Monday, March 18, 2024

A Midnight Puzzle - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  A Midnight Puzzle (A Secret Staircase Mystery #3) by Gigi Pandian

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Secret Staircase Construction is under attack, and Tempest Raj feels helpless. After former client Julian Rhodes tried to kill his wife, he blamed her "accident" on the home renovation company’s craftsmanship. Now the family business—known for bringing magic into homes through hidden doors, floating staircases, and architectural puzzle walls—is at a breaking point. No amount of Scottish and Indian meals from her grandfather can distract Tempest from the they’re being framed.

When Tempest receives an urgent midnight phone call from Julian, she decides to meet him at the historic Whispering Creek Theater—only to find his dead body, a sword through his chest. After a blade appears from thin air to claim another victim, Tempest is certain they’re dealing with a booby trap… something Secret Staircase Construction could easily build. Tempest refuses to wait for the investigation to turn to her or her loved ones. She knows the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of her, she just has to put them together correctly before more disaster strikes.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I've really enjoyed the previous books in this series and other books by this author.  

My Impression: I've really enjoyed this series with its magical elements and dramatic characters.  Tempest is starting to enjoy her new life off stage and working with her family's construction business that focuses on architectural misdirection.  Unfortunately for her though, Tempest is Tempest and nothing can stay peaceful for long.  The family business becomes involved in a nasty lawsuit followed quickly by murder with a side of rumors and a dash of ghost.  Tempest with her mentor Nicky (aka Nicodemius the Necromancer) are pulled into a murder investigation that reaches into the past.

Tempest's home at Fiddler's Folly is a place I wish was real as I would love to explore all the secret passages and hidden nooks.  As well, I wish the construction company really did exist as I would love to have one of their creations.  This was quite the entertaining mystery with legends and stories and magic.  It kept me guessing as to how things would unravel and what was connected to what - and of course was anything like it seemed.  

My only complaint was the story went into the weeds a bit during the reveal as Tempest's performance got a bit long winded and a little confusing.  Things did get ironed out in a satisfying manner but it just seemed like I could have done with less performance.  Overall, this is a fun and unique mystery series with interesting characters and a bit of showmanship.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Of course!  This author has a unique voice and I've enjoyed every book I've read by this author.  

Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy mysteries this is a fun series though one best read in order.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

Sunday, March 17, 2024

This Week in Reading - March 17


It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:


Murder, She Wrote: Murder Backstage by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran - I always enjoy the books in this series and this one involves Jessica's British cousin who was always chaos in the show so it should be extra fun! (Publisher)

Murder in Rose Hill by Victoria Thompson - This is one of my favorite historical mystery series so I'm really looking forward to getting into this one. (Publisher)

Currently:


Reading:  The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes and A Deadly Affair by Agatha Christie

Listening:  Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas

The time change is killing me!  More daylight is great but I feel like I'm desperately trying to catch up on sleep which I'm not a fan of.  Dog classes start back up this week and I'm looking forward to a new group of puppies and beginning obedience dogs!

Have a great week and happy reading!

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Authors I've Been Wanting to Read - Someone to Love by Mary Balogh

 
At the beginning of the year I made a list of authors that I've been saying I need to read and commit to reading at least one book by each of the authors in 2024.  Here's my thoughts on one of those books/authors.


Goodreads:  Someone to Love by Mary Balogh

Blurb:  Humphrey Westcott, Earl of Riverdale, has died, leaving behind a fortune that will forever alter the lives of everyone in his family—including the daughter no one knew he had...

Anna Snow grew up in an orphanage in Bath knowing nothing of the family she came from. Now she discovers that the late Earl of Riverdale was her father and that she has inherited his fortune. She is also overjoyed to learn she has siblings. However, they want nothing to do with her or her attempts to share her new wealth. But the new earl’s guardian is interested in Anna…

Avery Archer, Duke of Netherby, keeps others at a distance. Yet something prompts him to aid Anna in her transition from orphan to lady. As London society and her newfound relatives threaten to overwhelm Anna, Avery steps in to rescue her and finds himself vulnerable to feelings and desires he has hidden so well and for so long.

My Thoughts:  This author is a bit different from the others on my list as I have read her books.  She used to be one of my favorite historical romance authors but for whatever reason I got distracted by newer shinier books and stopped picking up books by her.

I didn't love the blurb of this one but thought I would go on and give it a try and I'm so glad I did.  I really ended up loving this one.  Anna is a truly nice person who is suddenly thrown into a world that she is completely unprepared for.  While overwhelmed she still manages to hold on to her own identity and stays true to herself - much to her family's horror when it comes to her wardrobe.  Avery is very different from the typical romance hero.  He's a small man who was bullied as a child for being delicate and frail.  He had to find his own confidence and found an unusual outlet for it.

I liked both the main characters quite a bit and really liked that they stayed true to themselves and really got to know each other.  I'm looking forward to reading more from this series and seeing more of the Westcott family.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

Friday, March 15, 2024

Friday Fives - Five Non-Bookish Things I'm Loving


I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  Since spring is upon us I'm picking out 5 things I'm really loving right now.


1.  Daffodils - Daffodils are one of my absolute favorite flowers and I love seeing them come up everywhere.  We used to have a ton but for whatever reason only a fraction of them are coming up now but they still make me happy.

2.  Benadryl - While I love seeing the daffodils and other things blooming lots of things that I'm allergic too are also starting to show up and Benadryl is absolutely saving my life right now.  


3.  Finch App - I used this self-care app a few years ago and enjoyed but then kind of forgot about it.  For the last couple of months I've been using it as a mix of a self-care app and a to do list and am loving it.  I add goals (ie things I need to get done) every day and get rewards for doing them and get to send my little bird different places.  It makes me very happy - plus the self-care aspect of the app is also really great.

4.  Scamanda Podcast - I've been mixing in podcasts between audio books and got completely hooked on the Scamanda podcast.  The story was absolutely fascinating and it was really well done.  Plus it was a limited number of episodes so it's easy to binge.

5.  Gabulosis on YouTube - I enjoy true crime content but Gabulosis's channel is my absolute favorite.  She focuses on vintage crime and talks about cases that are solved and unsolved.  Her research is excellent and she does a good job bring attention to little known cases.

What non-bookish things are you loving?

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Books from the Backlog - No One Needs to Know


Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!


Goodreads:  No One Needs to Know by Kevin O'Brien

Blurb:  A SECRET WORTH KILLING FOR…

In July 1970, actress Elaina Styles was slain in her rented Seattle mansion along with her husband and their son’s nanny. When the baby’s remains were found buried in a shallow grave close to a hippie commune, police moved in—only to find all its members already dead in a grisly mass suicide.

AGAIN…
Now, decades later, a film about the murders is shooting at the mansion. On-set caterer Laurie Trotter ignores gossip that the production is cursed. But then people start dying…

AND AGAIN…
As Laurie digs deep into what happened all those years ago, the truth emerges more twisted than any whispered rumor, as a legacy of brutal vengeance reaches its terrifying climax…

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  This sounds really good though really creepy and we aren't even going to count the number of years it has been sitting on my NetGalley shelf.  

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

The Year of Having Fun with My Reading - Dark Corners + The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

 


Goodreads:  Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

Blurb:  Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his freedom approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped—or worse. Is Maddison’s disappearance connected to her visit to Bailey? Why was she visiting him in the first place?
When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems only to exist on social media; she has no family, no friends, and other than in her posts, most people have never seen her. Who is she, really? Using a fake Instagram account, Rachel Krall goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal.

When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tail, the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krell herself. Suddenly a target of a monster hiding in plain sight, Rachel is forced to confront the very real dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the internet.

Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster star of Megan Goldin’s acclaimed Night Swim returns to search for a popular social media influencer who disappeared after visiting a suspected serial killer.

My Thoughts:  I saw a glowing review for this mystery on and couldn't resist picking this one up.  I love the podcaster element and this looked so intriguing.  It did not disappoint.  Rachel is an interesting character and the mystery pulled me in from the very beginning.  There is a bit of a race against time as Rachel and the FBI try and figure out what Terence Bailey is really capable of before he is released from prison as well as a current investigation as the FBI searches for influencer Maddison Logan.  I loved the mix of podcasts and real time investigations.  The pacing of this kept me interested from beginning to end.  While this is definitely not a cozy I didn't find it too over the top graphic and creepy.  I didn't want to put the book down but I wasn't having to get up and check the locks!  This is the 2nd book in the Rachel Krall series but I had no problem starting here and it reads very much as a stand alone.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)


Goodreads:  The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

Blurb:   The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.
When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.

1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

My Thoughts:  Well this was just a bit of cozy delightfulness that was a joy from beginning to end.  Nina works in a bookstore, has a cat named Phil, and a perfectly planned out life with no room for anything else.  And as often happens in fiction (and in real life come to think of it) just as Nina has decided her life is exactly the way she wants it things start going off the rails.  Work falls apart, the family she didn't know she has has become something she can't (and mostly doesn't want to) ignore and she seems to have kind of acquired a boyfriend.  I loved all the chaos from Phil's insights (provided by Nina), to her heart to hearts with her new family, to the occasional bursts of bad judgement, and everything in between.  It's not the most unpredictable of books but the journey to the expected end was lovely and funny and cozy.  I can't wait to read more by this author.  My Rating:  Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Series/Authors I've Stalled Out On Reading


Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is Books I'm Worried I Might Not Love the Second Time Around but I'm not a much of a re-reader so instead I'm looking at series/or authors I've stalled out on because I'm afraid they might not live up to my expectations.


1.  Mary Kubica - I read and loved Local Woman Missing but have hesitated to read more by this author because what if the next book doesn't work as well for me.  I am hoping to read Just the Nicest Couple soon so fingers crossed.

2.  A Haunted Vintage Mystery by Rose Pressey - and really this author in general as she has a couple of series.  I have several books by her and I enjoyed the first book but keep hesitating on picking up another book by her.

3.  Jesse Q. Sutanto - Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murders was one of my favorite books in 2023 and I have several other books by her that I've heard good things about but I keep stalling!  

4.  The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries by Vicki Delany - I've read a lot by this author and I read the first book in this series a couple of years ago and really liked the premise and have fully meant to go back to it.  

5.  Mimi Matthews - I've been getting back into historical romances and I really liked to book I read by her a few years ago.  


6.  Pages & Co. by Anna James - I read the first book in this middle grade series and really loved it but haven't picked up the next book in several years.

7.  The Secret, Book, & Scone Society by Ellery James - Another first book in a series I loved but for some reason have yet to go back to.

8.  Kate Quinn - After years of having The Alice Network on my TBR I read it and loved it and then haven't read another book by her in 3 years.  I really need to fix that.

9.  The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters - Barbara Michaels is one of my most reread authors but for some reason I've only read the first book in her mystery series about an Egyptologist under another of her pseudonyms.  

10.  Elly Griffiths - I've read the first books in two of Elly Griffiths series.  I enjoyed both and have not read any more in years.  

What series or authors have you stalled out on reading even though you enjoy what you've read?