Purchased – Carol's Notebook

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...

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 by Carol2 Comments

The set-up is good. Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt's father wrote a book, House of Horrors, about their family's three weeks in the haunted Baneberry Hall. The book became a best seller, but now her father is dead and she's inherited the house. Maggie's convinced the book was fiction and remembers nothing from their time there, so she moves into Baneberry Hall to renovate it for sale and, hopefully, find out the truth of what really happened that summer. It turns out that the house is creepier than Maggie had expected. The book alternates between the present timeline and chapters from House of Horrors, using what her dad wrote to echo what she's living through. It turns out that more might be true than she thought. I listened to the audio and having two narrators, one for House of Horrors and one for Maggie's point of view, worked well. I don't read many horror books and this is my first...

Murder in an Italian Castle by Benedict Brown

June 22, 2026June 22, 2026 by CarolNo Comments

I've read a few of Lord Edgington and always enjoyed them. Now, Lord Edgington and his grandson, Christopher, have finally started their European tour. Their first stop is in Italy, at Castle Montegufoni, owned by Edgington's old friend, Lord Renwick Monroe. They've only just arrived when they hear arguing from the clock tower and see Renwick fall to his death. Turns out Renwick was not a nice man, but someone who enjoyed pushing buttons and causing tension. Unsurprisingly, we've got a host of suspects, including Renwick's three heirs, his secretary, and assorted townspeople. The mystery was clever. The clues all fit together well, but I still didn't guess the solution. The historic touches are fun and the food sounded delicious. Murder in an Italian Castle is light, enjoyable read. I'm looking forward to their next adventure in Italy....