NetGalley – Page 2 – Carol's Notebook

Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke

February 16, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol1 Comment

Rhythm and Clues is the third Record Shop Mystery, featuring sisters Tansey, Maggie, and Juni, owners of Sip and Spin Records, a coffee and record shop in a small town near Austin, Texas. The shop is barely making a profit, but the sisters have been approached by a potential investor. The investor, Zach, and his partner invite Juni and Beau, a local cop to a hockey game, but later that night, Zach is killed during a major storm, found dead in a car that wrecked outside of the record shop. Juni, of course, can't help getting involved in the case. I enjoy spending time with Juni and her sisters. They each have their own personalities and they work together well. The setup worked well. The storm flooded parts of town, made some roads impassable, and knocked out the power. The killer is stuck in town. Juni has several suspects, with clues that point in different directions. The plot flows well and...

A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn

February 11, 2024February 22, 2024 by Carol2 Comments

A Killer Romance is the third book in the Beach Read series, but the first I've read. Summer Merriweather owns the Beach Reads bookstore which she inherited along with her cottage from her mother, Hildy. A Killer Romance begins with Summer tripping and twisting her ankle. Because of this, she does not even get to meet the guest speaker for the Valentine's Day Festival before the woman is murdered. The mystery, the characters, and the dialogue are all good. Summer's parrot is adorable. For me though, there was just too much talk about the covid pandemic and how life on the island was changed. Also, I understand that Summer was in pain from her ankle, but there was too much emphasis on pain relief pills for me. I just got annoyed. And there were several characters' reactions that just didn't feel realistic. And I felt like the whodunnit relied too much on stereotypes. Overall, I was disappointed. I listened to the audio....

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

February 10, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol2 Comments

I read the first book featuring Ernest Cunningham, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, last year but apparently never wrote a review. I totally enjoyed it and its gimmick worked well, which is why I picked up #2, Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect. I don't typically like meta elements in mysteries, but I like how aware Ernest, our first-person narrator is. He knows the rules of his genre and often references us as the reader and what we might be expecting from his sequel. This time around, Ernest is a guest speaker at the 50th Australian Mystery Writers Society festival, which is taking place on a train. Of course, one of the authors is murdered and Ernest decides to investigate - and write his second book. This book is funny and almost too clever. The characters are an interesting bunch, with plenty of secrets and more history than one might expect. Ernest is still witty and self-conscious. The plot...

You’ve Been Summoned by Lindsey Lamar

February 6, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol1 Comment

You've Been Summoned's setup reminded me a lot of the board game, Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated, mixed with Clue. It's designed to be interactive, casting you, the reader, as the newest employee at PI, Inc. Apparently they're a bit short-staffed, so you're assigned a case right from the top. You have all the files regarding the incident at Sophomore Manor at your disposal - to be read in the suggested order. You also have several historical items from the 1940s when Mary Sophomore and her twin sister also went missing. You do receive some helpful pointers from the boss along the way. The case you've been asked to look at involves Sillian Parks. She was throwing a party with several friends and her twin sister, Jane, at the Sophomore Manor, when she went missing. She was eventually found, but comatose, and foul play was suspected. It's up to you, the reader, to put all the information and clues together to present...

A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian

January 31, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol1 Comment

A Midnight Puzzle is the third in the Secret Staircase series, and I do think they are best read in order. Tempest, a former stage magician, is enjoying her work with her father's Secret Staircase Construction company. So, when a customer who is filing a lawsuit against the company is murdered, Tempest decides she has to investigate to save the family business. This time around the connection to Tempest's family is clear. The man is murdered by a booby trap at the theater Tempest is renting for one final show, the theater where Tempest's mom disappeared. I'll be honest, this overarching mystery about the family curse has not been my favorite part of the first two books. I'm glad we get a solution here, but for me, this book just wasn't as fun as the last one. And I did guess the killer before it was revealed, although there were a couple of decent twists before we got there. I listened to...

Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter

January 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

It's always fun to catch a new series at the beginning. Jaime has recently divorced due to her husband's infidelity and she is starting over again. Thanks to a bad prenup all she has for the years she spent working with her husband in their construction company is one very rundown house. She decides to go ahead and renovate rather than sell it as is. But of course, when she knocks down one of the interior (non-structural) walls, she finds a corpse. When the cops designate her house a crime scene, she decides she has to figure out who the killer is as soon as possible so she can get back to work on the project. The mystery is put together well. We've got several suspects and a couple of the clues are right up Jaime's alley. Jaime is a good character, rediscovering herself and finding her strengths. She also knows everyone in town, which makes it easier for her to...