Quote:
Originally Posted by cromag
White Elephant was fun. There were some very original twists and I liked the way some seemingly unrelated events were finally linked. It also has the advantage of being a reasonably short novel, so it's easy to squeeze into my schedule. On the other hand, the heroine of the story (and series) comes across as more than a bit naive. I guess I'd give this a solid 3 Stars.
Then I read Dead Jitterbug and Dead Boogie, the 6th and 7th books in Victoria Houston's Loon Lake Mysteries series. They were both very good -- I'd say that Boogie was a bit better than Jitterbug, but that might also reflect some personal taste. Boogie was a more "linear" story that hung together nicely; Jitterbug wove several plot lines in and out and finally together. Still, both were good entries in a reliably good series.
I also read some short stories from my somewhat lengthy TBR file.
Right now I've started reading the latest issues of Analog and Asimov's SF magazines. They're off to a good start.
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Well, the non-reading aspects of my life have kept me very busy. I've made time for the important things -- like reading and posting in the games in the Lounge -- but I haven't been keeping up here.
As always, I've been reading a lot of short stories and the latest issues of Analog and Isaac Asimov's science fiction magazines.
I had the first four books in Tony Dunbar's Tubby Dubonnet Series as freebies. The first two were described as "Hard-Boiled but Humorous New Orleans" mysteries. Whatever humor there was in the first book was very wry humor at best. It was very well written with good characters and a complicated plot, but not quite what I was looking for. If I didn't already have the remaining volumes I would have left it there. I liked the second and third books better, but the fourth one was just a bit too bleak. I needed a break.
Again, the writing was very good, the characters were well realized and the plots were complicated but logical. I just needed something a bit lighter.
Crooked Man (Tubby Dubonnet, #1)
City of Beads (Tubby Dubonnet, #2)
Trick Question (Tubby Dubonnet, #3)
Shelter From The Storm (Tubby Dubonnet, #4)
Next, I read the fourth and fifth books in the Professor Simon Shaw Murder Mysteries by Sarah Shaber. I was ready for a change in tone. I liked them both. They both were a bit different from the first three.
In The Bug Funeral the professor is asked to investigate a woman's apparent memories from a previous life ... by the woman ... who doesn't believe in reincarnation.
In Shell Game the professor has to investigate the murder of a colleague who was studying a controversial archeological find which involves political complications.
The Bug Funeral (Professor Simon Shaw, #4)
Shell Game (Professor Simon Shaw, #5)
And finally I read the first three books in the Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series. I had already read the fourth story, Any Port in a Storm, and enjoyed it. They are good stories in terms of the writing, plots and characters, and the small town setting on the Jersey shore is familiar.
I read these in the collection (I hate the term "boxed set" when it comes to unboxable ebooks) First Four Jolie Gentil Mysteries, by Elaine Orr. This set is available at Smashwords but not at Amazon. Amazon has the first three collected as Ocean Alley Adventures. The four book set is a better bargain if you're starting from scratch.
Appraisal for Murder (A Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery, #1)
Rekindling Motives (A Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery, #2)
When the Carny Comes to Town (A Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery, #3)
Any Port in a Storm (A Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery, #4)
I'm not sure what I'll be reading next. I'll try to check in before December.
