Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gilmanby, Barbara Rosenblat (Narrator)

Cyrus is not at home, and there are strange things happening. Items are moving around, food has gone missing, and there are strange men in the garden. Mrs. Pollifax is not one to overreact, but she really thinks something is going on. When she finds Kadi Hopkirk hiding in her closet, she is almost relieved. At least that explains everything that has been going on. Now the chase is on.
It seems Kady has a friend, Sammy, whose father is president of an African country. When they accidetally met, he passed her important information. Of course, this is right up Mrs. P's alley and she is immediately on the bandwagon to help. That means a car chase, a call to her CIA contact, and being housed in a carnival. 

Three stars

This book came out in 1995

Mrs. Pollifax #11

Follows Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief

Followed by Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

A Ghost Hunter's Guide to Solving a Murder by F.H. Petford

World War II is in full force when Alma Timperly is informed that her aunt has died and left her a hotel in Cornwall. Alma is initially confused because she had no idea that she even had an aunt. But the lawyer seems nice and Alma's intuition is telling her that he is trustworthy. So she is off to take over the Timperly Spiritualist Hotel. 

There, Alma is surprised to learn that her aunt actually had the gift of talking to the dead. Even more surprisingly, Alma seems to have the gift as well. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as if either of the two other spiritualists actually have the gift. That doesn't dissuade people from coming to see them at the hotel.
The hotel is fairly well run and Alma is pretty much able to step in. She also has a couple of suitors and seems to move quickly. However, they are in a war and life just moves quickly then. She'll also have to move fast to uncover the German spy that is operating out of her place.

There was a little much going on in this story but I enjoyed it overall. 

Four stars

This book comes out October 2, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

A coworker mentioned reading this book but that she was having a hard time getting through it. I've been on a streak of business-related books and the parts that she described sounded interesting. 

I totally get it what she means about the slog. It took me a long time to get through this book. It's not just the fact that this book is almost 20 years old and that life has changed so much. While Ferris has a number of thoughts that sound good on the surface, it's like listening to a car salesman. It's all too good to be true. Ferris has a giant blindspot in regards to his own privilege that makes it hard to think that everyone could follow his suggestions and get to where he is. 

Is anything imminently wrong? No, but hindsight (and probably even a bit of thought at the time) shows that most of his suggestions aren't going to work in the ways that he is promising.

Two and a half stars

This book came out January 1, 2011

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club is back and celebrating the wedding of Joyce's daughter. Even there, they find themselves embroiled in intrigue. It seems the best man needs Elizabeth's help. But Elizabeth is still reeling from events of the last book and isn't completely on her game. Luckily, her friends (and their families) are behind her. 

It seems the best man, Nick, has found a bomb under his car. He's pretty sure he knows why and it has to do with his security company and a large amount of money.

In this book, we get some new characters as well as some old enemies who make for uneasy alliances. We don't get to see as much of our favorite coppers, but we do get to see Elizabeth and her friends do what they do best. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 30, 2025

Follows The Last Devil to Die

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Viking Penguin

Opinions are my own

Murder at Somerset House by Andrea Penrose

The book opens with the Weasels trying to find a monkey that has escaped from the palace. They overhear a plot that becomes entwined with a request to Wrex. Napoleon has escaped Elba and there are fears of another war. At the same time, England and France are in a race to see who can build the first telgraph. 

The Weasels are starting to grow up and Raven is learning more about the Stock Exchange which plays into the story as well. They are all, once again, learning to accept change when Wrex learns some surprising news about his late father. 

The cast keeps growing. I'm assuming that there will be more about new members in upcoming books but there wasn't as much story this time and more of a focus on the characters, but even that was a little spread thin with the numbers of people we are following. 

Three and a half stars

Wrexford & Sloane #9

This book came out September 30, 2025

Follows Murder at King's Crossing

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

Sinek argues that we think of too many things in life, including life itself, as a finite game. As if there is a goal to get to and then you're done. He argues that we should, in fact, be thinking as if there are things in life that are infinite, that we are going to be continiually working towards goals that may be moving. 

This is a typical business-type nonfiction book with stories carefully picked to ensure that they are going to support the author's versioni of how we should be working. An interesting read and somewhat atypical in that it's not asking businesses to set a specific goal but it is another in a set of books that could have been done as a Ted Talk and didn't need to try and force an expansion.

Three stars

This book came out January 1, 2017

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas

The book opens with something very valuable being hidden in a library. Then we start to meet the people who work in said library. Most of them have been working there for awhile, all of them have something to hide. There is a new staff member, Hazel, who also has A History. It is not, as would happen in most stories, her arrival that sets the cat among the pigeons. Instead, it is the murder of one of the patrons who attended the first library game night. Having the police show up makes the staff very uncomfortable. It also allows them to learn more about each other (and the obligatory addition) and themselves.

It took me a long while to get into this book, but I trust Thomas and kept going. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 30, 2025

ARC kindly provieded by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own