Candace Camp has finished her fourth book in her Matchmaker series. And I just finished reading them all. (Yes, it was a bit of a marathon weekend.) It is great to read a romance series that:
1.) isn't too long
2.) has some great continuing characters - Francesca and Irene are my favorites
3.) has a mix of the "reality" of the time period with the froth and gloss
4.) and may have a bad guy to mess up the romance - but it's not necessarily an outsider. Nasty relatives were around in history too, folks.
The Marriage Wager is Dominic and Constance's story. Francesca, a lovely fashionable widow, takes a bet from the Duke, that she can make over the dowdy Constance. Constance takes the chance that the season can bring her more than just chaperoning her younger cousins. She doesn't even imagine that she could fall in love with Francesca's brother Dominic. He is supposed to be looking for an heiress. Nice steady lead characters.
The Bridal Quest is Francesca's next task. How can she find a wife for Gideon? He's a long lost heir that was finally found. He grew up on the streets and his relatives are trying to tame him by getting him married. Irene has not had a good view of marriage and is not interested in getting a husband. Her plain speaking has not won her many fans. But Francesca thinks Irene can help her to get Gideon to be more like a gentleman. These are some great characters - fairly unusual for romance and this book has a bit of a mystery element too.
The Wedding Challenge has Francesca finding a husband for her ex-fiance's sister. Callie wants to get married but is tired of all the fortune hunters who want to wed a Duke's sister. She manages to find Bromwell herself, but she doesn't know his family's past history with her brother. But who is telling the truth? Brom or her brother Sinclair? There are some great scenes in this book. While the leads are good, you can tell that this book sets up the next one with Francesca and Sinclair.
The Courtship Dance is finally Sinclair and Francesca's story. And I think the best one in the bunch. We finally get some answers to their early romance, and Francesca's own unhappy marriage. She feels she has let the Duke down and decides she is going to find him a suitable wife. He decides to let her, but he really only wants her. Some great characters who deal truthfully with their past lives and troubles. You will find that you are really rooting for them by the end of the story. A most satisfying read.
And there you have it. A strong romance series. Some great leads, some fun secondary characters - love the great-aunt Lady Odelia - and some good story lines. Some very fun and frothy reads.
Flowers and bee
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Pel and the Faceless Corpse
Mark Hebden's Inspector Pel series features a lead character who a bit of a worry wart. Pel is concerned about his digestive system, his hostile television addict of a housekeeper and his smoking habit. But he isn't worried about murder. It happens and he solves it with his team. How pragmatic. How French.
This case, Pel and the Faceless Corpse, brings Pel to a tiny town in the mountains, where outsiders are easily noticed and memories of the war (WWII) are long. The dead man is an outsider, but because of the way he was murdered it is hard to tell who he is. Maybe the better question is who do the locals think he is? He was found at the base of a monument dedicated to the local group of Resistance fighters who were shot during the war. Was he a Nazi or just a German? For some the label is enterchangable. Pel and his team must straighten out the past, and look into the rumors of money that the Germans lost when they left the town. Who is telling the truth?
Pel is a engaging character and his team provides a bit of realism that some mysteries do not. And it is an interesting view of small town France. I would like to take a look at other books in the series. A good read.
This case, Pel and the Faceless Corpse, brings Pel to a tiny town in the mountains, where outsiders are easily noticed and memories of the war (WWII) are long. The dead man is an outsider, but because of the way he was murdered it is hard to tell who he is. Maybe the better question is who do the locals think he is? He was found at the base of a monument dedicated to the local group of Resistance fighters who were shot during the war. Was he a Nazi or just a German? For some the label is enterchangable. Pel and his team must straighten out the past, and look into the rumors of money that the Germans lost when they left the town. Who is telling the truth?
Pel is a engaging character and his team provides a bit of realism that some mysteries do not. And it is an interesting view of small town France. I would like to take a look at other books in the series. A good read.
Busman's Honeymoon
I have a habit of not reading the last book in a series. I put off the inevitable because I usually want the author or the characters to go on and on. The last book seems so final. (Nowadays it is possible for them to go on and on because the author's estates sell the rights to the name or the character.) But in this case Dorothy L. Sayers concentrated on writing other things and gave us the last Lord Peter Wimsey book entitled Busman's Honeymoon. However in the 1937 version that I read, the book is subtitled A Love Story with Detective Interruptions. And that gives the reader a big clue that this particular Wimsey book is not going to be all about finding evidence.
At the beginning, we find Lord Peter and Harriet Vane attempting to finalize their long romance by marrying. It sounds much easier than it is, with the press hounding them and Peter's sister-in-law making plans that no one wants. How ever they manage to do the deed and slip off to the countryside to their new country home. The new home is not all that is it was promised to be, and with the help of Bunter, Lord Peter's man, the happy couple has a lovely evening just the same. However the following day brings a corpse in the basement and it embroils them in a local mystery that they can not get away from.
But along with the mystery, Sayers gives the characters time to figure out some things about their marriage. How will they go on? Will Harriet accept that Peter will always have to have his hand in a case? Will Peter remember to keep her involved? They are trying to figure out their new roles and how Bunter, the man of all trades, fits into the mix.
Sayers gives us a realistic ending. Lord Peter has never been very good with the end result of a case. In those days, they hung murderers. It usually brought back memories of the war (WWI) for him. But this time he has Harriet to help him. A very good read.
At the beginning, we find Lord Peter and Harriet Vane attempting to finalize their long romance by marrying. It sounds much easier than it is, with the press hounding them and Peter's sister-in-law making plans that no one wants. How ever they manage to do the deed and slip off to the countryside to their new country home. The new home is not all that is it was promised to be, and with the help of Bunter, Lord Peter's man, the happy couple has a lovely evening just the same. However the following day brings a corpse in the basement and it embroils them in a local mystery that they can not get away from.
But along with the mystery, Sayers gives the characters time to figure out some things about their marriage. How will they go on? Will Harriet accept that Peter will always have to have his hand in a case? Will Peter remember to keep her involved? They are trying to figure out their new roles and how Bunter, the man of all trades, fits into the mix.
Sayers gives us a realistic ending. Lord Peter has never been very good with the end result of a case. In those days, they hung murderers. It usually brought back memories of the war (WWI) for him. But this time he has Harriet to help him. A very good read.
CookOff: Recipe Fever in America
Do you watch eagerly any and all cooking competitions on the Food Network? Do you dream of entering the Pillsbury BakeOff? If so then Amy Sutherland's book Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America is for you. Sutherland captures the history, enthusiasm and a bit of the wackiness that is inherent in these contests that are promoted as being all American. But do these contests really reflect what America eats? Or is this a case of the contestants giving the big food conglomerates what they want? And are they really cooking anyway? Or just assembling ingredients?
Sutherland delves into all those questions and many more as she follows contestants to the Pillsbury, garlic fest and other cook offs and well as a couple chili competitions. Just who are these people who compete? Some are what they call "contesters" people who have been doing this for quite a while. (Pillsbury has limits now on how many years you can compete at the contest - three!) Some are fresh faced newcomers just thrilled to be at their first contest. Most of the branded contests have women as the majority of their contestants. Men on the other hand dominate the chili and BBQ contests.
Sutherland has a great way of making these folks come alive in her writing. And she shows them to be very human with all their foibles, humor and passion. Most of these people love food and love to be creative in the kitchen. And it shows. Check out the mania and maybe you too will compete. A very entertaining read.
Sutherland delves into all those questions and many more as she follows contestants to the Pillsbury, garlic fest and other cook offs and well as a couple chili competitions. Just who are these people who compete? Some are what they call "contesters" people who have been doing this for quite a while. (Pillsbury has limits now on how many years you can compete at the contest - three!) Some are fresh faced newcomers just thrilled to be at their first contest. Most of the branded contests have women as the majority of their contestants. Men on the other hand dominate the chili and BBQ contests.
Sutherland has a great way of making these folks come alive in her writing. And she shows them to be very human with all their foibles, humor and passion. Most of these people love food and love to be creative in the kitchen. And it shows. Check out the mania and maybe you too will compete. A very entertaining read.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Murder in the Marais
Cara Black starts off her series with lead character Aimee Leduc in the book Murder in the Marais. What starts out as a simple and overpaid job of hunting down a encripted website, ends up becoming a case of murder. Aimee finds the body and sets in motion an investigation that goes all the way up to the top level of French politics.
The Marais is the traditionally Jewish section of Paris. And this is where the French Jews were rounded up during the occupation. Memories are long for injustices, and Aimee finds she is sifting through the history of the occupation in order to find out who would want an elderly Jewish woman murdered and who wants her to stop investigating.
This is a fast paced story but Black gives the reader enough time to get to know Aimee and her unusal background. Black hints at the fact that Aimee has secrets of her own that will be revealed in later books. Aimee is a tough character who has been trained by her recently deceased father in the art of detection. And it does not take the reader long to admire her tenacity and skill at going undercover to figure out the case. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series. A good mystery and a very good read.
The Marais is the traditionally Jewish section of Paris. And this is where the French Jews were rounded up during the occupation. Memories are long for injustices, and Aimee finds she is sifting through the history of the occupation in order to find out who would want an elderly Jewish woman murdered and who wants her to stop investigating.
This is a fast paced story but Black gives the reader enough time to get to know Aimee and her unusal background. Black hints at the fact that Aimee has secrets of her own that will be revealed in later books. Aimee is a tough character who has been trained by her recently deceased father in the art of detection. And it does not take the reader long to admire her tenacity and skill at going undercover to figure out the case. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series. A good mystery and a very good read.
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