Melina Metz’s Talk to the Paw is a purrfectly charming romance featuring an (actual feline) cat burglar named MacGyver and a not-overly-bright dog namMelina Metz’s Talk to the Paw is a purrfectly charming romance featuring an (actual feline) cat burglar named MacGyver and a not-overly-bright dog named Diogee. Mac’s human, Jamie, is taking a year off from teaching high school history (thanks to an inheritance from her mother) and hoping to discover what she really wants to do with the rest of her life. She’s moved across the country and landed in a small LA neighborhood called Storybook Court, where all the houses look like settings for some Disney movie. Mac knows she is lonely—he can smell it. She needs a human pack mate.
Diogee’s human, David, is a baker, happy enough with his job, but tired of his best friend pushing him to get on with his life. A widower of three years, he’s not so sure he’s ready for that. He’s pretty much forgotten how to talk to a woman about anything but cupcakes.
When Mac decides that David is lonely, too (despite that big, stupid dog), he begins to steal things from David to leave on Jamie’s doorstep, and vice versa. Pretty soon he’s playing matchmaker, and causing chaos, all over Storybook Court.
I very much enjoyed Jamie and David, Mac and Diogee, and the variety of amusing supporting characters, all the TV and movie references, and the LA landmarks. Even more, I enjoyed a romance that follows two people getting to know one another and gradually building a relationship.
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Melina Metz’s Talk to the Paw is a purrfectly charming romance featuring an (actual feline) cat burglar named MacGyver and a not-overly-bright dog named Diogee. Mac’s human, Jamie, is taking a year off from teaching high school history (thanks to an inheritance from her mother) and hoping to discover what she really wants to do with the rest of her life. She’s moved across the country and landed in a small LA neighborhood called Storybook Court, where all the houses look like settings for some Disney movie. Mac knows she is lonely—he can smell it. She needs a human pack mate.
Diogee’s human, David, is a baker, happy enough with his job, but tired of his best friend pushing him to get on with his life. A widower of three years, he’s not so sure he’s ready for that. He’s pretty much forgotten how to talk to a woman about anything but cupcakes.
When Mac decides that David is lonely, too (despite that big, stupid dog), he begins to steal things from David to leave on Jamie’s doorstep, and vice versa. Pretty soon he’s playing matchmaker, and causing chaos, all over Storybook Court.
I very much enjoyed Jamie and David, Mac and Diogee, and the variety of amusing supporting characters, all the TV and movie references, and the LA landmarks. Even more, I enjoyed a romance that follows two people getting to know one another and gradually building a relationship....more
Zara Keane starts a new Irish-set cozy mystery series with Deadline With Death, throwing in a touch of the paranormal with a bit of time travel. Dee FZara Keane starts a new Irish-set cozy mystery series with Deadline With Death, throwing in a touch of the paranormal with a bit of time travel. Dee Flanagan performs a daily balancing act, juggling her ill-paying job as a reporter for the Dunleagh Chronicle, her non-paying work on her history blog, and her irrepressible grandmother. When she finds herself caught in the middle of some very odd happenings at Dunleagh Castle, her knowledge of Irish history makes her wonder about the man, dressed in a century-old Royal Irish Constabulary uniform, who falls at her feet, wounded by gunfire. Is he a stray from some sort of historical reenactment? Why didn’t anyone else hear the gunfire, and who shot the clown? Dee tries hard to separate herself from her family’s reputation for eccentricity (all that woo-woo stuff), but with both her grandmother and her mother drawn into the mayhem surrounding the castle, Dee doesn’t know what to think.
As in her Movie Club Mystery series, Keane fills her tale with the inhabitants and circumstances of life in a small Irish town. Her Time-Slip Mysteryseries promises to be just as full of humor, eccentric characters, and, of course, mystery. Thoroughly entertaining.
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Zara Keane starts a new Irish-set cozy mystery series with Deadline With Death, throwing in a touch of the paranormal with a bit of time travel. Dee Flanagan performs a daily balancing act, juggling her ill-paying job as a reporter for the Dunleagh Chronicle, her non-paying work on her history blog, and her irrepressible grandmother. When she finds herself caught in the middle of some very odd happenings at Dunleagh Castle, her knowledge of Irish history makes her wonder about the man, dressed in a century-old Royal Irish Constabulary uniform, who falls at her feet, wounded by gunfire. Is he a stray from some sort of historical reenactment? Why didn’t anyone else hear the gunfire, and who shot the clown? Dee tries hard to separate herself from her family’s reputation for eccentricity (all that woo-woo stuff), but with both her grandmother and her mother drawn into the mayhem surrounding the castle, Dee doesn’t know what to think.
As in her Movie Club Mystery series, Keane fills her tale with the inhabitants and circumstances of life in a small Irish town. Her Time-Slip Mysteryseries promises to be just as full of humor, eccentric characters, and, of course, mystery. Thoroughly entertaining....more
Kate Parker’s The Mystery at Chadwick House is part mystery, part ghost story, and part romance. Emma Winter is helping her best friend renovate a VicKate Parker’s The Mystery at Chadwick House is part mystery, part ghost story, and part romance. Emma Winter is helping her best friend renovate a Victorian mansion, but so much goes wrong that it seems as though the house itself is fighting the work. Or is it someone in the house—that face in the window that shows only in Emma’s photographs? What about the mysterious man who may—or may not—be the last of the Chadwicks, or Emma’s childhood friend, now a police officer? And what really happened in the barn back in 1904? It all adds up to a thoroughly entertaining novella, quite different from Parker’s excellent historical mysteries.
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Kate Parker’s The Mystery at Chadwick House is part mystery, part ghost story, and part romance. Emma Winter is helping her best friend renovate a Victorian mansion, but so much goes wrong that it seems as though the house itself is fighting the work. Or is it someone in the house—that face in the window that shows only in Emma’s photographs? What about the mysterious man who may—or may not—be the last of the Chadwicks, or Emma’s childhood friend, now a police officer? And what really happened in the barn back in 1904? It all adds up to a thoroughly entertaining novella, quite different from Parker’s excellent historical mysteries....more
Plotting For Murder is the first in a new cozy mystery series by Tamra Baumann. Sawyer Davis has left her job as a chef in Chicago to return to her WePlotting For Murder is the first in a new cozy mystery series by Tamra Baumann. Sawyer Davis has left her job as a chef in Chicago to return to her West Coast home town, Sunset Cove, to take over the Mystery Bookshop her late mother has left her. All goes reasonably well until a member of the shop’s mystery book club drops dead during a meeting—after eating Sawyer’s food, at that. As if that wasn’t enough, the man who left Sawyer at the altar years ago is now the town sheriff.
Add the usual assortment of eccentric characters, some of them definitely on the suspect list, a visit from Sawyer’s traveling magician father, and the mystery of what else Sawyer’s mother may have left her, hidden from her greedy uncle, and you have a charming addition to the cozy mystery shelf.
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Plotting For Murder is the first in a new cozy mystery series by Tamra Baumann. Sawyer Davis has left her job as a chef in Chicago to return to her West Coast home town, Sunset Cove, to take over the Mystery Bookshop her late mother has left her. All goes reasonably well until a member of the shop’s mystery book club drops dead during a meeting—after eating Sawyer’s food, at that. As if that wasn’t enough, the man who left Sawyer at the altar years ago is now the town sheriff.
Add the usual assortment of eccentric characters, some of them definitely on the suspect list, a visit from Sawyer’s traveling magician father, and the mystery of what else Sawyer’s mother may have left her, hidden from her greedy uncle, and you have a charming addition to the cozy mystery shelf....more
For Witch or For Poorer is the fifth installment in AE Jones’ Paranormal Wedding Planner series, featuring the last member of the team, Giz (short forFor Witch or For Poorer is the fifth installment in AE Jones’ Paranormal Wedding Planner series, featuring the last member of the team, Giz (short for Gizmo, as he’s a witch who prefers using technology to magic) and Maeve, the East Coast werewolf who joined the West Coast pack in the previous book (For Better or For Wolf). Tensions between the werewolf packs have eased, but there’s a new threat, from an ancient and secretive coven called the Lunadorium. Giz may not like using magic, and he does have his reasons, but Maeve needs a witch to help her learn to control her emerging powers, and the pack needs his help, too.
All the characters from the previous books are back, including Giz’ eccentric cat, Monster, who has his own part to play in the proceedings. Throw in a baby shower, a visit to a street of magic brokers, and a sweet love story, along with Jones’ trademark humor and lovable characters, and you have a thoroughly enjoyable read.
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For Witch or For Poorer is the fifth installment in AE Jones’ Paranormal Wedding Planner series, featuring the last member of the team, Giz (short for Gizmo, as he’s a witch who prefers using technology to magic) and Maeve, the East Coast werewolf who joined the West Coast pack in the previous book (For Better or For Wolf). Tensions between the werewolf packs have eased, but there’s a new threat, from an ancient and secretive coven called the Lunadorium. Giz may not like using magic, and he does have his reasons, but Maeve needs a witch to help her learn to control her emerging powers, and the pack needs his help, too.
All the characters from the previous books are back, including Giz’ eccentric cat, Monster, who has his own part to play in the proceedings. Throw in a baby shower, a visit to a street of magic brokers, and a sweet love story, along with Jones’ trademark humor and lovable characters, and you have a thoroughly enjoyable read....more
Who is Eldorado Jane? The heroine of Jacqui Nelson’s Between Home & Heartbreak (second in her Gambling Hearts series) is the star of Calhoun’s Wild WeWho is Eldorado Jane? The heroine of Jacqui Nelson’s Between Home & Heartbreak (second in her Gambling Hearts series) is the star of Calhoun’s Wild West Show, but is she also Jane Dority, who disappeared as a child eighteen years ago after Gypson’s Medicine Show visited the tiny town of Juniper Flats, Texas? She says she is, and she’s laying claim to the Dority homestead.
But Lewis Adams, Jane’s childhood friend and current owner of the Dority property, doesn’t believe her. She seems to have Jane’s memories, but she doesn’t have Jane’s eyes. But she does know horses, and Lewis needs help with the herd he’s contracted to train for the Texas Rangers.
The bet Eldora and Lewis make for ownership of the homestead turns out to be the least of their worries, as deception, blackmail, old enemies, and even the weather combine to thwart their plans.
Readers of Nelson’s Old West adventures first met Lewis in Between Love and Lies. Also reappearing from that novel are Noah and Sadie Ballantyne and a few other unexpected visitors.
Between Home and Heartbreak is a very satisfying follow up to Between Love and Lies. You don’t have to read them in order, but why not?
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Who is Eldorado Jane? The heroine of Jacqui Nelson’s Between Home & Heartbreak (second in her Gambling Hearts series) is the star of Calhoun’s Wild West Show, but is she also Jane Dority, who disappeared as a child eighteen years ago after Gypson’s Medicine Show visited the tiny town of Juniper Flats, Texas? She says she is, and she’s laying claim to the Dority homestead.
But Lewis Adams, Jane’s childhood friend and current owner of the Dority property, doesn’t believe her. She seems to have Jane’s memories, but she doesn’t have Jane’s eyes. But she does know horses, and Lewis needs help with the herd he’s contracted to train for the Texas Rangers.
The bet Eldora and Lewis make for ownership of the homestead turns out to be the least of their worries, as deception, blackmail, old enemies, and even the weather combine to thwart their plans.
Readers of Nelson’s Old West adventures first met Lewis in Between Love and Lies. Also reappearing from that novel are Noah and Sadie Ballantyne and a few other unexpected visitors.
Between Home and Heartbreak is a very satisfying follow up to Between Love and Lies. You don’t have to read them in order, but why not?...more
The Subject of Malice is the fourth installment in Cynthia Kuhn’s Academic Mystery series, featuring assistant professor Lila Maclean. Lila teaches a The Subject of Malice is the fourth installment in Cynthia Kuhn’s Academic Mystery series, featuring assistant professor Lila Maclean. Lila teaches a course in mystery literature and loves Gothics, so she’s happy to serve on the conference committee for Malice in the Mountains, sponsored by the Horror and Gothic Society. The sponsors, however, certainly weren’t planning on murder.
Lila’s academic nemesis, Simone Raleigh, shows up with her (identically nasty) twin sister, Selene, and the Raleighs have a plan to hijack Lila’s longtime interest in the little known mystery writer Isabella Dare. Lila’s boyfriend, Detective Lex Archer, is on hand to investigate, and this time he actually asks for Lila’s help, but there’s an unexpected bump in their relationship. And Lila makes a new friend, retired professor Bibi Callahan, who has a surprise or two up her crocheted sleeve.
This outing takes place at an academic conference rather than the university where Lila teaches, but there’s plenty of academic infighting to remind those of us who still have campus nightmares of why we’re glad to wake up with academia far behind us. I’ll be looking forward to Lila’s next adventure.
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The Subject of Malice is the fourth installment in Cynthia Kuhn’s Academic Mystery series, featuring assistant professor Lila Maclean. Lila teaches a course in mystery literature and loves Gothics, so she’s happy to serve on the conference committee for Malice in the Mountains, sponsored by the Horror and Gothic Society. The sponsors, however, certainly weren’t planning on murder.
Lila’s academic nemesis, Simone Raleigh, shows up with her (identically nasty) twin sister, Selene, and the Raleighs have a plan to hijack Lila’s longtime interest in the little known mystery writer Isabella Dare. Lila’s boyfriend, Detective Lex Archer, is on hand to investigate, and this time he actually asks for Lila’s help, but there’s an unexpected bump in their relationship. And Lila makes a new friend, retired professor Bibi Callahan, who has a surprise or two up her crocheted sleeve.
This outing takes place at an academic conference rather than the university where Lila teaches, but there’s plenty of academic infighting to remind those of us who still have campus nightmares of why we’re glad to wake up with academia far behind us. I’ll be looking forward to Lila’s next adventure....more
When Texas Ranger Samantha Goode, the heroine of Leslie Marshman's Goode Over Evil, returns to her home town of Crystal Creek, she's only expecting toWhen Texas Ranger Samantha Goode, the heroine of Leslie Marshman's Goode Over Evil, returns to her home town of Crystal Creek, she's only expecting to stay a day or two for her grandmother's funeral. She's shed no tears for the old woman who made her childhood miserable, but her grandfather and her Uncle Joe deserve her support.
She knows there's a risk of running into her old love, rancher Clayton Barnett—it’s a small town, after all. But she can deal with that. Clay doesn't know why Sam left town without a word to him years ago, and she doesn't intend to tell him now. Events around them make it hard to avoid one another, but will what they once had together ever return?
Sam's plans to head back to El Paso as quickly as possibly change when there's a death at her uncle's marina. The local police chief calls it suicide, but Sam and the county sheriff know better. Whatever happened, Clay's autistic brother, Jordan, may have witnessed it. When Sam realizes that dangers from the drug cartel she's been fighting have followed her from El Paso to the Gulf Coast, her fears for the people she loves mount.
Goode Over Evil is a fast-paced roller coaster ride through small town secrets, drug smuggling, and murder, and well worth reading for fans of mystery and suspense.
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When Texas Ranger Samantha Goode, the heroine of Leslie Marshman's Goode Over Evil, returns to her home town of Crystal Creek, she's only expecting to stay a day or two for her grandmother's funeral. She's shed no tears for the old woman who made her childhood miserable, but her grandfather and her Uncle Joe deserve her support.
She knows there's a risk of running into her old love, rancher Clayton Barnett—it’s a small town, after all. But she can deal with that. Clay doesn't know why Sam left town without a word to him years ago, and she doesn't intend to tell him now. Events around them make it hard to avoid one another, but will what they once had together ever return?
Sam's plans to head back to El Paso as quickly as possibly change when there's a death at her uncle's marina. The local police chief calls it suicide, but Sam and the county sheriff know better. Whatever happened, Clay's autistic brother, Jordan, may have witnessed it. When Sam realizes that dangers from the drug cartel she's been fighting have followed her from El Paso to the Gulf Coast, her fears for the people she loves mount.
Goode Over Evil is a fast-paced roller coaster ride through small town secrets, drug smuggling, and murder, and well worth reading for fans of mystery and suspense....more
Completely satisfying wrap up (at least for now--who knows what Jones has planned for Kyle and the crew?) to the Mindsweeper story. Demons all over thCompletely satisfying wrap up (at least for now--who knows what Jones has planned for Kyle and the crew?) to the Mindsweeper story. Demons all over the place, the return of Dalton, and secrets from Kyle's past all add up to a terrific story.
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Completely satisfying wrap up (at least for now--who knows what Jones has planned for Kyle and the crew?) to the Mindsweeper story. Demons all over the place, the return of Dalton, and secrets from Kyle's past all add up to a terrific story....more
Cindy Brown's The Phantom of Oz is another fun theatrical mystery, this one set in an elegant old theater haunted by the Lady in White. Ivy Meadows isCindy Brown's The Phantom of Oz is another fun theatrical mystery, this one set in an elegant old theater haunted by the Lady in White. Ivy Meadows is a hardworking young actress who also works for her Uncle Bob's PI firm (Duda Detectives), so naturally when her best friend, Candy, disappears from the touring company of The Wizard: A Space OZpera Ivy dives in to investigate, landing herself an understudy role with the company in the process. Props include spaceships and Trekian costumes, and the cast includes munchkins and flying monkeys (played by children ranging from adorable to creepy), a famous director, a toxic reality star, a costume mistress who might be a witch, and Toto. Misunderstandings with her boyfriend and her brother only make Ivy's life more complicated, not to mention the wardrobe mistress' well-intentioned cold remedies. I love this series, with its madly scrambled theatrical productions and hilariously close-but-not-quite-there movie titles.
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Cindy Brown's The Phantom of Oz is another fun theatrical mystery, this one set in an elegant old theater haunted by the Lady in White. Ivy Meadows is a hardworking young actress who also works for her Uncle Bob's PI firm (Duda Detectives), so naturally when her best friend, Candy, disappears from the touring company of The Wizard: A Space OZpera Ivy dives in to investigate, landing herself an understudy role with the company in the process. Props include spaceships and Trekian costumes, and the cast includes munchkins and flying monkeys (played by children ranging from adorable to creepy), a famous director, a toxic reality star, a costume mistress who might be a witch, and Toto. Misunderstandings with her boyfriend and her brother only make Ivy's life more complicated, not to mention the wardrobe mistress' well-intentioned cold remedies. I love this series, with its madly scrambled theatrical productions and hilariously close-but-not-quite-there movie titles....more
Murder With a View is the third installment in Diane Kelly’s Nashville-set House-Flipper Mystery series. But this time Whitney and her cousin Buck areMurder With a View is the third installment in Diane Kelly’s Nashville-set House-Flipper Mystery series. But this time Whitney and her cousin Buck are getting ready to transform an abandoned twelve-unit motel into a luxurious six-unit condominium. When they walk through the complex, they find a genial squatter in Unit 9—and Whitney’s cat, Sawdust, finds a corpse in the bed in Unit 10. As if that wasn’t trouble enough, the corpse is quickly identified as Beckett Morgan, a rising and popular country music star. If Whitney and her beau, Detective Collin Flynn, don’t solve the case quickly, the property could turn into a memorial for Morgan rather than a money-making property for Whitney and Buck.
As Whitney investigates, she discovers that Beckett Morgan was a more complicated person than she had imagined. And then there’s Jimmy, the squatter: is he truly the cheerful nomad (and willing helper) he claims to be, or did he have something to do with Morgan’s death? And who is the man with the bird’s foot belt buckle?
As much as I liked the first two books in the series (Dead as a Door-Knocker and Dead in the Doorway), in my opinion this is the best yet. Nashville is an interesting and unusual setting, and house (or motel) flipping is fascinating. I’ll be looking forward to Whitney, Buck, and Sawdust’s next adventure....more
In Melinda Metz’ Talk to the Paw, cat burglar and matchmaker Mac brought together his own human, Jamie, and David, a lonely neighbor. Now, in The SecrIn Melinda Metz’ Talk to the Paw, cat burglar and matchmaker Mac brought together his own human, Jamie, and David, a lonely neighbor. Now, in The Secret Life of Mac, Jamie and David are off on their honeymoon, and Jamie’s cousin Briony has come to Los Angeles to house and pet sit, taking care of Mac and David’s boneheaded dog, Diogee.
Just a few days before, Briony suffered a panic attack as she walked down the aisle, suddenly realizing that the perfect man she was about to marry wasn’t perfect for her. She doesn’t protest when her overprotective parents make yet another decision for her and send her off to Jamie.
Jamie and David leave almost as soon as Briony arrives, leaving her totally unprepared. She has no idea what an escape artist Mac is, but manages to track him to a nearby retirement community, managed by a very attractive young man named Nate—who thinks he’s too busy keeping the family business running for a relationship.
But Mac is determined to bring the two together, and all of Briony’s visits to the Gardens to retrieve him soon lead to friendship and more. But it appears that someone is sabotaging the retirement community, and something happens that rocks Briony’s new-found self-confidence.
The Secret Life of Mac is another purrfectly charming romance, with a mystery or two thrown in, from Melinda Metz....more
In Something the Cat Dragged In, the murder of a retired professor is discovered when Edmund, the cat belonging to Mrs. Lomax, the Shandys’ housekeepeIn Something the Cat Dragged In, the murder of a retired professor is discovered when Edmund, the cat belonging to Mrs. Lomax, the Shandys’ housekeeper, comes home with a toupee in his teeth. Who would want to do away with an elderly retired professor? It takes Peter, Police Chief Ottermole, and President Svenson to figure out what’s really been going on behind the rather threadbare scenes at the Balaclavian Society....more
Fellowship of Fear, originally published in 1982, was the first in Aaron Elkins’ Gideon Oliver series. I’ve enjoyed the series over the years (the latFellowship of Fear, originally published in 1982, was the first in Aaron Elkins’ Gideon Oliver series. I’ve enjoyed the series over the years (the latest, Switcheroo, was published in 2016; Elkins is 85 now), in large part because of the archeological/anthropological background. This first volume displays very little of Gideon’s specialty, physical anthropology, and rather more of linguistic and cultural anthropology.
Gideon arrives in Germany to teach a series of anthropology courses at various American bases scattered across the continent only to find that previous visiting professors have been killed or disappeared in unexplained ways. He soon realizes that he is being watched, his rooms broken into, and he can’t imagine why.
The answer lies in the Cold War politics which make the book feel a bit dated today, but it’s still a good mystery, and Gideon is a character worth following. I have the whole series on my bookshelf, but I’ll replace at least the old mass market paperbacks, with their tiny print and yellow pages, with easy-to-read Kindle editions (despite the occasional faulty formatting)....more
Till Demon Do Us Part is the final installment in AE Jones’ Paranormal Wedding Planner series, following the tale of the last two series characters inTill Demon Do Us Part is the final installment in AE Jones’ Paranormal Wedding Planner series, following the tale of the last two series characters in need of a mate (whether they’ll admit that or not), Darcinda the fairly healer, and McHenry, the cranky demon metal worker.
When McHenry and his nephew, Andrew, are the victims of a magical attack in McHenry’s workshop, the team of paranormal investigators jumps into action, with Darcinda there to tend to McHenry’s very serious (and magic-infused) injuries. Darcinda and McHenry have never gotten along well (Darcinda shies away from relationships; McHenry shies away from nearly everyone, fairies most of all), but suddenly they’re having trouble keeping one another at arms’ length.
When Roderick, the Demon King, appears to be the main suspect in the attack on McHenry, the leaders of the paranormal species gather to pass judgment. But the real mystery goes back three generations, to a conflict the two demons “remember” quite differently.
I’m sorry to see the series end, but this is a fine wrap up, with all the familiar series characters receiving the rewards they have earned....more
Rebecca Peabody is a woman with a mission. Bespectacled, American born, and the 20-year-old younger sister of the Countess of Warwick, she feels everyRebecca Peabody is a woman with a mission. Bespectacled, American born, and the 20-year-old younger sister of the Countess of Warwick, she feels every restriction placed upon young unmarried women in Regency London. No one knows that she has a secret career as the essayist P. Corpus, and she means to keep it that way. How better than to marry someone who will free her from those restrictions and let her live her own life.
She sets her sights on John Compton, the Earl of Aynsley, a 43-year-old widower with seven children and estates in Shropshire. Surely such a man could use a wife with organizational skills (Rebecca once cataloged the largest private library in Britain) to manage his household, without expecting much in the way of those unpleasant physical intimacies Rebecca has only heard about. And one day she marches right into his London house and proposes a marriage of convenience.
Aynsley, a good-hearted soul, lets this strange (but clearly intelligent and passionate) young woman down as gently as he can. It’s only after she leaves his house that he associates the name Peabody with P. Corpus, an essayist he reads faithfully in the Edinburgh Review and greatly admires. Intelligent indeed, and rather pretty, and so very young . . .
It doesn’t take long for Aynsley to realize this marriage might be a really good idea, and a solution to several problems. Before she can quite realize what she’s gotten herself into, Rebecca is the new Countess of Aynsley (despite her American dislike of titles), settling into Aynsley’s Shropshire estates.
Only four of Aynsley’s children remain at home, but they are indeed a handful. Spencer, age 8, Alex, age 6, and Chuckie, age 3, miss having a mother and welcome Rebecca (although that doesn’t stop some creative misbehavior), but 18-year-old Emily, losing her place as mistress of the house, is another matter entirely.
Throw in a slightly deaf uncle who likes to garden in the nude, a moon-struck cousin who won’t find steady work because he can’t bear to be away from Emily, and that portrait of the previous countess hanging over the dining room table, and Rebecca has almost more than she can deal with. And then she realizes that she’s falling in love with her husband.
A Proposal of Marriage combines humor, politics, likeable characters, and growing romance into a thoroughly enjoyable novel. ...more
When wide-eyed country girl Dorothea Pankhurst arrives in Bath with her four cats and her widowed father, she has few plans beyond convincing Mr. PankWhen wide-eyed country girl Dorothea Pankhurst arrives in Bath with her four cats and her widowed father, she has few plans beyond convincing Mr. Pankhurst that the waters may improve his health. Mr. Pankhurst, however, harbors thoughts of launching his only child into society. Neither of them expect that Dot, who considers herself rather plain, and definitely out of touch with current fashion, will attract a titled suitor.
When Viscount Appleton strikes up an acquaintance with Dot on the street (aided by one of her cats), it’s not the coincidence it appears to be. For Mr. Pankhurst is a very wealthy man, and Dot is his only heiress—and Appleton is in dire need of an heiress’s dowry to rescue his family fortunes.
Appleton is not entirely sure what happened that night at Mrs. Starr’s gaming establishment, only that before the night was over he had bet—and lost—nearly everything he owned. Even worse, his enemy Henry Wolf now holds the IOUs. To save his family fortune—and to save his sister Annie from marriage to Wolf—Appleton needs to marry an heiress, and fast.
Appleton is sure he doesn’t love Miss Pankhurst, although he finds her increasingly interesting (in spite of the cats), while Dot worries that Lord Appleton is only interested in her dowry (and worse than that, she knows, thanks to the gossipy Bath Chronicle, that he keeps a mistress).
When the two unlikely partners team up to solve a murder mystery, they begin to realize how much they truly have in common.
Once Upon a Time in Bath will delight Bolen’s longtime fans with visits from several characters from her previous books, but first time readers will have no problems jumping in. ...more
Wrack and Rune is the third installment in Charlotte MacLeod’s Peter Shandy series, centered around the discovery of a rune stone on the property of aWrack and Rune is the third installment in Charlotte MacLeod’s Peter Shandy series, centered around the discovery of a rune stone on the property of an 85-year-old farmer (and his feisty 105-year-old aunt). Along with the usual folks from Balaclava College (President Svenson, his wife Sieglinde, and his centenarian uncle from Sweden, Professor Ames, et al), a local journalist named Cronkite Swope (his brother Brinkley works at the soap factory), and a cat named Jane Austen, Peter and Helen deal with a number of untrustworthy characters with their eyes on the Horsefall homestead.
Despite the rather gruesome death that starts off the book, Wrack and Rune is full of humor and snarky dialog. I read this series years ago when the books first came out, and I’m enjoying them just as much today....more
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