The Body Politic by Catherine Aird

When Peter Corbishley, member of Parliament is heckled during the opening speeches of a battle reenactment, "Why don't you drop dead?" He doesn't but one of his constituents, Allen Shaw, does. The man had asked him for help because he was scared that his mineral company employer is going to force him to go back to a country that wants to kill him after he accidentally killed a pedestrian.

This was another quick listen that was sometimes convoluted to follow but may have been easier if I had read it with my eyes.

Three stars
This book came out in 1990

Follows A Dead Liberty

Followed by A Going Concern

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Seashells, Spells & Caramels by Erin Johnson

Imogen's scrimped, saved, and lived as simply as possible in order to save up for her dream. She was adopted and has always felt like she was on the outside of life but an unexpected order from her boss for a wedding cake that goes over better than she ever thought gives her just enough money for the bakery she's always dreamed of. 

At the wedding, two people make some very odd remarks about her cake. There are a wink and a nod that Imogen doesn't understand. One of the guests even hands her a flier about a cooking contest. Imogen is confused but she decides to bake for the contest, getting to the point of wrapping her contribution in the flier, just as the instructions say. It's just too bad that her house catches file that night and she is left with nothing. Except that her submission seems to have made it in because she gets instructions on how to get to the baking contest. She is again confused as to how she is able to get there but it looks like Imogen actually has some magic and the baking contest is to become the next chef of a magical world. It seems the last chef died under mysterious circumstances but we don't learn much about that in this story. Instead, the focus is on world-building (which is really well done; enough revealed that we know what is going on but not too much of an info dump) and on the baking contest. 

A really nice start to a new series. 

Four stars

This book came out October 29, 2017

Followed by Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

I thought I had heard about this book from NPR Best Books but it wasn't on this year's list so It may have been a podcast. The layout of the book is incredible. The first person narrator writes and self-publishes books on how to write books. He starts with laying out the rules from the Golden Age of Detectives and then follows them... to the letter but not necessarily the law.So we see not only the full story of the book but the building blocks as well. And details are deftly woven throughout the book like, "x won't happen for 6 more chapters" or " you won't find out about x until Chapter 27." The ending was a bit fantastical and there were definitely some plot holes but I really enjoyed this book. I have the ebook on reserve to see if the experience of  reading it in print is different from the audiobook. 

Ernest Cunningham, our first person narrator, is meeting his family for a reunion. As it happens in most good mystery stories, everyone there is hiding something. Chapters unfold and we learn that, indeed, everyone in his family has killed someone. We start with Ernie's brother and move on from there as the story moves in and out and all around fulfilling it's own self-prophecies about mystery novels. 

Four and a half stars

This book came out March 29, 2022

Followed by Everyone on this Train is a Suspect

Audiobook borrowed from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread January 2024

Sinfully Delicious by Amanda M. Lee

When she was younger, Stormy Morgan wrote a thinly veiled version of her hometown Shadow Hills. It hit the best seller list and Stormy hit the road. She achieved her dream of getting out of town but left her serious boyfriend behind. Now she's back in shame (her second book tanked) and it feels a lot like high school. She's back working at the family diner, she's hanging out with a lot of her same friends, and she's still feeling attraction for the now-sheriff. But he's with someone else. 

Stormy does get to spend some time with her ex when she stumbles across the body of a dead man. Yes, the man was hated by most in town but her grandfather is the one who had an argument with him recently. And her grandfather is the one dodging an interview with the police.

This was an okay story but not the usual level that we get from Lee. The characters are a little thin, the relationship of our protagonist and her ex overlaps with the relationship he's in during most of the book and the magic, have I not mentioned it yet? It's because it's barely there. I'll stick with the next book in this series but may be sticking with the witches of the midwest (which are reference in this book several times.)

Three stars

This book came out April 11, 2020

Followed by Caffeinated Calamity

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns

I liked the cover of this book and figured I should give it a try. I wasn't really paying attention to the story until they mentioned the border of Indiana and Michigan where I grew up. Instantly, I started paying more attention - I know this town!

That wasn't what kept me reading though, instead it's getting to watch Maddy slowly figure out how to be an adult standing on her own two feet. 

As we get to know her, it seems that Maddy has always been cossetted and protected by her colonel father. After her ex dumped her basically at the altar, Maddy is ready for a change. Inheriting her aunt's bakery in New Bison makes for an opportunity to get out of town. Once there, she finds out that she's also inherited a large English mastiff named Baby. But there is also a mystery. It seems Maddy's Aunt Olivia was somewhat expecting that she may die and she's left behind the clues for Maddy to follow. 

The characters are fun. The mystery is maybe a little thin and there are some threads left hanging but I overall enjoyed the book.

Four stars
This book came out August 30, 2022

Followed by Murder is a Piece of Cake

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Time for Love by Stephanie Laurens

Looking for a steel mill to supply his other business concerns, Martin Cynster believes he can talk Miss Sophia Carmichael into selling. When he meets her, he is not shocked by her business acumen (he has too many accomplished women in his family for that, but he is drawn in by her beauty. He is also concerned because not one but two accidents happen while he is there. Why is someone trying to sabotage her business? He knows it's not him and he doesn't think it's the other person vying for her business, Oliver. Oliver and Martin don't know each other well but Martin knows him well enough to assume that he wouldn't do anything so underhanded. 

Oliver was an odd addition in this book. I'm assuming that he is sequel bait but we are also left with Toby, Dalziel's son. Also interesting was that all of the conflict for Sophy and Martin was external. They basically see each other and are ready to hop in. The mystery was a little weak and the ending, with the redemption of the criminal, felt odd. 

Three stars

This book came out August 18, 2022

Follows Foes, Friends, and Lovers

Followed by Miss Flibbertigibbet and the Barbarian

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

When the first book ended, there was an apparent hit set on Finlay Donovan's ex-husband. But who would want to kill him? Well, technically she would. And any of the other women he's cheated on her with could definitely be defined as suspects. But Finn just doesn't want to worry about it. Until it appears that someone else has picked up the contract. Now she's worried because her kids might just be in the line of fire as well.

Lots of characters from the first book, even one that was sort of a passing name. I didn't love the end or the explanation for what was going on with Finn's ex but I did like seeing the friendship between Finn and her nanny/body-burying partner grow. 

Four stars

This book came out February 1, 2022

Follows Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

Followed by Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own