Sunday Salon: Mystery in Cuba and Montana

Death Comes In Through the Kitchen by Teresa Dovalpage
March 20, 2018; Soho Press
Genre: mystery set in Havana, Cuba
Objective rating: 4/5

Matt travels to Havana to meet up with his Cuban fiancee, to get married, and hopefully persuade her to return with him to New Mexico, where he is a reporter for a small local newspaper. But nothing is as simple as it appears, and complications arise that floor Matt when he has to deal with the police and Cuban security all while he interacts with the various local people, learns about life and culture and religion in Havana, and tastes a variety of their food. This murder mystery is seen first through the eyes of Matt, then a detective turned private investigator, and then finally through the eyes of detective Martinez. We travel with Matt and learn about current Cuban culture and about the trends in relations with foreigners, including Americans. Eye opening, a cultural tour that I enjoyed taking. Book courtesy of  Soho Press

A Sharp Solitude by Christine Carbo
Publication May 29, 2018 by Atria Books
Genre: mystery set in northwest Montana
Source: NetGalley ebook

I was attracted to this book by the title and cover and the setting in the wilds of northwest Montana, not far from Glacier National Park. FBI investigator Ali Paige becomes involved in a murder case, interesting to her because the suspect is her former boyfriend Reeve, who is also the father of her five-year-old daughter. With all these complications, Ali has to tread lightly while she investigates on her own, thinking all the while of her daughter, who is close to her father.

I had thought that the plot was predictable, since the themes of gun control and journalism came up early in the book. But flipping through and reaching the end, I saw that the mystery is not what I had expected and there was a twist to the plot!

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Next, I'll be reading Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris, an historical novel based on true incidents.

Publication: August 28, 2018, Sourcebooks Landmark

What books are you reading this week?

The Sunday Post  hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer,  It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Book Date., 

Sunday Salon: A Kitchen in Havana and a Coffeehouse in NYC

Still waiting for spring. There is no new greenery to speak of in the yard, but the sun has come out the past few days!Hope for spring!

Two new books for review:

Death Comes In Through the Kitchen by Teresa Dovalpage
March 20, 2018; Soho Press
Genre: mystery set in Havana, Cuba
Set in Havana during the Black Spring of 2003, a charming but poison-laced culinary mystery reveals the darker side of the modern Revolution, complete with authentic Cuban recipes (publisher)


Shot in the Dark by Cleo Coyle
April 17, 2018; Berkley
Genre: Coffeehouse Mystery #17
A new smartphone dating game turns the Village Blend into a hookup hot spot, until one dark night, when a gunshot leaves a dead body behind and the landmark coffeehouse becomes the center of a whole new scene--a crime scene. (publisher)

Finished reading:

Blue Light, Yokohama, Inspector Iwata #1
Author: Nicolás Obregón
Setting: Tokyo
Genre: mystery, police procedural
Source: library book
My comments:

A new mystery series with a very sympathetic main character, Inspector Iwata of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. A complex plot involving cults, murder, and corruption. I'm looking forward to the second in the series!

Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey
June 10, 2014; Harper
Genre: mystery, thriller

My comments:

A surprising main character, Maud is in her late seventies or early eighties, is increasingly forgetful, and seems to get more disoriented as the book progresses. However, she remembers her childhood clearly, and her missing sister, Sukey, who left home and never returned. Maud is obsessed with finding her elderly friend, Elizabeth, who doesn't answer her phone and is not at her home. Between periods of forgetfulness, Maud clings to a few memories - her missing friend Elizabeth, and her memories of childhood and Sukey. She pieces bits of items and clues together and her persistence pays off, even after the police have written her off as just a forgetful, demented lady who has to be humored when she insists on finding Elizabeth. With her patient daughter Helen and her young granddaughter Katy, Maud eventually points the way to solving a murder. Engrossing and unusual. the book is being made into a TV movie by the BBC. Ebook borrowed from the library.

An Event In Autumn by Henning Mankell
August 12, 2014, Vintage
Genre: police procedural, crime fiction
Source: library book
My comments: 

Enjoyable police procedural with a Swedish policeman whose personal characteristics make him endearing. I have read two in the Wallander series and looking forward to the others.

What books are you reading this week?

The Sunday Post  hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer,  It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Book Date., and Mailbox Monday.