Review: The Eyre Affair

Source: Amazon (not the copy I'm reviewing)

The Eyre Affair
Thursday Next, Book 1
Jasper Fforde

Published: 2002

Penguin, Hardcover, 374p.
ISBN: 0-670-03064-3

from Large Type book

Thursday Next is a literary detective without equal, fear, or boyfriend.  Thrusday is on the trail of the villainous Acheron Hades who has been kidnapping characters from works of fiction and holding them to ransom.  Jane Eyre has herself been plucked from the novel of the same name, and Thursday must find a way into the book to repair the damage.

She also has to find time to halt the Crimean conflict, persuade a man to marry her, rescue her aunt from a Wordsworth poem and figure out who really wrote Shakespeare's first plays.  Together with a cast of characters that includes her time-travelling father, a pet dodo and Edward Rochester himself, Thursday embarks on an adventure that will take your breath away.

This is the cover of the book that I read from my old library {but I forgot to take a photo, d'oh! } but it makes no difference which edition you read as The Eyre Affair is a fast and funny read no matter the cover.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I first came across this book online.  I hadn't heard of Jasper Fforde, hadn't heard of Thursday Next, and was wondering how this book that sounded so interesting had managed to slip through the fingers of everybody I know!  All fired up, I reserved it from the library, but once I had it in my hands I will admit that I got cold feet.  Will it really be as good as the reviews? Can it live up to my expectations?  So it sat on my bedside table for four weeks.  I had to return it, so the night before it was due I started to read.  I shouldn't have waited so long as the answer to all my questions would have been YES!  The Eyre Affair was such fun.  I flew through it and in just 4 hours I'd devoured the entire book and was left wanting more.

Set in an alternate reality (or if you prefer - a parallel universe) circa 1985, where the Crimean War is still raging, and you too can have the latest extinct species as a pet with the latest DNA Kits, SO-27 LiteraTec Operative, Thursday Next, is about to be shanghied into a case that will drive her to the brink.  

The use of a parallel universe was a great way to explain the very drastic changes in history that Jasper Fforde has used as part of the Thursday Next-verse.  England is a Republic, and people fly in dirigibles - how very Steampunk! - and Goliath Corporation seems to be running the government from the shadows. 

My favourite moments from the book usually involved Thursday.  Such a strong, yet troubled, character.  She has her flaws, but they just make her more interesting. Then there is Pickwick.  How original is it to have a pet Dodo?  I can't remember a book where our heroine has had such a fanciful pet.  Okay, Jayne Castle uses Dust Bunnies, but Dodo's were at least real ;-D  Anyway, Pickwick is Thursday's pet - after meeting registration requirements - who is 12 years old.  A Version 1.2 who has no wings (they didn't get the sequencing right till Version 1.7).

Then there is Thursday's father, the now notorious and rogue Col. Next, who was a member of the timetravelling Chronoguard.  He kept popping into her life - and asking such odd questions - that made sense in the context of the story, but when you first meet him, it's a tad strange.

However it's with the super-villan of the story that Thursday really shines.  Archeron

If you love parallel universes, women sleuths, time-jumping fathers, and plock-plocking pets, then Thursday Next is the series for you.  A great start to what I hope is a unique and fabulous series.  

 

Review: Red Hot Murder a Delight!

Red Hot Murder
An Angie Amalfi Mystery, Bk 13
Joanne Pence

Mass Market Paperback, Avon Books, 2006, 334p.
ISBN: 9780060758059

Just Deserts

Dilettante chef Angie Amalfi doubts if she'll actually survive her engagement to San Francisco homicide detective Paavo Smith, what with her meddling mom micromanaging the whole affair.  So Angie leaps at the chance to spend some time away with her fiance in the sun-drenched Arizona desert town where he'd spent time as a boy - and maybe explore the possibility of a Southwestern themed wedding feast.

But her groom-to-be is going back there to help a friend investigate the murder of a wealthy local - and it seems this tiny desert community is a hotbed of deadly secrets.  And when a second course of murder is served up, suddenly Angie's tasty getaway with her lover is starting to look more and more like her final meal.

This is the first Angie Amalfi book I've ever picked up and I have to say that even though I've missed out of 12 other books worth of back story - I loved it.  Angie is a real foodie who doesn't like it when people dis or dismiss her, or her cooking - or her Paavo.

In this book we see her and her fiance, Paavo Smith (odd name combo), on their way to revisit a place from his mostly unhappy childhood.  As with most mysteries, we have a dead body or two, obscure clues, more than a few suspects and a twist that turns the hunt for the killer on it's ear.  I found Angie and Paavo to have a good chemistry even though there wasn't a lot of 'we' time, and unlike most of the leading men of the cop persuasion, he's okay with letting Angie hunt around for some clues.  An Italian girl, we catch glimpses of her family life including a mother who looks like turning into a bridezilla - all on her daughter's behalf, of course - as well as a cast of weird and downright bitchy characters who have hunkered down in the dead man's house.  One of my favourites was the local diner cook who made some of the most disgusting food out, and her reaction to Angie's taste testing is so funny.

This book is much more than a cosy mystery but I wouldn't call it a police procedural/detective mystery either.  Think of this as cosy plus.  Since it's a foodie mystery there are the expected recipes in the back of the book.  Of the three recipes, the Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Pie (see below) makes me drool.  So, if you've enjoyed Stephanie Bond, Karen E. Olsen, Kathleen Bachus or Carolyn Hart then you'll get a kick out of Angie Amalfi.

Angie Amalfi's Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Pie

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts if desired)

4 eggs

½ cup light corn syrup

¼ cup honey

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp bourbon

1 tbsp vanilla

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch ground cinnamon

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

pastry for 1 pie crust

Heat oven to 350°F.  Toast the pecans in a small pan over med-high heat, tossing often to make sure they roast evenly.  Set aside to cool.

In a bowl add eggs, corn syrup, honey, sugar, brown sugar, butter, bourbon, vanilla  flour, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Beat until mixture is smooth.

Break your chocolate into little bits, and add with the pecans (or walnuts) into the mixture.  Mixing well so that the chocolate and pecans are distributed evenly.

Pour into uncooked pie crust and bake at 350°F until set.  This should take about 40-50 minutes.  Check using a skewer or toothpick to check if pie is cooked -the skewer/toothpick should come out clean - and put aside to cool.  Best served slightly warm with ice-cream.  Enjoy!

Review: Lucy Valentine to the Rescue

Truly, Madly

A Lucy Valentine Mystery, Bk 1
Heather Webber

Mass Market Paperback, St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 9780312946135

Lucy Valentine is as smart as can be, as single as you can get, and so not qualified to run a matchmaking service.  But when her parents temporarily step down from the family business, Valentine, Inc., it's Lucy's turn to step up and help out - in the name of love.  Plus her rent is due.

 

Her's the problem: Lucy doesn't have the knack for matchmaking.  According to family legend, every Valentine has been blessed by Cupid with the ability to read 'auras' and pair up perfect couples.  But not with Lucy.  Her skills were zapped away years ago in an electrical surge, and now all she can do is find lost objects.  What good is that in the matchmaking world?  You'd be surprised.  In a city like Boston, everyone's looking for something.  So when Lucy locates a missing wedding ring - on a dead body - she asks the sexy private eye who lives upstairs to help her solve the perfect crime.  And who knows?  Maybe she'll find the perfect love while she's at it...

 

 

My thoughts....

 

Having bought the second book first, and loving it, I had to quickly find this at my old library.  I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed this book.  Lucy Valentine is a sweet, but slightly neurotic character - when you get to know her family can you blame her? - who finds herself thrown into the deep end of matchmaking when she caves in to her father's request to run the family business while her parents take a break.

 

A former trust fund babe, she lives on her grandmother's estate, with a pushy cat called Grendel.  On her first day in the office she gets a vision from a client that leads her on an Alice in Wonderland journey to find a killer - before they find her.  Add into the mix a quirky group of close-knit friends and family, a bitch of a client, a suspicious cop or two, and a pit-bull of a journalist and you have all the makings of a real page turner.  I did like the way that Ms. Webber was trying to limit the uses of Lucy's 'gift' and I laughted when Lucy met Sean.  However, it's when Lucy's at the matchmaking office, trying to make said matches, that I got a good giggle.  Swatches... ha!

 

Sean, our very hot P.I, is a refreshing change from the ever popular take charge, healthy as a horse, superman type of mate.  He's a man who's had to face his own mortality, and make lifestyle changes.  This was done in a realistic fashion with humor and sensitivity, and is not at all cliche.

 

Thoreau and Grendel are the little scene stealers of the group. Just too cute for words.

 

I enjoyed the first three books (reviews 2 and 3 pending) and will definitely try to get my hands on 4 and 5.  A great start to a quirky new series.

 

Review: Kick up your Heels

Spying in High Heels/ Killer in High Heels

The High Heels Series, Books 1 & 2
Gemma Halliday

Published: Aug 2006/
Mar 2007

Mass Market Paperback, Making It, 324p./310p.
ISBN: 9780843957358 / 9780505527127

Spying in High Heels:  L.A. shoe designer Maddie Springer lives her life by three rules: Fashion.  Fashion.  Fashion.  But when she stumbles upon the work of a brutal killer, her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder.  And things only get worse when her boyfriend disappears - along with $20 million in embezzled funds - and her every move is suddenly under scrutiny by the LAPD's sexiest cop.  With the help of her post-menopausal bridezilla of a mother, a 300-pound psychic and one seriously oversexed best friend, Maddie finds herself stepping out of her stilettos and onto the trail of a murderer.  But can she catch a killer before the killer catches up to her?

 

Killer in High Heels:  L.A shoe designer Maddie Springer hasn't seen her father since he reportedly ran off to Las vegas with a showgirl named Lola.  So she's shocked when he leaves a desperate plea for help on her answering machine - ending in a loud bang.  Gushot?  car backfire?  Never one to leave her curiosity unsatisfied, Maddie straps on her stilettos and, along with her trigger-happy best friend, makes tracks for Sin City in search of her MIA dad.

 

Maddie hits the jackpot, all right.  She finds not only her dad, but also a handful of aging drag queens, an organized crime ring smuggling fake Prada pumps, and one relentless killer.  Plus, it seems the LAPD's sexiest cop is doing a little Vegas moonlighting of his own.  In a town where odds are everything, Maddie bets it all on her ability to out-step a vicious murderer.  She just hopes her gamble pays off... before her own luck runs out.

Gemma Halliday has breathed new life into my bookshelf with her delightful series.  Maddie Springer isn't the most switched on woman ever to grace the pages of a book, but boy is she fun to read.  This woman seems to get into so many awkward situations that she reminds me of Stephanie Plum - one of my all time favourite characters.

 

Maddie, a successful childrens shoe designer (is that a cool job or what!), seems to stumble into dangerous situations with amazing ease.  For someone who works from home, and has a hot cop for a boyfriend, you'd think life would be easy for her, wouldn't you?  Think again.  With a nose for trouble, and a headstrong can-do attitude, Maddie annoys the hell out of her guy, Ramirez, with her constant digging into other people's business.  His frustration in keeping her out of it runs parallel with her ability to sniff out information vital to his cases.  It doesn't matter that she's often on the wrong track.  Like Stephanie Plum, she falls into crap and comes out smelling like a rose!

 

I know I haven't gone into book specific detail, but as I'm talking about 2 books, this is just my impression of the series and characters so far.  I am going to collect the rest and will post as I read them.  I want to see what happens with her relationship with Ramirez, and who her man-eating best friend Dana ends up with.  Does her mother stay married?  Does her alternative lifestyle dad reappear?  Will Maddie and Ramirez make it?  Stay tuned.

If you love Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Bond, Karen E. Olson or Mary Stanton then I'm sure you'll enjoy this series.

 

Review: It's To Die For

To Die For

Blair Mallory, Book 1

Linda Howard

 

Published 2004

 

Mass Market Paperback, Piatkus, 378p.

ISBN: 0749935294

After a painful divorce, Blair Mallory follows a dream and opens a health club.  But Nicole Goodwin, a troubled member of the club, develops a strange fixation on Blair, imitating her style and dress, even the car she drives.  Then Nicole is gunned down in the club's parking lot.  And Blair is the only witness to the murder...

 

At first the police investigation concentratres on Nicole and her acquaintances, but then someone tampers with Blair's car, and sabotages her home and business.  The police - including Blair's old flame Lieutenant Wyatt Bloodsworth - are baffled because these attempts, while serious, are very different in tone from Nicole's murder.  Is Nicole's killer seeking to remove a troublesome witness?  Or was Blair the intended victim after all?

 

 

 

Hi there!  As promised I'm starting to post my thoughts on the books that I've recently devoured as part of my week long book marathon.  To Die For by Linda Howard was a real surprise for me as I'd only read her wonderful Mackenzie's series, or a historical romance.  So when I picked it up I was a little dubious as I either love it or I don't when it comes to Linda Howard.  Thankfully in this case I loved it.

 

This is the first of two books - Drop Dead Gorgeous being the sequel - and I just couldn't put it down.  In To Die For we are introduced to our protagonist, Blair Mallory.  An independant woman who knows what she wants in life.  As former cheerleader turned successful gym owner, Blair may look like a fluffy and ditzy blonde, but she's got the instincts of a barracuda.  So when Nicole, the copycat, gets dumped from the gym, Blair is delighted.  The copycat psycho is finally out of her life... until closing time that is.  As Blair closes up for the night she sees Nicole and an unknown male waiting for her in the shadows.  When she hears a gun shot and hits the ground, Blair is sure that her life is in danger.  After the police arrive, it is discovered that Nicole is dead.  Could her night get any worse? ... Yep.  

Enter Wyatt Bloodsworth, now a Lieutenant with the local police force. A big man with a forceful personality, he's also the guy who had dumped her 2 years ago - after just 3 dates.  Now he's back.  And much to Blair's annoyance, seems determined to muscle his way back into her life and her bed.  If he can keep her alive long enough to solve the case that is.

 

Blair is such a fun character great fun character.  The book is told from her POV, but I do like the interaction she has with the reader.  Blair and Wyatt have major chemistry (OMG, you could power a small town on the electricity they produce!), and I love the way that Ms. Howard has Blair writing down lists of Wyatt's misdemeanours for him to read.  It's such a novel idea... I may have to try it one of these days.

My only problem with the book was Bloodsworth's constant ability to get the better of Blair.  I know a strong male lead was called for when there is such a strong female character, but her inability to pull him up short when he needs it is a bit frustrating.  Having said that, Wyatt is a great character who is loving and protective of Blair.  He's a guy who knows what he wants and makes it happen.  I know that's a bit of a circular arguement, but tough ;-D

Blair's family are wonderfully vivid.  My take on her mother is just stand back.  She's one scarily together and practical lady.  Her sisters are very loving and protective, and I love Siana with her dimples.  The idenity of the Blair's attacker is a real surprise.  It crossed my mind for like 2 seconds, but I dismissed it because I didn't see the connection.  When it's all explained it does make sense.

For those of you who don't like very graphic books rest easy.  There is little actual violence in this book, no real swearing and no graphic sex scenes - which I found quite refreshing.  I'd recommend you put this book aside until you have time to read it all the way through as it would be such a hard job to put it down. 

So if you like a good murder mystery, romance or books by Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, etc., then this is a good book to add to your collection.  I have already ordered Drop Dead Gorgeous so will post an update ASAP. 

I give this book

Happy reading!

It's a Cosy Mystery Week

 

Went back to the coast to visit family this week and got side tracked by all the books.  Now I'd already had a bit of a book-fest over the weekend, but when I saw all the books in the cheap bins at the shopping centre, mum and I dived right in...

 

... and I'm oh so glad that I did.  I managed to find some books that either completed a series, or were titles I'd tried to find for years in some cases.  It's amazing how titles are OOP forever - or so it seems - and yet, there they are.  Right at the bottom of the pile.  So, thanks to my spur of the moment trip, I found the third and final book in Kathryn Lilley's A Fat City Mystery series, Makeovers Can Be Murder.  I have found all three of the books in different cheap sales over the past 3 or so years.  Now I can finally read the series as a whole - and not have to wonder at what happened in the missing book.
 

This time I seemed to go for mostly Cosy Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime, etc).  I have found the paranormal romance books just aren't hitting the spot lately.  I've raided family bookshelves of older cosy's that are no longer wanted, and now have four piles of books that I really should post reviews on.  I seem to have gone from being stuck in one rut, to jumping feet first into another.  Oh well...

 

Right now I'm very much enjoying Gemma Halliday and her delightfully ditzy, yet headstrong, Maddie Springer in The High Heels series.  I even managed to find the first book of her Hollywood Headline Mystery series too.  Heather Webber is another great author I've stumbled across.  I bought her book Deeply, Desperately as part of last weekend's 'perfect reading' session, and found out that my old library had the first and third books in the series... yeah, me!  Finally there was a real last minute inclusion of a book that nearly got tossed back (I already had 7 books in my hands people!) and I'm so glad that I followed that last minute impulse not to chuck it.  It was Gabriella Herkert's Catnapped.  This was such a great book.  It is the first of a series and I'm heading over to put it on my wishlist after I post this. 

 

So, now that I've spent WAY too much money this week on books I'm off to see what else I can find online ;-D.  Hope your week was as blissfully fabulous as mine was.

 

Happy reading!

Gladiatrix

Gladiatrix

Kannon Dupree: Timestalker Bk 1

Rhonda Roberts

HarperVoyager, 2009 (582 p.)
ISBN: 978-0-7322-8855-6

Browse Inside Gladiatrix by Rhonda Roberts

Back cover

When time travel was invented everyone thought it would solve their problems. 

But for 22 year old Kannon Jarratt it's about to turn her life upside down ...

Left for dead in the Blue Mountains when she was just a baby, Kannon has now 

discovered that an American Time Marshal, Victoria Dupree, could be her real 

mother. But Victoria has gone missing in ancient Rome while investigating 

the Hierophant, the mysterious leader of the Isis cult.

Kannon desperately wants to find Victoria but the US National Time Administration 

is standing in her way...

Finally!  An Australian author that kicks arse.  Rhonda Roberts introduces us to Kannon, star of the  Kannon Dupree: Timestalker series.  A feisty new heroine for a new millennium.

Set in a contemporary alternate reality, 22 year old Kannon’s life is about to be turned on its head.  Left for dead in the Blue Mountains as a baby, Kannon survived and is all grown up now.  After the death of her surrogate mother, she begins to look into her own origins and she uncovers the truth of her identity.    Travelling to America, she believes that American Time Marshall, Victoria Dupree, could be her real mother.  Victoria lost her baby girl about the same time that Kannon appeared in Australia, but Victoria has gone missing. Desperate to find Victoria, the only thing that stands in her way is the US National Time Administration . . . and two thousand years.

I devoured this book, and though I have only found a few Aussie authors that write the kind of paranormal/urban fantasy books I like, this does not strictly fall under that category.  A time travelling Aussie was definitely a draw card for me, but it was the cover was what drew my eye. And after reading the blurb I just could not resist temptation.

Kannon is a smart, tough and as much of a kick arse heroine as you could wish for.  It takes balls to travel back in time with no help or background information and yet she does just for the chance to find her mother.  Now, there is a lot of action packed into this detective story, and a dash of espionage thrown in for good measure.  But the icing on the cake is the burgeoning romance between Kannon and an ex-gladiator, Alexander, whose Roman mistress bought him to serve as Kannon’s bodyguard.

Be warned, it can get a little gruesome at times - hello, Gladiators! - but there is no overt or graphic sex in this book thank goodness.

Now, if this ticks all your boxes be aware that so far there two other books published by the author in this series - Hoodwink and Coyote (out 1 Sept 2012) - and you need to read them in order or you'll get totally lost.  If you’re in Australia then Gladiatrix, Hoodwink and Coyote, are available at Collins, Fishpond, QBD, and other bookstores.  I haven’t found paperback copies available on any overseas databases yet like Amazon or Book Depository, though you can buy it as an eBook through Kindle.

If you love Kylie Chan or Keri Arthur then you’ll enjoy this book.  Not for bus or train consumption as you’ll get too into it and not want to stop – and who knows where you’ll end up :P

Death of a Domestic Diva

Death of a Domestic Diva

A Toadfern Mystery Bk 1

Sharon Short

Back Cover

Need something troublesome and unsightly eliminated permanently?
Call Josie Toadfern!

There is no stain on Earth that laundromat owner Josie Toadfern can't conquer, and she's offered to share her expertise on world famous domestic doyenne Tyra Grimes's TV show. No one is more shocked than Josie herself when the Great Grimes shows up in Paradise, Ohio, to tape a segment in Josie's teeny-weeny hometown. But rapidly spreading rumors of the insufferable icon's immoral -- and quite possibly illegal -- carryings-on have sparked Josie's curiosity, and her uninvited sorting through Grimes's dirty laundry is exposing all manner of dastardly doings -- from mischief all the way to murder. And the irrepressible Toadfern soon realizes it will take more than lemon juice to make this lethal stain come out in the wash.

Although the title enticed me to purchase this book, it really didn’t live up to my expectations.  Sharon Short has tried to cram a lot of interactions with too many people in this first instalment of her Toadfern Mystery series, and the result is a book that seems to be incapable of following a linear storyline.  We jump from person to person, listening to them whine, bitch, insult and yell at our heroine, Josie Toadfern.  Unfortunately, her insatiable curiosity turns her into a doormat, incapable of telling people where to stuff it when they just mow all over her feelings (or take over her apartment).  She is not the most confident person, and I get the feeling that there should have been a more backstory in there as some of the cruel comments stem from years ago, especially from the Police Chief, John Worthy.  Her boyfriend, Owen, seems to be sweet enough, but he too just ignores her at times, or just avoids her.

Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind while reading it, but if I try another of these books, and that’s a big if, it’ll be from the library.  This book will appeal to you if you enjoy Roberta Isleib, Kathryn Lilley or Laura Childs cosy mysteries, but I think that you’ll have the same reservations I have about buying this series.