BOOK REVIEW: Clammed Up, by Barbara Ross (A Maine Clambake Mystery)

I love cozy mysteries. Like most avid readers, I read a lot of different kinds of books, but I have a guilty-pleasure favourite genre. I adore a good paperback murder that has an amateur sleuth snooping around her small town looking for clues and handing out recipes. Ooh how I love them! And because I love the genre so much, I'll usually put up with a lot of the mediocrity that comes with genre fiction (by that I mean that even though there are many, many great examples of the genre, there are inevitably also many less successful ones...and I love most of them just the same).

With Barbara Ross' Maine Clambake series, however, no forgiveness is required. Her writing is stellar, right out of the gate. In fact, if someone who had never read a cozy mystery before asked me to recommend a book to introduce them to the genre, I might choose this one.

Barbara Ross understands everything that I love about fiction in general and mysteries in particular. First, her setting is a real place. I don't just mean that she set the book in a place that exists in real life (I don't care about that...fictional places are just fine), but that she describes it in a way that is so deliciously realistic that I feel I could walk down any street in her book and I would know exactly what it would look and smell like. She spends time on her secondary characters, giving them things to do other than just provide clues to the murder investigation (which is wonderful because some of them are hilarious).

I had actually started reading the second book in this series, Boiled Over, first but then was enjoying it so much that I decided to stop and read this one first. Because of that, I think it was a little easier for me to figure out "whodunnit" in this one. I'd recommend just reading them in order if you can. They're both heaven.

BOOK DETAILS:
Clammed Up
A Maine Clambake Mystery (Book 1)
by Barbara Ross
Published by Kensington
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
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Source: my local library


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BOOK REVIEW: Rosemary and Crime, by Gail Oust

I'll admit I picked up this cozy for the title. It's a hell of a title. Like many cozy mystery titles, it's pun-based, and after binge watching all three seasons of Rosemary and Thyme (an absolutely delightful British mystery series that has nothing to do with this book), it was a pun I was particularly susceptible to. Plus, I had a vague recollection of reading a review and/or giveaway for this book on another book blog some time ago, though I couldn't remember if the review had been positive. No matter. I figured I'd pick it up and decide for myself.

I wouldn't say I was over the moon for this book or its characters. There was something unconvincing about the whole thing right from the beginning.



The premise is that our heroine--not that I found myself rooting for her much--runs a spice shop in a small town in Georgia. A spice shop. As in, one that only sells spices. I'm not sure how she'll manage to stay in business! Granted, I'm sure these shops do exist, but the author has the spice shop owner doing such "radical things" as putting curry in mayonnaise (shocking, I know!), only to have the people in the town revolt over such exotic spiciness. Yeahhh...that's not a town that can support a spice shop.



But I decided to ignore it. After all, Gail Oust is hardly the first author to create an amateur detective who runs a shop that couldn't possibly make enough money to stay afloat (*ahem* Joan Hess).

Beyond the premise, though, it's the little things that kept taking me out of the story. Our "heroine," Piper, discovers the body (of course) and panics (okay) and thinks to herself that she should contact the authorities to "report the crime" (good). But then when the police arrive and spend most of their time being excessively rude and snappish (why?) and tell her they have a murder to investigate, she freaks the hell out. Murder! She never considered it might be murder! She's beyond shocked! Except that no, she can't be, because she just called it a crime scene two pages ago!

It's just those kinds of little things that annoyed me throughout this book. I believe the technical term is "bad writing."



Even if I had been willing to overlook the flaws in the storyline, it's not like I was enjoying following the characters around or being immersed in the setting. The town is dull and unpleasant, all of the characters are irritating, and Piper Prescott the spice shop lady only has two settings: shock and rage. She goes from being shocked to outraged and back again so frequently throughout the book that her resting face must be a deep scowl. If she used Twitter her favourite hashtag would be #whyInever. In short, she's unpleasant.



I can't say I'd recommend this book. I would, however, recommend a lot of OTHER books with similar themes that have been better writing and more likeable characters. Maybe some of those Laura Childs Southern tea mysteries, for instance. Or the new Maine Clambake series by Barbara Ross (soooo good!). Or the particularly on point Penn Dutch series by Tamar Myers that includes this title. Or...well you're spoiled for choice really. No need to settle for one that doesn't suit. And for me, this one just didn't measure up.




BOOK DETAILS:
Rosemary and Crime
by Gail Oust
Publisher: Minotaur
Publication Date: December 17, 2013
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Source: local library

BOOK REVIEW: The Case of the Missing Servant, by Tarquin Hall

The Case of the Missing Servant:
From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator 
Series: Vish Puri, India's Most Private Investigator
Author: Tarquin Hall
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Publication Date: June 16, 2009
Source: local library
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I can't believe I forgot to review this sooner, since it's probably my favourite book in the Vish Puri series. I read them out of order, so even though this is the first one in the series, I read it third. They're easily read in any order, though. The first one I read was The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken and I fell in love with everything about it. But even I was surprised with how much I enjoyed The Case of the Missing Servant. It's both a well written book and a jolly good mystery. Plus, it was good to finally get more insight into some of the characters' back stories, particularly the origins of their nicknames (Facecream, Handbrake, etc.). If you've never read a Vish Puri novel, this one is a great start.

BOOK REVIEW: Gingerbread Cookie Murder, by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier

Gingerbread Cookie Murder
Authors: Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Date: October 1, 2010
Source: my local library
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This is actually a three-in-one book with three separate stories, all with gingerbread cookie themes, by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier. (Sorry for the lateness of this Christmas-themed review, but I usually don't even get a chance to read my Christmas-themed mysteries until January as it is!)

BOOK REVIEW: The Body in the Sleigh, by Katherine Hall Page

The Body in the Sleigh: A Faith Fairchild Mystery, by Katherine Hall Page

Published by William Morrow on October 27, 2009

Review first appeared on Cozy Little Book Journal on February 2, 2014

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I've read at least one Faith Fairchild mystery before and I enjoyed it, but this one didn't quite live up to my expectations. It started off very promising but the pace slowed to a crawl at times and it seemed the author was still laying down establishing details and character background right up to the last page.

BOOK REVIEW: The Case of the Love Commandos, by Tarquin Hall

The Case of the Love Commandos

From the Files of Vish Puri, India's Most Private Investigator

A Vish Puri Novel

Author: Tarquin Hall

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Publication Date: October 8, 2013

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Source: Edelweiss, Net Galley

Yay! You know that joy you feel when, after discovering a new mystery author and thinking perhaps you have a new favourite series, you then read a second book by that author and realize that yes, you were right to love them? By contrast, there's nothing worse than being disappointed in the second book you read by an author after loving their first. Thankfully, Tarquin Hall did not disappoint.