Assault and Pepper is the first in the Spice Shop Mystery series by Leslie Budewitz. It's set in Seattle, in the Pike Place Market. The descriptions of the area are wonderful, and I got a chuckle over the conversation of how to pronounce Sequim! Pepper is starting a new life as a shop owner. She loves to cook, and work with spices so when the small spice shop came up for sale, she jumped on it. She has a loyal and experienced crew, too, who love coming up with new blends for the season, for holidays, for meats, salads, beverages and so on. (There are recipes at the back). All is going well until a new to the area panhandler, known as Doc is found dead in front of her store. Who was he, really? Finding that out made for a good start to this series.

Reading Hermit With Dog

I had company recently, family, actually, so my reading time was cut down a bit. It was a great visit, but I do have to chuckle as one of the visitors is my total and absolute opposite! Extrovert to the max, energetic, always on the move, loves to talk, has many interests ... just a whirlwind of activity. One night there was a dinner with mutual friends, and wow, what a festive night THAT was! :-) It was very quiet when they headed back home (Ohio) and I picked up something I knew would be the perfect read: The Moss File, the next in the Aunt Bessie Cold Case Mystery series by Diana Xarissa. There is hope that this case will be easier than the last one, five people went camping in a fairly remote place, four came back. It's not all that easy, of course, it is a cold case, after all! There were three tents, the person that was murdered was alone in the tent. He was stabbed, so there was blood. And yet, everyone else said they slept soundly through the night (they had been drinking) and there were no bloody clothes, or shoes, or footprints ... so what happened? Can the cold case gang find out after all this time?

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

So much was unfamiliar in Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder, the first of the Baker Street Mystery books by Valerie Burns! Most of the sleuths I read about are women of a certain age, Maddy is young. Lots about fashion, and dressing stylishly (I've been in sweats for decades). And social media, something I know only the names (or some of them) but not how to use them so the 'hash tag' this and 'hash tag' that were new (and fun). (And remember, that hash tag symbol is also a sharp in music)! Maddy has inherited a house, business and nice sum of money from a great aunt, but in order to collect on it, she has live in the house, and run the business for a year. In a small town. In Michigan (she is from California). Oh, and the business is a bakery, and Maddy doesn't bake! And then there are the offers, huge offers, for her to sell out. Why? When the Mayor is found dead, in the bakery, the fun begins.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

How do I describe Over London, by George Penney and Tony Johnson? Satire? Farce? Comedy? Mystery? Adventure? Intrigue? Alternate history? Steam punk? Yes to all, and probably more! The title has a hint ... 'over' ... all the cities mentioned are now floating above the original version below, on earth. There are characters that are a human/ferret or other animal combination. All living things have a 'trinket' that attaches itself which keeps them healthy and provides them with a very, very long life. Everyone has at least one appendage that is made up of gears and tools (and more). Everything is about making money, greed abounds. Pay attention to the names! Be aware of plays on words, malapropisms ... There is a grounded pirate, who has been hired find out why priests are exploding. Is it a divine miracle, or something else? This is like nothing I've read before, although Canadian Reader said it brought the Terry Pratchett books to mind. Totally absorbing and engaging! It is the first in the Reign Agency Investigation series.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Albert and Rex are heading for the small town of Lancashire to try their famous Hotspot (with secret ingredients). Can it be better than the one his wife made? That will not be happening as when they arrive there has been a death, at that very establishment, of a famous chef (he has a cooking show). Not only that, the film crew was booked into the same place as Albert and Rex so he can't even get into his room at first. There are now two good reasons for them to help with the investigation! There are several folks with motive, and, a past, with some of the local citizens. Will Albert (and Rex, of course) ever get a taste of the stew? A history of the dish, and a recipe are included in the ninth Albert Smith Culinary Capers book Lancashire Hotpot Peril, by Steve Higgs.  Reading Hermit With Dog

 

I picked up Camper Vans Cooking and Corpses because it looked interesting. (Note, there is no punctuation used on the cover, or the title page, so I left it out. (With apologies to my mom, the English teacher)! ;-) Max, once an established and sought out chef has given that life up for one as a nomad, in a van (that is older than he is) with his dog Anxious, touring Wales. He is looking forward to a quiet life. That idea hits a speed bump ... or almost ... only it's not a speed bump it's a body wrapped in a tent in the middle of the narrow country lane he's on. He moves the body out of the way and drives until he can find a signal to call the police. That starts things rolling. Who is it? And is the second body in any way connected? And what about the owner of the campgrounds unusually high electric bills? This turned out to be an unexpectedly good book, the first in Max's Camper Van Case Files series by Tyler Rhodes.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

Lady Hardcastle and her proper lady's maid are at it again, after all, who would expect a titled widow and her companion to be working undercover for the government! (As it turns out, not even some from said government). It is their task to thwart the assassination of a soon to be visiting dignitary. How they follow the clues, figure out the how and who and where makes for excellent reading. (Remember, one is good with firearms, the other is skilled in the martial arts) (when they are not pretending to be, um, "proper"). The interaction between these two is a delight to read, it should make you chuckle. An Assassination on the Agenda is part of the Lady Hardcastle Mystery series by T E Kinsey.

A Long Time Dead, the first D.I. Duncan McAdam Mystery by J M Dalgliesh came as a recommendation from Canadian Reader. Is is set on the Isle of Skye and the wonderful descriptions of the area are spot on (Canadian Reader has been there). A body has been found, of a young woman who went missing some twenty years ago. Duncan is sent to head the investigation because he is from there and his boss figures folks will more willing to talk to him than a stranger. More clues emerge as the medical examiner goes over the body, leading the investigators to the folks that were at a party long ago, work mates, family and so on. Grim in some spots, funny in others, it was a good read.

Reading Hermit With Dog

 

I love the sort of books that just have short entries on all sorts of topics, which means, I quite enjoyed Hidden Histories: Historical Figures: 100 Wild Stories You Never Learned in History Class, by Tim Rayborn. (My mom taught history, and she would have included material like this)! Chapters include Writers, Musicians, Actors, Scientists, and more. Dr. Seuss had a lot of hats. How much of Van Gogh's ear was actually missing? What did Lucille Ball have to do with (the original) Star Trek? Fun! I'm thinking Tall Reader needs to share it with the grands when next they visit. (They enjoyed it, too). :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog

 Murder in the Library is the first in the Lottie Sprigg Cozy Country House Mystery series by Martha Bond. I discovered there is another series featuring this character, but they are travel mysteries. Here, she has just returned from those travels and adventures so she's proven to be an excellent sleuth. She arrives just before a dinner, a fancy dinner ... with families that have been feuding for centuries. The current Lady of the Manor (from, gasp, America) thinks it's time for that to end. It's the son of that family who is found dead ... a bookish sort of young man, why was he targeted? (You'll find out)!

Molly is a maid (yes, she's aware of the alliteration) at a fancy hotel. She loves her work because it allows her to work alone, and she has problems dealing with people, often misreads their body language, and so on. She can clean up the messes people leave behind ... until it is a dead body. That changes everything. Molly's odd behavior makes her an early suspect, until the police learn how she can help. The Maid, by Nita Prose introduces us to a new kind of sleuth as this is the first in a new series. :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog