Crooked Herring, by L.C. Tyler

Ethelred is approached by another writer asking him to figure out whether he killed someone. Henry Holiday woke up after a bender with the thought that he had committed murder. But he's not sure who. And it seems that the person that he thought he killed is still around. At least, Ethelred is still getting text message from Crispin Vyall so they think is still alive.

Ethelred pulls Elsie in to help (or she barges in, who can tell) but she doesn't exactly make the case go more smoothly. In fact, her interference could mean that our intrepid (okay, maybe not exactly but...) hero ends up in jail.

This was an okay addition to the series but not as good as some of the others.

Three stars

This book came out September 18th, 2014

Follows Herring on the Nile 

Followed by Cat among the Herrings

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

Kiera and Sebastian are traveling to the home of a family friend. He is known to have a full gallery of paintings by famous artists. But Kiera notices something is amiss. More than one of the celebrated paintings looks... wrong. Her host is really not excited to learn that they might be forgeries but he knows who is probably at fault; it's the neighbors. He had been engaged to one of them decades before and both sides are still bitter. 

I think regular readers will enjoy this book as much as others in this series. 

Four stars

Follows A Wicked Conceit

This book comes out April 19, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

A modern-day fairy tale which wraps together a number of Sleeping Beauty tales with one first-person narrator (Zinnia Gray) who is destined to die some time near her twenty-first birthday. She goes to a birthday party thrown by her best friend Charm which is, of course, Sleeping Beauty themed. At midnight, Zin purposely pricks her finger on the spinning wheel and is immediately transported to another version of the story, one that is more traditional.

A quick read, Harrow packed a lot of story and emotion into it. There was also a bunch of history in the versions. This is going to be weird because it was only 124 pages in my ebook but I thought it could have been even tighter but this was a good story and I liked that it wasn't a perfect HEA.

Three stars

This book came out October 5, 2021

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Last Respects by Catherine Aird

When an unknown man's body turns up on a slow river, Inspector Sloan is called in to investigate. Though it seems he was dropped from a great height, the man didn't drown. He and Constable Crosby will have to work to figure out what is going on.

As a concurrent timeline, we meet Elizabeth Busby. She is a young woman who lost her aunt to stomach cancer and her fiance to... well she's not sure. The man up and left one day. He left a note but it wasn't very helpful. She and her uncle are left to grieve.

With Aird, you know what to expect. Usually a lot going on in the story but it's generally gentle and so very British.

Three and a half stars

This book came out in 1982

Follows Passing Strange

Followed by Harm's Way

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Requiem for a Mezzo by Carola Dunn

Once again, Daisy is pulled into a murder mystery when her next-door neighbor is killed onstage. Unfortunately, as often happens in mystery stories, Bettina Westlea (her stage name; in real life Mrs. Roger Abernathy) has a lot of people that really don't like her. Her sister Muriel has always lived in her shadow and still acts as her housekeeper today. Her husband is a quiet man who knows of her many affairs but has suffered through them without a noise of complaint. Then there is the woman she beat out for a coveted role and the numerous scorned lovers. Really, it could be anyone.

We see Alec and Daisy's relationship grow in this book as well as they spend more time together. And it may be that Daisy's friend Lucy is even beginning to thaw in regards to the handsome inspector as well.

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 1, 2001

Follows The Winter Garden Mystery

Followed by Murder on the Flying Scotsman

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus

Opinions are my own

Shady Characters by Keith Houston

Each chapter of this book dives deeply into the history of a particular typographical mark. How is it used today? Why is it used that way? When did we start using the mark? Was that it’s original use? All of these questions are considered and most are responded to for each symbol.

I never knew that a * preceding a date meant birth while a dagger meant death. 

A series of microhistories, this book is a fascinating read though I would recommend it more as something to read a chapter of each night rather than devouring it in one sitting. I also learned that, in modern-day, an em dash is equal to the height of the font-size. An en dash is now half of that of an em dash. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 24, 2013

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds by Bobbi Holmes

In the first book of the series, Danielle contended with the mystery of a man long since passed, even if his ghost is still hanging around. In this book, the stakes are ramped up as she is having to deal with a much more recent death. One that police seem to think she committed.

Of course, this is in the midst of her B&B opening. Plus, her cousin Shelly is in town. This is the cousin that bullied Danielle as they were growing up and the one who stole all of her boyfriends. Now, she's contending that half of Danielle's inheritance from their Aunt Breanna is hers. 

This was an okay story with some more world building. I think Holmes tried to redeem Shelly but her explanations of childhood behavior didn't quite make sense, nor did I really understand her reasoning for wanting half of Marlow house.

Three stars

This book came out November 1, 2014

Follows The Ghost of Marlow House

Followed by The Ghost who Wasn't

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own