it. It’s a weird place to be when you’re reading thinking this is good and are we done yet? at the same time.

Heyer’s strong point in writing wasn’t her detectives; Hannasyde is flat and Hemingway needs to switch to decaf, but the rest of the cast of characters are all vividly written, and as I said, the dialog scorching. Mrs. Lupton came on the scene with a speech that had me laughing and wanting to stand and applaud and the rest of the case all have a shot at each other at least once or twice.

The romance, arguably Heyer’s raison d’être, just … failed. To put those two together with so little development or subtlety makes me wonder if Heyer hated these characters and wanted them so suffer. I mean, there’s playful verbal sparring, and there’s what these two were doing. Me? I don’t find anything romantic about being called a little idiot.

The Keepers of Metsan Valo

The Keepers of Metsan Valo
by Wendy Webb
Rating: ★★★½
isbn: 9781542021623
Publication Date: October 1, 2021
Pages: 299
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

In Metsan Valo, her family home on Lake Superior, Anni Halla’s beloved grandmother has died. Among her fond memories, what Anni remembers most vividly is her grandmother’s eerie yet enchanting storytelling. By firelight she spun tall tales of spirits in the nearby forest and waters who could heal or harm on a whim. But of course those were only stories…

The reading of the will now occasions a family reunion. Anni and her twin brother, their almost otherworldly mother, and relatives Anni hasn’t seen in forever some with good reason are all brought back together under one roof that strains to hold all their tension. But it’s not just Anni’s family who is unsettled. Whispers wind through the woods. Laughter bursts from bubbling streams. Raps from unseen hands rupture on the walls. Fireflies swarm and nightmares stir. With each odd occurrence, Anni fears that her return has invited less a welcoming and more a warning.

When another tragedy strikes near home, Anni must dive headfirst into the mysterious happenings to discover the truth about her home, her family, and the wooded island’s ancient lore. Plunging into the past may be the only way to save her family from whatever bedevils Metsan Valo.

Wendy Webb is an author that shows up as similar/recommended for those that enjoy the ghost stories of Simone St. James, so when MT was headed to the library, I had him pick up the only title of hers currently available. It was a quick read, done in a day, and it kept my attention with interesting main characters and rich atmosphere, but I have a couple of thoughts about the Simone St. James comparison.

Reading the acknowledgments at the end, the author states that this book came about much different from her others, that rather than starting with a particular house, The Keepers of Metsan Valo started from a desire to write about her Finnish mythological roots. So that may, perhaps, explain why this is not a ghost story, or anything like Simone St. James. This book is best described as Magical Realism, and its more apt comparative author would be Sarah Addison Allen, or maybe at a stretch, an edgy Heather Webber.

If I’d gone into this book with that expectation, I’d probably have enjoyed it more – it’s not a bad book, and I liked her writing enough that I’d probably read another. The thing is, it appears that all the books she writes are the standalone type with overlapping characters. I realised this midway through the book when one of the characters describes the synopsis of another of Webb’s titles that I recognised from prior research. Unfortunately, the characters precedes to spoil that particular book’s plot. The mc of this book also spoils the plot of another of Webb’s books, although not quite to the same degree, I suspect. So if you want to try this author be aware that if you don’t start with the first of her books you may get more information about prior plots than you’d prefer. The good news is that the town of Wharton is delightful, so reading more books set there might be enough to soften prior knowledge.

There were moments where the author got overly sentimental, and the characters all got a fairy tale happy ending which, for me, blunted my enjoyment of the book. I like a HEA, but I prefer a realistic one, and this one was not realistic, and I’m not talking about the mystical elements. This family came together with a lot of tension and they went away all happy-happy-joy-love with absolutely no effort in between. It was all way too neat and pat. Putting that aside though, there was enough to like that, as I said earlier, I’d read one more.

The Sherlock Holmes Companion

The Sherlock Holmes Companion
by Michael Hardwick, Mollie Hardwick
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 0517219166
Publication Date: January 1, 1962
Pages: 262
Genre: Books and Reading, Reference
Publisher: Bramhall House

One of my acquisitions from my visit to the Berkelouw Book Barn, this isn’t really a sit-down-and-read book, so much as it’s a handy reference of characters, story plots and a selection of quotes (which I found to be a mediocre selection, at best). But there are two ‘chapters’ at the back that offer small biographies of Sherlock and Holmes, and one of Conan Doyle himself.

The Sherlock/Watson biographies about what you’d expect, although I’m constantly amazed, whenever I read these types of things, how much presumption is done on the part of the fans who write them, no matter how learned those fans are. I can never get through one without periodic outbursts along the lines of give me a break!. While this one was no different, I was, at least relieved to see that the authors dismissed the nonsense that Holmes, pre-Watson, had had a great love that died, leaving him unable to ever love again.

The chapter of Conan Doyle’s mini-biography was concise but packed with his life, including quite a few facts I’d yet to read about (I have Hesketh’s biography waiting for me on my TBR, and one of these days I’m going to get ahold of Dickson Carr’s ACD bio too). ACD was not only an author of mythical skill, he was a truely good man who fought for pretty much any cause that needed fighting for, and a prescient man, correctly forseeing what a war with submarines and advanced weaponry would mean for the crumbling empire soon the enter WWI. That question that makes the rounds every once in awhile: who would you go back in time to speak with, if you could? Without question, it would be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, every time.

The Corinthian

The Corinthian
by Georgette Heyer
Rating: ★★★★
Publication Date: January 1, 1950
Pages: 256
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Publisher: Heinemann

An amusing, highly improbable adventure with a tolerable touch of silliness. Heyer’s romances are always entertaining (unless they’re the badly written ones) because she writes romance with her tongue firmly in her cheek, and this one was truly tongue in cheek. A nice in-between read that was easily finished in a day.

The Enchanted April

The Enchanted April
by Elizabeth Von Arnim
Rating: ★★★★½
Publication Date: January 1, 1922
Pages: 204
Genre: Fiction, Literature
Publisher: Folio Society

Mrs Wilkins and Mrs Arbuthnot, cowed and neglected by their husbands, make a daring plan: they will have a holiday. Leaving a drab and rainy London one April and arriving on the shores of the Mediterranean, they discover a flower-filled paradise of beauty, warmth and leisure. Joined by the beautiful Lady Caroline and domineering Mrs Fisher, also in flight from the burdens of their daily lives, the four women proceed to transform themselves and their prospects.

I liked this book way more than I should have. Arnim’s ability to write a single moment right into the ground is admirable in a contrary sort of way – I mean, entire pages dedicated to describing one brief span of time, and it’s very stream-of-consciousness at times as well. And Lotty, who starts off realistic if a bit pathetic, opens her eyes her first morning in Italy and turns into a character Disney himself would envy. The only thing missing was somebody singing Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. And the ending is the shallowest, basest, most unrealistic Happily Ever After I’ve ever read. How is Frederick going to explain that unopened letter when he and Rose go home?

But in spite of all of this, the book was as enchanting as its title. Were I but rich and idle, instead of just temporarily idle, I’d have jumped a plane for Italy before I got so much as 100 pages in. Arnim wrote such a backdrop for these women that it was hard not to smell the wisteria as it dropped its accumulated rain drops on your head. Even the castle, which Arnim spent little time describing overall, felt lived in. And in spite of all the faffing stream-of-consciousness and Lotty’s Disney-esque departure from reality-land, I found myself liking, or at least sympathising with, all four women. The men … not so much. Even though they were supposed to have been ‘saved by love’ (ugh!), I still found Wilkins a condescending, pompous ass, Frederick pathetic, and Briggs a massive disappointment. Somebody should have slapped that boy upside his head.

Arnim was a gifted writer, creating characters with a lot of character, so to speak, but she really shines – is absolutely brilliant – when it comes to writing about gardens, so I suspect that when I remember The Enchanted April it will be the gardens of San Salvatore that come through best and most vividly.

NB: I read the Folio Society Edition from 2002, and it included the most charming colour illustrations; they perfectly complemented the text.

My … 10 days in reading? Part 2

The first half of my re-reading binge was inspired by Moonlight Reader’s comment in her posts about wanting to get back to reading Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily series. This is a series I’d gotten caught up in years ago, but abandoned for reasons I couldn’t remember. She put the series back on my radar, and I got to wondering whether I could get caught up in it again, or if I should just mark that series as abandoned, so I had MT pull the 9 books I have down from the shelves and buried myself in 19th century England.

Rather than try to review all of the books again here, I’m just going to list the book and include a thought or two about each one. Because this is still going to make for a physically long post, I put it behind a ‘read more’. Suffice it to say that the series was very hit and miss for me up through book 9. I remember the qualities that drove me to set the series aside originally, but there is also a lot to like about them (most of them, anyway). Will I continue? I’m still not sure. Maybe. At least, I might try one more.

Continue reading My … 10 days in reading? Part 2

Crowbones (World of the Others, #3)

Crowbones
by Anne Bishop
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780593337332
Series: The World of the Others #3
Publication Date: March 8, 2022
Pages: 368
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace

Note: While this is book 3 in the series called The World of the Others, it’s a direct sequel to book 1, Lake Silence. Book 2, Wild Country, is set in a different location in the same world.

4 stars is the lowest I’ve rated any of the books in Bishop’s Others or World of the Others series. Crowbones was good – really good – but not as nearly as compelling as most of the titles.

In part, this might have been because I’d read the jacket flap, which has never been an issue before. But this time it left me with the impression that this story was going to have a locked-room mystery vibe to it, and it didn’t, at all. That’s not a bad thing, and there are murders to be solved, but it jarred with my expectations for the first third of the book. I’d have been better off reading it blind, so to speak.

This book also felt more human-centric in focus than any of the previous books. I can’t actually say it was, I’m just not left with the usual feeling I get from these books: that I’ve visited another reality where humans are only bit players with big ambitions. The others didn’t seem to exude their usual air of menace and, hardly ever had to fight the urge not to eat the annoying humans. I don’t know a thing about Anne Bishop – I’m not the type to research my authors, or visit fan sites, but I get an impression that the MC, Vicki, has a touch of the autobiographical about her. I have less than nothing to base that on; she just reads as though she comes from a very personal place. Whether that’s good or bad depends on your perspective, I guess. I liked that she had no problem laughing at herself, and that she recognised where her anxiety stemmed from, but she also made me roll my eyes more than a few times.

Neither of those things are complaints, really, although I’d have liked to see more large-scale smackdowns. Given that I’ve re-read every one of the other books in both series and every time found something more to like, it may be that once I re-read this one I’ll pick up different nuances I missed this time. Whether I do or not, I really enjoyed Crowbones and my brief holiday in the world of the Others. Call me crazy, but this is a world I’d happily live in.

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception (Roxy Abruzzo, #1)

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception
by Nancy Martin
Rating: ★★★
isbn: 9780312573720
Series: Roxy Abruzzo Mystery #1
Publication Date: March 7, 2010
Pages: 310
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Minotaur Books

This is the first book in a spin-off series, of sorts, from the Blackbird Sisters; it involves a completely different member of the crime family Michael is the heir apparent to, and takes place in Pittsburgh, rather than Philly.

It’s also a much rougher, seedier flavour of cozy mystery, set in a low income area with a high crime rate. Roxy owns an architectural salvage company, trying to support her daughter and avoid working for her uncle Carmine in the family business.

Martin created Roxy as a deeply flawed, broken woman who uses an active sex life as a weapon, but seems to enjoy it not at all. She obviously cares a great deal, as she goes out of her way to shelter abused women, support her daughter, and keep her dim-witted friend from violating his parole, but her uber defensiveness is grating and her inability to connect with anyone makes it difficult for the reader to connect with her. It’s a very different take from the Blackbird Sisters, which didn’t shy away from dysfunction, but still managed to engage the reader.

Different too is this story’s multiple POVs. When it works, it works brilliantly, offering an ending that might not be expected, but when it doesn’t it leaves the reader wondering why Martin bothered, or at least wondering why certain POVs were included.

The parts were there for a very excellent read, but they just didn’t come together in a way that left me caring at all about any of the characters. I have the second book of what ended up being a 2 book series, but when I finished my re-read of this one, I found that I just didn’t have it in me to dip into this kind of dysfunction a second time. Maybe someday.

Murder Melts in Your Mouth (Blackbird Sisters Mystery, #7)

Murder Melts in Your Mouth
by Nancy Martin
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780451223111
Series: Blackbird Sisters #7
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
Pages: 282
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: NAL / New American Library

Down-to-earth debutante Nora Blackbird is having a meltdown. A noted Philly philanthropist has taken a swan dive from an office balcony and Nora’s friend Lexie stands accused of the murder. Then her scheming parents reappear, sending all three Blackbird sisters into a panic. Now Nora must uncover her parents’ scandalous high jinks before she winds up taking the heat.

This was a gut wrencher; again, Martin touches on edgy subjects but this time in a more seductive way. Nora’s best friend’s business partner is found dead on the sidewalk minutes after his exposure for serious financial crimes has been made public.

Nora’s efforts to clear her friend of any suspicion are clouded by a number of factors involving her own family and the cloudiness of the victim’s family life, both of which reveal some rather startling revelations for everybody.

I remember reading this the first time and the feelings of dread and shock I felt as answers to the myriad questions were discovered; there were no happy endings for anyone in this book, although there were some hilarious moments along the way.

Having read the entire series, I think I’d say this is the best entry of the 10.

A Crazy Little Thing Called Death (Blackbird Sisters Mystery, #6)

A Crazy Little Thing Called Death
by Nancy Martin
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780451220417
Series: Blackbird Sisters #6
Publication Date: March 4, 2007
Pages: 280
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: NAL / New American Library

ABOUT A CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED DEATH

Nora Blackbird has made the society pages yet again. The impoverished Philadelphia heiress has agreed to wed Mick Abruzzo, son of New Jersey’s most notorious mobster. Now Nora has to help him survive the Blackbird curse: Every time a Blackbird sister marries, the groom is bound to die.

But Nora’s superstitions are eclipsed by some ominous news. Penny Devine, ex-Hollywood starlet and daughter of the Philadelphia Devines, has disappeared, and strangely, her family is very eager to have her declared dead. When it’s revealed that Nora has inherited Penny’s extensive couture wardrobe, eyebrows rise even higher. The only way for Nora to keep her name clear and save her sanity is to snoop among the snooty…until she sniffs out the truth.

While things have settled down for the characters, relatively speaking, Martin digs down again to present another unpleasant but well crafted murder plot: remains of a once famous actor are found on the family grounds during a polo match. This time Nora’s search for journalistic truth unravels animal hoarding, and some pretty extreme psychological abuse along with the usual bevy of hidden family secrets.

Michael is a more active participant this time around which conveniently feeds into the whole Blackbird curse mythology that’s part of the series: all Blackbird women who marry are doomed to be widowed young. Michael survives, of course, but a series of maybe accidents provides a convenient of angst for the romance angle.

The ending is well done, but a hot mess; nobody comes out unscathed by the end, with the exception of one person, who tries to offer Nora some perspective on her own life. It’s a slightly more uplifting ending than perhaps this story deserves but it leaves the reader feeling at least a little lighter hearted.