Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie, with narrators Hugh Fraser, Nigel Hawthorne

Dead Man's Mirror

Gervase Chevinix-Gore writes to Poirot. He's well known for being incredibly proud of his family. But he never had biological children. His only daughter was adopted from a deceased, distant family member. He's asking Poirot to come because he's afraid he's being defrauded. But Poirot arrives too late, Gervase is dead.

The Incredible Theft
A weekend party starts off well but goes down hill when plans vital to winning the war disappear.

Murder in the Mews
Barbara Allen is dead of an apparent suicide. But her flatmate is insistent that it is murder. And all of the clues do seem to point in that direction. Will Hercule be able to discover what actually happened?

Triangle at Rhodes
Hercule observes two couples at Rhodes. It seems like the handsome husband of one would be better matched with the stunning woman of the other. Then, one of them dies. Who dies and why?

Four stars
This book came out in 1937
Hercule Poirot #16
Followed by Dumb Witness
Audible book of mine
Opinions are my own


Monday, June 30, 2025

June 2025 Monthly Rereads

 Opinions are always my own

Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown
Lord Edgington Investigates #1
Four stars
This book came out March 1, 2021




Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
This book came out June 7th, 2022
Borrowed as ebook from Libby








Opposite of You by Rachel Higgins
This book came out March 30, 2017
Opposites Attract #1
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited



The Differences Between Us by Rachel Higgins
Two and a half stars
This book came out June 25, 2017
Opposites Attract #2
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited


Sunday, June 29, 2025

The Cruise Club by Caroline James

Carmen decides to take a chance. She's a writer who is currently blocked. She's also brow-beaten by her mother. But a flier for a cruise gives her a chance at getting out of her humdrum life and meeting her own favorite author, Ruskin Reeves. Her mother finds out and immediately books the cabin next door. Luckily for Carmen though, she meets a group of peope on board (all of whom we get to know through third person omniscence) who help her grow out of her shell. 
I generally enjoyed the book but some of it was a bit more than my suspension of disbelief could bear. 

Three and a half stars
This book comes out on July 3, 2025
ARC kindly provided by Avon Books UK and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Saturday, June 28, 2025

The Puzzle of Parham House by Benedict Brown

Christopher's normally imperturbable mother is... perturbed. A letter from an old friend has come asking for help. Not from Christopher or his grandfather, but from his mother. We've seen in previous books that she is no slouch when it comes to solving mysteries. But it wouldn't be a Lord Edgington book without the man himself. He invites himself along. And brings his servants. And Delilah. Christopher had already offered to help as well. So the whole troupe moves over to an estate not actually that far away. 
It's there that Alicia Pearson and her husband are restoring a Jacobean house. There are strange things happening though like small objects being moved around. It's hard to tell who it might be between all of the workers and the archaeologists. 
It will be up to Christopher to push, prod, and cajole his grandfather into solving the mystery. Until now, we've seen Lord Edgington as an immutable force, almost all knowing. This book brings him, quite suddenly, back to the land of the humans. 

Three and a half  stars
Lord Edgington Investigates #13
This book came out April 21, 2024
Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla
Opinions are my own


Friday, June 27, 2025

Death of a Hollow Man by Caroline Graham with John Hopkins (Narrator)

Death comes to Chief Inspector Barnaby's own backyard when a very public murder occurs on the stage of the  Causton Amateur Dramatic Society's version of Amadeus. In this case, Barnaby knows the players. His wife is part of the company and he has spent time with all of the actors when he's helped out painting scenery. 
I love books that have strong character development and this one sure does. The murder doesn't even happen until well into the book and isn't the person that you might normally expect.

Four stars
Chief Inspector Barnaby #2
This book came out 
Followed by Death in Disguise
Audiobook of mine in Audible
Opinions are my own


Thursday, June 26, 2025

Fudge Frosting Murder by Daniel Carson

Delaney is the owner of the Baking School Bakery, which is just what it sounds like. It sounds like this may be a spin-off of another series because she refers often to helping Honey solve a murder and the sherriff actually asks for her help when a man is murdered in town. 
Since there are a lot of characters, there are a lot of suspects, including a man Delaney can't even believe it of, to the point that she saves information that she doesn't share ewith the sherriff. 
There are.... a lot of characters. I stopped writing names down after 8. And there is a lot of exposition when each character is introduced. 

Three stars
This book came out October 12, 2023
Baking School Mystery #1 
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Isabelle Deavor was killed some months ago, ostensibly by a burglar. She was not supposed to be home that evening and the police were sure she wasn’t the target. This case has been reopened after Sara Bernhardt, the famous actress, got a blackmail note basically accusing her of the murder. She wants the case reopened and that task has fallen to Inspector Cadieux. He, in turn, has come to his friends George and Frances. They are not police so they can turn over stones and go places the inspector would not be able to.
While working through this mystery, we get to see more of Frances's mother and her mellowing. There is also a look into the reasons why women of that age would be married and the reasons that marriage were so very fraught. 

Four stars
This book comes out June 24, 2025
Countess of Harleigh #8
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own