The Belles of Solace Glen (Prime Crime Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining mystery with a historical twist
Review: A light, entertaining mystery with an engaging protagonist, and TWO mysteries -- one present-day, one historical -- for heroine Flip to solve. My only problems: first, somebody needed to proof this book (there are several problems with the punctuation, specifically unnecessary apostrophes). Secondly: Flip's insistence on believing that ALL single women are secretly unhappy souls longing for children got more than a little annoying. Watching Flip go through the family Bible, aching for every single woman who died unmarried/childless, and making up little stories about their undoubtedly sad, useless lives, got really old really fast.

Aside from those quibbles, a quick, fun read.

Rating:
Summary: A COZY (mystery)
Review: I say that because the mystery part of this is minimal -- it's more of a Jan Karon sort of book. This author has a lot of potential, but she needs a good editor and some people to read her book before publication to tell her when something doesn't work. In addition, there are some huh? problems -- like the town has a big Thanksgiving picnic each year where people lay on the ground (this is set in the Baltimore area, remember, not Hawaii), but right before Christmas, it's snowing right on cue.

What didn't work? Well, there were a couple of themes in this book that wore very thin very quickly -- one was "I'm just the town maid" whining from Flip, the main character; the other was "I'm not married and have no family" -- also coming from Flip. Honestly, if I were that desperate for family, I'd either get pregnant and have some kids or move someplace where my chances of meeting someone were greater (she keeps saying that there are no eligible single men in her small town).

OK, I've got that out of the way. This author is a great storyteller and does COZY very well. I think with more editorial guidance, she could become a very successful author (this is her first). She creates a fictional small town that everyone wants to live in -- yes, it's phony and unbelievable, but it's a great place to escape to. She creates memorable characters, each of which stands out (you don't have any trouble remembering who is who in this book). I enjoyed reading the book, even with my irritations with Flip. If you like cozy and don't require a real mystery and can live with what I've described, you'll probably like this book. I think the author has a lot of potential.