A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

Though Miss Marple doesn't appear until over half way through the book, this is one of her stories. The book starts out with a rich description of the office of Rex Fortescue. His secretaries are described in great and painting-like detail. The bumble-headed secretary who probably isn't going to last long. The disapproving head of the secretarial pool. The condescending, cool blonde who is Rex's private secretary and (wrongly) assumed mistress.

Rex comes into the office as per usual. Has his tea, specially brewed by the blonde as per usual. But then, there are some unusual sounds. The secretary rushes into the office to find Rex in some sort of fit. She doesn't know what to do and panics. All of the other secretaries panic. Chaos ensues until two doctors and an ambulance arrive on scene. Poor Mr. Fortescue. He's been acting so strange lately and refusing to see the doctors his family has been setting up appointments with. And now he's dead. But the coroner recognizes the symptoms immediately. Hard luck for the murderer (yes, they assume that almost from the beginning) that he happens to realized that taxine (sp?) is involved. 

But who would have wanted to kill Rex? He had two sons, one involved in the business and one considered prodigal. The one thought he was running their fortune into the ground though the latter seems to have nothing to gain. His daughter's lover has been run off when Rex threatens to disinherit her and Rex's much-younger second wife is having a rather indiscreet fling.

Before the end of the book, there are two more murders. Including one that brings Miss Marple into the picture looking for justice.

Dame Christie at her best and a wonderful book to listen to.

Four stars

This book came out November 9th, 1953

Follows They Do It with Mirrors

Followed by 4:50 from Paddington

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Smart Woman's Guide to Murder by Victoria Dowd

I got this book because the second one looked interesting and I figured I might as well start at the beginning. But... I really didn't like any of the characters in this book. Between that and the looooooong descriptions, I sometimes felt like I was slogging through but it was an interesting premise and there are definitely a LOT of back stories that need to be told.

Everyone's book clubs go to an old manor house to discuss their current reads, right? Especially a book club that mostly only reads "Gone Girl." 

Narrator Ursula Smart (she notes, however that this is not her real name), is going along on the trip. Even though she isn't a part of the group nor does she like any of the people in the group or particularly want to be at that location. She apparently only wears one outfit and goes to great pains to hide exactly how much she is drinking. As the book goes on, we find out that she has some trauma and that affects her even to this day.

Her mother doesn't treat her well (at least from her point of view)  but Ursula still clings to her in times of stress. Not as welcome? Her mother's best friend, Mirabelle, who, at least in Ursula's eyes, does nothing but try to take her mother away. 

Also on the trip are Aunt Charlotte (who Ursula's mother barely seems to stand) and Joy who Ursula calls Less (Joy-Less). Joy is on the search for a new rich husband but is full of platitudes and other people's property. The biggest surprise is that Joy is the second to die. The first is a fortune teller who, perhaps, saw a little too much.

Three stars

This book came out May 5th, 2020

Followed by Body on the Island

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Couture and Curses by Danielle Garrett

Going to a wedding conference might not be the best idea for a newly dating couple but Anastasia Winters is a planner and this is the day that she and SPA agent Caleb have time together. Caleb gamely comes along and is treated to the sight of two designers in a fight. One is Aurelia, a friend of Ana's. Then, later, when Ana is picking up a dress from Aurelia, she sees a green light and suddenly the dress shop explodes. Now Aurelia is in a coma and there's a shadowy figure that seems to be hunting Anastasia. 

Some plot holes but a fast, fun, and fluffy book.

Three stars

This book came out

Follows Newly Wed and Slightly Dead

Followed by Wedding Bells and Deadly Spells

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet by Lucy Score

The summer heat can sometimes cause people to go a little crazy. Since Riley Thorn had to deal with a bunch of crazy in the first book, she'd really rather have some normal. However. Her grandmother, who no one actually likes, is in town to conduct a psychic boot camp that will enhance the skills of ... well, everyone but mainly Riley, her sister, and her guardian/teacher/friend/angel(?) Gabriel. Mostly it seems like she's there to suck out any joy and fun in Riley and her family's life.

Her housemates are all still alive (they're mostly very old) and crazy. Her boyfriend is being scarily overprotective after Riley got shot in the last book (maybe justified but still not okay to track her without asking.)

Into all of this come two clients -- one is looking for her ex-husband and one wants to know who killed his wannabe-You-Tube-star wife. 

Once again fast, fun, and fluffy, the crazy train threatens to go off the rails but mostly was an enjoyable book.

Four stars

This book came out July 7th, 2021

Follows Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door

Followed by Riley Thorn and the Blast from the Past

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie

Oh, I do like this book. But then, Agatha Christie and Miss Marple rarely disappoint. An old school chum is worried about her sister, Carrie Louise, and wants Miss Marple to go check out the situation. Carrie Louise is currently running a boarding school for juvenile delinquents with her third husband. The money comes from her first husband with whom she had one biological and one adopted daughter. The biological daughter, the third husband, the now-deceased adopted daughter's daughter and her husband, and one of Carrie Louise's stepsons from her second marriage are all living out the house. But this is not a happy family. No. The stepson is trying to inveigle the granddaughter away from her sullen American husband, Wally. Mildred (the biological daughter) has always felt second best, first to her adopted sister and now the the sister's child. Of course, there are all those at-risk youths running around and now Carrie Louise's stepson by her first marriage has shown up with concerns, but he won't tell anyone but the third husband (Lewis) what those concerns are. Then one night, one of the delinquents takes a shot at Lewis but, while he survives, the stepson from the first marriage is dead. 

Who killed him? Why? Is someone really poisoning Carrie Louise? 

It's a tangled web that only Miss Marple can solve (though with a touch of stereotyping). 

Four stars

This book came out in 1952

Follows Three Blind Mice and Other Stories

Followed by A Pocketful of Rye

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Forgotten in Death by J. D. Robb

The day starts with a fresh corpse in a dumpster and continues with two more walled into some construction (Roarke's unfortunately). Lieutenant Eve Dallas is not enjoying her day. It doesn't help that her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, bubbling over with enthusiasm for the home project she's working on. It's not exactly a topic that Eve is interested in but she'll listen if she has to. Then it turns out the previous owners of the site have ties to the Russian mob and her day just keeps going downhill.

When it turns out there might be a connection between the two cases, Eve is astonished. But that doesn't stop her from working on justice for all involved, even righting wrongs that the first person had done to them decades ago.

I liked that there was a concentration on Eve and Roarke, then on the mystery and to some extent what was going on with Peabody and her house. At book 53, there are a lot of characters in this series and sometimes it feels like they are all shoehorned in. Not so with this one.

Four stars

This book came out September 7th, 2021

Follows Faithless in Death

Followed by Abandoned in Death

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread August 2023 as audiobook from Libby

Deeper Than The Ocean by Julie Ann Walker

There are starting to be rather a lot of names in this series with the six former SEALs and now at least 5 of their romantic interests. It did make it hard to follow at points but then it settled into two main stories.

The main plot was between Christina "Chrissy" Szarek and Ray "Wolf" Roanhorse. The man who was falling in love and the woman whose past made her wary of the feeling had been circling around each other in all of the previous books. In this one, Chrissy and her best friend are shot when they take a shortcut through an ostensibly abandoned warehouse. It's just bad luck that they happen to see a drug drop going on. Both are shot but while Winston immediately goes down, Chrissy is able to make it to the bar where she is supposed to meet Wolf for a "friendly" drink.

Like other books in the series, our heroine is in trouble that the hero is trying to protect her from. It again sort of overwhelms the romance and the reader getting to see the relationship really grow.

The B story is between Mia, a shy and introverted historical researcher with A Past, and Romeo, a ladies' man who is fighting his attraction to a woman who is the kind you settle down with.

Three and a half stars

This book came out May 31st, 2021

Follows Ride the Tide

Followed by Shot Across the Bow

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own