Line Up for Murder: Review

Bonnard's Department Store is celebrating is 100th anniversary over the New Year's holiday and, just as every year at this time, they have advertised some spectacular bargains--everything from an entire living room suite to a floor-length mink to a top-of-the-line refrigerator to a state-of-the-art camera/film-maker's dream in addition to bargain prices throughout the store. Every year patrons line up days in advance to have the first shot at their most desired items, bringing sleeping bags and carryalls full of supplies for the wait. Dorrie Witson loves waiting in the queues. She's a good-natured, inoffensive busybody who loves to people-watch and make friends with anyone and everyone around her. This time she isn't waiting in line for herself, but as a favor for friends who have their eye on the fridge and can't afford to miss work to wait in line. Also in the queue is Lucy Bone (alias Lucinda Bonnard, daughter of the Bonnard empire) who has had a falling out with her widowed father over his intended remarriage to a younger woman. She's brought along an undesirable, intense, and possessive boyfriend and the tension caused by these two, a self-centered gentleman ahead of Dorrie who doesn't seem to mind who he insults, a couple who would like nothing better than to ditch the self-centered gent and play board games with Dorrie, and a rather nice young man with an interest in the camera set...as well as in Lucy makes this one of Dorrie's least favorite line-ups.

But is there more to the tension than just abrasive personalities grating upon one another? Lucy is obviously planning some sort of mischief to either embarrass her father or otherwise cause a scene. And someone in that line has murder on their mind. One has a gun and another arranges for an odd concoction to be brought to their place in line...poison, perhaps? Dorrie manages to inadvertently foil several plots and save the day on many fronts....and still grabs the refrigerator for her dear friends.

Line Up for Murder (aka 1980 Queue Here for Murder) by Marion Babson is gentle mystery. Full of charm--it was a delight to read. There is very little action in the generally accepted mystery sense of the word, but Babson draws such vivid characters and sets the scene so expertly that one doesn't really notice. The big mystery is finding out exactly what the plot is, who's behind it, and who is the intended target. ★★★★


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This counts for "Building" (other than house) for the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

All challenges fulfilled: Vintage Mystery Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, 100 Plus Challenge, Outdo Yourself, My Kind of Mystery, Cruisin' Thru the Cozies, Mystery Reporter, Women Challenge, Lady Detective, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Mad Reviewer, 

Challenge Complete: Lady Detectives

Click HERE to Enter

Enter This runs from January 1st, 2016 to December 31st, 2016.

You can enter anytime between now & September 1st, 2016.

Levels

Trixie: 1-3 books (You’re a bit new to this, but you’ve got killer hunches.)

Jane: 4-6 books (You’re quite the clever old bird, but the local constabulary really wish you’d keep out of it.)

Jessica: 7+ books (You find mystery wherever you go. If you’re not a mystery writer yet, you really should be.)

I knew that I was absolutely a Jessica so I signed up for seven-plus books. I'm sure I'll read more mysteries with women sleuths, but I have met my challenge goal.

1. Hunt with the Hounds by Mignon G. Eberhart (1/3/16)

2. The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth (1/9/16)

3. The Silver Anniversary Murder by Lee Harris (2/17/16)

4. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (3/13/16)

5. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (3/15/16)

6. Leaving Everthing Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear (3/24/16)

7. The Indigo Necklace Murders by Frances Crane (4/12/16)

8. Death by Hoax by Lionel Black (4/25/16)

Death by Hoax: Review

Death by Hoax (1974) by Lionel Black is the third out of six books in the series featuring Kate Theobald and her husband Henry. Kate is the Post's star reporter. She has a knack for finding herself in the middle of high crimes and murderous plots when sent on the most innocuous assignments. This time, Butch, her boss, sends her, in the middle of what he calls "the silly season," to Loxham Bay to try and squeeze a story out of a string of hoaxes that have occurred. Their man on the spot, a stringer by the name of Geoff Hayward, isn't such a dab hand at turning out an exciting story and Butch knows that Kate will be able to make something out of the practical jokes that have included fire false alarms, bogus bomb threats, mysterious men on train lines, and an accident that never happened. 

True to form, the first thing that happens as soon as Kate shows up in town is that a new bomb scare proves to be deadly serious and Carl Grossman, the owner of a local electronics factory, winds up dead from a bomb hidden in his desk and set to explode when unlocked and opened. Henry comes flying to play side-kick to his inquisitive wife and before they know it they have uncovered everything from affairs on the side to blackmail, bigamy to missing wills, and possible fraud to hidden secrets from Grossman's past. Lots of people would seem to have a reason to want Grossman dead whether because of business or to get their hands on his money or because of personal relationships.

Also true to form, Kate finds herself in danger at the end and heroics on the part of Hayward and her husband manage to save the day....and save Kate to write the eye-popping, headline-making story that will scoop her fellow reporters once again.

This particular installment of the Theobald mysteries is a bit more gruesome than those I've previously read. It includes death by explosion, death by a good bashing on the head with a spanner (or tire iron, we're not quite sure which), and ends on a somewhat brutal note as well. The mystery itself is a good one and Black gives the plot several twists to make things interesting. Kate and Henry are as delightful as ever and I still like that Kate's job gives her good reason to get mixed up in these sort of things. I did deduct a bit for the slightly more brutal nature of this cozy mystery, making it a flat  ★★★ instead of the usual three and a half to four stars for the others in the series.

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This counts for the "Telephone" category on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

The Indigo Necklace Murders: Review

Well, I'll bet I'm the only girl who ever got blacked out by a medical book on mental trouble. That's special. Usually it's a poker. Or a bottle.

Pat and Jean Abbott find themselves in an old mansion in French New Orleans in The Indigo Necklace Murders* (1945) by Frances Crane. Pat is now a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and has been stationed in New Orleans after serving overseas in Intelligence. The city is teeming with people and there is a shortage of housing, so Pat becomes a paying guest at the home of his friend Major Roger Clary, scion of a proud Creole family. Due to Pat's work, Jean is often alone in their rooms at night and she regularly hears the sound of a clicking latch and "whispering" footsteps along their balcony and even through their front room. She isn't too worried until the night she finds a white-robed body at the bottom of the balcony's stairway. And gets slugged over the head when she tries to go for help.

Things don't look so good for Major Clary when the body is discovered to be that of his mentally incompetent wife. And they look even worse when it's revealed that Mrs. Clary was a rich woman and the Major had fallen in love with someone else. It's impossible to divorce an insane wife and Captain Jonas, the local representative of the law, is convinced that Clary took the easiest way out of his marriage by giving his wife a nice shove down the stairs. But Pat and Jean are convinced that Captain Jonas's one-track mind is making him blind to the real killer--there are others in the household who have a motive or may have been involved. There's the nurse who may have tried to dose her mistress with herbs to ill effect and has pulled a disappearing act. Also in the mix are Uncle George and Aunt Dollie who might have counted on a piece of the financial pie once the Major was free of his wife. There's Ava Graham, a hanger-on, who is definitely hiding secrets and her beau, Toby Wick, who has a murky past under a much different name. And there's Aunt Rita (Marguerite Clary), matriarch of the family, who dotes on Roger and may have wished her favorite to be free to marry the girl he loves. 

There are suggestions of voodoo--thus the indigo necklace...somehow these blue beads mean voodoo and/or witchcraft to the locals, murmurs of jealousy among the servants, a hint of blackmail, a secret room that proves to be not-so-secret after all. Pat will help lead Captain Jonas in the right direction, but it will be Jean's brush with the killer that will bring the crime home to the proper quarter.

This is not, in my opinion, Crane's best effort--at least as far as the mystery goes. Clues are sparse, the wrap-up is rushed and too easily settled, and I don't quite agree with the motivations and identity of the villain. Perhaps with a bit more groundwork it would be more believable. What does work in this book is the representation of the times. I had said that my previous review (The Jade Venus) was the most representative of the books I'd read for Rich's Crimes of Century. This one is perhaps even more so. Abbott and Clary are both very involved with war work. Carol Graham, Clary's love interest, has a "defense job" and also works as a nurse's aide. And everything's crowded and in short supply because of the war effort. As Pat Abbott notes, "You waited for anything and everything these days in crowded New Orleans, so it was perfectly logical to wait for a hospital room."  

Unfortunately, the treatment of the servants (who are all African American) by some of the characters is also of the time. The worst of it is the assumption that they all believe in voodoo, witchcraft, and superstition and aren't smart enough to know any better. Racism and the privilege of the white classes is evident--but I will say that one of those who treat the servants badly, Captain Jonas, is all for equal opportunity prejudice. He is just as likely to pigeon hole the Creoles as clannish, snobbish, and unlikely to tell the truth--especially about anything that might affect their money and their social standing.

★★ and a half.


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With fellow lurking behind the curtain, this fulfills the "More Than Two People" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card. It is also my second entry in  Rich's Crimes of the Century post for April. 
 
*Originally published as The Indigo Necklace

TLC Book Tours: The Month of Maisie

In preparation for the March 29th release of  Journey to Munich, the 12th volume in Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, the ladies at TLC Book Tours have designated March as The Month of Maisie Readalong. Those of us on the tour have volunteered to read one (or more) of the books in the series to help build excitement for Maisie's latest adventure. I started reading this series back in my pre-blogging days, but had gotten distracted by other books. When the offer came to read Leaving Everything Most Loved as part of the tour, I quickly agreed and read A Lesson in Secrets (#8) and Elegy for Eddie (#9) as well so I would be caught up.

About Leaving Everything Most Loved

In Leaving Everything Most Loved by New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs investigates the murder of Indian immigrants in London.

The year is 1933. Maisie Dobbs is contacted by an Indian gentleman who has come to England in the hopes of finding out who killed his sister two months ago. Scotland Yard failed to make any arrest in the case, and there is reason to believe they failed to conduct a thorough investigation. The case becomes even more challenging when another Indian woman is murdered just hours before a scheduled interview. Meanwhile, unfinished business from a previous case becomes a distraction, as does a new development in Maisie’s personal life.
Bringing a crucial chapter in the life and times of Maisie Dobbs to a close, Leaving Everything Most Loved marks a pivotal moment in this outstanding mystery series.

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My Take:  I have very mixed feelings about this book and where this journey has taken Maisie. I thoroughly enjoy Jacqueline Winspear's writing and her ability to tell a story. These stories move quickly and they are easily read in a couple of sittings. The historical detail is excellent and I always feel like I have been swept back in time to one of the eras that I am most interested in. The mysteries that Maisie unravels are compelling and usually offer plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Maisie has always been a very strong character--fiercely independent, intelligent and intuitive, caring and discerning. BUT she has also been annoying the heck out of me over the last several books. James Compton is the most long-suffering man I've met in detective fiction. I thought Lord Peter Wimsey went to great lengths to wait for Harriet Vane to come around....but he's got nothing on James. And, I fear, that Wimsey's wait will wind up having been far more satisfying both for him and for readers than Compton's will be. I have, unfortunately, run into a few spoilers about what lies ahead for James and Maisie--and I can't say that I care for what I've found. 

Putting those spoiler rumors aside for a moment, I just honestly have difficulty with the amount of upheaval that goes on in Maisie's life--constantly. It's as if we cannot possibly allow her to be happy for more than five minutes. She lost her first love due to the war and its after-effects. She has since lost her mentor. There have been various difficulties for Billy, her right-hand-man, and he's going to be leaving the agency for another job. At the end of the book, James is off to Canada and Maisie will be closing the agency and heading to India on a trip to find herself and, as the book's title says, leave behind everything she loves. Maisie is a complex character. It would be nice to see her work through some of those complications and still manage to have some stability. Finding a way to have a satisfying committed relationship with James AND manage to keep her independence and complex character as well maintain her professional practice would offer plenty of backstory tension and drama without taking everything away from Maisie.

★★★ for a solid entry into this series. A good story overall with a compelling mystery which revolves around events from the past which bring about the tragic deaths of the two Indian women. The star deduction comes entirely from my dissatisfaction with Maisie's overarching story line as the series continues. I will most likely read the next book--but I hope the spoiler rumors are untrue....

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Thanks again to the ladies of TLC Book Tours for including me in the Month of Maisie Readalong and providing a copy of this book for my honest review. I have received no compensation whatsoever for my participation in this blog tour.

For the full list of the books being reviewed, including a month of reviews for the new book, Journey To Munich, check out the full tour schedule.

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Leaving Everything Most Loved, Elegy for Eddie, A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, as well as four other national bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. Her standalone novel, The Care and Management of Lies, was also a New York Times bestseller. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex, and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel and was a New York Times Notable Book. Originally from the United Kingdom, she now lives in California.
You can find out more about Jacqueline at her website, www.jacquelinewinspear.com, and also find her on Facebook. 

Elegy for Eddie: Review (possible spoilers)

Please know that there may be spoilers involved in this particular review. I cannot speak to my reactions without possibly revealing more than you want to know about the plot. I will not reveal the solution, but there may be pointers. Read on at your own risk.

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Elegy for Eddie is the next installment in Jacqueline Winspear's series featuring Maisie Dobbs and the last one I needed to read before my blog tour book (Leaving Everything Most Loved). It is now April of 1933 and Maisie comes to work one morning to find a deputation of Covent Grden costermongers waiting on her doorstep. Most of these men she knew when she was growing up and her father, Frankie, had been one of them. They know of her current position as a "psychologist and investigator" and want to engage her services to look into the "accidental" death of Eddie Pettit. Eddie was well-known among the costermongers--and to Maisie--for his uncanny abilities with horses. It was said that there wasn't a horse that Eddie couldn't calm and work with.

Now Eddie is dead--apparently from a run-away roll of paper at Bookhams, a paper factory, which crushed him. But his mates among the costermongers are quite sure that there is more to the story than a mere accident. Maisie know they must be right--because as soon as she asks Billy Beale, her assistant, to nose around the streets near the factory and ask a few questions at the nearest pub, he is beaten within an inch of his life. She also discovers that a reporter who had befriended Eddie is also dead, in what has been officially labeled a suicide. And then a man who had long bullied Eddie is quickly identified as possibly being behind the paper factory "accident," but he winds up conveniently dead as well...another victim of an apparent suicide. That's one too many deaths for Maisie. But as she digs, she finds that there are ties to affairs of international import and she realizes that she will have untangle the international threads before she can understand exactly what happened to Eddie.

I have mixed feelings about this one. As mentioned in my review of the previous novel, Winspear does historical novels very well. She manages to bring the reader to the time and place with detail and atmosphere. The surrounding swirl of build-up the Second World War adds tension. But the lack of resolution for the crimes just doesn't sit well with me. I realize that there are people who get away with murder in real life and I realize that there are people who kill for seemingly pointless reasons. But I expect my crime fiction to bring the crime home to the perpetrator and for a sense of justice to prevail. There is no justice in Maisie's world. And, perhaps it's reflective of the times, but the story is pretty bleak. No one is held accountable for the deaths. Also--unless I missed something, there really isn't a good explanation for Eddie's death. I can see the reason for the reporter's death--but honestly, Eddie just didn't represent the threat that the reporter did.

The other point that bothers me is Maisie herself. How long is she going to waiver over her relationship with James Compton? That poor man is the most long-suffering lover I've ever seen. If she's afraid she'll have to give up her independence and/or her profession, then she needs to talk it out with him. And if they can't come to an agreement, then she needs to give it up. I suspect that James would let her have what she wants...but she needs to find out and figure out where things are going.

One other thing I did like about the story was its ties to Maisie's past. I liked that she was approached by men she knew when she was growing up to help with a current problem. The investigation takes Maisie back to places that she hadn't visited since she was young and it could have helped her put her present life in perspective. It could have helped her character to grow much more than Winspear seems willing to allow happen.  She seems intent on keeping Maisie in this slough-of-despond, brooding, examination of every little thing and relationship in her life. Let the woman grow and learn and start to live rather than dwelling on the past and worrying about whether she fits into her new life (with money!). She's supposedly a smart woman and solves problems for others--let her solve her own. ★★★

A Lesson in Secrets: Review

It's been a while since I sat down to enjoy a visit with Maisie Dobbs in the years between the first and second World Wars. I've had two Jacqueline Winspear's books sitting on my TBR stacks for quite some time, but other books were calling my name more loudly and urgently. I just recently signed up to do a blog tour for the two most recent novels, so I thought I better catch up with Miss Dobbs and see where she is now. First up: A Lesson in Secrets, the eighth book in the series. 

It is now the summer of 1932 and Maisie has been asked by the Special Branch to undertake an assignment to monitor activities in a private college in Cambridge. She applies for a post as junior lecturer in philosophy at The College of St. Francis. Special Branch is interested in activities "not in the interests of His Majesty's government," by which they mean those with communist leanings. But Maisie finds what she believes to be even more worrying evidence of an infiltration of Nazi ideals. Of course, at this time, many of the leaders don't see Hitler and his Nazi party as much of a threat. 

International intrigue isn't the most pressing subject at hand, though. Just a short time after Maisie's appointment begins, the college's controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is found murdered. And murdered by a specialist in martial or combat arts. Special Branch wants Maisie to step back from the investigation which will be handled by Detective Chief Superintendent MacFarland and Detective Chief Inspector Stratton (both of whom Maisie has worked with before), but Maisie's top secret assignment soon proves that Liddicote's death may be linked to the suspicious behavior of some of those she's been sent to watch. 

In the midst of Maisie's secret work, she also has another worry. Sandra, a woman who had worked with Maisie before, appeals to her for help. Sandra is now a widow and her husband died in suspicious circumstances. Maisie sees Sandra settled into her apartment and offers her work as a secretary until she can get her feet under her again--and fully intends to start an investigation into the poor woman's husband's death. But before Maisie can marshal her forces--Sandra is arrested for breaking and entering and then disappears after Maisie secures her release from jail. What forces are at work in Sandra's life? Maisie's work is cut out for her and she will have to unravel secrets from the Great War to find her way to the solution of each of these mysteries.

I had forgotten how good Winspear is at taking her readers on a trip through time. She expertly sets the stage to show the reader what life in Britain's colleges was like in the years before World War II. The push for peace after the horrors of the Great War; the hope that further conflict could be avoided; the vulnerability of those who wanted peace so badly. Maisie is, as always, a strong female character--smart, compassionate, and observant, but with enough vulnerabilities of her own to maker her a very real, rather than an idealized character. This was a very enjoyable historical mystery and I look forward to diving into the next two (the second will be part of the blog tour). ★★★★

The Silver Anniversary Murder: Review

The Silver Anniversary Murder (2005) is the penultimate book in Lee Harris's mystery series starring ex-nun and amateur investigator Christine Bennett. It is also the last book in the series I needed to read to finish the series. The Chris Bennett mysteries are generally on the lighter side of the mystery field. Occasionally, the stories are a bit more intense emotionally, but Harris definitely keeps us within the cozy realm.

This particular entry begins with an anonymous phone call. A woman calls Chris and tells her that "A body will be found later today." There is also a cryptic reference to the woman's silver wedding anniversary. Quick thinking on Chris's part allow the police to trace the call to an empty apartment with nothing but a phone and a trace of blood on the bedroom carpet. Why did the attractive couple who were about to celebrate a milestone anniversary abandon their home and their careers without a trace? Neighbors in the apartment building have little to tell about the Mitchells--the couple who lived in the apartment. The couple never made friends and few saw them more than to say "Hi" to. One man remembers seeing furniture loaded into a U-Haul, but not much else.

The woman on the phone was a little optimistic in her prediction--the first body isn't found for two weeks. It's a woman and she's soon identified as Holly Mitchell. Or is she? Chris feels drawn to the case...drawn by the haunting voice on the phone. Who called? Was it the woman who has been killed? Or was it her killer? And who is the victim? Chris soon learns that Holly Mitchell may not really exist. There are other names and other identities in the Mitchells' past. Before long, Peter Mitchell's body is found as well and then the Mitchell's daughter arrives--worried that she hasn't been able to reach her parents by phone. Before long Ariana Brinker (the Mitchells' real last name) and Chris Bennett are on a cross-country scavenger hunt, following clues left by Ariana's parents and a trail leads to a 25-year-old secret.

This was a good book to end the series on. Plenty of twists and turns and a bit more actual detective work on the part of Chris Bennett. Throughout most of the series it seems that Chris has a lot of "luck" in her investigations, but this one is a bit more solid with clues. I enjoyed the bond she developed with Ariana. One does have to suspend one's disbelief a bit--just how much information would the local police share with her just because she's married to a NYC police officer? But the books are always interesting and her character is very likable and believable in other ways. It helps that she really likes what she does and is very compassionate in her dealings with victims and perpetrators alike. I highly recommend this series when you want something satisfying but not too heavy. ★★★

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All Challenges Fulfilled: Mount TBR Challenge, Outdo Yourself, 100 Plus Challenge, Cruisin' Thru the Cozies, Women Challenge, Cloak & Dagger, Color Coded Challenge, My Kind of Mystery, Triple Dog Dare, A-Z Mystery Author Challenge, Lady Detective, Mad Reviewer

The Girl in the Cellar: Review

In The Girl in the Cellar (1961) by Patricia Wentworth, a young woman regains consciousness in the dark on what she soon realizes are the steps of a cellar. She doesn't know where she is or how she got there....In fact, she's not even sure of who she is. All she knows is her name is Anne (but Anne what?) and that if goes to the bottom of the staircase she will find a dead body. She finds a flashlight in what she believes is her handbag and discovers that she's right. But her bout of amnesia doesn't allow her to identify the girl (who has been shot) or remember anything at all before coming to herself on the steps. She knows she must get away quickly--but where should she go? 

In a daze, she leaves the house and gets on a bus where fate intervenes. Miss Silver, that former governess turned detective, notices the dazed young woman and invites her to join her for tea. Through her gentle leading, Anne finds a letter in the handbag that indicates that she is Mrs. James Fancourt and she was on her way to stay with her new husband's relatives. But how did she get in the cellar? Was she involved in the girl's death. What happened to cause her to lose her memory? And is she really who the letter says she is? 

Miss Silver urges her to go the relatives as planned, but the house isn't the expected haven. Jim Fancourt's relatives have never met his wife, so they can't help her remember. And the feeling of dread which gripped her in the cellar isn't shaken--it takes on reality when a strange, threatening man appears. Fortunately, Jim Fancourt seems to be an ally and Miss Silver hasn't abandoned her. The three will work on the problem in their separate ways--bringing an end to Anne's fears (and light on her past) and unraveling the mystery of the girl in the cellar.

This is Wentworth's final book with Miss Silver. Using a favorite stratagem (amnesia), she weaves a convincing tale of fear and mystery. Anne's gradual recovery of her memory is plausible and the suspense is built up quite nicely. Admittedly, there are quite a few coincidences along the way--from the identity of the murdered girl (and Anne's real identity) to the strangers who happen along to help Anne at all the right moments. But the story is solid and even at her advanced age, Wentworth spins a good tale. ★★★

*****
This fulfills the "Any Sort of Jewelry" category on the Silver Scavenger Hunt card (Russian beaded necklace) as well as the "Gun/Shot" category in the Mystery Reporter Challenge.

Complete List of Challenges fulfilled: Vintage Mystery Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, My Kind of Mystery, 100 Plus Challenge, Outdo Yourself, Monthly Key Word, Cruisin' Thru the Cozies, Charity Challenge, Triple Dog Dare, European Reading Challenge, Travel the World, A-Z Mystery Author Challenge, Mystery Reporter, Women Challenge, Lady Detective, Cloak & Dagger

The Lady Detective Reading Challenge

Click HERE to Enter

Enter

This runs from January 1st, 2016 to December 31st, 2016.
You can enter anytime between now & September 1st, 2016.

Rules

I’m keeping this pretty laidback. Wanna read ebooks? Cool. Wanna listen to audiobooks? Cool. Wanna read YA? Cool. So long as it matches the theme of a lady detective being one of the primary characters, I’m good with audio, digital, graphic, YA… whatever.
You do not have to blog about it. You do not have to leave reviews. You do not have to choose your books in advance.

Levels

Trixie: 1-3 books (You’re a bit new to this, but you’ve got killer hunches.)
Jane: 4-6 books (You’re quite the clever old bird, but the local constabulary really wish you’d keep out of it.)
Jessica: 7+ books (You find mystery wherever you go. If you’re not a mystery writer yet, you really should be.)

I am absolutely a Jessica, seven-plus books, here I come!

1. Hunt with the Hounds by Mignon G. Eberhart (1/3/16)
2. The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth (1/9/16)
3. The Silver Anniversary Murder by Lee Harris (2/17/16)
4. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (3/13/16)
5. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (3/15/16)
6. Leaving Everthing Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear (3/24/16)
7. The Indigo Necklace Murders by Frances Crane (4/12/16)
8. Death by Hoax by Lionel Black (4/25/16)