Thursday, July 12, 2012

Thorsday Book Review

It's been pretty hot everywhere, and when it's hot, it seems like you want lighter reading fare.  Well, here are two selections.

WILD GOOSE CHASE
by Terri Thayer

Dewey Pellicano was the only sister and youngest of four children, so growing up, she had no interest in her mother's quilt shop.  She was a computer programmer, and inherited the quilt shop when her mother died unexpectedly.  This story takes place at a quilt expo where her shop is an exhibitor; Dewey's sister in law, Kym, has organized their display, and Dewey would rather be anywhere than at the quilt expo.  Then the show took a turn for the ugly when Dewey went for a meeting with a woman interested in buying her store, entered her room with the woman's employee, and found the woman dead.  Of course, Dewey's an early suspect, but was released.  A couple of days later, one of the organizers of the show was  murdered.  Murder notwithstanding, this book was a fun romp through the lives and scheming of women in the quilting world.  Oh, and a hunky cop doesn't hurt the story either.  Not a serious mystery, I figured out who the killer was midway through the book, but it was fun.  3.5/5

CUT, CROP & DIE
By Joanna Campbell Slan

Another lighthearted whodunit.  Kiki Lowenstein was a 33 year old widow with an 11 year old daughter who worked at a scrapbooking store.  While sponsoring a scrapbooking event at the Missouri Botanical Garden during a garden show, a customer, Yvonne, ate an orange scone and died from an allergic reaction.  Everyone is a suspect, and I do mean everyone.  Yvonne was a mean and petty woman, roundly disliked by everyone.  Her husband had 2 mistresses, her neighbors despised her, and she stole design ideas from other scrapbookers, one of which won her a prestigious award.  Of course, Kiki took it upon herself to find out who murdered Yvonne, not because she liked the woman, but to clear her boss and co-worker of suspicion.  The book does take a couple of delightful detours, including a trip to a day spa (paid for by Kiki's mother in law) preceding an evening at a black tie charity ball.  Oh, and there's a hunky cop in this book, too, along with a hunky auburn haired groundskeeper at the spa (who reappears in the book).  Plus, it features Grace, a Harlequin Great Dane, and Gus, a Jack Russell Terrorist for whom Kiki is babysitting and receiving hazardous duty pay - with a strict warning that Gus was allowed to watch TV, but never Sesame Street, and especially not Elmo.  Lighthearted and fun.  4/5

Two dogs in one book.  Thor would approve.

Happy Thorsday, everyone!

9 comments:

pam said...

I'm reading a pretty good mystery right now, more of a gothic, governess on an estate and everything.

Anonymous said...

Well, I finished two about Thomas Cromwell. And hot though it may be (and humid here in California), I highly recommend them both. "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies." Really entertaining, and now I can pretend I know something about Brit history.

Anonymous said...

You must have super organizational skills to look after a large family, homeschool, run a business, sew, cook, and read so much. I wish I had your energy.

My current read is An Ocean Apart by Robin Pilcher, a sort of cozy novel. It is set in the UK and has lots of cold rain. Perfect for this hot weather.

I really enjoyed your post about a library book sale that showed your boys sitting on the floor enjoying their loot. Although I own a Kobo ereader, I do most of my reading from real books. I love the covers, the smell, and the feel of a real book. My Kobo will always come second.

Tami said...

That sentence about Gus not being allowed to watch Sesame Street made me laugh!

gMarie said...

I want to know why Gus isn't allowed to watch Elmo. They sound fun! g

Big Dude said...

Great shot of Thor

Lapdog Creations said...

Booth tries to get the Lapdogs to have a Wild Goose Chase with him every night! lol

SissySees said...

I too figured out who the murderer was pretty quickly on WGC, but the rest of the plot had enough twists to keep it fun.

Maybe this weekend I'll have time to read CCD?

Diane said...

Cut, Crop & Die sounds interesting. love the photos of Thor. Diane