The Socialite's Guide to Sleuthing and Secrets by S. K. Golden

Evelyn is just trying to make it through life with agoraphobia. Plus, her paramour, Mac, took off at the end of the last book. But she's maintaining. At least until someone sends her a tiara. It's that tiara that attracts the attention of a group of ladies lunching at The Gold Room. Their leader appears to be a woman named Lois. And it's Lois who ends up dead. 

While dealing with the fallout from that death, Evelyn is also working around the rumors of the Gentleman Thief. He robs the wealthy leaving only a red pocket square behind. 

I enjoyed this book. I really liked that Evelyn is getting out of the hotel more often (whether by hook or by crook.) Didn't love the end of her foray into the city but I am excited to see what happens in the next book. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out March 11, 2025

Follows The Socialite's Guide to Death and Dating

ARC kindly provided by Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano

In an unusual twist, Finlay and Vero are not the ones dealing with dead bodies. Well, not dead bodies they've created (as it were.) Instead, it's nosy neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty who is taken away in cuffs,  a body having been discovered in her backyard. Mrs. Haggerty is quickly released but her house is still a crime scene. So what does she do? She has her nephew bring her to Finlay's where she strongarms her way into Finlay's bedroom.

That's bad enough, but after Mrs. Haggerty is cleared, the police start looking at Steven, Finlay's ex. Now, the man may be an cheater but he is NOT a murderer. Evidence is mounting that he had an affair with the man's wife but Finlay isn't so sure. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out March 4, 2025

Follows Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Lead Bigger by Anne Chow

Was this book groundbreaking? Maybe not. Was it informative? Yes. Was it entertaining? Also yes. 

Chow writes, as the title says, about leading bigger. Really, (as she says), she means leading more inclusively. It's not exactly DEI but it's not NOT DEI. And I like that she explicitly says that equal doesn't always equal fair. 

I also enjoyed her analysis of how birth rate contributes to job satisfaction. The interviews at the end were with some big names and contributed nicely to the points Chow was trying to make. 

Four stars

This book came out September 10, 2024

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

February 2025 Monthly Rereads

 Opinions, as always, are my own

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #1

This book came out October 28, 2014

Followed by White Hot
Audiobook from Audible

White Hot by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #2

This book came out October 28th, 2014

Follows Burn for Me
Followed by Wildfire
Audiobook from Audible

Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 15, 2017

Follows White Hot

Followed by Diamond Fire

Audiobook from Audible

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #3.5
Four stars
Followed by Sapphire Flames
This novella came out November 6th, 2018
Audiobook from Libby

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #4

This book came out August 27th, 2019

Follows novella Diamond Fire

Followed by Emerald Blaze
Audiobook from Audible

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #5

This book came out August 25th, 2020

Four stars
Follows Sapphire Flames

Followed by Ruby Fever

Audiobook from Audible

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #6

Four stars

Four and a half stars

This book comes out August 23, 2022

Follows Emerald Blaze

Audiobook from Audible

The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick

Burning Cove #1

This book came out May 9, 2017

Followed by The Other Lady Vanishes

Audiobook from Audible

The Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick

Four Stars

This book came May 8, 2018

Burning Cove #2

Follows The Girl Who Knew Too Much

Followed by Tightrope
Audiobook from Audible

The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz

This book came out January 9, 2024

Follows Sleep No More

Followed by Shattering Dawn

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Teaching Yoga by Donna Farhi

This book begins with a very intellectual bent talking about pedagogy and doing some deep dives into philosophy. Later chapters do get a little easier to read but I felt like I was wading through some deep information to get there. 

There are ruminations on the ethics of teaching asana without philosophy as well as the etics that surround teaching yoga. The phrase that resonated most with me was "We should teach what we know, and teach what we practice." In other words, we should be trying to teach poses that we ourselves have not explored thoroughly. 

Not my favorite book on teaching yoga but I can see why it was included in the shelf recommended by my trainer.

Three stars

This book came out September 25, 2006

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 11 by Tatsuya Endo

The book starts with the furthering of the familiy trying to get in good with Damian's family. Yor knew the mother but Anya is really working on the son. It's not going well. Yuri visits and is still creepily obsessed with his sister.

Most of the book is based around a school trip that has gone terribly wrong when two of the buses are waylaid by dissidents. Anya and Damian are able to work together to get everyone home safely. 

Four stars

This book came out April 4, 2022

Follows Vol. 10

Followed by Vol. 12

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

An Ominous Explosion by Lynn Messina

The Beatrice Hyde-Clare books aren't super deep but they're usually pretty fun. It took me awhile to get through this one but I did get to the end eventually.

In this book, Beatrice, her uncle, and her cousins go to a demonstration of a new steam engine. During the demonstration something explodes and the inventor, Peter Huzza, is killed. Few people are surprised. After all, this is a new technology and things happen. But Beatrice isn't so sure. Something just doesn't feel right. And it's not just pregnancy hormones.

Three and a half stars

This book came out May 8, 2022

Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries #9

Follows A Malevolent Connection

Followed by An Extravagant Duplicity

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Sure 'Locked by Erik Henry Vick

Someone is dead from the bite of a Barghest. The rwo-headed demon dog rarely kills, usually being a potent of death rather than death itself. In Richard Brook's case, it becomes the murder weapon. 

A lot of forward movement in ancillary stories, especially Lerry's daughter who is wanting to become a vampire. He introduces her to Dru's father, one of the biggest baddies of the vampire community. Leery and Dru also solve a murder.

Three stars

This book came out October 2, 2020

Claw & Warder #7

Follows A Tail of Two Cities

Followed by 'Slay Fell Things

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Sylvia's Second Act by Hillary Yablon

I saw this book on NPR's list of Books We Love for 2024 and thought it looked good. I didn't realize exactly how much the main character relied on Sex and the City as a reference for how to live in New York. 

The book opens with Sylvia walking in on her husband of several decades having sex with a woman in their retirement community. It's a woman she doesn't particularly like which just makes it worse. Sylvia retreats to New York and her daughter. When her daughter scoffs at the idea that Sylvia will get a job, she calls her best friend and decides to prove her wrong. 
Sylvia and Evie soon figure out that they might have been a bit naive about how easy it would be to find housing and work. And they're going to learn some more life lessons but they'll come out alright in the end. 

Three stars

This book came out March 12, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

What You Are Looking For is in the Library Michiko Aoyama with Alison Watts (Translator)

This book of short stories is nothing if not a love note to reading and to libraries. Each of the main characters has come up against an important time of life and need some guidance through. The patrons are looking for different books and are dealing with a range of problems but coming to the library, talking to the librarian, help solves them all.

Three stars

This book came out November 9, 2020

Hard cover I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Murder in the Churchyard by Catherine Coles

Previous books in the series introduced us to Evelyn's friend, Isolde. She has been attracted to the local doctor but seems to have been holding herself back from him. It turns out, it's because she's already married. And the man himself is in town, doing shady things that a bad man married to a good woman does in cozy mysteries. 

Of course, that is the man who ends up dead. Tommy and Evelyn are on the case. We also have it reiterated several times that they are sad because they don't have children, reminding us that detective work is not the sum whole of their lives. 

Tommy and Evelyn #2

This book came out January 29, 2021

Three stars

Follows Murder at the Village Fete

Followed by Murder in Belgrave Square

Ebook of mine on Kindle
Opinions are my own

The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, Ho-Ling Wong (Translator)

Flipping back and forth between a year ago and the present, the book also switches from a third person (selectively omniscient) to first person. The first and third chapters are mirrors of a particular day in both 1985 and 1986. The imagery drew me into the story and set the tone for the story going forward.

There is some casual misogyny around Fujinuma's young wife (who was previously his ward) and the bookshelf is otherwise mired in the mores of 1988 Japan but it is an interesting story. And I felt it was clued fairly.

As a native English speaker, it was sometimes difficult to keep the names straight but the overall story of a man who was horribly burned in a car accident and now lives behind a mask was enjoyable thoug a bit confusing. 

Three stars

This book came out in 1988

House Murders #2

Follows The Decagon House

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 10 by Tatsuya Endo

Oof. We get the story of Loid's early childhood  and it is bleak. We see the start of a war between East and West and how it decimates and grinds people down.

We also see the story of an opera singer whose trip to the West might begin to thaw tensions... as long as the bad press about him doesn't get out.
We also get the story of Yor rescuing the former first lady, Desmond's mother. She joins her for a rousing game of volleyball and then some tea. Meeting Melinda gives Yor a friend and some chance at normalcy.

Four stars

This book came out April 4, 2022

Follows Vol. 9

Followed by Vol. 11

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea by C.L. Miller

Carole and Freya had been invited to join a cruise as antiques experts. But the invitation was rescinded. Oh well. When asked to come to a local maritime museum where a picture donated by Freya's old mentor, Arthur, had been stolen, they are looking up information and discover that the cruise is, indeed, still on. And they'll be able to join. 

Once they get there, they recognize some old friends, some of whom are not using the names they had the last time Carole and Freya saw them. Also on the cruise? Supposedly a big bad who is getting ready to turn over his name and his business of obtaining certain objects and then selling them off to the highest bidder. And a number of his usual bidders are on the ship as well, all of them wanting to keep their secrets.

This book took me awhile to get into it and I didn't remember all of the side characters from the previous book but there were a number of hints as to why they were important so I think new people would be fine as well. I think the transitions from third person narrator to another narrator to first person kept me from really ever immersing myself in the book but it was a good read. 

Four stars

This book came out February 18, 2024

Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder #2

Follows Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Prisoner's Key by C.J. Archer

Matt and India are enjoying married life and India is starting to work with a friend of her grandfather's learning the laguage of magic. Her tutor, Charbonneau (my spelling might be off, I listened to the audiobook) comes from a wealthy French family. He is a second son so they'd prefer he marry someone for politics or money. He wants to marry a magician. So, when Louise more or less proposes, he turns her down. But then, Charbonneau is sent to debtor's prison and any number of people would like to help him out, including one very sneaky magic obsessed lord. When Charbonneau (a lead magician) escapes, everyone is on high alert.

Three stars

This book came out September 3, 2019

Glass and Steele #8

Follows The Cheater's Game
Followed by 

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Give 'em the Pickle by Robert E. Farrell

This book is definitely from the 90s. The cheerfulness, the simplicity, it's very much a feel-good self-help kind of book. The overall message, if you can do something small t9 make your customer happy, is a good one. 

30 years out though, many of his examples feel fairly cheesy and out of step with the customers.we see today. There is a focus on "the customer is always right" and that pendulum is swinging back to the original finish of that quote, "in matters of taste. 

Three stars

This book came out in 1995

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

How Spider Saved Valentine's Day by Robert Kraus

I just rediscovered this book from my childhood and it is adorable. It has some good repetition that children will enjoy because they can participate.

In this book, it's Valentine's Day. Spider, Ladybug, and Fly remember valentine  for each other but forget about the two hungry caterpillars who sleep in the back. Luckily,  they come up with a plan. And the caterpillars have a surprise of their own.

Fours stars

This book came out in 1986

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

The Cheater's Game by C.J. Archer

Shenanigans abound when Buffalo Bill Cody's show comes to London. While India is impressed, Willie is not. But she doesn't mind playing cards with some of the men who were in the show. It's just too bad that Duke gets into a fight with one of them. And that man ends up dead.
While the "posse" is wrestling with that issue, India's got some added trouble. Her name is starting to get out in the magician's community and her grandfather seems more concerned about making sure people know they're related than keeping her safe.

Three stars

This book came out March 12, 2019

Glass and Steele #7

Follows The Ink Master's Silence
Followed by The Prisoner's Key

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Bonded in Death by J. D. Robb

We get to learn more about Summerset in this book which is always fascinating. It was sort of easy to tell where this book was heading when an older gentleman, one who was part of a super-secret group during the Urban war, arrives in New York. He has been summoned by an old friend and he wants to uphold the promise he made to that friend. Though they have not spoken in decades, they are bonded by war. So when that gentleman dies, and the case is handed off to Eve, the fat is in the fire. 

This book felt a little more formulaic than most and I'm not sure why. Maybe there was less of their lives outside of the mystery. I still enjoyed the story. 

Four stars

This book comes out February 4, 2025

In Death #60

Follows Passions in Death
Audiobook ARC from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley

Ebook ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime, editor H.R.F. Keating

I got this in a blind date with a book bag and felt like it was worth reading. I probably wouldn't have picked it out myself but it was interesting. Keating brings together a number of authors to look at various aspects of Christie to look at why she was so successful. The essays are varied and topics include: dissecting her writing style, talking about times they met her/her personal life, her disappearance (about which much has been made), the things people don't think of like Mary Westmacott or Christie's 12 plays, her take on artists and writers (not complimentary), and the way her works have been adapted for movies. 

Three stars

This book came out 

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Bride's Runaway Billionaire by Pippa Grant

Both the hero and heroine have been side characters in previous Grant books. They've both also known the glare of the spotlight. Jonas Rutherford was a child star in his family's movies (and still is in movies.) Emma went viral as a bride who's wedding went off the rails when her fiance's misdeedsd came to light at the altar. The two meet each other at a low point in their lives and Emma ends up pregnant.

I didn't love the time jump but the after parts were pretty funny. Emma actually understood Jonah not contacting her after a relatively short amount of time (i.e. it didn't drag on too long.)

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 18, 2024

Three BFFs and a Wedding #2

Follows The Gossip and the Grump

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Murder at Westminster by Magda Alexander

Kitty's sister has a beau which is somewhat astonishing since Margaret has generally said that she would prefer not to be married. Even more astonishing for this nouveau riche family, Sebastian is the heir to an earldom. Sebastian has, more or less, become a part of the family, esting nearly every meal at the Worthingtons. They KNOW him which is why they are all quick to jump to his defense when he is accused of murdering his grandfather.

The two had quarreled. Most recently about the grandfather's treatment of Sebastian's sister, Lily. The man kept her locked up in the house and, now that she is grown, is peddling her hand in marriage tonthe highest bidder. When Sebastian is arrested, Lily is taken to the Worthingtons.

Of course, there are other suspects but the Inspector on the case doesn't seem to want to do any work now that he's arrested the future duke.

The focus of this book was a little scattered and i wasn't exactly sure how.Kitty got to the end but it was overall fast, fun, and fluffy.

Three stars

This book came out January 25, 2022

Kitty Worthington #2

Follows Murder on the Golden Arrow

Followed by Murder at the Masked Ball

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Until It Was Love by Pippa Grant

Fletcher Huxley was unceremoniously released from his English rugby sportsball contract. The man who let him go was a mentor to him and he is still licking his wounds. Just because he's in his mid-thirties, doesn't mean that he's out of the game. Rugby is his life. 

Jessica "Goldie" Collins is a trust fund baby but she works as a life coach and influencer. She knows about having a sports career end suddenly. She doesn't like Fletcher very much, especially since he has an obnoxious mustache (that plays just a little too much of a role in this book). But he is great for driving her brother absolutely crazy. Fletch is Silas's teammate and we know how (most) romance-novel-brothers feel about teammates dating their sisters.

This is a good Grant book. Fast, fun, and fluffy. 

Four stars

This book came out April 11, 2024

Followed by The Roommate Mistake

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

January 2025 Rereads

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Four stars

This book came out July 1, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Kindle

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

Three and a half stars

Vicki Bliss #0.5

This book came out in 1969

Followed by Borrower of the Night

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz 

The Lost Night Files #1

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 3, 2023

Followed by The Night Island

Audible book of mine

The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews

This book comes out August 4, 2020

Meg Langslow #27

Follows Owl be Home for Christmas

Followed by The Gift of the Magpie

Audible book of mine

The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #28

This book came out October 20, 2020

Follows The Falcon Always Wings Twice

Followed by Murder Most Fowl

Audible book of mine

Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #29

This book came out August 3, 2021

Follows The Gift of the Magpie

Followed by The Twelve Jays of Christmas

Audible book of mine

The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #30

This book comes out October 19, 2021

Follows Murder Most Fowl

Followed by Round up the Usual Peacocks

Audible book of mine

Round up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #31

Four stars

This book comes out August 2, 2022

Follows The Twelve Jays of Christmas 

Followed by Dashing Through the Snowbirds

Audible book of mine

Dashing Through the Snowbirds by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #32

Four stars

This book came out October 11, 2022

Follows Round Up the Usual Peacocks

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Birder She Wrote by Donna Andrews

Four stars

This book comes out August 1, 2023

Meg Langslow #33

Follows Dashing through the Snowbirds

Followed by Let It Crow, Let It Crow, Let It Crow

Bo

The Vanishing by Jayne Ann Krentz
Fogg Lake#1
Three and a half stars (bumped up a half star on reread)
Followed by All the Colors of the Night
This book came out January 7th, 2020
Audiobook from Libby

All the Colors of Night by Jayne Ann Krentz

Fogg Lake #2

This book came out January 7th, 2021

Follows The Vanishing

Followed by Lightning in a Mirror
Audiobook from Libby

Lightning in a Mirror by Jayne Ann Krentz 

Fogg Lake #3

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 18th, 2022

Follows All the Colors of Night

Audiobook from Libby

The Last Eligible Billionaire by Pippa Grant

Three stars

This book came out March 3, 2022

Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited

Not My Kind of Hero by Pippa Grant

Four stars
This book came out August 15, 2023

Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited

The Gossip and the Grump by Pippa Grant

At her best friend's wedding, Sabrina told a secret about her fiance. She thought Emma knew the secret so when their third best friend spilled said secret and Emma didn't know, Sabrina was wrecked. She immediately set out to balance her karma. One of her good deeds? Pretending to be the significant other of a man at a bar so that the scary woman hitting on him would go away. She ended up spending a significant amount of time with the man she only knew as "Duke". Imagine her surprise when he shows up in Snaggletooth later, the man who's bought her family coffee house.

Greyson is shocked to see his one night stand in the tiny mountain town. He's even more shocked to learn that she's the cousin of the man he's trying to get revenge on. But will their burgeoning relationship dreail his plans?

I didn't competely love their story but it was generally entertaining.

Four stars

This book came out October 5, 2023

Three BFFs and a Wedding #2

Follows The Worst Wedding Date

Followed by The Bride's Runaway Billionaire

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Cursed Princess Club Volume Four by LambCat

In the last book, Nell predicted that one of the cursed princesses would die. The princesses are trying not to think about that. In fact, Gwen is thinking about planning a dinner party. And she asks Frederick for help. She is finally starting to feel better about herself, her reflection isn't showing as many cracks. But, of course, she's not there yet. 

Four stars

This book comes out January 28, 2025

Follows Vol. 3

Followedy by Vol. 5

ARC kindly provided WEBTOON Unscrolled and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Mistress by Amanda Quick

Believing the Earl of Masters to be dead, Iphigina Bright takes on a daring role pretending to be his mistress in order to uncover the identity of the person blackmailing her aunt.

But the Earl is not dead, and he's come to town to claim his mistress.

Four stars
This book came out June 1, 1994

Borrowed audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own