Renaissance Italy Mysteries

Malice in Milan by Ken Tentarelli
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Malice in Milan is somewhat like Law & Order but has been plunked down into the middle of Renaissance Italy. The description of the book sounded intriguing. Noting that the book was the third in a series, although they can be read as stand-alone books, I desired to read the others. I sought out book 1 The Laureate which was somewhat helpful in providing some useful background for this title. I did not have opportunity to read book 2.

In Malice in Milan, the young lawyer Nico is placed on a new committee and races off to Milan to help solve a crime. While solving the crime, he interacts with a wide variety of individuals from both the upper crust and the under belly of Milan. He also utilizes a variety of street smarts in addition to his legal acumen to wrap up the case. In addition to a moderately interesting plot, Tentarelli provides a variety of interesting tidbits regarding Renaissance Italy which makes the book mildly educational as well. Recommended with hesitation for readers who love the renaissance time period and enjoy mysteries. I would encourage readers to seek out a copy to borrow rather than buy.

I received a complementary copy of this book via NetGalley.

A Cozy Mystery

Death on the Page by Essie Lang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Death on the Page is the second book in The Castle Bookshop Mystery Series by Essie Lang. This was a quick, enjoyable read. I found that the book while a mystery was not gruesome at all but simply a nice "who did it." Lang kept my attention until the end and wanting to find out who committed the crime. While I had my suspicions from the long list of potential suspects, I was not completely sure until the end.

I had not read the first book in this series. I found that Death on the Page can be read as a stand-alone book. However, Lang does include frequent allusions to the first book. As such, being familiar with the first book and thus knowing more about the main character would make Death on the Page that much more enjoyable.

I received a complementary copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.

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Newest Maggie Hope Mystery!

I have previously read and enjoyed books in the Maggie Hope Mystery Series, so when the newest release in the series The King's Justice by Susan Elia MacNeal became available I knew I wanted to read it right away and am glad I did.

The King's Justice find Maggie in London where a previous criminal whom she had helped to capture has just been sentenced to death. Maggie has officially stepped away from her previous spy roles and is instead employed to detonate bombs in London. Doing so, she becomes acquainted with a number of individuals called "Britalians" who are British citizens of Italian descent and a number of individuals who are conscientious objectors. I had not previously realized that the Britalians were treated poorly and many put in "camps" similar to how the British treated Germans who were living in Great Britian during the War and how the U.S. treated Japanese and German Americans. While not working as a spy, Maggie still had many contacts in the spy and police world and becomes pulled into a new investigation involving a new serial killer. MacNeal does a marvelous job of drawing several different threads together into one coherent story and drawing in background information from the previous books in the series. She also leaves a cliffhanger so that you know book 10 is coming!

While previous books in the series benefited from being read in order, but if you hopped it you could follow along, I would not recommend reading The King's Justice if you have not read the other books. There are many allusions and references to previous experiences Maggie had and not being familiar with those would diminish enjoyment of this book. I even found that enough time had passed since reading the previous books that a refresher of the most recent books would have been helpful. I would encourage individuals who have read previous Maggie Hope books to read this one as soon as possible. If you have not you become acquainted with Maggie Hope, I hope you will read these exciting and well-written spy novels as soon as possible.

I received a complementary copy of The King's Justice from NetGalley. I was not required to provide a positive option and all opinions are my own.

New Cozy Mystery Series

The Time for Murder is Meow is the first in the new Purr n' Bark Pet Shop Mystery series by T. C. LoTempio. This series focuses on an actress who inherits her aunt's Purr n' Bark Pet Shop and gives up her acting to start life over in the small town. Soon after arriving in her new hometown, Shell becomes embroiled in a controversy. She quickly forms some friends and some enemies among the townspeople. After coming across a dead body and becoming a person of interest in the case, Shell works to clear her own name and find the actual murderer.

The Time for Murder is Meow is a great start to the series. You have cats, murders, and ex-actresses which combine to make a fun book to read. Of course the cats do help to solve the murder as well. I was not previously familiar with LoTempio as an author ,but I plan to read her other books and will be watching for the next titles in the Purr n' Bark series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received The Time for Murder is Meow via NetGalley from Midnight Ink. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Cat Who

Last night I finished The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts, the first title in the mystery category for the 888 Reading Challenge. I initially found the book slow to get started and went back and forth between reading it and several other titles I was working on. The first few chapters were very detailed in order to set the stage for the mystery and set up the relationships between all of the characters. Once I finally got past the first few chapters the pace picked up and I finished rather quickly. I enjoyed this book as this mystery was rooted in historical events that had happened years before and ended up tying several prominent townspeople to the criminal with a tidy finish. However, the criminal was easily identified early in the book so the "Aha!" was more from how the plot came together more than "Who did it?"