Review: Off the Record

Off the Record by Sara Goodman Confino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Judy Greenberg wants to be a journalist, which isn't easy for a Jewish girl in 1962, so when she gets offered a job in the typing pool at a Washington DC newspaper (despite having a degree in journalism) she takes it hoping to be spotted and given her big break.

Miss Kelly who runs the typing pool with an iron fist warns Judy against fraternising with the journalists and editors, saying that's what got her predecessor fired, but Judy has not intention of looking for a husband.

The junior White House reporter Jack Fields is particularly irritating, constantly hanging around Judy's desk and getting her into trouble with Miss Kelly. The galling thing is the leads for his articles are never right - Judy could (and does) do far better. But rather than being angry with Judy for editing his articles Jack encourages her, whilst taking all the credit ... until Judy calls him out for it.

Nevertheless, when Judy takes a very strange message for one of the editors after hours while temporarily filling in for his secretary Jack is the only person she can turn to for help in investigating what the message means.

This book is set shortly after the Bay of Pigs incident. Height of the Cold War, think Russia, Cuba, Kennedy. Women were still expected to get married and churn out lots of children, even Judy as a twenty-two year old woman had her hair, make-up and clothing monitored by her mother.

This had it all, politics, intrigue, women's issues, spies, and romance. A great read and fascinating to find out how much of the story is based on real happenings and people and places (whilst obviously also being fictitious).

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts

The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Someone is killing Marlow's celebrities, a former England footballer and a famous author were both shot dead ... who will be next?

Meanwhile, a step-daughter she never knew existed has appeared in Judith's life accusing Judith of murdering her (Judith's) husband and demanding she confess or she (Eleni) will take her evidence to the Police.

Confession time, this is the first book in the series that I have read. I tried to watch the TV series and found it beyond irritating, but I thought people must love it because this is the fifth book so I requested an ARC to give it a go. My conclusion is that the book was very similar in feel to the tv series and just not for me.

Judith is clearly the leader of the trio of amateur sleuths, with a mysterious past and a job as a crossword setter for the local newspaper. Then the other two Suzie and Becks are somewhat interchangeable, one is a vicar's wife and one walks dogs - might be the same one, one is very pretty. There's an absurd plot involving breaking into a Real Tennis men's changing rooms and hiding in a shower. Also, I have serious questions concerning Judith's passport.

Anyway, I didn't guess the identity of the murderer but I believe that is because the clues were all miniscule and the reader isn't put in possession of the facts.

Overall, if you enjoyed the previous four books and/or the tv series I am sure you will enjoy this book too. As I said, not for me, but the plotting was clever.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Only on Gameday

Only on Gameday by Kristen Callihan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Meet August 'Augie' Luck, first draft NFL Quarterback, part of an American Football dynasty, fancy house in LA, sponsorship coming out of his ears (not literally), and stunningly good-looking to boot. So why is he suddenly acting out of character standing on a table and dancing the funky chicken at a black-tie event?

Augie's mother is best friends with Penelope Morrow's mother and the two families have been in and out of each other's houses (possibly in Colorado) their entire lives. Which is why no-one quite understands why Penelope and Augie seem to do everything in their power to avoid each other, even leaving the room when the other enters.

Penny is unhappy, particularly with her mother, because she inherited her grandparents' beautiful home in LA but as a student she can't afford to pay the property taxes and her mother won't lend her the money. To put this into perspective it's a multi-million dollar house on an acre of land in Brentwood designed by Cliff May, so the property taxes are hundreds of thousands of dollars (which is mad for a Brit because in my London borough the maximum council tax anyone would pay on a multi-million pound house is just over £4,000 - I looked it up).

After Penny sobs all this into Augie's mother's shoulder (she is visiting to wish her happy birthday), Augie has a cunning plan. To reassure his agent and the Coach that he has turned over a new, more respectable, leaf he and Penny should get fake engaged and he can pay her taxes, or lend her the money. What neither of them realise is that have each fancied the pants off each other for years - hence the avoidance tactics.

Of course, once they are forced to spend time together they quickly start dating for real.

I feel like a complete hypocrite, I hate manufactured angst and the unrealistic conflict that breaks the couple up before they get back together in romances ... but this felt lacking in conflict. I think maybe I am expecting a Kristen Callihan book to be like a Sarina Bowen book and they are two very different styles.

This feels like each of Augie's siblings (all of whom are named after the month in which they were born *sigh*) will eventually get their own books.

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Review: Brighter than Before

Brighter than Before by Courtney Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Claire Karadec falls apart after she discovers her husband John has been having an affair ... and all their friends knew. Twenty years of marriage, supporting his career, just gone in a puff of smoke. After a particularly humiliating episode a year later, she decides enough is enough and things have to change. Rather recklessly she sells the house and moves to Chicago, a city she always wanted to live, with a dream of finding a career and a new life.

Navigating living alone for the first time in her life, trying to get a job, and being dragged kicking and screaming into the dating scene by her daughter Minnie (at college in Oxford), Claire notices a sexy male neighbour seems to have a revolving door of beautiful young women leaving his apartment - who turns out to be the owner of the apartment block, which she only finds out after yet another embarrassing incident, this time involving a face pack, a dressing gown and an automatically locking apartment door. Anyway, her landlord Miles turns out to be a nice guy, albeit with an aversion to commitment, and he is soon conspiring with Minnie to get Claire some non-serial killer dates.

I did enjoy this and it was easy beach reading material but honestly I felt Claire was a totally unrealistic person. Her background, the fact that she had never eaten any foreign food of any description (like even Mediterranean), the multiple Goldie Hawn-esque kooky catastrophes, they all just felt like plot devices.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Between the Lines

Between the Lines by Tracey Magruder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sadie Reed is a book editor in New York. Having split from her narcissistic, abusive ex, who is an unsuccessful author who has been leeching off her for years, she is camping on her best friend (and boss)'s floor. So when her friend asks her to take on Corbyn Pearce, a brilliant author who has already driven off three previous editors and is seriously in danger of missing the deadline for his latest novel, Sadie feels a change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered.

Corbyn was badly injured in a car accident and since then he has been a recluse at his manor house in the Cotswolds, he is bogged down in his latest book but resistant to any advice or suggestions from editors ... until Sadie refuses to take no for an answer.

Can these two metaphorically and literally scarred individuals find their way to one another?

I was enjoying this and then suddenly it just got glacially slow and nothing much happened for chapter after chapter until the inevitable rather OTT 'conflict'.

Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Meet the Newmans

Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

The Newmans, Del, Dinah, Guy and Shep star in a long-running (12 years) TV series as themselves, before that it was a radio series. Del is the mastermind who writes the scripts, directs, and produces with total autonomy, although the sponsors and the network executives insist on reviewing the scripts. But now Guy and Shep are older they are beginning to chafe against their father running their lives. Guy has secretly dropped out of law school, and teenage Shep is drinking, messing around with women, and taking drugs - things his father is having to hush up. Meanwhile, Dinah is experiencing numbness in her arms and Del is worrying about money.

Although a previously beloved tv institution (think I love Lucy meets Happy Days), in 1964 its the era of the Beatles and Martin Luther King, public tastes are changing and the appetite for cutesy family stories where the mother cooks and cleans all day and the father issues a heart-warming homily at the end of each show is wearing thin. The show is up for renewal and the studio is not making encouraging noises.

When Del has a car crash that puts him in a coma, the rest of the family get a chance to grab the reins of their destinies (and much like the finale of Dirty Dancing) do the finale the way they want to do it.

This was written in a very confusing way. Each chapter was set six hours earlier than the last, or two days earlier etc which didn't really make much sense and, if I'm honest, seemed like an attempt to make it seem more intellectual. I did enjoy the historical references but I also found some of the characters seemed to be inserted merely so that they could make speeches about discrimination against different parts of society, rather than because they had a real part to play in the story which felt a bit clunky.

Overall, I enjoyed the read but I was left with the impression that for all the discussion of oppression and the need to conform to societal norms everyone still got a Hollywood HEA.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Grapples of Wrath: The BRAND NEW funny, spooky cosy crime mystery for 2026

The Grapples of Wrath: The BRAND NEW funny, spooky cosy crime mystery for 2026 by Alice Bell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Claire Hendricks sees ghosts, literally. Her best friend Sophie died as a teenager and is now permanently linked to Claire - where Claire goes Sophie goes. Claire used to make a small living as a medium, but after solving two murders (with Sophie's help) she has now turned private investigator. Seeing ghosts can make you a little socially awkward, particularly until you can learn to differentiate them from the living, and Sophie has anxiety. But her first murder introduced her to two new friends Basher and Alex.

Anyway, enough background, Claire's first paying job is at a local pro-wrestling gym. Alex has been hanging around (their latest craze) and it turns out that the manager, the wonderfully named Ken King, believes his dead father Eddie is haunting the gym and asks Claire to find out what is preventing him from moving on ... and move him along.

The thing is, Eddie is convinced that his brother Nate killed him, and wants Claire to investigate because the police ruled it death by natural causes.

This was silly, funny, informative (I learned a lot about pro-wrestling) and there were so many suspects and so much drama flying about that I had no clue as to the actual murderer until the last minute.

Another cracker in this quirky series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Staying Away at Christmas (Short Story): The most romantic and festive short story you will read this Christmas!

Staying Away at Christmas (Short Story): The most romantic and festive short story you will read this Christmas! by Katie Fforde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A pleasant Christmas novella. Two single parents and their children have booked the same cottage for Christmas. Rather than argue they decide to share the cottage (because why not) and celebrate Christmas together.

Perfect enjoyable romance for that in-between period at Christmas where you can't concentrate on a full novel but want something light and feel-good to read.

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Review: Quite Ugly One Evening

Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jack Parlabane, investigative journalist is approached by someone he knows at MI5 to investigate the decades-old death of an undercover agent. The agent in question was investigating rumours that a Russian spy had infiltrated a rich, influential family with connections to the higher echelons of the civil service, his death might have been natural or he could have been poisoned by the Russians. A recent release of information has made the latter seem more probable.

The family in question created a much beloved 1960s children's TV series (I was thinking like Thunderbirds but set in space). The series has fallen in and out of favour in the intervening period fuelled by nostalgia, the launch on video/DVD etc but has recently come in for a lot of criticism, not least from within parts of the family, for its antiquated and problematic themes (think Pidgeon English, goodies are white, baddies are people of colour etc). Anyway, the entire family will be attending a cruise from England to the USA which hosts a fan convention, which will give Jack some time to get close to the family and see what they can recall about the agent.

In terms of the family dynamics, there's the usual infighting between generations and siblings, added to which a Mitford-esque split in the younger generation between those who want the series to remain authentic (and argue that the Woke agenda would destroy the heart of the series) and those who want better representation and removal of the problematic themes. Added to which, a right-wing billionaire wants to buy the rights to the series from the family and the offer has divided the family in different ways again.

Inevitably, one of the family is murdered, and Jack appears to have been the designated fall guy - can he discover the identity of the murderer before he is charged?

Full disclosure, I think this is the ninth Jack Parlabane novel but the first one I have read, so I don't know whether they are always so political but there is a lot of discussion of the right wing agenda, Putin, Trump, etc. While I 100% agree with the politics I am not sure I wanted it to be so full on in a detective story - but again maybe if I had read the previous eight books I would be expecting it?

Anyway, I really enjoyed it, although Jack seems pretty athletic for a sixty-year old man (she says as an almost sixty-year old woman), I wonder if Chris Brookmyre is still writing him as the thirty-year old he was in the first book. My only gripe was that I thought the murderer's identity was a bit obvious. (view spoiler)[Otherwise what was the point of having a character who was ever present but seemed to be the only one without a motive? (hide spoiler)]

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: From Scotland With Love

From Scotland With Love by Katie Fforde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Inept PR girl Daisy tries to rectify her mistakes by travelling to Scotland to persuade her firm's most prestigious but also grumpy writer Rory McAllan to sign some bookplates she doesn't realise that there's a snowstorm incoming and she gets trapped with him in his tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere in the days leading up to New Year's Eve.

While Daisy might not be the greatest PR girl, she has lots of other skills which impress Rory, especially because she is nothing like his high-maintenance ex-wife.

This is a sweet holiday, forced proximity, grumpy meets sunshine romance novella - just the thing you need in the dead time between Christmas and New Year when I have the attention span of a gnat.

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Review: The Affair of the Christmas Card Killer

The Affair of the Christmas Card Killer by Jack Murray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lord Arthur Cavendish has invited his grandson (and heir) Henry and Henry's mother Mrs Emily Cavendish to Cavendish Hall for Christmas. Henry's father, Robert (Lord Cavendish's second son) is dead. Mrs Cavendish and Lord Cavendish do not get on well together but he is determined to make more of an effort to be pleasant to her and to get to know his grandson better. For his part, Henry hates Cavendish Hall and feels like he is both bullied by his mother and made to feel unworthy by his grandfather because he is not sporty or interested in joining the army like the other men in his family.

Lord Cavendish's eldest son John and daughter-in-law Katherine are also both dead and his two nieces Esther and Mary now live with him at Cavendish Hall. Esther is a more classical beauty, but Mary is more lively, and they are the greatest of friends.

Lord Cavendish has also invited two single, eligible bachelors to the party in the hope that one or both of them might fall in love with his nieces and provide for their future. The two single gentlemen are Lord Kit Aston and an explorer called Eric Strangerson, who was in Robert's battalion in WW1.

Lord Kit Aston was an officer in WW1, he is rumoured to have done some intelligence work, and has had some success in solving the murder of a French diplomat - very Lord Peter Wimsey. Kit is assisted by his manservant Harry Miller, a former thief, who rescued him from No Man's Land during the war. Besides his suitability as a potential spouse for one of his nieces, Lord Cavendish also wants to consult Kit about a number of cards he has received over the years saying 'Happy Christmas, I've killed you', Lord Cavendish is worried that the card sender might succeed and he wants to reconcile with his grandson and see his granddaughters settled before he does (succeed).

The party gets snowed in, and a locum doctor appears at the door. He'd been visiting a patient nearby and was unable to get back to the village in the snow. Trapped in a remote country house with secrets swirling and no access to the outside world it's a surprise to no-one when Lord Cavendish is found dead in his room. While there is no evidence of foul play, Kit is concerned because of the threatening cards, and the girls ask him to investigate until the police can take over.

Overall I enjoyed this. However, it wasn't without its faults, others have commented that the author has almost consistently mis-titled all the characters, some even said he clearly hasn't even watched Downton Abbey to know that Emily should be called Mrs Cavendish, Kit's father is alive so he can't be Lord Kit etc, etc. Also, Lord Cavendish's death literally comes 50% into the book which is way too late in the book. (view spoiler)[Furthermore, making the suspect the most unlikable character is a huuuge clue. (hide spoiler)]Generally there were way too many coincidences, which would only have worked if the characters had been deliberately invited because they were all connected by The Thing.

However, I have a weakness for Golden Age mysteries and aristocratic sleuths so I will definitely continue reading the series.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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