#NoMistakingDeath – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint Reviews – August Recap – Dog (or Puppy) Days of Summer

Rosepoint Reviews-August Recap

August is a roll of the dice here, the only thing you can really count on is the humidity.

A good month for the garden though; all of a sudden tons of tomatoes, and I’m thinking salsa! But salsa from little yellow pear tomatoes? They are so sweet! Unfortunately, also a good month for squash, not one of the CE’s favorites, but I haven’t resorted to sneaking any squash on my neighbor’s porches in the dead of night yet. Wasn’t really happy with the frozen results from last year, so yeah, no more squash. Not really good for melons and haven’t made pickles for a while so sticking to short season cool weather crops and starting round two of sugar pod peas and bush beans now.

Last month we were surprised by our daughter bringing us a puppy (though I’d vowed NO PUPPIES), a little female we named Cooper to the brother she kept. A Mini-Aussie/Jack Russell mix—probably a mixed breed only someone younger with more stamina should have even considered. These are high-energy dogs, even as an adult.

Frosty, our Bichon, was laid back, low key, easy and calm. Cooper bounces off the walls and has no off switch. You can’t help but love a puppy, but after a week, I was exhausted and yelling Uncle. As our son had indicated interest, I broached the subject to him and his wife again. They took her. Obvious from the beginning she was smarter than I, also became obvious to everyone else we have one very darling and precocious pup. Cooper While Cooper lives with our son and Mel, we get granddoggy rights and are looking forward to playing, walking, working on tricks and discipline with her—and then sending her home. I miss Frosty so much and our kids were both encouraging us to get another dog. We said no more dogs. Cooper is a handful–but so sweet—and I’m learning it’s great to be a granddog parent.

September will find us happily “on the road again.” (Celebrating another anniversary with our son.) No, not to Texas this time, but September will be an iffy month for reading and reviews. I have a few reviews scheduled, but it will not be a normal, or even, regular schedule. I need some down time and looking forward to riding my bike and playing with our granddog before winter hits.

A diminished month for books (we were busy with puppies!)—we read (or listened to) twelve books in August. These are still predominately from NetGalley as well as my local library with both audiobooks and digital. (As always, links below are to my reviews that include purchase info.)

Rosepoint Reviews - August Recap

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer (audiobook)
Frank’s Shadow by Doug McIntyre (CE review)
Split by Alida Bremer
Sanctuary Motel by Alan Orloff (CE review)
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (audiobook)
For All The World by Jean Grainger
Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain (CE review)
Memory Man by David Baldacci (audiobook)
No Mistaking Death by Shelley Costa
Trial By Jury by Stephen Penner (CE review)
White House by the Sea by Kate Storey (audiobook)
The Rotting Whale by Jann Eyrich

These included historical fiction, literary fiction, legal fiction, biographical fiction, crime thrillers, and one new eco-mystery series.

Favorite Book of the Month

I couldn’t help but be caught up in The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah even as the story used a familiar trope but in an Alaska setting. I must issue a bravo, however, to Jean Grainger for her radical writing departure into a new series in which she built a unique “family” who holds no familial ties. I’m looking forward to discovering the path the author takes with these colorful characters.

Book of the Month for August—For All The World by Jean Grainger.

My Reading Challenges page… I have 100 books of a goal of 145 in Goodreads (at this point five books ahead of schedule) and still riding at a 97% feedback ratio in NetGalley. And **BIG** surprise, I’ve caught up the Reading Challenges page and discovered I’m woefully behind in both the audiobook and historical fiction categories. Whaaa? Two of our favs? How’d that happen?

Okay, I’ve had the chance to work on both the Instagram and the Twitter, BIG X, feed. I’m not sure what I did or how it happened, but got both feeds back and thank you for the helpful comments. Still, I’m frosted that there is no longer a free Tweetdeck. You’ll pay for the same privilege of scheduling tweets now and it’ll certainly be a “cold day in ….” before I’d throw my Social Security money at Musk. I see he’s messed with the twitter home page now and you know how we feel about change. Have you signed up? How do you feel about the loss of Tweetdeck? (Not sure who created this super graphic of the tweet bird impaled on the X and I must say it wasn’t I, although I thought it perfect for this discussion.) As for the new Dogecoin logo–I have yet to see it–a Shiba Inu? Huh?! Have you?

Welcome, as always, to my new subscribers and thank you to those who read and comment. I do appreciate you hanging in there with me!

No Mistaking Death by Shelley Costa – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

A Marian Warner Mystery–Book 1

Book Blurb:

When an old Jesuit Mission House in Carthage, Ohio, is nominated for National Landmark status, the committee sends a private investigator to get to the bottom of the hostile letters they’ve received. Arriving in Carthage is Marian Warner, a New York PI whose life was dented by the bombing death—years ago—of her radical boyfriend. The only man with any staying power in her life is Charlie Levitan, the editor of the Carthage newspaper, whose relationship with her includes a long personal history. The day before Marian arrives, an older man nobody in town recognizes turns up dead in the Mission House.

Soon Marian discovers that the identity of the murdered man implicates every key player in the fight over the fate of the Mission House. But for her it gets personal when Charlie’s lover, a local jazz singer, is found murdered on the property of a powerful landmark preservationist, Jack Girard. What connects the two deaths? Why is a key witness avoiding her? How can she discover the truth in a town where hostilities go public, but secrets are so closely guarded? When Marian finally unmasks a cunning killer, it’s at the expense of the defenses it’s taken her years to erect.

My Review:

Well, you can’t say this one wasn’t different! Marian Warner is a NY PI—been there, done that now for fifteen years, so she has no problem taking on an investigation into reasons for hostile letters against the nomination for the Jesuit Mission House in Carthage, Ohio for National Landmark status. And yeah, the place is a mostly unremarkable mess.

It’s no coincidence then that the only man still of close acquaintance is Charlie Levitan, the editor of the local Carthage newspaper. Unfortunately, the body of a man is found in the Mission House just before she arrives. It’s also no coincidence that the murdered man is linked to those associated with the Mission House. Further complications ensue when a second body turns up, Charlie’s lover.

The author definitely has some interesting prose and turns of phrase to keep the storyline interesting.

“…leaving Marian five minutes to throw on the brown velvet tank top and wheat silk trousers—the theory being, if it’s pleated, it’s dressy.”

Embroiled in the proof of deciding whether or not the first Jesuit mission in the Northwest Territories has historic significance necessarily includes the identity of the man and the later victim as well.

The plot goes rather convoluted and lost me a few times, not sure where it would pop up next. The narrative is intriguing, but baffling in trying to figure out the author’s dip into rambling. Not exactly a page turner, but still inexplicable enough to hold interest. And it is difficult to become engaged in the main character.

You can’t tune out but even tuned in can get you lost. She sprinkles in the twists and turns. There are compelling reasons to finish the book which has to be down to the author’s deft writing style, but you may be scratching your head at the conclusion.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my own opinions and honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Private Investigator Mysteries, Amateur Sleuths
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0C86N9TGR
Print Length: 311 pages
Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: A 2004 Edgar nominee for Best Short Story, Shelley Costa is the author of You Cannoli Die Once (Agatha nominee for Best First Novel) and Basil Instinct. Practical Sins for Cold Climates (Henery Press, January 2016), is the first book in her exciting new mystery series featuring New York editor Val Cameron, who is sent to the Canadian Northwoods to sign a reclusive best-selling thriller writer. Murder ensues. Shelley’s stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Blood on Their Hands,The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, and Crimewave (UK). Although she reads across the mystery genre, in her own work she especially likes writing an amateur sleuth with a lot of heart who investigates a murder – it’s so utterly outside the comfort zone. Shelley Costa is on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Art, where she teaches fiction writing. http://www.shelleycosta.com.