Tempest in a Teapot by Amanda Cooper
My housemate saw this in the bookstore and bought it as a surprise for me. She thought we would enjoy it. I guess we did. The mystery was enjoyable and I didn’t figure out whodunit until towards the end of the book. But the mystery was the only part of the book I really enjoyed. I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters. They were either bland or unlikable.
I had good hopes for the book, but it was not as much fun to read as I thought it would be. I’m glad I read it, because now I know and I know I don’t need to seek out the rest of the series, but I wish I had enjoyed the characters more.
The characters were all pretty much one-dimensional and seemed to only identify with their jobs or role in the main character’s life. It got to be a bit grating that life-long friends, even if they were only summer-time friends, were pigeonholed into roles that had nothing to do with their lives outside their jobs.
It was also a bit unbelievable that everyone in the small town, which had the ridiculous name of Gracious Grove (though everyone who lived there called it by the cutesy name GiGi) was crazy for collecting antique teapots. It was such a popular hobby that there were at least two, and possibly three, teapot collecting groups in the small town. It was also stretching reality a bit to believe that this same small town could support not only one, but three, tearooms.
As I said, the mystery was enjoyable. The book could have used a better editor. There was a sub-plot that seemed extremely complicated and convoluted. Usually in books, nothing is pointless; everything has meaning to either the book’s plot or an overarching story to carry from one episode to another in the series. I have not read any other books in the series, so I do not know if the complicated plot point had meaning for the overarching story, or was resolved, but I was a bit disappointed by it being so complicated and not having any kind of resolution.
I hesitate to recommend the book, as I really did not enjoy the characters and there is a huge annoying hole in the complicated subplot. At the same time, I don’t want to discourage anyone who wants to from reading this book. Though I guess I kind of have done just that with this review. On the whole, the book was a tempest in a teapot.
One Bear’s Opinion: Three Cups of Tea, served from an antique teapot, with a slice of teacake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Friday, April 29, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review
Murder on the Celtic by Conrad Allen
The last adventure with George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield is much like the others. But then it is one of a series, and mystery series books do tend to be a bit formulaic. It’s not a bad thing, but it is a consequence of being part of a series of mysteries. There are only so many ways to vary the plot, when it must include a puzzle to be solved, either by the book’s character or reader.
This book completes a circle with George and Genevieve. The first book was an eastbound trans-Atlantic sailing and this last one is a westbound sailing across the same ocean. The book does not feel like a finale. There is nothing to indicate that the adventures with George and Genevieve will not continue, and for that reason it is a bit disappointing as the last in the series. There is no satisfying conclusion to the series, through the is a satisfying conclusion to the mystery.
But as the mystery with the likable detectives, it is very good. I enjoyed the mystery, even with the unnecessary addition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as a character. Conan Doyle is much more likable as a historic character than J.P. Morgan was in the previous volume, but I did not think real people as characters was completely necessary for the series. The character of the ocean liner was enough for me.
Like with the other books in the series, I missed having deck plans or other illustrations for the book. I really think even fictional plans would have been helpful for readers.
Overall, the series was fun, and I have really enjoyed re-discovering George and Genevieve. They are a fun, easy to read series, well suited for quiet afternoons. They are not quite cotton candy books, but they are not heavy, serious reads. Check them out if you need something for waiting rooms, airplanes, cruises, or just a light diversion from serious subjects. You won’t be sorry.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four glasses of champagne with a plate of strawberries
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
The last adventure with George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield is much like the others. But then it is one of a series, and mystery series books do tend to be a bit formulaic. It’s not a bad thing, but it is a consequence of being part of a series of mysteries. There are only so many ways to vary the plot, when it must include a puzzle to be solved, either by the book’s character or reader.
This book completes a circle with George and Genevieve. The first book was an eastbound trans-Atlantic sailing and this last one is a westbound sailing across the same ocean. The book does not feel like a finale. There is nothing to indicate that the adventures with George and Genevieve will not continue, and for that reason it is a bit disappointing as the last in the series. There is no satisfying conclusion to the series, through the is a satisfying conclusion to the mystery.
But as the mystery with the likable detectives, it is very good. I enjoyed the mystery, even with the unnecessary addition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as a character. Conan Doyle is much more likable as a historic character than J.P. Morgan was in the previous volume, but I did not think real people as characters was completely necessary for the series. The character of the ocean liner was enough for me.
Like with the other books in the series, I missed having deck plans or other illustrations for the book. I really think even fictional plans would have been helpful for readers.
Overall, the series was fun, and I have really enjoyed re-discovering George and Genevieve. They are a fun, easy to read series, well suited for quiet afternoons. They are not quite cotton candy books, but they are not heavy, serious reads. Check them out if you need something for waiting rooms, airplanes, cruises, or just a light diversion from serious subjects. You won’t be sorry.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four glasses of champagne with a plate of strawberries
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Friday, April 15, 2016
One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review
Murder on the Oceanic by Conrad Allen
This is the seventh classic cruise liner mystery with George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield. For this cruise, the detectives are working for the White Star Line (of Titanic fame) and they are back traversing the trans-Atlantic route.
This adventure differs from the previous six, not only because of the line they are sailing on, but also in that the author has decided to bring real famous people in as characters. On this cruise, George & Genevieve must protect J.P. Morgan. The real people as characters do give a sense of authentic history to the story, but I am beginning to think it’s a literary device that has become overused. Though I understand that Morgan really did travel back and forth across the Atlantic regularly, and, at the time (1910), sailing was the only viable option to make the journey.
The character of J.P. Morgan was pompous, acerbic, demanding, annoying and generally not a nice person. I understand that was the character of the real J.P. Morgan as well, but I did not like him as a character in this book. My Dad would probably say to me “you’re not supposed to like him,” and that may be true, but he did detract from my enjoyment of the book. Of course, he was central to the story; why would an author got to the trouble of featuring a real person if that person was not a central character to the plot? As a result, there was more of J.P. Morgan and his body guard than I would have preferred in the book.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book. I really enjoy the way the team sails on all the classic ocean-cruising lines. Though again, I wish the book had deck plans or reference maps for the reader. I find it harder to picture the layout of these classic ocean going vessels than I thought it would be, especially given that I have been on so many cruise vacations.
The mystery was interesting, and the author does a great job of weaving in many red herrings and sending renders, and his detectives, down the wrong path. These will never be great literature, but then they are not trying to be. I think they are trying to be a fun way to spend some time, an enjoyable adventure with friends. And that is exactly what they are.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four Glasses of White Wine and a plate of cheese & crackers to share with good friends
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
This is the seventh classic cruise liner mystery with George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield. For this cruise, the detectives are working for the White Star Line (of Titanic fame) and they are back traversing the trans-Atlantic route.
This adventure differs from the previous six, not only because of the line they are sailing on, but also in that the author has decided to bring real famous people in as characters. On this cruise, George & Genevieve must protect J.P. Morgan. The real people as characters do give a sense of authentic history to the story, but I am beginning to think it’s a literary device that has become overused. Though I understand that Morgan really did travel back and forth across the Atlantic regularly, and, at the time (1910), sailing was the only viable option to make the journey.
The character of J.P. Morgan was pompous, acerbic, demanding, annoying and generally not a nice person. I understand that was the character of the real J.P. Morgan as well, but I did not like him as a character in this book. My Dad would probably say to me “you’re not supposed to like him,” and that may be true, but he did detract from my enjoyment of the book. Of course, he was central to the story; why would an author got to the trouble of featuring a real person if that person was not a central character to the plot? As a result, there was more of J.P. Morgan and his body guard than I would have preferred in the book.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book. I really enjoy the way the team sails on all the classic ocean-cruising lines. Though again, I wish the book had deck plans or reference maps for the reader. I find it harder to picture the layout of these classic ocean going vessels than I thought it would be, especially given that I have been on so many cruise vacations.
The mystery was interesting, and the author does a great job of weaving in many red herrings and sending renders, and his detectives, down the wrong path. These will never be great literature, but then they are not trying to be. I think they are trying to be a fun way to spend some time, an enjoyable adventure with friends. And that is exactly what they are.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four Glasses of White Wine and a plate of cheese & crackers to share with good friends
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review
Murder on the Salsette by Conrad Allen
In this sixth adventure with George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, we find them back on a P&O vessel, sailing from Bombay to Aden. As with re-reading the other books in this series, I find that while I remembered a couple of characters, I did not remember much of the plot at all, so it really became a case of re-discovering a favorite as I was turning the pages. It’s been fun to re-read the series and work out the mystery all over again. And I find I’m wrong some of the time, which is just the way it is when I read the books initially.
One of my housemates commented that the books that I read have a good deal of death in them. And that is true, but the deaths are usually handled “off-screen” and with very little graphic descriptions. I prefer cozy mysteries; maybe not Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, which are considered to the classics in the cozy genre, but I do prefer gentle mysteries. I read these types of mysteries and look at them as puzzles to be solved. As much as enjoying the novel, I like the puzzle aspect of solving the crime (not all the books I read feature murders as the crime, though most do).
Mystery readers have a bad public perception, as though we are all reading the books for research or we all like violence and gore. That’s not true at all. Any more than everyone who reads young adult fiction is less of an adult. People read for all kinds of reasons. I would bet that most mystery readers, especially most cozy mystery readers, are like me — reading because they enjoy solving the puzzle.
Murder on the Salsette does provide a good puzzle to solve; I was on the wrong path for a good bit of the book. I think that’s a good sign in a mystery author: the ability to successfully mislead the reader. I am sure it play havoc with the editors who seem to want only important things to be left in the book. But maybe that’s what makes them good mystery editors, when they know which red herrings are worth keeping and which need to be thrown back.
As with the other books in the series, I found myself wishing there were deck plans of the ship, just because I want to know if my mental picture is close to being accurate — either in reality or in the author’s idea. I did look around the internet for deck plans of the ships used as settings in this series. I did find deck plans for the Lusitania, but I would really prefer to have them in the books for easier reference, and because some of the deck plans available online are for more modern ships bearing the same name as the ones in the books.
Overall it’s been enjoyable to re-read the series, and I will be a bit sad when we turn the last page in the eighth book. But it’s been great to spend time with good friends again. I’ll have to make sure it’s not another decade before I visit with them again.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four Glasses of Guava Juice and a plate of mini lemon tarts
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
In this sixth adventure with George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, we find them back on a P&O vessel, sailing from Bombay to Aden. As with re-reading the other books in this series, I find that while I remembered a couple of characters, I did not remember much of the plot at all, so it really became a case of re-discovering a favorite as I was turning the pages. It’s been fun to re-read the series and work out the mystery all over again. And I find I’m wrong some of the time, which is just the way it is when I read the books initially.
One of my housemates commented that the books that I read have a good deal of death in them. And that is true, but the deaths are usually handled “off-screen” and with very little graphic descriptions. I prefer cozy mysteries; maybe not Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, which are considered to the classics in the cozy genre, but I do prefer gentle mysteries. I read these types of mysteries and look at them as puzzles to be solved. As much as enjoying the novel, I like the puzzle aspect of solving the crime (not all the books I read feature murders as the crime, though most do).
Mystery readers have a bad public perception, as though we are all reading the books for research or we all like violence and gore. That’s not true at all. Any more than everyone who reads young adult fiction is less of an adult. People read for all kinds of reasons. I would bet that most mystery readers, especially most cozy mystery readers, are like me — reading because they enjoy solving the puzzle.
Murder on the Salsette does provide a good puzzle to solve; I was on the wrong path for a good bit of the book. I think that’s a good sign in a mystery author: the ability to successfully mislead the reader. I am sure it play havoc with the editors who seem to want only important things to be left in the book. But maybe that’s what makes them good mystery editors, when they know which red herrings are worth keeping and which need to be thrown back.
As with the other books in the series, I found myself wishing there were deck plans of the ship, just because I want to know if my mental picture is close to being accurate — either in reality or in the author’s idea. I did look around the internet for deck plans of the ships used as settings in this series. I did find deck plans for the Lusitania, but I would really prefer to have them in the books for easier reference, and because some of the deck plans available online are for more modern ships bearing the same name as the ones in the books.
Overall it’s been enjoyable to re-read the series, and I will be a bit sad when we turn the last page in the eighth book. But it’s been great to spend time with good friends again. I’ll have to make sure it’s not another decade before I visit with them again.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four Glasses of Guava Juice and a plate of mini lemon tarts
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Monday, April 4, 2016
One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review
Murder on the Mamora by Conrad Allen
This is the fifth adventure with George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield. They have moved from the Cunard Line to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). The explanation given is that too many trips on any one ship or with any one line will make it easier to pick out the undercover detectives on the ship, but truly I think the author wanted to use other ships and feature other historical characters. This trip was on the P&O Mamora from England to Port Said, Egypt and then on to Australia. While I enjoy being on other cruise lines than Cunard, I wish the author was a bit more descriptive as to the exact ports, as he was in the forty few adventures. I am just as interested in the geography as I am in the story.
This adventure also features the Duke and Duchess of Fife and their children, Princesses Alexandra and Maud. While they are minor characters, they’re presence does have an effect on the plot. But my personal opinion is the author picked this particular voyage so that he could use the real people as characters in his novel. Nothing is wrong with that, and it does give an authentic feel to the fiction, but it feels a bit too convenient to not have been purposely planned.
Overall, it was a fun adventure. Like the other books I have been re-reading in this series, I remember more about the secondary and minor characters than I do about the plot. Following along as George and Genevieve work to solve the mysteries, I was pleased I could not remember whodunit. That made it feel like a real visit with old friends, rather than a re-run. I re-read a good number of books, because I feel books are friends, and I always enjoy visits with old friends. With mystery novels, it’s nice to not completely remember the plot details. I find it’s more fun to figure out the mystery again.
This episode featured Genevieve’s former financé as a character, but I think that was more to move the romance sub-plot along than anything else. Editors leave very little superfluous information or action in books these days. I’m sure if Dickens, Tolstoy, or Dumas had to get published in today’s environment, they would end up self-publishing for Kindle and get nothing but bad reviews. Neither modern editors nor readers put up with too much digression or needless wandering description. Even the choice of words is criticized, flowing, flowery language with words that send readers to the dictionary is frowned upon — and more’s the pity. But the appearance of the former financé serves the purpose and the romance between George and Genevieve takes a hop forward. It’s a subplot I enjoy, but at the same time I would not be sorry of it were not a feature of the books at all. Sometimes romance only serves to complicate things.
It was a fun book to read, and to re-read. I would have enjoyed more detail about the ship, including deck plans, as well as more information about the itinerary and ports, even those that were merely service calls for bunkering.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four Glasses of Hibiscus Tea with Kataifi Pastries
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
This is the fifth adventure with George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield. They have moved from the Cunard Line to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). The explanation given is that too many trips on any one ship or with any one line will make it easier to pick out the undercover detectives on the ship, but truly I think the author wanted to use other ships and feature other historical characters. This trip was on the P&O Mamora from England to Port Said, Egypt and then on to Australia. While I enjoy being on other cruise lines than Cunard, I wish the author was a bit more descriptive as to the exact ports, as he was in the forty few adventures. I am just as interested in the geography as I am in the story.
This adventure also features the Duke and Duchess of Fife and their children, Princesses Alexandra and Maud. While they are minor characters, they’re presence does have an effect on the plot. But my personal opinion is the author picked this particular voyage so that he could use the real people as characters in his novel. Nothing is wrong with that, and it does give an authentic feel to the fiction, but it feels a bit too convenient to not have been purposely planned.
Overall, it was a fun adventure. Like the other books I have been re-reading in this series, I remember more about the secondary and minor characters than I do about the plot. Following along as George and Genevieve work to solve the mysteries, I was pleased I could not remember whodunit. That made it feel like a real visit with old friends, rather than a re-run. I re-read a good number of books, because I feel books are friends, and I always enjoy visits with old friends. With mystery novels, it’s nice to not completely remember the plot details. I find it’s more fun to figure out the mystery again.
This episode featured Genevieve’s former financé as a character, but I think that was more to move the romance sub-plot along than anything else. Editors leave very little superfluous information or action in books these days. I’m sure if Dickens, Tolstoy, or Dumas had to get published in today’s environment, they would end up self-publishing for Kindle and get nothing but bad reviews. Neither modern editors nor readers put up with too much digression or needless wandering description. Even the choice of words is criticized, flowing, flowery language with words that send readers to the dictionary is frowned upon — and more’s the pity. But the appearance of the former financé serves the purpose and the romance between George and Genevieve takes a hop forward. It’s a subplot I enjoy, but at the same time I would not be sorry of it were not a feature of the books at all. Sometimes romance only serves to complicate things.
It was a fun book to read, and to re-read. I would have enjoyed more detail about the ship, including deck plans, as well as more information about the itinerary and ports, even those that were merely service calls for bunkering.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four Glasses of Hibiscus Tea with Kataifi Pastries
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
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