Written In Blood by Caroline Graham

The Midsomer Worthy Writers’ Circle club has invited a prominent writer to visit them. And, of all the shocks, he actually shows up. One member is not excited to see him. He actually request of another member that the two not be left alone. When they are, the member ends up dead. 

Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy are in Midsomer Worthy to try and solve the murder though the investigation will uncover any number of the secrets the villagers would prefer to have hidden.

Three stars

This book came out  in 1994

Chief Inspector Barnaby #4

Follows Death of a Hollow Man

Followed by Faithful Unto Death

Audiobook of mine in Audible

Opinions are my own

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, Will Patton (Narrator)

T

he long-anticipated follow-up to "The Shining" has a now grown-up Danny Torrance fighting demons, both literal and physical. Still struggling with the events from the first book as well as his "Shining," we find out that Danny has inherited his father's alcoholism and upped the ante with a drug problem.

He's finally landed in a place where he can get clean when a message appears in his brain, "Abra." There's no follow-up for a long time. Until Abra, a child whose talent is even greater than Danny's own, reaches out to him for help. There is a group, the True Knot, that has extended their own lives by feeding off the "steam" of children like Abra. And now that they know that she exists, a child with more shining than they've ever seen, they're coming after her full bore.
I quite enjoyed this book. It was a little light (not much depth) but it's a book for fun, did it really need to be very deep? I wish we could have seen more about the former lives of The True Knot folks (especially Rose) but since the book was so long already, I can see why that didn't happen.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 24, 2013

The Shining #2

Follows The Shining

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Heaven and Earth by Nora Roberts

Ripley Todd has an okay life. Yeah, she's living with her brother and his new wife and, sure, she's having sort of a dry spell with her own sexual escapades and, well, she's a witch which she's not really enjoying but life is still okay. Then MacAllister Brooke comes to Three Sisters Island. Dr. Brooke is there to study the legend of the Three Sisters. He's very interested in mystical forces and UFOs and then becomes
very interested in Ripley Todd. 

She's not indifferent to him but they have two very different attitudes toward her powers. Of course, Ripley's going to have to learn to trust both Mac and her own powers in order to save her own life as well as those of her "sisters."

Four stars

This book came out 

Three Sisters Island, #2

Follows Dance Upon the Air

Followed by Face the Fire

Hard copy I own

Opinions are my own

The Dos and Donuts of Love Adiba Jaigirdar

The Great British Bakeoff has been popular for over a decade. In this story, it’s the teen Irish version and Shireen Malik has made the cut. So, however, has her ex-girlfriend (and daughter of the rival doughnut shop owners), Chris. Shireen wants to win so that her own parents shop, Drive Me Glazy, will get more exposure. No one is buying many doughnuts in their town these days.

The other contestants are interesting.There’s one boy who seems determined to start fights. And then there’s Niamh. Could she be a new friend… or more?

I read about his in the NPRs best book of 2023 list. I didn’t find quite as much delight in the book that the article writer did but agree that it was a cute book.

Three stars

This book came out June 6, 2023

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Love At First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi

Rosemary Shaw is a horror author whose book has been optioned into a movie. Too bad the actor they've picked as the lead is a) not what she imagined for that character and b) a total jerk. She's not sure how she's going to make it through this shoot. 

Ellis Finch is a certified Hollywood hunk. He normally does action movies but he's decided that this horror film would make for an exciting change. Too bad the writer thinks that he's all wrong for the part. 

Add in the fact that Rosemary can see ghosts and there's a love spat to figure out on locaiton and there's a lot going on in this book. I generally liked Rosemary and Ellis's story but I was not expecting the dom/sub portion of this book. Nor the age gap (not one of my favorite tropes though El-Fassi does more than most to balance the relationship.)

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 16, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Ballantine and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Dead Sea Cipher by Elizabeth Peters

One of Peters' fiction books. Dinah van der Lyn is on a trip in Jerusalem (on her way to singing in the Opera in German) when she hears an argument in the room next door. This sends her off on an incredible adventures through ruins and deserts. There are spies and treasure and a new set of Dead Sea scrolls. Definitely not my favorite Peters romance but a good story.

Two and a half stars

This book came out in 1970

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts

Nell Channing is on the run. She's come to Three Sisters Island hoping that she can stay hidden in this small community. What she finds is more than safety. While in Mia Devlin's cafe, Nell notices the cook quitting. She harnesses up all of her courage and offers to try out for the job. Soon, she's part of the community, even to the point of seeing one of the locals, Sheriff Todd. Luckily, Zack grew up on the island, so when it turns out Nell is a descendant of one of the sisters and has to help break the cycle started hundreds of years ago. She'll have to harness her destiny to defeat evil. Yep, I said it.

Four stars

This book came out June 5, 2001

Three Sisters Island, #1

Followed by Heaven and Earth

Hard copy I own

Opinions are my own