Who Slays the Wicked/ CS Harris/ 341 pgs

This is book 14 in Harris' long-running series. Sebastian St. Cyr is a viscount and an amateur sleuth who helps out Bow Street every now and then. In this one, his niece's nasty husband has been found brutally stabbed to death while bound in his bedroom. Sebastian had warned his niece, Stephanie that her future husband was not a nice man, but she married him anyway. She does not, however, live with him, instead choosing to safely reside with his father. There are plenty of suspects in this one, as well as related murders and quite a bit of carnage left by Sebastian as he tries to get to the truth. This is a solid entry in the series, however I am disappointed that at least the last two books have ignored the overarching mystery of Sebastian's parentage.

Murder on Union Square/ Victoria Thompson/ 326 pgs

This is the 21st book in Thompson's Gaslight series and it's a solid entry. Sarah, a former midwife, is finally opening her maternity hospital. Frank, a former police detective, has his own PI agency now. Unfortunately for him, he's accused of murder this time around. In trying to adopt their foster daughter, Frank goes to see the girl's supposed father to get him to sign away his parental rights. Only the man, an actor, is found dead. This is a good whodunit and the look at the world of New York theater in the early 1900s is intriguing.

Why Kill the Innocent/ CS Harris/ 335 pgs

This is the 13th book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. It's a historical mystery that takes place in London in 1814. This entry in the series felt a little like filler. There was nothing new here in the characters' relationships or any major developments in the series-long mysteries such as the identity of Sebastian's biological father. As for the mystery in this book, it involves the possible murder of a piano instructor in the royal household. Things unfold as usual with Sebastian talking to a series of suspects until things begin to fall into place and also as usual, his father-in-law is among those suspects. This isn't a bad mystery, there just wasn't anything new in this one.

Where the Dead Lie/ C.S. Harris/ 338 pgs

This is book number 12 in the Sebastian St. Cyr series, a historical mystery series set in England around the year 1813. Though the author does a decent job of keeping the reader current on the major arcs of the series, I would recommend starting at the beginning if you are interested. Sebastian St. Cyr is a young aristocrat, now with a wife and child, who finds himself investigating murders and disappearances on a regular basis. In every book, Sebastian bounces around London interviewing suspects, there is always a chase scene, and someone always seems to be trying to kill him (sometimes it's even his father-in-law!). This particular book is concerned with orphaned
street children who are going missing and one of them turns up dead, having been tortured and sexually assaulted, so definitely not a cozy mystery. This is another series where I've kept reading to see what happens with the overarching mystery and the main characters, but it is getting somewhat predictable. I wish more time would be spent on the major plot points affecting the characters' lives but instead it seems like they take baby steps in each book.

Murder in the Bowery/ Victoria Thompson / 295 pgs

Murder in the Bowery is the 20th book in the Gaslight Mystery series. This series is set in very late 1890s New York City. The two main characters throughout the series are Sarah, a midwife, and Frank, a policeman. These books are quick reads that I would characterize as cozy historical mysteries. I love the historical setting but as the series has gone on the mysteries are beginning to feel the same to me and the main group of characters seem to live perfect lives where nothing ever goes wrong in their relationships. Still, I've kept up on the series because it's like visiting old friends. In this book, Frank is asked to find a young newsboy who has gone missing. Meanwhile Sarah is intent on buying an old house to turn into a maternity hospital. If this series interests you, I recommend starting at the beginning.

Girl Waits With Gun / Amy Stewart / 408 pages

   I like cozy mysteries and great writing and sometimes it is difficult to get both at the same time. In this novel you get both in spades. Constance Kopp and her two sisters are going to town in their horse drawn buggy when a car collides with them. All survive with bumps and bruises but the buggy is destroyed. Constance gets the name of the driver Henry Kaufman and promptly sends an invoice for a new buggy. This encounter begins their adventures in a world outside of their farm and finding their voice in it.
   The character of Constance is different than most. She is strong-minded, independent, taller than most men and wants to make her own way in the world. The appearance of the county sheriff Robert Heath gives her courage to face the most challenging of obstacles. The two of them working together gives the reader an eye into what it was like for a woman living on her own, without a husband as society dictated and how she was to persist in life. Great historical detail complete with newspaper headlines help round out this wonderful tale. I am looking forward to the next installment.
  I am not giving the secret away but you MUST read the author notes in the afterward - what a wonderful surprise! I heartily recommend this book for mystery readers as well as romance readers.

6 degrees of reading: The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay, Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal, Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.

Murder in Time/ Julie McElwain/ 498 pages

Murder in Time written by Julie McElwain was Overdrive's Big Read in July.  The books begins with a gruesome murder in a historical setting.  Kendra Donovan is an FBI agent betrayed by a colleague.  She sets out to right the wrong that has occurred.  While in the process she is transported to 19th century England where she is faced with solving a murder using primitive methods and hampered by being a female.  The story is ok, but what makes it difficult to accept is the author's lack of research into the historical setting.  This book would appeal to people who like Regency historical fiction and Gothic romance.  

House of Silk / Anthony Horowitz 294 p.

Anthony Horowitz captures the essence of the Sherlock Holmes genre.  Dr. Watson is back with Sherlock Holmes at 221 B Baker Street while Mary Watson is off to care for an ailing child.  A fine arts dealer, Edmund Carstairs, comes to Holmes for help-- a strange man with a flat hat is stalking him very publicly.  Carstairs relates that man is a ring leader for a Boston crime gang who's ire he provoked when he attempted to get the culprits who stole his four valuable landscape paintings.  The murder investigation of the Boston criminal drags the pair deeper into intrigue.

House of Silk / Anthony Horowitz 294 p.

Bury Your Dead/ Louise Penny/ 371 pages

Bury Your Dead written by Louise Penny is the sixth book in the Inspector Gamache series.  The book opens with a crime in progress.  Something goes terribly wrong.  The story jumps forward to Quebec City during winter carnival.  Gamache is there to rest and recuperate from injuries that have taken 'place off stage'.  Inspector Beauvoir is sent to Three Pines to re-investigate a murder that Gamache had previously solved.  While in Quebec City Gamache lends his assistance to solve the murder of an amateur historian looking for Champlain's body.  Why he was in the English Literary and Historical Society and who murdered him become the puzzle that Gamache solves.  The reader will enjoy the three stories interwoven in this book.  Bit by bit the events in the 'off stage' crime are revealed by Gamache and Beauvoir in flashback and narrative form.  All this takes place while trying to find the body of Champlain and free Olivier.  For more information and read a-likes see the SCCCLD website.

Mycroft Holmes / Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 328 p. Celebrity Challenge

Mycroft Holmes / Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 328 p.

We learn about the early life of Sherlock Holme's brother, Mycroft.  Mycroft is a Cambridge graduate who is rising in his chosen career of government work.  We see the early beginnings of his encyclopedic memory.  His life takes a very different turn when his best friend, Cyrus Douglas, comes to him with a very grave situation in his home country of Trinidad-- strange deaths involving children.  The two set out on a difficult and dangerous (dangerous because someone of power is looking to stop them: using anything and everything to stop them including poisons and physical beatings) journey.  These do not stop Mycroft.  Using Douglas' local contacts as well as his governmental contacts, the two begin to piece together the nefarious plot to reinstate slavery.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie / Alan Bradley / 416 pages / 8 discs

     I do not know why I have put off listening to this series. I should be ashamed of myself. I guess it was because every publication crowed how wonderful it was. I am usually very wary of those kind of recommendations. They really don't turn out well for me. But as I was driving to Chicago I figured why not. I have been handsomely rewarded.
     We meet 11 year old Flavia de Luce who lives with her family in a slowly disintegrating house (Buckshaw) in the middle of the British countryside. She has two older sisters who are interested in reading and themselves. Her father is in his study looking at his beloved stamp albums. So Flavia has been left to her own devices and having rather a quick and agile mind, reads the textbooks about chemistry in the laboratory in the attic of the house. One morning she discovers a dying man in the garden and immediately knows he will cause trouble for her family. The police are summoned and Flavia is summarily dismissed which erks her to no end. She decides she will solve the case in her own manner.
     You can imagine what this young lady will get up to. She uses her brain and makes assumptions, hypotheses, and conclusions in order to find the answers. As it turns out she is sometimes ahead of the police which surprises them. I love the asides about her family history especially about the spectacular failures of her uncles. She is snarky about her sisters and the plans for revenge verge on the awesome. I am rather fond of this 11 year old precocious and delightful young lady.
    The narrator for this series is beyond awesome. Jayne Entwistle gets it perfect and the tone and range are just wonderful. I can't imagine anyone else doing the reading. We actually feel as if Flavia is sitting down with us and telling the story over a cup of tea. Astounding and wonderful. I recommended this to higher middle grades, teens and adults. No language but descriptions could be a little uncomfortable. Flavia has some tight scrapes but not overly dramatized. I am definitely looking forward to the next one The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag.

Six Degrees of Reading:  Full Dark House: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery by Christopher Fowler, Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas, The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King. 

Out of Time/ A Time Travel Mystery/ Monique Martin/ 294 pages

Professor Simon Cross is interested in the occult.  He even teaches classes in the subject.  Elizabeth West is his assistant, drawn to him after attending his class.  One night Elizabeth arrives at Simon's house as he examines items once owned by his grandfather.  As both examine an unusual watch they are suddenly transported to another time.  In 1929, Simon and Elizabeth find themselves needing jobs as they try to solve the mystery of the watch.  The book was an interesting mix of historical fiction with a bit of the occult tossed in as well.  Along with solving the mystery, Simon and Elizabeth learn something about themselves.

Circle of Bones, Christine Kling, 526 pages

Maggie Reilly is enjoying the Caribbean on her sail boat.  In a week she will be working on a new job in Dominica.  What a surprise when she rescues a naked man in the middle of the sea.  Maggie and Cole, now clothed, work together to solve the mystery of a long missing French submarine that is somehow tied to the Skull and Bones secret society.  Along the way many secrets are revealed about Maggie's family and their connection to the sub.  Of course the book has a villain or two or three to complicate matters.  This was an enjoyable read and a good page turner.  Having been twice to the Caribbean including Dominica, this was a fun book to read.

Lord of the Silent / Elizabeth Peters 404 p.

Amelia Peabody Emerson returns in this 15th book in the series.  Amelia and her family return to Cairo, Egypt to research in the archaeological digs during World War I.  To keep her son Ramses out of the spy business that endangered her son in the past, Amelia sends him and his wife to check on old digs.   Tomb robbers are busy at work; dead bodies pile up; and, an old adversary is back.  Finally, the family and friends unite to solve the mysteries.Told with wit and a bit of romance, Peters interweaves British 20th century society, Egyptology, with murder mysteries delightfully.

The Name of the Star/Maureen Johnson/372 pages

Set in modern day London, Rory has just started classes at a boarding school in London. As she is settling in to a new routine, a series of brutal murders mimicking the infamous "Jack the Ripper" crimes has spread across the city. The police have very few leads and Rory is the only witness to a strange man showing up at each of the murder scenes. She soon learns about the secret ghost police of London and her own special ability. "The Name of the Star" is book 1 in Shades of London trilogy by Johnson, but this title could easily stand alone, no cliffhanger here! The author has done her homework and has done a good job blending historical fiction with some paranormal humor thrown into the story. Recommended for older middle school students who like a good thriller, was a little gruesome at times.

Crocodile on the Sandbank / Elizabeth Peters 262 p.

In 1884, after her father's death, spinster Amelia Peabody go to visit the place her father studied in depth--Egypt, its pyramids and archaeology.  She employs a young woman as companion that she rescued in Italy when Evelyn's former lover dumped her.  The plot thickens when both Evelyn's former lover and her cousin turn up in Egypt.  Archaeologists Walter and Radcliffe Emerson are taken by the two even though Radcliffe hides his affection well.  When strange accidents occur, mysterious disappearances happen, and a mummy starts walking, a fun visit to an archaeological dig turns dangerous.

1st in the Amelia Peabody mysteries new series

Crooked Letter Crooked Letter / Tom Franklin / 272 pages

Well, you might just want to think about this one for your next book discussion club. How did you learn to spell Mississippi? That's the source for the title and the setting for this book. It is a mystery but what will stick in your mind is the characters, how past decisions impact lives, and if we can "make good" our poor choices years later. The plot spans two time periods (early 70's and the early 90's), involves an unlikely friendship between two boys, pivots on unexplained disappearance of two girls, relates the impact of prejudices, and focuses on the families that shape us. It's a relatively short book that offers a good story and a lot of things to think about. There's humor too....chickens named after all the First Ladies!