The Botanist's Assistant by Peggy Townsend

Margaret Finch is described in the book as tall and big-boned. Several times. There are also a number of references to her nickname, Big Bird. So, a bit of an oddity. And her personality only helps to set her apart. Her life is ruled by routines with the same outfits on the same day of every week, getting to work on time, etc. She also has a rigid sense of rules and will follow them, even to the point of her own detriment. 

Her entire world is shattered when she finds her boss dead. When thinking back over the scene, she becomes convinced that he was murdered. But, having no friends and few people who even like her, no one wants to listen to what she has to say. 

This was a short book with a lot of beats that repeat, but was overall an enjoyable read.

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 18, 2025

Borrowed as ebook 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

This book came out September 3, 2002

Follows Summer Knight

Followed by Blood Rites

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery

Steven Pike has just left jail. He only has enough money to get to Tithe Hall. Well, to the railway station. He barely makes it to the hall. There's only one problem; no one is expecting him. But the butler quickly pivots and adds him to the crew. They'll need the help. Something big is happening and SOMEONE needs to watch seventy-nine-year-old Miss Decima. She's scared off most of her previous ladies maids. Like The Nanny, he's there so he's pulled into the madness. The viscount is having everyone seal up their rooms so that the catastrophes that Halley's Comet is going to cause (as reported by papers of the time) will be mitigated. But when everyone wakes up the next morning, someone is dead. As the newcomer, one who just got out of jail, Steven is going to have to launcch his own investigation to clear his name.

Four stars

Stockingham & Pike #1

This book came out October 30, 2025

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

A Killer Wedding by Joan O'Leary

It's the wedding of the year; Gloria Beaufort's second grandson is getting married. To a school teacher. But it's going to be a production. Including Christine Red, a reporter from Bespoke Weddings. Yes, Christine stepped on her editor and mentor to get this job, but it's going to be worth it to see her life's ambition fulfilled.
And it's going to be a major event with everyone being flown to Ireland to stay in a picturesque castle. But the title of the book tells us that someone will die. At least one person. And that everyone's secrets will start to come out. 
With different characters and alternating timelines, there's a lot going on in this book.

Three stars

This book came out September 23, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from library

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

This book came out September 3, 2002

Follows Grave Peril

Followed by Death Masks

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

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

This book came out in 1942

Follows Evil Under the Sea

Followed by The Hollow

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

This book came out January 8, 2015

Followed by The Masquerading Magician

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

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

This book comes out April 28, 2026

The Vacation Mysteries #3

Follows No One Was Supposed to Die at this Wedding

ARC audiobook kindly provided by Minotaur Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin

stars

Castle Knoll Files #3

This book comes out April 28, 2026

Follows by How to Seal Your Own Fate

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

This book came out September 1, 2001

Follows Fool Moon

Followed by Summer Knight

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

This book came out in 1941

Follows One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Followed by Five Little Pigs

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 

This book came out January 9, 2001

Follows Storm Front

Followed by Grave Peril

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

This book came out in 1930

Followed by The Hidden Staircase

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 

This book came out April 1, 2000

Followed by Fool Moon

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

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
This book comes out April 14, 2026

Follows Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

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

This book came out September 24, 2024

Followed by Curses Dance with Bourbon

Borrowed as ebook 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

Slay Fell Things by Erik Henry Vick

He knows when you've been sleeping, he knows when you're awake... And he wants to sacrifice you so that he can stay immortal, as liches do. Well, really, he's going after Leery. But Dru might have something to say about that. 

With Leery and Dru being back in "the real world," their relationship needs to take the next step and this story ends with that happening. 

Three stars

This book came out December 11, 2020

Claw & Warder #8

Follows Sure 'Lock

Followed by Where the Wild Things Aren't

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own