RMR Project: Crane's "Miss Seeton Cracks the Case"

Miss Seeton has a knack for finding and getting into trouble. She is quite unaware of this and very humble about the occasions when it puts her into a situation where she can help the police solve a crime or two.

The police call her in to help as a police artist when a gang of criminals target the elderly for home robbery. Her skills also come in handy with some highway robbery cases.

Miss Seeton Cracks the Case was published by Berkley Books and has a 1991 copyright. I think someone else created the Miss Seeton character because the top of the cover says "Heron Carvic's Miss Seeton."

This is much different than most of the mysteries I read. It does include a death, but the heroine doesn't even know about it. The man died as a result of the home robbery so Miss Seeton solves it when she locates the band that did that and other home robberies.

Despite this significant difference--or perhaps because of it--the book was a very fun read. Miss Seeton is an interesting character with a good blend of strengths and weaknesses.

Tense

Past.

POV

Third person omniscient. This is unusual. Most of the cozies I've read had either been first person or limited omniscient. It does tend to focus on one group of characters per scene, but there is also a clear narrator voice in several places. But I liked the narrator.

Deaths

p. 14. RSM Brent. An elderly man killed by the "Sherry Gang" in a home robbery gone wrong.

p. 76. No death exactly, but a great deal of focus on rumors of a possible dead body being hidden in an air raid shelter thirty years earlier.

Suspects

They don't identify any specific suspects until near the end. They believe two women and a man are involved in the two gangs, but the details aren't revealed until the end. The reader, like the police, has to wonder whether it is one gang doing two types of crimes or two separate gangs.

RMR Project: McKevett's "Just Desserts"

I haven't gotten behind on my reading, but I have gotten behind on posting them to the blog.

Savannah Reid is a police officer who takes her job seriously. When she gets a job, she cares about doing it right. But when the husband of a local politician is killer, Savannah's dedication to the truth costs her her badge but she still doesn't give up.

Just Desserts was published by Kensington Books and has a 1995 copyright. The author is using a pseudonym, but the real name isn't listed in the book. I couldn't find mention of others, so this must be the first in the Savannah Reid series and the first using this pseudonym.

I like Savannah. She has a great sense of humor, a love of chocolate and other small luxuries, and cares about her friends and family. The book is pretty well done, but the POV break I will mention later really bothered me.

Tense

Past.

POV

Most of the book is told in third person limited omniscient from the perspective of Savannah herself.

However, it switched from pages 281 to 282 to Ryan, I think. I remember really studying the switch. I really think the story could have been told without the break. Enough details could have come from Savannah's perspective. This single irregularity in POV really bothered me when I was reading it.

Deaths

p 17. a homicide by shotgun. Later determined to be Jonathan Winston, wife of a councilwoman.

p. 254. Another homicide. Don't like spoilers, so won't tell you who.

Suspects

• Beverly Winston, the victim's wife. She is the prime suspect
• Police Chief Norman Hillquist, who takes a very personal interest in the case
• Fiona, Jonathan's ex-wife
• Danielle Lamont, another ex-lover
• Eric Bowman, a scumbag
• Paul Connors, another designer

Other

Savannah's dialog has a southern flavor.

The start to the book is made exciting by having Savannah and her partner chasing down a fugitive.

Tension is increased with tips from an anonymous caller--a woman with a NY accent.

Spoiled Rotten

Much to my surprise, there are people out there who love me and are determined to cheer me up.

A few days ago, I got a mysterious package in the mail that turned out to be from one of my friends on the border collie rescue forum. When everyone was discussing Halloween candy and mentioning Reese's peanut butter cups, I bemoaned their absence from the Danish market. A couple people asked for my address, promising to send me some.

So the box that arrived was from a friend in California, who is struggling to train his border collie Jin as a service dog. He is a Vietnam vet and has up until recently worked as a tour guide in the desert. As an extra bonus he threw in some really neat bandannas that are basically wearable survival guides for the desert. Their information is actually useful even when you don't have a desert around. I strongly recommend them as the ideal stocking stuffer for anyone who loves the outdoors, hikes a lot, or goes anywhere near the desert. You can check out the website at http://www.desertbandanna.com

I am sure DH and I will be wearing hours with pride on a few occasions. Or maybe we should put them into our emergency kits for riding that we plan to get around to making one of these days.

Well, DH decided that I needed to be even more spoiled today. Things have been pretty hectic for us lately and I actually haven't been doing well for the past month or so. I've had a lot of problems with pain levelsand they've been bad enough to mess up my sleep. Some nights I end up lying awake and maybe reading for more than half the night before I can sleep. Other nights I fall asleep okay then wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep. The top things off, we had a very unpleasant meeting with a bank yesterday. I had to limit my painkillers all day so I could drive enough to be able to come along. By the time we got home I was pretty much in tears from the pain and frustration.

Today hasn't exactly been a great day either.I have been fighting an unbelievably insane amount with Dragon my voice system. Cross your fingers for me that it'll keep working for a while. I found an optional update for my sound system for Windows and maybe that helps.

The pictures really don't do the bouquet justice. They are ten gorgeous dark red roses. Unfortunately I don't know a way to digitize smells so I can't share of their scent with you. Please forgive the messy background. I had to use the desk instead of the dining room table because otherwise I might accidentally include secret leather projects in the shot.

DH swears he'd ordered the roses before he got my whiny text message saying that I was going back to bed in frustration. I wasn't trying to beg him for pity, just to warn him that I wasn't in a good mood so he was prepared when he got home.On my bad days and sometimes helps that he stops at the horses before he comes in so that he has a chance to disconnect from work stress before he has to deal with me stress.

Today, he came home and parked right in front of the front door. I thought the parking might mean he wanted to run errands today, but he just wanted to get it with flowers without hassle.

So now I have too big of a smile on my face to be in a bad mood. Reese's peanut butter cups help, too.