Author Archives: Iiiireader

“See Also Murder” is a very well written debut mystery novel by Larry D. Sweazy. From the blurb at the back of the book, Mr. Sweazy has written Westerns previously, as well as having been and still work as an indexer – which is the profession he has chosen for the main character in this book. It certainly explains the skill with which her profession is presented, and is the basis for how she determines to solve the murders.

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While this is the third installment in this series by Wendy Tyson, “Dying Brand” is the first book I have read by the author. I often start series midway in order to judge how readable a book is stand-alone or if it is necessary to read all of the books of a series in order to enjoy the book. I was able to read this book fairly easily as a stand-alone but I really recommend reading the prior two books first. It is pretty obvious that there are relationships and characters whose depth would be enhanced by knowing their pasts.

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“The Ghost Fields” is the seventh book of an on-going series by Elly Griffiths and is the first book I have read by this author. I often start series mid-way through and one of the tests is whether or not I can enjoy the book without the earlier books in the series. In this regard, this book ranks excellent. While it is obvious that there is a long history between several of the characters, the author was able to bring me up to date without long recitations of what has happened previously or providing too much of a spoiler that makes it difficult to go back and read the previous books.

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“Shadow Waltz” is the third book in the Marjorie McClelland Mysteries by Amy Patricia Meade; however, it is the first book I have read in this series and, indeed, the first book I have read by Ms. Meade. I often chose to start a series mid-way through in order to judge whether it can be read stand-alone enjoyably or if it needs to be read as part of the series. While I did enjoy reading the book, I think it would be more enjoyable to have read it as part of the series. There seems to be many references to people, places, and occurrences which happened in the first two books. While I was able to figure out a good number of them by the end of the book, while I was reading it, I was puzzled by some of the references.

The story itself was definitely a fun and cozy mystery. Marjorie McClelland is a mystery writer who lives in Connecticut during the 1930’s. The country is still fairly deep in the Great Depression and there are signs that a good number of people are struggling. Thankfully for Marjorie and her fiance, Creighton Ashcroft, that is not their situation. Marjorie is making a nice living from her books and Creighton appears to be very wealthy indeed.

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