The Winter Garden Mystery by Carola Dunn

Daisy Dalrymple is off to another manor house to take pictures and write up the history for her magazine. She is somewhat regretting that this house will not have the same excitement as the last one. After all, it's not like another murder is going to be committed, right? Well, certainly not while she is there. But a dead body is discovered in the Winter Garden.

And it's not like there weren't undercurrents to begin with. Lady Valeria Parslow rules her family and the village with an iron fist. No one is allowed to step out of line. Her son Sebastian, a beautiful man, is kept on a particularly short leash. His sister Roberta ("Bobby") is actually the one who invited Daisy in the first place. Lady Valeria was not happy about it and her ire only grows when Daisy, fearing that the local police force is too intimidated by Lady Valeria to investigate properly, calls in Scotland Yard. Detective Inspector Alec Fletcher to be exact.

Three and a half stars

This book came out March 15th, 1995

Follows Death at Wentwater Court

Followed by Requiem for a Mezzo

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium

Opinions are my own 

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

Not my favorite Agatha Christie for sure but an okay read nonetheless.  Part of my yuck includes casual racism and romanticizing of physical violence. 

Short synopsis: Girl, who recently lost her father, sets out to find adventure. When she witnesses an accidental death on a train platform, it sets off a train of excitement which leads to South Africa as well as several attempts on her life. Colonel Race is actually a minor character but the events in this book do lead him in to his life of fighting crime.

Three stars

This book came out May 1923

Follows The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Followed by Poirot Investigates

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Death at Wentwater Court by Carola Dunn

Daisy Dalrymple is breaking the barriers of the 1920s by striking out on her own (rather than marrying) and becoming a reporter/photographer (though, don't tell her editor because he doesn't believe women can take pictures.) Her first assignment takes her to Wentwater Court where the tensions are running somewhat high between the family as the father has remarried. His three children are having trouble getting used to their stepmother, especially since she is only a year older than her oldest stepson. To make matters worse, Lord Stephen Astwick has been invited to their house right after the Christmas holiday and he is making decided advances toward the stepmother while the daughter of the house seems to be obsessed with him. Lord Astwick all seems to be an oily snake. So it should not be a surprise that he ends up dead. Daisy and one of her old acquaintances are the one to find him floating in a hole where ice used to be.
Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher is called in and immediately appreciates the help that Daisy is able to give him. She is levelheaded and insightful, able to provide a clear picture of everyone at the party as well as seeing things in her photographs that aren't necessarily available to the naked eye. 
This was a nice start to a cozy series. Daisy seems smarter than the average amateur; not rushing into danger, sharing her evidence with the professional. I think I've read this series before and eventually she grated on my nerves but I can't remember why so I'm going to continue listening.

Three and a half stars

Followed by The Winter Garden Mystery

This book came out in 1994

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium

Opinions are my own

The Love Talker by Elizabeth Peters

Definitely not one of Ms. Peters' best books. It has the usual mysterious atmosphere and a heroine in danger, but the "romance" aspects of the book were just a little too ooky for me. Somehow, thought it was published in 1980, it felt more dated than many of her previous books.
Laurie Carlson is working on her dissertation in the bleak winter of Chicago when she gets a letter special delivery from her usually parsimonious aunt telling her she needs to come back to Pennsylvania. Her brother who she hasn't seen in a number of years calls and the two decide it is past time to go back and visit their family. There are three siblings left from their mother's mother, their aunts Lizzy and Ida and their brother Ned, now all in their 70 living together in the family mansion holding to their Spencerian ideals.  Aunt Lizzy is a fabulous cook and up-to-date with fashions but she has followed every out-there idea there is. The latest seems to be fairies and it has Aunt Ida, frankly quite worried. Uncle Ned is not very worried but, then, he is incredibly laid back and just takes the world as it comes. 
Unfortunately, it seems that someone is working very hard to make Aunt Lizzy believe that fairies are real, but for what purpose? And why does it seem so sinister?

Two stars

This book came out in 1980

Audiobook borrowed from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Ufda. The casual racism in this book does NOT hold up well. The story is, as usual, quite funny but it is not a book that aged like a good wine.

Bertie has gotten hold of a banjo. If you've read previous books in the series, you realize that this is going to be a problem. In fact, it not only gets Bertie kicked out of his apartment, Jeeves leaves him as well. Big Problem. Except Bertie doesn't see it that way. He hires another valet and gets himself out of London since one of his previous fiancee's was seen in the company of two of his former antagonists. Well, it turns out that he might not have reason to worry since the former fiancee is now more interested in his friend Chuffy. But the course to true love never does run smoothly in fiction and it may be that Jeeves's intervention is needed after all.  

Two stars

Follows Very Good, Jeeves!

Followed by Right Ho, Jeeves!

This book came out in 1933

Audiobook borrowed from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

 The book opens with Bertie once again being engaged. Well, he's reminiscing about being engaged to a woman, Florence, who wants Bertie's help in stopping his uncle's memoirs from being printed. Jeeves appears to help but the manuscript making it to the publisher means that Florence has dropped the engagement. We also see Bertie almost get engaged but luckily Jeeves helps him out again. 

We also see more of Jeeves' family with his niece in one story and a cousin in another. And one story from Jeeves's point of view, how he is able to manipulate Bertie.

Wodehouse is just really good at weaving in stories and picking up threads from one book to another. If you haven't read previous books in the series, you are probably okay but if you have, there is so much more to enjoy in terms of humor because you get layers of the story.

Three stars

Follows The Inimitable Jeeves

Followed by Very Good Jeeves!

This book came out in 1925

Audiobook from Audible Premium plus

Opinions are my own

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

A body has turned up in the bathtub of a house that he didn't belong to. This is at the same time that a prominent financier has disappeared. Lord Peter Wimsey is called in to help when the man who owned the bathtub is accused of the murder. He is thrown into a mystery that comes down to the underpinnings of one man's ego.

Great instance of Peter having PTSD which, of course, wasn't talked about at the time so, I think, a wonderful addition to the story. Disappointingly casual racism in the book especially towards Jewish people.

Four stars

Followed by Clouds of Witness

This book came out in 1923

Audiobook from Audible Plus Catalog

Opinions are my own

Devil May Care by Elizabeth Peters

I love the cover description of this book. Accurate but misleading... in the best possible way. Not unlike Elizabeth Peters. Who created a fun book. Not necessarily haute literature but definitely worth a read nevertheless; it ages remarkably well and the narrator is fantastic.
Ellie is on her way up to house sit for her rich, eccentric aunt. Also in the car, her asshat fiance, Henry. The vivid description of Henry's thoughts perfectly describe his character. He starts out seeming like an all-American and, well, we also see the flip side of getting that dream. 
We get great descriptions of all of the characters but not as much insight as we get into both Henry and Ellie. We learn that Ellie's aunt is going on vacation and Ellie is staying to watch the many, many animals. Except that she also sees something else. Of the six prominent families in the area, Ellie sees ghosts related to five of them. And starts wondering why. Thankfully, the lawnboy, and a descendant of one of the families, Donald, is there  to help.

Three and a half stars
This book came out in 1977
Audible book
Opinions are my own

Legend in Green Velvet by Elizabeth Peters

I have been ripping through audiobooks of Elizabeth Peters' standalones. Most of them hold up really well with humor and awesome, feminist heroines. This is not one of the better ones but it did have the rampant history involved and echoes of the other books that have held up better to the inevitable tramp of time.
We are following along with Susan, an archeological student who has gotten the lifelong opportunity of being able to go on a Pictish dig in Scotland. She's just arrived in the country when she meets a busker/doomsday prophet/revolutionary who gives her a coded note and then ends up dead. Luckily, she runs into Jamie Erskine, a laird who takes her under his wing. And it's a good thing they are together because someone is looking for a treasure and they are not above framing Susan and Jamie for murder in order to get what they want.
The sexism of the time that Peters usually avoids is pervasive in this book (though not as bad as the Jackal's Head which I couldn't even finish) I did enjoy Grace Conlin as the narrator. Two and a half stars rounded up.

Three stars

This book came out March 1st, 1976

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Slight Mourning by Catherine Aird

Usually the admonition is not to have thirteen people sit down to dinner because one will die. In this case, it was only twelve but one is still dead. In fact, the host was killed by a large overdose of drugs. Then another guest, the amiable but fat (like seriously, her weight is mentioned a LOT) Mrs. Marchmont is killed as well. It is up to Inspector Sloan to come in and figure out what is going on.  
There were a lot of characters and it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who. And, to be honest, the solution seemed to come a little bit out of nowhere, even with the explanation at the end. But I still enjoyed the character development as well as the ride to get to the end.

Three stars

Follows His Burial Too

Followed by Parting Breath

This book came out in 1975

Ebook borrowed from Audible

Opinions are my own

His Burial Too by Catherine Aird

Well. This was an odd one. We meet a young lady, just back from being a nanny in Italy, whose father was out all night. And he is discovered, somewhat incongruously, under a statute that was being moved in a nearby church. In comes Inspector Sloan.
As it seems is usual for Aird, the suspect ends up being someone who seems to be a secondary character but she starts to drop BIG clues as the story ends. If you can remember who everyone is. That can be hard to track in an audio book but I still enjoyed listening.

Three stars

Follows A Late Phoenix

Followed by Slight Mourning

This book came out 1969

Borrowed from Audible

Opinions are my own

The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird

This was an interesting beginning, following a group of tourists as they tour a "stately home". We learn about the history of the house and the family that owns it. The tour ends when a precocious child discovers a body stuffed into a body of armor. 
It turns out to be the family archivist who was on the verge of proving that the current lord of the manner shouldn't be in there at ll. But was that the reason he was killed?
The solution on this one was a little unfairly clued until the very end but I love Aird's word choice. Short stories tightly told.

Three stars

Follows Henrietta Who

Followed A Late Phoenix

This book came out 1969

Borrowed from Audible

Opinions are my own

Confounding Case of the Carisbrook Emeralds by Stephanie Laurens

I had thought of this as being Laurens' mystery series but, as usual, it is more about the relationships and the characters than the actual mystery. Which I am okay with. We have a very lovely romance between Hugo Adair and Cara Di Abaccio. 
We are dropped in when Cara's aunt accuses her of stealing the Carisbrook emeralds. Of course, she is innocent but no one is willing to go against her aunt. No one except Hugo that is. He immediately realizes someting is wrong when she doesn't come to church and finds her at Scotland Yard. Of course, Inspector Stokes immediately also realizes that she is innocent and sets out with Barnaby and Penelope to clear her name. 
The solution ends up being rather convoluted with many layers but I don't know if people are reading these for the mysteries.

Three stars

Follows Loving Rose

Followed by The Murder at Mandeville Hall

This book came out June 14th, 2018

Opinions are my own

Street of the Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters

 A great example of why I love this series even though it's ... 40 years old? Good Lord. So self-referential (you would never meet the villain at the end) and wry. Vicky Bliss is a fantabulous character. A blonde with a body like a centerfold, a mind like a steel trap, and the wit to keep you reading.
This time, there are replicas of famous items that are being put out into the world, including one from her very own university. So Vicky's off to Rome to figure out what's going on. Her adventures are fun and fascinating. As is John Smythe, the Englishman she meets along the way. 
The mystery is fairly clued with the reader able to guess the villain(s?) fairly easily. And all of the characters are painted so vividly including secondary characters like Herr Schmidt, the Italian principessa, Bruno, the Italian count as well as his son, his mother, and his mistress. Even Caesar the dog.

Three and a half stars

Follows Borrower of the Night

Followed by Silhouette in Scarlet

This book came out in 1978

Borrowed as an ebook from the CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters

Vicki Bliss is a historian who has just had the find of a lifetime fall into her lap, proof that a shrine built by Remenschneider (I listened to the book so spelling may be suspect) actually existed. A race between herself and her lover, Tony Lawrence, as well as treasure hunter George Nolan, takes them all to Germany in an old, supposedly haunted castle.
In the setting of the book, the castle is now a hotel run by the final countess (who married into the family) and the last surviving Drachenstein, Irma. The Grauphin, the old countess, is an iron-fisted besom while her niece is a “perfect heroine” including to the point of being a fainting flower. There is also at the castle a Doctor Blankenhagen who may or may not also be looking for the shrine. The countess also has a séance-loving friend and there is an older gentleman, Schmidt, who round out the party.
Peters infused the book with a sense of humor about the whole gothic atmosphere, at one point, Vicki says something along the lines of, “A secret passage? That was all we needed.” Love those bits of self-awareness.

Four stars

Follows The Camelot Caper

Followed by Street of the Five Moons

This book came out in 1973

Borrowed as an ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

When the book opens, Jessica Tregarth is on the run. From whom? She doesn't know. But her bag was almost stolen (thank goodness for that policeman) and someone has searched it. Now there's someone following her. Luck provides her with the amenable people on the bus she stumbles on to. They drop her at the Blue Boar where she is supposed to meet up with a local, but instead is picked up by David Randall, gothic novelist. While he doesn't believe her story at first, being roughed up by two gentlemen soon changes his mind. Suddenly the two of them are on the run together, being chased (and chasing) the men who seem bent on getting the familial ring away from Jess.
I've read a couple of Peters's books lately and I am enjoying the fact that she mocks the very types of books that she is writing. She does it so well, having her heroine deride the characters in Gothic novels right before they themselves are kidnapped and tossed into a trunk or some other popular plot.

This book is loosely connected to the Vicky Bliss series introducing her eventual love interest to readers as "Cousin John." 

Three and a half stars

Followed by Borrower of the Night

This book came out in 1969

Borrowed as an audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Off the Record by Dolores Gordon-Smith

The mystery in this one felt very much rooted in character development which was fairly interesting. There was a lot going on in showing the many facets of each of the characters. The solution ended up being fairly complex and I didn't really understand one of the character's motivations and there were other loose ends but it was a good story and a nice addition to the series. I really liked and appreciated Gordon-Smith's note at the beginning explaining the history. 

Jack Haldean is at the center of a new mystery where a man whose invention could revolutionize the way music is played. But why would the professor seemingly murder the man who could make his ambition even bigger? Could it be that the entrepreneur had secrets of his own.

Three stars
This book came out March 1, 2011
Follows A Hundred Thousand Dragons
Followed by Trouble Brewing
Hard copy borrowed from Library
Opinions are my own

Copenhagen Connection by Elizabeth Peters

I really enjoy this book every time I read it. The story of a young woman (Elizabeth Jones) who not only comes face-to-face with her author heroine, she gets to work for her after the woman's assistant has an unfortunate accident at the airport. But that accident seems to just be the first in a series of problems that come up before the author herself disappears and Elizabeth is left with the woman's surly son. 
This book just tickles me. It's not perfect but it is Peters at the height of her writing. 

Four stars
This book came out in 1982
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus
Opinions are my own

Reread May 2022

Lady Osbaldestone’s Plum Puddings by Stephanie Laurens

For the third year, Lady Osbaldestone's grandchildren have decided they want to come visit her before going to the larger family gathering. This year, the original three and their cousin Melissa are joined by her sister Amanda (Mandy). They come to the village in a propitious year. Lady Osbaldestone's plum trees have cast off an abundance of fruit. Her cook has offered to make everyone in the village a plum pudding in order to have something to do with them all. The village has been taking up a collection of pennies in order to have something to put in the plum pudding and that is the children's first task, to sort the coins and clean them up so they can be put into the food. But when they find three coins that are obviously older than the currently used currency, it's time to call in reinforcements. A professor and his amanuensis niece are called in and a mysterious gentleman with ties to the professor show up. The stories of love and mystery don't twine as well in this book but still a fast, fun, and fluffy that would be good to pick up when you just need a palate cleanser.

Three stars

This book came out October 17th, 2019

Follows Lady Osbaldestone and the Missing Christmas Carols

Followed by Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Intrigue

Borrowed as an audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own 

Die for Love by Elizabeth Peters

 Ah, Jacqueline Kirby, I love you. An older, sexually-liberated female who solves mysteries? Um, yes please. It's a little disconcerting to read how romances are described in this book but this was written in a different time so...
Jackie is going to a Romance Novel convention, just to get out of Dodge. Her current love is getting a little clingy and this librarian (!) needs her space. So it's off to New York and some down-time with authors. Except that it's not really less stressful. Backbiting authors, conniving agents, and sneaky reporters all add up for a scintillating time for Jackie, until one of the reporters gets murdered. And there is a surfeit of suspects so, while it took a while to get into the book, the solution was not what I expected.

Four stars
Follows The Murders of Richard III
Followed by Naked Once More
This book came out January 1st, 1974
Audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Reread October 2022