Miraz Jordan

The murders continue in Malvern, but Jude Gray notices the things the murderer wants to keep hidden and provides invaluable clues for the detectives. A Very Merry Murder by Kate Wells. 📚

a beloved national TV show is coming to film their Christmas special on [Jude's] land, celebrating the charm of rural living.

At least, that’s the plan… until one of the crew is found dead in suspicious circumstances.

A very satisfying story with pleasing characters and a delightful location. Killer in the New Forest (The DI Callum MacLean mysteries Book 3) by Carol Cole. 📚

Detective Inspector Callum MacLean should be unpacking boxes in his new home. But when a man is run over and killed outside Godshill Village Hall, his week’s leave is cut short. …

The post-mortem reveals Stafford was already dead before the car wheels struck him.

Another good read in this series, though rather gruesome. A Murderous Mind (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 11) by Jane Adams. 📚

When the mutilated body of a student is found in her university room, the scene is horrific.

I’d already read book 1 of The Maybridge Mysteries — three gripping cozy murder mysteries by Liz Fielding and enjoyed the next two as well. 📚

Welcome to Maybridge, a picture-perfect Cotswold town where the roses bloom, gossip runs rife — and murder is never far from the flowerbeds.

Cat's new career as a detective is developing nicely as she solves a decades old murder with almost no clues to work with. Nine Burned Lives (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 9) by D.B. Borton also has a very nice twist or two. 📚

Cat Caliban never expected her golden years to be quite so eventful. She races into a burning house to rescue a litter of kittens, only to stumble across a charred human skull.

The concept of Death Of A Ghostwriter (Wye Valley Widows Book 1) by Gaynor Torrance was interesting: a chap dies and it turns out 3 current wives are notified … 📚

The execution though wasn't satisfying. I think the book needed a really good editor to bring it into line. Some parts were repetitive, some read like a book for kids. There was a strong narrator voice that felt like telling about the story rather than being engaged.

I eventually realised that Ellie's infuriating inability to stand up for herself in Book One was because the author left plenty of scope for character development. Ellie Quicke Mysteries Books 1–7 by Veronica Heley. 📚

Meet Ellie Quicke. Devoted cat lady, tea addict, recent widow — and now amateur sleuth!

Over the course of the 7 books I came to really enjoy the series and have happily discovered there are more to read.

I smiled as I picked up Eight Miles to Death (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 8) by D.B. Borton because I know I can rely on this series to be entertaining and enjoyable. 📚

Meet Cat. Retired housewife. Budding private investigator. Reluctant parachutist.

Cat investigates the present day WASP who flew huge, big and little planes for the US in WWII while suffering sexism, sabotage and lack of recognition.

A good read.

A series I seem to enjoy more with each book. Seven Deadly Sins (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 7) by D.B. Borton. 📚

[Cat's] sleuthing skills are called on when sixteen-year-old Peter Baer washes up on the banks of the Ohio River — a length of rope wound tightly around his neck.

Cat doesn't understand computers, not does she want to, so when her hacker nephew talks to her we get sentences like this, which I find hilarious:

You could tell him you needed me to put in some tube time frobnicating your software and working on your website.

I'm always happy to buy and read books by Cari Hunter, such as The Stolen Girl. 📚

Detective Inspector Jo Shaw is bored, desk-bound, and absolutely not supposed to answer the phone call that sends her to a body in an empty house.

Quality writing, set in the UK, lesbian protagonist.

I jumped into this series with the last available book Body at the Doctor's (DI Jordan Carr Book 9) by Diane M. Dickson.

The book's set in Liverpool and I really enjoyed the 'local' language. I may read others in the series. 📚

"I wouldn't fit in here. Not me, I'm chavvy deep down," Stella said.

As a romance this was an OK book, but it could have done with a good editor to tighten up a few awkward spots. The Love Plot (The McCarthy Sisters Book 3) by Elle Douglas. 📚

Best-selling first time author Kendra Green fears a sophomore slump. She retreats to the gorgeous Canadian Rockies in the guise of research and meets the enigmatic professor, whose sharp intellect and magnetic presence make concentrating on her manuscript nearly impossible.

I enjoyed this, though I wasn't so keen on the spy / intrigue element. Dead Silence (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 7) by Jane Adams. 📚

Journalist Jamie Dale is investigating an explosive story involving the military when someone silences her for good. Her car is set ablaze . . . with her inside it.

I'm enjoying this series more and more. Six Feet Under (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 6) by D.B. Borton. 📚

Rocky Zacharias is a troubled soul with an equally troubled past. She’s finally out of jail, but not out of danger.

There are snippets I highlight in each book because they tickle me, like this:

But Moses’s son Paul is a systems analyst who believes in better living through electronics

There was a degree of friction for me while reading this book. It was partly slightly awkward language, partly somewhat off-putting characters. It was OK, but I may not read more by this author. Bitter Roots: Police Procedural Mysteries by C. J. Carmichael. 📚

Dispatcher Zak Waller prefers working behind the scenes in the Sheriff’s Office , but when the Sheriff is quick to pin the death on an unknown outsider, Zak starts his own sleuthing.

I've enjoyed others in this series but this one just didn't gel for me. Shee McQueen: Bloodlines (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 9) by Amy Vansant. 📚

An invitation to an elite tactical training retreat unleashes a torrent of family secrets for Shee McQueen and her band of Loggerhead mercenaries.

It may be my current unsettled mood, but this fits into a genre of books, shows, movies I call "Running Around" — probably technically known as adventure or something. Good and bad guys meet somehow, end up chasing / avoiding one another in various locations until someone wins.

I'm enjoying this series and the wit sometimes makes me laugh out loud.

Between my daughter Franny and the Mel and Al duet, I’d been lectured so often on the effects of fat on women my age that I did most of my fat consumption in private these days.

Five Degrees of Murder (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 5) by D.B. Borton. 📚

Nothing but ash remains of the victim. Can Cat Caliban solve the case before more lives go up in smoke?

This was a bit of froth I got for free — Death by the Dunes: A Pelican Shores Cozy Mystery by Bessie Barr. 📚

Nothing ruins a gorgeous coastal sunrise quicker than…a dead body.

Bystander asks a few questions, solves the mystery.

I wasn't entirely gripped by Death at Dark (Martha's Vineyard Murders Book 2) by Raemi A. Ray. 📚

a summer squall reveals the wreckage of a legendary pirate ship … Conservationists, treasure hunters and media descend on the exclusive island to lay claim to the ship.

There were interesting ideas about the conflicting needs and desires of fishers, ecologists, salvagers and the people of the island.

One quirk in this series is the author often mentions the sound of feet or shoes on the floor and the verb is always in italics:

The soles of Kyra’s flip-flops slapped the herringbone floorboards.

I guess the fact that this was book 22 in the series shows that I enjoy this author's work. Murder Under the Sun (DI Hillary Greene Book 22) by Faith Martin was enjoyable as always. 📚

Fifteen years ago, Imelda Phelps was battered to death in the hallway of her home. The brutal crime shocked the residents of the pretty market town of Chipping Norton. The killer was never caught.

I totally expected to toss this bit of fluff aside in disgust within a page or two but actually read the whole thing — Paws, Claws, and Curses (A Purr-fect Relic Cozy Mystery Book 1) by DeAnna Drake. 📚

It was a lightweight read, suitable for a day where I needed simplicity rather than challenge.

What are cursed artifacts, a talking cat, and a dead body doing in the sweet little town of Citrus Grove? That’s what spirited shopkeeper Rebecca Cuthbert wants to find out

I found this way more gripping and enjoyable than I expected — A Chain of Pearls (Martha's Vineyard Murders Book 1) by Raemi A. Ray. 📚

I'll read more in the series too.

When the body of a celebrated journalist is fished from the Edgartown Harbor, the official report rules his death accidental. But why was he alone on a senator’s yacht during a nor’easter?

Abandoned this free book because it was all a bit silly and it annoyed me with its carelessness (eg missing words). A Dashie Discovery (The Pecan, Texas Pet Groomer Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by M. Alfano. 📚

While taking a pair of Pomeranians home, she’s shocked to find their owner, Mr. Williams, in his hot tub wearing nothing but a tiny swimsuit, his Stetson, and a bullet to the head!

So was the dog on its back or chasing around the yard? In the space of one sentence.

Cat Caliban goes further afield in this enjoyable story — Four Fatal Elements (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 4) by D.B. Borton. 📚

Louella’s uncle, Red McIntyre, is dead. A tragic car crash on a rural Tennessee road.

But something doesn’t add up.

Suspicious chemicals, an unlikely death …

This was a good read. I enjoyed and kept reading it while developing a cold, even though I really wanted to fall asleep. Legacy of Lies (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 5) by Jane Adams. 📚

When Naomi Blake and her partner Alec inherit a crumbling house in the Fens, they expect to find some peace and quiet. Instead, they uncover a tangled web of deceit . . . and murder.