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  • Odd Bird Livens Up North Carolina Mystery

    "The Buzzard Table" by Margaret MaronReviewed by David Marshall JamesThe appearance of a mysterious stranger in a remote area contributes elements of unease and foreboding to North Carolina author Margaret Maron's latest Deborah Knott novel.Add to that, that said stranger is also collecting roadkill to attract the local buzzardry, and the creepy factor ratchets up even higher.As the story progresses, this man turns out to be a relative of Sigrid Harald; her mother, Anne; and Anne's mother, who is dying from cancer.NYPD Lt. ...

  • Having it All: Two Men and Adrenaline

    "Notorious Nineteen" by Janet EvanovichReviewed by David Marshall JamesSome day, somewhere, someone will construct a Ph.D. dissertation on the topic, "Stephanie Plum as Postmodern Woman."It's amazing how many readers criticize this entertaining series on the basis that "Jersey Girl" (and divorcee, lest we forget) Plum should settle on one of her two paramours, either Trenton, New Jersey, detective Joseph Morelli, or Trenton security specialist Ranger, aka Carlos Mancuso.Which begs the question, why? Why, if she can have some of both? Like cake and pie? With ice cream, at that. ...

  • For Whom the Bells of St. Edwold's Toll

    "A Fatal Winter" by G.M. MallietReviewed by David Marshall JamesThe holidays can bring out the beast in people, particularly when those people are a beastly lot for starters-- in this case, a castle full of money-grubbing nobs clamoring for Dad/Granddad/Uncle's mega-millions jackpot of a fortune.How convenient, then, that he's been cut up like a bunch of potatoes to go round the (golden) Christmas goose.No tears shed either for his battle-axe of a sister, she who loved her hothouse flowers better than her kinfolk, much less the common folk. ...

  • Victorian-Era Mystery Another Good Show

    "A Death in the Small Hours" by Charles FinchReviewed by David Marshall JamesThe Lenoxes of London are bound for the countryside, to an estate in Somerset called Everley, near a village called Plumbley, in late September 1874.It's a place wrought up with nostalgia for Sir Charles Lenox-- accompanied by wife Jane, baby daughter Sophia, and her governess, along with some of the townhouse help from Hampden Lane, in London-- residence to a succession of squires, the latest of which, Frederick Ponsonby, being his "familiar" uncle. ...

  • Lady Georgie Pulls Out a Christmas Pudding Plum

    "The Twelve Clues of Christmas" by Rhys BowenReviewed by David Marshall JamesThe snow is covering the landscape like a great mass of Devonshire clotted cream, the dining-room table is groaning with mince pies and other festive sweets and savories, and loads of games and seasonal activities are in the offing for a Christmas house party. ...

  • Ace Jones Cuts an Art in Florida

    "Happily Ever Madder" by Stephanie McAfeeReviewed by David Marshall JamesYou'd think Graciela "Ace" Jones-- former high-school art teacher from Bugtussle, Mississippi-- has it all:(1) A sizable engagement rock from her on-again-off-again love since age 11, Mason McKenzie(2) Residency in his seaside condo at Pelican Grove, Florida(3) Did we mention that Mason comes from money, as they say down South, and that he's a successful attorney with his own practice?(4) And, that Mason has set up Ace in her own art gallery?Well, you can take the gal out of Bugtussle, but you can't take Bugtussle out of ...

  • Getting the Maxwell Out of Life: Biography Celebrates Premier Party Giver

    "Inventing Elsa Maxwell" by Sam StaggsReviewed by David Marshall JamesMolly Brown, who survived the 1912 Titanic disaster, became known as "Unsinkable." Elsa Maxwell, who survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, should have been known as "Unshakable."One would be hard-pressed to name celebrities who were well-known before World War I, who were even bigger names by World War II, and who added to their international fame into the early 1960s.The public came to know her as the World's premier party giver. ...

  • Mystery Serves Up More Welsh Rarebit

    "A Small Hill to Die On" by Elizabeth J. DuncanReviewed by David Marshall JamesPenny Brannigan's riverside spa in the idyllic Welsh village of Llanelen-- not far from the actual North Wales seaside city of Llandudno-- is humming along at a nice clip.Readers of this series, presently in its fourth volume, will recall that Canadian expat Penny, also a sketch artist and painter, started her professional life in Llanelen as a manicurist, residing above her small business. ...

  • The Ultimate Sides to Southern Cuisine

    "Fred Thompson's Southern Sides"Reviewed by David Marshall JamesSoutherners often make meals off of side dishes, particularly if they contain cheese, but what could be better, come autumn, than a baked sweet potato with collard greens and a wedge of skillet cornbread?Or, as my Grandmother used to say, "Let's fry us up a hoecake of cornbread"?Heaps of family traditions abound in Fred Thompson's tribute to Southern side dishes, as he explains the origins, sources, and inspirations for each recipe (all 250) in this satisfyingly inclusive cookbook. ...

  • The VBI-- "V" as in "Vermont"-- "Brattle" Back in Mayor Novel

    "Paradise City" by Archer MayorReviewed by David Marshall JamesVBI agent Joe Gunther and his band of eclectic-- some would say "eccentric"-- fellow detectives are more concerned with what's happening in Paradise than in their HQ, Brattleboro.Brattleboro, Vermont, to be precise. Hence, the "V" in Gunther's agency acronym.Paradise, surprisingly, isn't that far from Brattleboro. Just a ways over the state line. In mindset-- in tone and temperament-- however, Northampton, Massachusetts (nickname: Paradise City), might as well be at the long end of some Indiana Jones expedition. ...

  • Lawless Mystery Heats Up in Strip Club

    "Rest for the Wicked" by Ellen HartReviewed by David Marshall JamesRestaurateur Jane Lawless has secured her P.I. license from the state of Minnesota, but it's a complexly mixed blessing as concerns her first case.At least she can investigate the murder of her mentor's, ex-cop A.J. Nolan's, nephew outside of a Minneapolis strip club, while Nolan is touch-and-go in the aftermath of surgery.The victim, an adopted son of Nolan's sister in St. Louis, has come up to The Cities seeking his older sister."Say what?" says everyone, theretofore oblivious to the fact that the vic had an older sister. ...

  • "Sound of Music" Book: a Sure "Favorite Thing"

    " 'The Sound of Music' Family Scrapbook" by Fred BronsonReviewed by David Marshall JamesIf "ray" means "a drop of golden sun" in your lexicon, then you'll be polishing off this volume like schnitzel with noodles.The author wisely turns the work over to first-person remembrances by the seven actors who portrayed the Von Trapp children in "The Sound of Music":Charmian Carr (Liesl) became a noted designer, with Michael Jackson's home among her credits.Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich) went on to become a Princeton graduate.Heather Menzies (Louisa) married fellow actor Robert Urich. ...

  • Mystery Offers Solid Story, Southern Smiles

    "Iced Chiffon" by Duffy BrownReviewed by David Marshall JamesMany mysteries that attempt to be both Southern and humorous merely belly-up by being silly, either over the top-- of the magnolia tree-- or dead on the vine-- tomato, kudzu, or morning glory, take your pick.However Duffy Brown's got the double order down, with a mystery as well-plotted as any mansion garden on any square in Savannah, which happens to be the setting. ...

  • Ninth Step's a Doozy in New Thriller

    "The Ninth Step" by Grant JerkinsReviewed by David Marshall JamesTwo cars crash. One passenger is killed.One survivor, drunk out of her mind, leaves the scene.In the other vehicle, the driver was distracted from his steering by a handheld computer device.This "over the neighbors' fence" mystery/thriller zooms in on those survivors' lives, before and after the hit-and-run wreck.The man-- who was placing a last-second bid on an online auction while attempting to steer his vehicle-- loses his wife, who had just discovered that she was pregnant, following years of fertility treatments. ...

  • Mystery Blooms Over Potted Gardener

    "Hiss and Hers" by M.C. BeatonReviewed by David Marshall James"Snakes and ba----ds!"That's one of British P.I. Agatha Raisin's favorite phrases. Much to her misfortune, she's facing more than a few of the former in her latest case.The handsome gardener who caught her fancy in the previous Agatha Raisin mystery isn't long for the ground himself.At least he goes out with a metaphorical smile on his face, having dillied and dallied with more than a few of Agatha's neighbors in the Cotswold village where she resides when not running her agency in the much-larger locale of Mircester. ...

  • Mom Steals the Show in "Wheel" Mystery

    "Lucky Stuff" by Sharon FifferReviewed by David Marshall JamesWhoa, Nellie!Too late-- she's stolen another Jane Wheel mystery right out from under her daughter, who after all has an inordinate amount of stuff on her plate in this eighth novel by Illinois author Sharon Fiffer.Jane's life has been a-changin' since she left her big-league job with a Chicago ad firm.She's become spouse-less and house-less, and her only son, Nick, is boarding at a science-and-math-centered school. ...

  • "My Fair Lady" Comes to Life in Show Bio

    "Loverly: The Life & Times of 'My Fair Lady'"by Dominic McHughReviewed byDavid Marshall JamesTiming is everything, particularly in The Theater, and events coalesced during the early-to-mid 1950s to facilitate the transformation of George Bernard Shaw's five-act play "Pygmalion" (1913) into a two-act Broadway musical.The show probably wouldn't have ever come to life without the determination of lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Indeed, Rodgers and Hammerstein wouldn't touch the project, nor would Noel Coward, who went on to refuse the role of Prof. ...

  • Bubbly Bath Fest for Jane Austen

    "Murder Most Austen" by Tracy KielyReviewed by David Marshall JamesTracy Kiely's fourth Elizabeth Parker mystery clicks on every level, offering a richly glazed treat to Jane Austen fans."Murder Most Austen" sounds the tone and tenor of a Regency period novel set in the present, with the presently unemployed and at-multiple-loose-ends Miss Parker being treated to a Jane Austen festival in Bath, England, complete with balls and period costumes, by her Aunt Winnie. ...

  • Goin' Gangsta with Luau Lawyer

    "Last Lawyer Standing" by Douglas CorleoneReviewed by David Marshall JamesIt's just another day in Paradise, save for the snakes. Trouble is, they're not confined to the trees; they're everywhere.Trouble for the snakes is, Honolulu attorney Kevin Corvellii proves himself a primo subscriber to the notions of truth and justice.Granted, some of that justice is meted out by the courts. Sometimes, however, Kevin hands down the Big J the Corvelli Way. ...

  • Lucy 101 & Cohen's Cocktails

    "Lucille Ball FAQ" by James Sheridan and Barry Monosh"Most Talkative" by Andy CohenReviewed by David Marshall JamesWhat, you may well be wondering, do Lucille Ball and Andy Cohen have in common?Aside from Andy's preference for ginger hair, that is.His memoir, "Most Talkative," will soon lead the reader to discover his early fascination with Miss Lucille Desiree Ball.Fine choice, AC. Back to you in a moment or two."Lucille Ball FAQ" is a vast compendium of info pertaining to all of Lucy's TV, stage, radio, and film work. ...