Busy reading week!

I've read three great mysteries this week. Susan Elia MacNeal's Prisoner in the Castle, Vivien Chien's Dim Sum of All Fears, and Paula Munier's debut mystery A Borrowing of Bones. All worth reading!

The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Prisoner in the Castle is the latest addition to the excellent Maggie Hope WWII mysteries. When the book opens Maggie is being held in on an isolated Scottish island along with a number of other SOE operatives who for one reason or another are literal prisoners for numerous reasons ranging from unsuitability after training, to fear that they may break under torture, to having too much knowledge regarding the secretive and highly classified information about the D-Day landings - which is Maggie's frustrating situation.

Their "prison" is an elaborate Victorian castle/hunting lodge that is allegedly haunted by the notorious murderer who built it. When the prisoners start dying one by one, Maggie is convinced that there is a murderer among her fellow prisoners. She and and a doctor, begin investigating. What they uncover is not only a dark secret, but also a spy among spies.

This is a simple plot summary, due to the intricate and involving plot, but I can tell you that author Susan Elia MacNeal has crafted a locked-room mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie, but with her own unique flair and the wonderful Maggie Hope. It is involving, chilling, and historical. I loved it.

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A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good beginning to a series. Great plot - I was kept guessing all along as to what was happening. Mistaken identities, two great dogs, a tragic backstory for the heroine, and a handsome Maine game warden. I'm looking forward to more Mercy and Elvis mysteries. I'm afraid to say more without giving away too many details of this introductory story! If you liked Alex Kava's Creed and Maggie mysteries, you'll love this book.

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Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you love Cozy mysteries, Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop Mysteries are food for your reader's soul. What I loved most about this book was the way Vivien has made the Asian Plaza a small town peopled with quirky characters, stores, and, of course, Lana Lee's family restaurant.

Lana's family is front and center in this story. When her parents have to go to Taiwan to see what's up with the family matriarch, Lana and her sister are left in charge of the restaurant -- with Lana handling most of the work since her perfect sister is too busy with law school. When a new friend is found murdered, Lana can't help getting involved, even though she's promised family and her Police Detective plus one (and some) that she won't.

The setting is fun, Lana and her family and friends are engaging, and the mystery kept me reading later than I should have been! The ending is a perfect segue into the next book in the series Murder Lo Mein . Hallmark Mysteries should make these into a series. It would be fabulous!

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It's been a month!

I'm a bad blogger. It's been a month since I last stopped in. Progress on my original work? Maybe 1500 words. It's slow-going at this time of year with vacations, past and upcoming, schools invading the library, and life in general. Plus, it's hard to write when dealing with current events. But here's a few thoughts.

First, I've been reading a lot, which is both inspiring and not. When I read a really good book, self-doubt starts creeping in and I often find myself thinking what on earth made me want to be a writer? Maybe the reason I'm working so slowly is because what I'm writing isn't good enough. Maybe I should give up and take up crochet!

The truth is, I'm terrible at crochet, or crafts. I can't paint, draw, knit, crochet, or needlepoint. The only thing I'm really good at (other than my job - which is basically telling people about books, or answering reference questions) is writing. All the authors I admire say the same thing; if you want to be a writer, first you have to write, and keep writing until you're satisfied with what you've done.

So, along with the coming of Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Christmas Ale, maybe this is the season to write.

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Thoughts not on writing:

1. Vote. Register to vote before the deadline. Make sure your registration is current.
2. Keep the folks in Florence's path in you thoughts. Since my book deals with homeless veterans, and the homeless population in general, I'm concerned for their safety during the storm and the aftermath.

Thanks for listening to me ramble.