When the ZBS Foundation sent us Dinotopia to listen to (see earlier review), they also sent the sequel: Dinotopia: The World Beneath. This story continues the adventures of Arthur and Will on the island of Dinotopia. In this installment, they are seeking caves with gemstones of power in them. There is mystery and adventure and a few new characters.

Like the first story, my children loved listening to this and asked for it daily. It is an “audio adventure” with a full cast and sound effects, which makes the dinosaurs come to life! We loved it. The story kept our attention (though at some points I felt the dialogue went very quickly).  Listening to these audiobooks made my children want to find the picture book at our local library — the ultimate compliment!

I give these CD’s 5 Stars! And thank you again to the ZBS Foundation for sending them to us!

The last “birthday book” that I bought and read in April was The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley. It is the next book in the series he writes about the unstoppable child genius, Flavia de Luce, who lives in her family’s crumbling English estate in the 1950’s. I had loved his first novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, which I read and reviewed last year, and was greatly looking forward to this one, too!

In this story, Flavia befriends a travelling puppet show host and his girlfriend. She suspects that their lives are more complicated than they first appear. When the lead man ends up electrocuted during the finale of the puppet show, Flavia believes it’s murder and seeks to find the guilty party.

As I’ve already said, I loved the first book about Flavia so much that I could hardly wait to read this one. I think that Bradley’s portrayal of character is so strong and his books are peopled with memorable and unique individuals. This book continued that, with Flavia and her sisters, her absent-minded father, strong-willed aunt, and beloved household help. However, the story did not work for me this time. What follows are some SPOILERS – so please skip to the final paragraph if you don’t want to read them!

First of all, I had some difficulty with the whole murder scene in trying to picture it accurately to understand how the murder occurred. Then I found I had to “reach” to find some things believable — namely how the murderer just happened to come across the murder weapon (bicycle clip) on the floor and decided to use it to commit an intricate murder, how the police kept missing things, how Flavia – genius at chemistry though she is – concocted a quick antidote to the poison using pigeon poo, but most of all: how the adult murderer was running around dressed in the clothes and shoes of a five-year-old. That was just beyond the stretch of my imagination and it made me feel that the plot was contrived.

Bradley’s characters are so wonderful, and he’s at work on his next installment in this series, so I hope that one doesn’t disappoint me in terms of plot and the intricacies of the crime.

If you know me, you know I love the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. My husband surprised me with the latest one for my birthday in April (I didn’t know it was out yet – I must have been sleeping on the job around here!).

The Double Comfort Safari Club continues the story of Precious Ramotswe and her assistant detective Grace Makutsi in their adventures in solving crime and dilemmas in Botswana. In this installment (#12 in the series,) Grace’s fiancée, Phuti, has suffered a serious accident and is being cared for by his overbearing and overprotective aunt. Precious is trying to find a safari guide who is the beneficiary of a wealthy American woman’s bequest, while dealing with a couple who both think the other is cheating on them. The familiar faces are all present – such the apprentices, Mr. J L B Matekoni, and even Grace’s nemesis, Violet.

I just love this series. I’ve read them all – in order – but I think you could read one on its own if you so chose (they do refer to earlier instances within the novels). I love the language of the characters, the setting, and the fact that I never seem to get tired of reading about these people. HBO had a run of some of these stories (which I rented from Netflix as I don’t have HBO) and I thought it was so well done; I’m sorry that at the moment they don’t seem to be continuing with the series.

Regardless, I highly recommend the books for people who want a light and positive read.

I give this series 5 Stars!

Well – once again I’m behind on my blogging – this time because I’ve been READING! I have three reviews coming up in the next few days for you.

For starters, I read The Shadow of your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark – a birthday book for me. I think I’ve mentioned before that I like a quick and easy read from her and that I’ve read all her books. I tend to buy them as there is usually 350 people ahead of me on the library waiting list. I picked this one up at Border’s in the new releases. This story centers on Monica Farrell – a pediatrician in NYC – whose patient has been cured of an incurable brain tumor and who is asked to testify in the Catholic Church’s investigation of possibly sainthood for a deceased nun to whom the family prayed. Monica has links to the nun, Sister Catherine, and she has no idea – but a relative seeks  to tell her, and is murdered. Add into the plot some unscrupulous businessmen, a lot of greedy people out for themselves, two star-crossed lovers, a former stalker, a hit man, a “good guy”, and your average hard-working detective, and you have a typical MHC plot.

Now I have to say – I generally enjoy these books and sit down and read them cover to cover. This one took me 4 or 5 days as I just couldn’t get overly motivated to continue reading it. Not sure why — perhaps because there were so many characters that I had trouble keeping track of them? Or maybe because the killers acted in real time so I wasn’t busy figuring out who was bad and who was good as much as I usually am in her books? Or perhaps because the whole thing seemed a bit far-fetched? Whatever the case – this wasn’t my favorite MHC – but it was a fun read.

If you’re a fan, I suggest you pick it up — (but I’d say at the library).

I give it 3 1/2 Stars.

I’m not sure what happened yesterday, but several of my older posts ended up as new posts in Google Reader (but not on Facebook). I had been re-reading some older things and must have hit some buttons! My apologies for any confusion!!

http://joyfullyretired.com/2010/04/26/all-things-alcott-challenge/comment-page-1/#comment-9525

I am so excited to see this All Things Alcott Challenge from Margot at Joyfully Retired, and of course I signed up for it!

Well, it was my birthday last week, so I’ve gotten some new books to read!

1. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith – the latest in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Books

2. The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark (my fun read!)

3. The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley – sequel to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie which I loved!

4. New York – the latest tome by Edward Rutherford (880 pages!).

Happy Reading!

One thing that gives me great pleasure as a reader is when I stumble upon a new series author that I love. A week ago I was browsing my local library for cozies to read for the challenge I’m doing (www.cozymysterychallenge.blogspot.com) and came across “Royal Flush” by Rhys Bowen. It seems that Bowen writes different series of cozies and this one centers on Lady Georgiana, cousin to the King and known to her friends as just “Georgie”, 34th in line to the throne and somewhat penniless (though still with a lot of class!). She lives in England in the 1930’s. Mystery and intrigue seem to come her way. In this third installment of the series, Georgie is sent to her family’s castle, Castle Raddoch, near Balmoral in Scotland, to watch over the visiting Prince and his friends, and with the hopes of discouraging the infamous Mrs. Simpson. Unfortunately, murder follows Georgie to the Highlands and her “vacation” home turns nightmarish!

I really enjoyed this novel. I love when historical novels use real people mixed with fictitious ones, and this is just what this series does. Lady Georgie is a strong female, but not painted as “perfect in every way”. Some parts of this story had me laughing out loud, and the mystery kept me guessing until the end.

I can’t wait to read more from Rhys Bowen. I’d give this story 4 1/2 Stars!

Since I loved Chiaverini’s “The Lost Quilter” so much, I grabbed “The Quilter’s Homecoming” from the library. It did not disappoint!

This novel tells the story of Elizabeth and Henry Nelson – newlyweds who leave their Pennsylvania home and family to start a new life on a farm they have purchased in Southern California in the 1920’s. Unfortunately, once they arrive in CA, they realize that they have been scammed and there is no farm to purchase. Their money is gone and they are reduced to working as farm hands and house help on the ranch that they thought was going to be theirs. Living in a tiny cabin, Elizabeth tries to make the best of their situation. She finds two old quilts and repairs them, then realizes that they have a story to tell of  another couple’s lost love and another family who also lost their land.

This was a great piece of historical fiction. I loved it! It kept me interested and reading to the very end. There was a bit of a mystery in it, plus lots of interesting characters. I would recommend it to those who like Chiaverini’s books. (I also appreciate that you don’t really need to read her books in order. Only a few of them go together chronologically).

I would give this novel 4 Stars!

Those of you who know me know I love, love, love the Hamish MacBeth mysteries, so I was thrilled to see a *new* one on the shelf at the library. “Death of a Valentine” centers on Hamish and his new partner, Josie McSween, trying to solve the murder of a local beauty queen (who is much less pure than she appears). As Hamish seeks to solve the murder, Josie seeks to entrap Hamish into marriage. Soon our favorite Highland constable finds himself at the altar and praying for an escape!

Well, I thought I’d love this book as I’ve loved all the others in this series (I was also listening to “Death of a Dreamer” in my car at the same time). However, this installment was somewhat different. If you read the series, you should know, what follows are some SPOILERS!

My first problem with this novel was that Josie entraps Hamish by drugging him with rohypnol (aka the date rape drug) and basically sexually abusing him and then claiming to be pregnant. I have to say – this really bothered me. If I could speak to the author I’d say, “Marion – may I call you Marion? – Marion, no no no no no. One reason we read cozy mysteries is because they are not overly disturbing and “heavy”. And one reason we love Hamish is because we can trust that while folks may try to get him, no one succeeds. Bullets graze him. His superiors get frustrated with him. The women may chase him. But at the end of the day, it’s just Hamish and his pets in his little Highland home. Please remember this for next time, Marion. Thank you.”

I also didn’t find the character of Josie even remotely believable. Supposedly, she was obsessed with romance novels, but she also was a drug addict and alcoholic.  It was a bizarre and frightening picture, especially for a cozy.

So – I won’t give this book a star rating as I just can’t. I’ll wait for Miss Beaton’s next installment.

And in the meantime I thought to myself that if I think I know so much what should be in a cozy mystery I should just write one myself. So I am. It’s about a murder taking place at a small community theater….he he he.