Jenn Reads: “A” Is For Alibi

August 3, 2013July 31, 2013 / Jenn / Leave a comment

“A” Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton was the July pick for our mystery book club, chosen by one of our members.

Here is another “Jenn Reads” that is not a newer book! I’m a huge fan of book

“A” Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton

clubs picking books that are not necessarily new, something every other book club in the world is reading (Can I tell you how many times I’ve seen Gone Girl or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Societyhas been read by book clubs?), and perhaps a little off the beaten path.

Grafton’s W Is For Wasted comes out in September, so it was appropriate that our member chose this title. Grafton started this series more than 30 years ago and has been plugging away at the alphabet ever since. Wonder how relieved she’s going to feel when she finishes this series and can start another?!

“A” Is For Alibi starts with the main character, Kinsey Millhone stating that she murdered someone just days before. Well! How about that for a setup! Makes you curious to know whom she killed. Kinsey, a private investigator, has been hired by Nikki Fife to investigate the murder of her husband, which she has just spent eight years in prison for.

Laurence Fife was a divorce lawyer, excellent at his job, but a scoundrel, adulterer, and abusive man. So there are many who would have liked to do him in. The story twists when it comes out that his accountant, Libby Glass, was killed in the same manner he was. It was suspected the two were having an affair.

Kinsey sets off on an investigation that takes her to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Most of the story takes place in Santa Theresa, California and Grafton does a fantastic job at describing the location. I could feel the California sunshine on my face as Kinsey went on her runs (which, by the way, I didn’t need to know every time she went for a run) and the sand at my feet as she visited her lover Charlie while he dog sat.

Kinsey displaces some very rookie moves for a season private investigator and former police officer, specially trusting people she shouldn’t trust. She wipes down her room in Las Vegas, thinking the police might tie her to a murder there, but forgets that she checked in and paid with a credit card.

What I do like about Kinsey is her doggedness, want to do right, and perseverance. Unlike Stephanie Plum, who is just terrible about being a bounty hunter and lucks into a lot of her leads, Kinsey actually sits down and does the work, and follows through.

I’ll probably continue with the series, as it is one of my mother’s favorites, and I’d like to see how Kinsey develops as a character. “A” Is For Alibi is a good start to the series.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

See you in the stacks,

Jenn 🙂

Linda reads : Wind Chime Point and Sea Glass Island by Sherryl Woods

July 27, 2013August 27, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Wind Chime Point is book two of the Ocean Breeze Trilogy. It would be helpful to read the first book, Sand Castle Bay, although the author does a wonderful job of tying in book one’s story.

Hardworking, ambitious, and independent Gabriella Castle is facing personal and professional challenges that prove too daunting for her to handle alone. She retreats to her grandmother’s home in Sand Castle Bay, NC. and the welcoming arms of her family.

Wade Johnson is a cabinet-maker and wood-carver with a tragic and secret past. He’s been intrigued by Gabriella whenever she’s visited and is happy when she returns to town. He’s also a friend of Emily’s finance, Boone.

Gabi is having a lot of trouble deciding what to do about her future. For the first time in her life, she is plagued with doubts and uncertainty. She finds a friend in Wade and his easy-going style and good listening skills are both helpful and comforting. She didn’t expect or plan for her feelings for Wade to blossom into love. Wade knew he had strong feelings for Gabi, but he is unsure if he’s ready to take the next step.

Although this book focuses mainly on Gabi and Wade, the secondary characters play an important part in the story. Gabi’s sister Emily is busy planning her wedding and her other sister, Samantha is facing her own crisis about her career. Grandmother Cora Jane is still playing matchmaker and the sister’s father, Sam, has an expanded role in this book.

Sea Glass Island is the third and final book of the trilogy. Samantha has been living in New York City pursuing her dream of being an actress. But lately, the parts she auditions for are all going to younger actresses. She goes home to North Carolina for her sister’s wedding and to reflect on what to do with her life.

Ethan Cole is a doctor at the local clinic in town. He lost a leg while serving in Afghanistan, and his fiance dumped him shortly thereafter. He’s having a hard time overcoming the hurt caused by his finance. He doesn’t know that Samantha has had a crush on him since high school, or that her family is relentless on their determination to get them together.

There are several interesting subplots in this book and plot lines from the previous two books are tied up quite nicely.

These are captivating, realistic, heartwarming romances. The setting is a place you want to visit and the characters are people you want to know. This is a character-driven trilogy with witty dialogue, beautifully descriptive scenes, warm and loving family interactions, and sweet love stories. This trilogy is Ms. Woods best work yet.

Jenn Reads: Slaughterhouse Five

July 23, 2013July 20, 2013 / Jenn / Leave a comment

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut is our July pick for the Cheshire Cats Classics Club. It was chosen largely to appeal to men and to those who like more modern classics. This is not my typical fare, necessarily, and was not even on my to-read list. Far from it, actually.

I’m not sure what I thought Slaughterhouse Five was going to be, but whatever notions I had where quickly dispelled. I think I heard that it included a fictional planet, and time-travel and thought “Not for me…” First impressions are often wrong, prejudiced, and just down right stupid.

Slaughterhouse Five is a crisp 275 pages, easily read, and likely easily misunderstood. Some may find the scenes of Tralfamadore ridiculous, the war depictions brutal, the episodes of sex raunchy, but they unfortunately have missed the essence of the book. And don’t let the ease of reading the book fool you: Vonnegut is trying to send an important message on the destructiveness of war, finding happiness, and mental illness.

Slaughterhouse Five, to me, is an anti-war novel on the surface. The subtitle, or The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death alludes to the fact that so many of the men who bravely fight our wars are merely boys. They are dancing with death in a way many of us will never experience.

What Billy Pilgrim experiences and views at the bombing of Dresden forever changes him and shapes the novel. Billy’s “strange” behavior of time traveling and episodes on Tralfamadore are manifestations of his PTSD. Knowing that Vonnegut himself saw the bombing of Dresden makes you wonder how much of this was truly Billy Pilgrim’s story and how much of it was autobiographical. Anyone who has seen actual warfare is never the same.

I listened to this book, as I try to do with all of the classics we read for the club. Ethan Hawk was the reader for this version, which included an interview with Vonnegut. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with this book, having gone in with low expectations. Hawk’s reading of it was admirable, although the mixing on the recording was very low and he was often difficult to hear, and the story moved.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (but it’s a hearty 3 stars)

Escape With A Cozy Mystery – take a journey, enjoy an adventure, learn something new…

July 21, 2013June 5, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Julie Hyzy

One of cozy mystery’s premier authors, Julie Hyzy, recently wrote a very interesting article for the Huffington Post about cozy mysteries. Her new book, Grace Takes Off, was published July 2.

Here are some other cozy mysteries out this month:

1. Tarnished and Torn (A Witchcraft Mystery) by Juliet Blackwell

2. Tulle Death Do Us Part (A Vintage Magic Mystery) by Annette Blair

3. A Custom-Fit Crime (A Magical Dressmaking Mystery) by Melissa Bourbon

4. Woof at the Door (A Call of the Wilde Mystery) by Laura Morrigan

5. Final Sentence (A Cookbook Nook Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber

6. Laced With Poison (A Sweet Nothings Lingerie Mystery) by Meg London

7. Dyeing Wishes (A Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery) by Molly MacRae

8. Yarn To Go (A Yarn Retreat Mystery) by Betty Hechtman

9. One Dead Cookie (A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery) by Virginia Lowell

To view a previously published post about Cozy Mysteries, click here.