Ink and Shadows (2021) Ellery Adams (Secret, Book, & Scone Society) Book 4 in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series. When Nora and Sheldon set up a new window display on books featuring powerful women (and with a Halloween themes) they hope to draw people into the store. They don’t expect a group of […]
Arsenic and Adobo (2021) Mia P. Manansala (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen) Lila Macapagal has returned hom–not just to escape her cheating ex-fiance but also to help her auntie try to save their family restaurant. Unfortunately, that means she has to deal with her family. I don’t know if you’ve ever been stared down by an elderly […]
The Book of Candlelight (2000) Ellery Adams (Secret, Book, & Scone Society) It feels like it won’t stop raining in Miracle Springs. Although the rain is good for business, Nora’s store is a mess, and she needs more “shelf-enhancers” so she bikes over to the local flea market to search for finds. When she later […]
Ghost Light Killer (2021) Dahlia Donovan (London Podcast Mystery) I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Dahlia Donovan, but especially her mysteries. Unfortunately, the mystery was off in this book for me. The characters and their interactions I still enjoyed very much. Dannel had a habit of never leaving or having Osian go without saying “I […]
A Fiancée’s Guide to First Wives and Murder (2021) Dianne Freeman (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery) Set in England in 1899 Frances is looking quite forward to marrying George Hazleton. She successfully launched her sister, and things were looking up–until a young Frenchwoman is brought to Frances’ house, claiming to be George’s wife. She’s also […]
The Devil in Music (1997) Kate Ross (Julian Kestrel) Set in Italy in 1821 & 1825 I put it off for awhile, but finally read the last Julian Kestrel mystery. I don’t know for certain, but I feel like she knew this would be her final book, and so made sure to give us Julian’s […]
Pierced Peony (2021) Dahlia Donovan (Motts Cold Case Mystery Series) When an inspector from London comes to visit Motts about a cold case from her childhood, the two unexpectedly discover another body–opening another cold case. “You’ll never guess what I’ve learned.” “Marnie.” Motts was amused at how everyone around her, aside from the policemen in […]
Poisoned Primrose Dahlia Donovan (2020) Poisoned Primrose (Motts Cold Case Mystery) Motts is a 39 year-old asexual, biromantic autistic who is living on her own for the first time in a house left to her by her aunt. Unfortunately, when digging up the untended garden, remains are discovered, which causes no end of problems for […]
Scandal at the Salty Dog (2021) Josh Lanyon (Secrets and Scrabble) Ellery Page seems to have gotten his man. He and Police Chief Jack Carson may be seeing each other, but Jack isn’t pleased when Ellery gets involved in another mystery–especially since he’s just recovered from the events of the previous one. Ellery was able […]
Interlude: Snow & Winter Collection Volume One (2021) C.S. Poe (Snow & Winter) This is what it says on the tin: A collection of Snow and Winter short stories. Dopamine: Take Only as Directed Lunch Date Credit Scores and Cohabitation The Ghost of Durango Interpersonal Relationship Studies on the Way to the Coffee House Someone’s […]
The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) T.J. Klune Linus works for DICOMA–the department that looks after the welfare of magical children. “It’s just that…” She stood from her desk, arms still folded. “Don’t you wonder?” “Never,” Linus said promptly. Then, “About what?” “What happens to a place like this after you file your final […]
The Whispered Word (2018) Ellery Adams (Secret, Book, & Scone Society) Nora Pennington came to Miracle Springs, NC and opened a bookstore. In Miracle Books she often tries to help people by recommending them just the right books to help them with their problems. With the friends she made in the last book, they are […]
Cosplay Killer (2020) Dahlia Donovan (London Podcast Mystery) Osian Garey used to be a paramedic but now has a podcast. His partner and best friend from childhood, Dannel Ortea, is a fireman. Unfortunately, Dannel is being forced to accept that he probably cannot go on being a firefighter. It wasn’t the work itself. Or not […]
Grasmere Cottage Mystery (2018) Dahlia Donovan This is actually three novellas, but since I read it as one book, I’m going to review it as such also. Dead in the Garden Dead in the Pond Dead in the Shop Valor Scott and Bishan Tamboli have been best friends since their days at Harrow, and have […]
Mystery at the Masquerade (2021) Josh Lanyon (Secrets and Scrabble) The third book in the Secrets and Scrabble series finds Ellery back to “just friends” with Jack Carter, the sheriff. Luckily he has plenty to keep him busy. Like his book store. Ellery set about opening the shop for the day. Or, in other words, […]
At Bertram’s Hotel (1965) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) I’m not sure what it is that makes this story feel so weak compared to the others, but it is. Miss Marple gets a vacation to Bertram’s Hotel, but something just isn’t quite right there. “But how can that pay you?” “It’s a question of atmosphere… Strangers […]
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder (2020) Dianne Freeman (Countess of Harleigh Mystery) Set in England in 1899. Frances, Countess of Harleigh, was thinking she might be able to relax a bit, however her sister and her fiancee insist their wedding be moved up, so Frances is suddenly off to the country, to turn […]
Why Shoot a Butler? (1933) Georgette Heyer This story was all over the place. Barrister Frank Amberley gets lost taking a shortcut to visit his aunt and uncle, and comes upon a car alongside the road, and a young woman beside it. A closer look find a man dead in the drivers seat, and the […]
A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder (2019) Dianne Freeman (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery) Set in London in 1899. I have officially decided this series is delightful. I leaned toward her as we walked out. “Very well done, dear. But a ranch in Brooklyn? What were you thinking?” She released a merry laugh. “That […]
The Unfinished Clue (1934) Georgette Heyer Sir Arthur Billingham-Smith and his wife Fay are throwing a house party. Except that the general didn’t want to have the party, doesn’t want to see his son and the woman he wants to marry, and is pretty much a complete bastard. He dislikes his son almost as much […]
A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder (2018) Dianne Freeman (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery) Set in England in 1899 Frances Wynn, Countess of Harleigh, is finally done with her mourning and is more than ready to move on with her life. When her husband died a year ago, he managed to be an even […]
Execution in E (2020) Alexia Gordon (Gethsemane Brown) Gethsemane Brown is frustrated that her landlord has rented the lighthouse for a wedding–though not as annoyed as Eamon, the ghost whose house she rents. The bride is an Instagram Influencer–and an all-around horrible person. “Ms. Markham’s parents’ money buys a great deal of tolerance of Ms. […]
Fatality in F (2019) Alexia Gordon (Gethsemane Brown) It’s summer break, and Gethsemane has taken a gig playing and conducting for a local flower and garden show–a show where her friend and co-worker has a chance of taking a prize. He’d hybridized the rose himself and christened it the ‘Sandra Sechrest’ in honor of the […]
The Best Corpse for the Job (2014) Charlie Cochrane (Lindenshaw Mysteries) Adam Matthews is on the committee to help select the new headteacher for the school, and nothing is as easy as it should be. First one of the candidates called in sick, and then another candidate is found dead in the children’s kitchen. (Luckily […]
Killing in C Sharp (2018) Alexia Gordon (Gethsemane Brown) Gethsemane Brown is mostly settled in to Dunmullach and teaching teenage boys, as well as the occasional foray into solving crime. Kent reached out and laid a hand on her arm. “Don’t be nervous.” Gethsemane patted Kent’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not.” She’d performed live all […]
A Caribbean Mystery (1964) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This was my first Miss Marple, and remains on of my favorites. This is Miss Marple at her fluffiest and most dithering, yet still able to cause action to be taken. And still a product of her time. “Sex” as a word had not been mentioned in […]
The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1962) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The famous movie star Marina Gregg as moved to St Mary Mead and she and her husband completely renovated Gossington Hall, and have invited the public to visit to support St John’s Ambulance Association. We also get Mrs Bantry, who is just as […]
Death in D Minor (2017) Alexia Gordon (Gethsemane Brown Mysteries) This book is set three months after the first, Murder in G Major. Gethsemane Brown has decided to stay in Carraigfaire to keep teaching music, but now the home where she has been staying may be sold to a hotel magnate–a man who turns historical […]
The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) TJ Klune I’ve read several TJ Klune books, and I am not always sure how I feel about them when I am done. That was not a problem here. Linus works for the agency in charge of monitoring the welfare of magical children. He is a caseworker who […]
4.50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This may well be my favorite Miss Marple story. Elspeth McGillicuddy is coming home from London when her train briefly runs alongside another train, and she witnesses a man strangling a women to death. The other train sped on, and Mrs McGillicuddy told all the proper people, […]
A Pocket Full of Rye (1953) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) It was a normal day at work, when they took Rex Fortescue. Then he keeled over, and nothing made sense any more. Who could have poisoned Rex–and filled his coat pocket with grain? His much younger (and beautiful) wife, who has been carrying on with […]
They Do It With Mirrors (1952) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) When asked by an old school friend, Miss Marple visits Stoneygates to check that everything is fine with her friend Carrie Louise. “Me?” exclaimed Miss Marple. “Why me?” “Because you’ve got a nose for that sort of thing. You always had. You’ve always been a […]
A Murder Is Announced (1950) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) In Chipping Cleghorn, the local paper sports an unexpected advertisement: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m.’ One of the bits I found particularly amusing was where people slowly show up for the announced murder–but […]
The Moving Finger (1943) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) Jerry and his sister Joanna have taken a house in Lymstock while Jerry recovers from a plane crash. This book is set at a time just as British society was changing. When we had settled in and been at Little Furze a week Miss Emily Barton came […]
Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) These stories were published between 1927 and 1957. “(S)o many people seem to me not to be either bad or good, but simply, you know, very silly.” The Thirteen Problems (previously published as The Tuesday Club Murders) (1932) The Tuesday Night Club (1927) The […]
The Body in the Library (1942) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This was published in 1942, but does not really seem to actually be set during the war, although there are allusions to war. He did A.R.P. work, you know, when he was only eighteen. I suppose that makes the story feel even more timeless, although […]
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) I was listening to Read or Dead and they were talking about Agatha Christie’s first book, which had been published in 1920–100 years earlier, and one of them mentioned her being a comfort read, and I was immediately, “YES. I need to re-read Miss Marple. […]
Too Big to Miss (2006) Sue Ann Jaffarian (An Odelia Grey Mystery) Odelia Grey. is middle-aged, plus-sized, and single. She’s also a professional woman who is good at her job, and more importantly has good friends. We were almost identical in size. Both of us are about five foot one or so. Both tip the […]
Apple Cider Slaying (2019) Julie Anne Lindsey (A Cider Shop Mystery) Winona Mae Montgomery was raised by her Granny and Grampy Smythe. Right now she is doing everything she can to help her grandmother save their business: Smythe Orchard, and she has just the plan to do it. But murder sabotages her attempts to apply […]
The Secret, Book, & Scone Society (2017) Ellery Adams (Secret, Book, & Scone Society) Nora Pennington runs Miracle Books at Miracle Springs. She–like many others–came to Miracle Springs in hopes of healing from her past, but it isn’t until a businessman is killed that Nora reaches out to some of the other women in town, […]
Murder in G Major (2016) Alexia Gordon (Gethsemane Brown Mysteries) Gethsemane Brown is stuck in Ireland. The assistant conductor job she was promised fell through, her luggage was stolen, and she’s out of money. If she doesn’t want to return to her family with her tail between her legs, she has get a job until […]
Secret at Skull House (2020) Josh Lanyon (Secrets and Scrabble) This second mystery finds Ellery still working to keep his inherited book store open, but at least the local theater group is putting on a production of one of his screen plays. Then the news breaks: someone has purchased Skull House! That someone is moving […]
Dead in the Pond (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage Mystery) The first book ended with Valor and Bishan learning their beloved housemaster from Harrow–and a note that book two was going to end on a cliffhanger. So I bought book two AND book three, because I wasn’t going to be messing around when cliff hangers […]
Dead in the Garden (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage Mystery) This is a cozy mystery, set in England, and is both adorable and has an amazingly diverse cast of characters. Valor and Bishan are shocked and distressed to discover a dead body in their yard. But it becomes even more distressing when Bishan is arrested […]
Murder at Pirate’s Cove (2020) Josh Lanyon (Secrets and Scrabble) HOORAY! A cozy mystery! Ellery Page was surprised to inherit a bookstore and home from a great-aunt he didn’t even know he had, but he wanted to make a new start for himself, so he’s trying to make it work. Unfortunately, work is what it’s […]
Murder by the Seaside (2013) Julie Anne Lindsey (Patience Price Mysteries Series) Patience Price liked her job working HR for the FBI, but when she’s let go, she decides to move back home to Chincoteague Island to put her counseling degree to work. But the day she moves back, her ex-boyfriend is accused of murder […]
The Holy Thief (1992) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1144. The 19th Brother Cadfael book. Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, is dead. The war rages on, but the Abbot of Ramsey was able to return and assess to damage to his abbey. He then sent out members to call for the return of […]
The Summer of the Danes (1991) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1144. Cadfael and Brother Mark travel to Wales, to meet with (and support) two new bishops. But they end up caught up in an unexpected fight: Prince Owain Gwynedd and his brother Cadwaladr. “Brothers have been the ruin of Welsh princedoms through all […]
A Geek Girl’s Guide to Justice (2016) Julie Anne Lindsey The third book in the Geek Girl Mysteries finds Mia trying to handle being CIO for her grandmother’s company, co-owner of her favorite game, head of IT for Horseshoe Falls, and organizer of her sister’s baby shower. Then two problems hit: a friend of her […]
A Geek Girl’s Guide to Arsenic (2016) Julie Anne Lindsey Three months ago, Mia Connors was suspected or murder (and internet malfeasance) and proving her innocence led to unfortunate consequences and an interest in the agent who was investigating her. Now one of her fellow Rennies has died at her feet, and it’s laid suspicion […]