Burn the Kingdom Down by Addie Thorley

August 13, 2026

Burn the Kingdom Down by Addie Thorley

As part of the peace treaty between their countries, Princess Rowenna of Tashir is sent to Vanzador as a bride for their crown prince. But a year later, Rowenna is dead, her body sent home in a sealed coffin. Her younger sister Indira is sent as a replacement for Rowenna. Indira is positive that Rowenna was murdered and is determined to find out who killed her and why.

This is a YA romantasy and mystery rolled into one. It had a strong start with good world building and character explanations. But I got bored with the FMC Indira pretty quickly. Instead of using some subtlety, she runs around accusing everyone of her sister's murder. Great way to tip off everyone about what you're up to! I found myself skimming about halfway through. I even caught on to the twist early in the story. Not terrible but slow and longer than it needed to be. It's a debut novel and reads like one. Lots of YA type drama.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review

It's Not What You Think by Clare Macintosh

July 24, 2026

It's Not What You Think by Clare Macintosh

Nadeeka comes home from work to find the police at her house and her boyfriend dead on the floor. From the way he had been acting, she suspected that he had been seeing someone else and was planning to leave her. But the mystery only deepens as Nadeeka tries to piece together what her boyfriend had really been up to.

No. No, it wasn't. What I thought it was going to be.

It's the middle of summer, and I was expecting a juicy "is he cheating/isn't he cheating" thriller, with a host of suspects: the current girlfriend, the girlfriend's ex, the boyfriend's new side piece, the side piece's partner, the boyfriend's ex, the BFF, the jealous buddy, the creepy neighbor, etc. But this turned out to have heavy poitical/social themes. Not my thing at all, especially since it's a reflection of what is going on in the world today. There were a couple of twists but I saw both of them coming well in advance. 

I've read other books by this author and really enjoyed them. This one, not so much, although I'm sure it will appeal to many readers. Disappointing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske

July 22, 2026

Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske

Five medical students are about to take their final exam to graduate from medical school. It's a practical exam and has five parts, and they must work as a team to pass. But when they arrive for the first part, they find the body of one of their most brilliant classmates dead on the floor. The five students must band together to solve the mystery while still passing the exam.

I really liked the concept of this book and wanted to love it. But there was a lot of information thrown at the reader, especially in the first half, and the pacing dragged at first. It picked up in the second half and raced to its conclusion. Because there were five main characters, we didn't really get to explore their individual powers, which was also disappointing.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

July 9, 2026

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Constable Peter Grant is just coming off his probationary period when he is assigned to one of the Metropolitan Police's special units, the one dealing with magical crimes. But he never expects his new assignment will lead him to the Thames family and their many offspring (tributaries?) as he follows a crime spree based on the Punch and Judy puppet story.

An urban fantasy set in modern London that is also a police procedural using a combination of policing and magic to solve crime. The mystery here is based on the traditional British Punch and Judy puppet show which most Americans are not familiar with, which may be a difficulty for readers who are not Anglophiles. The main character Peter is very likable, a mix of intelligent, naive and nerdy. There is a certain amount of geeky science as well as references to historical and cultural figures, and it helps if you are familiar with London since the action moves all over the city. Fans of the Harry Dresden, Discworld or Dr. Who series will enjoy this urban fantasy mystery.

Traditional Punch and Judy puppets - I hate puppets

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C. L. Miller

May 26, 2026

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C. L. Miller

Following the death of her estranged mentor, a private antique dealer is invited to a weekend at a country home to value a collection of objects. But almost as soon as she arrives, she realizes that something is wrong, since all of the "antiques" appear to be cheap and obvious fakes.

DNF. I love a mystery set at an English country house (see the Heathcliff Lennox series by Karen Baugh Menuhin), so I thought this one would be a slam dunk based on the description. Country house? Art forgeries? A cast where everyone has something to hide? A goofy aunt? Sign me up.

But the characters turned out to be on the boring side and the writing was clunky - I found myself mentally correcting/improving the author's writing starting on the first page (the publisher needs to hire some editors). Even the cover was boring. Disappointing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White

April 22, 2026

The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White

Anneke Van Helsing, daughter of famed vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, works as a consultant for the Amsterdam police. Using the latest forensic methods, she analyzes complicated crime scenes for clues the police may have missed or ignored. But Anneke's real goal is to find the mysterious woman she found standing over her father's body. As she traces the woman across Europe, she discovers a string of murders that appear linked to her father's murder.

More mystery than fantasy with a slow moving plot. The setting and the forensics were the best part, but the characters were lacking and mostly flat. The main character is supposed to be highly skilled in the latest forensic science but she makes decisions without any kind of planning or thought. Acted more like she was 15 than 25. The cover is beautiful - wish the story had measured up to the cover art. Disappointing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

March 18, 2026

The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch, now retired from the LAPD, is recovering from a knee replacement when he attends the funeral of a man who was his mentor when he first became a detective. After the funeral, the man's widow gives Harry a murder book that she found in her husband's desk, a case file of an unsolved crime. But when Harry examines the file, he discovers that the case was originally assigned to two other detectives and his mentor never worked on the case, and there is no explanation about why he has the file or why he was obsessed with the case.

I've read most of Connelly's Harry Bosch novels but this one took me a while to get into, mainly because there are three cases going on: Harry's cold case that surfaced after his mentor's death; his friend Renee is investigating the death of a homeless man found in his burning tent in LA's skid row; and Mickey, Harry's lawyer brother, is defending a man in a supposedly unwinnable case. The three cases turn out to be linked and come together at the end. This is a great series, although this wasn't one of my favorite books.

Skid Row in Los Angeles - it's a 50 block area in downtown Los Angeles where over 4,000 people live in tents

Making Friends Can Be Murder by Kathleen West

February 8, 2026

Making Friends Can Be Murder by Kathleen West

Personal trainer Sarah Jones moves to Minneapolis where she quickly meets a group of women all named Sarah Jones. But when another woman named Sarah Jones is found murdered and a friend is suspected, Sarah the personal trainer finds herself involved with finding the killer. At the same time, FBI agent George Nightingale is trying to track down a con artist operating in the Minneapolis area.

One of the book's "quirks" was that a number of characters including the murder victim have the same name and were distinguished by their ages. I know a lot of readers found this cute and fun, but I thought it was just confusing. Two of the "Sarahs" played almost no role. 30 year old Sarah, the main narrator, was on the naive side and instantly bonded with everyone she met, especially the people who had the same name as her, even with a number of people telling her to be careful and less trusting. I was more interested in what happened to George's childhood friend who went missing. Cute cover. If you like mysteries with a lot of offbeat characters who are all over the place, this may appeal to you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Searcher by Tana French

February 3, 2026

The Searcher by Tana French

Wanting to get as far away as possible from his former life, Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago detective, buys a small house in rural Ireland and sets about restoring it. He just wants a quiet life but is soon drawn into a missing person's case by a local family, and Cal agrees to ask a few questions. But someone (or more than just one someone) doesn't want him investigating and he starts to wonder why.

This story moves really slowly. It seems to take forever to get through the first hundred or so pages, although the story does pick up once the reader meets Trey. It keeps on at a slow pace which I presume is meant to reflect life in rural Ireland. There are a lot of conversations with people who either don't know anything about the missing boy, or are trying to tell Cal something without telling him anything, which got frustrating. I kept reading because I wanted to find out what happened to the missing teen and why, but I did a lot of skimming in the last half of the book. An editor could have whacked out about a hundred pages without damaging the story. Not sure if I'm going to reach the next book. Recommended only because it's Tana French.

Rural Ireland

It Girl by Allison Pataki

January 5, 2026

It Girl by Allison Pataki

Evelyn Talbot is a poor girl working for pennies at a Pittsburgh department store when an artist asks her to model for her. This leads to more modeling jobs, until Evelyn and her mother move to New York where Evelyn secures bigger modeling jobs and a chance for parts on Broadway. But Evelyn soon finds herself pursued by wealthy and powerful men who think it is their right to take advantage of women seeking to advance their careers or support their families.

Loosely based on the life of Evelyn Nesbit, the original Gibson Girl, whose jealous husband shot her former lover, New York architect Stanford White. But this version gives Evelyn the triumphant ending that she didn't get in real life. It pissed me off the way the men in Evelyn's life treated her, just like the sexual predators today treat vulnerable young women, men like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Cosby, and others like them. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction about the Gilded Age.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Evelyn Nesbit

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

October 28, 2025

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

When the Australian Mystery Writers Association invites him to speak on a panel at their annual conference, Ernest Cunningham and his girlfriend find themselves on the Ghan, the famous historic train that runs from Darwin to Adelaide. Almost all of the other conference participants appear to hold some sort of grudge against each other. What could possibly go wrong?

Set shortly after the events of the first Ernest Cunningham book, this is another fun and clever mystery. Like the first book, it's a locked-room mystery with a lot of characters. I sort of guessed who the murderer was, if not the why. The writers and publishing people weren't as endearing as Ernest's family in the first book - I would have been okay with a few more of them being killed off. I recommend the audiobook - make sure you listen or read the epilogue. And Juliet says yes the second time.

The opal mines at Cooper Peady that play a part in the last section

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

October 22, 2025

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Ernest Cunningham is reluctantly traveling to a remote mountain resort for a family reunion. He hasn't seen his family for three years, since he testified against his brother in court, sending him to prison for murder. So now they will be reunited for the first time and he's not looking forward to it. But then even before everyone arrives, a body is found in the snow, and Ernest realizes that the killer must be someone in his family.

It's the family reunion from hell. A dysfunctional family trapped at a snowed-in resort, each with their own backstory, a raging blizzard, the body of an unknown person in the snow. The mystery is complicated, and it makes the reader feel dumb that they can't figure any of it out until Ernest explains it all for you, which does spoil some of the enjoyment - after all, half the fun of reading a mystery is trying to figure out what happened and who is the villain. The narrator claims that he is not unreliable, but he is at times, although he defends himself by saying that what he says is what he believed at the time. This worked well as an audiobook. If you enjoyed the Knives Out miniseries, you will most likely enjoy this offbeat mystery.

The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton

September 26, 2025

The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton

Margo is a rare collectibles dealer in London, accustomed to sourcing items for wealthy clients. When a new client hires her to locate a rare book, she assumes it will be just another job. But when a friend who is a rare book dealer is murdered, Margo discovers that there are others searching to the book, and they will stop at nothing to find it first.

One of my selections for Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month. Triple timeline with three female main characters: present day London, and Havana in 1900 and 1966. A rare book ties all three storylines together. I kept reading to find out what was so special about the book that someone would kill for it. Some mystery, some intrigue, some romance. Will appeal to readers who enjoy books about books.

Havana in the 1960s - they are still driving those kinds of cars today

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

August 28, 2025

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

Ganymedes is the Fish province heir in the kingdom of Concordia, but unlike the heirs of the other eleven provinces, he is a fraud: he doesn't have any magical powers. So when he is stuck on a twelve day cruise with the other heirs, he does his bests to hide his lack of magic and distract them with a wild stunt. Then the heir to the kingdom is found dead, and Dee realizes he is trapped on a ship with ten other people, one of whom is a murderer.

A locked-room mystery set on a fantasy cruise ship, like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None in a magical setting. Has a strong YA feeling. I enjoyed the main character's snarky tone, but I can see where some readers were put off by it. The characters were mostly unlikeable, but that didn't bother me either - when the characters are unlikeable, you don't care when they get killed off. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

August 3, 2025

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter, working with the rich and famous to craft memoirs that can be marketed as being written by the famous subject. But she is blackballed and her career has tanked after being sued for publicly slandering a fellow ghostwriter. About to lose her home to pay the settlement and legal fees, she is desperate for work and agrees to take on the memoir of a famous horror writer who was accused of murdering his two siblings. Now, 50 years later, he claims he is ready to reveal what really happened. The only problem is, the writer is Olivia's father who she has been estranged from for two decades.

Slow moving. It takes Olivia a looooong time to get to the heart of her father's manuscript. Ultimately unsatisfying, as there is no real resolution to the mystery. A cast of unreliable narrators and unlikeable characters. It does have a cool cover graphic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz

July 21, 2025

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz

After breaking up with her partner Andreas, editor Susan Ryeland returns to London to take up her career as a freelance editor. She is hired by a small publisher, and to her dismay, she is asked to edit the newest Atticus Pund mystery, a continuation of the late author's mystery series by a younger somewhat unstable writer. Susan hates the series but she needs the job, so she agrees to work with the author, hoping she isn't going to be putting her life in danger. Again.

The third and possibly the last book in this series. This one was long, over 500 pages, and some of the descriptions could have been eliminated or shortened. I clocked Elaine a lot sooner than Susan did. Or maybe I'm just suspicious by nature. It will help if you've read the two previous books before taking up this one, since there are references to characters and the solution to the mystery in the first book.

Crouch End, London, where a lot of the action in the novel takes place

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl

June 30, 2025

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl

Eden Bennett is the producer of Garden State Goddesses, a reality show based around a group of rich women who spend all their time sniping at each other, when they’re not treating everyone else like crap. 

Another mystery based on reality TV, this one on a franchise like the Real Housewives. Usually I enjoy books that are campy and have quirky characters, and this sounded like it would be a fun read. But it was a real slog and I skimmed most of the book. I’m not a fan of reality TV, and I don’t watch the Real Housewives but I know the basic formula. Nothing really happened for the first 2/3 of the book, then finally one of the characters got murdered. Can’t get those hours back. Not recommended.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey, who aren't anymore housewives than I am

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

June 17, 2025

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Evie Sage needs to find a job to help support her family right away. Desperate, when the local evil overlord (conveniently if not very creatively known as The Villain) offers her a job as his personal assistant, she agrees to work for him. She is amazed at how fast she grows accustomed to severed heads hanging from the ceiling and stray fingers on the floor. But someone is trying to kill the Villain, and by extension, Evie and the other people who work for him. 

The first book in a trilogy, a romantasy filled with mystery, humor, and a hot male protagonist (and who doesn't love a hot male protagonist?). Like The Office in a fantasy setting. After a while, I did want to yell at Evie and Trystan to find a bed and get on with it already. Perfect for a hot summer afternoon or vacation reading - strictly entertainment, it's not going to strain your mind. Cliffhanger ending, so be warned that you may have to continue on with the series.

The modern fantasy office

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

May 22, 2025

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

Patch McCauley (whose real name is Joseph) is a 13 year old living in a small Missouri town with his mother Ivy. His best friend is Saint, who live with her grandmother Norma, a bus driver in the town. Patch has only one eye and has always been obsessed by pirates since he wears an eye patch over his missing eye. Nothing much happens in their town until one morning on his way to school, Patch sees a man attempting to abduct his schoolmate Misty. Misty gets away but all the police can find of Patch is his missing eye patch and a lot of blood.

Disappointing. It took me forever to slog through this. This is another of those love it or hate it books. I heard that it meandered around a lot and that it was more literary fiction than mystery, which is fine with me if I know what to expect. I loved the first hundred or so pages, thought the characters were great, but it lost me when the two kids were locked in the basement. The center section of the book just drags, and it's way too long. I skimmed the last 2/3 of the book and then read the ending. Didn't miss much. I came to hate most of the characters, too. It's like the author had ideas for a couple of different storylines and decided to just jumble them together. An editor should have cut out a couple of hundred pages and made it a better book. Reminded me of Demon Copperhead, which everyone else loved and I didn't. I should know by now that whenever a book is selected by a celebrity or TV book club, I'm probably going to hate it. But at least those book clubs get people who otherwise never read a book, to pick one up. Can't get those hours back.

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

May 8, 2025

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Almost 25 years after graduating, Bodie Kane (successful podcaster and some-time college professor) returns to the Granby School in New Hampshire where she spent four fairly awful high school years, to teach a seminar on podcasting. One of the things that made her time there so bad was when her roommate Thalia was found dead in the school swimming pool. A culprit was quickly arrested and convicted, receiving a sentence of life in prison, but one of Bodie's student isn't so sure and decides to do her podcast project about the crime, which dredges up all sorts of memories for Bodie.

It took me a while to get through this, I kept picking it up and then putting it down to read something else that was more interesting, so the story and the characters obviously weren't pulling me in. A literary fiction cold-case mystery, combining themes of murder, sexual predation/Me Too, the popularity of true crime podcasts, and the effect of social media on all of it. Many of these themes have been worked over at length already, and in books that did a better job of exploring them. The writing and the language are really good but the story drags, and then there is no real resolution, too much is left hanging. Made me remember how awful high school was at times. I don't recommend it unless you are a die-hard fan of the author. I think I may be finished with Makkai.

Boarding school in winter