Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns

I liked the cover of this book and figured I should give it a try. I wasn't really paying attention to the story until they mentioned the border of Indiana and Michigan where I grew up. Instantly, I started paying more attention - I know this town!

That wasn't what kept me reading though, instead it's getting to watch Maddy slowly figure out how to be an adult standing on her own two feet. 

As we get to know her, it seems that Maddy has always been cossetted and protected by her colonel father. After her ex dumped her basically at the altar, Maddy is ready for a change. Inheriting her aunt's bakery in New Bison makes for an opportunity to get out of town. Once there, she finds out that she's also inherited a large English mastiff named Baby. But there is also a mystery. It seems Maddy's Aunt Olivia was somewhat expecting that she may die and she's left behind the clues for Maddy to follow. 

The characters are fun. The mystery is maybe a little thin and there are some threads left hanging but I overall enjoyed the book.

Four stars
This book came out August 30, 2022

Followed by Murder is a Piece of Cake

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 8 by Tatsuya Endo

 The Forgers are on a cruise. Yor is supposedly on a trip for work but really is trying to protect the last of a crime family. And that is most of the story. Loid and Anya are also on the boat and Anya is trying to help her adoptive mother but mostly gets in the way.

Four stars

This book came out November 4, 2021

Follows Vol. 7

Followed by Vol. 9

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

I thought the third book of this series looked interesting but I wanted to start at the beginning of the series and did not regret it. 

Finlay is a divorced mom who is struggling to hold it all together. She has two kids and her ex is now threatening to try and take them away. His fiancee is a very put-together real estate agent and he thinks they should have the children. The latest volley? Firing the nanny. Finlay is stressed out. And now her next book is well overdue. It's just too bad that the conversation Finn has with her agent is misunderstood by one of the other patrons at her lunch spot, she ends up with a contract to kill a man. Looking into his history, Finn understands why he needs to die. She's not going to do it. Of course she's not... 

When she suddenly finds herself with a body in her van, Finn's life takes a very strange turn. One that might just be for the better. 

Four stars

This book came out February 2, 2021

Followed by Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 7 by Tatsuya Endo

The Forger family is becoming even more tight-knit with Yor even considering making her latest assignment her last now that her brother seems to be all grown up. We get a large section of Loid trying to connect with the opposition's head (Damian's father) and not succeeding. Anya's last chance to stay in the same group as Damian is coming up. Loid is given some vacation time that just happens to coincide with the trip that Yor is taking to protect the last of a family that someone is trying to wipe out. 

Four stars

This book came out June 4, 2021

Follows Vol. 6

Followed by Vol. 8

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Mastered By Love by Stephanie Laurens

Royce Varisey, Duke of Wolverstone, has spent the greater part of his life as Dalziel, master spy. But now his work is done and his father is dead. He has to go back to the home he was thrown out of and take over. But when he gets back, he finds that Minerva Chesterton, his mother's ward, has transformed into Wolverstone's chatelaine. Royce is immediately attracted, but is frustrated when she doesn't seem to return his feelings.

Minerva has always loved Royce, but she knows that he has to marry soon which will break her heart. She is willing to stay on at Wolverstone but then she is going to go live her own life.

Unfortunately, Royce's last spy doesn't believe that he has given up the chase and is going to work to ensure that he is never captured.

Four stars

This book came out July 28, 2009

Follows Edge of Desire

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Spare Man Mary Robinette Kowal

I've really enjoyed Kowal's books in the past and, upon hearing that this was like a sci-fi version of The Thin Man, immediately reserved the book from my local library. And this is like the movie (the book didn't have as much comedy) in that you have now "retired" detective who has married an heiress. In this book, we get more from the wife since the book is told from her point of view.

Tesla and her new husband are on a planetary cruise when a murder occurs. Though she is recognizable to the point of creating a horde, she has been able to fly under the radar to this point. The ship's security is less than stellar and, not knowing who she is, immediately pin their gaze on her husband as the guilty party. Tesla is less than impressed and decides (against her attorney's direct orders) to investigate herself. How else is her husband supposed to be freed?

This book is good but it is very much the first in a series and there is a lot of world-building. I do hope there are more in the series though as I have enjoyed Kowal's characters in the past and I think this book will improve when there are more books in the series.

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 22, 2023

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

This is one of Agatha Christie's stories that isn't part of one of her series. In this book, the narrator, Charles Haward, has fallen in love with a beautiful young woman. Sophia Leonides is part of an interesting family though; her grandfather, unlike most people, has made a great deal of money during the war. His family almost all live with him in a great mansion. Also living with them? His very young wife as well as the grandchildren's tutor who wasn't fit for the war. 

Sophia's grandfather dies suddenly and it is a case of poisoning. While most of the family seems to believe it is the very young wife and the tutor, Charles' father (the lead on the case) isn't as sure and conscripts Charles to find out more. 

The ending is like no other in the Christie catalog and probably shocked a number of readers when it came out. An enjoyable read, this fairly short book could have been maybe even a little shorter but was still fun to get through. 

Four stars

This book came out in 1949

Borrowed as ebook from Liby

Opinions are my own

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

Poirot is vacationing with his good friend, Hastings. While enjoying the sun, he is approached by a young woman, Nick Buckley. She is a part of the flapper crowd but is scared. There have been a few too many accidents and she is worried that one of them might eventually kill her. And a death does occur at End House, the giant, crumbling mansion that Nick loves. But it is not her. Poirot is irate and determined that no more people should die.

The ending is a little convoluted as can happen with Christie but overall a delightful book.

Four stars

This book came out in 1932

Follows Black Coffee

Followed by Lord Edgeware Dies

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday

I really enjoyed this book because we got to see Maximillian and Dani's relationship go from barely knowing each other, to friends, to lovers, to an HEA that makes sense. Is the book perfect? Maybe not; we could have had a little more resolution with the parents but overall a nice story.

Dani and Max met in the first book in this series (which I did not read and do not feel like I suffered for it.) Dani is the best friend of a cab driver who fell in love with a princess. Max is the heir to a duke and was engaged to said princess. When they met, Max was intrigued. Now in New York, supposedly to find his next fiance, Max finds himself looking for Dani.

Dani isn't sure how this unlikely friendship happened. She did use Max for a work party that her ex was also at (with his twenty-year-old-former-student-new-girlfriend). And now they're talking most nights as the year between Max showed up on her doorstep and the royal wedding that they are the best man and woman for. But that might be more than just the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 

Four stars

This book came out November 16, 2021

Follows A Princess for Christmas

Borrowed ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Black Coffee by Charles Osborne, Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot has been summoned by inventor Sir Claude Amory. Amory has an invention that could change the world but he is afraid that there is something shady going on in his household. And then he discovers that the formula has been stolen so he locks the doors and traps everyone in one room. The lights are turned off for one minute so that the formula may be returned but when the lights come on, Sir Amory is dead. A tangled family story, this book definitely has tones of Christie and is a fun story but there are phrases that are repeated three or four times that sort of took me out of the story.

Four stars

Originally published as a play, adapted 1998

Follows The Underdog and Other Stories

Followed by Peril in End House

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 6 by Tatsuya Endo

Twilight and Nightfall are entered in an underground tennis tournament. If they win, they can take anything they want from the tournament host's vault. In that vault is a piece of information that may restart the war between East and West. As with most underground tournaments, the rules are that anything goes. During the tournament, Nightfall is still determined to prove to Twilight that she is the better choice to be his wife. But when she plays Yor later, she finds that she may not be as good a player as the current Mrs. Forger. Even though she wins, Yor is feeling uncertain about her place in the family as she is beginning to develop feelings for Loid. 

We also get to see Anya hanging out with her best friend and at school where she is still trying to make friends with Damian.

A lovely book and nice addition to the series. 

Four stars

This book came out December 28, 2020

Follows
Vol. 5

Followed by Vol. 7

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Maid by Nita Prose

Molly Gray's having a bit of a hard time. Her grandmother has died so she's lost her touchstone with the world. Molly has trouble understanding other people and her Gran used to help. It really doesn't help that Molly has just discovered the body of one of the hotel's best clients.

Readers will quickly discern that Molly is an unreliable narrator. Not because she is lying to us but because she has trouble distinguishing between truth and what people tell her is truth.

A very interesting read. I didn't especially bond with Molly but I did like the unexpected ending.

Four stars

This book came out January 4, 2022

Ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Socialite's Guide to Murder by S.K. Golden

Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy lives in the Pinnacle Hotel, rather like Eloise in The Plaza. But her reason is rather more sinister, though she doesn't really seem to realize it. On the outside, it looks like she has it all, the daughter of a rich hotelier, lives in a place that has room service, fancy clothes, adorable dog, movie star boyfriend. But all is not as it seems and some secrets are about to come to the surface.
There is to be an exhibition of the latest painting of a semi-famous artist. Evelyn is to attend with her boyfriend, Henry Fox. The night is ruined when the painting is stolen. Shortly afterwards, the artist is murdered. It seems like an open and shut case as the hotel's security manager is arrested after his blade is discovered to have been the murder weapon. Evelyn isn't convinced. She's determined to get to the bottom of the case with the help of the incredibly handsome Mac Cooper. Of course, it might mean she has to leave the Pinnacle.
We've read the stories of Girl Detectives and this seems to be a New Adult version. Evelyn really likes to read murder mysteries and is singularly helped in the fact that she grew up in the hotel and that she enjoys meeting people. I didn't always particularly like Evelyn and I would class this as New Adult since she still seems to be finding her footing (which can be all adults, really but even more than most). I'm really hoping though that this will become a series as it was a really good read.

Four stars

This book came out October 11, 2022

Followed by the Socialite's Guide to Death and Dating

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale

This was one of the books from NPR's Best Books of 2021. This book main follows Nandor Fodor as he grows up, moves from Hungary to England, and becomes one of the main researchers of psychical happenings around the country. It is this research that brings him into the life of Alma Fielding. 

It seems that there are some very mysterious happenings occurring around Mrs. Fielding. The newspapers are calling it a poltergeist. So Fodor and his friends are sent to investigate.

Summerscale takes us through the laborious process that the Institute would take to ensure that people were not faking their paranormal phenomena. We also hear the stories of some other people who claimed to be able to talk to spirits or produce objects from thin air.

This was an interesting story but it did take me quite a long time to slog through some parts.

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 1, 2020

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik

I feel like we missed some character development in this book that I don't remember from the first book. The book starts off sort of slow with Kee Ildez deciding to get off the ship and go to gather information. Does that get her away from Varro Runkow who she is mega-attracted to? Yes. So that will help since he doesn't seem interested in her. There is a little bit of exposition and story building and then, a bombshell. And from there, it is non-stop go, go, go. I enjoyed both parts well enough but it was a little jarring and left little time for us to really see how Kee and Varro connect. 

More of the plot to restart the galactic war is revealed with at least one rather shocking fact thrown in the mix.

Three stars

This book came out July 12, 2022

Follow Hunt the Stars

Followed by Capture the Sun

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Certain Darkness by Anna Lee Huber

Verity and Sidney are working to figure out how to take down Lord Ardmore. They seem to be blocked at every turn until a phone call comes in from France. An old informant of Sidney's, Miss Adele Baverel wants to talk to him. So they travel to find out if she is willing to tell them about other collaborators against the Allies. But Miss Baverel ends up dead in her cell and one of the local law enforcement is accusing Verity of having helped her.

This sends them off on a search for the information that Miss Baverel says she hid. Along the way they encounter old friends and enemies and nearly get killed.

This was an okay book but didn't capture me in the same way that previous books in the series did.

Three stars

This book came out August 30, 2022

Follows Murder Most Fair

Borrowed as ebook from library

Opinions are my own

The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish

This is very much like a gay version of the movie "The Holiday." Two people, Greta and Truman, who have a mutual friend. That mutual friend helps to arrange a swap when they both hit points in their life where leaving seems like the best way to move forward. For Greta, she has an overly-involved family who are loath to let her live her own life. Actually, they are actively interfering in her life, including setting her up in a bachelor/ette auction which a) they know she hates as a general premise and b)she's gay. 

Truman, on the other hand, has just discovered that the man he's been dating for a year is cheating on him. Or, really, cheating on his husband with Truman. He is ready to escape. A small island off the coast of Maine sounds like a perfect place to go. 

This was an adorable book though the romances both seem incredibly fast. But, we can all suspend a little disbelief for good fiction, right?

Four stars

This book came out September 6, 2022

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

Wow. If you have any problems with self doubt, this book may not be the best as we get the first person view of Paris as he wobbles his way through a version of the Great British Bakeoff. He doubts every single thing he does and we get to read paragraphs of it. Lots and lots of paragraphs of it. And we don't get nearly enough of the romance in this book (same as in the first one in the series) but it is still an incredibly charming book. Hall is such an amazing writer that , in another's hands (words?) I wouldn't have kept going but I did. 

I wish we had gotten to see more of the behind-the-scenes as Paris finally figured out how to start the long road to being more confident. And how to be in a relationship with Tariq. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 1, 2022

Follows Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood

Hannah has found herself a niche and a dream of working for NASA. She's finally going to have a project except that everyone but one person has okayed it. And that person is Ian, a man with whom she has a past. They never hooked up but they got darn close. Is that why he vetoed her project? If so, why is he now coming to find her in a blizzard? In Norway?

There was so much time jumping in this book it made me a little dizzy. Hannah and Ian seemed nice enough but there wasn't enough about either to get invested. The story was fine but similar to two of the Hazelwood books I've read where it's a woman in STEM, falling in love with a man in STEM, while there's another male who seems nice enough but is really the villain.

Three stars

This book came out April 5, 2020

Follows Stuck on You

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

State of the Union by Marie Force

There are SO MANY PEOPLE in this series which can be good but I think Force tried to catch up with every single one of them in this book and it got overwhelming and repetitive (even some of the dialogue, while true to life, was repeated.) The mystery suffered a bit because of it as well.

A young woman has been raped and murdered in a DC park. Sam is not at full speed after falling on some ice and fracturing her hip. All she had wanted to do was enjoy a vacation with her family at Camp David and she still got called back to work where the storm of the season took her out. 

Nick is dealing with his own problems trying to get the Vice President into office and write his first State of the Union address. I really hope we find out soon why Sam's radar went off around Gretchen as it has been discussed so many times.

Three stars

This book came out September 20, 2022

Follows State of Grace

Followed by State of Shock

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own