The Stories You Tell

The Stories You Tell by Kristen Lepionka

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Roxane Weary seems to getting her life in some order when her brother Andrew ends up in jail. Suddenly she’s thrust into a search for a missing woman while her sometimes-lover Catherine takes off for a conference in Rhode Island and the second anniversary of her father’s death approaches. The first book in this series moved at a breakneck pace and reflected Roxane’s inner turmoil. In the next two books, the pace has slowed down as Roxane changes her outlook and becomes more settled. The Stories You Tell provides an unexpected twist as Roxane manages to figure out things at the end. Looking forward to more in this series.

I received a digital ARC via NetGalley.



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Dark Tide Rising

Dark Tide Rising is really Monk’s book, with Hester making only a cameo appearance. Monk is pulled into the search for a wealthy man’s kidnapped wife by Oliver Rathbone. The mission takes Monk and his team deep into one of the most dangerous places on the Thames, and chaos ensues. Monk, always a little wary of everyone because of his memory loss, must wonder how much a person really knows his fellows.

The story was full of the usual twists that I’ve come to expect from Anne Perry and is a worthy addition to the Inspector Monk series.

I received a review copy from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers.

Fatal Cajun Festival

Ellen Byron captures the Cajun cadences so smoothly that I felt the steamy summer on the bayou. Fatal Cajun Festival is part of a series, but can be read without knowledge of the preceding books. Maggie is on the case to clear her friend, a talented young musician, from a murder accusation, in between making batches of pralines, helping her parents run their B and B, and watching her grandmother’s döstädning (Swedish for “death cleaning”). The book is humorous without devolving into farce, and the Louisiana atmosphere is evoked so well that I could hear the zydeco as I read. A must read for all lovers of cozy mysteries.

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital ARC.

Breaking the Dance

Hollis and Finn are typical college professors at a small, but prestigious, Midwestern university, except for their relationship with a Irish art forger and a multi-national secret law enforcement organization. I haven’t read the first book in this series in which everyone is introduced, but didn’t have any trouble picking up the story. This is a light-hearted romp and easy read. While this isn’t a serious spy novel in the mode of John Le Carre or Len Deighton, it was an enjoyable read.

A digital review copy was provided by NetGalley.

The Stone Circle

It always takes a chapter or two to adjust to the present tense of the Ruth Galloway novels, but once I’m hooked I can’t put them down. The Stone Circle is another great addition to the series. Griffiths sets the atmosphere perfectly, and the mystery is engaging. The characters, while sometimes quirky, are all-too-human and realistic. I strongly recommend The Stone Circle.

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley.

The Last Place You Look

This title had been on my to-be-read (TBR) list ever since I heard about it on Jungle Red Writers (a blog that contributes greatly to my TBR list!). When I saw this on Amazon for $2.99, I couldn’t resist, and I was not disappointed.

In a nutshell, Roxane Weary is slowly falling apart when she gets a new client who asks the seemingly impossible–find the evidence to exonerate her brother who’s on death row. It takes some time for Roxane to careen from false lead to false lead, but once she gets a hold of the right string, it’s a sprint to the end.

I enjoyed this book so much, I immediately bought the next book (What You Want To See)…and paid full price!

The Sentence is Death

Fun, fun, fun! I loved this book. I enjoy Anthony Horowitz’s Holmesian novels (House of Silk and Moriarity), and his Daniel Hawthorne series is essentially a Sherlock Holmes story, with Horowitz as Watson. The Sentence of Death is an artful blending of reality (Anthony Horowitz really does write the Alex Rider series as well as for Foyle’s War) with what may (or may not be) fiction. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good mystery, and it’s a must read for any Holmes aficionados.

A digital review copy was provided by NetGalley (and many thanks to
the publisher for granting my wish).

The Dagger Before Me

I had expressed my disappointment with the previous entry in this series here, and am happy to report that the newest entry in Dorothy Martin’s adventures seems to return to form, though I would recommend that you take the author’s suggestion and skip to chapter 9.

The first 8 chapters are about Dorothy being bored and Alan taking her to experience some quintessential British ceremonies; they don’t contribute the mystery at all.

Like Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher, Alan and Dorothy seem to have friends and relatives everywhere who get into scrapes.  Here, Alan runs into the nephew of an old friend, and is asked to stand as godfather to the nephew’s infant son (I did wonder that the nephew didn’t have any one else to ask other than a man he hadn’t seen in decades).

Upon arriving for the christening, the ceremonial dagger that must be present at all baptisms in the family is missing.  Throw in a suspicious death, a snowstorm, and two inquisitive little girls, and you have Dorothy Martin mystery.

The story dragged in a few places, and the set-up seemed overly contrived, but not a bad read if you’re willing to suspend disbelief at times.

A digital review copy was provided by NetGalley.

The Lost Girls of Paris

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The book begins in New York City in 1946 as Grace is forced to enter Grand Central Station and literally stumbles over a suitcase marked “Trigg”. We soon discover Trigg is the woman in England who is responsible for recruiting women for the SOE to send to France during WWII.

The book moves quickly, the pace first evoking the feeling of panic that Grace feels trying to get to work on time and having to confront Grand Central, then capturing the desperation of England in 1943 and the rapid recruitment of spies.

I was hooked after the three chapter excerpt that I accessed on BookishFirst. Why is Eleanor Trigg’s suitcase in New York? Why does she have photographs of so many women–presumably women that she sent to France as saboteurs? I’m eager to learn what happens to Grace, Eleanor, and Marie, and worried that it won’t be all good news!






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The Wounded Snake

This was my first introduction to Fay Sampson (who apparently has a list of titles to her name), and I think I’ve found a new series to add to my reading list.  The Wounded Snake appears to be book 2 in the West Country Mystery series), but it could easily be a stand-alone.  Some long-running series are difficult to pick up in the middle, but I didn’t feel that I was missing vital information about the characters in this book.

Hilary and her friend Veronica head to Morland Abbey for a course on writing mysteries.  As a retired teacher, Hilary has plans for a historical setting whilst Veronica is leaning towards a romance.  Unfortunately, their weekend is disrupted when first the guest of honor is poisoned and then one of the course leaders ends up dead.

Hilary and Veronica–while older ladies with adult children–do not fall into the Miss Marple mold, and are soon on the case.  Interesting story and plot twists, and the setting was well-used.  Highly recommended for those looking for their next read.

A digital review copy was provided by NetGalley.