Friday, April 5, 2024

Death Comes to the Fair by Catherine Lloyd

The fourth in a series, I did not feel like I was missing anything by not having read the first three. Miss Lucy Harrington, rector's daughter, is engaged to Major Robert Kurland. He is anxious to get married but her fancy-pants relatives are planning the wedding of the century and it's taking forever. Even the village fair is more irritating than he thought. Especially since he is the one who is supposed to judge the entries. To Lucy's dismay, he decides to buck the tradition of spreading the winners among various families and just assigns whoever he thought won. She knows that it will create resentments among the villagers, especially since Ezekiel Thurrock, the church verger, is the one to win most of the prizes. Major Kurland thinks that everyone needs to just suck it up, but when Mr. Thurrock is found dead, his head bashed in by a gargoyle, he wonders whether there are more tempers related to the fair than he thought.
There was a lot going on in this book which made it a little busy at times and the ending was... odd but overall a very readable book.

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #4
Three stars
This book came out November 29, 2016
Hard copy from library
Opinion are my own


Thursday, April 4, 2024

An Enchanting Case of Spirits by Melissa Holtz

 In my life, I've never had the urge to see a ghost. Neither has Alyssa Mann but, after a 40th birthday party gone awry, here she is with a ghost in the house. Then another. And all of them want something. But she doesn't know how to help them. So she enlists the help of the medium who seemed to have unlocked the power.
Suddenly, she and her two besties (as well as the psychic, Corinne) are trying to figure out why the ghost of an obnoxious young man whose death was declared a suicide is hanging around her. He's the first, but he certainly won't be the last. Except the only one she doesn't see is her husband. Which is probably good because, like many cozies, there is a Hot Detective.
An interesting start to a series though I don't generally enjoy books where the point of view switches and this one was so infrequent it often confused me the first three or four sentences when it switched. 

Three and a half stars
This book comes out April 9, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own



Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Lie by Moonlight by Amanda Quick

Concordia Glade thought that she had landed the perfect job. She had just been fired from her last position and working as a teacher to four girls at an out of the way castle seemed like a dream come true. Except that the dream was more like a nightmare. The girls kept telling her that their last teacher disappeared mysteriously and Concordia is beginning to think that she's about to do the same. She and the girls concoct a plan to escape. Their pyrotechnics display annoys Ambrose Wells who has come to the castle in order to disrupt the plans of a master criminal. Ambrose uses his Vanza training to help right wrongs and this is a huge speed bump.
Concordia and Ambrose will have to work together to save the girls and maybe even fall in love along the way.


Vanza #4
Three stars
This book came out in 2005
Follows Wicked Widow
Audiobook from Audible Plus catalog
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

After Glow by Jayne Castle

Lydia Smith is having issues. Her love life is a little uncertain (she loves Emmett but isn't sure of his feelings), her job isn't her favorite (but Shrimpton's House of Horrors is beginning to grow on her), and now she's found another body. This time it looks like an overdose. But why did Professor Maltby call her? And what the heck is going on with Emmett?

Ghost Hunters #2
Four stars
This book came out February 24, 2004
Follows After Dark
Followed by Ghost Hunter
Hard copy of mine
Opinions are my own


Monday, April 1, 2024

Death Comes To Kurland Hall by Catherine Lloyd

After the less-than-romantic proposal at the end of the last book, Lucy Harrington is ready to be home. Especially since her best friend is getting married to a man that is perfect for her. Too bad his best friend is Major Robert Kurland, a man Lucy would be perfectly happy to avoid. 
She'd also love to avoid Robert's former fiancee, Miss Penelope Chingford, and her family. Too bad the three women have not only been invited to the wedding, they're staying at the vicarage with Lucy and her father. And, unfortunately, Mrs. Chingford hasn't gotten any more pleasant, still spreading venom hidden behind sugared words.
It's even more unfortunate that Mrs. Chingford gets engaged to Lucy's father. And then ends up dead. Was her fall down the stairs an accident? Or murder? It's up to Lucy and Robert (only recently reconciled to each other) to figure out exactly what is going on.
I fell in love with the first book and enjoyed this one as well, though not quite as much. The patter between Lucy and Robert wasn't as fresh. Though I did enjoy seeing Penelope Chingford become almost likable.

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #3
Three and a half stars
This book came out November 24, 2015
Hard copy from library
Opinion are my own


Sunday, March 31, 2024

March 2024 Rereads

As always, opinions are my own


Taken with You (Kowalski Family, #8)
Taken with You by Shannon Stacey
Kowalski Family #8
Four stars
Follows Love a Little Sideways
Followed by Falling for Max
This book came out March 25th, 2014







The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz
Three and a half stars
This book comes out January 9, 2024
Follows Sleep No More
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own




Kiss Hard by Nalini Singh
Hard Play#4
Four and a half stars
This book comes out May 3, 2022
Follows Love Hard
Borrowed as ebook from Libby





A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn
Veronica Speedwell #8
Four stars
This book comes out March 7, 2023
Followed by A Grave Robbery





Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews 
Four stars
Follows Magic Binds
Followed by Magic Triumphs
This book came out June 18, 2018
Ebook borrowed from Libby




Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Kate Daniels #1
Three stars
This book came out March 29th, 2009
Followed by Magic Burns
Borrowed as an audiobook from Libby

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Murder Takes Root by Rosie Sandler

Steph Williams consults on gardens. She is just arriving at her latest estate with her very large dog, Mouse, when the book opens. Her main point of contact is Lady Clara although there is a plethora of other characters. Though Sandler tries to space out introductions, there were so many characters, I got confused. 
Steph is put into a bedroom in a round tower which is fantastic, but she keeps hearing arguments late at night in the servants' corridor. Thin walls but she has to leave her tower to go to the main house in order to access it. While she's there, Steph is dealing with some hard personalities including the manor's gardener who would prefer she weren't there, a number of people who are running around on each other, and an elderly gentleman who keeps dropping cryptic warnings. And then, there's the body. Though it's an apparent suicide, the police aren't so sure.
I hadn't read the first book in the series and Sandler does a good job of explaining without info dumping but I did feel like I was missing some things, especially in regard to Steph's ex-husband. I also wish we had gotten a few more clues to the solution. 

The Gardener Mysteries #2
Three stars
This book comes out April 3, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Embla Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own