Review of "Ukulele of Death: A Fran and Ken Stein Mystery" by E.J. Copperman

I chose this book because E.J. Copperman writes fun cozy mysteries and I was curious about the debut of this new series. I wasn't disappointed because the story is a hoot.

*****

New York City residents Fran and Ken Stein, siblings who own K&F Stein Investigations, aren't your average private detectives. Fran - who's unusually tall and strong - can easily lift two tattooed wise guys by the front of their T-shirts, one on each arm, and keep them dangling a foot off the ground. And Ken is even bigger and tougher. In addition, both siblings have heightened senses that can detect much more than other people.









That's because Fran and Ken aren't your average humans. They were put together - Frankenstein-like - from body parts and tissues grown in the lab. The siblings' parents - Brandon Wilder, a skilled surgeon; and Olivia Grey, a brilliant scientist - had wanted children but couldn't conceive. So the doctor and researcher made their own babies, who grew up just like other humans. The one big difference: Fran and Ken have to plug themselves into an electric outlet every few days to keep their systems active.



Unfortunately, Brandon Wilder and Olivia Grey had to go on the run after creating the children, to keep certain persons from finding the kids and grabbing them for study. So Fran and Ken were raised by a woman called Aunt Margie, and the fiction was spread that their parents had died in a car accident.



The siblings believed they were orphans until their pre-teens, when they learned their parents were alive somewhere in the world. Fran and Ken made it their mission to find their mom and dad, and as young adults they opened K&F Stein Investigations, which specializes in finding birth parents for adopted children.

One day a client named Evelyn Bannister.....



.....hires the K&F Stein agency to find a ukulele, a relatively rare Gibson Poinsettia with hand-painted flowers and fret markers.



Evelyn explains that the ukulele could lead to her birth father, who (she learned) collects rare stringed instruments. Fran and Ken accept the job, and oddly enough, the ukulele turns out to have a connection with the siblings' own birth parents. So the task appears to be something of a twofer.

The search for the Gibson leads to all manner of trouble, including threats, murders, abductions, mysterious phone messages, and bodily harm - mostly inflicted on other people....like the time Fran throws a roller skater into a would-be kidnapper and knocks his teeth out.

While all this is going on, Fran is being romantically pursued by a nice-looking (but shortish) Police Detective called Rich Mankiewicz....



....and Ken has an unrequited passion for the receptionist he hired, a Romanian woman called Igavda who's 'built like a brick gulag' and speaks only broken English.



As you might imagine, the story is chock full of humor and snide comments, mostly made by Fran about her brother.



For instance, when Ken wants to attend a funeral he has no business at, Fran tries to dissuade him because 'the family needs anything but the Incredible Hulk hanging out at the funeral and asking them questions'; and Fran observes that 'Ken eats Kit Kats by just biting into them. Everyone else on planet Earth breaks each row off and eats it separately. My brother just chomps away at it. Truly, there are days when I despair for him.'

The book isn't high drama, but it's a fun mystery with unique protagonists and an interesting array of characters. Highly recommended to fans of humorous cozies.

Thanks to Netgalley, E.J. Copperman, and Severn House for a copy of the manuscript.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "The Lost: A Mace Reid K-9 Mystery" by Jeffrey B. Burton

 

In this third book in the 'Mace Reid K-9 Mystery Series', cadaver dog trainer Mace Reid gets involved in a murder/abduction case. The novel works fine as a standalone.

*****

Chicago resident Mason Reid (Mace) trains cadaver dogs to search for human remains.



Most of Mace's work involves helping the Chicago Police Department or local sheriffs' departments look for missing people who are presumed dead. This time, though, Mace is called in by FBI Special Agent Squires.......



......when multimillionaire Kenneth Druckman reports a home invasion.



According to Druckman, the kidnappers roughed him up, stole jewelry and money, and abducted his beautiful model wife Calley and their five-year-old daughter Eleanor.





Mace and his best cadaver dog, a golden retriever named Vira (pronounced like Ira with a V), are sent to search the woods around Druckman's estate.



Mace and Vira find Calley's body, but there's no sign of little Eleanor.

Besides finding cadavers, Vira has another talent. From the odors at the crime scene Vira can sniff out the perp. After finding Calley's corpse, Vira knocks against Mace's chest, catches his eye, jumps around him, and points herself back toward the Druckman mansion. The message: Druckman killed his wife.

Special Agent Squires agrees that Druckman is the #1 suspect, but without evidence, Druckman can't be accused of the crime. So the FBI, as well as Mace and his girlfriend, Chicago Police Detective Kippy Gumm......



......investigate Druckman, whom they assume has his daughter Eleanor stashed somewhere.

The story is told in the present, with flashbacks to the past. We learn that Druckman was in BIG trouble with a mysterious Belgian billionaire, who lost money in Druckman's Ponzi scheme. In addition, Russian mobsters want the jewels that were allegedly stolen. So the case gets more and more complicated.

The author Jeffrey Burton infuses the story with a lot of humor - in the form of Mace's snarky comments, and it's a pleasure to romp with Mace's many dogs, who include German Shepherd Sue (a male named for the Johnny Cash song 'A Boy Named Sue) - who sees himself as king of the pack;



prankster collies Delta Dawn and Maggie May - who use a kind of mental telepathy to make Mace think he misplaced his keys, or left the stove on, etc;



and young bloodhound Bill, who seeks out the smelliest rot to roll around in.



This is a enjoyable mystery, recommended to fans of the genre (and people who like dogs).

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "The Joy and Light Bus Company: A No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel" by Alexander McCall Smith

In this 22nd book in the 'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' series - set in Gaborone, Botswana - Mma Precious Ramotswe and her colleague Mma Grace Makutsi address a variety of concerns. These include the new business plans of Mma Ramotswe's husband; modern day slavery; an imperiled inheritance; and more.



The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.

*****

Early in the story Mma Ramotswe's husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni.....



.....attends a business seminar where he happens to meet an old acquaintance called Mr. T.K. Molefi. Mr. Matekoni and Mr. Molefi decide to start a bus company that would put Mr. Matekoni's mechanic skills to good use.



The rub is that Mr. Matekoni has to borrow thousands of dollars for the start-up enterprise, and plans to use his business - Tloweng Road Speedy Motors - as collateral. Mma Ramotswe, who fears the bus company will fail, is VERY troubled by the plan and hopes to nip it in the bud.

Whenever Mma Ramotswe is worried, she visits her old friend Mma Potokwane - the director of the Gabarone orphan farm - for advice.



After the ladies converse over tea and fruit cake, Mma Ramotswe learns that a new orphan girl, who arrived with a broken wrist, was forced to work for a wealthy family without pay.



Mma Ramotswe is horrified by this modern slavery, but the rich family is powerful, so Mma Ramotswe must be creative to deal with them.

The detective agency gets a client called Mr. Baboloki Mophephu, who calls for an appointment. When Mr. Mophephu arrives for his consultation, he makes the mistake of calling Mma Makutski a secretary.



Mma Makutski huffily declares she's no secretary, she's the co-managing director - a new title she's bestowed on herself. Over time Mma Makutsi has promoted herself from secretary, to assistant detective, to associate detective, to co-detective, to co-partner.....and up the ladder to co-managing director. 😄



In any case, Mr. Mophephu is concerned about his rich elderly father, whose caregiver may be exerting undue influence - perhaps even planning to marry the old man - for financial gain. This is a delicate situation that requires diplomacy from Mma Ramotswe.



Several recurring characters make an appearance in the book, one of them being beautiful, husband-stealer Violet Sephoto, who's always making trouble.



This time, Mma Makutsi and Mma Potokwane are shopping for groceries when they happen to see Violet open a package of cookies, eat two, and put the rest back. Mma Potokwane is enraged and confronts Violet....with unexpected consequences.



As the story unfolds we also hear from Mma Makutski's 'talking shoes' which are always good for a laugh.



I enjoyed visiting with Mma Ramotswe and her entourage, and its fun to see Mma Ramotswe solve problems in her unique fashion.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "The Perfumist of Paris: The Henna Artist #3" by Alka Joshi

This is the conclusion of the trilogy whose first two books are The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. I strongly recommend reading the books in order.

The main characters in the trilogy are two sisters named Lakshsmi and Radha, both of whom rebel against traditional Indian roles for women. In 'The Henna Artist,' set in the mid-1950s, Lakshmi runs away from an abusive husband and becomes a henna artist and an expert in the use of spices, herbs, plants, potions, and teas to heal wounds, treat illnesses, and address other concerns.



Due to a confluence of circumstances Lakshmi takes in her 13-year-old sister Radha, whose teenage behavior gets her into trouble.



The siblings' story and that of other protagonists continues in 'The Secret Keeper of Jaipur', which takes place in the late 1960s.

*****

In 'The Perfumist of Paris', which is set in 1974, Radha - who's now thirty-two - is living in France with her husband Pierre and their daughters, seven-year-old Asha and nine-year-old Shanti.





Radha has a talent for creating scents, and is the assistant to master perfumist Delphine at 'The House of Yves' in Paris.



Radha's architect husband Pierre would prefer that Radha stay home to be a full-time wife and mother, but he tolerates Radha's working without making too much fuss.



Radha's mother-in-law Florence, a difficult opinionated woman, is decidedly cool towards Radha and her Indian culture. Nevertheless Florence loves her grandchildren, and takes care of Asha and Shanti when Radha is at work.



Because Radha is so talented with scents, a client of the perfumery gives Radha the opportunity to create a fragrance inspired by Edouard Manet's painting 'Olympia.' The client plans to distribute perfumes evoked by women in famous paintings.


Edouard Manet's 'Olympia'

To create the 'Olympia' perfume Radha must take a trip to India to source scents. Radha meets her sister Lakshsmi in Jaipur, and the two women visit the courtesans of Agra, who are experts in the use of scents to attract and seduce men.



Radha finds the perfect ingredient for the 'Olympia' perfume and returns to Paris where an unexpected person - who could imperil Radha's marriage - awaits. The surprise also leads to tension between Radha and her best friend Mathilde, who's hurt by Radha's secrecy.

To add to Radha's problems, there's skullduggery afoot at 'The House of Yves', and Radha's possible promotion to master perfumist is imperiled.



For me 'The Perfumist of Paris' is the least successful book in the trilogy. The plot is too simple; the crises are resolved too easily to create much tension; and some important events are predictable and cliché. Still, I was happy to catch up with the characters from previous books, and I like the glimpses of Indian customs and food, like the chole (chickpea curry) prepared by Radha and her daughters. (Recipe included in the book.)


Chole

Some of my favorite parts of the novel are the descriptions of the scents. The fragrances were carefully researched by the author Alka Joshi, who was inspired by some of her childhood experiences. In an interview, Joshi observes, "The fragrances I grew up with....were the scents of my native India: the jasmine garlands by mother threaded through her braid; the rosewater betel nut paans the chaiwalla [tea sellers] chewed. They were the scents of vetiver window screens hung in the heat of a Rajasthani summer, my auntie’s favorite sandalwood snuff, the rickshaw driver’s coconut hair oil. These scents were soothing to me, a reminder of where I came from." Joshi studied scents and their uses, and became something of an expert for the book.



Though this novel wasn't quite as good as the others in the trilogy, I highly recommend the books, which have memorable characters and a compelling story line.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Hiss and Tell: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery" by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown

In this addition to the 'Mrs. Murphy' mysteries, amateur sleuth Harry Haristeen is concerned about drug deaths in her county. I think it's necessary to be familiar with the series to fully enjoy the book.

The 'Mrs. Murphy' cozy mystery series began over three decades ago, with the charming premise that animals could speak amongst themselves and help their owner solve crimes.



In recent years author Rita Mae Brown has used the Mrs. Murphy novels to promote her politics and to discuss American history. This bothers me, since I don't think authors should use fiction as a platform to 'teach.' That's what non-fiction is for. Still, I've been following these characters for a long time, and the stories are interesting, so I keep reading them (so far).

Rita Mae Brown's recent Mrs. Murphy novels have followed two storylines, one set in Crozet, Virginia in current times and the other set in the same region in the late 1700s, a decade or so after the Revolutionary War.

*****

During the Christmas season of 2021, Harry Haristeen, a lifelong resident of Crozet - in Albemarle County, Virginia - has a lot going on.



Harry is married to a large animal veterinarian named Fair Haristeen; she takes care of her farm and horses; she hangs out with her lifelong best friend Susan Tucker; she and Susan deliver Christmas baskets to needy families; she's arranging a surprise Christmas present for her husband Fair; and she and Fair belong to a 'dining club' composed of close friends that sample high end restaurants.



Harry is also the 'mom' of two cats called Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and two dogs named Tucker and Pirate.





The pets converse among themselves - discussing the news of the day and other things - and talk to other animals as well. In this book Harry is taking Pirate - a 150-pound Irish Wolfhound - to dog showing classes, just for fun.

Besides everything else Harry is a compulsive amateur sleuth, and she pokes into deaths being investigated by her friend and neighbor, Deputy Sheriff Cynthia Cooper.



In this book Harry becomes concerned about a number of Christmas season fatalities: three undocumented middle-aged men who have no IDs are murdered; a Crozet orchard owner named Sy Buford is found dead; and three young people overdose at a party.



All the deceased contain traces of Fentanyl, and Deputy Cooper and Harry are concerned about drugs in Crozet. Harry even starts carrying Narcan, which can revive people who overdose on opioids if used in a timely manner. In an interview, author Rita Mae Brown acknowledges that this storyline is inspired by concerns about the country's ubiquitous drug problem.

In any case, Harry tries to determine how the drugs are being distributed in Virginia, and she endangers her own life as a result.

In the alternate storyline, set in the Crozet area in 1789, the action centers around two plantations and a high class brothel. One plantation, called Big Rawly, is owned by Mrs. Maureen Selisse Holloway, a cruel woman obsessed with profits and keeping her slaves in line.



The other plantation, named Cloverfields, is owned by a kind man named Ewing Garth, whose married daughter Catherine - a superb horsewoman and businesswoman - helps her dad run Cloverfields. The Garths are kind to their slaves, but have no thoughts of freeing them. It's clear that author Rita Mae Brown is against slavery, but her characters justify the practice as an economic necessity.



In this story, Catherine arranges for a steeplechase race on Cloverfields property, and the author (a horsewoman herself) describes the race in great detail. 🙂



The 1789 brothel, called The Tavern, is run by a money-obsessed woman called Georgina. The Tavern serves its clientele gourmet food, provides musical entertainment by a talented singer, and has beautiful prostitutes for after-dinner entertainment.



All this might be fine and good except that Georgina has young girls kidnapped to work at The Tavern. Georgina seems to think she's providing a 'better life' for these gals, but its human trafficking no matter how you slice it.

I'm intrigued by the high-end eateries frequented by Harry's dining club, which serve things like grilled young squab with seared foie gras nesting on rhubarb compote. For dessert, Harry always orders orange-glazed sweetbreads with crème brûlée, which I might try given the chance.



Glazed sweetbreads and crème brûlée

The Mrs. Murphy' novels used to be REAL cozy mysteries with Harry searching for and finding clues....often with the help of her fur babies. More recently, and especially in this book, the 'investigation' is VERY superficial and the story is about all manner of other things. So you're forewarned.

Thanks to Netgalley, Rita Mae Brown, and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of the manuscript.

Rating: 3.5 stars