Wrap-Up of the 2021 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge

I signed up to read between 36 and 55 books in 2021 and I met the challenge by reading 50 mysteries.  18 of the authors were new to me. Here is what I read:

Death and the Maiden by Ariana Franklin

Plaid & Plagiarism by Molly MacRae

The Girls in the Snow by Stacy Green

Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs

The French Paradox by Ellen Crosby

Piece of my Heart by Mary Higgins Clark

With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George

Followed by Helen Macie Osterman

One by One by Ruth Ware

Now and Then Stab by Anna Castle

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Deliberate Duplicity by David Rohlfing

In the Blood by Steve Robinson

The Wedding by Ruth Heald

One Perfect Grave by Stacy Green

Raven Black by Ann Sleeves

The Lost Ancestor by Gill Paul

The Easter Sepulchre by Mel Starr

My Sister's Grave by Robert Durian

The Girl From Silent Lake by Leslie Wolfe

The Murder of Emma Brown by Rod Kackley

The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion

Play Dead by Ted Dekker

The Night Gate by Peter May

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Perfect Daughter by D. J. Palmer

Loch Down Abbey by Beth Cowan

Ice Blue by Emma Jameson

One Night in Tehran by Luana Ehrlich

The Fire Thief by Debra Bokur

The Fourth of July by Cami Checketts

Gone by Sharon Mitchell

Peaches and Schemes by Anna Gerard

The Cellist by Daniel Silva

The September Society by Charles Finch

Viral by Robin Cook

Top Producer by Leslie Wolfe

Hemlock by Susan Wittig Albert

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs

An Untidy Death by Simon Brett

Murder on the Metro by Margaret Truman

The Last Odyssey by James Rollins

The End of October by Lawrence Wright

The Good Death by S. D. Sykes

Twisted Tea Christmas by Laura Childs

Thin Air by Ann Cleeves

The Tenant by Keith Veverka

Master Wycliffe's Summons by Mel Starr

Prayers of the Dead by Priscilla Royal

Roses Are Red by Miranda Rijks

Favorite Book:  The September Society

2nd Favorite Book:  Hemlock

Least Favorite Book:  Thin Air

Wrap-Up of the 2021 Color Coded Reading Challenge

The Color Coded Reading Challenge requires a participant to read 9 books with either the book title or book cover being blue, red, yellow, green, brown, black, white, any other color, or an image that implies color, such as polka dot.  I had the challenge completed early in the year but waited until December to read my last entry.  Here is what I read:

Plaid & Plagiarism by Molly MacRae

A Yellow House by Karien Van Ditzhuizen

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

White Ivy by Susie Yang

Ice Blue by Emma Jameson

The Murder of Emma Brown by Rod Kackley

The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper

Roses are Red by Miranda Rijks

Favorite Book:  White Ivy

2nd Favorite Book:  Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

Least Favorite Book:  Plaid and Plagiarism

All of these authors were new to me, which is rather cool. It's not every reading challenge that forces you to look for something new.  I believe that is the brilliance of the color coded challenge.  

Roses are Red

Roses Are Red is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. I was a little scared after finishing the book because our protagonist was a trusting person who almost got killed by 2 of the closest people to her. Lydia's close calls with her husband and a girlfriend just shows that you shouldn't take everything people tell you at face value. Sometimes it's good to do a little research for your own peace of mind.

The publisher's summary:  

"Lydia Palmer seems to have it all - a thriving business, a beautiful house, a picture perfect husband and two wonderful kids.  But things are different behind closed doors - Lydia is desperately unhappy and wants a divorce. Then, shockingly, her husband Adam dies. When her grief eases, Lydia starts online dating and almost immediately meets Patrick. Handsome, successful, loving, he'll make the perfect second husband. But is Patrick too good to be true?  Can you really find prince charming online? These are questions Lydia is forced to ask when her world begins to collapse. First, the police say Adam may have been murdered.  Then her daughter turns against her, her business disintegrates... Lydia is convinced that someone is trying to destroy her happiness.  She's wrong.  They want so much more than that..."

To say that this was a gripping story is quite an understatement. The author had me guessing all along on how the novel would end. I was surprised by the ending but shouldn't have been.  It would have been easy to figure this one out but the author ended each chapter with a cliff hanger. It could have been story action, a twist and turn, or just a character's inner dialogue but it kept me reading. I just did not know how each twist was going to turn out. 

There is a moral to this story for women who are desperately seeking love. It is always best to discuss with friends and family your forays into online dating. There are always warnings but to get a nudge from someone who loves you is the best way to avoid disaster. 

A great read!  5 out of 5 stars.

Master Wycliffe's Summons

Master Wycliffe's Summons is the 14th book in Mel Starr's series The Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon. I have read most of them and they are fabulous. Starr writes tightly woven medieval mysteries that move fast. The death always occurs early in the story so that the rest of the novel can be about solving the crime.  In this particular installment of the series, a student at Queen's College Oxford, Richard Sabyn, has been found dead in bed. There was a lightening storm the night before and it appears that he may have been struck by the lightening.  However, Oxford Master John Wycliffe does not believe that the evidence shows a lightening strike and wants Singleton to look into the death. Singleton agrees with Wycliffe that it is possible to make it look as though Sabyn died from a lightening strike. 

I enjoyed the story but it was not as exciting as some of Starr's earlier books in the series. The pace was slow and the howdunnit didn't grab my attention. While the howdunnit was interesting I don't think the writing was well executed. Singleton spent alot of time trying to figure out how someone could collect enough urine, dove droppings and a small amount of charcoal to create the substance that killed Sabyn. I was eating dinner while I read the book and that urine section didn't set well with my tummy. I did find it interesting that the deceased was copying a gospel into English while John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible into English between 1382 and 1395, denied any knowledge of it. Our protagonist did not perform any surgeries but did gather herbs for several people to help ease the pain of the plague. 

3 out of 5 stars.

The Tenant

OMG!  I think The Tenant is the best book I have read this year. Advertised as a suspense novel, that is quite an understatement. Suspense exuded not only from every page but from every sentence.  The story begins with landlord Alex Mason painting one of the units in his luxury apartment complex in Philadelphia. He hopes to rent it quickly when he is approached by Stephanie Winters, a woman who works for a U. S. senator.  Alex signs a lease with her without checking her background references or employer. Big mistake. Soon another tenant's cat is found dead and dismembered on their doorstep. Then yet another tenant is murdered in his home.  Alex believes that Stephanie is the culprit in these incidences. Hindered by state laws giving tenants plenty of legal rights, Alex begins to investigate his tenant after she threatens his family. 

This book reminded me of Apartment 6 which I read last year.  It was written in Hitchcock style. The tension began with the first chapter and continued through to an unexpected ending. I loved it. Stephanie's past history explained her behavior but it was just as interesting as what she was doing in the plot. She would make an awesome character for a crime series. Alex was timid for a landlord. I have never had one myself that did not care if a tenant broke the rules. To be more believable, Alex should have been a screaming bastard. However, he needed to be unsuspecting for this spectacular plot to work.

10 out of 5 stars!

Thin Air

Thin Air was published in 2014 and is part of Ann Cleeves' Shetland Island Mystery Series. It has been made into a hit TV show in Britain. While I have read 2 other books in the series with limited fervor, this novel is probably the best one that I have read. The book was selected for the Monthly Key Word Challenge.  

In this installment of the series a group of old university friends return to Shetland in a hamefarin' to attend the wedding of one of them. Polly and Eleanor have accompanied Caroline home to wed Lowrie.  Eleanor disappears the day after the wedding. She had claimed to have seen the ghost of a local girl, Peerie Lizzy, who had drowned in the 1920s. Police inspector Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves become involved after Eleanor's body is found. Both wonder whether Eleanor was murdered and whether the ghost of the child is a myth.  

These mysteries are all slow paced. Thin Air is not different in that respect. Although I feel that the pace was somewhat faster than the earlier books I read, it was bogged down in setting description and character dialogue. The Shetland Islands have beautiful scenery but when the reader gets too much atmosphere and not enough action, the books can be dull. In this novel, the murder investigation is at least prominent on most of the pages. Inbetween chapters about the investigation, are chapters about Perez's family life. He is the series protagonist but has never captured my attention.  

Thin Air is the last book by Ann Cleeves that I intend to read. If I need to miss meeting a reading challenge to avoid it, I will.  2 out of 5 stars.

Twisted Tea Christmas

The Twisted Tea Christmas is the 23rd installment of the Indigo Teashop Mystery series by Laura Childs.  While I have heavily criticized her writing in the past 5 years, this novel puts her back on track. It is fantastic. I always love it when the murder occurs quickly so that the rest of the book can be about the solving of the murder.  Here, we have a murder on the 5th page and is is not resolved until the second to last page.  The publisher's summary is below:

Tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier, Drayton Connelley, are catering a Victorian Christmas party at a swanky mansion in downtown Charleston for Drucilla Hayward, one of the wealthiest women in town. As the champagne flows and the tea steeps, Drucilla is so pleased with the success of her soiree that she reveals her secret plan to Theodosia.  The grande dame has brought the cream of Charleston society together to reveal that she is planning to give her wealth away to various charitable organizations. However, before she can make the announcement, Theodosia finds her crumpled unconscious in the hallway. It looks like the excitement has gotten to the elderly women, but it may have been helped along by the syringe in her neck.  

I am happy that there were no cheesy statements like "the phone rang ding-a-ling-ring" and that secondary character Delaine Dish's emotions were under control.  The main change that I liked is that the murder did not occur in the same place as it did in the prior 22 books.  It was time for a change and we now have a perfectly plotted and written cozy mystery to enjoy.  There was something else new that tickled my fancy. One evening when Theodosia went to bed with a book, it was a  book written by Susan Wittig Albert!  Albert writes the China Bayles cozy mystery series. I have to wonder if Childs and Albert are friends.

The Charleston setting was a good choice to place the series in.  It has marvelous architecture, fairly nice weather and history galore.  It gives the writer alot to work with when creating atmosphere. The main characters are Theodosia, Drayton and police investigator Burt Tidwell.  These characters have grown over the years but in Twisted Tea Christmas they do not have growth, they just work together to solve the murder. I loved this as I am mainly a whodunnit fan. Author Childs gives us plenty of red herrings, more than we usually have in her books. It made the novel suspenseful.  In fact, I had a hard time figuring out who committed the murder and was surprised at the ending.  

I am proud to give this book a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Ya'll need to read this one.

The Good Death

The Good Death is the 5th book in S. D. Sykes' Somerhill Manor Mystery series. It began with Plague Land and is set in 14th Century England. The sleuth is Oswald de Lacy, a third son who was originally sent to a monastery as a child. However, he was called home to become lord of the family manor following the death of his father and two older brothers during a plague epidemic. 

In the opening of this installment of the series Lord Oswald de Lacy makes a devastating confession to his dying mother.  He is an eighteen-year-old novice monk at Kintham Abbey and had been sent to collect herbs from the forest. While there, Oswald came across a terrified village girl named Agnes Wheeler. She was terrified of him even though she knew him well and ran headlong into a river saying "stay away from me priest." She drowned. Oswald pulled her broken and bruised body from the water and returned her to the local village. Here he discovers that several other women have disappeared within the past month. A killer is on the loose but because all of the missing women came from impoverished families nobody seemed to care. 

Oswald vows to find this killer himself but as the plague approaches, his tutor, Brother Peter, insists they stay inside the monastery.  Oswald instead seeks out the women of the village for help, particularly the beautiful Maud Woodstock, a woman who provokes strong emotions in him. As he closes in on the killer, Oswald makes a discovery that is so utterly shocking that it threatens to destroy him and his family.

If you haven't read any of the earlier books in the series you may not want to begin with this novel. It has an alternating plot that spans 20 years between 1347 and 1370. New readers may not be able to pick up the action from 1347 without knowing the characters well. It makes sense that with the 5th book in the series this would happen. The reason for the alternating plot concerns Oswald's dying mother in 1370. She is in possession of a letter from him written in 1349 when they were dealing with the Black Death. She needs an explanation from her son about those events so that she can forgive him of any sins he may have committed against her and obtain a good death.

That said, The Good Death is another perfectly plotted and written medieval mystery from Ms. Sykes. While we get a nice resolution of the murder itself, the ending also provides a shocking accusation from Oswald's mother over all the actions he has taken throughout his life. It was unexpected as it didn't relate to the murder mystery. I expect that the next novel in the series will expand upon this. I can't wait!

5 our of 5 stars.

One Night in Tehran

One Night in Tehran is the first book in Luana Ehrlich's Titus Ray spy thriller series. It was published i 2014 and now consists of 8 novels.  What makes this book different is that the main character is a new Christian.  While he tries to live the Christian lifestyle, the book has a spy thriller feel not a Christian fiction feel. 

The publisher's summary:

"Veteran CIA officer Titus Ray - on the run from the Iranian secret police - finds shelter with a group of Iranian Christians in Tehran. While urging him to become a believer in Jesus Christ, they manage to smuggle Titus out of Iran to freedom in Turkey.  Returning to the States, he discovers his Iranian mission failed because of political infighting within the Agency.  After Titus delivers a scathing indictment against the deputy director of operations, he's forced to take a year's medical leave in Oklahoma.  Before leaving Langley, Titus learns he's been targeted by a Hezbollah assassin hired by the Iranians.  Now, while trying to figure out what it means to be a follower of Christ, he must decide if the Iranian couple he meets in Norman, Oklahoma has ties to the man who's trying to kill him, and if Nikki Saxon can be trusted with his secrets.  Can a man trained to lie and deceive live a life of faith?  Should he trust the beautiful young detective with his secrets?  Was the bullet that killed his friend meant for him?"

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There is a lot of suspense in each chapter that keeps you reading until you finish it and it certainly is a timely story.  I was expecting to see more domestic terrorism involved in the plot since it takes place in Oklahoma where the first act of domestic terrorism occurred in America. There is no link to that event though. Another aspect of the book that is different from most spy thrillers is that there is no sex or foul language. This is a clean, character driven story with awesome characters. Besides Titus, a former spook friend, Danny Jarrar, was able to leave the Agency and find a way to live the Christian life in Norman, Oklahoma. Also, the Oklahoma setting was interesting because there were so many Middle Eastern countries with operatives in the state.  I wonder whether this is true or was created by the author to bolster the spy story.  The part of the story that took place in Tehran was authentic too. 

While the main character is a Christian, this novel still reads like a daring spy thriller.  I highly recommend it to mystery fans.  5 out of 5 stars.

The End of October

The End of October is a medical thriller about a devastating virus that begins in Asia and soon thereafter goes global. This riveting story begins at in internment camp in Indonesia where forty seven people die from acute hemorrhagic fever. When microbiologist Henry Parsons travels there on behalf of the World Health Organization he suddenly learns that his driver is infected and is on his way to join millions of worshippers in the annual Hajj to Mecca. Henry joins with a Saudi prince and doctor in an attempt to quarantine all of the pilgrims in the holy city.  It doesn't work.  The deputy director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is a Russian immigrant who scrambles to mount a response to what she thinks may be an act of biowar. Some people believe that the virus was bioengineered by Putin because there are few cases of it in Russia. The Russian leader, of course, blames the Americans. As the disease travels throughout the U. S. it decimates the population and religious, scientific and governmental institutions are dismantled. 

Obviously, this  novel is timely.  It was published in April 2020 so I doubt that the author had any idea that we would be dealing with a pandemic when he wrote the story. It is interesting to note that the president in the novel wears orange pancake makeup and the vice president will not make any decisions without praying first. To add to this phenomenon the main character worries about the danger his family could face while camping in off grid sites in Grand Teton National Park.

The sense of emergency contributed to the fast pace.  The reader does not know what the virus is or how fast it will kill people. Henry goes through a mental checklist to help him identify the origin of the virus and when it was revealed in the last 3 pages, I was astonished. I was not expecting this ending. Given all of my newfound knowledge on pandemics, I knew where the plot was heading. It was still a fantastic read. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Bone Code

I don't read many Kathy Reichs novels. She writes forensic mysteries which I never could get interested in.  This particular novel concerns using family DNA companies to identify dead people. I have read several forensic DNA novels lately and find that I like them so I selected The Bone Code as my entry for October's Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge. It was published in July 2021.

Temperance Brennan is the main character in the series.  When she examined two decomposing female bodies that were inside a medical waste container off the Charleston, SC coast, she recognized many of the details that were identical to an unsolved case that she handled in Quebec fifteen years earlier.  The story began well but soon devolved into corny idioms and dialogue between Tempe and her husband. Pages 100 -200 were dull.  No action happened. The story did pick up for the remaining 150 pages but I could not overcome the boredom of the first half of the book. There was no suspense whatsoever and clues sprung up quickly and were then discarded.  

I cannot imagine anyone under 60 who would be able to stand the dialogue in the book.  There were so many corny phrases from the 1970s (ask me how I know!) that would stop them reading. "Hot damn, holy freaking shit, over my patootie, a real pisser" plus boring paragraphs "I went inside, brushed my teeth and changed into jeans" or "I was finishing a one-line report..." Common French words were part of the dialogue on every page but I did not see any reason for them. 

Now I remember why I don't read Kathy Reichs novels. Perhaps I am spoiled by reading Nathan Dylan Goodwin's Forensic Genealogist Series. Goodwin adds plenty of suspense to his stories and they focus solely on solving the puzzle. 

I would skip The Bone Code. 2 out of 5 stars.

The Stolen Lady

The Stolen Lady is the latest novel in Laura Morelli's art mysteries. All of them are standalone books. In this particular novel there are alternating plots that take place during the 1400s and during WWII. The fictional characters are based somewhat on real people and the backstory on how the Louvre staff moved its works of art is well researched. Below is the publisher's summary:

France, 1939

At the dawn of World War II, Anne Guichard, a young archivist employed at the Louvre, arrives home to find her brother missing. While she works to discover his whereabouts, refugees begin flooding into Paris and German artillery fire rattles the city. Once they reach the city, the Nazis will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Louvre's art collection. Anne is quickly sent to the Castle of Chambord, where the Louvre's most precious artworks - including the Mona Lisa - are being transferred to ensure their safety. With the Germans hard on their heels, Anne frantically moves the Mona Lisa and other treasures again and again in an elaborate game of hide and seek. As the threat to the masterpieces and her life grows closer, Anne also begins to lean the truth about her brother and the role he plays in this dangerous game.

Florence, 1479

House servant Bellina Sardi's future seems fixed when she accompanies her newly married mistress, Lisa Gherardini, to her home across the Arno. Lisa's husband, a prosperous silk merchant, is aligned with the powerful Medici, his home filled with luxuries and treasures. But soon, Bellina finds herself bewitched by a charismatic one who has urged Florentines to rise up against the Medici and to empty their homes of the riches and jewels her new employer prizes. When Master Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint a portrait of Lisa, Bellina finds herself tasked with hiding an impossible secret. 

To say that I loved this story is an understatement. The richness of Florence and Milan set a striking contrast to the French countryside where the Louvre employees lived a spartan existence under Nazi rule. In my mind you cannot find a more beautiful setting than Florence. I love the art, cathedrals, fabrics and food. The pleasures that the ruling class were lucky to have engaged in will always seduce my imagination. If only to be rich in Florence during the Middle Ages. 

One of the secondary characters, Lucie, is based on a real woman who, as a Louvre employee, documented the movement of the artworks from Paris to the countryside. Through her efforts we know what happened during this time period. Our protagonist Anne worked under Lucie at the Louvre but they were equals during the run from the Nazis. The author drew upon Lucie's documentation to write this part of the story. While I can't get enough of the Italian Renaissance period I believe that Anne's story is the most compelling. 

The author gives us an interesting viewpoint into how Da Vinci felt about his Mona Lisa. We see him as he begins the portrait and decades later before his death. Morelli shows him initially believing that a portrait will never bring him accolades. However, he never truly believes that the painting is finished and works on it periodically while he looks for other commissions that will bring him fame. He too is captivated by the smile that he remembers the real Lisa had and endeavors to recreate it in this portrait. 

The Stolen Lady is a must read for historical fiction fans. 5 out of 5 stars.

Hemlock

Hemlock's action takes place far away from its usual Pecan Springs, Texas location. For most authors this results in a poorly written novel. In fact, Susan Wittig Albert did this once before and the book was awful. In Hemlock, though, she has masterfully written a story that is engaging from the first page until the last.

Our main character China Bayles receives a phone call from a friend in North Carolina. She is asked by Dorothea Harper, director of the Hemlock House Foundation, to visit her to help her with locating a missing, rare book titled A Curious Herbal. The book was written by Elizabeth Blackwell in the fifteenth century and contains her drawings of 500 herbs and plants that apothecaries used to treat people. The book vanished from its locked display case in Hemlock House, an old mansion in the North Carolina mountains. 

Another prominent character is Jenna Peterson, a graduate student who is interning at Hemlock House and is assisting Dorothea with cataloging the thousands of books in the library. Both Jenna and Dorothea live in the mansion. The police believe that one of them stole the book, mainly because they are the only people with access to the library. It's value is in the hundreds of thousands and would make either one of them wealthy. Additional characters include Police Chief Curtis, bookseller Jed Conway,  and Elizabeth Blackwell herself.  Elizabeth's story is told via drafts of a historical novel that Jenna is writing and sends to China for input. Elizabeth's story is a big part of Hemlock and is the most interesting part of the novel. There are several minor characters who are not mentioned often but are integral to solving the mystery.  These include relatives, the housekeeper and members of the Hemlock House board of directors.

Hemlock is not a cozy murder mystery but rather a cozy art theft mystery. All of the prior books in the series involved the solving of a murder. This installment of the series is fantastic. There is even a little suspense. When China walks up the rickety stairs of the mansion it is implied that she is avoiding danger of some sort not related to the steps.  This is a red herring. There are quite a few of these types of hints in the book and you don't know what will be important until the end of the story.

Hemlock is one of the author's best novels. 5 out of 5 stars.

Murder on the Metro

Who do you think wrote Murder on the Metro? Margaret Truman? Jon Land? The Estate of Margaret Truman owns the copyright on the novel. She, of course, has been dead for over 10 years. Is the Estate licensing her name to make money? I don't know how this works but I do not believe that she wrote or plotted this novel. I guess it doesn't matter much as it was a fabulous read.

The story begins with a busy day. A drone killed people in a terrorist attack in Caesarea, Israel, an American vice president died of an apparent heart attack and a former spook thwarted a suicide bomber on Washington DC's Metro. There is a connection between all three of these events and the pursuit of the truth leads to the highest echelons of power in Washington. Israel's Lia Ganz and American Robert Brixton work as fast as possible to prevent millions of Americans from dying in a catastrophe that will change the U. S. forever.

The Washington DC setting is very familiar to me. I have visited there on countless occasions so I understand how secrets work. The author was able to harness his knowledge of the same with a bit of suspense too. The chapters are short, mostly 2 pages, making the pace seem super fast. 

The main characters of the Capitol Crimes series are MacKenzie and Annabelle Smith. However, their roles in this story are minimal. They were basically secondary characters. As a regular reader of the series this did not seem normal to me. Israeli agent Lia Ganz and former State Department employee Robert Brixton take the Smith's place in Murder on the Metro. Both are great characters, though, at times I felt that I was reading a Brad Thor novel. The elements of a spy thriller are all on display here. Not that this is bad. It just wasn't what I expected from a Margaret Truman novel. Her writing showed more insight into why Washingtonians behave the way they do and her plots were different than the typical spy thriller. 

The book is unputdownable and all mystery lovers will enjoy reading it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Last Odyssey

The Last Odyssey is James Rollins' 15th Sigma Force thriller. I have read each and every one of them and love this series. However, this book was bizarre. Here  is the publisher's summary  to help you see what the story involved:

"For eons, the city of Troy - whose legendary fall was detailed in Homer's Iliad - was believed to be myth, until archeologists in the nineteenth century uncovered its ancient walls buried beneath the sands.  If Troy was real, curses and miracles - the Iliad and the Odyssey - could also be true and awaiting discovery.

In the frozen tundra of Greenland, a group of modern day researchers stumble upon a shocking find:  a medieval ship buried a half mile below the ice.  The ship's hold contains a collection of even older artifacts - tools of war - dating back to the Bronze Age.  Inside the captain's cabin is a magnificent treasure that is as priceless as it is miraculous: a clockwork gold map with an intricate silver astrolabe embedded in it.  The mechanism was crafted by a group of Muslim inventors - the Bay Musa brothers - considered by many to be he Da Vinci's of the Arab world - brilliant scientists who inspired Leonardo's own work.

Once activated, the moving map traces the path of Odysseus's famous ship as it sailed away from Troy.  But the route detours as the map opens to reveal a fiery river leading to a hidden realm underneath the Mediterranean sea.  It is the subterranean world of Tartarus, the Greek name for Hell.  In mythology, Tartarus was where the wicked were punished by the monstrous Titans of old imprisoned.  

When word of Tartarus spreads - and of the case of miraculous weapons said to be hidden there - tensions explode in this volatile regions where Turks battle Kurds, terrorists wage war, and civilians suffer untold horrors. The phantasmagoric horrors found in Homer's tales are all too real - and could be unleashed upon the world. Whoever possesses them can use their awesome power to control the future of humanity. 

Now Sigma Force must go where humans fear to tread.  To prevent a tyrant from igniting a global war, they must cross the very gates of Hell."

I thought this was an odd book. Why would the Sigma Force be involved in a search that would require proving various Greek mythologies to be true? The plot seemed preposterous as did the scientific facts supporting it. While the Author's Note tells us what parts of the story were true, I still couldn't believe any of it. I am not a fan of mythology to begin with but The Last Odyssey went overboard with its suspension of belief. Underground bronze cities with bronze monsters? I can't go there.

The characters were off their mark presumably because they were not fighting their typical adversaries. Instead, we have a secret group called the Apocalypti. The group members are from various faiths but they all believe that an apocalypse that will end the current violent world in favor of a new paradise must be helped along by their efforts. Why would governments, and their spies, care about such a group? 

I can't believe what I am about to say about a James Rollins novel:  it was boring. I couldn't wait to finish reading it. My rating is shocking (to me). 2 out of 5 stars. Let's hope Rollins returns to the spy business for his next book.

An Untidy Death

Simon Brett's newest book is a Decluttering Mystery set in Littlehampton, UK. It's the second book in a series following The Clutter Corpse. The protagonist, Ellen Curtis, is a professional declutterer who helps hoarders get control over their messy homes. When Ellen is approached by Alexandra Richards to sort out her mother's flat she gets the impression that Alexandra doesn't like her mother much. After spending an hour with Ingrid Richards at her home, she sees that there are papers lying everywhere but that there is an order to the clutter. The next day Ingrid dies in a fire in the home. The police are inclined to dismiss Ingrid's death as  an accident due to the messy home. However, Ellen is not so sure that this was an accident. She wonders whether Alexandra's resentment toward her mother spiraled out of control and the more she learns about Ingrid the more suspicious she is about the reason for her death. Ellen's other client, Edward Finch, appeared to be a straightforward job of putting things away. But it wasn't.

I loved this novel. First of all, having a declutterer as a protagonist is simply brilliant. I can see this as a lengthy series. Ellen's character seemed reserved, considering that most protagonists have larger than life personalities. Her clientele were more excitable so I guess it takes someone quieter to handle them and handle them well she did. Ellen's sleuthing was low- key compared to other amateur sleuths. At first this seemed odd but I began to enjoy it more because the plot centered around the whodunnit rather than the amateur sleuth's life. 

Mystery lovers are going to want to read this.  4 out of 5 stars.

Rebecca and Lucie

Rebecca & Lucie in the Case of the Missing Neighbor is a charming murder mystery in comic book format. Amateur sleuth Rebecca Girard is on maternity leave and breastfeeding her baby when she sees two men carrying something heavy into a white minivan. When she finds out that a man from her neighborhood, Eduardo Morales, has gone missing, Rebecca decides to look into the matter.  Eduardo had been working as a caregiver to an elderly man in Rebecca's neighborhood and many of her neighbors knew him. Rebecca's investigation is unique. She performs it while juggling to carry her 8 month old baby Lucie everywhere she goes.

As a murder mystery, this story has all of the features of a literary novel. We have a unique amateur sleuth, a crime, and several suspects. We also have several twists in the plot to confuse the reader. The suspension of belief surrounding Rebecca as a detective is not hard to fall into, mainly because this is a comic. However, I believe that the author came up with a creative idea for a sleuth. From the title "in the case of the missing neighbor" it appears that this story may end up being a series. I hope so as this was a fun read.

The book is advertised as a "maternity leave mystery complete with postpartum physiotherapy." How awesome is that! I loved reading this book and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The Dying Day

Vaseem Khan is one of my favorite authors. However, I don't like everything that he writes. The Dying Day is book 2 in his Malabar House Series featuring Persis Wadia as Bombay's only female police detective. It takes place in the 1950s. In this installment of the series Persis is searching for a missing man and a valuable stolen manuscript, a six hundred year old copy of Dante's Divine Comedy. While this book will not be published until November 2, 2021, I was able to obtain a Kindle version of it.

John Healy is a British scholar who the police assume has stolen the manuscript. He goes missing at the same time the manuscript disappears from the library at The Asiatic Society where he was responsible for its care. Together with an English forensic scientist named Archie Blackfinch, Persis finds a complex series of riddles set in verses that need to be resolved in order to locate the man and the book. However, a body is found first, adding to her investigative demands.

The Dying Day was not a hit for me. The story was interesting at first but then uninteresting after a few chapters. This dichotomy repeated itself throughout my reading of the book and I frequently felt bored. Normally I would love a book that has riddles to be solved. This one did not showcase them well. There was no suspense surrounding the finding of the riddles or after they were figured out.

The Persis character seemed a little different from book one. She frequently expressed anger when having to interview men who thought they were her superiors. There were no inner thoughts of angst which I expected. She was not as interesting as she was in book 1. None of the English characters captured my imagination either. 

The Dying Day is not Khan's best work. 2 out of 5 stars.

Top Producer

Laura Wolfe is a new author for me. I purchased this book because it takes place in Chicago where I live. Wolfe is a fantastic writer and I don't know why I haven't heard of her before. The suspense in this novel is high and I couldn't put it down. The book was published in 2020.  

The story opens with Mara Butler getting fired from her job at Avery Consulting. She has just broken up with her boyfriend and purchased a new condo. When she sees an add for an assistant to a real estate agent, Jacqueline Henderson, she applies and to her surprise is hired. Jacqueline is one of Chicago's top realtors. While Jacqueline dresses the part of a smart agent she has a crooked moral compass. Her quest to win the prestigious Top Producer Award by the Chicago Board of Realtors has led her to think outside the box. Mara begins to earn alot of money under Jacqueline's tutelage. She earns enough to pay the mortgage on her new condo, a new car and pay some of her cancer-stricken sister's medical bills. However, Mara becomes entangled in Jacqueline's unorthodox methods of getting real estate listings from clients. After a competing realtor suddenly dies, Mara is afraid of becoming the next victim. 

Top Producer is a fast paced novel that depicts the cut throat world of real estate. I have to wonder, though, if all realtors go to the same extremes as Jacqueline. My gut tells me yes. Each extreme act ratchets up the suspense because the reader does not know how far Jacqueline, or even Mara, will go to be successful. Mara's parents are disappointed in her for losing her first job so quickly and Mara feels the pressure to succeed at something, anything. It's interesting how Mara tells herself that Jacqueline's questionable ethics are probably not illegal but Mara really doesn't know what is legal in the real estate world. She is not a trained realtor. 

I loved the Jacqueline character more than Mara. Jacqueline is a perfect villain. She does not care who she hurts in her rise up the ladder at Greystone Realty. Today we would probably label her as a narcissist. Regardless of how confident Jacqueline appears, she is just as insecure as Mara. Her parents are disappointed in her too and she was rejected by her last boyfriend. She just doesn't let people know what her true feelings are.

I loved the Chicago setting. As each address or building was mentioned I knew exactly where they were located. The familiarity added to my enjoyment of the novel. However, readers not familiar with Chicago will understand which buildings are known as high end and which are not. With Chicago being known for being kind to mobsters, organized crime was in the back of my mind as I read about each questionable action by Jacqueline. I didn't know if Jacqueline was affiliated with a mob family or just taking advantage of everyone in town expecting to come across them regularly. Non-Chicagoans will probably not sense this feeling but I don't think it will affect your enjoyment of this novel.

5 out of 5 stars.

The September Society

The September Society is a historical mystery that takes place in Oxford and London in Autumn 1866.  It is the second novel in a series that features amateur sleuth Charles Lenox. It was published in 2008. 

The publisher's summary:  

"In the small hours of the morning one fall day in 1866, a frantic widow visits detective Charles Lenox. Lady Annabelle's problem is simple: Her beloved son, George, has vanished from his room at Oxford. When Lenox visits his alma mater to investigate he discovers a series of bizarre clues, including a murdered cat and a card cryptically referring to The September Society. Then, just as Lenox realizes that the case may be deeper than it appears, a student dies, the victim of foul play."

This was light reading at its best. While light, the book had all the features of a perfectly plotted mystery. There were lots of twists as the resolution of the murder was slowly revealed. The whydunnit held most of the mystery than either the whodunnit or howdunnit. We really don't know what the September Society is until the last pages, which was a satisfying way to end the story. 

I liked the Oxford collegiate setting. I am not that familiar with Oxford and went back and forth between the story and a map of Oxford itself. If future books in the series take place here I will be reading all of them. I also liked the London setting in the Victorian era. While I am familiar with London today, it was good to read about it from another time period. Learning about these two places was an enjoyable part of the reading experience.

The September Society is the quintessential British fiction novel. Much of the action takes place in pubs and private gentleman clubs. Many of the characters belong to four or five gentleman clubs and each of them have a different character to them. The main character Charles Lenox is quirky, as we Americans call this type of character.  He bumbles when it comes to romance with the opposite sex and thinks way too much about what is the right thing to do. His language is more British English than American English. I enjoy a good British yarn!

The novel was pleasantly entertaining. I can honestly recommend it to Anglophiles and mystery lovers.  5 out of 5 stars.