Vengeance in Venice by Erica Ruth Neubauer

 Jane and Redvers are on their honeymoon and enjoying their time alone. Except they're not as alone as they used to be since Aunt Millie has not only found them in Italy, she's insisting that they attend a party with her. 

The soiree is being thrown by Clara, an heiress to the Morton salt company. She's eccentric and rude and Jane is stymied as to how she is a friend of Millie's. It's equally strange that this particular get-together includes a murder, that of Clara's second ex-husband, an Italian poet. The police immediately latch onto Clara's secretary, a woman Jane has met before. 

The search for the killer will introduce Jane to a new kind of detective (inspettore) and cause her to question whether she is at good at reading people as she thinks she is. 

Four stars

Jane Wunderly #5

This book comes out March 31, 2026

Follows Homicide in the Indian Hills

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien

Lana Lee, twenty-seven, has returned home and has been working for her parents for the last six months. Her parent's restaurant is a part of the "Asian Village." Mr. Feng, the owner of said village, is raising the rent and people are not happy. Since this is a murder mystery, Mr. Feng is the one who ends up dead. Also, since this is a murder mystery, there are any number of suspects as well as a variety of motives.
I finished this book but won't be actively looking to continue the series. Lana actively interferes in investigations, puts both herself and her friends in danger, and withholds evidence. And there's no reason for it! She's not even really a suspect nor is anyone she loves. The victim wasn't someone she loved. I just didn't get why she was invested at all. 

Two and a half stars

This book came out March 27, 2018

Noodle Shop Mystery #1

Followed by Dim Sum of All Fears

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

I'm Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home by Fergus Craig

Carol has been released from prison after several decades. She has been deposited in a retirement community that should be quiet, but a murder occurs soon after she arrives. As a confessed serial killer, she comes under suspicion pretty quickly. 

80-year-old Geoffrey, a former cop certainly points her out pretty quickly. He is joined in his investigation by Catherine, a retired pathologist, and Margaret who was a barrister, even home secretary for awhile. They don't think the police are moving fast enough so they'll take care of it themselves. 

Carol wants to prove her innocence even when it puts her at odds with the people in her home, but will they have to end up working together?

A lovely story that is more than fairly clued. It took me awhile to get into the story but was worth the read. 

Four stars

This book came out February 17, 2026

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

Ernest is back in the thick of things, solving crimes using the rules of Golden Age mysteries. This time, he and Juliette are trying to get a loan to get their detective business off the ground but are having little success. Then, a letter comes from a bank that is willing to loan them money. 

They head to the bank and discover that the man willing to lend them money wants them to prove themselves first by finding his brother. While they're there, the bank is going to be robbed. And by the end of the story, all ten people in the bank will have stolen something. 

This is the closest of the sequels to hit the tone and feel of the first book with a setting that makes sense for the update to a golden age mystery. 

Three and a half stars

Ernest Cunningham #4

Follows Everyone this Christmas Has a Secret

ARC kindly provided by Mariner Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano

The last book ended suddenly with Finlay's live-in nanny, best friend, and body-moving buddy, Vero, being arrested for stealing a large amount of cash from her sorority. Her loss is keenly felt, especially since her attorney has cut off communication to both Finlay and Vero's husband-ish-type-person, Javier. 

Finlay isn't okay with that and neither is Javi so they're going to go see Vero. And that turns into helping Vero and suddenly they're breaking her out of the house and tryin to figure out who actually stole the money. This leads them on another madcap adventure where they're again on the wrong side of the law, but Cosimano makes it seem so fun. 

Four stars

Finlay Donovan #6

Follows Finlay Donovan Digs her own Grave

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

The Antique Hunter's Murder at the Castle by C.L. Miller

Bella, recently added to the Lockwood Antique Hunter's Agency, has gone off to track down some more faked antiquities. But is it a trap? Bella disappears and when Freya and Carole come up to see what is happening, they find a dead body.

The owner of the castle has been killed. Carole had met him before and was not impressed, especially in how he treated his daughter, India. Freya nad 

From there, the plot gets a little crazy and convoluted. I had to go back and reread the last couple of chapters to really try and get everything. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out March 17, 2026

Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder #3

Follows Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Chao

It starts off so sterotypically, Kathryn has had a bad day and just wants to talk to her boyfriend. When she gets to his house, there are rose petals leading to the bedroom and her boyfriend is on his knee... in front of another woman. She decides to go on the romantic vacation she had planned with her boyfriend but with the other woman instead. When they get there, they discover a third woman! The three get together and decided to prank the heck out of him. Instead, they find his dead body. That sets off a chain of events where Kathryn becomes one of the main suspects. At least she gets to spend some time with the super hot cop.

This book was fine but I didn't feel like any of the characters were fully developed. 

Three stars

Hu Done It #1

This book came out June 24, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood

Willowjean Parker (not the name she was born with) meets Mrs. Pentecost on a fraughte evening when they both almost die. Willow grew up in a small town then moved around frequently with a circus so she hadn't heard of Mrs. Pentecost, the famous detective. But after that night, Mrs. P sought her out and hired her. Three years later, Willow is still working with Mrs. P. They are approached by the Collins twins and their "uncle." Their father committed suicide then, during a party with a seance, their mother is bludgeoned to death. They want to know what is going on. 

Willow and Mrs. P are on the hunt for a murderer and getting pulled into the world of a medium who, past the time when most were moving into the world of tarot readers, is still working with the richest people (including Mrs. Collins.)

The set up very much reminds me of Wolfe and Goodwin with Parker being the legs, though she is not just the muscle, she is very much being trained to take over the agency some day.   

Three and a half stars

Pentecost and Parker #1

This book came out October 27, 2020

Followed by Murder Under Her Skin

Opinions are my own

A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn

Veronica and Stoker are itching for a new adventure. When Mornaday comes to them with the story of a man who read a note and then jumped out of a window. This story leads them to cemeteries, vampires, a cult, and a crossover.

This is a lovely addition to the series. Not much character development but lots of atmosphere and an interesting story. 

Four stars

This book comes out March 3, 2026

Veronica Speedwell #10

Follows 
A Grave Robbery

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Primrose Murder Society by Stacy Hackney

Lily's life hasn't exactly been easy lately. Her daughter, Bea, is acting up (understandably) after Lily's husband embezzled millions of dollars and then left them in the lurch. They lost their home (feds took it) and Bea has been kicked out of her private school. Lily has had to take her mother's boyfriend's offer of cleaning out his mother's apartment. At least they have someplace to live, even though Lily still needs a job. 

The Primrose apartments are the most posh in town, but, while Lily is slightly intimidated by the wealth, Bea is mostly obsessed with a murder that happened there almost twenty years ago. A resident dies and leaves behind a will that will give two million dollars to whoever can give information leading to the arrest of the person who killed his granddaughter. Bea, an inveterate Murder She Wrote watcher is all in. Lily is much more hesitant but is willing to go along because this is the only thing bringing Bea joy right now. 

The mystery comes together pretty nicely although the final solution was a bit out there. The two main characters are fairly fleshed out but there is room for growth which will be fun to watch if the series continues. 

Four stars

This book comes out March 3, 2026

ARC kindly provided by William Morrow and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder in Postscript by Mary Winters

Amelia's first marriage was not a love match. Her husband knew he was dying and wanted someone to take care of his elderly aunt and niece, both of which Amelia is doing. The niece is much easier to love than the aunt who is ingrained in society and is always meddling to make sure that Amelia is the perfect widowed Countess. 

What the family doesn't know is that Amelia also writes an advice column, Lady Agony. It is that column that has her embroiled in the killings of a young girl (and she's only the first.) Luckily, she's just met her late husband's friend, Simon and he's willing to help out. 

A fun cozy mystery that Smexy Books did not oversell. 

Four stars

Lady of Letters #1

This book came out March 28, 2023

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie

A visit to the dentist doesn't usually but end up with a visit from the police, but it happens to our favorite protagonist. After he sees Dr. Morely for a tooth issue, the man ends up dead. It is possibly a suicide but Japp would like to talk to Poirot anyway. Alistair Blunt had an appointment with the same dentist and there is a possibility that this was an assassination attempt on the banker. 

There is a sprawling cast of characters in this one including an actress who was also at the dentist but who has since disappeared, a political activist, and the people who live with Mr. Blunt. The solution is a bit convoluted but wouldn't be out of place in a story that was written today. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 11, 1940

Follows Sad Cypress

Followed by Evil Under the Sun

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Final Problem by Arturo Perez-Reverte

I didn't even realize that this book, another in the genre of actors who played detectives now becoming the detective, had been translated from another language. There was a bit of formality in some of the writing but I thought it fit with the personality of our first person narrator, an aging former movie star who is (mostly) philosophically "retiring" from acting. In his prime, "Hopalong Basil" (as named by an early agent) was in any number of films but is generally recognized now as The Definitive Sherlock Holmes of his time.

It is those movies that will become very helpful when, stranded on an island with a number of other people, Hoppy takes on the role of lead detective when a murder is committed. But why here and why this person? Everyone on the island is hypothetically strangers, caught by a random storm. Then another death occurs and the tension is ratcheted up.

I have somehow picked up a number of books that are written in the style of a Golden Age mystery. This definitely succeeds. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out February 10, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb

Nathan Barrister, by all accounts a pretty nice guy despite growing up with a wealthy, entitled father, is found dead, bludgeoned in his own home. Nearby, a door opens into a vault that no one in the family knew existed. It turns out Nathan's father bought a number of stolen art items and hid them in the house. No one knew about them. Well, someone knew about them because Nathan is dead and an expensive item is missing. According to the log they find in the room, there is only one item missing. An item that Roarke knows well...

Eve and her team need to solve the murder, try to recover the missing item, and finally deal with a foe who has been haunting her since early in the series.

Robb's books have a familiar cadence without being exactly duplicative. In this book, we don't know who the killer(s) are at first but get to know the players before the truth is finally revealed. 

Four stars

This book comes out September 2, 2025

In Death #61

Follows Framed in Death

Followed by Fury in Death

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

Opinions are my own

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty with Aoife McMahon, Andrew Wincott

Abigail is known for her fun murder mystery parties that are thrown on New Year's Eve. A group of friends get together, dress up, and then celebrate her brother's birthday the next day. But this year is different. This year, Benjamin is dead. And the famous detective Bell has been called in to solve the mystery. 

This is very much like a Golden Age mystery but rather than an homage like "Miss Winter's Library", it's a play on the classics, more like a twist on the classics like "Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone."

Three stars

This book came out April 20, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my down

Murder, Mess, and the Tangerine Dress by Lynn Rankin-Esquer

This book reminds me of the Stephanie Plum series. The main character, Izzy Bishop, is a chatoic mess, getting food on her clothse and feeding one of her clients a weed cookie. She even has a best friend who is somehow even brasher than her and trying to lose weight. But Izzy has something that Stephanie doesn't - extrasensory powers. They grew after she had a near-death experience in the previous year. That is the the experience that threw off her plan to open an organizing business with her sister so now, rather than being a true partner, Izzy is actually working for her sister. Her younger sister. Her younger  sister who clearly doesn't trust her. Which, to be fair, Izzy is on the manic pixie dream girl end of the spectrum so she tends to have a dirty car and stained clothes (no shame, just not her sister is expecting.)

So, Izzy is late to her appointment for an older widow who is cleaning out her closet. While there, a death occurs and Izzy and the woman nearly die as well. The only reason that they're saved is the woman's dead husband tells Izzy that they need to leave. 

An interesting story that I mainly read because I had also gotten the second book and didn't realize it wasn't the first in a series and I really like to start with the first book in a series. 

Three stars

Order Out of Chaos Mystery, #1

This book came out February 2, 2025

Followed by Murder, Hijinks, and Peridot Cufflinks

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

10 years ago, Martha's sister disappeared. Today, postcards are arriving at the Clarendon English Dictionary office where Martha now works. The postcards hint at the true series of events that happened. Some of Martha's coworkers today were Charlotte's coworkers then, so there are plenty of suspects, especially when previously held secrets start coming to light. 

I heard about this on NPR's A Way with Words and they were enjoying the wordplay. Knowing of Susie Dent from various game shows, I expected no different. I didn't think there was a lot of plot because there was so much built up around the characters. I also felt vaguely like I had read so many similar books but couldn't really pinpoint one. However, the word use exceeded my expectations. 

Three and a half stars

The Clarendon Lexicographers #1

This book came out August 13, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Murder, Hijinks, and the Peridot Cufflinks by Lynn Rankin-Esquer

A year ago, Izzy Bishop had a near-death experience that super charged her already average sense of others. In the last book, she finally accepted that she might have some psychic abilities. Now, she's fully embraced the idea but is trying to figure out how to wield it well. Her first sense  of the book almost breaks a couple up. Then she senses something mysterious about one of the organizing client's significant other. This particular client was a sports star who has a LOT of money. When she touches a pair of cufflinks in his closet, she gets a vision of violent death. The person who died? Her archenemy Shania's elderly husband. Ufda. Is Izzy somehow going to be accused of his murder? Yes. Is she going to get another love interest thus cementing my feelings about how similar this series is to reading Stephanie Plum? Yes. Did I still finish the book? Yes.  

Three stars

Order Out of Chaos #2

Follows Murder, Mess, and the Tangerine Dress

ARC kindly provided as ebook by XandL Press and Netgalley

Opinions are my own

Death at Silent Pool by Benedict Brown

Christopher has reached the ripe old age of twenty but is still solving mysteries with his grandfather. It has been some time since the last book and, rather than traveling the continent like Lord Edgington had been promising, Christopher has been working to solve small mysteries in London. 

The book starts off with the solution to the disappearance of some jewels but then jumps back in time to the disappearance of Patinece Hindmarsh, wife of Abraham and mother of five children, none of whom seem to actually like each other. Abraham does not want help from either the police or Lord Edgington until three weeks later when his own life is threatened. And he is, indeed the next person to die; not the last. 

The Hindmarsh family has no lack of suspects including some side characters. The end is very twisty and turn-y but I was willing to suspend my disbelief in the enjoyment of the story. 

Four stars

Lord Edgington Investigates #14

This book came out April 21, 2024

Follows The Puzzle of Parham House

Followed by The Christmas Candle Murders

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Too Old for This by Samantha Downing

Lottie Jones is long past retirement. Not just work, but her early crime spree. So why is someone stirring up the past? It's too bad that the trend of docuseries has come to roost on her doorstep in the form of Plum Dixon. So she has to die. But cleaning up is harder than it was in her youth. And people keep following up on Plum.

Three and a half stars

This book came out August 12, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own