"Frankly My Dear, I'm Dead"

"Frankly My Dear, I'm Dead" is Livia J. Washburn's first mystery in her new Literary Tour mystery series.  Newly divorced red-headed and hot-tempered Delilah Dickenson is opening her own literary travel agency in Atlanta but her first group tour runs into a little difficulty -- namely murder!  The "Gone With The Wind" tour started in Atlanta then moved to a plantation modeled after Tara (from "Gone With the Wind") where they are staying overnight and attending a ball.  However, the overnight stay is prolonged when the police arrive after the actor playing Rhett Butler is murdered.  In the meantime, some of the guests are complaining of thefts of personal items and Delilah begins to see her new business venture not going so well.  As if that weren't enough, she's also responsible for chaperoning her twin teenage nieces - a full-time occupation at times by itself!

When Delilah becomes concerned that the police are pointed in the wrong direction, she decides it's time to do a little sleuthing herself and finds herself assisted by Dr.Will Burke, a local college professor who specializes in history and literature.  Although Delilah is not interested in a romantic entanglement so soon after her divorce, she does find herself attracted to the handsome Dr. Burke and he proves to be an extremely valuable sleuthing partner.

Will Delilah be able to successfully solve the petty thefts as well as the murder and save her new livelihood?  pazt

"Murder By The Slice"

"Murder By The Slice" is the second book in Livia J. Washburn's Fresh Baked mystery series.  Retired and widowed schoolteacher, Phylis Newsom, and her friends are roped into helping at an elementary school  fund-raising carnival.  What they didn't realize was that they'd have to work with Shannon Dunston, the president of the elementary school's parent-teacher organization.  She treats the committee members like they're her personal slaves dishing out orders but no praise.  When Shannon ends up dead at the carnival, there are plenty of suspects and Phyllis worries she might be one of them so sets out to find out who committed the murder with the help of one of her boarders, Sam.  She and Sam seem to be developing quite a rapport making me wonder whether romance might be in the air between them in future books in this series.  Washburn writes easy-to-read mysteries that include recipes so they're a good bet when I want a "light" mystery and a quick read.  pazt  

"The Lilac House"

Anita Nair's "The Lilac House" is a novel set in Bangalore.  It begins with Meera's story -- a corporate wife, a cookbook author, a mother of two who is also responsible for running a household that includes her mother and grandmother.  When her husband abandons her, she is bewildered and waits for his return. 

Meanwhile, Professor J. A. Krishnamurthy -- known simply as Jak or Professor Jak -- has returned to Bangalore, India, from Florida to care for his nineteen-year-old daughter who has had some type of accident and is comatose.  He also wants to discover what happened to his daughter but the police will not help him and every possible clue appears to lead to a dead end.  How will he find the truth?

As Meera realizes her husband is not returning and she needs more income to support her household, her path crosses that of Professor Jak and together they discover truths about the past, the future, foregiveness, redemption, and second chances.

I found this at the library on the "Best Bets" shelf and renewed it several times before finally picking it up to read.  By the time I did begin, it was seriously overdue and I just couldn't seem to find the desire to read it word for word.  However, I was intrigued enough by the story that I wanted to know what had happened to Jak's daughter and how Meera's life was progressing without her hsuband.  So....I skimmed through the book finding the answers I sought - which is totally out of character for me.  Although it was a good story, I'm not sure if I'll choose to read another one of Nair's books or not.  Her story, "Mistress," was longlisted for the 2008 Orange Prize in the UK and also named a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Beyond Margins Award in the U.S. so perhaps I'll give it a try.  If you want to learn more about the author, go to www.anitanair.net.  pazt

"The Poyson Garden"

"The Poyson Garden" is the first in Karen Harper's Elizabeth I mysteries and shows great promise for those to follow (9 books in the series from 1999 to 2007).

In "The Poyson Garden" Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry, has been sent into exile during her half sister "Bloody" Mary's reign.  In her country home she is watched closely by Thomas Pope and his wife, Bea -- both loyal to Queen Mary and there to spy on Elizabeth and report back to the Queen.  However, she has those close to her to watch over and aid her.  There is Kat who has served as her mother since her own mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded when Elizabeth was three -- for refusing to admit that Elizabeth was a bastard child and not the daughter of Anne and King Henry.  There is also Jenks, her loyal manservant who is able to come and go more freely than Elizabeth herself.

When Elizabeth learns Mary Boleyn, her mother's sister who she thought was already dead, is on her deathbed, she makes plans to secretly visit her with the help of Kat who informs the Popes that Elizabeth is in bed with a headache - a common occurrence for Elizabeth.  While visiting Mary, Elizabeth meets her cousin who has been living in exile in Europe and has come home to be with his dying mother.  While riding there in secret, he and his manservant are attacked and his servant dies from the poison arrows in his body but her cousin escapes.  This leads to the unraveling of a plot to attack and kill Elizabeth and she must find the poisoner or become a victim herself and never able to sit on the throne.

In the meantime, Elizabeth learns that Queen Mary has been killing Protestants loyal to her so everyone who supports her continue to be in danger but Queen Mary is also said to be dying from a stomach tumor.  Can Elizabeth find the poisoner and stop her or him and eventually become Queen herself and take England, Scotland, and Ireland back from Queen Mary's Spanish husband and others robbing its coffers and threatening her subjects?

It's a very well written historical mystery with Elizabeth as a strong heroine.  I can't wait to read the next book in this series.  pazt

"Pie In The Sky"

"Pie In The Sky" British detective series -- how did my spouse and I miss this one?!  We were watching another British detective series in recent months and saw a trailer for this one and don't remember it ever being on a U. S. public broadcasting channel -- or we missed it!  We checked out series 1 from the library and it's definitely a winner so we've requested the second series.

Detective Inspector Henry Crabbe (played by Richard Griffiths of "Harry Potter" and other fame) has been on the force for 25 years and the job is losing its appeal.  What he really wants to do is open a restaurant but his boss, ACC Fisher (played by Malcolm Sinclair), doesn't want him to leave.  (I think he needs Crabbe to keep his good image in place.)  However, Fisher allows him to sort of but not officially retire and open his restaurant, "Pie In The Sky," with the provision  Crabbe has to be available on command when Fisher needs his assistance.

Crabbe's wife, Margaret (played by Maggie Steed) is an accountant so she keeps the books for him and an assortment of other characters.  They sell their home and move into a flat above the restaurant and begin a new adventure together -- He's cooking  with an assortment of young people he's gathered as waiters and chef's assistants and she's taking in the money.  Every episode finds him at Fisher's beck and call, however, off to solve some police mystery or other.  It's a lighthearted and fun adventure following Crabbe around and the show presents its characters with a lot of depth.  If you're a fan of British mysteries, check this one out!   pazt

"Daughter of Providence"

"Daughter of Providence" is Julie Drew's first novel (juliedrew.com) and a great start for her.  It's an engrossing story that kept drawing me back to read more even though I knew I should be moving on to tasks on my "to do" list!  It's set in the 1930's and the story is told from the viewpoint of Anne Dodge, who has been raised by her father Samuel and they live in the small town of Mitford, RI, on the coast.  When Anne's younger half-sister, Maria Cristina, is sent to live with her, her whole life changes and everything she had believed true about her, her sister and her parents is called into question.

Anne has been told that her mother left her father when Anne was about 6 for another man and, as a result, Maria Cristina, was born.  Maria Cristina was raised by her Portuguese grandparents after her mother's death then sent to live with Anne after her grandfather (the sole family survivor) died.

Anne has a full life -- She's designed and is in the process of building her own boat that takes up most of her days.  She's also the head of her father's household and has a nightly dinner to prepare.  Although she finds Maria Cristina a bit of a nuisance to living her life the way she prefers, she also is drawn to this sister she had not known.  She feels a pull between being jealous of Maria Cristina's having had so much time with their mother and a desire to learn from her more about her mother.

In the meantime, Will, a local lawyer who she's known all her life, is pressuring her to say yes to marrying her while her father is heavily involved in finding financial backing to reopen the family mill and provide jobs for the townspeople.  Her father turns to Oliver Fielding for the financial backing and Anne finds herself attracted to him despite hearing rumors of the ill treatment (and possible deaths) by men he's hired as "union busters."

As all these events merge and the pot begins to be stirred in Mitford, Anne is faced with some truths about her past and her future finding herself forced to make choices about who she'll include in her life and what and who she'll believe.

pazt