Book Reviews – the September Edition

I’m writing this post on the last day of October, so even though it’s not posting until Wednesday, it’s still technically about “last month’s” books. Also, remember how I said that I was going to try to change this up a bit? This is me trying to change it up. Instead of copying and pasting the book description I’m going to just try to do a short summary (not my strong suit) & include a link in case you want to see a more detailed description. Just click the book title to read the Goodreads description. We’ll see how this goes.  
 

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (Agatha Raisin #8) ★★★★, by MC Beaton. Agatha solves the mystery of the poisoning of a local hairdresser. As you may recall, I struggle with Agatha & her seemingly contradictory personality of bulldozer and caring what other people think. There was some of that in this book, but I enjoyed it more than some of the others. I know, glowing endorsement! But these are good books if you need something light and fluffy, with the added benefit of a good mystery. (It also helps to believe that Agatha is an Enneagram 3 – ha!)
 

Snatched (Will Trent #5.5) ★★★★ & Criminal (Will Trent #6) ★★★★★, by Karin Slaughter.   
In Snatched, as punishment, Will has been assigned bathroom duty at the Atlanta airport – catching men soliciting other men. He becomes suspicious about a man who brings a small girl into the bathroom & the rest of the short story is a mad chase to identify the girl (who was kidnaped) & track her down. It left me a little breathless, but it was very satisfactory. Criminal is the story of Will’s parents. His father, who is a serial killer who murdered his mother, is released from prison and starts up his old habits. This story is about that, but is also an excellent look into the life of a policewoman in the 1970s and the origin of Will’s boss Amanda & her coterie of “old gals.” I highly recommend it for that aspect of the story alone.
 

Forgotten in Death (In Death #53) ★★★★★, by J.D. Robb. In this latest Eve Dallas book, she is solving the murder of a sidewalk sleeper as well solving the mystery of the bones of a pregnant woman, both found on a construction site in NYC. It’s an interesting look at old money, Russian mobs, and young love. At this point in the series (#53! What the heck!), I just enjoy any opportunity to interact with old familiar characters.
 

The Madness of Crowds (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #17) ★★★★★, by Louise Penny. This book is set in a fictional time after the pandemic when everything is mostly back to normal (wouldn’t that be nice!). The main story revolves around a woman researcher who has made a shocking recommendation to ensure that the next pandemic isn’t so deadly. I won’t spoil the surprise by telling you what it is, but [insert mind blown & cursing emojis here]. This is another series where it feels like you are visiting with old friends – and after the last one set in Paris, it’s nice to have everyone “back home” in Three Pines.
 
Did you notice that every book I read in September was part of a series? What can I say? When I feel stressed I reach for familiar characters. Unless I go crazy on this last day of October & finish another one, I’ve only read three books this month. One of them is technically a prequel, but the other two are stand-alone books (one is nonfiction). Hopefully it won’t take until the end of November to do a post about them!
 
Now, tell me what good things you’ve read lately!