ARC Review: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

Murder by Memory
Author: Olivia Waite
Series: Dorothy Gentleman (Book 1)
Publication: Tordotcom (March 18, 2025)

Description: Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in this sci-fi ode to the cozy mystery, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective

A mind is a terrible thing to erase...

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty's most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers―just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor―and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting―knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work―and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes...

Told through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, this novella is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take. Perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie, this well-paced story will leave readers captivated and hungry for the series’s next installment.

My Thoughts: This science fiction novella introduces Dorothy Gentleman who is a detective on the HMS Fairweather - a spaceship on a 1000-year mission. When Dorothy wakes unexpectedly in a body not her own, she finds herself solving a murder case and a financial conspiracy.

I enjoyed the characters in this story and loved the worldbuilding. A thousand-year voyage, minds stored in libraries, and new bodies on demand were all interesting concepts. So was the idea that man's crimes carried into space with the passengers on the ship. 

Dorothy was an interesting character who discovered her career as a detective late in life. It is a great fit with her nosy nature. I enjoyed watching her unravel this twisty plot. 

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

ARC Review: The Library Game by Gigi Pandian

The Library Game
Author: Gigi Pandian
Series: Secret Staircase Mysteries (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (March 18, 2025)

Description: In The Library Game, Tempest Raj and Secret Staircase Construction are renovating a classic detective fiction library that just got its first real-life mystery.

Tempest Raj couldn’t be happier that the family business, Secret Staircase Construction, is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Known for enchanting architectural features like sliding bookshelves and secret passageways, the company is now taking on a dream project: transforming a home into a public library that celebrates history's greatest fictional detectives.

Though the work is far from done, Gray House Library’s new owner is eager to host a murder mystery dinner and literary themed escape room. But when a rehearsal ends with an actor murdered and the body vanishes, Tempest is witness to a seemingly impossible crime. Fueled by her grandfather’s Scottish and Indian meals, Tempest and the rest of the crew must figure out who is making beloved classic mystery plots come to life in a deadly game.

Multiple award winning author Gigi Pandian masterfully weaves wit and warmth in the Secret Staircase Mysteries. Readers will delight in the surprises Secret Staircase Construction uncovers behind the next locked door.

My Thoughts: The fourth Secret Staircase mystery concerns the death of an actor who was set to play in a murder mystery at a house that is soon to be Gray House Library. The library is filled with Golden Age mysteries collected by the recently deceased owner. The owner left the funds to turn the house into the newest town library to be run by his nephew who would live in the attic carefully remodeled by Secret Staircase Construction.

The actor's body disappears like something in magic trick but then reappears the next evening. Tempest and Sanjay are both stage magicians. They should be able to figure out what happened to the body. However, this is also a locked room mystery since nosy across-the-street neighbor Mrs. Hudson is sure that no one entered or left the premises when the death occurred. 

Tempest calls the gang together to solve the mystery of the actor's death and save the library from being closed before it can even open. Tempest and Sanjay's knowledge of magic, Ivy's vast knowledge of mystery novels, and Gideon's practical nature should be enough to solve the crime. Especially if Tempest's grandfather can use his expansive rolodex to find people to answer all the questions they have about the whole mystery.

This was an engaging story with interesting characters. I like the mix of characters. I also like the whimsical constructions done by Tempest's father's company. With Gideon's departure for a France and a stonemason internship, changes are in the air and Ivy's search for a new home, changes are in the air. 

Fans of the series will enjoy getting back together with some unique detectives for a fun adventure. 

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

ARC Review: The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen

The Summer Guests
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Series: The Martini Club (Book 2)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (March 18, 2025)

Description: From New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen comes a chilling follow-up to The Spy Coast, plunging the Martini Club into the search for a missing teen―with a startling connection to their own pasts.

When former spy Maggie Bird retired to the seaside hamlet of Purity, Maine, she settled in for a quiet life with breathtaking views. But enemies from her past soon threatened to destroy everything.

Maggie survived, thanks to her wits and the collective intelligence of the Martini Club, the circle of ex-CIA friends in her cocktail-sipping book club. Their handiwork, however, caught the attention of young police chief Jo Thibodeau. Now Jo and her neighborhood ex-spies have an uneasy alliance.

After a teenager vanishes―and Maggie’s neighbor becomes the prime suspect―she joins the investigation, determined to prove her friend’s innocence. But the girl’s wealthy family pushes for an arrest. And when authorities discover a long-dead corpse in a nearby pond, the case becomes doubly complicated, with unthinkable ties to long-buried secrets.

As Jo grapples with two unexplained mysteries, the Martini Club races to uncover the truth behind shadowy secrets…before more lives are lost.

My Thoughts: In this sequel to THE MARTINI CLUB, a group of retired spies is back on the case when a teenage girl disappears, and Maggie's neighbor is the prime suspect. 

Sheriff Jo Thibodeau is called to the Conover home when Zoe Conover, newly adopted daughter of younger son Eathan, goes missing. While Zoe's mother Susan seems very upset, the rest of the family are seemingly writing the disappearance off as typical teenage behavior. 

As Jo investigates, she learns that Maggie's neighbor Luther Yount was the last one to see her before she disappeared. He dropped her off at the boat dock near her home on Maiden Lake. Despite the fact the Zoe is an excellent swimmer, Susan demands that the lake be dragged in case something awful happened. 

But there are other clues. Her backpack was found along a highway some miles from town and the lake and her cell phone is discovered in the bed of a local lowlife's truck. But Zoe isn't found, and the lake is dragged. Divers find a skeleton that is definitely not Zoe but is a mystery of its own. 

The Martini Club are putting their skills to use to clear Luther's name, find Zoe, and identify the bones found in the lake. Their investigations lead them to a secret government operation that took place at Maiden Lake during the 1970s and a possible identification of the body in the lake. 

Then Zoe is found by some hikers in still another direction from her phone and backpack. She is severely injured from being thrown from a scenic overlook. Brain surgery and other broken bones keep her hospitalized and in need of guarding until the Martini Club manages to put all the pieces together and find the person who wants her dead. 

This was an engaging story told from multiple viewpoints. I liked the way the past and the present were woven together to make a thrilling plot. 

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

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (March 10, 2025)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This was generally a nice quiet week. My big excitement was getting a haircut. It's the first time I've had bangs for many, many years. The cut is still a work in progress. I think I want to go still shorter next time its cut. 

We had a bit of snow - enough to cover the spots of bare ground - last Wednesday. Warm weather since has melted that new snow but not made inroads on the remaining snow cover yet. We are set to break a high temperature record today. It's already 48F with 53F expected. Tomorrow should be even warmer with 57F expected. There should be lots of melting. Temperatures will cool by the middle of the week, and we might get a little bit more snow. 

Bill has someone stopping by after work to see if they want to buy his 2003 Outback. He hasn't advertised but was talking about it at work and a fellow employee's boyfriend happens to be looking for another car. Fingers crossed that we can soon go from a four-car family to a three-car family (which still seems excessive for two people.)

I should bake some bread but think I'm going to read. I have a couple of books to read before my March calendar is full. I have set up the posts for my April calendar, but I need to finish getting them ready for my thoughts. So far, they are just placeholders. The audiobooks I chose are mostly ones that have been on the TBR stack for at least a couple of years. The Kindle books that aren't review books are ones I've received in 2025. I buy many more books than I have time to read especially considering that I enjoy rereading old favorites, but I can reduce the number I carry over from 2025, I hope.

Read Last Week

• The Lady Sparks a Flame by Elizabeth Everett (Review; March 25) -- Historical romance set in 1845. My review will be posted on March 19.
• Witness in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell (Review; March 25) -- Set in the Marvel Universe, this novel tells Jessica Jones' story. My review will be posted on March 20.

• Judgment in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• Betrayal in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• Dead Post Society by Diane Kelly (Review; April 1) -- Seventh in the House Flippers Mysteries had Whitney trying to solve a forty-year-old crime that first looked like a murder suicide but was a murder. My review will be posted on March 25.

• The Chow Maniac by Vivien Chen (Review; April 1) -- Eleventh in the Noodle Shop Mysteries. First person narrative. My review will be posted on March 25.
• Seduction in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)
• Reunion in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread)

Currently

• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (Review; April 1)
• Written in Stone by Paige Shelton (Review; April 1)

Next Week

• The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson (Review; April 8)
• Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (Review; April 8)
• A Proposal to Die For by Molly Harper (Review; April 8)

• Executive Order by Max Allan Collins (Audiobook; Mine since June 28, 2024)
• Undone by Blake Pierce (Kindle, Mine since December 16, 2022)
• One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman (Review; April 15)

Reviews Posted

• Born in Ice by Nora Roberts (Chirp Audiobook)
• The Four Queens of Crime by Rosanne Limoncelli (Review copy)
• Shadow Beasts by Nellie H. Steele (Chirp Audiobook)

• Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn (Review copy)
• White King by Juan Gomez-Jurado (Review copy)
• Code Word Romance by Callie Walker (Review copy)

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

Review:

• The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos (Review; July 8)
• The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy (Review; September 9)
• Dying Cry by Margaret Mizushima (Review; October 14)

Bought:

• Friends Indeed by David Weber & Jane Lindskold (Kindle, $9.99 after Rewards; Audiobook Add-On, $7.47)
• Soothsayer by Mike Resnick (Early Bird, $1.99)

• The Third Circle by Amanda Quick (Chirp Audiobook, $3.99)
• Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz (Chirp Audiobook, $3.99)
• Second Sight by Amanda Quick (Chirp Audiobook, $3.99)

• Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh (BookBub for $.99, Audible Add-On for $2.66)
• A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley (BookBur for $1.99; Audiobook - Audible Plus)

What was your week like?

ARC Review: Code Word Romance by Callie Walker

Code Word Romance
Author: Callie Walker
Publication: Berkley (March 18, 2025)

Description: One fake prime minister, one ridiculously hot handler, and one Italian summer collide in this thrilling adventure rom-com.

Max is just your average girl. She works odd jobs, has a soul-crushing amount of debt, and happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to Europe’s youngest female prime minister, Sofia Christensen. Sofia is powerful, beautiful—and unfortunately, someone is trying quite hard to assassinate her.

When the CIA approaches Max with a deal, a life-changing amount of money if she pretends to be Sofia on the prime minister’s annual Italian vacation, Max packs her bags for the Amalfi Coast. The delicious food, the breathtaking views—this trip would be a dream if it weren’t for those pesky assassins and Flynn, the handler assigned to Max’s case. Flynn, who has an unexpected history with Max, from another sun-drenched summer years and years ago. Now he’s instructed to stay in Max’s suite to protect her, as old passions and assassins collide.

Losing herself in the role of a prime minister is one thing. But losing her heart to Flynn again? Now that’s a risk she isn’t willing to take . . .

My Thoughts: This romance is the story of a young chef who lost everything in the pandemic, is vastly in debt, and guilty for losing the money of people she loves, who gets a chance to be the body double of the youngest Prime Minister in Europe who is facing assassination. 

Max finds herself in Italy with a CIA handler with whom she has a past. Flynn was the summer boyfriend she lost track of when she was a teen. They had a wonderful summer romance in Kennebunkport, Maine, and never saw each other again -- until now. 

It seems that neither the CIA nor Max are told the whole story since Max finds herself with a seeming horde of assassins on her trail. But while running from assassins and pretending to be a Prime Minister, Max finds what she has lost - love and a sense of optimism about the future. 

This was a fun story. Her roommate Kevin adds a lot of comic relief to the story and might be my favorite character of all. 

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

Friday Memes: Code Word Romance by Callie Walker

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

Night air slaps my face. We're speeding faster on the motorcycle, swerving around a restaurant with patio tables, and I accidentally clip one, rattling several plates full of antipasti.

Friday 56:

"I've been thinking," I tell Flynn from the back seat, eyes almost watering at the corners. "If someone did get to the PM, what're they going to think when my face is splashed all over the papers? That I'm the decoy, or she's the decoy?"

This week I'm spotlighting Code Word Romance by Callie Walker. This book is on my stack of review copies. Here's the description from Amazon:

One fake prime minister, one ridiculously hot handler, and one Italian summer collide in this thrilling adventure rom-com.

Max is just your average girl. She works odd jobs, has a soul-crushing amount of debt, and happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to Europe’s youngest female prime minister, Sofia Christensen. Sofia is powerful, beautiful—and unfortunately, someone is trying quite hard to assassinate her.

When the CIA approaches Max with a deal, a life-changing amount of money if she pretends to be Sofia on the prime minister’s annual Italian vacation, Max packs her bags for the Amalfi Coast. The delicious food, the breathtaking views—this trip would be a dream if it weren’t for those pesky assassins and Flynn, the handler assigned to Max’s case. Flynn, who has an unexpected history with Max, from another sun-drenched summer years and years ago. Now he’s instructed to stay in Max’s suite to protect her, as old passions and assassins collide.

Losing herself in the role of a prime minister is one thing. But losing her heart to Flynn again? Now that’s a risk she isn’t willing to take . . .

Audiobook Review: Born in Ice by Nora Roberts

Born in Ice
Author: Nora Roberts
Narrator: Fiacre Douglas
Series: Born In Trilogy/Concannon Sisters Trilogy (Book 2)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (June 10, 2008)
Length: 10 hours and 38 minutes

Description: When the harsh storms of winter descend upon western Ireland, the locals stay indoors - and visitors stay away. Brianna Concannon's bed-and-breakfast becomes a cold and empty place. And that's fine with Brianna. She enjoys the peace and quiet, even when icy winds howl at her window.

This year, though, she's expecting an unusual guest: mystery writer Grayson Thane, from America. A restless wanderer with a dark past, he plans to spend the cold winter alone. Yet sometimes fate has a plan of its own. Sometimes a fire can be born in ice...

My Thoughts: Brianna Concannon runs a bed and breakfast in Western Ireland. She loves being an innkeeper and making a comfortable home for her guests. She sometimes regrets that she isn't making a home for a husband and children but tries to be content with her life. 

Grayson Thane is an American mystery author who comes to Brianna's bed and breakfast during the quiet winter season to write his latest mystery surrounded by the setting he has decided on for it. He's very successful as an author but doesn't have anything but a sense of wanderlust. He's always leaving people and places behind before he allows himself to get attached. 

They seem that they would be unlikely lovers, but a romance grows between them during their winter together. Brianna is willing to love even though she sees heartbreak in her future. Gray is much more reluctant to fall in love and decide that he has found a place to stay and a woman to love. 

While this is primarily a romance, discovered letters to Brianna and Maggie's father from a woman he fell in love with when Bri was an infant and the discovery of 10,000 shares of stock in a company Maggie's Rogan can't track down add plot threads of suspense to the story. 

I loved the setting, and I loved both Gray and Brianna whose damaged and empty spots found filling in each other. 

I bought this one from Chirp November 12, 2024, for $3.99. You can buy your copy here.