Tag Archives: mysteries

Mysteries at Sea: S’more Murders and Title Wave

22 Nov

I picked out two mystery books set during cruises to enjoy during my own recent vacation. Whether you are reading them at sea or on dry land you’ll enjoy these clever fast paced cozy reads. Although both are middle books in their respective series they can both be enjoyed as stand alone mysteries, though you will be likely tempted to dive in and read more of them.

S’more Murders
by Maya Corrigan
Looking for a yummy cooking related cozy mystery? S’more Muders is a bittersweet treat! Val Deniston manages a cafe at a local fitness club and occasionally does some catering, but when she hears about a re-creation of the last meal on the Titanic aboard a yacht in the Chesapeake Bay she is at first hesitant to attempt something so lavish. But with her Grandfather, the author of the local paper’s Codger Cooks Column, help she manages to pull off some divine dishes, unfortunately not all goes well at the party and a murder mystery game results in an actual murder at sea. This is the fifth novel in the Five-Ingredient Mystery Series. The novel includes several quick recipes at the end including easy version of some of the Titanic dishes as well as some sweet and savory s’more recipes that sound delish!

Title Wave
by Lorna Barrett
Title Wave is the tenth in the Booktown Mystery series (the latest and 17th book in the series A Questionable Character came out in July). I enjoyed listening to the book as an audiobook read by Karen White. Tricia Miles’s bookstore Haven’t Got a Clue and other local businesses are in a slow period of the year, so she figures this is the perfect time to take a relaxing cruise with her sister, Angelica, along with other members of their town. A bus ride to the dock allows the author to do a quick whos who for those new to the series or needing a refresher. The Author Cruise they book to Bermuda seems like it should be relaxing with a posh suite, elegant afternoon teas and tropical cocktails until another passenger, a particularly prickly author, is murdered. I enjoyed the sisterly dynamic between Tricia and Angelica and having been on several cruises myself with friends and family, I felt this one captured the feel of them perfectly.

Want to learn some interesting cruise facts such as how ships stay a float and nautical origins of everyday terms; check out Cruising: A View Through the Porthole by Lee H. Van Dam.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Two Historical Fiction Picks Set in the 1920’s for the 2020’s: Comeuppance Served Cold and Murder in Williamstown

6 Sep

Comeuppance Served Cold
by Marion Deeds
Comeuppance Served Cold is a fantasy heist set in 1929 Seattle. This Jazz Age novella is a quick, under 200 pages read, but still manages to tell a satisfying story that involves a lot of mysteries and as the title suggests some well earned revenge. Magic is slowly being regulated by the city leaders in order to line their own pockets and shifters hide their identities due to growing prejudice. Not following the rules proves to have deadly consequences. The novel starts with a woman magically changing her appearance as she escapes a crime scene and throughout the novel, characters are not whom they at first seem. In addition to the main protagonist Dolly, two who particularly intrigued me are Gabe, a blind tattooist, whose sigils can protect those whom he inks; and Fiona the daughter of an elite mage who is forced into a engagement and has become addicted to shimmer-shim, a magical intoxicant. The story jumps around through time leading to the event in the prologue, which slowly brings what is truly going on into focus; this will be a book you will not want to put down. Comeuppance Served Cold will also appeal to fans of CL Polk’s fantastic Even Though I Knew the End, which I had written about previously.

Murder in Williamstown
by Kerry Greenwood
We’ve had several blogs about Greenwood’s novels as well as the adaptations of them. Greenwood’s clever, fashionable Australian flapper detective Phryne Fisher definitely deserves a place in the pantheon of fictional sleuths. Although the print edition of Kerry Greenwood’s most recent in her Phryne Fisher Series is not available till November in the US, you can get an early listen to the audiobook read by Wendy Bos in a charming Aussie accent which brings Phryne’s story to life. This story explores more of the lives of the Chinese immigrant community in Australia in the late 1920’s, whom Phryne’s connected to through her lover Lin Chung. Like the previous novel, there is also a mystery for Phryne’s wards, Ruth and Jane, this time at the Blind Institute and Dot, Phryne’s long time maid/companion must suss out why her fiancé is slow to set a wedding date. I wasn’t as fond of the plot line involving the younger members of the Fisher household in the previous novel in the series, Death in Daylesford, but this time I enjoyed it the most. There is a lot to keep track of and I found myself going back a time or two since at times I’d be distracted while listening and lose a plot point, but it was an overall enjoyable experience. I highly recommend checking out both the books as well as the TV and Movie Series.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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