Book Review: The Readers’ Room by Antoine Laurain @BelgraviaB

The Readers’ Room
Antoine Laurain
Gallic Books, September 2020
ISBN: 978-1-910477960
Hardcover

Violaine Lepage heads up the readers’ room of a prestigious Parisian publishing house. How she got the position is a story within the story. Violaine has been injured in a bad airplane accident, so she has to contend with a bad leg all through the book. Meanwhile she sees and speaks with famous authors of an earlier time, particularly her favorite, Marcel Proust. A little woo-woo here, or perhaps a bit of a wonky mind.

In the readers’ room, a group of four readers go through the hundreds, sometimes thousands of manuscripts (all on paper, for the purposes of this story) searching for the next super prize-winning best seller. Excitement abounds when young Marie finds what she believes is IT, a mystery written by someone named Camille Désencres and dealing with the deaths of four men.

To much acclaim, the book is hot off the press when the news breaks that two men have been murdered under the exact circumstances described in the book. Another is also found dead, and the book tells of a fourth. Certain they’re on the track of a killer, in a race against time the police search desperately for the author before the last death can happen.

All will be explained in the end.

I see this book is billed as a comedic mystery. Perhaps I’m losing my sense of humor, but I have to say I didn’t emit a single chuckle, never mind a belly laugh. That’s not to say the story wasn’t interesting. The characters are well-defined, the writing is good, and most of the plot follows through well. I did, however, think the reader is led to early conclusions that give no clue as to the way events work out. And really, the nonsense about everyone, including the police of two countries, being unable to discover the identity of Camille Désencres just didn’t ring true. Surely these people have heard of following the money.

Reviewed by Carol Crigger, December 2020.
http://www.ckcrigger.com
Author of The Woman Who Built A Bridge (Spur Award Winner), Yester’s Ride,
Hometown Burning and Six Dancing Damsels: A China Bohannon Mystery

Book Review: A Bouquet of Rue by Wendy Hornsby

A Bouquet of Rue
A Maggie MacGowen Mystery #12
Wendy Hornsby
Perseverance Press, April 2019
ISBN 978-1564746078
Trade Paperback

If you’ve never been to France, Hornsby’s A Bouquet of Rue will prove a good substitute to getting a passport. Maggie MacGowen, a documentary filmmaker, has joined her fiancé, Jean-Paul Bernard, to prepare for their wedding, as well as make films for a French TV company. Maggie has contacts and family in France, so she is not without means, and Jean-Paul is an important person as well. Within a few days of Maggie’s arrival, however, it seems a teenage girl has gone missing, and a Muslim refugee is being not only bullied at school without the girl, Ophelia’s, support, but is being blamed for her disappearance. Maggie and Jean-Paul become involved because their semi-permanent house guest, Dr. Ari Massarani, also a Muslim refugee, teaches Nabi and comes to his defense.

I found most of the book dealt with French customs, their food, their drink, their lifestyles⏤not so very different from their American counterparts. Perhaps they are even more concerned with money⏤or the lack thereof. And  both their family and their national attitudes are maybe more closed than Americans often are. The food and drink parts are a little overwhelming to one for whom food is fuel.

Was there a murder? Yes. Did I care? Not so much. More interesting was the spotlight shown on racial profiling and school bullying, apparently a world-wide problem with no resolution in sight.   But I would say this book takes a good hard look at it. Read, think, and learn.

Reviewed by Carol Crigger, July 2019.
https://carolcriggercom.sitelio.me/
Author of Five Days, Five Dead, Hereafter and Hometown Homicide.

Book Review: Murder on the Left Bank by Cara Black

Murder on the Left Bank
An Aimée Leduc Investigation #18
Cara Black
Soho Crime, June 2018
ISBN 978-1-61695-927-2
Hardcover

When a dying man shows up in Eric’s offices asking for help to right wrongs of the past by delivering a ledger to authorities, against his better judgment Eric agrees to help. Really his task is pretty simple. He would have his nephew deliver the ledger to the designated person and that would be the extent of his involvement. But from the beginning things go wrong. The nephew was on his way to meet his girlfriend so instead of making the delivery, he hid the ledger and went to meet his girlfriend.  They were attacked and the nephew was killed. The room was tossed, but the ledger wasn’t found,  Now Eric wants his nephew’s murders found and the notebook delivered.

Aimée Leduc has more than enough to keep her busy between raising her daughter as a single parent and running her private investigation business. After her father’s death, Aimée pledged to stick to cyber crimes and security problems, but when Eric Besson shows up in her office seeking help locating a missing ledger which may contain information that would implicate her now deceased father she is drawn into another dangerous case.

Aimée tracks down the surviving girlfriend and numerous other people who might have insight as to the ledger’s location. Before long, she realizes she is being followed putting everyone she speaks to in danger. It was when it became clear that her own daughter was now fair game to those seeking the ledger that Aimée agrees to have her daughter’s father and Aimée’s estranged mother whisk her daughter away for safety.

There is a high body count in the book but in the end, things work out and Aimée finds out a little bit more about her father’s life in the police.

This was one of my favorite books in the series so far.

Aimée Leduc returns in Murder on the Left Bank, the eighteenth book in the series.  Readers who have followed Aimée from the beginning must be pleased with how the series has evolved over the years keeping the stories fresh. For readers who have never sampled the series, Murder on the Left Bank is a fine place to start. There is a back story, but readers are given enough to not feel left behind.  Either way, enjoy!

Reviewed by guest reviewer Caryn St.Clair, June 2018.

Book Review: Cast Iron by Peter May

Cast Iron
An Enzo Macleod Investigation #6
Peter May
Quercus, October 2017
ISBN: 978-1-6814-4161-0
Hardcover

This is the sixth and final book in the Enzo Files series, and it is a worthy addition indeed.

From the publisher:  In 1989, a killer dumped the body of twenty-year-old Lucie Martin into a picturesque lake in the west of France.  Fourteen years later, during a summer heat wave, a drought exposed her remains – – bleached bones amid the scorching mud and slime.  No one was ever convicted of her murder.  But now, forensic expert Enzo Macleod is reviewing this stone-cold case – – the toughest of the seven he has been challenged to solve.  But when Enzo finds a flaw in the original evidence surrounding Lucie’s murder, he opens a Pandora’s Box that not only raises old ghosts but also endangers his entire family.  The challenge was from a Parisian journalist, Roger Raffin, who told Enzo that his skills would be insufficient to solve these very cold cases, including that of his [Raffin’s] wife.   Candor makes me admit that all of the nearly interchangeable relationships in the novel at times confused this reader, what with the various characters’ relationships with each other, both parental and marital.

Time frames range from the time of Lucie’s murder in 1989 in the book’s Prologue to the discovery of the bones of the victim in the summer of 2003 on the 1st page of Chapter 1,  to the concluding chapter in the Spring of 2012, with p.o.v. initially being that of Enzo but soon nearly alternating with that of Sophie, Enzo’s daughter, and Bertrand, her lover.  The question of the identity of Lucie’s murderer, as well as that of Pierre Lambert, a significant character in the tale, is not resolved until very nearly the end of the novel, as well as “the enigma that is Regis Blanc,” thought initially to have killed many (all?) of the many victims enumerated here. Macleod explores the possibility that Lucie was murdered by a man she met while doing social work with recently released felons, on one of whom Enzo focuses: But Enzo has so much personal baggage to wrap up – – the vindictive ex-wife, the uncertain paternities, the infidelities, his new girlfriend – – enough to negatively influence his investigation.  The frequently [and wonderfully] poetic writing, combined with the suspense wrought by the author, makes this a highly recommended read.

Reviewed by Gloria Feit, October 2017.

Book Review: A Good Place to Hide by Peter Grose

A Good Place to Hide
Peter Grose
Pegasus Books, May 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68177-124-3
Trade Paperback

The period between 1939 and 1944 in Europe was not smooth and elegant. Relative calm settled over France as the Vichy Government moved to solidify itself and accommodate German occupation in the Northern Zone. As author Peter Grose notes, the central figures were Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Chamberlain, Mussolini and Winston Churchill. War was the order of the day and as competing armies surged across the land, residents of a small, almost unnoticed group of farm villages found themselves responsible for a large humanitarian effort.

It didn’t seem to matter that for a thousand years the Huguenots had been persecuted for their religious and social beliefs. They were prepared to hide Jewish refugees at the drop of a trigger. And because of Haute-Loire’s proximity to Switzerland, they became a conduit for protection and saving of thousands of Jewish refugees from all over Europe, hiding them and moving them on to safety in neutral Switzerland.

The book is at times mesmerizing with it’s incredible tales of seventeen-year-old Piton, a guide who made the perilous journey perhaps a hundred times, to Virginia Hall, an American woman who asserted herself into the fabric of Resistance command and directed dozens of parachute drops, movement of large amounts of cash, rescue of prisoners and destruction of key transportation links to disrupt German military operations.

The book is over-long in some details and in places needs trimming to increase its impact. But it is a strong inspiring tale of man’s humanity toward man and a detailing of some clever and scary maneuvers by those same humans. It was hard to put down and is a grand testament to the women and men of Haute-Loire villages who refused to bow to the fascist German fist, who saved almost a generation of Jews.

Reviewed by Carl Brookins, January 2017.
http://www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com
The Case of the Purloined Painting, The Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky.

Book Reviews: Stolen Memories by Mary Miley and Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Stolen Memories
Mary Miley
CreateSpace, November 2015
ISBN 978-151-8883705
Trade Paperback

If you asked me for a book that you could really sink your teeth into—a murder-mystery with just a hint of romance—one that is a delight to read, but not “light reading”…..you know, something that keeps your eyes glued to the pages you are frantically turning and sneaks into your thoughts at random times; but doesn’t necessarily rip out your heart & run away with it–I’d happily hand you Stolen Memories.

1928 was a fabulous time to be a young woman in Europe.  It was particularly exciting and opportunistic for the intelligent, courageous woman carving a path for her own independence and paving the way for others to follow. Eva Johnson, however, is not that woman.   Rather, she is a self-serving, manipulative, nasty thief who has no problem spilling a bit of blood along her way.

When she awoke under the concerned eyes of a doctor in France, Eva had no idea what landed her in a hospital bed.  She has no memory, at all.  She surely does not remember marrying that angry giant hulking around her bedside.  More importantly, she can’t fathom being married at all.  Even in the absence of her memories, she’s sure there’s been a huge mistake.  This initial unease and uncertainty perfectly set the tone for her tale.

Eva desperately wants to regain her memory to reclaim her true self, nothing about being a part of this eccentric family feels relatable.  Those around her share her goal, but for very different reasons.  Deciding who to trust is a daily challenge.  Information is fed to her intermittently and often, inaccurately.  Her every move is watched and scrutinized.

Under such close inspection, we begin to see some interesting things.  While some may simply want to recover their stolen property, someone wants her dead.  Further muddying the waters, Eva is just not herself.  With seemingly natural inclinations towards kindness, she stuns her family.  It is particularly entertaining to watch a mystery unravel while the participants continue to be puzzled.  The many moving parts make for a quick, compelling read.

Reviewed by jv poore, September 2016.

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Counting by 7s
Holly Goldberg Sloan
Puffin Books, September 2014
ISBN 978-0-14-242286-1
Trade Paperback

This is one of those treasures recommended for ages 10 and up that I believe everyone can thoroughly enjoy, not just older elementary and middle-grade people.

I can’t imagine the person who would not be charmed, then completely smitten with young Willow, who at the tender age of 12 has her world shattered.  An admirable and awe-inspiring person Before, her strength, courage and resolve After show the reader what a real-life super-heroine is all about.

Even cooler, we see her spirit, determination and natural kindness pour out and touch so many.  Those touched by Willow intuitively and impulsively stand a little straighter, try a little harder and become more generous.

Few books have the ability to render sobs, then a smile, but this one does.  I would chastise myself for letting this sit on my shelf for so long instead I’m going to consider the timing serendipitous, because now I can pass this jewel on to my son’s middle-grade classroom library.

Reviewed by jv poore, September 2016.

Book Reviews: Love and Death in Burgundy by Susan C. Shea and Another Man’s Treasure by S.W. Hubbard

Love & Death in Burgundy
The French Village Mysteries #1
Susan C. Shea
Minotaur Books, May 2017
ISBN 978-1-250-11300-9
Hardcover

From the publisher—

After three years of living in the small town of Reigny-sur-Canne, all Katherine Goff really wants is to be accepted by her neighbors into their little community. But as an American expat living in the proud region of Burgundy, that’s no easy task.

When the elderly Frenchman who lives in the village chateau is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the town is turned into a hot bed of gossip and suspicion, and Katherine suddenly finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into the small town’s secrets. A motherless teenager, a malicious French widow, a brash music producer, and a would-be Agatha Christie are among those caught up in a storm that threatens to turn Katherine’s quiet life upside down. As more and more of the villagers’ secrets are brought to light, Katherine must try to figure out who, if anyone, in the town she can trust, and which one of her neighbors just might be a killer.

I almost didn’t get past the first couple of chapters in this book because, not only was the lunch party a disaster for poor Katherine, it was a disaster for me. Rarely have I encountered a group of characters that completely turned me off so early in a story. Many Americans think the French are rude and unfriendly; I’ve never been there so I don’t really know. My experience in another country (Greece) is that those who live in the countryside are much friendlier than the city folk but that surely wasn’t the case in this small French village. To be fair, though, much of the rudeness and unpleasant attitude came from expats, American and British with a German (naturalized French) thrown in for good measure. No matter what country these people at the lunch represented, at least half of them were so disagreeable that I wondered why I would want to continue in their company.

But…I pushed on and, wonder of wonders, I began to like some of these people. The main character, Katherine, annoyed me a bit with her need to be accepted into the community and I wanted to tell her to ease up, that having lived there for three years is a pretty good sign that, well, it is what it is. Still, I understood her sort of oozing into doing her own investigating when the almost universally disliked Albert Bellegarde is found dead, perhaps murdered, and I enjoyed the way her snooping led to a better look at the villagers and the expats.

On an interesting sidenote, the feelings some had against Albert, especially his German background which they couldn’t help tying to the Nazis, rightfully or not, reminded me of the emotions that run high in some parts of the Southern US regarding the Confederate legacy.  I live here in the South and, quite honestly, understand some of the emotional attachment to the past from a historical standpoint even while I deplore the hatefulness. Ms. Shea has shown, in an unobtrusive way, that grudges and hatred can live a very long time no matter who or where.

The mystery here is actually pretty lightweight but Love & Death in Burgundy is, at its heart, a warm, welcoming visit in a charming village. Reigny sounds like a delightful place and the food had me salivating. I’d love to visit the French countryside someday to see for myself what the people and the scenery are like, not to mention gorge myself on some wonderful food. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting to see what Katherine and her neighbors will get up to in Dressed for Death in Burgundy next May.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, June 2017.

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Another Man’s Treasure
Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series Book 1
S.W. Hubbard
Read by Janelle Tedesco
S.W. Hubbard, September 2016
Downloaded Unabridged Audio Book

From the author—

On a snowy Christmas Eve, a beautiful young mother goes out to buy a few last minute gifts and never returns….

….thirty years later, her daughter picks up her trail.

As the owner of an estate sale business, Audrey Nealon knows a lot about art, antiques, and the unlikely places old people hide their treasures. But the shabby home of an elderly widow holds alarming surprises: street drugs in the silverware drawer, a trunkful of jewels in the attic, and the distinctive ring Audrey’s mother was wearing the night she disappeared. Believing the truth will bring her peace, Audrey relentlessly pursues clues to her family’s troubled history. But each fact Audrey uncovers drags her further away from the love she craves, and puts her on a collision course with people more determined, more ambitious, and more dangerous than she can fathom. As the twist ending reveals, some truths are too awful to bear, and too terrible to share.

The print edition of this book was reviewed here in May 2013; Carol said pretty much everything I was thinking about the story itself so I’ll focus on the audiobook aspects this time.

Janelle Tedesco is a new narrator to me and, in that situation, I always tend to be a little picky, looking for things I don’t like as well as those I do. Ms. Tedesco checked off all my hot buttons, I’m happy to say.

Clarity of voice—Ms. Tedesco has a very clear voice, easy to understand, no mumbling, no breathy sounds.

Accents—Audrey and some of the other characters don’t have the New Jersey accent that’s so familiar to the rest of us but some others have hints of a stronger Northern inflection. In addition, there are distinguishable intonations for races, a variety of backgrounds and the impressions of life in general.

Pacing—This is excellent, maintaining an even speed that’s a perfect, pleasant tempo with urgency where it belongs.

Variety of character interpretations—It’s very hard for a voiceover actor to handle a mix of gender and ages but Ms. Tedesco manages it seemingly with no trouble. Each character is recognizable, particularly Audrey’s assistants, Jill and Tyshaun, who are vastly different from each other. There are a fair number of people in this story so the contrasts are all that more important.

All in all, I was quite impressed with the narration of this book and will be happy to listen to the next Estate Sale Mystery, Treasure of Darkness.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, June 2017.