NetGalley – Page 4 – Carol's Notebook

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum

February 27, 2026February 27, 2026 by Carol2 Comments

This Story Might Save Your Life is part mystery, part thriller, and part romance. Best friends and podcast hosts Benny and Joy have built a career on survival stories, but now Joy has disappeared and Benny is the prime suspect. I enjoyed about the first half of the book. The story is told through Benny's point of view interspersed with bits from the podcast and from Joy's chapters of an unfinished memoir. I listened to the audio book which, with its two narrators, fit this format perfectly. They did a fabulous job with banter during the podcast clips and really brought each character's feelings and personality across. Benny and Joy are keeping secrets, form their listeners and from each other, as are the people around them. Those are slowly revealed and there are several twists. I was enjoying it, until I found myself thinking "can we just get to the end?" I wanted to know how it all played...

How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson

February 24, 2026February 24, 2026 by Carol2 Comments

It's funny how often I want to start my comments with "I don't typically read [fill-in-the blank] books." In this case, it's fictional serial killer books, but I've just read two in a row, the other being My Sister, the Serial Killer, so maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, Detective Inspector Samantha Hansen has returned from medical leave because to help investigate the murder of a teenage girl. A book, How to Get Away with Murder, has been left at the crime scene. The book is essentially a "how-to" guide for aspiring murderers written by Denver Brady, who claims to be a successful, currently active, serial killer, but it's unclear if this crime was committed by Denver or by a copycat. Chapters alternate between Sam's investigation and the handbook. The book within a book works well, especially on audio. The two narrators are fabulous. Geary brings both charm and menace to Brady's chapters, while Kennard captures Sam's intelligence, vulnerability, and determination....

Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove

February 18, 2026February 18, 2026 by Carol4 Comments

I am not an organist at heart, but I have played the organ for churches in the past. I think Murder Will Out might be the first book I've read with a main character who is an organist, which of course grabbed my attention. Willow is a grad student/organist who comes back to Little North Island, Maine for her semi-estranged godmother, Sue's, funeral. Of course, it turns out Sue was murdered, the island and Sue's house are haunted, and no one wants Willow poking her nose into the island's secrets. Willow is not, at least at first, a great lead. She's quiet, afraid of confrontation, and easily intimidated. She does grow and become more confident both in herself and the people around her. I like her, but not as much as I wanted to. Most of the story is told from Willow's point of view, but once in a while we gets pieces from another person's outlook, which was a...

Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

February 5, 2026February 5, 2026 by Carol4 Comments

I like this series. I enjoy Ernest's narration and how often and well he breaks the fourth wall. I typically find them amusing and clever. This time around, however, the choices he makes just seem ridiculous. Ernest and his fiancée, Juliette, go to a bank trying to get a loan to open a detective agency. They've been to several banks and this one is essentially their last hope. Instead, the bank manager hires him to find his brother who has gone missing along with the code to the vault. Then a bank robber takes them all hostage and things start to spiral out of control. I like the set-up, that everyone is a thief of some kind, and there were a couple of very good twists. Some parts were downright funny and took full advantage of the characters and world the author's created. The hostages are an interesting bunch and it would be tough to keep control of. I'm fine with storyline...

A Very Novel Murder by Ellie Alexander

February 2, 2026February 2, 2026 by Carol2 Comments

Annie and Fletcher, from the Secret Bookcase Mysteries, have opened up their detective agency and have their first case. Kelly Taylor, a talented surfer and activist, recently drowned in her bathtub, but her elderly neighbor is convinced the young woman was murdered. I like Annie and Fletcher and their friends. They're smart and dedicated. They also have a good relationship with the police and have no problem keeping them updated or calling them in when necessary. Annie's boyfriend is handsome and caring and supportive and her best friend is adorable and a whiz with coffee. Annie's life is pretty good, aside from almost getting killed. There are no conflicts with her friends or employees. The town she lives in is appropriately cozy and walkable. Even the crows like her. Yes, we're told parts of her background have been tough, but it's really no surprise that with her first case, she solves a murder, uncovers a drug dealing operation, and gets...

The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery

January 30, 2026January 30, 2026 by Carol2 Comments

The Murder at World's End is a fun locked-room mystery. The characters are quirky and the setting is unique. It's 1910, Halley's Comet is about to pass overhead, and we're at Tithe Hall on an island off the Cornish coast, Word's End. Lord Stockingham-Welt believes the comet will bring dangerous gasses with it and has decided to seal his staff and his family members into the mansion over night, complete with air tanks and gas masks. Stephen Pike arrives, ex-convict turned manservant, arrives in the midst of the chaos and is hired, despite his original offer of employment not being legitimate. While the comet obviously doesn't cause environmental disasters, Lord Stockingham-Welt is killed that night, in his locked study. The family members are rather unlikable and the staff are acting suspicious. Our sleuths are Stephen, who has been targeted as the main suspect, and the elderly Lady Decima, a difficult,, frustrated scientist who is also Stephen's only alibi. Lady...