Avoiding painful truths.

Book Review for “Pardonable Lies” (Maisie Dobbs #3) by Jacqueline Winspear. Summary: "A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her … Continue reading Avoiding painful truths. →

Cannabis Confections.

Book Review for “A Half-Baked Murder” by Emily George. Summary: "Formally trained pastry chef Chloe Barnes is opening a cannabis bakery. That’s not at all what the twenty-eight-year-old envisioned while living the dream in Paris with a hot fiancé and a Michelin star restaurant gig around the corner. But the rising “it girl” of choux … Continue reading Cannabis Confections. →

Sweetgrass Mystery.

Book Review for “By the Rivers of Babylon” by Mary Glickman. Summary: "Joe and Abigail Becker, a Jewish couple from Boston, have inherited a house on Sweetgrass Island in South Carolina's Lowcountry. Though they feel like fish out of water, the couple is excited to give the South a try--and maybe even find it a … Continue reading Sweetgrass Mystery. →

Deadly Darts! TCL’s #DeanStreetDecember #1.

Book Review for “The Sharp Quillet (Anthony Bathurst #33)” by Brian Flynn. Summary: "The Bar Point-to-Point meeting at Quiddington St Philip is always an auspicious occasion. This year, Justice Nicholas Flagon is the favourite to win-there's big money on him, and a fair bit against him as well. But who will scoop the jackpot when … Continue reading Deadly Darts! TCL’s #DeanStreetDecember #1. →

Gently Rambling Mystery.

Book Review for “A Dangerous Business” by Jane Smiley. Summary: "Monterey, 1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has … Continue reading Gently Rambling Mystery. →

Charming, Mysterious Romance.

Book Review for “To Capture His Heart” by Nancy Campbell Allen. Summary: "Eva Caldwell is an accomplished and well-known photographer who often works with the local constabulary to assist in documenting crime scenes, which means she also often works alongside the handsome and charming detective, Nathan Winston. She appreciates his intellect and how he treats … Continue reading Charming, Mysterious Romance. →

Heard of Female Thieves?

Book Review for “The Forty Elephants” by Erin Bledsoe. Summary: "Inspired by the true story of Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants, the first all-female gang of London. London in the 1920s is no place for a woman with a mind of her own. Gang wars, violence, and an unforgiving world have left pickpocket Alice … Continue reading Heard of Female Thieves? →

Locked and Keyed.

Book Review for “The Click of the Gate” by Alice Campbell. Summary: "Clare - her Clare - was gone. Mystery in Paris! A disappearance as surprising and baffling as if it had been done by magic. A young girl, barely fifteen, beautiful yet shy and under constant protection, disappears in the one moment that is … Continue reading Locked and Keyed. →

In Tangles.

Book Review for “Water Weed” by Alice Campbell. Summary: "Young Virginia Carew is making a trip to England when she encounters old friend Glenn Hillier-strangely altered from the last time they met. Glenn is besotted with a glamorous middle-aged lady, with whom he's been staying in the blissful English countryside. It isn't long before Virginia … Continue reading In Tangles. →

Plumes and Doom!

Book Review for “Birds of a Feather” by Jacqueline Winspear. Summary: "An eventful year has passed for Maisie Dobbs. Since starting a one-woman private investigation agency in 1929 London, she now has a professional office in Fitzroy Square and an assistant, the happy-go-lucky Billy Beale. She has proven herself as a psychologist and investigator, and … Continue reading Plumes and Doom! →