Audiobook Review: Murder, Stage Left by Robert Goldsborough

Murder, Stage Left
Author: Robert Goldsborough
Narrator: L. J. Ganser
Series: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (Book 12)

Publication: Blackstone Audio (May 28, 2019)
Length: 6 hours and 19 minutes

Description: It’s curtains for a famous Broadway director, and private investigator Nero Wolfe is on the case - but his assistant, Archie Goodwin, is a suspect.

When a renowned theater director senses something amiss during his latest production, he calls in Nero Wolfe. Though the corpulent genius wouldn’t normally accept a job this vague, a mutual friend dangles the prospect of a very rare orchid in exchange for his services, and Wolfe can’t resist.

With a mind to suss out useful backstage gossip, Wolfe turns to his faithful assistant, Archie Goodwin, to impersonate a journalist in order to speak to the cast. Though Goodwin’s conversations prove unfruitful, on his last day at the theater, the director is murdered in his sound-proof booth, poisoned by an unseen culprit during an evening performance. In short order, an actor whose health is failing attempts suicide with the same poison.

Now Archie Goodwin is a prime suspect in the director’s demise, effectively sidelining him for the rest of the case, and freelance gumshoe Saul Panzer must step in to help wrangle the various members of the play - from the ingénue and the diva to the handsome movie star and the surly stage manager - so that New York’s smartest, and most reclusive, private detective can determine who is responsible for these dramatic deaths and clear Goodwin’s name once and for all.

Continuing his beloved series, Nero Award - winning author Robert Goldsborough “brings Nero Wolfe, late of Rex Stout, gloriously back to life” (Chicago).

My Thoughts: Archie goes undercover to try to figure out why a Broadway producer/director is getting bad feelings about his new production. When the producer is murdered, Archie becomes a suspect in the case. 

At first, Nero Wolfe is interested in a limited way. He was convinced to take the case at the request of a fellow orchid grower who has recently received a unique orchid which Wolfe covets. He agrees to solve the crime in return for three of the rare orchids.

Archie had interviewed all the potential suspects in his persona as a writer for a Canadian theater journal, but now Nero Wolfe wants to see each suspect in his office. It is a small cast but filled with big Broadway personalities from the star who will do anything to win a Tony, to a Hollywood movie star making his Broadway debut, to an old pro character actor on his last legs, to a couple of young actors playing the romantic leads. 

This was an entertaining audiobook filled with interesting characters. I enjoyed the historical setting. I also enjoyed the plot and the relationship between Nero Wolfe and his right-hand man Archie Goodwin. 

I got this one via Audible Plus. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh

Resonance Surge
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy-Changeling Trinity (Book 7)
Publication: Berkley (July 18, 2023)

Description: Where are the broken? That is the propulsive question that unleashes a world of secrets in New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s Resonance Surge . . .

StoneWater bears Pavel and Yakov Stepyrev have been a unit since birth, but now Pavel’s life is veering in a new direction, his heart held in the hands of Arwen Mercant, a Psy empath—and the only man who has ever brought Pavel to his knees.

This is it. A point of irrevocable change. For Pavel . . . for Arwen . . . for Yakov . . . and for another pair of twins whose bond has a far darker history.

A low-Gradient Psy, Theodora Marshall is considered worthless by everyone but her violently powerful twin, Pax. She is the sole person he trusts in their venomous family to investigate a hidden and terrible part of their family history—an unregistered rehabilitation Center established by their grandfather.

Places of unimaginable pain designed to psychically wipe minds, leaving the victims shells of their former selves, the Centers are an ugly vestige of the Psy race’s Silent past. But this Center was worse. Far, far worse. And now Theo must uncover the awful truth—in the company of a scowling bear named Yakov, who isn’t about to take a Marshall at face value . . . especially a Marshall who has turned his dreams into chilling nightmares.

Because Yakov is the great-grandson of a foreseer . . . and he has seen Theo die in an unstoppable surge of blood. Night after night after night . . .

My Thoughts: This seventh book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series stars Yakov Stepyrev and Theodora Marshall. He a changeling bear; she's a Psy. He had a wonderfully secure and loving childhood; she was repeatedly tortured by her grandfather. 

Yakov has had recurring dreams about a woman in danger for years. When he meets Theo he immediately recognizes her as the girl and also recognizes that she is his mate. Theo is in Russian to look at a Center started by her grandfather to do medical experiments. When she gets there, she gets flashbacks that let her know she was once an experimental subject there. 

Theo is severely damaged by the treatments her grandfather demanded in order to make her into his tool. She has a low-level telekinetic power that he has maximized to make her an assassin. She thinks that she chose to do those things and is almost crippled with guilt. She was also left with a rage that overcomes her and makes her a danger to herself and others. 

With a serial killer hunting slender, blue-eyed, blonde-haired victims, Yakov is determined to keep Theo safe and help her on her mission while convincing her that they have a future together. This made for an emotionally intense story.

While the larger problem of the disintegrating psy-net was upfront for the hero and heroine, it was in the background and seemingly no closer to resolution in this episode. 

I enjoyed this one and loved the relationship between Yakov and Theo. I have a major crush on the Russian bears. 

Favorite Quote:

"I have no idea how to dance."

A sudden grin that lit up his face and made her stomach flip in an unsettling way that somehow wasn't unpleasant. "No bear has ever let lack of knowledge or skill stop them from dancing."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair

The Lady from Burma
Author: Allison Montclair
Series: Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery (Book 5)
Publication: Minotaur Books (July 25, 2023)

Description: In Allison Montclair's The Lady from Burma, murder once again stalks the proprietors of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau in the surprisingly dangerous landscape of post-World War II London…

In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, if necessary, business venture - The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with a dangerous - and never discussed - past in British intelligence and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a war widow with a young son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family. Mostly their clients are people trying to start (or restart) their lives in this much-changed world, but their new client is something different. A happily married woman has come to them to find a new wife for her husband. Dying of cancer, she wants the two to make sure her entomologist, academic husband finds someone new once she passes.

Shortly thereafter, she's found dead in Epping Forest, in what appears to be a suicide. But that doesn't make sense to either Sparks or Bainbridge. At the same time, Bainbridge is attempting to regain legal control of her life, opposed by the conservator who has been managing her assets - perhaps not always in her best interest. When that conservator is found dead, Bainbridge herself is one of the prime suspects. Attempting to make sense of two deaths at once, to protect themselves and their clients, the redoubtable owners of the Right Sort Marriage Bureau are once again on the case.

My Thoughts: This was another excellent episode in the Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery series. It is almost the end of the first year that Iris and Gwen's marriage agency The Right Sort has been in operation. The business is growing and finally becoming profitable since many are looking to start over after the interruption of World War II. 

When a married woman who is dying of cancer comes in to sign up her husband for their services, they become involved in yet another murder investigation. Just days later, she is found dead in Epping Forest in an apparent suicide. But the local constable who is called to the body thinks that things might not be as they appear. A brochure from The Right Sort Marriage Bureau sends him to Iris and Gwen for information. 

Meanwhile, Gwen's court date to prove her competence and remove her legal guardian is coming up. Things should go well, but a contentious board meeting and argument with her legal guardian throws a monkey wrench into the proceedings. Then, when her guardian is found beaten to death, Gwen becomes the prime suspect. 

This was an engaging and entertaining mystery. I like the post-World War II setting. The dialog is crisp. The women's problems are real and engaging. 

Favorite Quote:

"Sally won't say a word. He is being a perfect gentleman about it."

"Then why should I be any different?"

"Because we are women," said Iris. "And women are required to discuss matters of the heart with their closest female friends."

"Who made that rule?"

"We did. The Secret Society of Women Who Are Still Dating. You must have missed the meeting."

"Was it a close vote?"

"Not at all. So spill it, sister, or I shall be forced to write you up for a violation."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: I Did It for You by Amy Engel

I Did It for You
Author: Amy Engel
Publication: Dutton (July 25, 2023)

Description: A twisty thriller from the beloved author of The Familiar Dark, in which a woman returns to the town where her sister was murdered and finds a presumed copycat on the loose

It’s been fourteen years since Greer Dunning’s older sister, Eliza, was murdered, and Greer’s family has never been the same. And now there’s been a similar killing in Greer’s small Kansas hometown. A copycat, according to the authorities, but Greer is convinced there is more to the story. That Eliza’s murderer had help all those years ago.

So Greer returns home after more than a decade away, desperate to answer the questions that have haunted her for years. And in her drive to uncover the truth, she forms a bond with the unlikeliest of allies. One that puts her in grave danger, as almost everyone in her small town becomes a suspect.

At once a riveting mystery and a deep exploration of guilt, loss, and the ways in which a violent murder transforms both the family of the victim and the family of the killer, I Did It For You will keep readers captivated through the very last page.

My Thoughts: Greer Dunning's older sister Eliza and her boyfriend were murdered when Greer as fourteen. Even though the killer was quickly caught, the nightmare hasn't ended even fourteen years later. Her family fell apart with her dad taking to drinking and her mother to cleaning and neither seemed to have time for Greer. 

Greer had some support from her best friends Cassie and Ryan but she still left her small Kansas hometown as soon as she graduated high school. She has made a sort of shallow life for herself in Chicago where she works as a middle school guidance counselor.

When she hears that another teenage couple has been killed in the same way Eliza and her boyfriend were, Greer decides that she has to go home and face up to all that she lost. She can't believe that these new killings aren't related to the previous ones despite the killer having been executed in prison. Greer always felt there was more to the story and that the killer didn't work alone. 

Her friends are there to support her. In fact, Cassie never left and Ryan is back home after a divorce. But Greer ends up teaming up with Dean who was the older brother of the young man who was convicted of murdering her sister and her sister's boyfriend. Dean has questions and his own share of guilt about the way things turned out during the first trial. As the two investigate, they gradually unearth secrets in the town and buried in Greer's memory. 

This was an excellent thriller with a twisty plot. It was also an in-depth depiction of the grief and guilt that surrounds this sort of tragedy. I found it very moving. 

Favorite Quote:

"Here's what I do," she said. "Every day I look around and tell myself to find three things, just three, to be thankful for. They can't be anything too far off, no being thankful for Christmas in June. They've gotta be something near, something you can touch. But it doesn't matter how small they are or how stupid the might sound to someone else. Even on my worst days, I can always find three."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke

A Fatal Groove
Author: Olivia Blacke
Series: The Record Shop Mysteries (Book 2)
Publication: St. Martin's Paperbacks (July 25, 2023)

Description: It’s springtime in Cedar River, Texas. The annual Bluebonnet Festival is brewing and the whole town is in harmony. Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie thought opening Sip & Spin Records was going to be their biggest hurdle, but the Frappuccino hits the fan when the mayor drops dead―poisoned by their delicious coffee.

Since Tansy was the one to brew the coffee, and Juni was the unfortunate citizen who stumbled upon the mayor’s body, the sisters find themselves in hot water. Family is everything to the Jessups, so with Tansy under suspicion, the sisters spring into action.

Between the town festivities, a good old-fashioned treasure hunt, and an accidental cow in the mix, Juni will have to pull out all the stops to find the mayor’s killer.

My Thoughts: Juni Jessup is hoping for a normal Bluebonnet Festival and lots of new business for Sip & Spin - the combination record shop and coffee shop she and her sisters just opened. But when the mayor is found dead in his office clutching one of their to-go cups, Juni and her sisters need to find the killer before their reputation is ruined and oldest sister Tansy who made the coffee is convicted of the murder.

Mayor Bob has been the mayor for a long time. He's so inoffensive that everyone votes for him each election. But someone obviously wanted him dead. Could it be the head of the Town Council and Tansy's long-time rival? Or is it the guy who owns a bunch of used car lots and is dating their mother? After all, the two have been competing for years to find the lost loot stolen from the bank during a bank robbery that occurred during the Bluebonnet Festival in 1956. Or is it the mayor's long-suffering wife who had an iron-clad alibi? She was on an Alaskan Cruise when Bob dies. 

Juni is still juggling her two boyfriends. Beau was her college sweetheart but broke her heart. Now he's the only detective on the Cedar River police force and is constantly trying to keep Juni out of his investigations while trying to win her heart again. Teddy was a childhood friend who wants to have a different relationship with Juni now that they are both adults. 

This was a fun story with lots of great characters and an entertaining plot. I especially liked Juni's determination to save her family and her business. I liked the small-town setting. 

Favorite Quote:

"Is it true that he was mauled by an animal? I mean, I don't want to believe all the stories about werewolves in these parts, but if we've got jackalopes and chupacabra, why not werewolves, right?"

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (July 17, 2023)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

I made good use of the All-Star Break to get ahead on my reading. The weather was mostly nice. The Air Show was in town and apparently our house was on their flight path since it got quite loud here periodically. Low cloud cover meant the planes were flying pretty low too. 

I found myself taking part in the Big Books of Summer inadvertently again this week. Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose which was next up on my review stack ended up having 592 pages. Luckily it was an entertaining story with lots of plot threads to hold my interest. 

I also enjoyed all of the Cash Blackbear historical mysteries this week. I have them on Kindle and audiobooks and listened to them all. All in all, I listened to 5 audiobooks last week. Picking the short ones on my stack lets me listen to a lot of books. 

Next week is mostly wide open too. I do have a hearing test on Thursday which will mean driving and parking downtown but shouldn't otherwise be too inconvenient. I don't think my hearing is bad enough yet that I'll need hearing aids. However, since my dad's family all had bad hearing, I can see that in my future. 

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry (Mine since October 7, 2009) -- Entertaining thriller with retired spy getting back in the business to help track down the Templar's lost treasure. My review will be posted on July 29.
• North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan (Review; August 8) -- Excellent thriller set during a Montana blizzard. My review will be posted on August 1.
• The Sorcery Trial by J. A. Armitage and Claire Luana (Audiobook; Mine since February 5, 2021) -- Entertaining fantasy coming of age story with lots of action and adventure. My review will be posted on August 3.

• The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths (Mine) -- 7th in the Ruth Galloway series begins with a body found in a buried WWII airplane. My review will be posted on August 2.
• The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter (Review; August 8) -- Humorous romantic suspense about a woman with amnesia and the spy who is trying to keep her alive. My review will be posted on August 3.
• Murder on the Red River (Mine; Audible Plus) -- Historical mystery introduces 19-year-old Cash Blackbear who works with her guardian Sheriff Wheaton to solve a mystery. Set in the Red River Valley. Excellent story. My review will be posted on August 5.

• Girl Gone Missing by Marcie R. Rendon (Audiobook; Audible Plus) -- Second in the Cash Blackbear historical mystery series set in the Red River Valley. My review will be posted on August 22.
• Sinister Graves by Marcie R. Rendon (Mine; Audiobook) -- Third Cash Blackbear historical mystery begins with a body left behind when flood waters recede. My review will be posted on September 11.
• Kris Longknife: Unrelenting by Mike Shepherd (Mine since October 12, 2022) -- Space opera and 13th in a series that I am trying to finish. My review will be posted on August 8.

• A Purple Place for Dying by John D. MacDonald (Audiobook; Audible Plus) -- Classis Travis McGee story which is a first listen of a book I read back in the 1970s. My review will be posted on August 10.
• Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose (Review; August 15) -- Entertaining romantic suspense thriller set in New Orleans. My review will be posted on August 9.

Currently

• Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews (Mine; Kindle)

Next Week

• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Mine)
• Murder at the Elms by Alyssa Maxwell (Review; August 22)
• Dark Path by Melissa F. Miller (Audiobook; Mine since February 12, 2022)

• Nine Lives and Alibis by Cate Conte (Review; August 22)
• Board to Death by CJ Connor (Review; August 22)
• Aged for Murder by Fiona Grace (Audiobook; Mine since February 5, 2021)

Reviews Posted

• The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths (Mine)
• The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos (Review)
• The Copenhagen Connection by Elizabeth Peters (Audiobook)

• I Know What You Did by Cayce Osborne (Review)
• Henrietta Who? by Catherine Aird (Audiobook)
• Not by Blood by Chris Narozny (Review)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Murder at the Elms by Alyssa Maxwell (August 22)
• Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade (September 26)
• Snow Place for Murder by Diane Kelly (October 24)

Bought:

• Claws and Contrivances by Stephanie Burgis (Kindle)
• Magic Tides & Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews (Audible Credit)
• Dead Letter Days by Kelley Armstrong (Kindle Rewards; Free)

• Lightning in a Mirror by Jayne Ann Krentz (BookBub; $2.99)
• Girl Gone Missing by Marcie R. Rendon (Audiobook; Audible Plus)
• Sinister Graves by Marcie R. Rendon (Audiobook; Add-on)

What was your week like?

Book Review: The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths

The Outcast Dead
Author: Elly Griffiths
Series: Ruth Galloway (Book 6)
Publication: Mariner Books; Reprint edition (March 11, 2014)

Description: Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones of what might be a notorious Victorian child murderess and a baby snatcher known as "The Childminder" threatens modern-day Norfolk in this irresistible mystery from Elly Griffiths.

The service of the Outcast Dead is held annually in Norwich, commemorating the bodies in the paupers’ graves. This year’s proceedings hold special interest for forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway, who has just unearthed the notorious Mother Hook, hanged in 1867 at Norwich Castle for killing multiple children. Now Ruth is reluctantly starring in a TV special, working alongside the alluring historian Dr. Frank Barker. Nearby, DCI Harry Nelson is investigating the case of three children found dead in their home when another child is abducted. A kidnapper dubbed the Childminder claims responsibility, but is the Childminder behind the deaths too? The team races to find out—and after a child close to everyone involved disappears, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

My Thoughts: This episode has Ruth unearthing the body of a notorious Victorian murderer. Mother Hook was convicted of murdering children in her care and selling their bodies to men looking to sell the corpses to medical schools. This discovery excites her boss who is always looking for ways to gain funding and publicity for the archaeology department. 

Soon Ruth finds herself appearing in a television show title Women Who Kill which wants to focus on Mother Hook. While the presenter is determined to vilify the woman, Ruth and the show's historian who happens to be an attractive American scholar are more inclined to want to prove that she was wrongly portrayed. 

Meanwhile, Nelson is also involved in cases involving children. The first is the case of a woman who has had her three children all die in her care in infancy. While some of his officers especially Judy view her as the victim of unimaginable tragedy, Nelson wonders whether the deaths were caused by the woman. 

Nelson is also involved in two kidnappings. The first resolves with a happy ending when the child is returned to her parents unharmed. The second involves the kidnapping of the one-year-old son of one of his officers. Judy is the one who was so sure that the first mother could not have been responsible because she knows how much she loves her own baby. 

I liked the way the two plot threads intertwined. I also liked learning more about characters who are regulars in this series. Cathbad's and Judy's relationship looks like it reaches some resolution whereas Ruth and Nelson's in still to be determined. 

Fans of the series will enjoy this latest episode. New readers will find intriguing mysteries and characters to care about. 

Favorite Quote:

"Children are the most important things in the world," says Shona passionately. "They're so innocent and pure."

As she says this, there is a loud cry from Kate. Louis has jumped on her sandcastle and is in the process of attacking her with his spade.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.