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: Liar's Creek by Matt Goldman

Liar's Creek
Author: Matt Goldman
Publication: Minotaur Books (April 21, 2026)

Description: From New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award-winner Matt Goldman comes Liar's Creek, which asks how far we'll go to protect the people we love.

Riverwood, Minnesota is a scenic town threaded with trout streams carving their way through limestone bluffs. But beneath its picturesque facade, danger runs rampant.

Clay Hawkins isn’t a stranger to the secrets of his hometown. After twenty years away, Clay has recently returned home from abroad with his twelve-year-old son, and his relationship with his father, the recently replaced sheriff, is as strained as ever.

But when Clay’s beloved uncle disappears, the three generations of Hawkinses must overturn every stone in Riverwood and confront deep familial wounds to find the one person who brings them together. As danger looms, Clay worries that it might be too late to save his uncle―and that the rest of the family might be next.

My Thoughts: Clay Hawkins has come back to his hometown of Riverwood, Minnesota, along with his 12-year-old son Braedon. He left right after high school, attended West Point, served in the military and then had a successful career playing professional soccer. 

He is slated to begin a new job as soccer coach for his alma mater, a local private school. He is trying to rebuild his relationship with his father who has recently left his job as the Chief of Police. The two have had a difficult relationship all of Clay's life. His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when Clay was born and battled it until her death when Clay was about 10. Clay feels that his father blames him for the loss of the love of his life. And Clay and his father Judd have little in common. Clay doesn't hunt, he didn't play sports his father could understand, he preferred reading to outdoor activities. Clay is a fly fisherman while his father prefers other fishing. The one thing they have in common is their love for Braedon who is enthused about hunting and fishing with his grandfather.

The Hawkins men all have to come together when Clay's Uncle Teddy disappears. Judd's fraternal twin has been a screw-up all of his life and Judd has spent a lot of his life picking up after him. Now he's missing and Judd doesn't want to go to the new Chief of Police to ask for help. He's depending on his own investigations and that of two of the police force who are his loyalists. 

Clay is willing to go to Zooey Jensen who is the new Chief. She's an interesting woman who is half-Dakota and who has recently moved to Riverwood from a similar job in Northern Minnesota. Clay is interested in her as a woman and as an investigative partner. She's quirky and she's smart and she has a history that she isn't eager to share. 

Clay has an interesting past of his own. He was an employee of American Intelligence while he was playing soccer in Europe and had his cover blown which is why he decided to come home now. 

As the investigation continues. lots of secrets are revealed. This was an engaging story. I loved the Minnesota setting since the story takes place near where I lived and worked for twenty years. I also like Clay's character and especially his relationship with his son Braedon. I liked Braedon's part of the story and his role in its resolution. I also like Judd's part of the story as he works toward a better relationship with his son.

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

Audiobook Review: Dawn in Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz

Dawn in Eclipse Bay
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Gail Shalan
Series: Eclipse Bay Trilogy (Book 2)
Publication: Tantor Media (July 25, 2023)
Length: 8 hours and 33 minutes

Description: From New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz comes the second novel in a dramatic trilogy set in breathtaking Eclipse Bay, a town filled with rivalries as fierce and compelling as the rugged Oregon coast . . .

Nothing was ever simple between a Madison and a Harte. The feud that had divided their families still simmered. Now, only months after their siblings' wedding, Lilian Harte and Gabe Madison are at each other's throats.

Successful CEO Gabe had insisted on becoming a client of Lilian's matchmaking service. And after five disastrous dates, Lilian is at her wit's end. If she hadn't already decided to close her business and move home to Eclipse Bay, Gabe would have been the final straw. But when she finds Gabe at her door demanding she fulfill their business contract, the sparks between them suddenly turn personal. Once again, Eclipse Bay will witness a showdown—between a relentless Madison and an irresistible Harte . . .

My Thoughts: The second book in the Eclipse Bay trilogy stars Rafe Madison and Lilian Harte. Rafe has made himself into the successful CEO of a venture capitalist firm. Lilian runs a successful computer matchmaking business. 

After meeting again at their siblings' wedding, Rafe comes to Lilian to try to find a wife who meets his criteria just as Lilian is preparing to close her business and give being a full-time artist a try. Since Rafe has lied on most of the questionnaire Lilian had him complete, Lilian is not successful in finding him a match before her business closes.

He follows her to Eclipse Bay ostensibly to have Lilian find him his sixth contracted match. But sparks are flying between them and a romance grows. Lilian also seems to have attracted a stalker. 

Romance flourishes despite interfering grandfathers, old girlfriends, and political intrigue in this engaging romance. 

I bought this one December 3, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

First Sign of Danger
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Haven's Rock (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 17, 2026)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong continues the atmospheric Haven's Rock series as Casey Duncan investigates a threat to their off-the-grid Yukon town.

Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are entering a new chapter of life as parents to their six-month-old baby. Their family is hidden away in the sanctuary town of Haven's Rock where they can live safe and private lives. But when they encounter hikers too close to the borders of Haven's Rock, they realize they're in danger of being exposed.

When they find one of the hikers dead the next day, they realize that their paranoia was justified, but they're no closer to finding out who these people were and what they were doing in the vicinity of Haven's Rock. Only by tracing the hikers' movements, as well as examining the recent behavior of their closest neighbors, the workers of a secretive mining camp, will they be able to figure out where the threat is coming from and shut it down. Otherwise, the lives of everyone in Haven's Rock--and their safe, secure new existence--are at risk.

My Thoughts: The fourth book in the Haven's Rock series begins with a couple of hikers getting too close to their new secret community. Casey and Eric are hiking with their baby Rory when the come upon hikers who are well off the beaten path and hiking at an odd time of the year.

When one of the hikers is killed and carried off by a grizzly, Casey and Eric need to find out who they were and why they were hiking where they were. They suspect that their other neighbors who are supposed to be gold mining might have some association with the deaths. 

Missing hikers, a grizzly, a buried body, and a mysterious mining camp cause Casey to be pulled in lots of directions as she tries to discover what is going on and if their new settlement is safe. This was an enjoyable mystery with lots of twists and turns. 

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

ARC Review: Wildwood by Amy Pease

Wildwood
Author: Amy Pease
Series: Northwoods
Publication: Atria/Emily Bestler Books (January 6, 2026)

Description: “Amy Pease proves herself a master of modern literary crime fiction.” —Danielle Trussoni, New York Times bestselling author

From the award-winning author of the “riveting debut” (People) Northwoods, a mother-son law enforcement team confront buried secrets in their small town as they work to expose a conspiracy that goes far beyond the tight-knit community.

Deputy Sheriff Eli North has spent the last year getting his life back together. He hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol, he’s working through his PTSD from his military deployment, and he’s repairing his most important relationships. When an undercover informant disappears and all signs point to murder, Eli must expose the dark underbelly of his idyllic Wisconsin small town while safeguarding his newfound stability.

Then, with the unexpected arrival of FBI Agent Alyssa Mason, Eli and his mother, the sheriff, are pulled deeper into a violent criminal network built on the backs of the lost and forgotten.

As the case deepens, loyalties fracture and the line between justice and survival begins to blur. In a town where everyone has something to hide, exposing the truth may cost them everything.

My Thoughts: WILDWOOD takes place in rural Wisconsin. Eli North is a Deputy Sheriff working for his mother who is the Sheriff. They are almost the whole police force for their rural county. Eli is dealing with PTSD from his military deployment in Afghanistan. He has given up drinking and is attending his therapy sessions, but he is a changed man from his life before Afghanistan. 

When a young woman disappears leaving blood spattered around her mobile home, Eli and his mother begin to investigate. Soon the appearance of the FBI om the person of Alyssa Mason complicates the case. The is in underground investigation going on revolving around the local and exclusive resort frequented by the rich. 

Eli learns that the young woman has become a confidential informer working with the undercover agent at the resort. The search for the woman leads to the man she was seeing who winds up in an explosion in a warehouse filled with drugs. 

The story is told from multiple points of view including Eli, Alyssa, and the missing woman. The missing woman's sections are also flashbacks. 

This was a twisty story filled with damaged characters who are all struggling to do what is right. I enjoyed learning more about the characters and untwisting the plot to a satisfying conclusion. 

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

ARC Review: All My Bones by P. J. Tracy

All My Bones
Author: P. J. Tracy
Series: On Old Juniper Bookshop Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (December 2, 2025)

Description: Madeline Brimley, new owner of a bookstore in a small Georgia town, finds herself playing sleuth when a friend is charged with the murder of a much-disliked woman.

Madeline Brimley recently inherited a bookstore in Enigma, Georgia, is embarking on her second career, after her first one (acting) founders upon the metaphorical rocks. Settling in, Madeline recruits her friend Gloria Coleman, the local Episcopal priest, to help her plant azaleas in the front yard of the old Victorian that houses the bookstore. Turning the soil, however, uncovers the body of one Beatrice Glassie, a troublesome woman who has been missing for the past six months.

When her friend Gloria is arrested for the murder, Madeline is determined to prove her innocence and, as she quickly finds out, there aren't many people in town who hadn't wanted to kill Bea Glassie at one point or another. And the very expensive and rare first edition of a particular volume of Grimm's Fairy Tales―ordered by the victim and her sister is somehow tied to the grim death. With the help of her not-quite-boyfriend, a local lawman, and her deceased aunt's best friend, Madeline plans to set a trap to catch the real murderer―before she becomes the next victim.

My Thoughts: Madeline Brimley wants to plant roses developed by her recently deceased Aunt Rose in front of the bookshop she inherited from her. She has enlisted the help of her friend Gloria Coleman who is the local Episcopal priest and her neighbor. 

While digging through the heavy Georgia clay the come upon a layer of Quikcrete and some bones. The front of the bookstore has become a crime scene. The bones are discovered to belong to Bea Glassie. She's been missing for the past six months and no one including her sister had noticed or cared. But now her sister Idell is making up for her earlier silence. She has accused Gloria of killing Bea because she heard the two arguing at the church one day. 

Bea and Idell are rich, elderly women who haven't made many friends in town. They argued over a man and haven't spoken for many, many years. But Idell calls on a cousin in charge of a branch office of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and harasses him enough to convince him to arrest Gloria.

Madeline needs to find the killer in order to set her friend free. Bea's abrasive personality doesn't narrow the pool of suspects. Everyone in Enigma, Georgia, has wanted her dead a time or two. From an old boyfriend to her estranged sister to tradesmen she's stiffed of fees, there are lots of suspects. 

This was an engaging small-town cozy set in rural Georgia. Madeline who grew up in Enigma but left for an acting career as soon as she graduated from high school has only recently returned to take care of the bookshop she inherited from her aunt. She has both and insider and outsider's point of view and a rather dramatic nature. 

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

ARC Review: No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams

No Rest for the Wicked
Author: Rachel Louise Adams
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 16, 2025)

Description: With an expert hand, Rachel Louise Adams’s debut No Rest for the Wicked reads like an edge of your seat, heart-pounding scary movie.

In one Halloween obsessed Midwestern town, everyone’s on red alert after a local politician goes missing. Little do they know it’s only the beginning.

It’s been close to twenty years since forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne left her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. The town is famous for its Halloween celebrations, but also its history of violent deaths linked to the holiday. To Dolores, it’s the place she fled, family, bad memories, and all. Until the FBI calls to tell her that her father--the former mayor turned US Senator--is missing under mysterious circumstances.

Some people count to ten to wake up from a nightmare. Dolores always counts the bones of her head instead: sphenoid, frontal, lacrimal. But no matter how many times she counts them, it doesn’t change the fact that her father is missing, that his final words of warning to her were to trust no one, and that now, the rest of her family is giving Dolores a chilling welcome. With Halloween fast approaching, Dolores must face the past she left behind before it’s too late.

My Thoughts: Forensic pathologist Dolores Diaz is called home to Little Horton, Wisconsin, when her father goes missing. She left town at eighteen and hasn't been back or communicated with her family for about 16 years. She left because of an incident that she has blocked from her memory and isn't eager to uncover what she has forgotten.

Dolores' father left a note telling her not to trust anyone and the FBI in the persons of FBI Special Agents Wyatt Holt and Paul Turner want to know why. Dolores has to face the past she left behind and uncover long-buried memories to survive because her father's death is just the first. 

I enjoyed this twisty mystery with an intriguing main character who counts skull bones rather than to ten when she needs to regain control. I liked the flashbacks to 2003 where the cause of her memory lapse begins. 

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

ARC Review: If It Makes You Happy by Julia Olivia

If It Makes You Happy
Author: Julia Olivia
Publication: Berkley (September 2, 2025)

Description: Grab your favorite fall candle, cuddle into a comfy blanket, and travel back in time to 1997 in this cozy, slow-burn romance set in the autumn glow of small-town Vermont.

Now with exclusive bonus content!

My new next-door neighbor seems to have everything figured out. Small town golden boy? Check. Single dad extraordinaire? Check. Hot baker forearms? I didn’t notice them, I swear.

I, on the other hand, don’t–at all–have anything figured out. Trust me, I didn’t think taking over my mom’s dream bed and breakfast in Copper Run Vermont was going to be easy. It should be a good place to heal after my divorce. But apparently my scones belong in the garbage with my small talk skills. As pointed out by none other than Cliff.

Cliff is inescapable. He knows exactly what people need–always. His charm, the way he wears flannel, and even his pastries, make not wanting to be friends with Cliff and his daughters pretty hard.

Friends? I can make friends. That’s safe. Except I’m leaving in three months to pass the inn off to my little sister and get the promotion in Seattle I’ve been working towards. So ask me why I’m thinking about kissing my hot neighbor.

My Thoughts: IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY was a nice romance. Goal-driven Michelle travels from her fast-paced life in Seattle after her mother's sudden death to take over the bed & breakfast that was her mother's life dream. 

The timing isn't perfect. Even if the time running the inn is only a couple of months, it will mess up her fast track in her advertising career. But the trip will give her a chance to come to terms with her divorce from Allen. 

She isn't really prepared for what she is going to find in a small town in Vermont. Least of all is she prepared to meet Cliff, the divorced guy who lives next door with his two daughters. But Cliff is a friendly sort who had promised Shell's mother that he'd be around to help. His friendly manner and delicious baked goods and wacky sense of humor all appeal to Shell.

But can two very different people find a way to make things work? With her in town only until her younger sister finishes college and takes over the inn and him content to live and work in the small town forever, they have lots of things to work out. 

The story had a great cast of characters including Rocket the dog Michelle gained custody of in the divorce. Cliff's daughters were great characters too. And the assorted friends who want to help add to the interest. Even Cliff's ex-wife had her role to play.

Fans of romances with grown-up characters with busy lives will enjoy this story.

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

ARC Review: A Lonesome Place for Murder by Nolan Chase

A Lonesome Place for Murder
Author: Nolan Chase
Series: Ethan Brand Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane (August 26, 2025)

Description: In this dark mystery, perfect for fans of C. J. Box, one wrong step leads Ethan Brand to the most dangerous case of his career...and the most personal.

Hoping to surprise his sons, Ethan Brand, the chief of police of a small town in northern Washington state, is contemplating buying a horse. But when the horse literally stumbles upon an abandoned smuggling tunnel, Ethan and his lead investigator Brenda Lee Page discover a dead body connected to a decade-old mystery.

Ten years ago, Tyler Rash, a troubled friend of Ethan’s, vanished without a trace. The body in the tunnel has Tyler’s ID and personal effects.

As Ethan and Brenda Lee investigate Tyler’s disappearance, they follow a trail that leads them to a cross-border smuggling operation connected to the town’s notorious family of smugglers. And when a bomb is sent to Ethan’s own house, the case takes a deadly and personal turn. A killer is stalking Ethan Brand–a killer he’ll have to face if he wants to see his family again.

My Thoughts: The second Ethan Brand mystery has Ethan taking a look at his past. When he is looking at a horse to buy for his sons, the horse stumbles into a tunnel built on an isolated ranch. Exploring the tunnel leads to a body with a wallet giving the name of Tyler Rash.

Tyler had been taken in by Ethan's family when he was a boy. Ethan's dad Jack really bonded with Tyler since they were both outdoorsmen and survivalists. Finding what looks to be his body, Ethan is faced with his relationship with his father who disappeared into the wilderness when Ethan was a teenager.

But, when Chief Deputy Brenda Lee discovers that the body is not Tyler's, the mystery deepens. It makes Ethan wonder if Tyler is still alive out there somewhere. A visiting DEA Agent is also wondering if Tyler is still out there since the tunnel mirrors other smuggler's tunnels that she has investigated. 

Ethan is also involved in the local race for mayor since he has had a bad relationship with the current mayor since firing his corrupt nephew and admires the woman who is running against him. Stolen campaign signs and harassment of the candidate opposing the mayor takes up some of his time too.

When a letter bomb is delivered to Ethan's house, he knows he's getting close to something but isn't sure exactly what. 

This was an intriguing mystery. I really like Ethan Brand's character. He's a Vet who came home from Afghanistan with a prosthetic and oxy addiction but managed to straighten up to become the Sheriff. He's dealing with the fact that his wife left him and took his sons to Boston. He's had some relationships including one with a married woman who decided to go back to her husband. And he has a sort of relationship with Sissy McCandless who is running the biggest crime family in the area. 

I liked the story and look forward to more in the series. 

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

ARC Review: The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan

The Witch's Orchard
Author: Archer Sullivan
Publication: Minotaur (August 12, 2025)

Description: A ninth generation Appalachian herself, Archer Sullivan brings the mountains of North Carolina to life in The Witch’s Orchard, a wonderfully atmospheric novel that introduces private investigator Annie Gore.

Former Air Force Special Investigator Annie Gore joined the military right after high school to escape the fraught homelife of her childhood. Now, she’s getting by as a private investigator and her latest case takes her to an Appalachian holler not unlike the one where she grew up.

Ten years ago, three little girls went missing from their tiny mountain town. While one was returned, the others were never seen again. After all this time without answers, the brother of one of the girls wants to hire an outsider, and he wants Annie. While she may not be from his town, she gets mountain towns. Mountain people. Driving back into the hills for a case this old―it might be a fool’s errand. But Annie needs to put money in the bank and she can’t turn down a case. Not even one that dredges up her own painful past.

In the shadow of the Blue Ridge, Annie begins to track the truth, navigating a decade’s worth of secrets, folklore of witches and crows, and a whole town that prefers to forget. But while the case may have been buried, echoes of the past linger. And Annie’s arrival stirs someone into action.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed THE WITCH'S ORCHARD. Former Air Force Special Investigator Annie Gore became a private investigator after leaving the service. She is just holding on to that career. When a young man from rural North Carolina comes to her with a case, she wants to help him out (and get his fee so that she can get her watch out of hock.)

Returning to the sort of rural life she joined the Air Force to get out of brings up memories of her own past as she investigates the disappearance of three young girls from one small mountain town. Ten years earlier, three girls disappeared over the course of a couple of months. One, an autistic child, was returned after being gone a couple of weeks. The other two were never found. 

Annie describes her job as asking questions until she stirs things up. That's what she does as she reinterviews those who were around at the time of the disappearances. Circling through her investigation is an old mountain story about a witch and her apple garden. She asks most of the people she interviews to tell her their version of the story which helps Annie understand them.

This was an engaging story with a great main character. I liked the way Annie engaged with her suspects and ferreted out long buried secrets. 

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

ARC Review: The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos

The Blue Horse
Author: Bruce Borgos 
Series: Porter Beck (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books (July 8, 2025)

Description: A controversial wild horse round-up in the high desert of Nevada results in two murders and too many suspects for Sheriff Porter Beck to deal with.

A helicopter driving a controversial round-up of wild horses suddenly crashes and the pilot is found to have been shot. Then the person coordinating the round-up for the Bureau of Land Management is savagely murdered, buried up to her neck and then trampled to death by the very same wild horses. And there's no lack of suspects―with the wild horse advocacy group having sworn to protect the horse At Any Cost! Now the state and federal agencies are showing up looking for answers or at least a scapegoat.

Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days.

Porter Beck's new girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, arrives to help with the investigation, which leads them to Canadian Lithium mining operation near the round-up area that sets off Beck's mental alarm bells. Brinley, Beck's sister, is leading a group of troubled kids in a wilderness program, when one of them, Rafa, bolts one night. When Brinley catches up to him, they're just outside the mine―in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

With his personal life in turmoil, too many suspects and too many secrets, the feds pushing for a quick resolution, and his impetuous (if skilled) sister in the mix, one wrong step could be deadly for Porter Beck.

My Thoughts: The third Porter Beck mystery begins with the death of a helicopter pilot who is rounding up wild horses. Sheriff Porter Beck is in his last weeks as sheriff before he takes a state-wide post in criminal investigation. 

But the murder of the pilot is only the first death. A video is put up showing the death of the BLM manager involved in the round-up. What doesn't show is that one of truck drivers is also murdered. The FBI comes in after her death because she was a federal employee. The FBI would like a fast resolution to the case, but Beck isn't convinced that the obvious suspects weren't set up to take the blame.

Covid is making itself felt in his county despite it being both very rural and sparsely populated. His chief deputy, who is supposed to take his place as sheriff, comes down with a case of it the is severe enough to require her to spend time on a respirator. His already stretched department is stretched even more with people going out sick. 

Meanwhile, Porter is dealing with his night blindness and the prospects of becoming totally blind in the relatively near future. He's also dealing with his girlfriend Charlie Blue Horse's shifting moods and secrets. And his sister Brin disappears when she's volunteering with a group of troubled teens on a wilderness camping trip. 

The story is packed with action and very engaging. 

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

Book Review: The Sea House by Louise Douglas

The Sea House
Author: Louise Douglas
Publication: Boldwood Books (November 5, 2024)

Description: A mysterious bequest and the legacy of a tragic love – only one person can unravel the hidden secrets of the past before it’s too late…

When Elisabeth Quemener dies she leaves a small parcel with the instructions that it must only be opened by Astrid Oake. The trouble is, no one knows who Astrid Oake is…

Elisabeth’s family turn to Touissants detective agency for help but, when Mila Shepherd and Carter Jackson try to track Astrid down, their frustration soon mounts. Their only clue is a photo of two young women holding the hands of a tiny child. The women are smiling but Mila is haunted by the sadness in their eyes. Is this Astrid and Elisabeth and if so, who is the child? And why are there signs everywhere in Elisabeth’s home that the old woman was frightened despite her living a quiet life with no known enemies?

As Elisabeth and Astrid’s story slowly unfolds, Mila feels the walls of her home The Sea House closing in. And as the secrets finally begin to reveal themselves, she is ever more determined to carry out Elisabeth’s final wishes. Because what is inside that unprepossessing parcel might just save a life…

My Thoughts: THE SEA HOUSE was an interesting mystery. Mila Shepherd works for the Touissants detective agency. It is run by a former stepmother of hers since her father is prone to marriage. She was mostly raised in England by her very bitter mother who revels in holding on to the bitterness of a long-ago marriage. She lived for the six weeks she spent every summer in Brittany with her stepmother and stepsister Sophie who became her best friend.

Two years before this story begins, Sophie and her husband Charlie were lost at sea in a storm leaving a fourteen-year-old daughter Ani. Mila drops everything in England including her police detective fiance to move to France to take care of Ani. While Sophie's body was found after the accident, Charlie's was not until the events of the current time period.

While dealing with her own and Ani's uncertainty and grief, the detective agency is hired to find a woman who was mentioned in the will of Elisabeth Quemener. She left a sealed package to be delivered to Astrid Oake. The only problem is that no one knows who Astrid Oake is or where she might be found. The only clue is a photo likely taken in the 1980s that shows Elisabeth, Astrid, and a small child presumed to be Elisabeth's daughter Manon. 

The investigation starts on Facebook as Mila tries to find someone who might know Astrid and proceeds through newspaper clippings to a family tragedy. A trip to England's midlands brings Mila to more secrets at Astrid's family home. 

This was an entertaining story with complex characters and situations. I enjoyed the mysteries. Astrid's story is complete. However, Charlie's and Sophie's are left unresolved in a cliffhanger ending and a rather abrupt ending to the book. 

I bought this one for $.99 January 8, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong

Cold as Hell
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Haven's Rock (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 18, 2025)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns to Haven’s Rock in Cold as Hell as Casey Duncan hunts down a dangerous killer during a deadly blizzard.

Haven’s Rock is a sanctuary town hidden deep in the Yukon for those who need to disappear from the regular world. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are starting a family now that they’ve settled into their life here. As Casey nears the end of her pregnancy, she lets nothing, including her worried husband, stop her from investigating what happens in the forbidden forest outside the town of Haven’s Rock.

When one of the town's residents is drugged and wanders too close to the edge of town, she’s dragged into the woods kicking and screaming. She’s saved in the nick of time, but the women of the town are alarmed. Casey and Eric investigate the assault just as a snowstorm hits Haven’s Rock, covering the forest. It’s there they find a frozen body, naked in the snow. With mixed accounts of the woman's last movements, the two begin to question who they can trust―and who they can't―in their seemingly safe haven.

My Thoughts: With meticulously vetted residents and Casey and Eric's supervision, serial killers aren't supposed to be able to sneak into Haven's Rock. It looks like one has managed it though.

When a resident is attacked and barely escapes, Casey who is eight months into a difficult pregnancy sees a gap in their security. With less than 100 residents, Haven's Rock should have to worry about roofies and date rape. At first, that is the conclusion that Casey and Eric come to. 

But when Lynn disappears during a blizzard and is found staked out on the lake when the weather breaks, it becomes clear that a murderer has made it into Haven's Rock. An unknown murder that is. Haven's Rock is a refuge for a couple of people, including Casey, who have committed murder. 

With Casey nearing the end of her pregnancy and suffering from potential complications, it becomes necessary to leave the investigation and fly out to Whitehorse to be nearer to medical help. Casey is tron between the needs of her unborn child and the needs of the investigation. 

This was another excellent addition to the Haven's Rock series. I like the way Eric and Casey are growing their relationship. I also like catching up with some of my favorite residents including Mathias and Sebastian. The story was very suspenseful. 

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

Friday Memes: Lavender's Blue by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer

 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:

On a cold April day, thanks to an awful card my awful Aunt ML had set me, I was driving down Route 52 along the Ohio River toward my hometown for the first time in fifteen years. 

Friday 56:

JB's Bar is a very old bar -- since 1912 it says on the old mirror above the row of bottles on the old mirror above the row of bottles on the back shelf -- located on the main street of Burney next to the Red Box on the corner. The two places were the center of the town. Drink and food, what more do you need?

This week I am spotlighting Lavender's Blue by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer. I bought this one when it was a BookBub daily deal last January. I added on the audiobook for $1.99. Here is the description from Amazon:

From the NY Times Bestselling duo that wrote Agnes and the Hitman, the first book in the Liz Danger series.

Liz Danger has returned home after fifteen years to deliver a giant teddy bear for her mother’s birthday (color: Guilt Red) when a cop with a great ass picks her up for speeding, fixes the missing lug nuts on her back wheel, pulls her out of a ditch, doesn’t give her a ticket, and helps her avoid her family. This is a man with real potential. The rest of the day goes downhill, starting with her finding out that the only man she’s ever loved is getting married to Lavender Blue, the most beautiful woman in southern Ohio. Really, the best thing in her day is that cop with the lug nuts.

Vince Cooper still isn't sure about being a cop in Burney, Ohio, a place he just moved to six months ago, since Burney is full of some fairly odd people spaced between long stretches of boredom. Still, considering the dangerous, difficult life he had before Burney as an Army Ranger and New York City cop, boredom is good. Then he picks up Liz Danger for speeding and life gets a lot more interesting. And when he picks her up again in the local bar the next night, he starts to realize that “interesting” doesn’t begin to describe what’s going to happen to him if he pulls Liz into his arms and his life.

As Liz navigates her dysfunctional family, her flamboyant boss phoning in from Chicago, her still-interested ex, her bridesmaid dress from hell, a dachshund with issues, a disaster of a wedding, assault, murder, and three hundred and ninety-three teddy bears, Vince shows up to get her through, even though he knows that the real peril for him in Burney is the one who came with her own warning label, Liz Danger.

LAVENDER’S BLUE: Would it kill you to go home and see your mother?

Book Review: Summer of the Dragon by Elizabeth Peters

Summer of the Dragon
Author: Elizabeth Peters
Publication: William Morrow; Reissue edition (October 13, 2009)

Description: A good salary and an all-expenses-paid summer spent a sprawling Arizona ranch is too good a deal for fledgling anthropologist D.J. Abbott to turn down. What does it matter that her rich new employer/benefactor, Hank Hunnicutt, is a certified oddball who is presently funding all manner of off-beat projects, from alien conspiracy studies to a hunt for dragon bones? There's even talk of treasure buried in the nearby mountains, but D.J. isn't going to allow loose speculation -- or the considerable charms of handsome professional treasure hunter Jesse Franklin -- to sidetrack her. Until Hunnicutt suffers a mysterious accident and then vanishes, leaving the weirdos gathered at his spread to eye each other with frightened suspicion. But on a high desert search for the missing millionaire, D.J. is learning things that may not be healthy for her to know. For the game someone is playing here goes far beyond the rational universe -- and it could leave D.J. legitimately dead.

My Thoughts: Grad student in anthropology, D. J. Abbott takes a job with Hank Hunnicutt, millionaire and eccentric, in order to get away from her family for the summer. Hank has a job for her but he's reluctant to tell her about it. 

While D. J. is waiting, she gets a chance to get to know the various hangers-on who live at Hank's Arizona compound. She isn't at all reluctant to let them know that she finds their various theories about Atlantic and aliens way off base. There are a few relatively normal people among the guests including a brother-sister team of anthropologists digging at a local site and the treasure hunter filled with stories about the Lost Dutchman mine and the Seven Cities of Cibola. And Hank's secretary Tom De Karsky is relatively normal though he seems to have taken a dislike to D. J.

But a series of suspicious accidents and the kidnapping of Hank mean that D.J. can't just sit back and enjoy the eccentrics. At least she can't if she wants to survive.

The story is told in the first person by D. J. who is prone to going off on tangents. It has a lot of information about the various weird theories of the guests at Hank's ranch since D. J. decides she needs to study up before arriving at her summer job. 

I thought it was a fun romantic suspense story. 

Favorite Quote:

De Karsky let out a muffled sound that might have been a laugh if it had lived to grow up. 

I bought this one July 24, 2024, when it was a BookBub $1.99 deal. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson

Booked for Murder
Author: P. J. Nelson
Series: An Old Juniper Bookstore Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Minotaur Books (December 10, 2024)

Description: In this atmospheric southern cozy debut, Madeline Brimley returns to the bookstore she inherited, discovering that small towns hold deadly secrets.

Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she's left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn't leave immediately.

But Madeline Brimley, not one to be intimidated, ignores the threats and soldiers on. Until there's another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now with a cloud of suspicion falling over her, it's up to Madeline to untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim.

My Thoughts: Madeline Brimley left tiny Enigma, Georgia, for college and an acting career. Now, after a less than successful career and the death of her eccentric aunt Rose, Madeline has come back. She's inherited her aunt's bookstore which is housed in the old Victorian house where she lived. 

However, someone doesn't want her there. Just moments after arriving in her beat-up old Fiat, someone torches the 100-year-old gazebo in her backyard. A visit from the fire department comes next as does suspicion from the new fire chief that she might have started the fire herself. Add to that a threatening phone call in the early hours of the morning and you have a character who wants to leave town even though she has nowhere to go.

Her aunt's lawyer tells her that her aunt had a codicil to her will saying that Madeline has to stay six months before the property became hers. Now, Madeline is stuck in a place where someone wants her gone. She's not alone though. Her aunt's good friend psychology professor Philomena Waldrop and new Anglican priest Gloria Coleman quickly rally around her. 

Things get worse before they get better. There is a second fire. This time it is the front door of the bookstore, and a new young friend of Madeline's is murdered. Madeline, Philomena and Gloria are determined to find out who murdered Tandy Fletcher and who wants Madeline gone.

Lacking faith in the local police since Madeline babysat him before she left town, the three women begin their own investigations and find all sorts of suspicious characters. 

This was an enjoyable start to a new series. I liked the characters of all three women and thought they were all interesting people. I liked the possibility of a romantic interest in David Marshall who has had a very interesting set of life experiences. I liked the setting and Madeline's observations about it. 

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

ARC Review: Strange Folk by Alli Dyer

Strange Folk
Author: Alli Dyer
Publication: Atria Books (August 6, 2024)

Description: A woman returns to her estranged, magical family in Appalachia, where a conjuring meant to protect the community may have summoned something sinister in this lush, shimmering, and wildly imaginative debut novel, perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Deborah Harkness, and Sarah Addison Allen.

Lee left Craw Valley at eighteen without a backward glance. She wanted no part of the generations of her family who tapped into the power of the land to heal and help their community. But when she abandons her new life in California and has nowhere else to go, Lee returns to Craw Valley with her children in tow to live with her grandmother, Belva.

Lee vows to stay far away from Belva’s world of magic, but when the target of one of her grandmother’s spells is discovered dead, Lee fears that Belva’s magic may have conjured something far more sinister.

As she and her family search for answers, Lee travels down a rabbit hole of strange phenomena and family secrets that force her to reckon with herself and rediscover her power in order to protect her family and the town she couldn’t leave behind.

My Thoughts: After her marriage implodes, Lee brings her children with her to the one place she thought she'd never go back to: home. Craw Valley is in Appalachia. Lee fled at eighteen to get away from a bad home situation and to get away from her magical heritage. 

She is staying with her grandmother Belva who is the local healer until she decides what to do with her life. She still isn't interested in the magic that runs through her family but her fifteen-year-old daughter Meredith is. When her mother refuses to let her great-grandmother teach her about the family magic, she goes to the grandmother her mother doesn't talk about. Redbud says she'll teach Meredith but has her own agenda.

Meanwhile, Lee is getting to know her childhood friends again. Dreama has turned into a yuppie pod person and Kimmie is still the wild child she always was only the wildness is more frantic. She also reconnects with Otis who might have been her boyfriend if she hadn't already decided in school to leave the place behind. 

When Lee's favorite high school teacher is found dead, Belva is blamed. He was the local pedophile and Belva's group had cast a spell on him. Then the local drug dealer is found dead with more ties linking him to Belva. 

Lee has to investigate if she wants to free her grandmother from suspicions. The investigation will not only need to be about current events but will also require looking into the past and into family secrets.

This was an engaging debut novel filled with real people with real people problems in an environment where magic is real. I enjoyed the storytelling. 

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

ARC Review: Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor

Agony Hill
Author: Sarah Stewart Taylor

Series: Franklin Warren (Book 1)
Publication: Minotaur Books (August 6, 2024)

Description: Set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s, Agony Hill is the first novel in a new historical series full of vivid New England atmosphere and the deeply drawn characters that are Sarah Stewart Taylor's trademark.

In the hot summer of 1965, Bostonian Franklin Warren arrives in Bethany, Vermont, to take a position as a detective with the state police. Warren's new home is on the verge of monumental change; the interstates under construction will bring new people, new opportunities, and new problems to Vermont, and the Cold War and protests against the war in Vietnam have finally reached the dirt roads and rolling pastures of Bethany.

Warren has barely unpacked when he's called up to a remote farm on Agony Hill. Former New Yorker and Back-to-the-Lander Hugh Weber seems to have set fire to his barn and himself, with the door barred from the inside, but things aren’t adding up for Warren. The people of Bethany―from Weber’s enigmatic wife to Warren's neighbor, widow and amateur detective Alice Bellows ― clearly have secrets they’d like to keep, but Warren can’t tell if the truth about Weber’s death is one of them. As he gets to know his new home and grapples with the tragedy that brought him there, Warren is drawn to the people and traditions of small town Vermont, even as he finds darkness amidst the beauty.

My Thoughts: This historical mystery, set in Vermont in 1965, concerns the death of a farmer in what looks like an apparent suicide. 

Franklin Warren is on his first day on the job as an investigator for the State Police of Vermont when he is called to the scene of a fire. Arriving at Agony Hill, he discovers the burned body of Hugh Weber in his locked-from-the-inside barn. 

As Warren looks into the case, he gets to know Sylvie Weber and her four sons and he also gets to know the people who might have wanted Hugh Weber dead. Hugh was an angry man who managed to alienate most of his neighbors and the town people of Bethany, Vermont. 

Hugh had come from New York with the intention of leading a simple life as a farmer. He married a much younger woman from a farm background. He was especially irritated that the interstate highway system was coming to Vermont. He was a frequent author of letters to the editor of the local newspaper. He was also a jealous man who resented any interest shown in his wife and her writing talent. 

Warren finds himself quicky getting to know other people in the town as he investigates. He finds his new next-door-neighbor Alice Bellows to be especially helpful for her insights into other town people. She is also an amateur detective and a woman with secrets who hasn't managed to outrun them. Warren is also helped by his young police assistant Pinky who has lots of local knowledge.

This was an engaging story about the near past when the Vietnam war is looming over everything. Draft dodgers and others opposed to the war contrast with patriotic parades on the village green. And, at least in Alice's case, remnants of World War II are also lingering. 

I enjoyed this historical mystery for its intriguing characters and interesting setting. 

Favorite Quote:

"He was one of those people who woke up every morning thinking of himself as a victim of a great conspiracy by everyone around him to thwart his desires. Do you know what I mean?"

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

ARC Review: Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos

Shades of Mercy
Author: Bruce Borgos
Series: Porter Beck (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (July 16, 2024)

Description: In the usually quiet high desert of Nevada, Sheriff Porter Beck faces one of his greatest challenges―a series of unlikely, disturbing and increasingly deadly events of unknown origins.

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, doing the same lawman's job his father once did now that he's returned home after decades away. With his twelve person department, they cover a large area that is usually very quiet, but not of late. One childhood friend is the latest to succumb to a new wave of particularly strong illegal opioids, another childhood friend―now an enormously successful rancher―is targeted by a military drone, hacked and commandeered by an unknown source. The hacker is apparently local―local enough to call out Beck by name―and that means they are Beck's problem.

Beck's investigation leads him to Mercy Vaughn, the one known hacker in the area. The problem is that she's a teenager, locked up with no computer access at the secure juvenile detention center. But there's something Mercy that doesn't sit quite right with Beck. But when Mercy disappears, Beck understands that she's in danger and time is running out for all of them.

My Thoughts: The second Porter Beck thriller is packed with action and has a really twisty plot. 

Porter Beck is a sheriff in Nevada, in a country with more cacti than people, but big city problems are creeping in. One of his childhood friends has just died of a fentanyl overdose and others are in danger from that drug. 

Also, when a prize bull on another childhood friend's ranch is hit with a missile which was snatched from the Air Force's control by an unknown hacker, his county is invaded by the alphabets - FBI, NSA, etc. as they are searching for the hacker. 

Beck has received an email from the hacker asking him to be alert because they might need some help from him. Beck comes to believe that the hacker is a sixteen-year-old girl who is being held at a camp for juvenile offenders after a variety of computer crimes including stealing $80 million from a Federal Bank. 

Learning this the friend who lost his bull is also involved with Mexican drug cartels adds another group who want something or someone from his county. And a Chinese spy trying to recover his sleeper agent who has gone AWOL adds more complexity. 

I really enjoyed this thriller. I couldn't put it down. 

Favorite Quote:

Beck gazed at the screen once again. Hello, Lisa1957. He clicked on the message. It was brief: And so it begins, Sheriff. I hope this note finds you well. I have done a lot of homework on you, and I hope my instincts about you prove true because I have a feeling I am going to need your help very soon.

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

Audiobook Review: Thornyhold by Mary Stewart

Thornyhold
Author: Mary Stewart
Narrator: Jilly Bond
Publication: Hodder & Stoughton (November 7, 2019)
Length: 7 hours and 16 minutes

Description: Mary Stewart's storytelling is as spellbinding as ever in her 12th novel, a Gothic romance featuring sparkling prose, delightful characterization and classic intrigue.

The rambling house called Thornyhold is like something out of a fairy tale. Left to Gilly Ramsey by the cousin whose occasional visits brightened her childhood, the cottage, set deep in a wild wood, has come just in time to save her from a bleak future. With its reputation for magic and its resident black cat, Thornyhold offers Gilly more than just a new home. It offers her a chance to start over.

The old house, with its tufts of rosy houseleek and the spreading gilt of the lichens, was beautiful. Even the prisoning hedges were beautiful, protective with their rusty thorns, their bastions of holly and juniper, and at the corners, like towers, their thick columns of yews.

My Thoughts: This romance takes place in England around the time of World War II. Gilly Ramsey is a preacher's daughter raised in coal towns of England. It is a dreary life brightened only by a few brief visits from her mother's cousin Geillis. Geillis teaches her about nature and magic and pays for her schooling. Geillis is a herbalist who can also see a bit into the future.

When Gilly grows up and after she nurses her parents through their last illnesses, she received word that her cousin has died leaving her a house named Thornyhold. Having no home now that her father - a minister - has died, she travels to her new home.

Thornyhold is a lovely old house with a reputation for being the home of a long line of witches. Gilly feels at home immediately despite her interfering neighbor Mrs. Trapp who apparently wants something from the house and keeps dropping in. 

Gilly also meets a young boy named William who was used to helping her cousin with many things including tending to her garden. And through William, she meets and instantly falls in love with his widowed father John Christopher. But Mrs. Trapp has also set her eye on John Christopher and is willing to use her magic to try to claim him. 

The story was filled with lush descriptions of the land and plants of that part of England. It was also infused with magic. The language was lush and lyrical. The narration by Jilly Bond was excellent.

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