The Rage of Plum Blossoms by Christine M. Whitehead

The Rage of Plum Blossoms by Christine M. Whitehead was so much fun!  

When Quinn Jones learns her beloved husband Jordan Chang is dead, she is devastated--even more so because the police have ruled Jordan's death a suicide, something Quinn can not accept.  

It takes months for Quinn to pull herself out of a deep depression and decide to prove that her husband was murdered.  

Since all of their friends have accepted the suicide conclusion, Quinn inadvertently begins building her own team through accidental encounters.  It is here that the book begins to shine with sensitive characterization and humor.

As a murder mystery there are weaknesses, but as a novel about people, The Rage of Plum Blossoms beguiles.  The motley crew Quinn assembles through chance meetings imparts charm and humor to the plot.  Diverse as Bernie, Sam, and Ryan are, each contributes not only expertise, but genuine support for Quinn's quest to find who murdered her husband and why.

I loved the characters and enjoyed the lively and entertaining escapades of Quinn and her team of allies.  

NetGalley/Kindle Press

Mystery.  Sept. 27, 2016.  Print length:  273 pages.

Dog Gone, Back Soon by Nick Trout

Dog Gone, Back Soon is the sequel to The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs, which I haven't read.  

Cyrus Mills finds himself taking over his father's veterinary practice.  He soon finds that Healthy Paws, part of a national chain, would like to buy his practice.  If purchase isn't possible, then the director of the Healthy Paws practice will try other means to get control.

A light read, but an amusing one.  It would probably be better to read The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs first.

Read in March; review scheduled for April.

NetGalley/Hyperion/Hachette

Humor.  2014.  Print version:  321 pages.

The Invisible Code by Christopher Fowler

The Invisible Code  is both funny and serious.  Aging detectives Arthur Bryant and John May are part of the Peculiar Crimes Unit.  Well, there you go.  

Christopher Fowler describes Bryant and May as Golden Age detectives in a modern world.  Much of the modern world puzzles them, including technology, but they press on.

What qualifications are required for a crime to be designated peculiar?  The Peculiar Crimes Unit (fictional) was established during WWII to handle cases that might cause public scandal or public unrest.  These two qualifications allow for a lot of leeway, and when a young woman dies in a church for no discernible reason, Arthur Bryant wants the case. 

Denied that case, Bryant and May are summoned to the office of the man who wants to disband their unit.  Both are surprised and wary, especially when Oskar Kasavian asks for their help in discovering the cause of the strange behavior his much-younger wife has begun to display.

The beginning has lots of funny, witty remarks, but the situation soon turns more serious, and Bryant (with his false teeth clicking), May (the smooth talker), and their team find themselves investigating more than one murder, uncovering secrets, and  hindered by those in power.  

Favorite characters:  Arthur and his friend Maggie Armitage, the white witch (although her role is very small).

This is my first of the Bryant and May series, but I really liked the characters.  Has anyone else read this series?

NetGalley/Random House Publishing/Bantam Dell

Mystery.  Dec. 17, 2013.  Print version:  368 pages.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments is told in a series of emails alternating with prose.  I liked the way Reginald Hill included emails in The Price of Butcher's Meat, and I always like epistolary novels.  Letters are so rare now, however, that emails and texts have become the modern replacement.  The novel is an ARC from Dutton Publicity and Marketing--thanks to Katherine Burns for sending me this one!

Lincoln, shy and reclusive, is paid to read flagged emails at the Courier; Beth and Jennifer are friends and coworkers at the paper whose emails are often flagged.  Without ever having met them, Lincoln is captivated by Beth and Jennifer's exchanges.  Instead of turning them in, he finds himself looking forward to their witty repartee.


Although he has never even seen Beth, Lincoln begins falling for her.  The two friends are funny, literate, and kind, and Lincoln looks forward the flagged emails with more enthusiasm than he musters for much of anything else. Beth and Jennifer are modern young women, but not insipid, not shallow.  No, they bound off the page. They are smart and well-read, and their back-and-forth banter kept a smile on my face as I read.

Lincoln, a bit of a computer nerd, has spent years getting over his first romance, and now that he really likes someone (sight unseen), he is trapped by the fact that he has been reading the emails, peering into Beth's private life and thoughts.  What to do?

I loved these characters.  The novel is light-hearted fare, but books that keep you smiling are worth their weight in gold.  Attachments isn't deep or unpredictable.  You are pretty sure things will work out for the best, but because these are people you'd love to have as friends, you just enjoy the ride.

The novel is fresh and funny and upbeat--even as all three characters face their individual difficulties.  If you are looking for a book to make you smile, try it! 

Attachments Website....

Fiction.  Light Romance/Humor.  2011.  323 pages.