Month: May 2022

Recent Reads: Give Up The Ghost by Angie Fox (Southern Spirits 11)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

In Give Up the Ghost, a time capsule is dug up, and in it is a blackmailer’s book of secrets, and her daughter claims it.  And you know that means it’s the beginning of problems!

Verity and Frankie have their work cut out for them investigating a murder, a blackmailer and a member of Verity’s boyfriend’s family being implicated in the murder!

This is a cosy mystery fantasy series which I’ve been enjoying for a while.  It’s an entertaining and light read series, with some of the books being scarier than others!

Give Up the Ghost was published on 31st May 2022 and is available from Amazon and Waterstones.

Angie Fox has a Facebook page and a reader group.

I’ve previously read and reviewed the below books in the series:

Southern Spirits, A Ghostly Gift and The Skeleton in the Closet – book 1, 1.5 and 2

Pecan Pies and Dead Guys – book 7 

The Mint Julep Murders – book 8

The Ghost of Christmas Past – book 8.5

Southern Bred and Dead – book 9

The Haunted Homecoming – book 10

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Moose Island Books and Author Collective 20  (the publishers) for this book.

Recent Reads: The Murder List by Jackie Kabler

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Murder List by Jackie Kabler is a rollercoaster of a read!  Mary is sent a blank diary as a gift.  She doesn’t think anything of it until she opens it and finds:

1st January MURDER LISA, OXFORD
1st February MURDER JANE, BIRMINGHAM
1st March MURDER DAVID, CARDIFF
1st April MURDER MARY, CHELTENHAM

It could all just be someone’s idea of a joke, except someone called Lisa was killed in Oxford on 1st January!  And Mary thinks she is the Mary on the list for 1st April!

This kept me guessing! I kept thinking I knew who was doing it, and every time I was wrong!  There are different threads weaving through this book, and I enjoyed the ramping up of the tension!

The Murder List was published on 31st May 2022 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Jackie Kabler on Twitter, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to One More Chapter.

Recent Reads: One Night With You by Laura Jane Williams

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

One Night With You started with Ruby’s last night in London, and Nic’s first night.  When sparks fly, they both know it is only be for that night, doesn’t it?

This is another love story for Laura Jane Williams that tackles things like lost love, starting again, and what are priorities for different people in relationships.

I really enjoyed this, and found Laura Jane Williams weaves together a great story of modern love.

One Night With You was published on 26th May 2022 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Laura Jane Williams on Twitter, Instagram and her website.

You can read my reviews for Laura Jane Williams books:

Our Stop

The Love Square

The Lucky Escape

The Wrong Suitcase

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Avon Books.

Recent Reads: Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor by M.C Beaton (Agatha Raisin book 17)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor by M.C Beaton (Agatha Raisin book 17) has James Lacey reappearing on the scene at the end of the last book! He’s become a travel writer, and asks Agatha to go on holiday with him!  Agatha is very excited, and is dreaming of the hot sands, lovely outfits and that she and James will naturally fall together!

Of course, things don’t happen as Agatha expects, and when a murder happens, Agatha and James are suspected, and so Agatha’s agency swings into action!  Another good book in the series!

Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor was published on 19th September 2006 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

My review of the previous book in the Agatha Raisin series are below:

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (book 1)

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (book 2)

Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (book 3)

Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (book 4)

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (book 5)

Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (book 6)

Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (book 7)

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (book 8)

Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (book 9)

Agatha Raisin and the fairies of Fryfam (book 10)

Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (book 11)

Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (book 12)

Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate (book 13)

Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (book 14)

Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance (book 15)

Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon (book 16)

Recent Reads: Tell Me, Pretty Maiden by Rhys Bowen (Molly Murphy book 7)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

Daniel is still suspended, waiting on his trial and so has time to kill.  Daniel and Molly go out to skate in Central Park, and they find a body of a woman in the snow, and then they realise the woman is actually alive.

Molly hires Daniel to work for her, as she has a lot of cases at once, and so whilst Daniel looks into the case of a man who has vanished, accused of robbery, Molly is hired by an actress who claims a theatre is haunted!

It’s great to see so much going on for Molly, but also highlights some issues between her and Daniel.  I’m looking forward to the next book, and hope that Daniel’s case is over soon!

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden was published on 4th March 2008 and is available from Amazon and Waterstones.

You can follow Rhys Bowen on Twitter, Facebook and her website.

You can read my review of books in this series: 

Murphy’s Choice (book 1)

Death of Riley (book 2)

For The Love Of Mike (book 3)

In Like Flynn (book 4)

Oh Danny Boy (book 5)

In Dublin’s Fair City (book 6)

Recent Reads: And the Rest Is History by Jodi Taylor (The Chronicles of St Mary’s book 8)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

And the Rest Is History by Jodi Taylor (The Chronicles of St Mary’s book 8) has Max, Leon and baby Matthew working out life together!

Max gave birth to Matthew at the end of the last book.  Ronan kidnapped her, the Time Police rescued her, but Matthew was born in the flux of time travel.  Captain Matthew of the Time Police promises to keep quiet about that.

I’ve enjoyed the addition of the Time Police to the series, and have found them to be interesting in term of plot device, but also they have added new characters, like Captain Matthew.  The idea of the time stream being policed isn’t a new one, but they come with some fancy upgrades that are useful, or annoying, at certain points!  I’m planning to read the Time Police books when I finish this series!

This book was a page turner, and I was on the edge of my seat about how it was all going to turn out.  

And the Rest Is History was published on 13th April 2017, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can read my reviews of the other books in the series below:

Just One Damned Thing After Another – book 1

A Symphony of Echoes – book 2

A Second Chance – book 3

A Trail Through Time – book 4

No Time Like the Past – book 5

What Could Possibly Go Wrong – book 6

Lies, Damned Lies and History – book 7

You can follow Jodi Taylor on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and her website.

Recent Reads: The Long and Short Of It by Jodi Taylor (The Chronicles of St Mary’s short stories for books 1-8)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Long and Short Of It by Jodi Taylor (The Chronicles of St Mary’s) is a collection of short stories from between the main books.

These stories add to the overall story of St Mary’s.  The stories cover things like how Dr Bairstow gets the funding for St Mary’s, and Jodi Taylor writes a Christmas short story every year, when the crew goes on some kind of crazy trip!  

I’ve read some short stories by authors, to go between books that I have found haven’t added anything at all, but I feel like each of these does, and there are references to them, in passing, in the main books.

The Long and Short Of It was published on 11th July 2019, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can read my reviews of the other books in the series below:

Just One Damned Thing After Another – book 1

A Symphony of Echoes – book 2

A Second Chance – book 3

A Trail Through Time – book 4

No Time Like the Past – book 5

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? – book 6

Lies, Damned Lies and History – book 7

And The Rest Is History – book 8

You can follow Jodi Taylor on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and her website.

Recent Reads: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Book Lovers by Emily Henry is a fun romance, set in New York and Sunshine Falls, North Carolina.

Nora, a book agent, who gets the best for her clients, is off on holiday with her younger sister, for the first time in a long time.  They go to Sunshine Falls, the setting of one of Nora’s clients books, and a favourite of her sister’s.

Charlie is a book editor, who clashed with Nora about this book as he said he found the setting false, but he has the reputation for making best sellers.

I really enjoyed the summer setting, the reality of a place that you build up in your mind, and seeing it, and the differences between big city and small town life in America!

Book Lovers was published on 12th May 2022, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Emily Henry on Instagram and on her website.

I have also read Beach Read  and You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry, and loved it!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin.

I have found a company that makes sweatshirts with settings from a range of books, including two of Emily Henry’s, so I’m just going to leave the link here for you (and possibly me) for when they are back in stock! It’s a company called BiblioStyles, based in Canada.

Recent Reads: Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon by M.C Beaton (Agatha Raisin book 16)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon by M.C Beaton has Agatha being hired by a man who thinks his wife is having an affaire.  His wife is very respected in the community, and everyone loves her, but Agatha’s agency takes the job anyway!

As always, with an Agatha Raisin book, there is death, and Agatha investigates! 

This series has been pretty consistent, and has been updating as time passed, so that mobile phones start appearing.

Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon was published in 2005, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

My review of the previous book in the Agatha Raisin series are below:

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (book 1)

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (book 2)

Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (book 3)

Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (book 4)

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (book 5)

Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (book 6)

Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (book 7)

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (book 8)

Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (book 9)

Agatha Raisin and the fairies of Fryfam (book 10)

Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (book 11)

Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (book 12)

Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate (book 13)

Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (book 14)

Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance (book 15)

Recent Reads: The Lost Sisters by Holly Black (The Folk of the Air book 1.5)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Lost Sisters by Holly Black (The Folk of the Air book 1.5) is a short story set in the series, showing us more about Taryn, and so goes over events from the first book, but tells us more about what happened such as how Taryn and Locke happen.

I found this helped to make Taryn a more understandable character and about why she acts the way she does.

The Lost Sisters was published on 2nd October 2018 and is available from Amazon.

You can read my review of the first book in this series, The Cruel Prince.

You can follow Holly Black on Twitter, Instagram and her website.