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Showing posts with label Paige Shelton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paige Shelton. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Cozy Mysteries I'm Dying to Read
Like any bookworm, I love me a store full of books. I can't resist them and I rarely leave without buying at least one new volume. My local indie, Changing Hands, is a wonderful place to browse for new reading material as well as a great place to trade used books for store credit (which I do at least once a year). I've been to some other well-known bookshops: the Strand (New York City), Powell's Books (Portland, Oregon), and Shakespeare and Company (Paris, France). My family and I visited Paris last year around this time, when there were still COVID restrictions in place. The store was limiting how many people could be inside at one time and there was already a long line to get in, so I wasn't able to actually go inside the famous shop, but I did see it, so I'm counting it! I don't have a bookstore bucket list (Maybe I should start one?), so I got nothin' for this week's prompt—Top Ten Favorite Bookstores OR Bookstores I'd Like to Visit. No matter, I'll just twist it up a little bit.
I adore a good cozy mystery any time of year, but Fall seems like the best time to read them. I've noticed many that are set in bookshops and libraries. I've yet to find a good bookish cozy series that I love, but there are a number of them on my TBR list that I hope will fit the bill. Please suggest any that are not on my list and I'll check them out.
Don't forget to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our lovely host, Jana, some love. If you want to join in the TTT fun (which you definitely do!), all the details are on her blog.
Top Ten Bookish Cozy Mysteries I Want to Read
1. The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton—The first installment in the Scottish Bookshop series, this one tells the story of a woman from Kansas who, on a whim, applies for a job at a bookstore in Scotland. Naturally, the place is filled with quirky book people and tantalizing secrets. When a valuable artifact goes missing and a woman is killed, it also becomes a place where murder is fact instead of just fiction.
2. Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower—I love Flower's Amish Candy Shop mystery series, so I'm sure to dig this one. In this opener to the Magical Bookshop series, Violet Waverly is called back to Michigan to help her ailing grandmother with her bookstore. When she sees that the woman is in perfect health, she realizes she's been tricked into coming home. Although she's determined to head right back to Chicago, Violet can't leave after a murder happens in the shop. She has to stay and clear her grandmother's name.
3. The Plot Is Murder by V.M. Burns—What is it with Michigan and people getting murdered in bookstores? Yikes! In this initial installment of the Mystery Bookshop series, Samantha Washington is about to make her dream of owning a bookstore come true. At the same time, she's writing a historical cozy mystery in which her heroine investigates a puzzling murder. Art starts to imitate life when Samantha discovers a dead realtor in her backyard. In order to prove her innocence, she'll have to play amateur sleuth and find the real killer.
4. Death On Demand by Carolyn G. Hart—Annie Laurance's bookstore, Death on Demand, isn't located in Michigan (it's in South Carolina), but it still becomes the site of a baffling murder. In this 1987 series opener, a famous mystery author is killed in the bookstore and Annie must figure out whodunit.
5. Guidebook to Murder by Lynn Cahoon—The Tourist Trap mystery series has been recommended to me by multiple bloggers. This series opener introduces Jill Gardner, who owns Books, Coffee, and More in a quaint California tourist town. She's struggling to keep her business afloat when an elderly friend dies suddenly, leaving Jill her crumbling old house. The dilapidated home isn't the only thing she's been gifted, though—along with the old lady's abode, Jill seems to have inherited her secrets and enemies as well. Suspecting her friend was murdered, the bookshop owner launches her own investigation into the death.
6. Murder By the Book by Lauren Elliott—When Addie Greyborne inherits her aunt's home in the colonial New England town founded by their ancestors, she sees it as a chance to escape sour memories and start over. With her aunt's collection of rare books, Addie has enough inventory to start her own shop, Beyond the Page Bookstore. Unfortunately, her new life is not going as smoothly as planned. When Addie's friend is arrested for murder, she knows she can't stand idly by. She has to clear her friend's name, even if it means risking her own neck.
7. By Book Or By Crook by Eva Gates—Lighthouses have always fascinated me, so I love that this series features a lighthouse library. How fun is that? In this first installment, Lucy retreats to the Outer Banks to lick her wounds and gets a job as a librarian. She soon finds herself investigation both a book theft and a murder.
8. The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Ransom—Speaking of book thefts, this first installment in the Mobile Library Mystery series concerns a truckload of missing books. It's up to Israel Armstrong, the new mobile librarian to figure out what happened to his inventory.
9. Murder Past Due by Miranda James—This series features another male lead, Charlie Harris, and his pet coon cat, Diesel. In this first book, the pair are investigating the murder of a best-selling author, whose jerkiness has finally caught up to him.
10. Buried in a Book by Lucy Arlington—When journalist Lila Wilkins loses her job, she accepts an internship at a North Carolina literary agency. Lila's thrilled at the idea of being paid to read, but when an author drops dead in the agency's waiting room, she finds herself in the middle of a disturbing real life crime. Who offed the unfortunate writer?
There you are, ten bookish cozy mysteries on my TBR list. Have you read any of them? Which bookish cozy series are your faves? Did you feature bookstores on your list today? Which do you love/dream of visiting? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, August 09, 2022
Top Ten Tuesday: The Next Few in the Queue
Because of our big move, continued remodeling, and just life, my Top Ten Tuesday posts are about the only thing happening here at BBB! Thanks for hanging in there with me during all the chaos. It's hard to feel settled when there are still boxes to be unpacked, cabinets to be hung, light fixtures that need installing, and on and on and on. I long for the day when everything is back to normal. In the meantime, I'm learning patience and gratitude, so there's that...
I have to say, though, that today's prompt—Top Ten Books With Hilarious Titles—has me stumped. Other than cozy mysteries (which often have punny titles, some of them quite clever), I really don't read funny books. I'm not sure why this is since I do love to laugh. My brain is mush this morning thanks to a wild storm that kept me awake last night, so I can't even come up with an interesting way to twist the topic. I didn't want to miss out on the TTT fun, though, so today I'm just going to list the next ten books I'm thinking about reading. Mood may get in the way, so this list isn't set in stone. We'll see what actually happens. Ha ha.
If you want to join in this fun weekly meme, head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.
Edited to add: I don't know if anyone else is having this problem, but I'm unable to comment on some of your blogs. I keep getting "Not Acceptable!" errors. Googling tells me the issue has something to do with Wordpress and the JetPack plugin. Even when I'm logged in to WP with my correct username and password, the plugin won't let me in. Super annoying. Anyone else having this problem? Know how to fix it?
Top Ten Books I *Might* Read Next
1. The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer—Marg over at The Intrepid Reader suggested we do a buddy read of this World War II novel, so I started reading it yesterday. It's a dual-timeline story about secrets, war, love, and learning to use one's voice. I'm enjoying it so far.
2. Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley—Speaking of cozies, I just got a copy of this one from the publisher. It's the first in a new series set in a Wisconsin pizzeria. Sounds delicious!
3. The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton—I mentioned this book last week on my TTT list about books I want to read that are set in Scotland. While sorting through my personal library in preparation for moving, I realized I own copies of most of the books in the Scottish Bookshop series. For the first installment, though, I'm going to have to hit up the library. There's a little bit of a waiting list for The Cracked Spine, but it should move fast.
4. A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee—Another discovery I made (or a re-discovery, really) while purging my books was this YA historical mystery series. It's about a secret detective agency made up of Victorican women. I read most of the books as they came out and enjoyed them, but I never finished the series. Since I own all of them, I think I'm going to re-read them starting with this first installment.
5. The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick—This contemporary novel sounds fun. It's about a woman who makes ends meet by working as a maid. In her spare time, she escapes into books and dreams of writing her own. When her employer—a bestselling author—dies, she's given the opportunity to finish the writer's last novel, a task that will change her own life forever.
6. The Making of Her by Bernadette Jiwa—Is a book set in 1996 really considered historical fiction? I was a college sophomore then and it really doesn't seem like that long ago! Anyway, this novel is set in Dublin in 1996. It's about a woman who is living her best life when she receives a life-or-death plea from the daughter she placed for adoption thirty years ago. I'm always up for an adoption story, so this sounds right up my alley.
7. Hypnosis is For Hacks by Tamara Berry—I enjoyed the first book in this cozy mystery series, so I'm excited to read this second installment. The series stars a sham medium and is lots of fun so far.
8. The Girls With No Names by Serena Burdick—This historical has been on my TBR for too long. I just picked up a copy from the library so I can finally get it read. It concerns the wrongful commitment of a privileged young woman to a home for wayward girls and her sister, who's determined to rescue her, even if it means incarcerating herself.
9. Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March—Another series opener, this historical mystery is based on a true story about two women who fell from a clock tower in colonial India. The accident looks a lot like murder, which leads Captain Jim Agnihotri to investigate.
10. Hide by Kiersten White—I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this novel on here before, but it sounds so good that I'm going to mention it again. The story concerns a vicious hide-and-seek competition held in an abandoned amusement park. The winner snags a pile of cash big enough to change their lives forever. Mack is determined to win, but something not quite of this world has been let loose in the playing field...
There you go, the ten books I will might read next. What do you think of my picks? Have you read any of them? What funny titles did you highlight on your list today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, August 02, 2022
Top Ten Tuesday: TBR Reads Set in My Ancestral Homeland
When I saw today's prompt—Top Ten Books Set in Places I'd Love to Visit (Real or Fictional)—it sounded familiar. I was sure I'd done this topic before sometime in the past and yet, no matter how hard I searched my blog, I couldn't find a list with that theme. Although a few settings came immediately to mind (Hogwarts, Avonlea, Narnia, etc.), I struggled to come up with a bigger list than that, even though there are many settings that come alive so vividly in books that I long to step foot inside them. Nevertheless, I decided to focus on just one of those places: Scotland. You may remember that I traveled to the U.K. last year for sightseeing and family history exploration and that I did, indeed, visit the country. It enchanted me so much that I've been planning a return trip ever since I got home (in fact, we've been putting a lot of our new home purchased on a British Airways credit card to rack up travel points). So, today, I'm going to cheat a little and share with you ten books on my TBR that are set in a place I would love to revisit.
If you want to join in the TTT fun, head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.
Top Ten Books On My TBR Set in a Place I Would Love to Revisit (Scotland):
- in no particular order -
1. Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin—As much as I love his homeland and mysteries, I've never read anything by this Scottish author. Knots and Crosses is the first installment in his well-known Inspector Rebus series and I think it's high time I read it!
2. Women of the Dunes by Sarah Maine—Libby Snow's third great-grandmother was obsessed with the legend of Ulla, a Viking maiden who washed up on shore with the almost lifeless body of her husband, inspiring fantastical tales and epic poems. When Libby, an archaeologist, receives permission to dig in the place Ulla allegedly appeared on Scotland's western coast, she discovers the bones of a much newer corpse. The stories of Ulla and Libby entwine with that of the dead woman as Libby searches for answers to explain the murder that caused her death.
3. Loch Down Abbey by Beth Cowan-Erskine—Another murder mystery, this one revolves around the Inverkillen Family, residents of the titular home. With a mysterious illness running rampant through Scotland, the whole country is in a panic. The Inverkillens are already dealing with an alarming toilet paper shortage and Nanny's inconvenient death when Lord Inverkillen is found dead. Because of the lockdown keeping everyone at home, the only suspects in his murder are members of his family and staff. It's up to the head housekeeper to figure out who did him in.
4. 500 Miles From You by Jenny Colgan—Colgan is a Scottish author who writes fun, upbeat rom-coms. This one is the third entry in her Scottish Bookshop series. I enjoyed the first two and am looking forward to this newest installment.
5. Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon—Written in the 1930s, this if the first book in a trilogy about a woman whose quiet pastoral life in Scotland is changed forever by World War I.
6. Lockdown by Peter May—Speaking of lockdowns, I'm intrigued by the premise of this novel by one of my favorite Scottish mystery writers. I thought it was set in Scotland, but it's actually set in London. Oops! Oh well, it still sounds compelling, especially since it was written over 15 years ago but so closely mirrors what we've all experienced recently with the global pandemic.
7. The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton—This is the first installment in a cozy mystery series set in an Edinburgh bookshop. It features an American armchair traveler who makes an impulsive decision to accept a position at a bookstore in Scotland. Things get off to a cracking start when a valuable artifact goes missing and her boss's sister gets herself murdered.
8. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley—Another series opener, this one revolves around a woman who retreats to Scotland to write a novel based on a 1708 Jacobite effort to return an exiled James Stewart to his homeland in order to reclaim his crown. Writing from the perspective of one of her own ancestors, the writer soon realizes her strange obsession with the story may be a case of ancestral memory, making her the only person who knows what really happened that fateful day...
9. The Distant Echo by Val McDermid—McDermid is another Scottish mystery writer that I somehow have not read yet. This novel is the first in her Inspector Kate Pirie series and centers around a cold case homicide that opens old wounds and exposes long-buried secrets.
10. Bone Deep by Sandra Ireland—Mac is working on a compilation of local folktales and legends when her only child, Arthur, insists she needs an assistant to help her. Lucie, who moves into a cottage on Mac's property, seems a little too interested in the secrets Mac's working hard to protect. Unbeknownst to Mac, Lucie has secrets of her own.
There you go, ten (okay, nine) books on my TBR list that are set in beautiful Scotland. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Are there any others I should add to my list? Which books did you highlight today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Thursday, August 06, 2020
Ho-Hum Series Starter Means I Won't Be Reaching For a Sequel
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Beth Rivers has made a career out of crafting chilling plots for her bestselling thriller novels, but when she has her own brush with a madman, it leaves her frightened and unmoored. For her own safety, Beth changes her name and relocates to tiny, remote Benedict, Alaska. A strange twist of fate has her living with criminals in a halfway house there while she tries to make sense of life in The Last Frontier.
When Beth is offered the opportunity to revive the town's fledgling newspaper, she jumps at the chance. Not only will the job give her something to do with her time, but it will also allow her the opportunity to investigate the recent murder of a local woman. In doing so, she finds herself growing closer to handsome Donner Montgomery, a park ranger who has been deputized to help Benedict's police chief. Can she trust him with the secrets of her past? How about with her heart? As Beth comes closer to finding the killer, it's also her life that is—once again—on the line.
I love stories set against the wild backdrop of Alaska, so I was excited to give Thin Ice by Paige Shelton a go. This series opener does indeed feature an intriguing setting, which happens to be my favorite thing about it. Character-wise, the novel leaves a lot to be desired. I was hoping for a quirky, small-town cast to give Benedict some life, but most of the story people are very ordinary folks. Beth herself is a sympathetic character, but not an overly likable one. She doesn't have a whole lot of personality to make her interesting. Unfortunately, Donner doesn't either, which means I didn't feel any real chemistry between them. The plot of Thin Ice isn't any more original. Although the tale was intriguing enough to keep me reading, the plot seems far-fetched (Would people in a buttoned-up little town like Benedict truly reveal all their deepest, darkest secrets to a stranger like Beth?), the killer's identity is pretty obvious, and none of the plot twists really surprised me. Bummer. In short, I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. With a series starter as ho-hum as this one, I won't be reaching for its sequel.
(Readalikes: Hm, nothing's coming to mind. You?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, and blood/gore
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Thin Ice from the generous folks at St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
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