This was a twisty 1930s murder mystery at a house party at an estate in North Northumberland. Lady Merryweather goes the Craigside to get away from London and properly grieve her husband who was murdered. She was initially arrested for the murder, but has just been released and she’s hoping the peace at the estate and the solace of good friends will help sooth her.
Continue reading “Craigside by M. J. Porter”
This is the 6th book in the series, but is a stand alone mystery. I haven’t read the previous books but I didn’t feel lost. This book was filled with action and tension from the start. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting.
Detective Mackenzie Price and her partner Nick are first on the scene of a dead woman missing her left eye. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the woman had recently given birth and the baby was nowhere to be found. The M.O. is similar to a murder 30 years ago, but that person was captured and died in prison. When another woman washes up on shore missing her left eye, Mackenzie knows there is a serial killer in the area and she needs to stop them before they kill again.
Continue reading “Out of Sight (Detective Mackenzie Price #6) by Ruhi Choudhari”
This is book 3 of A Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery series, and it’s a sweet and cute cozy mystery. This is a stand alone mystery, so you don’t need to have read the first 2 books to enjoy this one. I haven’t read them, and I found enough backstory in the book to understand everyone’s relationships and history.
Continue reading “Cyanide and Sensibility (Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery #3) by Katie Oliver”
4 stars
I really enjoyed this book. Syd is a complex, complicated character with so much going on in her life it’s incredible she can get out of bed in the morning. The author does a fantastic job of integrating Native American history, culture, and issues into the story without it feeling like a history or civic lesson.
Continue reading “Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie”
This is an action-packed mystery/thriller set in the wilds of Alaska. This is book 5 in the series, but it’s a standalone mystery that can be read without reading the other books. There was also enough backstory that I didn’t feel too lost.
The MC, Beth Rivers, is a gory mystery author that moved to Alaska after suffering a brutal kidnapping in Missouri. She’s trying to make a new life, heal, and gain distance from her kidnapper and the upcoming trial. Her long-lost father moved to Alaska to be near her after spending time on the run in Mexico. Their relationship is fragile, but she’s trying to let him back into her life.
Continue reading “Lost Hours (Alaska Wild, #5) by Paige Shelton”
The book came out on Nov. 7 & I highly recommend you pick it up now! It’s available on Kindle Unlimited, paperback & audible.
I made the mistake of picking up this mystery/thriller to start reading at 10pm. Long story short, it’s 3am & I only stopped reading because I fell asleep & the book hit me in the face. I could not put it down! The story is set in a small remote town in the Sierra Mountains of California. It’s told from the POV of Silas, a man who is moving back to the area to run his aunt’s mountain resort with his two young sons, & Meg, a woman who works at the sheriff department & is married to Danny.
Continue reading “The Wild Between Us by Amy Hagstrom”
This is a great historical fiction mystery featuring Emily Dickinson and her maid Willa in 1856 Amhurst. This is book two in the series, but can be read as a stand-alone. I haven’t read the first book, but didn’t feel like I was missing much because of it.
Continue reading “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died (An Emily Dickinson Mystery, #2) by Amanda Flower”
My book club chose this book to read, so of course I read it. I always go into overly hyped books with trepidation because I’ve been let down before. Sadly, this book is another popular book that I didn’t love as much as everyone else. It did provide for lively discussions at our meeting, however, especially since there are several lawyers in our group that all had different opinions about the legal side of the story.
Mother Olivia leaves her abusive husband, taking her son Asher with her. They return to her childhood home town and Olivia takes over her father’s beekeeping business. The business starts doing well and Asher is flourishing in school, until he’s arrested and accused of killing his girlfriend Lily. While Olivia doesn’t believe Asher is guilty, deep down she worries that he’s just like his father.
There are a lot of moving parts in this book. The chapters alternate between several characters, often depicting the same scenario but from different viewpoints. Initially this was helpful to build out the characters and storyline, but after awhile became repetitious and annoying. Things look bad for Asher when he’s first arrested, but as we learn more about the months leading up to the murder, we realize several people had motives for killing Lily.
This book was way too long and really dragged in the middle. A lot of fluff could have been eliminated without destroying the story. The pacing was a bit off, with the story focusing way too much on some things, and way too little on others. The ending, for example, was pretty abrupt.
All in all, this book was just ok for me. I’m not mad at my book club for choosing this book. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but several members liked it so that’s good. If you are a Picoult or Boylan fan, you will probably like this one, so definitely check it out for yourself.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
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