1 to 17 of 17
Review Date: 9/6/2009
Interesting but slow-moving; a lot of threads are left loose for future books.
Review Date: 5/2/2010
Well constructed, intriguing, but ultimately depressing.
Review Date: 10/25/2010
Book description:
Returning home to England from New York, Margot finds her family in chaos. Her cousin Chloe is in prison awaiting trial for murdering her twin sister Claudia, their mother has withdrawn into the imaginary world of her romance novels, Claudia's 14-year-old daughter has regressed to early childhood and refuses to leave her bed, and to top it all off, the family cat has decided to live with the neighbors.
As Chloe's trial approaches, the atmosphere in the house becomes increasingly fraught and Margot begins to wonder whether someone else is responsible for Claudia's death. Is Chloe taking the blame for the family's sake? It's not until a second murder that the pieces begin to fall into place and the cat agrees to come home
I have read a few other Babson books, and most were very light. This one has a much darker aura; the characters actually seemed to suffer over the death, which is not always the case in this genre. We did not get to know the characters well - which is pretty much like real life. I did feel the ending was a bit quick and there were some dangling threads, but again that is like real life. This has convinced me to try a few more by this author.
Returning home to England from New York, Margot finds her family in chaos. Her cousin Chloe is in prison awaiting trial for murdering her twin sister Claudia, their mother has withdrawn into the imaginary world of her romance novels, Claudia's 14-year-old daughter has regressed to early childhood and refuses to leave her bed, and to top it all off, the family cat has decided to live with the neighbors.
As Chloe's trial approaches, the atmosphere in the house becomes increasingly fraught and Margot begins to wonder whether someone else is responsible for Claudia's death. Is Chloe taking the blame for the family's sake? It's not until a second murder that the pieces begin to fall into place and the cat agrees to come home
I have read a few other Babson books, and most were very light. This one has a much darker aura; the characters actually seemed to suffer over the death, which is not always the case in this genre. We did not get to know the characters well - which is pretty much like real life. I did feel the ending was a bit quick and there were some dangling threads, but again that is like real life. This has convinced me to try a few more by this author.
Review Date: 10/6/2009
Classic British mystery, first published 1936; featuring Albert Campion.
Review Date: 9/9/2010
Helpful Score: 3
A disappointment. A fan of Carolyn Hart (particularly the Henry O series), I looked forward to it, but it just never caught me. I missed the sharpness of her other series - this book was more like marshmallows. One thing that particularly annoyed - and distracted me - was trying to fix this book in time. I kept trying to figure out how long Bailey Ruth had been dead and how old she and her children were at that time. Maybe this will be brought out in future books, but I won't be there to read them.
Review Date: 10/18/2009
More a social commentary than a mystery, but enjoyable on that level. I enjoy a lot of the same elements in the Christie novels.
Review Date: 5/17/2009
Helpful Score: 3
I read it when it was first published and still enjoy it - event went to a hardback copy. As with Dan Brown's books some will not read it because they "don't want to challenge my faith" -- but opening your eyes to a possible different view is not a challenge to faith.
Review Date: 5/11/2009
Intriguing.
Review Date: 11/2/2010
Helpful Score: 2
This is indeed a keeper. Every now and then I pull it out for another read -
This feisty romance between the town's good girl spinster and the very bad boy train robber is a hoot and a half. I loved the characters realizations of what they were and were not - and what they wanted to be and to have. But this would not be a Tracy/Hepburn movie - I see it as more of a Hepburn/Ulrich (better moustache).
This feisty romance between the town's good girl spinster and the very bad boy train robber is a hoot and a half. I loved the characters realizations of what they were and were not - and what they wanted to be and to have. But this would not be a Tracy/Hepburn movie - I see it as more of a Hepburn/Ulrich (better moustache).
Review Date: 8/30/2009
Terrific book - every woman wants to meet a man like this - even if she doesn't know it.
Review Date: 9/25/2010
A disappointment, and I felt Brown must have been paid by the word for this book - and apparently no one minded that he used the same words over and over. The basic plot was good and would have moved very excitingly if he had not felt the need to explain the symbolisms and to wax philosophical - at great length. I wished I had been reading a printed book so I could skim over to the next "new" action. This would have been a great book at half the length.
Murder on the Salsette (George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, Bk 6)
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
13
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
13
Review Date: 10/18/2010
Helpful Score: 1
From fantasticfiction.com
Genevieve Masefield and George Porter Dillman make a living anonymously, cruising the seven seas aboard the early twentieth century's most extravagant sailing vessels as ship's detectives. In this line of work they've experienced more than their share of humanity. Along with the members of first class in all their finery, the card cheats and pickpockets plying their trade, the lascivious crew members and elderly cruise matrons that normally populate the voyages George and Genevieve work on, the Salsette boasts a group of travelers whose lives are set to intersect in ways none of them could have foreseen on dry land.
There are a pair of British men, traveling independently, who clearly know each other from another place and time; though each tries to hide it, there is no love lost between them. There's an elderly Indian man whose powers of deduction may be based on more earthly techniques than the mystical energy he claims to possess. Not to mention a young woman and her wheelchair-bound mother traveling on their own, determined to make new friends, who seemingly find their way smack into the middle of every bit of trouble aboard the Salsette-including murder.
George and Genevieve know that nothing in the cloying, claustrophobic confines of an ocean liner is as straightforward as it seems, and as the ship inches toward port the relationships between all of these people, both those in plain sight and some hidden from view, will be revealed. But will the exposure of the intricate web of deceit that's covered the Salsette lead George and Genevieve to the killer? Readers of Conrad Allen's sparkling ocean liner mysteries know that nothing stops this intrepid pair of shipboard detectives, and their newest adventure is sure to delight.
I chanced on this book on a USB clearance rack for $2 -- WELL WORTH the investment. I loved the look into this time period (set in 1909) and the view of the world then held. Now I am on the hunt for the rest of the series.
Genevieve Masefield and George Porter Dillman make a living anonymously, cruising the seven seas aboard the early twentieth century's most extravagant sailing vessels as ship's detectives. In this line of work they've experienced more than their share of humanity. Along with the members of first class in all their finery, the card cheats and pickpockets plying their trade, the lascivious crew members and elderly cruise matrons that normally populate the voyages George and Genevieve work on, the Salsette boasts a group of travelers whose lives are set to intersect in ways none of them could have foreseen on dry land.
There are a pair of British men, traveling independently, who clearly know each other from another place and time; though each tries to hide it, there is no love lost between them. There's an elderly Indian man whose powers of deduction may be based on more earthly techniques than the mystical energy he claims to possess. Not to mention a young woman and her wheelchair-bound mother traveling on their own, determined to make new friends, who seemingly find their way smack into the middle of every bit of trouble aboard the Salsette-including murder.
George and Genevieve know that nothing in the cloying, claustrophobic confines of an ocean liner is as straightforward as it seems, and as the ship inches toward port the relationships between all of these people, both those in plain sight and some hidden from view, will be revealed. But will the exposure of the intricate web of deceit that's covered the Salsette lead George and Genevieve to the killer? Readers of Conrad Allen's sparkling ocean liner mysteries know that nothing stops this intrepid pair of shipboard detectives, and their newest adventure is sure to delight.
I chanced on this book on a USB clearance rack for $2 -- WELL WORTH the investment. I loved the look into this time period (set in 1909) and the view of the world then held. Now I am on the hunt for the rest of the series.
Review Date: 11/8/2009
Great mix of history, romance, and fantasy. Terrific use of humor (loved Claire & Jamie's wedding/wedding night) but also a revealing look at darker subjects. First in the series and yes, it is a little long, but worth it. Later books have dragged more slowly but by now I am so interested in the characters I can't stop. If it says anything about this series - it is one of the few I buy ONLY in hardcover and all are keepers.
The Practical Rock & Water Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide from Planning and Construction to Plants and Planting
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
4
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
4
Review Date: 11/3/2009
Everything you need to know to design and construct a successful rock and wter feature in your garden. Practical advice on materials and construction with step-by-step photographic sequences and across-sectional illustratins for a range of fountains and other water features.
Review Date: 7/25/2009
When this was published (1919) a review referred to "scenes of incandescent passion" -- after all these years, I agree. You don't have to be graphic to be senseous.
Review Date: 10/2/2010
From Publisher's Weekly:
More appropriately titled Serious Crimes when it was published in Britain, the sequel to Smith's first novel, Fathers' Law, rates equal applause, however disturbing its views of English society. Scotland Yard inspector Harry Fathers and detective Yarrow are called to Sir Walter Granthelm's estate in Guilford to investigate the double murder of the lord's niece Ellen Sheerley and her current lover, Robert Homer. The latter was formerly involved sexually with their host's daughter Madeleine, now engaged in an affair with Peter Rankley. But it's not the erotic musical chairs that figure in the case so much as the theft of the Granthelm family silver and suspicions of Sir Walter's dealings with nouveau riche guests from America. Relentless detective work chips away at lies and lofty facades until the culprits stand convicted of drug trafficking, among other serious crimes. The author's realism and cynical humor are effective attributes, as is his talent for creating endearingly human officers (especially Yarrow) whom readers will want to meet again.
This book met and exceeded my expectations; now I am on he hunt for the earlier (and hopefully later) books in this series.
More appropriately titled Serious Crimes when it was published in Britain, the sequel to Smith's first novel, Fathers' Law, rates equal applause, however disturbing its views of English society. Scotland Yard inspector Harry Fathers and detective Yarrow are called to Sir Walter Granthelm's estate in Guilford to investigate the double murder of the lord's niece Ellen Sheerley and her current lover, Robert Homer. The latter was formerly involved sexually with their host's daughter Madeleine, now engaged in an affair with Peter Rankley. But it's not the erotic musical chairs that figure in the case so much as the theft of the Granthelm family silver and suspicions of Sir Walter's dealings with nouveau riche guests from America. Relentless detective work chips away at lies and lofty facades until the culprits stand convicted of drug trafficking, among other serious crimes. The author's realism and cynical humor are effective attributes, as is his talent for creating endearingly human officers (especially Yarrow) whom readers will want to meet again.
This book met and exceeded my expectations; now I am on he hunt for the earlier (and hopefully later) books in this series.
Since You're Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash (Domestic Equalizers, Bk 1)
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
199
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
199
Review Date: 8/20/2010
This was a fun book; it spent MUCH more time on the relationship between Debbie Sue and her ex than on the pursuit of the murderer, but I found I didn't mind. I certainly want to read more of this series.
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