Category Archives: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

I am a huge mystery buff and I really enjoy mysteries which deal with the art world. That being said, “White Lead” was a book that I found difficult to follow and equally difficult to finish.

The plot line is rather convoluted but follows an art conservationist as she runs from dangerous situation to even more dangerous situation. The problem was that I never fully understood why she was involved, how she got away time and time again and, in the end, I really did not understand the ending (which left too many open plot lines – perhaps thinking there would be more in this series?)

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This is a mystery series that I have enjoyed and have read the first the second book in the series. I jumped ahead to book 4 and was able to pick up the action easily.

In this story our sleuth, Angie, is beginning to think about staying in Haven Harbor beyond the six months she has allotted herself. As she is four months into the period, she will need to figure out things pretty soon. She has two men that she might become interested in and she has a job to do that she is enjoying. The personal plot line of this series moves slowly but that is in line with the concept of four books covering a period of four months.

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“The Body in the Landscape” is the fifth book in a mystery series about Cherry Tucker. This is the first book in this series that I have read. I often read books out of order in a series to see if a book can stand alone or if it needs to be read in order. For me, there were enough confusing elements in the story – from start to finish, that I must recommend that the series be read in order.

I enjoyed the book, which was quite long. It seemed much longer than the page count on the product page – maybe a third again as long based on the line count on the Kindle version.

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“Kiss of the Sun” is the first book I have read by R. K. Jackson but is the second in his series of A Girl in the Maze Thriller. I often read books in series out of order to see if a book can be read stand-alone or if it is best to read the whole series in order. While I was able to pick up the gist of the story as I went along, because of the character foundation and prior experiences in the first book, I recommend that this series be read in order.

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I’ve enjoyed all four books in Gigi Pandian’s Jaya Jones series. Jaya is a art historian and professor who, for me, seems to combine Indiana Jones and Amelia Peabody (Elizabeth Peter’s intrepid heroine) into one. I always have a lot of fun reading these books and recommend them to anyone who enjoys a fun and funny mystery with historical references.

In this story, Jaya is off to Italy to investigate a claim that her former professor, Lilith Vine, has made about an artist whose work she says, in the 16th century, spanned between the Italian Renaissance and India. Such a tie had never existed. Lilith was disgraced by making erroneous claims in the past but Jaya is convinced something is afoot when the disgraced professor dies suddenly after their meeting. Jaya is also convinced that she was murdered even though every one else thinks it was accidental.

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This is the first book in the new Gesthsemane Brown series by Alexia Gordon. As the book series starts, Gesthsemane has just found herself in Ireland homeless, without a job, and with her luggage stolen. Thankfully, she is a very talented orchestra conductor and classical musician who is able to find a place to stay, get a job, and borrow the clothes she needs fairly quickly.

The job is at an all-boys school where she is quickly informed part of her duties are to get them to win a prestigious event in a matter of weeks. Of course, they haven’t won this contest in 75 years so Ms. Brown has her work cut out for her.

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“Pumpkins in Paradise” is the first book I have read by author Kathi Daley. The book is also the first in a series of mysteries about Tj Jensen. Tj has taken on the task of raising her two half-sisters after her mother recently passed away. She is also the type of individual who likes to volunteer (or be volunteered) for a various groups and causes in her small town Paradise, Nevada.

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This is the first book I have read by Ritter Ames and it is the first in a series of books about recovering artworks.

In this story, Laurel Beacham is the sleuth who ferrets out artworks that have been misappropriated in the past. She likewise re-appropriates them (by hook or by crook) and restores them to their rightful owners. She has an uncanny ability to change her appearance and demeanor and has, up until now, not been found out.

Laurel finds herself looking not only for artwork but for her co-worker as well. Her past relationship with the man gives her an extra motivation as well as knowledge of where to look for him. She runs into a new individual and has to decide whether to trust him or consider him part of the plot that has taken her friend.

The book is both funny and has a lot of roller-coaster style thrills. I had a lot of fun reading the book and look forward to more in the series in the future.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher, Henery Press, via Netgalley.

I read this series out of order by reading the 19th and the 21st books before reading this, the 20th book in the Eve Duncan series. I thought that I had not missed much but once I went back and read through “Hide Away”, I realized that it was filled with pivotal information that transitioned the series. I highly suggest that you read these three books in their intended order.

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I started reading this series with book number 19 “Shadow Play”, which as it turns out, was the beginning of the trilogy series within the larger Eve Duncan series. I missed book 20 “Hide Away” but picked up again with “Night and Day” which is the last of the three books.

In the first book I read, Eve Duncan worked as a forensic sculptor. In “Night and Day”, her skills are not touched upon and that was more than slightly disappointing. Otherwise, the book was action packed and filled with “bad guys” and paranormal happenings as well as relationships forming and families being completed. The ending was satisfying but it also held promises of more to come in the next book in the series. Hopefully, in the next book, there will be more about Eve’s work which was so intriguing to me in the first book I read in this series.

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