Miraz Jordan

I feel a little churlish in saying this book from a "prestigious" and "award winning author" was only OK. I was drawn to the book because it was free, and it's set around Matakana, about an hour's drive from where I live. Rings On Water (The Matakana Series Book 2) by Madeleine Eskedahl. 📚

what seems to be a straightforward case of an unfortunate death turns into a complex web of small town secrets and desire for revenge that will soon place Bill's family in danger.

I'm inclined to think a good editor could have removed a good 50% of the word "and" where sentences should have been structured differently (it really bugged me).

The tourist promo stuff about Matakana was also annoying. It made me think of the first two episodes of NCIS Sydney where they basically spent all their time pointing out they were in Australia.

The plot also needed tightening up.

The fact that I hadn't already read Book 1 of the series suggests I'd previously looked at a sample and decided against it.

Obviously, a lot of other people enjoyed this book more than I did.

This is turning out to be a series I really enjoy. While reading, I identified several potential perpetrators, but I was wrong each time. Murder in Knockhaven Harbour (Detective Marjory Fleming Mysteries Book 2) by Aline Templeton. 📚

On a stormy September night, the Knockhaven lifeboat crew are returning from a routine rescue when disaster strikes. The boat inexplicably misses the harbour and crashes into the lethal rocks of nearby Fuill’s Inlat.

The routine inclusion of Scots words and phrases is a delight too.

This was a fun and easy read — Mirabile by Janet Kagan. 📚

On the distant planet of Mirabile, a settlement of human colonists from Earth is jeopardized by the genetic mutants of Earth plants and animals like the Loch Moose Monster, the Frankenswine, and the dreaded carnivorous Kangaroo Rex—and it’s up to ecological troubleshooter Mama Jason to destroy the menacing mutants.

Very much a procedural but enjoyable as always. Some interesting character developments too. Zero Tolerance (The King & Midnight K-9 Mysteries Book 4) by D. L. Keur. 📚

What Mike knows is that he’s got hours only to find and secure the life of a man he not only admires, but respects, because the people who Mike suspects took Powers aren’t playing games.

This is a different "In The New Forest" series from others I've read. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the setting and will read more. The plot developed some interesting complexities and some pleasing surprises. Death in the New Forest (New Forest Murder Mysteries Book 1) by Linda Mather. 📚

Detective Elinor Saxby leaves the city for a crooked little cottage near sleepy Lyndhurst village. It’s not exactly her dream home, cut off from everything and everyone she’s ever known. But Elinor will do anything to leave her troubled past behind.

A light and easy read, though our lead character is distracted by a couple of good looking young men. The Channel Islands Harbour Murder (The Gull Bay Mysteries Book 3) by Ashley Cain. 📚

Dripping diamonds and disdain, ‘Scandalous Sam’ orders vintage champagne, insults her company . . . and rushes out without paying her share of the bill.

By nightfall Samantha has vanished. And just twenty-four hours later her body is hauled from the harbour

I suspected this might be too dark for me, but apart from a couple of paragraphs it wasn't. I enjoyed the read and loved all the Scots dialect. I'll be reading more for sure. Murder in Galloway (Detective Marjory Fleming Mysteries Book 1) by Aline Templeton. 📚

Meet Detective Marjory Fleming, a Galloway lass born and bred. She’s tough, sharp, and not easily intimidated. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly, but underneath the hard exterior, she has a heart of gold.

This is a truly remarkable book — not your average cosy mystery, not your average space scifi — it's a one of a kind and well worth reading. Hellspark by Janet Kagan. 📚

After being attacked, rescuing a young woman, and going before a judge, Tocohl has learned all she ever wanted to know about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now she is seeking answers to mysteries that could save a world.

I learned about this book via Lingthusiasm.

As the book went along I had my doubts about how things were occurring, but Kate Wells wove it all together quite cleverly in the end. A Midsummer Murder (The Malvern Mysteries Book 7). 📚

When a fatal accident shatters the peace, the weekend of relaxation descends into anything but tranquility. And Jude learns that Inigo’s connections to many of those at the retreat go back decades, and their shared secrets have been deeply buried.

After a couple of books that weren't quite what I hoped I turned to a known series; The Mystery of the Seaside Treasure (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 7) by Judith Cutler was as good as I'd hoped. 📚

Lina isn’t thrilled when her beloved mentor Griff suggests a weekend getaway to Torquay. Instead of sun, sand and ice creams, an uninspiring antique fair and a fancy-dress ballroom dance are on the agenda.

The fair is as boring as she expects — until a miniature Japanese sculpture catches her eye.

Lina's life is changing though — I do so hope there are more to come in the series.

An elite investigation team swoops in to a small Australian outback town to solve the case in Lest Angels Weep (Detective Liz Moorland. Major Crimes. Book 5) by Phillipa Nefri Clark. 📚

The discovery of an angel-shaped pendant on a grave leads to a rumoured fourth death - from even longer ago. How the pieces connect is proving to be the most complex puzzle Operation Nobody has encountered.

I can't pin down why this book didn't really suit me, but I should remember not to read more in this series.

D. L. Keur is an author I really enjoy. Come Calling (The Sam & Mr. Nosy K-9 Cozy Mysteries Book 1) is in a new series, with ties in to her other series and was a darned good read. 📚

I love how Sam bonds with horse and dog — they are just as much lead characters.

Keen to read the next one now.

With a new horse, a found dog, lost people push Sam Cassidy back out on the high trails in North Idaho .

Samantha “Sam” Cassidy, a widow and sixty-eight years feisty, is a member of the local mounted search and rescue (SAR).

It was bugging me why I didn't quite engage with the book I just read.

As I wrote my usual two sentence review though I realised that as a reader I didn't get to feel how high the stakes were. The book should have talked much more about the lead character's memories of and history with the place. 📚

While the plot had a couple of dicey moments, the characters in Dropped Like a Bad Habit (Nun the Wiser Mysteries Book 2) by Melissa Westemeier were interesting. 📚

I just didn't entirely engage with the book — it was a little formulaic. Also, we needed to learn much more about the main character's deep connection to the place so we could really get to feel the threat.

When Sister Bernadette hears from the local pharmacist about plans to redevelop and gentrify their small community on Chestnut Street, she rallies her neighbors at The Abbey: Senior Living to help stop it.

An enjoyable read in a series I like — Murder At Ragged Falls: An Inspector Hilary Casgrain Murder Mystery (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 7) by Anne Shillolo. 📚

Inspector Hilary Casgrain takes on her first undercover assignment in years. … But early on the second morning, a man is found dead on the river bank, a visiting tourist has gone missing, and an elderly guest is furious that she’s been robbed.

I really enjoyed this series. The characters and settings were interesting, the plots challenging. The Cornish Cozy Mysteries, seven charming and addictive cozy crimes by Janie Bolitho 📚 :

When Rose Trevelyan takes on a photography commission in a quaint Cornish fishing village, she expects to capture houses, portraits and landscapes — not evidence. But the assignment places her at the centre of a shocking death.

Another entertaining read — Marsh Mysticsby Jana DeLeon 📚:

Yoga retreats are supposed to have bodies…just not dead ones. But when Eleanor, the owner of the retreat, turns up dead, Ronald and Gertie know just who to call. Eleanor’s sister, Mildred, is convinced Eleanor’s shady business partner had something to do with her death, but there’s no evidence to prove it.

Not a bad read. I quite enjoyed it. The Channel Islands Bake-Off Murder (The Gull Bay Mysteries Book 2) by Ashley Cain. 📚

April is thrilled when she’s invited to judge a high-profile TV bake-off over the May Day holiday weekend. It’s the perfect chance to put the Sea Breeze Café on the map.

A space based adventure story with lots of running around, shooting things, narrow escapes and the like. I quite enjoyed it. Rufus Quince: Bounty Hunter - Dreams of a Fool by Michael D. Britton. 📚

Rufus Quince is a retired bounty hunter trying to build a home in the outskirts of Tranquility, right near the edge of the bio-dome where there’s still a decent view of the Earth.

But … a group of ruthless speculators led by a phantom from Quince’s past try to force him off his land to steal what lies beneath.

This series! This was a book I didn't want to read because then it would have been read and I wouldn't still have it ahead of me. The more of this series I read the more I love these books. The Mystery of the China Horse (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 6) by Judith Cutler. 📚

Lina has more than enough on her (antique) plate. With her beloved mentor Griff in hospital, she’s running their little village antique shop solo — juggling restoration jobs, bills, and chancers who think she’s an easy target.

when a well-spoken stranger offers her a rare china horse, Lina’s instincts start to prickle.

This was a well-written and gripping story which took off in unexpected but interesting directions — Murder on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 1) by Heather Peck. 📚

A human skeleton is unearthed in a forgotten World War 2 bunker on a remote Yorkshire farm.

What I liked most about this book was that it was written by a Kiwi in NZ English and set in Aotearoa in places I'm a little familiar with. Those are exceptionally rare for books I read. Dark Sky: Murder Among the Stars by Marie Connolly. 📚

a professor of astronomy is found dead at Tekapo’s Mt John Observatory during its internationally-attended 50th anniversary conference celebrations

I warmed up to the plot as the book went on and there were some surprises worth waiting for.

I really like this whole series and Book 5 does not disappoint. Keen to read more in the series. The Mystery of the Village Theatre (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 5) by . 📚

Things aren’t looking bright for Lina. A flashy new antique centre has opened in the Kentish village of Bredeham, stealing her customers and threatening the future of her beloved shop.

In this book Gabe's childhood trauma reaches a troubling crescendo while conflicting accounts in the current case prove hard to resolve. A good read. Left in the Ashes (Detectives Martin & Stern Book 3) by Anna Britton. 📚

A derelict building in the New Forest burns down with someone inside it. Believed to be arson, DI Juliet Stern and DS Gabe Martin are called onto the scene to investigate. No one knows who the victim is or how they came to be there.

This was actually a good read, and the Jersey setting was a bonus. The Channel Islands Mystery (The Gull Bay Mysteries Book 1) by Ashley Cain. 📚

April has poured every penny she owns into renovating the rundown beachfront café she inherited from her grandma. …

the missing cake is only the beginning.

As the incidents grow increasingly sinister, April begins to suspect her café is being deliberately targeted. And if she doesn’t find the culprit — and soon — it’s not just her cosy little café that’s at risk.

It’s her life.