NetGalley – Carol's Notebook

The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi

May 7, 2025May 7, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

It's always so weird saying I loved a book that's full of murder and torture, but The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre was fabulous. There's a serial killer stalking the residents of the Autumn Springs Retirement home, but the cops and the administrators seem to think that the deaths, at least the first couple, are just accidents. Old people die. Rose DuBois is convinced otherwise, and she and a few of her friends start investigating. Rose is a fabulous character. She's smart and tough. She has flaws, of course, but she makes a great final girl. All the residents we are introduced to are so well drawn, so full of life and character. I actually had to skip a chapter because I didn't want to read about that particular character's death. And a lot of them die. We get the requisite amount of blood and gore and terror for a slasher novel. It's funny and surprisingly emotional for me. We also...

10 Marchfield Square by Nicola Whyte

May 5, 2025May 5, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I will admit I picked up 10 Marchfield Square based on the blurb alone. Granted, I've only seen a couple of episodes of Only Murders in the Building and haven't read The Paris Apartment, but I know I would enjoy both of those and a mix of the two sounded. fun. And it was a good pick. Marchfield Square is a close-knit, safe community—until one of its residents is found dead. The elderly and eccentric landlady, Celeste, doesn't trust the cops and recruits two of the other residents of the square to solve the murder, Audrey and Lewis. Audrey, Celeste's cleaner, is personable and knows everyone in the square and some of their secrets. Lewis is a crime writer who's writing career has stalled. He's socially awkward and lives a solitary life, but sees this as a way to kickstart his writing. The interactions between these two are funny and heartwarming. The characters really drive the book. Audrey and Lewis of course,...

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead

March 26, 2025March 26, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

This Book Will Bury Me is told from Jane Sharpe's point of view. She's 24, has recently lost her father by way of a heart attack, and has become obsessed with true crime, or maybe more accurate, with a true crime online forum where amateur sleuths discuss clues and theories about the murders in the headlines. I listened to the audio and the narrator does a fabulous job. Her tone and pace match the story well. Each character has a distinctive voice, and she brings out Jane's emotions well. Take the time to read the author note on this one. She was inspired by several real life murder cases, including the killings in Idaho in 2022, and the loss of her own father. How you feel about that may influence whether you want to pick this one up or not. The plot is engrossing. Jane has found acceptance and support in her online community, even a bit of fame. Then...

Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney

March 14, 2025March 14, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

Bodies and Battlements is the first in a new cozy mystery series. Ravensea Castle has recently been converted into a Bed and Breakfast and they are welcoming their first guests. Everything is going fine-ish until a local woman is found murdered in the garden and the Asquith family, guests and staff become potential suspects. Nora has potential to be a great character. She's determined to keep the castle in the family by making the B&B a success. She also grows herbs and flowers in the garden that she makes into lotions, soaps, etc. She is sane and solid, in the midst of her actress sister, eccentric father, quirky staff, and resident ghost, but that does make her seem a little boring. We do have the start of a romance that might be fun, but it's with a cop, which I'm a little tired of. The setting is fabulous - the castle, the town, the seashore. And the pets - two cats and...

The Secret Detective Agency by Helena Dixon

March 5, 2025March 5, 2025 by Carol3 Comments

The Secret Detective Agency has a good set up. We're in London in 1941, right in the middle of WW2. Jane Treen, a mid level spymaster working in Whitehall, is concerned because several of her agents who were connected with Operation Exodus have been murdered. There seems to be a mole in their midst. Most recently, Kate Trevellian was murdered in a small village outside of Exeter, at Half Moon Manor, the home of Arthur Cilento. Arthur, conveniently, is a mathematician and codebreaker who also works for the government. Arthur had been renting the house out to Kate, and he has just returned home, so is not a suspect. Jane's boss sends her to Half Moon Manor to work with Arthur to figure out who murdered Kate and uncover the plot to kill off the remaining Operation Exodus spies. Jane and Arthur are total contrasts to each other. Jane is intuitive, on the move, and a chain-smoker (as we are...

A House for Miss Pauline by Diana McCaulay

March 4, 2025March 4, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I listened to A House for Miss Pauline on audio, which I think was a different experience for me than it would have been in print. A lot of the dialogue and inner thoughts are written in Patois, and the narrator's convincing Jamaican accent made it flow better and gave it much more of a sense of place than reading in print would have. I wouldn't have taken the time with the language that the audio forces me too. It's too easy for me to skim over bits when I'm reading an ebook or hardback, but I always listen to audios at 1.0X, never sped up. And this is a good book to take time with. Pauline Sinclair is 99 years old and has spent her whole life in the rural Jamaican village of Mason Hall. When the stones of her house start moving and speaking to her during the night, she knows it's time to take stock of her...