The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse: Review

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse is an epic title. That would be why this book jumped off the shelf at the library, into my hand, and insisted that I needed to take it home with me. Which I did. Sadly, the book did not quite live up to its epic title. The book is good. The book is funny--as I expected it to be. But it's not that good. And it's not that funny. There are places in it where I am sure there are jokes and I'd get that feeling that I was supposed to laugh--like Robert Rankin had paused expectantly waiting for the audience to provide the laugh track. But then I'd be like Sherman in the Mr. Peabody & Sherman movie (which we just saw at the drive-in last Saturday) and I'd look up and think to myself I don't get it.

Rankin has created an interesting premise. A young man named Jack is on his way to the big city to seek his fortune--he's heard stories that that's where all the fortunes to be made are made. But when he gets there, all is not as glamorous as he's been given to believe. First off, the "big city" is really Toy City (aka Toy Town). Everybody is a toy except for the rich and famous nursery rhyme characters like Little Miss Muffet and Little Tommy Tucker and Ole King Cole, etc. And there is a serial killer loose who is knocking off the Mother Goose celebrities one by one in rather gruesome methods based on their rhymes. The Toy City police are stumped and Bill Winkie, a Private Eye who has starred in his own series of crime novels, has mysteriously vanished.

Jack runs into Winkie's sidekick, Eddie Bear, and Eddie convinces him to partner with him to solve the murders and collect a fabulous reward. Because you know, Eddie was the real sawdust--er, brains behind the P.I. business. Eddie leads Jack into underage drinking, high-speed car chases, in and out of jail, and into encounters with mysterious spider women. There will be quite a few more deaths and some high-tension drama before Eddie and Jack can find out who's really behind the nursery rhyme murders.

The book is a fantasy-style riff on the noir genre and private eyes in general. It is very self-aware and that is part of the fun. Jack and Eddie discuss how "if this were one of Bill Winkie's private eye books" then "we'd have met all the important characters by now" or "we'd have gotten hold of the MacGuffin by now." They also talk about whether or not the decisions they make along the way would be what a true detective in a crime novel would do. Lots of in jokes (and, as discussed, plenty that go right over my head) and plays off of the nursery rhymes. Excellent premise that manages to fall just short of being a fantastic story. Good solid entertainment, but not extraordinary. ★★★

Quotes:

It's a wise man who knows where he is. And if he knows where he is, he should stay there, don't you agree? (p. 22)

Things really could be worse. You'll be okay. I can direct you to the hospital if you think you need your head bandaged. Or I'll stagger with you, if you want. Or you can carry me upside down and I'll sing you drunken songs. I know some really rude ones. They're all about pigs and penguins. (~Eddie [Bill Winkie's bear], p. 27

It is a fact well known to those who know it well that we can only know what we personally experience. Above and beyond that, it's all just guesswork and conjecture. (p 72)

Ships of the Line: Mini-Review

Ships of the Line by Doug Drexler and Margaret Clark (eds) with Michael Okuda providing text is a gorgeous book of Star Trek artwork. It features beautifully drawn images from the Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendars and was put together as part of the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Star Trek. The artists have taken various ships from all points of the ST universe (through 2006) and rendered them in scenes from both the series or movie from which they came as well as from their own imaginations. The result is a delight for Trek fans.  

The book was a serendipitous find for me...just sitting there on the featured books shelf of our Friends of the Library bookstore waiting for me to bring it home. As any good Trek fan would, I did. And promptly sat down the same day (May 1) and read it straight through. And somehow forgot to write up a review--so here it is, better late than never. Highly enjoyable--I spent a delightful evening flipping through the pages and reading the descriptions of each piece. Now I'll be passing it on to my son. ★★★★

Saturday Snapshot

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

As I mentioned on April 19 (last time I posted), I have been scanning pictures for a family heritage Facebook page. These are some of the finds in my mom and dad's collection of photos.

This is my Great-Grandma and Grandpa Bunch's wedding photo (circa 1912).

And an anniversary photo taken sometime in the 1960s.

Friday Memes

Book Beginnings on Friday is a bookish meme now sponsored by Rose City Reader (who originally inspired the meme). Here's what you do: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments section. Include the title and author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you are so moved, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line and if you did or did not like that sentence. Link up each week at Gilion's place.

Here are the first few lines from The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies by Robert Rankin (a book whose title I could not resist:

"Once upon a time," said the big fat farmer, "it was all fields around here."

The traveller glanced all around and about. "It's still all fields," said he.

"And there you have it." The farmer grinned, exposing golden teeth. "Nothing ever changes in these parts. Nothing. Nor will it ever."

 

{I'm still waiting for it to live up to its title.}

The Friday 56 is a bookish meme sponsored by Freda's Voice. It is really easy to participate. Just grab a book, any book, and turn to page 56. Find a sentence that grabs you and post it.

 

Here is the mine from The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies by Robert Rankin:

 

Humpty Dumpty. Did he fall, or was he pushed, or was it that he jumped?

Faro's Daugher: Review

Poor Lady Mablethorpe is having a bout of the vapors. Her innocent, young, soon-to-be wealthy son has announced his intention to marry the beautiful twenty-five-year-old Deborah Grantham. The only difficulty? Miss Grantham is the niece of Lady Bellingham, the owner of a gambling establishment. And, even worse, Miss Grantham actually presides over the gaming tables--flirting with the gentlemen and playing them off one another in the hopes of driving them to leave even more of their wealth behind.

The distraught mama enlists the aid of her nephew, Max Ravenscar, to, at best, persuade young Lord Mablethorpe of his folly and put an end to the love affair or, if necessary (heavens she hopes not as she reaches for her vinaigrette), to buy off the shameless hussy at any cost. Mablethorpe is thoroughly besotted and there is no hope of changing his mind, so Ravenscar meets with Miss Grantham to try and make a deal. But--inexplicably--Deb Grantham refuses the more than handsome offer of 20,000 pounds and is thoroughly insulted by the insinuation that she would take advantage of an innocent. She determines to make Ravenscar pay for his injustices to her....and she and Ravenscar are plunged headlong into a battle of wits and wills to see who will get the better of whom.

Georgette Heyer was the queen of the Regency Romance. She did her research well and the reader is completely immersed in the age from the first sentence to the last. The conversations are pitch perfect and the descriptions of the gaming house, Vauxhall, and the Park (where everyone who's anyone goes to be seen) are delightfully on target. Despite the fact that historical romances tend to run in a somewhat formulaic manner to brooding, pompous, I'm-going-to-be-a bachelor-forever-so-there Heroes and strong-willed, feisty Heroines and even though the two declare throughout the book how much they despise each other, so we all know what will inevitably happen--despite all that, Heyer writes fantastic stories with characters that keep you reading for the fun of it. Her books have it all: witty dialogue, the life and doings of the ton, creditable characters that are some sometimes a bit larger-than-life (but not too, too much larger), a great concern with social standing which always, always puts a twist on the romance in question. She's my go-to author for historical romances and I love reading her books. ★★★★

April Wrap-Up & P.O.M. Award

Once again in 2014 I will be combining my monthly wrap-up post with Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month over at Mysteries in Paradise.  I'm pretty pleased with my year so far...Goodreads still says I'm ahead of schedule.  Let's keep it that way.  Here are the stats:


Total Books Read: 14
Total Pages: 3778
Average Rating: 2.95 stars
Top Rating: 4.25 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 43%
Percentage by US Authors: 64%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors: 7%
Percentage Mystery: 86%
Percentage Fiction: 93%
Percentage written 2000+: 36%
Percentage of Rereads: 0%
Percentage Read for Challenges: 100% {It's easy to have every book count for a challenge when you sign up for as many as I do.}  
Number of Challenges fulfilled so far: 9 (23%)




AND, as mentioned above, Kerrie has started us up for another of Crime Fiction Favorites. What she's looking for is our Top Mystery Read for each month. In April, I read 12 books that qualify as mysteries.  




The Coral Princess Murders by Frances Crane (★★★)
Decoded by Mai Jia (unrated)   
After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman (★★★★)  
A Hangman's Dozen by Alfred Hitchcock [Robert Arthur, Jr (ed)] (★★★) 
The Mammoth Book of the Lost Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes by Denis O. Smith  (★★★★ 1/4) 
Gale Warning by Hammond Innes (★★★ 1/2)  
Murder at the Museum of Natural History by Michael Jahn (★★★) 
Death by the Book by Julianna Deering  (★★★ 1/2) 
The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi (★★★)
Dorothy Dixon & the Double Cousin by Dorothy Wayne  (★★★)  
For Old Crime's Sake (aka Lucky Jane) by Delano Ames  (★★★★)
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
 
This month saw three books in the four star range: After I'm Gone (Lippmann), The Mammoth Book of the Lost Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes (Smith), and For Old Crime's Sake (Ames). All three were excellent reads...but I did give the book of Sherlock Holmes stories just that quarter star more to give it an edge. 

It is an outstanding collection of non-canonical stories featuring the great detective. Smith manages to duplicate Watson's narrative voice with great skill--slipping only occasionally. The stories are very reminiscent of the original short stories without appearing to be mere copies of Doyle's work.

May Read It Again, Sam Reviews

 

Please post your reviews below.

May Mount TBR Reviews

Please post your reviews below.

May Vintage Mystery Challenge Reviews

 
Please post your reviews below.

 

The Postman Always Rings Twice: Review

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain could so easily have filled the "Out of Your Comfort Zone" square on the Golden Vintage Bingo card for me." Because a noir fan I'm not. But no worries, I've got a hard-boiled, private eye story waiting on the TBR pile, so I'm slotting this short novel which has been converted to film twice (1946 & 1981) into the "Book to Movie" square instead. 

Postman has nothing to do with the mail service or ringing (or doorbells or whatever). It is narrated by Frank Chambers, a drifter who has been in and out jail and a man who likes a hustle better than a steady-paying job. He stops at a diner in California intending to cadge a meal and move on. The diner's owner Nick Papadakis (also known as "the Greek") thinks the fit young man looks like someone he'd like to have work for him at his gas station, but Frank doesn't want to get tied down.....until Nick's sultry, sexy wife Cora comes into view.

Cora is younger than her husband and bored silly with the restaurant work...not to mention disgusted by her husband's size and the grease that seems to linger round him from the kitchen and the cars. Frank is just the bit of excitement she's been looking for and she tumbles straight into his arms at the earliest opportunity. It isn't long before they're plotting to remove the obstacle to their lus--- er, love. But the results of their plans may not be what they think.

 

This is, as anyone familiar with crime fiction knows, a classic in the noir genre. Considered one of the more important crime novels of the 20th century, it was very successful and notorious once published--banned in Boston at one time for sexual content and violence. Of course, now it doesn't seem nearly so risqué--but it is still full of sexual tension.  It is a book about obsession and the consequences of lust and greed. I can't say that I like any of the characters--none of them are really likeable, not even earnest, hardworking Nick. But the characters are real and vividly display the flaws and short-comings of human nature.  Not my cup of tea--but a good, solid story that kept my attention to the end nonetheless. Three solid stars. 

Challenges Fulfilled: Vintage Mystery Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, Bookish TBR, 1001 Books Before You Die, Century of Books, Outdo Yourself, How Many Books, My Kind of Mystery, 100 Plus Challenge, Back to the Classics, Literary Exploration

For Old Crime's Sake: Review

When Jane wins a two-week luxury trip from a somewhat shady London tabloid in For Old Crime's Sake [aka Lucky Jane] (1959), Jane and Dagobert Brown find themselves on a madcap, murderous journey via ferry, limo, and private yacht to the Spanish island of Tabarca.

The story opens with Dagobert lamenting their lack of funds (despite a recent fifty pound bonus on one of Jane's premiums) and Jane telling him that some people make money by going to work. Dagobert is open to new ideas and promptly starts investigating the want ads. He gets distracted by a contest ad that reads: "Win our fascinating competition and BE YOUR OWN BOSS!" The next thing Jane knows he is filling out contest forms right and left for everything from a thousand pounds cash to "double your salary." She's still a bit flabbergasted, however, when Bobby Marcovitch from the Home Truth tabloid arrives on her doorstep with the news that she, Jane Brown, has (along with six other lucky contestants) won a fabulous two-week vacation that will end with attendance at the wedding of Princess Juana of Tabarca to multi-millionaire H. H. Hutton, Jr.

None of the winners seem particularly ecstatic about winning, but the group sets out on their journey determined to enjoy themselves anyway. But it isn't long before a shadow falls over the festivities....Juan (one of the winners) disappears on the ferry ride from England to Spain and it is feared that he has gone overboard--but whether accident, suicide, or....worse, no one is sure. The remaining contestants pile into a limo for a reckless drive through the Spanish countryside and Jane notices a rather familiar figure dogging their tracks on a motor-scooter.  How sweet of Dagobert to miss her and want to follow.

It winds up that Dagobert is a bit suspicious of the contest and when another of their number is found suffocated on board the private yacht his suspicions are proved to be valid.  But who murdered harmless Flossie, the typical British housewife? Was it Bobby--because she wouldn't play along with the mysterious plans he's laid ? Or perhaps it was H. H Hutton--whose past won't bear much investigation.  It could have been the Colonel--who seems rather too much of the hail-fellow-well met type. Or any of the other passengers, really. It's up to Dagobert to use his amateur skills and find the real killer so he and Jane can return to England all in one piece.

This book is a jolly holiday, indeed. Fast-paced. Witty. Great fun all round. I really enjoy the Dagobert and Jane Brown books (this is the third I've read so far--other pre-blogging) and I look forward to more (and I have them--sitting on the TBR pile). There were clues provided that I just managed to ignore completely while I waited for the next outrageous thing to happen. Well played, Mr. Ames.  Well played.  ★★★★



This fulfills the "Mode of Transportation" [ferry/limo/private yacht] square on the Golden Vintage Bingo card.

Challenges fulfilled: Vintage Mystery Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, Bookish TBR, European Reading Challenge, Adam's TBR Challenge, How Many Books, My Kind of Mystery, 100 Plus Challenge, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Book Bingo, Century of Books, Crusin' Thru the Cozies

Challenge Complete: Women Challenge

Peek a Book's “Women Challenge” encourages us to read more books of any kind written by women. I jumped in for the first time this year and headed straight for

Level 4: WONDER WOMAN - read 20+ books written by a woman author

Here are the books read to complete the challenge:

1. Shake Hands Forever by Ruth Rendell (1/13/14)
2. The Wonder Chamber by Mary Malloy (1/15/14)
3. The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton (1/18/14)
4. Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris (2/1/14)
5. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold (2/4/14)
6. You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts (2/9/14)
7. Dandy Gilver & the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains by Catriona McPherson (2/12/14)
8. Death Walks on Cat Feet by D. B. Olsen (2/13/14)
9. The Sound of Breaking Glass by Deborah Crombie (2/25/14)
10. India's Love Lyrics by Laurence Hope [aka Adela Florence Nicolson] (3/4/14)
11. Murder in the Vatican by Ann Margaret Lewis (3/5/14)
12. It's Not All Flowers & Sausages by Jennifer Scoggin (3/10/14)
13. A Girl Walks Into a Bar by Helena S. Paige (3/12/14)
14. Endless Night by Agatha Christie (3/13/14)
15. India Black & the Gentleman Thief by Carol K. Carr (3/19/14)
16. A Tale of Two Biddies by Kylie Logan (3/21/14)
17. The Coral Princess Murders by Frances Crane (4/5/14)
18. After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman (4/6/14)
19. My Antonia by Willa Cather (4/20/14)
20. Death by the Book by Juliann Deering (4/21/14)
21. The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi (4/26/14)

Challenge Complete! (4/26/14)

Dorothy Dixon & the Double Cousin: Review

Dorothy Dixon is just your typical girl sleuth--you know, the kind of girl who can fly planes, pilot motor boats, throw a knife with deadly accuracy, and take the place of an almost-identical twin cousin at the drop of a hat (without ever having met the cousin before and, therefore, without having the first clue how said cousin behaves in day-to-day situations). Dorothy is a mere sixteen years old, but by the time Dorothy Dixon and the Double Cousin takes place, she already has three mysteries under her belt and the local Secret Service agent trusts her enough to take her into his confidence over top secret plans for a super spiffy, super dangerous formula for a brand new explosive.

Dorothy's cousin Janet Johnson is in deep trouble with her daddy and the secret organization he belongs to. Janet sleepwalks and she managed to sleepwalk herself into a room where the organization was going to hold its top-secret meeting. She awakens behind a screen and hopes that she won't be discovered...but, of course, she is and the members find it hard to believe that the girl didn't overhear all their nefarious plans. Enter Dorothy....she bumps into Janet's finance (who mistakes her for Janet....just how well does he know his girl, anyway?) and finds out that Janet has been locked in her room until the organization can figure out whether she really was still sleepwalking or whether she overheard everything and is a threat to their plans. Howard is afraid that Janet is in danger and Dorothy promises to help him rescue her.

She enlists the advice of her beau Bill Bolton (who, by the way, is the star of his own mystery/adventure series) as well as the local Secret Service agent who they both happen to be chums with. It winds up that the organization in question is already on the agent's radar and he enlists Dorothy's help in rounding up these crooks who have their eye on Doctor Winn's newest invention "Winnite"--a dangerous, explosive gas that must not fall into the wrong hands. 

The group manages to slip Dorothy into Janet's room where she has all of about 15 minutes to study her cousin (under stressful circumstances) while they exchange clothes and Janet sneaks out the window into Howard's loving arms. It's now up to Dorothy to pull the wool over Janet's father's eyes (as well as the gang members) as she's virtually kidnapped and hustled off to a house in the country where the two leading crooks have their eye on Dr. Winn and his precious formula. The rest of the story consists of the butler/incognito secret service man warning Dorothy not to drink the lemonade, giving her instructions on how to copy the formula before the crooks can get their hands on it, and the secret service agent/butler getting conked on the head by the female half of the crooked duo so Dorothy can be the heroine who saves the day.  Much adventurous hi-jinks ensue and it all ends well...as readers of these Girl Super Sleuth adventures know it will.

This was a fun, quick read and I'm sure I would have devoured it (and the other three books in the series) right along with the Nancy Drew books had I discovered it when I was younger. It was pleasant to settle back and enjoy a girl's adventure story from yesteryear. No deep mysteries here--no complicated plot.  Just good, clean fun.  ★★★

This novel by Dorothy Wayne (1933) fulfills the "Crime Other than Murder" [theft/kidnapping] square on the Golden Vintage Bingo card.

 

The Lady of Sorrows: Review

The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi is a slightly off-beat mystery. Yes, you have your standard murder. Yes, you have your detective investigating the mystery surrounding the murder as well as discovering the identity of the murderer. But the detective is not so much interested in bringing evil-doers to official justice as he is in seeing true justice achieved.

Hermes Diakotoros, our intrepid investigator, stops by a remote Greek island while on a boat journey to take care of undisclosed business. He has always wanted to take a peek at the religious icon lodged on the island--a painting of the Virgin known as "The Lady of Sorrows." But once he views the famous icon, he becomes convinced that the lady is a fake and calls upon a friend in who serves as a governmental art adviser to come and confirm or allay his fears. When she seconds his opinion on the icon, he is all set to leave the situation in her capable hands and continue on his journey until the island's current icon painter is found dead in his fishing boat--poisoned.

Has someone taken revenge on the painter--knowing that if the lady is a fake and has been replaced with such a convincing replica that his must have been the hands to paint her? Or are there deeper secrets on the island? Kiakotoros finds himself searching not only for the murderer but for clues to what happened to the missing lady. And he will discover forgery, betrayal, superstition, and a long-burning rage that might consume them all.

With all the local color and detailed descriptions, Zouroudi's novel could be called a cozy. But the motives that lie beneath the surface of the crime are just a bit darker than those found in the average cozy. She weaves a good story and the justice that Diakotoros dispenses at the end of the novel is very satisfying indeed. Strong points also include characterization, descriptions of the island and Mediterranean summer, and the explanation of the motives behind the murder.  The weakest point for a classic mystery lover like myself is that the identity of the murderer is no secret.  From the moment the icon painter is found dead, there really isn't any reason for the reader to not know who did it. It will take Diakotoros a little bit to hear all the witnesses and gather up the clues...but it's all right there for the reader who has seen the entire story as it unfolds. A bit more suspense on that front would have increased the rating...as it is: ★★★

Death by the Book: Review

Death by the Book is the second in Julianna Deering's Drew Farthering series of cozy mysteries set in the 1930s. It is just a few months after the events in Rules of Murder--when Drew helps Chief Inspector Birdsong get to the bottom of a series of murders committed at his country house--and Drew wants nothing more than to spend his time convincing his lady love to accept his proposal of marriage. But his plans are interrupted by the arrival of Madeleine's disapproving aunt and another series of murders that once again strike too close to home for comfort.

First, Drew's solicitor is found murdered in a hotel room--bashed over the head with a bust of Shakepeare and with a cryptic message "Advice to Jack" affixed to his chest with an antique hatpin. Suspicion surrounds the man's family when it is discovered that the supposedly upright member of community was having an affair with a shop girl. But then a local doctor is found dead on the golf course of Drew's club and again there is a strange message pinned to him with a hatpin. Two more deaths follow, and the murder of a young woman makes the police settle on one of Drew's acquaintances as the culprit. But Drew's interpretation of the hatpin clues makes him certain that Inspector Birdsong has arrested the wrong man. But will Drew be able to find the real villain before someone even closer to him is killed?

This series is fun and breezy with definite homage being paid to Christie and Sayers as well as other literary lights. The characters are well-drawn and interesting and I thoroughly enjoy the conversations and interactions among them. The addition of Aunt Ruth is a masterstroke that kept me laughing every time she appeared. She is just sure that Drew is out to ruin Madeleine's virtue and she'll do whatever she can to put a spoke in that romantic wheel. The weakest part of the story is the mystery plot--I spotted the perpetrator quite early for reasons I can't mention without spoiling it and I'm not completely sold on the motive. But following Drew and company as they make their way through the clues and watching he and Madeleine sort out their relationship more than made up for it. 
★★★ 1/2 (rounded to 4 on Goodreads)