Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews with Bernadette Dunne (Narrator)

Meg has two cousins getting married the Saturday before Christmas. Not a great day to begin with but their inconsiderate choices don't stop there. They are getting married on the same day at the same location and are feuding about it the whole time. Somehow, Meg's mom has become their de facto wedding planner since they've run everyone else off. The only bright point is that they are having their receptions at the Caerphilly Inn and Ekaterina is able to handle their nonsense.

Robin is only a little less adept at handling them at the church. It's just too bad that the front of the church is closed off at the moment and everyone is having to go through the graveyard. The same graveyard that has only just been re-consecrated after a series of pranks by some local teens. The same graveyard where a body is discovered.A

If you are a regular Langslow reader, you will probably clock both the victim(s) and the perpetrator(s) (trying to obfuscate this a little.) And that just adds to the delight of this book. The mystery is overall a little thinner than normal but a good read.

Four stars

Meg Langslow #38

Follows For Duck's Sake

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

ARC of ebook kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss

If the Broom Fits by Sara Bourgeois

Brighton Longfield is not having a great time of it. She is divorced, recently fired, and her car just broke down. Luckily, it fires back up and she's able to make it into Coventry towing her U-Haul behind. Her new home, the one she inherited from her great aunt Maude "Mad" Tuttlesmith, is known as Hangman's House which is spooky enough but it doesn't look like it's even inhabitable so she stays at the local B&B. There, she meets a professor of the paranormal. He's a jerk to her. Later, Brighton learns he's definitely not endearing himself around town either. Too bad she's the one to discover him dead behind the local diner. 

She's not really a murder suspect but she has bigger things to deal with as she discovers that she's a witch and her family was pushed out of Coventry by the Skeenbauers, another local family of witches.

This is a shorter book so there are plot points that are rather abrupt but it was overall a nice read.

Three stars

This book came out March 17, 2019

Wicked Witches of Coventry #1

Followed by Doom and Broom

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews

Meg is enjoying an afternoon at her brother’s house when it’s interrupted. Not by the backhoe, that noise is expected. Rather, it’s the lack of noise. A skeleton has been uncovered.
Even though her family is, of course, helping uncover the whole skeleton, Meg is also dealing with housing dogs that are up for adoption until the Mutt March takes place in a few days. It’s a major adoption event and, while there are plenty of volunteers, they are also having to deal with the worry that someone may be trying to adopt a dog for nefarious purposes. 

As usual, a lot going on but Meg manages it all with aplomb if not always with dignity. A lot of call backs to previous books in the series, especially since they are dealing with a skeleton that may be linked to the Pruitts. I don't think you need to have read previous books in the series to understand them all but reading and re-reading this series is always a delight, especially when Bernadette Dunne is narrating. 

Four stars

Meg Langslow #37

This book comes out August 5, 2025

Follows Rockin' Around the Chickadee

Followed by Five Golden Wings

ARC (both ebook and audiobook) kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Icing on the Murder by Valerie Burns

Maddy and Michael are at an impasse trying to figure out their wedding budget. Maddy's dad is, of course, fabulously wealthy so she could have the wedding of her dreams if she wants. But Michael doesn't want to take that much money from her dad and besides, she already had the wedding of her dreams. It just happens that she was left at the altar. The two figure everything out except that Maddy leaves out one thing, she's entered a contest to have event planner Serafina plan their wedding. If they win, it will be filmed for a possible new reality show.

It's fabulous when Maddy and Michael are picked as one of the three finalist couples. It's just too bad that Serafina doesn't seemt to be a pleasant sort of person. She's seen/overheard arguing with any number of people including Michael’s ex-fiancée, her assistants Lucy and Luke, and one of the other vendors at the wedding expo that all of this is happening at. It makes her the prime character that needs to be murdered. And, she is. Trooper Bob is called in and, of course, believes Maddy did it. April was there during the murder and could claim jurisdiction but really, it turns out they need to call in the feds so it's not like Trooper Bob is going to be in charge anyway. Besides, he's got some health issues to concentrate on. 

This was an okay story but there is so much focus on the characters that the mystery becomes a sub-sub plot in a series that is mainly about mysteries. 

Three stars

This book comes out 

Baker Street #4

Follows A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death and Dinuguan by Mia P. Manansala

stars

This book comes out November 25, 2025

Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #6

Follows Guilt and Ginataan

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Doggone Bones by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth is ready for a new case but is not expecting Tammy Odom to ask her to find a lost dog. This is not the last dognapping, either. Even Sweetie Pie and Chablis are taken for awhile. It will be up to Tinkie and Sarah Boothto get as many dogs back as soon as possible before they disappear for good.
An old foe is back again.

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #28

This book came out May 27, 2025

Follows Blue Christmas Bones

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Margaritas, Marzipan, and Murder by Harper Lin

Ugh. I knew I wasn't enjoying this series but had already gotten  the book from the library so I listened to this one. I REALLY don't like characters that aren't intelligent about their sleuthing and Fran was actively getting in the way of the police investigation. Add into that that this book once again brought in a murderer from out of left field... I will stick to Lin's historcal mysteries.

Two stars

This book came out November 1, 2015

Cap Bay Cafe Mystery #3

Follows 
Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys

Followed by Lattes, Ladyfingers, and Lies

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys by Harper Lin

Franny is contending with another death when a local man is murdered outside a gym. She is bemused to discover that the man who owns the gym was the big man on campus from her high school, Todd. She's even more surprised to find that he's more handsome than ever. He also seems to be the prime suspect. And that, Franny decides, is a shame. So she's going to investigate. Because Todd's too hot to be a killer. 

This was a two and a half star book for me. Franny was ridiculous, Matty was being kind of a jerk, and the killer came out of nowhere. I would probably stop this series and concentrate on Harper Lin's others which I like better, except that I do have the third book already from the library. 

Two and a half stars

This book came out September 18, 2015

Cap Bay Cafe Mystery #2

Follows Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse

Followed by Margaritas, Marzipan, and Murder

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala

It's Corn Festival time in Shady Palms. They have a small-ish town so they have teamed up with nearby Shelbyville. Of course, Brew-ha has a stand. And they impress not only the mayor of Shelbyville but also her wife. And it's the wife that ends up dead in a corn maze with Adeena nearby clutching a knife.

Lila has a lot of realizations in this book, especially as she ends up talking to the murdered woman's best friend who also ran a business with her. The parallels in her own life are startling. The woman even has a doxie as well. 

I didn't love the ending of this book. It didn't feel as sewn together as previous books but the overall tone of the book is the same as previous in the series and the story moved along the characters really well. 

Four stars

This book comes out November 12, 2024

Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #5

Follows Murder and Mamon

Followed by Death and Dinuguan

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Blue Christmas Bones by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth Delaney and her friends are in Tupelo. While there, a fabulous replica of Elvis's belt is stolen and she and Tinkie are called in to help. This isn't their home turf so it's definitely harder than usual to figure out what is going on. There are a number of musical opportunities and no end to who might have stolen the belt. 

I wasn't sure that the final suspects were really believable as such. There are a number of Elvis-related puns that were fun to read but did get to be a lot to wade through. 

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #28

This book comes out October 15, 2024

Follows Lights, Camera, Bones

Followed by Doggone Bones

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Rockin' Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews

Meg's sister-in-law Delaney is pregnant and about to burst. While she's on bedrest, the rest of the family is helping out by feeding her chickadees. This leads to Rose Noir finding a body behind the barn. The bad new is that it's the Gadfly.

Gordon Norton, called the Gadfly by Meg's family, has been a thorn in the side of many people in the true crime community. He keeps trying to prove that people who have been exonerated were actually guilty. In fact, he's been harassing them pretty thoroughly. Which is why no one was happy about the fact that he was coming to the true crime conference that Meg's grandmother, Cordelia, had put together. 

There seem like a few more side characters than usual but we do get to see a lot of the regulars. I didn't love the ending and the motives but the overall book is a nice addition to the series. 

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #36

This book comes out October 15, 2024

Follows Between a Flock and a Hard Place

Followed by For Duck's Sake

ARC of ebook kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Reread as hard copy from library March 2025

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor by Darci Hannah

Chef Bunny is invited to be on a new show, "Food and Spirits" but the show is not what she thinks it is. She’s actually been conscripted to be on a show where the hosts cook dinner (her part) and talk to ghosts. They’re going to start at Bramsford Manor where there is the legend about a Mistletoe Bride.

This is a mystery so, of course, there is another body that turns up at the manor. And Bunny is the unfortunate person to discover it. And the way she discovers it is by following the white rabbit, a relic of her childhood and one that never leads to anything good. And this time, it leads to her becoming the chief suspect in the murder. She decides to call in reinforcements, her psychic Granny Mac.
There were some places that didn’t flow well but I couldn’t tell if that was because of a slight difference in language (the author may be Scottish and I am not) or if it was pre-editing or just a stylist choice I couldn’t get on board for.
Overall, I enjoyed the book (although the fantasy elements did surprise me) and I’d read the next in the series.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out August 20, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

If you've ever looked up how houses have fared after a makeover show, you'll see that people are often unhappy. Based on what she's hearing through the grapevine, the Smetkamps are going to in the same place. They've won a makeover from Marvelous Mansions but the producer seems shady and the workforce is unsettled. Meanwhile, Meg is just trying to make sure they stay in code. 

Someone seems particularly against the show though (or maybe it's the Smetkamps) because they've gathered up the wild turkeys and released them on the Smetkamps street. There's a fairly amusing bit where an Amazon driver almost gets taken out by the turkeys. He makes it out alive with some help but someone else on the street does not. So, Meg is once again sleuthing a murder mystery. 

This book doesn't have much with Josh and Jamie, nor Michael. We do see any number of other regular characters in this book though and it is a nice addition to the series. 

Four stars

Meg Langslow #35

This book comes out August 6, 2024

Follows Let It Crow, Let It Crow, Let It Crow

Followed by Rockin' around the Chickadee

ARC of ebook kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss

ARC of audiobook kindly provided by MacMillan and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread as hard copy from library March 2025

A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns

I am generally quite enjoying this series. In this one, former influencer/socialite-turned-baker/bakeshop-owner, Madison, is forced to confront her own past when her former friend shows up in towner. Brandy Denton became "former" when she slept with Maddy's ex-fiancée, Elliot. Now that Maddy seems to be gaining a social media following and a new life, Brandy has shown up in New Bison, seemingly wanting to ruin Maddy's life again. 

I say I am "generally" enjoying this series because Maddy is (at least to my memory) suddenly very emotional. She's breaking down, running out of rooms, and generally being more helpless than I remember. I'm hoping that got edited in the print copy but really annoyed me in this book. Hopefully, that changes in the series going forward as I have enjoyed these books so far. 

Three stars

This book comes out 

Baker Street #3

Follows Murder is a Piece of Cake

Follows Icing on the Murder

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder at an English Séance by Jessica Ellicott

Big things are happening in this book. Beryl has her plane and is enjoying flying to her heart's content. Edwina has finished her book and is just working up her nerve to get it shipped out. Of course, she'll have to post it where the town's biggest gossip (i.e. the postmistress) will see it. So she reroutes to a tea shop to fortify her nerves.

It is at the tea room that she meets psychic, Maude Dinsdale. Maude has just moved to town but she is about to set Walmsley Parva on its ear. While some people are eager to believe in her talents, others are being torn apart. And one person ends up dead in a mummy's sarcophagus.

There is a lot going on in this book including Charles being given care of his cousin's two-year-old son. The end of the mystery wasn't really fairly clued so that was a bit annoying but this was overall a nice book. 

Beryl and Edwina Mystery #8

Three and a half stars

This book comes out June 25, 2024

Follows Murder at a London Finishing School

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder and a Christmas Gift by Sonia Parin

It's Christmas and the young Earl of Woodridge is back at Halton House. Evie wants to make his holiday special but can she top Tom's gift of a pony? Maybe, with his family's Christmas decorations. So Evie and Tom are off to find them. But, they get caught in a dense fog and are forced to take shelter in a nearby manor house. That normally wouldn't be an issue but someone in the village died recently and the people decide to hold a seance that seems... odd. Could it be that the man was murdered? Why? 

This was a quick read. Mostly about the mystery but an odd number of other little side stories for such a short book.

Three stars

Evie Parker Mystery #7

This book came out December 25, 2019

Follows Murder in the Third Act

Followed by Murder at the Fashion House

Lights, Camera, Bones by Carolyn Haines

There's a movie production in town and everyone is atwitter. Famous actor Marlon Brandon is doing a film about his family who have been movers and shakers in Greenville for a very long time but this film focuses on the flood of 1927. But, this being Greenville, there's something going on. A gaffer, Jules is missing. And there are people in town who aren't happy that this movie is being made. 

When Marlon goes missing, there are any number motives that come out of the woodwork though most seem to center around the past. So who is behind the murder and the disappearance?
The Sarah Both Delaney stories are often a little out there (I mean, there's a ghost in every story) but this story includes a shark. Yes, in freshwater. I get that this is a thing that can happen but... it was set up as a major part of the story. 

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #27

This book comes out May 21, 2024

Follows Tell-Tale Bones

Followed by Blue Christmas Bones 

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

I hadn't read a Hannah Swensen book in a long time but a friend told me that they had gone off the rails in sort of a fun way. So. I wasn't expecting this one to be a prequel to the series. This story involves Essie, an older woman who has been beloved by the community for her storytelling skills, and the hotel that she and her husband used to own. 

It is set three weeks after her father died so her family is grieving and figuring out what they are going to do next. Hannah's mother has retreated to her bedroom and isn't coming out. But when Essie goes to the hospital, her friends rally her under the guise of helping Essie. When Hannah and her mother go to Essie's house, they find a stack of writing that becomes a story within this story. This becomes a second mystery that is connected to the "present" but, gosh, it made both mysteries simplistic. In addition, there's a lot of filler and the need for a total suspension of disbelief. 

Hannah Swensen #23

Two and a half stars

This book came out September 25, 2018

Follows Raspbery Danish Murder

Followed by Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Board to Death by C.J. Connor

Ben Rosencrantz used to be an English professor (yes, he's heard all of the Shakespeare jokes) but he came back to Sugar House, a neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, to help his father run their family's board game shop. His father is ill and can use the help but their shop has been in a slow decline for years as Amazon has taken over. Newly divorced, Ben is just in a constant state of nervousness because nothing has gone the way it should have and now he's back, still gay, in the heart of Mormon country. 

It really doesn't help that a patron shows up on his doorstep, with a knife sticking out of his chest, and promptly dies. The man had claimed to have the prototype for Monopoly which, if true, would have been worth quite a lot of money. Ben thinks that he may be a suspect in the murder so he decides to investigate on his own.

This was an okay start to a series. I don't love amateur sleuths who run into danger but Ben at least took someone along with him. There wasn't a lot of build up for the mystery other than Ben running around. The narrator also had some weird pauses that kept throwing me off but I did finish the book and I'd probably read the next one. 

A Board Game Shop Mystery #1

Three stars

This book came out August 22, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Solstice Spirits by Erin Johnson

Rudie Hollybrook is the only person in Holiday Haven who sees dead people. It's been a point of contention between herself and her best frenemy Hayley Swift. Except now, Hayley is also seeing ghosts. Well, ghost. It's just one ghost. But it's still scaring the bejeebers out of her. So she calls Rudie, at ridiculous hours of the morning (seriously, the lady has no manners.)
But her life view may be about to change. It may not be three separate ghosts but this particular ghost is trying to tell her something.
Not a ton of depth but a good story.

Three stars
This book came out July 1, 2021

Follows Holiday Hijinks

Followed by Merry Mischief 

Rudie last appeared in Cocoa Curses

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own