by Paula Sutton

#ThePottingShedMurder #NetGalley

I recognized the name of this author from a profile that I had read about her in a magazine. I loved Sutton’s sense of personal style (vintage) and was eager to see what kind of writer she was. Here, she has penned a mystery that readers will enjoy.

Spring time seems like the perfect moment to focus on a title with gardening…and murder. This is what readers find when a school headmaster is found dead on his allotment.

Newcomer to the community (after choosing to leave London), are Daphne and James. They are an interracial couple with three children who at first wonder how they will fit in in a less urban setting. Daphne seems to be accepted and liked for her sense of style. But, what will happen when Daphne gets herself involved in the investigation? What will happen when her friend is accused of the crime? How will sleuthing impact Daphne’s standing in her village? Read this one to find out.

Some reviewers have noted that this title is written a bit muddily. Still, it is worth a look in my opinion. I enjoyed both the characters and the setting. I hope that the author will have a second traditional mystery for us.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

This title was published in the UK in April 2025 and will be out in the U.S. in May 2025.

This book has already been greeted enthusiastically by many. Among these readers is Oprah Winfrey who has made it her book club pick. It has been reviewed widely and anyone who read (or saw the movie) Brooklyn will want to spend time with this novel.

This is a story of Eilis twenty or so years after the events in Brooklyn. She has found herself a housewife (with occasional work), mother of two and is still married to Tony; his boisterous clan makes their presence in her life rather prominent.

The catalyst for what happens is that Tony has impregnated another woman. Needless to say Eilis is not pleased. One way that she copes is by going back to Ireland. Yes, she does again meet up with Jim while there.

What will happen to this family as they face a crisis? Eilis once left but returned to Tony. What will she do this time?

I found the writing in this book to be deceptively simple. There is much behind what each character says and does. It is a paean to well written prose.

Even if a reader has not yet enjoyed Brooklyn, they can still read this one. I recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 07 May 2024

The Queen

Her Life

by Andrew Morton

Royal followers know Andrew Morton. He wrote a book on Princess Diana that rocked the monarchy. He has also written books on Elizabeth and Margaret, as well as one on Wallis Simpson. In addition to writing popular biographies, Morton is an academic historian.

The timing of this book will surely lend it attention as it comes out not long after Elizabeth’s death. It is what I would call a popular biography. It is easy to read and engagingly written. A full biography of the queen is here, from her earliest days on.

It was poignant to read about some well-known aspects of the monarch’s life including her romance with Philip and her happy days as a young bride in Malta with their funerals still in mind. The abdication and her father’s death are also more sad in light of another heir taking to the throne now.

This book covers many years and episodes in Elizabeth’s life and the lives of those around her. While I don’t think that this book breaks new ground, it is a very good biography and one that I think readers will enjoy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing. All opinions are my own.

From the Publisher

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/28/books/book-titles-cities.html

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/books/new-books-may.html

Everything You Need to Know about Health, Property, Investment, Leisure, Work, Pensions and Tax

by Jonquil Lowe

#TheGoodRetirementGuide2025 #NetGalley

This guide has been published yearly for quite a while now. It remains a good and comprehensive resource.

I do want to note about this title is that it is geared toward British readers. For that reason, some of the specifics may not be as useful for those from other countries. However, that said, there are many good things to think about here and with a bit of research, readers can most likely find similar resources in their own countries.

There are a number of chapters that have to do with finances, including budgeting, pensions, tax and more. I like that there other sections that look at options for life as a retiree; for example, there are sections on leisure activities including adult education, the arts, dance, museums and more. There are also chapters on starting a business and even one on looking for paid work or living abroad. In addition, there is a detailed section on health.

This is a book that includes a lot. Readers can tackle it by going straight through or by focusing on areas of interest.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 03 January 2025

Reference

320 pages

2024 AGATHA AWARDS PRESENTED
The Agatha Awards, named in honor of Agatha Christie, are nominated and voted on by Malice Domestic fans. The Agatha Awards honor the traditional mystery — books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The 2024 Awards (given in 2025 for books published in 2024) were presented April 26, 2025, during Malice Domestic 37. Our congratulations to the winners (listed first in each category) and to all of the nominees.

poisonedpen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BN-May-25.pdf

#DaysattheMorisakiBookshop #NetGalley

This book was so easy for me to love. It is short (under 200 pages) and a paean to what books, bookshops and reading can mean to people.

Two of the main characters are a twenty-something young woman who has been hurt in a relationship and has, as a result, left her job. She goes to stay with an uncle who has taken over the family used bookstore.

When Takako first arrives, she has no interest in reading but one night all that changes. Through her, readers discover the excitement and sweetness that happens when the world of books opens to a person.

The neighborhood where the bookshop is located is a real one. I would love to go there.

This book is filled with quotable moments. For example:

It was as if, without realizing it, I had opened a door I had never known existed…It was as if a love of reading had been sleeping somewhere deep inside me all this time, an then it suddenly sprang to life. ..And there was no danger Id run out of books…It made me feel like I had been wasting my life…

Anyone who loves books and/or books about books, read this one. You won’t be sorry.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 04 July 2023

A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal

by Matthew Goodman

#ParisUndercover #NetGalley

I have read a lot of WWII set historical fiction but not so many true stories. For this reason, I was intrigued by Matthew Goodman’s book. It did not disappoint.

According to Kirkus Reviews, there was a movie made that was based upon the two women about whom this book has been written. Of course, movies have the ability to alter things in a way that non-fiction titles do not. The author critiques some earlier accounts of the lives of the women he writes about here. But, he also does much more.

Goodman tells the story or two women, the American was Etta and the British woman was Kate. They helped many Allied servicemen make their way back to Britain from France. Doing this was treacherous and risky.

What happened to Etta and Kate? Find out in this well written, absorbing work of non-fiction that is very readable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 04 February

History

448 pages

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Of the countless books written about the French Resistance, Paris Undercover stands out as a true original: a riveting, masterfully researched exposé of the explosive reality behind the story of two women imprisoned by the Nazis for helping Allied soldiers escape from behind enemy lines. When one of the women is released early and publishes a falsehood-filled memoir, this portrait of courage and friendship morphs into a heart-pounding tale of betrayal that is impossible to put down.”—Lynne Olson, author of Madame Fourcade’s Secret War and Empress of the Nile

“With elegant language and his trademark meticulous research, Matthew Goodman peels back the layers of mythmaking to reveal a riveting true story that reads like a movie script and showcases the power of humans to persist in the face of overwhelming odds.” —Elizabeth Letts, author of The Perfect Horse