Death in the Details

Title: Death in the Details
Author: Katie Tietjen
Published: April 9, 2024 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: Kindle, 288 Pages
Genre: Historical Amateur Sleuth

First Sentence: Wednesday, October 16, 1946. “Twelve dollars and sixty-seven cents?”

Blurb: Inspired by the real life Frances Lee Glessner.

Maple Bishop is ready to put WWII and the grief of losing her husband Bill behind her. But when she discovers that Bill left her penniless, Maple realizes she could lose her Vermont home next and sets out to make money the only way she knows by selling her intricately crafted dollhouses. Business is off to a good start—until Maple discovers her first customer dead, his body hanging precariously in his own barn.

Something about the supposed suicide rubs Maple the wrong way, but local authorities brush off her concerns. Determined to see “what’s big in what’s small,” Maple turns to what she knows best, painstakingly recreating the gruesome scene in death in a nutshell.

With the help of a rookie officer named Kenny, Maple uses her macabre miniature to dig into the dark undercurrents of her sleepy town, where everyone seems to have a secret—and a grudge. But when one of her neighbors who she never got along withher nemesis goes missing and she herself becomes a suspect, it’ll be up to Maple to find the devil in the details—and put him behind bars.

Drawing inspiration from true crime and offering readers a smartly plotted puzzle of a mystery, Death in a Nutshell is a stunning series debut.

My Opinion: This historical mystery grabbed me from the first chapter.

Mabel “Maple” Bishop, a World War II widow, is finding her way in rural Vermont after her husband’s death. Her husband was a good man and well-liked by the community, but Maple’s honesty has caused rejection from the townspeople.

Maple has been left with no money, and though she is an attorney, the town will not accept a woman in that position. Her only moneymaking skill is in building dollhouses. So, she sets to work, with the help of a local hardware store owner, to generate some cash.

While out on a delivery, Maple, an inquisitive woman with a photographic memory, discovers the body of a local farmer. Initially, she thinks it might be a suicide, but the coroner calls it accidental. When she points out inconsistencies, the police dismiss her opinions. Then Maple gets to work and builds a nutshell of the scene of the crime. With a newly minted officer, Kenny, in tow, she uses budding forensic science to unravel the truth behind the tragedy.

I hope this will become a series since I have enjoyed all the characters and know that Katie Teitjen has found an interesting scientific niche in the Historical / Amateur Sleuth genre.

Small Things Like These

Title: Small Things Like These
Author: Claire Keegan
Published: November 30, 2021 by Grove Press
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

First Sentence: In October there were yellow trees.

Blurb: It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: The heart of the novella lies in Bill Furlong, a coal and wood merchant living in a small Irish town in 1985, and his headlong run-in with the Magdalen laundries. Homes where marginalized girls and women were incarcerated, abused, separated from their children, and sometimes buried in unmarked graves, all for the crime of violating moral codes. Bill knew that his own mother escaped the situation, which drove him to take a drastic step to help in the way that his own mother was helped.

It is heartbreaking what these women were forced to endure. 'Small Things Like These' shows us that the acts of one can make a difference in the lives of others.

This novella will stick with the reader for a long time, and many will read it a second time so they do not miss the nuances that Claire Keegan weaves throughout her narrative.

The Deepest Kill

Title: The Deepest Kill
Author: Lisa Black
Published: February 20, 2024 by Kensington
Format: Kindle, Hardcover 320 Pages
Genre: Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Locard Institute Thriller #3

First Sentence: Wednesday, Day One. “He’s lying,” Rachael Davies said.

Blurb: For software pioneer Martin Post, the third richest man in America, his private compound on the Florida coast is a sunny no-man’s-land separating his family from the rest of the world. Now, expert forensic analysts Ellie Carr and Rachael Davies of the renowned Locard Institute have been summoned to its dark side.

Martin’s pregnant daughter, Ashley, had ventured on a day trip in her motorboat into the Gulf, only to wash up dead on a nearby shore. Although the local coroner determined her death was an accident, Ellie and Rachael soon confirm Martin’s gravest fear: His daughter was murdered. Was it a kidnapping gone wrong? Or something even more brutal? Ashley and her husband, Greg, had been working working with Martin on a revolutionary new defense initiative for the US military – could espionage have played a part in her death? Martin believes Greg is behind the murder, and the spoiled charmer does set off Rachel’s deception radar. If the widower didn’t kill Ashley himself, why isn’t he more upset that she’s dead?

Drawn into the Posts’ increasingly dangerous family dynamic, Ellie and Rachael must work hard and fast to discover what secrets are buried at the heart of the crime. Because the churning waters of the Gulf are getting rougher. And soon, Ellie and Rachael themselves will be in danger of getting crushed in their depths. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Having barely made it through the previous installment in the series, What Harms You, which nearly became a DNF, I hesitated before diving into this latest offering.

Thankfully, The Deepest Kill opened with a slightly more promising start. Yet, the author’s fondness for excessive detail veers into overkill. Yes, I appreciate thoroughness, but do I need a description of a bathroom faucet?

And then there’s the unnecessary filler that weighs down the narrative. Additionally, inconsistencies crop up all over the place, and the plotting takes shortcuts, leaving me wondering how to connect the dots.

This is where I will be jumping off the Lisa Black / Locard train.

Nosy Neighbors

Title: Nosy Neighbors
Author: Freya Sampson
Published: April 2, 2024 by Berkley
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 384 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

First Sentence: Dorothy. Years later, when the residents of Shelley house looked back on the extraordinary events of that long, turbulent summer, they would disagree on how it all began.

Blurb: Twenty-five-year-old Kat Bennett has never felt at home anywhere, and especially not in crumbling Shelley House. According to her neighbors, she’s prickly and unapproachable, but beneath her tough exterior, Kat is plagued by guilt from her past.

Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling is Shelley House’s longest resident, and if you believe the other tenants, she’s as cantankerous and vindictive as they come. Except there’s a good reason Dorothy spends her days spying on her neighbors—a closely guarded secret that no else knows and the reason Dorothy barely leaves her beloved home.

When their building faces demolition, sworn enemies Kat and Dorothy become unlikely allies in their quest to save their historic home. But when someone starts to play dirty and viciously targets one of the residents, Dorothy and Kat suspect foul play in their community. After the police close the investigation, it's up to this improbable pair to bring a criminal to justice. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: A narrative that is not what I was expecting. From the cover art and description, I was thinking banter and whimsey and that’s not what the story is about.

Dorothy Darling evokes memories of Britt-Marie from Fredrik Backman’s novels. She’s the woman in the window flicking her curtain, making notes in her journal, and sending endless letters to the management company.

Then there is Kat, a twenty-something with secrets. She returned to the area after a teenage incident forced her to flee. Now, as a tenant renting a room, she befriends Dorothy and gets into the middle of the snooping escapades. But here’s the twist: Nosy Neighbors isn’t the slapstick comedy its cover suggests. Instead, it’s a tale of sadness and depression.

As Dorothy and Kat team up, the story unfolds into a blend of mystery, camaraderie, and unexpected connections. The apartment house becomes a microcosm of life, where secrets simmer and unlikely friendships blossom.

So, don’t judge this book by its cover. Beneath the projected quirkiness lies something darker.

The Diva Goes Overboard

Title: The Diva Goes Overboard
Author: Krista Davis
Published: May 21, 2024 by Kensington Cozies
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 336 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Domestic Diva Mystery #17

First Sentence: On Sunday evening, when other people were settling in and getting ready to start a new workweek, I walked my mixed bread hound, Daisy, to relax after finishing up my busy week.

Blurb: In Old Town Alexandria’s unlikeliest match, Natasha Smith’s free-spirited mother, Wanda, is engaged to notoriously pompous antiques dealer, Orson Chatsworth—leaving Natasha to plan the entire wedding, beginning with an elaborate engagement party. For the extravagant affair, Natasha splurges on trendy food boards created by rising social media star, Stella St. James. The sumptuous boards go way beyond basic cheese and crackers, as Stella dazzles guests with picture-worthy butter boards, dessert boards, and even doughnut boards. Just as Natasha planned, the food is to die for—until someone actually does.

When the groom collapses, it seems as if a heart attack is to blame. Then guests discover Orson was poisoned, and suddenly Stella’s bespoke boards look a lot less appealing. But with an event this big, the spread of suspects is sure to be impressive. Could Orson’s killer be a jilted ex-lover? A money hungry relative? A bitter former business partner? When even Sophie is not above suspicion, she knows it’s time to get on board and scrape together an investigation of her own . . . before murder becomes the town’s next trend. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: The Diva Goes Overboard by Krista Davis, the seventeenth installment in the Domestic Diva Mystery series, was a disappointment. As a loyal reader of this series, I expected more.

The novel teems with conveniences and contrivances. It’s as if the author tossed every plot element into the mix, hoping something would stick. Unfortunately, the result is an unfocused hodgepodge.

A promising plotline emerges—a wedding curtailed by the groom’s sudden death at the engagement party. Sophie, our seasoned event planner, grapples with the aftermath. But here’s where the narrative falters: too much is thrown in, too many characters have no clear voice and a teasing thread is introduced and then abandoned. The scene that lent its name to the book—the titular “overboard” moment—holds no weight beyond a trivial paragraph or two.

The author’s lack of a cohesive plan is palpable. The pacing stumbles and the characters flounder in a sea of missed opportunities.

The Diva Goes Overboard is a clear case of unfulfilled potential. I expected more from this author. Instead, I found myself questioning when will it be over, what went wrong, and is Krista Davis as bored with Sophie Winston and the people of Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, as this book projects.

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

Title: Christa Comes Out of Her Shell
Author: Abbi Waxman
Published: April 16, 2024 by Berkley
Format: Kindle, Paperback 392 Pages
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

First Sentence: So, I’m going to kick off by making some thing very clear: None of this was my fault.

Blurb: After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Liddle has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends. The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: An enjoyable narrative that sweeps readers into a manic and funny tale. As a reader of Waxman’s work since ‘The Garden of Small Beginnings’, I looked forward to this latest offering, wondering what quirky world she would come up with next.

From the beginning, humor and contentment in her work are central to Christa’s life. But beware, beneath the humor lies a moment that should come with a trigger warning. Christa’s past has its painful moments. Her father, Jasper, vanished when she was a toddler. She doesn’t recall him, only the wreckage he left behind. Christa clings to her resentment convinced that Jasper’s disappearance marked her downfall.

The women—her mother and sisters—form their intricate family dynamic. Roles are assigned, and boundaries are drawn. So, when Jasper reappears after a quarter-century, chaos descends. How dare he disrupt their equilibrium? The story behind his departure and return unfolds, leaving the reader angrily exclaiming, “Wow!”

Christa’s and Nathan’s chemistry simmers, adding a layer of romance to the narrative. But make no mistake—this isn’t your run-of-the-mill romance. It’s firmly rooted in the Women’s fiction genre, where kick-ass women reign supreme.

So, buckle up for a rollercoaster ride. Waxman’s wit and warmth guide us through Christa’s transformation and redemption.

The Bordeaux Book Club

Title: The Bordeaux Book Club
Author: Gillian Harvey
Published: March 15, 2024 by Boldwood Books
Format: Kindle, 314 Pages
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

First Sentence: Prologue. George was just stepping out of the café, takeway coffee in hand, when he saw Grace appear in the window of the tabac opposite.

Blurb: When Leah and her husband moved to France, it was with the dream of becoming self-sufficient. But in truth, it’s not the ‘good life’ she’d imagined, as three hours of digging barely yield a single straggly carrot. Worse, her teenage daughter is acting up, and her husband seems to find every strange excuse under the hot French sun to disappear.

So when her friend entreats her to join the new bookclub she’s forming, Leah decides it’s something she will do for herself. The chance to make new friends, to drink a few glasses of wine, and to escape into stories that take her miles away from the life she’d thought would be her own happy-ever-after.

But the book club is a strange group of misfits. There’s prickly Grace, who lives alone and seems to know everybody and like no-one. Buttoned-up Monica, who says her husband is away and appears to be parenting her baby all alone. Handsome builder George, who has barely read a book before. And Alfie – who is a full two decades younger than everyone else, and is hiding a devastating secret…

As the stories they read begin to bring the new friends closer together, Leah is about to discover that happy-ever-afters don’t always look how you expect them to

My Opinion: The novel begins with an ensemble cast—an introduction that left me grappling to remember who’s who. Yet, as the story unfolds, each character finds a distinct voice, but still hits me as just a bunch of sad people reading about other sad people.

Within the club meet-ups, they read the classics about troubled lives and find their own struggles and characters they can relate to within the pages. Themes of friendship, new beginnings, and reinvention run through the pages. They eventually learn that the members of their little group are the salve that is needed to get through their own troubled lives.

Unexpectedly for them, this ragtag group evolves into true friendships that go beyond their difference and open doors for brighter futures.

I believe ‘The Bordeaux Book Club’ is a standalone, but I wouldn’t mind revising this group further down the road.

The Phoenix Crown

Title: The Phoenix Crown
Author: Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
Published: February 13, 2024 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Format: Kindle, Paperback 384 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

First Sentence: Prologue. Summer 1911. “A rose by any other name,” someone quoted, and Alice Eastwood was hard-pressed not to roll her eyes.

Blurb: San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.

His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Francisco apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined . . . until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang is a novel that left me underwhelmed. With a hundred pages in, I found myself questioning whether I should continue or walk away. The appeal of Quinn’s previous works nudged me forward in the hope it would get better. Unfortunately, it did not. desperate quest for justice. (GoodReads)

The narrative introduces two women: Gemma, a soprano seeking the next step in her career, and Suling, a Chinatown embroideress desperate to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths intersect by chance and their story, involving friends, family, and foes, is the basis of the book. desperate quest for justice. (GoodReads)

It wasn’t until the last third of the book, when the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 took place, that this book took off. desperate quest for justice. (GoodReads)

I commend the research the authors put into this book, but the characters failed to grab my attention. Gemma’s voice fell flat, and Suling’s determination was lost. Their shared backstory—losing parents and being orphaned—seemed to have been a ‘heard that before’ trope. Perhaps their pasts weighed them down, but I was searching for more. The book felt like it went on for far too long. The promise of intrigue—Thornton’s disappearance, the missing Phoenix Crown—fizzled. I found the surrounding characters far more interesting than Gemma and Suling. desperate quest for justice. (GoodReads)

As a warning, Quinn and Chang stir up the era, but some terms make the reader shudder and constantly need to remind themselves of the times this book took place.

The Spy Coast

Title: The Spy Coast
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Published: November 1, 2023 by Thomas & Mercer
Format: Kindle, 341 Pages
Genre: Espionage Thriller
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: The Martini Club #1

First Sentence: Diana, Paris, ten days ago. She used to be the golden girl.

Blurb: Former spy Maggie Bird came to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, eager to put the past behind her after a mission went tragically wrong. These days, she’s living quietly on her chicken farm, still wary of blowback from the events that forced her early retirement.

But when a body turns up in Maggie’s driveway, she knows it’s a message from former foes who haven’t forgotten her. Maggie turns to her local circle of old friends—all retirees from the CIA—to help uncover the truth about who is trying to kill her, and why. This “Martini Club” of former spies may be retired, but they still have a few useful skills that they’re eager to use again, if only to spice up their rather sedate new lives.

Complicating their efforts is Purity’s acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau. More accustomed to dealing with rowdy tourists than homicide, Jo is puzzled by Maggie’s reluctance to share information—and by her odd circle of friends, who seem to be a step ahead of her at every turn.

As Jo’s investigation collides with the Martini Club’s maneuvers, Maggie’s hunt for answers will force her to revisit a clandestine career that spanned the globe, from Bangkok to Istanbul, from London to Malta. The ghosts of her past have returned, but with the help of her friends—and the reluctant Jo Thibodeau—Maggie might just be able to save the life she’s built.

My Opinion: Tess Gerritsen’s writing strength shines in this gripping, fast-paced espionage thriller. The narrative weaves between past and present, introducing the reader to a captivating cast of characters and intriguing locales.

As secrets unravel, trust wavers. Maggie’s past choices haunt her, and the Martini Club navigates treacherous waters. In this high-stakes game, who can they rely on? The answers lie in the shadows.

Book #2, The Summer Guests, will be published in the first quarter of 2025.

Disturbing the Dead

Title: Disturbing the Dead
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Published: May 7, 2024 by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover 352 Pages
Genre: Time Travel / Historical Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Rip Through Time (#3)

First Sentence: “What are your feelings on mummies?”

Blurb: Victorian Scotland is becoming less strange to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson. Though inhabiting someone else’s body will always be unsettling, even if her employers know that she’s not actually housemaid Catriona Mitchell, ever since the night both of them were attacked in the same dark alley 150 years apart. Mallory likes her job as assistant to undertaker/medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray, and is developing true friends―and feelings―in this century.

So, understanding the Victorian fascination with death, Mallory isn't that surprised when she and her friends are invited to a mummy unwrapping at the home of Sir Alastair Christie. When their host is missing when it comes time to unwrap the mummy, Gray and Mallory are asked to step in. And upon closer inspection, it’s not a mummy they’ve unwrapped, but a much more modern body. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: This novel is both eerie and educational while infusing time-traveling and intrigue. The historical detail is engrossing. However, I confess—I occasionally veered off to Google for context since I had never heard of Mummia.

The third book in this series, Victorian Scotland has become less confusing to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson—a woman who, despite inhabiting someone else’s body, has found her place in this century. Her job as an assistant to undertaker and medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray offers insight into investigations even if she vexes those around her with her knowledge and strange word choices.

It appears that an invitation to a mummy unwrapping is all the rage so the well-to-do descend on the home of Sir Alastair Christie. My brain kept wanting to relate him to Agatha. But when their host goes missing, Mallory and Gray (with the help of two adorable children) step in, only to discover that the unwrapped “mummy” is a much more modern corpse.

Armstrong’s cheeky narrative had me laughing at parts that others might not find as funny. And then, a twist—one that made me gasp. Fear bubbled up as I wondered if this would be the series finale. But it’s not. There is so much more for Gray and Mallory as we continue the journey alongside these wonderful characters who blend history, humor, and heart.

Heartless Hunter

Title: Heartless Hunter
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Published: February 20, 2024 by Wednesday Books
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: Crimson Moth #1

First Sentence: Overture. When the Blood Guard suspected a girl of being a witch, they stripped of her clothes and search her body for scars.

Blurb: On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.

Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

My Opinion: As it turns out, it’s not the fantasy genre in general that I dislike -- it’s adult fantasy with strange names and locations that have me turning away. My comfort zone appears to be young adult fantasy, which is surprising since books that fall into the YA sphere usually have me shaking my head. Call me simple -- but if I can pronounce the names, the reading flows better and keeps me engaged a. All that to say -- I loved this book.

The triangle relationship(s) build, crumble, and build again. Where any of the three main characters end up at any given moment is in constant flux. Then add the secondary characters and their influencing, backstabbing, and secrets, keeping everyone, including the reader, on their toes. And the end, though not unique, is a gasp-out-loud moment with all possibilities suddenly open for the next book in the series.

The second book in this duology, Rebel Witch, will be released in early 2025.