The Year of the Series - Suede to Rest + A Pretty Deceit

 

After the calamity that was 2020 I didn't want to give myself serious reading goals but I did want to do something to help my book stacks get a little more under control.  I've tried getting rid of the ones I want to read but unfortunately I want to read all the books I own.  So I decided to focus on series.  There are so many I have that I abandoned halfway through or came in halfway and never read the first few.  I made a list of ten series and the next book I had to read in them and will be rolling in new books and series as I go along and catch up.  Here are two reviews from that list that I've read recently.

Goodreads:  Suede to Rest (A Material Witness Mystery #1) by Diane Vallere

Blurb:  When Polyester (Poly) Monroe inherits her great uncle's shuttered fabric store she also inherits a family mystery.  Just who murdered her great aunt on the night of Poly's high school graduation - and could they still be around to make sure the past stays in the past.

My Thoughts:  I really love Diane Vallere's stories and this might just be my favorite series.  Not only is it a store jammed packed with gorgeous vintage (albeit dusty) fabric but there's also figuring out old family secrets along with Poly figuring out just what it is she really wants in life.  Poly has a lot of decisions to make and quite a lot of people are trying to make those decisions for her.  The conclusion is a little disjointed but getting there is such fun I'm willing to forgive - plus reading this one has me wanting to reread the next two books in the series!  My Rating: Liked It!

Goodreads:  A Pretty Deceit (A Verity Kent Mystery #4) by Anna Lee Huber

Premise:  Weird things are going on at Verity's aunt's house.  There's missing items, damage from airman who occupied the house during the war, and a missing maid.  But before Verity can finish looking into that she's pulled into a mystery from the past featuring old friends and wartime secrets.

My Thoughts:  I really love this series.  Verity and Sidney are so glamorous and capable and I love the addition of their friends Max and Alex.  Both mysteries are intriguing and work well together. I enjoy how they work together and with Max and Alex though there is bits of tension there.  One mystery is a bit more of a traditional mystery with a dead body and a murdered but kind of surrounding it is a cat and mouse kind of chase with intrigue and history dating back several years into the middle of Word War I.  The characters in the book are still dealing with the fall out from the war and it shows in different ways but at the same time life is still going on and I thought the balance of that was very well done.  This story isn't flawless - I'm not a big fan of the master criminal element that has been in this book and the last book and the physical affection between Verity and Sidney gets mentioned a bit too much (not romance level but I could have used less of it) but it was such an entertaining read that it didn't bother me.  The next book in this series comes out in August so I'm calling myself caught up with this one!  My Rating: Really Liked It!