Audiobook Review: Booked for Murder by Jasmine Webb

Booked for Murder
Author: Jasmine Webb
Narrator: Kristine Hvam
Series: Poppy Perkins Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Blueberry Books Press (January 6, 2023)
Length: 6 hours and 40 minutes

Description: Poppy’s dream of being an author is on life support, and the plug’s about to be pulled. She can barely make her rent, and she’s avoiding her mom’s calls about going to law school. She hasn’t even hit rock bottom yet, this is just a ledge on the way down….

When Poppy Perkins decides to talk back to a customer who thinks it’s okay to scream at her over donuts, Poppy knows she’s going to get fired. But what she doesn’t expect is for the customer to be a local celebrity, and for a video of their interaction to go viral—or for the customer to drop dead five minutes later, poisoned by the donut Poppy had just served him.

Okay, now she’s hit rock bottom.

With Poppy the prime suspect, she has to find the real killer before she’s locked up for a crime she didn’t commit. But what originally looks to be a run-of-the-mill murder quickly finds Poppy mired in a case that’s thicker than San Francisco fog. And can Poppy trust the journalist with adorable dimples who insists he’s only after the truth?

Will Poppy get to the bottom of this case and find the killer, or is she about to get Boston creamed?

My Thoughts: Poppy Perkins has a dream of being a published writer. However, she's making ends meet in a San Francisco donut shop and trying to write. When a customer is rude to her, she loses her temper and tells him off. This leads to her boss firing her which is bad. But it also happens that the customer falls dead in the store with a confirmed case of cyanide poisoning. 

Poppy is the number one suspect. A video of the argument goes viral on social media when it turns out that the victim was a tech billionaire on the verge of selling his start-up for additional billions. Poppy needs to find the real killer in order to keep herself out of jail.

Bobby acquires some unlikely allies in the persons of a mysterious investigator named Ophelia Ellis and a cute reporter named Nick Monroe who writes for the San Francisco Examiner. Ophelia, who is a consulting investigator in the Sherlock Holmes mode, brings Poppy along as she investigates who wanted the billionaire dead. They find quite a number of suspects inside his business but no one quite fits the bill.

I enjoyed this short cozy mystery. I found Poppy an interesting character who managed to defy family expectations and her very formidable mother in order to pursue her own dreams. She also overcomes betrayal by her best friend who steals one of Poppy's book ideas and presents it as her own in order to become a published author. 

This series has possibilities for future stories. I'll be looking forward to them.

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

ARC Review: A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality by Kate Khavari

A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality
Author: Kate Khavari
Series: A Saffron Everleigh Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (June 6, 2023)

Description: 1920s London isn’t the ideal place for a brilliant woman with lofty ambitions. But research assistant Saffron Everleigh is determined to beat the odds in a male-dominated field at the University College of London. Saffron embarks on her first research study alongside the insufferably charming Dr. Michael Lee, traveling the countryside with him in response to reports of poisonings. But when Detective Inspector Green is given a case with a set of unusual clues, he asks for Saffron’s assistance.

The victims, all women, received bouquets filled with poisonous flowers. Digging deeper, Saffron discovers that the bouquets may be more than just unpleasant flowers— there may be a hidden message within them, revealed through the use of the old Victorian practice of floriography. A dire message, indeed, as each woman who received the flowers has turned up dead.

Alongside Dr. Lee and her best friend, Elizabeth, Saffron trails a group of suspects through a dark jazz club, a lavish country estate, and a glittering theatre, delving deeper into a part of society she thought she’d left behind forever.

Will Saffron be able to catch the killer before they send their next bouquet, or will she find herself with fatal flowers of her own in Kate Khavari’s second intoxicating installment.

My Thoughts: The second Saffron Everleigh historical mystery was an engaging look at the 1920s. Saffron faces prejudice as she tries to make a place for herself as a botanist at University College in London where the old boys' network isn't eager to let her in. 

She and Dr. Michael Lee are engaged in a study of poisonous plants in England. They are often sent into the countryside when accidental poisonings occur where they combine their knowledge of medicine and botany. 

When Chief Inspector Green calls in Saffron to take a look at bouquets left at the scenes of murders of upper-class women, Saffron is drawn into her second police investigation. The first one (A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poison) almost killed her but her curiosity has been aroused and so has her desire to help. Saffron realizes that the flowers are conveying messages in the old Victorian floriography language, and the messages are chilling.

Saffron and Lee soon find themselves visiting the jazz clubs the victims frequented. The clubs are filled with upper class people or those who are hangers-on who are drinking and taking drugs and generally trying to have a good time. They find a range of suspects as they try to unravel the clues to who wanted each victim dead.

Saffron is also dealing with man troubles. She has started to like Lee despite his messy habits and bonhomie. But she is also still corresponding with Alexander Ashton who was her partner in her first investigation and who is currently on an expedition to the Amazon. When Alexander returns, her man troubles escalate but both men are there at the story's climactic moments. 

I enjoyed this mystery. I thought the setting was well-developed. I liked Saffron's determination to solve the mystery and build her own career. I also liked the preview to Saffron's next case provided by the ending of the story when Alexander's brother comes to him with a problem. I really want to know what happens next. 

Favorite Quote:

"If you encourage pretty girls to eat poisonous berries, there won't be any pretty girls left."

Saffron burst out laughing. "And what did he have to say to that?"

Lee shrugged, looking pleased. "He said I made a very good point, thanks for the advice."

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? (May 29, 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...

Welcome to the official kick-off to summer. Memorial Day weekend has arrived. Our weather has been great. We've had a couple of warm days and lots of sunshine. It was 84F on Tuesday and then Wednesday struggled to reach 50F. Naturally, Wednesday was the day I had to be out and about for my ultrasound. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were nice with gradually rising temperatures. Today (Sunday) is supposed to reach a high of 75F.

I don't know where the time went this week. I only finished four books which is almost a record low for me. I had a review copy arrive that will be published on June 1 which required some rearranging of my calendar and my reading plans. It was a pretty good book once I got into it. I did spend a lot of time watching videos that Facebook brought to my attention. There is a whole series about a guy who buys abandoned storage lockers and hopes to find hidden treasures. I couldn't stop watching even though I came to wonder who packed up the storage lockers since they seemed to contain masses of random junk. 

I also really added to my audiobook collection this week. First was the Audible 2-for-1 credit sale. I got the next two books in the Lady Sherlock series. The first three were Audible Plus titles. Then something, either my Audible Daily Deal email or my Chirp email, led me to the Audible Plus catalog where I stocked up on vintage Elizabeth Peters titles. I'm sure I've read most of them and many are on my keeper shelves, but a reread sounds good to me. I like that most of these are under 10 hours of listening too. I was also led to a Melinda Leigh series that I hadn't completed. The audiobooks were $1.99 each and the Kindle copies were less than $5 so I added them to my stack too. 

Then I added four review copies. Three of them are August and September releases which isn't as far away as it might seem. I've already mentioned my June 1 book which was the fourth I added. 

Next week's plans include finishing Beyond Heaving Bosoms. I have to read this with some breaks in-between since the snarky humor gets a little cloying if I read too much at a time. I may have to move the review further down my calendar since I might not have it finished this week. 

I have a mixed bag of reading planned for this coming week including one audiobook, two books I've had since 2009, and two review books. Hopefully, I'll find my reading mojo again. 

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.)

• Final Cut by Marjorie McCown (Review; June 6) -- This contemporary mystery stars a costumer working on a big budget movie who is accused of killing one of the Assistant Directors who happens to be her ex's new girlfriend. Also a lot about the #MeToo movement. My review will be posted on May 31.
• The Queen's Weapons by Anne Bishop (Mine) -- This is the 11th book in the Black Jewels series and is a dark fantasy. I love the author's work but this isn't my favorite of her series. I did find the story engaging though. My review will be posted on June 1.

• Swan for the Money by Donna Andrews (Audiobook; mine since May 10, 2022) -- Eleventh in the Meg Langslow mystery series. This one is about Meg organizing a rose show for her parents' garden club. It is full of the author's quirky humor. My review will be posted on June 8.
• The Truth Against the World by David Corbett (Review; June 1) -- The story was part dystopia, part fantasy, and part quest story. I found it engaging and sort of scary. My review will be posted on June 3.

Currently

• Unseen (Outcast Season Book 3) by Rachel Caine (bought the paperback January 5, 2011)
• Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell & Candy Tan (bought the paperback April 15, 2009)

Next Week

• Come the Night by Susan Krinard (paperback has been mine since January 28, 2009)
• Trapper Road by Rachel Caine & Carrie Ryan (Kindle)
• A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber (Review; June 20)

• Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh (Audiobook)
• Marked by Moonlight by Sharie Kohler (paperback has been mine since March 9, 2008)
• The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard by Kate Robards (Review; June 20)

Reviews Posted

• Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
• A Killer's Game by Isabella Maldonado
• Unknown by Rachel Caine

• The Battered Badge: A Nero Wolfe Mystery by Robert Goldsborough 
• Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

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

Review:

• Board to Death by CJ Connor (August 22, 2023)
• Nine Lives and Alibis by Cate Conte (August 22, 2023)

• All the Dead Shall Weep by Charlaine Harris (September 5, 2023)
• The Truth Against the World by David Corbett (June 1, 2023)

Bought:

• The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci (Kindle, Kindle Daily Deal, $3.99)
• A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Kindle, Kindle Daily Deal, $2.99)

• Murder in the Parish by Faith Martin (Kindle, BookBub, $.99)
• Murder at the Majestic Hotel by Clara McKenna (Kindle, BookBub, $1.99)

Audible 2 for 1 Sale:

• The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas
• Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas

Audible Plus Catalog:

I've read most of these and have paperback copies on my keeper shelves. I read them so long ago that it seems like a good time for a reread. And the price is certainly right!

• The Love Talker by Elizabeth Peters
• The Jackal's Head by Elizabeth Peters
• The Copenhagen Connection by Elizabeth Peters

• Legend in Green Velvet by Elizabeth Peters
• Devil-May-Care by Elizabeth Peters
• Summer of the Dragon by Elizabeth Peters

• The Dead Sea Cipher by Elizabeth Peters
• The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

I bought this series by Melinda Leigh. I enjoy her writing and thought I had read everything she'd written. I had only previously read Midnight Betrayal as a Review book in 2014. I had purchased the Kindle copy of Midnight Sacrifice in 2013 but haven't yet read it. My plans are to read them all as audiobooks. 

• Midnight Obsession by Melinda Leigh (Kindle & Audiobook)
• Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh (Kindle & Audiobook)

• Midnight Sacrifice by Melinda Leigh (Audiobook; $1.99)
• Midnight Betrayal by Melinda Leigh (Kindle & Audiobook)

What was your week like?

Book Review: Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

Deadtown
Author: Nancy Holzner
Series: A Deadtown Novel (Book 1)
Publication: Ace; Reissue edition (November 10, 2009)

Description: First in a brand new urban fantasy series that's "fresh and funny, with a great new take on zombies" (Karen Chance) and "full of dangerous magic and populated with characters so realistic, they almost jump off the page" (Ilona Andrews).

If you were undead, you'd be home by now...

They call it Deadtown: the city's quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders-but Victory Vaughn, Boston's only professional demon slayer, isn't exactly human.

My Thoughts: Victory Vaughn is a shapeshifter and demon killer. She might be the last of her kind if her young niece doesn't inherit shapeshifting which her sister really hopes she won't.

After a plague hit Boston and turned most of the citizens into zombies, the human government created an enclave called Deadtown for the inhuman and undead residents. Since then, residents have been fighting for their rights which is a real uphill battle.

Vicky's sometime boyfriend Kane is a werewolf lawyer really concerned about winning rights for all inhuman and undead residents. Currently, Massachusetts is one of the few US States were residents of Deadtown have some limited rights. The current race for governor could change that as the leading candidate is extremely opposed to any more rights and freedoms for people he calls "monsters."

Vicky is more concerned about making a living than politics. She is hired by the haunted wealthy to rid their dreams of various demons that cause nightmares. However when helping her latest client who happens to be a gangster and a supporter of the anti-inhuman governor candidate, she encounters the demon who killed her father and marked her. 

She learns that the demon has been bound by a human sorcerer. It makes Vicky determined to find the demon and send it back to hell and to find the sorcerer too. 

There is another problem too. A fanatic human scientist wants to study Vicky and her family and goes so far as to kidnap Vicky's ten-year-old niece. Since it isn't certain that the niece is human or like Vicky, human law is taking a wait-and-see approach leaving the rescue to Vicky and one police officer who is one her side. 

This was an engaging and entertaining urban fantasy story with an interesting main character. I enjoyed this story which begins a series. 

Favorite Quote:

For me, ethics were a lot simpler. If you had a problem and you could afford my fee, I'd help you out. And if you were a demon and came after me, I'd kill you. So I wouldn't win the Nobel Peace Prize any time soon. My system worked for me.

I bought this one for my first Kindle December 29, 2009. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

Two rules I live by: Never admit to being a shapeshifter on a first, second, or third date with a human. And never, ever bring along a zombie apprentice wannabe on a demon kill.

Friday 56:

The next summer I was eighteen years old, a high school graduate, and feeling more than ready to graduate from Mab's training program as well. I was all grown up now, and this would be the summer I finally got to kick some demon ass. 

This week I am spotlighting a book I added to my stack December 29, 2009. It was one of the first books I bought for my Kindle. Deadtown by Nancy Holzner is the first in an urban fantasy series. Here is the description from Amazon:

First in a brand new urban fantasy series that's "fresh and funny, with a great new take on zombies" (Karen Chance) and "full of dangerous magic and populated with characters so realistic, they almost jump off the page" (Ilona Andrews).

If you were undead, you'd be home by now...

They call it Deadtown: the city's quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders-but Victory Vaughn, Boston's only professional demon slayer, isn't exactly human.

Audiobook Review: The Battered Badge by Robert Goldsborough

The Battered Badge
Author: Robert Goldsborough
Narrator: L. J. Ganser
Series: Nero Wolfe Mysteries (Book 13)
Publication: Blackstone Audio (April 17, 2019)
Length: 6 hours and 31 minutes

Description: A shake-up in the New York Polic Department's homicide squad following a high-profile murder is bad for business for private investigator Nero Wolfe.

When wealthy and popular crusader and reformer Lester Pierce is gunned down in front of his Park Avenue residence, the public outcry forces the NYPD to restructure its homicide department. As the deceased was highly critical of Inspector Lionel Cramer, the longtime head of homicide is temporarily relieved of his badge. But it seems Cramer was not just a scapegoat. He was seen dining in Little Italy with mob kingpin Ralph Mars.

All of this amounts to little more than conversational fodder for private eye Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. But if Cramer's provisional replacement, Captain George Rowcliff, becomes permanent, Wolfe's future dealings with the force will be much compromised. Loath to depart from his routine, Wolfe makes the unusual decision to take on a case without an actual client.

His investigation quickly points toward Pierce's organization, Good Government Group, where high-minded idealism is often trampled under the competing ambitions of the staff - several of whom would clearly have benefited from Pierce's demise. Despite the burgeoning list of suspects, Wolfe hasn't ruled out the involvement of the underworld and its connection to Cramer. But in order to untangle an abundance of motives and end the inspector's forced furlough, Wolfe may have to venture out of his comfort zone - and the premises of his brownstone.

Continuing his beloved series, Nero Award-winning author Robert Goldsborough "demonstrates an impressive ability to emulate Rex Stout's narrative voice" (Publishers Weekly).

The Battered Badge is the 60th book in the Nero Wolfe mystery series, but all titles can be enjoyed in any order.

My Thoughts: A new Nero Wolfe story is concerned with the death of Lester Pierce who is a crusader and reformer who wants to change the police department. Inspector Lionel Cramer of the NYPD Homicide division has been a particular target of the reformer. He's been put on leave and Captain George Rowcliff has become his replacement.

Neither Wolfe nor Archie are looking forward to working with Rowcliff but they don't have a client to encourage them to investigate. Cramer's sergeant comes to ask Wolfe and Archie to look into the case but he doesn't have the money to hire them. Archie begins to investigate and discovers a bunch of potential suspects including the "other woman." the mob, and others. 

When Wolfe finally decides to get involved, it brings some changes to his normal pattern. He doesn't have a client and the climax has him actually leaving his home for the reveal of the villian. 

Goldsborough does an excellent job recreating Rex Stout's characters. They sound and act just like the originals. L. J. Ganser does a great job narrating the story. He does an excellent job with Archie as the narrator.

I received this one February 26, 2023 from the Audible Plus catalog. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Unknown by Rachel Caine

Unknown
Author: Rachel Caine
Series: Outcast Season (Book 2)
Publication: Ace; 1st Printing edition (February 2, 2010)

Description: Living among mortals, the djinn Cassiel has developed a reluctant affection for them-especially for Warden Luis Rocha. As the mystery deepens around the kidnapping of innocent Warden children, Cassiel and Luis are the only ones who can investigate both the human and djinn realms. But the trail will lead them to a traitor who may be more powerful than they can handle...

My Thoughts: The second book in the Outcast Season series finds Cassiel becoming more human and falling in love with Earth Warden Luis Rocha. They are both on a quest to rescue Luis's niece who has been kidnapped by Pearl along with many other Warden children to be turned into weapons in her war against humanity.

Cassiel is conflicted and alone. She was exiled from the Djinn and turned human because she refused to massacre humanity. Her leader believes that this is the only way to defeat Pearl and save the Djinn. More and more Cassiel fears that he might be right. But the more she spends time with humans, the more determined she is to find a way to defeat Pearl and still save humanity. 

I enjoyed the worldbuilding in this story. I am also getting to like Cassiel more as she becomes more involved with humans and their problems. 

Favorite Quote:

Luis sighed. "So, I'm taking bets. Did we just do something really smart, or really, dramatically stupid?"

"I see nothing to say it can't be both," I said. "There is, after all, an endless supply of stupidity."

I bought this Kindle version February 2, 2010. You can buy your copy here.