stayshomeandreads's reviews
539 reviews

Willa Cather's writing is so beautiful. I did not expect this one to make me cry but it did.

 My coziest read for March Mystery Madness was this book. Honestly, though, it’s a historical mystery as the murder at the center of the story took place over 100 years ago. While I was reading, I kept thinking that the mystery wasn’t super tight and it spent too long talking about home repairs, but that made sense once I found out that this novel was published from its first draft after the author unfortunately passed away. As someone who used to work at a Victorian historical house museum, I can say Sheila Connolly totally nailed the historical  aspects of architecture and daily life in the house, and her deep level of research shone throughout the story. I loved how the servants played such a big role in the story, as they are often overlooked when we think about life in a Victorian mansion. Overall, I thought the small town Maryland setting was lovely and the overarching plan of the protagonist to revitalize the town was a great hook for a story. This book kept my attention the whole time and had a really interesting and fresh take on a cozy mystery. I am so sad that Sheila Connolly never got to write more books in this series, but I commend her daughter for seeing that this one was published. What a wonderful way to honor her mother’s memory. I will definitely be checking out the author’s backlist. 

The humor just doesn’t work for me and it feels like a complete slog. It might be because I’ve never read Three Men in a Boat. 

The newest entry into the Lucy Stone series sees our titular sleuth heading on a big family trip to France for her daughter's wedding. As always, chaos and crime ensue and throw the special day into chaos. I am a big fan of Leslie Meier's writing, and this book was definitely entertaining. However, it wasn't my favorite entry in the series. From the Stones conveniently winning the lottery to afford their trip to France, to a mystery involving sex trafficking, brothels, and organized crime, this book was just a little too over the top for my tastes, and the mystery wrapped up too quickly. At the same time, I really enjoyed the plotline of Lucy's daughter, Elizabeth, being embroiled in crime. I also thought the France setting was an interesting change of pace from the usual small town Maine. The subject matter was darker than your usual cozy, but I still found this an enjoyable and quick read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I have not been so thoroughly entertained by a book in a very long time! Like other reviewers have said, the book does overly explain things and the dialogue is a bit clunky. But the great setting, fun mystery, and chemistry between Oliver and Irene more than made up for that in my opinion. 

Engaging writing, but my god was it way too long. Also, teenage girls didn't talk like that in 2014, and the constant shoehorning in of stupid internet slang is so dated and grating. Especially in the audiobook. I also didn't think that the detectives were very interesting characters.

Loved this from start to finish.