And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters

Georgie lives in a sleepy village, Buncombe-upon-Woolly. Well, it was a sleepy village. Until all the murders. There have been enough of them that there has been an actual uptick in visitation to said sleepy village (people who she refers to as the "Murder Tourists.")

She's not so sure that the latest death in town isn't one more, Mr. Penbaker. The local doctor, an admirer of Georgie's sister, says it was natural causes but Georgie isn't so sure. So she writes to the famous detective, Delacey Fitzgibbons. But he does not come. Instead, he sends his assistant, Sebastian Fletcher-Ford. And what use is that supposed to be to Georgie?
Her opinion does not improve upon meeting the man himself. He is far too handsome and well-dressed to be of any use. 

There is a lot of tongue-in-cheek winks to the reader in this book and I quite enjoyed them. Things like the murder tourists, Georgie noting that she did not enjoy romance in her mysteries

Four stars
This book came out October 14, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Fatal Descent by John Rhode and Carter Dickson (John Dickson Carr)

Dr. Horatio Glass is visiting the office of an eccentric publisher. He is friends with the fiance of Mr. Tallant's niece who also works for the company, Temple Publishing. It is in Mr. Tallant's private elevator that he is killed, in between floors . He was not a very nice person (though he didn't seem particularly evil from what little we saw of him.) But the why isn't nearly as mysterious as the how. How could he have been shot in an elevator having been closed in alone just moments before?

I think this was probably a fair play mystery, but I don't know enough about said clues to be able to say. Certainly a product of its time but not as bad as it could have aged. 

Three stars

This book came out in 1939

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher, Stephanie J. Block (Narrator)

There are very few people who are mononyms and Cher is possibly the most famous. She has had hits that span multiple decades, had a hit TV show, and won an Oscar for her movies. This book covers a bit of her grandmother's story, some of her mother's, and then into her own birth. 

She had a peripatetic childhood, moving with her  mother as she married and divorced and married and divorced... quite a number of times. At one point, Cher was even left in an orphanage for months after her father ghosted the family.

Her story is fascinating and she is an incredibly strong woman to have made her way through so many hardships in life. I'm looking forward to Part Two. 

Four stars

This book came out November 19, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Smart Brevity by Roy Schwartz, Jim Vandehei, Mike Allen

Write less, get more readers. Basically the theme of this book. And it's true. I especially liked the admonition to never have more than 20 words on a PowerPoint slide. My organization tends to present with walls of text that are thoroughly unhelpful. I also liked the info on how to run a short and effective meeting. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 20, 2022

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles

What a lovely story written in the Gothic tradition. 

Set in 1905, Zebedee "Zeb" Wyckham has been invited for a family reunion at his  cousin Wynn's house. He wasn't particularly excited to go (his immediate family is pretty horrible and he only barely remembers Wynn), but Wynn managed to talk him into it. 

He is startled to see that the house is in the middle of the moors and is basically a monstrosity. Inside the house is Wynn, Zeb's brother Bram and his wife Elise, dissolute cousin Hawley, and another, more distant cousin, Colonel Dash. Also in the house? His former boss (and lover), Gideon. Oh, and a young cousin, Jessamine, to whom Wynn will leave all of the family money, but only if she marries one of the family members.  

With writing on the walls, ghostly presences, and an atmosphere made even more eerie by gas lamps, this was a spooky (but not scary) book that I could barely put down.

Four stars

This book comes out October 7, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Perfect Crime Party edited by Kel McDonald

 I really liked the cover photo and liked the description of this book. I did, however, only read the first two paragraphs and missed the fact that this is not only a collection of stories, but a collection of various authors. So, that threw me off for a little part of this volume. 

stars

This book came out July 8, 2025

ARC kindly proided by Consortium Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards

Six people have been invited to Midwinter to solve a mystery. There's a lot going on in this story including puzzles that the readers can solve themselves. I haven't ever read anything by Edwards (I've read many of the books he's edited), but I wonder if all of his books are written like fair play classic age golden mysteries set today. This book very much felt that way up to and including the end where all of the clues were laid bare to the reader to see how much you picked up on. 

Though this book goes through a few different first-person "journals" (not really journal entries but it sort of makes sense within the context of the story), the one we see the most is Harry Crystal, a mid- to low-tier mystery writer who, even with thirty-two books, is quickly sliding into irrelevancy. And that was hastened by the influencer with whom he arrives to Midwinter. All told, there are going to be six guests this Christmas. There are also four board members going to be present as well as some staff. Quite an interesting Christmas is stacking up to be had and then the first body appears... what does this have to do with what happened five years ago?

Four and a half stars

This book comes out October 7, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own