Audiobook Review: Shattered by Dick Francis

Shattered
Author: Dick Francis
Narrator: Fiacre Douglas
Publication: Brilliance Audio (August 21. 2008)
Length: 6 hours and 23 minutes

Description: When jockey Martin Stukely dies after a fall at Cheltenham, he accidentally embroils his friend Gerard Logan in a perilous search for a stolen videotape. Logan is a glassblower on the verge of widespread acclaim. Long accustomed to the frightful dangers inherent in molten glass and in maintaining a glassmaking furnace at never less than 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, Logan is suddenly faced with terrifying threats to his business, his courage, and his life.

Believing that the missing video holds the key to a priceless treasure, and wrongly convinced that Logan knows where to find it, criminal forces set out to press him for information he doesn't have. To survive, he realizes that he himself must sort out the truth. The final race to the tape throws more hazards in Logan's way than his dead jockey friend could ever have imagined.

Glass shatters. Logan doesn't...but it's a close-run thing.

My Thoughts: Glassblower Gerard Logan finds himself in the middle of a mystery when his friend jockey Martin Stukely dies at Cheltenham. Martin had given his friend Gerard a videotape to take care of since he had a nosy wife and four curious children. 

Unfortunately, Gerard loses the tape when his shop is entered, and the tape and his day's take is stolen. What makes it even more unfortunate is that those who want the tape don't believe that Gerard doesn't know where it is. 

Gerard has two problems. The first is identifying who wants the tape enough to hurt him and search his home for it. Second, he needs to know what is on the tape. Finding it would be good too. He gathers friends as he searches including a new girlfriend in the form of the police officer who first appears to document the shop break-in and thefts. 

As he searches, he comes ever closer to answering all of his questions. But someone has to die before all the answers are found. 

This was another excellent mystery by Dick Francis. As in many, he builds a strong, smart hero. This one also had all sorts of interesting facts about glassmaking. 

I bought this Chirp audiobook October 3, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: On Basilisk Station by David Weber

On Basilisk Station
Author: David Weber
Series: Honor Harrington (Book 1)
Publication: Baen Books (December 21, 2012)

Description: INTRODUCING HONOR HARRINGTON

Having made him look a fool, she's been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and set up for ruin by a superior who hates her.

Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station.

The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens.

Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling; the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so-called "Republic" of Haven is Up To Something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser with an armament that doesn't work to police the entire star system.

But the people out to get her have made one mistake. They've made her mad.

My Thoughts: Honor Harrington finds herself captain to a ship recently "improved" by Horrible Hemphill and with an Executive Officer who resents her youth and that she jumped over him to captain the ship. Her tactical genius lets her win once in the war games designed to test the new weapon on her ship, but further games show the weaknesses of the weapon and her ship is killed again and again.

Having made Hemphill look bad, she is assigned to an out of the way outpost called Basilisk Station. Unknown to her, the People's Republic of Haven has designs on Basilisk Station and its very lucrative gate. But worse than that, Honor finds herself under the command of a man who tried to rape her when she was a midshipman at the naval academy and who was soundly beaten by her and forced to make a public apology. His powerful allies kept him in the Navy, but he has vowed revenge on Honor. 

Lord Pavel Young sees his opportunity for his revenge when Honor arrives. He declares that his ship is in need of vital repairs and leaves her in her single, oddly weaponed ship to protect the area. Basilisk Station is sort of a political football. A substantial percent of the government doesn't want to keep it at all. Its major industry seems to be smuggling. And the only habitable planet has aliens with a Bronze age culture. At least it did until outside influences introduced flintlocks and encouraged the production of a hallucinogen that ramps up aggression. 

Honor isn't going to fail at her command. She works closely with the governor of the planet and clamps down on the smuggling even though it angers the wealthiest man on Manticore. And she figures out Haven's plans for the area which leads to a pitched space battle. 

This was an excellent introduction to a series that has grown into more than 40 books if all the various subseries set in the same world are counted. It is the very definition of space opera filled with larger-than-life characters and fantastic weapons. It has lots and lots of space battles and political maneuvering. The stories are told from multiple viewpoints.

I bought this one before I began keeping track of purchases in 2008. More recently I purchased the Kindle book in 2011 and the audiobook in 2020.  You can buy your copy here or check get it at Baen Books Free Library.

Book Review: Challenges by David Weber

Challenges
Author: David Weber et al.
Series: Honor Harrington - Worlds of Honor (Book 8)
Publication: Baen Books (November 4, 2025)

Description: THE HOTTEST MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION SERIES OF ALL TIME CONTINUES WITH A COLLECTION OF TALES SET IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE STAR KINGDOM OF DAVID WEBER’S NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING HONORVERSE

In Honor Harrington’s day, the Star Kingdom of Manticore is the wealthiest star nation on a per capita basis in the entire galaxy. It is home to magnificent cities. Its planets’ oceans and seas—and skies—are open to its people, yet they have maintained the beauty and the magnificence of their natural habitats.

But that was not always true. Pioneers, especially interstellar pioneers, must be tough, smart, and self-reliant, and the people who built the Star Kingdom knew that. They prepared carefully for their enormous voyage, incorporated every measure they could think of, and even so, their new worlds did their best to kill them all. They very nearly succeeded, as the Plague Years pushed the human interlopers to the very brink of survival, forcing them to grow and change in ways they never could have anticipated.

In the process, they became the people who could one day produce Honor Harrington, Elizabeth Winton, and the remarkable people willing to stand in the path of the People’s Republic of Haven’s insatiable advance . . . and then to ally with the Republic, when both of them learned who their true enemy was. In many ways, that fortitude was the inevitable result of a star nation that learned early on that what truly matters is the way one faces the challenges the universe throws at one.These are the stories of people who learned that lesson, and met—and triumphed—over every challenge of their new homes.

All original stories by: David Weber, Marisa Wolf, Jacob Holo, Dan Butler, Thomas Pope, and Jane Lindskold.

My Thoughts: This eighth collection in the Worlds of Honor series includes five stories by a variety of authors who play around in the world created by David Weber including Weber himself.

One Controllable Step by Marisa Wolf -- In the very earliest years of settlement on Manticore a plague nearly wipes out the population. This is the story of some of the doctors sent from the planet of Beowulf who need to find a cure.

Deadly Delusions by Jane Lindskold -- This story also occurs early in Manticore's history. Stephanie Harrington has bonded with her treecat and another young woman is jealous of her and wants a treecat of her own. She and her sister play dangerous pranks at a nearby research station with different goals. The older sister is angry that they fired her after getting the plant set up; the younger believes the station is interfering with her beloved treecats. 

The Great Condiment Caper by Jacob Holo and Thomas Pope -- Even the greatest heroes of Manticore's history are ensigns at one time. This is the story of Ensign Edward Saganami on his first tour. He's assigned to Stores and needs to track down a missing case of barbecue sauce before Chicken Finger Friday is ruined. 

XO by Daniel Allen Butler -- This is another story about the younger days of a character seen later in the series. Lieutenant Commander D'Orville assumes command of a ship when her captain is disabled by a medical emergency. The mission is to keep track of bad actors in nearby systems. When she spots pirates attacking a slaver, she has to decide which orders to follow - the ones she swore an oath to when she was commissioned, or the ones given her by the politically driven command. 

Crystal Singer's Song by David Weber - This is also a story from the earliest years. In the early days of the Forest Service, a young woman is tasked with bringing emergency supplies to a remote homestead during a storm. Her ship goes off course and crashes into a remote island. There she discovers treecats and calls them treefoxes. She is marooned but not alone since the treecats befriend her. She spends the rest of her life there teaching the treecats to make effective tools, plant gardens, net fish and fire pottery. She would be lost to history if one of treecats' memory singers didn't recover that deeply buried memory and share it with Lady Dame Honor Alexander-Harrington, Duchess and Steadholder Harrington.

All of the stories were excellent. Crystal Singer's Song brought me to tears.

I bought this one November 4. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Big Jack by Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb

Big Jack
Author: J. D. Robb
Narrator: Susan Ericksen
Series: In Death
Publication: Brilliance Audio (February 23, 2010)
Length: 8 hours and 20 minutes

Description: In New York City in 2059, someone is pursuing missing gems from a decades-old heist…someone who’s willing to kill for them. Sharp-witted and sexy, NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas is used to traveling in the shadowy corners outside the law. And in a future where crime meets cutting-edge technology, she will attempt to track down the diamonds once and for all—and stop the danger and death that have surrounded the jewels for years.

My Thoughts: A jewel theft more than 50 years earlier and the novel that is written about it are the keys to this Eve Dallas futuristic mystery. 

Sam Gannon has written a best-selling novel about the jewel theft that brought her grandparents together more than fifty years earlier. The kicker is that one quarter of the diamonds were never recovered which excites modern day treasure hunters. 

When Sam returns from a whirlwind book tour, she discovers the body of her friend and house sitter who was brutally murdered. Eve Dallas gets the case and soon has to look into who killed the house sitter and why. 

The diamonds quickly become the motive requiring Eve, Roarke, Feeney and the rest of Eve's team to investigate a crime that occurred before any of them were born. A second murder, that of the woman who was Sam's housecleaner, adds to the mystery. 

This was another excellent adventure in the In Death series. Roberts has also written HOT ROCKS which tells the story of the jewel theft and investigation into it which also details the romance of the couple who will become Sam's grandparents. 

I bought this one June 5, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House
Author: Kate Andersen Brower
Publication: Harper Paperbacks (March 8, 2016)

Description: A remarkable history with elements of both In the President’s Secret Service and The Butler, The Residence offers an intimate account of the service staff of the White House, from the Kennedys to the Obamas.

America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. In her runaway bestseller, former White House correspondent Kate Andersen Brower pulls back the curtain on the world’s most famous address. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family.

These dedicated professionals maintain the six-floor mansion’s 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, three elevators, and eight staircases, and prepare everything from hors d’oeuvres for intimate gatherings to meals served at elaborate state dinners. Over the course of the day, they gather in the lower level’s basement kitchen to share stories, trade secrets, forge lifelong friendships, and sometimes even fall in love.

Combining incredible first-person anecdotes from extensive interviews with scores of White House staff members—many speaking for the first time—with archival research, Kate Andersen Brower tells their story. She reveals the intimacy between the First Family and the people who serve them, as well as tension that has shaken the staff over the decades. From the housekeeper and engineer who fell in love while serving President Reagan to Jackie Kennedy’s private moment of grief with a beloved staffer after her husband’s assassination to the tumultuous days surrounding President Nixon’s resignation and President Clinton’s impeachment battle, The Residence is full of surprising and moving details that illuminate day-to-day life at the White House.

My Thoughts: Kate Andersen Brower interviewed many White House staff members to write this story about what it is like to work in the White House and interact with the First Family. She interviews people who worked in the White House from the days of the Kennedys to the Obamas. 

I was astonished to learn that the White House has 132 room, 35 bathrooms, three elevators, and eight staircases. There are six floors including a couple of mezzanines. There is a large staff of butlers, maids, cooks, florists, electricians, painters and many more people who try to keep life smooth for the First Families who live in the house. 

The staff are the ones who stay on. The First Families are renters with four or eight year leases or sometimes less. I was surprised to learn that staff positions were often held by members of the same family. I think there were five generations of Ficklins who all served at the White House. I liked the close relationships and friendships developed among those who worked at the White House. I liked reading about their dedication and pride in their jobs. 

I was amazed at the way the staff transitioned on inauguration days to make the changeover in families so smooth. I found it hard to believe that the staff could pack up one family's belongings and unpack and set up for the new family in just a matter of hours. I enjoyed the stories about how the various presidents and first ladies were as employers. 

I liked the insights into the private lives of some of the presidents, first ladies, and children who lived in the White House. 

This was a fascinating insight into the behind the scenes at a very public place. 

I bought this one March 19, 2017. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (December 8, 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...

Happy December! We are looking nice and wintery. We added another inch of snow over the past week to add to the 14 inches we got around Thanksgiving. Our high temperature of the week was 21F and our low was -12F. I didn't leave the house at all this week. 

I had a goal of not buying anything new this week but then Audible had a really, really good sale and my goal was abandoned. I really enjoy books by Jayne Ann Krentz (131 books) whether she's writing as herself or Amanda Quick (64 books) or Jayne Castle (71 books) or Stephanie James (28 books). I have almost all of her books on my Keeper shelves. I might be missing a couple of the ones she wrote as Jayne Bentley in the late 1970s. I discovered her in 1981 when she wrote one of the first books in the Silhouette Desire imprint and have been reading and collecting her ever since. When I saw a whole bunch offered for less than $5 each, I couldn't pass up adding a few. 

I'm also trying to read the earlier Meg Langslow humorous mysteries since I just began reading them with a review copy in 2021. That was the 29th in the series. I added the next two on my reading stack (books 23 and 25) as audiobooks since they were on sale. Maybe I'll finally catch up in 2026. Of course, then I'll have to work on catching up on David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter series, but I'm farther behind on that series.

This week should be like last week. I'll stay home and read or listen. 

November Reading

I read 42 books in November. Thirty-three were mine including 17 audiobooks. Twenty-two of the books came from my TBR stack. Eleven of the audiobooks were rereads. I read nine review copies in November. 

I added 35 books to my LibraryThing account including six audiobooks and 9 review copies. I used three Audible credits and used three Kindle Rewards discounts. I took advantage of 10 BookBub offers and 2 Kindle Daily Deals. Fourteen of the books are still marked TBR.

Eight of my new additions are marked as rereads including both the Kindle and Audiobook copies of Anne Bishop's Turns of Fate. Another reread is Laurie King's latest Knave of Diamonds. I also bought the Kindle and Audible copies of that one. The other rereads are Kindle copies of books I either own or remember reading years ago and want to read again.

I have 8233 books in my LibraryThing account. Of course, this does include 829 books in my Read but Unowned collection. These are review books. I make a point of deleting the ebook files for books I've reviewed from NetGalley after I have read and reviewed them. I still keep track of them in my LibraryThing account because I often need to refresh my memory if I'm offered a sequel or something else by the same author. 

I currently have 2701 books in my To Read collection. 

Read Last Week

• Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day (Review, January 6) -- Contemporary mystery told in the first person by a character with a unique voice. My review will be posted on January 3.
• Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton (Review, January 6) -- Dual narrative romantic suspense. Very complex characters. My review will be posted on January 1.
• The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (Review, January 6) -- Paranormal romantic suspense. My review will be posted on December 30.

• Wildwood by Amy Pease (Review, January 6) -- Second mystery set in rural Wisconsin. Complex, engaging characters. My review will be posted on December 31.
• The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (Review, January 6) -- Couldn't-put-it-down Contemporary Gothic thriller. My review will be posted on January 1.

• Ceremony in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Book 5 in the In Death series
• Vengeance in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Book 6 in the In Death series
• Holiday in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Book 7 in the In Death series

• Conspiracy in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Book 8 in the In Death series
• Loyalty in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Book 9 in the In Death series
• Witness in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Book 10 in the In Death series

Currently

• A Deadly Clue by Victoria Gilbert (Review, January 13)
• Judgment in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Book 11 in the In Death series

Next Week

• The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura (Review, January 13)
• The Bookbinder's Secret by A. D. Bell (Review, January 13)
• Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart (Review, January 13)

• Inside Man by John McMahon (Review, January 13)
• Toucan Keep a Secret by Donna Andrews (Audiobook, Mine since December 5)
• The River Knows by Amanda Quick (Audiobook, Mine since October 3)

Reviews Posted

• A Grave Deception by Connie Berry (Review copy)
• The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens (Mine)
• Bleeding Heart Yard by Ellie Griffiths (Mine)

• Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews (Audiobook)
• Second Sight by Amada Quick (Audiobook)
• Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Audiobook)

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

Review:

• The Whisking Hour by Ellie Alexander (Review, February 24)
• The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss (Review, April 7)

• The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher (Review, May 12)
• Ode to the Bones by Carolyn Haines (Review, May 26)

Bought:

• Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulle (Kindle, Kindle Rewards, $11.99)
• Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $2.41)
• Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $3.13)

• Smoke in Mirrors by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $3.01)
• Lost & Found by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $2.80)
• Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $2.45)

• Dawn in Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $2.45)
• Summer in Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $2.41)
• Trust No One by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $2.41)

• When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audible Sale, $3.13)
• Toucan Keep a Secret by Donna Andrews (Audible Sale, $6.10)
• Terns of Endearment by Donna Andrews (Audible Sale, $6.10)

What was your week like?

Book Review: Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths

Bleeding Heart Yard
Author: Ellie Griffiths
Series: Harbinder Kaur (Book 3)
Publication: Mariner Books (November 15, 2022)

Description: A murderer strikes at a school reunion—but the students are no strangers to death— in this propulsive, twisty thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries

Is it possible to forget that you’ve committed a murder?

When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job—as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.

One day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School—among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent—and controversial—MP and the investigation is high profile, it’s headed by Cassie’s new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can’t shake the feeling that one of them has killed again.

Is Cassie right, or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It’s in Cassie’s interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like it has nothing to do with Manor Park and she seems to be succeeding.

Until someone else from the reunion is found dead in Bleeding Heart Yard…

My Thoughts: When a controversial politician is murdered at a high school reunion, newly promoted and transferred Harbinder Kaur gets a high profile first case. The class at Manor Park included two politicians, a rock star, a famous actress and one of Kaur's subordinates Cassie Fitzgerald. They along with their friend Anna called themselves The Group.

Cassie is convinced that she and the other members of The Group killed one of their classmates just after they completed their A-levels. Cassie has managed to bury the memory and built herself a new life with a husband, two children, and a career as a police officer. 

The murder brings back some of her repressed memories leaving her not knowing what to do. Things get even more tense when the second politician in the group is also murdered. It is uncertain if the cause of the murders relates to the death of their fellow student or if it has something to do with their present political stances. 

The story is told from multiple viewpoints including Kaur and Cassie. It was a very twisty sort of thriller.

I bought this one July 8, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths

 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:

Is it possible to forget that you've committed a murder? Well, I'm here to tell you that it is.

Friday 56:

There's never a good reason why a doctor is needed urgently.

This week I am spotlighting Bleeding Heart Yard by Ellie Griffiths. This is the third in the Harbinder Kaur series. I've had it on my TBR pile for a while. Here's the description from Amazon:

A murderer strikes at a school reunion—but the students are no strangers to death— in this propulsive, twisty thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries

Is it possible to forget that you’ve committed a murder?

When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job—as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.

One day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School—among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent—and controversial—MP and the investigation is high profile, it’s headed by Cassie’s new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can’t shake the feeling that one of them has killed again.

Is Cassie right, or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It’s in Cassie’s interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like it has nothing to do with Manor Park and she seems to be succeeding.

Until someone else from the reunion is found dead in Bleeding Heart Yard…

Audiobook Review: Second Sight by Amanda Quick

Second Sight
Author: Amanda Quick
Narrator: Islay Jacobs
Series: The Arcane Society (Book 1)
Publication: Tantor Audio (March 28, 2023)
Length: 9 hours and 50 minutes

Description: New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick invites you to experience a thrilling adventure filled with the lure of ancient secrets and the simmering passions of the Victorian age in the first Arcane Society novel.

Venetia Milton's memories of a romantic night with Gabriel Jones—an alchemist's descendant—are shattered soon thereafter by news of his death. Adopting the guise of his respectable widow, she embarks on a new career as a fashionable photographer in London, where her unique ability to "see" beyond her subjects makes her photographs highly prized.

But Venetia's romantic whim causes unexpected trouble. For one thing, Mr. Jones is about to stride, living and breathing, back into her life. And someone he is tracking will go to any lengths, even murder, to possess an ancient, extraordinary secret that has been lost for centuries. Someone who believes that as the "wife" of Mr. Jones, Venetia is the key . . .

My Thoughts: Photographer Venetia Milton is hired by Gabriel Jones of the Arcane Society to photograph some newly discovered relics. When the home is invaded, Venetia manages to escape through a series of tunnels and make her way home but not before she had an interlude of passion with Jones. 

Hearing of his death, Venetia is heartbroken but determined to use the large fee paid by the Arcane Society to relocate her family and business to London and the take the name Mrs. Jones as her new business name. 

Things go awry when a villain decides that Venetia knows the secrets of the artifacts and begins having her watched. They go further awry when Gabriel Jones reappears from his supposed death to protect her from the villain. 

Forced to deal with a "husband" she thought dead and some suspicious circumstances including finding the body of the man who had been hired to follow her, Venetia and Gabriel need to team up to discover the various villains and fall in love along the way. 

This is the first of the books in the Arcane Society series. Its setting is Victorian London. I love the romance between Venetia and Gabriel.

I bought this one from Chirp Audiobooks March 7, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Killer Instinct
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Narrator: Amber Faith
Series: The Naturals (Book 2)
Publication: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (November 4, 2014)

Length: 9 hours and 23 minutes

Description: A chilling copycat killer has the Naturals in his crosshairs in this exhilarating crime thriller from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inheritance Games.

Seventeen-year-old Cassie Hobbes has a gift for profiling people. Her talent has landed her a spot in an elite FBI program for teens with innate crime-solving abilities, and into some harrowing situations. After barely escaping a confrontation with an unbalanced killer obsessed with her mother's murder, Cassie hopes she and the rest of the team can stick to solving cold cases from a distance.

But when victims of a brutal new serial killer start turning up, the Naturals are pulled into an active case that strikes too close to home: the killer is a perfect copycat of Dean's incarcerated father—a man he'd do anything to forget. Forced deeper into a murderer's psyche than ever before, will the Naturals be able to outsmart the enigmatic killer's brutal mind games before this copycat twists them into his web for good?

With her trademark wit, brilliant plotting, and twists that no one will see coming, Jennifer Lynn Barnes will keep readers on the edge of their seats (and looking over their shoulders) as they race through this thrilling novel.

My Thoughts: In this sequel to THE NATURALS, the five kids are still getting over the events of the first book when Agent Sterling moves in. She is a profiler like Dean and Cassie and she and Dean have a history. The kids get involved in a murder investigation when a crime is committed that looks like a copycat crime mimicking the crimes Dean's father committed. 

Last book, the focus was on Cassie. This time the focus is on Dean though Cassie is the viewpoint character. Cassie, Lia, Sloane and Michael all want to protect Dean from getting swept up into his father's games. But Dean's father is a complex character who has set up some long range plans.

The kids all use their skills as they try to out-think Dean's father and save lives. Michael read emotions; Lia is a human lie detector; Sloane is great with facts and details. They all need to use all their abilities in this case. 

Cassie also has to make some decisions about her relationships with both Michael and Dean. She really likes both boys who have a rivalry between them. Cassie doesn't want to hurt either but it is inevitable that she does.

The story is fast-paced, action-packed and still takes time to work on the relationships between the five kids. I enjoyed every page!

I bought this one using an Audible credit November 5, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens

The Elusive Bride
Author: Stephanie Laurens
Series: The Black Cobra Quartet (Book 2)
Publication: Avon (January 14, 2010)

Description: A second battle-hardened, completely unstoppable, all-male hero, an ex-officer of the Crown, confronts the deadly enemy known only as the Black Cobra. He's focused on his mission, then sees a lady he never dreamed he'd see again - with an assassin on her heels. She secretly followed him, unaware her path is deadly - or that she'll join him to battle a treacherous foe. Through ever-present peril, through passion, desire, and ecstasy, they race to reach England - and their destiny.

My Thoughts: This second in the Black Cobra series follows Major Gareth Hamilton as he tries to get home to England with a letter which can be used to finally end the Black Cobra's reign of terror in India. 

Emily Ensworth is the governor of India's niece. She has been spending time in India in the hopes of finding a husband. She's very picky and none of the men she met in England pleased her. She gets involved in the Black Cobra problems. But she also takes a look at Gareth Hamilton and thinks he's the One for her. However, with him leaving India to bring the message to England, she finds it necessary to chase after him to see if he is actually the One she's been searching for.

The two join forces largely because the Black Cobra's minions have targeted both of them and the race is on from India through Egypt and France to England fighting the Black Cobra's forces all along the way.

And Gareth is fighting his own feelings too. As a man without family, he isn't sure how to relate to the charming and bright Miss Ensworth except to protect her. Emily wants more. There were quite a few love scenes in this one along with battle scenes.

I enjoyed this historical romance/romantic suspense title. 

I bought this one August 6, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews

Lark! The Herald Angels Sing
Author: Donna Andrews
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow (Book 24)
Publication: Dreamscape Media (October 16, 2018)
Length: 8 hours and 46 minutes

Description: It's Christmas time in Caerphilly, and the town is preparing for their live nativity. During rehearsals, Meg discovers a real baby in the manger, with a note attached that says the mother is leaving the baby girl there so that her father can take care of her, and the wording of the note implicates Meg's brother, Rob, as the father.

Rob protests that he can't possibly be the father, but the town's suspicion creates a rift between him and his new girlfriend. Rob asks Meg to investigate on his behalf‚ to clear his name and to find the real parents of the baby.

But every day that passes without answers is another day that spoils everyone's enjoyment of the holiday and drives the wedge between Rob and his girlfriend deeper. As Meg gets further into her investigation, she discovers the found baby is connected to something much bigger, a crime that will need to be stopped by Meg and her motley crew to save the holidays for everyone.

My Thoughts: The 24th book in the Meg Langslow mystery series begins with rehearsals for the children's Christmas pageant and the discovery of a live baby in the manger. The baby has a note attached indicating the Meg's brother Rob is the father. 

Rob is trying to find just the right way to propose to his girlfriend Delaney and this discovery which is false has ignited Delaney's temper. Between trying to soothe Delaney's wounded feeling and discover the identity of the baby, Meg has her hands full.

The found baby who they call Lark because of a note attached to her blanket is the key to crimes going on in nearby Clay County. Solving a crime, reuniting the family, getting Rob and Delaney back together will call on all of Meg's ingenuity and the help of many of the colorful characters who live in Caerphilly.

This was another fast-paced and funny mystery ably narrated by Bernadette Dunne. 

I bought this Chirp Audiobook November 13, 2022. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Grave Deception by Connie Berry

A Grave Deception
Author: Connie Berry
Series: A Kate Hamilton Mystery (Book 6)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (December 9, 2025)

Description: Antiques expert Kate Hamilton dives into the past to solve a fourteenth-century mystery with disturbing similarities to a modern-day murder in the sixth installment of the Kate Hamilton mystery series.

Kate Hamilton and her husband, Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, have settled into married life in Long Barston. When archaeologists excavating the ruins of a nearby plague village discover the miraculously preserved body of a fourteenth-century woman, Kate and her colleague, Ivor Tweedy, are asked to appraise the grave goods, including a valuable pearl. When tests reveal the woman was pregnant and murdered, the owner of the estate on which the body was found, an amateur historian, asks Kate to identify her and, if possible, her killer. Surprised, Kate agrees to try.

Meanwhile, tensions within the archaeological team erupt when the body of the lead archaeologist turns up at the dig site with fake pearls in his mouth and stomach. Then a third body is found in the excavations. Meanwhile, Kate’s husband Tom is tracking the movements of a killer of his own.

With the help of 700-year-old documents and the unpublished research of a deceased historian, Kate must piece together the past before the grave count reaches four.

My Thoughts: The sixth Kate Hamilton mystery begins when she and her partner Ivor are invited to appraise some grave goods found at an archaeological site. A miraculously preserved body of a fourteenth century woman has been found. Investigations reveal that she was pregnant and she was murdered. Her sealed and lead lined coffin yields a variety of goods including a large pearl. 

The millionaire who owns the land where the dig is happening wants to hire Kate to see if she can discover who the woman was. She also learns that his young wife, a fashion model and amateur archaeologist, disappeared nine years earlier. He was suspected of murdering her, but lack of evidence and a body meant the case was stalled. Now, he is hoping that the grave goods will be the centerpiece of a museum he is creating at his estate in his wife's honor. 

When rivalry among the team currently exploring the site results in the death of the lead archaeologist, there is also a current murder to solve. Meanwhile, Kate's husband Tom, now a chief inspector, is trying to find a murderer on the run. 

This was an engaging mystery. I liked the setting and the historical details. I enjoyed the way Kate and Tom worked together. I liked the way the murders in the 1400s and the one nine years earlier have so many parallels. I was surprised by the identity of the villain even though the clues were there in the story. 

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

State of the Stack #171 (December 1, 2025)

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. Murder at Cottonwood Creek by Clara McKenna (November 18)
2. The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews (November 19)
3. Vows and Villainy by Elizabeth Penney (November 20)
4. All My Bones by P. J. Nelson (November 25)
5. The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier (November 26)
6. A Grave Deception by Connie Berry (December 2)
7. The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey (December 23)
8. The Devil in the Details by Vicki Delany (December 30)

DNF

1.  

Read Previously, Posted This Month 

Dates indicate when the review was posted.

1. Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop (November 4)
2. Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker (November 4)
3. Innocence Road by Laura Griffin (November 5)
4. Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally (November 6)
5. Haze by Katharine Kerr (November 6)
6. Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree (November 8)
7. The Queen Who Came in from the Cold by S. J. Bennett (November 11)
8. Blood Oath by Steve Urszenyi (November 11)
9. Midnight in Memphis by Thomas Dann (November 12)
10. The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts (November 13)
11. At Midnight Comes the Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming (November 13)

New This Month 

Date indicates when the book will be released.

1. The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey (December 30)
2. Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton (January 6)
3. Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh (January 27)
4. The Ghost Women by Jennifer Murphy (February 24)
5. A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn (March 3)
6. Cat on a Hot Tin Woof by Spencer Quinn (April 14)
7. Liar's Creek by Matt Goldman (April 21)
8. Storm Warning by Paul Byrne (May 26)
9. Storm Tide by Paul Doiron (June 30)

All TBR Review Books

January

• The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (January 6)
• Wildwood by Amy Pease (January 6)
• The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (January 6)

• Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton (January 6)
• Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day (January 6)

• A Deadly Clue by Victoria Gilbert (January 13)
• The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura (January 13)
• The Bookbinder's Secret by A. D. Bell (January 13)

• Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart (January 13)
• Inside Man by John McMahon (January 13)

• A Field Guide to Murder by Jennifer L. Cullen (January 27)
• Tell-Tale Treats by Jennifer J. Chow (January 27)
• Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh (January 27)

February

• Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb (February 3)
• Books & Bewitchment by Isla Jewell (February 3)
• Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan (February 10)

• Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (February 10)
• Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson (February 10)
• Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer (February 10)

• Half City by Kate Golden (February 17)
• First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong (February 17)
• Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove (February 17)

• Buried in Shamrocks by Lisa Q. Mathews (February 24)
• The Wolves Are Watching by Victoria Houston (February 24)
• The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly (February 24)

• How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson (February 24)
• The Ghost Women by Jennifer Murphy (February 24)

March

• A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn (March 3)
• Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey (March 10)

• You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews (March 17)
• Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips (March 17)
• The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by C. M. Waggoner (March 17)

• Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict (March 24)
• The Survivor by Andrew Reid (March 24)

April 

• The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer (April 7)
• The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown (April 14)
• Cat on a Hot Tin Woof by Spencer Quinn (April 14)

• Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan (April 21)
• Liar's Creek by Matt Goldman (April 21)

May 

• An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong (May 19)
• Storm Warning by James Byrne (May 26)

June

• Storm Tide by Paul Doiron (June 30)