This 'mistaken identity' farce takes place on the beautiful Greek island of Skios.
Dr. Norman Wilfred, a well-known British scientist (in some very small circles), is on his way to deliver an esoteric lecture to the annual meeting of the hoity-toity Fred Toppler Foundation.
Wilfred's been invited by the event organizer, Nikki Hook - who believes she's found a gem of a lecturer (unlike her predecessors' poor boring choices).
The plane to Skios is also carrying fellow Brit Oliver Fox, a good-looking playboy who's planned an illicit tryst in a borrowed villa with a woman he hardly knows.
When their plane reaches the Skios airport Dr. Wilfred is briefly delayed and Oliver succumbs to a naughty impulse: when Nikki approaches him to ask if he's Dr. Wilfred he says yes. Thus Oliver is wafted off to the gorgeous Fred Toppler compound......
.....and, by dint of the language barrier, Dr. Wilfred's taxi driver takes him to the villa meant for Oliver's lovers' tryst.
Moreover, because they have similar luggage, Oliver takes Dr. Wilfred's bag and Dr. Wilfred is left frustrated and luggage-less.
Nikki and the guests at the Fred Toppler event are charmed by handsome Oliver, who's adept at telling lies and making himself plausible.
Meanwhile poor Dr. Wilfred is mistaken for a potential rapist by Oliver's date, who shows up at the villa before she's expected.
Things get even worse when Oliver's long-time (but currently estranged girlfriend) shows up and is mistaken for the cleaning lady.
True to the mistaken identity genre the complications escalate through the story, providing some fun scenes. To add to the mayhem there's rivalry among Toppler foundation employees and a gang with it's own agenda.
I found the main characters engaging (if a bit obtuse) and the book entertaining. However the story requires a huge suspension of disbelief. In this internet age, would Nikki (with access to Google) mistake young, handsome Oliver for middle-aged Dr. Wilfred? And could Oliver - who knows nothing about science - convince intelligent people he's an expert? In any case the story races along to a finale that's explosive but not quite satisfactory.
Overall this is a fun easy read, good for a vacation or plane ride.
Rating: 3 stars
In this 8th book in the 'Kate Burkholder' series, the Chief of Police goes undercover. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.
*****
As the story opens Kate Burkholder - Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio - gets a visit from two law enforcement officers from New York State.
Sheriff Dan Suggs and Investigator Frank Betancourt are concerned about the suspicious death of Rachel Esh, a 15-year-old Amish girl from Roaring Springs, New York. An autopsy showed that Rachel had drugs in her system and had undergone an abortion....very unusual for an Amish girl.
Moreover there are rumors of 'bad things' going on among the Roaring Springs Amish, who recently got a new Bishop named Eli Shrock. It seems that Bishop Shrock is much stricter than his predecessor and may be using harsh punishments to enforce his rules.
The officers can't investigate any of this, however, because the Amish people keep to themselves and don't speak to the "English" police.
The New York cops, feeling particularly concerned about Amish children and teens in Roaring Springs, need an undercover agent to infiltrate and investigate. Kate is the perfect person for the job since she grew up in an Amish family until the age of 18 and can speak Pennsylvania Dutch. (Note: Kate's reasons for leaving the Amish community are discussed in previous books in the series.)
So Kate borrows some Amish clothing from her sister, packs up a couple of guns and a cell phone, and heads for Roaring Springs. Kate's boyfriend, Agent John Tomasetti, disapproves of Kate's potentially dangerous undercover assignment but she promises to be careful. And what can happen in an Amish town after all? As things turn out, quite a bit.
As soon as Kate arrives in Roaring Springs she dons her Amish clothes and makes it her business to visit the Amish run coffee shop and quilt store. She introduces herself as Kate Miller from Ohio, a recent widow who's looking for a more orthodox Amish community, like Bishop Shrock's.
Kate rents a small trailer home whose one advantage is electricity (which the Amish don't use). Kate then buys a used scooter, hides her gun and cell phone under her clothes, and goes about her business. She frequents the coffee shop.....
.....joins a quilting circle.....
.....and attends an Amish church service.
Kate takes every opportunity to talk to people and ask questions - trying to scope out the situation and find out about Rachel.
Kate quickly senses that something's wrong in Roaring Springs. The people seem unusually furtive and paranoid, and some sport odd injuries. In addition, while walking through the woods one night Kate comes across two Amish men on snowmobiles, wearing ski masks and doling out rough treatment to two female passengers.
When Kate reports these occurrences to the Bishop, his behavior is DECIDEDLY OFF. Soon afterwards Kate experiences some rough treatment herself, for being a 'nosy Amish woman.'
Kate periodically calls Sheriff Suggs and tells him about all the suspicious behavior and violent occurrences.
The law enforcement officials are concerned for Kate's safety but she's determined to stick it out...fearful that the local youngsters are in danger. Kate valiantly carries on and - in some exciting scenes - puts her life in danger while she tries to discover what's going on and who's involved.
I like this series, both for the mystery elements and the descriptions of Amish life and culture. That said, I was a little disappointed with this book. Most of the criminals are pretty easy to identify and the major crime is one which shows up a lot in books and TV these days.....thus not too original. Also, the perps get caught well before the end of the book, which then moseys along to the last page.
My major criticism is a spoiler, so it's at the bottom of the review.
Still, this is an enjoyable book, recommended to mystery fans - especially people who like the Kate Burkholder series.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this book.
BEWARE. SPOILER ALERT
My biggest criticism is that the author recycles a plot device - to do with a law enforcement officer - from an earlier book in the series.
Rating: 3 stars
Readers familiar with books/movies about ballet will recognize many of the character types in this story - youngsters desperate to be professional dancers, older men (dancers and choreographers) taking advantage of their young charges, unfaithful lovers, and so on.
The girl at the center of this story is Joan, a so-so ballet dancer who managed - by dint of many years of lessons, practice, and sacrifice - to become a minor member of an American ballet corps.
During a visit to Paris, Joan met Arslan Rusakov, a superstar of the Russian ballet.
Joan became enthralled with Arslan and a few years later, when the Russians performed in Canada, helped him defect to the United States. A brief relationship blossomed between Joan and Arslan but Rusakov was serially unfaithful and eventually married another ballerina, breaking Joan's heart. Helping Joan navigate this drama is her roommate Elaine.....
…..an excellent ballerina who becomes the muse of bisexual choreographer Mr. K.
Meanwhile Joan's best friend since childhood, a boy named Jacob, has been pining away for her forever. After the Arslan affair, and realizing she would never be a principal dancer, Joan gave in to Jacob's pleas and married him.
They had a son, Harry, a sweet boy who seemed interested in everything in the world except ballet. In time, though, Harry developed a crush on his neighbor/playmate, a little girl named Chloe.
Joan eventually becomes a ballet teacher, and when little Chloe becomes interested in dancing this seems to galvanize Harry's interest as well. The Harry/Chloe story of two kids growing up together is a little reminiscent of the relationship between Joan and Jacob except that Harry and Chloe both get involved in ballet.
The book spans a time period of about thirty years, starting in the 1970s and ending in the late 1990s. Rather than being chronological, however, the story jumps back and forth in time, eventually revealing important events in Joan's life as well as what goes on with Harry and Chloe as they grow up.
The plot coasts along to a climax that's inevitable, though it plays out in a fashion that's not very believable. I'd categorize the book as part expose of the world of professional ballet and part coming of age story. To me the book was mildly engaging, filled with characters that behaved badly and weren't particularly likable.
Just an okay book for me.
Rating: 3 stars
In this 6th book in the 'Cat in the Stacks' series, unearthed Civil War diaries spark murder. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
Charlie Harris, a middle-age southern gentleman, is the archivist at the Athena College library in the town of Athena, Mississippi. Charlie strolls to work every day with his pet Diesel - a Maine Coon cat. Though Diesel doesn't talk/solve mysteries/attack bad guys like cats in some mystery books he does enjoy being petted and pampered and getting treats.
As the story opens the mayor of Athena, Lucinda Beckwith Long, has found some Civil War era diaries written by her husband's ancestor and donated them to the library archives.
Almost immediately, before Charlie can prepare the diaries for public viewing, he is besieged by two women who insist on getting access to the journals. One claims to be a graduate student and the other is a history professor. Two men running for State Senator are also interested in the diaries: Beck Long (the mayor's son) - who grew up entitled and privileged, and Jasper Singletary - who grew up in poor economic circumstances.
Long apparently thinks his ancestor's laudatory past will help him win votes while Singletary claims the diaries will show their author was a murderer. (Though who would admit to this in a diary is beyond me. 🙄)
Pretty soon the diaries are stolen, a murder occurs, and Mayor Long happens to discover an additional diary that could affect the State Senator election. Charlie Harris makes some important discoveries about the diaries in between eating chicken-and-dumpling lunches; chatting with his girlfriend; talking to his son; strolling to work and back; petting his cat Diesel; coordinating with Chief of Police Kanesha Berry; and so on. As it turns out there are some explosive revelations in the diaries, but to say more would give away spoilers.
In any case, the diary entries were quite interesting. They revealed that some southerners embarked upon the Civil War rather cheerfully, thinking it would be over in a matter of months. Instead they came to suffer privation and hardship.
The book meanders along to a satisfactory conclusion. I thought some of the goings-on in the story seemed over the top and not credible. However, modern politics demonstrates that some people would do almost anything to get elected, so who knows.
I'd recommend the book to fans of cozy mysteries (and cats).
Rating: 3 stars
Thirty-something Rachel is depressed, divorced, unemployed, and an alcoholic with too much time on her hands. Not wanting her roommate to know she lost her job Rachel takes the train into London each morning and home each evening.
It so happens that the train passes the street where Rachel once lived with her then husband Tom. Tom now lives there with his new wife Anna - the lover who precipitated Tom and Rachel's divorce.
Rachel takes a great interest in her former street, and as the train passes each day she checks out the people living there and makes up stories about them. She's becomes especially interested in a couple whom she dubs "Jess and Jason." Rachel thinks the couple is blissfully happy until the day she spots Jess kissing another man in the front yard. Soon afterwards Jess disappears - and the mystery story takes off from there.
The couple's real names are Megan and Scott, and Scott soon becomes a suspect in Megan's disappearance. Rachel, knowing about the 'other man', feels compelled to insert herself into the investigation.
She talks to the police and Scott, but because her alcoholism causes blackouts Rachel is deemed an unreliable witness.
Rachel has other troubles as well. She's never gotten over her divorce and harrasses ex-husband Tom and his new wife Anna with constant phone calls and the occasional unwanted visit.
The story is told from three rotating points of view - Rachel, Megan, and Anna - so the reader gets three perspectives on the events being narrated. To say much more would be a spoiler so I'll just say there are plenty of twists and surprises leading to a climax that's satisfyingly dramatic (if a little too long and drawn out).
The story is compelling and the characters are interesting but not particularly likable; these probably aren't people you'd want to hang out with. I enjoyed the book and would probably read more from this author.
Rating: 3.5 stars
