Reviews

Angela M. Sanders: The Witch is Back

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Witch Way Librarian #6

In Angela Sanders’ sixth addition to her Witch Way Librarian series, The Witch is Back, readers travel to Wilfred, Oregon, to join local librarian Josie Way, who also just so happens to have a literal bit of magic with books. Coming from a long line of witches, Josie is blessed with some truly powerful magic that manifests itself through books. They whisper to her, based on either what the magic feels she needs, or in response to questions she poses to them. But she has to be careful: even without things like witch trials going on, it isn’t safe to just flaunt her powers about the small town. So when she does use her abilities it is often secretly, and primarily to help others. Not even her boyfriend and local sheriff, Sam, knows of her secret. At this point she has also used her powers to help solve several mysteries and murders about her otherwise quiet and peaceful town. read more

Ginger Bolton: Blame the Beignets

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Deputy Donut #9

Blame the Beignets is the ninth Deputy Doughnut cozy by Ginger Bolton, where heroine Emily Westhill runs the Deputy Doughnut Café in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. The shop’s mascot is an adventurous tabby cat that the café is named after, Deputy Doughnut, although most of the time Emily just calls him Dep. One of her employees, Olivia, has gotten Emily to give her younger sister Hannah a shot at working in the café as she takes a break from college. Hannah seems to be fitting in just fine, until some new customers arrive: two gentlemen who know Hannah from college and who both seem rather interested in her personally. Olivia is less than thrilled. Emily doesn’t mind the two hanging out at the café assuming that it doesn’t disrupt Hannah’s work. read more

Elizabeth Penney: Madrigals and Mayhem

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Cambridge Bookshop #4

In Madrigals and Mayhem, the fourth Cambridge Bookshop book by Elizabeth Penney, Molly Kimball is an American ex-pat who has made her home on Magpie Lane in Cambridge, England, with her Aunt Violet and her bookshop. Her mother also lives there and helps out at the bookshop as well. Molly has established herself with a bit of a reputation for solving mysteries in town. Friends and family are well aware that if they run into trouble, Molly will be more than willing to jump in to try and help prove their innocence. While the local authorities are not thrilled to have her poke around, they will not turn down a good lead or ignore any clues she offers to them. Madrigals and Mayhem focuses on Molly’s first English Christmas, and meeting her new neighbor and owner of a toy store, Charlotte Pemberly. read more

Sara Driscoll: Summit’s Edge

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FBI K-9 #9

Sara Driscoll’s FBI K-9 novels follow Meg Jennings, and her FBI human scent evidence team partner, Hawk the black lab, as they work hard to save lives in the face of horrific situations. Summit’s Edge is her ninth book, and this time Meg is coming face to face with her very deep fear of heights. A private jet was hijacked, and went down in the mountains of the Elk Mountains in Colorado. Mountain climbing might be a deep personal torment for Meg herself, but she knows that Hawk is needed, and that he loves nothing more than being out in the field saving lives. So Meg faces her deepest fear and heads off to the mountains. read more

Maddie Day: Deadly Crush

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Cece Barton #2

In Maddie Day’s second Cece Barton novel, Deadly Crush, her protagonist has moved to Alexander Valley in California and manages a local wine bar known as Vino Y Vida. With the exception of being integral in solving a murder in her previous adventure, Cece is adapting well to her new life. She is taking care to get security cameras and new wiring in the wine bar and has hired local electrician Karl Meier to do it, which turns into a disaster. He’s not only slow in his work, he’s abusive to his assistant who was also his nephew, and is just a genuinely unpleasant individual. Given that everyone who knows Carl seems to have the same impression, Cece makes the decision to never enlist his services again. read more

Clara McKenna: Murder at Glenloch Hill

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Stella & Lyndy #6

Murder at Glenloch Hill is the sixth book in Clara McKenna’s Stella and Lyndy series set in early 1900s England (or, in this case, Scotland).  The two protagonists are a recently married couple: Stella Kendrick, the daughter of a wealthy Kentucky horse farmer, and Edwin “Lyndy” Lyndhurst, a British aristocrat from an impoverished noble family.  The marriage was arranged by their fathers because Lyndy’s family needed Stella’s fortune to save their estate, and Stella’s father wanted the prestige of an aristocratic title in the family.  Luckily for the couple, they fell in love, with the help of a shared love of horses.  Stella’s father has died since then (murdered in a previous book), and Lyndy’s father is always away, indulging his passion for fossil-hunting.  Lyndy’s snobbish mother, Lady Atherly, disapproves of Stella because she’s American and because of her adventurous spirit, which means she doesn’t always follow society’s expectations of an aristocratic lady.  Lately, though, she and Stella have been getting along better, but, at the beginning of this novel, Lady Atherly is disappointed in Stella because she has yet to produce an heir. read more

Rosemary Simpson: Death Takes the Lead

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Gilded Age #9

Death Takes the Lead is the ninth book in Rosemary Simpson’s Gilded Age Mystery series set in New York City in the 1890s, with protagonists Prudence MacKenzie and Geoffrey Hunter.  Prudence comes from one of New York’s wealthiest families–one of Mrs. Astor’s Four Hundred.  Rebelling against the life of a society lady, she has passed the New York bar and become one of the first female lawyers in the state.  Geoffrey is an ex-Pinkerton agent and a Civil War veteran.  He is the son of a Southern plantation owner and, after seeing the horrors of slavery firsthand, has run away from his home and fought for the North.  Both characters are rebels against the society in which they were born, and the two are now partners in an investigative law firm.  A slow-burning romance has developed between them, and, I am pleased to say, without giving away too much, this book takes it to a new level. read more

Rhys Bowen: We Three Queens

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Royal Spyness #18

It’s Oct. 1936 and Lady Georgie is enjoying her quiet life at home in the country, being a wife and new mother. Of course that peace is soon shattered by the arrival of the dreaded Wallis Simpson; imperious Fig; guileless Binky; their kids Podge and Addy; an American film company; Georgie’s naïve mother; and a murder!

How did this chaos ensue? First, the new King Edward VIII needs a place where Mrs. Simpson can stay out of sight of the press while Parliament decides if he can marry her. He naturally imposes on his easy-going cousin, Lady Georgie. read more

Kristi Jones: Murder in the Ranks

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Debut

Another WWII book….nooooo….but, wait.  It was a big war with lots of unexpected corners and revelations, and this book highlights a bit of the war I hadn’t ever known about.  It’s focused on the WAACs, or Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.  As originally created, the women who volunteered to serve had none of the rights of the men in the regular army.  This was pretty quickly corrected and the WAACs became simply the WACs, without “auxiliary” in the moniker.  For the purposes of this novel, however, Auxiliary Dottie Lincoln has signed up as a WAAC and is serving alongside other women in Algiers, at a time when the war wasn’t going so well for the Allies. read more

Celeste Connally: All’s Fair in Love and Treachery

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Lady Petra Inquires #2

Celeste Connally introduced the intrepid, fearless, convention defying Lady Petra in last year’s Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord.  Lady Petra is defying convention purposefully, declaring she will never marry, and since she’s given a house and allowance by her father, she is wealthy enough to do as she pleases.  She also has the ear of the Queen.  It’s 1815, and London is on the verge of Wellington’s triumph at Waterloo.  Queen Charlotte was a force at court thanks to the mental health challenges of King George III.  This affects Lady Petra, as the Queen invites her to investigate the mysterious death of the matron at an orphan’s home. read more