Friday Memes: The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman

 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:

She knows it's there. She runs, skirting the barren bushes, weaving her way to the cellar door of The Grange. White and imposing, the colonnades rise in silent homage to the home's creator, Alexander Hamilton, a man of destiny who helped save a nation, but who, in the end, couldn't save himself.

Friday 56:

It was time. She tore a piece of paper from her notepad an wrote to Sarah. Her signature, a heartbreaking scribble at the end, fulfilling her destiny in the only way she knew how.

This week I am spotlighting The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman. I bought this audiobook when it was on sale at Chirp mainly because I had the review copy but didn't read it because it was missing the first three chapters. Here's the description from Amazon:

After the last heir of Alexander Hamilton’s line is murdered, her heartbroken husband and best friend team up in this twisty thriller where a mysterious death uncovers not just an ancient secret society, but the treasures it holds—perfect for fans of Dan Brown and Sarah Penner.

The more they know, the more danger they’re in.

    When Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of the Alexander Hamilton line, is tragically killed by a subway train in New York, foul play is immediately suspected. Elizabeth had been terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days, running mysterious errands, searching for a strange antique key, and sending cryptic messages to her best friend, Sarah Brockman.  

     The morning after Elizabeth’s death, a box of tattered documents lands on Sarah’s doorstep, confirming her suspicions about Elizabeth’s strange behavior and shocking death. She brings the box to Elizabeth’s grieving husband, Ralph. Working together, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep the United States just and free, its influence woven into every  corner of the country’s history. As Sarah and Ralph race through the streets of New York to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth’s death, they must stop an ingenious and sinister plot before someone else catches up to them–and the secrets of Hamilton’s society are lost forever. 

     With fascinating details from the shadows of American history, The Last Hamilton is a sweeping and fast-paced thriller reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code.

ARC Review: Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg

Murder by the Book
Author: Amie Schaumberg
Publication: Mira (August 19, 2025)

Description: Two dead students. A coded reference to Shakespeare. And the promise of darker things to come.

Near a small college campus, a student is found strangled in an abandoned barn on the outskirts of town. She's been posed to look like a painting of Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the scene taunting the police with a message they don't understand. Detective Ian Carter is known as a straitlaced cop, but seeing the girl's body leaves him shaken and uncertain of where to turn—until a chance meeting with a charmingly awkward literature professor ends with her accidentally seeing, and solving, a clue left by the killer.

Professor Emma Reilly knows that the books she loves might hold the key to unraveling the killer's crimes now that a second murder has been discovered, with the victim posed as the Lady of Shalott this time. However, when the murderer strikes too close to home and kills a third student, one from Emma’s classes, she realizes that the safety of her insular life might be nothing more than an illusion. She must find the strength to confront a killer who is turning the stories she loves into lurid scenes of death.

Amie Schaumberg has crafted a smart, thrilling and utterly compelling mystery that will have you trying to figure out whodunit right up until the end.

My Thoughts: When a body is discovered in an abandoned barn near a small college campus in Oregon. Detective Ian Carter and his partner are assigned the case. Both can see that the body dump was staged but neither is sure what the staging implies. 

Luckily, Ian is scheduled to attend an exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite art where he meets literature professor Emma Reilly. The two enjoy the exhibit and each other enough to plan a date. The date which consists of dinner at Ian's house allows Emma to accidentally see the crime scene photos. She recognizes the staging as being Ophelia from Shakespeare. She provides a valuable clue and wants to help with the investigation, but Ian doesn't want to let her since he had a confidential informant die in an undercover operation he blames himself for. 

But Emma isn't able to just forget about the investigation. Her mind doesn't work that way. She reads like a very high-functioning person on the autism spectrum. She doesn't necessarily catch social clues, is very introverted, and puts on a personality in order to face her classes. 

Emma gathers herself a posse including Rory who is a former boyfriend turned department chair, Carolyn who is Rory's administrative assistant, Charlie who is an intern at the local newspaper and Carolyn's roommate, and Niall who teaches psychology at the college. Together they hash out the clues of the first death and the other two that quickly follow. While they are supposed to stay away from actual physical investigations, the do find themselves exploring the various crime scenes. 

The mystery was very literary in that there were lots of references to classical literature and classical art and various quotations from literature form some of the clues. But it was also a fast-packed thriller with lots of action and danger especially for Emma. 

I enjoyed this one.

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

Audiobook Review: The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Author: Laurie R. King
Narrator: Jennie Sterlin
Series: Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes (Book 1)
Publication: Macmillan Audio (January 10, 2014)
Length: 13 hours and 26 minutes

Description: An Agatha Award Best Novel Nominee Named One of the Century's Best 100 Mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles onto him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern, twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. They are soon called to Wales to help Scotland Yard find the kidnapped daughter of an American senator, a case of international significance with clues that dip deep into Holmes's past. Full of brilliant deduction, disguises, and danger, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the first book of the Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mysteries, is "remarkably beguiling" (The Boston Globe).

This program includes a Preface read by the author.

My Thoughts: This is the first book in what is currently a 19-book series. It introduces 15-year-old Mary Russell who becomes a protégée of a seemingly retired Sherlock Holmes. She literally stumbles over him while walking and reading. 

Mary is a wonderfully complex character. She's very bright and somewhat arrogant about it. She's an orphan under the care of a despised and uncaring aunt. She's determined to become a scholar at Oxford where she plans to study theology. She's almost crippled by grief at the deaths of her parents and brother in a car accident which gravely injured her but which she survived. 

Sherlock sees a mind he admires. He is determined to tutor her to become a detective. 

The story takes place over about four years. It is told in sections aligning to Mary's journey to become Sherlock's partner. From her earliest investigations into the theft of some hams to the kidnapping of an American Senator's daughter to a complex plot designed to bring Sherlock Holmes down hatched by an enemy out of Sherlock's past, Mary grows from apprentice to partner. 

The story is filled with rich, historical detail. 1915 was a sort of watershed year which changed society and attitudes. Mary is a modern young 20th-century woman. Holmes is a Victorian gentleman. The way they changed each other is a focus of the story even beyond the various mysteries.  

This audiobook was produced at the twentieth anniversary of the book's first publication and includes a preface read by the author. The rest of the story is ably read by Jenny Sterlin. I have read this book a number of times and found something new each time. 

I bought this one April 8, 2021. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective
Author: Jo Nichols
Publication: Minotaur (August 19, 2025)

Description: The perfect summer read, full of charm and heart, written in the vein of The Thursday Murder Club or Only Murders in the Building but with a southern California twist.

Mrs. B, the landlady of The Marigold Cottages is a stubborn idealist who only rents to people she cares about: Sophie, an anxious young playwright with a dark past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a queer sculptor raising two kids alone; the perfectionist Lily-Ann; and Nicholas, a finance bro who’s hiding secrets.

The tenants live contentedly in their doll-house bungalows in Santa Barbara, just minutes from the beach, until their peace is shattered when Anthony, a quiet, hulking, but potentially violent ex-con moves in. Three weeks later, a dead body is discovered on the streets of the peaceful neighborhood. Anthony is arrested, and the tenants heave sighs of relief. Until Mrs. B, convinced that he's innocent, marches down to the police station and confesses to the crime herself. The tenants band together and form “The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective” to save their beloved landlady. As clues are unearthed and secrets are revealed, the community of misfits only grows more tight-knit...until a second body is found. Full of eccentricity, humor, community, The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective will keep you hooked until the last page.

My Thoughts: This story told in multiple viewpoints takes place in some small bungalows in Santa Barbara. Mrs. B is the landlady. She has filled her cottages with broken people. Among them are a young playwright who is getting over being stalked, an agoraphobe, a queer sculptor raising her two kids, a perfectionist with an almost ex-husband, and a man who works in the City Planning department and has some secrets. 

When Mrs. B rents the last cottage to a man who has recently left prison and is a tattooed giant, the others wonder what she was thinking. But the story starts when they find a dead man in the bushes in their courtyard. 

The local police inspector thinks he has a slam-dunk: former con plus new body means he obviously murdered him. He isn't willing to entertain other options despite what the other residents tell him. The residents of Marigold Cottages form a text group and become closer to each other while trying to free their new friend. 

It even gets to the point where Mrs. B confesses to the murder in order to take the heat off her new tenant. But then Lily-Anne's ex tries to kill her and the body of a local developer who has been hounding Mrs. B. to sell her valuable property so that he can build apartments is found just feet away from the first body who also happens to be someone the developer brought in to help finance the deal. 

This was an intriguing and twisty mystery with nicely quirky characters. I liked seeing the story be gradually revealed through the various characters. 

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

Audiobook Review: Hades by Candice Fox

Hades
Author: Candice Fox
Narrator: Stephen Shanahan
Series: Archer & Bennett Thriller (Book 1)
Publication: Macmillan Audio (July 17, 2018)
Length: 8 hours and 8 minutes

Description: Candice Fox's Hades is the winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Novel.

Twenty years ago, two children were kidnapped and left for dead....

Homicide detective Frank Bennett has a new partner - dark, beautiful, coldly efficient Eden Archer. Frank doesn’t know what to make of her, or her brother Eric, who’s also on the police force. Their methods are... unusual. But when a graveyard full of large steel toolboxes filled with body parts is found at the bottom of Sydney harbor, unusual is the least of their worries.

For Eden and Eric, the case holds chilling links to a scarred childhood - and the murderer who raised them. For Frank, each clue brings him closer to something he’s not sure he wants to face. But true evil goes beyond the bloody handiwork of a serial killer - and no one is truly innocent....

My Thoughts: This was an extremely grim, dark thriller. It begins when some criminals bring two young children to a junkyard owned by a man known to be a problem solver. When Hades takes over, no bodies are ever found. But the two children aren't dead and Hades decides to raise them himself.

Twenty years later, Eden and Eric Archer are members of Sydney, Australia's Homicide Department. When Frank Bennett is assigned to the Homicide Department he is partnered with Eden. Their first case together involves a junkie who was rescued from the ocean and who has discovered a bunch of toolboxes filled with bodies. 

Their investigation leads to an off-the-books organ transplant scheme with a doctor who is willing to kill to get the body parts he needs. And, while Frank, Eden and Eric are trying to track down the killer, Frank learns more than he wants to know about his new partner and her brother. 

This was a story filled with morally grey characters. It is a story told with flashbacks to Eden and Eric's childhood with Hades. The mad doctor also has a point of view role. And Frank also has his point of view which seems to bind them all together. 

This is a series starter. It was engaging but now I have to go read something light and fluffy to get all of the grimness, evil people, and corrupt cops out of my brain. 

I bought this one August 12, 2021. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Story That Wouldn't Die by Christina Estes

The Story That Wouldn't Die 
Author: Christina Estes
Series: Jolene Garcia Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur (August 19, 2025)

Description: Emmy Award-winning reporter Christina Estes uses her twenty-year career for inspiration for her mysteries. In The Story That Wouldn’t Die, Jolene Garcia refuses to stop investigating, but someone is determined to kill the story—and maybe her.

Phoenix, Arizona TV reporter Jolene Garcia is fresh off winning her first Emmy and committed to covering stories that matter to her community. But Jolene’s managers want stories that grab immediate attention and generate clicks, not ones that take time to develop.

When a beloved small business owner dies in a car crash, Jolene isn’t convinced it was an accident. He’d been raising questions about who keeps getting lucrative deals at city hall—questions that powerful people don’t want answered. The deeper Jolene digs, the more suspicious things she uncovers.

Exposing greed, ambition, and deception could become the biggest story of Jolene’s career. Her bosses tell her to drop it. But there’s a story here, and Jolene’s going to find it.

My Thoughts: Phoenix, Arizona, television reporter has just won her first Emmy for reporting on the death of a local shock radio personality and is now feeling a little let down when she's assigned to check out cupcake bakeries to see if their products are really gluten-free. 

Jolene would rather be investigating the home invasion death of a lobbyist deep in the city's bid process. She's been told by a competitor that the bid system is rigged. When the competitor dies in a suspicious car accident, she feels that she's on the right track, but her boss is still fixated on cupcakes.

Her investigation has her getting threats and nearly being killed in a hit-and-run and there isn't a cupcake in sight. 

I liked Jolene's determination to find the answers both for seeing that the truth comes out and for her own career advancement. She is definitely single-minded and sometimes insensitive because of it. I liked that as readers we're finding out more about the past she's downplayed or concealed. 

This was an engaging contemporary mystery with intriguing characters. 

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 11, 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 very ordinary week. I spent it reading and listening. There were also baseball games to watch. 

Next week looks to be filled with reading review copies. My brother has a schedule this week that will have him working during dinner hours all week. I'm on my own for dinners and need to do some planning and cooking. 

Read Last Week

• If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia (Review, September 2) -- Nice romance. My review will be posted on August 27.
• Framed in Death by J. D. Robb (Review, September 2) -- Latest In Death is a police prodedural more than a mystery as Eve and company track down a serial killer. My review will be posted on August 28.
• River's End by Nora Roberts (Audiobook, mine since September 15, 2021) -- Romantic suspense standalone. My review will be posted on September 2.

• The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens (Kindle, mine since October 27, 2009) -- Historical romance set in 1820 England. My review will be posted on August 30.
• Payback in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread) -- In Death book 57
• The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy (Review, September 9) -- The Monkeewrench gang returns after a ten year absence. Nice to revisit the characters in this fast-paced thriller. My review will be posted on September 2.

• Random in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread) -- In Death book 58
• The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Audiobook, mine since December 19, 2024) -- YA mystery thriller with exceptional teens working for the FBI. My review will be posted on September 6.
• Taken in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook) -- In Death novella 37.5. A riff on Hansel and Gretel.

Currently

• Flash Point by Tracey Devlyn (Mine since July 24)
• All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Review, September 9)
• Balance of Trade by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread)

Next Week

• A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau (Review, September 16)
• The Princess and the P. I. by Nikki Payne (Review, September 16)
• Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh (Review, September 16)

• No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams (Review, September 16)
• The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi (Review, September 16)
• A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan (Mine since July 23)

Reviews Posted

• Picking Up the Pieces by J. R. Abbott (Review copy)
• A Silence in Belgrave Square by Jennifer Ashley (Review copy)
• Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver (Review copy)

• The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan (Review copy)
• Knife in the Back by Karen Rose (Review copy)
• Puma by Jorrie Spencer (Mine)

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

Review:

Bought:

• The Price of Lemon Cake by Jennifer Ashley (Kindle)
• Mrs. Holloway's Christmas Pudding by Jennifer Ashley (Kindle)
• A Moveable Feast by Jennifer Ashley (Kindle)

• The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens (Kindle)
• The Brazen Bride by Stephanie Laurens (Kindle)
• The Reckless Bride by Stephanie Laurens (Kindle)

• Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle)
• The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle)

• Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle)
• All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle)

• The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman (Kindle, Kindle Rewards)
• Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison (Kindle, BookBub, $1.99)
• Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle, Kindle Rewards)

What was your week like?