very enjoyable

The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: mystery

Review: This book is just plain enjoyable.  Fans of British royalty will enjoy it.  Fans of mysteries will enjoy it.  I certainly enjoyed it.  Bennett's take on the royal voice is spot-on (at least if The Crown is a reliable source) and one never tires of feeling like one is inside the Queen's head as she ponders the mystery of who killed a young Russian pianist right in Windsor Castle.

Of course Her Majesty can't track down leads on her own, so she relies on Rosie Oshodi, her Assistant Private Secretary, to do the leg-work.  Rosie is as discreet and sdubtle as the Queen could wish while she makes inquiries on Her Majesty's behalf, but Rosie doesn't quite have the intuitiveness, or the long view of history, that allows the Queen to make connections and follow threads to the real killer.

Bennett's writing is very smooth.  The narrative gets a little slowed down in places as the mystery takes a back seat to the majestic trappings, but one can hardly complain about a fictional, but very authentic-feeling, glimpse into the royal lives.  Bennett also switches perspectives from one paragraph to the next as elegantly as any author I've ever read.  There's a little more bite than traditional "cozy" mysteries, but more than enough for mystery-lovers of all stripes.  As the first in a planned series, I'll definitely be trying to get my hands on the next installment.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

narrative by implication

When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Challenge: 100 Book Challenge 2011
Review: There is a lot of sex in the beginning of this book, most of it witnessed, which is good (or at least better than the alternative) since the main character, Elly, is a young girl.  Other sex is implied, making it difficult to know what actually happened.  I found this to be a very frustrating way of story-telling, since so much of Elly's character is supposedly shaped by this implied sex.  This is not the only piece of the story that is told through implication.  Elly's relationship with another character takes on importance in adulthood that is does not seem justified by what is revealed to the reader in her childhood.  I almost felt as though a critical scene has been edited out of the book which would explain how Elly came to be so close to this character later in life.  In the end, this book required too much guesswork for me.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

beautiful but soooo sllooooow

Oystercatchers by Susan Fletcher

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: This is a beautifully written, lyrical book. Unfortunately, the writing is also so slow and deliberate that I almost couldn't stand it. What little drama or action there was in the book was almost completely overwhelmed by the ponderous writing.

too many characters

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Challenges: TBR, A-Z (author)

Review: You know it's bad when you go online to see what the big secret is when you're halfway through the book. But that's what I finally had to do with this book. I just got overcome by curiosity. Or possibly driven mad by all the vague hints and innuendo. (And yes, all my suspicions were correct.) If you're looking to find the answer, you'll have to look elsewhere (I suggest Wikipedia), but at least now you know you're not alone in not being able to wait for the big reveal.

Aside from all the secrets, this book is populated by a vast and confusing cast of characters. Told in alternating chapters between the life of Ruby Lennox (who narrates her own story from the moment of conception) and the stories of her maternal antecedents (told in the third person), we learn about several generations of women who make bad decisions in marriage and what happens to them as a result. Needless to say, this isn't a particularly cheerful book.