The Last Chance Olive Ranch
by Susan Wittig Albert
The Last Chance Olive Ranch was an interesting read, if only for the tidbits and trivia about olives and olive oils. I enjoys the visit with friends, but felt the book was unfinished somehow. The mysteries were wrapped up and solved, but because the book dealt
with two very different plots, it felt disjointed and incomplete.
The idea of two different storylines and two different leading characters was good, but both fell flat in the execution. Neither storyline felt worthy of their own full books, but they didn't feel like they worked well together. All through the book, I kept waiting for the storylines to be tied together by more than just the characters talking about their adventures to each other. I felt until almost the end that the author really should have woven the stories together rather than running them as independent stories simultaneously.
This is not to say that I did not enjoy the book, I did. It's always fun to visit with China and Ruby, but this one did feel like a rushed visit where the people are distracted, instead of a nice visit with old friends.
Overall the book was good, but there was something missing.
One Bear's Opinion: Four glasses of Shiraz and a hearty slice of Olive Oil Cake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Sunday, February 17, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
by Joanne Fluke
I had seen and heard about Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries for a while. Not everything I had heard was good, so it was harder for me to go into the series with an open mind.
I have only read the first book in the series, but that was a good introduction and I am happy to continue with the series, which is good because I have a fair number of them on my Kindle (picked up when they were on sale for $1.99) and I would hate to waste space on terrible books. I am trying not to be influenced by things I have read about the way the author takes the series. I really want to learn that for myself and see if I agree with the comments.
Anyway, to this book, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. It was a fun mystery, and the amateur detective has a job, which she seems to actually do more than she investigates. That's very good, as in a lot of amateur detective series, the sleuth spends far more time sleuthing than working at the job they hold. It was refreshing to see the sleuth spend time at work...and more than just popping in to check on how the employees are managing.
The mystery was interesting and while I had the motive picked fairly early, I was surprised by the murderer. It was a fun read, and the cookie recipes were a nice bonus. I may even try one or two.
One Bear's Opinion: Four plates of Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies and a cup of good coffee (not tea!)
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Joanne Fluke
I had seen and heard about Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries for a while. Not everything I had heard was good, so it was harder for me to go into the series with an open mind.
I have only read the first book in the series, but that was a good introduction and I am happy to continue with the series, which is good because I have a fair number of them on my Kindle (picked up when they were on sale for $1.99) and I would hate to waste space on terrible books. I am trying not to be influenced by things I have read about the way the author takes the series. I really want to learn that for myself and see if I agree with the comments.
Anyway, to this book, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. It was a fun mystery, and the amateur detective has a job, which she seems to actually do more than she investigates. That's very good, as in a lot of amateur detective series, the sleuth spends far more time sleuthing than working at the job they hold. It was refreshing to see the sleuth spend time at work...and more than just popping in to check on how the employees are managing.
The mystery was interesting and while I had the motive picked fairly early, I was surprised by the murderer. It was a fun read, and the cookie recipes were a nice bonus. I may even try one or two.
One Bear's Opinion: Four plates of Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies and a cup of good coffee (not tea!)
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Blood Orange
Blood Orange
by Susan Wittig Albert
It's time for an adventure with China Bayles. Blood Orange was a very good mystery, and I enjoyed it very much. I thought I had the murderer pegged pretty early on, but that guess was incorrect. My second guess was closer, but still not the murderer, so it was fun to read through to the.
I do have to admit to flipping to the end of the book about a third of the way through, because one of the subplots was making me quite nervous about the characters. Even having read the last chapter, I was still in the dark about the murderer, which made it both reassuring and fun to read to the end.
I always enjoy the information at the opening of the chapters about plants. The author, and China Bayles, take great care to research the plants mentioned in the books. I also appreciate the warning at the end to do your own research into using the plants mentioned, particularly in the case of herbs mentioned for medicinal uses.
Overall it was a fun read, but not quite as good as others in the series. I am a bit worried about the paranormal element that has been introduced going forward in the series. I am not a fan of the current trend toward magical/ghost mysteries and I hope that my favorite series are not jumping on the bandwagon, especially when the ongoing series already have their own, unique, draws.
One Bear's Opinion: Three Glasses of Strawberry Shrub with a plate of shortbread cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Susan Wittig Albert
It's time for an adventure with China Bayles. Blood Orange was a very good mystery, and I enjoyed it very much. I thought I had the murderer pegged pretty early on, but that guess was incorrect. My second guess was closer, but still not the murderer, so it was fun to read through to the.
I do have to admit to flipping to the end of the book about a third of the way through, because one of the subplots was making me quite nervous about the characters. Even having read the last chapter, I was still in the dark about the murderer, which made it both reassuring and fun to read to the end.
I always enjoy the information at the opening of the chapters about plants. The author, and China Bayles, take great care to research the plants mentioned in the books. I also appreciate the warning at the end to do your own research into using the plants mentioned, particularly in the case of herbs mentioned for medicinal uses.
Overall it was a fun read, but not quite as good as others in the series. I am a bit worried about the paranormal element that has been introduced going forward in the series. I am not a fan of the current trend toward magical/ghost mysteries and I hope that my favorite series are not jumping on the bandwagon, especially when the ongoing series already have their own, unique, draws.
One Bear's Opinion: Three Glasses of Strawberry Shrub with a plate of shortbread cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
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