Trust No One by Jayne Ann Krentz

When she was a teenager, Grace Elland stumbled onto a murder scene and rescued a child. An incident that left the killer dead. But now she's found another murder victim, that of her employer, Sprague Witherspoon, a motivational speaker.

The current murder investigation get entangled when the chief of police introduces her to Julian Arkwright at a blind date. The chief is married to graces best friend and they both think she need some companionship. As long as it turns out that she isn't a murderer.

Julian and Grace are drawn to each in ways that are more than just physical. Grace hires Julian is her consultant and Julian allows Grace to help him punch up his "Speech from Hell." But somebody sending Grace some nasty emails and now they're upping their game. So it's time for Julianne to step in and help Grace figure out exactly what's going on.

The story was very reminiscent of many of Krentz's older stories - in the very best ways. This book reminded me of why I love this author so much and why I continue to read all of her books under whatever name she's writing.

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 6, 2015

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Prime

Opinions are my own

Wildest Hearts by Jayne Ann Krentz

When Daniel Lyncroft, the head of Lyncroft Unlimited, disappeared in a plane crash some time ago. His creditors are getting restless but his sister Annie doesn't want to sell his company; she knows that he is alive. So she's pulling her nuclear option, contacting his former employer, Oliver Rain. Everyone knows that he not pulled his own family's company from the brink of disaster several years ago, he multiplied their fortunes by quite a bit. He's invested in Daniel's company so it's in his best interests to make sure that the company doesn't fail. So Annie proposes a marriage of convenience.

It is possible that some of my enjoyment of this book is nostalgia but I still like that both Annie and Oliver are able to grow in this story. Oliver becomes a little less rigid while Annie becomes a bit less naive.

Four stars

This book came out in 1993

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Prime

Opinions are my own

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit P.G. Wodehouse, Jonathan Cecil

Bertie has been invited (commanded?) to Brinkley Court. He is not excited to go because some of the other guests include Percy, who had recently applied to Bertie for a thousand pounds to put on a play, Florence, formerly engaged to Bertie, and her current fiance, "Stilton" Cheesewright who definitely has it in for Bertie. Stilton is convinced that Bertie would like to once again be engaged to Florence (though nothing is further from the truth; on the other hand, Bertie does sort of end up engaged to her again.)

As usual, there are a series of misunderstandings and shenanigans that follow the Jeeves and Wooster formula but still somehow feels fresh.

Four stars

This book came out in October 15, 1954

Follows Ring for Jeeves

Followed by How Right You Are Jeeves

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Prime

Opinions are my own

Zinnia by Jayne Castle

Zinnia Spring's life hasn't been going real great lately. Her parents died, her family is pressuring her academic brother into being CEO of the family corporation, and then a wealthy husband and wife set her up as his mistress to cover up their menage a trois resulting in Zinnia being branded the "Scarlet Lady." And now, trying to track down a matrix talent she's held the focus for (her prism is well suited for matrix talents), she encounters a psychic vampire.

Nick Chastain is a powerful matrix talent but not a psychic vampire. Even if. He did sort of "jump" Zinnia's prism on the psychic plane. Luckily, she works past it (pretty fast, actually) and is able to work with him not only to figure out what happened to her original matrix, but to discover what happened to his father... a decades old murder. 

Better than the first book in the series, Castle starts to find her rhythm in her new world.

Three stars

This book came out May 1, 1998

Follows Amaryllis

Followed by Orchid

Audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own

Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh

The book opens with Roderick Alleyn telling the story to group of upcoming police of the time Troy decided to take a riverboat cruise on impulse. And this group is interspersed with a third person view of how a murder occurred on board and why/how a famous thief, the Jam Pot (sp?) was involved.

With Roderick in the United States and her son away as well, Troy can afford to take eight days on the river. Of course, people will probably find out who she is but she does try to stay under the radar, especially when a cloying Englishwoman with a cold latches on to her. If the woman knew that Troy was a famous artist... ugh. No one on the trip is too upset when that woman ends up leaving the boat but Troy is definitely concerned. Especially since she was already on alert when she makes an offhand comment about Constables (meaning the artist) and feels a sudden tension. Then she sees a newspaper article mentioning that the man who was supposed to be in her cabin was strangled. It makes her call Brer Fox to see if she needs to be worried. 

Overt racism is exhibited by some of the passengers making some of the trip uncomfortable. Also, the solution is a little overly dramatic. I decided to read this out of order based on the Classic Mysteries podcast episode.

Three and a half stars

This book came out in 1968

Follows Killer Dolphin

Followed by When in Rome

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own

Orchid by Jayne Castle

Rafe Stonebraker is a strat-talent. He should have been the one to take over his grandfather's corporation but he got out when he was young, knowing that he could not work for his grandfather. But now that his grandfather is about to retire, the only person in line to be CEO is his vengeful cousin who wants to take the company down. Rafe is ready to step back into the picture but the board is fairly conservative and, in a society that prizes marriage, he's going to need at least a fiancée for the board to consider him. Since his marriage counselor seems hesitant, Rafe decides to find a bride himself by hiring out local prism agencies to help him in his work as a private investigator.

Orchid Adams is a romance writer by day and a prism for hire by night. She is a special kind of prism, a rare ice prism. There are few in existence and, awhile ago, three were used by a local lab to see if their particular prisms could help focus for crazy people and maybe make them sane again. That didn't work. But now Orchid's old life is crossing over with Rafe's current investigation.

I like Zinnia and Nick's romance a little bit better but this story is the best in the trilogy.

Three stars

This book came out May 1, 1998

Follows Zinnia

Audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own

Wedding Date by Monica Murphy, Felicity Munroe, Stephen Dexter

While Kelsey has been a part of the series since the first book, we only met Theo in Rate a Date, the book right before this one. Kelsey is model gorgeous and has had problems in the past when men fall in love with her face without really figuring out who she is. The two of them have become friends and Theo needs help. His ex-fiancee is marrying his cousin (yes, the cousin she cheated on Theo with) and, in the way of romance novels, one of his cousin's groomsmen is in jail and he needs Theo to even out the lines. Theo needs a date so he and Kelsey decide to set it up. Of course, they'll need to attend a few family events first to really sell it. 

We do get to see Kelsey fall in love with Theo and with his family and we also get to see Theo finally confess his feelings but it's all sort of low stakes and I kept wondering why Theo said yes in the first place. And why Kelsey worked so hard to encourage him to say it.

Three stars

This book came out December 1, 2020

Follows Rate a Date

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Prime

Opinions are my own

Wolf with Benefits by Shelly Laurenston

Antonella "Toni" Jean-Louis Parker has pretty much given up her life so that she can care for her parents and her ten siblings. See, they're all geniuses while she's the "normal" one who can cope with the day-to-day but her friends and some of her family (mostly her father) have decided that she needs to get her own life so they've conspired to get her a job.
Ricky Lee Reed works for his brother's security agency. He meets Toni one day and is interested, until she turns him down. But their paths keep crossing and he is consistent in his interest.
I liked this one. Toni didn't get on my nerves as much as come of the other heroines in this series and was actually pretty good at her job once she figured out that she could do it.

Four stars
This book came out March 25th, 2014

Follows Bear Meets Girl
Followed by Bite Me
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as borrowed audiobook from Audible January 2024

Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston

Dee Ann Smith, the feared wolf-shifter who's not afraid to kill, gets her HEA with Ulrich "Ric" Van Holtz in this book. He's loved her since they were children and, despite the admonitions of all of those around them, the two have finally started moving toward love. 
Of course, we get to see many of the shifters from previous books and there is more going on with the overarching story of people using hybrids as fight dogs. A wonderful book in the series since we get to see so much of their relationship growing.

Four stars

This book came out May 25th, 2010

Follows Beast Behaving Badly
Followed by Bear Meets Girl
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as borrowed audiobook from Audible January 2024

The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston

We know from the previous book that Mitch Shaw was an undercover policeman who witnessed an act that would put a bad guy away for a long, long time. So, said bad guy definitely wants to kill him. 

Sissy Mae Smith has been friends with Mitch for awhile. So she's sort of shocked when she wakes up in the lion-shifter's bed the morning after her brother's wedding. She's even more shocked when Mitch gets shot. 

Realizing that the only safe place for Mitch is going to be her hometown, Sissy Mae sweeps him away. There they have to contend not only with the killer but with a brother that hates her and a town full of wolf shifters who definitely hate felines. 

There was a little too much going on in this book but it was still a fun read.

Three stars
Follows The Beast in Him
Followed by The Mane Squeeze
This book came out November 1st, 2008
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as borrowed audiobook from Audible January 2024

The Beast in Him by Shelly Laurenston

When she was sixteen, Jessie Ann Ward was desperately in love with Bobby Ray Smith. Even though his sisters made her life hell, even though she was an orphan, even though she was a wild dog in a town full of wolves, Bobby Ray (now known as Smitty) was one of the few people who were kind to her.
But he left. And she went out and built her own pack, becoming the Alpha of a wild dog team that also does computer hacking to test security. When they meet again as adults, Jessica wants to put him in his place so she pretends not to know him. And that pisses Smitty off. Because he "knows" that she's faking so he's not going to take no for an answer (not romantic).
I had a lot of issues with the not taking no and Jessie being a little hyper but I did love her family and how they were so accepting of everyone. Except the Smiths; but there was history.

Three stars
This book came out April 1st, 2008

Follows The Mane Event
Followed by The Mane Attraction
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as borrowed audiobook from Audible January 2024