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.

ARC Review: Probable Caws by Donna Andrews

Probable Caws
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Meg Langslow Mysteries (Book 39)
Publication: Minotaur Books (August 4, 2026)

Description: Readers will flock to New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews's next installment in the award-winning Meg Langslow series.

Meg has finally found time to get some blacksmithing done when a call from her dad interrupts her--can she come out to Ragnar’s right away to help with the horses? Their friend Ragnar Ragnarsen, who is gradually turning the enormous house on his nearby estate into an authentic moated castle, has agreed to shelter nearly fifty horses for Hoof and Hearth, an equine rescue organization that has lost access to the farm where the horses have been living. The owner of the farm recently died without leaving a will, and while his older son Abel would be happy to let the horses stay, younger brother George wants to sell to a developer . . . and is suspected of sending a thug to harm the horses as part of his efforts to evict Hoof and Hearth.

That night, while Meg and her family are camping at one of Ragnar’s barns, to keep an eye on the horses, they discover that the thug has been murdered. Unfortunately George is alibied . . . but his horse-loving brother Abel is not. Neither are the hot-tempered founder of Hoof and Hearth or the passionately protective ex-jockey who serves as its stablemaster. Meg juggles helping keep the horses safe and doing what she can to help the chief solve the thug’s murder . . . all the while hoping that the killer won’t turn out to be one of the dedicated horse rescuers she has come to like and respect.

My Thoughts: The 39th Meg Langslow mystery begins with a phone call. Meg's father calls her to come to Ragnar's to help with the horses. When she arrives, she learns that Ragnar has volunteered to help Hoof and Hearth house their rescue horses. Abel Abernathy has been hosting them on his farm but his father recently passed away without a will and now the farm belongs to both Abel and his brother George. George wants the horses gone and the farm sold to developers. 

Abel fears that his brother might do harm to the horses and wants them safe until the inheritance can be settled. The founder of the rescue is upset and testy because of it. She's more likely to be alienating donors than finding new ones. 

When a man is found dead in one of the horse barns, at first it looks like it is George. It turns out the be George's chief henchman instead. It would be good if the killer turned out to be George, but he's alibied. Unfortunately, neither Abel nor the rescue founder have alibis. 

This was another excellent episode in the series. There are lots of humorous moments including Meg's grandfather deciding to paint patterns on some of the wildlife to see if the patterns discourage flies. Meg's twins get into decorating the animals. Then there is the horse who is excellent at opening gates and untying knots. There are some heartbreaking moments too as the abused horses are described. 

Fans of the series will enjoy this latest episode. 

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

Audiobook Review: The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

The Twelve Jays of Christmas
Author: Donna Andrews

Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow Mysteries (Book 30)
Publication: Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio (October 19, 2021)

Length: 10 hours and 4 minutes

Description: The cast of Donna Andrews’ New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series is back for an unforgettable holiday story in The Twelve Jays of Christmas.

Meg and Michael’s annual holiday celebration is well underway, with a throng of out-of-town relatives staying at their house. Hosting these festivities is a little harder than usual—they have to relocate all the events normally held in their library, currently occupied by Roderick Castlemayne, the irascible wildlife artist who’s creating twelve paintings of birds to illustrate Meg’s grandfather’s latest nature book.

Still, the celebrations continue—and the entire family rejoices to learn that Meg’s brother Rob and his longtime fiancée Delaney have finally decided to tie the knot. Unfortunately, they decide to do this in the middle of Meg and Michael’s annual New Year’s bash, dashing their mothers’ hopes of planning the wedding to end all weddings.

Delaney’s mother sneaks into town so she and Meg’s mother can secretly plot a way to talk the happy couple into having a big bash. Hiding her only adds to Meg’s holiday stress—it’s almost a full-time job fending all the visitors who want to confront Castlemayne—reporters, bill collectors, process servers, and several ex-wives in search of unpaid alimony.

Then someone murders Castlemayne in the middle of a blizzard and sets loose the birds he was painting. Can Meg help the police crack the case before the killer strikes again? Can she keep Christmas merry in spite of the body in the library? Can she negotiate a compromise between Rob and Delaney and their disappointed mothers? And can she recapture the twelve escaped jays before they begin nesting in the Christmas tree?

This intrigue-filled Christmas mystery takes readers home to Caerphilly to join in Meg's family's holiday celebration—including, of course, another baffling mystery.

My Thoughts: The 30th Meg Langslow mystery takes place in the days before Christmas. The relatives are gathering. The library has been taken over by Robert Castlemayne who is a wildlife artist painting twelve bird pictures to illustrate Meg's grandfather's latest wildlife book. 

Castlemayne is a nuisance who smokes in the library and lets the birds - this time blue jays - loose so that he can paint them in their natural setting. Meg also spends a lot of time fending off Castlemayne's unwanted visitors including his two ex-wives who are demanding their alimony. 

Besides Castlemayne's problems, Meg is also dealing with her mother and Delaney's mother who has snuck into town to try to convince Meg and Delaney to have an over-the-top, blowout wedding which isn't what either of them actually wants. 

Then, for some reason, grandfather has decided to keep some wombats in Meg's basement, and the house is overrun by the Pomeranian puppies Meg thought she had adopted out but who frequently show up for playdates. 

With Michael and the boys off on a ski trip and Meg hampered by a badly sprained ankle, Meg has her hands full solving all these problems before Christmas arrives.

I bought the Kindle copy November 21, 2024, and the audiobook June 5, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Killer Vibes by Jack Friday

Killer Vibes
Author: Jack Friday
Series: Peter Key Mystery Series (Book 1)
Publication: Minotaur Books (July 14, 2026)

Description: A wild and wickedly funny series debut, introducing readers to the irresistible and irrepressible private investigator, Peter Key.

Meet Peter Key: self-proclaimed “laziest private investigator in Texas” (it’s harder than it looks), unapologetic bisexual, dedicated stoner, and the surprised recipient of a windfall inheritance from an uncle he barely knew. Peter’s life was a mess before, but now― as the owner of a dilapidated house in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Austin―he has a mountain of debt to deal with and pressure to sell from every side.

But Peter doesn’t like to be pushed around. And when he discovers a bag full of cash, he starts to suspect his uncle’s death wasn’t an accident. He soon finds himself pulled into a lethal game where not everybody plays by the rules.

Fortunately, Peter’s never been good at following rules.

Sexy, suspenseful, and packed with Austin’s quirks, Killer Vibes is a wild and wickedly funny romp that introduces us to the irresistible and irrepressible PI, Peter Key.

My Thoughts: Peter Key is an unusual fictional detective. He's 28, bisexual, and a stoner. He is also depressed. When he inherits an uncle's house, fortune, and debts, he becomes determined to learn more about this man he only met a couple of times in his life. He soon comes to believe that his uncle was murdered and decides to solve the crime.

Peter's new home is in Austin which is new territory for him. He finds that his new house is dilapidated but in a very desirable area and is the immediate target of realtors and property management agencies. Peter finds himself followed and the target of some who might want him dead. 

This was an intriguing mystery with an engaging main character who stumbles into the correct career. It is told by Peter with some foreshadowing of the this will be important later school of writing. I liked the main character and liked seeing the world through his eyes. 

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

Audiobook Review: Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews

Five Golden Wings
Author: Donna Andrews
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow (Book 38)
Publication: Macmillan Audio (October 14, 2025)
Length: 9 hours and 26 minutes

Description: Two of Meg’s cousins, members of Mother’s vast Hollingsworth clan, are getting married, and both have chosen Caerphilly for their Christmas destination wedding . . on the same day, in the same venues. But while they’re cousins they’re also lifelong enemies. Mother’s efforts to keep the peace are wearing her down, and the battling brides (and their mothers) are making the holiday season miserable for everyone. So Meg steps in to keep the peace. And it was going badly even before she stumbles over the murdered body of the wedding photographer.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of suspects. The photographer has been hitting on many of the guests, bridesmaids . . . possibly even one or both of the brides. He’s also been slinking about and taking candid shots that are unflattering, embarrassing . . . occasionally even incriminating.

Can Meg help the local police nab the killer in time for the weddings to go on as planned? Unless, of course, the killer was one of the brides or grooms, in which case she needs to identify the killer in time to reveal their identity when she hears those fateful words, “If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else forever hold your peace.”

My Thoughts: The 38th Meg Langslow mystery takes place near Christmas time. Two of her cousins from the large Hollingsworth clans have planned Christmas weddings in Caerphilly. Unfortunately, the girls are lifelong enemies. Running interference between the two battling bride's is Meg's mother. Tensions are high and threaten to ruin Christmas for everyone. 

When the wedding photographer is found dead - by Meg. His murder must be solved before the brides walk down the aisle. Unfortunately, there are a number of candidates for killer since the photographer was definitely not a good guy. His assistant hates him since he ruined her changes of establishing a career as a wedding photographer herself. His former clients hate him because of the deceptive contracts he forced them to sign. Many women hate him because of his inappropriate actions and the compromising, or at least embarrassing, pictures he's taken of them. Meg has to sort it all out. 

But other things are going on too. Meg's friend Carolyn has some rehabbing eagles in the lobby of the inn to impress a donor, but they are being really stressed by the actions of the guests. Jamie and Josh are co-directing the children's Christmas pageant and have conflicts about the direction for the production. And that nice older couple staying at the inn may have a hidden agenda of their own.

This was another excellent humorous mystery in this long-running series. I enjoy catching up with all the various characters.

I bought this one December 7, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J. D. Brinkworth

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency
Author: J. D. Brinkworth
Publication: Berkley (March 10, 2026)

Description: Oddball couple Jane and Simon take a private detective class and must use their (admittedly limited) skills to solve a series of mysterious disappearances in this delightful debut mystery.

Jane Pye and Simon Mash are a millennial couple with a little extra time on their hands. Jane was recently let go from her position as a back-end programmer, having never been quite sure what that meant. And Simon’s career as a corporate collaboration consultant seems to be less collaborating and more scrolling the internet in search of matching velour tracksuits and well-balanced charcuterie boards. When they sign up for a private detective class on a whim, they quickly realize they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.

Their instructor, having a feeling his two worst students don’t have a chance of solving anything beyond finding the classroom, assigns them the case of Nellie Thorne, a woman recently reported missing. But she's not the first Nellie Thorne to disappear. In fact, she's the fifth in fifty years. Jane and Simon set out to solve the case, armed with just a few days of notes, matching trench coats, and a feeling they should have enrolled in a different class. The investigation leads the newly minted Pie and Mash Detective Agency to places they never thought they'd go, including haunted woods, mysterious archives, and, most terrifyingly for Jane, Simon's mum's house.

As clues emerge, more questions than answers begin to pile up. What links the missing Nellies? Why do locals think she's a ghost? Is their teacher hiding something? So what if they’re heavy on heart but light on experience. Jane and Simon are determined to uncover the truth in time to pass the class and save the day.

My Thoughts: This mystery follows the adventures of an inept pair of students in a private investigator class. Jane Pye has lost her job as a backend programmer and is wondering what to do next. Simon Mash is her live-in and a man who plans corporate events. She decides to take a class to become a private investigator and he tags along.

As a part of their class, they are assigned a case to work by their instructor. The case they are given concerns the disappearance of a woman named Nellie Thorne. She just up and left her boyfriend one day leaving him distraught. However, Nellie doesn't prove easy to find. She doesn't have a digital footprint. No passport, no driver's license, no birth certificate. 

The fledgling investigative team of Pie and Mash seems to have bitten off more than they can chew. Jane is good at details and is persistent. Simon is good at coming up with ideas. But, when they learn that their target is not the first Nellie Thorne to go missing and that their teacher tried to track on down in the 1990s, they know they are in for a difficult time. 

Their searches lead them to a Goth librarian who has been keeping track of Nellie Thornes for much of her career and a man who does ghost tours who swears he's met Nellie in a ghostly woods. They interact with other strange characters too. 

The story also has flashbacks to their teacher Gavin's own investigations as he hunted for Nellie as a young, inexperienced private investor in the 1990s. 

This was an interesting mystery with many quirky characters.  I enjoyed the setting and getting to know these quirky young detectives. 

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

ARC Review: Just Beachy by Wendy Wax

Just Beachy
Author: Wendy Wax
Publication: Berkley (June 3, 2025)

Description: A former actress in need of a reset reunites with her grandmother, her first crush, and the ladies of Ten Beach Road in this escapist novel from USA Today bestselling author Wendy Wax.

After losing her long-time acting gig on the hit show Murder 101, Sydney Ryan decides she needs a break from Hollywood politics. She heads to Treasure Island, Florida where her grandmother has been visiting and now refuses to leave. Sydney’s plan to lie low for a bit quickly goes awry though, as she is swept up in her grandmother’s now flourishing social life—Grand not only bought a new house in Casas de Flores, she’s also helping her neighbor Myra open a bookstore in Pass-a-Grille. But when someone breaks into Grand’s house repeatedly Sydney realizes her grandmother is keeping something from her.

Determined to ferret out the truth and protect her grandmother, Sydney enlists the help of the Ten Beach Road ladies and Luke, a local police officer who was once her high school crush. While Sydney puts her television crime-solving skills to the test, she decides to act on the sizzling chemistry between herself and Luke. And as Sydney spends more sunsets toasting to true friends and new romance, she begins to wonder if the sun is setting on her time in Hollywood and if this town could be the dawn of a new chapter.

My Thoughts: Sydney Ryan has lost her acting gig as Cassie Everheart on Murder 101 because she has run afoul of an A-List actress. She decides to visit her grandmother in Florida while she tries to decide what to do with the rest of her life. The A-Lister has made it impossible for Sydney to get another job in LA, but she's opening that her reach doesn't extend to Florida.

Sydney is also glad to spend time with her Grand in Florida and reconnect with a high school crush who is now a police officer. And it is lucky that she has met Luke again since Grand's house has become the target of a number of break-ins and searches. Grand has a secret that she is trying to keep from Sydney.

Meanwhile, Grand, Sydney and another friend are getting ready to open a beachside bookstore with space for Sydney to conduct story hours and give acting lessons while Grand offers art lessons. Sydney is able to put the skills she learned as a television detective to use when she is able to protect her grandmother from the villains who want a painting that she has kept hidden for many years. 

Sydney also has time to wonder if she really wants to go back to acting or if she wants to build a new life with Luke and her Grand in Florida. 

This was an engaging romance with more than a touch of mystery. 

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

ARC Review: No One Was Supposed to Die at this Wedding by Catherine Mack

No One Was Supposed to Die at this Wedding
Author: Catherine Mack
Series: The Vacation Mysteries (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (May 13, 2025)

Description: The second in a witty, USA Today bestselling series following author Eleanor Dash as she goes from wedding guest to murder mystery investigator at her best friend’s wedding on Catalina Island.

Attending your best friend’s wedding should be a piece of (wedding) cake, but not for Eleanor Dash, bestselling author of the Vacation Mysteries series. Because murder seems to follow her every time she goes on vacation and is definitely her uninvited plus-one to the special occasion.

Emma Wood, Eleanor’s best friend since childhood, is starring in the movie adaptation of When in Rome, Eleanor’s first novel. Emma is also marrying Fred Winters, a major movie star and Emma’s co-star, who just happens to be playing Connor Smith, Eleanor’s ex and leading man of the series.

Filming wraps and they invite the whole cast and crew to their wedding at nearby Catalina Island. There may be a storm headed their way―because of course there is―but nothing will stop their nuptials . . . that is until Emma receives a note that says “Someone is going to die at the wedding.”

Eleanor is a professional at this point, and she’ll do everything she can to uncover the murderer so true love can prevail . . . before it’s too late for her and the rest of the storm-trapped wedding party.

My Thoughts: This second book in the Vacation Mysteries was an engaging romp. Eleanor Dash is on the set of a movie being made from her first book - the book that launched her career. Her best friend Emma is playing her main character and A-List movie star Fred Winters is playing the part of Connor Smith. Unfortunately, the director is a childhood frenemy. Things should be going well despite her disputes with the screenwriter who has seemingly changed not only her dialog but the ending of the story. 

The finale of the filming is a trip to Catalina Island for the wedding of Emma and Fred. Eleanor is convinced the Emma is moving too fast. Sure, she's had a crush on Fred for years, but she doesn't really know him. Then the notes start arriving - vaguely threatening and cut out of letters from recent scripts. 

Does someone want Emma dead? Or is something else going on? Connor has shown up claiming to be hired by the director who wants Connor to look into Fred's finances. Fred owes him bunches of money. And not only are there threats but a hurricane is bearing down on Catalina Island leaving one lone rookie cop when threats escalate to suspicious deaths. 

This was a very twisty story with generous punches of humor. One seldom reads a mystery with footnotes, but they are very successful here. And the story is told by Eleanor in the first person. She has a very quirky viewpoint and voice. 

For fun and thrills, this is an excellent story.  

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

Book Review: Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

Fortune and Glory
Author: Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum (Book 27)
Publication: Atria Books (November 3, 2020)

Description: From “the most popular mystery writer alive” (The New York Times), the twenty-seventh thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series isn’t just the biggest case of Stephanie Plum’s career. It’s the adventure of a lifetime.

When Stephanie’s beloved Grandma Mazur’s new husband died on their wedding night, the only thing he left her was a beat-up old easy chair…and the keys to a life-changing fortune.

But as Stephanie and Grandma Mazur search for Jimmy Rosolli’s treasure, they discover that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Two dangerous enemies from the past stand in their way—along with a new adversary who’s even more formidable: Gabriela Rose, a dark-eyed beauty from Little Havana with a taste for designer clothes. She’s also a soldier of fortune, a gourmet cook, an expert in firearms and mixed martial arts—and someone who’s about to give Stephanie a real run for her money.

Stephanie may be in over her head, but she’s got two things that Gabriela doesn’t: an unbreakable bond with her family and a stubborn streak that will never let her quit.

She’ll need both to survive because this search for “fortune and glory” will turn into a desperate race against time with more on the line than ever before. Because even as she searches for the treasure and fights to protect her Grandma Mazur, her own deepest feelings will be tested—as Stephanie could finally be forced to choose between Joe Morelli and Ranger.

My Thoughts: The 27th Stephanie Plum novel is filled with exploding cars and humor. Stephanie is on a treasure hunt with her Grandma Mazur. Grandma's 45-minute husband Jimmy Rossoli left her the keys to a treasure but lots of other villains don't want her to have it. 

Stephanie has to hunt down clues while still doing her job as fugitive apprehension agent in Trenton, New Jersey. She has three men to find and bring back to jail if she wants to make her rent: George Potts was arrested for streaking down Hamilton Avenue and using the sidewalk in front of Tasty Pastry Bakery as a bathroom. Arnold Rugalowski was caught on camera putting fried roaches in his wife's bucket of chicken, and Rodney Trotter was arrested for giving silicone butt implants out of the back of his van. 

Naturally, none of the men she's after want to go back to jail and hijinks occur as she and Lula try to find them and get them back to the jail. However, Potts is the most clueless and does go back to jail. He's so pathetic that Stephanie posts his bail and earns the life-long devotion of a clueless nerd who is determined to be her bodyguard. 

This was another fun episode in the Stephanie Plum series. I like her ability to just go with the flow when she is confronted by absurdities and gangsters who want her dead. I love her love life as she can't decide between Joe Morelli and Ranger. And Lula and Grandma Mazur always bring humor to the story. 

Favorite Quote:

Cultural appropriation is a good thing here. Polish housewives share recipes with their Italian neighbors. Kielbasa, macaroni and red sauce, Cozido a Portuguesa, enchiladas, burgers, goulash, pot roast, pirogis, pad thai. We eat it all. The American melting pot is alive and healthy in Burg kitchens.

I bought this one October 2, 2021. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

 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. 

The Friday 56 was hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

My name is Stephanie Plym and I'm a fugitive apprehension agent in Trenton, New Jersey.

Friday 56:

"Inside job?"

"Probably. They took cash. Knew where to find it. I suspect they also took drugs, but the homeowner isn't going to report a drug theft."

This week I am spotlighting Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich. I bought this one on October 2, 2021, when it was on sale for $2.99. I like the Stephanie Plum series but I need space between each episode. Maybe not 3 years, but space...

Here is the description from Amazon:

From “the most popular mystery writer alive” (The New York Times), the twenty-seventh thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series isn’t just the biggest case of Stephanie Plum’s career. It’s the adventure of a lifetime.

When Stephanie’s beloved Grandma Mazur’s new husband died on their wedding night, the only thing he left her was a beat-up old easy chair…and the keys to a life-changing fortune.

But as Stephanie and Grandma Mazur search for Jimmy Rosolli’s treasure, they discover that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Two dangerous enemies from the past stand in their way—along with a new adversary who’s even more formidable: Gabriela Rose, a dark-eyed beauty from Little Havana with a taste for designer clothes. She’s also a soldier of fortune, a gourmet cook, an expert in firearms and mixed martial arts—and someone who’s about to give Stephanie a real run for her money.

Stephanie may be in over her head, but she’s got two things that Gabriela doesn’t: an unbreakable bond with her family and a stubborn streak that will never let her quit.

She’ll need both to survive because this search for “fortune and glory” will turn into a desperate race against time with more on the line than ever before. Because even as she searches for the treasure and fights to protect her Grandma Mazur, her own deepest feelings will be tested—as Stephanie could finally be forced to choose between Joe Morelli and Ranger.

Book Review: May Day by Jess Lourey

May Day
Author: Jess Lourey
Series: Murder by Month Mysteries (Book 1)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (April 30, 2024)

Description: A waitress turned librarian just wants a new life. What she ends up with is a killer change of pace in a funny, snappy, and suspenseful mystery by Edgar Award–nominated author Jess Lourey.

With a cheating boyfriend, a thankless career in waitressing, and her BA in English going to waste, Mira James jumps at the chance for a fresh start in rural Battle Lake, Minnesota.

Right away she lands a job as a librarian, snags another as an on-call reporter for the weekly newspaper, and is swept off her feet by Jeff Wilson, a handsome archaeologist unearthing the town’s storied history. Moving here might be the best decision Mira’s ever made. Until she finds Jeff’s body between the library’s reference stacks. It seems Mira didn’t really know her drop-dead gorgeous new lover at all. But someone in Otter Tail County surely did.

Behind this quirky town’s polite exterior are decades-old grudges still unsettled, and murderous secrets best kept hidden. Whatever dangers are buried in Battle Lake’s past, now it’s Mira’s turn to start digging.

My Thoughts: Twenty-something Mira James jumps at a chance to leave the Twin Cities in hopes of a new start. She's in a dead-end job, has a cheating boyfriend, and doesn't know what she wants for her future. 

Moving to Battle Lake, Minnesota, may not be the exact new start she was looking for though. Yeah, she quickly finds a couple of new jobs. She's a new librarian at the Battle Lake Public Library and she's in charge since the other librarian is off on a vacation. She also gets a job writing for the local newspaper which lets her use her otherwise useless English degree. 

She's swept off her feet by an archaeologist who's in town looking for the best property for a new tourist attraction. However, things take a downturn when she finds her new love dead on the floor of her library when she opens one morning. 

As she looks into his murder, she uncovers more than the usual secrets in a town filled with quirky characters. 

I enjoyed the small-town setting and all the quirky characters. I liked Mira's desire for a new start. The writing, told from Mira's point of view, was descriptive and amusing. 

Favorite Quote:

By the time I reached the high school, it was almost five. I studied the building. The original architect must have had a bomb shelter in mind when they designed it. The whole structure cried out, "I'm sturdy, not pretty!"

I bought this one. I got the paperback March 27, 2010, and the revised Kindle copy May 2 along with the Whispersync audiobook. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: May Day by Jess Lourey

 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. 

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

Today marked my tenth day alone at the library, and the heady thrill of being my own boss wasn't cutting it anymore.

Friday 56:

I stepped out and stretched in the temperate night air. No way could I go to sleep with all this tension in my shoulders. Some gardening would clear my mood. 

This week I am spotlighting May Day by Jess Lourey. I have had this first book in the Murder by Month series on my TBR pile since March 27, 2010. Early in May the revised Kindle edition and the audiobook were both on sale with the Kindle copy being $2.49 and the audiobook $1.99. Since I had been meaning to read this book sometime, the sale prices meant that the time had come. I was originally drawn to the book because the book is set in Minnesota. I once had a roommate who called Battle Lake her hometown. 

Here's the description from Amazon:

A waitress turned librarian just wants a new life. What she ends up with is a killer change of pace in a funny, snappy, and suspenseful mystery by Edgar Award–nominated author Jess Lourey.

With a cheating boyfriend, a thankless career in waitressing, and her BA in English going to waste, Mira James jumps at the chance for a fresh start in rural Battle Lake, Minnesota.

Right away she lands a job as a librarian, snags another as an on-call reporter for the weekly newspaper, and is swept off her feet by Jeff Wilson, a handsome archaeologist unearthing the town’s storied history. Moving here might be the best decision Mira’s ever made. Until she finds Jeff’s body between the library’s reference stacks. It seems Mira didn’t really know her drop-dead gorgeous new lover at all. But someone in Otter Tail County surely did.

Behind this quirky town’s polite exterior are decades-old grudges still unsettled, and murderous secrets best kept hidden. Whatever dangers are buried in Battle Lake’s past, now it’s Mira’s turn to start digging.

Book Review: Cockatiels at Seven by Donna Andrews

Cockatiels at Seven
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Meg Langslow (Book 9)
Publication: Minotaur Books; Reprint edition (June 30, 2009)

Description: It's time for more outrageous and feathered fun in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud Meg Langslow series.

When her old friend Karen drops by with two-year-old son Timmy, Meg Langslow reluctantly agrees to babysit "just for a little while." But when nightfall comes, the toddler is still in residence and Karen isn't answering any phone calls. Meg decides she must find out what's happening, so the next morning, with Timmy in tow, she retraces her friend's footsteps---and begins to suspect that Karen's disappearance is tied to at least one serious crime. Has Karen been killed or kidnapped? Is she on the run from the bad guys? Or is she one of the bad guys? The police don't seem to care, so Meg once again plays sleuth---this time with a toddler as her sidekick.

As usual, Meg's extended family adds to the complications in her life. What covert animal welfare project are Dad and the curmudgeonly zoologist Dr. Montgomery Blake working on---and will Meg have to make another late-night trip to bail them out of jail? Why does Meg's brother keep disappearing---is he merely trying to avoid babysitting, or is he involved in something more mysterious? Will taking care of Timmy dampen newly married Meg and Michael's enthusiasm for starting a family of their own? And are any of Meg's relatives reliable enough to be trusted with a two-year-old---especially a two-year-old whose whereabouts might be of interest to some very dangerous people?

Donna Andrews once again proves her skill as one of the funniest, most entertaining mystery authors around.

My Thoughts: When an old friend comes and asks Meg to look after her toddler for a while, Meg agrees. But when her friend Karen doesn't return for Timmy in "a little while," Meg begins looking for her with a toddler in tow. 

Searching for Karen leads to discovery of an embezzling plot at the college where Michael teaches and to possible animal trafficking which greatly interests not only her dad and her new-found grandfather Dr. Montgomery Blake but also the DEA, FBI, and other alphabet agencies. 

With her dad and grandfather storing snakes in her laundry room and birds in one of the third-floor bedrooms, animals have their usual roles in this series. There is Jade the Emerald Tree Boa who is in the middle of a difficult shed. And let's not forget Spike who is his usual irritable self. 

This was another fun episode in a long-running series. 

Favorite Quote:

"Lost something?" I asked.

"Oh, no," Dad said.

"Just one of the snakes," Dr. Blake said.

"But not here," Dad said quickly. "Back at the zoo."

"And you're only looking here because the light is better," I said. "I see. What kind of snake? Is it poisonous?"

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

ARC Review: Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
Author: Catherine Mack
Series: The Vacation Mysteries (Book 1)
Publication: Minotaur Books (April 30, 2024)

Description: Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.

"Quick, captivating, and oh-so-much-fun! This delicious mystery is as spellbinding as Knives Out."―Elle Cosimano, New York Times bestselling author of the Finlay Donovan series.

All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series―is that too much to ask?

Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life―the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can't get out of her life―Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case.

Contending with literary competitors, rabid fans, a stalker―and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly―theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the irresistible and hilarious series debut from Catherine Mack, introducing bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate the world in her books.

My Thoughts: EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION, SOMEONE DIES was an interesting mystery told in a unique way. Eleanor Dash is the author of ten mystery books. She finds herself on an author tour to Italy along with some literary rivals, her sister who is her assistant, and nineteen members of her fan club including one who is her stalker. Also on the tour is Connor Smith who was with her on her first trip to Italy which led to the beginning of her writing career and her first book. He has also become the star of her series and the man who has been blackmailing her for all of those ten years. 

Since she is at the end of her publishing contract, she is determined to kill Connor off - in her books. However, it seems that someone might be trying to kill him off in real life. And maybe they want Eleanor dead too. 

While it is easy to see why a good many of the people on tour with her want Connor dead, she can't see why anyone would want her dead. But she and her fellow authors are determined to use the skills they've learned as mystery writers to figure out who want Eleanor and Connor dead. 

But then another of the authors dies and there are more questions raised. 

I thought the style of this book, which is told by Eleanor, who claims herself to be an unreliable narrator, and includes a number of footnotes was an interesting way to set up the story. I found her asides to her audience entertaining and informative too. 

Mystery lovers who want a look behind the curtain of mystery writing will especially enjoy this story. 

Favorite Quote:

I should stop trying to play detective. Because-- and I can't believe I'm saying this--I think I'm vad at it. I'm certainly not as subtle as I should be.

And that person who crashes around in books, asking everyone all the questions?

That's the person who ends up as the second victim.

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

Friday Memes: True Fiction by Lee Goldberg

 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. 

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place.

Beginning:

Honolulu. July 17. Noon. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time.

The assassin wore only a Speedo and his lean body was slathered with sunscreen that made him smell like baked coconut.

Friday 56:

He wasn't surprised to learn she had another job. There weren't enough authors coming through Seattle for her to make a living escorting them around.

"It's a lot like being an author escort," she said. "I feed the dogs, take them out, clean up their messes, and hope they won't hump my leg."

"I'm sensing a little hostility," Ian said.

This week I am spotlighting True Fiction by Lee Goldberg. I chose the audiobook for this one. It begins a new series starring the "unluckiest writer alive." I have recently become a big fan of the author's. I enjoy his humor and the fast-paced suspense in his stories. 

Here's the description from Amazon:

#1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Lee Goldberg hits the ground running in a breakneck thriller where truth and fiction collide for the unluckiest writer alive.

When a passenger jet crashes onto the beaches of Waikiki, bestselling thriller writer Ian Ludlow knows the horrific tragedy wasn’t an accident.

Years before, the CIA enlisted Ian to dream up terrorism scenarios to prepare the government for nightmares they couldn’t imagine. Now one of those schemes has come true, and Ian is the only person alive who knows how it was done…and who is behind the plot. That makes him too dangerous to live.

Ian goes on the run, sweeping up an innocent bystander in his plight—Margo French, a dog walker and aspiring singer. They are pursued by assassins and an all-seeing global-intelligence network that won’t stop until Ian and Margo are dead. Ian has written thrillers like this before, but this time he doesn’t know how it’s going to end—or if he will be alive to find out.

ARC Review: The Expectant Detective by Kat Ailes

The Expectant Detectives
Author: Kat Ailes
Series: The Expectant Detectives (Book 1)
Publication: Minotaur Books (January 9, 2024)

Description: Fresh, funny and heartfelt, The Expectant Detectives is a charming debut mystery about a group of soon-to-be moms-turned-detectives.

Can they solve the mother of all murders?

For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to the sleepy village of Penton is a chance to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of their first child. He can take up woodwork; maybe she’ll learn to make jam? But the rural idyll they’d hoped for doesn’t quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their local prenatal class, and they find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.

With a cloud of suspicion hanging over the heads of the whole group, Alice and her new-found pregnant friends set out to solve the mystery and clear their names, with the help of her troublesome dog, Helen. However, there are more secrets and tensions in the heart of Penton than first meet the eye. Between the discovery of a shady commune up in the woods, the unearthing of a mysterious death years earlier, and the near-tragic poisoning of Helen, Alice is soon in way over her head.

My Thoughts: Alice and her partner Joe have decided to leave London for Penton, a sleepy village, since they are expecting a child in the very near future. Alice has some concerns about making new friends, but attendance at a class preparing women for childbirth opens new avenues for her.

Unfortunately, one of the attendees goes into labor at the second class and delivers a baby girl before medical help can arrive. The class is held above a shop selling herbal remedies and is run by a man who stopped Alice on the street after her first doctor's appointment and offered her herbal remedies for her ailments. Alice thought it was just a little pushy to discuss intimate details regarding her pregnancy with a complete stranger. She's surprised to run into him again as she and Joe go to class. She's even more surprised to find him dead at his counter when the class and the birth are over. 

She and some of her fellow pregnant ladies decide to investigate the death especially when it is learned that one of the lady's same sex partner is being accused of the murder. Despite the urging of the police inspector who happens to be the sister of another of the women attending the class, Alice and a couple of others decide to look into things. After all, they are all on maternity leave and more than a bit bored. 

Between secrets and goings-on at a local commune which was founded by the victim, though he left it after, Alice has a lot to investigate. A death and a disappearance from the commune plays into the story too. 

This book was very funny. I've never been pregnant but can appreciate the trials and tribulations of a women just weeks away from giving birth. Alice and her lovely, but stupid, dog were great characters. I enjoyed this story very much. 

Favorite Quote:

"No," she said. "It's not cool. And we're not talking about it."

But I had so many questions! Why did people keep stopping me from asking questions when there were so many intriguing ones just begging to be asked.

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

Audiobook Review: Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews

Stork Raving Mad
Author: Donna Andrews
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow Mystery (Book 12)
Publication: Dreamscape Media (April 3, 2018)
Length: 7 hours and 52 minutes

Description: Meg Langslow is pregnant with twins when Michael asks if she wouldn't mind having a houseguest. One of his doctoral students is directing his new translation of a play by a minor Spanish playwright, who has agreed to come to town for the production. Surely they can spare some room for such an important academic cause?

Señor Mendoza turns out to be a partygoer who loves to spend raucous evenings among adoring students...at Casa Langslow. Into this chaos arrives the dean of the English department, who insists the play be canceled.

Then the unthinkable happens: the dean is found murdered, and Meg's house has become a crime scene. Now it's up to Meg to help Chief Burke solve the murders, rescue the student's dissertation, make sure Michael doesn't lose tenure, and, while she's at it, give birth to twins. Encore! Encore!

My Thoughts: Things are busy for Meg Langslow in this 12th book in the series. Because the heating plant isn't operational at the college, she and her husband Michael are hosting a bunch of drama students as they prepare for their latest production and a clutch of computer students have taken over the basement. In addition, Michael asks Meg to host the Spanish playwright of the upcoming production.

The chairman of the English department comes to tell them all that the play must be cancelled because the graduate student who is producing it didn't ask for permission. She and her minion from Administrative Services have done nothing but throw roadblocks into the paths of all drama students and are vehemently opposed to the formation of a separate Drama department. 

When the body of the English Department Chair is found in Meg and Michael's library, Chief Burke and his department all descend on the house to try to solve the case. However, Deputy Sammy is distracted by the recent hit-and-run accident his dog suffered and wants to track down the driver. 

It soon becomes apparent that many people had reasons to want the professor dead and most of them are currently in residence at Meg and Michael's. Meg who is eight-and-a-half-months pregnant finds herself overhearing all sorts of things she wants to share with the Chief while on the way to the bathroom or trying to get upstairs to take a nap. 

This was another fun entry into this engaging humorous mystery series. I enjoyed the narration. I really like Meg and the assorted characters who surround her. 

I bought this one at Chirp. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon by Donna Andrews

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Meg Langslow (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 7, 2006)

Description: Poor Meg Langslow. She's blessed in so many ways. Michael, her boyfriend, is a handsome, delightful heartthrob who adores her. She's a successful blacksmith, known for her artistic wrought-iron creations. But somehow Meg's road to contentment is more rutted and filled with potholes than seems fair.

There are Michael's and Meg's doting but demanding mothers, for a start. And then there's the fruitless hunt for a place big enough for the couple to live together. And a succession of crises brought on by the well-meaning but utterly wacky demands of her friends and family. Demands that Meg has a hard time refusing---which is why she's tending the switchboard of Mutant Wizards, where her brother's computer games are created, and handling all the office management problems that no one else bothers with. For companionship, besides a crew of eccentric techies, she has a buzzard with one wing---who she must feed frozen mice thawed in the office microwave---and Michael's mother's nightmare dog. Not to mention the psychotherapists who refuse to give up their lease on half of the office space, and whose conflicting therapies cause continuing dissension. This is not what Meg had in mind when she agreed to help her brother move his staff to new offices.

In fact, the atmosphere is so consistently loony that the office mail cart makes several passes through the reception room, with the office practical joker lying on top of it pretending to be dead, before Meg realizes that he's become the victim of someone who wasn't joking at all. He's been murdered for real.

Donna Andrews's debut book, Murder with Peacocks, won the St. Martin's Malice Domestic best first novel contest and reaped a harvest of other honors as well. This is the fourth book in the Meg Langslow series, which features the intrepid Meg and her cast of oddball relatives. Their capers are a lighthearted joy to read.

My Thoughts: The fourth Meg Langslow mystery has Meg trying to organize her brother Rob's new computer gaming business. They have just moved into new quarters which they are sharing with a group of psychotherapists who are constantly arguing among themselves because of their differing therapies. 

Meanwhile, the programmers are busy working on Lawyers from Hell II which is nearing its release date. The programmers have a wide variety of quirky personalities from the nonverbal stalker to the office practical joker who has taken to pretending he's dead and sending himself around the office on the new automated mail cart. It takes quite a few rounds before Meg realizes that this time Ted isn't joking, and someone has made his prank real. 

When the police chief seems to be focusing on Rob, Meg knows she has to so her own investigating if she is going to find a better suspect for the police's attention. As she looks into Ted's affairs, she discovers that he has been caretaking in the basement of a large home that is filled with the deceased owner's belongings and collections. She also finds a stash of things Ted has hidden including what looks like the records of a blackmail scheme. Unfortunately, he has noted his victims only by code names which are mostly obscure. Meg is sure the list would provide lots more suspects for the police chief if only she can decode the nicknames and figure out who Ted's victims were. 

This story is packed with humor. I loved the way Meg's plans to search the new company offices kept getting interrupted by discovering other people on the premises all doing various suspicious things. I loved that one of the office pets was a one-winged buzzard who lived in the lobby and had to be fed defrosted mice. Spike also has a role in this one as he's kept in his kennel under Meg's desk because of his anti-social behavior. And every day was "bring your dog to work" day which meant that the offices were constantly hosting the programmers' pets. 

Then there are the affirmation bears which one of the therapists introduced to the office which the programmers thought would be fun to reprogram with less life affirming messages. And Michael and Meg's mothers who are also involved from afar. Michael's mother is still trying to foist Spike on the couple. And Meg's mother has plans to redecorate Michael and Meg's apartment which they not so affectionately refer to as "The Cave." Meg and Michael have been house hunting for a place that has enough space for them and aren't having any luck until Meg discovers the house where Ted is living which is huge, cluttered and seemingly way above their price range. 

I laughed out loud as I was reading this one. It was a great addition to the series. 

Favorite Quote:

"Everyone always talks about how great Rob is at thinking outside the box," I said, shaking my head. "I don't suppose they realize that he hasn't the foggiest idea where the box is."

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

ARC Review: Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Meg Langslow (Book 34)
Publication: Minotaur Books (October 10, 2023)

Description: 'Tis the season for sleuthing in Donna Andrews' cheery new addition to the New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow series.

Meg has been roped into participating in a weaponsmithing competition, a Forged in Fire wannabe organized by a blacksmith friend. Meg originally turned down an invitation to participate, but the night before the filming starts, someone attacks Faulk, her blacksmithing mentor, breaking his arm and eliminating him from the contest before it begins. Meg agrees to step in as his replacement to keep the project from failing. She's not thrilled that the filming will take place during December – Christmas is already a crazy time for her. Since the competition is taking place on Ragnarshjem, the picturesque estate that her friend Ragnar, the retired heavy metal drummer, is turning into a Goth castle, Meg won’t have to spend Christmas alone and gets to bring Michael and her twin sons with her.

So Meg joins the cast, to the dismay of several old-school blacksmiths who think women have no place in the profession anyway. And if the show's producers were hoping for drama, they're in luck. The blacksmithing world is a small one, and some of the contestants arrived already laden with grudges and feuds.

It's a high-stakes, cutthroat competition between people who wield large hammers and make swords and have forges full of fire at their disposal. What could possibly go wrong?

My Thoughts: It's Christmas time and Ragnar is hosting a reality show which features blacksmiths who make weapons. Meg was asked to take part but she's happy just to be a gopher. But when her mentor Faulk is attacked and ends up with a concussion and broken arm, Meg is roped into competing. 

As she gets to know the other competitors, she finds that some could be friends, but others are not the kind of people she likes. When one of her least favorite attempts to sabotage the first event of the competition, Meg uses her nephew Kevin's technological skills to catch the saboteur in the act. This act, and his really substandard knife, makes him the first one to be eliminated. 

However, elimination isn't supposed to lead to murder. However, Meg and Michael find his body surrounded by cows in a far pasture and Meg finds herself investigating a murder while competing in a reality TV show. 

I enjoyed the setting since the story takes place at Ragnar's castle-like home. I also liked the time of the year which includes Meg's mother handling the decorating and complying with Ragnar's rather eccentric color scheme. I also liked the gingerbread house decorating party and other seasonal events. 

I thought the solution to the mystery was the least successful part of this story. I felt that the reveal of the villain was too sudden and, to my way of thinking, without any earlier clues leading to him. But maybe I just missed the clues because I was so enjoying all of the Christmas festivities. 

Favorite Quote:

I sipped, and savored the familiar taste, the bite of the caffeine cutting through the sweetness of the cola. Yes, even in winter, I like my caffeine cold and bubbly.

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

Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry
Author: Bonnie Garmus
Publication: Doubleday (April 5, 2022)

Description: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • Meet Elizabeth Zott: “a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention” (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show.

This novel is “irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel” (The New York Times Book Review) and “witty, sometimes hilarious...the Catch-22 of early feminism” (Stephen King, via Twitter).

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

My Thoughts: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY was an amazing story. Part historical fiction, part the birth of women's liberation, part love story, but mostly the story of a woman who is true to herself no matter what the world around her thinks or believes.

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist. She missed out on her Master's Degree in Chemistry when she was raped by her faculty adviser and then pressured by the police to apologize to her rapist. She's working a low level and low pay job at a research lab when she meets Calvin Evans, boy scientist extraordinaire. The two form a relationship based on their mutual respect for one another and eventually fall in love. But Elizabeth is opposed to marriage because she feels that it is just another way for her to lose her identity.

Before Calvin can convince her to marry him, he dies in a freak accident leaving her pregnant. Being an unwed mother in the 1950s isn't easy. She loses her job and makes ends meet by surreptitiously assisting some of the other scientists in the lab for cash payments. 

She hasn't given up her interest in her research and converts her kitchen into her new lab. She is also raising her baby daughter Mad with the help of her neighbor Mrs. Sloane who has raised four of her own and is struggling in a marriage with a man who is abusive. 

The story is filled with interesting characters from her obstetrician who is obsessed with rowing to a minister who has lost his faith to the women in the audience of her new television show who are eating up her recipes and her philosophy of empowerment. Even her dog Six-Thirty is a well realized viewpoint character. Elizabeth herself stands out as a women who is going to march to her own drummer no matter what anyone else thinks. 

The reviews say this one is laugh-out-loud funny, but I didn't find it working that way for me. I did find some parts of it amusing, but mostly I found the treatment of women in the 1950s as told in this novel to be appalling. Personally, I don't find rape or plagiarism or outright discrimination to be very funny. 

I don't know if I can say that I enjoyed this book, but I can say that I found it a compelling story and one I couldn't put down. 

Favorite Quote:

"I don't have hopes," Mad explained, studying the address. "I have faith."

He looked at her in surprise. "Well, that's a funny word to hear coming from you."

"How come?"

"Because," he said, "well, you know. Religion is based on faith."

"But you realize," she said carefully, as if not to embarrass him further, "that faith isn't based on religion,. Right?"

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