Kensington Books

Colleen Cambridge: A Murder Most French

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An American in Paris #2

A Murder Most French is the second book in Colleen Cambridge’s delightful American in Paris Mystery series featuring Tabitha Knight, the fictitious best friend of Julia Child.  The book is set in 1950, as Paris is recovering from World War II and the German occupation.  Tabitha, the daughter of an American police officer father and a French mother, grew up in a Detroit suburb and was a Rosie the Riveter during the war.  In the first book in the series, Mastering the Art of French Murder, she accepted an invitation to go to Paris to stay with her maternal grandfather and his partner, Oncle Rafe.  Tabitha loves her two “messieurs,” but she is not a good cook and is unable to make the French meals they love.  Very luckily for her, she becomes friends with her neighbor, none other than Julia Child, and learns to cook under her direction.  Without Julia, however, Tabitha is still hopeless in the kitchen.  Julia loves to use the spacious kitchen in Tabitha’s grandfather’s mansion, which is much larger than her own tiny kitchen, so she often comes to the house to cook, and everyone gets a delicious meal. read more

Erica Ruth Neubauer: Secrets of a Scottish Isle

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Jane Wunderly #5

Secrets of a Scottish Isle is the fifth full-length book in Erica Ruth Neubauer’s Jane Wunderly series, which also includes a delightful e-novella, Murder Under the Mistletoe.  Set in the 1920s, the series features the American war widow Jane, who travels the world after the death of her abusive husband has left her a free woman.  Each book has a different setting.  So far, Jane’s adventures have taken her to Egypt, an English country house, an Atlantic crossing on the sister ship of the Titanic, Istanbul, the north of England (in the e-novella), and, in this novel, Iona, a remote island off the west coast of Scotland. read more

Amanda Flower: To Slip the Bonds of Earth

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Series debut

To Slip the Bonds of Earth is the first book in what looks to be a wonderful series by Amanda Flower, author of the Emily Dickinson mysteries and many other series, featuring an amazing, real-life heroine, Katharine Wright, sister of the Wright Brothers.  Katharine was a remarkable woman, an intellectual, a suffragette, and the only college graduate among the Wright siblings.  Katharine was very close to her famous brothers, Wilbur and Orville, but while they were brilliant engineers, they never went to college.  Their father, a bishop, believed in educating daughters as well as sons, but Wilbur and Orville were largely self-taught, while Katharine graduated from Oberlin College, one of the few co-educational colleges at the time. read more

Nicholas George: A Deadly Walk in Devon

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Debut

This charming cozy is set in Devon, but features a group of Americans who have gathered there for a walking tour of England.  Our hero, Rick Chasen, or “Chase”, is a recently retired, recently widowed police detective.  The loss of his husband, Doug, has caused him to rethink his life and search for things that will keep him active and engaged.  He’s meeting up with his friend Billie for the trip, who is an optimistic soul and knits with enthusiasm.

The rest of their tour group – or shall we call them the suspect pool? – is nicely varied and interesting.  There’s a wealthy man and his trophy wife; there’s a couple who create environments for the elderly (who are dissatisfied with their room décor); there’s a sister and brother who are fulfilling the sister’s life long dream of a trip to England; and there’s the required curmudgeon, rounded off by the tour guide and driver.  While I really enjoyed this novel my enjoyment would have been heightened by the traditional cast of characters at the beginning of the book.  This book seemed well suited for that kind of thing. read more

Patrice McDonough: Murder by Lamplight

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Debut

If I were a magic eight ball, I’d say that all signs point to this satisfying and enjoyable debut setting up a series with a long, long run.  Set in London in 1866, the central character is Dr. Julia Lewis, an American educated physician (it was not possible for women to get a degree in England at the time) who is running her grandfather’s practice. But because he is ill, when the office gets the order to attend to a murder victim, it’s Julia who must take the call.

The dead man is a priest, found mutilated and naked, and though the police on the scene are initially a bit shocked at Julia’s gender, they eventually accept her expertise.  Inspector Tennant is controlled and quiet, and he and the doctor begin awkwardly, but gradually smooth things out. read more

Kemper Donovan: The Busy Body

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This yummy book is centered on a ghostwriter (never named) who gets a dream assignment: she’s to collaborate with Dorothy Gibson, a Hilary Clinton-esque figure who has just lost a presidential election and has retreated to her home in Maine.  The ghostwriter informs the reader that meeting a subject has to involve some chemistry or it just won’t work, but she means to accept this assignment before she steps foot in the door, and the two women in fact hit it off.

This is a plot driven book that’s governed by character.  The author obviously has a love for golden age mysteries and makes frequent references to Poirot, Marple, and Inspector Alleyn, but it’s the budding friendship between the two women that powers the novel.  As the ghostwriter accompanies Dorothy around town, Dorothy is frequently met by voters/fans who don’t quite know how to react but want to make sure she knows they voted for her.  It’s poignant. The way Dorothy reacts is matter of fact and friendly, and you only see the cracks when she’s alone with the ghostwriter or her assistant. She also works nonstop, to the exhaustion of the writer, who cannot believe her energy. read more

Andrea Penrose: The Diamond of London

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Andrea Penrose has a long series of historical mysteries, but here she pivots to straight historical fiction, illuminating the life of Lady Hester Stanhope, who lived during the Regency period in England. After her mother, who was related to the powerful Pitt family, died young, she was left with an eccentric father and the responsibility for three stepbrothers.  Hester spent much of her young adult life with her grandmother, Lady Chatham, and a bit later served as hostess and secretary to her uncle, William Pitt, who served as Prime Minister. read more

Darcie Wilde: The Secret of the Lady’s Maid

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Rosalind Thorne #7

The Secret of the Lady’s Maid is Darcie Wilde’s seventh book about Rosalind Thorne, a Regency gentlewoman who has fallen on hard times after her father abandoned his family, and who makes a living undertaking discreet investigations for ladies who find themselves in difficult situations.  (But see below for my complaint about the series numbering).  By this time, Rosalind has acquired quite a reputation, and whenever she is seen visiting a family, people know that the family must be having difficulties. read more

Sally Goldenbaum: A Twisted Skein

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Seaside Knitters Society #6

Intrigue and knitting abound in Sally Goldenbaum’s most recent addition to her Seaside Knitters Society series, A Twisted Skein. This is the sixth book, and follows yarn studio owner Izzy Perry and her friend Birdie as they investigate the death of one of Birdie’s fellow birders. A murder would be enough for anyone to have to deal with, but Izzy Perry also has a knitting themed fashion show she is sponsoring looming overhead as well. This makes her yarn shop busier than usual as everyone comes in to either to buy yarn and supplies, or to work on a project or two for the big show. The stress of the show is bad enough, but then she starts to fear that the police aren’t going to look deep enough into the murder. That they will go after the easiest and most obvious suspect, someone no one in the knitting circle can believe would be behind the murder. As such, there is only one thing to do: get out their knitting needles and their detective glasses and delve into things for themselves. read more

Victoria Laurie: Coaching Fire

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Cat & Gilley Life Coach #5

No one can claim that Victoria Laurie’s latest addition to her Cat & Gilley Life Coach series is a slow burn. This fifth book, Coaching Fire, starts off with Cat Cooper and Gilley Gillespie in the heat of things, and that sets the pace readers can expect. Cat and Gilley are in the lone star state of Texas for the famous Rose Festival, where Gilley’s new paramour, Stuart Jacobs, is heading the creation of all the royal court garb. But it isn’t all fun and games. A murder occurs on the very night Cat arrives in Texas and it puts pressure on Gilley’s new squeeze. At a time when he needs every last set of hands working on the Rose Queen’s court, he loses one set to police suspicion. Determined to help, Gilley and Cat join forces once again to help stop a killer before they get away with murder, or perhaps even commit another. read more