It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 23, 2025)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This was an interesting week. I had a doctor's appointment which led to me being able to stop scheduling annual visits with that specialist which was a good thing. 

We finally turned on our air conditioning on Saturday for the first time this season which was also a good thing since it has been so humid. The temperatures weren't that hot by southern standards. Our high temperature yesterday was 86 but the humidity was even higher. All around us are extreme temperature warnings. Here in Duluth, on the shores of the world's biggest air conditioner, we will have warm temperatures but not extreme. Since the average annual temperature of Lake Superior is 8.6C (47.5F), winds coming from over the lake are cool enough to moderate our temperatures. 

Right now, on Sunday morning, it is 59F with light fog. We are heading for a high of 77F.

I had an interesting reading week too. At one time mid-week, I was reading four books. Two were review copies and two were audiobooks. Since I was reading a couple of chapters and then switching to another book, I felt like I was making no progress. I usually have one print and one audiobook going at the same time which I can manage as long as the plots aren't too similar. Four was stressing me out. I did manage to finish all of them by the end of the week though.

I did a little cheering and jumping around my living room which amused and baffled my brother when I was invited to read Framed in Death by J. D. Robb. I do so love that series. I also added a couple more review books to my stack. 

I was pleased when Chirp offered The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman for $2.99. I had had a review copy but couldn't read it. My eARC started at chapter 3. By the time I realized that I was too late to download another copy from NetGalley since the book had already been archived. Now I'll be able to read it (when I have an opening on my calendar.)

I have made it to my July 15 review book releases. Counting them, I still have 11 July releases to read and review. 

For my audiobooks, I have switched away from the In Death series for a while to read a science fiction mystery series by Catherine Asaro. The sixth in the series will be released in October. 

I have one or two medical appointments this week. Both are for blood tests. I hope I can convince them to do both sets of tests from the blood drawn at my first appointment which will save me a trip. Otherwise, it should be a quiet week.

Read Last Week

• The Myth Maker by Alie Dumas Heidt (Review, July 8) -- Despite the cover, this is a contemporary police procedural. My review will be posted on July 2.
• Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread) -- 54th in the In Death series
• Desperation in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread) -- 55th in the In Death series

• Rage by Linda Castillo (Review, July 8) -- Latest in the Kate Burkholder mystery series. My review will be posted on July 3.
• The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (Review, July 8) -- First in a new series of time traveling cold crimes police officers. My review will be posted on July 3.
• Undercity by Catherine Asaro (Audiobook reread) -- First in a science fiction mystery series. I reviewed this one here.

• The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone (Audiobook, Mine since March 17) -- This nonfiction biography of a woman who was important in the development of the USA's intelligence service (particularly codebreaking) was a fascinating story. My review will be posted on July 8.
• Heir of Light by Michelle Sagara (Mine since May 27) -- This second book in the Academia Chronicles was an engaging epic fantasy filled with politics and mythical creatures. My review will be posted on July 5.
• The Bronze Skies by Catherine Asaro (Audiobook Reread) -- science fiction mystery. I reviewed this one here.

Currently

• Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts (Review, July 15)
• The Vanished Seas by Catherine Asaro (Audiobook Reread_

Next Week

• Fateless by Julie Kagawa (Review, July 15)
• Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods (Review, July 15)
• Atonement Sky by Nalini Singh (Review, July 15)

• Death on the Boardwalk by Caleb Wygal (Mine since April 27)
• Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell (Review, July 22)
• The Last Wizard's Ball by Charlaine Harris (Review, July 22)

Reviews Posted

• The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell (Review copy)
• The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell (Review copy)
• Look Before You Leap by Virginia Heath (Review copy)

• The Secrets We Keep by Amy Lillard (Review copy)
• Them Bones by David Housewright (Review copy)
• The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch (Mine)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Framed in Death by J. D. Robb (Review, September 2)
• All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Review, September 9)
• The Nameless Land by Kate Elliott (Review, November 4)

Bought:

• Miss Amelia's List by Mercedes Lackey (Kindle Daily Deal, $.99)
• The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman (Chirp Audiobook, $2.99)
• Northern Lights by Nora Roberts (Kindle Daily Deal, $1.99)

• Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (Kindle Daily Deal, $1.99)
• The Last Word by Elly Griffiths (Kindle Daily Deal, $1.99)

What was your week like?

Book Review: The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovich

The Masquerades of Spring
Author: Ben Aaronovich
Series: Rivers of London
Publication: Subterranean Pr; Deluxe edition (September 30, 2024)

Description: Meet Augustus Berrycloth-Young—fop, flaneur, and Englishman abroad—as he chronicles the Jazz Age from his perch atop the city that never sleeps.

That is, until his old friend Thomas Nightingale arrives, pursuing a rather mysterious affair concerning an old saxophone—which will take Gussie from his warm bed, to the cold shores of Long Island, and down to the jazz clubs where music, magic, and madness haunt the shadows…

My Thoughts: This was a fun novella. Related to the Rivers of London series by protagonist Thomas Nightingale, it takes place in New York in the 1920s.

The narrator of the story is Augustus Berrycloth-Young. He's a graduate of the Folly. He used magic mainly for practical jokes which caused him to live England and relocate to New York City. He's a homosexual having a relationship with a Black reporter. He's a jazz fan. He's a sharp dresser. 

His comfortable lifestyle is interrupted by the arrival of Thomas Nightingale who has come to do a favor for a friend. A cursed saxophone leads to an imprisoned member of the fae and her daughter who are in need of rescue. 

Gussie, his beau Lucy, and Thomas tour lots of jazz age sites and events in their quest to rescue the imprisoned. 

I enjoyed the setting and I really liked Gussie as the story was told from his point of view. 

I bought this one January 17. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovich

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

As I've have often opined, what good does it do a fellow to be a master of the mystic arts if he's not allowed to do a bally thing with said mastery?

Friday 56:

I glanced over to where the well-dressed bruiser stood to one side of the stage, no doubt surveying his domain. He caught my eye and frowned. 

This week I am spotlighting The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovich. This is the latest in the Rivers of London series and was added to my TBR pile January 17. Here's the description from Amazon:

Meet Augustus Berrycloth-Young—fop, flaneur, and Englishman abroad—as he chronicles the Jazz Age from his perch atop the city that never sleeps.

That is, until his old friend Thomas Nightingale arrives, pursuing a rather mysterious affair concerning an old saxophone—which will take Gussie from his warm bed, to the cold shores of Long Island, and down to the jazz clubs where music, magic, and madness haunt the shadows…

ARC Review: Them Bones by David Housewright

Them Bones
Author: David Housewright
Series: Twin Cities P.I. Mac McKenzie Novels, Book 22)
Publication: Minotaur Books (June 24, 2025)

Description: A stolen dinosaur skull is at the center of a complex mystery laid at the feet of unofficial P.I. Rushmore McKenzie.

There are two things that Rushmore McKenzie hates to turn down―a request from a friend and a challenge. Both of them show up in his wife's nightclub in the person of Angela Bjork, who has come to request McKenzie's help. McKenzie, once a homicide detective, now through a series of unlikely events, is a retired millionaire. But occasionally, for friends, he will do some unofficial private detective work. Over the years, he's hunted down a stolen Stradivarius, the hoard of 1930's gangster, and recovered a stolen, apparently cursed, artifact but McKenzie never imagined a case like this. An exceedingly rare dinosaur skull has been stolen.

Angela, a doctoral candidate, was out on a dig site in Southeastern Montana, when she found a skeleton of an Ankylosaurus. And no sooner than when the skull was removed and placed on a truck then they were attacked, the truck and skull stolen. Worried that nothing is being done to find the stolen skull, she turns to McKenzie. Worth millions on the black market, the chance to recover it becomes fainter by the day. And the people behind the theft are likely willing to do anything, to anyone, to hold onto it.

My Thoughts: This is the 22nd book in the Twin Cities P.I. Mac McKenzie Novels. It is the first of the series that I've read. I was attracted to the Twin Cities setting but quickly came to enjoy McKenzie's personality.

McKenzie is a former cop turned millionaire to unofficial private investigator. When a young woman shows up at his wife's nightclub asking for help, he is willing and intrigued. It seems Angela Bjork is a paleontologist who has come to McKenzie to ask him to help him recover the skull of an Ankylosaurus that she and some others from the University of Minnesota, Macalester, and the Science Museum of Minnesota discovered in Montana. 

The local police don't seem to be doing anything useful, and the FBI isn't interested because the skull was found on private land. The land is owned by a Twin Cities millionaire who wants the skull recovered and donated to the museum before he dies. McKenzie finds himself working for the millionaire and trying to find out who took the skull and where it might be. 

I enjoyed the setting. I liked McKenzie's circle of friends. I liked the references to earlier cases which made me very curious about them. Fans of the series will enjoy this episode. This newbie found the story engaging and hard to put down. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell

The Red Trailer Mystery
Author: Julie Campbell
Series: Trixie Belden (Book 2)
Publication: Random House Books for Young Readers (June 24, 2003)

Description: Trixie and Honey’s friend Jim has run away from Sleepyside–before anyone could tell him that he is the only heir to the huge Frayne fortune. The girls set out across upstate New York in a trailer to track him down . . . and stumble onto another mystery along the way!

My Thoughts: Trixie and Honey, under the supervision of Miss Trask, take off in a motor home to try to find Jim to let him know that he has inherited his great-uncle's estate and will be having a new guardian.

But before they find him, they deal with a strange family in a red trailer, a couple of men who are stealing trailers and looting them, and normal kid stuff like losing and finding their dogs. 

This story about much more innocent times was also a sweet story of friendship and family. They do assist in uncovering a few mysteries while and being in dangerous situations. Young mystery fans will enjoy meeting Trixie and her mystery-solving family and friends. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Secrets We Keep by Amy Lillard

The Secrets We Keep
Author: Amy Lillard
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (June 24, 2025)

Description: Detective Nate Fisher must go back to the Amish community he left behind and confront his past to help the woman he once loved in this dual-POV mystery, perfect for fans of Linda Castillo.

Back to active duty after an administrative leave of absence for the use of deadly force, the last thing Detective Nathan Fisher wants to do is return to the conservative Amish community he left behind, but when his father passes, he has no choice. Hoping to clear his head and perhaps mend fences with his family, he returns to his small Mississippi hometown despite not being welcome. What was supposed to be a quick visit turns into a prolonged stay when his former love pleads for his help.

Rachel Hostetler’s world is turned upside down when she finds her brother’s body hanging in her family’s barn. Rachel is sure her brother Albie did not kill himself, but neither her father nor the police are willing to listen. When she spots Nate, her ex, now a detective in Oklahoma, back in Cedar Creek, she knows he is the answer to her problem and begs him to intercede.

As Nate and Rachel come to terms with their shared history, despite knowing nothing can come of the longing they have for each other, the pair must look into Albie’s death as suspects stack up. The truth is out there, but can they find it before Nate has to return to his real life and face the shooting that has him so desperately searching for peace?

My Thoughts: THE SECRETS WE KEEP was an interesting mystery set in Mississippi. Detective Nate Fisher left his Amish community with the goal of playing professional baseball to earn the money his sister needed for a heart replacement. He left behind the woman he loved who wouldn't give up the Amish lifestyle because she had a severely disabled sister to care for. 

Nate's baseball dreams didn't come true. He's made a career as a Sheriff's Deputy in Tulsa. But a shooting in the line of duty has rocked his world. And, while the shooting was determined to be justified, Nate still suffers from huge amounts of guilt. 

When he learns that his father has died, he decides to go back to Mississippi to be near the funeral even though he is banned from attending. While there, his first love Rachel come to him to ask him to intervene with the local sheriff to convince him to investigate her younger brother's death. She found him hanging in the family barn but is certain that he didn't commit suicide. However, her father cut him down, burned his clothing and the rope, and buried him just outside the Amish cemetery. 

With no physical evidence, Nate isn't sure what he can do but decides to investigate the death anyway while trying to decide what to do with the rest of his life. 

Parts of the story are told from Nate's point of view and the rest from Rachel's. Both are looking for something. Rachel wants the truth; Nate wants to find a future. 

I enjoyed this look into the Amish of Mississippi. I empathized with both Nate and Rachel's search for answers. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell

The Secret of the Mansion
Author: Julie Campbell
Series: Trixie Belden (Book 1)
Publication: Random House Books for Young Readers (June 24, 2003)

Description: Trixie’s summer is going to be sooo boring with her two older brothers away at camp. But then a millionaire’s daughter moves into the next-door mansion, an old miser hides a fortune in his decrepit house, and a runaway kid starts hiding out in Sleepyside!

My Thoughts: Trixie Belden is back again. Originally written in 1948, this story returns the reader to an earlier time. 

Thirteen-year-old Trixie is looking forward to a boring summer with her two older brothers away at camp. But things turn around quickly when poor little rich girl Honey Wheeler moves into the mansion next door to the Belden's modest home. 

The two girls become fast friends as Trixie teaches Honey how to ride a bike and Honey's stable man teaches Trixie how to ride a horse. The girls have a couple of accidents as each falls from her new form of transportation, but they also enjoy exploring and swimming and boating and hanging out together. 

The two girls also explore the decrepit mansion next door when old Mr. Frayne is taken to the hospital with pneumonia. They discover that fifteen-year-old Jim Frayne has taken refuge in the home after running away from a stepfather who is constantly beating him. Rumor has it that old Mr. Frayne has hidden a fortune in the mansion. The kids explore but don't find money. They do find an old bible with a will inside confirming that Jim is Mr. Frayne's heir but that doesn't solve the problem of the stepfather determined to control Jim and Jim's money. 

I enjoyed this sweet story complete with the original illustrations. I enjoyed the growing friendships among the kids and the age-appropriate mystery. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.