After listening to an old favorite THE FAMILY VAULT, #1 in this series, and loving it, I was aware that #3 is also available in audio. I had to reread #2 THE WITHDRAWING ROOM to get to it. Am I glad I did!Sarah Kelling, new widow, turns her old family mansion into a boarding house. The boarders are recommended by friends and family, but despite that, she gets a couple of nasty surprises including two murders.Sarah is a darling, totally believable, and her vast family with its support and its feuds is amusing. MacLeod had a knack for unexpected solutions. Highly recommended to those who like cozies.Favorite Mystery Read of 2012. (I'm not including delightful audio books of this series among my choices. Audio books have a category of their own.)
I am so looking forward to what happens between Sarah and Max, if anything, that I am racing through the first two books in the series, of which this is the second. Ms. MacLeod has a way of making her mysteries fun as well as interesting. Although it's not important to me that the mystery be one I can't solve, I have to admit I didn't see this one coming. To me, characters and dialogue are more important, and this book has both in plenty. I also admit to a fondness for reading a book that has a few words I have to look up because one doesn't see them used much. That's as much of a challenge as I need.
What do You think about The Withdrawing Room (2002)?
I read this as a brain-cleanser. It's a nice, quick read that is not too taxing. This is an early book in the series and the characters are still being developed and so are still a little rough. Sarah, the main character, is often contradictory in nature and there are episodes in which she acts in a manner that would seem too adult and mature for someone who was brought up in the way she was. And there are times I want to shake her because of her reactions or actions. However, the novel is still a fun novel to read with some interesting banter and events.
—Catherine
