Book review: The Antique Hunters Guide To Murder

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 7 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: The Mystery At Lilac Inn

December 11, 2024December 8, 2024 / Lisa R. Howeler / 6 Comments

(*note: I honestly thought I had already posted this review on my blog months ago, but I couldn’t find it so I am posting it for the first or second time. One or the other.)

The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene is the fourth book in the Nancy Drew series, which debuted in the 1930s.

For this book, Nancy becomes wrapped up at a mystery at an inn recently purchased by a friend, but she is also caught off guard when her own house is ransacked and her credit plate stolen. She later learns someone is impersonating her and running up her credit or stealing from people.

When diamonds disappear from her friend’s inn she decides she needs to find out who stole the diamonds as well as who is impersonating her. Are the two cases connected? She hopes to find out.

As usual, there is some ridiculous developments and tactics used to solve the mystery (such as her being sent off with her father’s blessing to explore a lake with a man they barely know and then go after known criminals on her own without any back up), but it wouldn’t be a Nancy Drew book if there wasn’t. These books were written in a different time and for young kids so they were full of non-stop action, no matter how giggle inducing that non-stop action was.

This book was later rewritten to remove some of the more derogatory connotations toward certain races. It was released again in 1961 after those changes were made under Keene’s name, which is, of course, a pseudonym. The Nancy Drew books, like The Hardy Boys books were written by several different authors over the years.

Normally I don’t like the idea of old books being changed because someone is offended but in this case it was needed, even if the stereotypes weren’t as bad as some classic books.

I did not like this book as much as the first book in the series, The Secret of the Old Clock. The plot was okay but does not hold us as well as others in the series, in my opinion.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Book review/recommendation: The Secret of the Wooden Lady, A Nancy Drew Mystery

November 28, 2024November 28, 2024 / Lisa R. Howeler / 2 Comments

The Secret of the Wooden Lady is the 27^th book in the original Nancy Drew series written by – uh, “Carolyn Keene.” Of course, most readers of Nancy Drew know there were a number of people who wrote Nancy Drew, including Mildred Benson and about 27 other authors.

This is the eighth book of the original series I have read and at first, I wasn’t sure I liked it as much as a couple others.

It seemed a little discombobulated and was a little slow in the middle of the book after starting off with a bang (not a literal bang this time).

Most of the book took place on an old clipper that an elderly sea captain wants to buy, but can’t because the original title can’t be found. In addition to the deed being lost, the captain has been experiencing some weird events involving thefts on the ship as well as seeing what he fears might be ghostly figures.

Nancy knows about what Captain Easterly is dealing with because he knows her father, Attorney Carson Drew, — described in the book as tall and handsome — and Captain Easterly has written him a letter.

Carson wants to help the old man find out what is going on and invites Nancy to go with him to Boston and look for the title and find out if someone is prowling around on the clipper at night.

Nancy is excited about having another mystery to solve and while she waits for the next day when she and her dad will leave, she gets a call from her friend Bess. While she and Bess are on the phone, Bess says she hears someone in the house. Her parents aren’t home and she’s nervous. Suddenly the line goes dead and Nancy, appropriately, freaks out and runs to her car to go see what’s happened to Bess.

She tried to call the police before she left, but the lines were busy. This was the 1930s so I suppose that is a plausible situation.

I was freaking out for Bess when I read this part. It was late at night and I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed and when I read the part about the phone going dead I was like, “Oh my gosh! What happened to Bess!”

My daughter was very confused until I explained to her it was a character in the book I was reading.

You will have to read the book to find out what happened to Bess, but it is a bit of a spoiler to say that Bess and her cousin, and Nancy’s other friend, George, are invited up to Boston by Carson Drew when he has to leave the city to find out more information about the title and doesn’t want to leave Nancy alone. That’s pretty nice of him since he usually he doesn’t seem too worried about his daughter investigating things alone.

It doesn’t take too long for the girls to learn that what happened to Bess and her family might be related to what is happening aboard the clipper – The Bonny Scot.

Before Nancy had left for Boston she went to a dance with Ned Nickerson, by the way. Ned is her “boyfriend” but he’s not necessarily called that. He is the young man who clearly cares for her but she’s always too busy solving crimes. Ned is sad she’s running off to Boston because he was hoping to take her out again before he has to go off to his summer camp job.

Luckily, it turns out that Ned’s camp isn’t too far from Boston, so we end up with Ned and two of his friends – apparent love interests of Bess and George that might have been mentioned in previous books I haven’t read yet – arriving to help out with the mystery as well.

Like I said above, the middle of this book was a little slow but then things picked back up again and the girls were thrown into more dangerous situations than the characters on a CW show, which is saying a lot.

As always, the book is simply written with more “telling” paragraphs that move the reader along at a fairly fast and furious pace, but these books were originally written for younger readers so that is understandable.

While I liked this one, The Case of the Whistling Bagpipes remains my favorite of the ones I’ve read so far.

You can read reviews of three of the other books I’ve read here:

Book review/recommendation: Nancy Drew Mystery, The Secret at Red Gate Farm

Book Recommendation/Review: The Secret of Shadow Ranch

The Case of the Whistling Bagpipes

Top Ten Tuesday: The Top 10 Mystery Books I Read in 2024

November 26, 2024 / Lisa R. Howeler / 20 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

Today’s theme: Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie

Since today can either be “thankful” or we can choose our own theme (this is how I am interpreting it at least), I decided to share the top ten mysteries I read in 2024. This list, of course, could change if I read another great one in December, but, for now, this is my list.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice to Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

This was a funny, sweet, and just plain ole’ fun mystery.

Description: Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to.

Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.

What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?

2. The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun

Description: Jim Qwilleran and his cats Koko and Yum Yum try to solve a haunting mystery in a historic farmhouse in this New York Times bestseller in the Cat Who series.

When Mrs. Cobb heard unearthly noises in the antique-filled farmhouse, she called Jim Qwilleran for help. But he was too late. It looked as if his kindly ex-housekeeper had been frightened to death—but by whom? Or what? Now Qwilleran’s moved into the historic farmhouse with his two cat companions—and Koko the Siamese is spooked. Is it a figment of feline imagination—or the clue to a murder in Moose County? And does Qwilleran have a ghost of a chance of solving this haunting mystery?

I offered a review of this book, my favorite in the series, here: https://lisahoweler.com/2024/05/06/book-recommendation-the-cat-who-talked-to-ghosts/

3. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz

Description:

Death, deception, and a detective with quite a lot to hide stalk the pages of Anthony Horowitz’s brilliant murder mystery, the second in the bestselling series starring Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne.

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late . . . “

These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine—a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.

Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?

Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business.

But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realizes that these secrets must be exposed—even at the risk of death . . .

4. Clueless At the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield

Description: 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.

5. Murder in An Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

Description:

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.

6. Move Your Blooming Corpse by D.E. Ireland

Description:

t’s early summer in 1913 London. So Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins are off to the races for Royal Ascot Week in this re-release of the second installment in a mystery series inspired by the characters of ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Pygmalion’. Professor Higgins and former Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle take center stage once again as they plunge headlong into the world of Edwardian horse racing, adulterous aristocrats, and the women’s suffrage movement.

Eliza Doolittle has joined Professor Higgins’ household as a fellow phonetics teacher. However, their lessons are put on hold when they attend this year’s Ascot race. An event more exciting than usual because Eliza’s father, Alfred Doolittle, is now part owner of a racehorse called the Donegal Dancer. But disaster soon unfolds on the track and in the stables, where someone has been killed with a pitchfork. Even worse, the victim was one of the co-owners of the Donegal Dancer! The initial assumption is that the murderer was a jealous lover or spouse . . . until two weeks later when festivities at the Henley Royal Regatta take a deadly turn.

Eliza and Higgins now suspect the murderer is making an appearance every time the owners of the Donegal Dancer get together. To prevent her father from becoming the next target, Eliza joins forces with Higgins to track down the murderer. But is the killer a notorious escaped madman, or someone who wants sole ownership of the prizewinning horse?

With the next horse race fast approaching, Eliza and Higgins fear they may not be able to protect her father until the end of the tumultuous racing season. If so, then no one will cross the finish line alive.

7. How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Description:

It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?

As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.

8. The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit

Description:

A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots 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.

9. The Case of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene

Description:

Warnings not to go to Scotland can’t stop Nancy Drew from setting out on a thrill-packed mystery adventure. Undaunted by the vicious threats, the young detective – with her father and her two close friends – goes to visit her great-grandmother at an imposing estate in the Scottish Highlands, and to solve the mystery of a missing family heirloom.

And there is another mystery to be solved: the fate of flocks of stolen sheep.
Baffling clues challenge Nancy’s powers of deduction: a note written in the ancient Gaelic language, a deserted houseboat on Loch Lomond, a sinister red-bearded stranger in Edinburgh, eerie whistling noises in the Highlands. Startling discoveries in an old castle and in the ruins of a prehistoric fortress, lead Nancy closer to finding the solution to both mysteries.

10. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Description: A delightfully clever new mystery from creator of BBC One’s hilarious murder mystery series Death in Paradise

Meet Judith: a seventy-seven-year-old whiskey drinking, crossword puzzle author living her best life in a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of Marlow.

Nothing ever happens here. That is, until Judith hears her neighbor shot while skinny-dipping in the Thames. The local police don’t believe her story. It’s an open and shut case, of course. Ha! Stefan can’t be left for dead like that.

Judith investigates and picks up a crew of sidekicks: Suzie the dogwalker and Becks the vicar’s wife. Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.

When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape…

Robert Thorogood, has turned the Christie-mystery on its head with this ever-so-sly cozy perfect for readers who love Richard Osmond’s Thursday Murder Club and An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good.

Have you read any of the books on this list? What were your impressions of them?

Book review/recommendation: Move Your Blooming Corpse by D.E. Ireland

October 16, 2024October 14, 2024 / Lisa R. Howeler / 11 Comments

My 10-year-old daughter picked out a hardcover copy of Move Your Blooming Corpse by D.E. Ireland for me at a used bookstore about a month ago.

As soon as I saw that cover, I had a gut feeling I was going to like it. Luckily my gut was not wrong. As soon as I saw that cover and title I wanted to know if it would feature the characters from My Fair Lady since I knew the title was alluding to the famous line Eliza Doolittle yells out in the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, you’ll have to look it up.

When I read the title of the series on the front (An Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mystery), I was giddy with delight to know that it was based on the same characters.

This was a delightful, fun, and engaging mystery that takes place – as the inside cover says – in the Edwardian racing world. It is a very fast-paced story with very few slow scenes.

The book starts with Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins at a horse race to cheer on Eliza’s father’s horse, which he co-owns with a group of about 10 other people.

When a murder occurs after the race it seems to be an isolated incident but future developments show that someone is after the members of the horse-owning syndicate. The question is – why?

Woven into the murder mystery is an underlying story of women’s suffrage as women fight for their right to vote in England.

The main characters – Eliza, Henry, Arthur (Eliza’s father), and Freddy (Eliza’s “boyfriend”) are very likable and fun, much like the characters in My Fair Lady. I will say that Henry Higgins was much more likable in this book than the film since I only wanted to throttle him a few times in the book instead of almost the entire time in the movie.

I loved the quick wit of the characters and how closely they mirrored the wit and charm of the characters in the movie. The movie is based on the 1957 Broadway Musical, which was based on the 1914 play, Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

The back-and-forth, quick-paced conversations between the characters, the complex mystery, and the well-developed side characters made this one a very fun read for me.

I was very excited to see there are four other books in the series. This was the second book in the series but I didn’t feel like I’d missed something by not reading the first. I also liked how the plot and outcome of the first book weren’t given away in this book, which means you don’t have to read the series in order to understand what is going on in each book.

For those who are not fans of romance in books, there is very little in this one, and the romance that is there is so minor and secondary that it’s barely a blip on the romance meter. For those who are not fans of swearing, there is, I think, only one or two minor swear words. For those who are not a fan of graphic descriptions, this book will also work for you because there are no graphic descriptions of any of the crimes.

As a side note – the cover art for the Kindle version of this book is hideous and amateur-looking to me. The cover on the hardcover/library version that I bought is – dare I say it? Delightful. So if you go to look for the Kindle edition, please don’t run away. I promise the book is much better than the cover that is shown.

Have you read this book or any of the others in the series?

Book Review/Recommendation: An Assassination On The Agenda

September 30, 2024September 30, 2024 / Lisa R. Howeler / 4 Comments

I love the Lady Hardcastle Mysteries and once again I was not disappointed. An Assassination On The Agenda is the eleventh book in the series and released earlier this year.

Description:

July 1912. Lady Hardcastle and her tenacious lady’s maid, Florence Armstrong, are enjoying a convivial gathering at the home of their dear friends, the Farley-Strouds. The only fly in the idyllic ointment seems to be the lack of musical entertainment for the forthcoming summer party—until, that is, Lady Hardcastle’s brother Harry calls with news of a murder.

Harry dispatches them to Bristol on behalf of the Secret Service Bureau, with instructions to prevent the local police from uncovering too much about the victim. It seems an intriguing mystery—all the more so when they find a connection between the killer and an impending visit from an Austrian trade delegation, set to feature a very important guest…

Summoned to London to help with some very important security arrangements, the intrepid duo will have to navigate sceptical bureaucrats, Cockney gangsters and shadowy men in distinctive hats in their attempts to foil an explosive—and internationally significant—threat.

My thoughts:

Once again, the pairing of Lad Hardcastle and her partner in solving crime, her maid Florence “Flo” Armstrong was the breeding ground for early 1900s humor and entertainment.

In this installment we see the two women, already known to be spies and operatives for the British government in the past sent on yet another mission. This time they are summoned from their country home to Bristol and their goal is to find out about a group of men who may be trying to commit an assassination that will start a war.

We see Lady Hardcastle’s brother Harry and sister-in-law Lavinia (nicknamed Jake) again in this book and as usual I love the bantering between the siblings, which fits in nicely with the bantering between employee and employer, though Lady Hardcastle always treats Flo as her equal.

I read this one on my Kindle but when I had to do dishes or drive somewhere I listened to it on Audible with amazing narration by Elizabeth Knowelden, who is the narrator for most, if not all the other Lady Hardcastle books on Audible.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book but was not asked to give anything other than my honest opinion. Let’s be honest, I was going to read this book even if a complimentary copy had not been provided to me.

Book recommendation/review: Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker (I wanted to like this one more than I did)

July 23, 2024July 23, 2024 / Lisa R. Howeler / 5 Comments

Title: Live and Let Cha

Author: Bree Baker

Genre: cozy mystery

Description:

Sun, sand, and tea are just three of Everly Swan’s favorite things. Her batty, beekeeping great-aunts and small, coastal hometown of Charm, North Carolina, round out the top five. So returning to Charm for a fresh start on her wilting life is an easy decision for Everly, and opening a new seaside cafe and iced-tea shop puts the proverbial icing on her legendary lemon cakes.

Everything is just peachy until a body turns up on the boardwalk outside her home and a jar of her proprietary tea is found at the victim’s side.

Now, Detective Grady Hays, Charm’s newest and most mysterious lawman, has named Everly as his number-one suspect, and Everly’s new start is about to go up in smoke unless she can dish up the real killer.

I’d heard so much about this book from other cozy mystery readers of Booktubers so I was excited when it finally became available through Libby, the library ebook app.

I started it and really enjoyed it in the beginning. I even found out I could listen to it for free via Audible for the times I couldn’t sit and read. I then discovered that Bree Baker was the pen name for another author I’d recently read – Julie Anne Lindsey – so I was sure the book would be as good as everyone said. Lindsey’s book was Apple Cider Slaying, which I really enjoyed.

The writing is great, don’t get me wrong, but after a few chapters I began to realize that I was reading the beach version of Apple Cider Slaying.

Sure, the characters were somewhat different – an extra elderly relative was thrown into this one with two aunts instead of just one grandma – but otherwise the plots were somewhat similar.

There was a person in town who didn’t like the main character, Everly, having her business in her home and before the end of chapter one he was dead.

Everly was considered a possible suspect so she had to clear her name. In Apple Cider Slaying, the main character had to clear her grandmother’s name.

Once again we had a former U.S. Marshal who moved to a small town to start over as the local police chief and the main character found out more about him by looking him up online.

This time we tossed a kid and dead wife into the mix, but the police chief does become a love interest.

Now, all this being said, I’m not saying the book was bad. There were aspects I liked about it, including the back story of the Swan family.

Overall, the book was interesting and engaging even if it was predictable and not as good as I had hoped. Still, cozy mysteries aren’t known to be creatively unique or full of depth all the time. They often simply give readers what they want – a mystery to solve by an amateur sleuth who must clear either her name or that of a friend or family member and some quirky and fun characters. Cozy mysteries are to cozy mystery readers like romances are to romance readers – comfortingly predictable and maybe even slightly cheesy.

Live and Let Chai had all of that so I enjoyed it, yes, but I don’t know if I will rush out to read the next in the series – especially because I didn’t really like the main character that much. She was a bit rude and pushy at times.

I will, however, most likely read the next in the series at some point because I am curious to see if the other books will be as predictable or if Lindsey – er – Baker will break the mold a bit.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books for the Second Half of 2024

June 25, 2024 / Lisa R. Howeler / 26 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

This week the topic is: Top Ten Tuesday Anticipated books for the second half of 2024.

This one is hard for me because I read a lot of older books and because I am always behind on finding out about new releases, even though I am on Netgalley. I don’t have ten books here, but I have seven, and many of these I either have an ARC of (through Netgalley) or hope to get ARC copies of. I also haven’t read books by most of these authors yet, but the plots sound good or I have heard a lot about them.

1. The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit (November 5)

I was approved for this ARC and it looks very good.

Description:

2. The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams; Lauren Willig; Karen White (November 5)

This just sounded very good to me. I have not been approved for the ARC, but I’ll read it eventually.

Agatha Christie meets Murder, She Wrote in this witty locked room mystery and literary satire by New York Times bestselling team of novelists: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White.

There’s been a sensational murder at historic Castle Kinloch, a gothic fantasy of grey granite on a remote island in the Highlands of Scotland. Literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley has been found dead—under bizarre circumstances—in the castle tower’s book-lined study. Years ago, Presley purchased the castle as a showpiece for his brand and to lure paying guests with a taste for writerly glamour. Now it seems, the castle has done him in…or, possibly, one of the castle’s guests has. Detective Chief Inspector Euan McIntosh, a local with no love for literary Americans, finds himself with the unenviable task of extracting statements from three American lady novelists.

The prime suspects are Kat de Noir, a slinky erotica writer; Cassie Pringle, a Southern mom of six juggling multiple cozy mystery series; and Emma Endicott, a New England blue blood and author of critically acclaimed historical fiction. The women claim to be best friends writing a book together, but the authors’ stories about how they know Brett Saffron Presley don’t quite line up, and the detective is getting increasingly suspicious.

Why did the authors really come to Castle Kinloch? And what really happened the night of the great Kinloch ceilidh, when Brett Saffron Presley skipped the folk dancing for a rendezvous with death?

A crafty locked-room mystery, a pointed satire about the literary world, and a tale of unexpected friendship and romance—this novel has it all, as only three bestselling authors can tell it!

3. Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher; Terrie Farley Moran (October 8, 2024)

I have never read one of these but I’ve heard good things about them. I may end up hating it. Ha!

Description:

It’s Christmastime in Cabot Cove, but there’s more homicide than ho-ho-ho in the newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series.

Christmas is not an easy time to sell a house, but in Boston tycoon John Bragdon, Cabot Cove Realtor Eve Simpson has found a buyer for the old Jarvis homestead. Unfortunately, Eve gets a lump of coal in her stocking in the form of Kenny Jarvis, who has been missing for years and presumed dead but has now come back to stop his sister from selling their childhood home.

Eve presses on, organizing a welcome dinner for Bragdon and his wife, Marlene, to meet the leading citizens of the town, including Jessica Fletcher. Dinner is interrupted by an uninvited guest—not Santa but Kenny, who threateningly promises Marlene she will never live in his house.

When Marlene is found dead a few days later, Kenny is the natural suspect. But Jessica isn′t so sure he′s on the naughty list . . .

4. Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson (August 1)

I just received my approval for this ARC and I am looking forward to it!

Description:

Who Stole Tilly from the Auction Block? Breathe in the nostalgia of everything old red truck in book one of a new cozy mystery series. The Hadley family ranch is struggling, so RaeLyn, her parents, and brothers decide to turn the old barn into an antique store. The only thing missing to go with the marketing of the store is Grandpa’s old red truck, Tilly, that was sold several years ago. Now coming back up on the auction block, Tilly would need a lot of work, but RaeLyn is sure it will be worth it—if only she can beat out other bidders and find out who stole Tilly after the auction ends. Hadley finds herself in the role of amateur sleuth, and the outcome could make or break the new family venture.

5. Queen of Hearts: A Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Twist by Heather Day Gilbert (July 23)

I may regret it because this is not really the genre of books I read, but I was approved this morning for this ARC.

Her readers love her…but one has gotten a little too attached.

Alexandra Dubois, a NYT bestselling author, has made a name for herself by crafting twisted serial killers in her romantic suspense series. When threatening notes from an “invested reader” escalate into violence, Alex has to admit she’s not safe in her own home. Although her autism makes any changes to her routine difficult, she reluctantly accepts her editor’s advice to fly to his sprawling vacation home in West Virginia so she can focus on her looming deadline.

Fighting paranoia that the stalker has discovered her mountain hideaway, Alex still forces herself to write several chapters in her novel. But when a thunderstorm leaves her stranded and she hears a knock at her door, she’s about to discover that life truly is stranger than fiction.

Fans of Alfred Hitchcock, Mary Higgins Clark, and Misery are sure to be hooked by this clean, fast-paced domestic thriller by RWA Daphne Award-winning author Heather Day Gilbert.

6. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne (Sept. 3)

I’ve always wanted to read some of A.A. Milne’s work beyond Winnie The Pooh. I know I’ve read that it drove him nuts that Winnie The Pooh took off and none of his more serious work.

A classic Golden Age locked-room cozy mystery by the author of Winnie-the-Pooh — hailed as one of the “20 Best Classic Murder Mystery Books of All Time (Town & Country, 2023)

“Has the pacing equivalent of perfect pitch . . . and spiced with funny comments on the clichés of the mystery novel” — Molly Young, The New York Times (2024)

In a quaint English country house, the exuberant Mark Ablett has been entertaining a house party, but the festivities are rudely interrupted by the arrival of Mark’s wayward brother, Robert, home from Austalia. Even worse, not long after his arrival the long-lost brother is found dead, shot through the head, and Mark is nowhere to be found. It is up to amateur detective Tony Gillingham and his pal Bill to investigate.

Between games of billiards and bowls, the taking of tea and other genteel pursuits, Tony and Bill attempt to crack the perplexing case of their host’s disappearance and its connection to the mysterious shooting. Can the pair of sleuths solve the Red House mystery in time for their afternoon game of croquet?

The Red House Mystery marked Milne’s first and final venture into the detective genre, despite the book’s immediate success. Praised by Raymond Chandler and renowned critic Alexander Woolcott, this gem of classic Golden Age crime sparkles with witty dialogue, an intriguing cast of characters, and a brilliant plot.

7. Sticks and Scones: A Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander (August 20)

I have read one of the others in this series so this one might need to wait for me but I hope to read it eventually anyhow.

Another delicious installment in the Bakeshop Series set in Ashland, OR!

It’s late spring in Juliet’s charming hamlet of Ashland. Spotted deer are nibbling on lush green grasses in Lithia Park, the Japanese maples are blooming, and Torte is baking a bevy of spring delights—lemon curd cupcakes, mini coconut cream pies, grapefruit tartlets, and chocolate dipped almond Tuiles.

Meanwhile, Juliet’s friend Lance, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is taking center stage with his new theater troupe—the Fair Verona Players. Their performance in Uva’s vineyard promises to be a modern, gender-bending twist on “The Taming of the Shrew,” but as the curtain rises, so do the strange occurrences. Stage mishaps and internal bickering threaten to derail the production. But the real show begins when the leading actor, Jimmy Paxton, meets his final curtain call. Now, Jules is not only in the mix, but she’s going to need to craft the perfect recipe for solving this theatrical whodunit.

What books are on your list for the most anticipated books for the second half of the year? Let me know in the comments.

Book recommendation: Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey

May 27, 2024May 25, 2024 / Lisa R. Howeler / 5 Comments

Apple Cider Slaying is the first book in the Cider Shop Mystery series by Julie Anne Lindsey and I can say right off the bat that I will read more in the series after reading this one.

The mystery starts with a murder in the apple barn of Winona “Winnie” Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. The discovery of the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny’s nemesis, would have been unpleasant at any time but was especially unpleasant to find when Winona was in the middle of an interview with the bank’s loan officer while trying to secure a loan for her cider making business.

Winona has been helping Granny with her orchard for years and had hoped to expand the business. That will be hard to do, though, without some extra money. Getting that money won’t be easy when horrible things keep happening in front of the man who can give that money.

When the new sheriff, handsome Colton Wise, lists Granny as his number one suspect, Winnie knows she needs to clear Granny’s name. To clear her name she will have to do some investigating of her own because she thinks Sheriff Wise has made up his mind to prove Granny is guilty.

As if trying to keep the orchard afloat and start her own business, working at the local diner, and having her grandmother accused of murder isn’t enough, Winnie’s ex-boyfriend shows up back in town after dumping her the year before. Luckily, she has a best friend and people in her small community to lean on and support her and her grandmother.

There is a ton of humor in this book even in the midst of some very tense moments – especially between Winnie and Colton.

The one minor issue I had was that I would have liked the grandmother to be a little more flushed out – such as having even more of her personality and backstory showcased, but I think that will happen in future books. There was some of that in this first book, don’t get me wrong, but I loved her character so much so I want more. I am sure I will get that more in book two.

I loved Granny so much that I almost cried during one scene but I’m not going to spoil the reason for my emotion. You’ll have to read the book.

This series is on Kindle Unlimited or available for purchase in ebook, audiobook, or paperback.