April 2026 monthly rereads

 As always, opinions are my own

Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #24

Follows Toucan Keep a Secret

Followed by Terns of Endearment

This book came out October 16th, 2018

Audiobook from Audible

Terns of Endearment by Donna Andrews

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #25

Follows Lark! The Herald Angels Sing

Followed by Owl Be Home for Christmas

This book came out August 6th, 2019

Audible book of mine

Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews
Meg Langslow #26

Follows Terns of Endearment
Followed by The Falcon Always Rings Twice
This book came out October 15, 2019

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #27

Follows Owl be Home for Christmas

Followed by The Gift of the Magpie

This book came out August 4, 2020

Audible book of mine

The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #28

Follows The Falcon Always Wings Twice

Followed by Murder Most Fowl

This book came out October 20, 2020

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #29

Follows The Gift of the Magpie

Followed by The Twelve Jays of Christmas

This book came out August 3, 2021

Audible book of mine

The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #30

Follows Murder Most Fowl

Followed by Round up the Usual Peacocks

This book comes out October 19, 2021

Audible book of mine

Round up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #31

Four stars

This book came 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

Follows Round Up the Usual Peacocks

This book came out October 11, 2022

Audible book of mine

Birder She Wrote by Donna Andrews

Four stars

Meg Langslow #33

Follows Dashing through the Snowbirds

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

This book came out August 1, 2023

Audible book of mine

Let it Crow! Let it Crow! Let it Crow! by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #34

Four stars

Follows Birder, She Write

Followed by Between a Flock and a Hard Place

This book came out October 10, 2023

Audible book of mine

Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #35

Four stars

Follows Let It Crow, Let It Crow, Let It Crow

Followed by Rockin' around the Chickadee

This book comes out August 6, 2024

Audible book of mine

Rockin' Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #36

Follows Between a Flock and a Hard Place

Followed by For Duck's Sake

This book came out October 15, 2024

Audible book of mine

For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews

Four stars

Meg Langslow #37

Follows Rockin' Around the Chickadee

Followed by Five Golden Wings

This book came out August 5, 2025

Audible book of mine

Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews

Four stars

Meg Langslow #38

Follows For Duck's Sake

Followed by Probable Caws

Audible book of mine

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Ernest Cunningham #1

Four and a half stars

Followed by Everyone on this Train is a Suspect

This book came out March 29, 2022

Audible book of mine

veryone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

Four stars

Ernest Cunningham #2

Follows Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone

Followed by Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

This book comes out January 30, 2024

Audible book of mine

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

Ernest Cunningham #3

Three stars

Follows Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

Followed by Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief

This book comes out October 22, 2024

Audible book of mine

The Case of the Canterfell Codicil by P.J. Fitzsimmons 

Four stars

Anty Boisjoly #1

Followed by The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning

This book came out October 30, 2020

Audible book of mine

The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning by P.J. Fitzsimmons

Four stars

Anty Boisjoly #2

Follows The Case of the Canterfell Codicil

Followed by The Tale of the Tenpenny Tontine

This book came out July 1, 2022

Audible book of mine

The Tale of the Tenpenny Tontine by P.J. Fitzsimmons

Four stars

Anty Boisjoly #3

Follows The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning

Followed by The Case of the Carnaby Castle Curse

This book came out November 30, 2021

Audible book of mine

The Case of the Carnaby Castle Curse by P.J. Fitzsimmons

Four stars

Anty Boisjoly #4

Follows The Tale of the Tenpenny Tontine

Followed by The Reckoning at the Riviera Royale

This book came out November 30, 2021

Audible book of mine

Reckoning at the Riviera Royale by P.J. Fitzsimmons

Three and a half stars

Anty Boisjoly #5

Follows The Case of the Carnaby Castle Curse

Followed by The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich

This book came out November 29, 2022

Audible book of mine

The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich by P.J. Fitzsimmons, Tim Bruce (Narrator)

Three and a half stars

Anty Boisjoly #6

Follows Reckoning at the Riviera Royale

Followed by Foreboding Foretelling at Ficklehouse Felling

This book came out May 5, 2023

Audible book of mine

Foreboding Foretelling at Ficklehouse Felling by P.J. Fitzsimmons, Tim Bruce (Narrator)

Four stars

Anty Boisjoly #7

Follows The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich

Followed by Mystery and Malice Aboard RMS Ballast

This book came out November 18, 2024

Audible book of mine

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser (Narrator)

Sixteen years ago, a famous artist was killed. Of course, it was the long-suffering wife who had endured any number of affairs. Most recently, he had told her that he was leaving her for his latest model, a young, rich girl. Plus, he was trying to send her sister away to boarding school, the sister she had so grievously wronged as a baby and now tried to do everything for.
Their child was sent to Canada. She's now about to get married, but she wants to know whether her mother's letter, proclaiming her innocence, is true or not. No one but Hercule Poirot would be able to solve this case.

Four stars

Hercule Poirot #24

Follows Evil Under the Sea

Followed by The Hollow

This book came out in 1942

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian

Zoe Faust is finally settling down. She's been living out of an RV for years but bought a house in Portland, Oregon. She's hopeful of putting down roots. But that hope is dashed when her contractor dies on her front steps and she makes the mistake of telling the police that it's poison. Of course, they're going to suspect her. At least she had already met the officer before when he came to drag away the young teenager who broke into her house.

All this would be bad enough but it turns out she also has a living gargoyle that she has to deal with. In her centuries of living, she's not had to put up with anything like this. But maybe it's something she can get used to. 

I'm not sure all the bits and bobs of this story hang together particularly well but it was an enjoyable story. 

Three and a half stars

Accidental Alchemist #1

Followed by The Masquerading Magician

This book came out January 8, 2015

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Salt, Sweat & Steam by Brigid Washington

stars

This book comes out April 28, 2026

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

Opinions are my own

This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone by Catherine Mack

As the narrator even notes, there are a LOT of people in this book. There were nine people that were going to be integral to the story introduced within the first 11% of the book (might have been 10, 11 is just when I looked.) I had to write them all down just to keep track of how each one was related to the narrator. And I've read the other two books in this series. The ending was a bit complicated but the clues were there if you listened.

Eleanor is going to a writing conference. Just because her last two vacations have contained murder doesn't mean this is going to end badly, right? Sun, sand and writing. It should be a blast.

Except that they walk right into a dead body. The hotel is, of course, wanting to downplay the incident. Eleanor is ready to leave but her boyfriend, Oliver, and her sister/assistant, Harper aren't as enthusiastic. They want to stay. 

Eleanor decides that she has not other option but to stay at a conference that contains not only the people she loves, but her ex-boyfriend Connor, his former partner (who Eleanor included in her books), her own ex-best-friend, and a BookToker who doesn't like ANYONE'S books. Oh, and crazy Kathy (sp?), Eleanor's very own stalker. 

Three and a half stars

The Vacation Mysteries #3

Follows No One Was Supposed to Die at this Wedding

This book comes out April 28, 2026

ARC audiobook kindly provided by Minotaur Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin

Annie adores her mother. She really does. Plus she knows her mother inside and out. Which is why she's so confused when her mother starts talking about Felicity (Fliss.) First of all, Felicity is a sculptor. Second of all, she's Detective Crane's ex-girlfriend. I mean, what the heck?

But then, Annie findes Felicity dead and missing a particular body part. Is it linked to the threats her mother's been getting? How can it not be? End the end, there are ties to her mother, father, and her Aunt Frances as history overlaps on itself, even as the chapters bounce back and forth between Annie's view and her aunt's diaries. The whole time, she is concious of the last prediction of Peony Lane. 

There was a lot going on in this book. A lot. But there was some good character and relationship building.  

Three and a half stars

Castle Knoll Files #3

Follows by How to Seal Your Own Fate

This book comes out April 28, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Dutton and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher, narrator James Marsters

It's about a year after the previous book. Harry has been busier than usual. The ghosts of the city seem to be in a tizzy. And a young woman walks into his office, asking for help. She says she sees visions and that Harry is going to be the reason one outcome occurs versus another. He's been working with Michael, a knight of the Lord. And they'll have to keep working together in order to take down an old enemy who is now walking through their nightmares. 

Three stars

Dresden #3

Follows Fool Moon

Followed by Summer Knight

This book came out September 1, 2001

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie with narrator David Suchet

I get this story and the "Triangle at Rhodes" confused with each other. Both are Poirot on vacation with a glamorous woman, in this book, Arlena Stuart, who ends up dead. Both have a female confidante. The confidante in this one is a famous dressmaker who was the childhood friend of the dead woman's husband. In this story, the dead woman's husband has a daughter. His first wife was accused of murder and acquited. The second wife (the dead woman) was also accused of murder and acquited. However, Arlena was rather stupid and vain. She was also having a rather ill-concealed affair with a gentleman who was also on vacation at the Jolly Roger, Patrick Redfern. 

Three stars
Hercule Poirot #23

Follows One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Followed by Five Little Pigs

This book came out in 1941

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, narrator James Marsters

 Harry is still under a curse, he's still in Chicago, but he's trying harder to find work since his job with the Chicago police force hasn't been as lucrative since the first book in the series. His friend asks him about a particular rune but it's magic far beyond what she can control so Harry refuses to tell her, which is the right thing. But then he's pulled into a series of murders that look like they were committed by something like a wolf. It's bad enough that the FBI is in town to take the case. 

Three stars

The Dresden Files #2 

Follows Storm Front

Followed by Grave Peril

This book came out January 9, 2001

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene, narrator Laura Linney

Seventy years later, this book holds up amazingly well. Of course, this is the series that was updated after it was found that the original series was a little, um, dated, especially in regard to the overtly racist overtones. This wasn't the first Nancy Drew book I read, but it's remains one of my favorites.

Nancy sees a young girl run into the road and almost get hit by a bus. Meeting the girl's great aunts sets her on the path of solving the mystery of a missing will. Interestingly, it's almost as much to spite the Topham sisters as it is to help a number of people that Nancy gets involved.

Four stars

Nancy Drew #1

Followed by The Hidden Staircase

This book came out in 1930

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

I read a few of the books in this series soon after the TV show came out but couldn't remember why I had stopped. I think that there is not quite the same sense of fun in the books. There are some funny parts, just a different humor. For this book, there were also a lot of, "I'm not going to make it" moments. A. Lot. 

But this is the book that introduces the readers to Harry Dresden, a wizard in contemporary Chicago. Technology and magic don't work well together so he's not exactly up to date with the latest trends but he muddles along as best he can. He's also trying to make a living. So when two dead bodies turn up with their hearts ripped out, Harry is on the case. 

Three stars

The Dresden Files #1 

Followed by Fool Moon

This book came out April 1, 2000

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe

Tanadelle "Tandy" de Courcy is a bona fide princess. And, while she knows that many people would LOVE to be a princess, she's not fond of traveling thirty weeks a year. It becomes repetitive. And boring. And she has to follow a lot of rules. But at least she can keep reading. So, when she's cursed by a bookseller and is unable to leave a bookshop, it doesn't seem the worst thing. 

Her parents are trying everything they can to undo the spell, including sending seven princes to kiss Tandy. And meeting each of the princes is a delight. At least for the reader. Tandy, meanwhile, is enjoying not having to do her royal duties.

A quite lovely book. It reminded me of Legends and Lattes with a charming world that was just a little sweet. 

Four  stars

This book comes out April 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer by Bellamy Rose

After the last book, Pomona has been trying to turn her life around. But only a little. You can't expect her to ride the subway, after all. She's starting a foundation to help underprivileged children. There are a lot of nerves surrounding her first gala. She has to prove that she's changed her life. Too bad it's not going well even before a body comes over the balcony. 

She's once again off to the races. And as much as she pretends she's working with Gabe, we get a lot of insight into the fact that she is very much still the pampered party girl that she started out as in the first book. She's growing but, ufda, as much time as has passed, it is slow. 

This ending made a little more sense and I thought the book was fairly clued without being overt about the person behind the death. 

Three stars

Pomona Afton #2
Follows Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder

This book comes out April 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander

I read the previous book in this series eleven years ago but was recently reminded that the Lady Emily series was one that I had enjoyed so I picked the series back up. I had forgotten about the alternating timelines... not one of my favorite plot devices. 

Emily has been summoned to Italy by her best frenemy, Emma. There is no love lost between them but Emma's father-in-law has been murdered, her husband has disappeared. Emily's husband is well known as an investigator and Emily is becoming no slouch herself. 

This murder is entwined with a romance from the 1500s and a family feud that is still ongoing. 

Three and a half stars

Lady Emily #7

This book came out 

Follows A Crimson Warning

Followed by Behind the Shattered Glass

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Hexes Go Well with Tequila by LeAnna Ehrsam

This book felt like a cozy fiction book with a random sex scene thrown in for... reasons?

Ursula Cambridge's relationship is failing. When a mysterious invitation appears, she decides to take up the offer to live in The Lost Souls House. Pretty quickly, she makes friends. One night, they get drunk on margaritas and decide to "hex" the people that have wronged them. Except that the hexes turn out to be real. 

There are also a number of sub-plots with a grumpy bachelor and his wayward niece, a friend of a friend who is running for mayor, and the man who is running against her on "family values" who is, not surprisingly, someone who doesn't hold those same values to himself. 

Three stars

The Lost Souls #1

Followed by Curses Dance with Bourbon

This book came out September 24, 2024

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Invisible Influence by Jonah Berger, Keith Nobbs (Narrator)

I think more people are going to be aware of some of the ideas behind this book, especially after Meryl Streep's speech in The Devil Wears Prada about why Anne Hathaway is wearing her sweater. Berger studied the reasons that we make decisions. This is a very Western-centered (especially American) look at how we make choices whether it's the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, or the beer we order. He also looks at how certain styles and colors cycle in and out of popularity. 

Three stars

This book came out Jun 14, 2016

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For by Leonie Swann

Bernadette and Jack are getting married. But the Foxglove Manor requires at least twenty guests to come. And it's not like the crew knows all that many people. So they start inviting anyone they can think of. They don't expect an old friend (?) of Bernadette's to show up. Nor do they expect her to die. Is this related to the verger who was also killed? Agnes does feel some guilt about forgetting to tell anyone that he was there. They found him eventually. 

The wedding does go off, but with more than the most important hitch. And the ending on this one was... not my cup of tea. I'm going to be VERY interested to read other reviews on this one. 

Three stars

Miss Sharp Investigates #3

Follows Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime

The book comes out April 7, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Soho Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer, Tamara Moss

Sierra Angelos is back on the set of "The Escape Game." Season four will be particularly fraught as last season, her sister Alicia was killed and a number of people presume that she committed the crime. This year, she's back to try and figure out what happened. But the teams change every year so she's paired with new people with the book being told in third person point of view from each of the team.

Sierra, Beck, Carter, and Adi are competing against other teams to be the fastest to escape various rooms. And, like Sierra, they each carry their own baggage. 

Of course, as these books go, they will band together to overcome. The ending got a little bit convoluted, but I generally enjoyed this book and am excited to read the next in the series. 

Four stars

This book comes out April 7, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Penguin Random House and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

Many readers wish they could live within the covers of their favorite books. They don't always consider where they will land. Maggie discovers, to her dismay, that just because she is in her favorite world, it doesn't mean she's going to be the top of the heap. In fact, she's quickly running out of money and resorts to a desperate act to get some more. But once she does, she embarks on a campaign to make sure that the bad guy who takes over the kingdom in the stories isn't going to do so anymore. Using her knowledge of the books, she starts to make deals based on her knowledge of future events. But, even knowing that if she makes changes, it could affect the book's timelines, she is willing to make those choices and try to save the world. 

I have read most of the books the Andrews team has written but this one took me longer than usual. And not just because it clocks in at almost 400 pages. There was so much going on and so many characters with so many names that I had to stop and think about who was whom. Maggie is dropped into the world knowing the books REALLY well. Would I remember everything with such clarity, even a book I have read over and over? Probably not. But I do believe that there are people who can so that wasn't a point I needed to suspend disbelief over. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out March 31, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Let's Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen

This isn't a story about Barbie, despite what the title's implications. This is, instead, a tale about the people who were instrumental in creating both the doll and her mystique. Often, people will refer to Ruth Handler but this book also covers her husband, Elliot and her children as well as coworkers Jack Ryan  (enineer), and Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein (fashion designers.)

The story revolves around each, a third person narrator who flips past each person, letting us know what each is thinking and feeling as the idea of an adult doll sparks, then builds, feels like failure, and then skyrockets. Then, as the partnerships start to fall apart.

This is very much a fiction story but reads like narrative nonfiction. An interesting look at the history of all of these people with a lot of research put into it.

Four stars

This book came out January 21, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own