We all know that life does not always go to plan. What we choose to do next can make all the difference. This is the situation that Jess is experiencing as this lovely novel opens.
Jess has recently faced some hard times that have made it difficult for her to trust and believe in others. She has been couch surfing at her best friend’s and needs a place to live. This is how she comes to meet Joan who is looking for a lodger.
This device puts one younger and one older person together as Jess rents a room in Joan’s house. Joan is doing this in order to liven up her life. Indeed many things will happen for both of these women over the course of the story. One of the entertaining ones for me was to watch Joan and Jess switch with Jess swearing off her mobile for old fashioned communications just as Joan learns about the internet and more.
Will Jess and her close friends be able to save a vintage theater? What role (for good or bad) will Joan’s son play in this? Will someone from her past get in touch with “Joany?” Will these characters find some happiness? Read this one to find out. It is just delightful.
Many thanks to Headline and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.
Death of an Ex is Delia Pitts’ second mystery, following on Trouble in Queenstown. To fully understand Vandy’s life, readers may want to pickup both novels. She is a character whose life has not been easy. Vandy has experienced loss and pain. Still, she keeps moving forward, working as a private detective in her New Jersey community.
In this book, the case is very personal. Vandy is trying to understand why her (ex) husband was murdered. Who exactly was Phil? Were there aspects of him that Vandy did not know?
Despite this new loss, Vandy focuses on solving this case. Readers will be gripped as they wait to find out who was responsible.
This is a good (slightly dark) mystery. I hope that there will be a third in the series soon.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur Books for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Pub date: 15 July 2025
Post first written: 06 December 2025
Description
Delia Pitts expertly writes about family, race, class, and grief in her mysteries. Vandy Myrick captured readers’ and critics’ hearts in Trouble in Queenstown. She returns in Death of an Ex, where Vandy tries to piece together what brought her ex-husband’s life to an end.
Queenstown, New Jersey, feels big when you need help and tiny when you want privacy. For Vandy Myrick, that’s both a blessing and a curse. Now that Vandy’s back in “Q-Town,” her services as her hometown’s only Black woman private investigator have earned her more celebrity—or notoriety—than she figured.
Keeping busy with work helps Vandy deal with the grief of losing her daughter, stitching the seams, cementing the gaps. The memories will always remain, and they come crashing back to the surface when her ex-husband, Phil Bolden, walks back into her life. Promising everything, returning home, restoring family. Until she answers her door to the news that Phil has been murdered. And Vandy decides Phil is now her client.
It’s hard to separate the Phil that Vandy knew from the one Queenstown did. She sees him—and their daughter—in Phil’s son, who attends a prestigious local high school. She sees the layers of a complicated marriage with his wife. She sees all of Phil’s various roles: parent, husband, businessman, philanthropist. But which role got him killed?
Advance Praise
“A literary, absorbing whodunit encompassing murder, human compassion, and grief.” –Library Journal (starred review)
“Pitts has written a novel rich in the many layers of community while delving deeply into the character of Vandy; the balance between the two is perfect. A great choice for a reading group.” –firstClue
MURDER TAKE TWO, my contemporary noir novel, is available now. This suspenseful private eye thriller was published in February 2022. You can get your ebook or print copy of MURDER TAKE TWO now.
The author speaks:
from Amazon
My new mystery, TROUBLE IN QUEENSTOWN, will be published on July 16, 2024 by Minotaur, the suspense and crime imprint of St. Martin’s Press. This gripping contemporary novel features Vandy Myrick, a Black private investigator who returns to her New Jersey hometown to unravel a twisted family tragedy. Follow me on social media for more on the upcoming publication of TROUBLE IN QUEENSTOWN.
My recent work includes three short stories. You can find “Talladega 1925,” in Chicago Quarterly Review #33, an anthology of Black American Literature. Check out Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021 for my story, “The Killer.” And my newest short work, “Midnight Confidential,” is included in Midnight Hour, a chilling anthology of crime fiction by authors of color.The new audio versions of Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021 and Midnight Hour are exciting ways to dive into my short stories.
I am active in Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Color, and Mystery Writers of America. I enjoy hearing from readers. So drop me a question or comment on my website, “www. deliapitts .com.” Follow me on Instagram and Threads at “deliapitts50” and on Twitter as “blacktop1950”.
Death of an Ex is Delia Pitts’ second mystery, following on Trouble in Queenstown. To fully understand Vandy’s life, readers may want to pickup both novels. She is a character whose life has not been easy. Vandy has experienced loss and pain. Still, she keeps moving forward, working as a private detective in her New Jersey community.
In this book, the case is very personal. Vandy is trying to understand why her (ex) husband was murdered. Who exactly was Phil? Were there aspects of him that Vandy did not know?
Despite this new loss, Vandy focuses on solving this case. Readers will be gripped as they wait to find out who was responsible.
This is a good (slightly dark) mystery. I hope that there will be a third in the series soon.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur Books for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Pub date: 15 July 2025
Post first written: 06 December 2025
Description
Delia Pitts expertly writes about family, race, class, and grief in her mysteries. Vandy Myrick captured readers’ and critics’ hearts in Trouble in Queenstown. She returns in Death of an Ex, where Vandy tries to piece together what brought her ex-husband’s life to an end.
Queenstown, New Jersey, feels big when you need help and tiny when you want privacy. For Vandy Myrick, that’s both a blessing and a curse. Now that Vandy’s back in “Q-Town,” her services as her hometown’s only Black woman private investigator have earned her more celebrity—or notoriety—than she figured.
Keeping busy with work helps Vandy deal with the grief of losing her daughter, stitching the seams, cementing the gaps. The memories will always remain, and they come crashing back to the surface when her ex-husband, Phil Bolden, walks back into her life. Promising everything, returning home, restoring family. Until she answers her door to the news that Phil has been murdered. And Vandy decides Phil is now her client.
It’s hard to separate the Phil that Vandy knew from the one Queenstown did. She sees him—and their daughter—in Phil’s son, who attends a prestigious local high school. She sees the layers of a complicated marriage with his wife. She sees all of Phil’s various roles: parent, husband, businessman, philanthropist. But which role got him killed?
Advance Praise
“A literary, absorbing whodunit encompassing murder, human compassion, and grief.” –Library Journal (starred review)
“Pitts has written a novel rich in the many layers of community while delving deeply into the character of Vandy; the balance between the two is perfect. A great choice for a reading group.” –firstClue
MURDER TAKE TWO, my contemporary noir novel, is available now. This suspenseful private eye thriller was published in February 2022. You can get your ebook or print copy of MURDER TAKE TWO now.
The author speaks:
from Amazon
My new mystery, TROUBLE IN QUEENSTOWN, will be published on July 16, 2024 by Minotaur, the suspense and crime imprint of St. Martin’s Press. This gripping contemporary novel features Vandy Myrick, a Black private investigator who returns to her New Jersey hometown to unravel a twisted family tragedy. Follow me on social media for more on the upcoming publication of TROUBLE IN QUEENSTOWN.
My recent work includes three short stories. You can find “Talladega 1925,” in Chicago Quarterly Review #33, an anthology of Black American Literature. Check out Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021 for my story, “The Killer.” And my newest short work, “Midnight Confidential,” is included in Midnight Hour, a chilling anthology of crime fiction by authors of color.The new audio versions of Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021 and Midnight Hour are exciting ways to dive into my short stories.
I am active in Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Color, and Mystery Writers of America. I enjoy hearing from readers. So drop me a question or comment on my website, “www. deliapitts .com.” Follow me on Instagram and Threads at “deliapitts50” and on Twitter as “blacktop1950”.
Supporting Healthy Sleep Practices for Wellbeing and Performance
by Dr Sarah Gilchrist
#TheEssentialGuidetoWomensSleep #NetGalley
Getting a good night’s sleep is so important and yet, there are times when this feels quite elusive. Many professionals have responded with guidance. What makes this book a bit different from some is that it is geared specifically toward women. It offers guidance over many stages of life from early on through menopause.
Readers may especially want to look at the sections on “Strategies for Good Sleep Health.” Chapter 10 also covers some interesting topics, as for example, one on different generations and screen time. The sections on one’s stage of life are also worth dipping into.
While this book seems to have been written for professionals, I think that the lay reader could also find it to be quite helpful.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 21 October 2025
Post published on 06 December 2025
Description:
from the publisher
Maintaining good sleep is a crucial yet often underrated pillar of a person’s wellbeing and general health. Despite this, there is limited guidance on how and why the various phases women experience in their lifetime may impact their quality of sleep, and what can be done to improve it.
This practical and accessible guide for health professionals introduces the concept of female sleep health across the lifetime, including key stages such as menstruation, fertility, working life, birth, perimenopause, and menopause. It also addresses sleep disorders, pain, and the impact poor sleep may have on mental health.
Readers will benefit from practical and detailed strategies on improving sleep, guidance on sleep aides and technology, and signposts to when clinical intervention is needed.
About the Author:
from Amazon
Sarah Gilchrist (BSc. MSc. DProf. FBASES) spent over 20 years working in the high-performance sport industry, latterly as a Technical Lead for the UK Sports Institute and Senior Physiologist with British Rowing. Her doctorate specialised in sleep and athletic performance, and she now provides consultancy on a range of performance areas, particularly relating to sleep. She is on the advisory committee of The Sleep Charity, a member of The British Sleep Society, previous Chair of the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (CASES) Accreditation committee and is a High Performance Sport Accredited practitioner.
In The Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave offers a perfect and immersive novel. Readers, put this one on your list of summer musts!
When Hannah falls in love with Owen, she marries him and moves to California to live with him and his teen daughter, Bailey. Owen has deep computer knowledge and is involved in the launch of a software program that is primed to make investors lots of money. The program that Owen works on will help users to erase items from their public histories. Is there an irony in this being Owen’s work?
One day, Owen disappears. He leaves a note for Hannah asking her to protect daughter, Bailey. From what? Who? From here a brilliant story filled with slow burning suspense engrosses readers. No spoilers so no more here.
The characters in this book and their relationships are so very well portrayed. I felt as if I knew Hannah and Bailey and found myself rooting for their developing connection with one another. Will Hannah, Owen and Bailey be reunited?
What led Owen to run? Is Hannah correct to believe in him? Find out. I highly (!) recommend this one.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I am a great fan of historical fiction. I find it intriguing to look into the lives of people who lived before us.
Ms. Wood previously wrote a novel where she told readers about the woman who was responsible for the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge. Now, she has turned her attention to Edith Bolling Galt Wilson.
The story is a fascinating and involving one that gives readers insight into the United States and President Wilson. Nowadays, Wilson has been called to task for some of his views. Here readers get to meet him, being introduced to him when he was a fifty-something year old widower and the head of the nation. All this, as WWI was looming.
As the novel opens, time has moved forward. Edith is revisiting the hotel where she spent her honeymoon. It is now the 1940s. She wonders if she could have done more, been more influential and altered history in a better way. Readers will watch as she made her decisions.
SPOILER (though many know this): Edith is well known for having been very influential in Wilson’s presidency, especially when he became ill. She took over decision making in many ways at that point.
I became very involved with the time and people in this novel. I started looking up photos, Wilson and Edith’s wedding coverage and more. Clearly, the author was able to intrigue me.
Recommended for fans of historical fiction. Anyone who read The First Ladies will most likely enjoy this one as well.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this title. All opinions are my own.
Many of us feel alone and lonely at some point. It is a difficult emotion and one that is felt in isolation. This title opens the subject up with the goals to inform, encourage and leave us feeling less by ourselves. Note the subtitle, the authors hope that the reader will begin to enjoy solitude. They explore the subject through many touching interviews and photographs.
There are many touching photographs and interviews found in these pages.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the School of Life for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Pub date: 06 November 2025
First posted on my blog on 05 December 2025
Description:
from the publisher
50 heartfelt photographs and interviews, reflecting on the universal experience of loneliness.
It’s easy to feel that we are alone in feeling alone. Not only do we suffer, but we also destroy our self-confidence with repeated convictions that we are the only ones who are so confused and at sea, the only ones without a partner and who will be alone (again) on Saturday night.
Through fifty touching interviews and captivating portraits by the talented photographer Julia Hawkins, this transformative book uncovers the ways that loneliness touches so many of us. We hear from a diverse array of individuals whose lives have been shaped by isolation – those who feel invisible, misunderstood and alienated, as well as those who have found unexpected paths to understanding and connection.
We come to understand that we are not unique in our solitude, and that being alone is a natural part of the human experience – and so we have every reason to hold out a hand to our similarly complicated, kind and lonely neighbours.
About the Author:
from Amazon
The School of Life is here to help you learn, heal and grow. We are devoted to bringing you calm, self-understanding, better relationships, deeper friendships, greater effectiveness at work and more fulfilment in your leisure time. We do this via our books, our app, our films, our therapeutic services and our corporate offering.
The School of Life Press brings together the thinking and ideas of The School of Life creative team under the direction of series editor, Alain de Botton.
Any reader who enjoyed Hallett’s The Appeal will undoubtedly be thrilled by the return of the Fairway Players. This time they are working on a Christmas panto, Jack and the Beanstalk (and oh, that stalk!) Once again, there is trouble ahead in this uniquely told tale.
Two young attorneys, known to readers of the first book, are given a series of documents and asked to figure out what evil deed(s) may have transpired. Readers can try to solve the case as they read the documents along with Femi and Charlotte.
I loved the snarkiness of aspects of this novella. Anyone who has ever gotten an overly braggy Christmas letter from a friend or family member will grimace in recognition at the one that starts the story. The responses to it are pretty funny.
Those who enjoy Christmas mysteries and who are looking for a quick read will, I think, enjoy this book. I did.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria for this title. All opinions are my own.
Read the first paragraph of this title’s introduction and see if it resonates for you. I think that it will for many. While not discounting the importance of appearance entirely, possibly we spend too much time on criticizing ourselves when we could be doing so many other things. That is, in part, the premise of this book that is written by a dietician who is in her sixties.
I very much like that Benfield does not buy into it being possible and desirable to be super thin and look way younger than one’s age. I further like that she believes in CARING for, rather than CONTROLLING one’s body.
This is a book for any woman who is getting older, wants acceptance and could use some wise advice. I definitely support unapologetic aging (both the book and the idea).
Many thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Pub date: 18 December 2025
Post first published on 04 December 2025
Description:
from the publisher
Your body is your life partner, not your life’s project. The anti-aging and diet/wellness industries have scammed us into believing that thinner and younger is always better-that there’s a “right” way to eat and move to age “well”. But that’s a lie-and it’s doing real harm. When Deb Benfield, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, turned 60, she went looking for guidance on how to care for her changing body. What she found was the same tired and disempowering narrative centering on controlling weight-a goal that puts us at war with our bodies right when we most need to feel at home in them. Unapologetic Aging gently unravels the toxic messages of anti-aging and diet culture, helping you let go of rigid rules and tune into what truly nourishes and delights you. When you stop fighting your body, you make room for vitality, self-trust, and joy. Midlife and beyond isn’t a crisis to manage-though it may feel like one sometimes. It’s a powerful unfolding. Not a time to shrink or submit to yet more rules, but a time to rise into your fullest self. You can age with confidence, ease, and deep self-respect. Unapologetically.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 