Mistletoe Murders 1 by Ken Cuperus

A series of short stories that link together to make a series. This reminds me a lot of old time radio shows. The stories in this audiobook all center around Emily who lives in a small town and runs a Christmas store. She has a light flirtation with the local law enforcement and a mysterious past. 

In this book, we have a story wherein a man is murdered in a Christmas tree farm. It seems he may have been poisoned by a cookie from Emily's store.

The second story revolves around a young heartthrob who was part of the local drama. He left a few months ago but no one thought he was dead. In fact, no one knows he's dead until they find him under the water when the local skating festival starts.

The last story is set in a recently renovated, supposedly haunted mansion. The ghost is thought to be the remnants of an old mayor who may or may not have been murdered by his valet. The murder weapon itself is on display and ends up being used in a modern day murder as well.

Three and a half stars

Mistletoe Murders #1

This book came out November 8, 2023

Followed by Mistletoe Murders 2

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Illusion Town by Jayne Castle

Hannah West is known online as the Finder. Her psychic ability to "talk" to her doppelganger during sleep helps her find objects for people (this is sort of sketchy how this works, takes some suspension of disbelief). She has recently helped Elias Coppersmith track down a family heirloom and now she's accepted a dinner date. But she wakes up the next morning with no memory of the evening before and a marriage certificate in her purse. She and Elias will have to work together to piece together the evening before, figure out why they're being chased by biker dudes, discover a lost Arcane archive, and rescue a team of his people from a hidden gate.
This was very reminiscent of several other books in this series. The female character being the only one who can work the dreamlight and open a gate where people are trapped. Biker dudes chasing our main characters down. And some shadowy subplot with a secret location. It was a good story but felt a bit repetitive and a little disjointed. A fast, fun read and I'm not going to be giving up on the series any time soon.

Three stars

This book came out July 15, 2016

Ghosthunters #13

Follows Siren's Calll

Followed by Guild Boss

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Sure, I'll Join Your Cult by Maria Bamford

Definitely absorb this as an audiobook. Maria Bamford's voice is so distinctive and it's a delight to listen to her. Her tone is wry, her stories sometimes hard to digest but she does, indeed, have a rich history of joining various groups that could be classified as cults whether it's a religion, a diet scheme, or any number of "anonymous" organizations. 

Four stars

This book came out September 5, 2023

Book borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Siren's Call by Jayne Castle

I would definitely recommend reading more in the series before this one but I don't think you'll be very lost if you don't. 

Ella Morgan is a Siren(!). She can literally sing (along harmonic lines, out loud? She can't carry a tune) a person to death. And we see her use her talents almost to that point in the beginning of the story. There was a lot of action bunched at the beginning which was a little annoying but we get an immediate introduction to Ella's talent and a glimpse of our hero, Raphael "Rafe" Coppersmith. 

There is a gap of three months between Rafe and Ella's first meeting. I was a little annoyed because Ella kept thinking "Oh, he's never going to call" and then getting mad because he didn't call, but I guess that's normal(?). 

Also, the reason that Rafe and Ella are together gets solved awfully quickly. I'm guessing there was a LOT of set up in this book for the rest of the books in the series because there were also some plotlines that were started and never finished (DND, Vortex, actually doing any mining).

I know this review seems nitpicky, especially for a four-star review, but overall, this was a book that I really enjoyed and now I am already ready for the next book.

Three and a half stars

This book came out August 26th, 2014

Rain Shadow #4, Ghosthunters #12

Follows Hot Zone

Followed by Illusion Town

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

Would you like to be stuck in a time loop? Davi sure isn't enjoying hers. She's on round 300-somethinig (is she keeping count correctly? Who can tell?) Davi hasn't been killed by the Dark Lord or their minions on every round of her life but it's been more often than not. So her question becomes, does she keep getting killed or does she become the killer?
I had a hard time connecting with Davi. Yes, there was some language. Yes, there was some sex. Yes, there is a surprising amount of pop culture for a woman stuck in a time loop. All are parts of this story that pointed at this being a catnip book for me. But. There just wasn't much character development for her. The sex is overused. The violence is overused. The footnotes were interesting but became annoying. I found myself skimming just to get to the end.

Three stars

This book comes out May 21, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Orbit Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Sunshine State by D.P. Lyle

Billy Wayne Baker, admitted serial killer, has contacted Jake and Nicole. Sure, he's killed some people; but he's offended. He's only admitted to five but has been convicted of killing seven. He wants them to figure out which two are the ones he didn't kill. But he's not going to tell them which ones.

So, with the help of Pancake and Ray, they are going to head to Pine Key. They are going in under the guise of seeing whether the story of the murders there would make a good movie. Luckily, Nicole's Uncle Charles is a major producer and is willing to go in on the plan.

At first, the solution seems obvious, but as they dig, some town secrets will be uncovered. It's a good thing both Jake and Nicole have been taking Krav Maga.

Three stars
This book came out May 21, 2019

Jake Longly #3

Follows A-List

Followed by The OC

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Lights, Camera, Bones by Carolyn Haines

There's a movie production in town and everyone is atwitter. Famous actor Marlon Brandon is doing a film about his family who have been movers and shakers in Greenville for a very long time but this film focuses on the flood of 1927. But, this being Greenville, there's something going on. A gaffer, Jules is missing. And there are people in town who aren't happy that this movie is being made. 

When Marlon goes missing, there are any number motives that come out of the woodwork though most seem to center around the past. So who is behind the murder and the disappearance?
The Sarah Both Delaney stories are often a little out there (I mean, there's a ghost in every story) but this story includes a shark. Yes, in freshwater. I get that this is a thing that can happen but... it was set up as a major part of the story. 

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #27

This book comes out May 21, 2024

Follows Tell-Tale Bones

Followed by Blue Christmas Bones 

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own