Review # 78: Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

Title: Death by Darjeeling

Author: Laura Childs

Series: Tea Shop Mystery #1

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Format: Own Copy

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Mystery

ISBN: 0-425-17945-1

Price/Pages: $5.99/242

Description from back cover:

Meet Theodosia Browning, owner of Charleston's beloved Indigo Tea Shop. Patrons love her blend of delicious tea tastings and southern hospitality. And Theo enjoys the full-bodied flavor of a town steeped in history-and mystery...

It's tea for 200 or so at the annual historic homes garden party. And Theodosia, as event caterer, is busy serving steaming teas and blackberry scones while guests sing her praises. But the sweet smell of success turns to suspense when an esteemed guest is found dead-his hand clutching an empty teacup. All eyes are on Theo...who is now trying desperately to save her reputation and track down the real killer. If only she can make sense of it all-before someone else takes their last sip...

My Review:

I have been told to read these for over a year now by my friend Trever. He is a tea lover and absolutely adored these books. Whenever we are in NYC, we go to Tea and Sympathy and have tea and scones. In fact, in May, we went there several times because we love it so.

I know very little about tea but I LOVE the pleasure of taking a sip of the hot liquid and then biting into a delicious scone with clotted cream and thick raspberry jam.

Ahhh.....

This first book in Childs' Tea Shop series is a foodie's dream. Her descriptions of the tea shop and the treats they bake and the teas they blend jump out of the pages. You start to feel warm and cozy and enveloped by that atmosphere.

It takes place in Charleston, so, for those of you who have read my reviews on Karen White's books, know that I am a little bit in love with Charleston right now.

Childs' also does a really good job at setting the mood and the feel of the Low Country, the history, the quirky residents, the culture.

Another thing I liked about this particular cozy was that Theodosia's involvement in the "murder" wasn't hoky or "Oops, looks like I ran into a dead body!".

Golly, I better solve this crime!

It was a bit more genuine and realistic.

She poked around but wasn't an immediate sleuth. Some cozies you find the lead character immediately put themselves in silly danger and find out everything at once.

Theodosia is a strong figure in the community, coming from a distinguished family, that her nature was much more calm, refined, eloquent and educated. I liked that.

I am excited to keep reading this series. I am horribly behind on my Cozy Mystery Challenge! The challenge was to read atleast 6 cozies by the end of September. This would be #2 for me.

I could, possibly, read 4 more of this series before then. Possibly....

Rating: 5 stars/ 6 stars

I highly recommend this one. A great start to a series and perfect for the upcoming fall season.

Even in the 98 degree weather outside, I still wanted tea.

Good job, Laura Childs.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

If you have not had the pleasure of reading a Kate Morton novel, please do so now.

Exquisite.

Layered.

Dramatic.

Passionate.

Utterly Absorbing.

I have been waiting for a new novel by her since, well...I finished her last one a year ago.

She is the author of The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden.

Literary Fiction at its finest.

The Distant Hours is due out in the US this November and I am anxious with anticipation!

If you are not familiar, check out Kate's website here.

I guarantee once you start reading her, you will not be able to stop.

Happy Reading, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

p.s. I guess if this were Wednesday this could be a Waiting on Wednesday post. Perhaps we'll just call it "Hey, look what popped into Michelle's head" post.

That would be more accurate. :)

Book Club Round Up

It was a hit! Not everyone read it but those that did enjoyed it. We all agreed that we loved the setting of Folly Beach and Charleston. The location was such a strong character and we felt it so strongly. We had 8 folks join us this month for book club. It's getting bigger!

We have picked our Fall Line Up already due to busy schedules.

We wanted to make it easy for everyone to make the time to read the selections.

We have chose...

September:

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

October:

A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White

November and December:

A Girl with a Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Laarson

We knew it would be busy around the holidays and I really wanted to read The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo! We thought 2 months should do the trick!

I am hoping we will pick a cozy holiday read again this year.

That is just too much fun to pass up!

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

WINNER!...finally.

The winner of I know I am but what are you? by Samantha Bee is

Jenna from Eleven Pages!

You have 24 hours to respond, my dear!

Thanks to all for commenting and entering.

Once again, so sorry it's late being posted!

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Why I love Zac Efron or a sloppy review of a book I didn't read.

So, if this was a blog all about ME and not just a PART of me (book lover) you may find Blog Posts entitled "Why I think Zac Efron is the hottest thing under 25." OR "Aren't muumuus exceptionally comfortable?"

But since I DO limit this blog to a portion of my crazy self, today you will get a dose of my love for Zac Efron AND I tie it in loosely with a book.

A book I have not read BUT a book, nonetheless.

So...Zac Efron.

Yes, Zac Efron.

I went to see Charlie St.Cloud on my afternoon off from all 3 jobs and my little kiddo.

I was the ONLY person there over the age of 25. Pretty sure.

Oh yes.

Did I feel ashamed or strange or weird?

Oh no.

I kicked up my heals, drank my $25 soda, and mooned over those beautiful blue eyes of his and secretly wished I was the love interest in the movie.

You see, I will always have a part of me that is that crush crazy 12 year old girl with braces, big hair and glasses that no one wanted to dance with.

Anyway, my point is "GO SEE THIS MOVIE".

I loved it. Very sweet, very heart warming and very much Zac Efron.

Zac in tight t-shirts. Zac WET in tight t-shirts. Zac with no T-shirt.

Oh and a ton of great acting on his part too.

I can appreciate the whole package, right?

So enough from me before the family of Mr. Efron comes after me for serious stalking.

Go see the movie.

The book? Sure, you can read it too I guess.

Does it have pictures of Zac?

Just kidding. I'm sure it's a GREAT read. Here it is if you are curious.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Review # 77: Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon

Title: Dismantled

Author: Jennifer McMahon

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Harper Collins

Format: Autographed Copy from BEA

ISBN: 978-0-06-168934-5

Price/Pages: $13.99/422

Description from Author's Website:

Henry, Tess, Winnie and Suz banded together in college to form the Compassionate Dismantlers. Following the first rule of their manifesto – “To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart” – these daring misfits spend the summer after graduation in a remote cabin in the Vermont woods committing acts of meaningful vandalism, and plotting elaborate, sometimes dangerous, pranks. But everything changes when one particularly twisted experiment ends in Suz’s death and the others decide to cover it up.

Nearly a decade later, Henry and Tess are living just an hour’s drive from the old cabin. Each are desperate to move on from the summer of the Dismantlers, but the past isn’t ready to let them go. When a victim of their past pranks commits suicide – apparently triggered by a mysterious Dismantler-style postcard – it sets off a chain of eerie events that threatens to engulf Henry, Tess, and their precocious nine-year-old daughter Emma. Is there someone who wants to reveal their secrets? Is it possible that Suz did not really die – or has she somehow found a way back?

My Review:

For those of you who have read The Secret History by Donna Tartt many years ago, this novel could be considered a good comparison but still wholly original. Edgy, twisted and well, almost psychotic at times, McMahon spins a disastrous tale of Henry,Tess, Winnie, Suz

and the young Emma.

They are four highly educated, somewhat pampered adults, egotistical, and completely smothered by the consequences of their youthful idiotic actions.

You get the elitism, the self absorbtion and the fear of their personalities in college and ten years later you still feel that. Henry and Tess are locked in their loveless marriage, tip toeing around the obvious and sheltering their daughter. Winnie continues to be manic, self destructive and lost. And Suz, well, that's for you to find out as the reader. Is she alive? Or...

The past comes back to haunt them, physically and emotionally.

I liked the twists and turns though it did drag at times. The reader got a full dose of how dysfunctional Henry was, how uptight Tess was and how strange Emma was. Their world could have been idyllic if they allowed themselves to really live in it.

I grew a tad bit impatient. I wanted to know what was happening and I wanted to know now!

I felt almost like I was taking on the personality of Suz, the former leader of the Compassionate Dismantlers. I wanted action, I wanted results and I didn't want to wait.

It was hard to really feel for them because of how spoiled it seemed each character was. Though genuinely interested in what happened to Suz, I didn't feel compassionate towards her in any way. She spear headed a lot of unnecesary harm towards others and was not a sympathetic character.

Rating: 4 stars/ 6 stars

McMahon does a great job with extensive character sketches of each character and as a fan of literary fiction, I appreciated that. I enjoyed it overall but it wouldn't be a favorite of mine. It was original, well written and thought out. If you have the patience for some twists and a bit of a drawn out riddle, then read away.

Book Club Note:

Though I did not read this one for my book club, I considered bringing it along as an option. Perhaps for the fall. I feel there is quite a bit of discussion here; the idea of the Compassionate Dismantlers, their philosophies, the consequences of youthful indiscretions, the impact of a loveless marriage on a child.

Author Profile:

Jennifer McMahon

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Review #76: Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Title: Still Missing

Author: Chevy Stevens

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Genre: Suspense Thriller

Format: ARC from work

ISBN: 978-0-312-59567-8

Price/Pages: $24.99/352

Release Date: July 2010

My Review and Description:

I decided to read this book because of fellow bloggers Stacy from A Novel Source and Jenny from Take Me Away. They gave really great reviews that made this book sound heart pumping and terrifying and right up my alley.

Luckily, my bookstore had an ARC lying around that no one wanted so I snagged it!

It was a fast read but boy did it bring up a lot of emotion.

First, a brief description.

Annie O'Sullivan is a 32 year old realtor living a seemingly happy life.

She has a pesky mother, a patient boyfriend and a career that is successful.

Locking up after a routine open house, a man approaches her.

Would she mind one last tour?

Anything for a possible sale, she thought.

What follows is her abduction and year long captivity with this stranger; calculating, manipulating, violent, and terrifying.

She is locked in a remote cabin with no way of escaping. She is made to dress a certain way, eat at a certain time, use the bathroom at a certain time and read to him. Every night she is abused by him and every night she feels more and more removed from herself.

But she learns to play his terrifying game and goes through hell.

When she does eventually free herself from him she tries desperately to fit back into

her old life.

The first three quarters of the book were terrifyingly absorbing, like a train wreck you keep staring at. The entire time I was reading it I almost wish I wasn't. I kept thinking this crazy crap happens in real life. People are abducted, tortured, brain washed, and killed. The author certainly nailed the emotion of Annie and the bat shit crazy mind of the abductor.

It is told in two parts; Annie during her therapy sessions post abduction and Annie during her captivity. Very sharp and intense, the author's writing was at its finest.

The last quarter of the book, when she escapes, is where is loses it's punch. It gets wrapped up too quickly with a far fetched, unbelievable explanation. You throw in a quickie relationship with the detective on duty and poof, your awesome suspense thriller turns into a

mediocre who dunnit.

This could be a first time novelist mistake or the author's need to not leave you with such a heavy heart and head. As a reader, I was certainly looking for justice for Annie. The abductor needed an ass kicking, that's for sure. (Sorry for the sharp language but if you read it, you'll understand!) I wish, however, that it could have been resolved better.

Rating: 4 stars/ 6 stars

I do recommend this for suspense fans. Be aware that there is some graphic descriptions of violence and some plain ol' mean stuff going on in here. Not for the faint of heart or the cozy mystery lover. The ending is what prevents me from giving this book a higher rating.

It fell flat and short for me.

Author Website:

Chevy Stevens

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child