Audiobook Review: Night Candy by Max Tomlinson

Night Candy
Author: Max Tomlinson

Narrator: Terry Dien
Series: Colleen Hayes (Book 5)
Publication: Oceanview Publishing (July 25, 2023)

Length: 10 hours and 47 minutes

Description: 1970s San Francisco: the sights, the sounds, the serial killers

As the '70s draw to a close in San Francisco, things do not bode well for the city—or for ex-con PI Colleen Hayes, whose daughter Pam, in a tragic turn of events, has lost her baby. Pam leaves San Francisco, and Colleen, who moved there to reunite with her, starts to wonder what she's doing in the Bay Area.

Meanwhile, a serial killer given the name "Night Candy" is targeting sex workers, both male and female. The situation doesn't improve when Colleen's friend and ally—SFPD Inspector Owens—is arrested for the murder of his ex-wife, who was found burned in a fire the same night the pair had tried to rekindle their love. Could Owens have really done what they say? Even Colleen has her doubts.

But there are people depending on her: Owens, who needs help finding his ex-wife's real killer, and a trio of sex workers Colleen keeps her eye on—especially with Night Candy on the loose. Then, one of the three girls is next to disappear. If anything is to test Colleen's resolve, December 1979 seems to be it.

My Thoughts: When Colleen's police officer friend Inspector Owens is accused of murdering his ex-wife and the man in charge of the investigation is Owen's mortal enemy, she finds herself very involved in proving that her friend is not guilty of murder. Meanwhile, Colleen is worried about some working girls because the serial killer known as Night Candy is still targeting sex workers. 

Colleen is also still grieving the loss of a potential grandchild and the disappearance again of her daughter Pamela. She has to finally reconcile herself to the fact that she and her daughter will not develop the close relationship she wants. 

The story was filled with period details for 1979 including the fashions and songs on the radio. I enjoyed this engaging story which is filled with twists, turns, and plots. 

I bought this one April 27. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner

Crash & Burn
Author: Lisa Gardner
Narrator: Christina Traiser & Mikael Naramore
Series: Tessa Leoni
Publication: Brilliance Audio (February 3, 2015)
Length: 13 hours and 26 minutes

Description: The number one New York Times best-selling author's latest stand-alone thriller, with a cameo by her fan-favorite character, Boston Detective D.D. Warren

My name is Nicky Frank. Except, most likely, it isn't.

Nicole Frank shouldn't have been able to survive the car accident, much less crawl up the steep ravine. Not in the dark, not in the rain, not with her injuries. But one thought allows her to defy the odds and flag down help: Vero.

I'm looking for a little girl. I have to save her. Except, most likely, she doesn't exist.

Sergeant Wyatt Foster is frustrated when even the search dogs can't find any trace of the mysterious missing child. Until Nicky's husband, Thomas, arrives with a host of shattering revelations: Nicole Frank suffers from a rare brain injury and the police shouldn't trust anything she says.

My husband claims he'll do anything to save me. Except, most likely, he can't.

Who is Nicky Frank, and what happened the night her car sailed off the road? Was it a random accident or something more sinister given the woman's lack of family and no close friends? The deeper Wyatt digs, the more concerned he becomes. Because it turns out, in the past few months, Nicky has suffered from more than one close accident. In fact, it would appear someone very much wants her dead.

My Thoughts: CRASH & BURN was an excellent twisty thriller starring Sergeant Wyatt Foster and Tessa Leone with a guest appearance by D. D. Warren. 

It all begins on a rainy night in New Hampshire. Wyatt is called to a car accident. A woman has driven her car off a cliff and then climbed back to the road for help. She concussed, has been drinking, and is confused but she's sure that she was traveling with a little girl named Vero who can't be found. An immediate search if begun for Vero but not even search dogs can find her. 

Wyatt learns that Nicky Frank is suffering from Post Concussive syndrome. She has recently suffered a number of falls and concussions. When she wakes up in the hospital, she doesn't even recognize her husband. 

The story is told from both Wyatt's and Nicky's viewpoints. In Wyatt's, they are searching for Vero and also trying to find out why Nicky has hired Tessa's investigative agency to find someone for her. Nicky seems like a woman without a past who might have been kidnapped as a child to be part of a child sex trafficking ring. In Nicky's viewpoint which is pretty surreal, we learn that Nicky is confused about just how old this Vero is and has some pretty dark memories about her. 

The story was compelling and really, really twisty. I enjoyed it very much. 

I bought this one April 16. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: For Services Rendered by Will Thomas

For Services Rendered
Author: Will Thomas
Series: Barker and Llewelen (Book 17)
Publication: Minotaur (August 18, 2026)

Description: In London, 1896, private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker's world is upturned when his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Nightwine, previously believed dead, turns up with evil on his mind, launching devastating and secretive attacks against not just Barker, but his network of friends and close associates.

In 1896, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, would be reformer and revolutionary, turns up in London, running away from China's Imperial Qing Secret Service, who has placed a substantial bounty on his head for his political activities. Captured by those agents, he's imprisoned in the Chinese Embassy until he can be smuggled back to China to face execution.

In the meantime, private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn receive the unbelievable news that Sebastian Nightwine is both alive and in London. Not just that, it seems he's taking action against Barker and his close associates. At the same time, they've been hired to find this missing Sun Yat-Sen. With elements of the Chinese secret service, elements of the British government, and Nightwine himself all working against them, Barker & Llewelyn are at risk of being cornered by the deadliest set enemies they've yet faced.

My Thoughts: The intrepid Victorian detective duo of Barker and Llewellyn are hired to locate Dr. Sun Yat-Sen who has gone missing on a visit to London. He is on the run from the Imperial Qing Secret Service accused of treason against the emperor. Meanwhile, Sebastian Nightwine, long thought dead, is back in London determined to get revenge on Barker and his close associates from his days in China.

Thomas Llewellyn is the narrator and Barker the lead and very enigmatic senior partner. Things get exciting when Barker's associates begin to be kidnapped leaving Barker to find them before they too are returned to China for the prices on their heads. 

I liked the sections narrated by Sun Yat-Sen who has been captured and held prisoner in the Chinese Embassy. I also enjoyed the references to many of the duo's earlier cases. The story had an excellent Victorian setting. 

Fans who have been following along will be excited to read this seventeenth adventure. 

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

Book Review: Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine by Janet Evanovich

Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine
Author: Janet Evanovich

Series: Stephanie Plum (Book 29)
Publication: Atria Books (November 1, 2022)

Description: Stephanie Plum breaks the rules, flirts with disaster, and shows who’s boss in this whip-smart and fast-paced thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling “crown princess of detective fiction” (BookPage) Janet Evanovich.

Monday mornings aren’t supposed to be fun, but they should be predictable. However, on this particular Monday, Stephanie Plum knows that something is amiss when she turns up for work at Vinnie’s Bail Bonds to find that longtime office manager Connie Rosolli, who is as reliable as the tides in Atlantic City, hasn’t shown up.

Stephanie’s worst fears are confirmed when she gets a call from Connie’s abductor. He says he will only release her in exchange for a mysterious coin that a recently murdered man left as collateral for his bail. Unfortunately, this coin, which should be in the office—just like Connie—is nowhere to be found.

The quest to discover the coin, learn its value, and save Connie will require the help of Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur, her best pal Lula, her boyfriend Morelli, and hunky security expert Ranger. As they get closer to unraveling the reasons behind Connie’s kidnapping, Connie’s captor grows more threatening and soon Stephanie has no choice but to throw caution to the wind, follow her instincts, and go rogue.

Full of surprises, thrills, and humor, Going Rogue reveals a new side of Stephanie Plum, and shows Janet Evanovich at her scorching, riotous best.

My Thoughts: Connie the long-time office manager for Vinnie's Bail Bonds goes missing in this latest Stephanie Plum adventure. She has been kidnapped by people who want the commemorative coin Vinnie took as collateral for the bail of a man who apparently committed suicide by shooting himself twelve times. 

The main problem is that the coin is no longer in the room where physical collateral is usually kept. Stephanie's first task is to track down the missing coin which leads her to a man determined to make his career panhandling with a little pickpocketing thrown in. The panhandler is named Carpenter Beedle, and he has failed to appear for his court date. That makes him first on Stephanie's to-do list. 

Carpenter did have the coin, after picking Vinnie's pocket, but he sold it to Benji at the comic book store, who then sold it to collector Melvin Sparks who has it along with five other identical commemorative coins but doesn't want to sell any of them. 

Luckily, Stephanie has the help of her friends Lula, Morelli, and Ranger along with the questionable assistance of her Grandma Mazur, because this case keeps adding complications. One such complication is needing to bring in Bella Morelli, her boyfriend Joe Morelli's grandmother, because she missed her court date for her arson trial. Everyone is afraid of Bella who is known for cursing anyone who crosses her in any way. Stephanie doesn't believe in the curses but she's wary of Bella anyway.

Stephanie and her colleagues are at their wacky bests in this episode which, naturally, includes wrecking yet another car and spending $450 on a Whatever - a car made of parts found in a junkyard - until that one is also bombed by one of the guys she's returned to jail after skipping their court date. 

While Stephanie still can't decide between the two men in her life, she has come to realize that not only does she like tracking down people who skip their court dates, but that she's actually pretty good at it. This was another funny episode in a long-running series. 

I bought this one for $2.99 on June 1, 2023. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz

Fired Up
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Islay Jacobs
Series: Arcane Society (Book 7)
Publication: Tantor Media (August 27, 2024)
Length: 9 hours and 53 minutes

Description: More than three centuries ago, Nicholas Winters irrevocably altered his genetic makeup in an obsession fueled competition with alchemist and Arcane Society founder Sylvester Jones. Driven to control their psychic abilities, each man's decision has reverberated throughout the family line, rewarding some with powers beyond their wildest dreams, and cursing others to a life filled with madness and hallucinations.

Jack Winters, descendant of Nicholas, has been experiencing nightmares and blackouts—just the beginning, he believes, of the manifestation of the Winters family curse. The legend says that he must find the Burning Lamp or risk turning into a monster. But he can't do it alone; he needs the help of a woman with the gift to read the lamp's dreamlight.

Jack is convinced that private investigator Chloe Harper is that woman. Her talents for finding objects and accessing dream energy are what will save him, but their sudden and powerful sexual pull threatens to overwhelm them both. Danger surrounds them, and it doesn't take long for Chloe to pick up the trail of the missing lamp. And as they draw closer to the lamp, the raw power that dwells within it threatens to sweep them into a hurricane of psychic force.

My Thoughts: Jack Winters has a problem. As a descendent of Nicholas Winters, he fears that he has inherited the Winters' curse which will make his psychic gifts out of control. He needs the Burning Lamp but it went missing on a family moves many years earlier. 

Jack comes to Chloe Harper, a private investigator, to find the missing lamp. Chloe has a talent for finding missing things and a psychic gift for reading dream energy. She might be the only one who can save him. 

Chloe's ability to read dream energy has become a handicap in her life. Because everyone sheds dream energy, she finds that she can be around anyone who is sleeping and dreaming. This hasn't done good things to her love life. In fact, she's convinced that only celibacy will solve her problem. 

As Jack and Chloe search for the Burning Lamp, they fall in love. But eluding a powerful, evil organization that also wants the lamp and Chloe to use it, makes falling in love something that has to come second in both their lives. 

This was an entertaining paranormal romance. I like the relationship between Jack and Chloe. I also like Chloe's circle with includes her mutt who has separation issues. 

I bought this audiobook May 13, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Murder on Charity Lane by Jo Nichols

Murder on Charity Lane
Author: Jo Nichols
Series: Marigold Cottages Mysteries
Publication: Minotaur (August 18, 2026)

Description: Months after the shocking murders at Marigold Cottages, eccentric landlady Mrs. B finds the peace and quiet a little too peaceful. That’s why she invites her young friend CJ Moore to move into a now-vacant cottage: CJ is a suspect in the death of her employer, a wealthy Santa Barbara philanthropist who tumbled down the stairs of his mansion during a dinner party. The dead man’s much-younger widow claims she saw CJ push him, but Mrs. B is certain that she’s innocent. Why? Oh, just a feeling.

That’s enough for her to summon the Marigold Cottages Murder Collective. Lily-Ann will marshal the facts, Hamilton will dig around online, Sophie and Nicholas will offer eyewitness testimony, and everyone will hope that Ocean keeps Mrs. B out of trouble.

Just as the tenants begin to suspect that Elsa is in fact the perpetrator, there’s a second murder. A bloodier one. And with their tight-knit community in the crosshairs, they must prove her innocence - or accept her guilt.

My Thoughts: The eccentric characters who live in Marigold Cottages in Santa Barbara have a new mystery to solve when Ocean's new girlfriend CJ is accused of killing her elderly employer. Mrs. B is all in on reassembling the Marigold Cottages Murder Collective to solve the crime. In fact, she is so all in as to put the cottages at risk to secure CJ's freedom from jail.

This story is told from multiple viewpoints. Lily-Ann is the one who puts all the facts together in her spreadsheets and with her unique viewpoint. Sophie, a fund raiser, and Nicholas who works for the city have met the victim and his wife at a party at his home where Sophie was invited to make contacts with rich Santa Barbarans. They were present when Frank fell from the top of a stairway and broke his neck. 

CJ has worked for the retired music producer since she finished college and has a father-daughter relationship with him. Unfortunately, his wife Karina is not CJ's biggest fan. She resents CJ's closeness with her much older husband. Therefore, when he falls, she immediately tells the police that CJ pushed him. 

Other viewpoints include Vernon who is the police detective assigned to the case and who has had previous encounters with the Marigold Cottage residents, Hamilton who is the computer guy who is phobic about leaving his house, Ocean who is the artist in residence and the most likely to ride herd on Mrs. B. Mrs. B is also a viewpoint character and the most eccentric of the crew. 

This was a fun mystery filled with widely disparate characters who have nonetheless formed a found family to envy. 

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? (August 10, 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...

I had a busy week by my standards. I had a dentist's appointment which will be leading to two more appointments since I need to replace a crown. I'm really not looking forward to the experience though I'm told it will be easier than the appointments when the crown was first done more than 30 years ago. I did manage to cough very little at my cleaning and hope I won't be coughing too much for the next appointments. 

It looks like I did a lot of reading this past week but looks are deceiving. Three of the books I finished were short stories. Each took just over an hour to read or listen to. They were more than made up for by another audiobook I listened to this week. It seemed endless which isn't too much of a surprise since I learned the print version has 459 pages. My current audiobook is also a long one but I'm enjoying it a lot more. 

I added nine books to my stack this week including three new review copies. Three of the new additions were from Prime Reading which also included audiobooks. I've already read and returned two of them. The other new audiobook is for a book I already have as a Kindle version. I used one of my Audible Credits for it. I bought Cursed City for my keeper shelf since it was on sale for $2.99. I enjoyed it when I read it as a review copy earlier this year. 

Adding three review copies and reading only two means that my review stack is back at 40 TBR. I do have three on the pile for next week and hope nothing new is added to the review stack. 

This is the week to vote in the Primary Elections to determine who'll be on the ballot in November. It is also a full week of vacation for my brother. He has no plans but needs to use up accrued vacation hours. It will be sort of a preview for his retirement which is getting closer. He plans to retire next April when he hits age 70.

Read Last Week

• Golden in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook, Mine since May 2, 2023) -- Reread of the 50th book in the In Death series.
• Shards of Glass by Michelle Sagara (Audiobook, Mine since May 11) -- First in the Academia series which is related to the Chronicles of Elantra series. My review will be posted on September 10.
• The Case of the Christie Conspiracy by Kelly Oliver (Audiobook, Mine since June 14) -- Historical mystery. I actually preferred the Kindle version to the audiobook because it was easier to keep track of the characters and clues. My review will be posted on September 8.

• The Wednesday Witches Book Club by Sarah Beth Durst (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since August 5) -- Prime reading and audiobook, short story.
• The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki Van Sickle (Review, September 8) -- Paranormal cozy mystery. My review will be posted on September 3)
• The Girls on the Shore by Ann Cleeves (Kindle, Mine since August 6) -- Short story starring Matthew Ven and Jen Renfrew. 

• Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since July 31) -- YA Space Opera. My review will be posted on September 11.
• The Lion's Tusk by Robert Jackson Bennett (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since August 5) -- Prime reading short story and audiobook in the Ana and Din series. 
• A Field Guide to Death and Deceit by Michelle L. Cullen (Review, September 15) -- Second Harry and Emma mystery. My review will be posted on September 8.

Currently

• A Deadly Entanglement by Cathy Pegau (Review, September 15)
• Salvage Right by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook reread)

Next Week

• I Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas (Review, September 15)
• Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander (Review, September 22)
• The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves (Audiobook, Mine since August 3)

• Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich (Kindle, Mine since July 20)
• Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett (Kindle, Mine since June 23)
• Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since June 29)

Reviews Posted

• Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook)
• Bad Scene by Max Tomlinson (Audiobook)
• Murder at Blackfriars by Jennifer Ashley (Review copy)

• Death at a Scottish Halloween by Lucy Connelly (Review copy)
• The Matchmaker's Cottage by Kat Sloane (Review copy)
• Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan (Review copy)

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

Review:

• Cry of the Rain Crow by Laurie L. Dove (Review, December 8)
• The Magical Cheese Emporium by Sarah Beth Durst (Review, January 19)
• The Book Hunter by Jayne Ann Krentz (Review, January 26) - Cover not yet revealed

Bought:

• A Labyrinth of Honeybees by Heather Fawcett (Prime Reading & Audiobook)
• The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves (Audiobook, Audible Credit)
• The Lion's Tusk by Robert Jackson Bennett (Prime Reading & Audiobook)

• The Wednesday Witches Book Club by Sarah Beth Durst (Prime Reading & Audiobook)
• The Girls on the Shore by Ann Cleeves (Kindle, $.99)
• Half City by Kate Golden (Kindle, $2.99)

What was your week like?

Audiobook Review: Bad Scene by Max Tomlinson

Bad Scene
Author: Max Tomlinson

Narrator: Margy Stein
Series: Colleen Hayes (Book 3)
Publication: Oceanview Publishing (November 22, 2021)

Length: 9 hours and 12 minutes

Description: 1978 San Francisco - a cult leader in Ecuador - one woman’s struggle to reconnect with her lost daughter before it is too late.

When PI and ex-con, Colleen Hayes, learns that a local neo-Nazi group is talking about shooting the mayor, she thinks it’s just another rumor - until her source, a humble street newspaper vendor, winds up in SF General, beaten to a pulp.

To add to her grief, she discovers that her runaway daughter, Pamela, might have joined a shadowy religious group, building a church in South America near a volcano that is about to erupt. Death is the path to perfection according to the charismatic young preacher - and the date is fast approaching.

Colleen is desperate to find a way to stop her daughter from making the ultimate mistake before she - along with hundreds of others - lose their lives.

My Thoughts: Colleen Hayes, ex-con and current PI, is looking for her daughter Pamela in 1978 San Francisco. She and her daughter have had a bad relationship ever since Colleen killed her ex-husband who was abusing Pamela and spent nine years in prison. 

Pamela is the sort of young woman who falls for every sort of cult that is available to her. After leaving a cult most known for dealing drugs, she has fallen into a suicide cult heading for a Jonestown-like solution. 

While Colleen is searching for Pamela, she uncovers a plot to kill the mayor which she is eager to pass on to the cops who don't seem to do anything about it. Colleen's investigations also take her into neo-Nazi territory where she attends a rally with a member of a biker gang who might have information about Pamela's whereabouts. 

A trip to Ecuador to rescue her daughter from her latest folly is also a part of this story. She finds a pregnant Pamela and brings her back to San Francisco where they can work on their relationship if Colleen can keep them both alive. 

I enjoyed this mystery both for its strong main character and for the setting. San Francisco in the 1970s is set out in great detail for the reader. 

I bought the Kindle copy July 26, 2022, and the audiobook odd-on July 3, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan

Brimstone Hollow
Author: Archer Sullivan
Series: Annie Gore (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur (August 11, 2026)

Description: Following her powerful debut in The Witch’s Orchard, private investigator Annie Gore returns in Brimstone Hollow, bringing readers back to the mountains that author Archer Sullivan, a ninth-generation Appalachian, knows so well.

There isn’t much that happens in the Appalachian Mountains that Private Investigator Annie Gore hasn’t seen. Before she was an Air Force Special Investigator, she was born and raised in those rolling hills, and lately Annie's cases have called her away from her Louisville office and closer to the small towns of her youth than she ever anticipated. But when her newest client asks if she’s ever been to a snake-handling church, Annie knows she’s about to enter unknown territory.

Katie May has been estranged from her father―one of Appalachia’s last infamous snake handling preachers―for twenty years. But when Katie finds out he’s been fatally bitten, and a funeral was held within twenty-four hours, she questions whether someone deliberately rushed the process. Despite Annie’s doubts, she takes the case. After all, when she looks at Katie, she sees a version of herself: a girl who needs to understand her father in order to understand herself.

As she navigates the hidden hollers and dangerous secrets of this insular Eastern Kentucky town, Annie works fast, hoping to find the truth in record time for her client―and before too many memories from her own childhood surface. But it soon becomes apparent that someone wants Annie’s investigation to stop―by any means necessary.

My Thoughts: Private Investigator Annie Gore is sitting in her office one day doing paperwork when her next client walks in. Katie May has been estranged from her father for more than 20 years, but when she learns he has died and been buried within 24 hours, she wants to know if there was something fishy going on. 

Annie finds herself deep in the Appalachian Mountains looking into the death on one of the few remaining snake handling preachers. Annie has found herself in a town filled with secrets and with preacher Ezra King's death being only the first in a series. 

Annie does get some help from the local Chief of Police but his is very busy with the Memorial Day festivities and crowds along with a fatal house fire. When Annie's beloved car's brakes are tampered with, she knows she's attracted someone's attention. And when the likely suspect for the tampering is also found dead, Annie has even more questions. 

As she uncovers the preacher's secrets connections are made to drug dealing and gambling. All of these activities are taking place in an insular mountain town also filled with secrets. 

I enjoyed this story. I liked that Annie took on her most recent client to help her learn about her father which reminds Annie of her own search to learn her father's secrets. The setting was wonderfully realized, the action nonstop, and the characters intriguing. 

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

ARC Review: The Matchmaker's Cottage by Kat Sloane

The Matchmaker's Cottage
Author: Kat Sloane
Publication: Berkley (August 11, 2026)

Description: A cozy fall romance wrapped in small-town charm reunites the owner of a bed-and-breakfast with her childhood sweetheart for a celebrity matchmaking scheme which has them both seeing stars

Julia Schaeffer might run the most romantic little bed-and-breakfast in Upstate New York, but as far as that infuriating Ethan Duchamp is concerned, this older, wiser Julia has a strict “no vacancy” policy. Sure, she’s teetering on the edge of a financial cliff, and his half-baked plan to pair up his celebrity clients at her inn will undoubtedly be good for business…but how much forced proximity with the man who abandoned her is she supposed to take?

Ethan needs this to work. The dreamy, autumnal—and blissfully secluded—cottage from his childhood summers is the ideal setting for playing matchmaker to Hollywood’s next power couple. It’s the only way to save his PR career from the tabloid toilet. He knew that the inn and Julia’s warm, comforting homemade touch would inspire real feelings—he just didn’t expect them to be his. Again.

But as old wounds reopen, and their connection rekindles, Julia and Ethan are forced to confront the truths they’ve both tried to bury. In a town where nothing stays hidden for long, they’ll have to decide if they can rebuild what was lost—or if their second chance will be derailed by scars that have yet to heal.

My Thoughts: Best friends from childhood through college reunite in this romance set in a bed-and-breakfast in Upper New York State. 

Julia Schaeffer has purchased the summer camp where she and Ethan Duchamp spent most of their childhood summers. She's turned it into a B&B but is drowning under the bills that have piled up. She's always suffered from anxiety attacks, but they are definitely getting worse with the current stress.

Ethan works for a PR firm and, after a PR disaster, needs a win. He chooses Julia's inn as the place to publicize a PR romance between two young stars - Katy and Noah - who have their own reasons for PR to distract from problems in their lives. 

Katy and Noah became friends while working on a movie together and are scheduled to star again in the sequel. They are good buddies, but there is no romance between them. The romance that grows at the B&B is that between Julia - called Gem by Ethan since they were kids - and Ethan. Each has mental health issues of various kinds and a great fear of ever beginning something again with the other. 

Add in a new romance between Katy and Julia's cook/housekeeper and the arrival of a former client of Ethan's who has fabricated a romance between the two of them and you have a tense and twisty sort of romance. 

Fans of romances with real-life touches will enjoy this story. I found the relationships among the various characters to be interesting and complex enough to make the romance between Julia and Ethan sort of secondary to the story. 

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

ARC Review: Death at a Scottish Halloween by Lucy Connelly

Death at a Scottish Halloween
Author: Lucy Connelly
Series: Scottish Isle Mysteries (Book 5)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (August 11, 2026)

Description: When Dr. Emilia McRoy stumbles upon a dead body in a haunted house, she resolves to find the killer before another body can fall.

Halloween isn’t the only cause for fright in the fifth Scottish Isle mystery, perfect for fans of Paige Shelton and Connie Berry.

It’s the week of Halloween—or as they say in Scotland, All Hallows' Eve—and the town of Sea Isle is full of spooky celebrations. Dr. Emilia McRoy loves being part of her new community and is eager to help out in any way she can. But the festivities are interrupted when she and her assistant, Abigail, find a dead body in a haunted house. A real one. They’re too late to save the victim, but they’ll do whatever it takes to find his killer.

There’s just one problem: There are too many suspects.

Constable Ewan would prefer the good doctor and her friends stay out of the investigations, but that isn’t how Dr. Em rolls. As she and her gang investigate, they realize the killer is searching for something—and has no problem murdering anyone who gets in the way of finding it.

Dr. Em must stay one step ahead if she’s to survive this Halloween season alive—either that or she might just end up the next victim.

My Thoughts: It is Halloween week in Sea Isle and the town goes all out to celebrate. Dr. Em and her friends are all involved in the local haunted house. However, they aren't expecting to find a murdered man in one of the exhibits. And certainly not one killed by the butcher knife that was part of Em's tableau. 

Duncan Craig was an artist who also worked on offshore oil rigs. He was a newcomer to the town. His sister and best friend were working on his tableau with him but went ahead of him to the pub while he rearranged the scene a bit. Em and Abigail discover the body when they are checking that no one was left behind after closing. 

The big surprise comes the next day when a woman with a small child comes to identify Duncan's body. However, neither his sister nor his best friend knows her. She is apparently looking for a different Duncan Craig. This one owns an antiques shop and was off on a buying trip attending estate sales in the area. 

Ewan and his deputies are now on the hunt for the missing Duncan Craig while trying to figure out who stabbed the other Duncan Craig.

Unfortunately, Em discovers a man slumped outside her doctor's office door when returning from another festivity. This one turns out to be the missing Duncan Craig. He appears to have died of being frightened to death. He had undiagnosed diabetes and an enlarged heart which contributed to his death. 

These murders are baffling. Is someone out to rid the world of Duncan Craigs? Do the two men have anything in common? Ewan and Em and her Scooby gang have their work cut out for them in this fifth in the Scottish Isle Mysteries series. And they have to fit their investigations in around a variety of Halloween celebrations. 

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

Audiobook Review: Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz

Shattering Dawn
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Eva Kaminsky
Series: The Lost Night Files (Book 3)
Publication: Recorded Books (January 7, 2025)
Length: 8 hours and 43 minutes

Description: An unsettling investigation teaches two suspicious people how to trust, in the next thrilling novel of the Lost Night Files trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz.

Amelia Rivers, a member of the Lost Night Files podcast team, hires private investigator Gideon Sweetwater to catch the stalker who has been watching her. Amelia suspects that whoever it is may be connected to the shadowy organization responsible for the night that she and her two friends lost to amnesia—a night that upended their lives and left them with heightened paranormal talents.

Gideon believes that Amelia is either paranoid or an outright con artist, but they have a chemistry he can’t resist. He takes the case despite his skepticism. For her part, Amelia has second thoughts about the wisdom of employing the mysterious Mr. Sweetwater. She is wary of the powerful attraction between them and deeply uneasy about the nightmarish paintings on the walls of his home. She senses these were inspired by his own dreams.

Amelia knows she doesn’t have time to find another investigator, and Gideon is forced to reckon with the truth when he disrupts what was intended to be Amelia’s kidnapping. Now the pair is on the run, with no choice but to return to the haunting ruins of the old hotel where Amelia’s lost night occurred. They are desperate to stop a killer, as well as the people who are conducting illegal experiments with a dangerous drug designed to enhance psychic abilities. If they are to survive, they will have to trust each other and the passion that bonds them.

My Thoughts: The final book in the Lost Night Files trilogy stars Amelia Rivers and Gideon Sweetwater. 

Since her lost night, Amelia has had her psychic gift of aura reading enhanced. She has also developed a phobia about the dark of night and attracted a stalker. She goes to private investigator Gideon Sweetwater for help finding and discouraging her stalker. 

Gideon is still recovering from a previous case when he rescued a young man from a cult. He has a stalker of his own. Fascinated with Amelia, he decides to take her case despite his doubts about her aura reading ability. Gideon has psychic powers of his own which are causing problems in his life. 

They travel to the deserted desert hotel where the events of Amelia's lost night occurred and make some discoveries and learn more about each other. 

This episode brings many of the events of the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion while still leaving the door open for further books. I enjoyed the romance between Gideon and Amelia. The growing relationship between Gideon and Amelia entertaining to watch. I also enjoyed the paranormal aspects of this story.

Fans of the earlier books in this trilogy will also enjoy this concluding story.

I bought this one November 11, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Murder at Blackfriars by Jennifer Ashley

Murder in Blackfriars
Author: Jennifer Ashley
Series: A Below Stairs Mystery
Publication: Berkley (August 11, 2026)

Description: In Victorian London, valiant cook and amateur sleuth Kat Holloway must help the man she loves solve the murder that will finally uncover his mysterious past, from the New York Times bestselling author of A Silence in Belgrave Square.

Kat Holloway’s beau, Daniel McAdam, has always had a past shrouded in mystery. He knows nothing about his origins, only that he was rescued from the streets many years ago. So when someone claiming to know where Daniel came from turns up dead moments before meeting with him, Daniel goes on the hunt for the killer. It soon becomes clear that to see justice served, Daniel will have to figure out who he truly is. When he asks Kat for her assistance, she readily complies, knowing she’ll do whatever she must to protect the man she’s come to love.

The quest takes Kat and Daniel deep into the East End, where they face dangerous foes from Daniel’s rugged past who will stop at nothing to keep Kat and Daniel from uncovering their secrets. As Kat begins to learn things about Daniel’s history, she fears that the darkest secret—his true name and lineage—will tear apart the tender bonds they’ve begun to form.

My Thoughts: This episode of the Below Stairs mysteries is filled with changes for the main characters and two different mysteries to solve. 

Kat Holloway's fiancé Daniel McAdam has received a message from a man who might be able to shed some light on Daniel's past. However, the man is murdered while on his way to a meeting with Daniel and Kat. It is not at all clear if he was killed because of the information he had for Daniel or for some other reason. 

As Kat investigates the man's lodgings, she meets a friend who tells her that the murdered man had a lead to a house that took in abandoned children but was dissolved when the woman who ran it died with the children sent to a workhouse.

Kat calls on her friends and resources to investigate further while Daniel is concentrating his investigation on finding the man's killer. He is reluctant to hope that the mystery of his past can have a solution.

Kat also receives a blow when she learns that the family that has been caring for her daughter since she was born will be moving away for a job opportunity. Her twice weekly visits with her daughter won't be possible because of the distance to the family's new home. She and Daniel need to save up funds before they can marry and provide a home for her daughter. 

Kat has also begun a new business selling baked goods at a local market as a first step in starting her own business when she marries. 

A lot of things happen in this episode. It is certainly one of changes for both Kat and Daniel. I enjoyed the mysteries. I love the Victorian detail that permeates the story. 

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? (August 3, 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 summer week. My brother and I went out to eat on Wednesday evening to use a coupon I had gotten from Texas Roadhouse. I'll finish my steak leftovers for dinner today. Otherwise, I spent a lot of time reading review copies, listening to audiobooks, and watching Braves baseball. 

This coming week will be busier. I have doctor's appointments Monday and Tuesday. Then the week goes quiet again. My appointment Tuesday is with my dentist. I really expect to be sent home unseen since my chronic cough is still very much present which may make cleaning my teeth difficult if not impossible. We are also thinking about going to Olive Garden for dinner this week but haven't made firm plans yet.

It took a couple of days into August, but I have finally gotten my review stack under 40. It is sitting at 39 as I'm writing this. I read five review copies this week and added three. I also added two audiobooks to my stack which join their Kindle copies. One has already been read and the second is on the stack for this week. 

July Report

I read 39 books this month. Twenty were mine and nineteen were review copies. Eighteen of the books I read this month were audiobooks for a total of a bit over 197 hours. This month most of the books I read came from my TBR mountain and my review stack. Only two of the books I read this month were rereads. 

I added 26 books to my LibraryThing account in July. Nine were audiobooks and eleven were review copies. I used five Audible credits. Five of my new additions are still on the TBR pile and are also on my calendar. 

Here is my State of the Stack post which helps me keep track of my review books. I didn't quite make my July goal of getting under 40 review books on my stack. The review stack is sitting at 41 books. I still have twelve September releases to finish even though I have already read four. I have another twelve on the October pile and eleven on the November pile. 

Read Last Week

• Until She Dies by Kendra Elliot (Review, September 8) -- Next in the Noelle Marshall series. My review will be posted on August 27.
• The Long Call by Ann Cleaves (Audiobook, Mine since July 21) -- First in the Matthew Venn mystery series. My review will be posted on August 26.
• The Shattered King by Charlie N. Holmberg (Audiobook, Mine since July 21) -- First in an epic fantasy duology. My review will be posted on August 28.

• The Chase by Felix Francis (Review, September 8) -- Classis Dick Francis mystery. My review will be posted on September 1.
• Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King (Audiobook Reread) -- First in the Raquel Liang series.
• Those Who Are Gone by Laurie R. King (Review, September 8) -- Second book in the Raquel Liang series. My review will be posted on September 1.

• The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleaves (Kindle mine since May 28, Audiobook mine since July 28) -- Second Matthew Venn mystery. My review will be posted on September 4.
• Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima (Review, September 8) -- Next in the Timber Creek K-9 mystery series. My review will be posted on September 2.
• Fury in Death by J. D. Robb (Review, September 8) -- Excellent entry in the In Death series. My review will be posted on September 3.

Currently

• The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki VanSickle (Review, September 8)
• Golden in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)

Next Week

• A Field Guide to Death & Deceit by Michelle L. Cullen (Review, September 15)
• The Case of the Christie Conspiracy by Kelly Oliver (Audiobook, mine since June 14)
• A Deadly Entanglement by Cathy Pegau (Review, September 15)

• I Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas (Review, September 15)
• The Case of the Body on the Orient Express by Kelly Oliver (Audiobook, mine since June 14)
• Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander by Christian Hurst (Kindle mine since May 13; Audiobook mine since July 31)

Reviews Posted

• The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook)
• Probable Caws by Donna Andrews (Review copy)
• Death on the Books by Victoria Gilbert (Review copy)

• A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett (Review copy)
• Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty (Review copy)
• (Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall (Review copy)

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

Review:

• Written in Starlight by Sloane Brooks (Review, October 13)
• Sunflower Season by Danica Nava (Review, November 3)
• Thunderbird Ranch by Laura Griffin (Review, November 10)

Bought:

• Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander by Christian Hurst (Audible Plus)
• The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleaves (Audible Credit)

What was your week like?