Review - The Fatal Folio

Maybe it's me, but every since the book The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, where there was the actual story line alongside a book being read with it's own mystery, there seem to be more books with dual story-telling popping up.  Have you noticed that too??  Share your thoughts in the comments.  This is a new to me series, so keep reading and find out my thoughts.

Author: Elizabeth Penney

Copyright: October 2023 (Minotaur) 288 pgs

Series: 3rd in The Cambridge Bookshop Mysteries

Sensuality: n/a

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy Mystery

Main Characters: Molly Kimball, works at family's bookshop

Setting: Modern day, Cambridge, England

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review, Netgalley

Book Blurb: "After moving to Cambridge, England, Molly Kimball has found a lot to love, including—of course—her family’s ancestral bookshop, Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios. And though she’s not quite ready to use the “L” word when it comes to her boyfriend Kieran, she’s definitely fallen for his intimidating family’s library.

His family is paying her handsomely for an updated catalog when Molly discovers the original manuscript of a Gothic novel, A Fatal Folio by the pseudonymous Selwyn Scott. Kieran’s cousin Oliver, a professor specializing in Gothic literature, is eager to publish a paper on the mystery—especially because a troublesome student, Thad, is threatening to file a complaint against him and prevent his long-awaited promotion.

On Guy Fawkes Night, Molly, Kieran, and her friends set out to enjoy the costumes, fireworks, and fun—at least until a stray firework starts a panic, and the group stumbles upon a prone body, their face covered by a mask. It’s Thad, and he’s been stabbed to death.

It soon becomes clear Oliver isn’t the only one with a motive, and Molly must once again put on a few masks of her own to sleuth out Thad’s killer, prove Oliver’s innocence, and discover what Selwyn’s novel might have to do with this most atmospheric mystery…"

My Thoughts: 

This is another story within a story.  There is the discovered novel (A Fatal Folio) contained within this mystery.  

I enjoyed Molly's mother, Nina, and her Aunt Violet.  Her boyfriend Kieran owns a bike shop but his parents are Lord Graham Scott and Lady Asha which intimidates Molly.  I like Kieran so far but feel I didn't get to know him much in this, my first outing without reading the previous books.

There are plenty of suspects and I had an inkling of who the killer was.  There are plenty of atmospheric touches that I really liked.  The killer reveal was quick and over and not very tense.  I found this was an enjoyable read.  

Rating: Good - A fun read with a lot of atmosphere

Mystery Movie Review - See How They Run

The tagline says: "The greatest murder ever staged" and is a comedy mystery.  I ran across this 2022 comedy mystery by accident, and what a happy little accident that was!  It is a murder of a cast member of Agatha Christie's Mousetrap play which has references to Christie and Richard Attenborough (the real actor who stared in Mousetrap when it debuted in 1952.)  I did a blog post about Mousetrap (read here) 

What it's about:

In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play (Agatha Christie's Mousetrap) come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.  Rated PG-13  1 hr 38 minutes

Cast:

Adrien Brody (The Pianist) as Leo Kopernick

David Oyelowo (Selma) as Mervyn Cocker-Norris

Sam Rockwell (Vice) as Inspector Stoppard

Saoirse Ronan (Little Women 2019, Mary Queen of Scots) as Constable Stalker

Director Tom George

Writer Mark Chappell

Rotten Tomatoes 74% and critics reviews:

"A light-hearted watch packed with charm and a stacked talented cast, we can forgive most of its mistakes because, yes, it is just that delightful."  The Digital Fix

"Whatever may not work about the film is redressed by Saoirse Ronan's impeccable work here, and whatever does is only amplified by her presence. Without her, it's a fun bit of Sunday afternoon fluff. With her, it's a total must-see." Ilan Preskobsky Channel24(South Africa)

"While it’s no masterpiece, it’s a solid, fun, flashy, meta whodunit with a deliriously enjoyable soundtrack from Daniel Pemberton." Marvelous Geeks Media

"See How They Run never portrays itself as a great film in a similar genre, it tells a fan fiction spoof story with conviction and never deviates from its common objective of providing wholesome entertainment."  The Times of India

"Rockwell doesn’t put all that much effort into his British accent — but it kinda works, and he’s the perfect straight man for Ronan’s endearingly clumsy machinations and self-deprecating dialogue. It all adds up to a smashingly good time." Chicago Sun-Times

Noteworthy awards or rankings:

-- BAFTA Awards: Nominated for 2023 Outstanding British Film of the Year

-- London Critics Circle Film Awards: Nominated for 2023 British/Irish Actor of the Year

-- International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA): Nominated for 2023 Best Original Score for a Comedy Film

Trivia:

-- The announcer heard on the radio when part of The Mousetrap is being performed in this film is the same recording used in the actual stage play. That recording was made by the late actor Deryck Guyler in 1952 and is still in use to this day. Also the viewer can briefly see the clock above the fireplace. This is the only surviving prop from the original opening night of the show on October 6th 1952 and is still in use to this day.

-- While questioning the concierge at the Savoy, Stalker asks him what part of France he is from, to which he replies "Belgium." This is a reference to Dame Agatha Christie's famous character Hercule Poirot, who is Belgian, but is often mistaken for being French.

-- Most of the police force are busy dealing with the "Rillington Place" murders. Sir Richard Attenborough (the lead actor in the play "The Mousetrap") played the serial killer Reginald Christie in 10 Rillington Place (1971), based on those real-life crimes. In addition, when constable Stalker is calling women from the victim's little black book, she calls a Beryl and a Geraldine. These are the names of the mother and daughter Christie killed and blamed on Beryl's husband.

-- "The Mousetrap" is a real murder mystery play by Dame Agatha Christie that premiered at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham on October 6, 1952 and has continued to run to this day, making it the longest-running play in the world. Sir Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim were the first actors to play Sgt. Trotter and Mollie Ralston, respectively.  As portrayed in the film, The Mousetrap cannot be made into an English language film until at least six months after it has closed on the West End. The longest break between shows was 14 months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

-- Some of the character names are references to other writers. "Inspector Stoppard" is a reference to Sir Tom Stoppard, who wrote "The Real Inspector Hound", a play which is a parody of The Mousetrap. (One character in this film says about the deceased, "He was a real hound, Inspector!") Christie's butler is named Fellowes, a nod to Julian Fellowes, who wrote the Christie-esque Gosford Park (2001) and the screenplay for Crooked House (2017).

-- Constable Stalker goes looking for Inspector Stoppard after he claims to be going to the dentist. She sees a building marked "Dentist" and there are buzzers/bells with the names of the dentists. The first dentist is named "Norman Gale". Norman Gale is a dentist in Dame Agatha Christie's 1935 Poirot novel "Death in the Clouds". The second dentist listed is "Henry Morely" the dentist from "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" (1940).

-- Sam Rockwell struggled for weeks prior to filming as to how to play his character. It wasn't until after watching Peter Sellers playing Inspector Clouseau in A Shot in the Dark (1964) that he came up with the idea of playing the character as Sellers would if Clouseau spoke in Sellers' own English accent, and if the character was not a bumbling detective but a competent one.

-- Mervyn Cocker-Norris and Gio's flat is located in Florin Court, the building used as Hercule Poirot's residence Whitehaven Mansions in Poirot (1989).

-- Kopernick criticizes whodunits for having formulaic plots. The real Mousetrap play was an effort by Agatha Christie to break out of some of the tropes of detective fiction which she herself had helped establish.

-- The title is taken from the second line of the nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice." "Three Blind Mice" was the title of the radio play and the short story that were later expanded to become "The Mousetrap." The tune "Three Blind Mice" is whistled during the play.

-- While Agatha is washing the dishes, she mumbles to herself about a character named Ms. Ramsbottom. Aunt Effie Ramsbottom is a character in Christie's 1953 novel A Pocket Full of Rye.

My Thoughts:

This was a delight. The movie has plenty of humor and pokes some fun at the genre while providing a truly entertaining mystery.  Since humor is very subjective, that it is often hard to pull off.  The acting is great and successfully delivers the understated british humor to perfection providing lots of laughs.  I have to say seeing David Oyelowo in this was a treat as well.  Each of the actors have done serious dramatic acting and yet they give their roles the best of themselves-for doing comedy well is hard.  The Agatha Christie part was laugh-out-loud funny.  This is a fun mystery in the right hands from script through casting and directing.  I highly recommend.

Movie Trailor:

Review - Shadow in the Glass

The marketing says this series is ideal for fans of Louise Penny and Dorothy L. Sayers.  I've been following this series since it began: 

1) Unkindness of Ravens (click here)

Now let's enjoy the second book in the series in an idealic wedding setting in upstate New York.

Author: M.E. Hilliard

Copyright: April 2022 (Crooked Lane Books) 328 pgs

Series: 2nd in Greer Hogan Mysteries

Sensuality: Mild adult topics

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy Mystery, Amateur Sleuth

Main Characters: Greer Hogan, librarian who is recently widowed 

Setting:  Contemporary, Mirror Lake in upstate New York

Obtained Through: Library

Book Blurb: "Librarian Greer Hogan is on hand to celebrate her old friend Sarah Whitaker’s nuptials at the Whitaker summer home on beautiful Mirror Lake, just outside the upstate New York village of Lake Placid. But Greer has an ulterior motive—to gather information that could reopen the investigation into her husband’s murder, a crime for which she believes an innocent man went to prison. Her plans come to a shuddering halt when a wedding guest goes missing and turns up dead in the lake. The guest, Brittany Miles, was an employee of the Whitaker family whom Sarah had long suspected was up to no good at work.

 The police have no leads, but Greer—an avid reader of crime fiction who possesses an uncanny knack for deduction—begins her own investigation. She learns that the victim was seen with a mystery man right before she disappeared. Then the autopsy reveals that she didn’t drown in the lake after all, but in the reflecting pool in the Whitaker garden.

 The suspect list is as long as the guest list itself, with no apparent motive. Now, Greer must rely on the wisdom of her favorite fictional detectives to tease out truth from lies—and keep herself out of the killer’s sights."

My Thoughts:  There are many cozy mysteries with a library setting or a librarian main character, but this series stands out for me.  The writing style and Greer Hogan lead make this unique.  It is a cozy but has a little more serious vibe without being dark--if that makes sense.    

Greer Hogan not only deals with a suspicious death during the wedding celebration but also faces some inconsistancies surrounding her husband's death. 

Both the debut novel and this second book have atmospheric touches I really enjoy.  There is quite a cast with the core guests but are presented in a manner so it isn't too confusing.  This outing is away from Greer's new library job and I did miss that, but it was still captivating.  I feel I did grow closer to Greer as well.  

The killer reveal wasn't my preferred of a hair-raising tense clash, but it was exciting, emotional, and memorable.  There was only one thing I can think of that I would have changed: Greer keeps going over the time line of events and it drags the pacing at one point.  But otherwise, I didn't have any problem areas.   

Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

Review - Death By a Thousand Sips

This is another new-to-me series and author.  It claims it is for fans of Laura Childs, Amanda Flowers, and Cleo Coyle which convinced me to give it a try.  This is the second book in the series and I had no problem jumping in without having read the first book.

Author: Gretchen Rue

Copyright: Sept 2023 (Crooked Lane Books) 312 pgs

Series: 2nd in Witches' Brew Mysteries

Sensuality: mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy mystery, food amateur sleuth

Main Character: Phoebe Winchester, owner of The Earl’s Study tea and book shop

Setting: Modern day, small town Raven Creek, Washington

Obtained Through: Library 

Book Blurb: "Ever since she moved to Raven Creek, Washington, Phoebe Winchester knew she would have to grow accustomed to having a lot on her plate. She’s beginning to make the Victorian manor she inherited from her dear and adventurous Aunt Eudora feel more like home, successfully running the bookstore and tea shop, The Earl’s Study, and learning to harness her recently discovered magical powers. But when she discovers a dead body at an estate sale—even Phoebe wonders if this is simply too much.

Rumors of Phoebe’s involvement force her to take action; she needs to find the killer and clear her own name, once again. She enlists Rich Lofting, the handsome private detective and her childhood friend, in her investigation, all while she sorts out her unresolved feelings for him. Is there something more sinister lurking in the shadows of this small tight-knit town? And does Phoebe really want to find out?

With a dash of magic, a pinch of sleuthing skills, and a spoonful of friendly assistance, Phoebe needs to uncover the killer to keep Raven Creek safe once again. But if she doesn’t—will she find herself in even more hot water?" 

My thoughts:  I enjoyed the main character of Phoebe Winchester, she is down to earth and kind.  The romantic interest is Detective Rich Lofting who is becoming more prominent in Phoebe's life.  Plus Honey, a neighboring shop owner, who is mentoring Phoebe in her newly discovered witchy talents make a great core cast.  I must mention the chubby orange cat named Bob who seems a touch magical himself and steals several scenes.  

The mystery and plot were enjoyable and I read the book fairly quickly for me.  It had my favorite; a tense killer reveal with a bit of danger.  Additionally, I really appreciated Phoebe's quick thinking and level head in the killer reveal and showdown.  I do have to say I would have liked less detailed descriptions on the running of the tea shop and book store and more attention to more romantic elements, and witchy touches.  But even with that being said, I found this an enjoyable new series and author.

Rating:  Excellent - Enjoyed it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

Review - Curds of Prey

I haven't read the two prior books in the series and I had no problem following the storyline at all.  This is a completely new-to-me author and series.

Author: Korina Moss

Copyright: March 2023 (St. Martin) 331 pgs

Series: 3rd in Cheese Shop Mysteries

Sensuality: n/a

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy mystery, Amateur Sleuth, food cozy

Main Character: Willa Bauer, owner and proprietor of French inspired Curds & Whey Cheese Shop

Setting: Modern day, small town Yarrow Glan in Sonoma Valley CA

Obtained Through: Publisher (Netgalley) for honest review

Book Blurb: "Yarrow Glen's favorite cheese shop, Curds & Whey, gets to be a part of the social event of the season: Summer Harrington’s wedding. Cheesemonger Willa Bauer is going all out for the wedding shower’s cheese bar. But the eagle-eyed Harrington family is proving to be a pain in her asiago. A last-minute tasting ends in disaster when one of Willa’s potential beaux, Roman, gets in a fight with the groom. Then the shower arrives, and while there’s anything but love in the air, there is plenty of cheese. Oh, and Roman... again. The day officially ends in disaster when Willa finds the groom—who also happens to be the mayor’s nephew—in the stable, dead as a dodo. At the mayor’s request, Willa must follow the trail of cheese curds to find a killer while continuing to walk a tightrope between two of Sonoma Valley’s most powerful families." 

My Thoughts:  Willa Bauer is recreating her time in France at her cheese shop.  She was definitely in a delicate situation between the two families and she managed it well.  Roman Massey is the owner of a brewery and a potential romantic interest, although his motivations were a bit murky at times.  Another potential romantic interest in the police detective.  Interesting secondary characters in the staff of the cheese shop and a neighbor (aka Team Chese) were a great addition and a highlight for me.  

The Harrington's estate was a great backdrop for the primary setting.  The mystery kept me guessing for the most part. The killer reveal was exciting with some tense moments--kudos.  And the wrapup tied up any remaining storylines.

Overall, it is a solid cozy mystery.  I didn't seem to click with the Willa as much as I would have liked, but I have nothing to note against the character.  Not every book strikes the chord with everyone and although this wasn't a home-run for me, I think many will love it.  I enjoyed it and I recommend it for cozy fans since it has all the elements with the foody element, potential romances, and interesting mysteries.

Rating: Excellent - I generally enjoyed it and recommend!