NetGalley – Page 3 – Carol's Notebook

The Book Club Murders by Maggie Allswell

May 20, 2026May 20, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I genuinely disliked this book. The set up is good - a book club that typically reads serial killer book finds a real life murder that needs solved. Wendy, a local librarian, is dead - the police have decided it's a suicide, but Judy, the book groups oldest member, is sure it was murder and convinces everyone that they need to investigate. I even like the characters for the most part. The group consists of mostly women and one man. They are a variety of ages and have a variety of occupations, several of which are useful in their hunt for clues. I was annoyed with how the author portrayed Judy. She's only in her sixties and works at least part time, but she can't even text? There are several text/ WhatsApp messages throughout the book. I listened to the audio and the narrator actually handled them well. And I honestly don't know any women of that age who have...

Murder at Raven’s Gate by Louise Marley

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I thoroughly enjoy this series. Raven's Edge is a village that has a leaned into its past and maybe embellished it a bit. It leans into the spooky, and witchy, and ghostly. We've got two mysteries this time around. A "ghost" has been haunting Blackheath Hall, where two older sisters, Lady Peony and Rose, live. Lady Peony is far from a scared, little old lady. She knows fully well that the knocking is not really a ghost, but someone trying to scare them out of the house. She hires Kieran Drake to figure out who is behind it, so he and Milla Graham have set up shop at the hall to keep watch. In the meantime and not too far away, DS Harriet March's date with Misha from the coffee shop, is cut short when, while on a ghost tour, they find a dead body in a shallow grave. I like that Harriet was leading the investigation this time around,...

The Antique Hunter’s Murder at the Castle by C.L. Miller

May 15, 2026May 15, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

Murder at the Castle is the third of the Antique Hunter's mysteries. I do think these work best if read in order. You'll get a better sense of who the characters are and what they're doing. This time, Bella, the one of the team most likely to go rogue, has disappeared while following a forgery lead at a Scottish castle. Freya and Carole head to the castle to try to pick up Bella's trail, but instead the find the owner dead and a collection of silver pieces missing. Bella is implicated in the murder and the whole Lockwood team has to do what they do best - find the killer and recover the antiques. I like the characters. They make a good team, each with their own strengths and weakness. Bella is a bit reckless, Sky is a wiz at technology, Carole is warm and motivating, Freya is level-headed and I'm not a huge fan of how Freya and...

This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone by Catherine Mack

May 5, 2026May 5, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

Eleanor is attending a writer's conference in the Bahamas, with all the usual folks, and the first thing she finds is, of course, a dead body. This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone is the third in the series and has a ton of returning characters, so you might be better off to read them in order. I find this series both entertaining and annoying. Eleanor is not the most likeable main character. Most of the attendees at the conference have a grudge against her of some kind, which actually seems reasonable. She's rather self-centered and jumps to conclusions easily. The story is told from her point of view but the schtick is that she constantly breaks the fourth wall and loves footnotes. I will say that both of those work really well in the audio version, presuming her whole personality and attitude doesn't bother you too much. The footnotes you can't even tell are footnotes, they just blend into...

Death on the Caldera by Emily Paxman

April 27, 2026April 27, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

First of all, just because there's a train and murders does not make it Murder on the Orient Express. Not every mystery needs compared to Agatha Christie, especially when Christie's plot is tight and controlled and this one is—not. If you read the blurb above, we've got a lot going on - a train wreck with a royal on board, a murderer on the loose, and witches. We also have two systems of magic aside from the witches', two gods, two political powers, and about nine points of view. I felt like the mystery and fantasy sides were balanced well. The world-building is done well, without being overwhelming. The Lindes do what all amateur sleuths do - ask questions, nose around, try to find who's guilty so you're not blamed. It was maybe a bit difficult to connect much with the characters because we did have so many, but their thoughts and relationships felt realistic. I listened to the audio and...

A Staged Death by Samantha Larsen

April 16, 2026April 16, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

Tiffany and her husband, Samir, are headed to Bath with their good friend, Thomas Montague. Thomas is engaged to a lovely actress, Rosalyn, but his mother, the Marchioness of Harwood, does not approve. He's hoping Tiffany can help convince her it's a fine match. But of course, Tiffany tends to find dead bodies - this time it's Rosalyn's understudy who is murdered. When an innocent man is arrested, Tiffany starts asking questions. It's the late 1780s, but Tiffany and her family and friends are modern their views of everything from homosexuality, prostitution, to marriage and the treatment of women. It makes it a more enjoyable story to read, but is perhaps not terribly realistic for the era. I'm not sure that Tiffany wouldn't have been arrested for some of the things she did, even with her husband's approval. That being said, we have several nice twists and I do like Tiffany's persistence and intelligence. We have several strong female characters...