Wrapped Up in You by Talia Hibbert

Oh, I hope that this book is the start of a new series. Hibbert is amazing and this book only underscores her talent. Best friend's sister? Of course the best friend is all in and doesn't even miss a beat. Grumpy/Sunshine? Let's gender-flip and make the sunshine a movie star who is maybe not the smartest cookie in the drawer but he knows his own limitations and maximizes his talents based on words by the heroine. And the heroine is grumpy because of a bad divorce? Of course she's in therapy and her mental illness is normalized and stabilized. 

I wish this had been a full-length book because there was just a little too much drama for a novella but the history these two had made their HEA believable.

Four and a half stars

This book came out November 18th 2020

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Humbug by Amanda Radley

Known as "Christmas Girl," in her company, Ellie Pearce is abruptly promoted demoted when CEO Rosalind Caldwell's personal assistant quits. The Caldwell & Atkinson Christmas party is really well-known and a parting remark by the last PA makes Rosalind think that she might need a miracle to make sure that this year's party goes off without a hitch. Is Ellie that miracle? Rosalind doesn't think so at first but she eventually begins to see how Ellie's understated charms and wicked smarts might just save Christmas after all.

This is definitely a quiet story but and enjoyable one all the same. There was a little too much focus on Ellie's issues and the fact that she worked miracles in spite of them but otherwise a nice story. 

Four stars

This book comes out December 14th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

Opinions are my own

The Big Four by Agatha Christie

Hastings finally manages to surprise Poirot by showing up on his doorstep. Also there? A mysterious stranger who collapses more or less in the doorway while holding a slip of paper covered in the number four. From there, Poirot (and Hastings) are plunged into a mysterious world where four people are known to be running a large criminal organization. A series of small mysteries add up to one big showdown with the introduction of Poirot's twin brother, Aristotle.

Poor Hastings isn't treated very well in this book. He keeps thinking he is being so intelligent but he is just a pawn, not only of the Big 4 but of Poirot as well. 

Three stars

This book came out January 27, 1927

Follows The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Followed by The Mystery of the Blue Train

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

Jerry Burton has come to the supposedly quiet village of Lymstock to recover from a plane crash. Also with him is is sister Joanna. But it seems that this formerly sleepy village has been shaken up by a number of anonymous letters. And then one of the recipients commits suicide. She is the mother of one twenty-year old woman, Megan, who doesn't seem to have any goals in life and then two young sons with her current husband. 

All of the characters in this book are painted so vividly including the Burtons' landlady, Miss Emily Barton who is short on funds and the last of five sisters who grew up under their mother's thumb. Also pictured is Mrs. Caleb Dane Calthorp, the reverend's wife who is odd but wise. And then Owen and Aimee Griffith, the shy local doctor and his gossipy wife. 

The series Marple put Jane in more of the mystery than she was in the book but it captured the spirit of this book quite well.

Four stars

This book came out in July 1942

Follows The Body in the Library

Followed by A Murder is Announced

Hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Games Lovers Play by Stephanie Laurens

Lord Devlin Cader didn't think he needed love to be a part of his marriage. But five years after marrying Therese Cynster, he is thinking that that was a mistake. Especially mentioning to her that that was his intention.

Therese knows that her family is known for marrying for love. But that doesn't mean that the person is perforce going to love her. And she is fine with that. She is building a powerful partnership with Devlin and people are starting to notice that she is becoming a powerful political figure in her own right. But now Devlin seems to be... changing. If she didn't know better, she would believe that the man might actually be in love with her.

This was an okay story and I was delighted to get a glimpse at someone after their marriage. Even if they thought they had figured it out, they were still working on it. However, there was just a little too much focus on people who will have sequels: Devlin's friend who has returned to England and Therese's younger brother who disappeared when he was seventeen and is also recently returned.

Three stars

This book came out March 18th 2021

Follows The Inevitable Fall of Christopher Cynster

Followed by The Secrets of Lord Grayson Child

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters

A tip has been given to the authorities that some valuable items are going to be stolen from Egypt. And that Vicky Bliss somehow knows the culprit.  So she's strong-armed into joining a luxury tour as a guest lecturer even though ancient Egypt is nowhere near her area of expertise. But to make matters a living nightmare, she's confronted with the man she loves... married to another woman. 

So now, she's dealing with claustrophobia, mayhem, jealousy... and maybe even murder.

Barbara Rosenblat is, as always, amazing and this series continues to delight.

Four stars

This book came out in 1994

Follows Trojan Gold

Followed by The Laughter of Dead Kings

Audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch

I've been reading a string of amateur detective stories and most of them have been rather irritating in the way they stuck their noses in. But this series is literally called the Nosey Parker Mysteries and Jodie Parker is a former policewoman so she actually has some knowledge of solving crime. I had not read any of the other books in the series but didn't think I missed anything by not having that knowledge. Nor was there a massive info dump to try and get me caught up which was nice.

Josie, her mom, daughter, and friend are catering a charity event in a castle that is newly converted to a B&B. The event ends but Josie and her crew are stuck in the castle with an eccentric billionaire and his assistant and son, a group of Japanese tourists, the hotel staff, and two wandering people who might not be exactly who they say they are. Oh, and a VERY drunk Santa who actually ends up dead. 

With a sprinkling of secret passages and the obligatory local cops who don't like Josie investigating (but her boyfriend outranks them,) this was a charming book.

Four stars

This book comes out December 9th, 2021

Follows A Sprinkle of Sabotage

Followed by A Cornish Recipe for Murder 

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own