Review of "The Devil in the Details: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery" by Vicki Delany

In this 11th book in the 'Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries', bookstore manager/amateur sleuth Gemma Doyle investigates two deaths. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

British native Gemma Doyle now lives in the town of West London in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. There she co-owns and manages 'The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium' for her Uncle Arthur, a nonagenarian who likes to travel and indulge in his hobbies.



Uncle Arthur, Gemma, and her best friend Jayne Wilson.....



.....co-own 'Mrs. Hudson's Tearoom', which adjoins the bookstore, and both establishments do a lively business - especially during tourist season.



Gemma prides herself on having Sherlockian powers of observation, and often embroils herself in murder investigations. This sometimes helps Gemma's boyfriend, Police Detective Ryan Ashburton, but it usually irritates his partner, Detective Louise Estrada.



*****

As the story opens it's January 6, and there are two big birthday parties in West London: an afternoon celebration for Sherlock Holmes at Gemma's bookstore.....





.....and an evening party for Jayne Wilson at the Blue Harbor Café, which is owned by Jayne's fiancé Andy Whitehall.



Jayne's birthday shindig is a prelude to Jayne and Andy's wedding in six days, and guests include local people as well as relatives who've come to town ahead of time.



The birthday party is festive, with fine wine and one of three choices for dinner: fish, steak and frites, or pesto pasta - followed by birthday cake.









The celebration is going well, but Gemma notices a couple of glitches. First, Jayne's old boyfriend Robbie Ellis - who still carries a torch for Jayne - has been hired as waitstaff, and he shoots hateful glances at Andy all evening.



Second, Andy's previous girlfriend Tina Armstrong - who's been trying to get Andy back - shows up as an uninvited guest and causes a stir.



The Blue Water Café has an open deck jutting over the bay, and guests go out from time to time to smoke, get a breath of fresh air, or gaze across the water. Tragically, toward the end of the evening, Gemma and Jayne step out on the deck and see Tina Armstrong's body floating in the bay.



Detective Louise Estrada arrives and investigates the incident as a possible murder, with Andy as the prime suspect.



Ryan can't help with the case because he's friends with Andy, but Gemma happily goes into sleuth mode.



The next evening, Gemma's nosing around turns up another dead body, and Gemma is sure the two deaths are related. Gemma's 'suspects' include everyone who was in the Blue Harbor Café on the night of Gemma's party, including a sous chef who argued with Andy; a former gossip columnist writing a tell-all; a restaurateur with financial problems; a rude young woman; and many more.



To interview people, Gemma drops in on them unannounced; corners them in restaurants; bothers their relatives; and generally makes a nuisance of herself. Nevertheless, Gemma's keen powers of observation eventually help her uncover the culprit.

While all this is going on, Gemma still manages her bookstore and takes care of her pets; Jayne still bakes for Mrs. Hudson's Tearoom; and both women prepare for Jayne's wedding by going for dress fittings, making seating arrangements, writing place cards, etc.



Some of my favorite characters in this series are the bookstore cat Moriarty, who likes everyone EXCEPT Gemma;



and bookstore assistant Ashleigh, who has her own inimitable sense of style.



I'd love to dine at the Blue Harbor Café and taste Andy's crab cakes and crab and shrimp curry. 😊



This is an enjoyable cozy mystery, recommended to fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, Vicki Delaney, and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC of the book.

 Rating: 3.5 stars 

Review of "The Retirement Plan: A Comical Thriller" by Sue Hincenbergs

This humorous thriller revolves around secrets, misunderstandings, and broken marriages.

*****

Four couples close to retirement age have been friends for thirty years. Their names are:

Pam and Hank



Marlene and Dave



Shalisa and Andre



and Nancy and Larry.



Everyone in the group had been looking forward to a luxurious retirement until five years ago, when Hank heard about a 'great investment opportunity', and convinced Dave, Andre, and Larry to buy in. All the money was lost, and the couples have been struggling ever since, unable to stop working, and straining to make ends meet.

The husbands felt ashamed and guilty;



and the wives were angry and resentful. With further problems, the marriages went downhill from that time on.



Now Marlene's husband Dave has died suddenly, in what appears to be a bizarre accident. Marlene is devastated because she can't pay the mortgage with just her own income. Marlene then learns Dave had a $1,000,000 life insurance policy, and she cheers right up, gets a makeover, and buys a condo in Boca Raton.



Soon afterwards, the other wives learn their husbands ALSO have $1,000,000 life insurance policies, and Nancy suggests they hire a hitman to rid themselves of their pesky spouses. Pam isn't on board until Hank eats her leftover Pad Thai, which he KNOWS is her favorite food.



When Pam agrees to employ a professional killer, the women borrow money and hire a barber/hitman named Hector Chavez. Hector was a gang member in his native El Salvador, and he 'does what needs doing'. The wives tell Hector to murder their husbands on the weekend, when they'll have unshakeable alibis.



At the same time, the husbands are in the midst of their own drama. Hank is the manager of an Indian casino where Dave oversees the slot machines.



Four years ago, when new slot machines were installed, Dave noticed a glitch that allowed him to steal $50,000 per week. Hank and Dave organized a scheme with Andre and Larry to send the money to an offshore account, which by now has almost $10,000,000. The money was meant to be retirement funds for the four couples, but the wives were told nothing about it.



Just recently, the Indian casino got a new president of operations, thirty-year-old Padma Singh, whose mother is a crime boss in India.



Hank is certain Padma learned of Dave's thievery and had him whacked, and Hank, Andre, and Larry fear they'll be next. Thus the men make arrangements of their own, which I won't give away.



Meanwhile, Padma has personal concerns. First, though Padma barely graduated from Harvard Business School, she wants to prove her business acumen to her mother.



Second, Padma's mother thinks it's about time Padma got married, and mom hires a matchmaker to vet potential husbands. A series of men are sent from India to America, for Padma to date, much to Padma's dismay.





At the same time, Padma's mob boss mother sends gun-toting 'accountants' to look into the casino's finances, and to rectify things that might have gone wrong.



All these things - the husbands, wives, Hector, Padma, the casino, and the mobsters - result in a comedy of errors, with misunderstandings galore.

Characters that add to the fun include Hector's wife Brenda, a private detective, security expert, and animal lover with a heart of gold;



and Pam's dog Elmer, a lovable lazy mutt who plays a crucial role in the tale.



Though not very believable, the novel is amusing, entertaining, and worth reading. There's also a moral: Don't eat your partners leftovers. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars