Title: The Girl In the Plain Brown Wrapper
Author: John MacDonald
Pages: 276
Publication Date: 1968
Version: Hardcover
Genre: Adult Fiction/Mystery
My Review:
Travis McGee had a wonderful, spur of the moment, love with Helena after her husband tragically died. He was much younger than her and she wasn't looking for a new husband, just a good time. Which Travis was able to give her on his boat while taking her traveling. When she left after that summer of love, they kept in contact through mail, but never saw one another again. When Travis gets a letter from Helena telling him how she is terminally ill and how her eldest daughter is in a bad mental state since her second miscarriage he is shocked by how much the vital woman he knew so well and intimately is now so frail. He is out on a salvage job on his boat when Helena dies. When Travis gets home, he finds a letter from Helena's lawyer telling him he has been given $25,000 as a payment for a job he has done for her. The "job" is then described to him by her in a letter that came with the check. Helena wants Travis to help her daughter Maurie so she doesn't destroy herself. She has tried to commit suicide three times since her last miscarriage and Helena seems to think that Travis would be one that could get through to her and help her recover mentally from it all. What Travis finds after flying in to see the family that he once helped and loved is a scene that is more messed up than even Helena seemed to think it was. Is there more to Maurie's suicides than a depressed woman? As he is trying to make sense of the household she lives in he is almost killed by a couple who thinks he is there because of Maurie's husband Tom and his "business" ventures. This leads Travis to become friendly with the local cops and start an investigation of his own into the live of Tom. When he finds out about a link to a doctor who "committed suicide" with Tom, Travis is in way too deep to just turn and go home. He has to help find out what is going on. His feelings about helping only get stronger when the woman who tried to kill him is now murdered. What is going on in this messed up family and town? Did that doctor, who happened to be treating Maurie, really commit suicide like they say he did? Are the practices and medications being used on Maurie to "treat her mental disorders" really necessary and ethical? What has happened to this family that seemed so put together so many years ago? And can Travis really be of any help to any of them?
I must say this book had a very slow and odd start to it. I almost put it down actually in those first chapters. I decided to push on though and I am glad that I did. It really turned into quite a good book with lots of mystery and things to think about as the plot thickened. I have read a few of the Travis McGee mysteries that were written after this book and I must say that my favorite part of any of them is the wonderful character of Travis McGee. He is a laid back kind of guy who just wants to help others in any way he can if he thinks he can. This is shown greatly in this book. He travels far from home and gets involved in a murder case and a dysfunctional family's affairs all because he was in love with the old mother of the family and because she asked him to help her family and daughters figure things out. The daughters of the late Helena are open to Travis being there to see them because they remember him helping them when their father died and remember that he was good friends with their Mom. Travis endures a lot in this book both physically and emotionally, but comes out the other end a new and better man. This book is well worth sticking with, no matter how the first chapters seem. After is gets moving it is full of family drama, action, adventure, murder, and mystery. I would recommend picking it up to read. The characters are great and the book/plot are very well developed.
4/5 Stars!
Counts toward following challenges of mine: 100 Books Read, 1,000,000 Pages Read, Color Coded Challenge, and Rainbow Reading Challenge.
Goodreads Summary:
"Reggie Sinclair is an aging British rock star living in New York City who has just found out he is terminally ill. He also has a very dark secret: When he was still an undiscovered teenager, he sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his great fame and success. As his life draws to an end, he prepares to face the inevitable until he stumbles upon a very enchanting, modern-day witch named Angela, and her untraditional coven.
Angela gradually introduces Reggie to her world of old school Witchcraft with its roots in alchemy and ‘natural chemistry’ dating to the Dark Ages. As their relationship grows, they devise a plan to break Reggie’s contract and save his soul.
This is a story of the struggle between good and evil with a cast of characters that ranges from guardian angels to young witches-in-training. Together, they have to come to terms with the uncertainties of love, loss, and life decisions to save Reggie from an unbearable eternity. Here is a plot filled with unexpected twists and surprises to the very last page that will also cast an entirely different light on anything you may have ever considered as faith!"
My Review:
I am not one that easily gives up on a book, but I am afraid this book was one I just could not get in to, nor could I finish. I don't think it was an issue with the writing per say, but I just couldn't fully get into the plot. I found it slow moving at first and then it started to pick up, but at the same time it didn't pick up enough for me to want to keep reading it. I started it awhile back and just couldn't get into it so I put it down to pick it up at another time and try again, thinking I was just not in the right frame of mind for this type of book. Well, I picked it up again a few weeks later to find I still couldn't get moving on it. I received this book free from the author for a review so tried again and again to get "into" the book. I really am not sure what it was about it that made it so hard for me to read exactly. I liked the sound of the plot and I usually like books with similar plots, but for some reason it just didn't do it for me. It was well written as far as the character development and plot development and descriptive words used in the book to make me "watch" the book in my head easily (what I read of it), but it just didn't have that driving force to it to make me want to pick it up and read it again...at least not for me. I feel really bad saying I couldn't finish this book, but every time I read any of it I felt like I started making excuses for why I had to stop reading. Perhaps this book would be great for someone else, but me personally, I couldn't get into it at all. I gave it many tries and read quite a bit of the way in the book, but I just hit a wall and decided it was best to call it a Did Not Finish book for me.
Title: In the Dog House
Author: Melissa Cleary
Pages: 249
Publication Date: 2000
Version: Paperback
Genre: Adult Fiction/Mystery
Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Jackie's former student is directing a murder mystery -- with ex-police dog Jake in a starring role. But when he's arrested for the hit-and-run death of the movie's producer, Jackie and Jake set out to prove that the police are barking up the wrong tree..."
My Review:
Jackie just can't seem to keep her nose out of trouble. She is now helping one of her prized students make his first movie after graduating from the school she teaches at by being on the set and allowing her ex-police dog, Jake, have a part in the movie. The movie has had a few mishaps from the start, but it only gets worse when the new, and very disliked, producer is murdered and John, the director/prized student of Jackie's, is the prime suspect. John soon is put in jail and looking like he will be convicted if Jackie doesn't dust off her amateur detective skills yet again and try to help his case. In doing so, with the help of her beloved dog Jake of course, she finds out a lot about the dead producer and what kind of man he really was and why he really moved from Hollywood to a small town in Ohio. Jackie goes to Evan, the detective on the case, and tells him what she has learned. He isn't happy about her poking around again in one of his cases, but gives her the benefit of the doubt and looks into her claims. As Jackie thinks she is gaining ground on who really killed the grumpy producer, it turns out the killer is gaining ground on her too. Can Jackie put all the pieces together to help clear John before she is silenced by the real killer? And if John is innocent and has an alibi why is he being so adamant about not telling the police about it, where was he really? Did he somehow have a hand in things along with another person? Could Jackie have been so wrong about him? With Jake's help, Jackie knows she can find the answers to all her questions and probably more, but will it be in time to save John, if he really is innocent?
I liked this book in this series better than the last one I read. It had more action and much more mystery in it. I found the plot to be much better and the guessing game for the reader to be better too. The characters were greatly developed in this book too. They gained so much more in this book from where they were in the previous book I read. I think I liked it better too, because there was more sleuthing on the part of Jackie's this time. It had more detail and direction as far as what Jackie was looking into and what she was digging up in her investigation too. I also found it to be better paced. It was an easy read, but not boring. Course what can be boring when you are dealing with a murdered producer who was pretty much hated by all including his wife? I loved the twists and turns in the plot a lot and just found it to be an all around good read. Jake by far is a dog that any pet owner would love to have in their home. He is smart, good with kids, an ex-police dog, good at protection, and also is kind to the ginger cat Charlie that he lives with. Jake really makes this book too. Without him Jackie would be in lots of tight spots and may not have gotten out of them. All around good book that will keep you guessing until the very end.
4/5 Stars!
This book counts toward my following challenges: 100 Books Read, 1,000,000 Pages Read, Cupcake Wars Challenge, Mount TBR, Off the Shelf, What's in a Name, and Animal Challenge.
And Your Little Dog Too by Melissa Cleary
Copyright 1998 203 Pages
Adult Mystery/Fiction
This book is for a few of my challenges, but I picked it this month specifically for my Cupcake Wars Challenge and my Animal Challenge.
Jackie is a woman who wishes she could just be "normal" and not have such strong urges to poke around in cases the police have solved, but maybe not correctly. She doesn't want to feel jealous of the beautiful new cop in town that seems to be hanging around her boyfriend, Tom, a bit too much at his Kennel he runs. She also doesn't like to hear her Mother telling her son about fugitive "branches" in their family tree, when helping him with a genealogy project for school. When Jackie's kind heart to help a small terrier she sees in the snow under a dumpster leads her to find a body in that dumpster how can she just walk away, when deep down she knows it was not an accidental death like the police say? How can she dismiss a homeless woman's death as just an accident when certain things about it just don't add up? Jackie decides to go against Evan, the cop that some day will get ulcers from Jackie's meddling, and look into things on her own with the help of her trusty retired police dog, Jake, Jackie is well on the right path to finding clues.
Favorite Character: Jackie & Jake (to pick one over the other is impossible): Determined, Helpful, Brave, and Friendly.
Least Favorite Character: Evan: Pig Headed, Stubborn, Doesn't Listen, Ignorant.
Rating: C-Good Read
Title: And Your Little Dog Too
Author: Melissa Cleary
Pages: 203
Publication Date: 1998
Version: Paperback
Genre: Adult Fiction/Mystery
Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"A stray terrier leads Jackie to the body of a homeless woman -- and into a puzzling mystery with wide-ranging implications -- in this latest novel in the successful series that's "good news for those of us who like dogs and mysteries "
My Review:
Jackie is a woman who wishes she could just be "normal". She doesn't want to have such strong urges to poke around in cases the police have solved, but maybe not correctly. She doesn't want to feel jealous of the beautiful new cop in town that seems to be hanging around her boyfriend, Tom, a bit too much at his Kennel he runs. She also doesn't like to hear her Mother telling her son about fugitive "branches" in their family tree, when helping him with a genealogy project for school. When Jackie's kind heart to help a small terrier she sees in the snow under a dumpster leads her to find a body in that dumpster how can she just walk away, when deep down she knows it was not an accidental death like the police say? How can she dismiss a homeless woman's death as just an accident when certain things about it just don't add up? Jackie decides to go against Evan, the cop that some day will get ulcers from Jackie's meddling, and look into things on her own. She just hopes that she survives to figure it all out. With the help of her trusty retired police dog, Jake, Jackie is well on the right path to finding clues. She just has to overcome the bumps in that path along the way. With Jake by her side Jackie is sure she will find the truth...or die trying.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a softer mystery, in the respect that there was not a whole bunch of murders or many sub-plots, but it worked for this book. I thought Jake being a partner to Jackie in trying to solve the cases was a great touch to the book. Nothing better in a book than a furry companion to help solve crime. It took a bit for Jake to get more involved in the book, but once he did, he made a great detective partner to Jackie. I liked how Jackie was willing to take a stand on things and go against facts that looked fool proof because her gut instinct said something different. She is a head strong lady with a persistent and very well trained ex-police dog for a furry companion. I got to a point in the book that I was sure I had it all figured out and knew who the murderer was, but then after a few chapters some kinks were thrown in to my logical thinking and I had to second guess my conclusion. Only to find out I was possibly wrong. I am not going to say this book was without action, but most of the book was more of a "cozy" type of mystery with a little bit slower approach to the murders and the plot. It was a good book, mind you, just not as fast paced or jam packed as I was previously used to in a mystery book.
3/5 Stars!
This counts toward my following challenges: 100 Books Read, 1,000,000 Pages Read, Cupcake Wars, Mount TBR, Off the Shelf, Versatile, and Animal Reading Challenge.
