Paradise Café Book 1
Maureen Jennings
Cormorant Books Inc.
ISBN 9781770865426
eISBN 9781770865433
ASIN B07QFYGW7S
My first thought even before beginning the novel, was not there are 4 series by Maureen Jennings I need to read and follow. The second what that there was going to be something different about this series, the other three series are all named after the main character, Detective Murdoch Series, Detective Inspector Tom Tyler Series, Christine Morris Series. And yet this series is named after a location, the paradise café. And boy was I right! It was a highly addictive read, like most of Jennings other works! I devoured the book in two sittings on consecutive days. But on the first I must admit I stayed up much latter than I should have considering I get up at 5am for work. I lost track of how many times I thought ‘just one more chapter’. I just had to keep reading.
The story is told in the first person from the perspective of Charlotte Frayne, she is a junior associate at a private investigation firm. The firm is owned by one Thaddeus Gilmore. But very early on her boos believes he will be charged with his wife’s attack and murder if she does not recover. And she has a new client one of four men who own the Paradise Café. And the two cases seem to be over lapping. Charlotte must balance two investigations, her aging grandfather, undercover work at the café, all during a terrible heat eave that is engulfing Toronto. An interesting cross over is that one of the police detectives working the case is Jack Murdoch, whom we met after he returned from the Great War in the novel Let Darkness Bury the Dead. And this novel is set in 1936 just two years before a second world war, but there are hits of it’s approach in the novel.
The story moves along at a quick pace. The characters are wonderful. Especially the brilliant and passionate Charlotte Frayne, and intriguing Detective Jack Murdoch, Hilliard Taylor, and to be honest the who crew at the Paradise café. The historical fiction elements including the anti-semitism, nazi, communist, and blue shirts is an interesting mix. A side element that really captured my attention was the paining, and the story behind it being reworked again and again.
I have now read six books by Jennings in as many weeks. Fortunately, there are many more to go. This is a wonderful mystery novel and I hope it is a series with many books yet to come. I look forward to what the group of friends both old and new at the Paradise Café will get into and hopefully out of next. An excellent read! Here is to another in the series soon!
Books by Maureen Jennings:
Detective Murdoch Series:
0.5 Shipwreck
1.0 Except the Dying
2.0 Under the Dragon's Tail
3.0 Poor Tom Is Cold
4.0 Let Loose the Dogs
5.0 Night's Child
6.0 Vices of My Blood
7.0 A Journeyman to Grief
8.0 Let Darkness Bury the Dead
...
Detective Inspector Tom Tyler Series:
1.0 Season of Darkness
2.0 Beware This Boy
3.0 No Known Grave
4.0 Dead Ground in Between
...
Christine Morris Series:
1.0 Does Your Mother Know?
2.0 The K Handshape
...
Paradise Café Series:
1.0 Heat Wave
2.0 November Rain
3.0 Cold Snap
4.0 March Roars
...
Other books:
The Map of Your Mind: Journeys into Creative Expression
Investigating Murdoch Mysteries: The Official Companion to the Series – with Michelle Ricci and Mir Bahmanyar
...
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