Books Read So Far This Year January 1 through February 23, 2024

The books read so far for my reading challenges for 2024.

Reading by the Numbers Challenge--Goal 12 books 

GoodReads Reading Challenge--Goal 12 books

2024 Mt. TBR Challenge--Goal 24 books

 1.  Blotto, Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett

 2.  Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough

 3.  Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delaney

 4.  Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern

 5. Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart

 6. The Plot & the Pendulum by Jenn McKinley

 7.Quilting Calamity by Katherine Mykel

 8. Pressing Matters by Katherine Mykel

 9. On Borrowed Time by Kate Young

10 Banbury Bog by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

 

2024 Alphabet Soup Challenge

A  Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough

B  Blotto, Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett

C  Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern

D  Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart

O On Borrowed Time by Kate Young

P Pressing Matters by Katherine Mykel

Q Quilting Calamity by Katherine Mykel

T  Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delaney

 

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

California--Blotto, Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett
Connecticut--The Plot & the Pendulum by Jenn McKinley
Georgia--On Borrowed Time by Kate Young
Massachusetts--Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delaney
Minnesota--Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern
Ohio--Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough
South Carolina--Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart

 

 

 

 

Review--Banbury Bog by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Phoebe Atwood Taylor was an American mystery author in the 1930s through the early 1950s, who wrote several different mystery series under various pen names.  In this series, Asey (nickname of Asa) is an old down-to-earth inhabitant of Cape Cod (the small town of Weesit, Massachusetts) with a bright mind, a good sense of humor and a big dash of common sense. 

Phineas Banbury, the owner of a chain of bakeries, visits Weesit, the original home of his great uncle Phineas Knowles, for whom he is named.  He also received a bequest from his grand uncle, which he used to start his first bakery, and the beginning of his fortune.  Phineas decides to stay in Weesit, and fulfill his grand uncle's desire to help his hometown.  

He does a lot of good in the town, but when he and his wife make a huge batch of their famous tarts for a fundraiser, someone puts arsenic in them, sickening a number of townspeople.  

Several people feel that someone is trying to frame Phineas for causing the sickness, then a body is found, and Asey is called on to help clear Phineas's name, and find the person setting him up.

I enjoyed this book, with the characters being interesting and well developed.  It takes place in the 1930s, when it was written, and allows you to experience what it was like during that time-frame.

Review--The Plot and the Pendulum by Jenn McKinley

 

Setting: Connecticut

Lindsey Norris, library director, is thrilled to find out her library will be getting a local family's large and valuable book collection, due to the owner having to go to a retirement home, and forced to sell her home.  Her adult son, living out of state for over 30 years, is not interested in dealing with it.

While checking out the collection, and deciding beginning to transport some of the most valuable books to the library, Lindsey and members of her staff discover a secret room hidden behind a book case.  When investigating the room, they find a skeleton trapped inside.

The police are notified, and it is suspected it is the body of a young woman who had disappeared over thirty years ago.

Interesting read, thought the book was good, but not my favorite.

Books Read the week of Jan. 8-Jan. 21 , 2024

Well, the title of this blog is a little off, as I only finished one book during this two week period.  I'm more than half finished with two others, and have another couple I've started.  

One of my half finished books is a bit of a struggle, but I'm determined to finish it.  It bounces back and forth from the present to the past to the present again, which for some reason I find annoying at this time.  Perhaps it's because of the current weather, which apparently is making me a little grumpy.  Snow and bitter cold are not things I enjoy--at all!

The one book I actually finished is--

Death Walked in by Carolyn Hart.

This is #5 in my Goodreads Challenge, Reading by the Numbers Challenge, and my Mt. TBR Challenge (bought Nov 2023).  It is also D in my Alphabet Soup Challenge, and South Carolina in my Literary Escapes Challenge.

 I will be doing a monthly update in the future, updating all of my challenges at that time, so I will be doing one more with my total for January, and then the next one at the end of February.

 

Review--Death Walks In by Carolyn Hart

Setting: South Carolina

This is the eighteenth book in the Death in Demand series.  I've read several others, and have enjoyed them.

 Max Darling is left a message that a woman has left something hidden in his and his wife's soon to be home. When his wife, Annie, finds out, she goes to the woman's house and finds her dead. Looking for a motive, and curious about what she had hidden, Max and Annie search their house for the hidden item, but they are unable to find it.

Knowing that the victim worked for a home that had just been robbed of valuable coins, they assume she knew something about the crime, and that was the reason she had been killed. When the victim's son is suspected of the murder of his mother, Max and Annie believe him to be innocent, and work to prove it.

Enjoyed this book, as I have the others in this series that I've previously read. 

Review of Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern

Setting: Minnesota

While this is the fourth book in this series, it is the first one I've read.  It was an "okay" read, but I did not find it outstanding in any way. 

It had the expected characters; the young woman who gets involved investigating a crime, her helpful girl friends, a protective man (in this case two-her mentor/boss, and a local police officer). There were also two good-looking males to be possible love interests.
The plot was easily followed, and the "bad guy" was pretty obvious fairly early on to someone who reads a lot of mysteries. 

It certainly wasn't awful, and reading it is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon or two. If I come across another book in the series, I might read it to see if the writing has improved as it had potential.

Review of Tea and Treachery by Vicki Delany

Setting: Cape Cod, Massachusetts

I enjoyed this book.  The characters were interesting, and the plot was pretty good.
Lily is a pastry chef, running her own newly opened Tea Room, next to her grandmother's Victorian home in Cape Cod. Her grandmother, Rose, is running it as a Bed & Breakfast.  
Rose finds out that the house next door is going to be sold, and the person interested in buying it wants to tear it down and build a hotel, if he gets it rezoned.  

Rose has a public argument with the owner, developer, and one of the councilmen voting on the zoning, and the next day the developer is found dead on her property.  Rose becomes the main suspect if the man was pushed, rather than accidentally falling down some steps from the bluff to the beach.
Lily and her best friend Bernie, along with Rose try to determine, if the death was not an accident, who else would be a good suspect.
Looking forward to reading additional books in the series.

Books Read the week of Jan. 1-Jan 7, 2024

2024 Challenges

Goodreads--

1. Blotto,Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett

2. Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough

3. Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delaney

4. Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern

Reading by the Numbers

1. Blotto,Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett

2. Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough

3. Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delaney

4. Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern

 

Mount TBR 

1. Blotto,Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett bought 25 Jan 2023

2. Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough bought 23 Dec 2023

3. Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delaney  bought  6 July 2022

4. Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern  bought 15 Nov 2023

 

Alphabet Soup

A--Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough

B--Blotto, Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett

C--Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern

T--Tea and Treachery  by Vicki Delaney

 

Literary Escapes

California--Blotto,Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett

Massachusetts--Tea & Treachery  by Vicki Delaney

Minnesota--Christmas Corpse at Caribou Cabin by Laura Hern

Ohio--Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough

Review of Blotto, Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen by Simon Brett

I've read several of the Blotto and Twinks books, and enjoyed them all.  The main characters are exaggerations of stereotypes of the English aristocracy, and totally unbelievable.  Twinks is described as brilliant intellectually, and breathtakingly beautiful.  Blotto, her brother, is good at cricket, driving his car, and riding his horse, but dumber than a box of rocks.  He is also extremely brave (willing to take on multiple armed gangsters with only a cricket bat), and doesn't even realize he is in danger.

In spite of this, I have read several of the books and find them all entertaining (in a weird way).  Probably says more about me than about the books themselves.

 

Review of Archie Goes Home by Robert Goldsborough

Setting: Ohio

 

Archie Goodman, assistant to Nero Wolfe, is subtly nudged by his Aunt Edna to return home to Ohio, to visit his mother, although she is not having any problems.  His first impulse was to stay in New York and wait for his mother's planned visit in the fall, but with Nero's encouragement, he decides to drive to Ohio and make the visit. 

He discovers his Aunt's real motive is to get him to investigate the death of a disliked banker, although the police are sure the death was a suicide. He decides to check out the death, and ends up agreeing with his gossip-prone aunt that the death was not self-inflicted.  

The story was interesting, and there were several unexpected happenings during the investigation.

I was not totally surprised by the ending, but it took me most of the book to get to that point.

2024 Reading Challenges

 Back to posting after quite a while. I've decided to sign up for a few challenges again, just a few, to start this year's blog.

The first one I signed up for is the 2024 Goodreads Challenge.  My goal is 12 books, but hopefully will read more than that.

 

 

The second one is from My Reader's Block.  This is the Reading by the Numbers Challenge.  You don't have to pick a level, but my personal goal is at least 12 books.  They will probably be the same books as the 2024 Goodreads Challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

The third one is also from My Reader's Block.  I've signed up for the 2024 Mount TBR Reading Challenge.  My goal is Mount Blanc--read 24 books from my TBR piles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I signed up for the 2024 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge.  The goal is to read a book starting with each letter of the alphabet.  I'm not sure I will succeed with this one, some of the letters are pretty hard to find.

 

 The last one I signed up for is the 2024 Literary Escapes Challenge.  The goal is to read a book that takes place in each one of the fifty states, and Washington, D.C., with bonus points for different countries. 

 

 

 

 

 

2022 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

 

I meant to sign up for this in January, but I'm not sure I did, so signed up today.  I've already read several books over the past few months that qualify for this.  As of today, I only need 9 more letters.

A--All You Need is Fudge by Nancy Coco

B--A Body in the Backyard by Elizabeth Spann Craig

C--Cruising For Murder by Elizabeth Spann Craig

D--Death Gone A-Rye by Winnie Archer

E--Edit to Death by Elizabeth Spann Craig

F--Flame and Fortune by Jana Deleon

G

H--Hushed Up by Elizabeth Spann Craig

I--Iced by Carol Higgins Clark

J

K

L--A Lesson in Murder by Verity Bright

M--Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophi Hannah

N

O--Oh Say Can  You Fudge

P--Pretty is as Pretty Dies by Elizabeth Spann Craig

Q

R--A Royal Murder by Verity Bright

S--Snagged by Carol Higgins Clark

T--To Fudge or Not to Fudge by Nancy Coco

U

V--A Very English Murder by Verity Bright

W--The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies by Adrianna Licio

X

Y

Z

2022 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

 So far this year I've only signed up for one challenge.  Last year I started off well with several challenges, but life got busy, and I got tired, and the challenges went by the wayside.  Still read, just didn't keep track.

This year I've decided to keep it more manageable.  I may sign up for one more challenge, but  am going to see how this goes for a couple of months before deciding to add another.

I've made  a good start on this one already.  I signed up for the Famished Level (read 26-51cozy mystery books in the year).

Since cozies are my favorite books to read when I want to relax, this should be doable.

Dover One by Joyce Porter--review

Published in 1964, this is the first book by Joyce Porter that I've read.  I'm not sure what I was expecting.  

The Dover referred to in the title is the name of the detective--Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover.   He is based in London, but is sent out to a small village to find a missing person.  Sergeant Charles Edward McGregor is sent to help Dover out.

Dover is not your run of the mill detective.  He is lazy, takes credit for other people's ideas, and doesn't think the missing woman is a big deal, but wants to look good to his boss. He sends Sergeant  McGregor out to do all of the leg work, doing as little as possible himself, while he stays back to nap, eat or otherwise not do anything constructive.  

Whenever anything goes right, it is because that is the way Dover planned it.  If it goes wrong, it's because someone else didn't do what he was supposed to do--which is whatever it took to make it go right and make Dover look good.

The plot revolves around a missing young lady.  When Dover finds out she was promiscuous, he feels that he shouldn't make much effort, as she is probably off with a new fellow.  His sergeant tries to do some investigating, as it seems impossible that a young woman, weighing over 200 pounds, with red hair, should disappear between the front gate and the house with no one seeing her anywhere after. 

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book.  I don't like Dover, his sergeant seems to be resigned to having to do all the leg work and trying to talk Dover into at least agreeing to some investigating. 

I might read another and if I like it better, but I'm not going to make any kind of effort to do it.

This book was #18 of my Craving for Cozies 2021 Challenge, and my 2021 Reading Challenge. It also was part of my Beachcomber Challenge "D" in Detectives. It was #11 in my Vintage Scattergories Challenge--Malicious Men. In my 2021 Around the Year Challenge, it is # 10--female victim.

The Babbling Brook Naked Poker Club by Ann Warner--review

I started this book thinking it would be an amusing read, based on the title. Instead, it is about a 70 year old woman, Josephine Bartlett, who has lived most of her life being controlled by her husband. She's expecting to finally have some freedom when he passes, but he leaves his (also controlling) son in charge of her finances. The first thing he does is sell her house and move her into a retirement apartment. She, of course, doesn't like it, and is determined to somehow get away. In the meantime, she makes a few friends, becomes acquainted with the Associate Activities Director, and discovers a thief. She also meets a detective. 

The book itself was okay. The POV changes with each chapter, which was interesting once you got used to it. The story did seem to drag in places, and could have probably been a shorter book. 

There are subplots--the required romantic subplot, problems involving her friends, and  the conflict with her son. I would say this was just an okay book for me, not great, not terrible. 

This is #17 of my 2021 Craving for Cozies and 2021 Reading challenge. It also fulfills #36 in my Around the Year in Books Challenge--6 or more words in title.