The Butler

 The Butler- Claire Mackintosh

Podium Publishing

Release Date: June 16, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚

Synopsis: The South of France is stunning, though not without its imperfections, from pickpockets to burglars to the occasional cold-blooded killer. But in his twenty-five years of service, Baxter—with a spotless reputation as a polished, well-mannered butler—has never run into any issues catering to the ultrawealthy. Until now.

Baxter's latest assignment is at Villa Sérénité, where Alec Prescott is hosting a colorful cast of characters, including his ex-wife, his much younger lady friend, and some Hollywood hotshots, after the Cannes Film Festival. But it doesn't take long for a week of sun, wine, and a family birthday celebration to devolve into bickering and backstabbing. And soon, secrets aren't the only thing floating to the surface . . .

When one of the guests is found dead in the villa's glittering pool, the unflappable Baxter must assist the gendarmes in determining who's responsible. With some standing to gain and others motivated to take it away, fingers are pointed in all directions. A good butler is expected to see everything and say nothing—but what if he too becomes a target?

________________________________________________________

 

Baxter is the perfect butler: professional demeanor, thinks of everything ahead of time, lets nothing phase him. He's been hired to buttle for a home in Cannes over the film fest, where wealthy Alec Prescott is hosting film friends and family to celebrate his son's birthday. But more than a few hours into the weeklong party and backstabbing and old feuds emerge. When someone winds up dead in the pool, it isn't a huge surprise but it is inconvenient. All three of the staff are sheduled for other jobs soon and can't afford to hang around while the cops think about solving things. With the help of a local pickpocket called Red they decide to take matters into their own hands and solve the crime. Which puts Baxter on top of the killer's target list.

The Butler  is the first book by Claire Macintosh I've read, but as someone writing a nonfiction book about butlers in mystery novels, how could I pass this up? It was a fun, quick read, almost a cozy mystery with wonderful descriptions of food, locations, views, etc. The end of the book definitely left open the possibilty for more to come, which would be great. Macintosh revealed tiny glimpses of Baxter's past and personality behind his professional facade in a slow-drip way that would suit a series, getting a little more in each book.

Each of the guests is suitably unlikable without the feeling that they all needed to go to jail and by the time we have a dead body we also have plenty of motives. I enjoyed how the staff all decided they were not sitting around for the police to slowly handle things: they all had places to be and other jobs to be getting on with, and would just deal with this themselves, thank you very much. And they do. The end "living room reveal" scene didn't feel very Baxter-like, but I think it hit about every cliche it could manage in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way.

This is a good examply of a book that didn't need a prologue. The writing for the prologue was so over the top just to get to the expected body in the pool I almost put the book down, because there was no way I could have read the book if the writing was like that the whole way through. Fortunately, it wasn't. I recommend skipping those few pages, or just know they don't reflect the book as a whole.

A fun summer mystery. I hope for more Baxter in the future.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 

An Artful Dodge

 An Artful Dodge-Karen Odden

Soho Crime

Release Date: June 2, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: London, 1879: Twenty-year-old Kit Jimeson has fingers so nimble she can nick a necklace off a lady in a crowded theater without raising alarm. Kit and her dodge partner, Mary, are the highest earners in the notorious all-women thieving ring in South London's Elephant and Castle district.

Kit, whose mother had been a thief before her, dreams of a different life, one where she’s not constantly on the lookout for constables and plainclothes detectives, and where a mistake or pure bad luck won't land her in the hangman’s noose. She has been saving up her earnings so her younger sister, a maid for a wealthy Mayfair family, might have a shot at respectability.

Kit is very close to leaving the life entirely when the legendary former thief Maggie O’Connell brings her plans to a halt. Beautiful, charismatic Maggie has returned to reclaim leadership of the ring after twenty years in a brutal Australian penal colony. But Maggie desires more than mere wealth. She longs for revenge against those who sent her away. Kit, with her quick mind and dangerously clever hands, is Maggie’s best weapon. If Kit wants to walk away with her life, she must carry out a heist that will demand every skill she possesses.

__________________________________________________

London, 1879—not a great time to be poor. Kit works three jobs to make ends meet and two of them are legal. She constantly worries over money: what will happen to her sister if there isn't enough money? If she gets sick and they can't afford a doctor? If Kit can't earn enough to take care of them? She saves as much as possible, but can't bring herself to leave the all-women theiving ring she's a part of because, despite the risk, it brings in good money. The other women are more than friends, many are a second family to her. As clever as the tricks these women use are, we are never shown their crimes as glamourous or fun—they steal because they have to, from people and places that can afford to lose it.

Kit and the rest of the cast in An Artful Dodge are well-drawn and relatable. In similar situations, what would anyone do to survive, and protect a beloved family member? The gang members are loyal to each other in the face of danger and hardship, and that support is echoed by other members of the community. Even minor characters are written in a fully three-dimensional style—the reader can easily see them sitting around a pub's fireplace, telling stories and drinking after a hard day, and feel like you could almost join them for a round.

The pacing was fast and exciting throughout the book: as the danger to Kit increased, tension built and I couldn't wait to see what would happen and how she would get out of the danger Maggie was weaving around her. But one of the things that struck me was that even Maggie is never painted as a total villain. She does terrible things, but the reader (and even Kit to an extent) is able to understand her point of view. As much as loyalty and family are the backbone of this book, so is the question: what makes a monster? Can one ever turn back from a course of vengeance? Does one crime cause another, or do we have choices in life? Maggie believes in vengeance, that actions have consequences and she returns to England to make that happen. But Kit finds herself asking questions that easily can be asked in situations today: where should that circle of vengeance end?

As always, some of Karen Odden's most brilliant writing is in her depictions of Victorian London. From the Thames River to the streets of South London's Elephant and Castle district, to the fanciest jewelry shops of Holbourn, every inch of the city feels alive, as if you could walk it next to Kit. 

An Artful Dodge is a masterful Victorian mystery adventure that historical mystery readers will love!

I received an ARC of this book from Soho Crime and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review   

Murder on the Rocks

 

Murder on the Rocks (Lady Hardcastle Mystery 13)- T.E. Kinsey

Thomas & Mercer

Release Date: May 26, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚

Synopsis: February 1913. Lady Hardcastle and her diminutive but mettlesome lady’s maid, Flo, have been invited by their friend JB McIntyre to spend the weekend at his recently renovated Tudor fort on a remote island off the Devonshire coast. But the holiday quickly turns sinister when first a number of valuable jewels go missing—and then a fellow guest is murdered with a most unusual weapon.

Asked by JB to investigate, the stakes are raised for the sleuthing duo when a violent storm traps the group on the island and cuts them off from help. Is the murderer in their midst? With everyone claiming to have an alibi—but each also having a skeleton in their closet—can Lady Hardcastle and Flo unravel this complex web of secrets and deception before the killer strikes again?

____________________________________________

Lady Hardcastle (Emily) and her lady's maid/assistant Florence are hoping for a long weekend to enjoy themselves when they are invited to friend JB McIntyre's island. He's getting it ready to become a resort getaway and wants some friends to test things out. All is well until some valuable jewelry is stolen—and then the rather unpleasant guest is murdered. No one is actually sorry he's dead, but no one wants a murderer on the guest list. Especially when he isn't the only one who gets killed. With everyone trapped on the island until Tuesday, can Emily and Flo solve the crimes and keep everyone else safe?

It's been ages since I read a Lady Hardcastle mystery (I think I read the first one) so I was pretty much coming into the series new. There are throwaway references to other cases, presumably from other books, but none that made me feel lost coming into the series at Book 13. I did enjoy this book, but I can't say it made me feel like I needed to go back and reread the rest of the series. The characters were all pretty basic and mostly 2-dimensional. Friends who aren't entirely friends because they have secrets, or don't like the bullying of a wife. One tells long-winded stories that everyone knows but are entertaining if you've had enough to drink. The servants who smuggle goods. The American millionaire who is obsessed with the latest inventions. The story itself plods along, dragging especially in the middle, before speeding up to the end with the quick solution. I figured out some of it, but there was a good twist in there that helped keep things going.

The best part of the book for me was the description and history of the island fort, which is really well done. The author builds the fort/island into an excellent site to explore and you can see the details inside and out as they are described. The historical accuracy for the time period is subtle but well drawn, and benefits from JB loving to have all the latest gadgets (and showing them off to guests!). 

A quiet cozy mystery that might appeal to people already in love with the series more than newcomers, but wasn't bad if you can accept a slightly slower than usual pace.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Ending Writes Itself

 

The Ending Writes Itself- Evelyn Clarke

Harper

Release Date: April 7, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Arthur Fletch, one of the world’s bestselling novelists, is a reclusive genius known for his iconic protagonists and fiendish twists. When six struggling authors are invited to spend a weekend on his private Scottish island, they arrive to discover a shocking secret: Arthur Fletch is dead . . . and his last book is unfinished.

Desperate to publish the novel, Fletch’s agent and editor have summoned these writers in the hope that one of them will imagine a worthy ending for this final book. To sweeten the deal, they are offering an irresistible prize: in addition to ghost-writing the last chapter––for a mind-boggling sum––they will also help the lucky writer successfully re-launch their own career, guaranteeing future bestsellers. The catch: the writers have just seventy-two hours to finish Fletch’s magnum opus.

It’s the perfect plot. All it needs is a killer ending.

_________________________________________

When Arthur Fletch and his publishers began advertising his upcoming Julia Petrarch book as his last book, they had no idea how true that would be. The problem? The most famous author in the world died without finishing the most anticipated book ever. Or leaving any notes on how it was supposed to end. So his desperate editors bring a small group of midlist authors to his private island home and offer a competition: whoever writes the best ending gets to not only ghostwrite the ending to Fletch's book, they get a 3-book deal and 2 million dollars. It would re-launch any of their careers. The catch? They have 72 hours to write the ending. What could possibly go wrong?

Put a small group on an island, remove all acess to the outside world, add monetary and career desperation, a surprise storm, and seriously questionable home decorating choices and I think we all know it isn't going to end well for at least one guest. So the reader gets to play the game from the beginning: who will get bumped off? And who will do the deed? The annoying sci-fi writer? The husband half of a thriller married couple? No jury would convict his killer after spending the weekend with him. There's a horror writer who seems to know more about crime and weapons than expected; a YA author, romance author, and debut author, as well as the wife half of the married couple—who plans on breaking up both the writing partnership and the marriage.

The first half of the book is more a critique of the publishing industry, with a slow build up to mayhem and murder. I did like that the chapters were told through alternating POVs (a trick I'm not always a fan of, but it worked here). Surprisingly, I didn't feel like it helped me get to know all the characters—particularly the women. Among the women, I felt like Sienna was the only one who stood out for her motives and personality. 

The book is entertaining, and I liked the bit of a spin the Epilogue gave to it. I enjoyed the sharp humor and critiques of the industry (and people) it is involved in (again, see Epilogue).  A fun locked-room read with And Then There Were None vibes mystery lovers should enjoy.

Murder on the Airship

 Murder on the Airship- Victoria Bergman

Stonehenge Circle  Press

Release Date: March 12, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: An emergency landing, quarreling elven and naga nobility, meddlesome dwarven officials, renegade pixies, dubious mercenaries, and a dragon who cheats at cards.

Bad enough without a murder.

Thyria had signed on to protect passengers, not investigate them. But she takes over morning watch aboard the Silver Kestrel, the finest airship aloft, to find a first-class passenger stabbed to death in his own stateroom.

Now she must investigate – tactfully, whatever that means – a burgeoning diplomatic incident, navigating the towering egos of influential passengers who each have something to hide.

Because if she doesn’t find her quarry within the day, this will be the Kestrel’s final flight.

________________________________________________

What would you get if Terry Pratchett's Discworld visited Agatha Christie's Murder on the Nile? Probably something along the lines of Victoria Bergman's Murder on the Airship. 

When guard Thyria finds one of the annoying first-class passengers stabbed to death on the airship Silver Kestrel, it isn't a great start to her day. The good news is that there are a limited number of suspects, since most of the passengers were in town partying for the solstice. The rest of the news is all bad. All the guests have reasons to want him dead; the airship has been sabotaged; the elves and naga are about five minutes from war and everyone is taking sides on the ship; there's at least two assassination attempts on top of the murder; a smuggled dragon; and let's not even mention the pixies. The guard who should be in charge is in sickbay with a bad case of being poisoned and it's up to Thyria to figure out what happened—preferably before the local dwarves get involved. But when everyone has a reason to want soomeone dead, how do you find the actual killer?

Thyria is a fun character. She's not a detective. She's the guard who gets to threaten smugglers and toss drunks off her ship while her boss handles things like "diplomacy" and "politeness". So she's completely out of her element being asked to deal with important ambasadors and first-class passengers. Give her a good bar fight any day! She's quite sure at first she can't handle the assignment. But the captain is busy and she's the only one left to handle it, so she has to grit her teeth and figure it out.

There's a delightful sense of humor to  Bergman's writing. Thyria approaches the murder (and the world) with a no-nonsense, we're-all-in-this-together-so-why-waste-my-time feeling. The various high-handed sensibilities of the senators, ambasadors, and self-described important people she has to deal with don't get anywhere with her. But they try. While she may not be able to threaten them the way she can incompentent mercenaries and moronic magic students, she learns the power of a fake smile and a little blackmail.

While things got a little overly complicated in ways they might not have needed to, and tangled with a few extra subplots, Murder on the Airship was a delightful cozy fantasy mystery that should make readers of both genres happy and looking for more by Victoria Bergman. I will certainly be hoping for more flights by the Silver Kestrel.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Murder Game

 

The Murder Game- John Curran

Collins Crime Club

Release Date: January 27, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: With books flourishing in the 1920s and ’30s like never before, no genre was more innovative or popular than detective fiction. It was an era that saw the emergence of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen and dozens of other authors who became household names for a generation of readers.

The Golden Age of Detection has enjoyed a great resurgence of interest in recent years, with publishers mining back catalogues to bring the best of yesteryear to very receptive new audiences. What is it about a literary movement that took off in the 1920s that still appeals to book lovers in the 2020s?

In this authoritative new study, John Curran reveals that it is the ludic qualities of classic crime fiction that continue to intrigue. At its heart is the ‘whodunit’ game between writer and reader, but there is also the game between detective and murderer, between publisher and book-buyer, even between the writers themselves.

Coinciding with an increase in leisure time and literacy, the Golden Age also saw the development of the crossword, the growth of bridge and Mahjong, the enduring popularity of jigsaws and the emergence of Cluedo – all activities requiring the ‘little grey cells’. The Murder Game considers all of these, and many other sporting and competitive recreations, helping to explain the reading public’s ongoing love affair with the Golden Age.

____________________________________________

In his new book, The Murder Game, John Curran goes on a quest to write a book that focuses on the early mystery novel and its love of the game. Beginning with the always tricky question of defining the Golden Age of the mystery (everyone agrees it starts around the first World War but endings vary. Curran ends up not choosing a date but saying it is more of a vibe than a specific time period), Curran explores what games mystery writers play, why, and with whom. 

Ranging from the obvious: can the author keep the reader from figuring out the ending while presenting all the clues; to the more unique: acutally having puzzles within the book whose answers help readers figure out "whodunit"; to the brief stint in the 1930s of full on game kits including physical clues and suspect files, Curran surveys the range. He talks about when "rules" developed and how authors worked with or broke the rules (Agatha Christie was a constant rule bender if not full on rule breaker).

At its heart, this is a survey, with references to the books that fit whatever Curran happens to be talking about. The can make for sometimes lengthy lists or dry spells when reading and the book definitely went a bit long, even for me. There are spoilers, many of which he flags ahead of time, but the reader should be warned that if you haven't already read particular books you'll at least be getting hints and might want to skip some sections if you don't want to know what happens in certain books before you've read them. 

Who is the audience for The Murder Game? This is not a book for the casual reader. But someone fascinated with the history of the development of the genre; a fan of Martin Edwards' fantastic nonfiction books The Golden Age of Murder and The Life of Crime; a professor of writing; or a student of the Golden Age of mysteries will absolutely need John Curran's The Murder Game in their collection.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review

The Shop on Hidden Lane

 The Shop on Hidden Lane- Jayne Ann Krentz

Berkley Publishing

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Release Date: January 6, 2026

Synopsis: The Harper and the Wells families have regarded each other with deep suspicion for four generations. The Harpers have been known to offer their psychic talents for less-than-legal purposes, and the powerful Wells clan has a reputation for playing both sides of the street. But for all the years of history and distrust between them, there is a mysterious pact binding the two. They share the responsibility for protecting a long-buried and very dangerous secret.

Sophy Harper and Luke Wells are shocked to learn that her aunt and his uncle have been sleeping together—and now they are both missing. Not only that, but the last traces of them are at the scene of a murder soaked in negative paranormal energy. Clearly, someone is willing to kill to obtain the secret their families have been charged with protecting. Despite their mutual distrust, which, as far as Sophy is concerned extends to Luke’s hellhound of a dog, they both know that the terms of the pact must be honored.

Their investigation uncovers a psychic trail leading to a bizarre desert art colony where nothing is as it seems. But Luke and Sophy are concealing a few secrets, too. By a strange twist of fate, a Harper and a Wells have no choice but to trust each other and the fierce attraction that is binding them as surely as the pact between the families.

____________________________________________

When Sophy Harper gets roped into reading a crime scene by Luke Wells, she's sure it won't go well. When the scene turns out to be a murder scene at Luke's uncle's cabin—where they discover his uncle and her aunt were having an affair—the day is all downhill from there. Now his uncle and her aunt are missing and all clues point to connections with the murder and a bizarre art colony in Arizona. Sophy, Luke, and Luke's dog Bruce head to Arizona in search of answers, but find danger and long hidden secrets first.

I found The Shop on Hidden Lane really enjoyable. Sophy's snark and Luke's dry sense of humor are typical of Krentz's characters, though Luke gets to have a little more fun than usual with his sense of humor by bringing Bruce the dog into it. (Sophy asks if they should go to dinner since they know they're going into a trap. Luke says yes because he's starving and if they stay in the hotel room they'll have to share Bruce's kibble "And I don't know what Bruce will say about that.") The two are a good mix of logic and instinct learning to work together as a team.

Bruce was a delight and I was thrilled at the end with Krentz's hints that we'll see at least one more dog like him (hopefully many more!). Smart and bonded with Luke, he seems to have some psychic gifts of his own—though you do have to wait for the very end to find out a bit more about those. 

Sophy is a librarian as her main job, the psychic crime scene reading is just a side gig. And I loved how throughout the book you get her pointing out how important the profession is and what they do—in ways many wouldn't think. From research to collections to helping people put the peices together, The Shop on Hidden Lane is a love letter to librarians. (Krentz herself was a librarian in a former life I think). A fun contrast to the engineer mindset of Luke's family on several occasions, since in the end it's Sophy's mindset that figures out Luke's talent.

If you've read Krentz's Fogg Lake trilogy (The Vanishing, All the Colors of Night, Lighting in the Mirror) you'll know about the Bluestone Project and the Fogg Lake disaster already. If not, you'll figure it out as you read this book. I'd recommend reading the Fogg Lake trilogy as well, because they're good books, but they aren't necessary before you read this one. 

An entertaining addition to the Jayne Ann Krentz collection, and certainly one I'd recommend!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife- Martin Edwards

Poisoned Pen Press

Release Date: October 7, 2025

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Six down-on-their-luck people with links to the world of crime writing have been invited to play a game this Christmas by the mysterious Midwinter Trust. The challenge seems simple but Solve the murder of a fictional crime writer in a remote but wonderfully atmospheric village in north Yorkshire to win a prize that will change your fortunes for good.

Six members of staff from the shadowy Trust are there to make sure everyone plays fair. The contestants have been meticulously vetted but you can never be too careful. And with the village about to be cut off by a snow storm, everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Midwinter can play tricks on people's minds.

The game is set - but playing fair isn't on everyone's Christmas list.

__________________________________________________

If you enjoy closed circle mysteries, puzzles, and a take on the locked-room mystery, Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife is going to be right up your book aisle. In this entertaining take on the Golden Age mystery books, Martin Edwards (whose nonfiction books on the development of the mystery genre are not to be missed!) has given readers a snowbound group of six people gathering together in a tiny village over Christmas for a murder mystery weekend. Each have ties to the crime writing world and each have recently had their careers take a nosedive. Their invitation promises the game's winner will have a life-altering change in fortune. But as people begin to die, the survivors must discover: are the deaths accidents? Is one of their group willing to kill to win the game? What secrets are their hosts hiding? And can any of them survive this traditional English country house Christmas?

I'm a huge Golden Age mystery fan, locked room puzzle fan, and Clue fan- so everything about Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife jumped out as a book I wanted to try. Martin Edwards name checks plenty of Golden Age writers and tropes, and invites the reader to solve the puzzle along with the six characters in the book- which is quite entertaining. It's a mystery within the mystery, because of course, what's a snowbound group to do in a mystery book except also try to stay alive and work out who's killing them off one by one? You get the story from different perspectives, but the most entertaining one (for me) was washed-up crime writer Harry Crystal. Harry and his books (all titles are riffs on famous mystery novels you may have heard of) are washed up, his wife and daughter have left him, and the world- pretty much including Harry- have written him off as a perpetual loser. But from the beginning Harry feels like there's something else going on in Midwinter and secrets he may be the only person left out of. He's the least likely to win, but can he surprise everyone and save the day? 

If you like classic snowbound mysteries, Midsummer Murders, puzzles, and humor with your whodunits, give Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife a try! The perfect read when you're inside and the snow is falling outside. 

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

It Takes a Psychic

 

It Takes a Psychic (Ghost Hunters #17)- Jayne Castle

Berkley 

Release Date: June 3, 2025

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Leona Griffin is at the height of her career as a para-archeologist thanks to a recent Underworld discovery. Her high profile attracts the attention of an organization of elite, secretive collectors. They want her to authenticate the artifacts that aspiring members submit as evidence to join their group. The ceremony takes place at a glittering reception where Leona is shocked to discover that one of the relics is a powerful Old-World object known as Pandora’s Box. But she’s not the only one interested in that artifact.

Oliver Rancourt, a man with a unique talent—they say you never see him coming—is also there. Leona knows she must not underestimate him. Attempting to make a discreet exit, she stumbles over the body of a waiter wearing the emblem of a dangerous cult. Before she can alert authorities, a police raid sends the reception into chaos. To avoid being arrested, Leona slips away with Oliver—a risky decision that gets her fired.

Now forced to work together, Leona and Oliver pursue an investigation that leads them to the town of Lost Creek where the locals are obsessed with a chilling legend involving a long-dead cult leader and illicit paranormal experiments. But Leona knows the real danger may be the irresistible attraction between herself and Oliver.

________________________________________________________

After being kidnapped by artifact pirates and saved by her sister (People in Glass Houses) para-archeologist Leona Griffin is ready to give a few lectures and work her way up the tenure ladder at her university. Finding a dead body at a collector's meeting ends that plan rather spectacularly. Excaping the police raid that follows with the mysterious Oliver Rancourt makes things even more complicated. But also a great deal more interesting. When Leona and Oliver (and dust bunny Roxy) decide to work together to uncover the truth behind leads too strange to be coincides, things start moving fast- and getting dangerous. Good thing all three of them have some tricks to pull along the way!

Leona is Molly's sister from People in Glass Houses, so it helps if you've read that book first, but I think you could also read this one as a stand-alone. Glass Houses would just give you a little character background for Leona's story, as well as already knowing Molly and their moms heading into this book. Like Molly, Leona has been raised to take care of herself. She has no problem relying on her own instincts and training but is also caring and compassionate. The first night Oliver (and the reader) meet her she frees dust bunnies and follows him into the Underworld where she sets her dress on fire to help them escape some bad guys. If that doesn't make you like her (or Oliver fall for her) what will?! Oliver is more subtle than some of Castle's men. A Museum Guy, as Leona thinks of him, and not a Guild man as many of Castle's previous heroes, Oliver has no trouble with the idea of calling in the Guild and the cops when he thinks there might be more trouble than he, Leona, and Roxy can handle on their own. But underestimate him at your own risk, because he's not above taking care of business when he needs to protect his people. Although Leona got to protect him in this one pretty nicely too.

On a completely random note, I've always been slightly disappointed that Castle describes characters (usually the men) as having specter-cat eyes but we never get to find out more about wild specter-cats or see one. So the sculpture of the specter-cat in this book for some reason made me extremely happy.

Cut-throat collectors and academics, ruthless cults, a fashionista dust bunny, and Castle's trademark banter between her main characters: It Takes a Psychic was just what I needed to read when it came out and I needed something to take me away from a particularly difficult life situation for a few hours. 

A fun addition to the delightful dust bunny world of Harmony

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review

Affiliate link

Bonded in Death

 

Bonded in Death (in Death #60)- J.D. Robb

St. Martin's Press 

Release Date: February 4, 2025

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She’s got an elderly victim who’d just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he’d left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon; and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset―fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, major-domo and the man who’d rescued her husband from the Dublin streets―may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then.

When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear―because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must―not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain―and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished…

                                    _________________________________________

The newest In Death book is a fast paced thriller that takes readers where they've probably always hoped to get more info on: the Urban Wars of the 2020s. Eve Dallas' latest victim is an elderly man who, at first glance, has no reason to be dead at all, let alone in the brutal way he was murdered. But when Summerset identifies Eve's victim as an old friend of his- and a former operative during the Wars- everything changes. Because Rossi wasn't the only man identified as having a target on him- just the first on a kill list.

We get all of the good stuff in Bonded. Flashbacks of the Urban Wars, more background than we've ever seen before on Summerset, and an entire network of his comrades coming together to help Eve and the NYPSD to help stop a killer. The pacing stays fast, the dialogue is Robb's go-to blend of sharp wit and suave charm (depending on the character!) that makes for a delightful blend of personalities. The intensity of the story made me not want to put this one down!

A really enjoyable and intense read, this is J. D. Robb at some of her finest.

I received a DRC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Affiliate link

How to Solve Your Own Murder

 

How to Solve Your Own Murder- Kristen Perrin

Release Date: March 26, 2024

Publisher: Dutton

Rating: 📚📚📚

Synopsis: It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

 
In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?
 
As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.

______________________________________________________________________

I found this a mildly entertaining murder mystery for a plane ride across the Atlantic, but can't say I found myself hugely invested in it. 

The book is written in alternating parts between 1966 diary entries of Frances who, having received a message from a fortune-teller at a fair that she will be murdered is now writing down everything that happens to her in case it turns out to be important in solving her eventual murder, and present day Annie. A hopeful mystery writer, Annie is summoned to the little village of Castle Knoll to meet her Great-Aunt Frances only to find her dead. Frances has finally been murdered and she turned her will into a race to solve her murder. Annie and another relative have a week to solve the case or everything goes to out-of-town investors who will end up destroying the cute little village and everyone's livelihoods.

I really liked the premise of the story, but the characters remained flat charicatures more than anything else, which made it hard for me to invest in them at all. Even Annie, and her sections are told from her point of view. There were also far too many similies and metaphors in describing everything for me, but that's just my personal taste.

Overall, don't believe and comparisons to 'Knives Out' or Agatha Christie that you see, but if you just want a fast read on a plane or for a rainy afternoon, this isn't bad, though I'm not sure I'd read another by the same author.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review