Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson
585772
Wonderful, I absolutely loved it and read it in 2 days! Great atmosphere, interesting characters and a heroine who's trying to start a new life in Scotland, having run from London.  We don't know why till the end, but working up to it is a great time.  And I loved that the book is full of books...new books, old books, a veritable smorgasbord, as she works in a secondhand bookstore owned by her landlord. My favorite book of the year so far!
3708475
My neighbor and friend wrote an awesome book.  It made you feel like you knew the characters, I laughed with them and felt for them.  Great job!
1727283
I will recommend this book to others. I enjoyed reading and listening to the narrator as she brought the characters to life. I will recommend this book to everyone I know. Thank you for the free copy and hope to see more free books of the same quality in the future. Marywnguern@gmail.com
3886275
I truly enjoyed this book poison pen letters , black mail, murder, cat napping. It starts off slow but quickly picks up speed. I look forward to reading more books by Kaye  c. Hill
2337981
I received an advance copy to review and I enjoyed reading this cozy mystery as I have enjoyed reading other books written by Penelope Sotheby. The relationship between Diane Dimbleby and Inspector Crothers is one that I would like to see developed in further books. These two people, of different generations and different philosophic approaches to life, should not have the interaction that they do, but somehow it all seems to blend perfectly as they each try to solve the murder.
The descriptions of the little village of Apple Mews and its residents are very colorful and it is easy to feel that you are in the village itself.
The book was a good book to read on my latest plane trip - it was short enough to read in one sitting, a bit slow at the beginning but then the plot moved along at a good pace. I did find it a bit "dark" for a cozy mystery.
1229213
Scent of Lilacs
The Heart of Hollyhill #1
By Ann H. Gabhart

Scent of Lilacs takes place in during the summer of 1964 in Hollyhill where nothing ever happens.  But this year is different, this year God has answered Jocie Brooke's dog prayer and her sister prayer!  A stray mutt from no one knows where has followed Jocie home.  Jocie feels that Zeb is God's answer to her years of praying for a dog.  The night after her dog prayer has been answered, Jocie's sister returns home

Seven years have passed since Jocie's mother and older sister Tabitha slipped away in the night.  Adrienne had married David Brooke thinking he was her ticket out of Hollyhill, but God had other plans for David that didn't include leaving Hollyhill.  David, who had taken over the weekly paper The Banner,  felt called to be a preacher.  But Adrienne didn't feel called to be a preacher's wife or even a mother left both David and Jocie behind, the only farewell a note having been written by then 13 year old Tabitha.

But Hollyhill is not just a quiet laid-back community, and like most communities a place where secrets are hidden just beneath the surface, if you care to look.  Jocie has questions and the answers she is about to unearth have the power to heal or to wound.  But Jocie wants to know the truth about who she is and about her family.

Hollyhill and the Brooke family are about to discover just how powerful truth is and the importance of forgiveness.  Sometimes family is not determined by the bonds of blood but by the bonds of love.  In a way the Scent of Lilacs can be viewed as a picture of the family of God.  We are all brought and bought into His family by the power of His love for each and every one of us.  But He doesn't force us into His family - it is a choice we each must make for ourselves.  Life has times of trial and storms but our Father is there for us, holding out His hand ready to steady and help us over the rough patches.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher Revell Books for the purpose of this review, but all opinions expressed are my own.

Available March 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
723421
Death of a Outsider sees Hamish Macbeth leaving his beloved Lochdubh to spend three months covering for a police officer in the Highland town of Cnothan. With his beloved dog, Hamish gets to know the locals and discovers he's not the only "outsider" in Cnothan. There are quite a few, a lovely lass from Canadian and a married couple that the locals cannot stand. It seems that Mr Mainwaring has a way of causing the locals to dislike him, as he picks and prods his way into all their lives. When a skeleton turns up dead and it is discovered to belong to Mr Mainwaring, Macbeth and Inspector Blair set out to investigate the case and find out who disliked Mainwaring enough to want him dead.

I've liked the first two books in this series and I'm continuing on by listening to book 3, Death of a Outsider, on audio. I love seeing what Hamish gets up to and it's nice to see him away from Lochdubh for this adventure. He's trying to keep his mind off Priscilla, his crush and the girl that he can't quite see a future with, even though he wants to. He finds things interesting in Cnothan - especially with a very unattached Canadian artist. And of course there is a murder to solve!!

Speaking of the murder. I read a lot of murder mysteries and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised of who Mainwaring was killed and the discovering of his skeleton. Yes not a corpse but a skeleton. I haven't seen this in a previous mystery and I love how creative M.C. Beaton was with this.

I really enjoyed Death of a Outsider and will listen to more of these books on audio. It seems that there was a new narrator with this one - Shaun Grindell. He provides the voice for the rest of the audios in this series, and while it took me a little while to get used to his narration I am looking forward to seeing how he narrates future books.
1536242
Excellent book! Can't wait to read the next in this series. I live in an area with a large Mennonite community and this book gave me the creeps about my neighbors! Silly I know, but the similarities between Amish and Mennonite communities are really close. The only differences that an outsider like me can see is they do use electricity and cars instead of horse and buggy. My Mennonite neighbors are all really sweet and friendly but this book makes you wonder what goes in behind closed doors away from us outsiders!
4413411
The life of a family consisting of two parents, Joe and Connie, and their two children, Madge and Alan is shown in this book by Beryl Bainbridge.  A Quiet Life describes the ups and downs of the family after WWII.  Joe once had a great business, but after some events in the war, he is now bankrupt and is listening to the `wireless', as they called it (radio in our days).  Connie, a woman who married Joe years ago because of his wealth, is now a very strict lady who reads novels at the train station alone every night, while during the day, she drinks tea.  The daughter, Madge, is a girl who walks along the mine-filled seaside every night.  She is a girl who is trusted by her mother, who often believes the lies of Madge, making her able to get away from the troubles she has done.  Lastly, the main character is Alan, who is a 17 year old teenager who falls in love with Janet, another girl in his school.
  The main idea of the book is shown in the title, A Quiet Life, because it is about Alan, trying to have his own life different from the kind he grew up in.  Why he wants his own life is because there is a lot of chaos going on around the house that he has to put up with and try to live through them everyday.  Starting with Alan and Madge meeting each other inside the caf, a shift is made to the actual life these two children grew up in.  With his father constantly getting upset with the family and his leftover wealth, things inside the house are often thrown around, while the two children always try to get out of the scene.  During the story, Alan often argues with his sister about going to see a German P.O.W and almost causing a disaster for the family.  These are only some of the problems that occurred within this spoiled family.  This book has really grabbed my attention once I started reading it, because the plot is based on real life problems within a family.
2630443
"Buried in a Bog" is Sheila Connolly's novel about a young woman from Boston who travels to her ancestral home in Cork County, Ireland.

Connolly states that she has a fondness for genealogy and this novel demonstrates her interest and passion. The story follows Maura Donovan who comes to a small village, Leap, in County Cork. Her grandmother, Nora, had raised Maura and her dying wish was that Maura return to the village where Gran spent her younger days and to learn about her family roots.

The charming village has many people who are named after their relatives so that we see a number of characters with the same name. Maura is told to go to Sullivan's Pub and will receive directions to the friend of her Gran's with whom Gran corresponded with.

Soon after Maura's arrival, a body is discovered in a bog. This person may have been in the bog for over a half century and becomes the talk of the town as to who it might be.

As we read through the story, the author's descriptions make the characters come to life. The owner of the pub died recently and Maura is asked to help out so she accepts a job to tie her over during her stay in Ireland.

Soon after her work begins, a man is murdered in a nearby town. Maura learns that the pub is a place where the residents often come to in order to share the latest gossip and this second death packs the pub. She finds a letter in the bar's papers and learns that it was from a man in Australia attempting to learn about his family, in particular an uncle who went missing. Maura brings the letter to the police thinking it might help identify the body in the bog.

As Maura traveled to the police with the letter, someone tries to run her off the road and with other incidents, she fears that she is being stalked.

So many people befriend her and seem to be related to each other. The two managers of the pub ask her to stay until the ownership of the bar is determined and during the lull between her work hours she learns more about the area and her family.

Since nothing is there to keep her in Boston, she remains in Leap and comes to love the inhabitants. She has worked in a bar in Boston so takes to her new surroundings easily. She also stands up to the person who was trying to intimidate her.

This story is about life and a person seeking more knowledge of their family history. I enjoyed Maura's infatuation with the area and the people and was pleased to learn of the family connections.
507020
The authors sense of humor really shows through in this book.  Already looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
The storyline was well plotted out and kept me captivated the whole time.  I lost track of time reading this book!
I hope we see more of the neighbor next door, she is a fascinating character.
3320963
Aunt Bessie is quiet a lady.  The Isle of Man sounds like a wonderful place to live.  The people of the island are so loyal to their island and it's history.  I have read all 6 of the books in this series and will be waiting excitedly for the next book.
3520694
CAT SHINING BRIGHT is about coming of age and changes in the lives of the magical sentient felines that live in Molena Point, California.  Joe Grey and his love Dulcie are marveling over the birth of their three kittens, two boys and a girl, waiting to see if they, too, will speak and read human language.  The boys Striker and Buffin are buff colored.  The third kitten, Courtney, is the calico female that Misto, the wise old yellow tomcat, had predicted would return from the lands in the Celtic myths.

On the night of severe rain storms and howling winds, a car theft ring skulks through the village breaking into cars, driving those they can away and stealing any valuables left inside the cars they cant start.  Felines Kit and Pan brave the storms and follow detectives from MPPD compiling a description of two thieves and observing their actions.  Joe Grey still enjoys his investigative work as snitch for the Molena Point Police Department but has cut his hours drastically to save more time for his family.  When he reads the newspaper account of the car thefts, Dulcie urges him to go be part of what he loves at MPPD.  Up until now the kittens had been sheltered from learning any bad news, but they latch onto these stories wanting to be part of detecting work too.

Unknown to Joe, the kittens sneak out of the house and follow him to MPPD.  They watch as Joe appears to sleep on the police captains desk, when he is actually stealing glances at reports and listening to detectives discuss the days events.  When the police chiefs wife calls 911 to report the shooting deaths of her beautician and a customer in the salon, Joe follows detectives toward the MPPD exit to head for the scene.  Just then, moving shadows alert him to the presence of his kittens!  He is mortified to see them there, but he is compelled to visit the crime scene.  Promising to stick close to Joe, the kittens follow him to the scene.  Dulcie has discovered the kittens missing from home and hears the sirens; she knows then where the kittens have gone.

Dulcie and the kittens are no longer safe at Wilma Getzs home after a stranger lurking outside breaks in.  Wilma scares him away before knowing what he was after, but she suspects it is an ancient hand printed book on the wild sentient cats. Discovering who broke into Wilmas home and why gets tangled together with investigations into the murders and car thefts.  Kit and Pan and the feral cat clowder are led to connections between the new cat shelter and its closest neighbor.  Shelter owner Kate Osborne and construction worker Scotty Flannery observe strange happenings near the shelter.  Joe Grey has a plan to tie everything together and entice the thieves out of hiding right into the arms of MPPD detectives.

This 20th entry in the charming Joe Grey series takes us deeper into the lives of human and feline residents of Molena Point.  Joe and Dulcie watch their kittens grow up and discover new passions and new alliances.  They know their trusted friends will help guide their kittens into their adult lives.

Highly recommended.
434878
Living in a community that is so different than she ever knew she feels a separation from everyone else. Even though the community helps her she believes it is only because her mother has married into the community. Beth has many walls built for her own protection. What does it take to allow her to feel accepted.
3129798
I really enjoyed this book. Reading a lot of books in this genre, this one actually was different. For once, a neighborhood banded together and even though their is the death, sadness, bad human elements, etc, they persevere and stand tough!!! Most of the stories I read, the neighborhood breaks apart and everyone scatters. It's depressing because not everyone has a rural farm house to take off to when SHTF. It was nice to read a story that basically is "Stand Your Ground"...
1952612
Story takes place in my own backyard of Chattanooga.  Cleverly written as the chapters alternate stories between the main characters in a small community where the women work in a clothing factory.  They weave a tale of a simpler life where people have nothing in terms of physical wealth but hold deep roots in a community where everyone knows one another.  It's a great story about women helping other women in times of need.  The written dialect was very similar to what I know to be in this area when you get out into the hills and valleys (hollers).
2503611
The coastline of County Sutherland hugs the rugged coast of Northwest Scotland and is as craggy and forbidding as its citizens. Hamish Macbeth serves as the sole policeman, with a wee bit o help from his lazy assistant Dick Fraser, in the town of Loch Dubh. The small villages scattered amongst the lochs and bracken-filled braes are inhabited by those who keep themselves to themselves. Strangers are likely to be tourists, photographers and fishermen, driving through the moors and hiking along the lochs and bubbling streams, without thoughts of thievery or murder.

When a hysterical woman calls Hamish at his office, claiming rape and assault, Hamish rushes to her village to investigate. The doctor finds that she has not been raped and is in fact a virgin, nor has she been assaulted. Furthermore, shes known as the town liar. Hamish interviews several villagers who confirm that Liz Bentley is so widely known as a liar that no one believes a word she says. When a few days later she calls in the middle of the night, howling that a man is trying to break into her cottage, Hamish, who does not suffer fools gladly, tells her to go see a psychiatrist and goes back to sleep. The next morning, feeling remorseful, he and Dick drive back to the village to check on her and discover her body in the vegetable patch, dead of a gunshot wound.

M. C. Beaton spins tales of the colorful Highlanders who live under the watchful and disdainful eye of Hamish Macbeth. He has a nose for crime solving and has been offered positions in Strathmore, but chooses to roam the moors with his dog Lugs and giant cat Sonsie, and is more likely to carry a fishing pole than a gun. His halcyon existence allows him to poach the occasional salmon and woo the beautiful women who step in and out of his life. His sidekick, Dick, is more cook than cop. Theyve built a comfortable life, looking in on the auld folk, checking the door locks and admiring the northern lights.

Sadly, the hidden bays and lochs have recently become havens for foreign smugglers, and the Highland idyllic life is not what it once was. Clues point to a gang of drug smugglers, hiding a suspected fortune in money and cocaine in the faade of a newly formed church with a charismatic preacher. When more bodies show up, a swarm of forensic examiners, capitol police and the press shatter the peace and quiet of the hamlets.

And poor Hamish. One beautiful woman after another seems to slip out of reach, and he hasn't a clue why, not even when his former ladies try to explain. That shock of red hair fits his disposition when it comes to criticism, and as they go off into another mans arms, hes hard pressed to make amends.

He now looks on, nonplussed as plump, lazy, homebody Dick moves out, lock, stock and TV, taking everything but the wood-fire stove. Dick has waltzed off with one of the most beautiful women in the Highlands who has set the villages abuzz with her scones and bacon baps. His announcement that they plan to open a bakery finds Hamish, who has long yearned to have the house to himself, stranded with his dog and cat. Just as hes about to propose marriage to an old flame, headquarters sends him a new assistant, straight from the academy, who helps tie up a niggling loose end to the crimes. Hamish decides that even though bachelorhood is his fate, it might not be so bad.

DEATH OF A LIAR is the 31st installment in a series that saw fame as a television program in the '90s and seldom fails to entertain.

Reviewed by Roz Shea.