NetGalley – Carol's Notebook

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is a decent cozy murder mystery set on Chicago's south side. I love Savvy, who owns a soul food restaurant and does some catering. Business is good, until Grandy Jaspers drops dead while eating her famous sweet potato pie. Even though it was ruled an accident, people are avoiding the restaurant. And to be honest, while Savvy knows it wasn't her pie that killed Grandy, she does think he might have been murdered. Savvy is a middle-aged widow who is smart, sassy, and determined, but maybe not the best detective. This is her first case though. And it's a tough one. We have tons of characters, most of whom she knows from one place or another, and they all seem to have secrets, even her assistant/side-kick, Penny. I actually had a hard time keeping everyone straight, and since I listened to the audio, I couldn't exactly flip back to see who was who....

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 I love the language in the book and the literary and historical references.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...

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...

For Duck’s Sake by Donna Andrews

July 2, 2025July 2, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

The Meg Langslow series is one I dip in and out of. I've read several, but no where near 37. Meg wears many hats - mom, wife, daughter, blacksmith, mayor's assistant. This time around she's helping prep for the Mutt March. a parade/festival to promote pet adoptions from the local shelters. She's taking a break from the chaos at her house by going over the her brother's - just in time for the backhoe digging out the duck pond to uncover a human arm bone. This is a long-running series with lots of returning characters. Andrews does a good job at giving us enough information to know who is who and their relationships to each other, but not so much that it bogs the book down. I think this would work as a stand alone, but as with most series, the more you've read the more you know about, and hopefully enjoy, the characters and town. As far as the case...

Homicide and Old Lace by Dolores Johnson

June 20, 2025June 20, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I didn't realize this was the 5th in the series when I picked it up, but it worked well as a stand-alone. Mandy, the owner of a dry cleaning shop, apparently has a habit of getting involved in murders. This time she has agreed to clean and alter her ex-husband's new bride's wedding dress. But when she delvers it to the hotel on the day of the wedding, she ends up a suspect in the bride's murder. Being the amateur sleuth that she is, she decides she has to get to the bottom of it, even if her boyfriend, Detective Stan Foster, wants her to stay far away. We've got plenty of suspects, clues, and red herrings. The people surrounding Mandy are appropriately quirky, especially her mom and her employee, Betty, who get in all kind of trouble. I did get annoyed at how often Betty was described as a former bag lady and not listened to. Like, yes, I get...

Doggone Bones by Carolyn Haines

May 27, 2025May 27, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I should probably not have started this series at #26. And probably not with the one dealing with dog thefts. Sara Booth and her partner at the Delaney Detective Agency, Tinkie, have been contacted about a dog that was stolen right out of someone's backyard. We had so many characters that it was hard to keep everyone straight. The author provided plenty of background, but I'm sure if I had read the previous books, I would have had a much better handle on who was who and how everyone is connected. Sara Booth has a good batch of friends, including her boyfriend sheriff, and several animals: dogs, horses, a cat and a crow. Oh, and she has a ghost haunting her house that often appears to her as historical figures. The mystery this time around involved several dogs who were stolen from homes, including Sara Booth's Sweetie Pie. There's rumors of a dog-fighting ring, but Sara's old nemesis, Gertrude, seems to...