Even if Dennison had pared down the number of frenetic adventures to make a more plausible story, the twee alarm would still...
Deception, theft, and death disrupt the Devonshire village of Little Dipperton.
Kat Stanton, the former host of Fakes & Treasures, plans to return to her turf in London once she’s convinced that her mother, Iris, can manage on her own in her new home on the Honeychurch Hall estate. But Iris’ determination to protest a high-speed rail line that will cut through the entire valley makes Kat (Murder at Honeychurch Hall, 2014) decide to stick around, especially given her mother’s talent for getting into trouble. Iris has other talents too. She writes bodice-rippers under the name Krystalle Storm, and just after she wishes aloud for a new beau for Kat, a tall, handsome man appears and introduces himself as Valentine Prince-Avery. The laugh is on Iris, though: the newcomer is a compensation consultant for the new train line. When Kat arrives at a private appointment with him to see what Iris’ options are, she’s dragged into a protest meeting as well. Prince-Avery inexplicably runs away from the meeting and leaves his SUV behind—along with the body of an elderly villager he may have run over in his haste to escape. While Kat’s trying to get to the bottom of his part in the tragedy, she’s also tracking down a missing bundle of £5,000, holding her ex-boyfriend at bay, and living down a scandalous tabloid story while she tries to figure out which people in her life really are what they seem. A haunted chair, a dangerous bog called Coffin Mire, a velveteen mouse, and a ghostly black figure add to the mix, and thrill follows dizzying thrill right up to the last page in this fitfully entertaining cozy.
Even if Dennison had pared down the number of frenetic adventures to make a more plausible story, the twee alarm would still squawk. Thank goodness for Kat’s common sense.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00780-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
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