Blog Carnival News & Springtime!

I must apologize to those who have attempted to submit entries to the Mystery and Crime Fiction Blog Carnival.  For over 4 years I have used a blog carnival service, but it apparently - and suddenly - has ceased to exist.  I thought when I got the "temporarily down" page that it was just...temporary.  I guess it is permanently down.

Therefore, I have taken matters into my own hands and will collect carnival entries via this form (click here).  You may also find the form on the page tab above titled "Blog Carnival Submission" for easy access anytime.

I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and ask you to be patient as we change to this routine. I am expecting the next blog carnival will make up for the two month absence. 

Although nothing can replace the awesome Mystery and Crime Fiction Blog Carnival, here is a little something to help encourage springtime and provide a festive touch.

Paper Wreath
Learn how to make these three pretty wreaths from dyed book pages. Click here for full instructions.

Wreath Made of Book Pages
Upcycle book pages with a statement piece for your screened-in door or indoor area of your home. Frilly punched edges make the wreath feel dainty, but it's hearty enough to last for many springs ahead.  Click here for full instructions.


Have a fantastic week everyone!

Review - Murder at Westminster Abbey

I snatched up the first in this series, Murder at Hatfield House, as soon as I saw the book (click here for review).  I was anxious for the next book to finally be released, and I can't wait to share it with you.  

Author: Amanda Carmack

Copyright: April 2014 (NAL) 304 pgs

Series: 2nd in Elizabethan Mysteries series

Sensuality: n/a

Mystery Sub-genre: Historical Suspense

Main Characters: Kate Haywood, 18 year old musician in the employ of newly crowned Queen Elizabeth I

Setting: 1559, London England

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

London is a big change from country life for Kate, and the brazen ambition and gossip in the new queen's court is a treacherous mine-field.  Kate finds a friend in Lady Mary Everley.  Kate gets word that her old friend Rob from the traveling acting troop needs her help.  Rob's paramour, a fair red-head like the Queen, has been killed and he will likely be blamed. Then Mary, who is also a fair red-head is murdered in Westminster Abbey.  Kate ends up on a killer's trail trying to find the killer's identity before the Queen is the next target.  All this while navigating the court politics to see if there is a traitor close to Queen.  Kate has her hands full and finds herself in danger more than once.  Kate will also learn more about her deceased mother in this book.

Kate is kind, but her naivety is giving way to worldly wisdom in this addition to the series.  Her bravery carries her through once again, with her deeply ingrained sense of justice.  Her loneliness is touched on, now that she is getting older yet in the Queen's court, which is considered a demanding career more than a job.  Queen Elizabeth turns to Kate, knowing her loyalty, to assist in understanding the currents at court.  Queen Elizabeth is shown to be steely and shrewd, with a sense of loyalty as well.  Rob is a scoundrel with a good heart.  Hard working Anthony is in London to apprentice as a lawyer and finds he still cares for Kate deeply.

London is well displayed as Kate investigates, with the streets and alleys taking on their own life.  Even the castle with multitudes of political maneuvering is palpable.  The plot idea is a fascinating one and captured me while the pacing kept me turning pages. A great combination of tension and intrigue.  The climax was another nail-biting intoxicating ride and the wrap-up drops a bomb-shell on Kate that had me wanting the next book immediately. 

Another stellar book for this series that is exceeding expectations. 

Rating:  Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend. 

Left Coast Crime Award Nominees & Winners 2014

The Left Coast Crime Awards are given annually, voted on by Left Coast Crime attendees. The awards will be presented on March 22, 2014, at the Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California. Here are the nominees:

Lefty Award for Most Humorous Mystery
  °      The Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews
  °      The Fame Thief by Timothy Hallinan
  °      The Last Word by Lisa Lutz
  °      The Good Cop by Brad Parks - Winner
  °      Dying for a Daiquiri by Cindy Sample

Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery Award
(best historical mystery, covering events before 1960)
  °      Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen
  °      His Majesty's Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal
  °      Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses by Catriona McPherson - Winner
  °      Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell
  °      Covenant with Hell by Priscilla Royal
  °      Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear

The Squid
(best mystery set within the United States)
  °      W Is for Wasted by Sue Grafton
  °      Purgatory Key by Darrell James
  °      Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger - Winner
  °      The Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan
  °      A Killing at Cotton Hill by Terry Shames

The Calamari
(best mystery set anywhere else in the world)
  °      Murder Below Montparnasse by Cara Black
  °      Hour of the Rat by Lisa Brackmann
  °      As She Left It by Catriona McPherson
  °      How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny - Winner
  °      Mykonos After Midnight by Jeffrey Siger

Sadly I have not read any of these, but several are on my TBR shelf.  How about you, read any of these?  Which do you recommend?

Review - Zero-Degree Murder

It may be the first stirrings of spring, but this book is in the depths of winter.  This is the first book in a new series focusing on Search and Rescue operations.  I read the book cover blurb and knew I had to read it.  Usually it takes me several days, sometimes a full week to read a book.  Not this one, 24 hours only because I just could not put it down. 

Copyright: January 2014 (Berkley) 304 pgs

Series: 1st in Search and Rescue Mystery

Sensuality: adult situations, some violence, language scatter throughout

Mystery Sub-genre: Thriller

Main Characters: Gracie Kinkaid -- rescue expert 

Setting: Modern day, San Rafael Wilderness

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

Gracie is a a volunteer for Timber Creek Search and Rescue.  It is the Thanksgiving holiday and she is one of only three to answer a rescue call.  There are four hikers missing in the San Rafael Wilderness of Southern California -- and one is a famous movie actor so there is intense pressure to find them.  Gracie is paired with a self-absorbed Search and Rescue volunteer, Cashman, who is more interested in getting an autograph when they find the famous actor than in finding all four.  Gracie is the experienced tracker, and she finds blood on the trail indicating something suspicious happened to the hikers.  They locate one hiker, the heart-throb actor Rob Christian, who is injured but has bits of memory involving an attack and blood.  But before they are able to locate any of the remaining lost hikers, an early blizzard settles in and Gracie is on her own to save any surviving hikers and hide from a killer while warding off hypothermia for both her and Rob.

There are a few sections told from the woman hiker as she hides from the killer, and a few from the killer as well.

Gracie Kinkaid has some emotional damage and isn't your typical woman.  She loves being out in the wilderness and surviving.  She comes with some baggage, but not too much.  Ralph Hunter is a senior Search and Rescue team member who reminds you of a traditional gentleman with modern ideas.  He is in the command trailer providing the rescue team's communication and support.  Steve Cashman is the blundering dolt who feels nobody respects him.  He is an enemy to the rescue efforts in his own right.  Rob Christian is the mega-star actor who will not be pampered in this rescue and he must toughen up.

Timber Creek County and San Rafael Wilderness area are vividly rendered highlighting the wild and dangerous alongside the breathtaking.  The wilderness is the primary setting for most of the book and it was so well done that I believe I got chilled. 

The plot is simple but quite effective with tension and suspense built upon as the story develops.  There aren't any slow spots and once you are a chapter in, you are hooked.  The climax was white knuckle excitement and the wrap up was bittersweet. 

This was an intense and riveting debut perfectly drawn and executed.  This should be a great series if this first offering is any indication. 

Rating:  Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend.

Review - Fatal Enquiry

This is my introduction to Barker and Llewellyn mysteries. I regret it taking so long to discover this series, for it has all the ingredients to become an enduring classic.

Author: Will Thomas

Copyright: May 2014 (Minotaur Books) 304 pgs

Series: 6th in Barker and Llewellyn series

Sensuality: Some violence (not very graphic)

Mystery Sub-genre: Historical police procedural

Main Characters: Private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his apprentice, Thomas Llewellyn

Setting: 1886 London

Obtained Through: Publisher for an honest review

Sherlock had Moriarity and Cyrus Barker has his arch-nemesis Sebastian Nightwine.  But Cyrus Barker had exposed Nightwine a few years beforehand and never expected to see or hear of him again.  But the British government has forgiven his criminal past and welcomed him back to London.  Nightwine has a plan that would expand the British empire and the government has taken the bait.  

In the first chapter the action starts and quickly Barker and Llewellyn are wanted fugitives when Nightwine begins his revenge.  The indomitable Cyrus Barker and loyal apprentice Thomas must figure out what Nightwine's deal with the government is really all about and prevent a tragic government blunder while dodging arrest. Oh, and avoid the assassin out to kill them. The story is told from Llewellyn's point of view with a witty voice that lightens the tale. 

Thomas Llewellyn is bookish, yet he is the right hand person to London's premier enquiry agent (private investigator).  He knows life is good for him, and he has a level head with a humorous outlook.  He never takes himself very seriously and is very loyal.  He makes a great view point character.  Cyrus Barker is a solemn, sober-minded man of larger-than-life background and determination with a splash of action hero.  Inspector Terence Poole of Scotland Yard is Barker's friend who risks his career.  Jacob Maccabee, Barker's grouchy servant who occasionally let's some of his inner man and emotions show - the man who wanted to be the apprentice, who will risk his life to help stop Nightwine.  Jenkins is their office clerk who may be suited to filing, but jumps in to assist Barker without a thought.  Soho Vic is one of Barker's informants, or "watchers", who is a young Fagan running a gang.  I want to see more of this character.  Then there is Sofia Ilyanova, an angelic vision who gets under Thomas' skin, but whose motives are suspect throughout the book.

Victorian London is presented as more than a historical travelog as Barker and Llewellyn hide out in various parts of the vast city.  The Masons of London are utilized differently than is usual and it makes a nice touch.  The plot is part PI and part Suspense with plenty of action.  The climax isn't a standard killer reveal, since the reader is made aware of who the "bad guy" is.  It is rather a showdown.  The wrap-up leaves a little hint that one little aspect of this story may come back to haunt Barker and Llewellyn later.

I was surprised by the dramatic quick pace combined by a unique, even charming, narrative voice.  This has joined my list of "must reads."

Rating: Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend.