Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

September 8, 2026

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Natalie is a social media influencer who promotes living a traditional 19th century farm wife, but actually, she has household help, farm help, and all the modern conveniences. She has five children with a sixth on the way, but doesn't seem to like being a mother all that much. Nor does she care much for her rich lazy husband. All of that changes when she wakes up one morning to find herself transported back to the 19th century.

This had a great premise: Natalie, a social media influencer, obsessively documents her life online as a traditional/pioneer type wife and mother, while actually being a sham. Her 19th century cabinetry hides state-of-the-art appliances and she has hired help out the wazoo. Her husband is a rich boy who is banging one of the show's producers, and all his misdeeds are covered up by his politician father. Then one morning, Natalie wakes up to find herself actually living on the same farmstead but in the reality of the hardships of 19th century farm life. 

This was supposed to be darkly humorous but I didn't find it funny. As someone who reads a lot and has studied history, I know the fantasy of living as a tradwife and being off the grid is just that, a fantasy. I suspected the "twist" fairly early on and started skimming at about the 40% mark. I did feel sorry for Natalie - she was the victim of a patriarchal cult in childhood, and then a patriarchal society that she couldn't overcome, and she never found a place where she felt she fit in and finally had a break with reality. The author is yet another podcaster host who has a large online following.

If you want to read a better book about a character who time travels back to 19th century America, try The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser. It's an older title but was reprinted in 2018.

An actual 19th century farmstead

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

July 5, 2026

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

Social media influencer and single mother Poppy Stringer has over 200,000 followers and posts constantly to her social media sites. To support her lavish lifestyle, Poppy has a secret side hustle as a modern day grave robber, stealing bodies by contract, mostly from funeral homes. But on the day her music idol is killed in a freak accident, Poppy receives a commission to steal his body from the city morgue. It seems straightforward enough, not to mention wildly lucrative, but things quickly take a bad turn.

Imagine that you finally get the chance to meet the guy who has been your musical idol all your life, but it turns out that he is nothing like you expect? For one thing, he's dead, and for another, he's on a killing spree. I worry about Chuck Tingle, I really do. What is going on in his head? What kind of childhood trauma did he experience to come up with the kind of stuff he writes about? This is a road trip of a very different kind, full of gore and horror set against the glittering backdrop of Palm Springs. At the same time, there is a a dark humor as Eddie shares unexpected bits of wisdom, like telling Poppy it's always a bad idea to meet your idols. Poppy realizes that she and Eddie are both influencers and have a deeper connection than she could ever expect. Real horror fans will get into this fast-paced novel.

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

Palm Springs, CA

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.

Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell

June 29, 2025

Love letters to a serial killer by Tanya Coryell

Hannah is a 30-something woman working at a dead end job and searching for direction in her life. The guy she thought was her soulmate dumps her, her BFF gets engaged, and she’s on probation at work. After four women’s bodies are found in Atlanta and a man is arrested, Hannah becomes obsessed with following the story through social media sites and connects with other true crime junkies. On a whim, she begins corresponding with William, the accused man, figuring that he’s in prison in another state and can’t hurt her, right? When she loses her job, she decides to go to Georgia for the trial, only to find there are a bunch of other women there, like groupies. But when another woman is murdered during the trial, the case is dropped, and Hannah and William move in together. What could possibly go wrong? 

You know right from the start, from the minute you read the title and see the cover art, this is going to be full of bad decisions and it’s not going to end well. Just accept that and move on. The accused serial killer is a lawyer, handsome, wealthy, and charming - big surprise, right? - think Ted Bundy (those of you who are under 40 can google his name). Hannah, the main character, is a brainless idiot, TSTL, no question about it, trying to figure out if William is the killer after they move in together. I was pretty sure where the story was going, and at 85%, found out I was right. If I had escaped from/been released by/been rescued from a serial killer, especially one that I knew was still out there, I would have PTSD for the rest of my life. 

(There is a name for the syndrome where women are attracted to violent criminals and men in prison: hybristophilia. It seems like the more violent the crime, the more women are attracted. Hannah displays aggressive hybristophilia, where a woman actually makes contact with the prisoner and tries to help them, combined with boredom over her mundane life, the appeal of a long distance relationship, and the whole fantasy of the situation. It’s more common than you would expect, and there are a bunch of websites for prisoner dating. I am SO creeped out.) 

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

Ted Bundy, the stereotypical charming handsome serial killer

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

Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf

May 2, 2025

Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf

Five contestants are invited to participate in a reality TV show with the chance to win $10 million. None of them know how or why they were chosen. All of the contestants as well as the program host have secrets, and when faced with strategic challenges and isolation, facades start to crack apart. They soon realize that someone brought them together for revenge and the stakes are life or death.

Revenge by way of reality TV show. A twisty suspense novel that is also a locked-room mystery centered around the current popularity of reality "must-see" TV shows, like a combination of Survivor and Squid Game, with notes of Agatha Christie. It's a fast fun read, with a cast of unlikeable characters, unreliable narrators, and a gorgeous but creepy gothic setting. It also offers a commentary on the voyeuristic aspects of social media and how far some people are willing to go for wealth, fame, and influence. A good choice for vacation or beach reading.

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

A creepy gothic mansion, not exactly a place where I'd like to spend two weeks

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

April 17, 2025

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Vera Wong - Chinese mother, tea house proprietor, and amateur sleuth - is back for another adventure. Life has been good for Vera since she solved the murder of the dead man in her tea shop. Business has been brisk, Vera has a new group of friends, and her son has a girlfriend. But in the midst of all this good fortune, Vera finds herself secretly bored. While she doesn't really want to see anyone get murdered, she feels she has a knack for collecting information (and people) and solving mysteries. So when a social media influencer disappears and an unidentified body is found, Vera just knows she can find the answer to both mysteries.

The sequel to Vera Wong's Guide to Murder, with a new cast of strangers who become friends added to the group that Vera collected in the first book. Vera learns about social media and influencers, posting videos of herself cooking and making tea while solving the problems of her new friends. Funny and heartwarming, recommended for readers of cozy mysteries who enjoy their mysteries with more humor and less romance than most cozies.

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

What I imagine Vera's tea shop must look like

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh

February 29, 2024

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintoch

Reality TV is all the rage, and there is a new one set in North Wales. But this one has a nasty twist: instead of being a survival show as advertised, the producer plans to expose each contestant's most shameful secret. It comes as a complete shock to the seven contestants, and after the first show airs, one contestant slips away into the Welsh mountain in the middle of the night, unable to face what may be coming for him. DC Ffion Morgan is assigned to the missing persons case, but that turns out to be the least of her problems.

This is the second book in the DC Ffion Morgan series, and we get to revisit many of the characters from the first book (The Last Party). There are many games at play here, not just the reality show, and everyone involved has their own agenda. The plot moves along at a good pace and kept me turning the pages. I hope Mackintosh is planning another book in the series, since I look forward to watching Ffion and Leo's relationship developing. And for all my dog-loving friends who used to call me wanting to know if the dog is okay at the end of the book (any dog, in any book), not to worry: Dave the dog is still with Ffion at the end of the book. (At the moment, I have a sweet but needy senior golden retriever foster dog who sheds constantly, so I can relate to Ffion's struggles with Dave.)

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

North Wales