July Rereads

 As always, opinions are my own

Broken (in the best possible way) Jenny Lawson

This book came out April 6th, 2021

Audiobook from Libby

Toucan Keep a Secret by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #23

Four stars

This book came August 7th, 2018

Follows How the Finch Stole Christmas!
Followed by Lark! The Herald Angels Sing

Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews
Meg Langslow #26
This book came out October 15th
Follows Terns of Endearment
Followed by The Falcon Always Rings Twice
Borrowed as ebook from Libby

When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz

Cutler, Sutter, & Salinas #1

This book came out November 29th, 2016

Followed by Promise Not to Tell
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz

Cutler, Sutter, & Salinas #2

This book came out January 2, 2018

Follows When All the Girls Have Gone

Followed by Untouchable

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz

Cutler, Sutter, & Salinas #3

Three and a half stars (liked it better on re-read)

Follows Promise Not to Tell
This book came out January 8, 2019
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

The Pomodoro Technique by Francesco Cirillo

How can you work smarter? Through good planning and time chunking according to the Pomodoro Technique. If you plan to work for 25 minutes at a time with breaks of 3-5 minutes, Cirillo promises that you will be able to move mountains. This book apparently adds on sections for teams. 

This was originally published online so you can find it and the planning for it in various places but this book does set out some more rules.

It's an interesting idea but I think you need more self-discipline than I have...

Three stars

This edition came out August 14th, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews

Something's afoot when Meg's twins find what appears to be a hand in the local woods. Thank goodness it just ends up being some interesting-looking mushrooms. She's already got a lot going on. Their rambling house is once again full of actors; this time Michael is directing Macbeth and some of the actors might be truly be trying to bring their roles to life. There's also a camp of medieval reenactors in the neighborhood who might be taking their vow to live like those in Macbeth's time a little too seriously, especially because they're not doing it well. Just ask the sheep they "liberated" from Seth Early's farm. 

To add on to everything else, there's a filmmaker capturing it all on camera and he's not just annoying because of his noise level, it seems like he's trying to film something more like an expose than a straight up documentary. When his first edit is screened in the library, somebody sees something they don't like and the documentarian ends up dead with his trailer trashed and all of the raw footage gone.

Another enjoyable book. Many mysteries overlap to make for many people but not overly complicated.

Four stars

This book comes out August 3, 2021

Follows The Gift of the Magpie

Followed by The Twelve Jays of Christmas

ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Reread January 2022

A Boldly Daring Scheme by Lynn Messina

 Up until this book, all of the stories have been narrated by Beatrice Hyde-Clare, now a newly-minted duchess. She has described her cousin Flora as somewhat caring but basically a fluff brain. In this book, we jump into Flora's first person narration and see that, yes, she is sort of fluff-brained but that may, in part, be because no one has asked her to step up. In this book, she decides to do it on her own.

Even though Beatrice is now married, Flora knows that Beatrice must be missing her former fiance. Of course, Flora hasn't quite figured out that the fiance is fake but... at least her search gives her a purpose in her life. Of course, it does put her in the notice of Mr. Holcroft. She danced with him once but... meh. And now he's asking her what she things she's doing and being almost interesting.

An interesting diversion from the Beatrice books but Flora is still a bit vapid, even when she's doing interesting things. I have a feeling that she could grow into a stronger character but it wasn't in this book.

Three Stars

This book came out October 23, 2020

Follows A Sinister Establishment

Followed by A Ghastly Spectacle

This book came out June 16th, 2020

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Tattoos and Clues by Trixie Silvertale

Mitzy is just settling in to her new home town. And with the realization that she is seeing her grandmother's ghost. She's also dealing with the fact that her grandmother has no boundaries; or, at least, is giving Mitzy no boundaries. The woman (ghost woman?) can literally read Mitzy's thoughts. Which is not great at the best of times and is especially hard because Mitzy is dealing with a murder that hits close to home. She is walking Pye (her cat) on the beach when they come across a dead body. The man is not only Odell's (the man who runs the local diner) brother but he also had a daughter. Sort of like Mitzy being left orphaned. 

Odell asks Mitzy to look into the problem so she jumps into the fray. Like, she is put in some pretty severe danger in this book. Your general Mary Sue detective who doesn't turn over evidence to the police. 

The mystery is a little weak in this book though I did really enjoy the character development in this book as well as seeing Mitzy and her father's relationship growing. Mitzy seems to be gaining a LOT of powers. Like, a lot. I don't mind someone being powerful but she just keeps adding to her skill set and it's getting to be a lot. Will try the next book in the series but I'm hoping it levels out soon. 

Three and half stars

This book came out November 19th, 2019

Follows Fries and Alibis

Followed by Wings and Broken Things

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

A Void of Magic by Sandy Williams

Four years ago, Kennedy Rain got out of the family business. She wouldn't have come back now except her parents want to go on a second honeymoon. Again. So now she's back. And there's something going on, secrets that her parents have been keeping. It's well known that The Rain is a "null place". The problems (and pluses) that come with being a paranormal (vampire, werewolf, etc.) are voided in The Rain and there has been a treaty in place for hundreds of years keeping Kennedy's family and The Rain safe. But someone isn't happy with the status quo. Suddenly, the tables have turned and the treaty has been breached. 

This book, of course, reminded me of the Innkeeper's Chronicles by Ilona Andrews. The ages are a bit younger but you have the site of an Inn being "neutral territory" and a hotel owner who has (or at least it's hinted out) powers as well. 

Like most first books, this book is just the seed of an idea. There's not a lot developed about the hotel and there are a lot of secrets that even the readers don't get to know. It's an interesting start and I suspect the readers of Williams's other books may enjoy this one.

Three stars

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

Jones's series often deal with heavy issues but with whacky twists and truly unusual situations. This book is no different. The wackiness is maybe starting to veer a little too far for me but I still highly enjoyed the character building in this book as well as the overarching story. Auri could have been a little quieter but we keep being told that Sunshine was a handful as a child and therefore deserves a child who is just as wild. Though maybe not quite so death-defying. 

Sunny just needs one day off. But she's not going to get it in this book. She is now counting on both hands the number of people who claim to have killed Brick Ravinder, the man who kidnapped Sunshine when she was a teen. Even his brother, in a prison in Arizona, is getting in on the action. And in the middle of all this, she might be developing some feelings for her best friend. Well, she's at least considering it.

Of course, her daughter Auri isn't sitting quietly by either. She's been cleaning out her granparents' attic and discovered a ream of old newspaper articles referring to mysterious disappearances in town. And Auri thinks she knows who is behind it...

Four stars

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

Follows a Bad Day for Sunshine

Followed by A Good Day for a Hangover

ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Winterborne Home for Mayhem and Mystery by Ally Carter

Three months after the end of the last book, the children of the Winterborne Home are feeling a little bit desperate. Gabriel Winterborne is back but his abrupt return to life chased off Isabella Nelson, the woman who had been running the home. Everything is falling apart which is not a good time since an agent from Child Protective Services has decided to stop by. And on a day when a new Sadiematic is being tested. And Violet is for sure needing new clothes since Tim had to split the back of her dress in order for her current clothes to fit. It's just not a good time.

But it appears that someone is after April. And, though there are people there to protect her, it might not be how she expects. Or perhaps even wants.

Another interesting book in the series. There is a little bit of character development in this book but it is more about the adventure than anything else. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out March 2nd, 2021

Follows by Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball by T.E. Kinsey

The Dizzy Heights are playing a private party this time at a pretty swank out-in-the-country house in Oxfordshire. And though some of the family are welcoming (notably the youngest son and the music producer uncle), there are definitely undercurrents of animosity as the wealthy father has recently remarried and the new wife is only a year older than his oldest son. With a fortune built on biscuits, he has money to divide up and there is some indication that he may be changing his will and that most of his children (if not all four) seem to have a problem with that. No surprise, of course, that he ends up dead. It appears to be a suicide at first glance but Skins and Dunn quickly realize that there is more than meets the eye. 

A highly enjoyable story, as usual from Kinsey. The author capture the feel of the time and place and acknowledges things like "Oh, we couldn't possibly find ANOTHER secret passage.."

Four stars

This book came out March 1, 2021

Follows The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds

ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Frances Wynn adored being a widow but she is still looking forward to marrying George Hazelton. Well, as long as he's not actually already married. But that is what a hysterical woman is trying to claim. She also says that she's the illegitimate daughter of one of the Russian royal family. It turns out her name is Irena and some of her stories seem to be true. At least true enough that she ends up dead. In Frances's garden no less. Can Frances figure out what is going on before she and George are ostracized from society completely?

Irena was really, really annoying. I often expect it when an old curmudgeon is killed off in a book but this was the first time I was actually relieved that a character was gone. Unfortunately, the rest of the story follows a lot of the zaniness that Irena introduced without the charm of previous books in the series (which I would highly recommend reading).

Three stars

Follows A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder

Followed by A Bride's Guide to Marriage and Murder

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

This was a fast and furious romance. "No sooner met but they looked; no sooner looked but they loved..." and all that rot. I didn't like that aspect of it and the end wrapped up with rather a whimper but the more I thought about that, the more I appreciated the twist from what romance readers might normally expect. 

Lady Merritt Sterling is the daughter of Lillian and Marcus of the Wallflower series. If you haven't read other books in this series, I suspect there may be a rather lot of names in this book. I've read all of the Wallflower books and all of the Ravenels (I've even reread the latter series recently) and I had trouble keeping up. But most of the romance occurs between Merritt and Keir McRae, a whiskey distributor. The book opens with the two meeting after McRae's shipment through her company is sent to the wrong port, potentially subject to extra taxes if it's not where it's supposed to be in the next day, and some of the men that she's hired to offload said shipment spilled a cask on McRae himself.

Now, Merritt has flaunted tradition by running a shipping company so she's already on shaky ice by society's standards. Now, she's thinking of taking up with a man with no history (he's literally an orphan with no hint of his past except a golden key) because he's hot. With icy blue eyes. And she wants to go to bed with him. And apparently the night is transcendent because not even being stabbed nor social conventions can make McRae stay away. But being stabbed isn't the only way someone tries to kill him and it may take a lot of cunning and some inventive stories to keep McRae alive and for the two to find their HEA.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

Follows Chasing Cassandra

Followed by Devil in Spring

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow is once again embroiled in a Christmas mystery. This time, she is in charge of the Christmas pageant when a second baby Jesus shows up. But this one is a girl and the note that was left with the baby points at Meg's brother Rob as being her dad.

This is bad because Rob was planning on proposing to his girlfriend and, with a rash of past girlfriends popping up, Delaney doesn't seem like she's going to accept any time soon.

All of this is tied into a murder in nearby Clay County (often the bad guys in this series) and it will take Meg to tie it all together.

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 16th, 2018

Follows Toucan Keep a Secret

Followed by Terns of Endearment

Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible book December 2023

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

I adored these books as a child. Kid doesn't want to take a bath? Let her get dirty enough to plant radishes on. Child doesn't want to clean up his toys? Well, let ti get to a point that he can't get out of his room and then throw a parade. I loved this book because Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle was so pragmatic. It was magic and yet not. 

As an adult, I don't like the references to the outdated notions of how Native Americans behaved nor the fact that the mothers defer to the fathers in everything and that the fathers are so quick to mete out corporal punishment. Would a child notice these things? Maybe not. These things are (in my opinion) light and could probably be omitted if read aloud. 

Four stars

This book came out in 1947

Followed by Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby February 2023

The Winter Garden Mystery by Carola Dunn

Daisy Dalrymple is off to another manor house to take pictures and write up the history for her magazine. She is somewhat regretting that this house will not have the same excitement as the last one. After all, it's not like another murder is going to be committed, right? Well, certainly not while she is there. But a dead body is discovered in the Winter Garden.

And it's not like there weren't undercurrents to begin with. Lady Valeria Parslow rules her family and the village with an iron fist. No one is allowed to step out of line. Her son Sebastian, a beautiful man, is kept on a particularly short leash. His sister Roberta ("Bobby") is actually the one who invited Daisy in the first place. Lady Valeria was not happy about it and her ire only grows when Daisy, fearing that the local police force is too intimidated by Lady Valeria to investigate properly, calls in Scotland Yard. Detective Inspector Alec Fletcher to be exact.

Three and a half stars

This book came out March 15th, 1995

Follows Death at Wentwater Court

Followed by Requiem for a Mezzo

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium

Opinions are my own 

Witches Get Stitches by Juliette Cross

When she was sixteen, Violet Savoie's aunt predicted a true love for Violet. It is many decades later and the man hasn't turned up yet. However, two years ago she had a really hot night with werewolf Nico Cruz. But it was just the one night. He did find her later but they ended up having a pretty good friendship and what promises to be a heck of a good business partnership once the tattoo parlor opens. And especially once Violet perfects the spells that she wants to weave into the tattoos she gives to supernaturals.

Nico has a plan too. He wants Violet to be his forever. If she can figure out how to help him tame his wolf, even better. But he's not the only one interested in the respite Violet's magic might bring and his past may come back to haunt both he and Violet. 

The ending was a bit odd. It was set up to be a big fight and... well. Hm. I liked the second book in the series better but I think regular readers won't be disappointed.

Three stars

This book comes out July 20th, 2021
Follows Don't Hex and Drive

Followed by Walking in a Witchy Wonderland

ARC kindly provided by the author and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

I had heard about this book from many different podcasts and they all raved. It is for a good reason. This is a really interesting story to introduce a new series. 

Self-named Murderbot is a security android supplied by the "Company." His (using this pronoun for ease -- the audible narrator was a male) job is to protect the humans on any mission. But he has secretly learned how to circumvent the required updates from the Company and is more unfettered than anyone knows. This could be a problem but most of his free time is spent downloading old TV shows and watching them. He still does his job but is doing his best to stay under the radar.

Unfortunately, there is something going terribly wrong with his current mission. Even though all explorations are supposed to be approved by the Company, someone has arrived on the planet and killed off all of the researchers in the other facility. Murderbot doesn't necessarily connect with the humans on this trip but he doesn't want to have his memory erased and besides, after that other mission went so horribly wrong, he doesn't want to be disassembled.

I'm not as in love with the series as other people have been but I am enjoying the world building and liked the story.

Four stars

This novella came out May, 2017

Followed by Artificial Condition

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter

April is an orphan. She doesn't know much about her past except for the key hanging around her neck. Her mother never told her what it was for but she's sure that all will be explained when her mother returns.  A trip to the local museum finally gives her a clue when she sees the crest on her key in the Winterborne exhibit. Always good at noticing things, April figures out how to get back into the museum that night. She doesn't mean to set the exhibit on fire. But when she wakes up in the aftermath, there is a mysterious woman, Ms. Nelson, who is taking her to a new group home. But first, they pick up two other children, the nearly silent Violet and her apparently self-appointed protector, Tim. When they get to the home, it is Winterborne house and there are two other children already in residence.The first is Sadie, an inventor, the daughter of scientists who used to work for the Winterborne family. The second is Colin who started living in the house after his mother posed as the fiancee of the long-lost Winterborne heir, Gabriel.

Everyone in Gabriel's family died in a boating accident except for his uncle. The fame and the wealth became too much for him and he disappeared ten years ago and is presumed dead. But mysterious happenings in the house make April wonder if the truth is something different.

There is enough time for some character development in this book but it is mostly world building. This might be a very interesting series as Carter has started a story but there is much room to grow.

Four stars

This book came out March 3rd, 2020

Followed by Winterborne Home for Mayhem and Mystery

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity

Haley is obsessed with gothic novels (Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, etc.) It's to the point where she dresses like she's a princess and has been banned from using the gothic novels for book reports. If she lived in a castle, life would probably be just fine. 

One night, when she's walking home from school, she sees a man drowning. She doesn't quite mean to fall in the river but she does manage to rescue him. But the other side of the river isn't the town she left. It's another reality. One that she knows immediately from all of her reading down to and including guessing that there are three brothers who live there.

But in this alternate universe, life is not as easy as it would be in some of Haley's books. It is threatened by a neighboring universe of bile that wants to take over the small universe and then Cecily's own. 

This book is amazing in the fact that it builds an entire world while trying to adhere to many of the tropes of the gothic novels. Oldest brother Laurence is the steadfast heir. Cuthbert, the youngest, is feckless having debts despite never having gambled. Montague, the one Haley rescued, is... a middle child. 

This book is charming, self-referential in the best ways, and often funny. I love that the prototypical heroine umbrella came in useful and that this adventure Haley figured out which role she truly would play in a gothic novel.

Four and a half stars

This book comes out July 20th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Simon and Schuster's Children Publishing, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Any Shape or Form by Elizabeth Daly

Henry Gamadge has been invited to a party next door. He's maybe not particularly interested but his cousin encourages him to go. And it is there that he meets a colorful cast of characters. He knows the Drummonds, nearby neighbors but the young Malcolm siblings are unknown to him. And they are equally unknown to his neighbor's aunt, even though she was their step aunt. And there is the added complication that their father left his money to her for the extent of her lifetime. So they are potentially wealthy, but only on expectations. Until then, they live off Vega's largess and the allowance their father left them. 
Vega herself is a colorful lady. Her name has only recently been chosen as she has joined a cult that worships the sun. She even gifted the home owner, her nephew Johnny, with a sculpture that was possibly originally Apollo but now is rather faded and missing whatever it once held. 
There are undercurrents all around the party but Gamadge doesn't expect Vega to be shot, while he's standing next to her in the garden no less. The perpetrator could have been anyone as they had all split up previously. 
An unexpected guest shows up and then she is also murdered. The police are looking at the wrong person and it will be up to Gamadge to set them right.
I am not sure that this was really a fairly clued story but it was a good one. Recommended by Classic Mysteries podcast.

Four stars

This book came out in 1945

Follows The Book of the Dead

Followed by Somewhere in the House

Kindle ebook

Opinions are my own

Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

I love the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle stories. She is wise and kind and always helps kids and parents in inventive
ways. Kid's a show-off? Make it so that he turns invisible so no one watches him. Got a crybaby? Tears that will flood a house.

This one is good but a little more preachy than the others in the series. 

Three stars

This book came out 1955

Follows Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

Maybell Parrish doesn't really like the real world so she spends a lot of time in her Alternate Universe (AU). But the real world has finally come up with some good luck. Well, sort of. Her great aunt, the one with whom Maybell spent a wonderful summer when she was eleven, has died. And she left Sarah everything. At least that's what Maybell is told to begin with. However, she learns to her horror that she is actually a co-inheritor. The other is a man whose face she knows. It's the face her (now erstwhile) friend used to catfish Maybell. Used to being quiet and now faced with a man that she thought was fictional (and largely is thanks to her imagination), Maybell has a decision. Does she give up the first good thing in her life or does she work toward a brighter future?

I think that Hogle may just not be an author I enjoy. Maybell spent a lot of time in her imagination and I'm not sure how it really ended up serving the story. It meant that we got less time with Wesley who seemed like a good guy with his own issues that might have been interesting to explore. I was also having trouble figuring out how time flowed in this novel and some of that was the fact that these two didn't ever interact with anyone else in the story except for the great aunt's caretaker who was more of a plot point than a true character. 

Three stars

This book came out April 6th, 2021

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton

A fun and frothy book, this was a perfect book to bring to the beach and just enjoy the ride as Kate and Drake meet and begin their HEA. Some good points about celebrity and assumptions. I would've liked a little less showboating on Drake's part and to have seen a little bit more of his family because their ties seem awesome and a bit more of Kate's family and their eventual acceptance of her career choice. I am hopeful that his two brothers and Kate's bestie, publishing agent Imani, might be some sequel-bait. 

Kate Sweet has one goal in life, to win an EVPLEX, a major award given to Event Planners. But, while she has some great renown for her weddings, wedding planner don't usually win. So when her best friend calls with a proposition for Kate to fill in and complete a horror writer's book launch, she's hesitant but decides to take a chance. 

However, the first meeting with said publisher goes horribly with a series of events that culminate in Kate being on top of him when Imani walks in... with the director who is optioning Drake's book (but also helped Drake's ex publish a tell-all about him). 

Drake is bemused by this woman who comes in and plans the exact wrong kind of event for his book launch. In fact, he fires both her and Imani. But then he realizes that he's being a jerk and rehires her. And then he realizes that she is actually pretty good at her job and that he just needs to slow down and listen because she and he might be creating something pretty grand together.

Four stars

This book comes out July 13th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts

Hope Beaumont was introduced to the series in book one, The Next Always, when she joined the Boonsboro in as the innkeeper. When she and Ryder Montgomery saw each other for the first time, a bolt of lightning hit each. Then they took an instant dislike, each assuming the other was some sort of snooty or snotty. So of course, we the readers knew they were some day going to fall in love. 

It's a good, steady Roberts story with a little bit of the supernatural thrown in. In this book, we get to find out about Lizzie and her lover and they get their happy ending as well (it's a romance, this is not a spoiler.)

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 1st, 2011

Follows The Last Boyfriend

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Flare Up by Shannon Stacey

I wish I had read this book closer to the time I had read the others in the series because I had forgotten most of Wren and Grant's back story (some of which was seen in other books) and I couldn't remember most of the rest of the characters which made me feel slightly disconnected. I think it would have been different if I just hadn't read the series at all but knowing that I had read about these people but just couldn't remember their stories frustrated me a little. I also didn't realize that there were two or three chapters at the end of the book from another of Stacey's series and was sort of startled at how quickly the ending wrapped up when I was expecting so many more pages.

Grant Cutter was well on his way to the HEA that all of his other friends were experiencing. Then Wren Everett just disappeared, breaking his heart. He is therefore fairly shocked to see her again when he is called to a fire in a not-so-great part of Boston. 

Wren is also surprised to see Grant again. She ran to protect him when she feared that her abusive ex had found her again. But now that Grant is back in her life, she isn't sure she can walk away again.

I liked that Grant didn't immediately try to swoop in and rescue Wren when she lost almost everything in the fire. Instead, he was respectful of what she needed. He was a little less understanding about why she ran in the first place but I was actually more shocked that some of the women in his life were less understanding as well. 

Three stars

This book came out 

Follows Under Control

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie

Not my favorite Agatha Christie for sure but an okay read nonetheless.  Part of my yuck includes casual racism and romanticizing of physical violence. 

Short synopsis: Girl, who recently lost her father, sets out to find adventure. When she witnesses an accidental death on a train platform, it sets off a train of excitement which leads to South Africa as well as several attempts on her life. Colonel Race is actually a minor character but the events in this book do lead him in to his life of fighting crime.

Three stars

This book came out August 22nd, 1924

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh

When Nayna Sharma was 14, her sister ran away to get married. This wouldn't be so bad if their family weren't so darn traditional. Seeing how it affected her family, Nayna has since become the perfect daughter. And more and more she's starting to feel like she's in the perfect cage. Now that she's agreed to an arranged marriage, she sees the door to the cage swinging shut. For one night, she just wants to be a "normal" twenty-eight-year-old woman. So she goes to a party and makes out with a guy. At least she does until she sticks her foot in her mouth. And he disappears. Until he shows up at her parents as the next possible marriage match...

Raj Sen is traditional and he wants a traditional life. That means a wife who stays home and takes care of him and, hopefully, his future children. But when he meets Nayna at a party, he decides that he needs to find her again before he can fall into marriage. He is shocked that the dutiful daughter he is meeting is the same woman. But he asks her if they can see where the relationship is going to go. Working around old pains, meddling families, and family health issues makes the path to an HEA rather hard but worth it.

I might have been anticipating this book a little too much. It was very good but I got rather annoyed with the frequent mentions of Nayna being so dutiful and Raj being long suffering. It may also have been different if I had read it rather than listening to it. edited to add: It was different reading it. I liked it so much more as an ebook.

Four stars

This book came out September 18, 2018

Follows Cherish Hard

Followed by Love Hard

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as ebook from Libby January 2022

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker

I really enjoyed this book. At it's core, it's really about becoming more intentional - meditating on why we want to be around other people. And it should go deeper than - it's my friend's birthday, I want to celebrate her 365ish days around the sun. I actually read this to see if it would be a useful book for work and it really would be. In terms of creating meetings, fast get togethers, and even massive fundraising banquets, thinking about the WHY is as important as the actually DOING of an event. Some home truths that hit home for me as well were that more is not always merrier and that a host can't just chill - they need to ride the balance between completely hands off and dictating every minute.

Four stars

This book came out May 15th, 2018

Hard copy I passed on

Opinions are my own

The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews

Meg has her hands full, not only with her own twins but also Timmy, whose mother joined the army and is now stationed in Germany. So when she wakes up one night to the sounds of animals, she's confused. The only animal they have is her mother-in-law's (now her and Mike's) dog, Spike, and he's with her. When she goes downstairs, she discovers her father, grandfather, brother and the local vet moving animals into her living room. It seems the CORSICANs (Members of the Committee Opposed to the Ruthless Slaughter of Innocent Captive Animals) have broken into the local shelter after the news that the county manager and mayor have decided that it is too expensive to keep up the no-kill policy. This is only one of the most recent controversial decisions made by the new manager and mayor.

Then, the fifth member of the break-in crew turns up dead, some really hard questions have to be asked. Was it one of the many women that this fella was sleeping with? Or something more sinister?

Four stars

This book came out July 19th, 2011

Meg Langslow #13

Follows Stork Raving Mad

Followed by Some like It Hawk

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Reread November 2024 as Audible audiobook

Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews

Caerphilly College has no heat anywhere on campus which means that all of the students have been outsourced and Meg and her professor husband's house is a likely spot since it is large and rambling. That includes one student whose final thesis project is interpreting a Spanish play into English and then performing it. The 80-something playwright is discovered to be alive and has even flown over for the event. However, the head of the English Department (which oversees the drama students as well) has shown up with her minion from the President's Office saying that the thesis is unacceptable. Since this isn't the first time she has proved herself to be thoroughly unlikable, it's no surprise that she ends up dead. In fact, the bigger surprise is exactly how many people actually tried to kill her. 

There was a lot going on in this one but I think it is the basis for at least one of the twin's names.

Three stars

This book came out July 6th, 2010

Meg Langslow #12

Follows Swan for the Money

Followed The Real Macaw

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Reread November 2024 as Audible audiobook

The Ravishing of Lol Stein by Marguerite Duras

I had had this book on my shelf for a long time and I can't remember why. Perhaps I'll look back through my lists and see when I added this book to my TBR shelf. It might have worked for me when I was younger but it was very abstract, switching from third person omniscient to first person. Very hard to follow. 

And that could be what makes it interesting; it is not true stream of consciousness but it does unfold rather like a series of memories. The story is told from the eventual lover of Lol Stein and starts with the memories of his former lover, Lol's friend. And I think that is what makes it good "literature", it's a new theme even it makes for harder reading.

Three stars

This book came out in 1964

Hard copy of a book I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

Not my favorite Agatha Christie for sure but an okay read nonetheless.  Part of my yuck includes casual racism and romanticizing of physical violence. 

Short synopsis: Girl, who recently lost her father, sets out to find adventure. When she witnesses an accidental death on a train platform, it sets off a train of excitement which leads to South Africa as well as several attempts on her life. Colonel Race is actually a minor character but the events in this book do lead him in to his life of fighting crime.

Three stars

This book came out May 1923

Follows The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Followed by Poirot Investigates

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

No Stone Unturned by James W. Ziskin

Hot on the heels of the last book, hotshot reporter Eleanor "Ellie" Stone has been asked to come and photograph a crime scene. It is the lovely, beloved daughter of the local judge. She is able to scoop the competition but she is also asked by the judge, personally, to figure out what happened to his daughter.

There are many twists and turns in the case; Jordan might have been a beloved daughter but that didn't mean that she didn't have her own secrets. Then her best friend is murdered as well. Ellie might have the closest shave of her life in trying to figure out what is going on in this story.
These books are getting a little too grim for me so I may stop reading but I think that there are some readers who will appreciate the story.

Three stars

Follows Styx & Stone

Followed by No Stone Unturned

This book came out October 15th, 2013

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own