Mystery in the Title by Ian Ferguson; Will Ferguson

A surprise call has Miranda being offered a role in a fabulous new film with five-times Oscar-nominated Harry Tomlin. She jumps at the chance. He's a BIG NAME and she's not going to question the fact that the contract has no tricky clauses. It's just a lot of money for a chance to work with the nicest man in Hollywood. 

So why is it Harry who ends up dead after crashing through a skylight? Nothing makes sense. And then his replacement comes in. It's an old beau of Miranda's and a foe of her husband Edgar's. Now she's juggling feelings between her nearly ex-husband for whom she still has feelings (though he doesn't appear much in this book), her handsome ex-co-star who is a divine kisser (although he has a horrible personality), and the handsome and charming producer (although she doesn't really have feelings for her.)

Three and a half stars

This book comes out October 22, 2024

Miranda Abbott #2

Follows I Only Read Murder

ARC kindly provided by Mira and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

I Only Read Murder by Will Ferguson, Ian Ferguson

Miranda Abbott was once Pastor Fran, itinerant pastor solving crimes. Fifteen years later, she can't even get on "Real Has Beens of Hollywood." Her money has run out, her assistant is leaving, and a mysterious postcard has come. Finally. Her husband wants her back. But does he?

When Miranda travels to Happy Rock, she finds Edgar in his shop, selling only mysteries. He is happy but he is sure it's time for them to figure out their relationship. Miranda is not sure they have the same end goal in mind. She decides to stick around, even going out for the local play. 

I have to admit, I really didn't like Miranda. Her lens was very well fleshed out in  its narrow, self-centered focus but it often left me feeling icky. It took me awhile to finish the book but I would definitely be interested in the next one in the series if we get to see some personal growth from the main character. 

Three stars

This book comes out February 27, 2024

Followed by Mystery in the Title

ARC kindly provided by Mira and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

One Perfect Summer by Brenda Novak

23andMe is uncovering a lot of long-held family secrets. Serenity, Reagan, and Lorelei have discovered they are half-sisters and have decided to spend a weekend together in Lake Tahoe to try and get to know each other. Serenity is dealing with the fall-out of her eight-year marriage ending; Reagan had and affair with a married man; Lorelei's husband has just admitted that he cheated on her with her best friend. The three ladies spend enough time together to realize they need more than just the weekend they originally planned for.
I liked the depiction of Lucy, Lorelei's four-year-old, in this book. She wasn't a plot moppet at all. However, I did not like the fact that all of the characters felt a little flat. This is a long book but there was So Much going on that none of it felt like the kind of in-depth story that Novak can do. I actually would have liked it much better had every romantic interest been edited out and the ladies had just had time to grow from the bonds with each other.

Three stars
This book comes out April 7th
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin Mira and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux

Kate, Jack, and Sara need a break after two books of solving murders. Sara decides to fly them all to England, to an estate that her book earning help to reinvigorate. To an estate where a couple ran away twenty years ago and the heir killed himself, maybe because of the couple who disappeared. Now, Sara has invited the group who was there when the two young adults vanished in an attempt to either figure out what happened, or to gather information for the book that she claimed she wasn't writing. Neither Kate nor Jack is amused. Especially when it seems that someone doesn't want the truth of two decades ago uncovered.
If you enjoyed the first two books, you will probably find this one about the same. I find Deveraux to be often uneven, ranging from 2 to 4 stars in my opinion but this one is very much like the first two in this series.

Three stars
This book comes out March 10th
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin-Mira and NetGalley
Opinions are my own