A Killer Plot

Olivia Limoges is a wealthy heiress, the richest woman in Oyster Bay, North Carolina- and happily single. She's solitary, save for her poodle Captain Haviland, and likes it that way- or so she tells herself. When she stumbles upon a writing group in the local diner, and is invited to join by a charismatic gossip columnist Camden Ford, she reluctantly agrees- and soon finds herself enjoying it. She wants nothing more than to finish her novel, and takes an immediate liking to the flamboyant Ford. So when he is found in alley with his throat cut, Olivia and the group are shocked. What's more, a haiku poem is scrawled on the wall behind him.

As Olivia and the other writers dig deeper into the circumstances of Camden's death, and the wealthy family he was doing an expose on, they find some troubling clues- and when more murders rock the little town of Oyster Bay, Olivia will need to watch her step or find herself in trouble. I read this because I loved Murder in the Mystery Suite by the same author. I don't read a lot of cozies, generally speaking, but that one grabbed me, premise and all, so after finishing it I wanted to read more of Ellery Adams. I didn't expect to like this one more, but I may have. The setting is great- Olivia leaves in a beachside house with a bank of windows facing the ocean, and likes to go for walks with her dog and her metal detector. She has personal issues that prevent her from opening up to others, so not only is she trying to solve a mystery, she is also learning how to live again, in a sense. This is where her writing group comes in- I liked all of them, the harried mother of two with a heart of gold, the computer geek with confidence issues, and the snarky bartender chick whose hair is a different color every time they meet. It was fun to read a part of their manuscripts as they got together to critique each other.

The cast and townsfolk are colorful, and the town is a neat place. I really felt a coastal vibe reading this, and Oyster Bay is a place I look forward visiting again. From the diner where every booth has a theme to The Yellow Lady, a delightful bed and breakfast, there's a lot of charm in the locations. And the food sounds delicious! The only issue I have is towards the end- all through the story it's pretty realistic, but at the end it felt like a bit of a stretch, a little implausible. In spite of that I enjoed this a great deal.

Waiting On Wednesday #17

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I have not done a Waiting on Wednesday in ages, so it's good to be back. This week I'm waiting on Murder in the Paperback Parlor. The first book Murder in the Mystery Suite was a lot of fun- you can see my reviews here. 

Teaser Tuesday #37

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. To participate you grab your current read, open to a random page and share (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INLUDE SPOILERS (Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away. You don't want to ruin the book for others). Share the title and author. 

"Alice Hart wasn't running away from anything. she was running towards something "

Murder in the Mystery Suite. 




This was a fun cozy. The premise is a resort in rural Virginia that caters to book lovers, with rooms and lounges names after literary figures. Of course a murder rocks the resort during the Murder and Mayhem Week- and to make matters worse, the owner finds out a family secret that will change her life. A great read- my review here. 

Sunday Post #94

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

This week flew by. Summetime is here and I hope to do some more Bookstore Spotlights this year. And I just realized that June is two year- how I lost track of that I don't know, but looking through my archives reminded me. It's been a fun two years, and I'm looking forward to another one. I love sharing books and connecting with fellow readers, and have made some great friends I've never actually met. The book blogging community is special, and the Sunday Post is great place to visit every week.

I picked up a new cozy this week, based on the strength of one I just read, and am loving it. This author is becoming a go- to for me, and my thoughts on this one will be up on Thursday.



Last week I reviewed A School for Unusual Girls- that can be found here. I also reviewed Tarzan and the Forbidden City (a fun read!), and my thoughts on Tomorrowland the movie. Let me know in the comments what you think.

It's a beautiful morning on Saturday as I write this- not a cloud in the sky and a nice cool breeze. Everything is still and quiet- and I've got some books to read. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

BOOKISH NEWS: Loreen Niewenhuis has released her latest book- A 1,000 Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure- t o indie bookstores a month ahead of amazon. She is on a book tour of Michigan through the summer and will be in IL too. Check out her blog post here to see pics of her stops in Traverse City and Brillaint Books (and you can see my Bookstore Spotlight of Brilliant here). I need to get this book- love the Great Lakes islands.



CURRENTLY READING: 

Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland is a movie about hope. Casey Newton (Britt Richardson) is a girl who knows how things work- she's bright and spend her time sabotaging the nearby dismantling of a Cape Canaveral launch facility, which will leave her dad unemployed. A mysterious girl observes her, and leaves a pin for her- a pin that will transport her to Tomorrowland, a futuristic utopia where the brightest work to make the world a better place. After she is arrested at the launch site, she uses the pin to visit Tomorrowland- and later meets Frank (George Clooney), a genius who went to Tomorrowland as a boy and was later banished. Together they will return to Tomorrowland, to find that much has changed- and to save the world, they will have to work together to set things right.

The biggest problem with this movie is- not enough Tomorrowland. It takes us a while to get there, but when we do- wow. Very cool. An awesome futuristic city, with flying cars and jet packs and all manner of awesomeness. There's a scene where CAsey is exploring the city and sees divers going through suspended water pools- going down through pool after pool, until they get to the bottom- that was neat. There is so much imaginative stuff in the few minutes we get to see the city with Casey- but after that we don't get nearly enough time there. More please! If you've ever been to Disney World and felt your pulse quicken as you approach Tomorrowland (or any of the other worlds for that matter)- that's how it feels here, the imaginative scope of it. That's what I came to see.

The story itself almost seems secondary to the visuals. Brad Bird obviously wants is to think about the state of the world, to not just take as a given that everything is bad and has to be that way. It's a little heavy handed and preachy at times, as some reviews have pointed out- and with the reported budget of this thing being close to $200 million, one wonders if one could make the world a better place using that money to, i don't know, improve thing somewhere. Nevertheless, the best movie can inspire audiences, and there's something to be said for that.

I'm not saying Tomorrowland is a great movie. It's not- it's often average, clunky at times, and the villain is lame. I was expecting more from Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, and George Clooney. There's not enough of Tomorrowland itself- but the end is nice, even awesome. As I said above, this is a movie about hope- about a better tomorrow, about the sense of wonder we all have as kids, and hopefully still have as adults. I loved the way it ended- just felt right. I'm not sure it's enough to run out and see this- but it is worth seeing, to remind us of hope. I personally want t ocome out of the theater feeling good- and that doesn't happen nearly enough nowadays. Walking out of this movie, I felt pretty good. Even inspired, perhaps. And shouldn't that be the point of Tomorrowland?

Tarzan and the Forbidden City

Tarzan and the Forbidden City starts with a request for help from a friend- Paul D'Arnot is helping a man find his missing son, and suggests that Tarzan may be able to assist. Tarzan meets with the man and his daughter, Helen Gregory, and agrees to help. Interestingly, Tarzan apparently looks a lot like the missing Brian Gregory- so much so, that some scoundrels nearby believe he is and try to accost him. Gregory was looking for a fabulous gem before he went missing, and the bad guys want his map- for it apparently shows the way to Ashair, the Forbidden City.

Later Helen Gregory is grabbed by Atan Thome, the ringleader of the bad guys. He demands the map in exchange for her freedom, but when Gregory tries to comply he finds the map missing. Stolen! So Thome keeps Helen, and plants a spy in the Gregory safari- his accomplice Magra, who is in love with Brian Gregory. There is also another plant in the party- a hunter named Wolff, who has been told by Thome to lead them astray. Together Magra and Wolff are to derail the Gregory safari, and meet Thome in Ashair. Oh, and Wolff stole the map. Looks like the bad guys have the upper hand-- but wait, D'Arnot knows there is a naval seaplane in town, and they can beat Thome to where is going. Off they go- but alas, they fly into a storm and have to go down.

"What's wrong?" demanded Wolff. "The engine isn't running." 
"You have answered your own question," said D'Arnot, walking back to his seat. 

They come down in a lake, and proceed to track Thome, who is now way ahead of them. Helen Gregory escapes Thome, only to fall into more misadventure. The story proceeds from there as both expeditions seek to reach the Forbidden City first- and claim The Father of Diamonds.

I liked this story a lot- it has the usual coincidences and eye rolling moments, but it's a fun romp. The party dynamics are interesting as well, as Wolff lusts after Magra but is rebuffed, and D'Arnot falls for Helen. Burroughs' romances are instalove all the way, but there is a certain charm here, especially as D'Arnot and Helen face danger together. There are plenty of hair raising escapes and the underwater temple is a nice touch- I think this is one of Burroughs' better outings. The moment towards the end where Tarzan must battle underwater, amidst a strange and beautiful marine garden, to rescue Helen from sacrifice is a keeper. The pace is breakneck, especially at the end- perhaps too much so, with captures, recaptures, and escapes, underwater grottoes, forgotten cults- this one has it all. And when The Father of diamonds is found- what a surprise.

A School For Unusual Girls

Georgianna Fitzwilliam is no ordinary girl. The year is 1814 and Georgie has just burned her father's stables to the ground, by accident. This is the last straw for her parents- they have their sons and she is a social embarassment due to her non ladylike ways- so they ship her off to a school renowned for straightening out wayward ladies. The school is Stranje House- a brooding old pile with ferocious dogs guarding the property and an imtimidating headmistress, Emma Stranje.

Her parents leave her there and she soon meets the other girls- Tess, Jane, Seraphina, and Maya. As she gets to know them she realizes they are not just wayward ladies or social embarrassments- they have unique skills or interests- as does she. And when she overhears a nobleman discussing her project, she realizes Stranje House is more than it seems.

Soon Georgie is embroiled in a plot pitting royalists versus Napoleon supporters, and her skill at developing an invisible ink becomes crucial in a diplomatic mission. The nobleman, Lord Sebastiam Wyatt, is an agent of the crown (read spy) and works closely with Emma to protect England's interests. Georgie finds herself falling for Sebastian, and the feeling is returned- but can their budding romance survive a treacherous former student and the winds of war blowing across the Channel in France?

I enjoyed this book a lot, and anxiously await the sequel. The writing is good and flows well, I was sucked in from the get-go, and the pace never flagged. I felt for georgie right off the bat, and liked the other girls- especially Sera. And it's such an atmospheric read- with smuggling caves and secret passageways galore- this is funny too at times- I loved the snarkiness of her internal voice.

Sebastian headed straight for her, carrying me like a dripping rag across the ballroom. "I believe this belongs to you," he said flatly. 
This? He's relegated me to a this? 

"Hmm." The Queen of Cruelty peeled back one of my eyelids and arched her brow. "Oh, you're awake. How very good of you to join us, Miss Fitzwilliam." 

There's a sequence where Georgie attempts to escape and is in a rowboat in rough seas, after rowing out of a cliffside cave, and I felt like I was there, with the lashing waves and howling winds. I give a lot of credit to the author for drawing me in. The romance seemed a little rushed, she gets all swoony rather fast, but at the same time the back and forth with Lord Wyatt was fun. It is a little unrealistic how quickly the action takes off- I mean she's literally been there a few days and she's swept into action in London and France. A very breakneck pace- maybe too fast.

In spite of this, I flew through this book and am ready for more. The girls gel together as a team, each one has a specific skill or ability they bring to the table- it's hinted these may be mystical abilities but never actually spelled out. I would like to see more of them, especially Sera and Jane. Hopefully sequels will flesh them out more. This was a fun read- an alternate historical, I guess you'd say. The author makes a point of exploring how decisons can have cascading effects- and here she posits what might have happened in the Napoleonic era if one decision had changed history. An interesting premise, and very steampunk lite- just a whiff of it. This was a good read, and has lots to offer.