Wings and Broken Things by Trixie Silvertale

Sigh. I wasn't sure of this series but I've kept reading and I'll give it another shot but... Mitzy is an idiot. I'm not sure how she's actually solving these cases when she is an idiot. She literally pays off a character to suppress evidence. Really? And the author has many characters warning Mitzy away from Bombay and yet she still persists on the "well, he's always treated me okay" theory. This is not a valid theory if you have many different people telling you for different reasons. Yes, she's young but... ugh. I did round this up to three stars because it was an okay book outside of my disgust with the main character and I am going to give the next book a shot (mostly because I've already borrowed it so, what the heck) but this was really a two and a half star book for me. There are two mysteries -- a local thief and discovering who hit the local veterinarian -- but neither ends up being high stakes (or fairly clued) and the vet is ridiculously Pollyanna about the situation.

Three stars

This book came out December 13, 2019

Follows Tattoos and Clues

Followed by Sparks and Landmarks

Opinions are my own

Five Minutes: (That's a Lot of Time) (No, It's Not) (Yes, It Is) by Liz Garton Scanlon, Audrey Vernick, Olivier Tallec

Is five minutes a long time? Well, I guess it depends on what you are doing at the time. 

A cute book that is carried by the illustrations. I think the NPR Best Books description was maybe a little tempered by the author's love of the first book from this duo.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 17, 2019

Borrowed as a hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur T. Bradley, January LaVoy

The invitations went out for a weekend at the (rumored to be haunted) Barclay Hotel. One each, delivered by courier, to five people only: a  cowboy, a librarian, a CEO, an actress, and a detective on a Tuesday. From April 3rd to  April 5th, these guests will get to experience an all-expense paid weekend at the newly-renovated hotel. 

J.J. Jacobson works hard to convince his mom to go to the hotel. He loves ghost hunting but wishes that his CEO mother had a little more time for him. He convinces his parents to go but hopes without revealing his secret. In fact, almost everyone going has a secret. The only holdout is Detective Walker because even his granddaughter, Penny, has something she's not talk about. The other invitees include Buck who is a cowboy and a liar, Miss Chelsea who is a librarian and inveterate contest enterer, and Fiona Flemming who is an actress and medium. We also get to meet Emma, the chef's niece, who is excited because she rarely gets to hang out with other children.

All of them are entering a hotel but none of them will be leaving with their secrets in tact. 

I really enjoyed this book. I would take off a half star because there were a few too many zigs and zags but overall a fascinating listen and a large part of that was due to the narration of January LaVoy. NPR Best Books rarely steers me wrong.

Four and a half stars

This book came out August 25, 2020

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Breath by James Nestor

Elizabeth Baker's review on the NPR Book Concierge from 2020 made this book sound really interesting. And it was, to a point. I like a nonfiction book where the author is a nonbiased reporter and Nestor actually took place in a lot of the experiments himself. And I sometimes like that but the back and forth between the two was not well-woven together. A lot of the findings were things that I already knew about from yoga and I found myself racing to finish the book rather than really trying to read and retain it.

Three stars

This book came out May 26, 2020

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

The Supper Club Murders by Victoria Dowd

The murder crew is back at it again. All five have been invited to a safari dinner (I know it as a progressive dinner) from a former bookclub member who is now the wife of a baron. Some people look down on Lord Black because he bought his title but it is a title nonetheless. And the safari supper will take place in the village, Greystone, surrounding their castle, Black Towers. It's a new place with some familiar characters though relationships have shifted dramatically - there is not nearly as much fighting between Ursula and her mother.

There are also new faces with some familiar names -- Scarlett Bradshaw, Joseph Greengage (a plum), Mrs. White, Reverend Vert (green), etc. And, while it is one of them that will die, one of their own will as well.

I really sort of slogged through the first book in this series (and I would still recommend reading it and the second books because they set up so much back story) but liked this one a lot. The characters are growing, infinitesimally but growing. The murder and solution aren't any less bananapants but even the new characters have depth that makes them interesting to read about.

Four stars

This book came out September 16, 2021

Follows Body on the Island

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

December Rereads

As always, opinions are my own

Once a Soldier by Mary Jo Putney

Rogues Redeemed #1

Three and a half stars

This book came out June 28th, 2016

Followed by Once a Rebel

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Three stars (bumped to three and a half on re-read)
This book came out September 4, 2018

Hard copy I didn't keep

Passing Strange by Catherine Aird

It's a flower show that gets Inspector Sloan pulled down to Almstone. It seems that someone has been strangled. It is, in fact, the local and much beloved nurse, Joyce Cooper. She was running the fortune teller's tent but was discovered behind it.

This year has been very unusual for the show anyway because the tomato plants weren't judged at all correctly. And it is that point that, while Sloan does end up solving the murders, brings home the proof.

A nice addition to the series. I don't think you have to have read any of the books before it to really appreciate the story. Short and readable.

Three and a half stars

This book came November 1, 1980

Follows Some Die Eloquent

Followed by Last Respects

Borrowed as hard copy from library