Wed 23 Jun 2010
Reviewed by Walter Albert: LORNA BARRETT – Bookplate Special.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[8] Comments
LORNA BARRETT – Bookplate Special. Berkley, paperback original; 1st printing, November 2009.
Tricia Miles, proprietor of the mystery bookstore Haven’t Got a Clue in Stoneham, New Hampshire, is probably the least appealing protagonist of any recent mystery series I’ve been sampling.
She’s confrontational, irascible, and downright unpleasant, particularly in her dealings with local police and her current boyfriend, Russ, publisher of the local weekly newspaper. The series also includes recipes, which I are generally a turnoff for me, but the bookstore setting brought me back, after I’d read and reported on the second in the series (Bookmarked for Death, reviewed here ) for this follow-up novel.
Shortly after Tricia tells a lingering house-guest to pack up and move out, the woman is murdered, and Tricia, not one to let the local authorities handle the investigation, is almost immediately very much. involved, withholding vital evidence and, in general, acting without regard for her own safety or for a reasonable outcome for a very thorny investigation.
The author thanks friends who “pointed out the places” where she tripped up. Frankly, I think she needs a new group of friends who would point out to her that amateur sleuthing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t observe a modicum of common sense.
However, in spite of her unattractive side, she’s still able to come out of the labyrinth of missteps and bad decisions with two potential boyfriends and only minor collateral damage.
So what you have is a potentially attractive series, with a strong protagonist who may turn off some readers but please anti-establishment, feminist readers who will be urging Tricia on from the sideline.
The Booktown Mystery series —
1. Murder Is Binding (2008)
2. Bookmarked For Death (2009)
3. Bookplate Special (2009)
4. Chapter and Hearse (2010)
Coming in 2011 is A Crafty Killing, the author’s first “Victoria Square Mystery.” Lorna Barrett, the pen name of Lorraine Bartlett, has also written two suspense thrillers as by L. L. Bartlett.
June 23rd, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I think I’ll wait until Walter reports she got it right. So far these two he has reported on don’t sound all that attractive or all that much fun simply because I like bookstore mysteries. Nothing wrong with an unlikable heroine, but there doesn’t sound as if there is that much more to hold me. I’ll wait and see if it fills that potential Walter sees before getting my feet wet.
June 23rd, 2010 at 6:43 pm
The good: A bookstore mystery.
The bad: Recipes.
I can take grumpy or not, depending on how grumpy I feel at the time. Sometimes grumpy is exactly how I’d like to behave in the same situation.
But the question may be moot. There are now four books in the series, and the author’s starting a new one — a new series, that is. Four may be all she wrote for Tricia Miles and the Haven’t Got a Clue Bookstore.
When one surfaces in my accumulation of newly arrived, uncatalogued books, I hope I’ll remember to give it a try.
— Steve
June 23rd, 2010 at 7:16 pm
I don’t mind grumpy or even obnoxious — sometimes it’s liberating to read, but combined with recipes and the other flaws Walter points out I may just give this series a pass over all.
At least Agatha Christie never stopped to tell us how to disguise the taste of cyanide and a nice bitter almond mousse.
June 24th, 2010 at 7:17 am
Gee, I liked the book. And it was nominated for an Agatha for best novel of 2009, so it must have some redeeming qualities.
Maybe you shouldn’t read any more of this authors books. They don’t seem to be your cup of tea.
June 24th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Hi Sabina
You may have misunderstood. Neither David nor I have read any of Lorna Barrett’s books. After reading Walter’s review and based on what he had to say, we were merely discussing whether we might or might not.
I’d guess that David won’t, but there’s a chance that I will — and perhaps even more so, given your speaking up for the books.
Walter himself is about 50-50, and he sums up why, on either side.
That’s three guys talking, though, and I think that as far as cups of tea are concerned, you’re probably right!
— Steve
June 24th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Sabina
I have no problem with cozies and no doubt these have their fans. The more variety out there the better (my only complaint about cozies would be that they are pushing everything else out to some extent and they won’t be the first popular sub genre to do that).
Based on Walter’s reviews I don’t think this would be my cuppa at all, and I was just saying so.
One of the toughest things for a reader to face is the fact that other people don’t like what you like and have a right to say so. As Steve can tell you I enjoy the give and take and discussion of the differences, but always with the caveat that I am in no way suggesting any superiority of my opinion over anyone else.
I will argue a point, and clarify what I mean, but even in the most heated argument we are only talking about the opinions of equals (though few of us could claim to be Walter’s equal in general knowledge of the field).
I don’t always agree with Walter, but I respect his taste and opinions, and his reviews of these were enough to convince me I wouldn’t much care for them.
But I, and I hope everyone else here, reserve the right to say I don’t like something or don’t think I will like something. Even in regard to the best of books and the worst of books it is only one individuals opinion — not holy writ.
And in general we may be hard on cozies here, but if you like them feel free to set us straight — I know Steve is of the more the merrier school. If I disagree I may say so, but it is only one man’s opinion. We don’t bite, even if some of us seem to snap once in a while.
Many of us here have written reviews, criticism, fiction, and or scholarly works about the genre which only means we are used to expressing our opinion in straight forward terms with few modifiers and little held back. Most of us broke ourselves of the undergrad style of writing where you never express any opinion anyone might disagree with, and tend to say what we think in no uncertain terms. Some of us came out of a journalism background where editors have been known to throw things at you if you tiptoe around what you mean to say. But speaking for myself a new voice is always welcome.
Aside from enjoying myself I use this blog to aide me in finding books I haven’t read and deciding if I might like them or not. I’ve found a few good books that way, I think avoided some I wouldn’t like, and a few times been intrigued enough to check something out even though the other fellow didn’t like it.
I long ago discovered good people can disagree and both be right from their point of view. That doesn’t mean I won’t express my own.
I’ve never read Danielle Steel either, but I don’t think she is hurting for my money. Different tastes, different books, and different opinions — it’s half the fun of reading and writing about the literature we love.
June 26th, 2010 at 11:03 am
I was delighted to see Sabina Reins favorable take on the series, but I didn’t totally trash it and I’ll probably read the next (last?) title in the series. I saw the first in the series yesterday at a bookstore. I haven’t read it and almost bought the copy, but since I make 99% of my mystery purchases at the local Mystery Lovers Bookshop, I passed on it.
I’ve noticed that in recent years a majority of my reading of current mystery writers has been of books written by women. Some of them are cozies (not all of them, by any means), and I just finished Susan Wittig Albert’s (no relation, as far as I know) “The Tale of Briar Bank,” which I found totally delightful (this is one of my favorite series). The talking animal plot line, with the addition of a couple of dragons, really take moves front and stage center this time, and I hereby declare Bosworth Badger XVII to be currently sharing the honors in the series for my two favorite characters in the Cottage Tales.
Anyhow, I’m glad that a female reader has spoken up in the Mystery*File blog, and perhaps another time, Sabina, you’ll be happier with my review of a book you like.
But I totally subscribe to David’s enjoyment of the “give and take of differences,” and I certainly never minded, in a long life of heavy reading, that even my best friends don’t always like what I say about books they’re familiar with.
June 26th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
My own feeling is that I learn more about a book when I find someone who disagrees with me about it than if I find everyone nodding along with me.
Though of course that’s a nice feeling too!
— Steve