Twelve Slays of Christmas - Christmas Cozy Review

Goodreads:  Twelve Slays of Christmas (A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery #1) by Jacqueline Frost

Rating:  Really Liked It!
Source:   Library

Description:  When Holly White's fiance cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. Lucky for her, home in historic Mistletoe, Maine is magical during Christmastime--exactly what the doctor prescribed. Except her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly's family tree farm.

When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly's father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn't help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn't watch out, she'll end up on Santa's naughty list.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:   I've been wanting to read a Christmas cozy and I've heard great things about this series.

My Impression: This was such a fun start to a cozy series!  It's hard to get more Christmas-y then a Christmas tree farm in December in a town named Mistletoe.  Holly is a likable main character.  Her curiosity and her concern for her family's financial well being felt very natural.  As well, her reaction to finding a dead body and her concern when she was threatened both for herself and for her family feel realistic without tipping into melodramatic.  I loved Reindeer Games and all the staff - especially Cookie and Holly's parents.  Though all the treats mentioned had me craving holiday themed sweets!

This is the first in the series and Holly is going through some major life changes so there is a lot of setup and explanation but it never felt bulky or slow paced.  In fact, in fact like I was getting to know a delightful group of people and the town they live in as well as getting to learn all the traditions of Mistletoe.  If this was a real place I would absolutely love to visit it during the Christmas season though I'm not sure how well I would dealt with all the snow.  

My only minor issue was that because there are a number of characters that we are being introduced to it took me a minute sometime to remember who a particular character was.  This only happened a time or two and I don't expect it to be an issue in future books.  I'm so excited to see where this series goes and to spend more time with the characters.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I'm already looking forward to reading the 2nd book.

Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy holiday cozies this is a series I think you'd enjoy!  The audio was absolutely fantastic if you'd prefer to go audio book.

Life with Leukemia (And Some Reading) - December 19

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

Nothing!  I took a week off from shopping and getting new review books!

Currently:

Reading:  Curse of Salem by Kay Hooper (my reading time has taken a hit!) and Picture Them Dead by Brynn Bonner

Listening:  The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley

This picture is from December 9th.

Same place but 9 days later.  

We are pretty sure if we watch Rover closely enough we will actually see him grow - especially his feet.  He's got such a funny personality and is such a sweetie though I won't be sad when we get past the housebreaking/biting phase.  

He and Will are still the best of friends.  Will has been having quite a bit of nerve pain in his feet which is keeping them running around to much together.  We are working on some medication to help and he's working with his physical therapist which should also help.  Unfortunately, this is pretty common for long term chemo and steroids and there is a limit on how much better it can get until he's done with treatment.  The good news is we are officially halfway through.  He's completed 62 weeks + the previous 2 phases which totaled about 4 months.  If everything goes well he will be done with chemo in 58 weeks.

I can't believe Christmas is Saturday!  I'm so not ready!  I think we are pretty much done with gift buying but I need to spread everything out to double check and I know I have an errand or two to finish up but hopefully it'll be relatively small stuff.  Are you ready for Christmas?

Have a great week and happy reading!

The Bat - Classic Mystery Review

Goodreads:  The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Rating: Really Liked It!
Source:  Publisher

Description:  Neither threats nor unearthly sounds could budge Miss Cornelia from the isolated country mansion she shared with her pretty niece, hysterical maid, laconic butler, and the nice young man who just might be a fugitive. Even knowing that she was a prime target for the vicious, elusive killer known as The Bat didn't faze this spirited spinster. Miss Cornelia longed to play detective, and on a storm-swept night, she got her chance at the game -- and her turn at The Bat!

 

Genre: Mystery - Classic

Why I Picked This Book:  I'm trying to read more classic mystery authors.  

My Impression: This book is very similar to Rinehart's The Circular Staircase which was published in 1908.  There are overlapping names and a similar premise.  I haven't seen a clear answer on what exactly happened but it looks like after the success of The Circular Staircase Rinehart developped a play based on the book under the title of The Bat.  The play was also successful so the rewritten story became this book.  She was very clear to differeniate the two for licensing reasons and never fully confirmed that the The Bat is The Circular Staircase rewritten.

That said there is a lot of differences between the two.  From the beginning The Bat is chock full of a noir atmosphere and made for a fairly fast paced read.  I loved Miss Cornelia and Lizzie's hysteria was funny played off of Miss Cornelia's placid assumption of the events and the almost distanced thrill of being involved in an adventure.  There is a bit of hand wringing angst but not a surprising amount for the time this was published.  The ending did feel a bit disjointed as it all came together all at once but my questions were answered and I thoroughly enjoyed getting there.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Definitely.  While the story in both books that I've read by this author have a similar plot the feel in both are completely different.  I'm looking forward to reading more from the author.

Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy books with a bit of a noir feel I think you'd enjoy this one.

Friday Fives - Five New To Me Authors I Read in 2021

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.   2021 wasn't my most versatile reading year but I did get more new to me authors read then I expected.   Here are 5 new authors that I tried.    

1.  Katherine Arden - I really enjoyed this beautiful and at times eerie fairy tale.  I'm so glad I finally read it this winter.  

2.  Brynn Bonner - I just finished this family mystery cozy series and have really enjoyed it.  I can't find that the author has written any more books which makes me sad as these books feel like they were written for me.  

3.  Julia Kelly - This was one of my first books of the year and I'm just sad I haven't read more from Julia Kelly.  This was lovely.  

4.  Larry Loftis - This is a nonfiction author I've been meaning to read but when he published a biography of a woman who has always fascinated I knew it was time.  This was an interesting read and I'm looking forward to reading more from Loftis.  

5.  Patti Callahan - I LOVED this book and am so excited to read more from this author.  

What new authors did you discover this year?

Books from the Backlog - The Clairvoyant Countess

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  The Clairvoyant Countess by Dorothy Gilman

Blurb:  Madame Karitska has a style all her own—a rare blend of psychic power, an exotic past, and an uncanny gift for common sense.

 As a psychic to the public, Madame Karitska has seen a lot.But when a chance encounter with Detective-Lieutenant Pruden of the Police Department catapults her into the unforseen, she must use all of her resources to keep danger--and death--at bay....

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I really love Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax books and I have several of her stand alones now that that are just gathering dust.

The Year of the Series - Death in Reel Time + Fatal Cajun Festival

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:  Death in Reel Time (Family History Mystery #2) by Brynn Bonner

Blurb:  If there’s one thing genealogists Sophreena McClure and Esme Sabatier have learned, it’s that every family has a black sheep— sometimes a whole flock of them. Their new client, Olivia Clement, is hoping to uncover the truth about her ne’er-do-well father, who disappeared before she was born. But Sophreena and Esme have barely begun delving into Olivia’s past when a present-day murder interrupts their schedule.
Someone has decided to prune the Clement family tree by getting rid of Olivia’s domineering son-in-law, Blaine Branch. Even without Esme’s psychic gift, it was easy to sense the tension between Blaine and his put-upon wife, Beth. Suspicion quickly falls on a young filmmaker and family friend who’s creating a documentary about their small town. Yet Soph and Esme become convinced someone else wanted to edit Blaine out, permanently. Buried deep in dusty boxes of memorabilia and 1940s film reels are vital clues, but it will take all of Sophreena’s deductive skill to expose the truth—before another victim fades to black.

My Thoughts:  I love this series!  I love the attention to detail when it comes to research and the stories that Sophreena and Esme dig up.  I really love that the genealogical research isn't window dressing to the mystery but is instead on equal footing and sometimes provides the key.  I love that there is a team effort as I always enjoy getting different perpsectives that that brings to the amateur sleuth experience.  The mystery was interesting and the research equally so.  If you don't enjoy books involving digging into the past this is series as a whole is definitely not for you.  I did figure out everything pretty early into the book but I enjoyed the story and the characters so much this didn't bother me.  I'm sad that I only have one book left in this series and that this author doesn't appear to be publishing any more books.  My Rating: Really Liked It!

Goodreads:  Fatal Cajun Festival (Cajun Country Mystery #5) by Ellen Byron

Blurb:  Grab your tickets for Cajun Country Live!, the pickers' and crooners' answer to the legendary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Maggie Crozat, proprietor of the Crozat Plantation B&B, plans to be in the cheering section when her friend Gaynell Bourgeois takes the stage with her band, Gaynell and the Gator Girls.
The festival's headliner, native daughter Tammy Barker, rocketed to stardom on a TV singing competition. She has the voice of an angel...and the personality of a devilish diva. But Maggie learns that this tiny terror carries a grudge against Gaynell. She's already sabotaged the Gator Girls' JazzFest audition. When a member of Tammy's entourage is murdered at the festival, Tammy makes sure Gaynell is number one on the suspect list.
Gaynell has plenty of company on that list--including every one of Tammy's musicians. Posing as a groupie, Maggie infiltrates Tammy's band and will have to hit all the right notes to clear her friend's name.

My Thoughts:  We are back in the bayou for the holiday that is second only to Mardi Gras - Jazz Fest.  I knew someone who went to LSU and they actually had a scheduled break just for Jazz Fest.  But this year Pelican, Louisiana is putting their toe in the water and having their very own music festival headlined by local girl made good - Tammy Barker.  Tammy is hardly the sweetness and light that she seems and she's almost immediately setting Maggie's teeth on edge by targeting Maggie's friend and Tammy's former highschool classmate, talented musician Gaynell.  This was quite a winding web of a mystery.  The first body to fall has lots of people who won't be shedding tears that he's gone and all the motives and finger pointing make for quite a mess that needs sorting out.  This was a fun mystery that kept me guessing to the end.  While Maggie's family does fade a bit into the background her group of friends makes up for it.   I had a few laugh out loud moments and thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Cajun country.  My Rating:  Really Liked It!

Top Ten Tuesday - Winter TBR

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is the Winter TBR.  I love making these TBR lists every season.  I very rarely read them all during the season but I like thinking about what I'd like to read!

1.  The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont - Agatha Christie is one of my absolute favorite authors and this book sounds interesting!

2.  An Impossible Imposter by Deanna Raybourn - The Veronica Speedwell series is one of my favorites and this has a super intriguing blurb.  

3.  Evil in Emerald by A.M. Stuart - I have really enjoyed the first two books in this historical mystery series set in Singapore so I can't wait to read this one!

4.  Cheddar Off Dead by Korina Moss - This is a new cozy series that takes place in a cheese shop.  What's not to love?

5.  Heiresses:  The Lives of Million Dollar Babies by Laura Thompson - I've read a little bit about the American heiresses who ended up marrying into the British aristocracy and really find their stories fascinating.

6.  Mrs. Pollifax on Safari by Dorothy Gilman - I love the Mrs. Pollifax series but kind of stalled out on reading them.  This is the next one and it sounds like a lot of fun!

7.  Anna, Where Are You? by Patricia Wentworth - I had hoped to read all the Miss Silver books this year but it turned out there are WAY more then I expected.  This is the next book and it's one I haven't read yet so I'm really looking forward to it.

8.  The Lions of Fifth Avenue Fiona Davis - This was high up on my TBR so I was thrilled when I found it in a used bookstore.  Now to actually get around to reading it.  

9.  The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell - I love the Mrs. Jeffries series and really want to go back and read the first book.

10.  Jell-O Girls: A Family History by Allie Rowbottom - I know just about nothing about this book but it's been on my TBR for ages and I picked it when I combined a random number generator with my TBR so I'm looking forward to reading it.

What are you hoping to read this winter?