The Phantom of Nantucket Carolyn Keene, narrator: Jorjeana Marie

Nancy, Bess, and George are off on another adventure. Bess has a friend, Jenna, on Nantucket who is about to unveil a new museum exhibit that is going to solve the mystery of a ship that sank over a hundred years ago. But someone seems determined to sink the exhibit before it is opened. First, a banner for the exhibit is painted with the word "Liar" in red. Then, a key piece of the exhibit disappears from the museum. The curator is reluctant to call the police but, upon hearing that Nancy is an amateur detective, agrees to let her work on the case. 

This is somewhat interesting that, in the original series, Nancy had quite a few head injuries. This time it's George who gets bonked. 

Three
stars

Nancy Drew Diaries #7

Follows Secret at Mystic Lake

Followed by The Magician's Secret

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant

Decades ago, Hortense and eleven other people were part of a Pardner. Sometimes called a lottery, it is people putting money in together and each person benefitting at some point. This particular Pardner grew even larger and they started using money to benefit their community at well. Then they started dipping into protecting their community and investigating crimes. At some point, Miss Hortense was thrown out of the Pardner. 

Now, there are few people remaining who were part of that original group. And quite a few of the remaining members are dropping dead. But why? 

This was an interesting story, but it took me some time to get into the cadence and then I lost track of some of the characters. 

Three and a half stars

Miss Hortense #1

Followed by Miss Hortense and the Last Rites

This book came out June 10, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Body on the Beach by Simon Brett

Carole Seddon likes her life. More or less. Her little house in Fethering is perfect for this widow and her dog. She gets to walk him on the beach every day and usually sees the same people every day as well. Not much changes. Well, until the day there's a hooded figure on the beach. Then she finds a body. Do the local police believe her? No. They treat her as a doddering old fool, especially once they go back and the body isn't there. 

There is another annoyance in Carole's life, her new neighbor Jude. Who exactly is this woman? She seems far too bohemian to enjoy being in Fethering. But she believes Carole and the two start to investigate what is going on. And they uncover a lot. 

This book is very much of the time it was written in. The series is still going (when I'm writing this in 2026) and I'm interested to read the books in between to see how these two characters evolve.  

Three and a half stars

Fethering #1

Followed by Death on the Downs

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus

Opinions are my own

Murder on Threadneedle Street by Andrea Penrose

As always, the book opens with a murder. This time, the victim is someone we've met in previous books which explains why Wrexham, Charlotte, and all of their friends and wards get involved with this crime. 

The stories in this series always have a historical pinpoint and the subject under discussion in this book is banknotes. I honestly hadn't thought about it very much but it makes sense that, at some point in our history, we had to figure out a way to try and thwart counterfitting. It made for some very interesting inventions and plot points. 

Another things that Penrose does so well is to allow character growth, however slight, for her characters. The addition of Eddy, Wrex's sister to the house has caused some ripples but, shockingly, all of the characters talk to each other about friction points and manage to smooth it out rather than it causing misunderstandings and friction that become the basis of the book. Instead, the mystery is central. 

Four stars

Wrexford & Sloane #10

This book came out September 29, 2026

Follows Murder at Somerset House

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford & A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford by Claudia Stone

A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford

Both of Emily's older sisters have married well so she's been dragged to Londo to have a series. She... is not very excited about that. To say the least. She isn't exactly outgoing and her mother is akin to Mrs. Bennett. Unfortunately, she threatens to kill a woman (an overly obnoxious woman, to be sure), who then ends up dead. And her rival's finger points straight at her!
Luckily, a nearby marquess, Frederick Chambers, does not believe that she had anything to do with the murder and rushes to her defense.
I'm glad I kept reading the books in this series. The first one wasn't great but the rest are, like I said in the last book's review, like Pringles. You just can't stop reading them. Are they great? Not really. But they're a fast read and easy to get through.

Three stars

Regency Murder & Marriage #3

Follows  A Victim, A Viscount, And Miss Mifford

Followed by A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford

This came out October 4, 2021

A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford

Eudora was probably the most annoying sister to read about. She's always trying to appear older in order to "catch up" to her sisters. And they've all solved a murder and fallen in love, so now she wants the chance too. To bad the body she's stumbled across seems to be a natural death. Luckily, she's able to flag a man down to go get help. That man just happens to be a baron who falls immediately, irrevocably in love with her. She's not very interested in him until a freak snow storm strands them at her sister's house and an actual murder occurs.
This book was... fine. But Eudora was annoying and the romance was thin. I finished it though and the author set it up for a new set of Miffords to find love

Two and a half stars

Regency Murder & Marriage #4

Follows A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford

Followed by An Execution, an Earl, and Miss Hughes

This came out  March 2, 2025

A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Though Frances and Rose usually spend Christmas in London, this year is different. Now, Frances is married and her husband's half sister as well as the sister's half sister are also in the house. That means that changes might happen, including how the whole family wants to spend the holiday. That means going to the coast to be with George's sister Fiona and her family. 

The children will get to play with their cousins and there might even be snow. Aunt Harriet is joining them and her gentleman caller, Gilliam, is also invited. Although there seems to be some friction between the two of them. 

While they are there, a storm blows up. While the house they are staying in remains standing, other buildings are knocked down and the two men offer to help set things to rights. Frances and Fiona are taking the children into the village to see if they can help as well when they stumble across a dead body. It turns out to be someone who was not well-liked in the village for many reasons. 

It will take quite a bit of digging to figure out what happened and Frances is somewhat shocked to learn that the children are curious about the deaths and crime. She thought that she and George had done a good job hiding thier preoccupation from her daughter. 

A fun story with a little less George on page than usual but we got to see some of how Frances is navigating her new family, especially when one girl is fifteen and one who is pracctially an adult. 

Four stars

Countess of Harleigh #9

Follows A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder

This book comes out September 29, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Peg and Rose Deck the Halls by Laurien Berenson

Peg wasn't paying attention and now it's almost Christmas. That means it's time to put together the Christmas Bazaar and children's dog show. Except, while she was distracted, the kennel club gave the job to Jonabell. Even though Peg created the show and has been spearheading it for years. Years. Now, she's in charge of decorations. So what does that mean? She's going to drag Rose into it. 

But, almost before they start planning, Jonabell drops dead. At Peg's open house. And it's not natural causes. 

Because it was at Peg's house and Jonabell had taken Peg's place, rumors are floating that she is under suspicion for the death. But we don't actually hear that from the police. We don't see much of the police in this book but one of the reasons I like this series is that Peg and Rose let the police know when they find clues. Peg even directs someone straight to the police station when they have information she thinks the police may not know. 

I didn't really understand why everyone was so suspicious of Peg, especially since Jonabell wasn't well liked to begin with. I had a hard time reconciling the sudden turn against Peg just because something happened at her house. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out September 29, 2026

Senior Sleuths #4

Follows Peg and Rose Play the Ponies

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene, narrator: Danica Reese

An injured carrier pigeon lands in Nancy's yard. Inside the capsule is a mysterious message. She is determined to figure out what the message means. It will lead her to a mysterious manor where a doctor seems to be taking advantage of elderly women, including one who risks quite a bit to get a bracelet smuggled out with Nancy's family doctor.

A lot of coincidences and a fairly improbable escape when Nancy is thrown in a pit at the end of the book but worth re-reading when I'm doing the whole series. 

Three stars

Nancy Drew #10

Follows The Sign of the Twisted Candles

Followed by The Clue of the Broken Locket

This book came out in 1933

The Cornish Halloween Murder by Fiona Leitch

stars

The Nosey Parker Mysteries #10

Follows The Cornish Honeymoon Murder

This book comes out September 24, 2026

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

Izzy and her wacky family are back. She’s been arrested 4 times in the last three months because of her next-door neighbor, a man she refers to as, “The Subject”. He is suspicious because of his name, the locked door in his house, and, of course, his interest in her. Izzy is also busy because her whole family is acting suspiciously. Her mother keeps sneaking out, her dad is coming home having been to yoga, her brother isn’t going into work and instead staying at home all day, and her sister Rae, well, she’s always suspicious. 

Most of the characters from the first book make a reappearance, including two of Izzy’s ex-boyfriends. It is a zany book and very much of its time which may make it seem dated to some readers. I did have to plow through some of the zaniness at points but it was overall a good read and is not discouraging me from completing the series. 

Three and a half stars

Spellman Series #2

Follows The Spellman Files

Followed by Revenge of the Spellmans

This book came out March 11, 2008

Hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

A Death, A Duke And Miss Mifford & A Victim, A Viscount, And Miss Mifford by Claudia Stone

A Death, A Duke And Miss Mifford

Miss Mary Mifford is now twenty-two and has decided that she is a spinster, on the shelf, and ready to help her three (!) sisters find an acceptable marriage. To the end of being "good" spinster, she is wearing mobcaps, frowning at things that aren't "correct", and doing good works. On the way to one of those good works she sees someone trying to break into Mr. Parsims house. She doesn't particularly like Mr. Parsims but he doesn't deserve to be robbed. So she throws a rock at the man. 

Henry, Duke of Northcott, doesn't expect to be attacked while trying to get in touch with his parson. Of course, he doesn't come to Plumpton often so maybe Miss Mary Mifford can be forgiven for not recognizing him. Besides, she's really vvery lovely. 

At a party held in the Duke's honor, Mr. Parsims goes out of his way to make himself detestable. Not a surprise since he's had at least two other fights that the readers have seen in this story. But Mary is the only person to wish he would be murdered. Only hours before he actually is. Now, both Miss Mifford and the duke have reasons to want to clear her name.

This book started off with a cute conceit. However, I'm not sure if this was just not edited but there were a lot of word choices that were just wrong. I searched to make sure it wasn't some difference between British and American English but it was not.

Two stars

Regency Murder & Marriage #1

Followed by A Victim, A Viscount, And Miss Mifford

This came out December 7, 2020

 A Victim, A Viscount, And Miss Mifford

Jane Mifford is the second of four girls. She had never thought to marry  but is realizing she can’t stay at home with her interfering mother. That would be just too much to ask. And her sister seems happily married to the Duke so it might be worth trying. Little does she expect a man to fall literally at her feet. 

Ivo Bonneville (check spelling) was lost but he thinks he might have just been found. The delightful Miss Mittford is the only thing keeping him happy at the moment. His odious cousin has summoned him to watch the man marry (in his eighty-second year) to a young girl. It seems that Ivo might only be heir to viscountcy for a little while longer. But he knew that might happen, that’s why he made his own fortune. He’s not particularly concerned about the old man dying. But when he does, and it’s murder, Ivo feels tompelled to not only find a wife to secure the bloodline (as good a reason as any to chase Miss Mittford), but to clear his own name as well (not that anyone’s said that the old man died, but everyone assumes it was Ivo.)

This whole series is fast and fluffy. Is it the best series out there? No. Is it like Pringles that you're going to consume them anyway? Indeed. 

Three stars

Regency Murder & Marriage #2

Follows A Death, A Duke And Miss Mifford

Followed by A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford

This came out December 7, 2020

Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie, narrator: Hugh Fraser

Hercule Poirot has never considered that Miss Lemon might have a life outside of his office. As far as he knew, she was more or less an automaton. But, it turns out that she has a sister. And that sister needs help. She runs a boarding house for students and a number of items have gone missing. The only thing of any worth, a diamond ring, showed up days later in someone's soup but the overall atmosphere is chilling and she would like some help. 

Before the mystery is over, there is death. More than one. Will Hercule be able to solve the mystery? Of course, he is the great detective.

This is definitely a book of its time with some broad stereotypes and sweeping proclamations being tied to psychiatry, but the mystery is interesting and the end has a nice twist (even if it comes out of nowhere.)

Four stars

Hercule Poirot #30

Follows After the Funeral

Followed by Dead Man's Folly

This book came out in 1955

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Sign of The Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene, narrator: Danica Reese

What a strange story. Bess and George have an extended family member who owns an inn. None of the family have seen him in awhile so they, along with Nancy, stop in to see how he is doing. Ages ago, he invented a twisted candle that, as it burns, the wax melts toward the bottom so it wastes less wax.

It turns out that it is his one hundredth birthday, but he has been relegated to the inn's tower by the people running his inn. Their foster daughter is the only person to visit him. Except that today, Nancy brazens her way in along with some food. Later, the foster daughter is able to call and ask Nancy to return with her father the next day. The old man makes his will, then dies the next day.
While Nancy is trying to solve the mystery of his hidden treasures, she is also trying to understand the fact that, because one of Bess and George's relative's said she was working against them, her best friends are no longer speaking to her.

Three stars
Nancy Drew #9

Follows Nancy's Mysterious Letter

Followed by Pasword to Larkspur Lane

This book came out in 1933

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Nancy's Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene, narrator: Jessie Birschbach

Ira Dixon, Nancy's mail carrier, is about to retire. It's his age that has her offering him a ride during a violent storm and then setting him up with a hot beverage. It is her kindness that kicks off the mystery when the last of his mail is stolen from their front porch, including a note for Nancy and a package for her father. This puts his job, and his retirement, at risk.

Ira remembers just enough about the letter that Nancy can back track and find out that it came from a law firm in England. It wasn't actually meant for her. Nancy Drew has inherited a large sum of money and, so far, our Nancy is the only one they've found. But, coincidentally, Nancy Smith Drew is helping with a play at Ned's university. Do the two mysteries link up? Yes, but it's a very thin thread. 

Three stars

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #8

Follows The Clue in the Diary

Followed by The Sign of the Twisted Candles

This book came out in 1933

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Lonelyheart 4122 by Colin Watson

I'm fairly certain I heard about this book on the "Classic Mysteries" podcast, but, alas, the website is no longer available so I can't confirm. It was an interesting book but it took me a LOOOOONG time to finish. There are definitely stereotypes included in this book that would (hopefully) not have been added today. The story is certainly an interesting conceit.  

The book is the fourth in a series starring D. I. Purbright and Sergeant Sid Love. I belive that Miss Teatime is a new character to the series. She seems to be a lonely and vulnerable older woman and that is perfect because that is the victim-type of the crime our Detective Inspector is investigating. 

The mystery kicks off when Arthur Spain realizes he hasn't seen his sister-in-law for awhile. When he goes over to check out what is happening, he discovers her home has been sold. The only clue seems to be that she has been corresponding with a man through a Lonely Hearts club. 

Three and a half stars

Flaxborough #4

Follows Hopjoy Was Here

Followed by Charity Ends at Home

This book came out in 1967

This is a book licensed to me from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley; Agatha Christie

If you're looking for a faithful furtherance of the Marple mysteries, this is not going to be the book for you. This is more in the spirit of Miss Marple than a true sequel. First, there are alternating viewpoints. Second, Miss Marple is a little harder than I remember her being. Although there are glimpses of a bit of coldness in her (e.g., Nemesis), she is usually depicted as a slightly fluttery old woman with more insight than it might appear at first. 

Mrs. Bantry came into some money. She sold the family home after Colonel Bantry died and now is on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with Miss Marple. Mrs. Bantry has also brought her personal assistant, Diana Glass.  Also at the famed Grand Alpine Hotel are a politician and his much-put-upon wife, his movie star mistress, and and old acquaintance who can't rightly be called a friend. Of course, the politician has a murky past as well as an unpleasant present, so he'll be the one who ends up dead. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out September 22, 2026

(Loosely) Follows Miss Marple's Final Cases

ARC kindly provided by William Morrow and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Killer for Christmas by Kim Harrington

stars

This book comes out September 22, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley

Opinions are my own

Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled by Dorothy Gilman

Mrs. Pollifax is itching for a new case. And, luckily, there's one on the books. It includes traveling with her good friend, Farrell to find an American woman who spoiled a hijacking and then was promptly kidnapped. As usual, she'll find herself in situations that are unbelievable and yet fun as she wriggles her way out of them. 

Three and a half stars

Mrs. Pollifax #14

Follows Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist

Last in series

This book came out February 1, 2000

Hard copy I did not keep

Opinions are my own

We're All Going to Die Tonight! by Veronica Bane

The debate team is driving to their Airbnb after a disastrous meet. Avery is feeling like she's the one who lost the competition. But her musings also introduce us to the other characters riding in The Death Van (so named because it looks like a kidnapper's van.) When a tire blows out, they have to walk the rest of the way. 

The airbnb does not provide the shelter that they had hoped. Instead, two of the teens are attacked, two of the teachers are missing, and someone dies. 

I suspended a lot of disbelief and just want along with the story and that helped me to enjoy this book quite a bit.

Four stars

This book comes out September 15, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Random House Children's Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki VanSickle

Drew Benson has inheriting her aunt's once thriving metaphysical shop. It started going downhill after her aunt, who was psychic, couldn't help find a missing girl. Her aunt could only come up with three words, none of which narrowed down the searching area. 

Now Drew has been tarred with the same brush. And she has a secret, she is psychic too. Her skill lies more in reading tarot. But she hasn't advertised that since Hannah was so publicly shunned. Now her high school nemesis (and NOT a love interest; refreshing!) is back in town. He's a new reporter researching the disappearance on the twenty year anniversary. So Drew is somewhat helping Nick, while also trying to keep paying her sole employee, and avoiding a love interest she knows is no good for her.

The world building on this one was maybe a bit rough but the characters were well-fleshed out without relying on stereotypes. The mystery was interesting and there were some clues that could help you determine what the outcome was going to be. 

Four stars

This book comes out September 8, 2026

ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own