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 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

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 

The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene, Mildred Benson (Ghostwriter)

Nancy is meeting Bess and George at their aunt and uncle's ranch. There's a phantom horse causing issues across the ranch and they are close to having to abandon the ranch altogether. But is there really a phantom? And does it have anything to do with the notorious outlaw Dirk Valentine who is reported to have hidden a treasure somewhere on the ranch?
Nancy gets knocked out in this book. This seems to happen to the poor girl so many times. This book is definitely dated - fascination with the old west, some of the clues wouldn't be as well known today, bit it is a fun book with a glimpse into the time the book was written.

Three and a half stars

Follows The Mystery at Lilac Inn

Followed by The Secret of Red Gate Farm

This book came out in 1931

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Oh noes! Eve's best friend Mavis has been found standing over a dead body. The body just happens to be that of the woman who threatened Mavis' current luvr. The woman was supposed to model Leonardo's clothes but she threw a tantrum when he started dating Mavis.

Eve has to not only work on clearing Mavis and Leonardo but also getting prepped for her marriage to the gorgeous and mysterious Roarke.
Peabody gets her first love interest in Illegals cop, Castro.
Fun read.

Four stars

In Death #3

Follows Glory in Death

Followed by Rapture in Death

This book comes out September 8, 2026

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

Opinions are my own

The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley

Four stars

Dearly Beloathed #2

This book came out on July 7, 2026

Follows The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinons are my own

The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene

This book starts with a literal bang when Nancy and her friend, Helen Goulding, are trying to outrun a storm but, when their boat hits a log, they have to swim for it. They are saved by Laura Pembleton who mentions that she might need Nancy's help. She has new guardians and is wary of them

The couple is certainly a piece of work. The wife is rude and demanding, even before she meets Laura. The husband nearly drives Nancy and Helen off the road. Things get stranger from there. 

This book is somewhat disjointed with parts and characters popping up without rhyme or reason but it was still an interesting read. 

Three stars

Nancy Drew #3

Follows The Hidden Staircase

Followed by The Mystery at Lilac Inn

This book came out in 1930

ARC kindly provided by Dover Publications and Netgalley

Opinions are my own

The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

This book is made up of short chapters looking at how we can survive in our current world. Specifically, looking at it through the lens of the matsutake mushroom. This is a mushroom that grows where things have been destroyed and there are whole communities built around finding them. For me, the description of the communities was the best part of this book. 

It was an interesting collaboration of ethnography and anthropology. I didn't always understand the points the author was trying to make. I also thought the subtiled was misleading as this book wasn't particularly political.

Three stars

This book came out November 28, 2017

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

When I Was Your Age by Kenan Thompson

I love a biography read by the author and this book proves excatly why. Thompson is open about his life, starting from his time in Georgia and wending through his time on Nickelodeon. He focuses on his own life though it touches that of many famous other people. Of course, he talks about his time on Saturday Night Life. 

There are also stories of his family. Both growing up and now his daughters. 

Four stars

This book came out December 5, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, narrator Ari Graynor

Isabel "Izzy" Spellman grew up with parents who are private investigators. She also grew up with an older brother who was perfect. So she decided to become a nosy screw up. That more or less changed when she messed up enough to bother even her brother when she turns 23. Now she's 28 and her sister has been missing for three days. There is a little bit of hopping in time but most of the story is told in chronological order describing her parents, her former cop uncle, and her fourteen-year-old sister who wants nothing more than to be a private investigator. 

This book has actually aged better than I thought.

Four stars

#1 Spellman Series
This book came out January 1, 2007

Followed by Curse of the Spellmans

Audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder Under the Mistletoe by Erica Ruth Neubauer, narrator Sarah Zimmerman

Jane is engaged! And she's going home to meet Redvers' family. Well, his father as his mother and brother are both dead. It's quite a shock to find out that his father is engaged as well. To a woman who has had two previous husbands. When Jane and Redvers ask the local doctor about the cause of her last husband's death, he is more than a little abrupt in asking them to leave. 

As the story goes on, Jane meets Redvers aunts and is surprised to see her own aunt as well. There is a death and people's true motives are uncovered. 

A nice book between the others. 

Four stars

Jane Wunderly Mystery #4.5  

Follows Intrigue in Instanbul

Followed by Secrets of a Scottish Isle

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Widows’ Guide to Murder by Amanda Ashby

Ginny Cole has been surprised by a lot of things lately. Her husband's death, how much more expensive everything is without him, the fact that she was hired so quickly as a part time librarian in her new home in the village of Little Shaw, the murder of her new, thoroughly dislikeable boss Louisa. 

Because Ginny is the first person in, she is the one to discover the body. And that also gets her pulled in to working with three other widows in Little Shaw to protect Alice, one of the women's daughters. 

I enjoyed this cozy because Ginny did seem well-rounded and actually worked with police and didn't take unnecessary chances. I wish we had gotten to see more of some of the other characters be as built-out as Ginny but there were a number of characters and this was (I'm assuming) a first book in a series. The number of characters also filled in some of the space for the plot so there wasn't a lot of space for this to be a fairly-clued story. 

Three and a half stars

The Widows' Detective Club #1

This book came out March 3, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

You Wanna Be on Top? by Sarah Hartshorne

I didn't pay attention to the subtitle when I reserved this book. I didn't realize this was a memoir and thought this was a history of ANTM. It took me a bit to pivot into enjoying this book, but I was quickly on board. 
Sarah starts her story when she's in college, her friend(s) encouraging her to try out for the show. She walks us through her tryouts with a glimpse into how her own life was edited to make her more interesting for the audience. 

Four stars

This book came out July 8, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

  Opinions are my own

You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate

I've been on a run of celebrity biographies lately and have to say that I enjoyed this one. Applegate talks about most of the things that I think fans would want to know about. There are a number of names redacted and she has memories that she just can't bring to the fore for various reasons but we get to know about this amazing person who has been acting since she was a child. She talks about her childhood, the famous people she's met at various stages of her life, the shows and movies that she was a part of, and how she is dealing with her MS diagnosis. 

Four stars

This book came out March 3, 2026

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Death Masks by Jim Butcher with James Marsters (Narrator)

The war between the Red Court and the Council is raging. There is a possible end in sight if Harry will agree to battle mano-a-mano with the vampire's champion. But he still has to make a buck so when a priest from the Vatican is referred to him, Harry is interested. He's shocked to learn that the item that the priest is searching for is the Shroud of Turin. And if those aren't enough, he's pulled into the investigation of a headless, handless corpse. Then, there's the fact that Susan, his ex(?)-girlfriend is back in town.

There was SO MUCH going on in this book. It took me awhile to get into it and I wish we could have seen more of the "problem of the week" that was in this book but there was a lot of time spent on the overarching stories. 

Three stars

Dresden Files #5

Follows Summer Knight

Followed by Blood Rites

This book came out September 3, 2002

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

6:40 to Montreal by Eva Jurczyk, Allyson Morgan (Narrator)

The comparisons to an Agatha Christie novel are glaring. It starts with the narrators name, the title that is so close to the 4:50 to Paddington, and a snow storm that stops a train. 

 The narrator had a plan. Well, a couple of plans. Her husband has bought her a ticket to a train that has no cell service. She can ride it to Montrea  and then come home. Plenty of time for Agatha to write the five thousand words needed to follow up her best selling novel. She's going to use it for a different plan that the reader (listener) wont know for most of the book. Agatha purposely chose a seat that wasn't near anyone else. So she's surprised when Finch sits down next to her. He wants her seat and is determined to get it. So, Agatha moves. As she does, she notices that Cyan (sp?), her stalker/ex-something, is also on the train. That  would have been bad enough, but then the train stops. And someone dies.

We go back and forth between the past and the present and see how Agatha got to this place, what her plans really are for the train ride, and why this day is so important for her.

The beginning was a bit slow and the ending didn't make sense with the tone of the rest of the book, but I really enjoyed the middle.

Three stars

This book came out October 28, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher with James Marsters (Narrator)

Harry knows not to mess in the realm of the Fae... now. But he made a promise to his godmother when he was young and she gave that promise to the Winter Queen. The Winter Queen  will release Harry from his promise if he performs three tasks. The first thing is to figure out who killed the Summer night so that the Winter Queen is not blamed.

It's going to be impossible for Harry to do this by himself, but luckily he has made friends and allies (whether he wants to or not.)

Three and a half stars

Dresden Files #4

Follows Grave Peril

Followed by Death Masks

This book came out September 3, 2002

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

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

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

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