Dangerous to know…

Virgil Skinner served fourteen years for a murder he didn’t commit. He’s finally been exonerated, but he can’t escape the gang he joined in order to survive. They’ll do anything to keep him from telling what he knows. And if they can’t get to Virgil they’ll go after his sister and her kids.

The California Department of Corrections needs someone to infiltrate another gang, one that’s taking control of the state’s most notorious supermax. Virgil agrees to do it under an alias—in exchange for his sister’s protection.

Chief Deputy Warden Peyton Adams is opposed to having Virgil in her prison. How will she protect him if things go bad? Besides, she’s far too attracted to him; she might even be falling in love with him. That makes her all the more desperate to keep him safe—and it gives him someone else to lose.

My thoughts:

The way I thought the book was going to go was different from how it turned out. I thought it would be a tale of an undercover inmate doing prison style detective work. I thought he would coordinate what he found with the deputy warden while at the same time give the reader a bit of romance.

I was more than 60% into the novel (I read this on my kindle) before Virgil Skinner went into the prison. Prior to that it was all about the relationship between the main characters, a little bit about the evil gang members and how they controlled things inside and outside the prison.

The activities and the politics within the prison system was very interesting. That last 40% of the novel was where the action and intrigue came alive for me. The conclusion was satisfying too.

I like the two main characters, Peyton and Virgil, as they were not perfect people, but they struggled to be loyal and to do the right thing for others. The prison executives displayed character traits that were callous and dishonest. It made for an interesting contrast.

My recommendation is to skim the first half – the soap-operaish- part of the book. Then settle in and enjoy the last half.

Inside was published June 28th by Mira Books.  My rating: C+

Author

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2007

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Form: Audio {Barbara Rosenblatt, narrator]

Sweet Revenge is book #14 in Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy’s Catering Series. I’ve been reading them one at a time for at least a decade. I like Goldy and her family and friends and her nice Colorado community. But – there is always someone who gets murdered who is also connected with one of Goldy’s catering events. And Goldy is always curious enough to keep asking questions and digging into it until she solves the mystery.

The other thing that always happens in these books is that Goldy prepares some spectacular dishes and shares some of the recipes. She usually has a cleverly worded menu in there too. In Sweet Revenge it’s the Christmas party season and one of Goldy’s events is for a library group breakfast. I thought you’d like to see the menu.

What-the-Dickens Holiday Breakfast

Great Expectations Grapefruit

Chuzzlewit Cheese Pie

Tale of Two Cities French Toast

Bleak House Bars

Hard Times Ham

Christmas Carol Coffee Cake

In Sweet Revenge, the murder actually occurs at the library. (It’s not an event I’d like to see happen at my library. Fortunately, no precious books were bloodied.) The body is that of an ex-district attorney and there are expensive maps nearby. Also seen around town is the woman who killed Goldy’s ex-husband. The woman was supposed to be dead and Goldy knows she is not seeing a ghost.

Although I’ve enjoyed all the Goldy books to this point, I didn’t care for this one. I’m actually blaming it on the audiobook. I’ve read all the previous novels in hardcover or paperback but this is the first one I’ve listened to. The voice of Goldy on the audio is not the voice I hear in my head as my eyes read. The woman’s tone of voice was that of an irritating smart aleck. Her accent was not that of a Coloradoan, not even a transplanted Coloradoran. It didn’t work for me.

I have the next book in the series, Fatally Flakey, in hardcover and I will read that one. I’m hoping it was just the audio. I’d hate to give up on a series I’ve always loved. I know she has a new one coming out in April and I want the author to keep it going.

What did work for me, what always works for me, are Ms. Davidson’s recipes. I always try one or two when I’m reading one of her books. This time I tried a bar cookie that I’ll share with you next week. They’re called Got A Hot Date Bars and are loaded with raisens, dates, pecans, chocolate chips and toffee chips. Sound good? It was.

I wonder if I’m really reading these books just for the food?

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

Author

Publisher: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1935

Genre: Cozy Mystery

My Rating: C+

Murder In Three Acts (or Three Act Tragedy) is considered one of Hercule Poirot’s stories but I think it’s quite a different role for him. He’s always been the keenest observer of little details, but that’s to be his major function in this story. Well, that as well as solving the mystery.

Mr. Satterthwaite, who I first met in The Mysterious Mr. Quin, is also a good observer and student of human nature. He manages to play a key role in this drama. And, I really mean drama. The story is set in three acts and the action would be well suited to the stage.

Synopsis:

Mr. Satterthwaite is a guest at a house party given by the stage actor, Sir Charles Cartwright. On the first night, as guests are sipping cocktails, the local minister suddenly becomes ill. Within two minutes he is dead. Everyone present, with a couple of exceptions, believes he died from natural causes.

A few weeks later, at another house party, another man dies. Sir Charles, Mr. Satterthwaite and M. Poirot were not at that party, but some of the other guests were at both parties. Since Sir Charles and Mr. Satterthwaite were two of the people who thought the first death was suspicious, they are now convinced the second death is related and that both were murders. Sir Charles takes on the role of lead detective and actually stage manages all the drama. But, in Act Three, M. Poirot solves the crime.

My Opinion:

I must confess that this story is not one of my favorites from this beloved author. I’ve actually been trying to read it for over two months. I thought, at one point, that perhaps I was burned out by reading so many Agatha Christie novels all at once. I hope it’s just this story. It was very slow going throughout most of the middle two-thirds of the book. I couldn’t get excited by all the high drama.

The one thing I loved was the character of Mr. Satterthwaite. He’s quiet, unassuming, and there’s even a bit of rascal in him. Mrs. Christie often shows his thoughts and I could say, “Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking.” Unfortunately, he only appears in one more short story.

So, am I giving up on my challenge to read all of Agatha Christie’s books in order of publication? No way. I still have some great ones left to read, or re-read. Up next month is Murder In the Air. This is one I’ve read before and is one in which Agatha Christie made a mistake. Stay tuned.

If you are interested in joining the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge, click the button or the title.

For a copy of Murder In Three Acts, check your local library, local book store or Amazon. (I am an Amazon Associate.)

In Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? Ms. Christie introduced Bobby Jones and Lady Frances or Frankie. These two don’t show up again in another novel and that’s fine with me. I just couldn’t connect with them. Maybe Ms. Christie didn’t like them either.

Bobby and Frankie have been friends since childhood although they are separated by class. Bobby has been serving in the navy so they haven’t seen each other in a while. But now they team up to solve a murder mystery.

While golfing Bobby discoveres a man who has fallen over a cliff. When Bobby got to him the man died shortly after opening his eyes and asking Bobby, “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” The only hint as to the man’s identify was a picture of a beautiful young woman. While Bobby is waiting for help to arrive another man comes along and offers to stay with the body so Bobby can go to his father’s church. Bobby is late and he had promised his father he would play the organ. Frankly, I thought his father would have understood but . . .

Bobby actually forgot about the dead man’s final words until much later. In the meantime there is an inquest and the appearance of some people Bobby doesn’t trust. When Bobby is nearly poisoned, Frankie and Bobby are convinced the man who died on the cliff must have been murdered. They set out to prove it.

This is not my favorite of Agatha Christie’s mysteries. The two main characters didn’t work for me and I thought the story rambled around.  The ending took forever. If you haven’t read any of Christie’s works, I wouldn’t start with this one. (My choices would be Murder At the Vicarage and/or Murder On the Orient Express.)

If you are interested in accepting a challenge to read  Agatha Christie’s books, visit Kerrie at Mysteries In Paradise.

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? was published in the UK in 1934.  It was published in the US as The Boomerang Clue (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1935). My Rating: C+.

by Garth Stein

Harper, 2008

My Rating: C+

Synopsis (from Amazon)

If you’ve ever wondered what your dog is thinking, Stein’s third novel offers an answer. Enzo is a lab terrier mix plucked from a farm outside Seattle to ride shotgun with race car driver Denny Swift as he pursues success on the track and off.

Denny meets and marries Eve, has a daughter, Zoë, and risks his savings and his life to make it on the professional racing circuit. Enzo, frustrated by his inability to speak and his lack of opposable thumbs, watches Denny’s old racing videos, coins koanlike aphorisms that apply to both driving and life, and hopes for the day when his life as a dog will be over and he can be reborn a man.

When Denny hits an extended rough patch, Enzo remains his most steadfast if silent supporter. Enzo is a reliable companion and a likable enough narrator, though the string of Denny’s bad luck stories strains believability. Much like Denny, however, Stein is able to salvage some dignity from the over-the-top drama.

My thoughts:

I know I will offend many of you but The Art of Racing in the Rain was not that good for me. This was the Book Group’s choice, not mine. I will agree that the writing was very good and the story was very creative. I’m sure it was a personal thing that kept me from enjoying the book. Reading a book written by a dog was a little over the top for me. Others, particularly dog lovers, find the book to be heartwarming, charming, and very funny. Unfortunately, not me. Garth Stein has a new book out and I think I’m going to give it a try.

Check your public library for this book. It’s also available at Amazon. (I am an Amazon Associate.)

Kensington Publishing, 2009

My Rating: C+

This hardly ever happens to me but, I was on my way to a dental appointment and realized I didn’t have a book with me. Arghh! I hate to be stuck somewhere without a book.

It was closer for me to stop at a shop and grab a paperback rather than go back home. There was really nothing I really wanted to read (that hardly ever happens, either) until I spotted this book by Fern Michaels. My sister, Kaye, has been singing the praises of the author’s Sisterhood series.

In the past I purchased two of the books in this series. My goal was to get them all and then start reading. I like series books and I like to read them in order. So, here I am reading book number 15!

Summery: It wasn’t that hard to catch on to what was going on. Here’s what I figured out: There is a group of women, known as the Sisterhood, who have done something so bad that they have to hide out at a mountainside retreat. Only a pardon from the president will allow them to be free. Money does not seem to be a problem. There are also a group of people in normal society who are strong supporters. This includes high level people and some sexy men.

From time to time the Sisters become involved in a mission helping people who have suffered at the hands of others. The Sisters put things right and seek revenge.

In Vanishing Act the Sisters become involved when one of their outside partners is completely wiped out due to identity theft. They learn the masterminds of this identity theft ring is a very clever couple who change names and disguises on a daily basis. The goal of the Sisters is to figure out who else has been robbed, determine the best way to capture the couple and how to get the money back to the victims.

My evaluation: It was easy and fun to get caught up in this story. I read it off and on at the dentist’s but then had to keep turning the pages until I knew what was going to happen next. While it was fun to read I had to keep telling my “inner-scoffer” to go away. This is similar to reading a “super-hero” story. Things that happen in the story could in no way happen in real life. If you like your thrillers to be completely possible, this series is not for you.

I liked the women who made up the Sisters. I wish this story would have featured more of them. I have a hunch that the other books in the series do include more of these characters. I’ll have a chance to check this theory out in February. My sister and I will be getting together and she is planning to share her whole bag of these books! After I read a few more I’ll share my thoughts with you.