Holmes, Marple, and Poe

This engaging read by James Patterson and Brian Sitts clearly draws some of the characters' idiosyncrasies from their namesakes. Brandon Holmes has a bit of a drug problem, Margaret Marple is British, and Auguste Poe has a haunted relationship with women and alcohol. Still the characters are distinct and fully developed in their own right and will be remembered as such. There are multiple mysteries here to be solved, some of them inter-related and some just puzzlingly unnecessary.  I tend to agree with Booklist's complaint that the book's "... biggest problem is the mysteries: there are too many of them. The investigators are juggling a bunch of cases, from a missing person to stolen art to a cold-case murder. The result? It's difficult for them and, unfortunately, the reader to focus on any individual case."

Three PI's renovate a warehouse in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn and with the help of "friends in high and low places" (Publishers Weekly), quickly solve the case of a missing high-profile attorney. This garners a lot of press and a certain amount of enmity among the police who have failed where "Holmes, Marple & Poe. Private Investigations" so quickly succeeded. Only one detective, Helene Grey, seems to appreciate their innovative and unorthodox methods of crime solving, and she becomes both an ally and a political target. 

Publishers Weekly calls this a "breezy thriller" with "short chapters and brisk prose [that] make for diverting-enough entertainment. This satisfies." I listened to the audio version and enjoyed 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

A cozy historical novel set in the seaside town of Hazelbourne, England during the summer immediately after WWI. Throughout the war years, Constance Haverhill was seen as competent enough to keep the large estate of her dead mother's friends running in good order. And Poppy Wirrall, daughter of a retired actress, along with the other women who drove the ambulances on the battlefields and carried messages on their motorcycles are all finding themselves shoved to the back of the line. Now the government is creating new laws to prohibit the hiring of women instead of men for any job openings. But these smart, resourceful women are not so easily reduced to the limited traditionally gender-appropriate roles. Poppy has responded by starting her own business with like-minded women motorcycle drivers to provide private transportation to Hazelbourne's women in snazzily decorated sidecars. Constance is about to be turned out on her ear after years of serving the family who are upper class and expect her to go to a respectable placement as a governess--a fate worse than death in Constance's eyes. She has achieved her certificate in bookkeeping through a correspondence course and wants to find a more challenging job. There is a slow-burning affection growing between Poppy's returned fighter pilot brother Harris, who lost a leg in the war, and Constance that is complicated by class expectations. The nation and the world are in transition and this is an inspiring story of women who want to grab the brass ring and be a part of that change.

Publishers Weekly comments that "Simonson ...delivers a thoughtful and witty tale of British men and women adjusting to a new normal after WWI....While Constance's bumpy romantic adventures with Harris form the spine of the book, Simonson neatly interweaves multiple plotlines involving the chauvinistic and condescending local gentry, the travails of a German waiter scorned because of his nationality, and the bad behavior of visiting Americans. Readers are in for a treat."

Booklist offers this encouragement: "Simonson...brilliantly captures the pains of a generation of young people at a crossroads in an England ravaged by war and a flu epidemic, especially of the women who kept the home front going only to be tossed aside when the men came home. Constance is a quietly lovable heroine, a woman who longs for independence but is stifled by society's expectations. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is, by turns, heartwarming and heartbreaking, and readers will be entranced."

Another happy ending book I read and enjoyed was Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.