It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 25, 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 a pretty quiet week again. We had some rain and thunderstorms and some unusually cool days for August. I did a lot of reading and listening and some watching of Braves Baseball.

I have the eARC of the next book in the Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series by Julia Spencer-Fleming on my review stack. I decided to read the earlier books in the series again since the first came out in 2002 and the ninth came out in 2020, Luckily, I had snapped up the first six when they were on sale at Chirp January 4, 2024, and the seventh is currently available on Audible Plus. Since besides each book's mystery the series deals with the lives and changing relationship of the two main characters, I was very tempted to binge the whole series back-to-back to back. However, I decided to space them out a bit more in fear of getting too far behind on books appearing earlier on my calendar. 

I have an interesting history with that series. I bought the first six in paperback on March 25, 2009, but they sat on my shelf for quite a few years before I read them. I had the idea that they were historical mysteries based mainly on the titles, and I kept skipping over them. Once I did pick up the first in 2019, I read them all and eagerly purchased the rest of the available titles in print in 2019 and read as I got them. Then the wait began for book ten which will be published this November.

I also, tentatively, set up my posts for October this week too. So, when I was approved for Murder at Somerset House by Andrea Penrose and I discovered that I hadn't yet read the book that came before it in the series, I had to do some calendar adjusting. I moved A Death in Door County onto my November calendar which is good because it means I have one scheduled post already for November. I might move it again if any of my planned October books don't grab me though. 

I don't have any plans or appointments for this week. After having today (Sunday) and Tuesday off, my brother begins and 8-day stretch at work. While all of them don't have him working until 11PM, all do have him working during the dinner hour. We're both looking forward to his vacation which is coming up from September 7 through the 13th. We don't have any plans. He just takes a week when he maxes out his accumulated vacation hours. 

Read Last Week

• No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams (Review, September 16) -- A contemporary thriller in which a woman fled her home in Wisconsin, moved to LA, and became a forensic pathologist. She has to come back home when her father disappears. My review will be posted on September 11.
• Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews (Chirp Audiobook, mine since August 13) -- Baseball and murder are stars in this entry into the Meg Langslow humorous mystery series. My review will be posted on September 9.
• The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi (Review, September 16) -- Scalzi returns to the Old Man's War series after a ten-year absence. Great space opera! My review will be posted on September 11.

• A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan (Audiobook, Mine since August 18) -- A contemporary mystery set in Wisconsin starring a cryptozoologist. My review is currently set to be posted on November 8.
• The Adventure of the Demonic Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle, Mine since July 11) -- This is the latest in the fantasy novellas starring Penric and Desdemona. 
• Wonderment in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook, mine since June 5) -- A novella in the In Death series with ties to Alice in Wonderland.

• Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (Review, September 23) -- The second Maple Bishop mystery set in Vermont in 1950. My review will be posted on September 16.
• Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Chirp Audiobook, Mine since January 4, 2024) -- Third book in the Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne mysteries. My review will be posted on September 23.
• Murder at King's Crossing by Andrea Penrose (Kindle, Mine since January 25) -- 8th book in the Wrexford & Sloane historical mysteries. My review will be posted on September 13.

Currently

• To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Chirp Audiobook, Reread)
• A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard (Review, September 23)

Next Week

• Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner (Review, September 23)
• You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Sophie Sullivan (Review, September 23)
• A Dark and Deadly Journey by Julia Kelly (Review, September 23)

• Dark Horse by Felix Francis (Review, September 23)
• The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (Review, September 30)
• The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves (Review, September 30)

Reviews Posted

• Claws Out by Cate Conte (Review copy)
• Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (Review Copy)
• A Lonesome Place for Murder by Nolan Chase (Review copy)

• Death at an Irish Village by Ellie Brannigan (Review copy)
• Laying Down the Latte by Ellie Alexander (Review copy)
• A Moment's Shadow by Anna Lee Huber (Review copy)

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

Review:

• Murder at Somerset House by Andrea Penrose (Review, September 30)
• Vows and Villainy by Elizabeth Penney (Review, November 25)

• The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (Review, January 6)
• Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson (Review, February 10)

Bought:

• All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle, BookBub, $1.99; Audible Add-On, $7.49)
• A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan (Audible Credit)

What was your week like?