An Eccentric millionaire wants to be reunited with all his estranged children at Christmastime. Oh boy, what wacky family, hi-jinks are going to ensue? What shenanigans you got planned, old man? old man? oh, he’s dead.
(more…)Tag: Mystery
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Spoiler-Free Review: Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone
“Apart from the murders, it had been a successful reunion” Author: Benjamin Stevenson
When your dad dies in a shootout with the cops, your family doesn’t get invited to a lot of potlucks. That makes family reunions all the more important.
For the Cunningham family, death is part of life. Murder, self-defense, medical malpractice, it seems that every member of the Cunningham family has blood on their hands. They are also gathering together for a family reunion… at a remote ski resort… with a massive storm front coming in… this sounds like a great idea!
It’s not long before the bodies pile up and Ernist Cunningham decides to play detective. Ernist figures he’s read enough murder mysteries to help the bumbling local cop. Unfortunately for Ernist real life isn’t a detective novel.
This was a very fun read! Stevenson takes the Agatha Christie tropes like the trapped with a killer plot and twists it around just enough to leave you guessing. Stevenson has a banty style that is hilarious to read, he not only winks at the audience he actually dares you to solve the case yourself reminding you of detective novel “rules” along the way.
If a killer is ever revealed and your ‘percentage read’ isn’t at least in the high eighties, they cannot be the real killer; there is simply too much of the book still to be read.
I liked how cheeky the style is, I usually read cozy murder mysteries as “turn your brain off entertainment” but Stevenson wouldn’t let me! I had to stop and think to put all the clues together with him reminding me of “detective novel rules” every step of the way. This is a cozy murder mystery that keeps you on your toes.
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Spoiler-Free Review: Remember Me?
The problem with giving yourself a pep talk is that deep down, you know it’s all bullshit Author: Sophie Kinsella
During a girl’s night, the down on her luck (and single again) Lexi falls and hits her head. She wakes up years later with a amazing career and adoring husband. This isn’t a mistake, or a dream this IS Lexi’s life, Lexi has amnesia and has forgotten the last two years of her life. What changed? If only she could remember.
I really like this book. It’s a fun light read with a fun element of mystery. You spend most of the book wondering why Lexi would make many of the choices that she did. When you finally find out the big change that happened in Lexi’s life, you understand why Lexi changed.
I like the balance with Lexi’s husband, he’s not evil or abusive, but he has issues, but they can be worked on. It’s completely believable that pre-amnesia Lexi would start a relationship with this guy.
This is a great summer beach read.
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Spoiler-Free Review: Magpie Murders
“you can’t beat a good whodunnit” Author: Anthony Horowitz
Alan Conway’s new murder mystery novel is finally finished! Editor, Susan Ryeland sits down to read Conway’s magnum opus… and hits a brick wall, when she discovers that the last chapter is missing!
That’s right, after this book gets you all snuggled into an Agatha Christie style cozy murder mystery, it pulls the rug out from under you and throws you into a completely new mystery as editor Susan Ryeland tries to find the missing chapters, and finds herself caught up in a gripping modern thriller.
I liked this book. I liked the wraparound plot. If you like cozy murder mysteries with an edge you are going to like this book. Horowitz has a way of pulling some great plot twists. It’s always a thrill to read one of his novels, and this doesn’t disappoint.
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Spoiler-Free Review: Hostage
“The following instructions will save your daughter’s life…” Author: Clare MacKintosh
Between her crumbling marriage and trouble bonding with her adopted daughter, flight attendant Mina plans on using the twenty-hour nonstop flight to think things through. Unfortunately for Mina, this flight is hardly routine. With terrorists threatening not just the flight, but her family on the ground, Mina finds herself an unwilling accomplice to their villainous schemes, but twenty hours is a long time. Will it be long enough for Mina to find a way to fight back?
This book kept me on the edge of my seat! This is one of the best thrillers I have ever read. Mina is a great lead character. I love how smart little Sophia is! Often times in stories like this, kids are written as either too dumb to live, or as mini college-educated adults. Sophia is the right blend of smart and stupid just like you would expect from a real kid. I really enjoyed her age-appropriate (possibly high-functioning autistic) problem-solving. She’s very smart for her age, but she still reasons like a child.
I recommend this book to fans of thrillers and that ending will leave you gasping for breath.
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Spoiler-Free Review: Where The Crawdads Sing
“Just like their whiskey, the marsh dwellers bootlegged their own laws” Author: Delia Owens
Chase Andrews fell from the old fire tower… or was he pushed? As the sheriff investigates the strange death, he discovers a connection between the local girl “Marsh Girl” and Chase. No one knows the marsh better than Kya, the “Marsh Girl,” but does she know it well enough to kill a man without leaving a trace? Will Kya be locked up for murder? or will she stay in the marsh she loves, free and wild, where the crawdads sing?
Kya is a very nice change of pace from the super competent female protagonist of many novels you get these days. Kya is a character living with trauma. She both craves and fears human connection. She wants to love and be loved, but her life experience has taught her that other people will only hurt and abandon her.
Kya’s was abused/neglected/ abandoned by her whole family. Pa was abusive, Ma walked out, and her older siblings ran away from home. While Pa was good to Kya sometimes, he never cared enough to take her to school, buy her shoes, or teach her to read. Then one day, he went out drinking and never came home.
Kya is a lot like a wild animal, acting on instinct and withdrawing in fear. It’s exactly what a child who raised themselves would be like.
The murder mystery was the weakest part for me. I knew the truth of how Chase died VERY early on in the story. I don’t think the murder mystery was intended to be the point. It’s Kya’s story, and the mystery was a narrative device to drive the plot forward.
There is a reason this book was so popular and it was quickly turned into a movie. Owens knocked it out of the park with her first novel! It is well worth the read.
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