The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews

It's time to get out of town for the summer! Meg's grandmother is hosting a Ren Faire on her property. Of course, hyper-organized, super-solver Meg is involved, especially behind the scenes, and her professor/actor husband is in charge of the semi-improv actors one of whom, Terrence, has set himself up as the jerk of the troupe. Technically, that is his role in the fair but he tends to act that way both on the job and off. Thus it is no surprise to the reader that he is the one who gets bumped off.
The murderer was fairly easy to guess but does anyone really read to try and solve the mystery? Longtime readers will love this book as Andrews does what she does best. All of our favorite characters grow, even with the requisite time jumps (which are an awesome plot device; not only does she move the place around but adds in these breaks of, sometimes years, so that the sheer number of bodies Meg runs into seem a little more plausible. Okay, not a ton but a little.)
Could first time Meg Langslow readers start with this book? I think so but you'd miss some of the depth of the characters that regular readers have gotten to know and love. Plus, you'll just want to go back to the start anyway so why not just begin there?

Four stars
Follows Owl be Home for Christmas

Followed by The Gift of the Magpie
This book comes out August 4, 2020
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Reread January 2022

Want You to Want Me by Lorelei James

I would sort of classify this as a slow burn. There is a LOT of relationship building before the sexy times which means that the characters have a lot of time to get to know each other. Which is good since the book opens with Gabriella Welk being dumped by her boyfriend for her younger sister. And she, gasp!, doesn't hate her younger sister for it. But Nolan Lund does overhear the exchange. He's not particularly comfortable being there but he does offer to take the hockey star/coach out for drinks.  While at the dive bar, Gabi overhears him say something rather uncomplimentary. But then... he owns his mistake! No excuses, just is sorry and then builds his way back in to her good graces.
The bummer of this story is the awkwardness of how the rest of the books in this series are set up. For the first 3/4 (maybe a little less), we have a smooth-flowing story. Then there's a whole other story that's shoehorned in that might have made more sense if there were hints in the first book but I honestly don't remember there being any. It also might have made more sense if there was a build up to the next book but instead there's a story line just plopped like a rather large unwieldy stone.

Four stars
Follows I Want You Back
This book comes out August 4th
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross

Evie Savoie is known as being a powerful hex breaker but the Savoie sisters don’t usually deal with werewolves. That’s why she’s Mateo Cruz’s last hope. He hasn’t been able to shift for months and now his wolf, Alpha, is making himself very well known, something that doesn’t usually happen. Someone has put a powerful hex on him that he hasn’t been able to break. But something about even just being around Evie makes his wolf quiet so Mateo asks her to spend several hours a day with him so that he can finish his metal sculptures. Evie uses the time to work on some art of her own though she is keeping it fairly quiet.
The actual story of the hex, I thought, ended up being a little thin but the overall fast and fun plot kept me reading.

Four stars
This book came out January 14th, 2020
Followed by Don't Hex and Drive
Opinions are my own

The Withdrawing Room by Charlotte MacLeod

Sarah Kelling is broke. Or pretty close to it. She is a recent widow and still rather young (at least that's what I am gathering; somehow I missed that this was the second book in the series and felt like I was missing a lot of information. Some slowly trickled in but it took awhile.) In an effort to keep her husband's family manor, she decides to take on boarders. When one of her boarders is killed in a subway accident, it is almost a relief as the man was decidedly unpleasant. But when another boarder dies, people start to believe there might be something more going on. Especially Max Bittersohn who worked with Sarah on a previous mystery.
A good story but I did feel lost for a lot of it. And Max doesn't even feature much in this book even though the series is Kelling and Bittersohn. He shows up halfway through and then is absent, apparently investigating, for quite a bit at the end.

Three stars
Followed by The Palace Guard
This book came out October 1st, 2002
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own

Moonshine & Magic by Bella Falls

The book opens with Charli Goodwin barely pulling into town on her motorcycle when she encounters a couple whose car has broken down. She's tired, dirty, but not anxious to be home so she stops to help, using almost the last of her magic. It's a nice introduction to the series.
She's home and has one last interaction with her Uncle Tipper before she finds him dead. But his death, though he was old, was not natural. And Charli decides to try and figure out what is going on.
I don't always love amateur detectives but Charli generally has some common sense and travels with her brother who is a warden.

Three stars
Followed by Fried Chicken & Fangs
This book came out January 30th, 2018
Opinions are my own

Deadlock Catherine Coulter

An old foe rises from the shadows when Marsia Gay decides that she wants revenge on Savich for putting her in jail. She has an intricate plan that includes sending puzzle pieces to him at the FBI. One of the agents in another unit recognizes the puzzle pieces as a small town she used to live in and is immediately borrowed and sent to the town.
Also happening in this book, Rebekah Manvers, wife of a Congressman, is invited to a seance. There, the mystical Zoltan tries to convince her that her grandfather wants her to remember an old poem and dig up a treasure that Rebekah never believed was real.
The book was incredibly twisty and turny with plot points that are just nuts. However, if you've read other books in the FBI series, you know what to expect. You can possibly even predict a large portion of the ending just based on the way characters are described. But that doesn't mean that the book is any less fun.

Three and a half stars
Follows Labyrinth

Followed by Vortex
This book comes out July 28th
ARC kindly provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Frances may have just gotten engaged but she doesn't want to announce it until her sister's wedding has occurred. But her sister, Lily, and Lily's fiance have news that puts the wedding in jeopardy. Frances's fiance (unknown to anyone but herself) steps in and offers his brother's country house. Having it at the estate means that the wedding can now be a full-on house party. Something that should satisfy even Lily and Frances's social-climbing mother.
But all is not well with the guests. There are accidents happening to everyone, both the guests and the staff. And Lily seems to be overly enamored of her fiance's friend rather than focusing on her fiance. When the friend ends up murdered, it's up to Frances to help save not only the wedding, but her sister as well.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out July 28th
Follows A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder

Followed by A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own