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The Green Mill Murder –witty, sexy, intrepid private eye
The Green Mill Murder
by Kerry Greenwood
I am delighted to belatedly discover that Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries were novels before they were films. Usually I find that in such cases the book is better than the movie. This is true in The Green Mill Murder which is the fifth in the series by this prolific, award winning Australian author. I should add, however, that I have very much enjoyed the films and having seen them added to my ability to visualize the setting and beautiful dresses and accessories that the heroine, Phryne Fisher, wears.
Phryne Fisher is quite a character. She is rich, but down to earth. She shares her wealth and offers personal help to those in need. Her morals are outrageous (in the 1920’s); and although she is clearly a lady, she never lets her gender limit her actions.
The Green Mill Murder has a basic mystery: a man is killed by unknown means in a dance hall during the waning hours of a dance marathon in plain sight. Phryne is there and so is able to help the detective Jack with his investigation. In the process, several more mysteries arise, which include issues of a missing husband, blackmail, and inheritance.
I so enjoyed this mystery starring a witty private investigator who can conceal a flask or a small gun as needed in a sexy outfit one day and fly a Gipsy Moth the next. The Australian English (e.g. collywobbles) and the 1920’s laws and customs add to the interest.
Phryne’s independence is exhilarating, and I look forward to more of her adventures. Greenwood says she will keep writing Miss Fisher mysteries as long as readers want more. Currently there are twenty mysteries in this series, thirteen of which have been made into movies for television.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery & Thrillers
Notes: There were various earlier publications of this book
Publication of Current Edition: February 7, 2017–Poisoned Pen Press
Memorable Lines:
“She enjoys bad health, Dot. the woman hasn’t been well since 1915, and she’s as strong as a horse.”
Vic had been delightful, but he and his surroundings were a passion to be indulged in sparingly, like absinthe, which sooner or later sent the drinker mad.
“Oh, how clean I am and how lovely hot water is! Great invention. No wonder the Romans ruled the world.”
Head for Mexico: The Renegade Guide–expect the unexpected!
Head for Mexico: The Renegade Guide
by Don Adams
I picked this book up in the second hand book room at the Lake Chapala Society Library for a few pesos. This is an informative book written with a sense of humor. Don Adams doesn’t take himself too seriously, and he doesn’t want you to take yourself too seriously either. He has organized the book well so that you can enjoy it in its entirety or you can pick and choose sections as needed. I already live in Mexico, so my perspective was one of comparing my experiences with his. Although he has spent a lot of time in the Lake Chapala area (home of MANY expats from the U.S. and Canada), he also has lived in many other parts of Mexico. Just like other countries, there is no ONE Mexico, but Adams accurately offers up a taste of cultural differences South of the Border with respect for the kind and generous people here. Unlike his Internet references which are about 14 years old, the people of Mexico have not changed much since he wrote the book. I found it to be an accurate portrayal of life in Mexico where one should always expect the unexpected.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Travel, Nonfiction (Adult)
Notes: Some government information and Internet references are dated, but it still stands as a good resource for someone thinking about moving to Mexico.
Publication: August 11, 2003–Trafford Publishing
Memorable Lines:
Here’s typical (and accurate) advice from Don Adams to give you a flavor of the book: “And a lot of folks caution against driving at night. Actually, nobody in their right mind would even want to consider this. Usually it’s just me and the truckers flying through the dark, although you’ll usually find a pretty active level of traffic on the autopistas connecting the major cities.”
My Not So Perfect Life–is your life as perfect as your social media says it is?
My Not So Perfect Life
by Sophie Kinsella
Having read most of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series as well as several other books by this best selling author, I looked forward to a work of chick lit that is neither trite nor cliché. I was rewarded with a story that contrasts the glamour of London with the authenticity of rural Somerset. It presents characters with depth who react to their experiences with change and growth.
The first setting is a branding/advertising agency in London where difficult work relationships take center stage, as well as survival in a very expensive city. The second is a sheep farm that reinvents itself as a glamping (glamour camping) center. The main character, known as Cat in London and Katie on the family farm, tries to survive by straddling two worlds. Katie’s complicated home life leads her to lie about her “perfect” London life, creating unintended consequences. Complications don’t end there, however, as one already difficult boss seems to suffer from mental issues and another sets off romantic fireworks.
I know a book is good when I repeatedly succumb to the temptation of glancing at the opening paragraph of the next chapter. Once I have gotten that far, it is hard to put the book aside, and so it happens again and again. My Not So Perfect Life keeps luring the reader back just like that. As I read, I initially thought I could see a direct path to a happy ending, but Kinsella has lots of surprises in store before the tale reaches its conclusion.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Random House (Dial Press) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (Adult)
Notes: moderate profanity (including some specific to British English)
Publication: February 7, 2017–Random House (Dial Press)
Memorable Lines:
It’s amazing how an otherwise intelligent person can become a credulous fool as soon as you mention the words “organic,” “authentic,” and “Gwyneth Paltrow.”
“Every promotion requires you to do less of the thing you originally wanted to do.”
“Whoever started the rumor that life has to be perfect is a very wicked person, if you ask me. Of course it’s not!”
The Impossible Fortress–1987 from a teenage perspective
The Impossible Fortress
by Jason Rekulak
Here’s a novel that will take you back to 1987 complete with 14 year old computer nerd Billy Marvin who is currently failing ninth grade and his equally awkward sidekicks Alf and Clark. Outcasts from all the requisite cliques at their high school, they devise a plan to not only obtain a copy of the coveted Vanna White issue of Playboy, but also profit from the the object of their desires.
By the end of The Impossible Fortress, you really know Billy and the even more digitally talented Mary, and you have laughed and cringed your way through many early teen escapades. The pair programs on TRS-80 computers and the Commodore 64. Appropriate touches of the 80’s are sprinkled throughout the book–mention of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Christie Brinkley, the must have Bugle Boy pants, and Mark Cerny who started working for Atari at age 17. More than a nostalgic look at the 80’s, we explore the tough times of kids working their way through the difficult teen years. There are times when you hold your breath. times when you laugh, and moments of suspense. This is a book you will be glad you read.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction (Adult)
Notes: This book abounds with male teenage profanity
Publication: February 7, 2017–Simon & Schuster
Memorable Lines:
The first step was easy. But the second step, the step where I fully removed myself from the roof–that was commitment. The wood trembled beneath my weight, quivering like the edge of a diving board. I made the mistake of looking down, but there was nothing to see–no alley, just a vast black gulf, a bottomless sinkhole.
“Imagine a computer not bigger than a candy bar!” he exclaimed, and we laughed at the absurdity of his predictions; they were all straight out of The Jetsons.
A Gathering in Hope–humorous tale
A Gathering in Hope
by Philip Gulley
Pastor and author Philip Gulley captured my heart in the 1990’s with his Front Porch Tales. Later he drew in many readers with his series about a small town in Indiana called Harmony where pastor Sam Gardner leads a Quaker congregation. Quite the storyteller, Gulley takes Pastor Sam to a new quirky Quaker group in the little town of Hope where the members of the fellowship are in conflict with each other as they discover that money bestowed on the group by a member who has passed away can be a burden as well as a blessing.
As Pastor Sam tries to mediate at committee meetings and deal with local endangered species issues, we find that he is anything but perfect. He is trying to lead by following in Jesus’ footsteps, but he is human. He wishes he could “fire” certain members of his congregation. He would prefer to be at home with his wife rather than attend yet another interminable committee meeting. Like every other human, he sometimes regrets things he has said.
In A Gathering in Hope, Gulley has created another fun tale with eccentric characters, an interesting plot, and lots of good humor. Come for a visit with Paster Sam in Hope and you’re guaranteed a great time.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Center Street for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Humor, General Fiction (Adult)
Publication: Center Street–September 6, 2016
Memorable Lines:
“He’s better now, but it was touch and go for a while. He went through withdrawal. You can’t eat five packages of Peeps a day for thirty years and then quit cold turkey.”
If they spent a half hour discussing paper towels, building a new fellowship hall would take decades. Jesus would return before the first nail had been driven.
He seemed a little crazy, a half bubble off center.
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