Missing Pieces - A Review

 

Missing Pieces

“Elvis Has Left the Building” by Cynthia Hickey 

“The Puzzle King” by Linda Baten Johnson 

“A Puzzling Weekend” by Teresa Ives Lilly 

“Puzzle Me This” by Janice Thompson

A Review

The publisher has brought together four different faith-based cozy mysteries all centered on the theme of Jigsaw puzzles. Each was enjoyable and provided a few hours of fun reading.

For this reader the most enjoyable story was Janice Thompson’s “Puzzle Me This”. Set in the annual Camden Jigsaw Puzzle Show, Mariah was opening a new business - selling Jigsaw puzzles - but it seemed like it would be a failure from the start. First were the gunshots heard throughout the Camden Opera House, home to the show; then came the dead body found near Mariah’s booth; the first night ended with the missing, i.e. stolen, “Grindle Point '' antique puzzle valued at over $2500. That puzzle was the key to Mariah’s future success and now it was gone.

Mariah, working with other shop owners and Detective Casey Durham of the Camden PD, would follow (stumble on) clues which would lead to the guilty party. The clues not only guided Mariah and her friends, but they also provided tantalizing breadcrumbs for the reader, leading to a very satisfying conclusion. This final story, and the book, gets five stars.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

Six Word Stories - A Review

 

Six Word Stories

Edited By

Doug Weller

A Review

Review:

Six Word Stories -

Imagination Starters

Doug Weller has provided a fun collection of stories - each six words long. The first half of the book contains 200 (?) stories consisting of six words each. Some are funny, some are serious, some are thoughtful, all are current - with one exception. The oldest story included in this collection comes from William Shakespeare, “To be, or not to be.”

The book is divided into three main sections:

1. The first section is a collection of stories written by and submitted to the author.
2. The second section is a tutorial on writing six word stories - included are more examples of this new art form.
3. The final section is an invitation and instructions for entering a contest with prizes (including publication) for submitting original six word stories.
   
   

I enjoyed reading the many stories included in the first section - coming from around the world, they represent many of the details of life - from childhood to death. Several picked up the very modern theme of the COVID-19 virus. Each was a complete thought (though not always a sentence) that further inspired this reader's imagination. Section two serves as a set of instructions on writing six word stories. It could more easily have been offered as a web page or site, rather than occupying one-half of the book’s pages. It would seem that its purpose was more motivation, rather than instruction. The third section was an invitation for readers to submit their own stories for inclusion in a future volume of this series of books. The current book is the third in the series.

Many of the stories could stand alone, others served as open doors to the reader’s imagination. The result is a five-star book that I enjoyed sharing with my wife and son.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Whole Art of Detection - A Review

The Whole Art of Detection

by

Lyndsay Faye

A Review

Though I like the legend of Sherlock Holmes, I am not a Sherlockian. If I like a Sherlock Holmes story, it is because I like it; not that it fit well within the Holmes canon as defined by those with a more scholarly bent. Having said that, I found The Whole Art of Detection to be a pleasant trip through Holmes’ life events. The book is a selection of short stories that span much of Dr. Watson’s interaction with Holmes. They are written from a variety of perspectives - most are a retelling of adventures had by Dr. Watson and Holmes, but the book also includes a few 1st person excerpts from Holmes’ personal diary.

The fifteen stories are a bit uneven - some are quite capable of holding the reader’s interest, while other seem a bit longer than necessary. The stories introduce details of Holmes’ and Watson’s life - including the reaction of friends to Watson’s wife’s, Mary, death. Similarly, we see a glimpse of Watson’s response to learning that Sherlock Holmes had returned to Baker Street from his supposed death in Switzerland.

I kept coming back each night to find out what was next in the life of our two friends. In the course of reading, of course, we again meet Mrs. Hudson and Inspector Lestrade. We travel throughout London and its environs.

For the fans of late 19th century London and Sherlock Holmes, this book might just fill the bill for a late night read. It did for me, it will others as well.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.