For a while I had been kind of missing out on reading. Life seemed to be screaming by me with no time for anything I simply enjoy. Because of this I am refocusing on one of the things that truly brings me joy...reading. Reading provides an escape that books simply do not offer me. I love becoming completely submerged in a story.
Last week I began to read "Missing Mabel" by Nancy Mehl. This book was lent to me by a fellow book lover, because she knows how much I enjoy Cozy Mysteries.
Title: Missing Mabel
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
About the Author (from Goodreads):
Nancy Mehl lives in Wichita,
Kansas with her husband, Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson.
First published in 2001, she has now authored nine books, including an
omnibus mystery collection, Cozy in Kansas, which contains three of her
previously published Ivy Towers mysteries. Book three in the series, For
Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls, won the American Christian Fiction Writers
Mystery Book of the Year award. Nancys main writing interests lie in
mystery although her new Harmony Series leans more toward the romantic
suspense genre. Nancy runs a HUD program for the city of Wichita and is
president of a volunteer organization, Wichita Homebound Outreach. She
is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Kansas Authors
Club. You can find out more about Nancy by visiting her Web site at: www.nancymehl.com
About the Book (From Goodreads):
Watch the tangled mess a
Kansas hairdresser gets herself into when she reports to the funeral
home that the body she is to work on is not the same as in her reference
photo. Is she being punished when the director accuses her of stealing a
diamond ring? Will Hilde Higgins’s former boyfriend help her unravel
the issue or only bring more trouble to her life?
My Review:
"Missing Mabel" is the first in the "Hometown Mysteries" and "Curl Up and Dye Mysteries" by Barbour Books. I was immediately drawn to the story because of my appreciation for the author as well as the publisher. Both have proven themselves when it comes to a good cozy mystery.
Hilde is the perfect heroine for a cozy. She is flawed but has just enough going for her to not appear to be a gigantic loser. Hilde is following a personal passion and ministry which involves being a hair stylist to the deceased. Having an aunt who actually did this for a time being early on in her own career as a hair stylist caused me to be further drawn in, yet also freaked out. As dear as Hilde explains it, I could still not do it.
The community involved in the story is remarkable. I immediately enjoyed the individuals in Hilde's circle from her landlady, Mrs. Hudson and other tenants in the boarding house to her neighbor across the way named Gabe. They each have their own quirks and oddities which adds a sweet interest into the background and foreground of Hilde's story.
Hilde herself is a bit of an eccentric and of course what more could you expect from a woman who makes a living doing the hair of the dead. She finds herself in several minor scrapes and of course the major scrape of realizing that her deceased client is not whom the funeral home believes she is. Are they trying to pull one over on the family? Is someone trying to pull one over on the funeral home? Hilde is not aware of who is doing what, but her own conscience and professionalism require her to say something. Her own love of mystery and the belief of doing what is right keeps her searching out the answers while also finding new questions along the way in her own life.
There is a faith-based component also to this mystery that I enjoyed. Hilde is a Christian and because she is, her faith becomes an important aspect of the book. Being a Christian, I can completely relate. My faith is an important part of my life as well. Hilde's faith is played out best in her love for others, and her love for her friends. She doesn't hide it from her friends but they do know where she stands.
Missing Mabel is the exact escape read I enjoy. The characters are engaging, the heroine is someone I relate to and would hang out with, and it takes place in a town that surprisingly I'd want to visit. Mehl makes Kansas sound like an absolute delight (what can I say, I love small towns). I am delighted to know that I can enjoy another book in this mystery series "Blown Away." I can't wait to get my hands on it.
PS The main character, Hilde loves SPAM the food product. Guess what? So do I. Well fried SPAM anyway. There is a recipe in the book, I just might try it. :)
Murder of a Cat's Meow
By Denise Swanson
Summary from Goodreads:
When ex–Vegas showgirl
and local business owner Bunny Reid starts an online dating service
called Cupid’s Cat’s Meow, out-of-town visitors flock to her bowling
alley for the speed dating and cat show events that she hosts to bring
in extra cash. Bunny’s scheme sounds harmless enough, but school
psychologist Skye Denison knows all too well that an influx of strangers
in Scumble River always spells trouble….
Meanwhile, Skye is
convinced that her house is haunted and is afraid her fiancé, police
chief Wally Boyd, won’t move in until the ghost moves out. But
ghost-hunting takes a back seat when Skye is called to the bowling
alley, where a riled up contestant is choking a cat show judge for
insulting his feline. Skye breaks up the scuffle, but the next morning
the judge’s dead body is found, strangled with a cat toy. Now Skye must
solve this purrplexing mystery—and show a devious killer that her sleuthing skills are the cat’s meow.
My Review:
QUICK CAPTURE: I hope Denise Swanson keeps writing this series. It is definitely a favorite of mine and even if there are a few things I do not like, I would hate to see it go.
Murder of a Cat's Meow is the 15th book in the Scumble River Mysteries (and the 17th story as there are two novellas). The Scumble River Mysteries focus on the town of Scumble River Illinois and school psychologist/police psychological consultant Skye Dennison. This small farming community is continually the hub of some wacky goings on, but it is always done in a way that is fresh. I have yet to read and think "Again?" I came to this series a couple of years ago, and I really have enjoyed each and every one although some more than others.
Skye has been asked to help out Bunny as she hosts a special cat show and matchmaking weekend at the bowling alley Bunny manages for her son Simon (Skye's ex boyfriend). As often happens when Skye is involved, a murder happens, and Skye finds the body. The fact that the victim was an antagonistic self-centered witch made this murder not a major shock. Finding the killer however will be difficult, because anyone with the kind of track record the victim has is bound to have plenty of enemies. The police force will have a rough time with this one.
I'll be honest, as much as I still enjoyed being engulfed by Skye's story and the town, there were a few times when I forgot what murder was even being investigated. It became ultra secondary to Skye's wedding planning and her relationship with her fiance the police chief and her trying to figure out how to unhaunt her home. I'll be honest, if there is a ghost, I hope it doesn't leave, because I don't enjoy Skye and Wally's sex scenes any more than the ghost does. Now I am not saying this because I am a prude. I am saying this because a sex life was really sooooo very in the background of the first several books in the series. Now if Skye and Wally are alone...it is like they are a couple of teenagers (though not as bad in this book as it has been). It is distracting and decidedly not hot. If I wanted to read a mystery with sex in it, I wouldn't be reading a cozy mystery. I am glad that at least this time I didn't have to read about how Skye wonders how Wally keeps his year round tan as he gets undressed.
Here is what I enjoyed: I love Scumble River and its quirky characters. I love Bunny and how off the wall she is. I like that Skye has a hungry grumpy cat and that she is tight with her family. I like that her dad is a farmer and her mom works at the police station as a dispatcher and dresses up her lawn goose. I like that even though Skye always finds a body, it is a fresh murder and not the same old thing happening again. Keeping things fresh after so many stories is probably not easy. Denise Swanson is really good at keeping a story moving and creating characters with humor and believability. There are only a few here and there that make you scratch your head and ask why?
Here is what I did not enjoy: I don't like Wally and Skye together. Maybe it is because I connected with her first relationship in the book and I never thought her breakup with Simon was a good one (she thought he was cheating on her, he wasn't), and I didn't like how quickly she leaped into a relationship with Wally. Their relationship seemed good to me. I liked that it wasn't perfect. I liked that Simon was attached to some rather quirky souls himself like his ex-Vegas dancer mom. Wally's dad is an oil tycoon and they have family issues because he apparently doesn't want anything to do with that life and wants to be a cop. Admirable. But suddenly Wally sure is tossing around the money. For a guy who wants a simple life, since he has hooked up with Skye, money really seems more of an issue. The guy buys her very expensive items including a 2 carat Tiffany engagement ring. How is he doing this on a small town police chief's salary? That is like over 25,000 big ones! As much as I like that Skye is growing and changing and heading toward the altar. I think her and Wally dull the character down. Lastly, do police psych consultants seriously go to almost every suspect interview. It is as if Wally can't be alone without Skye and her twinsets (if you read the series you'll know what I mean).
All in all though, I really do enjoy this series a great deal. It is because I like it so much these things get to me. It is because I have really grown to care for these characters and this town. That in and of itself really is a mark of a good series.
I gave this book four stars.
Needled to Death
By Maggie Seftgon
Summary from Goodreads:
Taking a troop of
tourists to Vickie Claymore's alpaca farm doesn't earn knitter Kelly
Flynn a warm welcome. Instead she finds Vickie splayed out on her
original hand-woven rug, her blood seeping into the design.
My Review:
QUICK CAPTURE - Not for me but that doesn't mean it isn't for you.
Have you ever tired of forcing yourself to read a
book? I have held so many books on hold because I was trying to finish
this book. I finally had to stop reading and finish by skim-reading. I
usually race through a book, and I have had to put all my other reading
list on hold because I couldn't slog through this one.
Some
books just seem to deviate so dramatically from reality that you get a
bit annoyed. I thought the first book in the series was okay for the
most part though there were plenty of things I really disliked like the
main character and her snippy attitude, her over fondness for coffee,
instantaneous friendships, yarn groping and every single lady (and I
mean single as in not married so supporting herself) having gobs of time
to spend knitting at the local yarn etc. type of shop. A friend who
loves cozies had lent me the first two books in the series so I had
every intention on seeing where the series would go.
I stopped now a little more than halfway through the story and skim-read the rest of the way. I could not take another minute of Kelly & company at her deceased aunt's deceased cousin's place. Having Kelly be the only living relative of not one but both ladies just seemed beyond far fetched. The cousin was married to an abusive rancher whom she left but never divorced. The rancher apparently finally dies off and the estate is now Kelly's. Really? So we are supposed to believe that he also had no family? And this second third or whatever cousin had no one on any other side of her family, but Kelly's aunt? Why does this bug me? Because it took me out of the story. By the time we traipse through this relative's place, I couldn't even remember what the mystery is anymore.
This Montana ranch of 300 acres is not only home to apparently loads of cattle but also conveniently sheep and alpaca. The sheep I get. Cattle and sheep graze on different plants typically, but the alpaca? Really? It seems awfully convenient considering that our most recent murder victim also raised alpaca. I found it hard to believe that this 70-somthing-year-old rancher would now also be an alpaca breeder.
Finally, I gave up as Kelly's buds were discovering antiques on this relative's property. Frankly, I just didn't want to stick around for the oil, silver mine or Hope diamond to pop up. My suspension of belief had sailed so solidly out the window that I could not continue. Everything seems just so wildly convenient for Kelly. I rolled my eyes so many times while reading this book, I simply had to finally give myself permission to stop reading seriously and just get through the book. So feeling I had invested enough time, I skimmed from page 140 to the end.
I read for enjoyment and to learn things. Neither was happening with this book, and when you pick up a book and just keep getting annoyed, you got to let it go. I am bummed, I really did want to like it.
I do want to say that lots of people did like it. Those who did really did, and those who didn't really didn't. It could still be the book for you.
Knit One, Kill Two
By Maggie Sefton
Summary from Goodreads: Kelly Flynn never picked
up a pair of knitting needles she liked—until she strolled into House
of Lambspun. Now, in the first in a brand-new series, she learns how to
knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind her aunt's murder.
My review: Kelly Flynn has returned to Colorado upon the death of her aunt Helen. Kelly originally plans to settle affairs after her aunt was murdered in a robbery. Kelly sticks around when she decides that the police simply could not have the right guy and when she finds that she has quite a few more issues to take care of when it comes to her aunt's estate. Kelly's aunt lived in a cottage across the street from her former farm house. That farmhouse now houses a knitting shop and cafe. Helen apparently spent a lot of time at this knitter's paradise, and made great friends with many of the frequent patrons. These friends quickly befriend Kelly, and support her as she tries to find out who killed her aunt.
I liked the setting of the story. The knit shop sounded like a dream to go to if you were into knitting. The author described it so well, it was definitely like you were there. The whole area was described beautifully. I like small-town cozy mysteries, and I really wanted to like this one. To be honest though, things kept pulling me out of the story. I haven't had something like this happen before to such a degree. So I hope I don't sound nitpicky.
1 - The cafe in the old farm house has a cook who apparently makes a great coffee. It is so great that it is named again and again and again. It was so tiring reading about Eduardo's aromatic brew in various different ways. It pulled me out of the story time and time again because it was so annoying.
2 - The knitting shop - Kelly spends a lot of time at the knitting shop and makes fast (I mean FAST) friends with some of the other women. They are all youngish probably mid to late 20s with full time jobs yet have endless time to always be at the knitting shop. The friendships all seem a little too familiar for such a short time too. I could understand the author rushing the friendships. I just wish she maybe went with one and kind of moved the circle wider as the series moves. It was the crazy flexible schedules that were weird to me and overly distracting.
3 - I hated that Kelly was obnoxious to this dude Steve simply because he looked similar to an ex of hers. She continually scowls about him and grouses which is the oldest recipe in the book for romance novels. Girl meets boy, girl hates boy, boy teases girl, and they fall in love. It hasn't yet, but it is already obvious. When a woman in the real world acts as obnoxious as Kelly does to a guy who is so obviously nice, any guy with half a brain would have no interest in her because they were see her as a witchy crab.
4 - Kelly's aunt was her last living relative. Supposedly like a mom to her. Yet from the description, she would have to be in her late 60s close to 70. I couldn't figure out if Helen was a great aunt or much older sibling to her dad. Either way, it distracted the heck out of me. Why? Because Kelly would talk to people who knew her aunt when she was much younger. If her father and her aunt were siblings you'd think she would mention her dad to these people. If not, you'd think she would mention her grandpa who would be the sibling (since Helen had the same last name as Kelly). Either way, the familial ties were so unclear, I kept wondering about this and loping right out of the read.
I'm going to stop there. I don't want to cover everything that bugged me. It was a good effort and just the start of a series. A friend lent me the first two books in the series, and I have already started the second. My hope is that the things the distracted me in the first book will be resolved in the second. I look forward to seeing how things work out.
