The Greatest Challenge of Them All by Stephanie Laurens

Very few of us like to think that our lives are decided for us since birth. Lord Drake Varisey, Marquess of Winchelsea, heir to a dukedom has been running, it feels like, since birth, trying

to get away from Lady Louisa Cynster, known to the ton as Lady Wild. But he's been dragged into trying to foiling a plot involving a LOT of gun powder and he needs help. Particularly, he needs someone who knows the ins and outs of the tonnish families. And there is no one better at that than Louisa. He knows, though, that if he gets too close, he'll probably fall in love. And that's not such a bad thing.

Louisa has been much more accepting of her fate. She's also cognizant of the fact that Drake is a strong personality and, if she wants to have a marriage where she is an equal partner, she'll have to start as she means to go on. Including making sure that Drake doesn't believe that he can run her over. 

A decent story. A lot of it is devoted to the mystery and bringing in the couples from the first two books.

Three stars

Follows An Irresistible Alliance

Followed by A Conquest Impossible to Resist

This book came out March 11th, 2017

Opinions are my own

A Resolution at Midnight by Shelley Noble

 Philomena "Phil", Lady Dunbridge (please don't call her dowager) is loving her life in New York. It's Christmas, and she is figuring out who her real family is (hint, not the ones she's related to by blood.) The Mr. X calls on her again. She is to go to an address, sit in the last row, and... well, she doesn't really know. But she sure doesn't expect to sit next to a dead man. And certainly not one that has had his throat slit.

Just like that, Phil is embroiled in another mystery. This one introduces new characters, friends of Bev and part of the upper crust. It's too bad that they too will be sucked into this whirlpool that touches all their lives and reaches into the highest echelons of New York government.

A lovely story perfect for the holiday season. I don't know that I would start with this book in the series but they are not slow reads so a person would be able to get to this third book in the series quickly. There are some things that I don't love about Mr. X but I'm guessing we'll get to know more about him as Phil does.

Four stars

This book comes out November 5th

Follows Tell Me No Lies

Followed by A Secret Never Told

ARC kindly provided by Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

It’s the holiday season and Meg is, as usual, in charge. This time, she’s riding herd on a Helping Hands group. People can call up and ask for help, Meg organizes groups of volunteers to get projects done. Current projects include spreading fertilizer, finishing a quilt, and helping a hoarder clean out his house. Harvey, the hoarder, is the bane of his neighborhood. And his family. But both groups are strangely against the Helping Hands coming in to clean out his junk. It gets to the point that someone bonks him on the head. 

Not a super deep story but we see all of the characters we’ve gotten to know and love as the series has built and there is a feel-good ending that regular readers will appreciate.

Four stars

Meg Langslow #28

This book comes out October 20, 2020

Follows The Falcon Always Wings Twice

Followed by Murder Most Fowl

ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Reread January 30, 2020, as audible book December 2023, January 2025

Happily This Christmas by Susan Mallery

 Many a romance has started with the guy next door and this one is no different. Wynn Beauchene has a 14 year old son but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t admire Garrick McCabe, the cop who lives next to her. When he comes to her asking for help with a pregnant 21 year old, Wynn is taken aback,
until she realizes the woman is his daughter. It seems that Garrick and Jolyn were close when she was younger but now their relationship is more strained, especially since Jolyn’s pregnancy has been difficult and that isn’t helped by the fact that her husband is currently deployed.
As Wynn and Garrick spend more time together, attraction starts to grow. Both have been burned in the past though and the upcoming holiday season brings family obligations and outside expectations that they might not be willing to bend to.
A typical Mallory novel: mostly closed doors for the romance; nice character development; an attempt to involve almost everyone from previous stories in the series; just a low-stakes, sugary, and fun read.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 29th

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

A Garland of Bones by Carolyn Haines

It's Christmas and Sarah Booth is off on a trip with her friends. They are going to Columbus, MS to stay in a B&B and participate in a series of Christmas activities. Columbus seems very much like her own hometown with it's gossip and cliques. However, someone seems to have a grudge against this particular group with little accidents adding up to big mischief. An electrocution, some cement being dumped in a car, a fall down the stairs... as things escalate, it seems obvious that someone is going to die if the perpetrator is not stopped. 

Sarah Booth is not impressed by this group. It is filled with people only concerned with their own pleasures and images. But one of them offers the Delaney Investigators a big check if they can figure out what is going on.

This story was a little confusing with betrayals on betrayals and there were a few things that were repeated a little too many times but this was overall a fun story that I think regular Sarah Booth Delaney readers will enjoy.

Three stars
This book came out today
Follows The Devil's Bones

Followed by Independent Bones
ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own 

Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas

Thomas has crafted another amazing mystery that not only fits together tightly but advances our understanding of the series characters and the overarching tension of the series itself. This time, much of the focus is on Inspector Treadles: a man who is rigid in his beliefs, both for how

he himself behaves and how he believes others should behave. But now he's in a bind, suspected of killing two men. He refuses to talk about the fact that he was found in the house with the two men. Nor will he discuss what he has been doing so secretively the past two weeks. 

Both Holmes and Lord Ingram are convinced Inspector Treadles is innocent but it will be a race to the finish to make others believe it as well. Especially with Inspector Brighton, specifically brought in to investigate the case, seems so determined to use it to make a name for himself.

Four stars

Follows The Art of Theft

Followed by Miss Moriarty, I Presume?
This book came out October 6th
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

On Borrowed Crime by Kate Young

 Lyla Moody has put together her life after some obsessive behavior (which is oft-referenced, never fully explored). Part of the joy in her life includes a book club called the Jane Does which reads mystery stories. But they recently also seem to have discussed some nearby Jane Doe cases and that becomes a major clue into what happened to one of their members. 

It is, in fact, Lyla who is one of the last people to Carol, a judge's wife before she disappears, only to have her body appear at Lyla's house in such a way that it is very apparent she couldn't have gotten herself there. Lyla works for her uncle's detective agency but she is just an admin. At least, she was before now. Now, she wants to know what happened to her friend. 

Lyla does start by being smarter than the average fictional amateur detective and giving her information to the police, even the slightly sinister Officer Taylor. He sure doesn't seem to like Lyla. But he does like her best friend which may come in to play later in the series.

I liked the idea for the series and will read the next book for sure but this book was a bit disordered and I sure hope that the publisher had a good line editor because there were a LOT of spelling errors/word choices (I didn't count it against the book.) The story was a little bit all over the place too. There was some world building but there were a lot of lines added to the story that weren't completely woven in.

Three stars

This book came out October 6th

ARC kindly provided by Crooked Lane Library and NetGalley

Opinions are my own