Friday, August 01, 2008

July Reads Part 2

Here's the continuation of my July reads

48. Gunpowder Green (Tea Shop Mysteries) by Laura Childs


Book 2 of the Tea Shop Mysteries

Book 1 Death by Darjeering introduces us to our heroine Theodosia Browning and her staff in the Indigo Tea Cafe in the city of Charleston. Book 2 takes us the the annual boat race of the Yatch Club, a big awaited event in the whole town. Serving as caterers to the event. The idyllic day turns into tragedy when the antique gun used to announce the winner explodes killing one of the prominent men in the city.

Despite people saying it was an accident, Theodosia have a feeling that there was mroe than meets the eye, that the gun might have been rigged to explode!! So with her sidekicks and fellow tea shop employees, Theodosia sets out to solve this mystery.

First off, I adore the covers of her books. There were more recipes here than the previous book. Hmm I really should give these a try. I felt that this second book from childs was more solid than the first one in my opinion, although I kind of knew . But she mentions the killer in the first book so if you haven't read the first book don't read this before. Mystery was kind of predictable to me didn't really have an I knew it! moment but the tea descriptions were very nice and I liked how she is starting to write more of the characters.  B

 

47. Killer Heels (Molly Forrester Mysteries) by Sheryl J Andersen

Book 1 of the Molly Forrester Mysteries

Molly Forrester was just showing one of her best friends this ugly picture in her office when she discovers the dead body of her colleague, Teddy. Wanting to write more hard hitting news than her advice column in her magazine, she sets out to solve the mystery of Teddy's death and sell it to a serious magazine.

As Molly delves more and more into the life of Teddy along with galpals Cassady and Tricia, she discovers that there was way more to Teddy than what she hears in the office. And she keeps wanting the cute homicide cop suspecting her of the murder.

I didn't really plan on reading this book this soon, but someone wanted it so I had to read it before I sent it :) I found myself liking the book and wanting to read the next in the series. The detective doesn't really have any redeeming qualities that stand out so much so we'll see. I love Molly and her friends though. Most people would really feel the "Sex and the City" plus murder in the narrative and the interaction of the characters actually. I've mooched the 2nd book now so let's see how that goes. B

 

46. Curiosity Killed the Cat-Sitter (Dixie Hemingway Mystery) by Blaze Clement

Book 1 of the Dixie Hemingway, Petsitter Mysteries.

Dixie used to work as a deputy before her husband and little girl were hit in a car accident and she was let go from the department  when she went a little crazy. Now she works as a pet-sitter taking care of pets whose owners are away or not able to take their pet for a run.

One morning while she was visiting the house of a woman and her cat, she finds a body with his head taped to Ghost, the cat's water bowl. Turns out that this man is from one of the prominent families in the state and when she find the woman's body after a few days, Dixie is becoming under suspicion herself. Maybe it's the cop in her or her need to find out the truth about her client, but Dixie starts her own investigation to find the murderer.

It didn't really say how she was fired though but you can feel the overwhelming grief and pain from the character even a few years after the event. I imagine this kind of pain would be something that you can't really get over. There's an underlying sadness in the whole book actually that it read very melancholic to me, with her tragedy and the other people around her. I like the supporting characters though, the brother and his partner. The animals and their owners. I kind of knew who was the murderer in the first few chapters so  it did not really come out as a surprise when it was revealed( more liek what took you so long). I hope the mystery is better in the next book. I did like the book though and would still read the next one. B

 

Currently Reading : Just Murdered : A Dead-end Job mystery by Elain Viets