Category: Barb’s Reviews

The Proof of the Pudding by Rhys Bowen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, George V - 1910- 1936, Historical Mystery, Interwar Period (Nov 1918 - Sep 1939), Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

The Proof of the Pudding (Her Royal Spyness #17)

Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Her Royal Spyness #17
Publication Date: 11/7/23
Period: 1936 -Interwar England
Number of Pages: 304

The books in this series are always delightfully entertaining, filled with eccentric, unique, and unforgettable characters, and there is always a head-scratching mystery to go along with all of that. This time around, we even have a character who seems perfect for a book that is released so close to Halloween! We do, of course, have some wonderful cameo appearances by famous people of the time – such as author Agatha Christie and film star Laurence Olivier.

Georgie may be the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the 35th in line to the throne, but she and her dashing husband Darcy are poor as church mice. With their first child due within a few weeks, they are confined to Eynsleigh, the estate on which they live. They are immensely grateful to Sir Hubert, Georgie’s Godfather, who has requested they live at Eynsleigh and see to its care – and part of that care is to see to its staffing, mainly acquiring a chef who can cook for gatherings. That chef – a FRENCH chef – is on his way and they cannot wait for a decent meal.

The trouble all began when Sir Hubert wanted to have a dinner party to show off Chef Pierre’s skills. And goodness, did he have some skills! Attending the dinner party was the gothic author Sir Mordred Mortimer, a long, thin man with long silver hair. Sir Mortimer loved the meal and wanted to borrow Chef Pierre to cook for a charity dinner he was hosting. Yep – dark, dreary home – a host who could be Dracula – and a poison garden – what could go wrong there?

After the charity dinner, several people sickened – and one died. The police – and everyone else – blame Chef Pierre. He is an easy target – especially since he speaks very little English, but Georgie is determined to prove him innocent. So, if not the chef – who? More importantly, how and why?

You’ll love Darcy and Georgie working against the clock to identify the murderer and the method while constantly dealing with unwanted family and guests arriving to witness the impending birth. Yes, for Georgie, the birthing process will be a rest!

I loved this book! It is witty and entertaining and still delivers a first-class mystery. If you have read previous books, you will be familiar with many of the characters and if you haven’t read previous books, it doesn’t matter because you can pick right up with the characters and story. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum #30)Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Stephanie Plum #30
Publication Date: 10/31/23
Period: Contemporary Trenton, New Jersey
Number of Pages: 332

This quirky, entertaining, witty series is always good for bringing a smile to my face. This one had the zany stuff we usually see – firebombed apartments, car smashes, viewings at the funeral home, grave digging – all of it. Then, to add to it, the mystery in this one was more front-and-center than they usually are, and I liked that. Yes, the books can be silly – really silly – but there is something about the outlandish characters and bizarre crimes and situations that keep me wanting to read more. I love everything about the series except the love triangle between Morelli, Stephanie, and Ranger – it is okay on-page I guess, but if I were to know Stephanie in real life, I suspect I wouldn’t have much respect for her. More about that later…

There haven’t been too many bail-skips lately and Stephanie is running short of money. So, when a jewelry store owner who has recently been robbed wants to hire her to find the man he is sure robbed him, she agrees. The person she is hired to find is someone with whom she went to school – Andrew Manley, AKA Nutsy. Stephanie cannot imagine Nutsy doing what he is accused of doing and wants to know more, but then, there is a rash of bail skippers and she has to juggle finding them while she is also trying to find Nutsy and solve the jewelry theft. During all of that chaos, it seems Lula has either lost her mind totally, or she is being stalked by someone/something she has named Grendel (from Beowulf) because he is a tall, hairy, monster who sneaks into her room at night. How in the world will this can of worms ever get sorted? Insanely, of course!

Joseph Morelli, Stephanie’s mostly significant other is in Miami testifying at a trial, so he isn’t there to give her backup and support when she needs it. However, she isn’t without resources – definitely not. Ranger is there to step in and save her – loan her cars, give her a place to stay when her apartment is firebombed – coax her into his bed. The book ends with a cliffhanger (I hate cliffhangers) that, when resolved in the next book, will certainly change the course of the series, and the romance, and could perhaps, I guess, be the end of the series. It will be interesting to see where it goes and how the author handles it. For my two cents worth – Stephanie isn’t IN love with either of them – nor are they IN love with her. I think Stephanie loves each of them – and I think each of them loves her – but the IN LOVE, to me, just isn’t there for any of them. I like all of them and am not rooting for one man over the other because I don’t think either of them is just the right one for Stephanie. If one was the right man – Stephanie would have already made a choice instead of flip-flopping between them.

So, we had a nice wrap-up of the mystery and a cliffhanger along with lots of zany shenanigans. I had a smile on my face the whole way through and cannot wait to read the next installment to see the resolution to the cliffhanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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