The Changelings, and House Report

The Changelings, a short story by Kat Yares, deals with the internal dialog of a mother of teenagers. As her children become more and more demanding, she struggles to both meet their needs and deal with her own fears of them. The emotional changes within her son and daughter soon affect both their lives and her own. She begins questioning her own sanity. She dreams of demons each night.

Yares tells this simple, short story in few words, but manages to convey an empathy rather than a criticism of this failed passive parenting style. Her story offers a quiet rationale of why teenagers cannot be controlled by love alone. It is a sad tale, and one that leaves both the reader and the main character lost in thought. It is a different sort of horror story, and just right for Halloween week.

Yares has several more books in print, and I'll be reading and reviewing Beneath the Tor next.

 House Report, a Kate Carpenter Mystery by Deborah Nicholson is a mystery quite different from any other I've read. The murder takes place in a rest room within a large multi-plex building housing several theatres and restaurants. Kate Carpenter is a manager of one of the theatres, and supervises both the employed house ushers and the volunteers, balancing the accounts for each night's receipts, and keeping things running smoothly.

Kate has a relationship with one of the building engineers who works in "The 'Plex" as an all around building maintenance man, fixing furnaces and clearing clogged toilets. Not a glamorous job, but a necessary one, and one that pays the bills. Cam is qualified for much more. Kate is concerned with solving the murder as her significant other, Cam, is one of the leading suspects.

Nicholson tells the story from Kate's point of view, while following her travels throughout The Plex's complicated non-public corridors, staircases and rooms. Kate is in danger as she begins sleuthing to determine who the murderer is. But her confidence in her relationship is tested repeatedly as she learns things about Cam that seem to tarnish his innocence. She enlists the aide of one of the ushers, Graham, in checking alibis of the other employees of The Plex. And in time, both she and Graham suffer physical attacks as a result.

I learned a great deal about the backstage life of theatre employees and their workplace, and I enjoyed the twists and turns that led the reader to many dead-end assumptions. The murderer is not identified until the very end of the story. Is it Cam? Is it not Cam? Is it Cam?

There are more Kate Carpenter Mysteries, and I look forward to discovering and reviewing them.

Reviewing Four More Mysteries!

  I've been reading for several weeks now, and want to share the best of what I've read with you. Here are four novels: three are murder mysteries, and the fourth is a novel of love, and the beginning of a new series. Each of these has earned Five Star Reviews from me at Amazon.com, and here. Enjoy! 

 

Eaton House by Melodie Starkey

Eaton House by Melodie Starkey is the second book by this author that I have reviewed. This book is the beginning of a series focusing on generations of the fictional Eaton Family.

Melodie Starkey shows strong sensitivity to adolescent love resulting in an early but successful marriage filled with the couple's own children and foster children in need of a nurturing family home. The couple live in Eaton House, an ostentatious but tastefully decorated mansion occupied by the Eaton men, father and son, and housekeepers that come and go through the early years of Chris Eaton. Chris's fellow student, Megan, a stellar student two years younger than her classmates and innocent in the ways of dating and having relationships, soon falls in love with the handsome young man who has taken an interest in her.

In time, Chris and Megan have six children of their own, including two sets of twins. Chris pursues his college education while Megan stays at home with the children. She pursues her interest in writing, and while Chris is preparing his dissertation for a doctorate in psychology Megan publishes her first novel.

The couple are strongly bonded together but in time have to face the challenges of earl onset middle age. Chris has an aunt who is a visionary and she tells Megan that she sees Chris and her celebrating their fiftieth anniversary surrounded by a large, loving family ... such a contrast from the repressive home setting from which Megan came. I held on to this vision as I read through the struggles faced by this admirable young couple.  As I approached the end of the story, I did not want it to end, and was reassured to remember that this is book one of a series. I'm looking forward to following this family through the decades that I have lived. Well done, Melodie! Five Stars without a doubt!

Highland Blessings by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Highland Blessings is the first book I've read by Jennifer Hudson Taylor, but you can be sure I will look for more. Her story is set in the early centuries of Scotland and features two clans, the MacPhearsons and the MacKenzies. The clans have been enemies for generations, and no one truly remembers the kindling of their fiery battles. But when the two chieftains meet and discuss a peace, to end the bloodshed and loss of their people, they make a vow together that their clans will unite through the marriage of their children. Soon after, before their clans have had time to hear of the peace agreement, one of the chieftains is slain by a warrior of the other clan. Before he dies, he is found by his younger son, and shares the promise with him, asking him to be sure his older brother carries it out.

If that premise doesn't hook you in the story, the descriptions of the natural setting on the journey years later by the younger son to the MacPherson's castle and back to the MacIntyre's own with the young daughter of Chieftain MacPherson captured and thrown across his saddle ... well, the descriptions cannot be replicated here but will surely hold your attention and admiration.

Will he succeed in bringing the bride to his older brother? Will the brother accept her? Will their marriage take place, and if so, will it bring peace to the warring clans? When it is discovered that a murderer is hidden within the castle, and that the bride-to-be is in danger, will her father learn of it and come to fetch her back?

I give this one Five Stars ... and am planning to find more of these historical mysteries set in Scotland.

Lucy Stands on Her Principal  by B.Z. Hercules

B.Z. Hercules has written an amusing play on words for the title of this mystery: Lucy Stands on Her Principal. As a second grade teacher Lucy is happy in her job, falling in love with her principal, David, and spending many hours beyond her own classroom work helping David to complete work toward a higher degree.

But change is in the air: an opening occurs unexpectedly in the district middle school, where Lucy encounters students she describes as "Big, scary adolescents with bad breath and even worse attitudes ... and big ungainly bodies they are just learning how to use." She misses her second graders: "...cute and cuddly, with big, earnest eyes that look up at you with respect and trust"... unlike the seventh graders who "...do not look up at you - they get right in your face." Needless to say, she is having a difficult adjustment, and working with a principal she knew years before and with whom she had a difficult history. To complicate things further, her brightest student in seventh grade is the same girl whose difficulties in second grade were the root of the dispute between that principal and Lucy.

When the ornery principal, hated by most students and faculty members, is murdered just before a staff meeting, Lucy is a suspect as she has written an undelivered email resignation. Before the case can be solved, another principal must be transferred to replace the deceased, and David is chosen for the job. Lucy, still in love and waiting for him to propose, is in for a surprise. She has to hire a lawyer, and looks up a far-removed cousin who has just finished law school. She also is befriended by a special education teacher who decides to work with Lucy to find the true murderer.

The story has many suspects to consider, and leaves the reader wondering until the final pages. I enjoyed this school based murder, although Lucy's fearful views of middle-schoolers took longer than I might have expected to come around to appreciating her seventh graders for the wonderful beings I have recognized for years now.  Still, I give this one five stars for the elements of a mystery and for excellent characterization.

Murder Goes Round and Round    by Richard Brawer

  Murder goes Round and Round is written by a man who knows of what he writes. Richard Brawer is an expert at telling the history of antique carousels, and he adds this information delicately into the story, deepening characters and exploring their values.

I've been to the Jersey Shore once in my life, and remember it as a quaint, busy beachfront with boardwalks and storefronts, but this section of shore is a dilapidated shadow of what it once was. The one sparkling gem remaining is the antique carousel, which is located between the waterfront and the business district of the small city.

Ownership of the carousel is in question: the grandson of the original owner is trying to renovate the businesses in his city and sees the carousel as a key focal point in drawing families and their consumerism and tourism back to the city. But during its demise, the mob has moved into the city and taken over many of the now defunct properties and filled them with illicit activities, bringing in out-of-district contractors and workers and denying jobs to the local workmen. Poverty has settled in, crime is a nightly occurrence, and families do not want to bring their children to this setting when there are so many others to choose from.

A man is murdered, another man is jailed as the suspect, and a third man, a widowed brother-in-law of the accused, is on the scene to honor his beloved deceased wife's devotion to her brother. The city believes the carousel is now public property as the owner is in jail. They are considering raising money to preserve it and avoid its sale and dismantling. A million dollars is at stake, and authenticity of the beautiful animals that adorn the carousel is in question.

If you love woodworking, or carousels, or murder stories, or the Jersey Shore, this is your book. I give it Five stars easily!

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The Beholder, by David Bishop and Evolution of Insanity by Haresh Daswani

Arizona

David Bishop has written several murder mysteries, and I am gratefully working my way through them. Each one offers a different back story, with a main character that invites both the author and the reader to imagine a series of stories. 


The Beholder features a new character, Sergeant Maddie Richards, appointed to lead the newly created homicide task force. It is a position she has worked toward since becoming a detective, following in her father's footsteps, and working with his former partner, Jeb. Finding her way into the very male department is seen as a challenge to Maddie, one that she takes on and deals with using workplace humor and language. Her character reveals appropriate caution and some dare-devil driving.

Maddie is a single mother with a now wealthy remarried ex who would like to gain custody of their young son, using the danger and stresses of Maddie's career to paint her as an unfit mother. Maddie and her son live with Maddie's mother, who cooks and cares for the two of them. Maddie's neighbor is a handsome man being considered a suspect in the death of his wife in Chicago, and her mentor is a handsome FBI agent in Washington DC who flies in with a willing ear to hear her thoughts and help her construct a profile of the murderer. The reader is kept wondering about all of these entanglements and personalities, and which of them will hold Maddie's interest romantically. 


The first homicide is a young black woman trying to work her way out of her poor situation and into a Chef training in California. She is killed in a brutal fashion, best left here without description, as I know some of my readers are still at a tender stage in their readings. This book is not one I would recommend for any readers under 18, as some of the language and scenes are provocative.


When the second murder occurs in a similar fashion, word spreads quickly that there is a serial killer afoot, and Maddie's responsibilities are now overshadowed by pressure coming at her  from the press and down from the Mayor and Chief of Police.  Aside from the manner of death, there seems only one other similarity between the two beautiful victims: their promiscuous lifestyles; one is a single "working girl" and the other a wealthy married woman with time on her hands and no inhibitions. But the third victim is not like the first two at all, and so the puzzle remains. And the governor of Arizona joins those seeking a quick solve, as tourism may be affected by the spreading fear.


David Bishop has again written a mystery that holds the reader suspended in thought ... not only who is the killer, but why are these women chosen, and how was the murderer's evil mind formed? When the fourth murder takes place, another similarity is glimpsed by Maddie, who then has to convince her superior officers to go with her theory and assign more officers but quietly.


I give five stars to this mystery, and caution those with a squeamish temperament to read the book with the lights on and someone trustworthy nearby, ready to allay your fears of sounds in the night. As Maddie Richards cautions: don't open your door to anyone you don't know WELL.


I've read other stories by David Bishop: to see their reviews, click the links below:

Who Murdered Garson Talmadge?

The Bijou – The Movie House of our Youth 
This is a very powerful short piece. David is obviously as much an old movie buff as “Very Special Agent Anthony DeNozzo” on NCIS! Drawing in the woman's old neighborhood, the deteriorating theatre … details give this piece a nice style. "I’ll be back," as they say. 

* * * * * * * * * * *  * * * *

Evolution of Insanity, by Haresh Daswani


This is a book that was suggested to me by a fellow reader and author at Goodreads. I confess it was one I read a bit, then put down, then went back to read a bit more.

I found this book very interesting, but also very hard to stay attentive to. The style is not typical of readings I have done, and while that intrigued me, it made it difficult to hold on to the thread of what the author was conveying. Perhaps a more erudite reader with sophisticated skills would gain more from this book.


I thank the author for making it available to me. I would rate this four of five stars.

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June Shaw's Relative Danger, a novel of family and school murder

Relative Danger  by June Shaw

It's not easy being a relative ... adolescents would agree, in-laws would agree, and sometimes parents and grandparents even agree. June Shaw has written a mystery novel that involves the intricacies of three generations, three individuals, daughter, father and grandmother, coming together to celebrate a life event: high school graduation.

There is no mother in the picture; Nancy died several years before her daughter Kat reached high school age. Kat's dad, Roger, is still living a subdued life as a widower, and is now foreseeing what his home will be like when his daughter goes off to college. Roger's widowed mother, Cealie, comes to town to catch up with her son and granddaughter between her travels as a single woman who is finding herself.

When Cealie realizes that her granddaughter has stopped attending classes and may miss final exams, and is considering not attending the graduation ceremony at all, she is stunned. Cealie had made a death-bed promise to her daughter-in-law Nancy that she would see her granddaughter graduate, and up until now, Kat had been on the way to do so with honors and scholarships.  It doesn't take long for Cealie to find out that there has been a death at the high school, and that Kat seems deeply affected  by the circumstances of the young custodian's death, and preoccupied with and perhaps afraid of who might have caused that death.

Cealie struggles with her maternal feelings of protective love for both her son and granddaughter and her recent decision to live life as a single, independent woman. But to help return her granddaughter's confidence and scholarship, Cealie enters the high school as a substitute teacher. She finds a vastly different setting in the large crowded school, recognizing that clothing and manners have changed both students and faculty from her recollections of teaching in a small private school decades earlier. She observes the cold structure, the anger and rudeness, the frustration and resignation of senior staff and the hustle and bustle of a teacher's full day. She experiences attacks first on herself and then on another teacher; she also hears of the shooting death of a substitute teacher like herself, and determines to help the police find the person responsible for these acts in their effort to keep her granddaughter and other students safe.

June Shaw's characters are richly developed, whether they are main characters or secondary. Her description of physical attributes is clear, as is the point of view of a grandmother finding her way into her granddaughter's world. Cealie's relationship with her son hovers between sheltering him from what she sees happening and bolstering his own strength and involvement in Kat's life. She talks to herself, and talks to her houseplant, her beloved cactus named Minnie, trying to sort out the sketchy line she is walking. Her mixed messages, both those received and sent, emotionally resonate with readers who share the same family role.

Cealie's life is further complicated by the presence of her former lover, Gil, a restauranteur with a Cajun flare whom Cealie still loves but does not want to settle down with. This tension creates another layer of mystery in this story, and Shaw brings all of the characters into it within their established roles. And  yet, with her family around her, Cealie still feels alone in dealing with the worry and angst, unwilling to share her concerns with Gil or with her son. And she feels that she must re-enter the dreaded building to determine how the death occurred, and who the responsible person is.

June Shaw's mystery remains unsolved until the very end, and her story engages the reader's feelings, no matter what the role of the reader in the family may be.  Five Stars for Shaw's Relative Danger!

 

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