Review: A Degree of Murder: It's 25 years since they graduated...but revenge never gets old.

A Degree of Murder: It's 25 years since they graduated...but revenge never gets old. by Maz Evans
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The blurb

IT'S BEEN 25 YEARS SINCE THEY GRADUATED...BUT REVENGE NEVER GETS OLD.

The Class of 2000.
The Actress. The Techie. The Bimbo.
The Sportsman. The Bad Boy. The Writer. The Singer.
The Lecturer. The Musician. The Mature Student. The Weirdo.
But who is The Murderer?

I don't really know how to review this, not least because my ARC had some formatting issues which meant I didn't know whether paragraphs ended mid-sentence deliberately or because of formatting. In addition, the book jumps around from person to person and between graduation in 2000, the reunion in 2025 and the murder trial in 2026. None of the characters had a particularly strong tone so I didn't really know who was talking or which was their 2000 persona. There is also the confusion caused by not being told who has been murdered, who is accused of the murder and indeed, who is the narrator watching the trial.

In addition, despite being set in the UK this didn't really feel British (no I can't explain why and I had the same feeling about a book set in Australia so maybe it's a Me thing) maybe its because big graduation parties and reunions weren't really a thing when I was younger?

Anyway TL:DR the book was structured to keep the reader guessing.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Flowers in July

Flowers in July by Anna Maynard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mary Roberts is a trainee doctor, she was in a six year relationship with Felix, also a doctor, until she discovered another woman's G-string in their bed. Now she's single and homeless whilst simultaneously worrying about her sister (single mother of three) and mother (issues with men and alcohol).

To escape her temporary lack of a home (and Felix her ex) Mary signs up for a week long wilderness expedition medicine course, only to discover that Felix has also signed up - allegedly to persuade her (yet again) to give him a second chance.

Despite the wilderness course being waaaay outside her comfort zone, Mary finds the course leader Abel is a reassuring and empowering presence, in his company she feels capable of stepping outside her comfort zone. However, Mary worries that she is mistaking Abel's niceness for something more.

I really wanted to like this but it just felt a bit meh. Abel just seemed to fall in love with Mary for no reason and was just perfectly kind and nice and supportive ALL THE TIME - he had no nuance or shadow or (frankly) personality. Mary was just dense. Men don't platonically hug you and sleep in the same bed unless they like like you! Also, to complete the trifecta of characters I didn't warm to, Mary's sister got on my nerves. Mary sends her money every month which her sister never acknowledges, every time Mary calls there's some drama with her nieces and nephews, then she has the audacity to complain.

Anyway, I enjoyed the wilderness course part but after that (and there was a lot) it just felt like Mary was being obtuse and there was manufactured drama, which made it drag.

Sorry, not for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Death at King's Cross: A Four Queens of Crime Mystery

Death at King's Cross: A Four Queens of Crime Mystery by Rosanne Limoncelli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Its May 1941, the world is at war. The famous novelist Agatha Christie is volunteering at a local hospital in the dispensary. The author Dorothy L Sayers is writing copy for the BBC. Ngaio Marsh has returned to New Zealand where she cares for her father and volunteers at a local hospice for recovering servicemen. Finally, Margery Allingham is in the countryside helping those who have been evacuated or just misplaced by the bombings of London. Each of these famous authors of detective novels comes across something disturbing: blackmail; a sister's disappearance; missing drugs; and ravings about Nazi-style brothels.

Meanwhile, DCI Lilian Wyles is called into the mysterious murder of a young woman at King's Cross station. She was found wearing a flimsy silk nightdress, a man's coat, and nothing else, not even shoes. Her appearance suggests she has been beaten and possibly starved. Then abruptly the murder is taken out of Scotland Yard's hands and taken over by MI5 - the dead woman was an MI5 operative undercover on a mission. When Lilian calls on the four famous novelists little does she know that each of them holds a small piece of a puzzle which could put all their lives at risk.

This is apparently the second book in the Four Queens of Crime Mystery series, I didn't read the first book and there is no need to have anything other than the knowledge that these four women wrote detective novels to be able to read and understand this. I assume some of the story is based on fact (ie that DLS worked for the BBC) and other parts are fiction.

I enjoyed this, despite the coincidences and not having read the first book, and would definitely read more in the series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: In Your Court

In Your Court by Kit Haley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...#

For once the blurb really nails it.

A sweet, steamy AF contemporary MM romance! Find inside: truckloads of hot, witty banter, exploration of queer solidarity, lots of tennis details but very little actual tennis, and amusing Australian/American cultural confusion.

Matteo Russo is an Australian tennis player. He was extremely promising as a young player, won a few junior tournaments, but a car accident left him injured and ever since he has struggled to reclaim his previous rankings. To boot, Mat is the only tennis player to openly state he is gay, a statement that brought him a lot of nasty comments and has made him feel like The Gay Tennis Player - every press conference, win or lose, he gets asked whether his sexuality had anything to do with the result.

As a junior, Matteo's greatest rival was Miles Callahan, a tall arrogant American with model good looks and oodles of money at his disposal. Miles now has endorsements aplenty and is ranked world number 5 (or it could be 3 - I can't remember and can't be bothered to check). Of course what made it even more galling was that Miles ticked every box on Mat's mythical checklist for a boyfriend.

When the two of them meet at the French Open, Mat puts up a good fight, but loses two sets to one. When Miles makes a sneering comment Mat points out that Miles wouldn't find it so easy without his five star hotel, chauffeur driven car, sports therapist, coach, manager etc, etc and challenges him to live like a 'normal' player.

When Mat gets to London in preparation for Wimbledon he gets a text from a number saved in his contacts as 'Scrunchie'. It's Miles accepting the challenge, he's come to London determined to stick to Mat's budget, forgoing his team and comforts. But as they bond over laundry and start practising together Mat comes to realise that Miles doesn't seem him as broken or defective, Miles sees him as his most difficult opponent, one who is impossible to beat when at the top of his game.

Although the film Wimbledon gets slated in this book for being inaccurate, I must confess to loving it (even tried to watch it the other day but refused to pay £3.49 to stream a 20-year old film) and this gave off similar vibes. There's lots of family angst and I felt it went on a bit too long towards the end but I loved Mat and Miles, two genuinely nice guys.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.


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Review: Murder-on-Sea

Murder-on-Sea by Julie Wassmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Christmas is coming in Whitstable and Pearl Nolan is eagerly awaiting her son Charlie's return from Germany for the holidays. Meanwhile, someone is sending poison pen Christmas cards to some of the locals with some harsh (if true) comments. However, things escalate when earl's accountant Diana collapses at a charity church fundraiser right in front of Pearl and DCI Mike McGuire. After she is rushed to hospital and later dies, it turns out that Diana was poisoned with antifreeze in her glass of Jenever - a tipple which she had brought to the church for her own personal use.

Suspects and motives abound. Diana was at odds with her new neighbours, a young couple who have built a treehouse which completely overlooks her house. She was heard having a heated argument/discussion with the local GP, and it was common knowledge that she subsidised her son and his family's extravagant lifestyle. Not forgetting of course that as the local accountant Diana knew everyone's financial business and may well have been privy to financial woes or even wrongdoing.

Since Mike was a witness he can't investigate the murder officially, but unofficially if he can help Pearl solve the case and get one over on the detective in charge of the case he'd be very pleased.

This was okay. I felt like there were a lot of red herrings thrown in simply to confuse matters, lots of strangers, lots of secret meetings, lots of secrets. Again, while the murderer's identity was plausibly explained I feel that could have been true about any of the other suspects. Also, and probably more damning, this morning (having only finished it at 11pm the night before) I wasn't entirely sure if the murderer was also the poison pen Christmas card writer - which again is because as a reader I didn't get that 'AHA' moment when all the random clues suddenly dropped into place and there could only be one suspect. Maybe that is more realistic but it didn't give me the moment of satisfaction I want from a mystery when it's solved.

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Review: The Whitstable Pearl Mystery

The Whitstable Pearl Mystery by Julie Wassmer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Pearl Nolan owns a restaurant/bar in Whitstable. A single mother, she had to give up her burgeoning career in the Police when she became pregnant, but now her son is at University she has set up a detective agency on the side. Her first customer is a rather unsavoury man who claims to have invested money with a local oyster catcher called Vinnie Rowe but has yet to see any return on his money. Pearl knows Vinnie, so without actually accepting the job she goes to see him and find out what is happening. At first she can't find him anywhere on his boat but while pulling up the anchor to bring his boat into shore she discovers his dead body weighed down by the anchor.

The police, in the form of DFL (down from London) DCI Mike McGuire seem convinced that Vinnie's death was an accident, or possibly suicide, but Pearl is convinced it was murder, there's no way a seasoned sailor like Vinnie would accidentally get his foot caught up in the anchor rope and then fall overboard.

As Whitstable gets caught up in the annual Oyster Festival Pearl and Mike lock horns as she tries to uncover who killed Vinnie, and why. An investigation which will lead her far closer to home than she could ever imagine.

I bought this when it was on special offer at 99p because I enjoy the gentle (dare I say cosy) tv series based on the books. Other than completely changing the physical appearance of both Pearl and Mike beyond all recognition, from what I remember the tv series stays pretty close to the book. Also, I live not far from Whitstable and have been known to drive DFL for lunch in Seasalter.



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Review: A Murder in Eight Cocktails

A Murder in Eight Cocktails by Kelly Mullen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Willa and Marty are retired, she was an interior designer and he was something horticultural, their only son has flown the nest and Willa is feeling a little lost. Marty has enthusiastically embraced bird watching as a hobby and Willa has started a podcast.

The couple are invited to the opening of an exclusive cocktail bar where guests are served a series of special cocktails at precisely timed intervals. But no-one expects their host to plunge to his death from the rooftop during the evening, or for him to send what appears to be a suicide text to several of the other guests.

Willa is convinced their host was murdered, and when the police decline to get involved she and her ex-husband Paul, who was the host's business partner, decide to take matters into their own hands.

I struggled to get into this book, despite liking Kelly Mullen's previous book This Is Not A Game, and was about to DNF it when it suddenly got more interesting as Willa and Paul and (reluctantly) Paul start matching the timeline to when they received each cocktail, I could see that this would be like one of those Logic Problems where you have to match (say) the first name, second name, house colour and car type based on a series of clues. Unfortunately, after that spark it fizzled out again. I think for my taste there were too many suspects, too many motives, and therefore when the murderer was revealed it didn't really feel that they were the only suspect that could possibly fit all the clues.

Probably more importantly, I didn't really like Willa, Marty, or Paul and I found it difficult to keep the suspects separate in my mind. Pleasant enough but not one I would read again.

Contains the history and recipes for several cocktails.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: You & Me and You & Me and You & Me

You & Me and You & Me and You & Me by Josie Lloyd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Jules and Adam have been married for nearly twenty-five years and have two teenage children. Their lives haven't been easy, Adam's parents died in a car accident, and his dad was in a lot of debt when he died. Their son Liam was badly injured in a tragic accident and Adam passed up the opportunity to go into partnership with his best friend, a decision that cost him millions. Jules has run up thousands in credit card debt after her pop-up catering business folded during COVID, something she is scared to confess to Adam.

After yet another coulda, shoulda, woulda argument between them Adam retreats to his shed, which is jam-packed full of stuff he's never thrown away, and digs out an old mix tape he made for Jules when they first started dating and puts it into an old cassette player. Suddenly he is transported back in time to the moment he gave Jules the tape.

Adam shares his finding with Jules who is initially sceptical, Adam has always been a bit of a geek and a fan of sci-fi and time travel. But she humours him and also finds herself transported back in time. However, Jules takes the opportunity to make one small change, telling past Adam that she prefers smooth-shaven men (because present day Adam has a straggly grubby old man beard) and lo and behold when she returns to the present Adam no longer has a beard.

The mix tapes, something they used to record for each other all the time, bring the two of them together, but soon the little change they make, inadvertently or deliberately, start to mount up, but just like that chilling film The Butterfly Effect, every change they seemingly make for the better has unintended consequences.

I started this a long time ago and lost interest, but picked it up again a few days ago and raced through it. Proof, if needed, that its often the reader not the book at fault when things don't gel. Anyway, I love a time-travel story and how changes have consequences. Loved this.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: It’s Not What You Think

It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nadeeka is convinced her boyfriend Jamie is cheating on her, she heard a woman's voice in the background when she called him, he said it was the HR manager at work but she could hear a train go past in the background - their house is near the railway line whereas his office is not. Clearly there is a woman in her house. Full of righteous fury, she won't be cheated on again, she storms home (getting stopped by the police for speeding on the way) only to discover the house is a crime scene and Jamie is dead ...

But that is only the start of the weirdness, Nadeeka's view of Jamie is about to be challenged and everything she thought she knew turns out to be wrong.

I have read Clare Mackintosh's DC Morgan series and really enjoyed it, so I took a chance on this based on the blurb. Then forgot about it. Then picked it up and for some unknown reason thought it was by Gillian McAllister (even though I thought it was weird to have two ARCs by the same author available at the same time). Anyway, picked it up on Sunday, started reading and finished on Monday evening. Loved it, thought there was a slight similarity to McAllister's Famous Last Words but still very enjoyable and full of suspense, keeps you guessing right to the end.

Loved it. So if any of you are Gillian McAllister fans I think you'll love this too.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Dark Heart

The Dark Heart by Neil Lancaster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A drug dealer converted to a right-wing cause. A Jewish author and idealist murdered in a car bomb with all the hallmarks of a Islamic fundamentalist group. A tip-off that one of the dealer's contacts may have been sharing details of his political affiliations. A faceless contract killer known only as The Cashier. Soon three more people are dead, including one of Barney's contacts.

Can DS Max Craigie and his team establish the links between these seemingly unconnected deaths before the next victim is executed?

Yet another dark and gritty, fast-paced police procedural that kept me on the edge of my seat. Loved it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All the feels. I am chalant.

This is epic in all senses of the word. 481 pages of fights and magic and politics and machinations and clothes and more handsome men than you would ever see in real life.

Maggie is a very normal girl from Texas who wakes up one day naked in a ditch - in the middle of a city she recognises very well - its the setting for her all-time favourite unfinished dark fantasy novel series (its her favourite finished or unfinished - this just happens to be unfinished), the kingdom of Kair Toren. She has read the two books in the series multiple times over the years, she can recite parts of it verbatim, and this may be the only thing that can save her in this dangerous kingdom. Oh, and the fact that apparently she can't die, well she can, but then she comes back to life!

At first Maggie tries not to do anything to disturb the timeline, but when she starts to make friends with characters who she knows will die (often horribly), she starts interfering, just a little, then a little bit more. But the timeline is fighting back and Maggie is going to have to do something monumental to prevent Kair Toren descending into a cataclysmic war.

I loved this, and it reminded me of Stephen Donaldson's Mordant's Need series which I read and reread many, many times. It's got magic and plots and violence and its just wonderful. If you read my reviews you know I rarely give five stars, not even four and a half (162 in total out of 5,610 books) so when I say its a five star book you better believe I loved it. When I read that Ilona Andrews were working on Maggie 2 I was gutted because I want Hugh 2 - but now I would be ecstatic to get either.

The Book Devouring Horde will be in seventh heaven.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest by C.G. Macington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Preston York is the brilliant second York son, always viewed as the dilletante, the clothes horse etc while all the dynasty's expectations fall on his older brother. When goaded by his father and brother that he wouldn't last five minutes in the ER he takes that bet - although being Preston he has his scrubs tailored and still wears ridiculously expensive shoes (Gucci loafers).

Dr Lucas Silva is from the other end of the spectrum financially speaking, but through hard work he has worked his way up to Chief Resident at St Jude's hospital, he's not going to let the Chairman's entitled son swan his way around the hospital pretending to be a doctor - he's going to give Preston every scut job he can. In the meantime Preston is determined to prove everyone wrong.

This is a lovely opposites attract, finding your calling romance. My only gripe would be it was a teensy bit too similar to the first book.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: In Her Own League

In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reese Remington is now the first female owner of a major league baseball team, having been passed the ownership by her grandfather. There was a delay in her taking over (due to her sleazy ex) and her grandfather made some expensive decisions in the meantime which means that Reese has to make a lot of budget cuts to try and claw the team back into the black. First on her hit list is the team's manager Emmett Montgomery, his current salary might be ludicrously small, but as one of the most successful managers in the league with his contract due for renewal that is about to change. Also, her grandfather pandered to him to a ridiculous extent, refurbishing the team plane to accommodate his daughter when she was nannying for their star pitcher etc.

Emmett thinks his new boss is sexy AF, but she seems to hate him and constantly brings up the fact that SHE will be negotiating his new contract. He is finally happy, doing a job he loves with his daughter settled, and the two players he considers to be pseudo-sons in close proximity. The last thing he wants to do is move elsewhere.

This is a fantastic enemies to lovers, forbidden romance with lots of politics with the advisory board not wanting a woman running the team etc. My only issue was that it felt very similar to Irresistible You by Kate Meader, just substitute hockey for baseball and veteran player for manager. Nevertheless, a very enjoyable romance with a wonderful MMC who 100% supports the FMC once they get on the same page. A single Dad, father-figure and all-round nice guy, no wonder readers wanted him to have his own book.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: Abby Offsides

Abby Offsides by Anna McCallie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Abby's fiancée cheats on her, then leaves her for the other woman shortly before their wedding she knows she has to leave Boston and her job at the Red Sox, on a whim she moves to Liverpool to be with her BFF Amina and applies for a marketing job with Mersey FC, the joke is she knows absolutely nothing about football (or soccer as she calls it).

On the day of her interview Abby has a jokey encounter with a stranger who later turns out to be Lachlan Ramsay, Mersey's latest signing, a world-famous footballer from Scotland. There is an instant vibe, even a connection, but Abby has been told in no uncertain terms that the job is not a stepping stone to becoming a WAG. Moreover, Lachlan is married, and Abby has just come out of a six-year relationship.

But it's difficult when you find someone who gets your sense of humour, whose face lights up when you enter a room, whose eyes catch yours wherever you go, and soon Abby starts thinking what if?

This was a book of two halves for me (football pun intended). I really liked the start, I liked the banter between Lachlan and Abby and I liked the way in which they tried very hard to keep it professional. However, about halfway through it deteriorated for me, things became repetitive, neither Abby nor Lachlan had the guts to say anything meaningful, and they may not have crossed the line but it certainly looked and felt that way. The book picked up again towards the end but by that point I thought they were both quite immature people.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Watch Them Fall: A must-read Scottish police procedural from one of tartan noir's greatest

Watch Them Fall: A must-read Scottish police procedural from one of tartan noir's greatest by Marion Todd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

DI Clare Mackay is fighting fires on several fronts. First, her partner Al has taken on a new job which keeps him away from home several days a week. She was offered his old job but wanted to stay true to her roots, which unfortunately means she needs to deal with Superintendent Meakin's disappointment. Second, there is planned protest march on Saturday through St Andrews against an application to build 50 luxury homes in the area. Third, a body has just been fished out of the river, it could just be a tragic accident, someone falling in whilst under the influence, but it could also be murder. And then, the cherry on the cake, Clare gets asked to divert her time to placating a wealthy couple (the ones planning to build the luxury homes) about a house break-in, where nothing was taken. Apparently the Superintendent believes that the couple, Rex and Erika Freeman, may have been targeted by the protestors.

It seems as though the cases might all be connected, but can Clare solve the crimes in time?

I can't believe this is the tenth book, or that it took me so long to start reading it! As usual, the mundanity of home life is interspersed with police legwork, theories, wagon wheels, and politics. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: A Deadly Episode

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A producer has decided to film one of Anthony Horowitz's books about the private detective Daniel Hawthorne in Hastings with Anthony and Daniel as consultants. The director has chosen to bring in an external screenwriter who has some unusual ideas, thinking the detective story (about a woman who hits two young children while driving) is the least interesting part of the book and showcasing her own political beliefs.

From the start it appears that the actor playing Hawthorne is almost universally disliked. He has slept with several of the people on set, had the runner fired, treats the actor playing Anthony with contempt, and ignores the director's instructions. Frankly it's no surprise to anyone when he is found murdered, by a sharp Japanese knife in the back of the neck. The Hastings police are not familiar with murder investigations and invite Hawthorne to assist on the case.

I haven't read any of the preceding five books in this series, but I very much enjoyed reading The Marble Hall Murders by the same author earlier this year so I decided to request an ARC when I sat this on NetGalley. This was an odd book for me. A book written by an author which features himself as a character, who is himself being played by an actor in a film about a fictional book which the author is supposed to have written *breathe*.

Horowitz appears to be the bumbling Holmes to Hawthorne's Sherlock, he misses lots of clues, gets the wrong end of the stick, and is being played as an overweight greasy-looking scruff in comparison to the movie star good looks of the actor playing Hawthorne. Generally I am not a fan of Sherlock Holmes (in any of his written or film/TV adaption guises), I find the 'telling' rather than showing (because only he sees the clues) rather wearing. However, I rather enjoyed this, there was a logic to Hawthorne's deductions and most of them weren't too hard to see (in retrospect). I would definitely read more in this series, particularly when they are set in parts of the world that I know.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Lone Island Mystery

The Lone Island Mystery by Emylia Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pippa Grant is the caretaker on Lone Island nature reserve when she finds the body of a young man, Axel Marks washed up on the shore. The police think it may be suicide, or an accident as there is evidence that he had been drinking heavily, but she is not convinced and calls in Jayden and Ally to find the truth.

Axel had been a soldier in Afghanistan, discharged on medical grounds, he had slept rough and moved around for a few years. Most recently he had been staying in a decrepit camper van parked in the grounds of Porthmerrin House, where his mother had been a housekeeper. Apparently the owner, Edward Grey had asked his son Lucas to find Axel and invite him back. In fact it was Lucas who raised the alarm when Axel went missing.

As Ally and Jayden dig deeper there seem to be lots of secrets and numerous people have motives for (possibly) killing Axel. Can they get to the bottom of things and will DS Skinner and DC Mullins be a help or a hindrance?

This was a hugely enjoyable mystery with lots of red herrings. If you've enjoyed other books in this series then I'm sure you'll love this too.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Statistically Unlikely Rebound: A Grad or Die Romance, Book #1

The Statistically Unlikely Rebound: A Grad or Die Romance, Book #1 by Parker Elling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Daisy Zhang-Wainwright is dumped by her boyfriend Ethan only a few weeks before she was due to join him from California at MIT, she'd even shipped some of her belongings to his place.

She has to find a new apartment in a hurry, then discovers that her downstairs neighbour is Ethan's bête noir Professor Lars Berg-Anderson who apparently got caught in a compromising position with an undergraduate in one of the labs, excluded Ethan from a project he had worked on, and is generally a bad egg. But when Daisy actually meets Lars she discovers he might be a bit taciturn but he is also very kind, and the more she gets to know him the less likely it seems that he did all the things Ethan suggested.

Then she discovers at a faculty drinks party that Ethan had been cheating on her with another woman, her first reaction is to pretend that she and Lars are now dating ... and Lars agrees!

I loved this fake dating STEM romance, devoured it!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Misery Hates Company

Misery Hates Company by Elizabeth Hobbs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Miss Marigold Manners' world collapses when she discovers that her beloved (if somewhat flaky) parents squandered their money before dying of the influenza. Instead of finishing her degree in classical studies followed a career in archaeology, Marigold has been advised to throw herself on the mercy of friends and distant family to help her eke out her paltry annuity of $100 a year. There is an alternative, marriage to the handsome, debonair, and charming Cab Cox, but Marigold knows that marriage, even to someone she loves as much as Cab, would mean the end of her dreams of independence and travel.

One letter from a previously unknown relative catches her eye. It talks of a great wrong done to Marigold's mother that must be made right and it comes from ... Great Misery Island on the New England coast.

Elizabeth Hobbs says in the author note at the end that this is an homage to the great classic Cold Comfort Farm and I totally see that - in fact for at least the first half of the book I thought it was a barely concealed rip off as Marigold uses modern thinking to coax and cajole her long-lost (semi-feral) family into the 1890s.

But in this book the something nasty in the woodshed is something very nasty indeed, a young girl is drowned, and the one of Marigold's relatives is found dead ... all the signs point to Marigold, can she clear her name and uncover the murderer(s)?

I thoroughly enjoyed this once I got over the Cold Comfort Farm similarities, lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the end.

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Review: Murder After Christmas

Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 18%.

I gave this a second try, but the writing was so arch I couldn't bear it - nearly 20% in and no murder, although I don't fancy Uncle Willie's chances of surviving to the New Year since so many relatives appear to actively wishing/plotting his death.

Normally I love a Golden Age detective story, I even love parodies but this ... not so much.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Edge of Darkness

The Edge of Darkness by Vaseem Khan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Persis Wadia has been exiled from Bombay to the Naga Hills District where she is staying in a crumbling colonial-style hotel. Her lover, the Englishman Archie Blackmore lies in a coma in Bombay, being tended to by his wife. Things are all very quiet, despite the Naga people's rebellious activities in the surrounding jungle, until one of her fellow guests, a prominent local politician, is found murdered in his locked room - decapitated in his bath with his head nowhere to be found!

Given the circumstances Persis is sure that one of the guests or staff at the hotel must have committed the crime. Was it the politician's loyal aide? The American husband and wife missionaries? The American businessman? The Naga woman who owns the hotel? And how did they murder him when the door was locked?

While this took me a long time to get into, once it got going the action was think and fast. Once more, Persis seems to get injured an inordinate amount of times over the course of just a few days, the woman must have a skull of titanium!

I was congratulating myself on guessing the identity of the murderer (albeit not necessarily for the right reasons) but (without spoiling the plot) the ending felt a bit like everything including the kitchen sink.

I enjoyed this, but not as much as the previous book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Deal Breaker

Deal Breaker by Susie Tate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lady Poppy Sterling is a diminutive ray of sunshine, while organising charity fundraisers for her family's personal foundation she also interviews celebrities on the red carpet and has a reputation as a bit of a party girl, which might have been true when she was just starting out but now she takes her responsibilities seriously.

Rory Wallace is a Scottish rugby player, and Poppy's brother Rafe's best friend. Poppy has had a crush on him for years, ever since he patiently helped a dyslexic Poppy with her homework. Five years ago they became an item and then ... he ghosted her. Pathetically, she still fancies the pants off him and his very presence on the red carpet is likely to turn her into a gibbering wreck.

Rory thought Poppy was the one, but when she deliberately set him up with an interview when he was drunk he realised she was just a scheming aristocrat pretending to slum-it to get a story. He hates her party-girl persona, the drinking, and the partying. Living up to the Scottish stereotype Rory is grumpy and avoids the press at all costs.

Now the two of them are being flung together in a worthy cause, a Guinness World Record breaking attempt as a fund-raiser for Motor Neurone Disease which affects one of Rory's best friends and former teammates.

Will these two get a second chance at romance in this opposites attract, best friend's little sister romance? Or will Rory only see what's in front of his face and listen to false friends? I think you know LOL.

What a wonderful gift Susie Tate gave me - an ARC for Valentine's Day, I devoured it despite having many, many overdue ARCs that I should have been reading instead.

I received an ARC from the author via BookFunnel.

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Review: On Thin Ice: A BRAND NEW hockey player x pop star romance from USA Today Bestseller Kelly Jamieson for 2026

On Thin Ice: A BRAND NEW hockey player x pop star romance from USA Today Bestseller Kelly Jamieson for 2026 by Kelly Jamieson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 12%.

I normally love a Kelly Jamieson sports romance so I don't know why I couldn't get into this one - didn't even make it as far as the life-changing accident. Accordingly, I won't be posting my review on Amazon et al as it isn't fair.

I received an ARC from he publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Murder at the Homecoming

Murder at the Homecoming by Merryn Allingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Flora and Jack have been invited to their neighbour Ambrose Finch's house to meet his long-estranged son Lucas who had been found living and working in Italy. However, the party is disturbed, first by one of the guests almost coming to blows with another, and then by the death of Rita, a local woman who was catering the party, from arsenic poisoning.

Although Flora and Jack are determined to stay out of it, they are separately approached by Rita's friend Alice and Ambrose's assistant's girlfriend to investigate the death, especially when it seems the local police are too caught up in another murder involving a prominent member of the local community.

It seems that Ambrose had taken the homecoming party as an opportunity to mend fences by inviting some of his business enemies, and had encouraged his assistant to do the same, so there is no shortage of potential suspects.

Once again Flora and Jack put their lives on the line to discover the truth.

I enjoyed this, I always like reading about the minutiae of life in bygone decades and the 1950s/1960s is not one that I see often. I also enjoy the cosy mystery. However, I thought the plot was extremely obvious, almost before I even opened the book, which distracted somewhat from my enjoyment. Also, is it just me or does Charlie trash his bicycle in every book?

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Beast Business

Beast Business by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A novella featuring Illusion Prime Augustine Montgomery and Diana Harrison. Diana visits Augustine's PI business because someone has stolen a very rare otherworld creature from her family. The creature is only a baby and will die unless it receives its mother's milk.

Their search for the creature puts both their lives in danger and will result in them exposing their true selves to each other.

I enjoyed reading this, but I have to be honest a week later I could barely remember anything about it - better read after one of the novels I suspect. But anyhoo, its Ilona Andrews so of course its good.

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Review: The Last Page

The Last Page by Katie Holt
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 28%.

Ella has worked at an iconic New York bookstore forever and the late owner promised her he would leave her the store in his will, instead he left it to his estranged grandson Henry.

When Henry (some kind of financial turn-around expert) starts to look at the books he realises that his grandfather has been understating how badly the store is performing and it basically can keep going for less than one month, even if they make drastic cuts.

I appear to be in a bit of a book slump, last night I restarted several books and discarded them all - so it is probably me and not the book. But I find it hard to like either of the main characters and the side characters are awful and probably should all be sacked!

Anyway, I gave it two goes and I can't get into it so I am giving up here.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Heart Racer

Heart Racer by Megan Avery
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 14%.

Apologies, this is just not for me. I loved the idea of a STEM/Jock second-chance romance, enemies to love but after two attempts I just can't get engaged.

Maybe I am just too old for high school romances.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Proposition of the Season

The Proposition of the Season by Michelle Kenney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Josephine Fairfax is a bespectacled, bookish young woman of twenty-eight. After three failed seasons she is most definitely on the shelf and has retired to live in the family home with her eldest (insufferable brother) and younger siblings. She spends her days writing romantic fiction and letters to her imaginary beau.

When she discovers her brother is determined to marry off her younger sister Matilda to Lord Huntingly, a man none of them have ever met, about whom there are murky rumours about a duel which resulted in him and his opponent fleeing abroad, Josephine knows she must act. Matilda has no interest in marriage or children, she wants to be a pirate! Marrying her off to an unsuitable man would be cruel. So Josephine suggest to Lord Huntingly that if all he needs is a wife with the Fairfax good name he should take her instead. Surprisingly, the rather drunk Lord Huntingly agrees.

However, Josephine is determined to discover the truth about the duel and her investigations start to point at her fiancé as being not only in the wrong but also pursuing him and killing him in a street brawl in Italy. If that is true how could she possibly marry him?

This is the third book about the Fairfax sisters, although I haven't read the others. Initially I found the writing a bit stilted and it also felt like a mash-up of several books by Georgette Heyer (Frederica where she suggests Alverstoke should marry her instead of her sister, and Huntingly is a bit like Damerel in Venetia) and probably a bit of Jane Austen as well. That feeling wore off as the story progressed but I must say I found Josephine's character a bit confusing. After coming across like Mary Bennett to start with she suddenly starts berating Huntingly and her older brother which seemed out of character.

Anyway, this was pleasant enough and perhaps if I had read the two previous books I would have had a better understanding of Josephine's character.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Summer Skies Over Starr's Fall: The BRAND NEW small town romance full of sunshine from million-copy bestseller Kate Hewitt for 2026

Summer Skies Over Starr's Fall: The BRAND NEW small town romance full of sunshine from million-copy bestseller Kate Hewitt for 2026 by Kate Hewitt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zoe Wilkinson is the punk/goth looking woman with pink hair who runs the ice cream parlour in Starr's Fall. Her wild childhood/teenage years have given her a bit of a reputation, one she cultivates to stop people realising how lonely she is. At home, both her parents have medical problems that mean she is their primary carer, although she does have agency help during the day. Zoe refuses to have people pitying her so over the years she has discouraged people from visiting an/or inviting her out. Dating is non-existent but everyone in Starr's Fall thinks she has a wild social life.

Dan Bryant has just moved to Starr's Fall with his teenage daughter Sophie. His ex-wife decided to take a job in Dubai and Sophie was acting out in New York so he thought a fresh start in a small town would be a clean break for everyone, also his newly discovered grandmother lives in Starr Falls. Dan has spent his entire marriage kow-towing to his ex-wife's choices, she returned to work shortly after giving birth, forcing Dan to give up his burgeoning practice to look after the baby, now even after divorce she is calling the shots initially taking custody of Sophie then callously dumping her on Dan when the new job opportunity arose. No wonder Sophie is misbehaving.

Their first meeting isn't good, Sophie tries to steal a trinket from Zoe's shop and when called out deliberately breaks it. Although business is difficult Zoe doesn't want to get Sophie in trouble in front of her future school-mates so when confronted by Dan she doesn't rate her out. Besides, she has some sympathy with Sophie having been badly behaved as a teenager as well. Dan knows Sophie probably did steal the trinket and then destroy it in a fit of pique and he is intrigued as to why this woman would cover it up.

Later, Zoe discovers that Dan and Sophie have moved into the house next door to her and her parents' home, and Dan asks Zoe to give Sophie a job.

I enjoyed this, but I didn't love it. I didn't really understand Zoe's motivation for effectively turning away her parents' friends and pretending to her own friends that she had some amazing social life. Also Dan's ex-wife was just such a caricature with no redeeming features and Dan was such a paragon. I feel we may have reached that point in the series where I am less and less invested in the main characters.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Night Shift

The Night Shift by Nancy Peach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Violet Winters has volunteered to work nights at Christmas in her Bristol hospital, mainly to avoid telling her loving parents how much she is struggling as a Junior Doctor. She struggles with social niceties and has offended both staff and patients with her abrupt manner.

Doctor Gus Jovic is an anaesthetist, he knows everyone in the hospital by name, is funny, friendly, very good to look at, and very much engaged to be married. Or so everyone thinks. In reality his fiancée left him three months ago for another man but he can't bear to tell anyone, especially his family who rely on him to be the carefree one with his life in order.

When Gus meets Violet he is intrigued by someone who doesn't hesitate to tell the unvarnished truth, there's no subterfuge with Violet, and as a man who spends his entire life trying to find ways to smooth things over, phrase things nicely, etc he finds it refreshing. After all, he spent the entire time with his fiancée bending over backwards to meet her demands, appease her insecurities, and getting whiplash from her mercurial moods.

For her part, Gus gives Violet some good advice, both about dealing with staff and patients and about hanging in during her first year because no-one is confident and after the first year she can start to understand where she wants to specialise. Violet would never mess with an engaged man, so although she objectively finds him very attractive, and subjectively he makes her heart flutter, she thinks he is safely in the friends zone.

I really enjoyed this book. Violet and Gus helped each other, she helped him see that he needed to view his own needs as just as important as other people's and he helped her to see that there are ways of telling the truth which are more palatable than others.

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Review: Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway

Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway by Mary-Jane Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

`Three and a half stars.

Beattie Cavendish is a former WW2 member of SOE who has been 'relegated' to translating communications for GCHQ, with the occasional field trip. her boss calls her into the office and tells her to go to a remote listening station in Scotland, the commander has gone missing (possibly drunk and/or with one of his fancy women) and there is a suspicion of espionage - some intelligence is not being passed on and GCHQ is concerned that our American allies could be cosying up to former Nazis who have not shed their old allegiances. Her boss also, rather cryptically, suggests Beattie should visit her uncle who lives close to the station.

When Beattie gets there she finds her uncle has also mysteriously disappeared with all the evidence suggesting it was not planned. Can she keep up her cover story, investigate her uncle's disappearance, and investigate the commander's disappearance single-handedly? Well no, so she enlist the help of private investigator Patrick Corrigan.

I enjoyed this and it had a good pace from the start, but the ending felt a bit hurried. In fact I re-read the last chapters this morning thinking I might have missed something. But, no.

Also, there is a lot of harking back to what Beattie and Patrick did during the war with very little resolution - I think that needs to be sorted in the next book as it leads to a lot of repetition.

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

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway

Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway by Mary-Jane Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

`Three and a half stars.

Beattie Cavendish is a former WW2 member of SOE who has been 'relegated' to translating communications for GCHQ, with the occasional field trip. her boss calls her into the office and tells her to go to a remote listening station in Scotland, the commander has gone missing (possibly drunk and/or with one of his fancy women) and there is a suspicion of espionage - some intelligence is not being passed on and GCHQ is concerned that our American allies could be cosying up to former Nazis who have not shed their old allegiances. Her boss also, rather cryptically, suggests Beattie should visit her uncle who lives close to the station.

When Beattie gets there she finds her uncle has also mysteriously disappeared with all the evidence suggesting it was not planned. Can she keep up her cover story, investigate her uncle's disappearance, and investigate the commander's disappearance single-handedly? Well no, so she enlist the help of private investigator Patrick Corrigan.

I enjoyed this and it had a good pace from the start, but the ending felt a bit hurried. In fact I re-read the last chapters this morning thinking I might have missed something. But, no.

Also, there is a lot of harking back to what Beattie and Patrick did during the war with very little resolution - I think that needs to be sorted in the next book as it leads to a lot of repetition.

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

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Bedside Manner

Bedside Manner by C.G. Macington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dr Maxwell York is known as the Ice King. He is the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, a control freak from the family that endowed the hospital. His OR is silent, everything is clean to the point of sterility.

Dr Jax O’Connell is the Head of Trauma in the Emergency Room at the same hospital. Loud, messy, ex-military, and brought up care.

When a hospital refurb forces the two doctors to share a small office the staff are taking bets on how long it will take before one of them kills the other. But although they might be like oil and water, enforced proximity brings a certain grudging respect (and some lustful feelings).

Who doesn't love an opposites attract romance? Especially when they are opposite in every single way: rich/poor, rulebreaker/follower, specialist/generalist, etc.

I honestly had no expectations of this, saw it mentioned somewhere and gave it a go - LOVED it. I loved Maxwell and Jax, booed at Maxwell's mother, sort of cheered at his father. Love his little brother.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: It Was You All Along: The emotional and uplifting second chance romance from the author of The Last Train Home and The Wedding Game

It Was You All Along: The emotional and uplifting second chance romance from the author of The Last Train Home and The Wedding Game by Elle Cook
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Aurora, Ollie, Ben and Liv meet on the first day of University - assigned to share accommodation they soon become found family. Aurora comes from a working class family, her father left when she was young and her mother has worked minimum wage jobs to feed and clothe them. Aurora will be the first person in her family to go to university and has to get a job to subsidise her living expenses. Liv and Ben clearly come from affluent families, Ben's parents have a swimming pool in the garden and neither of them has to worry about getting a job. Ollie is a bit of an enigma.

Despite sharing accommodation throughout university, 'something' happened that lead to them barely keeping in touch, and the book starts with Aurora planning a house-warming party where she intends to invite the other three and 'fix' what went wrong. Thereafter the reader goes back in time to see what transpired between them and how they fell out.

I was enjoying this initially, but it started to drag about halfway through. I think its obvious to the reader who/what is meant by the title and then it is just increasingly irritating as one thing after another comes in the way. Also I didn't really 'get' the different personalities and why they liked each other. I don't understand why anyone liked Liv or Ben - they seemed self-obsessed and each thought the world revolved around them. Ollie was a bit meh, and Aurora suddenly became a model despite no prior indications that she was anything special to look at (other than being tall).

This gave off similar vibes as a previous book by this author that I have read (The Last Train Home) - if you liked that then I'm sure you'll like this.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Work Love Balance: A heart-warming, uplifting romantic read!

Work Love Balance: A heart-warming, uplifting romantic read! by Sophie Loxton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lizzy Brinks is juggling a high-powered job herding unpredictable artist Esme Kaminska through PR minefields whilst also providing for her almost non-verbal autistic brother and financially naïve father. She lives in a dingy flat in a poor part of town, buys all her designer clothes on Vinted and generally is giving off an Ice Queen vibe with her all-black wardrobe and strong red lipstick.

Then disaster strikes, Esme makes a firm-wide internal announcement, after spending the weekend with fitness influencer Ajax Banks they are engaged and intend to merge their businesses whilst simultaneously launching a new dating app based on (wait for it) people's art preferences. Esme won't listen to reason, she and Ajax are all over each other and Lizzy has to deal with her equivalent from Ajax's side, Scottish, ex-military Oliver MacLeod who is all smart suits and charm.

Now Lizzy has her hands full trying to market an app that hasn't even been designed, keep her boss from derailing all they've worked for, and resisting the charms of lovely Oliver.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Fun, silly, serious, with real-life problems and a HEA - what's not to love?

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Murder at the Duomo

Murder at the Duomo by T A Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dan gets involved in an investigation when a British arms dealer is murdered in the confessional at the Duomo.

Tristan Angel was one of the founders of TXA Supplies, one of the world's largest sellers of arms and his death has created a power vacuum - was he murdered by rivals? Was it a government sponsored hit? Was it related to his infamous womanising? Tristan was on holiday in Florence with several colleagues - was it a power grab by one of his partners?

Yet another charming cosy mystery set against the stunning backdrop of Florence and amazing food, with Oscar the dog as Dan's faithful sidekick. The suspects are plentiful and it is going to take some good detective work to find the motive but Dan and Virgilio will do it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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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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