What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez

September 29, 2023

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez

On a cold autumn night, 13 year old Ruthy Ramirez goes missing on her way home from track practice. Twelve years later, her sisters Jessica and Nina are convinced that a woman on a trashy TV reality show is their missing sister. They set out to learn if this could possibly be Ruthy after all these years.

This is a debut novel about a Puerto Rican family living in Brooklyn, whose middle daughter Ruthy goes missing. Not a missing person story or a mystery as much as the story of the fallout for the women in Ruthy's family following her disappearance. There is humor as well as sorrow. We do find out what happened to Ruthy on the very last page. Some readers may be put off by the foul language, but it didn't bother me. One of my selections for Hispanic American Heritage month.

Three Puerto Rican sisters

The Unkept Woman by Allison Montclair

September 27, 2023

The Unkept Woman by Allison Montclair

Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwen Bainbridge are co-owners of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Following the end of World War II, many people are alone and adrift, and the two women have a talent for matching people up. But Gwen still struggles to retain guardianship of her son, and Iris' undercover activities during the war are catching up with her. When a woman is found shot to death in Iris' apartment, Iris finds herself at the top of the suspect list.

The fourth adventure for Sparks and Bainbridge, this one centered on Iris (who I personally feel is a lot more interesting and doesn't cry nearly as much as Gwen). We do learn more about Gwen's troubles, but there is very little about the agency and their clients. The ending indicates that there will be continuing adventures. I would recommend reading the series in order.

The Accidental Medium by Tracy Whitwell

September 26, 2023

The Accidental Medium by Tracy Whitwell

Tanz is an out-of-work actress who takes a job at a crystal shop until her next role. She is interested in New Age stuff so the job appears to be a good fit. But she gets more than she expected when she starts hearing voices in her head and realizes that they are the voices of dead people.

This was a quick and overall fun read with good characters and entertaining dialogue. The issue I had with the book is that the mystery doesn't start until about 2/3 of the way through the story. I think it's going to disappoint readers who are expecting a standard mystery. First book in a planned cozy mystery series.

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

Typical New Age metaphysical shop

The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins

September 24, 2023

The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins

Emi lives in Nuuk, Greenland with her parents, who have been having marital difficulties for some time. Emi is SO tired of hearing how lucky she is to be born after the Great Transition, a time of major climate change, which her parents never stop reminding her about. During the global celebration of Day Zero, there are assassinations in several locations including Nuuk. Emi's mother is supposed to be in New York but has now vanished, and it appears she may have something to do with the killings. Emi and her father set out to find her, but who can they trust?

While I'm pretty much over climate change fiction, this was well-written. Except there is too much crying. With a dual timeline that moves from the present to 20 years ago, it was recommended as a read-alike for Station Eleven, which I loved. It also reminded me of Our Missing Hearts, where an activist mother goes missing and her son searches for her under politically dangerous conditions. 

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

Nuuk, Greenland

Murder Your Employer: the McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

September 19, 2023

Murder Your Employer: the McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

Tucked away in the idyllic countryside of somewhere (not even the student body is sure exactly where they are) is the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts. The applied arts that the students study are how to get away with murder. The three characters that the story focuses on all want to murder their employer, a feeling that most of us have had at one point. But in order to graduate, the students must successfully complete an all-night hunt where they are hunter, prey, or both.

The Hunger Games meets Hogwarts and Naomi Novik's Scholomance series. Not really a mystery since we know from the start who the targets are and who wants to murder them. The format is clever, since it is written in the form of a textbook with student evaluations included. It had humorous moments and held my interest until it got to the all-night hunt. The second half started to drag and would have benefited from having at least 50 pages edited out of the second half. 

The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar

September 18, 2023

The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar

While preparing an exhibit of Hollywood costumes, a museum curator comes across a gown with a tag that says the designer was Zora Lily. But the curator has no idea who Zora Lily was. Seattle 1924 - Zora Hough's family lives in near poverty, but Zora is a talented seamstress and dreams of designing gowns for the rich and famous of Hollywood, even as she shares a bed with two of her sisters. In the evenings, she enjoys going with her friends to Seattle's speakeasies, where she meets a special man. But then her lover is deported for bootlegging and Zora is devastated. When she is offered the change to work on a movie in Hollywood, she decides to take a chance at achieving her dream of being a fashion designer.

I love fiction about the Golden Age of Hollywood and especially about costumes, design, and sewing (I have a 1920s fashion print hanging in my bedroom). The story does not really have a dual timeline - the museum curator in 2023 merely sets up Zora's story and then winds in the threads at the end. Zora is a very likeable character who makes some dumb mistakes (but if she didn't, there wouldn't be a story) but not so dumb that they can't be fixed. Zora is totally disillusioned when someone else takes credit for her work (like this has never happened to any of us). The descriptions of the speakeasies and the glamorous clothes were wonderful. Historical fiction recommended for readers who enjoy Fiona Davis and Melanie Benjamin.

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

Greta Garbo wearing one of her iconic gowns

Long Story Short by Jodi Taylor

September 16, 2023

Long Story Short by Jodi Taylor

The second collection of short stories about the disaster magnets at St. Mary's Institute for Historical Research. Like most short story collections, some stories are better than others, and some you can just skip if they don't interest you. A couple of the stories fill in the blanks or gaps between some of the novels in the series, including a story that give us more background on Leon Farrell and how he got to St. Mary's. But we still don't know for sure if Markham and Hunter are married (although they do have a child together in a later novel).