Mythos by Stephen Fry

Fry has a habit of creating sentences that make me pause my recording so that I can think about them, mull them over, taste them in my mind’s mouth. In other words, he’s a really good writer. And he has taken that skill to update the myths of Greece into a modern day story book. Over 15 hours of learning about the Gods and their foibles. It starts with the Titans and runs through Zeus and his many, many, many, …  many love affairs as well as the rest of the pantheon of the gods. 

Four and a half stars

This book came out 

Followed by Heroes

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

A friend of Stephen's, Kuldesh , is an antiques dealer. He knows that antique shops are sometimes sites of drug pickups but he'd prefer his not be one of them. Of course, when a gentleman comes in with a box full of heroin, Kuldesh also knows not to refuse. It is this box that will lead to Kuldesh's death and the involvement of the Thursday Murder Club. 

We are introduced to any number of new characters in this book but, if you've read other books in the series, it will not feel overwhelming. There are drug smugglers, antique forgers, a gentleman named Bob (Computer Bob) who helps out when Mervyn falls for an online scam, and a fox that is comes toward Stephen and Elizabeth's apartment every night. There are also a number of deaths including at least one character we've grown to love.

Lots of emotions wrung out in this book. Delightful as always. 

Four and a half stars

This book comes out September 19, 2023

Follows The Bullet That Missed

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall by Benedict Brown

Christopher is wondering why his grandfather's house isn't being decorated for Christmas. It seems that they've been invited to the home of an old friend of Lord Edgington. But when they arrive, the house is curiously silent and seemingly unoccupied. Slowly, other guests begin to arrive including Christopher's friend Marmaduke and his father, the questionable businessman, then others including an unassuming teacher, a comedian, a cricket player, and more. They have something in common: no one knows why they were invited. 

A nice addition to the series. 

Four stars

This book came out November 14, 2021

Follows Death on a Summer's Day

Followed by the Tangled Treasure Trail

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

Saffron Everleigh is a researcher at the University College of London. She is trying to navigate through a world changed by WWI and one that is not generally open to young ladies. This includes navigating overtures and gossip. What it doesn't normally contain is attempted murder.

With the rest of the faculty in her department, Saffron is invited to a dinner party. She is not worried about how to behave (there are some allusions to wealthy grandparents) but she is worried about encountering the department head who tried to attack her. Everyone is gathered to talk about a new expedition that will be taking place shortly. That doesn't mean there isn't some intrigue as various people melt out to balconys or find places for a rendezvous. Saffron almost finds herself in a sticky situation when she accidentally meets Alexander Ashton, a researcher she just met, in a darkened hallway. They are almost discovered by Mrs. Henry: her husband is leading the expedition and she is the person who is poisoned later in the evening. 

Saffron probably wouldn't have gotten involved but the police have arrested her mentor and father figure Dr. Maxwell. She decides to mount an investigation of her own that may or may not end up putting her in a precarious situation. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out June 7, 2022

Followed by A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan

Three friends have had a book club since their college days. Now (cough) somewhat older, all three are finding themselves at a crossroads. Erica has just discovered something about the father who deserted her when she was just days old; Claudia has lost her job and her boyfriend; Anna's twins are about to leave home and she's not sure what she's going to do with them gone. The three decide that they are going to have their book club anyway 

Hattie, the owner of the hotel is also at something of a crossroads. Her husband, the one who was the driving force behind the Maple Sugar Inn, died two years ago. Now, she's just trying to keep up with extravagant customer requests, her temperamental head chef, and the housekeeper who treats her as though Hattie is an idiot. Someone who doesn't treat her like an idiot? Her next-door neighbor. The one who kissed her at Halloween. Could there be something there? Should she even try?

A lot comes out this Christmas season, some of it surprising, but all of it leaving these ladies in a better spot than they were when they arrived at the inn.

Four stars

This book comes out September 19, 2023

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

The Big Kahuna by Peter Evanovich, Janet Evanovich

Nick and Kate have a new partner, by-the-book Cosmo. He's meant to slow down their reign of destruction (starting with blowing up a Ferrari in a four-star hotsl) while not limiting their streak of closing cases. But Kate and Nick dont quite see it that way. There are two dead billionaires and another, Big Kahuna, who has recently gone missing. They need to figure out whether the Kahuna is really dead and who done the deed if he is.

Like other books.in the series, long on action, short on plot. But, if you've enjoyed the other books, this one will hit the spot as well.

Four stars

This book came out May 7, 2019

Follows The Pursuit

Followed by The Bounty

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

Auntie Aprils niece, Divina, has come to visit but there is something strange going on. Divina is close lipped about parts of her life and April is not trying to hook her up with Marcus (Mae's younger son) which she tries to do with any woman that's available. That includes Teresa, a young woman from the auntie's church who comes to help clean when their new laundromat is vandalized. Everything escalates when Divina is found dead and then one of the aunties is attacked.

This book has Lila being a little more forward and more off the mark than I remember from other books but still an enjoyable read. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out September 19, 2023

Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #4

Follows Blackmail and Bibingka

Followed by Guilt and Ginataan

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own