MURDER IN A HEATWAVE

Phew, it’s a scorcher. But whole some are dragging out the sunbeds or heading for the beach, others have very different plans. As the Mercury rises, tempers begin to fray, and opportunities present themselves … for murder.

At a summer fete’s vegetable competition, a violent death becomes best in show. On a boiling night in London, an impossible murder is committed. At the Edinburgh Festival, a suicide forces a theatre troupe to reveal their darkest secrets. And a Fourth of July picnic is the setting for a mysterious poisoning.

These ten classic mysteries by giants of the crime genre will puzzle, surprise and entertain you – so, grab a cold drink and step into the shade … if you dare.

Just look at that glorious cover. If there were two book covers that went together perfectly, It’s Uncle Paul and Murder in a Heatwave. They’re like a couple of Summer postcards from the 1950s. Saying that, much like another summer crime collection edited by Cecily Gayford, the stories themselves had little to do with the theme or cover art. As I said in my review for Murder by the Seaside, “they’re not even near the beach! Why are they in this collection!?”

We’re given ten stories, beginning with Dorothy L. Sayers and Arthur Conan Doyle (because they always have to stick a Sherlock story in these collections for some reason, and yeah I skipped it (but went back to it just before starting the last story in the book) and compared to the Sherlock Holmes story from Murder by the Seaside, I was pleasantly surprised! It was a bit slow at the start (but it circles back to a theme at the end, tying the story together). It was an interesting read. The best part was the guilty admission at the end, and it was the one story where I felt sympathy for the criminal.

And from a writer of the nineteenth century to an author of the relatively youthful age of sixty-three (in a collection for ‘classic mystery writers’??) A Good Hanging by Ian Rankin is based at the Ediburgh Festival, busy with crowds and a lively atmosphere of youthful actors in the middle of Summer. One of the longer stories in the collection, there are more developed characters (unlike the barrage of names that get thrown at you in Michael Innes’ The Mouse Trap), but I did have some misgivings over the resolution when we find out the hanged victim had been in a fight beforehand, but there’s no mention of any bruising or injury that doesn’t line up with the supposed cause of death.

Summer Show is the shortest story at about six pages, it’s fast-paced, with little introduction to characters and their weird names, (Quarles? Comstock? Tarn? What even are these names?) It starts off talking about vegetables and just spirals. (I bet Julian Symons had a great time writing that splash of crazy.) I liked the inventive (if not unrealistic) murder committed in Carter Dickson’s The Silver Curtain (in an otherwise quite dry story), and the main character of Ethel Lina White’s White Cap, Tess Leigh.

Attractive, athletic and possessed of a sweet yet strong character. Fearlessly outspoken, she had a deep sympathy with the underdog and always rushed in to champion any victim of injustice.

A modern day woman, first written in 1942.

But I have to admit, I related to Rex Stout’s protagonist Nero Wolfe (at first I was like (‘not another stupid name’ lol) but this guy has to be the only detective I’ve read about who wants nothing to do with the crime. He discovers the body and he’s ready to bounce.

He was grim. “That man on the cot is dead. I lifted the blanket to adjust it. One of those knives is in his back, clear to the handle. He is dead. If we are still here when the discovery is made you know what will happen. We will be here all day, all all night, a week, indefinitely. That is intolerable. We can answer questions at home as well as here.”

He just wants to go home and be fat and comfy with his plants (such a Taurus) not to mention his sidekick Archie Goodwin; confident, witty, and with a thing for the ladies, he’s a refreshing change of pace from the usual type that tag along to help the detective lead.

Short story collections are always a good way to discover unknown writers. For me, in Murder by the Seaside it was Gladys Mitchell, and from Murder in a Heatwave the standouts have to be Ethel Line White, Julian Symons and Rex Stout. Am I disappointed that none of the stories took place on a lido by the sea as depicted on the cover? Sure, but at least they were set in the summer. And at least Watson mentioned the shingle of Southsea.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

THE BEEKEEPER AT ELDERFLOWER GROVE

Having moved into her mum’s spare room after a disastrous break-up, Kayleigh Harwood is desperate for a fresh start. When she sees an opening for a new beekeeper at Elderflower Grove she jumps at the chance – despite not knowing a thing about bees…

The abandoned manor house holds a mystery of its own – the previous owner vanished years ago – and locals have been inventing stories about the manor ever since. Unable to resist the urge to look around, kayleigh is shocked to find drop-dead-gorgeous gardener Carey living inside!

Carey explains that the house is at risk of being demolished, endangering the bees, and he has been staying there to protect it.

Convinced the Secret of the house holds the key to saving Elderflower Grove’s bees, Kayleigh is prepared to do everything she can to help. But is she ready to find her own happy-ever-after too…?

If you know me you know I like bees, which is absolutely what made me buy this book. Specifically, the little bumblebees on the cover. So cute! (But also a little odd, because the book is about a beekeeper, and they deal with honey bees, so I remedied this with my own pic.)

Now I read some of the first chaper online before adding it to my basket, and let me tell you, it was funny stuff. Had me smiling! Five stars for sure if the rest of the book followed suit. And then…the rest of the book. And not s funny in sight. It falls headfirst into the deep revine of cheesy romance, never to see the light of day ever again. Which is a shame, but at least it has a strong start.

The Beekeeper at Eldrflower Grove is set in a quaint Hampshire village with the usual post office and cafe and antiques shop along cobblestone streets (where are those in Hampshire?) of Little Ketting. Kayleigh Harwood is the new Beekeeper for the summer, inexperienced, unqualified, but desperate for a job to get out of her mum’s house, and keen to see the charming  alluring grounds of Elderflower manor, tragically destroyed through a house fire many years ago. There, she meets Carey (not Jim) an out of work gardener who shops at TruffleShuffle (same).

The story is a little slow at times, the bulk of the book consisting of searching through the house for a clue to Carey’s heritage, and exploring the grounds, but there were mystery elements that made the last third more engaging.

The romance developed through the medium of puns and grins, and there were too many of both. I started counting all the grins from chapter ten once I noticed I kept coming across the word. Half the book, and twenty-eight grins! (It’s only 291 pages!) Good for a drinking game. Also, every time someone mentions Elderflower Grove, because Kayliegh mentions it a lot. Like an unnecessary amount of times. For example, in a normal conversation, someone would say, “I think people need to see this place,” or “the public would love to come here,” but not Kayleigh. She’s all “I think people need to see Elderflower Grove,” and “the public would love to come to Elderflower Grove.” Not the most natural dialogue). (The book also repeats itself when talking about the state of the house and Kayleigh’s hope to save it, and again, it’s not a big book.)

Speaking of the romance (this being a romance book, after all), Kayleigh is very touchy feely. She’s grabbing his arm, touching his hand, his hair, just talking about how much she wants to reach out to him, days after meeting, and long before admitting to the feels. Not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes I just could not work out what I was supposed to be picturing.

I can feel his face heating up until he eventually moves our joined hands back to resting against his knee, and then lifts his elbow, inviting me to slip my other hand through his arm. My hand wraps around his forearm and gives it a squeeze.

What in the Auntie Anne’s Pretzels…

On the plus side, I liked the little bee facts we get in the epigraph, and the insight into what it’s like to care for honey bees and harvest the honey. A way to bring the plight, and usefulness of bees more into the public eye. At least where romance readers are concerned. Eco-romance? Is that a genre? Would this qualify?

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

SUMMER KISSES AT MERMAIDS POINT

Laurie Morgan runs a cafe in the seaside community of Mermaid Point, named after the beauties rumoured to live in the waters nearby. When a hazy image is posted online of what appears to be a mermaid, the village is soon bursting with curious sightseers.

The most eye-catching of the new arrivals is handsome journalist, Jane Smith, whose editor has sent him on a crack-pot hunt for mermaids. Jake finds himself drawn to village life, and to the gorgeous woman who runs the local cafe.

But he soon suspects there’s trouble lurking beneath the idyllic facade, and when it looks like Laurie’s family might be involved, Jake faces a difficult choice. Pursue the truth, or protect the woman he’s falling for…

Okay don’t get me started on the title. Mermaid Point is fine, but “summer kisses”?? What is this, a cheesy hallmark movie? (Then why did you buy it? I hear you ask, and I’ll tell you why. I bought three books on the cheap – £2.99 each – before realising one was book three in a series. I went back to swap it out (no other books of the same series were there), and there weren’t really any other books that took my interest. I liked the cover (minus the title), and the mystery element intrigued me. So here we are.)

Unlike my last slow slog of a read, this book starts off quick, and within the first couple of chapters we learn about Laurie, the not quite twenty-three year old owner of a cafe in a little seaside village, her parent who own the gift shop next door, and out of focus pictures of a mermaid shared to instagram from an unknown account. All within the first nine pages. When we meet Jake, I was a bit surprised by the shift in tone to something darker (illegal immigrants coerced into prostitution??) But it’s troubled Jake, leading to his editor’s suggestion that he take a break from the hard hitting stuff by undertaking a fluff piece located by the sea. (Mermaids!)

The book alternates between Laurie and Jake’s viewpoints, and we get more insight into Laurie’s character within the first half of the book (even if it is mostly fumbling embarrassment in the presence of a hot guy – a trope I hate) she still feels a little more fleshed out in the beginning, but then it peters out as more attention is spent on developing Jake’s character with his troubled family past, and his guilt at keeping his identity secret.

Speaking of the romantic lead…I appreciate Bennett’s attempt at giving the ‘hot guy’ something different to work with besides the chisled jawline and messy dark hair look, but Jake was a little bit off for me. Although still a tall guy, he’s described as having a buzz cut, a roman nose, wears glasses and has bushy eyebrows. Laurie described him as the most handsome man she’d ever seen, but all I got from it was Count von Count. And Laurie doesn’t get off much better. We get told she has a heart-shaped face that tapers into a jaw that’s been referred to as stubborn, whatever that means. A school boy had teased her about its prominence, so now I’m picturing Count von Count and The Crimson Chin. But I digress…

The two develop an immediate attraction, and on their first date (which happens on the third time they meet) things get a little steamy immediately after they talk about their traumatic experiences. Sexy! They don’t go all the way though (not yet) because this book – especially the dialogue – reads like the script of a Hallmark movie, and as we know, those are all family friendly cheese fests, and Summer Kisses at Mermaids Point follows that same pattern, all until one scene…and THAT ONE SENTENCE. Smut city. (I won’t put it here, but if you read the book you’ll certainly know it when you see it. Makes me cringe thinking about it.)

There wasn’t much from the mystery element, which was disappointing. For a reporter, Jake did very little reporting.

He’d never made much progress with the mermaid investigation because he simply didn’t care about it one way or the other. It was obvious to him it was a stunt, more than likely cooked up by some locals in a bid to attract visitors to their struggling sea side village.

But like…that’s what he’s there to find out? He claims to be a brilliant reporter, but can’t be bothered with a supposedly easy investigation??

The pace of the story was a little meandering, but picked up the pace near the end (supposedly Bennett remembered she’d promised the reader something of a plot) and we get confrontation between our two protagonists, and the mermaid mystery is fimally addressed. I would have preferred Bennett to weave in that element of the plot a little earlier than chapter twenty-four (there are only twenty-seven chapters as it is!) It’s an improvement on the rest of the book, although with a lot suddenly crammed in, the ending felt a little rushed.

Summer Kisses at Mermaid Point is a quick easy read, a bit slow in places, nice location, side characters that could have been utilised more, but this book is the first in a series of a seasonal nature, so no doubt other characters get more legroom in future installments.

⭐⭐

Rating: 2 out of 5.

IN THE WOODS

It should have been just another quiet night on the farm when Logan witnessed the attack, but it wasn’t.

Something in the woods.

Something unexplainable.

Something deadly.

Hundreds of miles away, Chrystal’s plans for a summer in Manhattan are abruptly upended when her dad reads tabloid coverage of a strange, gristly incident in Oklahoma. When they arrive to investigate, they find a witness: a surprisingly good-looking farm boy.

As townsfolk start disappearing and the attacks get ever closer, Logan and Chrystal will have to find out the truth about whatever’s hiding in the woods…before they become targets themselves.

You know what my pet peeve is when it comes to books? I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, it’s misleading covers. Now this isn’t anything against the authors themselves because they might not have any input on the cover design, but it can still be hugely detrimental to their work and subsequent sales. How’s that? I hear you ask. Because people buy books with a certain expectation promised by the cover, and if it ends up being something different on the inside, then you’ve got an unhappy reader, and possibly poor reviews as a result.

Let’s look at the cover.

We have a girl running through a misty woodland, looking over her shoulder as she goes. There’s a greenish, otherworldly light, making it eerie and unnatural. Combining the title and the fact the girl appears to be running from something, you’re led to think that that’s exactly what happens. Perhaps she’s had to go deep into dangerous woodland in search of someone, and is hunted down by whatever else lives there. You’re expecting high paced, spooky drama. And that isn’t the authors’ fault. But it isn’t what you get.

THE RABBIT BACK LITERATURE SOCIETY

‘The Society’ is an elite group, whose members must be very special, and very talented.

Ella Milana is a literature teacher, and the possessor of beautifully curving lips.

But when she starts trying to unearth the truth behind the Society, Ella finds a lot more than she bargained for. What is ‘The Game?’ Why are the words inside books rearranging themselves? And what explains the strange disappearance of an author, in a whirlwind of snow?

In this chilling, darky funny novel, the uncanny brushes up against the everyday in the most beguiling and unexpected of ways.

 

:::WARNING!! SPOILERS ALL OVER THE PLACE:::

 

The story of The Rabbit Back Literature Society follows Ella Milana, a 26 year old substitute teacher who has moved back to her hometown (for reasons I can’t remember, although a broken engagement is briefly mentioned so maybe that has something to do with it?) And what you learn about her during the course of the novel is that she has nice lips, nice nipples, and defective ovaries. There’s a bit of other info thrown in, but these are the things that repeat throughout, to the point where you think her malfunctioning lady parts must carry some weight to the plot of the story. As a substitute, maybe she directs her mothering instincts toward a vulnerable student? Or adopts? Or learns to not let what’s physically lacking define her as a woman, and instead find meaning and happiness elsewhere? No. But it is mentioned to Ella that

No healthy person would take up writing novels. Healthy people do healthy things.

So maybe it’s supposed to be a means of proving her writerly potential? Who knows, but she defines herself as

Ella Amanda Milana. Lovely, curving lips, painterly nipples, defective ovaries

so often, I’d expect it to be on her Instagram bio.

Not long after her move back home, she finds herself being awarded  the much sought after position of tenth and final member of the Rabbit Back Literature Society, as chosen by famous local author Laura White, who everyone the world over is obsessed with for her children’s book series, Creatureville. (And it’s impossible to miss the similarities between Laura White and JK Rowling and her legion of Potter fanatics.)

We’ll try to say something meaningful, something that will make her notice us and think we’re interesting. We’ll probably mot succeed in standing out from the crowd, but that’s all right. The main thing is that we’ve experienced this night. As one of the teeming mass of people in the room, we’ve been allowed to touch the famous author. What does it matter if she doesn’t remember our name a moment later? Perhaps some part of us will remain in her mind. Perhaps we’ll find a piece of ourselves in her next book, and perhaps, through her, receive a piece of immortality in return!

 

The plot of Rabbit Back is basically Ella going around asking the other Society members about how the society works, and them asking her personal questions in return. And that’s essentially what the ‘Game’ is. When I realised that the basis of the plot was just going to be a series of interviews, I did find it a little disappointing. But I still assumed the book was going to expand on the whereabouts of Laura White after her sudden and unusual disappearance from the party (especially given her importance to the town of Rabbit Back and the Literature Society), but it doesn’t. So what does explain her disappearance in a whirlwind of snow?? The answer – absolutely nothing. It’s just a thing that happened. Neither Ella nor the other members of the society seem overly concerned by her disappearance, despite how obsessed with her they are. It’s a plot point that draws in the reader, but doesn’t take you anywhere.