Death and Croissants by Ian Moore (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: Death and Croissants

Author: Ian Moore

Publication: 2 July 2021 (Farrago)/14 March 2023 (Poisoned Pen Press)

Format: Kindle eARC from NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press

Amazon Description

"A fast-paced, witty story for those who enjoy dry British humor." — Library Journal

Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that's the way he likes it.

One day, however, one of his older guests disappears, leaving behind a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the exotic Valérie, persuades a reluctant Richard to join her in investigating the disappearance.

Richard remains a dazed passenger in the case until things become really serious and someone murders Ava Gardner, one of his beloved hens... and you don't mess with a fellow's hens!

Death and Croissants is an unputdownable, hilarious mystery perfect for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club.

What readers are saying:

"Richard Osman meets Sherlock Holmes rampaging through the charming Loire Valley in this raucously funny book. I loved it."

"A light, very funny mystery with appealing characters in a wonderful French countryside."

"Oh wow, this was funny. This one just knocks it out of the park."

"A story full of interesting and diverse characters told with lots of humor."

"The author gives you everything you want in a humorous, witty mystery that chases you through all the twists and turns with murder, mafia, and mayhem."

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I have yet to read Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series. I know, I'm as shocked as you probably are. I'm sure I will eventually but there has been sooooo much hype that it has felt kind of like Harry Potter did when it first came out. I didn't read that until many many many years later when my kid decided we should, and even then we never bothered to finish the series.

 

What does any of this have to do with Death and Croissants? Easy : I have absolutely no preconceived notions. I could care less about those who claim it's "perfect for fans of Thursday Murder Club" or those who claim it's just a poor knock-off. I saw it on NetGalley; went "ooooh a new one to beg Poisoned Pen Press for;" got giddy because it would cross off a spot on my Craving for Cozies Library Card (Cozy Written by a Male Author) and put France on my Literary Escapes challenge list; got the approval and here we are. 

 

I have other books on my NetGalley shelf that are being released sooner (or are already out -- whoops), but this just felt like it would be the perfect palate cleanser after the "holyomigoodnesswhatthehellwasthat" of Lisa Unger's Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. 

 

Even from the first few pages it was clear that I made the right choice. We have as our "hero" Richard Ainsworth, former film historian (WOO-HOO!!! Score one for classic film references out the wazoo!!!!), who now runs a bed & breakfast (score two from the girl who has worked in hotels for 2/3 of her life), and really doesn't seem to like people very much (I feel you, man .... deep in my soul .... that should give, like, ten scores all on its own). And we have Valérie d'Orçay, a guest at the b&b who ends up being so much more .... but what, and exactly who, is a bit of a mystery all of its own. 

 

It feels a bit like classic Agatha Christie (serious The Man in the Brown Suit vibes for me), with some Remington Steele (speaking of Stephanie Zimbalist ... if you know, you know) type chemistry with a far less debonair hero. Farrago has already released two novels and a novella and the first is about to get its reprint from Poisoned Pen Press .... and I'm already for more. 

 

Maybe someday I'll get around to reading Osman. 

 

Right now Moore is more than adequate.

 

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

 

 

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six 

Author: Lisa Unger 

Publication: 8 November 2022 

Format: hardcover, eARC from NetGalley & Park Row

Amazon Description: 

Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller.

What could be more restful than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s generous brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It'll be three couples on this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R.

But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare. 

A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep.

How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

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23 February 2023

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It has taken me entirely too long to start this. 

 

I had (still have) an advanced digital copy, for crying out loud. 

 

I bought the hardcover shortly after it was released.

 

In November. 

 

Early November.

 

I suppose there were probably a lot of reasons to put it off, but those are mostly over and done and now I can devote the proper amount of energy ... I hope. I've picked it up several times over the past few months but then stuff would get in the way in my brain and I knew this probably wouldn't be a book I would be willingly distracted from. I have an hour and a half left to my work week and then nothing but hanging out with my kid for the weekend and he is perfectly willing to avoid the cold and snow and stay tucked inside the house with a book for me and the ipad, iphone, laptop, tv, kitchen, etc for him 😉

 

By the way, I have had the "Friday 56" picked out since I picked up the hardcover in our favorite little bookstore. I had no intention of buying it that day, I was just curious about the options for the 56es. I could have easily just stuck with the free eARC .... but the blip from page 256 made the hardcover a "keeper" and the receipt has been holding the page this entire time.

 

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27 February 2023

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So much horribly unexpected life got in the way of reading as much as I wanted to over the weekend .... and then came the Sunday night-Monday morning work shift which, blessedly, was only a hassle for the first hour or so.

And then came the book .... and everything else just sort of disappeared.

I was completely entranced and awestuck and bewildered and a million other feelings that I really never expected even though I probably should have. This isn't my first Unger, after all. Even though it had so many elements that I typically cringe over like time jumps, storylines that don't seem to go together at all, and the dreaded multiple POVs. This is Lisa Unger, though, and I really can't imagine the book working quite so well, or being nearly as gripping, without those dreaded elements. I also can't can't imagine those elements working quite so well by anybody else's hand (or keyboard .... or however Lisa does her thing).

So many amazing pieces jig-sawed together into a book I will most definitely reread and would give a million and two stars to if I could .... and page 256 is still my favorite.

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Murder Served Neat by Michelle Hillen Klump (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: Murder Served Neat

Author: Michelle Hillen Klump

Publication: 21 February 2023

Format: Kindle eARC from NetGalley & Crooked Lane Books

Amazon Description

Reporter-turned-mixologist Samantha Warren has already thwarted one murder. Now, her world is shaken—definitely not stirred—once again as another killing throws her world into chaos.

Samantha is mixing up traditional cocktails at the German Texan Lodge’s Fourth of July festival—a gig she was roped into by her mother. But amidst the bratwurst and brass bands, trouble is brewing. Lodge loyalties are divided over a proposal to build a private, country-club-style tennis center on the lodge grounds. Her mom’s best friend Patty Davis is vehemently opposed to the plan. Society matron Angela Clawson is all for it. At the festival, they’re seen in a heated argument—and hours later, Angela is found dead, killed by one of the ceremonial shovels intended for the groundbreaking.

Samantha’s mother begs her to help clear her best friend’s name, but can she handle another murder case or will the whole investigation go bottoms up?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

One of my first reads of the year was Michelle Hillen Klump's A Dash of Death. I wasn't overly impressed by it, but I stuck with it because this was already on my NetGalley shelf. I almost didn't and just hit the "will not be leaving feedback" button since I have had very bad luck with the "second book curse" lately.

 

Murder Served Neat has broken the curse!

 

I cared more about the characters -- possibly because we had already "met" before. Even the victim was a "what the heck! who? how?" right off the bat. I still don't care who killed the guy in the first one 😆 As a whole, the story just flowed much more smoothly. Sure, it was a little bit all over the place at times, but here it made sense and even added to the story rather than distracting from. Now, we just need to address the not-so-little matter of a certain little triangle that hopefully won't drag on and on for books to come.

 

And, yes, I'll definitely be reading the books to come.

 

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

 

 

I'll Sleep When I've Read... Farewell, My Babylon by Davidy Rosenfeld

 

Title: Farewell, My Babylon

Author: Davidy Rosenfeld

Publication: 12 January 2023/5 March 2023

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley 

Amazon Description:

Erez Brown is a private detective. He’s a busy man dealing in cheating spouses, small-time fraud and petty theft. Nothing dangerous. No one gets hurt. That’s until he takes on the case of a missing young woman. It’s been three years since Lea Rubinstein walked out the door, but only now her Orthodox Jew parents are suddenly interested in finding their daughter. Erez believes it’s an obvious case of a teenage girl escaping the confines of a strict religious upbringing and that Lea simply doesn’t want to be found. What should be a straightforward paperchase for a detective of Erez’s talents turns ugly when he's savagely beaten for getting too close to answers, and then his discovery of a murder—a prostitute who specializes in dominance and sexual harm has been brutally killed. Is Lea Rubinstein responsible, or is she another victim?

Rambly Teaserish Stuff:

Dashiell Hammett gave us Sam Spade. Raymond Chandler gave us Philip Marlowe. Mickey Spillane gave us Mike Hammer. Now, Davidy Rosenfeld has given us Erez Brown. It reads like a classic noir but set in modern Tel Aviv, Israel. 

All of Brown's cases kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. Will he find the missing daughter? Is the wife really cheating? Is the husband? Where's the ice cream money??? Rosenfeld really drew me in, though, with Brown and everyone he encountered -- his clients, staff, friends, and even the police who are sure he's leaving something out even when he's not. I could see them and hear them and, more than a few times, wanted to buy them a beer. My brain has already cast Eric Balfour as Erez and Inbar Lavi as his secretary Mazal, who could easily rank right up there with Mike Hammer's Velda in terms of awesomeness.

The most fascinating character for me, though, was Tel Aviv:

"They say this city is a bubble. What it really is, is a broken mirror reflecting countless dreams. Tel Aviv is the capital of unfulfilled fantasies; the port Odysseus never reached; the grand lottery win missing only a single number; Pamela Anderson’s boobs…"

I've never been, but it feels like I have. Brown heard a song about Barcelona and though he had never been, he missed it. I'm going to feel the same about Tel Aviv until I get my hands on the next book and hopefully many more to come.

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If you want to share whatever has kept you up past your bedtime because you just needed one more chapter ... or the entire book ... please comment! My TBR pile is already toppling, but I can always add more.

Miss Newbury's List by Megan Walker (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: Miss Newbury's List

Author: Megan Walker

Publication: 7 February 2023

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Shadow Mountain

Amazon Description: 

Before Rosalind weds, she wants to experience ten things. Meeting Charlie wasn’t on her list.

England, 1820

Rosalind Newbury is counting down the days until her wedding to the Duke of Marlow, a man she has only met twice, and she knows exactly how she wants to spend her time. As a child, Ros created a list of ten things to do before her wedding day. So far, she has done none of them.

She is determined to tackle each item, though she’ll have to accomplish them all in secret. After all, a soon-to-be-duchess is not usually allowed to bury treasure in the pasture, eat sweets all day, or learn how to swim. She enlists the help of her best friend, Liza, who brings along her cousin, Charlie, a prodigal son-turned-boxer who has come to the countryside to mend his reputation and learn how to be his father’s heir.

Together, the three of them work to complete the list, and as each item is crossed off, an unlikely friendship blossoms between Ros and Charlie. The more time they spend together, the more Ros falls in love with this imperfect man and his good heart.

With the wedding looming, Ros must decide to either admit her romantic feelings for Charlie and risk her family’s future, or keep her promise to marry the duke and start a new life as a noblewoman.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

In spite of surviving Mister Wrong Number, I have still more or less been on the "romance is bullshit" end of the spectrum. My poor NetGalley shelf is full of them, though, and I have been riddled with angst over the idea of constantly hitting the "I will not be giving feedback on this title" just because my heart was shattered and, you know, romance is bullshit. 

 

On Monday afternoon I opened the book that I felt would be safest simply because it's from Shadow Mountain's Proper Romance series : Megan Walker's Miss Newbury's List. 

 

I finished it Tuesday morning.

This was not a safe book. 

The characters were absolutely delightful -- except for the ones who weren't meant to be. The storyline of trying to complete Miss Newbury's pre-marriage-to-do list was everything I had hoped and more (I do so love a good bucket list). The language and imagery were on-point for a Regency (as far as I know, anyway, never having actually been to Regency England). The pacing never felt rushed and it never dragged. It was magnificent and, at times, I thought it was going to kill me. 

 

After all, with all of the rest came the romance.

"Romance is bullshit." Much of what I have encountered (online and off) has been far from "proper" ... and I have been quite tempted to adopt a little of kittens and just become a crazy old cat lady. Of course, I probably wouldn't make it to "old" because I'm allergic to cats and it would probably kill me ... but still. Pick your poisons, right? Death by cat dander .... or death by having your heart explode in your chest from love stories so good and right and, well, "proper" that it almost feels like it could really happen.

 

I think I need to go pick out a good serial killer book now .... or a very non-cozy mystery. Give me angst and blood and horror. You know, things I actually believe in.

 

Or maybe .... 

 

Just maybe .... 

 

Maybe I'll grab another "proper" romance and keep living vicariously between the pages.

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

If a Poem Could Live and Breath by Mary Calvi (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: If a Poem Could Live and Breathe

Author: Mary Calvi

Publication: 14 February 2023

Format: Kindle eARC from NetGalley & St Martin's Press

Amazon Description

A fact-based romantic speculative novel about Teddy Roosevelt’s first love, by Mary Calvi, author of Dear George, Dear Mary.

Studded with the real love letters between a young Theodore Roosevelt and Boston beauty Alice Lee―many of them never before published―If a Poem Could Live and Breathe makes vivid what many historians believe to be the pivotal years that made the future president into the man of action that defined his political life, and cemented his legacy.

Cambridge, 1878. The era of the Gilded Age. Alice Lee sets out to break from the norms of her mother’s generation. Women are fighting for educational opportunities and exploring a new sense of intellectual and personal freedom. Native New Yorker, Harvard student Teddy Roosevelt, is on his own journey of discovery, and when they meet, unrelenting currents of love change the trajectory of his life forever.

If a Poem Could Live and Breathe is an indelible portrait of the authenticity of first love, the heartache of loss, and how overcoming the worst of life’s obstacles can push one to greatness never imagined.

 

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

This could have been amazing. A lot of people are already in the "it is amazing" camp. Parts of it are, even for me ... but there are enough parts that make me shake my head that it's just not an overall amazing for me.

It time jumps.

It changes from first person to third person.

It went on and on and on when it seemed wholly unnecessary.

I have a feeling that had Calvi chosen one time or the other and had stuck to a singular point of view I wouldn't have minded the on and on and on quite so much. My head was already aching from the other two qualms, though, so I ended up skimming quite a bit. Some parts jumped out at me and made me go "ooooooh that's lovely" (like the Teaser Tuesday blip), but it wasn't enough to be amazing.

 

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

 

On the Chopping Block by Jenny Kales (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: On the Chopping Block

Author: Jenny Kales

Publication: 24 May 2016

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description: 

Calliope “Callie” Costas, Greek-American owner of Callie’s Kitchen in picturesque Crystal Bay, Wisconsin, is finally having some business success after a painful divorce. With her school-aged daughter thriving and her trusty Yorkie Koukla by her side, a new romance with a handsome bistro owner seems like the icing on the cake.

That is, until her new boyfriend is found dead...and she’s implicated as the prime suspect, putting her business into jeopardy. Soon, Callie’s situation is more delicate than her Greek egg-lemon soup. In addition to a tasteless killer, an expat detective with a devastating British accent has an eagle eye on Callie’s every move.

Can Callie help clear her name, save her beloved business and find the real culprit before she’s the next item on the killer’s murderous menu?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I have a feeling I'll be watching quite a lot of Food Network this weekend. I think I might be coming down with something and cooking competitions are pretty much my go-to when I don't want to worry about following an actual storyline. I might not be able to eat comfort food ... but I can certainly watch it on the tv ... and read about it in Jenny Kales' On the Chopping Block. 

 

Yes, I totally hear Ted Allen's voice every time I say the title in my head. 

Sadly, the book leaves out the actual competition but so far (which isn't actually very far at all) it's still showing signs of being a decent start to a series. Hopefully I'll make progress over the weekend because I really want to know why Callie is in whatever predicament she's in at the 56% mark.

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: Mr. Wrong Number

Author: Lynn Painter

Publication: 1 March 2022

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

Bad luck has always followed Olivia Marshall...or maybe she's just the screw-up her family thinks she is. But when a "What are you wearing?" text from a random wrong number turns into the hottest, most entertaining—albeit anonymous—relationship of her life, she thinks things might be on the upswing....

Colin Beck has always considered Olivia his best friend's annoying little sister, but when she moves in with them after one of her worst runs of luck, he realizes she's turned into an altogether different and sexier distraction. He's sure he can keep his distance, until the moment he discovers she's the irresistible Miss Misdial he's been sort of sexting for weeks—and now he has to decide whether to turn the heat up or ghost her before things get messy.

 

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Once again, I owe Berkley a huge debt of gratitude. When they first sent me an invite for Lynn Painter's upcoming The Love Wager, I almost blocked them from my inbox. I trust them, though. Their rom-coms helped me to survive the March shattering of my heart (which then on the roller-coaster from hell for almost a year), so I decided to go ahead and accept the invitation. Some day maybe possibly it would be an okay thing to attempt anything resembling romance again. Another reviewer clued me in on The Love Wager having some of the same characters as Mr. Wrong Number .... so here we are.

 

I am fairly certain that there will be no murders or serial killers in this one .... and I might even be okay with that. I've done my best to get at least somewhat over the "woe is me"-ness that has been my life for the past couple of months. I've deleted over a decades worth of messages and pictures. I've had really good talks with my closest friends about how the agony started long before I was willing to realize it. I accepted the advice of a hotel guest who suggested online dating just to have someone to talk to ... and the gift of a month of "premium" service from another.

 

I think it's time for the big test: 

 

Can I actually survive a rom-com? 

 

I'm only 20% in right now because I've actually had work to do at work (the horror!) and because I did spend twenty-four hours or more in deep "woe-is-me" mode right after I started it ... but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be okay. I might even end up being more than okay. It probably helps that Olivia is an even bigger mess than I am, and that I've been talking to a couple of seemingly not horrible guys and with one in particular our conversations are eerily similar to the ones between Miss Misdial and Mr. Wrong Number. I may not get the Happily Ever After that I'm sure will come for these two by the end of the book, but if nothing else it's making my heart smile a little bit more than it was before I started reading. I'm calling that a win.

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.