Category: books and reading

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I’d Read At the Beach

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings, top-ten-tuesday19 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s prompt is: Beach/Beachy Reads (Share books you’d take to the beach OR books that take place at the beach.)

I don’t know if anyone else would call these books beachy reads, but I do! Because I am weird. Ha!

The Secret of the Amish Diary by Rachael Phillips

(A fun mystery that I consider a quick read.)

The people of Pleasant Creek are delighted to welcome Liz Eckardt to their picturesque country town as she reopens the Olde Mansion Inn bed and breakfast. But a new start and a simpler life aren’t the only reasons Liz is setting down roots in the heart of Indiana’s Amish community. She is quietly embarking on a quest to find answers about her late mother’s secret life growing up Amish.

Becoming the town’s new innkeeper helps Liz ingrain herself among the townsfolk while searching for the truth about her Amish relatives. That is until she finds herself in the middle of the mysterious murder of one of the inn’s guests. Is there a connection between the death of her troublesome lodger and the truth about her long-lost family?

Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker

(Takes black in a tourist beach town so a perfect beach read.)

Trouble is brewing in Everly’s new café. Can she bag the culprit?

Life hasn’t been so sweet for Everly Swan over the past couple of years, but now that she is back in her seaside hometown and the proud owner of a little iced tea shop and café right on the beach, things are finally starting to look up–until a curmudgeonly customer turns up dead on the boardwalk. With one of her hallmark glass tea jars lying right next to him and an autopsy that reports poison in his system, it doesn’t look good for Everly or her brand new business.

As the townspeople of Charm, formerly so welcoming and homey, turn their back on Everly, she fights to dig up clues about who could have had it in for the former town councilman. With a maddeningly handsome detective discouraging her from uncovering leads and a series of anonymous attacks on Everly and her business, it will take everything she’s got to keep this mystery from boiling over.

Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright

(A middle grade read that takes place in summer and has a perfect Summer feel and storyline.)

Summer has a magic all its own.

When Portia sets out for a visit with her cousin Julian, she expects fun and adventure, but of the usual kind: exploring in the woods near Julian’s house, collecting stones and bugs, playing games throughout the long, lazy days.

But this summer is different.

On their first day exploring, Portia and Julian discover an enormous boulder with a mysterious message, a swamp choked with reeds and quicksand, and on the far side of the swamp…a ghost town.

Once upon a time the swamp was a splendid lake, and the fallen houses along its shore an elegant resort community. But though the lake is long gone and the resort faded away, the houses still hold a secret life: two people who have never left Gone-Away…and who can tell the story of what happened there.

Clueless at the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield

(Just a good mystery and perfect for the beach to me.)

Betti Bryant knows she’s not supposed to be a barista five years after graduating from college, but her life is actually super adorable—except for the part where she has to endure her ex-boyfriend’s musical rendition of their breakup at the coffee shop’s Open Mic Night every Friday.

When an entire local art collection is stolen from the cafe during his performance, Betti sees her chance to persuade her panicked boss to cancel Open Mic Night, at least until the crime is solved. Instead, he announces plans to sell the beloved cafe to a real estate developer, who will demolish it. Betti believes her boss will change his mind once justice is served. So, armed with a list of drink orders from the night of the crime and the sleuthiest outfit she can find at the thrift store, she sets out to investigate the theft herself.

If she fails, she’s promised her sister she’ll accept whatever non-adorable entry-level corporate job she can get, abandoning her ideals about finding her own path in life. The Coffee Station will close forever.

The Fast Lane by Sharon Peterson

(A fun rom-com that involves a road trip, but not a beach. Still a nice, light read.)

He’s the only person who can give me a ride to my brother’s wedding, and he’s also the one man I absolutely CANNOT have feelings for. My brother’s best friend is strictly off limits… Isn’t he?

I should have known my mom would go totally overboard packing for my brother’s big day. But much like my last break-up, I’d been optimistic (in denial) that it would all work out for me. Now, I can’t fit into the car. “Don’t worry,” my brother says, “I asked Theo to give you a ride.”

I flush all over and almost drop my phone. This is a BIG problem.

With his neatly trimmed stubble, fierce protectiveness and an affinity for plaid shirts rivalled only by his love of hiking, I’ve always had a crush on Theo. As a teenager, I’d even declared my feelings in a tragically bad poem. The rejection almost ended our friendship, and I’ll be taking that crippling embarrassment to my grave.

He’s the last person I want to be alone with on a six-day road trip; especially since I swore off men after my last relationship went up in flames. It would be a terrible idea anyway; he only sees me as his best friend’s little sister.

But as we fight over the playlist and are forced to share a night together when his car dies, it’s not distance that makes my heart grow fonder, it’s close proximity. Two thousand miles of flirting has my heart racing in the fast lane. Is it all in my head, or does Theo feel the same?

Will this be our second chance to go the distance, or will everything blow up in my face in the middle of my brother’s wedding?

Murder in An Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

(This one also doesn’t take place at a beach but it is a fun read with lovable characters and full of mystery.)

In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Naomi’s Bistro has always been a warm and welcoming spot to visit with neighbors, enjoy some brown bread and tea, and get the local gossip. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago.

It’s been a rough year for the O’Sullivans, but it’s about to get rougher. One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest. With the local garda suspecting the O’Sullivans and their business in danger of being shunned—murder tends to spoil the appetite—it’s up to feisty redheaded Siobhán to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.

The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit

(A mystery is always a good beach read in my opinion.)

A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plot’s on opening day.

After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden.

When opening day arrives, Violet is nowhere to be found, and the gardeners are restless. Things go from bad to worse when Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the plots… and there’s a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

The Gardener’s Plot takes readers to the heart of the Berkshires and introduces amateur sleuth Maggie Walker in Deborah J. Benoit’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut.

The  Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

(I loved this one. It’s a warm, fun, thought-provoking but also humorous book. It’s my favorite by L.M., honestly)

The Blue Castle is a heartwarming and enchanting novel written by LM Montgomery, the author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series. The novel follows the story of Valancy Stirling, a shy and unmarried woman who has always lived under the thumb of her overbearing family.

When Valancy discovers that she has a serious heart condition and only a year to live, she decides to take control of her life and do all the things she’s always dreamed of but never had the courage to pursue. She starts by falling in love with a charismatic stranger and embarking on a new and exciting adventure. But as Valancy’s life takes unexpected twists and turns, she learns the true meaning of love, courage, and self-discovery. The Blue Castle is a charming and inspiring story about finding happiness and fulfillment in unexpected places and embracing life to the fullest.

By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates

(It’s been a while since I read this one but I remember it being a fast moving and light mystery.)

For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family’s social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her father’s law partner. But when her ten-year relationship implodes, Lucy realizes that the plot of her life is in need of a serious rewrite.

Calling on her aunt Ellen, Lucy hopes that a little fun in the Outer Banks sun—and some confections from her cousin Josie’s bakery—will help clear her head. But her retreat quickly turns into an unexpected opportunity when Aunt Ellen gets her involved in the lighthouse library tucked away on Bodie Island.

Lucy is thrilled to land a librarian job in her favorite place in the world. But when a priceless first edition Jane Austen novel is stolen and the chair of the library board is murdered, Lucy suddenly finds herself ensnared in a real-life mystery—and she’s not so sure there’s going to be a happy ending….

9. Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander

(Just a light mystery with a lot of baking.)

Welcome to Torte-a friendly, small-town family bake shop where the treats are so good that, sometimes, it’s criminal…

After graduating from culinary school, Juliet Capshaw returns to her quaint hometown of Ashland, Oregon, to heal a broken heart and help her mom at the family bakery. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is bringing in lots of tourists looking for some crumpets to go with their heroic couplets. But when one of Torte’s customers turns up dead, there’s much ado about murder…

The victim is Nancy Hudson, the festival’s newest board member. A modern-day Lady Macbeth, Nancy has given more than a few actors and artists enough reasons to kill her…but still. The silver lining? Jules’s high school sweetheart, Thomas, is the investigator on the case. His flirtations are as delicious as ever, and Jules can’t help but want to have her cake and eat it too. But will she have her just desserts? Murder might be bad for business, but love is the sweetest treat of all…

Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner

(A fun rom-com with a lot of back and forth witty banter between the two main characters.)

Celebrity chef Maxwell Cavanaugh is known for many things: his multiple Michelin stars, his top-rated Culinary Channel show To the Max, and most of all his horrible temper. Hadley Beckett, host of the Culinary Channel’s other top-rated show, At Home with Hadley, is beloved for her Southern charm and for making her viewers feel like family.

When Max experiences a very public temper tantrum, he’s sent packing to get his life in order. When he returns, career in shambles, his only chance to get back on TV and in the public’s good graces is to work alongside Hadley.

As these polar-opposite celeb chefs begin to peel away the layers of public persona and reputation, they will not only discover the key ingredients for getting along, but also learn the secret recipe for unexpected forgiveness . . . and maybe even love. In the meantime, hide the knives.

Fan-favorite Bethany Turner serves up a heaping helping of humor and romance with this thoroughly modern story centered on cooking, enemies, and second chances.

Have you read any of these or want to?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books Set in Pennsylvania

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday12 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt: Books Set in/Take Place During X (Pick a place, time, era, etc. Examples: Books set in Europe/Italy/Australia/Chicago, books set in Regency England, books that take place during the 1900s, books set in imaginary worlds/post-apocalyptic/dystopian worlds, books set on the ocean, books set it castles, books that take place during WW2, etc.)

Today, I thought I’d list books that took place in Pennsylvania. This is a mix of books I have read, want to read, or have simply heard about.

  1. The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz

This book is based on a true story. Set in 1784 on Hamilton Hill, Washington County, Pennsylvania, near the Monongahela River some 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, this historical novel for children features ten-year-old Ann Hamilton. The Hamilton family has settled in “The Western Country” from the other side of the Allegheny Mountains from Gettysburg, and Ann is homesick for her friends and the comforts of civilization. Ann’s only friend on Hamilton Hill is Andy McPhale, the son of squatter, and she takes on the project of teaching Andy to read and write. The story concludes with a visit by George Washington himself, who is inspecting his properties in the region and looking for a place to sup.

(Read it and liked it.)

2. Miracle on Maple Hill by Virigina Sorensen

Description: Marly and her family share many adventures when they move from the city to a farmhouse on Maple Hill

(Read it twice and loved it.)

3. American Rust by Philip Meyer

Description: Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the desperation–as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love–that arises from its loss. From local bars to train yards to prison, it’s the story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility, inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the factories and abandoned homes.

Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life beyond his hometown. When he finally sets out to leave for good, accompanied by his temperamental best friend, they are caught up in a terrible act of violence that changes their lives forever.

Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rust delves into the contemporary American heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the future. It’s a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love and friendship to redeem us.

(Have not read it. Maaaybe interested. Looks a bit dark for me.)

4. My Heart is on the Ground: the Diary of Nannie Little Rose by Ann Rinaldi

Description: Beginning in broken English, Nannie tells of her incredibly difficult first year at the school, including entries detailing her previous life as her ability to communicate in English grows. From December, 1879, to October, 1880, readers follow a remarkably resilient girl, uprooted from her home and culture, trying to find a place for herself in a rapidly changing world. Loyal, caring, and creative, she is able to see a spirit helper in a kitchen mouse and willing to defy regulations in mourning the death of her dearest friend. Rinaldi depicts widely divergent cultures with clarity and compassion. Captain Pratt, founder of a school that forcibly strips children of their native culture, also provides vocational training and field trips, and responds to his students as true individuals. The body of the text is followed by an epilogue telling of Nannie’s later life, an extensive historical note, and black-and-white photos. The period, the setting, and Nannie herself all come to life. An excellent addition to a popular series.

(Have not read it, but probably will with my daughter for school)

5. A Cord of Three Strands by Christy Distler 

Description: As 1756 dawns, Isaac Lukens leaves the Pennsylvania wilderness after two years with the Lenape people. He’s failed to find the families of his birth parents, a French trader and a Lenape woman. Worse, the tribe he’s lived with, having rejected his peacemaking efforts, now ravages frontier settlements in retaliation. When he arrives in the Quaker community where he was reared, questions taunt him: Who is he—white man or Lenape? And where does he belong?

Elisabeth Alden, Isaac’s dearest childhood friend, is left to tend her young siblings alone upon her father’s death. Despite Isaac’s promise to care for her and the children, she battles resentment toward him for having left, while an unspeakable tragedy and her discordant courtship with a prominent Philadelphian weigh on her as well.

Elisabeth must marry or lose guardianship of her siblings, and her options threaten the life with her and the children that Isaac has come to love. Faced with Elisabeth’s hesitancy to marry, the prospect of finding his family at last, and the opportunity to assist in the peace process between Pennsylvania and its Indian tribes, Isaac must determine where—and with whom—he belongs.

(Read it and enjoyed it. Recommend it.)

6. The Killer Angels : A Novel of the Civil War byMichael Shaara

Description: After 30 years and with three million copies in print, Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War classic, The Killer Angels, remains as vivid and powerful as the day it was originally published.

July 1863. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is invading the North. General Robert E. Lee has made this daring and massive move with 70,000 men in a determined effort to draw out the Union Army of the Potomac and mortally wound it. His right hand is General James Longstreet, a brooding man who is loyal to Lee but stubbornly argues against his plan. Opposing them is an unknown factor: General George Meade, who has taken command of the Army only two days before what will be perhaps the crucial battle of the Civil War.

In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history, two armies fight for two conflicting dreams. One dreams of freedom, the other of a way of life. More than rifles and bullets are carried into battle. The soldiers carry memories. Promises. Love. And more than men fall on those Pennsylvania fields. Bright futures, untested innocence, and pristine beauty are also the casualties of war.

The Killer Angels is unique, sweeping, unforgettable, a dramatic re-creation of the battleground for America’s destiny.

(Haven’t read it. Interested.)

7. Tea with Jam and Dread (A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery Book 20) by Tamar Meyers 

Deciding that the PennDutch Inn needs to go more upmarket, Magdalena Yoder is delighted to welcome the Earl and Countess Grimsley-Snodgrass and their family as honoured guests, looking forward to the challenge of introducing English nobility to traditional American culture. But, as Magdalena is about to find out, the Grimsley-Snodgrasses are by no means the easiest of guests, and at the same time she has to contend with the discovery of a mummified corpse trapped in her elevator shaft.

Then tragedy strikes during a traditional Pennsylvania-Dutch picnic at Stucky Ridge, when one of the Grimsley-Snodgrasses disappears over the edge of Lovers’ Leap. Did he fall – or was he pushed? And where is the body…?

(Have not read. Interested and looking for the first book in the series.)

8. The Quilter’s Apprentice: A Novel (The Elm Creek Quilts Book 1) by Jennifer Chiaverini

Description: When Sarah McClure and her husband, Matt, move to Waterford, Pennsylvania, she hopes to make a fresh start in the small college town. Unable to find a job both practical and fulfilling, she takes a temporary position at Elm Creek Manor helping its reclusive owner Sylvia Compson prepare her family estate for sale and after the death of her estranged sister. Sylvia is also a master quilter and, as part of Sarah’s compensation, offers to share the secrets of her creative gifts with the younger woman.

During their lessons, the intricate, varied threads of Sylvia’s life begin to emerge. It is the story of a young wife living through the hardships and agonies of the World War II home front; of a family torn apart by jealousy and betrayal; of misunderstanding, loss, and a tragedy that can never be undone. As the bond between them deepens, Sarah resolves to help Sylvia free herself from remembered sorrows and restore her life—and her home—to its former glory. In the process, she confronts painful truths about her own family, even as she creates new dreams for the future.

Just as the darker sections of a quilt can enhance the brighter ones, the mistakes of the past can strengthen understanding and lead the way to new beginnings. A powerful debut by a gifted storyteller, The Quilter’s Apprentice tells a timeless tale of family, friendship, and forgiveness as two women weave the disparate pieces of their lives into a bountiful and harmonious whole.

(Haven’t read this one but have read other books in the series and enjoyed them.)

9. Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes (A Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery Book 1) by Karen Rose Smith

Description: Daisy, a widowed mom of two teenagers, is used to feeling protective–so when Iris started dating the wealthy and not-quite-divorced Harvey Fitz, she worried . . . especially after his bitter ex stormed in and caused a scene at the party Daisy’s Tea Garden was catering. Then there was the gossip she overheard about Harvey’s grown children being cut out of his will. Daisy didn’t want her aunt to wind up with a broken heart–but she never expected Iris to wind up a suspect in Harvey’s murder.
 
Now the apple bread and orange pekoe is on the back burner while the cops treat the shop like a crime scene–and Daisy hopes that Jonas Groft, a former detective from Philadelphia, can help her clear her aunt’s name and bag the real killer before things boil over . . .

(Haven’t read by now I want to.)

10. Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing by Lisa R.  Howeler

Description: A little bit of mystery, a dash of romance, and a whole lot of heart

After being laid off from her job as a librarian at a small college, Gladwynn Grant isn’t sure what her next step in life is. When a job as a small-town newspaper reporter opens up in the town her grandmother Lucinda Grant lives in, she decides to take it to get away from a lot of things – Bennett Steele for one.

Lucinda has been living alone since Gladwynn’s grandfather passed away six years ago and she isn’t a take-it-easy, rock-on-your-front-porch kind of grandma. She’s always on the go and lately, she’s been on the go with a man who Gladwynn doesn’t know.

Gladwynn thought Brookstone was a small, quiet town, but within a few days of being there, she has to rethink that notion. Someone has cut the bank loan officer’s brakes, threatening letters are being sent, and memories of a jewelry theft from the 1990s have everyone looking at the cold case again.

What, if anything, will Gladwynn uncover about her new hometown and her grandmother’s new male friend? And what will she do about her grandmother’s attempt to set her up with the handsome Pastor Luke Callahan?

Find out in this modern mystery with a vintage feel.

(Read it. Wrote it. Yes, this was a cheesy pick and not why I did the list, but then when I started down through the list, I thought, “Oh! My book takes place in Pennsylvania! Haha!”)

Have you read any of these books?

Also, if you have any book-related posts you would like to add to my monthly link-up A Good Book and A Cup of Tea, you can do so here or you can also link to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot on Fridays!

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

On 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?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I have or would reread

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading23 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Tuesday July 8: Books I’d Like to I Re-read (Share either your favorite books that you enjoy re-reading or books that you’d like to read again!) (Submitted by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog)

I don’t reread books a lot but there a few I would read again, and I guess for this post, I need to come up with ten that I have reread or would reread. I think I can do that.

  1. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

It took me until last year to read this book and I ended up loving it. I would love to reread it again this year and I probably will.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I know! So cliché! But here is another one that I read late in life and now I want to read it again because it was so lovely and cozy and interesting. I never imagined I’d get so wrapped up in these characters. I used to roll my eyes at people who would gush about this book and the movies based on it and then I read it. Oh, my! I understand the gushing now.

3. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

This book is just as sweet and touching as the Hallmark movie from the 1990s was, which is how I first knew about the story. Of course, the book came first. I didn’t read the book until I read it to my daughter a couple of years ago and I just loved it. I also loved the sequels, especially Skylark.

4. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

I have read this one more than once and I could read it again and again. There is always something new that I pick up on in it. I have also read Shepherd’s Abiding, the Christmas book more than once but now I read certain sections that are my favorite instead of the whole book.

5  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read this one several years ago with my son and I would like to reread it but I have to finish The Lord of the Rings trilogy first. I have The Return of the King to read next.

6. The Cat Who Saw Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun

This is my favorite book of this series. It’s a lot different than the others in the series and sometimes I wonder if Lilian wrote it. The main character, Qwill, shows even more of his personality in this one and even shows his tenderness toward a young child in the book. The story/mystery is also a solid one. As with any long running series, there are aways going to be duds along the way, but this was not one of them.

7. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I first read this book in sixth grade by myself and again in eighth grade, though I don’t remember reading it in eighth grade. I know it was part of our curriculum but I guess my teacher wasn’t very memorable in her teaching. I remember she said, “What do you mean you’ve already read it?” She was surprised a sixth grader had taken it upon herself to read something so deep and advanced, I suppose, and I didn’t do that very often but in this case, I did read it because my mom suggested it and then started to read it to me in her southern accent. After I heard her Southern accent reading it, that’s how I heard the narrator (Scout) for the rest of the book.

I know I didn’t understand the intricacies of the message of this book when I was a child so reading it again as an adult about three years ago with my son for his English was a much different experience. I sobbed through the second half of the book as an adult because I understood so much more about the story, about Atticus, about the world and the ugliness and also goodness, the third time around. It is a book I think needs to be read several times for the message to really  hit home.

8. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

This is another book that I read at an age that other kids these days probably wouldn’t have read it. I did not do that a lot so don’t let me mislead you into thinking I read a ton of classics or harder books as a child. I did this occasionally and this one was one of those. The language is a challenge since it is written in the 1800s, but I really had fun with the story.  It was a lot of fun, much more so than Huckleberry Finn, which had a lot of serious moments mixed in with the adventure. I liked Huck Finn too, though. I hope to read this one again at some point soon.

9. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This is a book I read for the first time with my daughter last year. I would read it again because I truly enjoyed the story, even the harder parts I didn’t like in the movie version I saw as a child. I wanted a bit more from the ending but I really enjoyed the other parts of the book and could see myself reading it again.

10. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

This is a book with a lot of tough subjects, but one I haven’t read since I was about 11. I would like to read it again because I have a feeling it will hit me in a different way, similar to the way To Kill A Mockingbird did. I actually have this as one book I want to read this summer.

Are there books that you have reread or want to reread? Or are you more of a one and done person like I usually am?

Book review: The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

On 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.

A Good Book And A Cup of Tea Link Up for July

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading5 Comments

Welcome to the A Good Book & A Cup of Tea Monthly Link Party for book and reading posts! Each link party will be open for a month.

Some highlights from last month’s linkup:

Thank you for linking up, ladies!

I plan to feature more bloggers each month but since this is just getting started we didn’t have as many entrants. That is totally fine. This is all just for fun!

1. For Bloggers, you can link unlimited posts related to books and reading. These can be posts about what you’re reading, book reviews, books you’ve added to your shelf, reading habits, what you’ve been reading, about trips to bookstore, etc. You get the drift.

2. Link to a specific blog post (URL of a specific post, not your website) that is related to books or reading. Feel free to link up any older posts that may need some love and attention too.

3. Please visit at least two other bloggers on this list and comment on their posts. Have fun! Interact! Get some book recommendations.

4. Readers can click the blue button below to visit blog posts.

5. If you add a link you are giving me permission to share and link back to your post(s).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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Top Ten Tuesday: The Ten Most Recent Books I’ve Read

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday31 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is: Freebie/Throwback (Come up with a topic you’d like to do or go back and do an old topic you missed or just want to do again!)

 So this week, I chose to share my last ten reads so far this year with quick, two to three sentence reviews for each.

I am telling you, guys and gals, I am reading so slowly this year! The number of books I have read so far is a very sad amount. I know what is important is that I’m reading at all, not how many I have read, but ugh! I feel like I am not spending enough time just relaxing and reading!

Of course, I also have started some books that took up quite a bit of time and then decided I couldn’t finish them. I also read two very long books that took me longer than most of the books I read.

Anyhow, on with the post!

  1. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

This third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series was a very fun read with a lot of humor, but yet also seriousness, thrown in. It is a children’s book, but there is a lot of spiritual wisdom if you read between the lines.

2. The Tuesday Night Club by Agatha Christie

Interesting and intriguing collection of short stories that are connected by the fact a group of people are sitting around sharing their stories about mysteries they experienced and either couldn’t solve or did later. This is a Miss Marple book and in many of the stories Miss Marple ended up solving the crime. This wasn’t my favorite Agatha Christie book but it was an interesting concept.

3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

I’ve heard tons about this series over the years and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I did not like this book as much I hoped I would. I liked most of it, but toward the end it totally fell apart for me. I might try others in the series but at this point, my expectations have been lowered.

4. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

It took me quite a long time to get through The Fellowship of the Ring but once I really sat down and got into this one, it took a lot less time. I very much enjoyed this one. I love  the friendships, the fight of good against evil, the adventure, all of it. I do not like that the two “bad guys” have names that are so similar to each other, though. Up next in this series will be, of course, Return of the King, and I’m saving that for late fall, early winter.

5. The Twisted Claw by Franklin W. Dixon (A Hardy Boys)

This was the first Hardy Boys book I read and I ended up enjoying it. I’m looking forward to reading others.

6. Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson

I enjoyed this first in a new series and by a new-to-me author. I am looking forward to finding and reading book two soon.

7. Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On A Dead Man) by Jesse Sutanto

This one was the second book in a series and it was not as good as the first, at least for me. I enjoyed Vera’s character like I did in the first book, but in this second book, things took a really dark turn and I was having a hard time pushing through. I didn’t connect with the characters in this second book like I did with the first either. It was still a pretty good book and I will read more in this series, if there is more.

8. The Wishing Well by Mildred Wirt

I enjoyed this juvenile mystery by the original Carolyn Keene. It is a book from the Penny Parker Mysteries and the wit and quick tongue moments in this book were Wirt at her finest. In these books Wirt is free to write how she wants and not how Harriet Adams of Stratemeyer Publishing wanted her to write.

If you want to read more about Mildred, you can do so here https://lisahoweler.com/2025/05/05/tell-me-more-about-mildred-millie-wirt-benson/

You can also read a full review of this book here: https://lisahoweler.com/2025/06/09/book-review-the-wishing-well-by-mildred-wirt-benson/

9. All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot

This book felt very long to me because it was broken down into a lot of short stories with the related thread being James’ time in the military. It was a little tedious to me to read straight through, so I took breaks and read it a few times a week, a couple of chapters at a time. In the end, I really enjoyed the book, the stories about James in the military and his family life, and the stories about Tristan, which were hilarious. I could absolutely picture the actor who plays Tristan in the new series as I read stories he was a part of. When I was done with the book, I actually felt a little sad because it had been part of my life for at least three months, and I felt like I had been reading about family in some ways. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books that I haven’t read yet in the series.

10. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

I finished this one just Sunday night and enjoyed it when I originally thought I wouldn’t. This book deals a lot with occult and mediums, etc., which is not my thing, so I didn’t think I would like it. About halfway through, I had to find out what happened and couldn’t put the book down. I felt a little stupid that I didn’t figure out who the guilty party was until it was revealed, since it was a little obvious, but I like how it was brought out, and I really liked the very ending. That’s all I will say about that.

What are some of the recent books you’ve read?

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.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I want to read this summer

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday25 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is: Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List

I have already posted about 15 books I hope to read this summer so I’ve narrowed it down to the top ten I hope to finish by the end of the summer. I’ve also swapped some books out after doing some research on them and deciding they most likely aren’t really my thang, ya’ know.

As always, these are subject to change, and other books may catch my attention and take precedence.

1. The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Woodhouse

I’ve already started this one and I am enjoying it, so I am sure I’ll finish it in the next couple of months at least.

2. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

I’ve also started this one, but just a few pages. I need a good mystery right now.

3. The Clue in the Diary by Carolyn Keene

I’ll probably read a couple Nancy Drews this summer. I usually do.

4. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Children’s books are apparently my thing this summer.

5. But First Murder by Bee Littlefield

Because I like Betti and want to see what’s going on with her. Plus…more mystery, which I like.

6.  Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner

Cool and Lamb. Yes. I need some more of their wicked bluntness and mystery.

7. The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassen

I have no idea if I will like this or not, but I am going to give it a try anyhow.

8. The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley By Courtney Walsh

I swapped this one out with Summer of Yes because it has better ratings.

9. Dave Barry is Not Taking This Sitting Down by Dave Barry

I need some humor. Like bad. That is all.

10. The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon

What books are you looking forward to this summer?

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.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books on My Wishlist

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday8 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is: Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!)


I am sharing part of my wish list, but not linking to one today.

1. Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings

Mary Henley Rubio has spent over two decades researching Montgomery’s life, and has put together a comprehensive and penetrating picture of this Canadian literary icon, all set in rich social context. Extensive interviews with people who knew Montgomery – her son, maids, friends, relatives, all now deceased – are only part of the material gathered in a journey to understand Montgomery that took Rubio to Poland and the highlands of Scotland.

From Montgomery’s apparently idyllic childhood in Prince Edward Island to her passion-filled adolescence and young adulthood, to her legal fights as world-famous author, to her shattering experiences with motherhood and as wife to a deeply troubled man, this fascinating, intimate narrative of her life will engage and delight.

2. Grandma Ruth Doesn’t Go to Funerals by Sharon Mondragon

(I’ve read this, but I want it in paperback! It’s just about my favorite read so far this year.)

In a small town where gossip flows like sweet tea, bedridden Mary Ruth McCready reigns supreme, doling out wisdom and meddling in everyone’s business with a fervor that would make a matchmaker blush. When her best friend, Charlotte Harrington, has her world rocked by a scandalous revelation from her dying husband P. B., Mary Ruth kicks into high gear, commandeering the help of her favorite granddaughter, Sarah Elizabeth, in tracking down the truth. Finding clues in funeral condolence cards and decades-old gossip dredged up at the Blue Moon Beauty Emporium, the two stir up trouble faster than you can say “pecan pie.”


And just when things are starting to look up, in waltzes Camilla “Millie” Holtgrew, a blast from P. B.’s past, with a grown son and an outrageous claim to Charlotte’s inheritance. But as Grandma Ruth always says when things get tough, “God is too big.” With him, nothing is impossible–even bringing long-held secrets to light. Grandma Ruth and Sarah just might have to ruffle a whole mess of feathers to do it.


In a small town where gossip flows like sweet tea, bedridden Mary Ruth McCready reigns supreme, doling out wisdom and meddling in everyone’s business with a fervor that would make a matchmaker blush. When her best friend, Charlotte Harrington, has her world rocked by a scandalous revelation from her dying husband P. B., Mary Ruth kicks into high gear, commandeering the help of her favorite granddaughter, Sarah Elizabeth, in tracking down the truth. Finding clues in funeral condolence cards and decades-old gossip dredged up at the Blue Moon Beauty Emporium, the two stir up trouble faster than you can say “pecan pie.”


And just when things are starting to look up, in waltzes Camilla “Millie” Holtgrew, a blast from P. B.’s past, with a grown son and an outrageous claim to Charlotte’s inheritance. But as Grandma Ruth always says when things get tough, “God is too big.” With him, nothing is impossible–even bringing long-held secrets to light. Grandma Ruth and Sarah just might have to ruffle a whole mess of feathers to do it.

3. Bombs on Aunt Dainty by Judith Kerr

Partly autobiographical, this is the second title in Judith Kerr’s internationally acclaimed trilogy of books following the life of Anna through war-torn Germany, to London during the Blitz and her return to Berlin to discover the past…

4. The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ by Andrew Klavan

No one was more surprised than Andrew Klavan when, at the age of fifty, he found himself about to be baptized. The Great Good Thing tells the soul-searching story of a man born into an age of disbelief who had to abandon everything he thought he knew in order to find his way to the truth.

Best known for his hard-boiled, white-knuckle thrillers and for the movies made from them–among them True Crime and Don’t Say a Word–bestselling author and Edgar Award-winner Klavan was born in a suburban Jewish enclave outside New York City.

He left the faith of his childhood behind to live most of his life as an agnostic until he found himself mulling over the hard questions that so many other believers have asked:

  • How can I be certain in my faith?
  • What’s the truth, and how can I know it’s the truth?
  • How can you think, live, and make choices and judgments day by day if you don’t know for sure?

In The Great Good Thing, Klavan shares that his troubled childhood caused him to live inside the stories in his head and grow up to become an alienated young writer whose disconnection and rage devolved into depression and suicidal breakdown.

In those years, Klavan fought to ignore the insistent call of God, a call glimpsed in a childhood Christmas at the home of a beloved babysitter, in a transcendent moment at his daughter’s birth, and in a snippet of a baseball game broadcast that moved him from the brink of suicide. But more than anything, the call of God existed in stories–the stories Klavan loved to read and the stories he loved to write.

Join Klavan as he discovers the meaning of belief, the importance of asking tough questions, and the power of sharing your story.

5. Baking with Mary Berry: Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Pastries from the British Queen of Baking

A sweet and savory collection of more than 100 foolproof recipes from the reigning “Queen of Baking” Mary Berry, who has made her way into American homes through ABC’s primetime series, The Great Holiday Baking Show, and the PBS series, The Great British Baking Show.

Baking with Mary Berry draws on Mary’s more than 60 years in the kitchen, with tips and step-by-step instructions for bakers just starting out and full-color photographs of finished dishes throughout. The recipes follow Mary’s prescription for dishes that are no fuss, practical, and foolproof―from breakfast goods to cookies, cakes, pastries, and pies, to special occasion desserts such as cheesecake and soufflés, to British favorites that will inspire.

Whether you’re tempted by Mary’s Heavenly Chocolate Cake and Best-Ever Brownies, intrigued by her Mincemeat and Almond Tart or Magic Lemon Pudding, or inspired by her Rich Fruit Christmas Cake and Ultimate Chocolate Roulade, the straightforward yet special recipes in Baking with Mary Berry will prove, as one reviewer has said of her recipes, “if you can read, you can cook.”

6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The epic tale of wrongful imprisonment, adventure and revenge, in its definitive translation

Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to use the treasure to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s.

7. The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables: The Enchanting Island that Inspired L. M. Montgomery


The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables explores L. M. Montgomery’s deep connection to the landscapes of Prince Edward Island that inspired her to write the beloved Anne of Green Gables series. From the Lake of Shining Waters and the Haunted Wood to Lover’s Lane, you’ll be immersed in the real places immortalized in the novels.

Using Montgomery’s journals, archives, and scrapbooks, Catherine Reid explores the many similarities between Montgomery and her unforgettable heroine, Anne Shirley. The lush package includes Montgomery’s hand-colorized photographs, the illustrations originally used in Anne of Green Gables, and contemporary and historical photography.

8. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity explores the core beliefs of Christianity by providing an unequaled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to hear a powerful, rational case for the Christian faith. A brilliant collection, Mere Christianity remains strikingly fresh for the modern reader and at the same time confirms C. S. Lewis’s reputation as one of the leading writer and thinkers of our age.

The book brings together Lewis’ legendary broadcast talks during World War II. Lewis discusses that everyone is curious about: right and wrong, human nature, morality, marriage, sins, forgiveness, faith, hope, generosity, and kindness.

9. Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard

“These are the rules I’ve picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I’m writing a book, to help me show rather than tell what’s taking place in the story.”—Elmore Leonard

For aspiring writers and lovers of the written word, this concise guide breaks down the writing process with simplicity and clarity. From adjectives and exclamation points to dialect and hoopetedoodle, Elmore Leonard explains what to avoid, what to aspire to, and what to do when it sounds like “writing” (rewrite).

Beautifully designed, filled with free-flowing, elegant illustrations and specially priced, Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing is the perfect writer’s—and reader’s—gift.

10. My Beloved: A Mitford Novel by Jan Karon

(This one isn’t out until October, but, oh my…I’ve been waiting a long time. In the meantime, I am reading through the other 14 books in the series.)

When Father Tim’s wife, Cynthia, asks what he wants for Christmas, he pens the answer in a love letter that bares his most private feelings. Then the letter goes missing and circulates among his astonished neighbors. So much for private.

Can a letter change a life? Ask Helene, the piano teacher who has avoided her feelings for a lifetime. Ask Hope, the village bookseller who desperately needs something that’s impossibly out of reach. Or, if you’d like to know how a brush with death can be the portal to a happy marriage, Cynthia will tell you all about it.

In My Beloved, Harley gets an important letter of his own; a broken heart teaches the Old Mayor, Esther Cunningham, a lesson long in coming; and thanks to Lace and Dooley, readers get what they’ve been waiting for: Sadie.

Poignant, hilarious, and life-affirming, My Beloved sets a generous table for millions of readers who love these characters like family. With Karon’s signature humanity shining through on every page, this is a season of life in Mitford you won’t want to miss.

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.