A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford & A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford by Claudia Stone

A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford

Both of Emily's older sisters have married well so she's been dragged to Londo to have a series. She... is not very excited about that. To say the least. She isn't exactly outgoing and her mother is akin to Mrs. Bennett. Unfortunately, she threatens to kill a woman (an overly obnoxious woman, to be sure), who then ends up dead. And her rival's finger points straight at her!
Luckily, a nearby marquess, Frederick Chambers, does not believe that she had anything to do with the murder and rushes to her defense.
I'm glad I kept reading the books in this series. The first one wasn't great but the rest are, like I said in the last book's review, like Pringles. You just can't stop reading them. Are they great? Not really. But they're a fast read and easy to get through.

Three stars

Regency Murder & Marriage #3

Follows  A Victim, A Viscount, And Miss Mifford

Followed by A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford

This came out October 4, 2021

A Body, A Baron, and Miss Mifford

Eudora was probably the most annoying sister to read about. She's always trying to appear older in order to "catch up" to her sisters. And they've all solved a murder and fallen in love, so now she wants the chance too. To bad the body she's stumbled across seems to be a natural death. Luckily, she's able to flag a man down to go get help. That man just happens to be a baron who falls immediately, irrevocably in love with her. She's not very interested in him until a freak snow storm strands them at her sister's house and an actual murder occurs.
This book was... fine. But Eudora was annoying and the romance was thin. I finished it though and the author set it up for a new set of Miffords to find love

Two and a half stars

Regency Murder & Marriage #4

Follows A Murder, a Marquess, and Miss Mifford

Followed by An Execution, an Earl, and Miss Hughes

This came out  March 2, 2025

A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Though Frances and Rose usually spend Christmas in London, this year is different. Now, Frances is married and her husband's half sister as well as the sister's half sister are also in the house. That means that changes might happen, including how the whole family wants to spend the holiday. That means going to the coast to be with George's sister Fiona and her family. 

The children will get to play with their cousins and there might even be snow. Aunt Harriet is joining them and her gentleman caller, Gilliam, is also invited. Although there seems to be some friction between the two of them. 

While they are there, a storm blows up. While the house they are staying in remains standing, other buildings are knocked down and the two men offer to help set things to rights. Frances and Fiona are taking the children into the village to see if they can help as well when they stumble across a dead body. It turns out to be someone who was not well-liked in the village for many reasons. 

It will take quite a bit of digging to figure out what happened and Frances is somewhat shocked to learn that the children are curious about the deaths and crime. She thought that she and George had done a good job hiding thier preoccupation from her daughter. 

A fun story with a little less George on page than usual but we got to see some of how Frances is navigating her new family, especially when one girl is fifteen and one who is pracctially an adult. 

Four stars

Countess of Harleigh #9

Follows A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder

This book comes out September 29, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Eavesdropping on Animals by George Bumann, narrator: Eric Michael Summerer, foreword: Jon Young

Disclaimer: I know the author. The biggest disappointment of the audiobook is that he was not the narrator. We could have heard the actual turkey gobbles that won him a trophy, we could have experienced the raven's call, we could have heard his last name pronounced correctly (from his website: rhymes with human.)

The review of this book could be flattened to say, "Bumann tells you to go outside and use your senses." However it's so much more than that. He wants you to go outside and listen and watch and sync about what you're hearing and seeing not just observing but becoming a reader of the landscape.

Four stars

This book came out April 15, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Peg and Rose Deck the Halls by Laurien Berenson

Peg wasn't paying attention and now it's almost Christmas. That means it's time to put together the Christmas Bazaar and children's dog show. Except, while she was distracted, the kennel club gave the job to Jonabell. Even though Peg created the show and has been spearheading it for years. Years. Now, she's in charge of decorations. So what does that mean? She's going to drag Rose into it. 

But, almost before they start planning, Jonabell drops dead. At Peg's open house. And it's not natural causes. 

Because it was at Peg's house and Jonabell had taken Peg's place, rumors are floating that she is under suspicion for the death. But we don't actually hear that from the police. We don't see much of the police in this book but one of the reasons I like this series is that Peg and Rose let the police know when they find clues. Peg even directs someone straight to the police station when they have information she thinks the police may not know. 

I didn't really understand why everyone was so suspicious of Peg, especially since Jonabell wasn't well liked to begin with. I had a hard time reconciling the sudden turn against Peg just because something happened at her house. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out September 29, 2026

Senior Sleuths #4

Follows Peg and Rose Play the Ponies

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene, narrator: Danica Reese

An injured carrier pigeon lands in Nancy's yard. Inside the capsule is a mysterious message. She is determined to figure out what the message means. It will lead her to a mysterious manor where a doctor seems to be taking advantage of elderly women, including one who risks quite a bit to get a bracelet smuggled out with Nancy's family doctor.

A lot of coincidences and a fairly improbable escape when Nancy is thrown in a pit at the end of the book but worth re-reading when I'm doing the whole series. 

Three stars

Nancy Drew #10

Follows The Sign of the Twisted Candles

Followed by The Clue of the Broken Locket

This book came out in 1933

The Cornish Halloween Murder by Fiona Leitch

stars

The Nosey Parker Mysteries #10

Follows The Cornish Honeymoon Murder

This book comes out September 24, 2026

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

Izzy and her wacky family are back. She’s been arrested 4 times in the last three months because of her next-door neighbor, a man she refers to as, “The Subject”. He is suspicious because of his name, the locked door in his house, and, of course, his interest in her. Izzy is also busy because her whole family is acting suspiciously. Her mother keeps sneaking out, her dad is coming home having been to yoga, her brother isn’t going into work and instead staying at home all day, and her sister Rae, well, she’s always suspicious. 

Most of the characters from the first book make a reappearance, including two of Izzy’s ex-boyfriends. It is a zany book and very much of its time which may make it seem dated to some readers. I did have to plow through some of the zaniness at points but it was overall a good read and is not discouraging me from completing the series. 

Three and a half stars

Spellman Series #2

Follows The Spellman Files

Followed by Revenge of the Spellmans

This book came out March 11, 2008

Hard copy from library

Opinions are my own