Author: Ann Cleeves

We watched two seasons of Shetland on Netflix – in fact I watched both seasons twice because I couldn’t remember any of the episodes. The first season was based on books by Ann Cleeves and the second season was based on the characters in her books.

Somewhere I saw an add for Vera and I was immediately interested – I’ll watch pretty much anything British. When I was at the library looking for books by this author I was surprised (and very happy) to see that the author behind the series was Ann Cleeves. I’ve yet to find the series on Netflix but I won’t stop looking.

As with most British mysteries the story is slow to unfold and it wasn’t until late in the book that I even had a suspicion as to who the killer was. It’s a good thing Vera is a better detective than I am.

I’m only giving it a three-star rating on Goodreads because it isn’t a murder mystery you can’t put down, but I loved it!

Goodreads Rating * * * (I liked it)

Author: Melanie Sumner

I don’t remember why this book was added to my list; maybe I picked it up from the library on a day I was “just browsing”.

I really wanted to like the book but I found that the style of writing to be confusing; it bounced around a lot and I was close to the end before I got a clear picture of what the main story was. That being said, I’m still not sure exactly who the ghost was.

Goodreads Rating * * (it was okay but I wouldn’t recommend it)

Author: Marita Golden

There is nothing new in this novel about a woman who loses her husband to early-onset Alzheimer’s. Diane Tate has overcome a childhood of neglect and is a respected judge ruling over Family Court. She notices changes in her husband Gregory but he refuses to consult a physician; his father succumbed to Alzheimer’s and he know what is in store for him and his family.

As his disease progresses we learn a little about what he is feeling, but more about how his family and friends are handling the diagnosis. When Gregory is placed in a care facility Diane still struggles with the loss of her husband but finds it hard to cope when he finds his “wife” among the other patients in the home.

Goodreads Rating * * * (I liked it)

Author: George Bellairs

Some of the best mystery writers come out of the UK. This one was published in 1951 so it is a bit dated but as I read it (on my Kindle) I could see the story playing out as a TV show. There are lots of odd characters and I didn’t sort out the mystery until very near the end of the book. There are a number of books starring Inspector Littlejohn – this was #18 in the series.

Goodreads Rating * * * (I liked it)