Bookish potluck...

The Entree:

"Swapping propriety for adventure, Herringford and Watts are more preoccupied in their current investigations than in securing husbands, a fact that may make you working ladies, bachelor girls, and shoppies stand up and salute."

Jemima Watts plays Watson to Merinda Herringford's Holmes in this nominal mystery set in Toronto in 1910. These two unconventional "bachelor girls" have set up their own detective agency and are determined to solve the murder of two working class Irish girls because the police aren't... or won't. I liked Jem immediately, but Merinda was a bit too self-absorbed and too caught up in her own schemes for me to like her very much. And she's the one who gets Jemima into a myriad of scrapes and embarrassing situations. My favorite character is Italian-born Ray DeLuca, a reporter who is also investigating the murders. The relationship that develops between him and Jem is the best part of The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder, along with the many humorous interactions between the characters. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter are clever and fun, which is good, because the mystery is just so-so. I'm really glad I only borrowed this Rachel McMillan mystery from the library and that I didn't buy it, because it ended up being just an okay read.

The Dessert:

"As a young girl, I had no concept of being attractive. When I looked in the mirror, I saw only a girl who had a few friends, a strict grandfather...a mother who seemed sad most of the time, and a father I had never known. It wasn't until I was thirteen that I began to notice that I looked a little different compared to other girls my age."

I pulled this book off my TBR shelf. In short, Tanaya Shah is young, beautiful, and Muslim. On the promise of an arranged marriage, she leaves Mumbai for Paris, but instead of marrying, she ends up alone in Paris where she becomes a model in order to help pay the rent. Her beautiful face quickly carries her to the top, but her unexpected career also carries her far from her family, home, and values. It's glamorous and fun, but is it her?  In Salaam, Paris, like in any good fairy tale, Tanaya must find her own happy ending.  Reading this book is a lot like eating meringue:  it's light and it tastes good, but it's not exactly filling. But if you like sugar...this book will satisfy your sweet tooth. I thought it was worth the 25 cents I paid for it at that library sale last year, and Kavita Daswani is an author I'd try again...but this is not a book I'll be hanging on to.  Once is enough. 

Moral of the story? Eat dessert first.

Happy Reading!