Saturday, October 31, 2026

October 2026 rereads

Opinions, as always, are my own




Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Amelia Peabody #1
Followed by The Curse of the Pharoahs
This book came out in 1975
Audiobook from Audible





Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
Three and a half stars
This book came out November 1, 1969
Follows Third Girl
Followed by Elephants Can Remember
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby








We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
We Solve Murders #1
Followed by We Chase Shadows
This book came out September 17, 2024
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Friday, October 30, 2026

To Davy Jones Below by Carola Dunn, narrator: Lucy Rayner

Daisy and Alec are heading out on their honeymoon. They're heading to America where Alec *definitely* isn't going to have to do any work. Except that he's going to be consulting with the newly formed FBI. But they have to cross the Atlantic Ocean first. And they're going to be traveling with Daisy's childhood friend, Philip Petrie, his wife Gloria, her father Caleb Arbuckle and his friend Jethro Gotobed. Startlingly, the lifelong bachelor Gotobed has suddendly married. To a showgirl no less. And, since Gotobed is a millionaire, it's sort of presumed that the woman is a gold digger. The seven of them are sat at a dinner table with a herbalist, though they all call her a witch. 
The trip is unfortunately, not eventful. First, many of the passengers are beset by seasickness. Then, a man falls overboard. But did he fall or was he pushed? And what do the subsequent deaths mean?

Three stars
Daisy Dalrymple #9
Followed by The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
This book came out July 3, 2001
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Thursday, October 29, 2026

Christmas Confidential Lily Chu, narrator: Phillipa Soo

I listened to this novella and enjoyed the narrator throroughly.
Hana Choi's ex-roommate and current best friend is marrying Hana's cousin, a super-famous K-pop star. But, as romance stories are wont to do, the wedding is getting out of hand. Papparazzi are everywhere, they've had to book three different luxury hotels to try and throw Jihoon's fans off their track.
What's making all of this so complicated for Hana is that it's happening right after Jihoon's former bandmate (Hana's big crush), Kit, has just announced his feelings for her. But what if them getting together destroys what they already have? They agree to do some trial dating. But the wedding, combined with Kit's new television show and fake dati
ng with his costar take a little bit away from the development of Hana and Kit's relationship.

Four stars
Connected to: The Comeback
This book came out October 15, 2026
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

The Comeback by Lily Chu, narrator: Phillipa Soo

Ariadne Hui defines herself by her job. She's a lawyer. A darn good one, even if her heart isn't completely in it. But, this is what her dad has planned for her and she is nothing, if not a dutiful daughter. But her job is stressful and she's not excited to come home and find a stranger in her living room. Just... peachy. 
Choi Jihoon has just gone through a breakup according to his cousin Hana, Ariadne's roommate. He's going to hang out at their apartment while Hana is traveling. While Ariadne isn't particularly keen on the idea at first, she discovers that Jihoon is actually a really good listener. She's just starting to fall for the man when his secret is revealed and Ari is pushed into a realm she never thought she would have to join. 
I didn't love the third act miscommunication, especially since everyone seemed shocked at what I thought was a perfectly reasonable reaction from Ari. But a cute story and I hope the rest of the band members find love. 

Four stars
This book came out July 14, 2022
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Joy to the Bones by Carolyn Haines

At the end of the last book, Sarah Booth was cutting ties with almost all of her friends, with Coleman, and certainly with Jitty. She had learned some startling news about her parents death and was reacting blindly in the moment. And it takes her awhile to come around. Luckily, we're coming back after she's hit her cool down/remorseful time. 
Mr. Thompson creates a good "in" for her when he hires her to 

stars
Sarah Booth Delaney #31
This book comes out October 27, 2026
ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Monday, October 26, 2026

The Official Clue Book of Puzzles by Dr. Gareth Moore; Laura Jayne Ayres

I would definitely recommend buying this as a physical book. Trying to work through it as an ebook was not as frustrating as some books I've read, but it definitely made reading the book a lot harder. 
This was a thoughtful upgrade of the clue boardgame making jobs more pertinent to today and giving the characters more back story. Going character-by-character, the book has eight chapters (including one for Mr. Boden "Boddy" Black) filled with puzzles. Although each puzzle doesn't contribute to the overall mystery, every one does add to the story. The variety of puzzles is fantastic including putting things in order, picross, logic, mazes, and more. 

Four and a half stars
This book comes out October 27, 2026
ARC kindly provided by by NetGalley and Cider Mill Press
Opinions are my own

Sunday, October 25, 2026

Everyone's a Liar by Alexandra Ivy

Olivia Benoit's mother died at their family house, the Willows, when she was two. After that, she lost her entire family and was often treated as the black sheep. Her grandfather was a martinet who is controlling the family from even beyond the grave. They must all gather at the Willows for two weeks in order to receive the payout from their trust fund. Livia wouldn't go except that she doesn't want her family to get her share of the money. 
This year is going to be especially hard becaus she's just been catfished, her cousin is getting engaged, and she's becoming especially curious about what happened to her mother. Luckily, she meets her old friend Bryce (former FBI, now a sheriff's deputy) and is able to strike up a friendship with her that helps Livia with that last bit. 
We do see some of the story from Bryce's point of view so that we can get more information which helps that it wasn't shoehorned in. Some information is shoehorned later in the story though with another childhood friend and his father. This added to my overall sense that some of the story doesn't roll very smoothly, but it wasn't enough to pull me out of the story, just to flip back a page or two and see if I had missed something. 

Four stars
This book comes out October 27, 2026
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own