Andrea Ward
Some of the poems were very powerful and created a strong sense of place, action, and emotion. Others seemed to not fit next to the one before it, but isn't that the way out brains work? One thing should not connect to the next, but in our head they do. I do think I would have enjoyed this more if I was aware of the poet's work before this.
This has less murder mystery than the previous books in the series, but there is still plenty of action and some mysterious identities. There is lots of Irish folklore as well. I enjoyed learning about the Irish gods and their stories. I love the way they discover the clues and the solution that solves the problems. I don't know if this the last in the series, but it is a good wrap up to the curse part of this series. I suspected part of the solution, but there were still surprises in store.
Overall, this was just what Pippin and Grey needed!
The various sources of storytelling, podcast transcripts, articles, emails, letters, and regular storytelling, kept me reading this one. The characters were frustrating because they seem to make the same mistakes so often, but I'm glad I kept reading because it was good to see them grow by the end of the book. I also liked the slow way we are introduced to the more fantastic theories about Violet's disappearance.
Flawed characters, twisty history, and interesting ending.
I am not generally a ramble reader, but this one sounded too cute to pass up. I am so glad I picked this one up. I liked that the characters were flawed and had to work through those flaws. I like that they realized their need to work on those flaws with others and they could t solve it by themselves. I like that the sisters viewed the same situation two different ways. I really liked the characters.
I really liked the New Orleans setting. We get a lot about her neighborhood and the places she walks. This helps create a cozy feel.
I like the way that Valerie is growing after grieving for her husband and being an empty nester. She isn't sure who she is anymore, but she is willing to learn and try new things. That was a great way to bring in her inheritance that helped her find something to do as well as push her to deal with some grief and pain.
The murder and victim were both complicated. That made for compelling reading. I figured out who the murderer was a little earlier than normal, but there was still a little bit of mystery surrounding it.
All of the characters felt like real people who were struggling with something. So complicated mystery, great characters and cozy setting!
I started with this book in the series. It is obvious that I have missed some of the relationship parts, but the author does a good job letting me know what is going on without having a gigantic info dump. So I thought that was well balanced.
The actual investigation of the mystery involves a lot of looking at old newspapers and yearbooks and then interviewing people. I thought it had a realistic pace of what could be found out and how to get people to tell you the truth. I had hoped for a little more from the ending, but it is honestly a realistic ending. So I can't be too upset by it.
The overarching story of Callie's mom is a good way to keep you reading the series, which I will keep doing.
I really appreciated the variety of characters in this story. There are people with faith and people without. There are neurotypical people and neurodiverse people. There are people with a variety of sexualities. And it isn't always comfortable when they are interacting, but in the end , the characters come back to themselves. I appreciate the ways they try to fit in with others and then come back to who they really are and their values. The story of Isabella is an interesting way to explore the history of this house and individual lives. The ending is a little too perfect, but that is a picky point.
I love Keaton and Koby! Their relationship as brother and sister is really developing well. I paused my listening a couple times to just enjoy their banter. I love their different ways of investigating. It makes them a formidable team. I liked that this one focused on Mama Zola and Pete and the suspicious group of people were in a church. That made it seem like a group of people who would have a lot of secrets and conflicting attitudes.
This is a wonderful book 2. Keaton and Koby are the very best!
Good mystery
The mystery kept me guessing. I don't think there was enough information to guess truth with the final clue. The bad guy was a little more off their rocker than I expected. Overall I liked the mystery.
The characters are pretty good. I like Charlotte's back story and how that makes her café special.
Good first in a series.
I was so wrong about who did it! There were so many people with a good reason and they all seemed to have equally little access to the weapon. There isn't a lot of secrets to uncover, but the suspects aren't telling us everything they know. So the mystery is very well done.
The characters and the town of Wintergreen are fun to visit again. I liked seeing a little more of what was going on with the side characters. Of course we get some great mountain views and trails as well.
The romance seems to be developing realistically. I like that it wasn't full of drama, but it wasn't totally easy sailing, which would be unrealistic.
So a great mystery and interesting characters.
It seemed to take a while to get going. One of the ‘secrets' was pretty obvious and when that secret came out, things started moving quicker. That action was really pleasing and made me happy with the book. However at the end there was some little bits of backstory that I wanted that we didn't get. Overall the hotel and the people in it were interesting characters and it ended on a good note.
I have not read a lot of Agatha Christie books and short stories, but I after reading this I have a good overview of much of what she wrote. I also understand better why she was so important for the genre. She seems to be placed in the cozy mystery category, but that doesn't feel accurate. She kept herself on the cutting edge of forensic science to make sure the things in her stories were as accurate as possible. So in this overview of her work, we learn about the history of forensic science as well. So this is a little bit of Agatha Christie, a little bit of science, and a little bit of history.
A Scottish Vacation!
I really loved all the details about the little towns where they stayed. And the book made it seem possible for just about anyone to hike the West Highland Way. Etta did some growing in this one and Dora seemed as solid and happy as ever. The mystery was not obvious at first, so there wasn't much traditional investigation, but there were still clues. Not that I picked up on them. I had to have it explained to me like the other characters did. I still enjoyed the hike on the West Highland Way even if there wasn't a lot of investigation.
This was scarier and more supernatural than I expected. It was well done because even with the supernatural part, there was still a bad guy that needed justice. I guess technically there were a few bad guys. So there were plenty of secrets to uncover.
The magic system could be explained a little better, but it might have been an awkward info dump and I wouldn't have liked that either. So maybe it is all for the best.
If you are looking for a creepy ambiance and lots of secrets, pick this one up.
Wow! The characters in this one were very powerful. The bad were really getting under my skin and I was really rooting for the good guys. I even shed a tear for the loss of the last rider. Misty, Brynn, Patty, and Rocky are a good core group to sleuth. I particularly loved Patty in this one.
The Mountaintop Lodge is a cozy place to relax and the Greasy Griddle has me feeling hungry. So I just love the cozy part of this series.
I picked up on one of the clues and I had solved part of the mystery, but the ultimate bad guy was a total surprise. I liked the way that Misty did a little sleuthing while she was also doing her work. She let the detective do his work as well. I thought that was a good balance for this mystery.
Ooh! This one was so much fun to read.
There are a couple times I have read a book that tells us about the family of a famous historical character. This is a book like that. We see life from the perspective of various Booth children except for John. We see the struggles they all had to live up to a name and not show that the various scandals affected them. Each Booth child has their own big foible that threatens to bring them down, but they still work so hard to be there for the family. Then John makes history and they are all in their own way shattered. I enjoyed listening to the family drama and heartbreak because it humanized these historical figures.
