Once Upon a Thriller by Carolyn Keene, narrator: Jorjeana Marie

Nancy, Bess, and George are on a "camping" trip, staying in a cabin. They get to the location, take a quicky hike around the lake, then decide to visit the nearby town. Once there, they discover that the local bookstore, Paige's Pages has burned down. Outside are a number of fans who had been getting ready for a book signing by a reclusive author who only ever signs books at that particular store. 

That's not the only odd thing to happen in town and many of the strange happenings seem to mirror the plot of the author's first book.

An interesting story that is fluffier than the others so far in this series but it is aimed at the middle grade so that is something to consider.   

Four stars

Nancy Drew Diaries #4

Follows Mystery of the Midnight Rider

Followed by Sabotage at Willow Woods

This book came out May 7, 2013

Opinions are my own

The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene, narrator: Laura Linney

I didn't remember this book from reading it before. It's nice to find new titles even in a series I thought I had completed. Granted, this is a children's series, but there was a lot of coincidence and some fairly unbelievable aspects to this story. It was certainly interesting to think of Nancy in scuba gear. 

She's helping her friend Emily who is having some problems while converting a family house to an inn. She is also engaged to be married. There are any number of things going wrong including her jewelry inheritance being stolen from a room that a whole group is in.

There is also a sub-but-related-plot of someone impersonating Nancy.  

Three and a half stars

Nancy Drew #4

Follows The Bungalow Mystery

Followed by The Secret of Shadow Ranch

This book came out in 1930

Mystery of the Midnight Rider by Carolyn Keene, narrator: Jorjeana Marie

Nancy and Ned are at the horse show. Nancy never misses it and Ned has a family friend, Payton Evans, who is competing. Rumors are that Payton is being considered for the Olympic team. That would definitely cause a lot of jealousy and may be part of the reason that someone seems to be trying to sabotage her efforts. 

A really fast read but, like chips, still enjoyable. And the ending made sense which was nice. 

Four stars

Nancy Drew Diaries #3

Follows Strangers on a Train

Followed by Once Upon a Thriller

This book came out May 7, 2013

Opinions are my own

The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett

The Fairway Players are back. Once again, something has happened that requires lawyers to go through the correspondence of the acting group. We even get the same people looking over the papers (this is specifically because of the work they did on the previous case.)

Like the other books, this is an epistolary encompassing texts, emails, and even one player's personal journal. There are a LOT of people and, while I would say it helps to read the first book, I only have dim memories of all of the players from that one so you may not need it. 

The players are just as dysfunctional as they were in the first book with feuds that are both obvious and somewhat less so. They are putting on Agatha Christie's The Hollow which has some obvious echoes to characters both old and new. Like the last book, this one will have at least one murder. Is the ending just as weird? Yes. Did I generally enjoy it? Yes. 

Three and a half stars

This book come out August 25, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Miss Morton Takes the Waters by Catherine Lloyd

Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton are on their way to Bath. Caroline's mysterious "inheritance," still hasn't come through and Mrs. Frogerton is in the doldrums so it seems like the best idea. Once there, they start meeting people. Of course, many of the people look down on Mrs. Frogerton for coming from trade. But she doesn't mind any of them, even the eternally grumpy Lady Brompton. She is not the one who is murdered, however. 
Even so, there are a number of suspects in the murder. The ending came a little bit out of nowhere and was a little more chaotic than I remember the Miss Morton series being. 

We have two famaciliar characters but in a new setting and a new supporting cast, including another inspector who is very much intrigued by Caroline. I am generally enjoying this series but hope that Caroline's personal arc gets some movement soon. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out August 25, 2026

Miss Morton #6

Follows Miss Morton and the Missing Heir

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own 

Murder on the Rocks by T.E. Kinsey

Flo and Lady Hardcastle are in a locked room mystery. Locked island mystery? It starts with a train trip though that doesn't serve much purpose other than to introduce a character who doesn't show up again until the end of the story. 

But the ladies are going to the island at the behest of an old friend, J. B. McIntyre. They're relatively excited because he is a millionaire who always shows them a good time. 

When they get to the island, everything seems wonderful... at first. Yes, the married couple running the place are a little rough around the edges and at least one of the couples seems to be in a bit of a feud, but that is par for the course at any house party. Not so par for the course? A dead body. Although Flo and Lady Hardcastle do seem to encounter more bodies than normal.

Four stars

Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #13

This book came out May 26, 2026

Follows The Beast of Littleton Woods

Borrowed as audiobook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

How to Menopause by Tamsen Fadal

I really enjoyed this book. It's so informative and the author often encourages you to work with your doctor and to find what works for you. I really dislike books that are all or nothing. However, there is a certain assumption of access to care that may not apply to every reader. 

Even though I am in the group for peri-menopause, I didn't think I was having any symptoms. But, there are 34. 34 symptoms of menopause. And a whole bunch of things I thought were related to another health issue made more sense as being related to my age. 

Fadal covers any number of topics including sleep, brainfog, yoga, sex, eating, clothes, community, . For each of these, she goes through potential solutions both medical and not. I was happy to learn that the diet (close to the Mediteranean) that I am on for my high cholesterol is also recommended for menopause. 

Four and a half stars

This book came out 

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own