Purchased – Carol's Notebook

And Then There Were Bun by Vivien Chien

October 13, 2026October 13, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I like Lana and her friends and family, but I've never been a huge fan of her detective boyfriend, Adam, and here he's the main suspect in the murder of her ex-boyfriend from college. Adam is suspended while the case is being investigated, which is even more awkward because Megan, Lana's best friend, is dating the chief, Adam's boss. I didn't necessarily love this one. The whole throwback to college people when you're 30 and haven't seen them since forever seems odd. It's weird that the ex even came to the party and Adam's behavior, both losing control during an argument and being so secretive about how he's spending his time recently, seemed out of character. Sometimes I just want characters, and people in real life for that matter, to act like grown ups. The mystery itself was fine. We had plenty of clues and several suspects. I'm not a fan of how quick Lana and Megan can be at jumping to...

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

September 30, 2026September 30, 2026 by Carol2 Comments

It's 1171 and King Henry II has a problem. Children are being murdered in Cambridge, and the Jews have been blamed, which wouldn't matter much, except the King gets a lot of taxes from them. The Jews are currently under the King's protection in a castle fortress, but the situation needs resolved. He requests aid from the King of Sicily, who send an unlikely trio to England: Simon of Naples, a Jewish investigator; Mansur, a eunuch Saracen; and Adelia Aguilar, a woman doctor trained in the study of corpses. The medieval setting was fascinating.. Religion and politics are completely intertwined. The crusades are on-going. There are calls for the Jews removal from England. Women have little to no value or sway. Adelia, herself, has to pretend she is not as competent and knowledgeable as she is, just to avoid being burned as a witch. Women in historical novels are so often more progressive and have more agency than the majority did...

Veil of Lies by Helena Marchmont

September 22, 2026September 22, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I like the Bunburry series for car rides. Each episode is under four hours long, which makes it perfect to listen to the way of up the lake or a meeting and back. This time around Alfie and Emma are planning their wedding - well, Alfie's doing most of the planning. Of course, nothing ever goes quite as planned and one of the wedding planner's staff is found dead. Of course, the Bunburry triangle gets involved. It's a quick listen. The returning characters are fun to catch up with and the new ones are developed well. I would like a bit more Oscar, but that's just me. The mystery is wrapped up well. I'll definitely listen to the next one....

How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin

September 16, 2026September 16, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

The mystery was good and I enjoyed the mix of murder and art. I don't love London as a setting as much as Castle Knoll, but I get it. Annie's relationship with her parents is a mess. As is her whatever is going on with Detective Crane. I like that's we're sticking with the fortunes as our connecting point. I enjoyed the dual timelines, but maybe prefer the people and events of the 60s over the current time period....

Death on the Lanai by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

August 27, 2026August 26, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I definitely enjoyed Death on the Lanai more than I did the first in the series and I think this one could easily be read as a stand alone. The girls are invited to a fancy party on an island estate hosted by, it turns out, a famous artist who Blanche knew decades ago. Of course, the artist ends up dead and Blanche is one of the chief suspects. I listened to the audio and I thought both the author and narrator did a good job with the girls' voices, although I did get tired of Blanche's references to Big Daddy. The banter between the girls felt authentic to the show and the humor was well done. The story moved along at a good pace. I will admit that one thing I found annoying turned out to have a reason in the end. The whodunnit wasn't difficult to guess, but I read these for the Golden Girls, not necessarily the...

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

August 26, 2026August 26, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I honestly thought I would enjoy Finlay Donovan Is Killing It. It's supposed to be clever and funny and I've heard the narrator does a great job. She does, but aside from that I thought the book was silly. Finlay is a writer who doesn't do much writing and the mother of two preschool children. Her house is a mess and her ex-husband just fired her nanny. So her life is running amok even before she's mistaken for a contract killer and ends up with a dead body in her garage. I think Finlay was supposed to be relatable and entertaining, but I found her mostly annoying. Yes, her cheating ex-husband was a jerk, but you have to take some responsibility for your own life. She made dumb decisions and yet everything worked out so well for her. And she has two attractive and intelligent men interested in her even though she seems to be permanently sticky and/or lying. I'm probably...