The Pink Pony

 

The Pink Pony is a favorite bar of many and the morning after the famed Port Huron-Mackinac sailboat race, poor Jimmy Lyons is found strangled to death there. Mackinac Island has never before had a murder and it's all anyone can talk about. Burr Lafayette is vacationing on the island after participating in the sailboat race, and in no time at all he is pressured to take on the defendant despite never been involved in a murder trial. Burr is an excellent litigator, despite having a problem hanging on to money (especially after his divorce); without any other cash prospects he agrees to try and clear Murdo of murder charges. The first step is trying to find other suspects (of which their is no shortage as Jimmy owed everyone money) but he's having a damned hard time getting any evidence. His loyal dog Zeke, his two dependable co-workers, and a lot gin martinis are needed if he's going to turn from litigator to lawyer - but what if Murdo did do it? Filled with island life, boating, booze, regional food, and a cast of quirky characters - this is a book readers won't soon forget. Lots of twists and turns will leave readers puzzling over the case themselves. An excellent start to a new mystery series!

The Guest List

I love good ol fashioned murder mystery and like a lot of reviews have said - it's reminiscent of Agatha Christie. One of the cool things is that it opens up with a dead body at a wedding.... but you don't know who it is! It's told through flashbacks leading up to the murder so it keeps you guessing as to who the murderer and the victim. The setting is a bleak little island off the coast of Ireland, it's a really posh wedding and of course their is loads of drama leading up to the ceremony and during the reception. The story is told through several perspectives. The best man, a plus one, the wedding organizer, the bride, the maid of honor, and the groom. The story moves quickly and you're on the edge of your seat as you try to put all the pieces together. I didn't even come close to getting the ending right, which made me love it more! A fantastic murder mystery!!

Faux Paw

I needed an audiobook filler and I thought a nice cozy mystery with cats would be a nice change. I was mistaken. Maybe cozy mysteries just aren't my thing, maybe it was just this book, or maybe it was "magical cats" assisting with another murder in a small quaint little town. Whatever it was, this was not a book I was into. Even though it was the 7th in the series, it read fine as a stand alone, it was pretty straightforward; no crazy plot twists, predictable characters, non-stop eating and describing food, everything was kitschy and quirky. It was too much. Too much ugh. A traveling museum exhibit is coming to the library. The lady in charge of arranging the exhibit is found murdered in the library and a valuable art piece is stolen. Oh no! The librarian and resident cat lady is determined to find the killer so the library can re-open. She and her boyfriend (who is also conveniently a detective) bounce scenarios off each other until the case is solved.... They get a couple of clues from the librarian's magical cats along the way (one can turn invisible and the other can walk through walls.... totally normal). Hard pass.

The Silkworm

I know, I know. I'm a horrible JK Rowling fan, this book has been out for nearly three weeks and I'm just now getting around to reading. I'm awful! I loved the first Comoran Strike novel and I'm glad to say I loved the newest addition as well! For readers that haven't read the first book, don't be alarmed. As with any good mystery series they all serve well as stand alones and don't have to be read in order.

This mystery was fast paced and had me guessing the entire time. I had no idea how it was all going to possibly come together. This mystery follows the disappearance of a b-list author. His wife contacts Detective Strike to find him after he's been gone for ten days thinking that he's off on some writer's retreat or worse with a mistress. Strike soon finds out however, that things are much, much worse.

For fans of JK Rowlings, mysteries, and anything set in London.

A Christmas Hope

Calling this a Christmas story is a bit of a stretch. It's pretty much a little Victorian murder mystery novel that just so happens to take place during the holiday season.

Claudine and her husband (he's awful, a total wanker) attend an ill fated Christmas party where an un-virtuous young lady (i.e. prostitute) is murdered on the terrace . Things like this simply do not happen at high society parties. Three young man who were on the terrace claim that the drunken welch poet beat her to death, but Claudine thinks otherwise. She briefly talked to the poet earlier in the evening and although he may have been drunk he certainly didn't seem like a killer. Claudine vows to get to the bottom of this and discover who really murdered the girl. Quite a Christmas story eh?

For fans of historical mystery novels.

I received this book for free from Library Thing in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.

Bloody Good Read!

Holy shit. I haven't had a book punch me in the gut like this in a long time. Sweet Jesus this was a great read, and probably has one of the best endings I've read in quite a long time.

"I Hunt Killers" follows Jazz as he tries to come to terms with his haunted past and be a normal teenager. You see, Jazz isn't a normal kid, his dad was a notorious serial killer (124 murders! notorious is an understatement!) and Jazz grew up with a sociopath that taught him how to best severe off limbs, dissolve bodies, manipulate people, and think like a killer. Even though his crazy father, Billy Dent, was caught and imprisoned for life when he was 12, Jazz still can't come to terms. He's 17 and incredibly guilty that he didn't stop his father as a child and he's incredibly scared that he's really a killer at heart because he can't stop thinking about the messed up things his father taught him. Thankfully, he has an amazing best friend, Howie, who stood by him even when the world hated/shunned him because of who his father was. He also has a supportive girlfriend who puts up with his neurotic tendencies and a crazy senile grandma that he takes care of. As if trying to be a normal kid isn't hard enough there is a murder in toen and Jazz immediately recognizes the signs and tells the sheriff that it's a serial killer. The sheriff doesn't believe him so Jazz and Howie do some sleuthing and find some clues that the police miss. They still don't believe Jazz, so he becomes obsessed with finding the killer himself, soon enough there are a string of other murders and Jazz becomes central to the investigation when he figures out the pattern. Finally, Jazz can put his messed up killer mind to use for good, but as he does old memories begin to surface and it nearly tears him apart.

Overall the book is fantastic! It hooks you right from the beginning and you learn more about serial murderers and methods of killing than you ever wanted to know, but it's fascinating in a creepy way. This book is a must read and it's nearly impossible to put down. The ending alone is worth reading for, holy crap you don't see it coming. There better be a sequel!!