Murder in the Lincoln White House

Murder in the Lincoln White House by C. M. Gleason   304 pages

I’m a historical fiction buff, especially for the Civil War era and doubly for anything about the Lincolns. It was with bated breath that I opened the cover of this first book in the Adam Quinn series. 

The time is March 4, 1861, Lincoln’s first inauguration. The day has gone rather smoothly…a bomb threat at Lincoln’s podium was thwarted, but otherwise it’s been a peaceful day. Now it’s almost 11 p.m. and the Lincoln’s have…finally…made an appearance at the Inaugural Ball.

While Abe and his beloved Mary promenade around the room, a body is discovered in one of the side rooms. There isn’t much blood, but Custer Billings is dead, apparently stabbed. When Abe learns of what has happened he asks his closest friend, Joshua Speed’s, nephew, Adam, to handle the case.  

Adam has no background in detective work. In fact he has just returned from the Kansas Territory. He accepts the challenge and the search for the killer begins.

Author Colleen Gleason, writer of more than twenty books, does an excellent job in steeping the reader in the 1860s culture, politics and ambiance of Washington, D.C. The Ball is held in a thrown together building, erected especially for the occasion. Planks cover the mud outside. The half-finished Capitol Building looms in the background. I felt as if I was at the ball with the description of the dresses, the dances, the men’s fashions. But often Gleason went on too long. She used the same description of the dresses several times, and repeated many images. 

Given the tenseness of the times, there is no tension in Murder in the Lincoln White House. Most of the time we see Adam scurrying from place to place, trying to enlist the help of anyone he can to solve the murder, picking up a small clue here and there and berating the ones he does have to death. As the novel takes place over three-four days, that makes the plot seem to move even slower.

I want to give this disappointing novel 2 stars, but the author's research coerced me into giving it 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Gone on Sunday

Gone On Sunday by Tower Lowe   294  pages

Everyone has some kind of secret. When you live in a small town, secrets are even harder to keep. Secrets, a cold murder case and a new murder are the essences behind Tower Lowe’s first book in the Cotton Lee Penn Historical Mystery series.

Set in Virginia in the years 1932 and 1972, Lowe provides readers with a taste of Southern Gothic—both from the Old South and the New South. It is sad that those tastes hadn’t changed in those forty years.

The book opens with lawyer Max Mayfield hiring the novel’s protagonist, Cotton Lee Penn, to help him investigate the beating death of Little Mary in 1972. The case is quite disturbing in that it bears many, many similarities to the unsolved 1932 beating death of Bead Baker (I found it both odd an interesting that each time Bead is mentioned, it’s always with her full name: Bead Baker.). Even more fascinating is that Little Mary is Bead Baker’s granddaughter.

Many in the town wonder why Max turned to Cotton Lee. After all, she is a cripple thanks to polio and walks with a limp. But as far as Max is concerned, Cotton Lee is the “smartest white person Sussex County.” (That was uttered in 1972!)

The novel jumps back and forth between 1932 and 1972, as Cotton Lee is certain that the two murders are connected. The hard part about this novel is that the possible suspects all have ties to Bead Baker’s murder. Keeping the character straight was often difficult at times. It would have been nice to have a character list in the front or back. Still, that doesn’t hinder the fast pace of the novel, or this reader’s inability to put it down.

But, quickly, here are the suspects: Did Sharp Dorn, the local, philandering and abusing minister kill Bead Baker for putting ideas in his wife Verdie’s head? Did Dorn’s son, Ron, kill Little Mary? Or was it the hired help Zed Omen in 1932 and his grandson, Doug, in 1972? I’m not sure how Lowe kept them all straight.

Another thing that bothered me, is the way that flashbacks are told in italics. It’s jarring and as I first began to read, it took me out to of the story. However, once I got into the book’s rhythm, well, it was fascinating.  

When Cotton Lee discovers some of the town’s (current and past) secrets, readers are led to the shocking conclusion.

Although I have the two problem areas, Gone on Sunday, receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. I highly recommend it.

Mind Over Bullies: A MOB Forms

Mind Over Bullies: A MOB Forms by D. K. Smith  336 pages

 I won this YA novel in a contest on Shelf Awareness (I just love that newsletter).  I’ve picked it up several times to start reading and put it down several times. I could never get past page 40.  Yet, there was something compelling about the story line that kept pulling me back. After reviewing some of the remarks on Goodreads and Amazon, I was determined to give read this book.

I didn’t buy the opening car chase scene that involved two teenagers as part of a larger counterfeiting ring where the police not only pursue them in a high-speed chase, but actually send a helicopter. Maybe it’s because I’m not a tween or teen, but to me it didn’t seem plausible.

There are several things I like about this novel:

• ·        Strong female protagonist and antagonists.
• ·        The main plot is bullying and the willingness to combat it.
• ·        The diversity of the characters.
• ·        It has GREAT bones.

The things I didn’t like are:

• ·        Too many plot lines. The one about Ellis in London should be deleted; it’s irrelevant and confuses the reader. I had to keep going back to figure out what that was going on with those characters. The plot line about the anti-aging drug/terrorism that comes up in the last third is confusing. The counterfeit ring and the bullying are enough. 
• ·        Too many characters that are not truly defined. Yes, Margo and Kat are distinguishable, but the rest all blur together. I can’t remember reading any physical descriptions about the characters that would set them apart. 
• ·        The cover is unappealing. 
• ·        I saw MOB and thought Mafia.

As I stated earlier, this book has GREAT bones. I think another re-write is in order if there is a second printing. The ending gives the allusion that this is the first book in a series. I believe that Smith’s writing will get better as he or she continues to write.

I give Mind Over Bullies: A MOB Forms 2 out of 5 stars.