Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess
In January I shelved this as a to-read book, and I have no idea why I did that. Did I see it on a list of anticipated publications in 2025? Did I see someone else mark it as to read and read the blurb and decide it was for me? And why did I also put it on my library request list ahead of its publication? I have no idea. I feel like so many books show up in my life and I either know […]
Death Row by Freida McFadden
The Ex-Wives Club by Sally Hepworth
False Note by David Lagercrantz
The Skydivers by Chris Bohjailian
Good Neighbors by Chad Zunker
Small Things by Wanda M. Morris
4 stars for this one. I thought the first story in the “Alibis Collection” was really strong and honestly the best out of the bunch. I thought that McFadden actually stretched herself in this one in a good way. I didn’t see the twists coming and loved how she tied things up her. “Death Row” follows a woman named Talia Kemper has been on death row for years after being convicted of the murder of her husband. We find Talia remembering things before she was […]
Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger
Whelp, this was bad. I mean not Trump starts a war with Iran bad, but it was not a good book. I think that a lot of authors are trying this destination thriller sub-genre and it’s not a great read. It doesn’t help that Unger has I think 7 different points of view in this one (Adele, her two kids, Maverick, Maverick’s girlfriend, another player, and I know I am forgetting someone else). There’s no character development of anyone due to this and the ending […]
Heartstone: A Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery by C.J. Sansom
It’s 1545 and Henry VII has gotten England into a war with France; seeing as it’s Tudor-Era England, war with France, Spain, Scotland, or England itself is not really that surprising. It looks like the French will land their invasion force at Portsmouth. Too bad that Portsmouth is around the area Matthew Shardlake is being sent by his patron, Queen Catherine Parr. A servant in Parr’s former household has come to the Queen for assistance; the servant’s son has allegedly killed himself after swearing out […]
Three Bags Full: A Novel by Leonie Swann
This charming murder mystery was originally published in German in 2005. The Deluxe Edition that I read came out this year, and apparently an animated movie with Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson is due in 2026. I happened to see the sequel to this novel (Big Bad Wool) in Barnes and Noble, so I asked if they had the first book. If you enjoy cozy murder mysteries, look this one up. The action takes place in a quaint little Irish village called Glennkill, famous for […]
The Case of the Lazy Lover by Erle Stanley Gardner
Holy moral ambiguity, Batman! Turns out the actual murderer never gets charged, and we are all fine with that. Also, Perry’s client did what most of them do, and never really laid the facts out to him. True, he’s not going to represent them if he’s convinced they are guilty, but the coy runaround never works in their favor, and I can’t blame Perry for getting a little ticked off. They are usually trying to protect and plot come out gradually, as Perry tries to […]
