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Sunday, December 27, 2020

Death and the Singing Birds by Amy Myers and Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg

 

A cozy mystery set in the 1920's with Nell Drury as the chef in a historic old mansion.  I found Nell a little annoying, especially at first.  The dialog is a little stiff, the humor, forced.

New neighbors to Wychbourne Court are not quite fitting in.  Sir Gilbert and his wife Lady Saddler host an artistic event. A murder, a friend of Nell's who suffers from shell shock is arrested.  The Wychbourne Court crowd, both upstairs and downstairs, are sure that Mr. Bailey is innocent.

Cozy mysteries are hit or miss with me.  This one was a miss.

Read in Sept.; blog review scheduled for Dec. 27.

NetGalley/Severn House

Cozy Mystery.  Jan. 5, 2021.  Print length:  224 pages.  



I read Goldberg's first Eve Ronin book (Lost Hills) in January and enjoyed it.  

In this second entry, a brush fire reveals scorched bones and further investigation reveals more bones.  As Eve and her partner Duncan investigate, the situation may prove dangerous as secrets are uncovered.  The relationship between Eve and Duncan, who is due to retire shortly, helps make this series more engaging.  Eve needs Duncan's experience; she is aware of her own inexperience, but she does tend to annoy others and is insistent when she feels she is right.

There is already a good deal of resentment over Eve's promotion, add to that her suspicion about corrupt members of the department, and Eve finds herself in a dangerous position.

I look forward to the next book.

Read in Sept.; blog review scheduled for Dec. 27.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Police Procedural.  Jan. 5, 2o21.  Print length:  287 pages.

 

 



12 comments:

  1. Cozies are always hit or miss for me, too; usually more miss than hit. But the Lee Goldberg series sounds promising. :)

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    1. I like some characteristics of cozies--the small community, violence off-stage, and a cast of familiar and often odd characters. The kind that you don't always recognize as a cozy because it is so well done. :)

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  2. As often as I've seen Lee Goldberg's name around the book-blogging world, I've yet to read one of his books. I really need to fix that in 2021.

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    1. I have enjoyed the two books in this series, but haven't read anything else by Goldberg. Maybe I'll give another one of his series a try. :)

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  3. Cozies are a bit hit or miss for me too. That's too bad this one didn't live up to the premise but that is a great cover. Now the Goldberg book is one to add to my list!

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  4. I am sorry Death and the Singing Birds wasn't better for you. I haven't tried that author before or heard of the series. Goldberg's novel sounds good though.

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    1. I wasn't familiar with the author or the series of Death and the Singing Birds, but it didn't turn out to be a great read for me. She has a couple of other series, though, and maybe I should give another series a try.

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  5. Cozy mysteries are a hit or miss to me too. Glad to hear you enjoyed Bone Canyon; it does sounds like it has an interesting cast of characters. :)

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    1. I've liked the two books I've read in this series by Goldberg. :)

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  6. Cozies are hit or miss for me too, especially lately. Maybe I've read too many of them over the years. I'm pretty picky about the ones I do try nowadays. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the Lee Goldberg book. It sounds like a good one! :)

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    1. Truthfully, I suppose most books are hit or miss, but cozies just don't suit me as well. We all have different preferences ;)

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