Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong

August 9, 2025

Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong

With the dual Victorian fascination with death and Egypt, Mallory and Duncan are invited to a high society mummy unwrapping party. But when the time comes to unwrap the mummy, to their horror, they find not a preserved mummy but a recently murdered corpse. Not only that, the original mummy has vanished, possibly to be sold on the black market for occult medicinal purposes.

Third book in the Rip Through Time series with time traveling detective Mallory Atkinson, this time focusing on the Victorian fascination with death and Egyptology. Even in the 19th century, many scholars felt that artifacts looted from Egypt and other ancient cultures should be returned to their rightful countries. Mummia was an actual trade in Victorian times, based on the belief that medicines made from ground up mummies had magical properties, particularly for male erectile dysfunction (guys have been worrying about their wieners for centuries). Eventually mummia joined the pantheon of medical quackery. You probably want to read the first two books in the series before reading this one. Very enjoyable historical fiction.

A mummy unwrapping party - how weird is this?

Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong

July 26, 2025

Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong

Time traveling detective Mallory Armstrong has been stuck in 19th century Scotland for almost a year, working as the assistant to mortician Dr. Duncan Gray, the mixed race illegitimate son of an upper middle class family. She and Duncan are invited to the wedding of his best friend's sister at her fiance's highland hunting lodge. There is tension among the wedding guests and also with the locals, which only escalates when one of the guests is found murdered on the estate grounds. Instead of being a country holiday with friends, Mallory and Duncan find themselves tying to save the groom from the gallows.

The fourth book in the Rip Through Time series. The author gives enough background that this can be read as a standalone mystery if you haven't read the previous mysteries in the series, or if you're like me and it's been a while since you read the last book. Successfully evokes the customs, attitudes, and class distinctions, as well as police methods of the time. I loved how Mallory almost melted into a puddle when one of the characters finally shows up in a kilt. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Recommended for readers of historical mysteries like the Sebastian St. Cyr or the Lady Julia Grey mysteries, or the Outlander historical series.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Hunting lodge in the Scottish highlands

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

January 5, 2025

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Grady Green is at the top of his writing career, with his latest book climbing The New York Times bestseller list. The his wife Abby, an investigative journalist, goes missing while driving home, and his life goes to hell. He has no idea what happened to her: no goodbye letter, no suicide note, no ransom note, no body. After a year of drifting and not writing a word, his agent offers him the use of a cottage in the Hebrides off the coast of Scotland. He and his dog Colombo make the long drive north from London, and once he arrives, he begins to see Abby everywhere.

The good news: Colombo the black Lab is safe all the way through the book. I have enough people who call me while reading a book, asking if the dog is okay at the end, because otherwise they won't be finishing the book, that I know to include this right away. Feeney's trademark suspense featuring the ever-popular unreliable narrator. It's a slow plot for almost 2/3 of the book. The twist and the island's backstory start at this point. The real twist is at the 90% mark. This is the third Alice Feeney book I've read and I always figure out at least part of the "twist" well before we get there - with Daisy Darker, I think I figured it out by page 20. The only reason I keep reading is to see if I'm right or to fill in the gaps. Maybe I read too much. I think I'm done with Feeney. Readers who enjoy Freida McFadden will enjoy Alice Feeney's style as well.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Outer Hebrides village

Olive, Mabel and Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs by Andrew Cotter

May 18, 2022

Olive, Mabel and Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs by Andrew Cotter

During the COVID-19 pandemic, BBC sportscaster Andrew Cotter learned that all of the events that he was supposed to cover for the BBC (including the 2020 Summer Olympics) were cancelled. On lockdown with his two Labrador retrievers, Olive and Mabel, he began videotaping their activities and adding a running sports-style commentary. He described in exciting detail their morning contest at their breakfast bowls, walking in the woods near their home and splashing in the pond, and even held a Zoom meeting with the two dogs to discuss their performances. The videos became an Internet sensation and can be viewed on YouTube. In this memoir, Andrew talks about making the videos as well as his outdoor adventures hiking with his two best girls.

Loved this memoir! Happy, funny and touching. Any dog or animal lover (or any living person) will enjoy reading about their exploits.

Andrew with Mabel (the blonde) and Olive (the brunette)

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

March 4, 2022

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

Adam Wright is a producer of a successful string of suspense dramas. He suffers from a condition called face blindness, where he is unable to recognize anyone's face, not even his own wife. They have been married for ten years. Every year on their anniversary, they give each other traditional gifts associated with the year of marriage: paper for the first year, cotton for the second year, leather for the third year, etc. Every year on their anniversary, Adam's wife writes him a letter that she refuses to let him see.

After ten years of marriage, things aren't so hot anymore. When they win a getaway weekend to a remote cabin in Scotland (which neither of them remember entering), the Wrights jump at the opportunity to put some life back in their marriage. But one of them has other plans and arranged for them to "win" the getaway, and not just to spend a romantic weekend with their partner. Plus there is a snowstorm heading their way, and there is someone else on the property spying on them. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

Ah, the weekend getaway to an isolated location - when will people every learn? Add in three unreliable narrators, ten years of marriage, and ten years of secrets. There is a good twist in the middle that I didn't see coming. Fans of psychological fiction will enjoy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

 September 15, 2020

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

A six year old child witnesses the brutal murder of her mother and siblings; 30 years later, the 16 year old baby-minder is the only one concerned when a mother and her child go missing; an ex-detective is convinced that his ex-girlfriend's child is his son and is dragged back into detective work by his ex-boss.  Four separate lives, each with their own tragedies and flaws, and four separate story lines are woven together.

There are a lot of good reviews for this book, but this isn't one of them.  Although this book is supposed to be a mystery or thriller, it is more about dysfunctional families.  The first 150 pages of the book really drag and I found myself skimming the rest of the book.  The plot is confusing and there are too many characters introduced who serve no point in the story.  Do we really need to have the back story and ruminations of every character in the book?  

The bright spot in the book is 16 year old Reggie, an "old soul" who is street-smart, loyal, and prepared for emergencies.  She is the link between the characters in the book and the true heroine of the story.

Another book where a good editor should have whacked out about 50 or 75 pages.

The 39 Steps by John Buchan

March 9, 2020

The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Richard Hannay has just returned from working in South Africa and is finding London life dull and boring.  He encounters Scudder, his American neighbor, outside his flat, who invites himself in and tells Hannay a wild tale of an assassination plot and how he faked his own death.  He implores Hannay to let him stay in his apartment until he can get away from London.  The deception works well for a few days, until Hannay comes home from a dinner engagement to find Scudder murdered in his smoking room.  Hannay feels obligated to take over Scudder’s mission, and there begins his adventure of espionage and narrow escapes.  Be careful what you wish for.

This is the second of the twelve classics that I am planning to read this year.  I intended to do one per month, but February got away from me due to doctor appointments and medical tests.  I do love books set or written in the early decades of the 20^th century!  This is a classic old-fashioned spy thriller about an innocent man being hunted, like a precursor to Ian Fleming and John Le Carre.  International intrigue, proper British gentlemen, disguises, Scotland, exciting train journeys, shady German villains, wild coincidences, unbelievable escapes – this very short novel is fast-paced and reflects the POV of the wealthy British gentleman of the early 20^th century – at various points, I found myself wanting to have a cigarette and a whiskey (I don’t smoke or drink).  Some of the attitudes and stereotypes are outdated, but this book was written in 1915 and reflects the attitudes of the time.

One of the best quotations in the book is in the first chapter:  “You can always get a body in London if you know where to go for it.”

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

July 15, 2019

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The first time that I realized that my iPhone and iPad “talk” to each other (usually when I’m not around), I was totally creeped out.  Ruth Ware takes that uneasy feeling to its highest level in her latest novel, The Turn of the Key.

When Rowan Cain comes across a job posting for a live-in nanny at an incredible salary, she thinks it must be too good to be true but applies anyway.  She gets the job and at first, it seems like a perfect situation in a beautiful house in the Scottish Highlands.  The parents are both architects, and their house is a “smart” house designed to test out various kinds of technologies, including touchpad controls, surveillance cameras in most of the rooms, and a super-stove that cooks meals by itself.

But the children that Rowan met at her interview turn out to be far different from who they actually are, and the house’s remote location and sinister history unnerve Rowan as they have the four previous nannies (there is even a poison garden on the grounds).  However, Rowan is hiding her own secrets, and when disaster strikes, finds herself accused of murder.

Gothic and creepy.  The title and the story are both a play on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, set in a “smart” house instead of a haunted house.  This would be a great spooky read for the Halloween season.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in return for a review.

The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams

Friday, June 28, 2019

The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams

In December 1943, Leonora (Lulu) Thorpe travels to London to meet with a representative from the British War Office regarding her missing husband, who was captured as a spy while on his way to London and is being held in a German prison.  The couple met and married in Nassau in the Bahamas, where Lulu was working as a society correspondent covering the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She implores them to send a rescue party for him, or to let her go and try to free him, attempting to use information about the Windsors as leverage, but her attempt at blackmail backfires.

Although it's almost 500 pages, once I started The Golden Hour, I couldn't put it down and when I got to the last third of the book, I spent a whole afternoon reading.  Full of actual historical events, this is Beatriz Williams at her best, similar in tone to Summer Wives, another great vacation read (much better than her collaboration with her friends Karen White and Lauren Willig, The Glass Ocean, a romance novel set on the doomed Lusitania).  Take this one to the beach with you or throw it in your luggage for vacation reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in return for a review.