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 

The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded by Michael D. Watkins

This was a really interesting book in how the ideas for getting up to speed in a new job should be prioritized. I enjoyed that the author prioritized learning the company's culture over making immediate changes. I don't love the layout of authors telling stories around why their programs work (So-and-so did this thing and here's one example of why that failed). I really enjoyed the narrator but would advise people to read the e- or physical book. There were a lot of references to charts that probably would have been helpful to see. 
Was it perhaps written with an overly idealistic idea of most companies? Yes, yes it was. But that doesn't mean there aren't some good takeaways. It is perhaps geared a little bit more toward the upper echelon than frontline managers so may not be AS useful for them.

Four stars

This book came out September 18, 2003

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson

I had not read other books in this series and didn't really even feel like I needed to. It might have provided some more background but most of the story is about Martha, a librarian who believes that her husband, Alan, might be a serial killer. She reaches out to the person who helped her out of a bad relationship once before, Lily Kintner. 

There were a LOT of twists and turns. Too many? Meh. It was close. 

Four stars

Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner #3

Follows The Kind Worth Saving

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Five teens show up for detention. One of them runs a gossip website that is about to expose various secrets of the other four. One of them doesn't make it out of the room. Everyone gets up to look at a car accident and the fifth dies. 

Told in alternating views of the four teens, the mystery slowly unfolds, as well as the secrets of the teens and everyone in their orbit. The book is a bit dated at this point (several mentions of an ipod Nano), but the feelings remain the same. Could this happen today? Definitely. Did I like all of the characters? Not personally, and some of them definitely felt stock, but I'm willing to read the next book in the series to see how the stakes are raised.

Three and a half stars

One of Us is Lying #1

Followed by One of Us is Next

This book came out May 30, 2017

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland, narrator: Zara Ramm

The book starts when Fiona Sharp, one of the volunteers at a local charity shop,  Dogs Need Nice Homes, notices a rival charity shop volunter dropping off a box from the dump pile in front of her shop to Fiona's. While going through the box, she finds a blood-covered knife. This catpults her, as well as the other volunteers, Sue and Daisy, into a promising adventure. After all, all of them have read any number of mystery novels and they can do things the police can't. Like, interfering with police work. 

Three stars

Followed by

This book came out December 13, 2022

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Curse of the Arctic Star by Carolyn Keene, Jorjeana Marie (Narrator)

Nancy, along with Bess and George, starts what seems to be a series of somewhat interconnected mysteries. There have been some rumors surrounding the opening of a new cruise ship. People are thinking it might be cursed. So the granddaughter of the owner asks Nancy for help. In return, they will get to stay in one of the fanciest suites on the boat which includes four rooms. And Bess decides to invite her boyfriend du jour so the mystery is complicated by the fact that Nancy doesn't want him to know that she's doing detective work. 

There were some things that irked me about this story but might not occur to a middle schooler. I'm definitey going to keep reading. 

Three and a half stars

Nancy Drew Diaries #1

Followed by Strangers on a Train

This book came out February 5, 2013

Opinions are my own

Murder in an Italian Castle by Benedict Brown, narrator: George Blagden

Lord Edgington is leaving the shores of England and taking Christopher with him. First stop, Italy to visit and old acquaintance of the lord. They travel all the way there only to see the man killed in front of them. He was definitely a bit of a rotter, okay, a lot of a rotter which leaves any number of suspects including his three heirs. 

An interesting book for a new series though it suffers a bit from a bit of world re-building (if that's a thing). 

Three stars

Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad #1

Followed by Death on the Night Train to Verona

This book came out May 18
, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Death on the Night Train to Verona by Benedict Brown, narrator: George Blagden

Christopher and Lord Edgington are heading to their next step on their European tour. But the train they are taking to Verona is running late. It seems it has been delayed for one person. And what a person! It's the famous film actress. There are several people on the train who are connected to the actress in various ways, which makes it difficult to discern who might have wanted to kill her. Christopher and his grandfather will have few hours to solve the mystery.

There is a thread through the series of the girl that Christipher saw in the first book now being on the train. He is able to speak to her only briefly before they are interrupted by an older man who may be her father.

Four stars

Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad #2

Follows Murder in an Italian Castle

Followed by The Alpine Christmas Mystery

This book came out September 30, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah, Amy Melissa Bentley (Narrator)

I heard about this book from The Cozy Mystery Bookclub. They were so enjoying the story that I decided to pick it up before I heard the ending. I'm glad I read it first but I was a little disappointed in who the murderer ended up being, it didn't feel fairly clued. 

There are definitely some beats which don't read quite cozy. I know that it generally means murder happens off-page but there was also a little more "on page" in this romance than you usual see. 

Three stars

Beacon Bakeshop #1

This book came out February 23, 2021

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Magic We Made by Meg Cabot

Dr. Francesca "Frankie" Giovanni loves living in her small town. She doesn't love summer people (tourists) and she really doesn't like the owner of the house next door, Ash Merit. He bought it from a lovely couple and now it's an AirBnB with Really. Annoying. People. The latest one is asking Franki if she can get rid of the ghost that's in her house. All of the woman's food has been taken, but it obviously wasn't a regular burglary. The Summer Person does leave and Ash comes to town. He's there for two reasons. One to see what is going on in the house and two to find a lost girl for his boss, the one he bought the house for. See, even though Ash has a real job that doesn't really play into this story at all, he's also really, really good at finding things. And this particular girl is just one in a series of missing girls that may actually be linked to the events of the previous book.

It took me a while to get into this book and I'm not sure the third narrator was needed but it was a nice follow up to the first in the series.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out August 11, 2026

Witches of West Harbor #2

Follows Enchanted to Meet You

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 14 by Tatsuya Endo, (translator) Casey Loe

Anya earns both a Stella and a Tonitrus Bolt in her end-of-year exams. Loid decides to ignore the bolt for now and celebrate the Stella by taking a skiing trip. While there, they are involved in a locked room mystery when one of the other occupants of the chalet is almost murdered. I wish that story had been longer but there is a limit to how many strips are in a chapter.

There is also the story of Anya's school having a dance. She tries to get close to the younger Desmond but he is not interested (aka he runs away.)

Finally, we get the story of Henry Henderson, the school's headmaster. It seems he had a past with Becky's chauffer/minder, Martha.

Four stars

Follows Vol. 13

Followed by Vol. 15

This book came out September 4, 2024

Borrowed as hard copy from library
Opinions are my own

Read Your Mind by Oz Pearlman

I hadn't heard of this author before, just enjoy reading books about how to be successful. Coming from a mentalist, it makes sense that most of the habits have to do with working with people. Nothing really ground breaking but an interesting way to experience them, through various tricks that he used in both his magic and mentalist shows. I love hearing about memory tricks, but they don't work for everyone. He trains people on the alphabet backward using a storyline and pnemonic but assumes that people will remember that particular device. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 30, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own 

Spy x Family, Vol. 12 by Tatsuya Endo, translator Casey Loe

Our favorite family is dealing with a world post-Anya's class being kidnapped. Anya has to go back to schoole while Yor and Lloid go back to work. Yor's coworkers are skeptical when she refuses to speak ill of her husband so she creates problems that don't really exist. Meanwhile, Lloid is also dealing with her brother Yuri as both sides race to get to super spy Winston Wheeler before the other. 

Four stars

Follows Vol. 11

Followed by Vol. 13

This book came out October 4, 2023

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Harvest Season by Brynne Weaver

Nolan and Harper are back again. Less killing in this book but they are still having to deal with all of the deaths in the first book. The true crime group who lost two members in the first book are in town trying to figure out what happened to their friends. There was also a big reveal at the end of the last book that is having consequences in this book. Consequences that leave Nolan and Harper at odds at the end of this book.

Three and a half stars

Seasons of Carnage Trilogy #2

Follows by Tourist Season

This book came out June 9, 2026

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Probable Caws by Donna Andrews

The book is off to a galloping (pun, har) start when Meg gets a phone call from her father. A local horse rescue has been pushed off their land and are being moved to Ragnar's property. All hands are needed. 

There are a few prickly characters in this book including Abel, the man whose land the horses were on, his brother George, who thinks he inherited half the property and wants the horses off, and Helen, the woman who runs the Hoof and Hearth nonprofit. There is a death but it was not anyone I expected at first. 

A lot of our favorite returning characters are away for this book which was fine. The mystery was a bit thin and the solution a bit improbable but I still enjoyed the reading. 

Four stars

Meg Langslow #39

Follows Five Golden Wings

Followed by Jay to the World

ARC of ebook kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss