Book Review: Death Overdue by Mary Lou Kirwin

Title: Death Overdue: Karen Nash Mystery Series by Mary Lou Kirwin
Published November 5, 2013; Gallery Books
Genre: cozy mystery
Objective rating: 4.5/5

"What I would like to know..."the inspector humphed. "How does a bookcase fall down like that?" he asked the room. (ch. 7)

Plot:  Midwestern librarian Karen Nash has a long-distance relationship with book lover, Caldwell Perkins, who runs a bed and breakfast in London. Karen has gone over to help Caldwell open a bookstore, and Caldwell hopes that Karen will be co-owner in the new venture.

Unfortunately for their plans, Caldwell's former partner, Sally, returns to London with her Italian fiance, and decides she wants to run the bed and breakfast with Caldwell. When Sally is killed by a heavy bookcase and an avalanche of books in the B&B, the police suspect Caldwell of murder. Karen decides to find the real killer, to save Caldwell and their fledgling plans for their new bookstore.

Comments: I just love that this mystery does not have a gazillion extraneous characters as too many cozy mystery books tend to do. There is only one subplot involving the love life of Karen's library assistant back in the U.S., but other than that, the plot stays on target and gets to the point effortlessly. It's also interesting that Karen, in naming the culprit at the end of the book, tells us she will copy Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot's methods in revealing the killer. She calls all the suspects into one room and proceeds to show how the clues point to one person. Very clever.

Recommendation: Likeable characters and smoothly flowing plot make this a delight to read. Book lovers will like the setting and the plot. Other cozy lovers will, also. I will say the same for the first and previous novel in the series, Killer Librarian.

Thanks to the publisher for review copies of the books.
Also submitted to Teaser Tuesdays hosted by MizB; choose sentences from your current read and identify author and title for readers.  

Book Review: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Welcome to the Sunday Salon!

I bought Ann Patchett's novel,  State of Wonder, yesterday and finished it today. It was that good that I didn't put it down till I had read it all. I liked the exotic setting and fell for the story of one scientist trying to discover the details and reason for the death of another in the jungles of the Amazon.

A pharmacologist Marina Singh is sent by her company in Minnesota to Brazil to find a reclusive scientist and researcher, Annick Swenson, her former medical school professor who is doing drug research deep in the Amazon jungles. Marina is supposed to report on the progress of Annick's research on fertility for the drug company, research that has already taken many years and a lot of funding. Marina is also on a more personal mission, to discover the facts behind the death of another employee of the drug company who had recently traveled to the Amazon to check on Annick.

It seems to me that the novel has some serious questions about the value of some research done by drug companies - questionable drugs that may not be needed or advisable, for a limited group of people, versus drugs for more serious and immediate health problems for a larger demographic. There is also a contrast between cold, hard research and the human considerations that must be taken into account when you deal with the lives of real people.

The plot and setting are very imaginative, the characters memorable, and the questions the novel addresses are good food for thought. I loved Bel Canto, Pachett's award-winning novel, and I liked this one as well.

The book is also reviewed by Tales from the Reading Room, Home Between the Pages, and My Porch.

For a lighter read, I've started Killer Librarian, a debut cozy mystery by Mary Lou Kirwin. Minnesota librarian Karen Nash becomes a sleuth on a literary tour of London when she realizes an assassin has targeted her former boyfriend and his lady friend, who have also traveled to London.

Apart from reading, I baked beer bread for the first time today, adding raisins and dried cranberries for a little tartness and sweetness. Not bad for a test run. I'm thinking of making more tasty breads for Christmas gifts!

What are you reading this week?