Women's Struggles – Murder on Washington Square by Victoria Thompson

This series set in New York around 1900-1910 is so entertaining. This particular book was well-plotted, with a very unexpected twist. Having read several of the later installments, it's interesting to have taken a step back in the relationship between lead characters Sarah Brandt, a society woman turned midwife, and Frank Malloy, a New York City detective. At that time, graft and payoffs to the police were rampant, and Frank would have been one of the few honest cops, though he certainly knew how it all worked. 

Someday I'll go back to the beginning and read all the books in the series I've missed, which is still most of them, so I have plenty of enjoyment ahead.

Rest in Peace – Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton

This is the first in a series that introduces a character beloved by many, Agatha Raisin, a 50-ish London career woman who sells her successful PR agency and purchases a cottage in the picturesque Cotswolds, near Stratford-on-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare. 

I liked Agatha quite a bit, relating to her as a fellow career-minded woman who worked in a similar profession. But, and this is a big but: Unfortunately, the plot and cliché-ridden descriptions of village life kind of left me cold. If I hadn't been reading this book for my online mystery book club, I would have returned it to the library. Having spent a fair amount time in England with relatives, and having visited the Cotswolds, Stratford, and many other areas of the Midlands, especially around the time this book was published, 1992, I was not particularly taken by this overly cozy novel. It was just too much "cute" for me.

My library copy was a First Edition, which must have been rushed out, because it was chock-full of egregious editing errors. On several pages, in multiple places, Agatha somehow became Angela, and there were similar goofs. So distracting!

PS: During my mystery book club discussion of this book, which had a mixed reaction, other members shared that their later editions were just as sloppy – the errors had not been fixed. Really? Wow...

Crime Solvers – The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

It is interesting how discussing a book with a book club group can change your opinion of it. I was very enthusiastic about The Word Is Murder when I began reading it, though I had misgivings about the portrayal of one of the major characters, Hawthorne, the crime-solving detective, as a homophobe. For me, that's a major flaw in a character's (a person's) personality. The more we discussed it, and the more I considered it, the more it disturbed and offended me, and I don't understand why the author gave Hawthorne that characteristic, since he doesn't seem to take it anywhere. Hence, I downgraded my opinion from "4 Stars" to "3 Stars" on my Goodreads page.

The author, Anthony Horowitz, is himself the other main character and narrator, who relates the story of the crimes involved from his perspective. This is an unusual technique, but I found it clever, and amusing. Not all of the book clubbers agreed, but I'll keep my opinion intact.

The plotting is excellent, and Horowitz keeps the reader guessing almost until the very end. I may or may not read the next book in this series, if only to find out more about the mystery of Hawthorne's homophobia, and if Horowitz manages to change his mind. The Word Is Murder is the fourth of these novels.

Horowitz, a British author, was previously unknown to me, but it turns out that he has had a prolific and successful career in children's and young adult fiction, as well as adult fiction. He is also well known as the television writer of "Foyle's War" (which has run on Netflix) and "Midsomer Murders" which has run on PBS, though I have never watched it. It might be work a look...

Over-Baked – The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

I had high hopes for this book, as it sounded like such fun: a contemporary mystery about a TV baking contest called Bake Week (like The Great British Baking Show), set in a Gothic-like estate in a remote northern Vermont, but it quickly devolved as it is absolutely stuffed with extremely quirky and clichéd characters, and so many of the major plot points were easy to guess very early on. Despite that, I give the author, Jessa Maxwell, kudos for her efforts, and hope to see something stronger should she publish another book. She certainly worked hard to produce something that was structurally well-organized.The six contestants, Stella, Peter, Lottie, Hannah, Gerald, and Pradyumna, each have a particularly unusual backstory that they bring to the event. Then there is its originator, Betsy, the long-time host and contest judge, who is also the owner of the estate, the production lead, Melanie, and a new co-host/judge, Archie, who has been brought in from another cooking show, much to Betsy's irritation.

The novel is told from the points of view of each of the contestants and Betsy, each having a chapter to introduce them, then additional ones as the plot unspools. While we all have a past, with periods of good and bad, and high and low spots, and our own peculiarities, these characters are so overdrawn in their eccentricities or histories that when they are all shoehorned into one book, disbelief is inevitable.

Well-drawn, though sometimes eccentric characters make up the most successful and recognizable mystery books, TV shows, and films: Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, Nancy Drew, Phryne Fisher, and so many more. I couldn't help thinking of the recent clever and comedic mystery films, Knives Out and The Glass Onion, starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, and how effective such characterizations can be when written well. Unfortunately, The Golden Spoon and its characters are a long way from any of those.

Coincidentally, when I was checking some details for this review, I came across a South Korean TV series by the same name. It sounds interesting: a poor young man exchanges identities with rich young man and lives a different life...something like a spin on Trading Places with Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis? Or reaching way back to Charles Dickens: maybe the inspiration was Great Expectations?

Passage to India: The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

It's always a treat to find a "new" author, and then discover that they have published at least dozen books that you'll want to read. My "new" author is Sujata Massey, a former Baltimore Sun reporter turned novelist.

According to the book jacket, Ms. Massey's parents were Indian and German but she was raised in the United States. Her Indian background must have been invaluable in creating this first-in-a-series novel set in the Bombay of the early 1920s and featuring a heroine inspired by the first woman to practice law there. 

Perveen Mistry is a young woman solicitor from a successful Parsi family of lawyers and a business in real estate construction. Parsis are Indians of Persian descent who follow the Zoroastrian religion. Zoroastrianism dates back to approximately 600 BCE, making it more than 1200 years older than Islam, which overtook it in ancient Persia/Iran. In the 1920s, Bombay had separate religious communities for Moslems, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Jews and Christians, as well as Parsis. Each had their own parallel society and specific legal requirements. A lawyer needed to understand both the religious and civil laws to represent clients. At this time, India is still ruled by the British and that there is a rigid social and legal system with the white British community at the top, no matter how distinguished, successful and wealthy any Indian might be.

Two parallel threads form the narrative, one for Perveen's work and one for her personal life. They are cleverly interwoven in alternate chapters that move between her present and her recent past. In her present, about 1921, she has recently completed her legal studies and works in the law practice of her father on the paperwork for various cases (women are not yet allowed to appear in the courts – in the British and Indian systems, lawyers who present cases in court are known as barristers, while those who handle all other aspects of the law are called solicitors), and in her recent past, we learn about what happened in her life five years earlier, providing the background for her present circumstances.

One of the practice's clients is a wealthy, highly traditional Muslim family. The husband has died leaving three widows (don't be judgmental – remember that this is 1921) and several children. The widows live in purdah (religion-based seclusion) in a large villa in an exclusive neighborhood. Perveen becomes involved in the details of executing the will for the widows and the man who had been appointed to manage the business affairs of the family. On a visit to the household to conduct business, Perveen discovers that he has been been brutally murdered...

Not only does the novel solve this mystery, but it also introduces an intriguing heroine who explores the societal issues of the rapidly changing times in India, including colonialism and feminism, giving the reader a fascinating window into a complex, diverse and sophisticated culture, presented for maximum appeal with vivid descriptions of the locales, dress, food and more. It is a wonderful opportunity for a journey to an exotic destination in a just distant enough time frame.

Stars Everywhere: Design for Dying by Renee Patrick

Almost a four-star, but it starts a little slowly for that. This debut mystery novel is set in 1930s Hollywood, and features Edith Head, the famous costume designer as a principal character. Lillian Frost, a transplant from New York, works in the lingerie department of an expensive speciality store, but aspired to a movie career, which she has determined is not for her.

The plot spins around the murder of Ruby Carroll, a beautiful and conniving young woman, whom Lillian knows from her former rooming house, and who was once her best friend...

There are lots of twists and turns, a possible Hungarian princess, a South American polo-playing playboy, a gangster, several detectives, and lots of stars of the time make brief entrances into the story. It's fun. Handled well, it could turn into a light and airy period movie with lots of cameo appearances.