Audiobook Review: The Debutante's Code by Erica Vetsch

The Debutante's Code
Author: Erica Vetsch
Narrator: Kim Bretton
Series: Thorndike & Swann Regency Mystery Series (Book 1)
Publication: Tantor Audio (January 25, 2022)
Length: 9 hours and 56 minutes

Description: Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series

Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn't spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They've been living double lives as government spies - and they're only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family's legacy.

Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spy craft. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors - not to mention nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner Daniel Swann, who suspects her of a daring theft.

Can Lady Juliette outwit her enemies and complete her parents' last mission? Or will it lead her to a terrible end?

My Thoughts: This historical mystery introduces Lady Juliette Thorndike who has just left finishing school and is coming home to England after quite a few years. She's eager to reconnect with her parents and to have her debut in society. 

However, when she arrives home, she is greeted by her uncle who tells her that her parents have been unexpectedly called to their country estates. She is put under the care of a dowager duchess for her debut, but she is also told that her parents are spies for England who are off on assignment leaving her training to her uncle. 

Juliette has been trained by her father since an early age to break codes which is essential since someone has compiled a list of English spies and is trying to sell it to the highest bidder. The codes have been concealed in various pieces of art.

The art was all purchased by one man for a London gallery. However, the man who coordinated the purchases and who happened to be her first dance partner at her debut has been found murdered in the gallery which brings in Daniel Swann, a Bow Street runner. Daniel is under pressure of losing his job if he can't find the murderer.

Daniel is also near to the time of losing the support of his mysterious patron when he turns twenty-five. He's illegitimate and was taken from his housemaid mother and sent to prestigious schools under condition that he didn't communicate with his mother in any way. Daniel has resented his mother ever since she gave him up and is surprised to find her the new housekeeper in Lady Juliette's home when he goes there to investigate. 

While I thought the overt references to Christianity, faith, and prayer were a little to prevalent, I did enjoy this historical mystery which begins a series. 

I got this one from Audible Plus October 14, 2024. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: The Body in the Wetlands by Judi Lynn

The Body in the Wetlands
Author: Judi Lynn
Series: A Jazzi Sanders Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Lyrical Press (April 23, 2019)

Description: High summer in River Bluffs, Indiana, turns chilly when house flipper Jazzi Zanders has to catch a killer while hammering nails and stripping paint.

When established house flippers Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod donate a week’s worth of remodeling work to Jazzi’s sister Olivia, they’re expecting nothing more than back-breaking roofing work and cold beers at the end of each long, hot day. With Jazzi’s live-in boyfriend and partner Ansel on the team, it promises to be a quick break before starting their next big project—until Leo, an elderly neighbor of Olivia’s, unexpectedly goes missing . . .

When the friendly senior’s dog tugs Jazzi and the guys toward the wetlands beyond Olivia’s neighborhood, they stumble across a decomposing corpse—and a lot of questions. With Jazzi’s pal Detective Gaff along to investigate, Jazzi finds her hands full of a whole new mystery instead of the usual hammer and nails. And this time it will take some sophisticated sleuthing to track down the culprit of the deadly crime—before the killer turns on her next . . .

My Thoughts: The second Jazzi Zanders cozy mystery has her remodeling a house with her cousin Jerod and boyfriend Ansel. They are working on her sister and brother-in-law's recent house purchase in a quiet neighborhood. 

A daily gawker lets Jazzi know that a brain injured young man has recently disappeared. Leo and his dog walk twice a day, and Leo likes to keep track of what happens in the neighborhood. When Leo doesn't come home one day and the dog comes to Jazzi to get help, Jazzi follows the dog to an undeveloped area when she discovers two shallow graves. 

Not only has she found the missing young man but the body of a woman too. However, Leo is still missing and presumed dead. Jazzi finds herself juggling her renovations work with helping her friend Detective Gaff question suspects and search for clues. 

Things get more difficult when Ansel is guilted home to help his family even though they threw him out years earlier. Ansel is afraid that his leaving, even if only temporarily, will ruin his new relationship with Jazzi. He wants to marry her, but she's still recovering from a former bad relationship. 

This was a nice cozy mystery with lots of clues and suspects. I like the way Jazzi helps Detective Gaff. I also like her relationship with her family and the Sunday dinners she makes for them all. 

I bought this one July 12, 2024. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (December 2, 2024)

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...

I had a good reading week. It snowed a couple of days, and it is still staying on the ground and rooftops, but not on the roads. It wasn't enough for the snowplows to come for the roads although my brother did use his snowblower to get it off our driveway and sidewalks. 

I did go out once this week to the grocery store to stock up on my favorite brand of soda since it was on sale. My brother drove and did the lifting since I also bought some of his favorite soda. 

Otherwise, I was at home and spending lots of time listening and reading. I listened to four audiobooks this week and read three Kindle books. I also did my summing up of the month on my Google spreadsheet and added a December collection to my LibraryThing account. 

I bought a number of books this week including five new audiobooks and the rest of the Hawthorne & Horowitz mystery series. I had the first one as an audiobook and the second as a Kindle book. I started to listen to the first one a while ago and decided I needed the Kindle in order to read along. It went on sale for $1.99 this week as did the other books in the series. 

With double Kindle Reward points, I bought all the rest of the books on my Books I'm Waiting For collection at Amazon. I also used a bunch of Kindle Rewards points to get the Horowitz books for free.

This week looks like a busy one. I have a follow-up appointment with my gastroenterologist on Tuesday and am the designated driver when my brother has his annual eye appointment on Friday. 

The State of the Stack (December 1, 2024)

November Reading

I read 41 books in November. Thirty-six of the books were mine. Five were review copies. Of the 36, 29 were from my TBR pile and 7 were rereads. I listened to 19 audiobooks for a total of 197 hours. Six of the audiobooks were rereads.

I added 64 books to my LibraryThing account in November. Apparently, reading 29 books from my TBR pile this month made me afraid that I would run out of books to read. After all, I only have 2516 in my To Read collection. 

Eighteen of my new books were audiobooks. Seven of my new audiobooks came from Chirp. I used two Audible Credits. The other nine audiobooks were add-ons since I was already buying or already owned the Kindle copy. The add-ons ranged in price from $1.99 to $7.49.

Seven of the books I bought were format changes of books already in my collection. Those are the ones I've tagged Rereads. I also bought a number of books from series I'm reading or want to read including the Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews, the Melanie Karsak Red Cape Society series, the Bibliophile series by Kate Carlisle, and Anthony Horowitz's Magpie Murders series. 

I met my Goodreads goal of 400 books November 20. I'm at 410 books right now. My original goal was 365 books which I met on October 27. I raised the goal to 400 at that time. If I meet my monthly average of 37 books in December, I should read somewhere just short of 450 books in 2024.

Read Last Week

• Lavender's Blue by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer (Kindle & Audiobook; Mine since January 19, 2024) -- Engaging humorous contemporary mystery. My review will be posted on January 4.
• Schooled in Murder by Victoria Gilbert (Review; January 7) - First in a new cozy contemporary series starring mystery book author and college instructor Jen who needs to find out who killed an obnoxious member of the English faculty. My review will be posted on January 2.
• The Good, the Bad, and the Emus by Donna Andrews (Chirp Audiobook; mine since March 22, 2023) -- The seventeenth in the Meg Langslow series of humorous mysteries. My review will be posted on January 7.

• The Clockwork Dagger by Beth Cato (Mine since May 2, 2024) -- Entertaining steampunk fantasy which is the first in a series. My review will be posted on January 7.
• Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose (Chirp Audiobook; Mine since January 10, 2024) -- Fifth book in the Wrexford & Sloane series of historical mysteries. My review will be posted on January 9.
• Track Her Down by Melinda Leigh (Review; January 14) -- Ninth in the Bree Taggerts suspense series. My review will be posted on January 8.

• Thankless in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• Legacy of Lies by Robert Bailey (Audiobook; Mine since November 7, 2020) -- Legal thriller and the first in the Bocephus Haynes series. Entertaining and twisty thriller. My review will be posted on February 13.

Currently

• Origin in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime by Vicki Delany (Review; January 14)

Next Week

• This Gulf of Time and Stars by Julie E. Czerneda (Mine since March 7, 2024)
• A Death in Diamonds by S. J. Bennett (Review; January 21)
• A Killer's Code by Isabella Maldonado (Review; January 21)

• Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove (Review; January 21)
• She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (Review; January 21)
• Star-Crossed Egg Tarts by Jennifer J. Chow (Review; January 21)

Reviews Posted

• Murder at Kensington Palace by Andrea Penrose (Audiobook)
• Into the Fire by Elizabeth Moon (Mine)
• Hounded by David Rosenfelt (Audiobook)

• Perfect Storm by Paige Shelton (Review copy)
• The Secret of the Three Fates by Jess Armstrong (Review copy)
• The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen (Mine)

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

Review:

• An Excellent Thing in a Woman by Allison Montclair (Review; February 4)
• Written in Stone by Paige Shelton (Review; April 1)
• The Library Game by Gigi Pandian (Review; March 18)

Bought:

• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Kindle and Audible Daily Deal)
• Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge (Kindle, BooBub, $1.99)
• First Kill by Ava Strong (Kindle, BookBub, Free)

• In the Company of Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R. King (Chirp Audiobook, $2.99)
• Echoes of Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R. King (Chirp Audiobook, $3.99)
• In League with Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R. King (Chirp Audiobook, $3.99)

• The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz (Kindle, Kindle Rewards, Free)
• A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz (Kindle, Kindle Rewards, Free)
• Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz (Kindle, $1.99)

• The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz (Kindle, BookPerks, Kindle Rewards, Free)
• Murder at Glenloch Hill by Clara McKenna (Kindle and Audiobook Add-On)
• We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (Kindle)

• Christmas Stalkings collected by Charlotte MacLeod (Kindle, BookBub, $.99)
• Christmas Crime in Kingfisher Falls by Phillipa Nefri Clark (Kindle, BookBub, $.99)
• Mortal Radiance by Kathryn Lasky (Kindle, BookBub, $.99)

• Light on Bone by Kathryn Lasky (Kindle)
• The Collected Cases of Duchess, PI by Laura Anne Gilman (Kindle. $2.99)
• The Unwedding by Ally Condie (Kindle, $2.99)

What was your week like?

State of the Stack #159 (December 1, 2024)

This is my monthly post which details progress made on review books. I want to thank the authors and publishers who have contributed their books. 

Read This Month 

Dates indicate the date the review was/will be posted.

1. Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson (December 4)
2. The Next Grave by Kendra Elliot (December 5)
3. Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz (January 1)
4. Schooled in Murder by Victoria Gilbert (January 2)
5. Track Her Down by Melinda Leigh (January 8)

DNF

1.  

Read Previously, Posted This Month 

Dates indicate when the review was posted.

1. The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit (November 2)
2. Out in the Cold by Steve Urszenyi (November 5)
3. All's Fair in Love and Treachery by Celeste Connally (November 6)
4. Burn This Night by Alex Kenna (November 7)
5. A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley (November 13)
6. The Mirror by Nora Roberts (November 14)
7. The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews (November 16)
8. Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney (November 19)
9. Feuds edited by Mercedes Lackey (November 20)
10. The Secret of the Three Fates by Jess Armstrong (November 27)
11. Perfect Storm by Paige Shelton (November 28)

New This Month 

Date indicates when the book will be released.

1. An Excellent Thing in a Woman by Allison Montclair (February 4)
2. The Library Game by Gigi Pandian (March 18)
3. Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (March 18)
4. A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner (March 18)
5. Written in Stone by Paige Shelton (April 1)
6. A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (April 1)
7. Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (April 8)

All TBR Review Books

January

• The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime by Vicki Delany (January 14)
• A Death in Diamonds by S. J. Bennett (January 21)
• A Killer's Code by Isabella Maldonado (January 21)

• Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove (January 21)
• She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (January 21)
• Star-Crossed Egg Tarts by Jennifer J. Chow (January 21)

• Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (January 28)
• Head Cases by John McMahon (January 28)

February

• Bonded in Death by J. D. Robb (February 4)
• An Excellent Thing in a Woman by Allison Montclair (February 4)
• Get Lost with You by Sophie Sullivan (February 11)

• The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman (February 11)
• The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict (February 11)

• Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett (February 11)
• No Comfort for the Dead by R. P. O'Donnell (February 11)
• Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson (February 18)

• Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong (February 18)
• A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough (February 25)

March

• Dead Man's List by Karen Rose (March 4)
• The Four Queens of Crime by Rosanne Limoncelli (March 11)
  
• Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn (March 11)

• The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen (March 18)
• Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (March 18)
• A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner (March 18)

• The Library Game by Gigi Pandian (March 18)
• The Big Fix by Holly James (March 25)

April

• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (April 1)
• Written in Stone by Paige Shelton (April 1)
• Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (April 8)

• Blood on the Vine by J. T. Falco (April 22)
• Such a Good Mom by Julia Spiro (April 29)

May & June

• The Language of the Birds by K. A. Merson (May 13)
• One Final Turn by Ashley Weaver (June 3)