qnofrogs

Necessary monsters

Revisado: 03-09-25

I enjoyed Killers of a Certain Age. This book, Kills Well with Others, was every bit as enjoyable. I am hoping there will be more books in this series.

The characters are delightful, and despite being a team of highly trained assassins, completely believable. I love that they’re in their 60s. I love that they have worked together for 40 years and they remain ride or die for each other. I LOVE that the narrator didn’t pitch her voice into doddering granny regions with a quaver.

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Best kind of ghost story

Revisado: 03-03-25

Fun mystery that takes place in Boston. Ruby is young, inexperienced, but figuring stuff out. Cordelia is also figuring stuff out and together they solve a murder. This book sets up several potential crimes that were committed before Ruby moved to Boston, and I hope this is the first book in a series so we can find out what really happened. Also, what’s up with the plant?

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Foreshadowing US future?

Revisado: 02-22-25

This is the first in a series of novels about Stella Bled Lawrence and her husband, Nicky. I encountered them first in another of author’s series about Mercy Watts. I can’t decide at the moment whether I wish I had read Stella’s stories first or if it matters because the Stella books cover the time around WWII, while Mercy Watts is in contemporary time. Mercy wants to understand what Stella was doing and how Stella and Mercy’s families are linked, which starts to be revealed in this book.

Good story, nothing quite straightforward so hard to predict. Stella is newly married at 18 and Nicky is 24, so essentially children. The narrator has a more mature voice, which makes me forget how young the characters are supposed to be when they say or do something age appropriate—but incredibly dumb. That being said, incredible and believable character growth in this book.

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Not entranced

Revisado: 02-13-25

I’ve enjoyed this series very much. For some reason, I found this book tedious. There were a number of new characters, none of whom appeared to make a connection with Stella. There were too many of them for me to keep track of, which is a problem with an audiobook since you can’t go back easily to find out who they are.

My biggest issue, however, is not with the book or the author or the performance. The audio recording was very difficult to hear and since Audible doesn’t have equalizer controls on iPhones, I couldn’t adjust it.

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Another winner

Revisado: 09-14-24

Jessica Ellicott’s stories about Edwina and Beryl are lovely diversions AND they feature personal growth in the characters. That’s a feature sorely lacking in most series. If a character is foolish in book 1, most likely they are foolish in book 10. These characters remain true to who they are while evolving into better forms of themselves.

My only complaint is about the frequency with which the author mentions the dearth of men in England following the war. I stopped counting after 3. Almost an entire generation of men in were wiped out in WWI and another generation in WWII, so yes, not enough husbands for the women left behind, a recurring issue in this book. However, perhaps a slightly longer discussion about the impact of the war and the scarcity of young men earlier in the book would have precluded the need to remark on how women ended up as spinsters.

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Cannot wait to hear what else Charlotte Illes is not

Revisado: 09-08-24

I’ve enjoyed both Charlotte Illes books and I hope there are many more in the pipeline! All of the characters have flaws that are entirely relatable and just like IRL they struggle to identify their flaws and then deal with them. What I enjoy most about the characters is how much they love and respect each other regardless of, or maybe even because of, the flaws. I especially appreciate the matter of fact acknowledgment of various ethnicities and gender identities.

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Very exciting!

Revisado: 08-21-24

I loved this story about 2 elderly sisters and their devoted nephew. To the outside world, as well as to their nephew, these sisters appear to be perfectly normal old ladies. However, both sisters have been hiding secrets from each other for 70 years, and what secrets they are! As one excitement leads to another, secrets are revealed and lead to the potential of other, older secrets that could lead to a sequel. That would be exciting!

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So much fun!

Revisado: 08-15-24

I love Lily Chu’s books. Drop Dead was a bit of a departure from the previous books but in a good way. I was worried because it started off with a massive cringe but she didn’t dwell on it. Many times the conflicts in stories arise because the characters don’t talk to each other so major misunderstandings drive the story forward but in Drop Dead, the conflicts weren’t between the characters’ misunderstandings but due to circumstances and jerky coworkers. There was character growth! A mystery! Cats! I loved it.

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Finally, women in their 60s who aren’t decrepit!

Revisado: 07-10-24

I enjoyed listening to a story about competent women who literally take no prisoners; they just kill the bad guys. I thought this could have been a little bit tighter as it seemed to take hours to get to the point. However, I like to listen to longer books and this one kept me interested during an all day car ride.

I hope there are additional books featuring these women.

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I adore Snark

Revisado: 03-19-24

All of this author’s books bring me so much joy. I’ve read them all and then listened to them all but there was one thing missing: 4 seasons of Snarky on audiobooks. People have become so freaking annoying and entitled and pushy. I like to think Snarky could level things for the rest of us for whom “bless their hearts” just doesn’t cut it.

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