Monday, September 28, 2026

A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford & A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford by Claudia Stone

A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford

Both of Emily's older sisters have married well so she's been dragged to Londo to have a series. She... is not very excited about that. To say the least. She isn't exactly outgoing and her mother is akin to Mrs. Bennett. Unfortunately, she threatens to kill a woman (an overly obnoxious woman, to be sure), who then ends up dead. And her rival's finger points straight at her!

Luckily, a nearby marquess, Frederick Chambers, does not believe that she had anything to do with the murder and rushes to her defense.
I'm glad I kept reading the books in this series. The first one wasn't great but the rest are, like I said in the last book's review, like Pringles. You just can't stop reading them. Are they great? Not really. But they're a fast read and easy to get through.

Three stars
Regency Murder & Marriage #3
Followed by A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford
This came out October 4, 2021

A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford

Eudora was probably the most annoying sister to read about. She's always trying to appear older in order to "catch up" to her sisters. And they've all solved a murder and fallen in love, so now she wants the chance too. To bad the body she's stumbled across seems to be a natural death. Luckily, she's able to flag a man down to go get help. That man just happens to be a baron who falls immediately, irrevocably in love with her. She's not very interested in him until a freak snow storm strands them at her sister's house and an actual murder occurs.

This book was... fine. But Eudora was annoying and the romance was thin. I finished it though and the author set it up for a new set of Miffords to find love

Two and a half stars
Regency Murder & Marriage #4
Follows A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford
Followed by An Execution, an Earl, and Miss Hughes
This came out  March 2, 2025

Sunday, September 27, 2026

A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder by Dianne Freeman



Four stars
Countess of Harleigh #9
This book comes out September 29, 2026
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Eavesdropping on Animals by George Bumann, narrator: Eric Michael Summerer, foreword: Jon Young

Disclaimer: I know the author. The biggest disappointment of the audiobook is that he was not the narrator. We could have heard the actual turkey gobbles that won him a trophy, we could have experienced the raven's call, we could have heard his last name pronounced correctly (from his website: rhymes with human.)
The review of this book could be flattened to say, "Bumann tells you to go outside and use your senses." However it's so much more than that. He wants you to go outside and listen and watch and sync about what you're hearing and seeing not just observing but becoming a reader of the landscape.

Four stars
This book came out April 15, 2025
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Peg and Rose Deck the Halls by Laurien Berenson




stars
This book comes out September 29, 2026
Senior Sleuths #4
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own



Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene, narrator: Danica Reese

An injured carrier pigeon lands in Nancy's yard. Inside the capsule is a mysterious message. She is determined to figure out what the message means. It will lead her to a mysterious manor where a doctor seems to be taking advantage of elderly women, including one who risks quite a bit to get a bracelet smuggled out with Nancy's family doctor.
A lot of coincidences and a fairly improbable escape when Nancy is thrown in a pit at the end of the book but worth re-reading when I'm doing the whole series. 

Three stars
Nancy Drew #10
Followed by The Clue of the Broken Locket
This book came out in 1933

Friday, September 25, 2026

The Cornish Halloween Murder by Fiona Leitch



stars
The Nosey Parker Mysteries #10
This book comes out September 24, 2026
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

Izzy and her wacky family are back. She’s been arrested 4 times in the last three months because of her next-door neighbor, a man she refers to as, “The Subject”. He is suspicious because of his name, the locked door in his house, and, of course, his interest in her. Izzy is also busy because her whole family is acting suspiciously. Her mother keeps sneaking out, her dad is coming home having been to yoga, her brother isn’t going into work and instead staying at home all day, and her sister Rae, well, she’s always suspicious. 
Most of the characters from the first book make a reappearance, including two of Izzy’s ex-boyfriends. It is a zany book and very much of its time which may make it seem dated to some readers. I did have to plow through some of the zaniness at points but it was overall a good read and is not discouraging me from completing the series. 

Three and a half stars
Spellman Series #2
Followed by Revenge of the Spellmans
This book came out March 11, 2008
Hard copy from library
Opinions are my own