Miraz Jordan

Reading this was like a cat soaking in warmth in a puddle of sunlight. As in Volume 1 folks arrive at the cafe and transformation happens — The Magical Cat Café and Teashop Volume 2 by Kris Bock. 📚

This quiet, small-town café is a place for sweet treats and cozy moments with rescued cats—and it’s a sanctuary for people seeking transformation. Join them for new friendships and healing connections.

Another in a series I enjoy. And with Lexy's parents visiting there are plenty more linguistic hijinks too. Scotzilla (Last Ditch Mysteries Book 7) by Catriona McPherson. 📚

Lexy's wedding becomes a crime scene when a murderer dares to strike on her big day

As someone with a terrible sense of direction, I enjoyed this moment too (my emphasis):

in completely the opposite direction from where my sense of direction, the skill Taylor calls my ‘nonsense of direction’, would have led me.

I like this series in general, but not so much this specific book — Murder on Lovatt Island (Detective Marjory Fleming Mysteries Book 7) by Aline Templeton. 📚

Two boys dare each other into a hidden cave on the island. Inside they find a human skeleton, still shackled to the rock where it was left to die.

This book had a load of characters to follow, the murder and other events were grisly and Detective Fleming was facing extreme difficulties in her personal life.

Finished reading The Cotswold Manor Mystery (Dreaming Spires Romantic Mysteries Book 1) by Maxine Barry (Faith Martin). 📚

Welcome to Nether Dene — the cosy English village where a crumbling manor, a long-buried secret and a second chance at first love are about to collide . . .

I'm that person who doesn't much care for romance but sometimes reads one thinking it'll be different. I like this author's mystery series, but nope, not keen on romance (still).

Another good read in the series. Far from a smooth and easy case for Fleming and her team. There was a lot of tragedy here. Murder in Rosscarron (Detective Marjory Fleming Mysteries Book 6) by Aline Templeton. 📚

After weeks of relentless rain, a landslide crashes down the hillside, burying the Rosscarron Cottages under tons of earth and rock.

A young woman stumbles out of the darkness to raise the alarm. When rescuers dig through the rubble, they uncover the body of a man she insists she’s never seen before.

I enjoyed the read — Fear in the New Forest (New Forest Murder Mysteries Book 2) by Linda Mather. 📚

On a lonely stretch of shingle, where the Solent laps the forest’s edge, something terrible is about to wash ashore.

The bloated body of a young man. Several days dead.

Finished reading Home Town Crime and Superhero Suspect by Anne Shillolo. 📚

Both are fairly frothy and feature a poodle in a cozy mystery.

I was happy to read these on my Xteink X3.

I highlighted so many passages that delighted me in these books — The Scot Free Cozy Mysteries: a six book mystery box set by Catriona McPherson. 📚

Here's one brief passage:

We’d met just after Valentine’s Day, and we’d been taking it so cautiously it was more like bomb disposal than dating.

I really enjoyed these and am off to buy more in the series.

My new Xteink X3 finally arrived yesterday.

It's a sweet little thing and I spent a while playing with it, getting some books on there, trying and failing to install a couple of fonts, and actually reading a very short book.

So far I'm loving it. 📚

I've been feeling uncomfortable with this book, basically the author's sex fantasy, but part 3 has done me in. Officially abandoning it. It's not for me — Bodhi and Gwen : A Trilogy by Del Robertson. 📚

When a hapless fair maiden and a battle-scarred swordswoman cross paths, survival should be simple. Instead, Gwen and Bodhi find themselves stumbling from one disaster to the next—ogres, murder accusations, dangerous killers, suspicious villagers, and enough near-death experiences to test even the strongest bond.

I'm relieved to know there should be 2 more books in this series to come, as I really enjoyed this (and the previous). A bit of a cliffhanger ending makes me keen to read the next when it turns up. Trapped on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 7) by Heather Peck. 📚

Someone is torching farms across Norfolk. And as the attacks grow bolder, one of them claims a life.

Even worse, two children are still missing, and Geldard's superiors are pushing him to drop the case.

Another good read. Also a rarity in that it's set during Covid, with overburdened hospitals, distancing precautions, staff away sick and all the rest. It's surprisingly rare to come across a book that acknowledges Covid, let alone weaves it into the story. Lost on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 6) by Heather Peck. 📚

A traitor on his team. Two frightened children still in danger. Geldard must race against the clock to stop a killer who’s close than he thinks.

This book picks up where the previous one ended, with an informant murdered and a detective abducted. Another good read in the series. — Revenge on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 5) by Heather Peck. 📚

As Geldard races to find [his colleague] Sarah before the killer finishes what he started, he’s forced to confront the unthinkable: someone on his own team knows exactly who’s taken Sarah. And they’re making sure the killer stays one step ahead.

A kiwi detective story I enjoyed. It include very contemporary themes about climate change and flood risk, along with corruption and illegal drugs. Flood Zone by Brett Austin . 📚

Former Detective Sam Cole seeks a quiet life in a pretty seaside town on the Coromandel Peninsula. Instead he finds murder and corruption.

I took a break from this book to read others, then when I came back to it I realised it didn't grip me and I just didn't care what happened or who did it. Abandoned — Framed For Murder (Detective Inspector Amber Kash Mysteries Book 1) by T.L. Haseeb. 📚

Three nights ago, Joanna witnessed a murder. The killer? A beautiful, rich and very dead woman whose own brutal slaying was the subject of the show.

And a couple of hours later, Joanna is dead too.

A good read in the series. Buried on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 4) by Heather Peck. 📚

A chilly October morning. Detective Geldard is woken by a phone call. A woman’s body has been discovered at an archaeological dig near the pretty Norfolk village of Caistor St Edmund.

This was a nicely woven light-hearted story about a cat cafe bringing together an assortment of people and changing all their lives for the better. The Magical Cat Café and Teashop by Kris Bock. 📚

Leslie’s carefully managed life is missing a vital piece
Saul is a solitary senior seeking connection
Miranda, a mother stretched thin, longs for support
June, a newly retired woman, feels invisible
Danny, twelve years old and awkward, just wants to be surrounded by cats.

This cozy refuge soon becomes the stage for transformation and surprising friendships as the ordinary and the magical blend over steaming cups of tea and a parade of friendly felines.

Don't get into the car, Pamela! Pamela Prendergast and the Fatal Accident (Pamela Prendergast Mysteries Book 1) by Cecilia Peartree. 📚

[Pamela's] life becomes more complicated and mysterious – not to mention dangerous - for a while before things start to make sense.

The book didn't entirely grab me, but as the setup for a series, I may read more.

Thanks to Brad Enslen for mentioning the series.

This was all a bit strange and improbable. I'm unlikely to read the next. The Case of the Missing American (The Edie Fox Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by Julie Highmore. 📚

Edie’s biggest mystery is how she’s going to pay the rent. She’s broke, clientless and starting to suspect she’s made a terrible mistake.

Then a smooth-talking American in a fedora walks through the door, calls her the spit of Lauren Bacall and drops a bulging envelope of cash on her desk.

Another good 'un — Murder at Ardhill (Detective Marjory Fleming Mysteries Book 5) by Aline Templeton. 📚

Twenty years ago, the body of a young woman was pulled from the sea below the lighthouse. Pregnant. Cast away on the rocks like driftwood. Her grieving mother always believed Marcus was responsible.

Now Detective Marjory Fleming is ordered to reopen the investigation.

But at the end is a question: what next for Marjory? I hope to find out before too long.

Fellow book readers — I haven't read the study, only the summary — A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity - ScienceDirect 📚:

book readers experienced a 20% reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow up compared to non-book readers. Cognition mediated the book reading-survival advantage (p = 0.04). These findings suggest that the benefits of reading books include a longer life in which to read them.

Linked from Will Harlow's Three-Tip Friday, 17 July 2026.

I got quite hooked on Veronica Heley's Ellie Quicke Mysteries Books 1–15. 📚

Ellie develops enormously over the series (I read books 8 to 15 from this set), and her circumstances keep changing as time goes by.

I enjoyed the gentle humour too:

Ellie told herself that she ought to hurry home and sort out what should be done next, but her legs refused to obey. Her legs told her that she’d had a difficult morning and that what she needed was to sit down and have a good rest. Her stomach told her that what she needed was a large latte and a piece of carrot cake.

See also: I eventually realised that Ellie's infuriating inability to stand up for herself and I finally decided half way through to abandon Murder in Time.

Another great story from Aline Templeton — Murder in Kirkluce (Detective Marjory Fleming Mysteries Book 4). 📚

Colonel Andrew Carmichael. Old soldier. Local benefactor. The man who won't sell.

First, a slaughtered sheep is dumped in his courtyard.

A warning.

Days later, the colonel opens his front door — and is shot dead on his own doorstep.

Nice quote, with a cop looking after a greyhound: 🐶

He’d tried throwing a stick for it, but this was ignored with a pained dignity which made him feel positively embarrassed at being so uncouth.

This freebie rounded out a series I just didn't take to, which I was sad about because the setting and author are pretty local. Angels of Clay : The Matakana Series by Madeleine Eskedahl. 📚

As the investigation begins, Sergeant Bill Granger and Constable Niko Sopoaga find themselves drawn into a case that quickly becomes more complex.

This was more a slice of Matakana life than an investigation and eventually the perpetrator happened along rather than any trail of clues leading to them.

I enjoyed this somewhat but wasn't entirely enthralled with a plot that raced along with almost magical speed. Crime in the Community (Pitkirtly Mysteries Book 1) by Cecilia Peartree. 📚

Christopher thinks he has his life under control until the mysterious Amaryllis arrives in the little town, spreading chaos and confusion in her wake.

There were some turns of phrase I really enjoyed, like:

He brushed aside any attempt to thank him, apparently embarrassed to have caused gratitude to be felt.

Bradenslen mentioned this series so I tried Book One.