Category Archives: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

This is a series that I love to read. I look forward to each new release. While I enjoyed this book much more than many others by other authors, for me, it had a little too much angst by Beatrice about her relationship with the Duke.

Apart from that issue, the book was wonderful. New characters and old ones make appearances. Some of my favorites were MIA but will probably show up in the next book.

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Roxanne (Roxy) Bloom is settling into her new business in Honey Springs. She has the local coffeeshop, the Bean Hive, on the scenic area near the lake.

Her friend, Louise Carlton, runs the pet shelter nearby. Louise has a beef to pick with a local orchard owner. He has adopted a chicken that turns out to be more than she had thought.

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A character in a book I read recently, said that this was their favorite Christmas novel. I was intrigued. I had only read one other book by Ms. MacLeod and it was from another series. I decided to buy the book, only to find that I had already done so!

Easy peasy, I read it expecting a “normal” Christmas tale. Boy, was I surprised. I laughed and shook my head at the shenanigans that Professor Shandy got up to.

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Millie Fisher is a quiet Amish matchmaker who lives in Harvest, Ohio. Her life-long best friend is Lois, who is neither Amish nor quiet. In fact, she is rather loud both in word and in wardrobe.

The two ladies are an unlikely duo of investigators, but they are always snooping around when murder occurs.

In this story, the murder is not recent, which makes it very difficult to investigate. The police had long since closed the case, when some evidence comes to light.

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I always enjoy reading books by Anne Perry. Her Christmas novels are kind of like the icing on the cake. Generally, supporting characters from her series are the focus of these books.

In this case, Grace Tellman is the heroine of the moment. Grace was a maid for Charlotte and Thomas Pitt back in the day. She is now married to Samuel, who is a police inspector she met while with the Pitts.

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I’ve read every book in this series and have found, that with each ensuing story, I enjoy it more and more. While this story can be read standalone, you will miss the growth of the characters.

Beryl and Edwina are hired to conduct a fake investigation. While it troubles them to do so, the individual hiring them is part of the higher class. Constance Maitland can provide entry to a new type of client.

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In an unusual segue in this series, Elena Standish and her family visit Washington DC. The reason for the visit is her maternal grandparents 60 year wedding anniversary.

Elena is surprised by the, seemingly, widespread support for Hitler. Much is discussed about the political situation but, of course, there is a murder.

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I first read this book years ago. I’ve re-read it several times since. For a change, this time, I decided to listen to the audiobook format, and, it is just as good.

This is the introduction to Amelia Peabody and her crew. She is an intrepid lady, in her thirties and living in Victorian England, who decides to travel once she inherits a fortune.

Who she meets is part of the joy of the story, so I prefer not to discuss what happens. Suffice to say, this is a book that aged wonderfully and the series, as a whole, is one of my favorites. I return to it again and again.

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I’ve read all of the books in this series. This story deals with Verity’s relationships with various members of her family. While I enjoyed reading the book, I would not suggest it as the best starting point for the series. I would suggest that the series be read in order as there are so many references to the growth of the characters and what they have been through in the past.

In this story, Verity and her husband, Sydney, journey to Verity’s childhood home. She hasn’t been to visit in more than four years and her mother is hurt and unhappy with her. They bring with them Verity’s aunt Tante Isle. She is older and has come out of Germany to be united with her English family.

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This is the first David Baldacci book that I have read. It is more of a suspenseful thriller than the mysteries that I normally read. Having said that, there certainly is a mystery component and one that I did not fully figure out until closer to the end.

Amos Decker has hit rock bottom. His family was murdered and he found them, seeing the entire crime scene. While for some, that is an awful memory that will fade somewhat over time, for Amos, it will always be as if it is happening that moment.

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