Vengeance in Venice by Erica Ruth Neubauer

 Jane and Redvers are on their honeymoon and enjoying their time alone. Except they're not as alone as they used to be since Aunt Millie has not only found them in Italy, she's insisting that they attend a party with her. 

The soiree is being thrown by Clara, an heiress to the Morton salt company. She's eccentric and rude and Jane is stymied as to how she is a friend of Millie's. It's equally strange that this particular get-together includes a murder, that of Clara's second ex-husband, an Italian poet. The police immediately latch onto Clara's secretary, a woman Jane has met before. 

The search for the killer will introduce Jane to a new kind of detective (inspettore) and cause her to question whether she is at good at reading people as she thinks she is. 

Four stars

Jane Wunderly #5

This book comes out March 31, 2026

Follows Homicide in the Indian Hills

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

This Will Be Interesting by E. B. Asher

Most people would be grateful to be brought back from the dead. And, while Galwell the Great's circumstances ARE fairly unique, he still feels like he should be grateful. He's trying very hard to be. But, for the rest of the world it's been ten years while for him it's the blink of an eye. His life just gets even weirder when an assasin tries to take him out.

River kills for the council. This one is weird, though. She's gotten instructions on who to kill but not why. And she always gets the why. She encounters Clara, a journalist who is also an old friend. Seeing her again is one of the reasons River decides to figure out what is going on. 

I had no idea how Asher was going to follow the first book. How do you deal withsomeone whose death united a nation, but now the man has returned. 

Four stars

This book comes out March 24, 2026

Follows This Will Be Fun

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyage, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien

Lana Lee, twenty-seven, has returned home and has been working for her parents for the last six months. Her parent's restaurant is a part of the "Asian Village." Mr. Feng, the owner of said village, is raising the rent and people are not happy. Since this is a murder mystery, Mr. Feng is the one who ends up dead. Also, since this is a murder mystery, there are any number of suspects as well as a variety of motives.
I finished this book but won't be actively looking to continue the series. Lana actively interferes in investigations, puts both herself and her friends in danger, and withholds evidence. And there's no reason for it! She's not even really a suspect nor is anyone she loves. The victim wasn't someone she loved. I just didn't get why she was invested at all. 

Two and a half stars

This book came out March 27, 2018

Noodle Shop Mystery #1

Followed by Dim Sum of All Fears

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

I'm Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home by Fergus Craig

Carol has been released from prison after several decades. She has been deposited in a retirement community that should be quiet, but a murder occurs soon after she arrives. As a confessed serial killer, she comes under suspicion pretty quickly. 

80-year-old Geoffrey, a former cop certainly points her out pretty quickly. He is joined in his investigation by Catherine, a retired pathologist, and Margaret who was a barrister, even home secretary for awhile. They don't think the police are moving fast enough so they'll take care of it themselves. 

Carol wants to prove her innocence even when it puts her at odds with the people in her home, but will they have to end up working together?

A lovely story that is more than fairly clued. It took me awhile to get into the story but was worth the read. 

Four stars

This book came out February 17, 2026

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Coaching Effect by Sarah Wirth, Bill Eckstrom

This book has the premise that coaching elevates teams more than managing does. They studied sales teams becuase they are easier to track immediate results. They also talk about the four growth rings: stagnation (low/no growth), chaos (performance low), order (predictibility), complexity (growth through discomfort). 

They also talk about the tools needed for high performance growth: one-on-one meetings, team meetings, performance feedback, and career development plans. It's not only important to have these things but to do them on a particular cadence and in a particular style (in person, email, etc.)  It IS important to be clear and specific, to structure the talk for feedback, and to ask what questions rather than why questions, and to pay attention to your tone. 

It was an interesting book and fine enough to read, but I didn't really connect with the style.

Three stars

This book came out April 2, 2019

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own
 

Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

Ernest is back in the thick of things, solving crimes using the rules of Golden Age mysteries. This time, he and Juliette are trying to get a loan to get their detective business off the ground but are having little success. Then, a letter comes from a bank that is willing to loan them money. 

They head to the bank and discover that the man willing to lend them money wants them to prove themselves first by finding his brother. While they're there, the bank is going to be robbed. And by the end of the story, all ten people in the bank will have stolen something. 

This is the closest of the sequels to hit the tone and feel of the first book with a setting that makes sense for the update to a golden age mystery. 

Three and a half stars

Ernest Cunningham #4

Follows Everyone this Christmas Has a Secret

ARC kindly provided by Mariner Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano

The last book ended suddenly with Finlay's live-in nanny, best friend, and body-moving buddy, Vero, being arrested for stealing a large amount of cash from her sorority. Her loss is keenly felt, especially since her attorney has cut off communication to both Finlay and Vero's husband-ish-type-person, Javier. 

Finlay isn't okay with that and neither is Javi so they're going to go see Vero. And that turns into helping Vero and suddenly they're breaking her out of the house and tryin to figure out who actually stole the money. This leads them on another madcap adventure where they're again on the wrong side of the law, but Cosimano makes it seem so fun. 

Four stars

Finlay Donovan #6

Follows Finlay Donovan Digs her own Grave

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own