Nightwork by Nora Roberts

Roberts is an amazing writer and has moved slowly from strictly romance, to romance with some bigger story, to some bigger story with some romance. As the books have gotten longer, they've often gotten a little more meandering with a slightly slower pace. I think this book is written just as well as many of her others, it just didn't hit as well for me at this time. 

The book opens with nine-year-old Harry Banks starting a life of thievery. His single-parent mother is sick with cancer and he needs some way to help the situation. Well, in the options of what a child can do to earn big money, this is maybe the least damaging for his psyche.

We follow Harry as he really starts to hone his craft. He is incredibly intelligent, learning languages and picking up social queues as he goes through life. Of course, he picks up some romances but he also picks up one very big enemy who threatens his love and then even his life (though he's more concerned about the former.)

Three stars

This book come out May 24, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

The Riddles of Hildegarde Withers: Stories by Stuart Palmer

The Riddle of the Lady from Dubuque

A girl is engaged to be married to a plastic surgeon. But another young woman was just killed in his office. The young woman had claimed she and the surgeon were in love.

The Riddle of the Yellow Canary

It is a songbird that leads HildegardeWIthers to finding the murderer of a young songstress. 

The Riddle of the Blue Fingerprint

A heavy mahogany wardrobe goes up for sale. But it's weight is added to by the dead body inside. A man that someone had hired Hildegarde to look for.

The Riddle of the Doctor's Double

Hildegarde and the Inspector are wandering around Manhattan when suddenly a window flies open and someone calls for the police. It's Miss Emmy Marvin, housekeeper to Mr. Wurtz who initially appears to be dead. His doctor, Peter French, is called immediately and Miss Withers rounds up the other occupants of the house, Wurtz's niece, Maida, and nephew, Franzel. While there, the doctor reveals that he believes someone is tring to poison Johan Wurtzand lets them know that he will be doing an autopsy if the man dies. The next day, Miss Marvin opens the door to a heavily mufflered doctor... who then comes in again fifteen minutes later. Johan Wurtz is found dead. But who could have murdered him?

The Riddle of the Twelve Amethysts

A former pupil reaches out to Hildegarde for help. He was married to a young woman who divorced him while he was in the Air Force and then married someone else. He had been writing about the exploits of Miss Withers and she is wondering if Miss Withers can do some investigating for her. It seems the new husband is receiving an amethyst on the first of each month and it's driving her to distraction because she doesn't know why.

The Riddle of the Black Museum

A man died in a locked museum full of exhibits, instruments used to kill other people. Two men are left and each accuses the other. Hildegarde Withers is up to her old tricks to figure out what really happened.

The Riddle of the Green Ice

Someone keeps breaking store windows and stealing jewels. The New York police department is being mocked left and right. Miss Hildegarde Withers is on the spot since she is looking for an apartment in the neighborhood.

The Riddle of the Snafu Murder

When there's a fight, a young woman gives her name as Hildegarde Withers. The FBI would like to know who that young woman is. Is it a former student? Miss Withers is on the case.

Four stars

This book was republished February 8, 2022

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen

I had heard about this book on Book Riot where they described it as an origin story for a detective. They are very careful in outlining the plot of the book and that somehow made me miss exactly how dark this book really was going to be. This is also sort of a homecoming book as well as a self-realization book. 

Told from the first-person view of recent college graduate Annie McIntyre, we see brief glimpses of her life as she prepares to go out for the evening with her cousin. They get dressed, drive around for awhile visiting the diner where Annie works, and then head out to the land of what appears to be one of the local wealthy families. They have two sons, one of who has a past with Annie. 

While there, Annie sees a server from the diner, Victoria, and she is wildly drunk. Annie tries to help her but gets distracted trying to stop her cousin from getting into a fight. Victoria's body is discovered the next day.

This whole book dives into the love Annie has for her town, Garnett, but also the problems inherent with staying there. Annie decides to work with her grandfather, Leroy, to become a private investigator. She wants to know what happened to Victoria. But working on this investigation exposes more than just the murderer, it also forces Annie to face that her quaint little town might not be so perfect after all.

Three stars

This book came out April 19, 2022

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier, Romy Fursland

Sophie Spark has dropped out of high school and is now working as an intern (seems to be a jack-of-all-trades, filling in where she is needed) at the famous hotel which is often called the castle in the clouds. When the book opens, Sophie is working in the nursery trying to find a pair of twins who have run away encouraged by a young, rich brat who does not make her job any easier.

As the story goes on, we see some mysterious characters who are coming into the hotel. Not so mysterious is the son of one of the owners who is Sophie's age (and quite handsome.) One of the more mysterious characters is also about her age and he seems to be casing the joint. It is not from this character but in general that Sophie becomes quite sure that the hotel kidnapper is targeting their hotel and that one of the children she is watching might be in danger. 

I saw this on the NPRs Best Books of 2021and it was okay but not quite what I thought it was going to be. 

Three stars

This book came out October 5, 2017

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo, Casey Loe

I had heard about this book on a number of podcasts and though it might be interesting. I think it is probably a very good book but I might not be the exact demographic for it. 

Three people have been put together to form a family of spies. Well, I don't think they know each other are spies. Even the daughter who is psychic. There is also a dad who frets and a mom who is the muscle. Oh, and a new dog who is also sort of psychic. But precognition rather than reading thoughts.

Three stars

This book came out July 4th, 2019

Followed by Spy x Family, Vol. 2

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

A Dead Djinn in Cairo, by P. Djèlí Clark

Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi finds a dead body that is assumed to be a suicide though she is skeptical. When another body is found with the same strange markings, she really starts to wonder. Then she gets contacted by the member of a secret society and a huge, universe-changing plot is uncovered. 

I heard about this series from the Book Riot podcast and, while this novelette piqued my interest, it was way too short. 

Three stars

This story came out May 18, 2016

Followed by The Angel of Khan el-Khalili

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders

I cannot remember why I added this book to my TBR but I do regret that it took me so long to read it. Sanders (or perhaps his ghost writer) is incredibly witty with a very dry sense of humor. If every story in this book is true, he lived an amazing life. If only half of the stories in this book are true, Sanders still lived an amazing life. 

His life began in Russia where his family wasn't wealthy but they were well-off. At least, they were until they were drummed out of the country. From there, he lived in England and then traveled many places, never holding down a job but having experiences that very few others in life would be able to have. He fell into acting and says that it was mostly because it allowed him to remain lazy. 

His views on women were of the time and probably exaggerated for the book but... eh. 

I will say that the narrator added to the enjoyability.

Four stars

This book came out in 1960

Borrowed as an audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own