Monthly Archives: January 2022

Jan17

Murder on Mustique- Anne Glenconner- A Review

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I picked this one up when Barnes and Noble had their hardbacks 50 percent off. I liked the cover and the blurb sounded good. Of course, I’d heard of the island of Mustique and how it was made into a place for celebrities to build homes and find peace and quiet, so the idea of a murder mystery set there was intriguing.

As I started reading, I realized why the author’s name sounded familiar. She was the wife of the man who bought the island in real life and gifted Princess Margaret with the land to build her own escape home. The author started the story by having the fictional narrator explaining she was a former lady in waiting for the princess and that her husband bought the island in the 1950s. I don’t want to say this was a Mary Sue type story, but it skirted the edge—except the heroine was seventy years old rather than a young girl.

This was a novel, but there was a whole lot of truth in it—not the murder mystery part nor the person who committed the crime (I hope- LOL) but a lot of the history of the island and of the author herself.  I did enjoy the story—even the totally unrealistic parts. The author did a good job with the red herrings and the culprit, so I can forgive her for the use of herself—perhaps an idealized version—as the heroine of the story. It was kind of refreshing to have an older woman in good physical shape as a strong protagonist even though I couldn’t get it out of my head that she was a real person.

One of the parts of the book that resonated with me near the end was this comment by the heroine: “My own grief is harder to define. Why do I care so much about losing something that never really existed? The space left behind will fill, as time passes.”

That passage reminded me of when I finally realized that someone who I’d considered a friend was actually a malignant narcissist and then, for my own protection, I cut off contact with the person. I grieved over the loss of that relationship for a long time and almost got sucked back in again—until I came to that same realization. None of my memories of that person were based on real feelings on the part of my “friend” and our relationship never really existed. It was all an act on that “friend’s” part even though I invested myself in our friendship. 

It makes me wonder if this author also had a real life experience with such a narcissist. It sure seemed to me like that was one more of the truths she expressed in this fictional tale. Until you’ve actually been a victim of a malignant narcissist, it’s hard to understand just how awful they can be. Her passage above rang true. 

Overall, the book was good and I enjoyed the tale.

Jan11

Dolly Pleasance by CW Lovatt, a Review

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“My name is Dolly Pleasance, sir, which is short for Delores, which, in Spanish, means sorrow.”

The main character in this novel always introduces herself this way. It was a cute character quirk that recurred over the entire book. She definitely had sorrow in her life, but she also had some wonderful times as well.

The main character in this story was old beyond her years after a rough start to her life. Her father and mother were drunks and her mother killed herself when the protagonist was quite young. The story opens with Dolly and her father Archie leaving the workhouse (a horrible place that I’ve read about before and watched documentaries about). If the poor child living in those conditions didn’t break her spirit, I felt like this was going to be a good story about a plucky girl who refused to be defeated by the hand she was dealt by fate.  The author didn’t disappoint. His Dolly was smart, clever and streetwise. She also had some flaws which made her tale even more interesting—no one likes a perfect protagonist.

She worked her way up in the theater from scrubbing floors to appearing on stage. Along the way, she did what she needed to in order to survive. The streets of London were rough and it had to be hard for a girl on her own. She had a mentor, Ben, who her father left her with, but she had been raised pretty feral and couldn’t adapt to living in his home with his wife and children.

Some parts of the story were gruesome and violent. The villain was a bit unbelievable—his motivation, I mean. It seemed like such a minor thing for someone to react the way he did. Mental illness could have been the root of it, I presume.  It stretched credulity to me. The other thing that seemed rushed and a bit off was how quickly and deeply Dolly was affected by the young man, Charlie Smithers. A few moments of interaction with him resulted in some life decisions that just seemed precipitous and rash.

There were a few usages of the wrong word—one was plane for plain and the other is a real pet peeve for me—taught for taut. They threw me out of the story.

Having not read the stories by this author about Charlie Smithers, (There was an author note about Charlie at the beginning of the book, but I didn’t have enough knowledge to know who he was) I had questions about him and how he was able to head off to foreign parts for months or years at a time when he is a valet. I plan to check those tales out as I enjoyed the writing in this book and think I’d like the adventures of Charlie.

Overall, I liked this story a lot. Dolly was a strong character with some weaknesses that made her vulnerable and she was very well-rounded. The style of the author’s prose was entertaining (except the few places the story got bogged down with recitations of various plays) and I also liked that he included real people of the theater/London scene as characters in his work. It gave a touch of realism to the tale.

This story had some flaws—in this reader’s opinion—but, for the most part, it was an enjoyable read.

Jan9

A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein- a Review

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I got this book from Barnes and Noble when they had all their hardbacks on sale for half-price after Christmas. I really racked up that day as I had a gift card and some cash gifts to spend on me and book stores are my jam.

The cover of this book drew me in immediately. I like the Tudor era and have read a lot of both fiction and nonfiction set in that time period.  This one was fiction and about Christopher Marlowe. A lot of the story was clearly historically inaccurate, but that didn’t take away from the tale at all.

The author placed Kit in interesting situations, including the plot with Babington and Mary, Queen of Scots.  I liked that she did that as it made the history of the time period (with artistic license, of course) more vivid, especially with the description of the beheading of the prisoner queen. It was visceral for the reader and emotional for our protagonist.

One of the things that made me sad and hurt a lot for Marlowe was the way he was treated by the people he was recruited to work for as a spy. They were unkind and basically treated him like he was less than human. It was as if they had no idea he had feelings and loved ones. All they wanted was what they wanted with no regard for him as a person. I imagine that part was definitely historically accurate. Him being in the corridors of power must have really rankled with some of the people who deemed themselves above him. The class system was in full swing—as I’m sure is still true in some areas of the world but it hurt my heart to read how badly he was treated when all he wanted to do was help his country and he kept his loyalties to the crown even in the face of this terrible treatment.

The author, Allison Epstein, did a marvelous job in making this time period come alive. In some passages, I could swear I smelled the stench of the streets, the pubs and the jail cell. Dingy, dark alleys evoked creepiness and the castles with candles and stoic, cruel men were easy to visualize as well. The memory of Fotheringay Castle with its dead queen on the floor, bloodied and surrounded by beads of her rosary lived on in the mind of our protagonist as well as this reader.

Overall, this was a good story. I can’t really say I enjoyed it due to the sadness and the way poor Kit was treated. And, we all know how Marlowe’s life ended, so reading the book with that inevitable ending in mind, I’d have to say that even though it was not a pleasant read, it was compelling and I’m glad I picked it up. I recommend it as a must-read, but be ready to be appalled by man’s inhumanity to man…even in a work of fiction.

Jan6

Never After by Melissa De La Cruz- A Review

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This was a book for 10-14 year olds but it looked cute when I was at the bookstore so I bought it.  Melissa De La Cruz has a lovely imagination. I loved all the twists on the fairy tales we all know and love.  The heroine of the story was likable and intelligent. She was sassy and a strong character.

The two friends she makes are also interesting characters. Jack was smart and clever. Alistair was witty and irreverent. The three friends all played off each other well and worked as a team to solve problems.

The author put in some lessons for middle school children to learn in a way that was fun and creative. She touched on bullying as well as other subjects children are faced with in school these days.  She also didn’t “dumb it down” for the readers. There were words I’m sure aren’t in the normal vocabulary of most middle-schoolers, but exposing them to those is smart. She may be making some life-long readers with this book and the ones that will be coming after it. Adventure is a great way to keep a child interested and engaged.

The story had a great premise and even though I am way past middle school age, I thoroughly enjoyed the tale. I will definitely be buying the next in the series as I truly think these characters are fun and interesting. I will share this book with some of my younger friends and relatives. I think they will enjoy it.

Jan3

Christmas Cocoa Murder- a Review

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This was an anthology of three stories. Carlene O’Connor wrote Christmas Cocoa Murder;   Maddie Day wrote Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse; and Alex Erickson wrote Death by Hot Cocoa.

All three stories were enjoyable. I liked the Death by Hot Cocoa one the best. I enjoyed the escape room concept and the set up was clever. I did guess who-dun-it pretty quickly, but that didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the story and the rooms set up in a holiday theme in the escape room. 

The Christmas Cocoa Murder was also a really cool set up. As a fan of dunking tanks in my younger days, I loved how the author used that concept in her story—I can’t even imagine how sticky it would be to be dunked in cocoa though- *shudder* — The characters in this one were well drawn and intriguing. The mystery was well done and the nutcrackers were a neat addition to the puzzle.

My least favorite was Christmas Cocoa and a corpse. Not because the story lacked anything, it was a good concept and execution. What I didn’t care for was the nicknames – every single character had a nickname- which just seemed off-putting to me. I also didn’t enjoy the overuse of descriptions- too much detail on everything the characters wore and the settings. I know some people enjoy that, but it wasn’t my thing at all.

Overall, this was a cute set of stories and very holiday—if your holidays include murder by cocoa. 🙂