We Solve Murders

Richard Osman takes on a new detective and mystery series with We Solve Murders, his newest book. 

Stepping away from the elderly detectives and the assisted living community of The Thursday Murder Club. Osman takes the reader on another kind of mystery adventure. This time we are globe traveling with Amy a private security officer who is assigned to protect a famous author who has been targeted.  They are on a secluded island when there is a threat to their lives.  This sends them traveling from country to country trying to avoid being assassinated.  

The Thursday Murder Club series was delightful, light and entertaining mysteries. A bit fanciful but the characters were interesting.  This time there so many characters coming and going it is hard to keep them straight.  Amy is in danger and it is hard to keep track of who she can trust and who she cannot.  Then her father-in-law becomes her wing man.  Where is her husband in all of this? 

Maybe if we get to book two of this series the many parts will start to make more sense and fall into place.  So far I am not counting this on my list of favorites for this year, but ruling out reading what comes next.

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder

 This novel blew me away.  It was quite unexpected.  I thought I was picking up another fun light entertaining mystery novel.  This time I have read an amazing fun entertaining but emotionally impactful book that I could not put down.

Yes this a fun mystery novel that pulls you in as the mystery is revealed along the way.  But also you become attached to the characters in a way that is heartwarming and I was crying as the details of the main character';s life and hard times become evident.  So unusual for a mystery novel.

Lenny Marks is an almost forty year old woman with obvious issues around interacting in social situations.  Though she may already be on the spectrum, which seems to be a new character trait being used in books lately, she also has suffered trauma in her youth.  This trauma is referred to and slowly uncovered as the plot progresses.  She is a school teacher, living in her own small house, near her foster mom, who she sees weekly for a meal and advice.  She likes routine and has a strict routine that she follows until the memories she has suppressed for years start to come back to her.

Also she is trying to negotiate making friends, and we watch as she piccks some of the wrong teachers to to try and befriend missing the social cues that would set her up for success with another teacher who wants to be friends.  Of course there is an awkward love interest also.  All these different plot lines are running alongside each other building your attachment to Lenny as you root for her to succeed.

Such a perfect mystery novel and it si author Kerryn Mayne's debut novel.  I look forward to future writing from this author.

Peggy

 Peggy; A Novel written by Rebecca Godfrey is another novel in the line of great historical fiction I ave read.  Taking a a little known figure from history and developing a plot that incorporates facts we know aboout her life and building out the rest of the story with fictionalized details to fill in the missing pieces.

This book takes the reader on a journey with Peggy Guggenheim from her childhood to becoming an adult.  Starting as a teenager living with here parents in New York City as one of the wealthiest families in America.  Her family had built its wealth on the backs of workers who went down into the mines.  She is unhappy with owh her familly earned their money and about how her parents repeatedly remind her and her siblings to keep a low profile and not attract attention to the fact that their family is Jewish.

Then her father is lost at sea when the Titanic goes down.  Peggy's world abruptly changes.  Family secrets are disclosed and the money disappears. As soon as she can leave Peggy moves to Paris for a new life with many artists.  She marries and starts a new life.  Over her life she supports many artists and authors in their careers.  Using a special talent she has had since childhood when she would go to museums with her father and analyze paintings, finding the meaning behind the artwork.  This is all very useful to Peggy's future lifestyle and career.

Her marriages, her friends, her children such an interesting life.

Magical Meets Cute

 Magical Meets Cute by Jean Meltzer is the third novel by this romance writer. Each of her novels is about a romantic couple that faces some obstacle and overcomes the trouble that is brewing.  All focused aroung Judaism without getting involved in any real religious discussion.  They are entertaining and well written. 

I was not a romance fan before reading Meltzer.  But she has won my heart with her kooky lovable characters and plots. 

This time we meet Faye Kaplan who has given up her law practice and her engagement and moved to Woodstock NY and opened a pottery business.  She's throwing pots and creating art out of clay.  One night she creates a golem out of clay and buries it out in the back garden.  She writes all the things she would love to have in the man of her dreams on his body and forgets him in the garden.

Soon she rescues a man who has been hit by a car and seems to have amnesia.  She names him Greg.  She takes him to the hospital and the she agrees to take him home when they cannot find out who he is.  While she is taking care of him he decides to also take care of her.  He is extremely solicitous of her and anticipates her every need.  When she runs into trouble in town Greg comes to her defense.  Is he too good to be true? 

Faye wonders if Greg is real or if maybe her golem has really come to life. As things get out of hand when some non Jewish town members get angry at Faye and want to attack her store front, she is worried that the golem may go too far in her defense.  She wants to stop him, but how can she tell if she is in control or if he is just too good to be true?

The Violin Conspiracy

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb was a fast moving plot like the fingers across the strings of a violin.
A story of family dynamics, the music business and the high level of competition
in music amplified by the discussion of race.

Another theme of the book was the history of slaves and the treatment of current free black people in our society... with touching moments and descriptions of horrific violence toward people you do not know or understand.

When we meet Ray he is a young black musician with a incredible talent playing classic music on the violin. He is heading off to the Tchaikovsky competition, the coveted position of most famous violinist in the world.  He has been playing violin from a young age on a rental instrument at great disadvantage compared to his fellow classmates.  But he inate talent has come through and he wins an all state competition.  There his talent is recognized by a college talent scout and he recruited .  Janice becomes his mentor and advocate.  His talent reaches new heights .  His grandmother gives him a family heirloom of a violin played by his great grandfather as a slave in the south.  

Controversy ensues when the violin is discovered to be extremely valuable.  Now his aunts and uncles don't want Ray to have it and another family comes forward to lay claim to it.  Ray stands firm spending all his waking hours practicing for the competition.  

Wonderfully told with a little bit of mystery thrown in. So many more themes and ideas are covered in this story..it makes for a lively book discussion.

The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone

 I love Randy Susan Meyers...she is one of my favorite authors.  This is her newest novel. One that a woman of my age can really relate to .. especially coming to Boston for college in the 1970s ..a novel about trying to make a difference as the world was changing.  Vietnam, school busing, women's rights.  It was the time of commune living and getting back to nature, eating healthy and finding yourself.  Meyers writes about it so clearly and perfectly.

This is the story of Ivy , who is born into a house on Mission Hill Boston to parents who are sharing child care and everything else with three other couples.  Growing up with so many parents taking care of the many children living together as their parents work in a variety of charitable jobs that they all feel are going to help save the world.  Working on intergrating the schools, the neighborhoods and trying to help with getting black citizens voting rights.  Helping people with food and always ready to go to a protest march. 

A well paced novel that brings back memories of recent history with a twisty well written plot that moves the story along.

Knife Skills for Beginners

 A first novel for Orlando Murrin, Knife Skills for Beginners, was a quick entertaining mystery novel. 

When Paul loses his partner he is depressed and goes into hiding.  But one day an old friend Christian runs into him on the street and asks a favor.  This leads to Paul taking over the teaching job Christian cannot do while he recovers from a broken arm.

Paul show up at the Chester Square Cookery School.  There in the kitchen are the students for the week's session ready to learn the basics of being a chef.  Along with the unusual group of students we meet Rose, who owns the school and Suzie who is the new helper, running errands, washing up the dishes and serving the meals.  

Following all the characters and their strange habits keeps the reader guessing as to who the killer could be.  In their own way each of the students could be the guilty party.  Thrown in are recipes which always make a mystery novel more fun