Mini-Reviews: Cozy (and Series) Round-Up

Now that I'm fully back to reality (mores the pity) from my fabulous two-week vacation in late September, it's time to catch up with reviews for books I read but never go around to blogging about. Given that the first book on our hit parade was finished before I went on vacation (and my memory ain't what she used to be...), it's time for another round of patented Auntie Wendy Mini-Reviews. 

Just Make Believe by Maggie Robinson is the third book in her Lady Adelaide series and one I finished back in early September. Off page between the second book and this one Addy apparently put the moves on Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter, advances that he rebuffed. Not because he's not attracted to her (which is what Addy thinks) but because of the fact that they come from two completely different worlds. This on top of the fact that her dead husband, and now the ghost haunting her to "make amends" so he can get into heaven, Rupert couldn't keep it in his pants while he was alive (and he died in a car accident with one of his mistresses no less) - let's just say Addy's pride is a bit hurt. So she decides to go to a house party hosted by her closest neighbors, Hugh and Pamela Fernald to take her mind off her embarrassment. Hugh, now confined to a wheelchair, is one of England's great war heroes - so when his wife is found poisoned in the conservatory it's shocking indeed. Setting her wounded pride aside, Addy calls in Inspector Hunter who is soon working the case.

Is there anything better than dead bodies showing up at an English house party? To my way of thinking, not really - and it's the premise of this story that kept me engaged. Hugh may have been a war hero but his wife had a pile of secrets - secrets that ultimately got her killed. The question being, which one of the house guests, servants or family members actually poisoned her?  Rupert's ghost, of course, shows up to help Addy, and that was my issue with this entry. I typically eschew ghost characters in mysteries because so often they serve as sleuthing shortcuts and while Rupert avoids that tag in the first two books, he's a big ol' giant shortcut in this entry. Enjoyed the premise, wasn't entirely wild about the execution.

Final Grade = B-

Farewell Blues by Maggie Robinson is the fourth and final book in the Lady Adelaide series and picks up right were the third book left off (which is a cliffhanger).  Unbeknownst to Addy and her sister, their mother, the very proper Dowager Marchioness had...a lover?!  A Duke with a reputation for being a big ol' stick in the mud, but a man has needs I guess so not so much of a stick in the mud that he didn't take a lover.  Anyway, the man has been shot dead in their love nest at The Ritz, and Addy's mother was found standing over the body holding a gun. Um, her gun. And turns out her gun was the murder weapon. The Detective Inspector assigned to the case sees it as open and shut so his desire to actually investigate is nil.  Enter Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter, who is recovering from injuries from the previous book so decides to take some time off so he can privately work the case.

There's plenty of suspects because the Duke's family is a veritable nest of vipers and of course Rupert's ghost comes back to help with the case, despite the fact he feels he more than earned his wings in the last book. While the mystery itself features a nice amount of twists and a variety of suspects, there's a lot of unanswered backstory left off page - namely what Addy's mother would have seen in the Duke, who was stodgy, crusty and frankly had a vile family.  We'll never know, since the author chooses not to address it.  Rupert's ghost provides more shortcuts here, but not as many as the previous entry and in the end he finally earns his wings and stops haunting Addy, to her great relief.  Since this is the final book in the series the author gives the reader 3 (!) epilogues to wrap up the various romantic entanglements that developed over the series.  These felt very much like an afterthought to me, like the author found out in the 11th hour that the publisher was dropping the series so hurry up quick and write some epilogues so we can tack them on at the end. Did I think they could have been better integrated into the story?  Yes.  Did I not like them? Good heavens, I'm not a monster. Who doesn't love 3 happy endings?  Monsters, that's who.

Final Grade = B

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars is a book I wanted to like a lot more than I actually did.  It has a dynamite premise, which is why I downloaded it in the first place. By day, Joe works a drab, dreary day job as a hotel accountant but by night he is the fabulous drag queen, Misty Divine, working at the legendary Lady Lady's club in London's West End. It starts out as just another night at the club but Misty, who is very close to her mentor, Lady Lady, notices that she seems "off."  When she goes to check on her after the show she finds Lady Lady dead in her dressing room, poisoned by a box of doctored chocolates.

Naturally everyone who had access to the backstage dressing room area are suspects and of course the lead Detective Inspector on the case is an asshole, although his female partner isn't all bad. There's nothing for it, Joe/Misty decides to investigate the crime themselves and naturally lands themselves in a bit of hot water as it appears the killer isn't afraid to strike again.

Like I said, the premise is dynamite and the world-building is pretty good.  Unfortunately the writing isn't. It lacks polish, is very tell-y and more than a bit repetitive - especially when it comes to Misty's internal thoughts and worries. I think had I been home at the time I started reading this it would have failed the pick-up / put-down test, but I was trapped on an airplane when I started it so I plowed through a massive chunk right out of the gate.

Things got a bit better for me once the coincidence of Misty turning up where she doesn't belong too many times gets her arrested, but ultimately she's sprung by the cops and ends up solving the case. Unfortunately while Misty is a fabulous drag queen she suffers from the same affliction that many straight cupcake-baking, knitting amateur sleuths do - which is she's a bungling incompetent more often than not. There's also a dangling loose thread left unaddressed, likely because it's going to be fodder for the next book in the series, currently targeted for June 2026.  I liked the premise and this did keep me reasonable entertained, but between the lackluster writing and Misty annoying me in that special way a lot of amateur sleuths annoy me, it's unlikely I'll pick up Book 2.

Final Grade = C-