A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie

A BITTER FEAST by Deborah Crombie is the latest (#18) in the Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Scotland Yard detective series by this best-selling author.  There are references to past adventures and a familiar cast of characters, but this could be read as a stand-alone mystery, too.  The story takes place primarily in Lower Slaughter, a small English village where Kincaid, James and their children have been invited to spend the weekend at a colleague’s parents’ estate. Thoughts of long walks and relaxing in the Cotswolds countryside have to wait when Kincaid is involved in a road accident where two people are found dead. It’s a bit of a mystery as to why they were together and what ties one, a celebrity chef, may have to the village, especially after it appears that he may have been poisoned. Crombie deftly introduces characters and provides some needed backstory in flashbacks as the mystery grows. She definitely evokes the natural beauty and British village life where everyone knows each other and where dogs are an essential feature, too. Viv Holland, chef at the local pub, and her staff are key characters and Crombie provides ample details about food preparation, making the meals sound so appealing. Give yourself a treat and enjoy A BITTER FEAST which received a starred review from Booklist.

What Rose Forget by Nevada Barr

 

WHAT ROSE FORGOT by Nevada Barr is a stand-alone, suspenseful new mystery from an author who has been winning awards (Firestorm, Deep South) for more than two decades. The story opens with Rose Dennis, an older woman, cowering in the outdoors.  It soon becomes apparent that she has run away from a nursing home called Longwood, chosen in part because of its proximity to her teenage granddaughter’s house.  Soon discovered and returned to the Memory Care Unit at the facility, Rose plots a subsequent escape while questioning her own sanity.  She is an appealing character – very resourceful, wonderfully artistic and into yoga and meditation (Breathe … Right View … Right Intention …) which helps to center her.  Some of the actions are a bit “crazy,” but granddaughter Mel, her friend Royal, and Rose’s “techie” sister (“I am not a hacker”) named Marion build on each other’s strengths. The mystery – involving drugs, deaths and greed – and a sense of menace build rapidly.  WHAT ROSE FORGOT received a starred review from Library Journal. Once started, you will be finishing this quickly, cheering for Rose all the way.