Death In Disguise by Caroline Graham

Barnaby and Troy are faced with an interesting case, the murder of a local cult leader. The group has taken over a local manor house and keep themselves to themselves which sets off some of the locals. It's also interesting that there are some outsiders in the manor the night he dies, including the father of one of their members. He's been searching for his daughter, she's about to turn 21 and come into a half a million pounds. 

As is often the case with Graham's book, there is a LOT of character development. We get to know almost all of the characters before the murder actually takes place. I enjoy that quite a bit, even if I didn't enjoy all of the characters themselves.

Three and a half stars

Chief Inspector Barnaby #3

This book came out in 1992

Follows Death of a Hollow Man

Followed by Written in Blood

Audiobook of mine in Audible

Opinions are my own

Born in Ice by Nora Roberts

I have to admit, Born in Fire is my favorite book of this trilogy. The repartee of Maggie and Rogan is too fun to miss. But this one is pretty good too.

In this book, second sister, Brianna Concannon, B&B proprietress, has a Yank customer, famous author Grayson (Gray) Thane. 

Gray isn't interested in settling down, but something about this warm hotelier is warming the cockles of his heart.

Lots of other stuff going on. It's possible to read this book without reading the first one, but it's much better if you know more of the back story.

Three stars

This book came out August 1, 1995

Born in Trilogy #1

Follows Born in Fire

Followed by Born in Shame

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

The setting is familiar. Its an exclusive invite to a private island by a reclusive author. All of the invitees are authors. And the first person narrators are all authors. Of course, they all have secrets. Even the woman who helped plan the event and is now overseeing it.
The first night, a riddle is served. Early the next morning, every camera goes out and one of the authors disappears. And it devolves from there. Who is the mysterious person who invited them all? Who will make it out alive?
Pretty standard thriller, interesting ending.

Three and a half stars

This book came out February 11, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Let's Make a Scene by Laura Wood

Ugh. I generally liked this story but might not have picked it up if I had known that the book would be switching from past to present. I am not sure that the book needed to be structured that way and it took away from the contemporary story that I really did enjoy. 

Thirteen years ago, Cynthie starred in the film that catapulted her to stardom. It's too bad that her costar was such an unbearable jerk. Jack may have been Hollywood royalty but was also an ass and a half. And now they're starring in a sequel and they need each other. Cynthie has been embroiled in a scandal caused by her last director (who also tore down her self-esteem) and Jack needs to not be killed off the the vampire television show where he is a Giles-type character. 

Once again, sparks fly and the two make the front page. But is this fake romance in danger of turning real (hint: this is a romance novel so... probably.)

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 1, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Linchpin by Seth Godin

The basic premise of this story is that you should find what makes you unique and use it to make youreself indispensible to your company. An artist can't be outsourced. At least according to Godwin. And he tells us that. A lot. In many different ways. Over and over. If you like Godwin's keynotes, those are entertaining and much more concise. 

Two and a half stars

This book came out January 26, 2010

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

You're Not Listening by Kate Murphy

There are a lot of really nice points in this book. What makes us feel lonely and isolated...is the missed opportunity to connect when you could have. I don't always think that is true, but I am a pretty intense introvert. I have made it a goal to leave conversations having learned something and it has made me concentrate more. 

The layers of friendship intrigued me; 150 you can comfortably know well enough to grab a drink but fewer close friends. I believe that for sure. 

My favorite chapter, as referenced in my previous comments is the one where you can sometimes say "no" to a conversation. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 7, 2020

Hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie, with narrators Hugh Fraser, Nigel Hawthorne

Dead Man's Mirror
Gervase Chevinix-Gore writes to Poirot. He's well known for being incredibly proud of his family. But he never had biological children. His only daughter was adopted from a deceased, distant family member. He's asking Poirot to come because he's afraid he's being defrauded. But Poirot arrives too late, Gervase is dead.

The Incredible Theft
A weekend party starts off well but goes down hill when plans vital to winning the war disappear.

Murder in the Mews
Barbara Allen is dead of an apparent suicide. But her flatmate is insistent that it is murder. And all of the clues do seem to point in that direction. Will Hercule be able to discover what actually happened?

Triangle at Rhodes
Hercule observes two couples at Rhodes. It seems like the handsome husband of one would be better matched with the stunning woman of the other. Then, one of them dies. Who dies and why?

Four stars

This book came out in 1937

Hercule Poirot #16

Follows Cards on the Table

Followed by Dumb Witness

Audible book of mine

Opinions are my own