Tag Archives: cozies

Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders by Gyles Brandreth

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Cover Oscar Wilde and the candlelight murders by Gyles Brandreth

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis: Oscar Wilde as Sherlock Holmes.

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes

For people who: like cozy/historical mysteries, Oscar Wilde

My thoughts:

I like Oscar Wilde and I like historical mysteries, so “Oscar Wilde and the candlelight murders” was an obvious choice for me. I was not disappointed.

The story is told from Robert Sherard’s first person point of view. He was a close friend of Oscar Wilde’s and his first biographer, but a rather dull Watson to Wilde’s Sherlock Holmes. The comparison to the Sherlock Holmes suggests itself naturally because Wilde displays extraordinary powers of deduction, a bit too extraordinary for my taste, he might give Holmes a run for his money. On top of that Arthur Conan Doyle is a key figure as a friend of Oscar Wilde and – according to this book – based the character of Mycroft Holmes on him. Be that as it may, Wilde and Sherard are the typical sleuth/sidekick pair with Wilde being quite in the know while Sherard has no clue as to what is going on.

Oscar Wilde is shown as a character with a lot of facets, amiable, the perfect gentleman with impeccable manners, a bit of sloth like, but at the same time extremely moody and unpredictable. His homosexuality is only hinted at by making him "worship" pretty young boys a bit too much to be just a lover of aesthetics. Sherard seems oblivious to this or chooses to ignore it. Strange, because towards the end he becomes outraged when he witnesses some "musical" activities ("musical" being the euphemism used at the time).

The mystery is quite puzzling, even though the reader gets an inkling rather early of who might be involved. It develops very slowly, the investigations are taking place over a long period of time and are not really the main focus of the book. The book lives from the atmosphere and the characters, most of all Oscar Wilde himself. You will find a lot of very familiar quotes interspersed throughout the book and and some that COULD be by Wilde but are Gyles Brandreth’s own.

The end is in the nice and cozy Poirot manner. Everybody is gathered in a room and the sleuth presents the solution, gives his reasoning to a stunned audience and presents the murderer.

This is a lovely, super quick and entertaining read and I am looking forward to the next books in the series already. If you are not familiar with Oscar Wilde at all it might be helpful if you read a little about and/or by him first, but even without this knowledge, cozy mystery lovers will enjoy this book a lot.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Oscar Wilde and the candlelight murders
Author	Gyles Brandreth
Publisher	John Murray Publishers
ISBN	9780719569302
I got this book from	a friend
Buy link	Buy Oscar Wilde and the candlelight murders
More info	The Oscar Wilde murder mysteries

If you click on the buy link above you will be taken to The Book Depository.co.uk. If you buy the book through this link I will earn a small commission. You can find my general affiliate links to The Book Depository, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com here.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

On what grounds by Cleo Coyle

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Cover On what grounds by Cleo Coyle

Very short synopsis:

First mystery at the Village Blend. With the police discarding the case as an accident, Clare sets out to find the killer.

inanutshell

I read it in: English

I liked it: Yes. I have already read a few later books in the series so I knew what to expect. It is a nice start to the series that clears up a few situations that were not explained later on anymore. Cozy atmosphere and likeable main characters. If you don’t mind the usual overload of the “theme” (i.e. “There is a bludgeoned body in the basement? Nothing a gourmet latte couldn’t fix.”), this is a very pleasant mystery.

For people who like: cozy mysteries & coffee.

Product info and buy link :

Title	On what grounds
Author	Cleo Coyle
Publisher	Berkley Prime Crime
ISBN	9780425192139
I got this book from	Birgit from The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy On what grounds

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

In my mailbox

5 Replies

My mailbox was super full this week, all thanks to Birgit from The Book Garden who sent me a package with books and other goodies. She sent me a whole stack of cozy mysteries, some of one of our favourite series and some new to me. On top of that she sent me some other things that I won’t show here otherwise you will all come knocking at her door, begging for gifts, Smiley .

I got as a gift

On what grounds
Through the grinder
Espresso shot, all by Cleo Coyle, book no. 1, 2 and 7 in the Coffeehouse Mystery series
Knit one, kill two by Maggie Sefton, a knitting mystery. Not that I am a big knitter (anything but), but is there something more cozy than knitting. Hm, maybe crochet.
A crafty killing by Lorraine Bartlett, first in the Victoria Square Mystery series.
Spackled and spooked by Jennie Bentley, a Do-it-yourself mystery.

They all are going to make for some wonderfully cozy reading under the blanket. Thanks, Birgit, for sending them to me!

Cover Espresso Shot by Cleo Coyle Cover Knit one, kill two by Maggie Sefton

Cover A crafty killing by Lorraine Bartlett Cover Spackled and spooked by Jennie Bentley

What was in YOUR mailbox recently?

Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett

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Cover Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett

Tricia is meddling again.

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

After killing a book seller a murderer seems to be after Bob and Angelica.

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes, but the heroine is annoying, as almost always with cozies.

For people who: like lovely settings, aggravating heroines

My thoughts:

This second book that I read in the Booktown Mystery series is quite a nice cozy mystery again. It is the fourth in the series, my prediction after book one regarding a relationship between Tricia and Russ has come and gone, meanwhile she has had another thing going with a police officer and her love life is non existent once more. On the mystery side it is a run of the mill cozy where the Booktown is yet another token theme that has no bearing on the actual story. Those people could be selling anything from books to jam to second hand clothes and it would be just the same.

What I realize more and more is that I have a real problem with the cozy mystery heroines. Why do they always have to be either idiots, have attitude problems or both? Tricia is no exception. I find her aggravating and insufferable. Sorry!

Tricia meddles in business that is not her own. She is condescending and prejudiced. She does idiotic things even though she knows better (I suppose you have to be grateful for that). The number of times I shook my head and thoroughly disliked her I can’t count. I don’t know what is wrong with cozy writers. Can’t they create women that are sensible, reasonable people who deal with things in a respectful and cautious manner?

Agatha Raisin is a natural cheater and liar. (Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton)
Theodosia is nosy and –again- meddlesome to the extreme. (Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs)
That woman from Murder Unleashed (DNF for me) doesn’t want to deal with the police because she is wanted for attempted murder in another state!

Maybe is should stop reading cozies for a while and turn to something else.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Chapter and Hearse
Author	Lorna Barrett
Publisher	Penguin
ISBN	9780425236017
I got this book from	Birgit at The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy Chapter & Hearse

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

Murder is binding by Lorna Barrett

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Cover Murder is binding by Lorna Barrett

Who knew book lovers lived so dangerously?

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:
A cook book shop owner is murdered and the next door neighbour, mystery book seller Tricia, is the only suspect for the police sheriff who holds a grudge against her.

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes, rather

For people who: like books about book lovers and cozy mysteries

My thoughts:

I got this book from Birgit and as it sounded nice and entertaining I read it right away.

Once I started reading it drew me right into the atmosphere of this little New Hampshire town with a whole street full of antiquarian books stores. Sounds like a reader’s dream come true.

There was budding romance (don’t recoil, it was ok for a mystery book), quite interesting characters, a sisters’ conflict, an intriguing murder and a dislikeable sheriff. A few of the plot items will definitely carry on into following sequels and I find it quite inconsiderate of Birgit that she didn’t send me the next book, but the fourth. Just kidding, I love Birgit, but now I somehow have to get the two mysteries in between in order to be in the picture. I am predicting a relationship between Tricia and the publisher of the local newspaper in the future, but we will see.

Anyway, a nice mystery, the series is definitely worth reading on.

One thing that I would like to mention that totally rubbed me the wrong way was the fact that the characters (and thus the author) talked about a child with Down Syndrome as being "retarded" which I find offensive. I have a child with Down Syndrome and I find that word hurtful. Obviously the author knows that the word is debatable to say the least, because in one scene she has one character say something along the lines of "you can call her [the child] retarded, it won’t offend me". Well, it did offend me as a reader and that little detail (as unimportant as it may seem – the story doesn’t revolve around the DS issue) was in the back of my mind during the whole book and bothered me.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Murder is binding
Author	Lorna Barrett
Publisher	Berkley Mystery
ISBN	9780425219584
I got this book from	Birgit at The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy Murder is binding
More info	The Booktown mystery series

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

In my mailbox

8 Replies

Birgit from The Book Garden sent me a parcel with tons of lovely goodies, books and souvenirs from her recent trip to the US. I enjoyed every single one of them (and carry around a couple in my purse) – thank you, Birgit!

I got as a gift

It is cozy time again! Birgit sent me two books in the Booktown Mystery series

Murder is binding by Lorna Barrett
Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett

Cover Murder is binding by Lorna Barrett Cover Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett

and there is more…

Dying in style by Elaine Viets – Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper series
Murder Unleashed by Elaine Viets – a dead-end job mystery

I have never heard of those before, but they sound quite nice and entertaining.

Cover Dying in style by Elaine Viets Cover Murder Unleashed by Elaine Viets

What was in YOUR mailbox recently?

Shades of Earl Grey by Laura Childs

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Very short synopsis:

A cat burglar is causing trouble in Charleston and, of course, Theodosia feels compelled to investigate.

inanutshell

I read it in: English

I liked it: So so. I was not too impressed.

For people who like: cosy mysteries, tea.

This was my second book in the Tea Shop Mystery series after Death by Darjeeling and I was not too thrilled with it. Theodosia is again way too nosy for her own good and towards the end downright stupid, which gets her into a situation that could have ended very badly for her. No idea where she gets the idea that she has an obligation to help out her friends by finding the culprit when moral support would be more than enough (reminds me a lot of Isabel Dalhousie; at least, Isabel uses obscure philosophical reasons as an excuse though). Also she has not learned anything from previous experience and is just as ready to suspect everybody for no reason whatsoever as she was before.

However, the very cosy atmosphere with Charleston as scenic background and the lovely tea shop as immediate location is very agreeable. I might read more of these books just for that alone – and take the meddlesome sleuth as a necessary evil.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Shades of Earl Grey
Author	Laura Childs
Publisher	Berkley Publishing
ISBN	9780425188217
I got this book from	Birgit at The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy Shades of Earl Grey

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

In my mailbox

7 Replies

Not much going on these days. However, the bargain bin at Awesome Books is beckoning at the moment…

I swapped

Murder by Mocha by Cleo Coyle. It was available at my swap site so I grabbed it, book buying ban or not.

What was in YOUR mailbox recently?

Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

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Tea can be deadly, and so can amateur sleuthing.

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

Local developer gets murdered. Tea shop owner Theodosia Browning feels obliged to investigate.

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes, sort of, but I had some misgivings.

For people who: like cozy mysteries, tea, nosy amateur sleuths

My thoughts:

At the start I thought I would love this book. I posted its beginning last week and the whole atmosphere of Charleston, the tea shop, the people, it spoke to me.

However, after a while, I started to seriously dislike our heroine (from now on I call her TB, her name is just too long). Frankly, she is a nosy bitch with preconceived opinions who lies through her teeth to find out things. Not that those things help her much, mind, at the end she is as clueless as she was in the beginning, just that her snooping almost kills her.

Just a few examples what I didn’t like about the whole story/character:

One of TB’s employees, Bethany, is a suspect and is being questioned by the police. Nothing wrong about that. Nothing in the book indicates that the police is unfair, they do not abuse her, they are only doing their job. However, at a meeting with the detective TB says to him: “The more you continue to harass her, the more you look like a rank amateur.” No wonder the guy is flabbergasted, the police did nothing of the sort.
At the funeral TB gives the impression to the deceased’s sister that she was “very close” to him. She actually says that to her when the sister asks her whether she knew her brother. Just on the next page, however, TB muses that the sister “had obviously mistaken her for a female friend of Hugh Barron”. Um, no, she has not mistaken her, TB has TOLD her that she was a “very close” female friend.
Bethany was sacked from the Heritage Society after the murder, a fact that was never properly explained. In fact it is treated in the book as if the president was this unfair old man who fired her unfairly. Well, let me tell you, if I was the board president and I got into an argument with a new board member (who later gets killed), the last thing I’d expect was an INTERN to interfere and give her two cents. And, what is more, to see her address the new board member later and apologize for the unfair treatment by the rest of the board.
TB lies to about everyone to get information. She goes as far as going to the local morgue and acting as an undertaker who comes to pick up the corpse! Needless to say the morgue employee hands out freely all info about the lab results of a murder case to an undertaker who is unknown to him and who comes from a funeral home he has never heard of before. Standard procedure, that!
TB finds out that another suspect (of hers) has worked in the jungle and knows about frogs whose poison is used for arrows. From that little nugget she presumes that the man “knows all about toxins”. Of course, if you have ever heard of a rattlesnake it makes you an expert on poisons of all kinds and at the same time a potential suspect in ANY poison case ever.

So, as far as the investigation goes, I was thoroughly disappointed. The assumptions and conclusions were just too weird and illogical to make any sense to me. On top of that the reader was misled on purpose by some strange internal thoughts from one of the suspects that were put in a way to make him sound extremely odd, stalker-ish and suspicious, when in fact he is only a harmless man smitten with TB. No doubt this was done to obfuscate the whole story and I did not appreciate that.

That being said, I liked it for the atmosphere and general feeling which was just right for a cozy mystery. We will see what the other book in the series that I have will be like.

Location: Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Broad Street, Charleston

Images from wikipedia.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Death by Darjeeling
Author	Laura Childs
Publisher	Berkley Prime Crime
ISBN	9780425179451
I got this book from	Birgit from The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy Death by Darjeeling

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

French Pressed by Cleo Coyle

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Chefs are an arrogant and insufferable bunch. But do they deserve to die?

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

Clare’s daughter is the main suspect in a couple of murder cases and now she has all hands full to find the real killer.

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes

For people who: like cozy mysteries, feisty heroines, the restaurant scene.

My thoughts:

So far I liked this one best, I think. Birgit did say that the series gets better and she is definitely right. I start to really like Clare even though she is a terrible busybody who thinks everybody and everything is her business.

Her daughter, however, is a different matter.
The first time you stumble on a corpse and then get to be the main suspect it is a tragedy, if it happens again it becomes a farce. How stupid can you get, for Christ’s sake? Her boss and lover humiliates her in front of the whole staff and dumps her like an old rag, so she flees from the scene. And what does she do next? Goes back to retrieve her knives at midnight when she can be certain the guy will be there and most probably alone! Isn’t humiliation enough? Well, she paid for her idiocy.

This story takes place in the restaurant scene and chefs and cooks play a huge part. As I have experience with cooks myself I can vouch for the realism in most of the book. Even though I find it totally unbelievable that a four star restaurant – no matter how avantgarde or extraordinary – does not have a coffee machine and the maitre d’ allows the waiters to serve clients staff coffee from some dirty old coffee maker. This is unheard of.

S P O I L E R !

Clare’s assumption that the man she suspects to be the killer has knife skills is ridiculous. He is not a butcher, he is the SON of a butcher. Why would the son of a butcher have knife skills? That would be the same as saying the son of an accountant is an excellent bookkeeper.

On another note I am glad to say that no artists made an appearance in this story and so Jackson Pollock can rest in peace today.

In spite of all these little things that bothered me I very much enjoyed reading this cozy and am looking forward to the next one already. I particularly like how every book puts a spotlight on a certain “scene”, the high society in the Hamptons, the fashion people, the coffee business and now the top restaurants. Highly entertaining!

Location: Greenwich Village, New York City, NY, USA

Washington Square Park MacDougal street

Images from wikipedia

Product info and buy link :

Title	French Pressed
Author	Cleo Coyle
Publisher	Berkley Publishing Group
ISBN	9780425220498
I got this book from	I won it from Birgit at The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy French pressed
More info	The Coffeehouse mysteries series
and more info	Cleo Coyle’s Internet coffeehouse

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

Book beginnings on Friday

10 Replies

Cover Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

After finishing the four books in the coffeehouse mystery series by Cleo Coyle I have moved on to the Tea Shop Mystery series by Laura Childs.

Death by Darjeeling is the first book in the series. The beginning sounds cosy enough:

Theodosia Browning leaned back from the clutter of her antique wooden desk, balanced a bone china cup and saucer on one knee, and took a much-needed sip of Lung Ching tea.

What is YOUR book beginning today? To see more book beginnings go to Rose City Reader!

Decaffeinated Corpse by Cleo Coyle

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Decaf is not for the faint of heart.

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

An old friend of Matt and Clare comes up with a decaf coffee plant. Are others after it and stick at nothing to get it?

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes

For people who: like cosy mysteries, a down to earth heroine, a slowly developing love affair.

My thoughts:

Birgit was right when she said the books get better, as opposed to a lot of other cosy mystery series. I am slowly coming to like Matt, Clare’s ex husband, as well as her ex-mother in law who plays quote a bit part in this story again. I particularly liked her drug deal and how cool-headed she is.

Clare is the typical busybody amateur sleuth. Always suspecting something, always sniffing around in people’s lives and asking indiscrete questions. I don’t know how people put up with that. Also she is so persistent when questioning people (with no right to do so, mind) she doesn’t seem to have any sense of shame or embarrassment inside her.

The obsession with coffee in this series is still slightly over the top. OK, people work in a coffee shop but that doesn’t necessarily mean they HAVE to be fanatical coffee aficionados who place a well made coffee above everything else. Sometimes I get the feeling that, as long as the coffee is perfect, life is as well. If it was just that easy.

All in all, another nice, cosy read. I still have one book to go from Birgit’s batch, after that, I will have to look around for some more.

Location: Mostly Greenwich Village, NYC, NY, USA. Around Halloween

Images from wikipedia. Image links go to source.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Decaffeinated Corpse
Author	Cleo Coyle
Publisher	Berkley Publishing Group
ISBN	9780425216385
I got this book from	I won it from Birgit at The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy Decoffeinated Corpse
More info	The Coffeehouse mysteries series
Even more info	Cleo Coyle’s Internet coffeehouse

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

Latte trouble by Cleo Coyle

4 Replies

Cober Latte trouble by Cleo Coyle

Java Jewelry, Lattes and Murder in the fashion world

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

When Clare suspects a murder victim was not the intended one she starts to investigate during New York Fashion Week.

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes, quite. It’s an easy and quick read.

For people who: like cosy mysteries, coffee, fashion labels, first person POV

My thoughts:

Right at the start I realized that the book I read before this one “Murder most frothy” is actually the one after “Latte Trouble”. Ah, I hate reading out of order, but that couldn’t be helped now.

Clare Cosi is a rather likeable character and in this book we get to know her a bit better as far as her relationship with her ex-husband is concerned. Matteo is in this book for most of the time, so there is a lot of interaction between them. Somehow it seems he always turns up at the right time and always in the company of an influential, rich, trendsetter he can make use of. Not a bad connection to have for Clare, even though her feelings about these relationships are ambivalent.

The murder story is rather uneventful and even a kidnapping and visit to a hellhole of a club turns out to be not as bad as anticipated. Does anybody else find it remarkable that Clare knows off the top of her head that the fourth circle of hell is the circle of the greedy (she calls the hoarders)? Wow, this woman is literate, indeed! On the other hand she has no clue that the artist is called Jackson Pollock, not Pollack, for Christ’s sake! (see my review of Murder most frothy)

The solution to the mystery was –I wouldn’t call it far-fetched, but rather unexpected. The murderer turned out to be someone totally unrelated until then, something I am not a big fan of.

Brand labels play a big part in the book, not as hints to the mystery solution but rather as continuous name dropping. Bloody Hell, ok, it is fashion week, but I couldn’t care less whether witnesses wore a Prada dress, a Chanel costume or whatever. Got on my nerves, that.

All in all:

The whole plot is rather straightforward and easy to follow. A comfort read without much brain engagement involved.

Location: New York, New York, USA, during fashion week

Images from wikipedia users mangostar and mandiberg.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Latte trouble
Author	Cleo Coyle
Publisher	Berkley Publishing Group
ISBN	9780425204450
I got this book from	I won it from Birgit at The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy Latte Trouble
More info	The Coffeehouse mysteries series
Even more info	Cleo Coyle’s Internet coffeehouse

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

Book beginnings on Friday

5 Replies

Cober Latte trouble by Cleo Coyle

My book beginning today is from a cosy mystery I started reading two days ago, “Latte Trouble” by Cleo Coyle. I read another book in the series before and reviewed it here.

Men are pigs, They should die!

What is YOUR book beginning today? To see more book beginnings go to Rose City Reader!

Death of a macho man by M. C. Beaton

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Very short synopsis:

Unpleasant guy gets killed, but is he really who he says he is? Hamish investigates independently once more.

I read it in: English

I liked it: no

For people who like: cozy mysteries, the Scottish Highlands, who are hardcore Hamish fans

This is definitely the weakest of all Hamish Macbeth books so far. No reader can possibly be interested in finding out who killed the victim. Not because he is an unpleasant lout (most victims are), but because we don’t really get to know him. Then the little that we do know turns out to be a complete lie, the victim has taken on a false identity, so in the end it seems like we never knew the victim at all.

The solution to the problem is so disconnected to the story that it is impossible to guess why the victim was killed, so reading the mystery was no fun at all. Just like a Deus ex machina the solution is there. Yes, we have met the murderer before (so it was not as bad as it could have been, I guess), but still the end was extremely unsatisfying.

Not to speak of the “Gentleman Jim” gangster character appearing! How trite can you get? Gentleman Jim! I was surprised that Gentleman Jim didn’t wear spats!

This felt like a book that needed to be cranked out at an even quicker pace than usual and the story was made up as the author went along.

And just really quick on the “relationship” between our hero and the Belle of the village…

It is obvious why Hamish and Priscilla had to split up and can never be a couple. More than once Priscilla used her social position to get Hamish out of trouble, either by just being who she is and at the same time being a friend of Hamish’s (obviously being friends with the rich and noble is enough for Hamish to be above suspicion or reproach) or by using her status deliberately to pull strings with Hamish’s superior’s wife. That woman’s social aspirations would all fall to pieces if Priscilla wasn’t friends with her anymore, so she does everything (including dissuading her husband from firing Hamish) to stay on Priscilla’s good side. What sort of light this throws on her husband I don’t even want to think about.

If Priscilla was married to Hamish, she would be reduced to being a constable’s wife, living in a cottage, and where would that leave her social influence? No superintendent’s wife would beg for an invitation to a Bobby’s cottage! So for Hamish’s sake he and Priscilla need to stay apart under any circumstances.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Death of a macho man
Author	M. C. Beaton
Publisher	Robinson Publishing
ISBN	9781845299071
I got this book from	I bought it
Buy link	Buy Death of a Macho Man, though I advise against it

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

What I like…besides books: TV – Hamish Macbeth

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I really like the Hamish Macbeth books by M.C. Beaton, so I thought it might be nice to watch the TV series which is based on the books.

There are three seasons and so far I am in the middle of season two and can compare books and TV series. Nothing could be further apart. As far as I can see, only the name of Hamish and the village Lochdubh, a few aspects of the plots and a very loose resemblance of some of the other characters remind us of the books.

Most of the names have been changed, there are many characters who never turn up in the books and the personality of Hamish is quite different. However, the series is quite good and cozy in its own right, just do not expect to find the books in it. And, oh, the Scottish accent is to die for.

Hamish himself.

Hamish’s looks are not at all like in the book. No tall, lanky and red-haired Hamish here. But this is not the only difference. Yes, he is rather indulgent when it comes to not abiding by the law, but on the other hand he shows some traits that are definitely not nice, not to say disturbing.

Like in the books he is jealous, but here his jealousy manifests itself in deliberately damaging other potential suitors’ cars and generally harassing the guys in a petty way.

Then there is one episode where his dog (Wee Jock, not Towser) gets killed in a car accident. A dog, by the way, that is so used to being fed by John McIver that he won’t even take food from Hamish. What does Hamish do? He goes out, follows the two convicts who ran Wee Jock over, befriends them, lies to them and lures them to a certain spot to kill them. Only the arrival of his Lochdubh friends stop him. Now, don’t tell me that he would not have been able to shoot them! It doesn’t change a thing.
Apart from the fact that at the time of their rescue the two men were only holding on to a rope and could have easily allen into an abyss, resulting in their death with Hamish not even shooting them, the idea that he planned to go after them with a gun in his pocket, becoming their friend and leader through the rough Scottish landscape, pretending to wanting to help them only to take them to a safe spot to kill them shows a rather nasty and evil disposition. The fact that that man is a police officer makes it only worse. And to top this all, the two men only killed his DOG by accident! I find this side of his personality rather disturbing and from that episode on I am not sympathizing with him anymore.

The women

Priscilla is now called Alex and is not the beauty she is supposed to be. Also she is extremely jealous and behaves rather idiotic. Hamish and Alex are engaged by now (different situation but also rather awkward), but already one can see that this is not a match made in heaven.

Isobel is a new character that loves Hamish and that Hamish fancies in spite of his engagement with Alex. Tension everywhere.

Villagers

There are many new characters that do not appear in the book.

TV John McIver is Hamish’s “housekeeper”, part Hamish’s counsellor, part helper, part stand in for the seer Angus MacDonald with his premonitions.
Rory, the shopkeeper, stand in for the Indian Patel. Obviously an Indian wouldn’t fit into the Scottish setting. Rory has an affair with
Esme, the teacher. They are quite an interesting couple, those two.
Barney and his wife Agnes are the pub/hotel owners.
My favourite characters: Father and son McCrae. Lachlan and Lachie jr., the local entrepreneurs. Those two are so funny and make sure the necessary comic relief is there.
Doc Brown, a young doctor instead of the old fellow, who is Hamish’s pot smoking buddie (yeah, really!)

I would recommend the series to everyone who likes cozy mysteries (not necessarily with murder) in an interesting setting. You don’t have to know the books, on the contrary, knowing the “real” characters you might even be disappointed a bit. But it is entertaining nevertheless. Do not forget to put on the subtitles on your DVD player, though!

Death of a charming man by M. C. Beaton

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Very short synopsis:

Beautiful young newcomer to a dreary village charms all the women. Eventually he gets killed which was practically unavoidable. Hamish saw it coming.

inanutshell

I read it in: English

I liked it: Yes

For people who like: I don’t know whether M.C. Beaton does not like women very much or whether it is just coincidence that again the women are all daft and gullible. They seem to be all over Scotland, too, as this time we are not in Lochdubh, but in another backwater village called Drim.

Hamish’s and Priscilla’s engagement is a joke! I can’t find fault with Hamish; Priscilla knows he is unambitious, but the second they are engaged she starts to try to “change” him – and when has that ever worked? On top of that she is a cold fish and not responsive at all to his romantic advances. What a couple! Oh, well, the engagement only happened by accident, so to speak, so what can you expect? Not surprised to see them split up at the end of the book.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Death of a charming man
Author	M. C. Beaton
Publisher	Robinson Publishing
ISBN	9781845297336
I got this book from	I bough it
Buy link	Buy Death of a charming man

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

In my mailbox

6 Replies

Actually this is not my doing, really. John keeps pestering me to get more Hamish Macbeth books because they are such comfy reads, and with Awesome Books’ low prices and additional coupons you can’t not buy books there. So I complied.

I bought

Death of a dentist
Death of a scriptwriter
Death of a dustman
Death of a celebrity all by M. C. Beaton.

Bookmooch

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Death of a travelling man by M. C. Beaton

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Very short synopsis:

Hamish takes an immediate dislike to a travelling man and newcomer to Lochdubh. Needless to say the unpleasant bloke gets his head smashed in.

inanutshell

I read it in: English

I liked it: It was ok, but for me one of the weaker books in the series. I never understood the lure of the victim and how he “seduced” the women of the village. So my interest in seeing his murderer brought to justice was was low. I couldn’t have cared less. The women of Lochdubh are painted in a rather unfavorable light. They are all easily seduced (not necessarily sexually, see "Death of a perfect wife”) and rather simple and one-layered.

Hamish’s engagement with Priscilla happens quite unexpected and under unusual circumstances. We will see how long that relationship lasts. My prediction: Not very long.

For people who like: Cozy mysteries, the Highlands.

Product info and buy link :

Title	Death of a travelling man
Author	M. C. Beaton
Publisher	Robinson Publishing
ISBN
I got this book from	I bought it
Buy link	Buy Death of a travelling man

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

Death of a glutton by M. C. Beaton

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Very short synopsis:

Disgusting woman is being killed in an eccentric way. Hamish encounters eccentric suspects galore to choose from.

inanutshell

I read it in: English

I liked it: Yes.
The victim was such an unpleasant creature that you could only root for the murderer. A group of visitors in a hotel are always a great cast for a mystery, and the story set in Tommel Castle adds a little extra flair. However, the way that hotel is being run makes me wonder how they make any money at all. A luxury hotel where people have to replace the light bulbs in the rooms themselves? This is unheard of! Shows that the Halburton-Smythes as owners are just amateurs who have their upper class status going for them.

For people who like: very cozy mysteries, the Scottish Highlands

Product info and buy link :

Title	Death of a glutton
Author	M. C. Beaton
Publisher	Robinson Publishing
ISBN	9781845297350
I got this book from	I bought it
Buy link	Buy Death of a glutton
More info	The Hamish Macbeth series

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

In my mailbox

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I received the rest of my order from Awesome Books this week, plus a few other things I am really looking forward to. A good book week, indeed!

I swapped

The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk. I got this because Ally is totally enthusiastic about it.

I bought

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the first book in the series. I was only waiting for this one so I can start reading.
A Presumption of Death by Jill Paton Walsh & Dorothy L. Sayers. This is the second Lord Peter Wimsey book that Jill Paton Walsh wrote/finished/co-wrote after “Thrones, Dominations”. Should be good.

For review

Beyond Snapshots by Rachel Devina and Peta Mazey. How to take that fancy DSLR camera off “Auto” and photograph your life like a pro.
I had totally forgotten that I requested this on Netgalley because it was months ago. The approval came only now – strange! But I will enjoy reading this.

From the library

The Accusers by Lindsey Davis. The 15th novel in the Marcus Didius Falco series. It is not my favourite Roman sleuth, but some of the books in this series are really good.

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Murder most frothy by Cleo Coyle

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Cover Murder most frothy by Cleo Coyle

Endless chatter about coffee meets High Society – and murder.

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

New York barista investigates murder in the fashionable Hamptons. Was the victim the real target or will the killer strike again?

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes

For people who: like cozy mysteries, first person POV, coffee talk, feisty heroine which lacks a little common sense.

My thoughts:

Starting to read:

This starts out nice enough. I like the protagonist, she is sensible and down to Earth. I was afraid the millionaire would be a gorgeous hunk, but he turns out to be middle-aged, short and chubby. Much better!

I kind of find the constant references to the coffee blend Clare uses out of place. It is a coffeehouse mystery, so maybe this is normal in those themed cozies, but would you – after finding a corpse – ponder the type of coffee blend to use next?

By the way, the painter with his studio in the Hamptons is not Jackson Pollack, for crying out loud. His name is Pollock, I hope this is just a typo.

Later on:

Clare is starting to get a bit too bossy with her daughter and too nosy for my taste. She obviously thinks she knows everything best and her promise to let her suspicions go isn’t worth anything. You better not make deals with her as she won’t stick to them.

Moreover, she is practically breaking into a home in order to snoop around, something I find highly irresponsible and idiotic, not even counting the fact that she thinks it is the house of the killer. Is that woman crazy? I can’t say I like that sort of behaviour. Ha, appearance of the hunk! I knew it.

No, unfortunately it was not a typo. The name of the guy is Pollock, dammit!

Towards the end:

Of couse, she has to meddle and not follow the advice from people who know what they are talking about. Figures. By now I am used to that already and don’t mind that much anymore.

All in all:

A nice, light read, perfect for a relaxed afternoon. It is the second book in the series but this was no problem at all. You can read it as a stand alone easily. The recipes at the end of the book are a nice bonus for coffee lovers, even though I think the eight layered chocolate-almond espresso will be awfully sweet. But worth a try!

Location: The Hamptons, Long Island, New York, USA

The Hamptons map Montauk Point Lighthouse

Images from wikipedia, Lighthouse picture by Wolfgang Wander

Product info and buy link :

Title	Murder most frothy
Author	Cleo Coyle
Publisher	Berkley Publishing Group
ISBN	9780425211137
I got this book from	Birgit at The Book Garden
Buy link	Buy Murder most frothy
More info	The Coffeehouse mysteries series
Even more info	Cleo Coyle’s Internet coffeehouse

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

In my mailbox

6 Replies

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I have been on a bit of a cozy binge with the help of a coupon from Awesome books. Totally love that shop!

I bought

Death of a glutton
Death of a travelling man
Death of a charming man
Death of a nag
Death of a macho man

Another book in the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith. I am still waiting for the first book to turn up.

Espresso Tales

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In my mailbox

17 Replies

Hosted by The Story Siren

This must be one of my biggest IMM posts ever. I won Birgit’s Old books in a new home giveaway with a stack of cozy mysteries. I am totally made up because I only started reading those recently and my shelf needed a re-fill. Thank you, Birgit!

I swapped

Panem et Circenses by Carl Wilhelm Weber, a German non-fiction book about mass entertainment in ancient Rome
Hector and the search for happiness by François Lelord
Hector and the secrets of love by François Lelord
I got the last two in German. They were written in French originally so I thought I might as well read them in my own language for a change.

I bought

Bodies Politic by David Wishart. This is the latest instalment in the Marcus Corvinus series set in Ancient Rome. David Wishart, whose earlier books used to be published by Hodder and Stoughton, has now changed to a print-on-demand publisher and also chose to publish this as an e-book on Smashwords, DRM free and all. I am pretty excited about this. I already posted its book beginning.

I won

The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries Omnibus 1 by Charlaine Harris which includes the first four books in the series “Real Murders”, “A bone to pick”, “Three bedrooms, one corpse” and “The Julius House”. Aurora Teagarden is a librarian and the series has been on my mental TBR list for a while.
Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs
Shades of Earl Grey by Laura Childs
Two books from The Tea Shop Mystery series
Murder most frothy by Cleo Coyle
Latte trouble by Cleo Coyle
Decaffeinated Corpse by Cleo Coyle
French pressed by Cleo Coyle
Four books from the Coffeehouse mysery series
Everything I never wanted to be by Dina Kucera. Birgit sent this as a bonus book because she thought I might like it. It sounds interesting, but you have to be in the right mood for the topic, I think.

Cover Bodies Politic by David Wishart

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Agatha Raisin and the walkers of Dembley

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Blurb:

After six months in London, Agatha Raisin returns to her beloved Cotswold village and her dashing neighbor, James Lacey. Well, sort of. James might not be so interested in Agatha. But soon enough, Agatha becomes consumed by her other passion: crime-solving.
A woman has been found dead in a lonely field nearby. Her name is Jessica Tartinck, a hiker who infuriated wealthy landowners by insisting on her hiking club’s right to trek across their properties.
Now it’s up to Agatha, with James’s help, to launch an investigation. Together, they will follow no shortage of leads; many of Jessica’s fellow Dembley walkers seem all too willing and able to commit murder. But the trail of a killer is as easy to lose as your heart and your life. So Agatha and James had better watch their every step . . .

In a nutshell:

I read it in: English

I liked it: Yes

For people who like: cozy mysteries combined with affairs of the heart

My thoughts:

This book introduces us to an interesting concept and the resulting fanatism of some people. The English right of way and the ramblers. According to “The walkers of Dembley” there must be some pretty weird groups of people out there who like to cause trouble and love confrontation with landowners. I understand not all ramblers are militant but the murder victim here certainly is. Why someone would want to walk across the land of someone else with no other purpose than to get into an argument with the landowner and insist on his/her right of way is beyond me. There are other paths to use without less trouble after all.

From what John told me it seems that a right of way expires if it is not used for a certain amount of time (we are not talking weeks or months here), but why someone would like to uphold the right of way straight through a field of rapeseed God only knows. This must be one of those peculiarities like train spotting or plane spotting that other nations don’t understand.

Spoiler:

Agatha gets weirder and weirder. Somehow that woman must think that her life has nothing to do with reality.

At the end of the book James asks her to marry him (I can’t imagine why, but that is neither here nor there) and she agrees. The fact that she is still married and has no clue as to the whereabouts of her drunkard of a husband doesn’t seem to fluster her in the least. Instead of saying to James, who later recalls to have heard something to that effect, that she needs to divorce her husband first and that is that, she just claims that everybody remembers wrongly what she said and that her husband, indeed, has been dead for years. Is she insane? She is vaguely aware of what she is about to do is called bigamy and illegal, but so what?! She even goes so far as to say to Bill Wong that she will kill anybody who will stand in her way to marriage. I bet this is going to cause quite a bit of trouble for her in the next book in the series “Agatha Raisin and the murderous marriage”, especially since her former friend, now arch enemy Roy is already calling detective agencies in order to find Jimmy. How fun! The next book will be a blast, if I can get myself to reading it, I hate big time liars.

Location: The fictional village of Carsely, Cotswolds, England, UK

Cotswolds map

Product info and buy link :

Title	Agatha Raisin and the walkers of Dembley
Author	M. C. Beaton
Publisher	Robinson
ISBN	9781849011372
I got this book from	I swapped it
Buy link	Buy Agatha Raisin and the walkers of Dembley

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.