Book recommendation: Murder, She Wrote Gin and Daggers

On October 24, 2025October 22, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading6 Comments

I’ve recently started reading the Murder, She Wrote books, based on the TV show, of course.

There are currently a couple of authors writing the books, but I believe the original person to write them was Donald Bain. I like the books of his in this series that I have read so far which is exactly two. Ha! I am currently reading my third by him.

My husband bought me a copy of the first book in the series — Gin and Daggers — after I read Killer in the Kitchen and it was better than I expected.

This one doesn’t take place in Cabot Cove but takes us straight to England where Jessica has traveled to visit with good friend of hers – a famous mystery writer. Think Agatha Christie level.

The woman — Marjorie Ainsworth — isn’t in great health, though, and some are speculating she could pass away. That’s not all they’re speculating. She’s just released a new book and some staying at the mansion for the celebration don’t believe she even wrote it because of her declining health. Marjorie Ainsworth

It isn’t her declining health that leads to her death, though. It’s murder. Now Jessica must figure out who among the guests at her mansion killed her while avoiding being blamed herself.

One thing I’ve noticed about these Murder, She Wrote books is they take their time getting to the mystery. This gives the reader time to get to know the characters and really feel like they are invested in the story before the crime occurs. A lot of more modern mysteries rush right into the crime without letting the reader create an attachment to the potential victim and the possible suspects. Some readers like this and some find it boring and tedious. Whether I like it or not depends on what mood I am in. For this book, and the other Murder, She Wrote books I have read, I have not minded.

I like how these books make Jessica even more real than the show – in this one she cries over her friend passing away and when she remembers her late husband. She seems more vulnerable in the books than on the show.

The world of Jessica Fletcher is more in depth and real in the books, in other words, unlike the surface level portrayal from the show. Jessica’s close connection to Dr. Seth Hazlitt is also more pronounced in the books. Though a romance isn’t suggested, it is clear that she and Seth are very close.

This is very clear in this book where Jessica is accused of Marjorie’s murder and Seth hears about it back in Cabot Cove and hops a plane with Sheriff Mort Metzger to bring a bit of Cabot Cove to London.

There are a number of suspects in this one and while the story does drag at times and it gets a bit convoluted at the end, it held my interest and was a solid mystery. I wouldn’t say I would read this one again and again but I enjoyed it as fun, and well-written (prose wise) book.

One thing I find interesting about these books is how well Bain writes a female character. He isn’t perfect at it, but he does write Jessica as someone who is strong and bold, but also connected with her feelings more.

The bottom line on books based on shows is that they are never amazing literature but they are a good escape and some (usually clean) fun. What these books with Donald Bain have going for them is an extra cozy feel and solid writing.

Have you read any of the Murder, She Wrote books? If so, which one? If not, would you ever try one?

Book recommendation: A Fatal Harvest

On October 20, 2025October 19, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading, everyday musings7 Comments

A Fatal Harvest is an Amish Inn Mystery. This series is written by a few different authors but this particular book was written by Rachael O. Phillips. So far I have enjoyed the books she writes in the series the most.

The series focuses on Liz Eckhardt, the owner of an Amish Inn called the Old Mansion Inn, in Indiana. This is Amish country and Liz has many connections to the Amish community, mainly through her mother. If you want to know more about that you’ll need to read the first book in the series, Secrets of the Amish Diary.

Liz’s friends, Sadie and Mary Ann and Naomi, form a group called “The Material Girls” and they knit and sew together. The women in the group also occasionally help Liz who always seems to get herself involved in a mystery. Liz’s group of friends also includes the inn’s resident bulldog, Beans, who Liz inherited when she bought the inn.

In this book, one of Liz’s guests is murdered at a community Halloween party in a corn maze and Liz not only wants to find out why he was murdered but who he really was.

Things get even more complicated when a mysterious and handsome man arrives, threatening Liz’s budding romance with town mayor, Jackson.

I enjoyed the coziness of this one because mixed in with the mysteries in this book were heartwarming and fun moments between Liz and her friends. This book was a slowed down mystery with some parts that didn’t have anything to do with the mystery but were instead like a leisurely and relaxing walk through Liz’s life with her friends.

I didn’t feel those brief detours took away from the mystery or the book overall, but instead made the book even more cozy. I felt as if I was getting to know the characters on a deeper level which I welcomed. I have about twelve more books to read in this series and I hope we find out even more about the personal lives of Liz’s friends as we continue.

An aside about the physical book — I love that each of the books produced by Annie’s Fiction are hardcover and include their own bookmark. It makes it easier to mark my place without having to find a bookmark!

Sadly, when I went to the website for Annie’s Fiction, I learned that the site is down so the company may have folded. Luckily, you can still find copies of many of their books on various sites online, especially used book sites.

Have you read any of the books in this series?

If you write book reviews or book-related blog posts, don’t forget that Erin and I host the A Good Book and A Cup of Tea Monthly Bookish Blog Party. You can learn more about it here.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Book review: The Antique Hunters Guide To Murder

On September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading7 Comments

Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago that she thought I had mentioned somewhere that I was going to read The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder. I had not but it looked interesting to me so she suggested we do a buddy read. I’ve never done a buddy read so I said I could try it with her.

Having someone to talk to about the book and bounce ideas off of about what was going to happen next was fun.

This book takes place in England and is about Freya Lockwood who used to be an antique hunter. I wasn’t sure what the term “antique hunter” meant until I got into the book. It turns out it isn’t only about finding antiques that are worth something and can be sold in a store. Antique hunting is also about finding stolen antiques and returning them to their rightful owners.

What I knew from the beginning was that a man named Arthur Crockleford had died and it upset her. It is actually suggested in the prologue of the book that Arthur was murdered.

We will spend most of the book trying to figure out not only why but who.

Freya and Arthur haven’t talked in almost 20 years and we will learn more about that as we read too.

Freya’s aunt Carole, who cared for Freya when her parents died, introduced Freya to Arthur and was also good friends with him. After Freya and Arthur’s falling out, Freya married and had a child, who is now grown.

From the book description: Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Freya follows clues to an old manor house for an advertised antiques enthusiast’s weekend. But not all is as it seems. It’s clear to Freya that the antiques are all just poor reproductions, and her fellow guests are secretive and menacing. What is going on at this estate and how was Arthur involved? More importantly, can Freya and Carole discover the truth before the killer strikes again?”

Arthur leaves behind a series of journals for Freya that he calls the Antique Hunter’s Guide.

My thoughts:

This book was … okay for me. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read. It wasn’t the best. Overall, though, it was a fun escape – at least until about 60 percent when things got a bit confusing for me and sort of fell apart in my opinion. That totally could have been just a me thing, though. Maybe my brain wasn’t clicking as well with the second half as it did the first.

The book was clean and free of swearing and graphic descriptions so I would consider it a cozy mystery.

The one big thing this book had going for it was the characters. They were interesting and I got attached to them, though I was attached more to Carole than Freya.

The mystery is decent too, but the characters are interesting and fun to learn about.

Freya’s aunt Carole is a highlight of the book for me. She was eccentric, funny, and always on the brink of either blowing their investigation or getting them deeper in trouble. She was there to add some humor to the book it seems and I liked that.

Freya is getting her life back and finding the woman she used to be in this book, but don’t worry, if you forget that fact, the author will tell you about 50 more times before the book ends. She will also remind you that Freya has a scar on her hand about 50 times. I’m joking a bit, but those two things were repeated a bit too much for my liking. I got the point the first three times we were told Freya wanted her old life back. Though I thought we were told this too much I liked that Freya worked toward finding her former passion for antique hunting.

Here are a couple of quotes I highlighted as I read:

“This plate is different than before, but it’s still precious,” said Arthur. “Most of us have been broken in one way or another. We don’t need to hide the scars, for they make us who we are. This bread was mended with real gold.”

“I saw for the first time that I was me again — that person hadn’t left me; I’d just dived into the safety of my London home and become shrouded with the world of being a wife and mother.”

“Your journals are called the Antique Hunter’s Guide. But my hunting hasn’t been as straightforward — your guide led me on quite an adventure.”

“You can be so dramatic. He offered tea, and murderers don’t offer tea, do they darling?” Carole tutted at me.

“Carole appeared at my side and rubbed my arms like she used to do after we’d come in from a long, cold winter’s walk. “I want to show you what I meant about the vases. Come.” She handed back my phone and led me away from the darkness, just as she had always done.”

Erin mentioned when we were talking that she thought this book was a good introduction to a series and I think she’s right. There was a lot in it and a couple storylines going on, including a possible romance, but in the end they all converged, luckily.

I will warn you that this book switches from a few points of view to introduce us to each suspect or to Aunt Carole. The tense changes when the POV changes so we go from mainly first person for Freya to third person for everyone else. I thought Miller did this well so the changes didn’t bother me like it has in some other books I’ve tried in the past.

There is one more book in the series that is out — The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea. The third book, The Antique Hunter’s Murder At The Castle is scheduled for release in March of 2026.

The bottom line for me is that this is a fun read, something to pick up when you need an escape from the world. Don’t expect it to blow you away, but do expect to be sufficiently entertained.

You can view Erin’s thoughts here.

If you write book reviews or book-related blog posts, don’t forget that Erin and I host the A Good Book and A Cup of Tea Monthly Bookish Blog Party. You can learn more about it here.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Book review/recommendation: Dave Barry Isn’t Taking This Sitting Down

On September 15, 2025September 14, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading5 Comments

Title: Dave Barry Isn’t Taking This Sitting Down

Author: Dave Barry

Genre: Comedy/Humor

Description:

Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry is a pretty amiable guy. But lately, he’s been getting a little worked up. What could make a mild-mannered man of words so hot under the collar? Well, a lot of things–like bad public art, Internet millionaires, SUVs, Regis Philbin . . . and even bigger problems, like

• The slower-than-deceased-livestock left-lane drivers who apparently believe that the right lane is sacred and must never come in direct contact with tires
• The parent-misery quotient of last-minute school science fair projects
• Day trading and other careers that never require you to take off your bathrobe
• The plague of the low-flow toilets, which is so bad that even in Miami, where you can buy drugs just by opening your front door and yelling “Hey! I want some crack,” you can’t even sell your first born to get a normal-flushing toilet

Dave Barry is not taking any of this sitting down. He’s going to stand up for the rights of all Americans against ridiculously named specialty “–chino” coffees and the IRS. Just as soon as he gets the darn toilet flushed.

My impressions:

Dave Barry’s columns are hilarious and keep me laughing when I probably would otherwise be crying. I had a weird summer with a lot of up and down emotions so this book, with its bite-sized chapters, (which are made up of column reproductions from his years at the Miami Herald) were just what I needed. I read two or three columns a night and tried not to laugh too loud so I didn’t wake up anyone else in the family.

I love Dave’s sense of humor. The sarcasm and quick whit and play on words. Even the puns. This book was written in 2000 and still holds up with so many topics and thoughts that many of us still (sometimes sadly) can relate to.

What I also liked about this book is that it was clean, with only an occasional off-color comment or joke. There is no swearing other than a hell or damn from time to time.

I have never read Dave’s fiction books so I can’t comment on if those are clean or not. I will let you know if I ever read one. My husband has read them and always seems to laugh through them, so I guess they are funny at least.

Some of Dave’s non-fiction comedy books focus on one specific topic, like computers, ,but the topics in this book include everything from politics to regulations on toilets, always managing to make the topic light and giggle-inducing.

Some quotes I liked from this one:

“Like many members of the uncultured, Cheez-It-consuming public, I am not good at grasping modern art. I’m the type of person who will stand in front of a certified modern masterpiece painting that looks, to the layperson, like a big black square, and quietly think: “Maybe the actual painting is on the other side.”

“The public should enjoy what the experts have decided the public should enjoy. That’s the system we use in this country, and we’re going to stick with it.”

One that hits home for me, a former newspaper reporter whose husband is still in the business: “Here in the newspaper business, we have definitely caught Internet Fever. In the old days we used to — get this! — actually charge money for our newspapers. Ha ha! What an old-fashioned, low 0tech, non-digital concept! Nowadays all of the hip modern newspapers spend millions of dollars operating Web sites where we give away the entire newspaper for fee. Sometimes we run advertisements in the regular newspaper, urging our remaining paying customers to go to our Web sites instead. “Stop giving us money!” is the shrewd marketing thrust of these ads. Why do we do this? Because all of the other newspapers are doing it! If all the other newsapes stuck pencils up their noses, we’d do that, too! This is called “market penetration.””

(Aside: It’s been fun to see newspapers try to shut the barn door after they already opened it on the Web site payments. Most people are fighting it and I can’t blame them. After so many years of getting everything for free, it’s quite a shock to be told you now have to pay for it.)

It was fun here to discover he’d worked at a newspaper I’ve heard of and is in my state: “I myself developed the coffee habit in my early 20s,, when, as a “cub” reporter for the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pennsylvania, I had to stay awake while writing phenomenally boring stories about municipal government. I got my coffee from a vending machine that also sold hot chocolate and chicken-noodle soup; all three liquids squired out of a single tube, and they tasted pretty much the same. But I came to need that coffee, and even today I can do nothing useful before I’ve had several cups. (I can’t do anything useful afterward, either; that’s why I’m a columnist.)”

The bottom line is that if you need a good laugh, this is a good Dave Barry book to choose. I can’t vouch for all of his books, but this one is a good choice.

Book Review: But First, Murder by Bee Littlefield

On September 8, 2025September 7, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading5 Comments

“Whoa slow down the Orient Express, Sherlock. You think you’re going to investigate a possible murder?” It’s one thing for me to bat around that idea in my own private brain or to make a few innocent lists in a new notebook. For my very normal and sensible little sister to make such a suggestion — out loud — is just bizarre.”

But First, Murder by Bee Littlefield

Book Title: But First, Murder

Author: Bee Littlefield

Genre: Cozy mystery

Description:

After years of slinging lattes, Betti Bryant is taking ownership of her life. She doesn’t need new friends or book club invitations to distract her from finding her way forward. And the unresolved situation with a guy she kissed a few weeks ago might as well stay unresolved.

But there’s one distraction she is not prepared for: finding a murder victim on her way to work one frigid December morning.

Suspicion falls on Betti’s roommate, Callista, who happens to be holding a baseball bat over the victim’s body when the police drive up. Almost totally sure Callista is innocent, Betti buys a new notebook, digs out her scrapbooking supplies, and makes the cutest murder board ever.

Now, on top of holding down a job (or two) and figuring out her entire future, she’s committed to finding the real killer before any more lives are ruined—including her own.

My thoughts:

I was excited to get back into Betti’s world, after reading book one in this series, and see what Betti and her friends have been up to. I won’t share too much of what happened at the end of the last book, Clueless in the Coffee Station, in case you haven’t read it yet, but let’s just say Betti was trying some new things out at the end of the last book. The description above mentions that, of course.

In this book she’s in the middle of those changes (though still working part time at the coffee shop) when she stumbles onto a dead body outside her roommate’s new studio.

Of course, she needs to find out who killed him because she is sure the police will suspect her roommate.

On top of the mystery, in which her sister, Elsea, joins her in investigating this time around, there is a possible romance between her and a co-worker, Nico, and a new partnership with a local reporter.

Betti is a very quirky character and cracks me up. I don’t know if I would make some of the decisions she makes when it comes to not going to the police, but if she rushed right to the police there wouldn’t be a story, right?

Betti is introverted and indecisive like me and I think that is why I am drawn to her. She is also very funny, which I am not, but like to think I am.

I enjoyed the addition of her sister to this book. She was in the last book but wasn’t as heavily involved in the investigation as she was in this one.

Bee has left us with some questions at the end of this book which I hope means more stories with Betti and her family and friends.

I highlight a lot in my Kindle with Bee’s books because I love her use of words.

“The younger man comes into the café, leaving the argument behind with the snow he wipes onto the welcome mat.”

Isn’t that a cool line?

Or how about:

“Then I scream. Not one of those piercing shrieks from horror movies or playgrounds, but a goofy, uncontrolled yelp. The boy of a man, as iced over as the trees, is splayed out near an empty flower box, under the same window through which I glimpsed Callista dancing last night.”

Or:

“I found a dead man on my way to work this morning. I say it in my mind, over and over, but I can’t say it out loud. Not here, not with tea steeping and Christmas lights blinking and Chopin on the radio. When customers ask me how I’m doing I say, “Great, thanks!”

And:

“I’m going to go home and have a hard conversation with my roommate Then I’ll take a hot shower and fill my new notebook with thoughts on everything except the poor man who definitely accidentally froze to death last night.”

And one more:

“Whoa slow down the Orient Express, Sherlock. You think you’re going to investigate a possible murder?” It’s one thing for me to bat around that idea in my own private brain or to make a few innocent lists in a new notebook. For my very normal and sensible little sister to make such a suggestion — out loud — is just bizarre.”

Anyhow, I clearly enjoy Bee’s writing style. It’s first person, present tense, which I usually do not enjoy in books, but when Bee writes it, I enjoy it. I also enjoy Bee’s characters and how well-developed and 3-D they are. They are believable, raw and real. Bee’s books are also a good, light read, with a smidgen of heavy, but not enough to make her books dark mystery or thriller. Her books are definitely cozy mysteries with a good balance of cozy and mystery.

Hopefully, all my rambling will convince you to give the book a try.

Book Review: The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon

On September 2, 2025September 1, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading7 Comments

Description:

Margaret, Rose, Jane, and Fran had a good thing meet every week in the quiet of their peaceful chapel and knit prayer shawls. No muss, just ministry. That is, until their pastor boots them out of the church in his last-ditch effort to revive the dwindling congregation.

Uptight Margaret isn’t having it. Knitting prayer shawls where people can watch is the most ridiculous idea she’s ever heard of, and she’s heard plenty. Prayer belongs in the church, not out among the heathen masses. How are they supposed to knit holiness into these shawls if they’re constantly distracted by the public? But with no choice, the others embrace the challenge. They pack their knitting bags and drag Margaret–grumbling the whole way–to the mall with them. She can’t wait to prove them all wrong when it fails miserably, and show the pastor that she always knows best.

Without the familiar mold the group has been stuck in, their own losses, pain, and struggles rise to the surface. And the people and situations they encounter every time they try to sit quietly and knit are taking them a lot further out of their comfort zone than they ever imagined. Can they find the courage to tackle the increasing number of knotty issues they learn about in the community–or will the tangle be too much to unravel?

Sharon Mondragon’s debut is warm and delightful, full of real laughter, grief, and personality. It beautifully illustrates the power of women across generations to reach people for Christ.

My thoughts:

This book was not something I “normally” read, but yet it was. I read a lot of mystery books, but even I need a break from the mysteries sometimes and enjoy a book that is going to make me think about my faith without bashing me over the head. I also don’t mind books that bash me over the head a little bit with my faith so…yeah…sometimes you need a lighter one though.

This book had it all – humor, lovable characters, meaningful moments, thoughtful passages, characters grappling with long-held emotional pain, and people finding a new awareness of God in their lives. It was realistic and raw without being inappropriate or salacious.

Some of the members like the idea of leaving the chapel and going into public, but at least one, Margaret, completely balks. The idea of the group is to knit quietly and pray over the shawls and the people who will receive them, she says.

Going out into the community, though, becomes an outreach for more than members of the public. Soon, the knitting group members are being ministered to as well. New friendships are formed, old hurts are healed, and the church is beginning to grow with new members. More importantly, some of the biggest objectors to moving the group out of the church are learning about themselves and coming closer to the God they said they wanted to serve.

I absolutely loved the members of the knitting club that is the center of this book. They immediately felt like friends. Out of all of them, I could actually relate to Margaret the mos,t even though she was the most “grumpy” out of the women. I don’t know that I am grumpy (others might disagree) but I am a control freak who doesn’t like change for a variety of reasons.
There were some tough subjects in this book, and I don’t usually don’t like that in my books, but I kept going because I felt there would be some resolutions and comforts that were needed for the characters and the reader(s). The characters were also so lovable and, in most cases, sweet. I became very invested in their lives.

I will leave it to you to find out the meaning of the title and who the dragon lady really is.

Trigger warning: There is discussion of cancer and death in this book. It is handled very respectfully without going into graphic detail, but it could be difficult for some readers.

I listened to the majority of this one on Audible and enjoyed the narrator, Christina Moore.

I finished the last few chapters in a paperback, which I bought because I felt like I might want to loan it out to people in the future. This is the second book I read by Sharon (the first being Grandma Ruth Doesn’t Go To Funerals, which had a totally different feel to it) and I am certain I will be reading more. I really enjoy how her writing pulls you write into the story and makes you love her characters right from the start.

Genre: Christian fiction

Release date: 2024

Book review: The Clue in the Diary (A Nancy Drew Mystery)

On July 21, 2025July 21, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading4 Comments

I didn’t read much Nancy Drew when I was a kid so it has been fun to read through the books as an adult. Right now, I am on the original books, which were published in the 1930s, with revisions made later.

I have read some of the books in order but have also been jumping around. I already knew that Nancy’s boyfriend was Ned Nickerson but he wasn’t in the first six books. He was in later books I had read, though. When I recently read The Clue In The Diary I found out that it was the book where he first appeared.

His appearance was one of the reasons the book is now one of my favorites, but also because the mystery held up well even all these years later.

Ned’s introduction in the book is so cute. It is clear from the start that he is taken with Nancy and hopes to become more than friends. She, of course, is also very smitten, but does her best to pretend she isn’t. What interests her right away is how he becomes interested in the same mystery she is interested in.

That mystery involves a fire at a house that she and her friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne stumbled upon while driving home from a carnival. At that carnival they met a little girl and her mother and felt both of them looked malnourished and poor. They are talking and worrying about the little girl when they see the fire at a large mansion on the hill.

They pull over to see if they can help. Nancy runs toward the house and tells Bess and George to find a nearby house where they can call the local fire department.

Nancy yells to see if anyone is in the house but there is no answer. She hopes that no one is inside and when she runs toward the back of the house, she sees the shadowed figure of a man in the bushes, but he disappears before she can speak to him. She also finds a journal lying in the driveway and she thinks it might be a clue. The journal is written in Swedish though so she can’t read it.

The fire department arrives and begins putting out the fire and Nancy strikes up a conversation with a neighbor who says the house has been shut up all summer and she doesn’t think anyone is inside. She isn’t too thrilled with the neighbors either. Their names are Raybolt and they aren’t very nice, the neighbor says.

When Nancy goes back to her car she finds a young man climbing into it and moving it. She thinks he’s stealing it, but it turns out he’s actually just moving it out of danger.

“The young man pulled as close to the edge of the drive as possible. He was about nineteen, Nancy decided, surveying him critically. His hair was dark and slightly curly, his eyes whimsical and friendly. He wore a college fraternity pin.”

Nancy is suspicious of him but later he begins directing traffic to help people get around the fire and her mind is changed. During the rush to get away from the fire, another car rearended her and she pulls off the road to inspect it. The young man pulls off too.

That’s when he introduces himself as Ned Nickerson. As the book goes on there will be more chance meetings and some that aren’t by chance as Ned makes it a point to visit Nancy and help her with finding out what happened at the fire.

One reason Nancy wants to find out what happened at the fire is because of the suspicious man who was outside and because Mrs. Raybolt later says her husband was inside and is dead. Nancy isn’t so sure if this is true or not.

Nancy also learns that the husband of the woman with the little girl was the man sneaking around behind the burning house. Could he have set the fire and caused the death of Mr. Raybolt? If so, why?

As I said above, I enjoyed this one. I wasn’t as pulled in by the cover for some reason so I, for some silly reason, had it in my head I wouldn’t like it. I did, though. I’d put it right up there with The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes, which was my favorite book of the original Nancy Drew’s before I read this one.

I loved the romance part of it. It was subtle and sweet.

Here are some of the cute romance parts:

“After Ned had hung up, Nancy fairly danced back into the bedroom. He sent one slipper flying toward the bed, and the other into the far corner of the room. The young sleuth attempted to convince herself that her jubilant spirits were the result of Ned’s discovery. The ring might be a clue to the identity of the person who had set the Raybolt house on fire. Bess and George, she knew, would have interpreted her reaction very differently!”

“The suggestion was not displeasing to Ned, for he had mentioned the show merely as an excuse to spend the evening with Nancy.”

Have you ever read this particular book?

What did you think?

Book review: The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

On July 7, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading10 Comments

I know I talk a lot on here about Agatha Christie, but I actually have not yet read a ton of her books. Quite a few, but not a ton.

Most of the Agatha Christie books I have read have been either Poirot or Miss Marple mysteries. I decided to read The Pale Horse, which is not about either of those sleuths when the Agatha Christie official website suggested it a few months back as one of the challenges for their 2024 reading challenge. I have not kept up on that challenge this year but might try for the remainder of the year.

This month they are suggesting Come, Tell Me How You Live, which is a memoir of Agatha’s travels with her husband Archie. This is perfect timing because I have been watching Travels with Agatha Christie with Sir David Suchet and though he isn’t talking about this book in the show, it would still tie into her traveling. The book he actually mentions would have focused on her trip with her husband Archie and this book was written after she remarried years later. It’s actually listed under Agatha Christie Mallowan. I will probably have to order it new or through Thriftbooks, but I think it would be a fun read.

Anyhow, on to The Pale Horse.

I didn’t actually read the description of this book before I started it but as I was getting into it I saw a review of it and became a little nervous. The review mentioned that it deals with the occult and seances, etc., and that is just not my thing. I decided to plow forward, though, and in the end the book did mention those topics but — without giving too much away — that is not where the story landed, shall we say.

The story is written in both third and first person, which threw me off a bit.

We start with a man named Mark Easterbrook trying to write a mystery and switch to an actual mystery when a dying woman asks for a priest to come so she can tell him something before she dies. We don’t know what she tells him, but we know that he is murdered shorty before she does tell him.

Eventually we are led back to the man we met in the first chapter and he finds himself trying to figure out why the priest was murdered and what three creepy women living together in an old inn called The Pale Horse, might have to do with his murder and the mysterious deaths of several others in the community.

When the priest died, he had a list of last names in his shoe and the police are eventually joined by Easterbrook to find out who the people on the list are or were. Sadly, some of them are in the past tense and Easterbrook is worried that if he doesn’t hurry up and figure out what is going on, more of them will be in the same tense.

One of Mark’s friends is a mystery writer, Mrs. Oliver, and she is friends, sort of, with the creepy women but she doesn’t enjoy the way they talk about occult and seances, etc. In this scene I am Mrs. Oliver:

Thyrza shot her a quick glance.

“Yes, it is in a way.” She turned to Mrs. Oliver. “You should write one of your books about a murder by black magic. I can give you a lot of dope about it.”

Mrs. Oliver blinked and looked embarrassed.

“I only write very plain murders,” she said apologetically

Her tone was of one who says, “I only do plain cooking.”

“Just about people who want other people out of the way and try to be clever about it,” she added.

I wasn’t sure where the book was going part of the time and that made me a bit nervous and I got even more nervous when Mark and a new friend of his decided they would set up the people they thought might be involved in the murders. I was also caught up in it all before that but was biting my nails (literally) once the plot moved to entrapment.

I’ve mentioned before that one thing I am not a fan of when it comes to Agatha is how she doesn’t add a lot of description of surroundings or characters. I don’t like a ton of description in my books but a little more than what she offers sometimes would be nice. Her lack of description was not an issue for me in this book, which felt like a more well-rounded novel to me than some of the ones from the series.

A description example I don’t remember reading much in other of her novels I have read (which remember is very few):

The vicarage sitting room was big and shabby. It was much shaded by a gargantuan Victorian shrubbery that no one seemed to have had the energy to curb. But the dimness was not gloomy for some peculiar reason. It was, on the contrary, restful. All the large shabby charis bore the impress of resting bodies in them over the years. A fat clock on the chimneypiece ticked with a heavy, comfortable regularity. Here there would always be time to talk, to say what you wanted to say, to relax from the cares brought about by the bright day outside.”

A couple of other quotes I enjoyed from the book:

“My husband’s a very good man,” she said. “Besides being the vicar, I mean. And that makes things difficult sometimes. Good people, you see, don’t really understand evil.” She paused and then said with a kind of brisk efficiency. “I think it had better be me.”

“People are so proud of wickedness. Odd, isn’t it, that people who are good are never proud of it? That’s where Christian humility comes in, I suppose. They don’t even know they are good.”

I considered Hermia disapassionately across the table. So handsome, so mature, so intellectual, so well read! And so — how could one put it? So — yes, so damnably dull!”

“Yes,” I said. “The supernatural seems supernatural. But the science of tomorrow is the supernatural of today.”

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.

You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find her on Instagram and YouTube.

Book review: The Wishing Well by Mildred Wirt Benson

On June 9, 2025 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, everyday musings3 Comments

Mildred Wirt (later adding Benson to her names) was the original Carolyn Keene, who wrote 28 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books. Mildred also wrote other books for other companies under her own name, including the Penny Parker Mysteries.

She once called Penny more Nancy Drew than Nancy Drew and after reading the eighth book in the series, The Wishing Well, I have to agree with that statement, especially the Nancy Drew that Harriet Adams created when she rewrote Mildred’s books years later.

I didn’t actually research what the first book in the series was before reading this one, my first Mildred book other than Nancy Drew. I just snatched it up to try and I ended up really enjoying it.

Teenager Penny Parker is rebellious, snappy, smart, bold, yet also cares about people. She might be even a bit more pushy than Nancy and she’s certainly more mouthy. In this book she pulls her friend Louise into her investigations and shenanigans.

According to Wikipedia, “Penny is a high school student turned sleuth who also sporadically works as a reporter for her father’s newspaper, The Riverview Star. . ..On her cases she is sometimes aided by her close friend, brunette Louise Sidell, and occasionally Jerry Livingston or Salt Sommers who are, respectively, a reporter and photographer for her father’s paper.”

In The Wishing Well, Penny is pulled into the mystery of a boulder with “odd” writing on it that appears in a farmer’s field, as well as the mystery of a wishing well on the property of a wealthy woman, Mrs. Marborough, who recently moved back into her family’s old mansion.

Tied into it all are two foster children who are living at a campground with their foster parents and who become the focus of a blackmail plot.

Here is a quick description from Project Gutenberg, where I found the book available to download for free:

“The Wishing Well” by Mildred A. Wirt is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story follows Penny Parker, an enterprising and spirited high school girl, as she embarks on an adventure surrounding the mysterious old Marborough mansion and its wishing well. With her friends, Penny explores themes of friendship, kindness, and intrigue as they uncover secrets of the past and the potential to grant wishes.

The opening of the story introduces Penny and her friends at Riverview High School, where they eagerly anticipate exploring the Marborough place and its famous wishing well. After making a thoughtful wish for the restoration of the property, Penny invites a lonelier classmate, Rhoda, to join their outing.

The group encounters a light-hearted adventure as they discover a possible chicken thief in pursuit. This sets the tone for the unfolding plot where friendships are tested, and unexpected events arise, including deeper mysteries tied to the characters’ lives, particularly Rhoda’s connection to the Breens and the arrival of two strangers from Texas. As Penny’s curiosity propels her into the adventure, readers are drawn into a world of mystery and the promise of fulfilling wishes.”

I find it interesting that like Nancy, Penny does not have a mother but only a father and a live-in housekeeper, Mrs. Weems. I am beginning to wonder if Mildred had some mother issues herself. She sure liked to kill off moms.

The wit and banter between characters in the Penny Parker series is much stronger than in the Nancy Drew books. There are also so many funny sayings or phrases that were probably used by teens at the time these books were written (1939-1947).

“We’re the same as absent right now,” Penny laughed, retreating to the doorway. “Thanks for your splendid cooperation.” (Oof! The sarcasm!)

________

“You’ll be home early?” her father asked.

“I hope so,” Penny answered earnestly. “If for any reason, I fail to appear, don’t search in any of the obvious places.”

___

“In case you slip and fall, just what am I to do?”

“That’s your problem,” Penny chuckled. “Now hand me the flashlight. I’m on way.”

_____

“What do you see, Penny?” Louise called again. “Are there any bricks loose?”

“Not that I can discover,” Penny answered, and her voice echoed weirdly. Intrigued by the sound she tried an experimental yodel. “Why, it’s just like a cave scene on the radio!”

“In case you’ve forgotten, you’re in a well,” Louise said severely. “Furthermore, if you don’t work fast, Mrs. Marborough will come our here!”

“I have to have a little relaxation,” Penny grumbled.

___

Neither Louise nor Rhoda approved of interfering in the argument between Mrs. Marborough and Mr. Franklin, but as usual they could not stand firm against Penny.

_____

As I mentioned above, I downloaded this one from Project Gutenberg. They have quite a few of the 17 book series.

The books from the series are:

Tale of the Witch Doll (1939, 1958)

The Vanishing Houseboat (1939, 1958)

Danger at the Drawbridge (1940, 1958)

Behind the Green Door (1940, 1958)

Clue of the Silken Ladder (1941)

The Secret Pact (1941)

The Clock Strikes Thirteen (1942)

The Wishing Well (1942)

Saboteurs on the River (1943)