Spy x Family, Vol. 5 by Tatsuya Endo

The Forger family is still working on their various missions but they are starting to function as a family. Yor is learning to cook so she doesn't poison her family; Anya is trying to get good scores on her tests so she doesn't flunk out of school; and Loyd, well, he's mainly focused on the mission but is somewhat distracted by his wife.

We see Yor's brother Yuri again and he still has that weird obsession with her. 

Loyd is trying to help Anya but, when he sneaks into the school to change her scores, he encounters another spy. One who is codenamed "Daylight." But.. he's not really as good as he thinks he is.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 4, 2020

Follows Vol. 4

Followed by Vol. 6

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie

The stage is set in the first chapter. We meet some of the main players: Sir Charles Cartwright who owns the Crow's Nest in Loomouth, Cornwall; Sir Bartholomew Strange, neurological physician; and Mr. Satterthwaite, our stand-in for Hastings but who is so much more perceptive about human nature than Poirot's usual sidekick.
A dinner party is to be held but an unlucky number of people have been invited. And one dies. The Reverend Stephen Babbington who is fairly innocuous. Though Sir Charles loudly proclaims "Murder!", no one else agrees. Even Hercule Poirot who is present at the party.
However, there is later another dinner party, one where many of the same people gather. This time, it is Sir Bartholomew who dies. It is discovered that he died by nicotine poisoning. Suddenly, it seems that Babbington may have been murdered as well. 
THough this is a Poirot book, we don't see much of him until 54% of the way through the story. However, we do get a lot of third person omniscient from Sir Charles Cartwright, Mr. Satterthwaite, and the young Miss Lytton Gore who are investigating the mystery. The ending is masterfully crafted and there are clues planted along the way that make sense once the murderer is revealed.  

Four stars

This book came out June 1, 1934

Follows Murder on the Orient Express

Followed by Death in the Clouds

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Murder in the Basement by Anthony Berkeley

I haven't read a story-within-a-story and this one is really well done. The problems come when the solution is revealed and the apparent "reasons" for coming to this decision. It's a lot of "this person is icky so it must have been them."

A body is discovered in the basement of a house that some newlyweds have recently moved into. It is that of a woman, but who is she? The niece of the previous owner (now dead) has been found alive so there is no one else in the thirty to forty age range that they can obviously tie to the crime. Eventually, through a coincidence, Chief Inspector Moresby is able to determine that she came from a nearby school. However, she had told everyone she was moving to Australia to marry a sheep farmer. So what happened?

Luckily, Roger Sheringham, the writer, had been at the school in a previous term and had started writing a story about the people at the school that reveals their characters in a way that Chief Inspector wouldn't have been able to uncover.

Three stars

This book came out in 1932 and is being republished December 6, 2023

Follows Top Storey Murder

Followed by Jumping Jenny

ARC kindly provided by Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own 

The Great Jewel Robbery by Elizabeth McKenna

This is the first book in a series and suffers a little bit from trying to set up everyone and everything. I, unfortunately, didn't connect with the first-person narrator. She was just a little to fluffy for my tastes but I think other readers will enjoy the chance to see the inner workings of a sports reporter/budding detective. 

Emma is traveling with her friend Grace to a fancy-pants auction in Wisconsin. Grace would like to be a hard-hitting reporter but she has been stuck in Life and Style because she has connections that get her into things like this fundraising auction. 

The auction is at the mansion of Grace's family friends. Emma goes with because Grace was allowed a guest and her latest boyfriend has proven feckless. While there, Emma discovers the brother of the owner nearly dead in their library. In addition, the beautiful diamond necklace that was the star of the auction has disappeared.

Three stars

This book originally came out May 28, 2019 and is being rereleased

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska

Greta Plank actually really enjoys her job as a library director in a small town. She's new and she's settling in after leaving a larger town and her rat of an ex-boyfriend. One of the things she's started doing is bringing library books to her neighbor as he is in a wheelchair and it can be hard for him to get around. She's delighted to learn that he seems to have a new love interest. It makes it that much more difficult to believe when she finds him dead. Even worse, it looks like it may have been a murder.

Of course, the detective sent to investigate is new to town from a big city. Also not a surprise, he's fairly handsome. I did appreciate the addition of two friends from the library and some parents that seem to appreciate and love Greta. A decent first book in a series. 

Three stars

This book comes out December 6, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Level Best Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones

Sunny's day is not going well The local pervert has been stabbed with a knitting needle, right after one of the town's older ladies threatened to do that exact thing. Her daughter is still pushing all of her buttons and Sunny is still reeling with the knowledge of who her daughter's father actually is. Now she just has to figure out how to tell Auri. Oh, and now there's a girl on the side of a cliff who has been assaulted and left for dead. So, a lot going on. 

Like other books in this series, there's a lot of disbelief suspension required and there's a LOT going on. Still. It's fast, fun, and fluffy and there is a lot of character and plot development in all of this. 

Four stars

This book comes out December 6, 2022

Follows A Good Day for Chardonnay

ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca

Louisa Malone, also known as Lulu to her cousin Mitch, is trying to live up to her mother's expectations. But it appears that the partners of her law firm are never going to promoter, not while they're still bringing in young men. So Lulu, who makes this realization while at a Ren Faire, decides to quit her job and join the faire. Luckily, one of the people in the fair knows her cousin Mitch so she's able to travel with them and take some time out of her life.

This book leans much more heavily on Lulu's self-discovery than the romance. Lulu does find true love with Dex, who we met in earlier books though you do not need to have read them in order to enjoy this one. I was surprised that I didn't miss the romance more but DeLuca does a nice job of showing Lulu's own growth and I didn't even notice it until the end when I wondered really how the two of them had gotten together since so much of the talking and connection was done off page. 

Four stars

This book comes out December 6, 2022

Follows Well Matched

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group

Opinions are my own