I love the title of this latest by Ellie Alexander. I assume that the similarity to Roberta Flack’s song is intentional and it clearly is clever.

Wow! This is number 21 in the long running bake shop mysteries. It still feels like a fresh and enjoyable read which is an accomplishment.

This is a book in which, despite murder, a reader can be forgiven for being hungry and wishing that the restaurant that is featured was real. That said, in addition to the food, I enjoyed the setting and the characters. The mystery itself is involving as well.

Recommended to those who enjoy traditional mysteries. Note that it is not necessary to have read the earlier books to enjoy this one. However, readers who enjoy this one can look forward to many good books in the backlist.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 25 February 2025

A Murder Unmentioned is the newest novel in the Rowland Sinclair series that is published by the Poisoned Pen Press, a great source for mystery novels.

The cover reflects the period of the novel. It shows some characters in the book including Rowly’s dog, Lenin and his aircraft Rule Britannia. Rowly and one of his friends are inside. As you read the book, this beautiful illustration, is worth going back to for references from the story.

For those who don’t know, this series takes place prior to WWII when Hitler is in the ascendant and Rowly would like to do all he can to show the world the disaster that is coming. This is always a part of the novels. As has been true in other books in the series, some real life characters make an appearance; in this one thet include politician Bob Menzies and garden designer Edna Walling.

The delight of these novels lies in spending time with Rowly and his friends. There is the unconventional artist Edna, the poet Milton and another artist friend. They have communist leanings and are definitely anti-Fascist.

Other prominent characters are Rowly’s conservative brother, Wil, his wife Kate and their two young sons. Master Ernest is featured in this one as a pivotal character. At only age six, he seems destined to follow in his uncle’s footsteps.

In this novel, the reader learns a lot about Rowly’s early life and his relationship with his sadistic father. You will feel for the young Rowly. This part of the book was not easy reading.

When the novel opens, Rowly’s father has been dead for thirteen years. The murderer was not found and the central mystery of this one is finding who killed him.

This is a good entry in a good series. Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this chance to read the e-galley. The opinions are my own.

This is the first, but will not be the last, book that I read by this author. Her novels are now being published by the wonderful Poisoned Pen Press, a great place to find new authors and series.

#AmurderUnmentioned #NetGalley

My review of an earlier entry in the series:

The Rowland Sinclair mysteries take place in the 30s and Rowly reminds me of that great thirties sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. He is an artist who is surrounded by his communist leading friends including the lovely Edna, a sculptress. This novel picks up where the prior one ended with the group escaping from Germany at a time when the Nazis were rising and brutal. They come to England where they try to alert the government to upcoming perils and to solve the mystery of an upper class man who is found dead. Subsidiary figures abound including H.G. Wells and Evelyn Waugh.
I truly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to fans of historical mysteries. I look forward to reading more. Thanks for this one, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley.

by Sulari Gentill is an e book bargain

Here is the very first title in the wonderful Rowley Sinclair mystery series. It is sure to be enjoyed by historical mystery fans who will want to go on to read all of the others. Luckily, there will be at least nine more for readers to devour.

Rowly doesn’t quite fit in with the expectations of his aristocratic family in 1930s Australia. His mother confuses him with a son who died. He has friends who are communists, poets and artists, clearly not like his brother Wilf’s friends.

When Rowly’s uncle, also named Rowly, is killed it is up to our Rowly to figure out what happened and why. Readers will enjoy following the clues with him.

If readers don’t already know this series, they are lucky as they have some good stories ahead.

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

Pub date: 01 September 2017

Note: In the U.S. this series is published by Poison Pen Press.

A Mystery

by Rosanne Limoncelli

#TheFourQueensofCrime #NetGalley

If the names Agatha, Ngaio, Dorothy and Josephine are instantly known to you, then this is a book to add to your reading list. To anyone who doesn’t know, these women with last names Christie, Marsh, Sayers and Tey are among the most beloved writers of crime fiction ever. They are indeed the Four Queens of Crime of this book’s title.

One of the very fun things about this book is having the sense of eavesdropping on these four and learning more about each of them. For example, Agatha Christie notes that Max Mallowan was the better husband for her as compared to her first spouse. Readers learn that Dorothy Sayers’s husband was an invalid and so on.

At the same time, readers are treated to a classic country house mystery. The four writers are there for a fundraiser and thus are present when a murder occurs. There is a full range of suspects including the victim’s children and their significant others or friends, political figures, servants and more in this historical mystery set in the late 1930s.

An extra bonus is that a woman DCI, Lilian Wyles, based on the first woman to fill that role is also on the scene. She questions suspects and is a full participant in the investigation.

Lovers of traditional mysteries will, I think, very much enjoy this title. It is fun to observe the interviews and see who the murderer is.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 11 March 2025

Four stars

#ScotandBothered #NetGalley

Romance-Women’s Fiction-Travel: 332 pages

For many, times feel rather troubled. Sometimes, in that situation, a bit of escapist fun is called for. That is what this title offers.

The glue in the story is a woman named Mhairi. She brings together the book’s protagonists. They are Brooke and Mhairi’s nephew Jack. Both have had some bumps along the road. Brooke was expelled from university while Jack, who was also forced to leave university, has turned his back on a family business. The two are brought together when they hike the Skye Trail at Mhairi’s request for her memoir.

These two have some past history. The question now is what will their future hold?

I loved visiting Skye with this couple. Readers will want things to work out for them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 04 March 2025

From the Publisher

When was the last time that you read a book and found that tears were rolling down your cheeks? For me, it has been quite a while but I cried over this one.

When I told my husband about this novel, he said that it must have been depressing. I replied that it was not depressing but that it was sad. Sadness is an essential piece of this book and yet to me it was a wonderful read and one that I recommend highly, if it is your kind of book or if you are willing to see if it is.

Henri, a French man with a history, is a journalist who covered wars. His thirteen year old son, Sam, did not know him. Just when they are about to meet, Henri saves a young girl but himself is injured and thereafter is in a coma. This means that Sam and Henri’s reunion takes place in the hospital where Sam, who has synesthesia, senses deeply and feels Henri’s presence. Sam spends every day at the hospital sharing himself with Henri and the novel’s other protagonists.

This book is the story of several characters: Sam, Madelyn who is a young girl in a coma and Eddie, the woman that Henri let get away. Their relationships are explored and intersect with one another over the course of the novel which is told in alternating voices.

There is a philosophical underpinning to this book. The characters both live their lives and imagine the ways in which their lives might have played out differently with the same people. The author also explores what she imagines that characters think and feel when they are in a non-awake state and what happens when someone is about to die.

Nina George comments that she wrote three of her novels, of which this is the third, to better understand death. She was writing in the aftermath of her father’s death. The book is beautifully written.

I very much enjoyed this author’s novel, The Little Paris Bookshop and feel that The Book of Dreams is also a keeper. For me, it is a five star novel.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a moving and wonderful read. The opinions are my own.

A Year in an Irish Garden

by Niall Williams; Christine Breen

In Kiltumper

A Year in an Irish Garden

by Niall Williams; Christine Breen

#InKiltumper #NetGalley Pub Date 31 Aug 2021

When I read this couple’s first book, O Come Ye Back to Ireland, I fell in love. With the couple, with their story and the way in which their story was told. I went on to read the other memoirs about their life in Ireland. These included The Pipes Are Calling and Summer’s in the Meadow. Every one of these was beautifully written and I felt that I knew Christine and Niall.

I was beyond excited to see that this couple had written another book together. (They have each written other titles separately.) It felt like I was being given a wonderful opportunity to connect with old friends after many years.

I adored this book. Its structure allows each author to have a voice. The hardest thing was to realize that, just like all of us, Niall, Christine and their children have gotten older with the passing years. They are no longer the young Irish-American and Irish duo who decided to leave the bustle of the city for their family’s homeland. I was eager to learn how the years have passed for both them, those around them, their farm, their garden and their world.

I highly recommend this title. For the full joyful experience, consider going back to the beginning with them.

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

A Novel

by Sarah Jio

This is the first book that I have completed in 2022. I hope that I will enjoy many others as much as I enjoyed this one.

To begin, I did not (at first) love the cover. However, by the time a reader finishes the novel, it is clear that everything there has meaning. This is true for the title of the book as well.

This is a dual timeline story. One focus is on Eloise. She is a British woman who makes relationship choices that reverberate across both time and the plot. Readers watch as she chooses between Edward, a wealthy Brit, and Frank, an American. What will happen to her and how will she cope?

Eloise’s daughter is Valentina. She lost her mother’s presence in her life when she was twelve. This has left her wounded. What happened? Why?

Plot lines cross when Val travels to London to take over a bookshop. What will she learn about herself over the course of this endeavor? One spoiler…she will find love.

I don’t want to give anything away so no more on plot. I will just say that this is a novel with heart.

The bookshop is really a character in the book. I would want to spend so much time there were it a real place. Because of this, the novel is an anthem to books and their role in reader’s lives.

I very much enjoyed this novel. It is a lovely read.

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

A Novel

by Annie Hartnett

#UnlikelyAnimals #NetGalley

This unique and quirky novel was a book club pick for Good Housekeeping. It tells the story of Emma. She is a young woman who has had her struggles. She has left medical school and seemingly has lost her way.

Emma returns to the place where she grew up. Things are no easier there. Emma’s father is dying. Emma’s mother judges her. Emma’s brother has issues. Emma’s good friend is missing. There is much to cause despair.

This is a novel that invites readers into a world and asks them to consider some big issues. This is all done in a work that is both funny and heartbreaking at times as readers spend time with both human and animal characters.

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

Pub date: 12 April 2022. 345 pages

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A quirky, poignant novel about family, community and love for our animal friends.”—The Washington Post

Twenty-one Days is an offshoot of Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I read the first book, The Cater Street Hangman, in 1979. I can still remember not wanting to arrive at my destination on the subway because I wanted to keep reading.
So, it was with much anticipation that I began this novel in which Charlotte and Thomas’s son, Daniel, is the protagonist. He is all grown up, has attended Cambridge and is a newly qualified lawyer. Daniel is assigned several cases in this story, the 21 days has to do with the number of days it will be until a man convicted of murder will be hanged…or will he? Is he guilty? Read the story for a somewhat complex and engrossing solution.
It was lovely to see Thomas and Charlotte as peripheral characters and to read about Jemima, Thomas’s sister, who is now in New York. Victor Narraway and Aunt Vespasia also are mentioned. There are also new and very likeable characters as well.
If you like Anne Perry, read this! If you don’t know Anne Perry, read this and then work your way through the series starting with the book mentioned above. Highly recommended by me.