Look Alive Twenty-Five, by Janet Evanovich

Borrowed audio version from my local library. Nothing is ever straightforward when Stephanie Plum and Lula are on the case, and this one is no different. There were lots of different characters and settings and situations to be refreshing, yet enough Morelli and Ranger to be comfortable. I'm not so fond of the between-the-numbers crossover of Wolf—I prefer to think of those books as a separate, alternate timeline I don't have to buy into if I don't want to. The voice artist did a fine job, but her voice didn't match my voices for characters, so I think I'd rather read future books myself to get Ranger's "Babe" just right.

La's Orchestra Saves The World, by Alexander McCall Smith

I started reading this book out loud to my mother, but she asked me to stop because it was too sad. I suppose sadness is a big part of any WWII story. This was a small one—a small book and a small story, the tale of one woman's war in Surrey, where it didn't seem to touch her all that much other than growing vegetables in her lawn and taking care of a neighbor's chickens. From the title of the book you would think the orchestra plays a bigger part than it did, but it all seemed superficial. Not much depth, and not much happiness for La or the reader.

Madame Koska & le Spectre de la Rose, by Ilil Arbel

Received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. Madame Koska & Le Spectre de la Rose had a classic Agatha Christie feel to it—the time period, the amateur sleuth, the details, the red herrings, the length. I liked the characters and the mystery, but I think there were a couple of plot points left unexplained that might have been tightened up with another round of editing. I would read another Madame Koska book with no hesitation.