FOOLISH UNDERTAKING (Unl. Invest-Barry Clayton-North Carolina-Contemp) – 3rd in series – Mark de Castrique The night before a funeral that will thrust the mountain town of Gainesboro, North Carolina, into the national spotlight, the body is stolen from the embalming room and funeral director Barry Clayton is knocked unconscious. How will Clayton & Clayton deal with the relatives of Y’Grok Eban, the Montagnard hero who aided US troops during the Vietnam War, or the U.S. Senator, three-star general, and famous Hollywood star en route to Y’Grok’s service? Both Barry, and his friend, Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins have a very personal interest in the missing Y’Grok—the Montagnard had saved their lives.
LJ – G+ – Berry is a terrific character, but his girlfriend was very unsympathetic through most of the book so the ending didn’t quite make sense. But there was good tension and a couple of twists. It was enjoyable.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT (Susp/Christmas Novelette – Walt Longmire – Colorado – Contemp) – 10th in series – Craig Johnson On a snowy Christmas Eve, while reading A Christmas Carol, the Wyoming sheriff receives an unexpected visitor: a part-Japanese young woman who says she needs to see Walt&'s predecessor as sheriff, Lucian Connally, a WWII vet who flew in the Doolittle raid on Tokyo in 1942 and is now in a rest home. Flashback to December 24, 1988. A girl seriously injured in a traffic accident has to get to Denver fast for treatment, but a blizzard makes flying her there hazardous. Furthermore, the only plane available is an antique B-25, named Steamboat after the bucking bronco on Wyoming&'s license plate, and the only pilot who can fly Steamboat is Lucian. Soon, the two lawmen, their team, and the patient are aloft, fighting the weather and a host of mechanical problems.
Corona – VG – Reading this was a nice break, There was a bit that seems over the top, but it is a story and she enjoyed it. Linda F – Good – She liked it. She wasn’t sure about the insane air trip, but found out it was believable. The landing was a bit of a stretch, but she liked the mother’s history. LJ – EX – Johnson is the consummate story teller and this was a story within a story. Even for a novella, there was surprising depth. It’s a wonderful story; dramatic exciting and with just the right touch of sentiment. A perfect holiday book.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: VG
CIRCLE OF SHADOWS (Hist. Mys-Westerman/Crowther-England-1784) – 4th in series – Imogen Robertson A cry for help from the Continent sends Harriet Westerman and her colleague, anatomist Gabriel Crowther, to the German Duchy of Maulsberg in 1784. Here Daniel Clode, husband of Harriet’s younger sister, Rachel, is charged with murder after being found disoriented in a locked room near the body of a popular lady of the court at a masked ball. As an agent of the Earl of Sussex, who holds Maulsberg bonds, Clode escapes quick execution, giving Westerman and Crowther time to investigate his puzzling case and leading to their uncovering of other recent murders of members of the court. In the process, Westerman comes face-to-face with her nemesis, the beguiling castrato and spy-for-hire Manzerotti, who was responsible for the murder of her husband but here proves an ally.
LJ – Ex – Robertson has a very intriguing style. The characters drive the story, and they are characters about whom we care. The sense of time and place is excellent and her voice and style are very special. There is a real elegance to her writing. This was an excellent read. For me, it is the best of the series.
The night before a funeral that will thrust the mountain town of Gainesboro, North Carolina, into the national spotlight, the body is stolen from the embalming room and funeral director Barry Clayton is knocked unconscious. How will Clayton & Clayton deal with the relatives of Y’Grok Eban, the Montagnard hero who aided US troops during the Vietnam War, or the U.S. Senator, three-star general, and famous Hollywood star en route to Y’Grok’s service? Both Barry, and his friend, Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins have a very personal interest in the missing Y’Grok—the Montagnard had saved their lives.
LJ – G+ – Berry is a terrific character, but his girlfriend was very unsympathetic through most of the book so the ending didn’t quite make sense. But there was good tension and a couple of twists. It was enjoyable.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT (Susp/Christmas Novelette – Walt Longmire – Colorado – Contemp) – 10th in series – Craig Johnson
On a snowy Christmas Eve, while reading A Christmas Carol, the Wyoming sheriff receives an unexpected visitor: a part-Japanese young woman who says she needs to see Walt&'s predecessor as sheriff, Lucian Connally, a WWII vet who flew in the Doolittle raid on Tokyo in 1942 and is now in a rest home. Flashback to December 24, 1988. A girl seriously injured in a traffic accident has to get to Denver fast for treatment, but a blizzard makes flying her there hazardous. Furthermore, the only plane available is an antique B-25, named Steamboat after the bucking bronco on Wyoming&'s license plate, and the only pilot who can fly Steamboat is Lucian. Soon, the two lawmen, their team, and the patient are aloft, fighting the weather and a host of mechanical problems.
Corona – VG – Reading this was a nice break, There was a bit that seems over the top, but it is a story and she enjoyed it.
Linda F – Good – She liked it. She wasn’t sure about the insane air trip, but found out it was believable. The landing was a bit of a stretch, but she liked the mother’s history.
LJ – EX – Johnson is the consummate story teller and this was a story within a story. Even for a novella, there was surprising depth. It’s a wonderful story; dramatic exciting and with just the right touch of sentiment. A perfect holiday book.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: VG
CIRCLE OF SHADOWS (Hist. Mys-Westerman/Crowther-England-1784) – 4th in series – Imogen Robertson
A cry for help from the Continent sends Harriet Westerman and her colleague, anatomist Gabriel Crowther, to the German Duchy of Maulsberg in 1784. Here Daniel Clode, husband of Harriet’s younger sister, Rachel, is charged with murder after being found disoriented in a locked room near the body of a popular lady of the court at a masked ball. As an agent of the Earl of Sussex, who holds Maulsberg bonds, Clode escapes quick execution, giving Westerman and Crowther time to investigate his puzzling case and leading to their uncovering of other recent murders of members of the court. In the process, Westerman comes face-to-face with her nemesis, the beguiling castrato and spy-for-hire Manzerotti, who was responsible for the murder of her husband but here proves an ally.
LJ – Ex – Robertson has a very intriguing style. The characters drive the story, and they are characters about whom we care. The sense of time and place is excellent and her voice and style are very special. There is a real elegance to her writing. This was an excellent read. For me, it is the best of the series.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Ex