Book Reviews – Carol's Notebook

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook

July 28, 2025July 28, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I am torn about History Lessons; some things I loved, a lot I didn't. Our main character is history professor, Daphne Ouverture, who is trying to solve the murder of another professor, Sam Taylor. Sam's text to her the night of his death was strange, as is the fact that one of her books is missing. It all must be connected to his death and she needs to find out how. I want to love Daphne. She's smart and tough and I appreciated her thoughts on race and feminism and society. I didn't like the way she instantly smitten with Rowan, the police consultant/bookstore owner. I didn't like how unsure she seemed of herself in the beginning, especially after we meet her family and see how she deals with some situations later on in the book. I love the language in the book and the literary and historical references. You could make a whole reading list based on this one. I...

Murder at Castle Vyne by Louise Marley

July 21, 2025July 28, 2025 by Carol2 Comments

Fourteen years ago Natalie Grove found her older sister, Sarah, dead in a lily pond at Castle Vyne. The murderer was never caught and now Natalie, a best-selling author, has written a book based on the mystery. She wants to find the truth about what happened to Sarah. If you've read and enjoyed Marley's other English Village Mysteries, this one, while it takes place in the same area, happens before the other book and features different characters. I thought I might find that disappointing, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The new characters are fully developed, if not all that likeable, and the setting still feels like a claustrophobic small town. Natalie has certainly stirred a hornet's nest by redrawing attention to her sister's death. There are so many twists here. The town, her friends, her family are all holding on to major secrets, and just when you have some idea of what's going on, there's another surprise. It kept me...

Murder Most Wilde by Helen Golden

July 20, 2025July 19, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I love a good theater mystery. This time around, Perry is paying Algernon in an amateur production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Theaters are one of my favorite mystery settings, by the way. Actors are usually fabulously dramatic and I like the glimpses behind the curtains. But, this being the 12th Right Royal Cozy Investigation, of course someone ends up dead- Noel, the actor playing Jack. The police are stretched thin and ask for Bea and Perry's help. This one does work as a stand alone, but they are all such fun characters that really you should read some of the others too. The whole gang gets to work on the case. Perry has insider info from being on the cast and Bea sits in on the police's interviews. Simon, Perry's husband/former detective/crime writer/chef, and Rich, Bea's fiancé/police superintendent, add the professional perspective, as always. I like how everyone works together so well. And of course Daisy, Bea's...

A High-End Finish by Kate Carlisle

July 11, 2025July 11, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I've read at least one other Fixer-Upper mystery and watched the Hallmark shows, but I was looking for something free to listen to and found this one. I didn't love it to be honest. Shannon goes out on a blind date that ends badly, with her kneeing him and threatening to kill him - in front of a beach of witnesses. Of course, the guy later turns up dead - in one of the houses her company is remodeling, killed with one of her distinctive pink tools. She is, of course, a suspect and decides she needs to clear her name. Unfortunately, most of the other suspects are women too. The guy was jerk. I like Shannon in the tv show, but here she seems young. She doesn't learn and continues to threaten to kill people throughout the book (because doesn't everyone) but then is dismayed when they end up murdered, or almost murdered. She still has some kind...

A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander

July 7, 2025July 19, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

This is the final installment of the Secret Bookcase Mysteries - although don't worry, we'll get a spin-off, The Novel Detectives series. This time around, Annie and Fletcher are in Santa Clara for a book fair and Liam and Pri are coming along too. It just so happens that the fair is near the company that Annie blames for her best friend, Scarlet's, death, ten years ago, and Annie has a plan to get the evidence she needs. While we do get some background info on the cold case, this one probably works better if you've read others in the series. Of course, there's also a murder at the book fair. One of the presenters is killed by his own VR device, and Annie is there when it happens. The book fair sounds amazing and makes me want to go to a bookish event soon. The two mystery plot are balanced well. We have several suspects for the current murder...

Witches Get Stuff Done by Molly Harper

July 3, 2025July 3, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I don't read a lot of romances - I get annoyed with miscommunications that almost seem purposeful, ridiculous grudges, and love triangles. Witches Get Stuff Done was fun, though. After a rather disastrous ferry ride, Riley arrives on Starfall Point Island. She’s expecting to meet her long lost aunt, but instead learns of her aunt’s death and finds herself caretaker to a house full of ghosts. The love interest is a cute, intelligent librarian, Edison. Yes, their first meeting is a bit yucky and maybe they fall in love a little too quickly, but they made me smile. They both have some baggage from past relationships, but don't let it overwhelm the present. They talk to each other honestly and share things. Most of the tension comes from the ghosts and the mysteries surrounding the house. t's fun to watch Riley find her circle of friends. She's new in town and her aunt always kept pretty aloof from the...