Book Reviews

 Here are a few books I've been reading lately.

The Cat Wears a Noose by Dolores Hitchens, Adult mystery, 1944.

What it's about: This is #4 in the Rachael Murdock series. 70-year-old Rachel always seems to be around when there's a murder, which she likes to solve, much to the chagrin of Detective Mayhew. This time, her sister witnesses the murder of Addison, an obnoxious drunk with a lot of money. Rachel works as a cook in Addison's family's house and learns various family secrets that lead her to figure out who dun it. 

What did I think? This was a typical cozy mystery with an interesting story. However, I didn't always like Rachel's methods of investigation. At times, she was bossy and uncaring, especially with her sister. This was what I call a filler book. An okay read in between meatier books. There are twelve books in this series, and I've put a hold on the first one. I always like to read the first in a series when the recurring characters are established. 

What did others think? Ward read this book before I did, and he had the same general thoughts. He thought the book was an okay read, but he wasn't sure if he liked the main character. The book had positive reviews, and Amazon readers gave it a B, and Goodreads readers gave it a C.

Service Ready by Molly Irani, Adult non-fiction-Dewey 658.42, 2026.

What it's about: Service Ready is part memoir and part business guide by Molly Irani, who, along with her husband Meherwan, opened the award-winning Chai Pani restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina. The book chronicles Molly and Meherwan's journey from a small restaurant to a business today with 350 employees. 

Initially, Meherwan had a vision of opening a restaurant of Indian street food that he remembered fondly from his childhood.  But his wife was not too sure about the idea since she had watched her parents sacrifice all of their time and money into their restaurant. As they built the business together, Molly began to understand her husband's passion and came to love the work.

Not common in the restaurant business at the time (2009), they focused on hospitality and caring for both the customers and employees.  This philosophy led them to attract loyal staff and patrons, and they credit it as the main reason for their success. Of course, they had to have good food, which they did, and they won a James Beard award for it in 2022.

They survived many ups and downs (both personally and professionally), including the Pandemic and Hurricane Helene. Lessons learned during their trials are bolded in the text as a guide for good business practices and philosophies.

What did I think? I had no idea why I picked this book at the library; maybe because I wanted to learn more about the restaurant world? I have heard about how hard restaurant work is and how difficult it is to be successful, but this book put real experiences with the rumors. I found the behind-the-scenes look interesting, but even though it gave examples, it was more like a summary than a story. However, it is nonfiction, so I guess that's to be expected.  I read it mostly at night before going to sleep, as it was a calm read overall — even with the tensions of restaurant work. I'm neutral on this book. 

What did others think? The book has positive reviews from real reviewers. (Not the praise that authors leave for each other.) Amazon readers give it an A, and Goodreads gives it a B.

The Tattered Cover by Ellery Adams, Adult mystery, 2025.

What it's about: Nora runs a bookstore in a small town in North Carolina, and on Halloween night, a psychic dies in her store. Slowly, but surely, unlikely connections are made to the victim until the murderer is discovered and captured with a big chase scene. When not working on the crime, friends come together over delicious pastries and interesting books to talk about their lives. 

What did I think? This is another cozy mystery that I should have started with the first one. However, I got this in a bookmobile, and they stock only the latest books. Since I wasn't familiar with the recurring characters, I appreciated that there was a list of who's who at the front of the book.

The author did a good job of painting the cozy setting, although I occasionally got tired of the perfect pastries, books, and bookstore. There were no tricks at the end of the book about who the perpetrator was, but in the epilogue, they said the mystery was more about why they did it instead of who did it.

I enjoyed the book and will read more. 

What did others think? The series as a whole has many positive reviews, and this particular book got an A from Amazon readers and a B+ from Goodreads. 

Note: Ward has read the first two in the series, and the first one, The Secret, Book and Scone Society, had a good mystery. In the second book, The Whispered Word, you knew who did it fairly early on, but the tension came from not knowing what the bad guy would do next.

What Stays and What Goes by Faith Roberson, Adult non-fiction (Dewey 648.8), 2026.

What it's about: This is an organizing book, but different from most other ones I've seen. It spends a fair amount of time discussing the self-examination needed to understand why we hang on to what we do. It emphasizes that one size does not fit all and perfection is not the goal. The last section of the book examines the history of homemaking and its politics over the years. The various points in the book are illustrated with personal stories from the author and her clients. 

What did I think? I picked up this book at random, thinking I hadn't read anything about organizing in a long time. 

This is not a quick, bullet-point book that promises that if you just do these tricks, everything will be wonderful. In fact, Roberson rallies against that kind of thinking because it can't be maintained. She emphasizes the thought processes that need to be done before touching your things. As she goes through the beginning of the methods, I thought the book was a little slow. However, the questions she says you should ask yourself are important. They are much like what you might discuss with a therapist. 

I found the book thought-provoking and found the brief history of homemaking very interesting. As an example of how serious Roberson is about the subject, there are four pages of references in the back. That's not typical for an organizing book. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are also practical tips for organizing your things.

Even though What Stays and What Goes was not what I expected, I'm glad I read it. It gave me a lot of food for thought.

What did others think? The book has not been widely reviewed. Amazon readers gave it a B, and Goodreads gave it a C. 

Until next time...