Guest Post: Jeanne and Treadmill Books: No Charm Intended by Mollie Cox Bryan

Earlier this month Jeanne reviewed Behind Chocolate Bars by Kathy Aarons. Very nice to have her back on the blog today for this final Wednesday of April.

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Treadmill Books: No Charm Intended by Mollie Cox Bryan

Cora and Jane are hosting another crafter’s weekend, expecting guests from all over to come and participate in a variety of crafts using natural materials.  A problem arises when Gracie, a local babysitter, fails to show up to take care of Jane’s daughter.  Then a strange text (“I kidnapped her”) pops up on several phones.  Gracie’s boyfriend, Paul, comes to see if Gracie is with Jane and tells the two women about a Wizard of Oz online game they have all been playing but which has generated some very odd messages.  As the police turn out to search for the missing Gracie, Cora and Jane go ahead with their programs, all the while wondering if Gracie has run away or if something more sinister has occurred.

I think this is a case of my picking up exactly the wrong book to start a series.  I’ve done it before.  Of all the Nero Wolfe books, the first one I picked up had Wolfe setting out for Montenego so of course I thought all that talk about him never leaving his house was pfui.  In this book, the second in the Cora Crafts Mysteries, things got off to a promising start but then sort of bogged down for me.  There was a good bit of backstory for our two heroines, and we were treated to lots of descriptions of what the various crafters were doing but it seemed little was done to follow any leads. After a couple of hundred pages, I was ready to throw in the towel.  I skimmed the last hundred plus which did lead to an exciting conclusion but for me it was a bit late.

I was still puzzling over why so much time was devoted to the crafters when I thought to check the author’s other series, Cumberland Creek Mysteries.  Sure enough, a few of the names seemed to match up so I suspect regular readers were delighted to catch up with old friends while I was simply baffled.

Another problem might have been that I know of the Wizard of Oz park which plays a role in the book.  I haven’t been myself but a friend has been several times to the fall events and loved it.  I was expecting the park to figure more throughout the book and was disappointed when it didn’t.

Jane and Cora were well developed as characters, women who have been tested by life.  They are damaged but strong-willed, brave, and intelligent. They respected law enforcement and trusted the police to follow through in their investigations, something fictional sleuths rarely do but which made for a nice change. The crafts were interesting and inventive, with bits of information on using natural materials (how to prepare native clay, for example) which normally I would have enjoyed so I am a bit perplexed as to why this book didn’t wow me.

It’s entirely possible I just started with the wrong book.  Of course, the fact that it was pouring rain outside, meaning I had 12,000 steps to walk on the treadmill, may also have been a factor.  But for whatever reason, this book just didn’t hold my attention.