THE MAN IN THE MICROWAVE OVEN (AmaSleuth-Theo Bogard-San Francisco–Contemp) – 2nd book – Susan Cox Fleeing from a murder and family tragedy in her native England, Theo Bogart changed her name and built an undercover life in San Francisco neighborhood. After a confrontation with a difficult neighbor, Theo fears her secrets are about to be uncovered after all. When the woman who threatened to expose her is murdered, Theo is embroiled in the kind of jeopardy she crossed an ocean to escape.
Cindy – G+ - I wish I would've read the first installment to get more on Theo's background. I liked the SF backdrop and neighborhoodiness of it all. But it really picked up for me when her grandfather is found out to be a spy. Otherwise it just seemed a bit light. Corona – Poor - The title was a cheap gimmick and that turned me off before the story really got started. I must admit that the story and writing turned out to be more sophisticated than I expected so I didn't rate this any lower. But the title misleading is silly and misleading which makes it hard to respect. Don – Good - Light read , a bit confusing with good parts, character, & setting, which made it readable; airplane book Gene – Good- He assumes the series will be a lot of men in appliances. The main character should have been brighter. Liked the pace and the humor. Joni – VG - Loved it. It was great to be reminded of San Francisco locales. I enjoyed the plot and did not guess the ending two pages into the book. Loved all the quirky characters. Loved the use of the microwave oven as a very unexpected plot device. I rate it a VG and will read more. Nancy – Good – She enjoyed it. It could have used more plot development and she thought the title was embarrassing. She did like the main character with the coffee. Marilyn – Good – Read both books by Cox and found them easy reads; light. Lived the San Francisco elements and the neighborhood.
AVERAGE GROUP RATING: Good
THE SILVER SHOOTER (HisMys-Rose Gallagher-Dakota Territory-1887) – 3rd in series – Erin Lindsey A series of strange occurrences in the Badlands surrounding his ranch has Theodore Roosevelt convinced something supernatural is afoot. It began with livestock disappearing from the range, their bodies later discovered torn apart by something monstrously powerful. Now people are dying, too. It’s up to Pinkerton Agents Rose and Thomas to get to the bottom of it, but they’re against the clock and an unknown enemy, and the west will prove wilder than they could possibly imagine.
Corona – G+ - I enjoyed this book very much. It was light and the old-west venue was refreshing. I was impressed with how the heroine took care of herself. I did have trouble keeping the villain and sheriff separate, their names look so similar to me and their personalities weren't very different. However, I found the ending disappointing, I suppose it gets better further in the series but I don't know that I'll follow this one. Don – DNF – Read fifty pages and quit. Gene – Okay – It read and flowed well, there was a sense of humor, but he was looking for more weight, some more references from the Dakota theme. The relationship really didn't work. Ginny – DNF - The Pinkerton Detective Agency, Teddy ‘Bully!” Roosevelt, and the Badlands should have captured my attention except it did not. Mostly Rose and Thomas were too cute for my tastes. What did engage me was the livestock disappearing from the range, their bodies later discovered torn apart by something monstrously powerful. But I was too disinterested and did not even peek at the ending. Helen – Good - Although there is a decent amount of paranormal activity in this book, it didn't ring true as a paranormal mystery. It was more of a mystery/romance with some paranormal activity. There is some social commentary in this book, but I felt it was too obvious, like someone was sitting next to me poking me in the ribs. The characters and plot pacing are all right. Katie – Okay - I was more invested in the romance than the mystery, which wasn't a great sign. I feel like the author was awkwardly trying to build a convincing Wild West world that also included a magic component, and really wasn't selling it. But hey, I finished it!
AVERAGE GROUP RATING: Okay
THE ART OF VIOLENCE (PI-Bill Smith/Lydia Chin-New York City-Contemp) – 13th in series – S.J. Rozan Former client Sam Tabor, just out of Greenhaven after a five-year homicide stint, comes to Bill Smith with a strange request. A colossally talented painter whose parole was orchestrated by art world movers and shakers, Sam's convinced that since he's been out he's killed two women. Sam Tabor might be just a crazy artist. But someone is killing people in his orbit. If not Sam, who? Why? And who will be next?
Cindy – VG - . I liked the characters. There was enough meat in the portrayals that I was drawn in and very interested to see what would happen, especially with Sam. I didn't love (bouncing back and forth hurts my feeble brain) but I appreciated the alternating perspectives of both Lydia and Bill. It added a richness. In the Bill only books they seem just basic Noire (not that there's anything wrong with that). Lydia adds some heart and the culture of being ABC. Reading this book made me go and read Rozan's first two in the series. I felt I might after Paper Son but this book was much more compelling. Corona – Good - I am acquainted with this series and was one following it. I quit for 2 reasons, the two protagonists, a man, and a woman, switch off in each book but the switching wasn't even. That alone wouldn't have turned me off but their dialog was a little too snarky for me. It sounded like a lot of effort went into being clever but it turned out to be irritating. So, I almost didn't read this but I did and am glad it was better than the earlier ones, still a little snarky but a lot less so. However, I won't pick up the series again. Don – DNF – Read fifty pages and stopped Gabriel - Good - This is my favorite series. Also the premise was attention-getting--Bill is hired to prove his client guilty. But this book was disappointing. But it was still interesting and fairly compelling, and had a fair amount of the usual charm. This is Rozan's second book in the series about the art world. I liked how present Lydia Chin was in the book. Also the author's original use of Lydia's mother. She made Tony Oakhurst pretty unlikable. Sam was an interesting character. Ginny – DNF - Whenever I reach the point of not caring about who the murderer is when I skip to the end to find out but this time, I did not even do it this time. Anything mysteries that take place in the Art world fascinates me such as Dead Sleep by Isles. However, maybe my indifference to the book is because it is in a series and, so, to that end I bought the first book just to give Chin/Smith a chance. Helen – Good - The only character I really liked was Sam. His reality is so different from the average one, but it's consistent in its own way. I did like the resolution of the murders and the discovery of what actually happened. There was a bit of a romance in this book, but it's quite low-key and takes up much less space than the usual romance in mystery stories. Also, I just loved the interactions between Sam and Lydia's mom. I don't think I'll be reading many books in this series, but want to check out the Lydia-focused books to see what they are like. Joni – Ex - Fantastic book! Very visual and got totally lost in it. I love reading something and forget that I’m reading, just in the book. I highlighted a few parts of the book but now can’t find them because Kindle is too bloody technical for me. The plot was unique, the characters fascinating, I never would have guessed the ending and who had done what and why. I rate it Ex and can’t wait to read more. LJ – Good – What an unusual premise. Characters drive the story, and Bill and Lydia are wonderful characters, but Sam is the most intriguing character of them all, and there is Lydia's traditional Chinese mother who is always a delight. One may suspect the killer quite early on but was glad not to be completely right. Love the quality of Rozan's writing. This could be considered Rozan's pandemic in that it's a bit muddled as so many of us were during that time, and not always easy to keep the characters straight. Even so, it does keep one engaged to the end. Marcy – VG – Enjoyed it a lot, very much got into it. She would like to read more by Rozan. She objected to on story line never really being followed through, however.
Fleeing from a murder and family tragedy in her native England, Theo Bogart changed her name and built an undercover life in San Francisco neighborhood. After a confrontation with a difficult neighbor, Theo fears her secrets are about to be uncovered after all. When the woman who threatened to expose her is murdered, Theo is embroiled in the kind of jeopardy she crossed an ocean to escape.
Cindy – G+ - I wish I would've read the first installment to get more on Theo's background. I liked the SF backdrop and neighborhoodiness of it all. But it really picked up for me when her grandfather is found out to be a spy. Otherwise it just seemed a bit light.
Corona – Poor - The title was a cheap gimmick and that turned me off before the story really got started. I must admit that the story and writing turned out to be more sophisticated than I expected so I didn't rate this any lower. But the title misleading is silly and misleading which makes it hard to respect.
Don – Good - Light read , a bit confusing with good parts, character, & setting, which made it readable; airplane book
Gene – Good- He assumes the series will be a lot of men in appliances. The main character should have been brighter. Liked the pace and the humor.
Joni – VG - Loved it. It was great to be reminded of San Francisco locales. I enjoyed the plot and did not guess the ending two pages into the book. Loved all the quirky characters. Loved the use of the microwave oven as a very unexpected plot device. I rate it a VG and will read more.
Nancy – Good – She enjoyed it. It could have used more plot development and she thought the title was embarrassing. She did like the main character with the coffee.
Marilyn – Good – Read both books by Cox and found them easy reads; light. Lived the San Francisco elements and the neighborhood.
AVERAGE GROUP RATING: Good
THE SILVER SHOOTER (HisMys-Rose Gallagher-Dakota Territory-1887) – 3rd in series – Erin Lindsey
A series of strange occurrences in the Badlands surrounding his ranch has Theodore Roosevelt convinced something supernatural is afoot. It began with livestock disappearing from the range, their bodies later discovered torn apart by something monstrously powerful. Now people are dying, too. It’s up to Pinkerton Agents Rose and Thomas to get to the bottom of it, but they’re against the clock and an unknown enemy, and the west will prove wilder than they could possibly imagine.
Corona – G+ - I enjoyed this book very much. It was light and the old-west venue was refreshing. I was impressed with how the heroine took care of herself. I did have trouble keeping the villain and sheriff separate, their names look so similar to me and their personalities weren't very different. However, I found the ending disappointing, I suppose it gets better further in the series but I don't know that I'll follow this one.
Don – DNF – Read fifty pages and quit.
Gene – Okay – It read and flowed well, there was a sense of humor, but he was looking for more weight, some more references from the Dakota theme. The relationship really didn't work.
Ginny – DNF - The Pinkerton Detective Agency, Teddy ‘Bully!” Roosevelt, and the Badlands should have captured my attention
except it did not. Mostly Rose and Thomas were too cute for my tastes. What did engage me was the livestock disappearing from the range, their bodies later discovered torn apart by something monstrously powerful. But I was too disinterested and did not even peek at the ending.
Helen – Good - Although there is a decent amount of paranormal activity in this book, it didn't ring true as a paranormal mystery. It was more of a mystery/romance with some paranormal activity. There is some social commentary in this book, but I felt it was too obvious, like someone was sitting next to me poking me in the ribs. The characters and plot pacing are all right.
Katie – Okay - I was more invested in the romance than the mystery, which wasn't a great sign. I feel like the author was awkwardly trying to build a convincing Wild West world that also included a magic component, and really wasn't selling it. But hey, I finished it!
AVERAGE GROUP RATING: Okay
THE ART OF VIOLENCE (PI-Bill Smith/Lydia Chin-New York City-Contemp) – 13th in series – S.J. Rozan
Former client Sam Tabor, just out of Greenhaven after a five-year homicide stint, comes to Bill Smith with a strange request. A colossally talented painter whose parole was orchestrated by art world movers and shakers, Sam's convinced that since he's been out he's killed two women. Sam Tabor might be just a crazy artist. But someone is killing people in his orbit. If not Sam, who? Why? And who will be next?
Cindy – VG - . I liked the characters. There was enough meat in the portrayals that I was drawn in and very interested to see what would happen, especially with Sam. I didn't love (bouncing back and forth hurts my feeble brain) but I appreciated the alternating perspectives of both Lydia and Bill. It added a richness. In the Bill only books they seem just basic Noire (not that there's anything wrong with that). Lydia adds some heart and the culture of being ABC. Reading this book made me go and read Rozan's first two in the series. I felt I might after Paper Son but this book was much more compelling.
Corona – Good - I am acquainted with this series and was one following it. I quit for 2 reasons, the two protagonists, a man, and a woman, switch off in each book but the switching wasn't even. That alone wouldn't have turned me off but their dialog was a little too snarky for me. It sounded like a lot of effort went into being clever but it turned out to be irritating. So, I almost didn't read this but I did and am glad it was better than the earlier ones, still a little snarky but a lot less so. However, I won't pick up the series again.
Don – DNF – Read fifty pages and stopped
Gabriel - Good - This is my favorite series. Also the premise was attention-getting--Bill is hired to prove his client guilty. But this book was disappointing. But it was still interesting and fairly compelling, and had a fair amount of the usual charm. This is Rozan's second book in the series about the art world.
I liked how present Lydia Chin was in the book. Also the author's original use of Lydia's mother. She made Tony Oakhurst pretty unlikable. Sam was an interesting character.
Ginny – DNF - Whenever I reach the point of not caring about who the murderer is when I skip to the end to find out but this time, I did not even do it this time. Anything mysteries that take place in the Art world fascinates me such as Dead Sleep by Isles. However, maybe my indifference to the book is because it is in a series and, so, to that end I bought the first book just to give Chin/Smith a chance.
Helen – Good - The only character I really liked was Sam. His reality is so different from the average one, but it's consistent in its own way. I did like the resolution of the murders and the discovery of what actually happened. There was a bit of a romance in this book, but it's quite low-key and takes up much less space than the usual romance in mystery stories. Also, I just loved the interactions between Sam and Lydia's mom. I don't think I'll be reading many books in this series, but want to check out the Lydia-focused books to see what they are like.
Joni – Ex - Fantastic book! Very visual and got totally lost in it. I love reading something and forget that I’m reading, just in the book. I highlighted a few parts of the book but now can’t find them because Kindle is too bloody technical for me. The plot was unique, the characters fascinating, I never would have guessed the ending and who had done what and why. I rate it Ex and can’t wait to read more.
LJ – Good – What an unusual premise. Characters drive the story, and Bill and Lydia are wonderful characters, but Sam is the most intriguing character of them all, and there is Lydia's traditional Chinese mother who is always a delight. One may suspect the killer quite early on but was glad not to be completely right. Love the quality of Rozan's writing. This could be considered Rozan's pandemic in that it's a bit muddled as so many of us were during that time, and not always easy to keep the characters straight. Even so, it does keep one engaged to the end.
Marcy – VG – Enjoyed it a lot, very much got into it. She would like to read more by Rozan. She objected to on story line never really being followed through, however.
AVERAGE GROUP RATING: Good