A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot #8) by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckly. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo.

Poirot has taken a particular interest in the young woman who has recently narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.

Poirot and Hastings are on holiday in Cornwall when they meet a young lady (Nick Buckley), she ends up chatting with them and they discover that she seems to be leading a charmed life as various accidents have occurred recently which could have ended her life, Poirot suggests that she invites someone to stay with her, unfortunately the young lady (Nick's cousin Maggie) ends up shot dead on the night of some fireworks, it appears she was mistaken for Nick and now Hercule needs to put his little grey cells to work to stop another death.

Buried in a Bog (County Cork #1) by Sheila Connolly

Honoring the wish of her late grandmother, Maura Donovan visits the small Irish village where her Gran was born—though she never expected to get bogged down in a murder mystery. Nor had she planned to take a job in one of the local pubs, but she finds herself excited to get to know the people who knew her Gran.  

In the pub, she’s swamped with drink orders as everyone in town gathers to talk about the recent discovery of a nearly one-hundred-year-old body in a nearby bog. When Maura realizes she may know something about the dead man—and that the body’s connected to another, more recent, death—she fears she’s about to become mired in a homicide investigation. After she discovers the death is connected to another from almost a century earlier, Maura has a sinking feeling she may really be getting in over her head...

Maura Donovan is slightly adrift in the world, her dad died when she was young (and her mother had already upped and left) and so she had been brought up by her Grandmother who had left Ireland for America when Maura's father was young (after the death of Maura's Grandfather), the one thing that her Grandmother had asked of her was to go and visit the area where she came from in Ireland and so Maura finds herself in Leap, County Cork.  After visiting an old friend of her Gran's Maura finds herself with a car and driving back to leap she sees a body being taken out of the peat bogs by the Garda.  That night at the local pub it is crowded with people discussing the body and so Maura helps out behind the bar (and ends up being offered a temporary job whilst she is staying in the area!) and then there is a murder, and Maura finds herself in the thick of everything and finding out more about herself and Ireland than she thought possible.

Death of a Russian Doll (Vintage Toyshop Mystery #3) by Barbara Early

Who knew? Liz McCall is not thrilled when her boyfriend Police Chief Ken Young introduces her to his estranged wife Marya. The model-quality Russian immigrant, back in East Aurora to rekindle their romance, will be working as a hairstylist at the barber shop next door to Well Played, the toyshop Liz manages for her dad. When Marya offers to help with the shop’s doll rehab project, Liz can’t help but offer up only a weak smile, but her secret hesitations are for naught when Marya’s body is discovered in the barber shop with a hair dryer cord wrapped around her neck.

Liz’s dad, retired from the police force, is asked to investigate since Ken is the prime suspect.The whole town is abuzz with the scandal and Liz has a few questions of her own, wanting nothing more than to forget the loud argument she overheard between Marya and Ken the night before. There could have been other motives… Was Marya going to cut into a competing hairstylist business? Who is the bumbling private investigator hanging around and why won’t he explain himself?

All eyes are on Liz, including those of an odd matryoshka doll in the shop which seems to move of its own accord, to unravel this entertaining riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma that is Death of a Russian Doll, the third jolly Vintage Toy Shop mystery from Barbara Early.

Liz is not happy, just as things seemed to be going well with the Police Chief Ken Young (and by well that means romantically) his unknown, estranged wife arrives and it seems she wants to get back together with Ken, so romance is off again between them, so Liz tries to avoid the both of them, but it is tricky to avoid Marya as she not only works next door at the barber/hairdressers but she also has joined the team of ladies fixing up broken dolls, which will then be gifts for under privileged children.

Liz then overhears part of a humdinger of an argument between Ken and Marya, the problem that then arises is that Marya is found murdered and Ken is the prime suspect.  Liz doesn't believe he could have done it, but with Ken suspended pending the investigation and Hank (Liz's father) drafted back as Police Chief, Liz has a lot on her plate - oh and she hopes to pitch the  doll rehab charity to a local firm for backing, and ends up going out with the son (and current person in charge of the charity decisions), she also has been invited out by Mark (the FBI investigative accountant), could life get any more complicated ... well YES but you need to read it to find out how and why grin.

NB I was lucky enough to get an advance copy from NetGalley.

Honor Kills (Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries #3) by Nanci Rathbun

Six years ago, Marcy Wagner hired PI Angelina Bonaparte to find her missing husband Hank, who cleaned out their bank accounts and disappeared. Then Angie finds his obituary in an upstate newspaper. Marcy wants to know what why he abandoned her and the kids. Angie does, too!

She embarks on a mission that will blow the lid off Hank’s hidden life and reveal the reasons he ran. Was he a lowdown skunk? Or did he do the honorable thing when he left? Angie follows a twisted path to the truth and discovers that it lies perilously close to her own family life.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book - especially as I didn’t realise it was number three in the series, but I started to read and got engrossed, very engrossed! I will add that it does also work as a stand-alone as the characters are introduced to us during the course of the book.

Angie Boneparte (Bone-ah-part-eh) set up a private investigation business when her marriage ended (she got a new apartment, a fancy car, and let’s just say I have lingerie envy!), she and her intern (Bobbie) have an on-going case, a few years back a school teacher just up and left, emptied out the bank account and disappeared! When the police drew a blank as to where he ended up his wife (Marcy) engaged AB-Investigations and whilst nothing was found at the time Angie keeps going back to the case as something new may have cropped up, and it is something new that sets the story in motion.  

The action is slow to get going at first but then WHAM and there is no stopping it, this isn’t a cozy mystery but nor is it all blood and gore (thankfully - I am not so keen on those!), but what it is, is a riveting story and I now want to read the first two to find out how Angie got to where she is. If you enjoy a lightish murder mystery then read this - you (hopefully) won’t be disappointed.

 

NB - I was lucky enough to read an advance copy from NetGalley

Murder on the Toy Town Express (Vintage Toyshop Mystery #2) by Barbara Early

Liz McCall has come to love running her father's vintage toyshop back home in East Aurora, NY, so when the Train and Toy Show comes to town, she's all aboard for a fun toy-filled weekend. The only hitch is that her childhood bully Craig McFadden, now local business rival, has set up a booth next to hers. But the fun and games are over when Craig falls from the ceiling in a publicity stunt gone wrong.
What was initially thought to be a fatal accident proves much more sinister. Pulled into the case by her feelings for both Ken, the police chief, and Jack, her high school sweetheart whose brother is one the prime suspects, Liz dives headfirst into the investigation. But as she digs deeper, she's shocked to learn her father may have been the intended target.
The trouble train is barreling down and Liz may have just bought herself a first class ticket in Murder on the Toy Town Express, Barbara Early's delightful second installment in her Vintage Toyshop mysteries.

Liz and her father (Hank) are working a booth at the Train and Toy Show, she was looking forward to a good weekend when she realises that their booth is next to a comic book booth, and whilst this would not normally be a problem (in fact it could be beneficial for both shops) this comic book store and therefore the booth is run by Liz's childhood nemesis Craig.  Even this wouldn't have been too much of a problem but the head of security is saying the comic books are obscene (thereby upsetting Craig's assistant) but then Craig does a swan dive from the gantry onto a large display of a model train set up!

When he ends up dying in the hospital later and it is discovered that it wasn't of natural causes Liz finds herself looking into what happened, as it seems that he had been drugged, but it was Hank's coffee he had drunk so was Hank the intended victim?  Add in theft of some expensive comic books (with Jack's brother being a suspect in the theft) and Ken unable to investigate as he was there at one of the times when the coffee could have been doctored and Liz is finding that childhood dreams can turn into nightmares very quickly!

Death Overdue (The Haunted Library Mysteries #1) by Allison Brook

Carrie Singleton is just about done with Clover Ridge, Connecticut until she's offered a job as the head of programs and events at the spooky local library, complete with its own librarian ghost. Her first major event is a program presented by a retired homicide detective, Al Buckley, who claims he knows who murdered Laura Foster, a much-loved part-time library aide who was bludgeoned to death fifteen years earlier. As he invites members of the audience to share stories about Laura, he suddenly keels over and dies.

The medical examiner reveals that poison is what did him in and Carrie feels responsible for having surged forward with the program despite pushback from her director. Driven by guilt, Carrie's determined to discover who murdered the detective, convinced it's the same man who killed Laura all those years ago. Luckily for Carrie, she has a friendly, knowledgeable ghost by her side. But as she questions the shadows surrounding Laura's case, disturbing secrets come to light and with each step Carrie takes, she gets closer to ending up like Al.

Carrie Singleton is thinking about heading off from her home town of Clover Ridge when she is unexpectedly offered the post of Head of Programs and Events at the local library (a job she is qualified to do, much to the annoyance of the reference librarian who has no skills in that area but nonetheless thought the job should be hers!), at the prompting of a local ghost (actually a previous library aide who died at the library) she accepts the job, but tragedy strikes at her first event when the retired detective keels over and dies during his presentation, and although that would be bad enough it appears that someone at the event didn't want him re-opening the wounds of an old case which was never solved.  So Carrie, in order to save her reputation and the reputation of the Clover Ridge library, starts digging around the old case of the death of Laura Foster and this new case of the death of Al Buckley.  

She needs to keep on her toes though or she will end up being checked out of the library system, permanently! 

Death by Espresso (Bookstore Cafe Mystery #6) by Alex Erickson

Krissy is meeting Vicki's parents at the Pine Hills, Ohio, airport--it's the least she can do as maid of honor, even if her relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Patterson is a bit strained. Besides, her own dad is coming in on the same flight. But there are a few additional arrivals, too. Her father's brought a date--and the Pattersons, both actors, seem to have an entire entourage trailing behind them.

Uninvited guests are a headache--especially when one turns out to be, allegedly at least, the most important wedding planner in all the world. Though Vicki and Krissy have already made arrangements for a small, simple party, Vicki's snobby drama queen mother has her own ideas. Cathy the wedding planner is raring to go, possibly energized by the chocolate-covered espresso beans she compulsively munches. But while the caffeine keeps her awake, it doesn't keep her alive--and after Cathy chokes on an espresso bean after being hit in the head, Krissy has to find out who ended her supposedly stellar career . .

Vicki and Mason are tying the knot in a weeks time and so her parents (and Krissy's father and his girlfriend Laura) are flying in ready for the wedding.  Krissy has gone to meet them all and is rather surprised that there are a few extra people that weren't expected, one of which is a wedding planner (apparently the wedding planner of all wedding planners), so Krissy lets Vicki know.  Vicki and Mason had planned (and arranged) a nice simple church wedding and then back to the bookstore for the rest of the celebrations, Vicki's mother (and Cathy the wedding planner) have different and much grander ideas.  At this rate the wedding will be called off (which would please Mason's father no end as he has picked some one else for Mason to marry!), but no one expects all the plans to be derailed by the death of Cathy and Mason being pointed at as the probable killer.  

To save her friends wedding and sanity Krissy starts hunting for clues again ... just another day in Pine Hills!

Death by Eggnog (Bookstore Cafe Mystery #5) by Alex Erickson

Krissy Hancock is staying in her adopted hometown of Pine Hills, Ohio, for Christmas this year—and she even has a whole week off from her combination bookstore-café. But a killer is about to dampen her spirits . . .
 
Unfortunately, Krissy’s been roped into filling in for a sick elf in the local holiday musical extravaganza. With a demanding director, backstage gossip, and two men in fierce competition for the starring role, it isn’t all sweetness and Christmas lights. Then a murder puts a stop to the production, and Krissy is faced with a pageant of suspects.
 
Could her ex-boyfriend, a fellow elf, really be the culprit as the police are claiming? Or will the actor playing Santa be trading his red suit for an orange jumpsuit? When her behind-the-scenes investigation starts getting dangerous, the only thing Krissy really wants is to make it to Christmas dinner alive. But first she’ll have to finish wrapping up this case . . .

Krissy was all ready to hop on a plane to go and stay with her father for Christmas when he phones and explains that he is planning on heading to Europe for Christmas with his girlfriend, whilst she is disappointed not to be going to see him - she is happy that he is finally back in the dating game post the death of Krissy's mum. This does mean as well that she should be able to spend some quality time with Will (her boyfriend) as they don't seem to be getting together as much these days.

She is just enjoying a relaxing coffee at work when Rita (a friend of a kind, and one of the town's main gossips!) come hurrying in and tells Krissy that she is needed to fill the role of an elf in the Christmas show as someone has dropped out due to illness! When she gets to the theatre she realises that the director is overly demanding, her ex (Robert) is playing the part of another elf and his newest girlfriend is playing Mrs Claus, unfortunately the man playing Santa is a total letch but that doesn't seem a good reason for him to wind up dead .... oh and Krissy saw Robert slipping out just before Santa's body was found and he is now the prime suspect.

Krissy needs to doff her elf hat and don her deerstalker to keep Robert out of jail and save the Christmas play ... no problem!

Death of a Toy Soldier: A Vintage Toyshop Mystery (Vintage Toyshop Mystery #1) by Barbara Early

Liz McCall grew up in a playful winter wonderland but it was never her dream to manage her father’s vintage toyshop. However, after he sank his entire police pension into the business, someone needed to help him turn his dreams into reality—and keep him from sneaking off to patrol the not-so-mean streets of East Aurora, NY.

The mood goes from nice to naughty when a nervous man, who was trying to have his antique toys appraised, is found in the shop with a lawn dart through his chest. Suddenly, Liz’s business plan is plunged into deep freeze, while she and her father find themselves toying with a cold-blooded killer who’s playing for keeps.

Now, it looks like Christmas might be cancelled for the neighborhood kids if Liz can't wrap up the case in Barbara Early's delightful debut Death of a Toy Soldier.

Liz McCall's father used to be the Chief of Police for Aurora and East Aurora, NY, but all that came to an end when he was shot in the line of duty.  Liz had come back to look after him but also ended up helping out at the vintage toyshop he decided to buy with his disability payment and police pension! Everything is ticking along nicely (apart from the fact that every so often the ex-Chief heads off to fight crime again - luckily the new Chief of Police is reasonably understanding), until someone comes in with some vintage tin toys to get valued, and then a few days later his is found dead in the toy shop, with a lawn dart in his chest and Hank McCall has concussion and memory loss, but seeing as they were the only two in the shop at the time it seems as though Hank could be suspect #1.  Liz knows her father couldn't have done this so she starts digging, revisiting an old boyfriend along the way and getting in touch with the Paranormal - who says life should be boring?

Devonshire Scream (A Tea Shop Mystery #17) by Laura Childs

Catering a high-class trunk show at Heart's Desire Jewelry is a shining achievement for Theodosia and the Indigo Tea Shop. After all, a slew of jewelers, museums, and private collectors will be there to showcase their wares and sip some of Theo's best blends. But just as Theo settles in to enjoy the fruits of her labor, the party is crashed by a gang of masked muggers who rob the precious gems and jewels on display. The thieves disappear almost as quickly as they arrived, leaving shattered glass, scattered gemstones, and a dead body in their wake.

Although the last thing Theo wants is to get involved, she can't help but intercede when her dear friend Brooke, aunt of the victim and owner of Heart's Desire, begs for help in figuring out who committed the brutal burglary. Though the FBI believes this daring "smash and grab" is the work of an international gang of jewel thieves, Theo is convinced that the felon is someone much closer to home...

This book begins with a bang, quite literally! Theodosia and Haley are at Heart's Desire (the upscale jewelry shop owned by Theo's friend Brooke) and whilst they are dishing out tea and nibbles to the discerning people looking at the various displays, their life is turned upside down when a Hummer crashes through the window and a group of people wearing masks jump out, set off smoke bombs and take pretty much everything! That would have been bad enough for Brooke (and all her guests) but tragedy strikes as Brooke's niece, Kaitlin, is found with a jagged piece of glass through her throat, and now not only do we have a smash and grab but manslaughter (if not murder) mixed in as well.

With Detective Tidwell on the case for the Charleston PD and two FBI agents as well (it appears this follows the same pattern as other raids throughout the Americas and abroad as well) Theo also puts her sleuthing hat back on so she can help Brooke come to terms with what happened.  At that point the roller coaster builds up momentum and we have a wonderful (and occasionally scary) ride to the end!