excerpt | pdworkman.com

Dive into The Waters of Eternal Youth

September 28, 2021 / 2 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment

Today’s book is The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon (which I thought was interesting, as Ponce de Leon was supposed to have found the Fountain of Eternal Youth— But this is book number 25 in the Commissario Brunetti series and appears to be the only book with any eternal youth references.) In this case, “eternal youth” does not refer to the body not aging, but to a character whose development was stymied by hypoxic brain damage after a near drowning in one of the canals.

Dive into The Waters of Eternal Youth Read More »

Get swept away by All by Myself, Alone

September 21, 2021 / 2 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment

This week’s teaser is from All By Myself, Alone by Mary Higgins Clark. I think the first book that I read by Mary Higgins Clark was The Cradle Will Fall, a scary medical thriller that kind of freaked me out as a twelve- or thirteen-year-old. I was hooked. All By Myself, Alone, is part of Mary Higgins Clark’s Alvirah & Willy Series, a cozy mystery series far removed from the medical thriller genre. But it is still good. Full of interesting characters, several murders and attempted murders, and a priceless emerald necklace all aboard a cruise ship.

Get swept away by All by Myself, Alone Read More »

A thrilling read: Stalker on the Fens

September 14, 2021 / 2 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment

In Stalker on the Fens, Nikki Galena is approached by a friend who she had previously saved from a horrific building collapse. The woman thinks that she is being stalked, but her family and friends are apt to put it down as PTSD rather than something that is really happening to her. Bad turns to worse, and before long Galena is trying to deal with a couple of bodies and some significant unrest between two criminal factions. There are plenty of suspects, but trying to narrow it down and rule them out is not easy.

A thrilling read: Stalker on the Fens Read More »

An Italian Treat: Rounding the Mark

September 7, 2021 / 2 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment

With 28 books in the series, I feel like I should have run into Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano Mysteries before now! These are English translations of the original Italian, a series of Police Procedurals set in Sicily, full of sensory and culinary detail. Rounding the Mark is book #7 in the series. While Inspector Montalbano is threatening to resign, I would assume by the fact that there are 21 more books following this one, that he never quite gets around to retiring.

An Italian Treat: Rounding the Mark Read More »

Follow Flavia’s adventures in A Red Herring Without Mustard

August 31, 2021 / 3 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment

Flavia is a rather morbid child (age eleven) with a fascination with chemistry, poisons, bodies, and murder. She is very handy in her chemistry lab and although she often gets in the way of the local constabulary, she is also usually ahead of them in solving murders that take place in the local village (and in this case, even on the de Luce family property.)

Follow Flavia’s adventures in A Red Herring Without Mustard Read More »

Puppies and poison in Dead in Dublin

August 17, 2021 / 3 minutes of reading / 1 Comment

Dead in Dublin is the first book in The Dublin Driver Mysteries, which surprised me when I looked it up today. There is lots of backstory summarized in Dead in Dublin, and I assumed that there were probably three or more books before it in the series. So this book may leave you a little hungry for more details of “what happened before,” but it is a fine standalone mystery and I’m sure the author will reveal more about Megan Malone’s origin story throughout the next two books in the series. I will definitely pick up the others as they become available through my library app.

Puppies and poison in Dead in Dublin Read More »

Jump right into Body of Lies

August 10, 2021 / 2 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment

This week I am just coming to the end of Iris Johansen’s Body of Lies, the fourth book in the Eve Duncan series. I don’t know whether I’ve read any of the other books in the series before, but it is easy to follow the characters and the action without having read the rest. There is plenty of backstory and explanation to allow you to follow the basic history of the characters.

Jump right into Body of Lies Read More »

The Night Sister is a creepy read

August 3, 2021 / 2 minutes of reading / 1 Comment

I picked up this week’s read, The Night Sister, from the mystery shelf without realizing that it is classified as “ghost suspense,” so I was a little surprised with the direction that it went in, but that didn’t detract from the book. I still found it quite interesting and engaging. If you are the type who loves to share creepy ghost stories around the campfire, this might just be the book for you.

The Night Sister is a creepy read Read More »

Experience The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

July 27, 2021 / 3 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment

This week’s book is not one of my usual genres, but is a little book that lives somewhere at the nexus of Winnie the Pooh, Narnia, and Buddha. Read it as a children’s book, explore the purpose of life, meditate daily on your impact on others. It’s one of those gems that is bound to live long on the shelf beside your bed or your favorite chair.

Experience The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Read More »

Investigate A Willing Murder

July 20, 2021 / 3 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment

A Willing Murder is well-written, and I would not have guessed that it was written by a romance author. The characters and relationships are good, but there is nothing racy and no sex scenes. One kiss, I think. The foundation for the murder mystery is solid and the characters are able to get from one clue to another without anything too unbelievable and without breaking too many laws.

Investigate A Willing Murder Read More »