eBook – Carol's Notebook

Murder in the Upper Crust by Mindy Quigley

September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I love a good foodie cozy mystery and Delilah's pizzas sound delicious. This time around, she has reluctantly agreed to cater a wellness retreat led by an overly demanding mindfulness influencer. When a guest is found dead in her zen tent, it’s up to Delilah and her usual crew to track down the killer. There's a new police chief in town and she was quirky, I guess. I like it when the police and our amateur sleuths can get along and both are competent, but the way the chief brough Delilah into the case and setting up Capone undercover as a bartender in a town where literally everyone knows him, even if the retreat attendees don't, seemed odd. The mystery itself was put together well. We had several suspicious people, and a couple of motives floating around. I felt like Delilah could have put together a few pieces quicker than she did. I also don't love that her ex owns...

The Librarian and the Time Machine by Brian Yansky

July 28, 2026July 28, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

We know the setup. Kevin is the librarian of Eden, (maybe) Lucifer aka Karl's son, and is trying to stop the apocalypse. This time around he's also trying to find out who killed his mentor when he was a teenager. Happily, there's a groovy time machine in the library he can use. I'm not a fan of time travel usually, but this book does not take itself seriously at all, so it works. It's also the only way to leave Eden and the four teenagers who have spent their entire lives in the village are desperate to leave, if only for a little while. I like the history of Eden we get here - why it's important and why the teenagers are the only children. The plot twists are interesting, if slightly ridiculous. It's light and entertaining and a quick afternoon read. It is one of those series where each installment feels like a to-be-continued episode....

The Librarian and the Book Thief by Brian Yansky

July 25, 2026July 24, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

This is the second book of the series featuring Kevin, who is the librarian of Eden and (maybe) Lucifer aka Karl's son. This time around he's on the hunt for a missing book, My Side of the Story, is the Bible but from the point of view of Karl and the other fallen (jumped?) angels. Angels, demons, a trip to Vegas - it's another fun ride. Maybe not quite as charming as the first, since the absurdity and irreverence is expected. I do like the dark sense of humor and the eclectic townsfolk. My only complaint, aside from the editing, is that it feels more like an episode than a full story and at 200-ish pages I want a full story....

The Librarian of the Haunted Library by Brian Yansky

July 24, 2026July 24, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

The Librarian of the Haunted Library is not necessarily a good book, but it is entertaining and compulsively readable. Kevin had a rough childhood, but is "talented" and has spent the last several years traveling around the US essentially doing good. Now, he's ended up in Eden and was just handed the librarian position. And his first duty is finding out who murdered the last librarian - they seem to die pretty often. The plot is a bit all over the place. It's absurd and funny and I truly enjoyed the characters. It's a light read and can't really bear up to too much scrutiny, but if you enjoy quirky characters, a bit of religious fantasy - Kevin is (maybe) the devil's son after all, and can just go with the flow, you might enjoy it. I immediately picked up the second in the series....

The Mystery of the Missing Man by Karen Baugh Menuhin

July 21, 2026July 21, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

Persi has invited a group of archaeologists to Ashton Steeple for the Roman temple excavation, but Dr. Quayle disappears somewhere between boarding the train and arriving at the station. What starts as a missing person case, soon transforms into a murder investigation. The plot works well. With a bunch of archaeologists, it makes sense that the mystery has historical ties and I enjoyed the connection to Lennox' family. We have a lot of characters- Lennox, Persi, their staff and friends, Swift and Florence, and all the visitors, but they each have fully developed personalities, with their own motives and relationships. I always enjoy Lennox - he's likeable and competent and, here the author does a good job at balancing his sleuthing with his other responsibilities. I think I enjoyed this one more than the last couple in the series. They're always fun, with plenty of tea, adorable pets, and interesting mysteries, but this one just grabbed my attention more....

A Death in the Dark by Ellie Alexander

May 27, 2026May 27, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

This is the second in the Novel Detectives series, which is a spin off of another series, but I think it be easily read as a stand alone. Annie and Fletcher run both a bookstore and a detective agency. Thankfully, they have solid employees at the store, so can take the time they need for their investigations. This time around they are in the office early, when running coach from the local high school arrives, covered in blood, with no memory of the night before. He wants their help figuring out what happened. Of course, it's not long till they find a dead body and start to wonder if their client is a murderer. Our mystery centers around the high school and the track team. We have a couple of solid suspects and Annie gets to use some of their new techy purchases to gather clues. It's pretty easy to guess the killer though. As always, I love Annie and Fletcher....