Audiobook Review: Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick

Slightly Shady
Author: Amanda Quick
Narrator: Barbara Rosenblat
Series: Lavinia Lake & Tobias March Book 1
Publication: Recorded Books (October 24, 2013)
Length: 9 hours and 51 minutes

Description: Amanda Quick, best-selling author of Regency-era romances, has won many awards for her works, including the New York Times best-selling Wicked Widow. Each work transports fans into a richly detailed world of intrigue and desire. There are now over 25 million copies of her books in print.

Besieged by gambling debts, a desperate gentleman purchases a diary as a tool for blackmail. But he does not live to carry out his plans. He is murdered, and the diary is stolen. Now Tobias March, discrete private investigator, has been hired to find the incriminating diary. Tobias is familiar with danger, but when his inquiries lead him to the beautiful entrepreneur Lavinia Lake, his emotions are sidetracked.

The attraction that grows between Tobias and Lavinia is framed in the sparkling dialog and wit that have attracted millions of fans to Amanda Quick's novels. Superbly narrated by Audie Awardª-winner Barbara Rosenblat, Slighty Shady is a delicious tale filled with sophistication and suspense, humor and passion.

My Thoughts: Lavinia Lake and her niece Emaline are trying to survive in Italy after the Lady whose companions they were eloped with an Italian gentleman. They've opened a shop selling antiquities. But when Tobias March burst in searching for a message for a case he's working as a private inquiry agent, he manages to destroy the shop and sends them off to London to get out of the way of the villains. 

They meet again in London where Lavinia has decided to become a private inquiry agent herself and where she has decided to introduce her niece to Society. March is still pursuing the villains that almost killed him in Italy and left him with a limp while Lavinia is working with a woman who has received a blackmail threat. 

It seems their cases have intersected but that doesn't mean all things go smoothly. Both Tobias and Lavinia are headstrong and outspoken and not used to working with others. While they try to unravel the various plots which take them from ballrooms to wax museums, they manage to fall in love. 

I enjoyed the witty dialog, the humor, and the passion. My only complaint is that I thought the narrator's voice made Lavinia too old. The voice seemed to indicate a woman in late middle age while the internal clues made her much younger.

This is the first of a three book series starring Lavinia and Tobias. 

I bought this one August 19. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Murder on Threadneedle Street by Andrea Penrose

Murder on Threadneedle Street
Author: Andrea Penrose
Series: Wrexford & Sloane Mysteries (Book 10)
Publication: Kensington (September 29, 2026)

Description: Not all that glitters in Regency London is quite what it seems, as Charlotte and Lord Wrexford discover when a counterfeiting scheme draws them into a deadly web of murder and manipulation in USA Today bestselling author Andrea Penrose’s masterfully plotted mystery for readers of Victoria Thompson, C.S. Harris, Charles Finch, and Deanna Raybourn.

Lord Wrexford and Charlotte’s growing family ensures that life is a source of constant adventure. The addition of Wrexford’s half-sister to their household is proving an unexpected delight. But some surprises are less welcome—and trouble strikes when Hawk, one of the young boys in their care, arrives home distraught after learning that his new drawing teacher has been found murdered on Threadneedle Street.

Fletcher Campbell’s death could be dismissed as a random robbery turned violent. But as an artist herself, Charlotte suspects there’s more to the case than meets the eye. Closer examination reveals that a distinctive ring was taken from the victim’s finger. With Hawk pleading for the family to help solve the crime, Charlotte and Wrexford suddenly find themselves entangled in a fiendish mystery that harkens back to a decade-old scandal that nearly brought down the government.

It seems Campbell’s brother was the infamous leader of a counterfeiting gang that swindled the Bank of England. Most were apprehended, but forged banknotes remain a problem. Now, the Bank of England has offered £20,000 to anyone who can use the newly-invented engineering technologies to create the Inimitable Banknote—a complex design that cannot be counterfeited.

It’s a prize that could tempt anyone, and Wrexford and Sloane’s investigation turns even more fraught when one of their closest friends falls under suspicion. The deeper they probe, the more treachery comes to light. For when a lie so easily masquerades as truth, danger may be much closer than they think . . .

My Thoughts: The next Wrexford and Sloane mystery begins when Hawk, their youngest ward, comes home crying when he learns that his new drawing tutor has been murdered on Threadneedle Street. Despite all the signs leading to an ordinary street murder, they decide to look into the case for Hawk. 

Soon, some suspicious things come out. The simple pewter ring he wore was taken from his hand. As they look into his background, they also learn that he spent ten years in prison because of his connection to a plot to steal currency on its way to France. While most of the perpetrators were found and hanged, the mastermind eluded capture. 

Counterfeiting is a big business and growing worse. The Bank of England is sponsoring a competition with a massive cash prize to the inventor who can make an Inimitable Banknote. Somehow, it seems that the murder is related in some way to this competition. 

The story was full of the people who were competing for the prize both fictional and real including the son of the man in charge of the ten-year-old failed plot who was the artistic genius who almost made the plot succeed. There was also a lot of information about creating a reliable currency at a time when many banks made their own banknotes.

I enjoyed the family dynamics as Wrex's young sister is finding her place in the family. I also enjoyed the large circle of friends who were part of the investigation.

This was another great addition to this historical mystery series. 

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

ARC Review: The Velvet Knife by Maureen Johnson

The Velvet Knife
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Truly Devious (Book 6)
Publication: HarperCollins (September 29, 2026)

Description: Return to the world of Truly Devious as Stevie Bell and her friends travel to New York to solve a murder in the next standalone mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

Stevie might be the greatest teenage detective Ellingham Academy and the world has ever seen, but even she can’t figure out what happened with her boyfriend, David. What she needs is a distraction: a good old-fashioned murder. Stevie is much happier dealing with dead people. They’re a lot less confusing—they don’t send cryptic texts and make out with other girls in British pubs.

But then Stevie gets exactly what she wanted when a dead body turns up in the middle of a Manhattan apartment complex, and this one is . . . complicated. Caught in a web of messy alive-people feelings, Stevie finds herself questioning all human connection. Is magnetism only manipulation? Can you trust anyone? Does anyone realize that they’re joining a cult—before it’s too late? And are things with David really over?

My Thoughts: Stevie Bell is still reeling after her break-up with David. She's back at Ellingham Academy, blowing her exams, and wandering the twisting paths trying to figure out what went wrong. She is also celebrating her eighteenth birthday by breaking up with her parents who seem to care more about David than they do about her. 

Stevie tags along as Nate heads to New York City to stay in his editor's apartment to finally finish the novel he has been working on for years. He is under a deadline: finish it just after the new year or pay back the advance that he needs for college tuition. 

While Nate buries himself in his novel, Stevie gets to know the eccentric residents of the eighth floor of their apartment building. There's Helen who is an excellent baker and dying of heart failure and who has a very noisy cockatoo named Murph. There's Arthur who is the who is the social organizer. There's Elliot who is also writing a book and who gives Nate some very odd advice about finishing his. There's Benny who spends most of her time at an animal shelter. There are Lance and Mitzi. Lance channels Stanley Tucci and Mitzi snarks. There are Andy and Margo Lopez and their goth daughter Luna who wants to be a mortician. Finally, there are Imogen and her wife Sophie who are new residents from London who've come so that Sophie is on Broadway in Macbeth.

When Murph doesn't stop making lots of noise, Stevie and the doorman enter the apartment to find Helen dead. Stevie's first reaction is that dead people are following her around, but when the death is declared to be from natural causes, Stevie can go back to her brooding. But, when Benny who has custody of Murph after Helen's death, falls from her apartment window, Stevie is sure that death is murder. 

Going along with this story is a story that takes place in 1976 which tells about a young woman swept up into a cult led by the charismatic and controlling Dean. From her meeting the rest of the cult in New York City until she abruptly leaves it taking with her a large bag of money that has been amassed by pickpocketing and stealing and most of the cult dying in a fiery car crash, Helen who was renamed Blue by Dean has her life explored. Stevie discovers this older story as she tries to find out more about the very mysterious Helen. 

This was another excellent YA mystery starring the intriguing Stevie Bell who is trying to figure out her own life while solving mysteries. 

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

ARC Review: Cursed City by Kate Golden

Cursed City
Author: Kate Golden
Series: Harker Academy (Book 2)
Publication: Ace (September 20, 2026)

Description: Welcome back to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense, where the line between hunter and hunted has never been thinner.

Viv Abbot will do whatever it takes to rescue Reid Graveheart, the reformed Brood demon she loves—even if it means teaming up with his violent, unpredictable older brother, Deacon. Her uneasy truce with him offers Viv something Reid never could: the chance to embrace her darkness.

As the search for Reid intensifies, Viv and her friends must maintain appearances on Harker grounds while wading into Astera's seedy underbelly with none other than the White Stag as their guide. But when a bounty on Viv's head puts those she cares about most in danger, Viv will be forced to go to lengths she never dreamed in order to protect them.

With enemies closing in from all sides and a ticking clock on her life, Viv must save the Half City from destruction while surviving a betrayal that strikes at the heart of everything she’s fighting for. Because in a world where monsters wear familiar faces and temptation cuts deeper than any blade, making it through her second semester at Harker will take more than skill—it will take everything Viv has left to give. Who can she really trust in a city that thrives on lies?

My Thoughts: The second book in the Harker Academy urban fantasy series has Viv on the run. She has had a spell embedded in her that will make her insane if she can't get it removed. It will also grant world-shattering power to anyone who kills her for it if it doesn't kill them first. She needs to rescue her missing demon boyfriend Reid, find a way to remove the spell, and stay away from the High Thane and his son Finn.

Viv has her group of school friends to help her and she has Deacon Braveheart, her boyfriend's brother. Deacon is also known as the White Stag or Cernunnos. He's morally ambiguous, violent, and unpredictable and often needlessly kind. 

Viv becomes fascinated with Deacon which makes her feel guilty which shows as anger most of the time. Of course, the syrabraxa embedded in her encourages the anger and the desire to kill even while it is driving her insane. 

Viv has lots of adventures in this richly developed fantasy world where many people wear two faces and danger is hidden in the ordinary. When events come to a head at a party held to announce her mother's plan to run for mayor, the battle rages in the catacombs beneath the event hall. 

Fans of urban fantasy will enjoy this series which has it all: wonderful worldbuilding, fascinating characters and even romance. 

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

ARC Review: The Dying Light by Ann Cleaves

The Dying Light
Author: Ann Cleaves
Series: Detective Matthew Venn (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 29, 2026)

Description: DI Matthew Venn peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets one family is keeping in this searing new novel, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension.

A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in Devon. Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death, when the body of a young woman, Lottie, is found in the swimming pool of a luxurious holiday home. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing. The girls had arrived a few days earlier to celebrate the end of their school exams, quickly stirring unrest in the small community with incendiary social media videos mocking the place as parochial.

When further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community filled with secrets. The fact that Hannah’s father, Paul Armstrong, is a rising political star with powerful enemies draws intense media scrutiny to the case.

With the summer heat come holidaymakers, and it emerges that some of them may have stronger connections with the Armstrong family than first thought. Venn knows all too well that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silences that they keep.

Taut, atmospheric, and brimming with suspense, this searing new novel finds DI Matthew Venn caught between a powerful family’s secrets and a powder keg of local tensions.

My Thoughts: The fourth Matthew Venn mystery begins on a hot summer day when he's called to investigate a murder or perhaps an accidental drowning at the vacation home of a rising political figure. Lottie is dead and the politician's daughter Hannah is missing. The two seventeen-year-olds had come down ahead of Hannah's parents to celebrate the end of the school year. 

Lottie's body is discovered when the Armstrongs arrive to meet the girls. Hoping to be able to save her, they manage to really mess up the crime scene. A search begins for Hannah, and her dead body is also soon discovered. 

Now, Venn and his team have to discover what happened to Lottie and Hannah while facing pressure from Armstrong's political superiors. It also doesn't help that both Hannah and Lottie's families are keeping some sort of secret that may have something to do with the couple glamping at the farm next door.

The farm is the home of Hannah's boyfriend and also the site of a local music festival that Lottie had posted unkind videos of during the weekend. And the girls had had a run-in with the proprietors of the local gastropub who refused to serve alcohol to the underage girls. 

While Matthew is trying to unravel all the complicated relationships, he is also dealing with his husband Jonathan's up-coming visit with his birth mother. Matthew is trying to be supportive but his own insecurities about their relationship is leaving him with feelings of jealousy. 

I enjoyed this twisty mystery. I like Matthew's investigative style and the way he interacts with his subordinates Jen and Ross who are also intriguing characters. 

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

ARC Review: The Pumpkin Vice Cafe by Ellie Alexander

The Pumpkin Vice Cafe
Author: Ellie Alexander
Series: Bakeshop Mysteries (Book 24)
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 29, 2026)

Description: Another delicious installment in the Bakeshop Series set in Ashland, OR!

As autumn settles over the charming hamlet of Ashland, Oregon, ushering in cool, crisp breezes and a stunning show of color, everyone at Torte is keeping warm by whipping up a bevy of fall treats and spicy lattes. Jules is nearing her due date, and the whole town is abuzz―placing bets on when the twins will make their grand debut. Helen and the team are working on a secret surprise baby shower, complete with cupcakes, cookies, and a feast fit for royalty, or maybe just a mother-to-be.

Meanwhile, Lance and Arlo are busy planning their nuptials in what is sure to be as close to a royal wedding as Ashland has ever seen. But when the high-end wedding planner they hired is found dead in the frigid waters of Ashland Creek, what looks like a tragic accident, a slip on an icy bridge, quickly reveals itself as something much more sinister. Jules knows at once―this was no mishap. A killer is loose in Ashland, and they may be ready to strike again.

My Thoughts: Jules is in the last days of her pregnancy with twins and helping her friend Lance plan his wedding. When his new wedding planner is found dead - by Jules, she adds a murder investigation to her to-do list. 

She soon learns that Tippy had a number of enemies. She owed money all over the place and the vendors are angry enough to kill. Tippy is also getting ready to sue one of her clients who hasn't paid her for her daughter's lavish wedding. Then there is her assistant who hasn't been paid in months. The list of suspects is large and many of them are eager to be hired to work on Lance's wedding. 

The story is filled with wonderful descriptions of Ashland, Oregon, and wonderful foods all prepared by Jules' bakery/cafe Torte. The descriptions were so good that they made me hungry. The final copy of the book will include recipes.

Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy the latest in the Bakeshop Mysteries.  

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

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 21, 2026)

 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 another nice quiet week. Fall weather has arrived with high temperatures ranging from 57 to 70. We also received .8 inches of rain this week which did little to relieve our state of extreme drought. It is currently 55 degrees and cloudy but with no rain in the forecast. Leaves are just starting to turn. I can see one gorgeous red-leafed something out my patio window but most of the leaves I see are still green.

My week of cooking didn't really turn out to really be my week since my brother made a big pot of chili on Sunday which was his day off. I did make an excellent lentil soup and a chicken pot pie with a biscuit topping. We still have leftovers of both. I think he's planning to make Shrimp Lo Mein for dinner today which will leave even more leftovers. I have the making for a homemade pizza which might be lunch today. 

I added two new review copies to my stack this week and read three leaving my TBR review stack at 38. I also couldn't resist a number of book deals this week and added 10 books to my 2026 TBR pile. I've already read one and am currently reading a second. All the rest of the new additions are on my 2026 calendar. I currently have 23 TBR books on my 2026 stack with this week's additions. 

This week everything I read was reviewed and scheduled on my blog. However, I've been skipping around a bit with audiobooks, so the reviews are not the next ones on my calendar. I have a bunch of review copies on my calendar but have been fitting in the audiobooks for a change of pace. After my current audiobook, I have only one more on my October calendar to go along with the 15 Kindle books (mostly review copies) that I still need to read for my October calendar. Of those 15, only one has the possibility of reading it as an audiobook which I haven't yet purchased. I might find myself getting further ahead and further out of balance by listening to some audiobooks on my November calendar. 

Read Last Week

• The Lady Jewel Diviner by Rosalie Oaks (Kindle, Mine since July 20) -- Historical Fantasy. It was nice. My review will be posted on October 3.
• The Case of the Christie Curse by Kelly Oliver (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since June 14) -- Third in a historical mystery series. My review will be posted on October 13.
• Jay to the World by Donna Andrews (Review, October 13) -- Andrews' annual humorous Christmas mystery. My review will be posted on October 6.

• Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook, Mine since December 3, 2025) -- Contemporary romantic suspense. My review will be posted on October 20.
• Written in Starlight by Sloane Brooks (Review, October 13) -- Romantasy, sort of. Interesting premise. My review will be posted on October 6.
• Don't Look Back by Amanda Quick (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since August 13 & September 16) -- Second book in the Marsh & Lake historical mystery trilogy. My review will be posted on October 9.

• Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz (Chirp Audiobook, Mine since March 7, 2025) -- Contemporary romantic suspense with a paranormal element. My review will be posted on October 15.
• Home for the Homicides by Elle Cosimano & Hannah Morrissey (Review, October 13) -- Funny mystery that contains ALL the romance tropes. My review will be posted on October 7.

Currently

• Late for the Wedding by Amanda Quick (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since August 13 & September 19)
• Bark Humbug by David Rosenfelt (Review, October 13)

Next Week

• Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen (Review, October 13)
• The Christmas Competition by Zoe Allison (Review, October 20)
• The Key to a Killer by Olivia Blacke (Review, October 20)

• Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis (Kindle, Mine since July 24)
• Joy to the Bones by Carolyn Haines (Review, October 27)
• Murder at Pellhurst Pond by Clara McKenna (Review, October 27)

Reviews Posted

• The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves (Kindle & Audiobook)
• Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts (Kindle & Audiobook)
• Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich (Kindle & Audiobook)

• Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett (Kindle & Audiobook)
• Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander (Review copy)
• Turning Darkness into Light by Marie Brennan (Kindle & Audiobook) 

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

Review:

• Save a Horse by Jen Doyle (Review, January 12)
• Big Cult Energy by Jack Friday (Review, June 1)

Bought:

New Audiobooks:

• To the Hilt by Dick Francis (Kindle & Audiobook, $7.30 for both)
• Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff (Kindle & Audiobook, $22.68 for both)

• Late for the Wedding by Amanda Quick (Audible Credit)
• Don't Look Back by Amanda Quick (Audible Credit)

New Kindle:

• The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune (Kindle, $2.99)
• At Close Range by Laura Griffin (Kindle, $1.99)
• The Shadow Friends by Tess Gerritson (Kindle, $3.99)

• Spark by Sarah Beth Durst (Kindle, $.99)
• The Same Backward as Forward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle, $2.99)
• Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier (Kindle, Prime Reading)

What was your week like?