REVIEW: Antique Blues

Antique Blues
Author: Jane Cleland

Antique Blues is the 12th book in the Josie Prescott Antique Mysteries series. This is the first book in the series that I've read. I will definitely be going back and reading the rest of this series!

Josie Prescott is an antiques expert and amateur sleuth. A friend asks Josie to appraise a Japanese woodblock print that she just acquired. Mo Shannon bought the print from her sister's less than stellar boyfriend, Cal. The situation seems a bit off from the beginning, but even more so when Mo turns up dead and Cal disappears. Josie finds herself investigating not only her friend's murder but also some underhanded antique purchases.

The plot in this book is much more complex than the usual cozy mystery. There's a lot going on.....suspects, plot twists, investigation. The background theme of antiques and appraisals is an integral part of the plot instead of just background cuteness. I like the characters. Josie Prescott is one smart cookie. She knows the antique business and utilizes her resources and contacts to make progress in business and during investigations. The side characters are all interesting and come together to help solve the crime. I look forward to reading more books in this series. I really enjoyed this story!

I was easily able to jump in at book 12 and enjoy this story. There were no real spoilers of earlier books. Character backgrounds carry over from book to book, of course, but I was easily able to pick up enough info to get the general idea of who was who and what relationships between characters were. So, readers could jump in anywhere in this series and still enjoy the story. I'm going to backtrack and start at book 1 because this is a very well written cozy and I want to see how these characters have developed over time.

The cover art is great! :)

I don't often give 5-star ratings to cozy mysteries, but this one is well-written, interesting and entertaining. Full marks from me!

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Bleeding Tarts

Bleeding Tarts
Author: Kirsten Weiss

Valentine Harris is a baker who does a bit of amateur sleuthing on the side. She's a bit stressed lately because she recently expanded her pie shop and it's been a bit difficult juggling finances. To bring in a bit of money, she's providing the pies for an eating contest at an area tourist attraction. Bar X is a fake ghost town and Valentine wants a contract with them. Supplying pies for the tourists would bring in some much needed steady income for Pie Town. As she is delivering the pies for the event, things get a bit dicey. Sharp Shooters are practicing for an event at the ghost town, and a stray bullet slings through one of the pie boxes she's carrying. Valentine is hardly recovered from the explosion of cherry filling and pie crust when she sees a dead man on the ground. The Bar X bartender has been shot dead. Calling the police covered in bright red cherry pie filling makes her a suspect at first, but soon Valentine is on the case, doing whatever she can to identify the killer. Baiting a killer is dangerous though. If she's not careful, it won't be just the pie and the bartender that have a couple extra holes in them.

Bleeding Tarts is the second book in the Pie Town cozy mystery series. It isn't necessary to have read the first book, The Quiche and the Dead, to enjoy this mystery. A bit of the character background is continued from the first book, but there is enough background info included in the second book to make it easy to just jump in and read.

I enjoy this series. It has a nice mix of humor, background theme and mystery. There are recipes included at the end of the mystery as well. Pie recipes of course! Not all are dessert pies though. One is savory and involves cheese...definite yum there. :)

The mystery in this newest addition to the series moves along at a nice pace. The murder happens pretty quickly in chapter one, so there isn't a lot of waiting for the dirty deed to be done. The setting of a fake ghost town with every sort of tourist trap trick is very entertaining and fun. I thought it was hilarious when Valentine gets shot right in the pie....and then the police think she's covered in blood when it's actually cherry pie filling. :) The rest of the book was just as cute and fun. Definitely a great cozy!

A 3rd book in the series, Pie Hard, is coming out in February 2019.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness
Author: Joseph Conrad

Charlie Marlow is a sailor. He's looking for some adventure, so he signs up to be a steamboat captain in Africa. He struggles to understand the native culture, and is annoyed at the difficulties they face to get supplies for boat repair and other items essential to his job. Marlow is hired by a Belgian ivory exporter to travel down the Congo river to check on one of their traders whose name is Kurtz. There are rumors about Kurtz. Some say he is a very powerful man and others whisper that he might have gone native, keeping some of the company's ivory for himself. It's a job, however...and Marlow heads off down the Congo with his native crew and some company officials. As they near Kurtz's camp they are warned of danger, survive a native attack and Marlow is given an eyewitness account about Kurtz from an associate. The man almost worships Kurtz even though his life has been threatened on a regular basis. So is the man a hero....or evil? Or can a man be both? Marlow learns some dark lessons on this voyage down the Congo. And in the end has to decide to keep secrets or reveal the truth about Kurtz.

It is amazing that Conrad managed such an interesting and deeply philsophical story in less than 100 pages. He touches on the problems with imperialism, racism against indigenous people, the clash of cultures, the wildness of the jungle and how power and greed can corrupt. Then he has some life-altering decisions to make....should he do what is right, or go down the same road as Kurtz did, taking wealth and power to benefit himself. At some point, I think we are all faced with similar decisions. Can a person be good...but do evil things? Can a good person really be corrupted....or was the person really corrupt inside all along?

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel. Narrated by Scott Brick, the audio is a bit over 4.5 hours. Brick reads the story at a steady pace with emotion in all the proper places. I think I enjoyed this particular book much more on audio than I would have just reading it myself. The entire story is really the main character's inner monologue and a re-telling of events. I got sucked into the story because with the audio it really sounded like a sailor telling his story.  Joseph Conrad wrote several other books including Under Western Eyes and Lord Jim.

A very dark tale, but I'm glad I finally read this book! Somehow in all my studies this is one classic I never read. Heart of Darkness is part of the 100 book list for The Great American Read. The list can be found here: https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/books/#/  This is the sixth book from the list that I have read or re-read in my quest to work my way through the whole list.

REVIEW: I Survived the American Revolution 1776

I Survived the American Revolution, 1776
Author: Lauren Tarshis

This series is historical fiction for kids. Each book features a child's fictionalized eye-witness account of a disaster or major historical event. From ancient history like the destruction of Pompeii to more recent events like the Joplin, MO tornado, the series mixes fact with fiction to bring history alive for middle-grade kids. There are 17 books in the series so far.

I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 is told from the perspective of 11-year old Nathaniel Knox from New York. Nathaniel runs away from the home of his Uncle, taking the blame for an injury to his uncle that a slave's child caused by accident. Nathaniel intends to join the crew of a ship and go to sea. He ends up in the middle of a Revolutionary War battle instead. His struggle for survival amid the cannons and gunfire brings the Battle of Brooklyn alive!

I really like this series. The mix of historical fact and a fictionalized story involving a child eye-witness really bring the events to life. The stories have a lot of action, so even reluctant readers will enjoy this series.

I listened to the audio version of this story. Narrated by Holter Graham the book is about 2 hours long. Graham reads at a nice pace with good inflection. I have hearing loss, but was easily able to understand his narration.

I Survived the American Revolution is the 15th book in this series. A new addition to the series, I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies, will be published in September 2018.

REVIEW: I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916

I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916
Author: Lauren Tarshis

I love this series of fictionalized eye-witness accounts of historical events written for kids. They focus on a wide variety of events from the destruction of Pompeii in AD 79 to the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The stories mix facts with a fictionalized story told by a child who was there for the event.
Each book is around 100 pages long and the audio books range from 1 to 1.5 hours, so the series is perfect length for use in a classroom situation or for at-home reading.

I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 is about shark attacks in the creeks along the Jersey Shore that summer. The attacks didn't just happen on the sea shore, but in Matawan Creek nearby as well. Swimmers in a creek did not expect to see a shark....and back then it was even believed that sharks would not attack humans.

Chet Roscow is staying in New Jersey with his uncle, helping him at his diner. His parents are in California trying to make his father's latest business venture work. Chet makes friends with some boys, and life seems to be settling down for him. Then, the newspaper headlines start talking about swimmers being killed by sharks at the beach. Chet sees a shark in Matawan Creek and tries to tell everyone about it, but most think he imagined it or the newspaper stories scared him. He walks down to the creek, and even his own friends refuse to get out of the water. Until they also see the shark. Can they escape with their lives?

There are 16 books in the I Survived series, with a new book scheduled to come out in September 2018.

REVIEW: Mrs. Mike

Mrs. Mike
Author: Benedict and Nancy Freedman

I remember vividly the first time I read this story about the Canadian wilderness. I was 12 and it was visiting day. Visiting day meant we traveled to spend the day with my bachelor uncle. He lived by himself in a huge old house and firmly believed children in his home should be seen and not heard. There were no kids living nearby. I was not allowed to watch television or listen to music in his home. And the town was so small there was nothing to do. There wasn't even a park. So visiting days were horrible for me. And my parents would not allow me to stay home. It made for a bleak and awful Sunday. But this time, I ventured upstairs in the old creaky house. Uncle had suffered from polio when he was a young boy, and he wore a brace on one leg. He never ventured upstairs. The steps were too steep. With the excuse of going up to dust and refresh the two upstairs bedrooms and bathroom, I escaped up the stairs so there was no way I could accidentally peeve my curmudgeon uncle. In one of the rooms, there was a bookcase. Books! Something to do! I found a couple books by James Herriot I had read before....those would work in a pinch. But then I spied a paperback that looked interesting. Mrs. Mike. It had a picture of a sled dog team on the front. I loved adventure stories with animals, so I grabbed the book and lay down across the old four poster bed. I spent the entire afternoon reading about the life of Mary Katherine O'Fallon Flannigan. Lovely book! Over the years, I have read this story again and again.....and I enjoy it just as much as I did that first time.

The Basics: Mary Katherine O'Fallon is sent to Alberta to live with an uncle at 16. She suffers from pleurisy and doctors say the cold, dry air will be good for her. She meets Mike Flannigan, a mountie,  and marries him. They travel North and build a life together, serving natives at Brouard, Lesser Slave Lake and other remote areas in Alberta and British Columbia. Their life is hard at times, but Katherine learns to love Mike, the native people they serve, and the wilderness with all her heart.

 The story is told with humor, emotion and realism, and is based on the real life story of Katherine. (The Freedmans did admit that Katherine might have embellished her story somewhat as some of the details could never be corroborated, but it's a delightful story even if portions of it didn't really happen). I have tried several times to look up information about Mary Katherine O'Fallon (Flannigan) or to find photos/information about Mike or Katherine online. But, information is sparse. All I found out is that Mike died in 1944 from a ruptured appendix. Following his death, Katherine came back to the states, remarried and ventured out to California to try to sell her life story as a movie idea. She was directed to the Freedmans for a possible book instead. The book was written and sold quite well. Then the Freedmans sold the movie rights to the book and a film version starring Dick Powell was released in 1949. Katherine attempted to sue the movie studio and the Freedmans for $25,000, but was unsuccessful. She was told she had a contract regarding the book with the Freedmans,but had no rights to money from the film. I would love to see the movie! But I have yet to find a copy or any streaming service that has it. At some point it will pop up online, and I will finally get to see Dick Powell as Mike Flannigan!

A sweet mix of adventure and romance, this is a lovely book! A copy is always on my keeper shelf.  The Freedmans wrote two fictional sequels, The Search for Joyful and Kathy Little Bird. I haven't read the sequels yet. I loved the original book because it was based on a true story. The two sequels are fiction. Sequels can be so disappointing, so I have never worked up the courage to read either book. I am striving this year to read more books I have always wanted to read but never found the time.....maybe this year I will take a chance and read the two sequels to Mrs. Mike.

This time, I listened to the audiobook version of Mrs. Mike. Narrated by Kirsten Potter, the audio is just over 11.5 hours. Potter read an even pace, with good inflection. She was wonderful at all the different accents....Irish, French, native and Boston. :) A very enjoyable listen!

REVIEW: Burning Meredith

Burning Meredith
Author: Elizabeth Gunn

The fire starts on Labor Day. Live embers left by Careless campers catch the wind and burn brush and trees. Soon all of Meredith Mountain is ablaze. Below the mountain in Clark's Fort, a rookie newspaper employee gets a lucky break. Stuart Campbell is sent to cover the fire. He spends days on the mountain with the fire crews sending back photos and notes on the emergency. His Aunt Alice edits his notes into stories. The local weekly paper, the Guardian, runs with the story, gathering national accolades for its coverage of the huge forest fire. When the last of the fire is out and the mountain is just smoking, firemen make a gruesome discovery - an expensive athletic shoe hanging halfway up a tree. Below it under some burned logs, a charred body. When the autopsy report points to murder, Alice and Stuart find themselves investigating a mystery. Who is the dead man? And who killed him?

At 182 pages, this book is a quick read, but a really enjoyable suspense story! I spent 10 years as a small town reporter, so I totally identified with the two main characters. It's hard to keep up with front page news when you are also selling ads, editing copy, taking the photos, and getting the paper printed on time. Alice is feisty, standing up to her boss, interviewing people for info on the murder and editing the stories for the Guardian. I really like her character. Stuart is tenacious and has that new reporter wild excitement to him....he loves taking photos and covering the fire and murder case. His Aunt is his strong support, editing his notes into strong stories and helping him with interviews and ideas. Great characters! This story definitely kept my attention from beginning to end. It moved at a perfect pace with plenty of interesting clues and investigation.

This is the first book by Elizabeth Gunn that I've read. I enjoyed this story so much that I will definitely be reading more of her books!

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Severn House via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**