This was good. Not outstanding, but solid. I'd read more in the series if I came across them. This was good. Not outstanding, but solid. I'd read more in the series if I came across them. ...more
From my personal notes: Easy, compulsive reading. I've been ratcheting through these books today. I didn't have the fourth book and there were some relFrom my personal notes: Easy, compulsive reading. I've been ratcheting through these books today. I didn't have the fourth book and there were some relationship things that were surprising to read about in this book but nothing I couldn't follow and the author does tell you about it without going into great unnecessary detail. This book was about heroin use and addiction, as well as, obliquely, modern slavery....more
From my personal notes: It's good, this series. Not overdramatic. And a nice long lead up of a red herring. It would have been way too obvious otherwisFrom my personal notes: It's good, this series. Not overdramatic. And a nice long lead up of a red herring. It would have been way too obvious otherwise, so I'm glad it wasn't that. (Spoiler removed) And no wonder the first victim laughed. She would have....more
From my personal notes: Book 2 in the Kate Redman series. I like this author. I like how she writes. I like how understated everything is. So British. From my personal notes: Book 2 in the Kate Redman series. I like this author. I like how she writes. I like how understated everything is. So British. As often happens when a murder is being investigated, a whole bunch of other shady business comes to light. This case involved a talented music student, child molestation, and a paedophilia ring, although that ring was not actually part of the case. There was a bit of coincidental stuff going on here, but that also can sometimes happen in a case. Sometimes a crime wouldn't be solved if a seemingly random thing hadn't happened. In this story, it happened twice. (Spoilers removed) I'm not a huge fan of solving crimes by coincidence but I can forgive those. Sometimes, it really does just happen....more
From my personal notes: Good beginning to a crime series. Not as dramatic as the American ones tend to be, which I appreciated. The MC also doesn't seeFrom my personal notes: Good beginning to a crime series. Not as dramatic as the American ones tend to be, which I appreciated. The MC also doesn't seem to be anywhere near as impetuous as the American ones are, and she only has a tiny amount of I'm-the-only-person-who-can-solve-this-case syndrome. Luckily, I've got quite a few of the later books, too....more
I'm pretty sure I read this last year but didn't review it then. I don't remember it setting my world on fire.
I do like stories about chefs. I also liI'm pretty sure I read this last year but didn't review it then. I don't remember it setting my world on fire.
I do like stories about chefs. I also like cozy mysteries. Every other cozy these days seems to have the MC opening a bakery or a cupcake business or something along those lines. I liked the fact that this MC was into so much more than just the sweet stuff. I both liked and disliked the way her profession was used to implicate the MC. This seemed simultaneously farfectched but also so obvious I couldn't believe the authorities were so dense as to give any credence to the idea. Maybe that's the problem with knowing more of the facts than the police and quickly bonding with the MC, such that I was automatically on her side and ticked off with 90% of the people around here....more
I've read the first book in a different series by this author and I didn't really like it, so I was a bit unsure about reading this one. I have to sayI've read the first book in a different series by this author and I didn't really like it, so I was a bit unsure about reading this one. I have to say, I'm glad I gave it a go.
Like a lot of other readers, I found the interaction between Jaye and Jake was fun reading. I liked the fact that Jaye was pretty new to being a coroner and therefore a bit unsure of herself in some ways but actually knew her stuff (although this story is a lot less technical in that regard, unlike a Kay Scarpetta book, for instance). I liked the bizarre collection of town names that made up that county. That was very cool. I liked that not everything was as it appeared on the surface, although I would have liked more depth in terms of what exactly Fiona was up to and how other people in the town were affected by the various deaths that occurred in the book. Sometimes it felt a little bit like, "Well, we've dispatched that person, now the MC's can get on with the detecting part but let's leave out some of that mucky emotional content."
I didn't like how the reader had very little chance of figuring out who the perpetrator was because at the end it feels like he just randomly comes out of nowhere, says all this stuff that we've seen no evidence of, and then does what he does. I feel like a chunk of the book was missing, where more stuff was explored or figured out, particularly after the phone call right near that end that gives the MC the inspiration for her theory. Was he even responsible for any of those other crimes? And if so, which ones? Did he move around? We hadn't been given that impression but he would had to have. Yeah, too much unanswered for me there.
I did also like the hints of Jaye's past that we got that were not explored but that I would hope came out more in subsequent books. But I guess the whole book had the potential for a much deeper story. We never saw what happened with Dickey's situation, or whether that friendship survived the accusations. We never saw what happened to the person having the affair with one of the victims. We never got to see if the town treated the first victim's husband any differently because of the revelations of what had been happening in their relationship. Maybe it's there in later books in the series. Maybe nobody else but me cares. Or maybe those were missed opportunities to write a much more emotionally connected book. Who knows?
I would actually like to read more in this series, just to see whether the author has managed to write past the surface and build this town and its inhabitants and its inter-connections, because there is a lot of potential to be explored there....more
This book started out with an entertaining premise and then got much more serious and gore-filled than I was expecting. There were still light momentsThis book started out with an entertaining premise and then got much more serious and gore-filled than I was expecting. There were still light moments but there were a lot of very unpleasant things going on, which was a bit tough to stomach at times. Not sure if I could put myself through a second helping of that....more
This book begins with a crime. A murder has taken place. So there's a mystery, obviously. But this is no cozy. We add a drop of the paranormal with ouThis book begins with a crime. A murder has taken place. So there's a mystery, obviously. But this is no cozy. We add a drop of the paranormal with our psychic main character. I've seen these before. I know where we're going.
No. I don't.
Our psychic is not actually a psychic. She's more...a witch. A practitioner of Wicca, certainly, but also a magic-containing witch. OK, let's call it urban fantasy. Some 'ghosts'? Add supernatural.
This would still put the story within the realms of things I've read before if it weren't for the man she runs over late one night who, as it turns out, is not from our world at all, but from a world of swords and sorcery. Well, I'm not sure about sorcery exactly (although it probably qualifies), but definitely a place where magic is known and accepted.
Wait. What? Our paranormal murder-mystery possible urban fantasy with a side order of what would normally qualify as supernatural just got a lot more fantasy fantasy. You'd think that so many genres existing within the one story would create massive potential for it just to become one big, messy stew of nothing identifiable. Which is not the case. We've even got a little romance thrown in there and it's not out of place.
Instead of each new genre reveal feeling like a twist that complicates and constrains the plot, it instead feels like everything just got bigger and broader and has more scope. And the ending does not qualify as a cliffhanger and yet it had a much better hook for the next book than some of the other cliffhangers I've read in the past.
If you like crime, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, supernatural, romance and/or fantasy, you might want to check this book out. Ignore the flaws, suspend your disbelief, and just see where it takes you....more