The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The premise of this book, a Groundhog Day Agatha Christie murder mystery with a touch of Quantam Leap thrown in, really intrigued me. I like all of those things. But would the author be able to make it work?
A man wakes up without a memory. He seems to be at a house party. It is nineteen years after a similar house party where the young son of a lord was drowned. Soon after, his sister was sent to Paris. This party is ostensibly for her return but it seems that someone has something more insidious in mind. Evelyn Harding is going to die. Our protagonist is "hosted" by various members of the party, one each day. He only has eight "days" to figure out who kills Evelyn Harding or else... I, I have to be honest. I never really did figure out what the absolute consequences were.
It took me awhile to get into the first person narrative. The ending was... how much can I say without giving it away? It wrapped up most of the plot points but it took a lot of effort. It is a good book though and I'm guessing it will be very popular when it comes out.

Four stars
This book comes out September 1

Barefoot in the Dark by Suzanne Enoch

I hadn't read any of the books in the previous series but that didn't prevent me from enjoying the story of Samantha Jellicoe and Rich Addison settling into their engagement. As a bazillionaire, Rich's engagement has caused a lot of interest and his house is surrounded by paparazzi and his disappointed followers. So he plans to whisk her away to Scotland to visit his ancestral home and let her meet her family. Of course, there is a mystery. A centuries old hidden treasure that is directly linked to the local village.
I am most definitely looking forward to further books in this series.

Four stars
This book came out August 15, 2023

Sam and Rick #1

Followed by A Kiss in the Dark
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Sliding Home by Kathy Lyons

Ellie McDonald is generally shy and retiring. But when she decides to do one thing every day where she gets rejected, her sister dares her to ask out MVP on her cousin's pro baseball team, Jake Armstrong. Except that he doesn't reject her. And then there's a hotel fire... and things really spiral out of control. Suddenly she's agreeing to pretend to be in a relationship to help save his job and her reputation.
There were parts of the book that I didn't love (a lot of misunderstandings) but I am interested in reading more books in this series.

Three and a half stars
This book came out August 13
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

The Dogfather by Sparkle Abbey

Melinda Langston's former fiance Grey Donovan is under suspicion for a murder. A nearby store owner is dead and there is no shortage of people who might want to kill him: he had accused Grey of selling him a fake, his wife doesn't seem to like him very much, there's a mysterious blonde standing over the body, and a guy in town from the murdered man's past.
Betty is once again on the case which means that hijinks will ensue. And she's not too over the top in this book. But she definitely verges.
Overall a good read.

Three and a half stars
This book came out September 21

The Butterfly Conspiracy by Vivian Conroy

The start of a new series, I quite enjoyed most of this book. It did take me a while to get into it but I did overall like this book and look forward to the next one.

 Miss Merula Meriweather is not pining for marriage. She would rather be inducted into the butterfly "club" in society. But she's an unmarried woman so that's not really going to happen. But she can present her work as her uncle's. Too bad her first presentation ends in death. And her uncle accused of the murder. Luckily, Lord Raven Royston is willing to lend her a hand in her investigations.

Three stars
This book came out August 7
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal

At the end of the last book, Maggie Hope had been sent to Forbidden Island after a mission gone horribly wrong and after the discovery of a major war secret. At the beginning of this book, a society recruit with a penchant for killing is sent to the island as well. Basically, everyone on the island has been sent because they're a broken toy. And it ends up that with an island of broken toys, it can turn into an Agatha Christie mystery very quickly.
I really enjoy Ms. MacNeal's stories and this one did not disappoint.

This book came out August 7
Four stars
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Racked and Stacked by Lorelei James

Larissa "Riss" Thorpe is a strong-ass woman who is going to find her joy where she can and isn't going to be slut shamed by anyone. Though she might get annoyed by... certain people. Ike Palmer being the one who gets under her skin. And now the truce they've called to help them get through their friends' wedding is off. And then Riss breaks her arm and Ike feels a strange compulsion to rescue her from her brothers.
 I quite liked this book and believe that regular James readers won't be disappointed.

Four stars
This book came out August 7
ARC kindly provided by Net Galley