Blue Christmas Bones by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth Delaney and her friends are in Tupelo. While there, a fabulous replica of Elvis's belt is stolen and she and Tinkie are called in to help. This isn't their home turf so it's definitely harder than usual to figure out what is going on. There are a number of musical opportunities and no end to who might have stolen the belt. 

I wasn't sure that the final suspects were really believable as such. There are a number of Elvis-related puns that were fun to read but did get to be a lot to wade through. 

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #28

This book comes out October 15, 2024

Follows Lights, Camera, Bones

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon with Siiri Scott (Narrator)

Cash is 19 and not really thinking about her life. She works as a farm laborer (like she has since she was young) and she uses a fake ID to hustle pool and win free beers. There's a guy she's been hanging around with, Jim. He's got a wife and kids but she doesn't think about that. Really, just puts it out of her mind. Forefront in her mind though? The unknown Native American who was killed in a nearby farm field.

Between her dreams and a request from the sheriff, Cash discovers the name of the man's wife and heads over to talk to her. That leads to her getting involved in uncovering the murder.

Why would a request from the sheriff work on her? He's rescued her in any number of ways and has been a constant adult presence in her life. He's not quite a father figure but not NOT a father figure either so she wants to help. 

It's a fairly simple mystery and is really more about building the characters than creating a complicated story. Definitely interesting but I didn't love it as much as one of the ladies in my book club.

Three stars

This book came out February 20, 2017

Cash Blackbear Mysteries #1

Followed by Girl Gone Missing

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Rockin' Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews

Meg's sister-in-law Delaney is pregnant and about to burst. While she's on bedrest, the rest of the family is helping out by feeding her chickadees. This leads to Rose Noir finding a body behind the barn. The bad new is that it's the Gadfly.

Gordon Norton, called the Gadfly by Meg's family, has been a thorn in the side of many people in the true crime community. He keeps trying to prove that people who have been exonerated were actually guilty. In fact, he's been harassing them pretty thoroughly. Which is why no one was happy about the fact that he was coming to the true crime conference that Meg's grandmother, Cordelia, had put together. 

There seem like a few more side characters than usual but we do get to see a lot of the regulars. I didn't love the ending and the motives but the overall book is a nice addition to the series. 

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #36

This book comes out October 15, 2024

Follows Between a Flock and a Hard Place

ARC of ebook kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

The Medici Manuscript by C.J. Archer

Sylvia is still working in Glass Library with Professor Nash and they've discovered an interesting manuscript. There are markings that seem like the book may have come from the well-known Medici family. But there are other markings as well. Some that seem like they might point to some potent magic. 

The whole gang is there again, Sylvia's friend, Gabe, Gabe's aunt, and his friend. And they're all trying  to figure out what they mean. But then the book disappears. Plus, there's the whole "people trying to kidnap Gabe" issue and him discovering more about his own magic.

An interesting addition to the series and at least one impediment to the path for Sylvia and Gabe gets removed. But that plot point could come back later.

Three stars
This book came out March 7, 2023

Follows The Librarian of Crooked Lane

Followed by The Untitled Books

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Family Reunion by Brenda Jackson

Ethan Bennett married off his children and now he's working on the younger generation. He's got four grandchildren who need to find love. In order to help pull them through, he's planning the first Bennett family reunion in fifteen years. Well, he's not, he's turning it over to a cousin or sister or some other woman (because why would he actually do the planning and she likes to do that stuff). 

We meet the grandchildren, Taye who was supposedly the smartest of them all but got pregnant young and disappointed the family (now has two daughters), Michael (adopted) who is a pilot with a teenage daughter who is running out of control, Alexia who is a rock idol, and Rae'Jean who is a doctor dating a man (who is white which is causing issues in the family.)

The first half or so of the book is at the reunion and the back half is over a series of months. This book is definitely an earlier Jackson with all sorts of racial and gender storylines that I don't think she would use now. I was honestly surprised it came out in the early 2000s. It's a fine enough book but she has better.

Three stars

This book came out September 17, 2001

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Christmas Movie Ultimate Trivia Book Test by Neal E. Fischer

This is another book that will probably be better as a physical book than as an ebook. The answers are often on another page and flipping back and forth can get a little hairy. 

The trivia in this book is... amazing. There are So Many movies included in this book. Yes, some of them may be argued as Christmas-adjacent, but the author does address this. There are twelve different categories including thrillers, animated movies, and even a whole section devoted just to Christmas Carol adaptations. It's a fun book with a lot of great trivia. There are even little mini sections in between. 

Other than the navigability issues, it's quite a nice book. 

Four stars

This book came out October 1, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Quarto Publishing Group - becker & mayer and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Mister McHottie by Pippa Grant

After the "bratwurst incident", Ambrosia Berger stopped going by "Bro" and asked people to start calling her "Sia." She didn't have the life she expected to live after the incident but she's carved out a pretty could niche on the social media team of Crunchy, an organic food store. Too bad her nemesis (and the other person involved) has just bought the store. 

Chase Jett grew up with the Berger twins and spent a lot of time with their sister. They had a history of pranking each other but their time together is still in his memory. He doesn't think they can pick up where they left off but he knows that the spark they had is still there.

This is barely a three star for me because there is just So Much Misunderstanding in this book.

Three stars

This book came out October 30, 2017

Girl Band #1

Followed by Stud in the Stacks

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own