Homicide for the Holidays by Cheryl Honigford

It's the Christmas season but Vivian is not so merry. She's back at the family mansion for a command performance and has stumbled on a secret key in her father's study. It's a key that opens up a drawer that has been locked for eight years, since her father's death. In it, a mysterious envelope filled with cash. But it has disappeared when Viv next goes back to look for it. It's a mystery that Viv isn't sure she wants to explore, delving deep into the last few weeks of her father's life. Even though it is eight years past, this murder has repercussions that ripple into Viv's life today.
I'm not sure about the ending on this one. And the story is just a little confused. I am still looking forward to the next one in the series.

Three stars
This book comes out October 3
ARC kindly provided by Edelweiss
Followed by Dig Deep My Grave

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie

It wasn't Tessa Woodward's decision to move her family from Florida to Chicago. And it certainly wasn't her decision to move them a month after school started. Nor is she especially excited to live in a haunted house. And it's... really haunted. Like, not just a little haunted. The ghost is even communicating through her brother's ventriloquist's dummy. AS if that weren't creepy enough to start with.
But, at least it does help lead her to making friends. While Tessa doesn't actually believe in ghosts, her new friends are willing to help her do research in order to solve her problem.
While 3/4 of the book was fairly intriguing, the end was WAY too sappy for me.

Three stars
This book comes out October 10

Bachelor Games by Daire St. Denis

Becca and Grace have always been a team. Grace is the beauty while Becca is the brains. And even though Grace is the elder, Becca has been protecting her since high school. And that’s what Becca plans on doing during the latest contest at a resort in the Caribbean. The prize is a date with a billionaire eligible bachelor, Calum Price.

But it’s not Grace who gets a seat next to Cal on the flight to the Caribbean, it’s Becca. And it’s the plain, brainy, slightly mouthy sister who captures the man’s attention. Sure, Grace is nice enough, but she’s not the one who arouses his… curiosity.

I should have figured, this being a part of the “Blaze” series, that this book would have some sex scenes that were less than vanilla. They’re not my favorite but I think regular readers will enjoy the book as a whole.

Three stars

This book comes out October 9

Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer

I was intrigued by the premise of this book. You've got a Southern matchmaker, Macy Frost, meeting a Northerner who just wants to have fun, Deacon Banks. Macy takes her matchmaking role very seriously. How could she not? She comes from a family of matchmakers who may or may not be descended from Cupid himself.
Deacon Banks is a confident tech entrepreneur (isn't that nice and vague?) who just wants to make his aunt happy this Christmas season by appearing to be searching for his true love. As long as the women know what the score is, why would it be a problem? Except that Macy seems to want him to concentrate on true love and Deacon's wondering why he can't be matched to the matchmaker.
I thought I knew Kramer's name and at the end of story, I finally remembered why. I have tried at least a couple of her books before but there is something about her writing that I just do not connect to. Not her fault or mine, it's just not a good match. I really liked the idea of this book and I think her regular readers will be more than satisfied.

Three stars
This book comes out October 3

Hello Again by Brenda Novak

Evelyn Talbot is still working in Alaska trying to decipher the secrets of some of the world's worst serial killers. In this story, she is concentrating on Lyman Bishop, a man who liked to lobotomize his victims. But was he wrongly convicted?
At the same time, she's trying to figure out whether the murder of a woman from her high school class was perpetrated by Evelyn's high school sweetheart, the one who murdered three of her friends and tried to murder Evelyn.
I liked the short story that started this book, the first book a little less, and this one even a little less. The overall arc for Evelyn is just so slow moving. She's more or less the same woman we met in the short story. You'd think that events would change her more. I think people who enjoyed the first book will like this one but this may be the end of the road on the series for me.

Three stars
This book comes out October 4
Follows Her Darkest Nightmare

The Human Workplace by Andy Swann

Nonfiction books, especially books about the workplace can get a little dry. This book was very readable and eminently pragmatic. Definitely a British book, I think there are still applications for those of us in America. My personal takeaway was that you need to have the right person in the right place doing the right actions to make a successful workplace. This is a little more touchy-feely than most of the work-related books I've read and a little bit more than I really wanted in a workplace book but overall a nice read.

Four stars
This book comes out October 3

A Talent for Temptation by Sabrina Jeffries

Meriel Vyse isn't sure about the way her life is going. She has been working for her husband's brother as a spy but she hates the work. And getting to know Quinn Raines has really made her long for a normal life.
Quinn Raines is also in love with Meriel which is why he fakes a kidnapping (really?) so that he can "rescue" her. Little does he know she's perfectly capable of rescuing herself. He finds out when she pulls a knife from her reticule and stabs him.
At under 50 pages, that really is pretty much the whole story. It's a nice story though short. Very, very short.

Three stars
This book comes out October 2