Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Oh noes! Eve's best friend Mavis has been found standing over a dead body. The body just happens to be that of the woman who threatened Mavis' current luvr. The woman was supposed to model Leonardo's clothes but she threw a tantrum when he started dating Mavis.

Eve has to not only work on clearing Mavis and Leonardo but also getting prepped for her marriage to the gorgeous and mysterious Roarke.
Peabody gets her first love interest in Illegals cop, Castro.
Fun read.

Four stars

In Death #3

Follows Glory in Death

Followed by Rapture in Death

This book comes out September 8, 2026

Ebook ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie

It seems obvious that Mrs. McGinty was killed by her lodger, the obnoxious James Bentley. So why is Superintendent Spencer coming to a retired Hercule Poirot and asking him to look into the case? 

Because it's complicated. Boy. Is it ever complicated including people showing up from at least two different murders that happened decades ago. 

There is a bright point in Ariadne Oliver showing up. She is very much the parody of an eccentric writer but is grounding in interesting ways. 

Three stars

Hercule Poirot #28

Follows Taken at the Flood

Followed by After the Funeral

This book came out in 1952

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Garfield Brings Home the Bacon by Jim Davis

This book starts out with a series of Christmas strips. Once again, Garfield is trying to find a way to work around the "being good" theory. There are also a number of strips relating to winter that follow soon after. We also have Garfield's mouse friends as swell as strips with Arlene. We see a lot of jokes around the "Beware of Dog" sign and more strips that make us wonder why Liz is (still) with Jon. There is a recurring character, the waiter Armando, who shows up again. 

Four stars

Follows Garfield Lard of the Jungle

Followed by Garfield Gets in a Pickle

This book came out January 31, 2012

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Learning and Development Essentials by Albert Singh, Vibrant Publishers

A nice, basic book that is a decent introduction to Learning and Development. It covers things like basic theories of not only learning and development but of learning. It covers some of the tools that you might need if you are developing an L&D program and even touches on data gathering and reporting. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 18, 2026

ARC kindly provided by BooksGoSocial and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn

Kuehn didn't know the story of her family until a filmmaker sent her a lettter. At first, she ignores it, thinking that it must be a mistake, he must have meant some other Kuehn's. But as she digs into her family's past, she discovers that her family was more invovled with WWII than she ever knew. 

It's an interesting story that certainly has missing pieces bcause Kuehn's aunt burned much of the family's memorabilia and most of the people involved are dead. 

Kuehn did a LOT of research to put her files together. And most of the work was done pre-internet so she had to figure out whereto go to even look to find information. 

Four stars

This book came out November 25, 2025

Hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Cloak and Dagger Club by Jackie McMahon

Lucy Hubbard has been invited to the exclusive Cloak and Dagger club for a meeting. The founder and president, Horace Hazelmoor, himself invited her. She's not sure why. Yes, she had a book published and, yes, it was well reviewed, but why her? Somehting happened at a party that she's still embarrassed about but we don't know what it is at the beginning. Instead, we're treated to a third person look at Horace's mind and the fact that he is planning to use Lucy for nefarious purposes. 

But before Horace's grand plan is realized, he is killed. And all of the authors at the club come under suspicion. Especially Frank, with whom Lucy has a past. So she decides to make like Pandora Grey (her fictional detective) and solve a murder.

There's a lot going on in this book with the main focus being on Lucy and Frank but our third person omniscient view swings around to other characters as well. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Country Christie Country Tales from the Queen of Mystery by Agatha Christie

The book opens with an introduction of a snippet written by Christie, talking about her life as a young child in Torquay. In this book are gathered many stories that are set in that same contryside. The stories are wide-ranging pulling from some of Christie's most well-known characters like Hercule Poirot (the Plymouth Express, The Unbreakable Alibi, The Cornish Mystery, The Case of the Missing Will, Double Sin, The Flock of Geryon, The Adventure of the Dartmoor Bungalow) and Miss Marple (Ingots of Gold, The Bloodstained Pavement). Tommy and Tuppence are becoming more well-known with the new television series and one of the stories from Partners in Crime (The Unbreakable Alibi) is included. Parker Pyne gets a story as wella(The Regatta Mystery) as an inclusion from one of her weird horror/psychological short stories (The Hound of Death, The Edge.) 

Yes, all of these stories have some connection to the country, but for some of the stories the mention is incredibly brief and somewhat tenuous. For the most part, I wasn't sure there was enough of a connection to make a coherent whole even though the stories themselves were all excellent choices. I also couldn't decide if I enjoyed the different narrators or that only highlighted how disparate these stories were. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Book Club Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday

Blaire Kellermoon is still trying to find her footing after her divorce. Both of her children are now out of the house and she's moved back into the home she and her husband had kept even though they had moved into a much larger mansion. She used to be a rom-com actress but lately has been working as a producer. There is one book that she particularly wants to get done, The Green Light, but she's having problems. In the meantime, she's trying to get the rights to a book written by Jack Branksome.

Jack wrote the book when he was much younger. Since then, he's been teaching but he's trying to write another book. He's not much impressed by Blaire and denies her request. Too bad everyone assumed he'd do it and the news had already leaked. 

Now he's feeling bad. And shocked that she responds by inviting him to write in her pool house. Even more shocked that he accepts.

The two slowly start to get to know each other an themselves. The book has some weird bits that don't always get explained, but it made me smile a number of times.

Four stars

This book comes out July 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley

Four stars

Dearly Beloathed #2

This book came out on July 7, 2026

Follows The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinons are my own

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Hotter by Laura Clery

Clery is a well-known internet personality whose most memorable character is probably Pamela Pumpkin. I didn't know much about her but I've been on a biography kick lately and picked this book up. 

I was not expecting to find out about her marriage imploded as her husband spiraled further and further into some sort of madness. We get a deep look into the answer of "why did she stay?", at least her version of it. And it makes sense in that it was very much a case of a frog being boiled. Did she make bad decisions even after her divorce? Yes, she did. She's very up front about that. 

This is more a selection of essays than a coherent book which threw me off but I did, ovrall, enjoy her stories and a glimpse into the life of someone who is trying to do the best she can by her children and then for herself.

Four stars

This book comes out July 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley

Opnions are my own

Garfield Belly Laughs by Jim Davis

Garfield is back with his usual jokes about naps and eating. He also has a series of strips about horror monster theater where various classics film tropes get an update. There is a large section devoted to Christmas strips, including holiday apparel (e.g. Jon and Odie dressing as candy canes.)

Four stars

Garfield #68

Follows Garfield Slurps and Burps

Followed by Garfield Easy as Pie

This book came out December 10, 2019

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie, narrator Hugh Fraser

Gordon Cloade did his family no favors. Yes, he showered them with money, but he made them entirely dependent on him. So, when he died in an air raid only weeks after marrying a new wife, all of his money went to her and his family had no idea how to cope. It might have been fine if the pliable Rosaleen had been on her own, but she has a brother who will not let her release any of the funds. 

Most of this story is getting to know the different characters, their problems, and how they approach Rosaleen for help. But then a man, who may or may not be Rosaleen's first husband, is killed, setting off the mystery.

Hercule isn't in the book much and the ending is a kick in the pants. 

Three stars

Hercule Poirot #27

Follows The Labours of Hercules

Followed by Mrs. McGinty's Dead

This book came out in 1948

Borrowed as an audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Very Nice Funerals by Bob Mayer, Jennifer Crusie with narrators Eric G. Dove, Cris Dukehart

Max Reddy doesn't want to stay in Rocky Start. It's a town with two many secrets that he doesn't want to be a part of. And one person he's going to hate to leave. But on the next-to-last day before his self-imposed return to the AT, someone cuts a rope bridge while he's on it. So... now he's sticking around. 

Meanwhile Poppy's life is changing. She had a traumatic incident in the last book and now her life is changing. And she's not sure if she likes where it's going but she knows that it is not going to be what she had originally planned. 

Four stars

Rocky Start #2

Follows Rocky Start

Followed by The Honey Pot Plot

This book came out July 21, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Garfield Book One by Jim Davis, Mark Evanier, Scott Nickel with illustrators Gary Barker, Dan Davis, Mike DeCarlo, Andy Hirsch, Mark Heike, Stephanie Heike, David DeGrand

I loved reading Garfield books when I was young and thought that these might be a reprint. I didn't recognize any of them. 

The book is ten chapters with two stories per chapter. Of course, they are mostly centered around food or food is a theme. There is a story of a rare comic book, of mice being friends with Garfield (a cat!), a genius who moves to the neighborhood and learns to make friends, and of Quentin the mouse trying to become a cat, then a dog. 
There is a nice mix of illustrating styles - some that look like the original Garfield and some that look more like the more modern Garfield (what we see on the cover). 

Four stars

This book comes out July 7, 2026

ARC kindly provided by KaBOOM! and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Rocky Start by Bob Mayer, Jennifer Crusie with narrators Eric G. Dove, Cris Dukehart

This book is pure fluff and has Crusie's fingerprints all over it. If you know her writing, this book will feel very familiar. 
Rosalee "Rose" Malone has lived in Rocky Start for nineteen years. Ever since her 12-year relationship ended when she got pregnant and he threw her under the bus for fraud. Now her daughter is about to graduate high school and her mentor is dead. But there are weird things happening in Rocky Start including two gentleman. One who attacks her in her store and one who says he saved her (though she thinks she was doing a pretty good job herself, thankyouverymuch.)
Max Reddy and his dog Mags are in town to pick up a new pair of boots while he's out on the Appalachian Trail. This town is out of the way but this is where his old boss sent the package. It's an interesting little town, straddling the line of Tennessee and South Carolina. The people there remind him of the people he used to work with in his old job; lots of secrets to hide.
Rosalee bothered me a little; she sticks her head in the sand about a lot of things. But I still enjoyed the book quite a bit. 

Four stars

Rocky Start #1

Followed by A Very Nice Funeral

This book came out July 21, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Garfield Donut Disturb by Jim Davis

Generally known for his love of lasagna, the truth is that he loves all food. In this book, there are a higher number than usual strips devoted to his love of donuts. We also see his relationship with Arlene as well as with Odie. There are still more jokes about "Beware of Dog." Just a delightful read.

Four stars

Garfield #76

Follows Garfield Fully Caffeinated

Followed by

This book came out August 27, 2024

Garfield Easy as Pie by Jim Davis

This book has a number of strips devoted to relationships. Garfield talking with his girlfriend Arlene (and somehow often bringing food into the equation. Sometimes she is even on the same page. Jon somehow managing to hold on to Liz. Garfield loving Pookie. 

Four stars

Garfield #69

Follows Garfield Belly Laughs

Followed by Garfield Goes Hog Wild

This book came out July 14, 2020