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Review: The Art of Theft (Lady Sherlock #4) by Sherry Thomas
Do you ever just come across a book that by all accounts you should absolutely love, and then you just don’t? Well that’s what happened to me with the Lady Sherlock series. I picked up the first book fully ready to be hooked and in love with this series only to feel let down and disappointed. I don’t even think I finished the first book and I didn’t pick up any of the others in the series. I was heart broken and as the years have gone on, I keep thinking I should pick this series up again because it should be a series that I love. Sassy heroines, Victorian…
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Review: The Vanished Bride (Brontë Sisters Mystery #1) by Bella Ellis
Big big big Bronte fan here! So it’s a given that I have been looking forward to this book for quite a while! But I will admit I was on the fence about it. This book is a reimagining of the Bronte sisters as lady detectives and for me it could have gone either way. I mean, the sisters wrote romances, not mysteries so I was worried that this book might come across as hokey. So basically, I had reservations. I worried that I might have a hard time imagining them as detectives but on the other I love all things Bronte and I simply couldn’t pass on the opportunity…
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Review: Murder at Kensington Palace (A Wrexford & Sloane Mystery #3) by Andrea Penrose
I stumbled on this series a couple of years ago and instantly fell in love. I loved how sassy and sardonic Wrexford is and even if Mrs Sloane is overly pig headed at times, she’s independent and sassy and I can’t get enough of them together! Reading these books is always such a delight. There is clearly this romantic tension between Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane, but it doesn’t overtake the prime focus of the books which is the murder mystery. Because of that I think it makes the romance so much more sweet. The little morsels of romance sprinkled in make the reader eager to see what happens between them,…
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Review: A Golden Grave (Rose Gallagher #2) by Erin Lindsey
I read the first book in this historical mystery series, Murder on Millionaires’ Row, back in 2018 and thought it was a solid beginning to her new series. This author has written other fantasy novels but the Rose Gallagher series is a new genre for her and I thought she made a nice transition but I wasn’t completely sold on the series as there were some things that I thought needed a little working out and polishing. While I had some reservations, I know that the transition from fantasy to historical fiction can be challenging so I decided to give this series another stab and see how things evolved with…
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Special Feature: The Other End of the Line (Commissario Montalbano #24) by Andrea Camilleri
The Commissario Montalbano series has obviously been a successful one! This is the 24th book in the long standing series and it clearly has a large fan base and the latest book is out this week! Author, Andrea Camilleri, has been widely praised for creating such a beloved character and series that is crafty and smart. Camilleri was 91 years old guys—-91. To be such a prolific writer still at that age is impressive and inspiring. Though he passed away in July of this year, the fact that he has continued to write such an intelligent series is incredible and again, just so impressive. He leaves behind a huge literary legacy…
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Review: Wonton Terror (A Noodle Shop Mystery #4) by Vivien Chien
I stumbled upon Vivien Chien’s Noodle Shop Mystery quite by accident. When I started the first book, I fell in love with Lana Lee’s charm and sass. I also loved all the various food descriptions in this series and found myself perpetually hungry for noodles. While there are times that I have found myself wanting more romance in this series, the fun mysteries that Chien constructs are undeniable—I am hooked on her mysteries. Each book could probably be read on their own. Chien does a great job catching new readers up to date on the most pressing back stories in the series if it pertains to the new book, but…
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Review: Relative Fortunes (Julia Kydd #1) by Marlowe Benn
I decided to read this book based purely on the cover art. The cover art suggests a fun historical mystery with a quirky and fashionable lady detective. Plus it was the first in a new series and I couldn’t help but get excited to be one of the first people to read Julia Kydd! The 1920s aren’t really my favorite era to read, but I love the art and fashion and have read a few historical mysteries that have been set in that period and loved them so I am typically open to reading more from that time period. I was excited to see that this was the authors first…
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Review: Chai Another Day (A Spice Shop Mystery #4) by Leslie Budewitz
This mystery series sounded like the perfect cozy book to read with a warm up of tea! I loved that it was set in a tea shop in Seattle’s famous Pike’s Place Market. A place that I have visited on a number of occasions. I thought that a book set in that quirky little market would be idyllic and something very ‘Pacific Northwest’. It was and easy yes for me and I was thrilled when it arrived. Even though it was the fourth book in a series, it sounded like it was going to be more mystery focused rather than focusing on the characters and their lives. So I didn’t…
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Review: Death in a Desert Land (Agatha Christie #3) by Andrew Wilson
I would venture to say that most people have heard of the great mystery writer Agatha Christie. She’s written so many classic mysteries and I would be hard pressed to meet someone who hasn’t heard of at least one of her books in one way or another. Because she is so recognizable and such a classic mystery writer, I was thrilled to see that someone had turned her into her own fictional sleuth. My first thought when I saw that someone had done this, was that it sounded hokey. Agatha Christie is such an icon and to mess with that and turn her into a fictionalized detective sounded trite…..but at…
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Review: Murder in the City of Liberty (Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery #2) by Rachel McMillan
When this book popped up for review, I was thrilled! I haven’t read the first book in the series, but it has been on my radar. Then this one came up and I was eager to dive in. I am absolutely in love with the cover and can’t get enough of the colors and the gorgeous art deco details in the background. I felt like the cover absolutely captures the time period and would make readers excited to pick this one up……I know I was excited! With this being the second book, I was hopeful that I hadn’t missed too much of the character back stories and that I wouldn’t…