I feared A Case for the Winemaker (Ainsley McGregor Book 1) by Candace Havens would fall into the dumb cops / smart amateur groove, but luckily it avoided that trap. 📚

Ainsley is surprised by how well things are going–right up until the moment her Great Dane finds a dead body. With her friend accused of the murder, it’s up to Ainsley to find the real killer.

I quite enjoyed it.

D.B. Borton's Two Points for Murder (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 2) is a fun lightweight book. 📚

No task is too small for a detective-in-training, so Cat takes on the routine task of finding the lost kitten of a heartbroken boy. But the case takes a surprising turn when she discovers a mysterious notebook.

The new case centres on a basketball team, so there were a few pages of detailed descriptions of games where I understood not a single word. 🤣

This was a lightweight but enjoyable read, that was free when I 'bought' it. A Mid-Summer Murder (Shop 'Round the World Book 2) by Geri Krotow. 📚

Only Angel Warren, a retired Navy Pilot and owner of Shop ‘Round the World, can turn a summer day at the river into a murder investigation. But when her brother Bryce’s unicorn float snags on a corpse’s hand, suddenly Angel and Bryce are suspects.

Abandoned: The Complete Detective Bailey Thrillers by Kate Watterson. 📚

When it comes to solving crimes, Detective Chris Bailey plays by his own rules.

You'd think the first book would be about the detective solving crimes, but it's mostly a tedious exploration of the romantic relationships between 3 characters who are pretty much incidental to the crime.

From about half way through Book One I skipped to the end. I'm unlikely to read the other 3 books.

Another good read in the series by Kate Wells: A Body by the Henhouse (The Malvern Mysteries Book 3). 📚

When a hen party arrives for a weekend away, [farmer and glamping site owner Jude Gray] does her best to cater for their celebrations. … When one of the hens goes missing, it becomes clear there are more sinister forces at play, and someone is targeting her farm.

I very much enjoyed Coercive Power (The King & Midnight K-9 Mysteries Book 2) by D. L. Keur, an author whose other works I've liked too. 📚

Chief Deputy Mike Murphy is in trouble. The military is doing its best to press gang him back into uniform. He needs a lawyer, one really well-versed in military law. Meanwhile, somebody is trying to run a newcomer off their land in escalating incidents of violence.

I enjoyed this start of a new series by an author I know from the Rina Martin mysteries: Two Little Blonde Girls (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 1) by Jane Adams. 📚

It’s been a long time since ex-copper Naomi Blake has heard Helen’s name. Naomi was twelve years old when her best friend went missing on the way to school ….

Now, finally, after twenty-three years, there’s a confession in a sealed envelope. And it’s shockingly close to home.

I quite enjoyed The Earth Concurrence (Colonial Explorer Corps Book 1) by Julia Huni. 📚

Not entirely sure I'll read more from this series though.

Surprising finds and dangerous conditions cause her father to overreact, keeping Siti on a tight leash. When unknown enemies rear their dangerous heads, Siti must take matters into her own hands.

I enjoyed Stranger in the Village (The Malvern Mysteries Book 2) by Kate Wells. 📚

I thought I'd cottoned on to the perpetrator early in the book, but things were way more complex.

things take a turn for the worse when a hit and run outside The Lamb brings death once again to the village. Is it an accident or is something more sinister afoot?

Another good read in a series I enjoy. Straw in the Wind (The DI Callum MacLean mysteries Book 2) by Carol Cole. 📚

I had my suspicions about one character but things weren't as they seemed. A nice surprise.

Based on the sample, I bought The Complete Rain Morgan Mysteries Books 1–5 by Lesley Grant-Adamson. 📚

Book One was OK. Book Two was really boring and annoying. I dipped into Books 3 and 4 and found them unlikeable, so I didn't even try Book 5.

I wasn't entirely sure at first, but by the later part of the book I was gripped. Murder on the Farm (The Malvern Mysteries Book 1) by Kate Wells. 📚

Things definitely didn't turn out as I thought they might.

This was a lightweight and rather enjoyable read which took us as readers in unusual directions. Cat relies on her skills honed as a mother of three to help solve the case. One Deadly Take (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 1) by D.B. Borton. 📚

Armed with nothing but a library card and a stack of well-thumbed mystery novels, Cat’s ready for her first case as a sleuth-in-training

This book was not only a good read, but the team of detectives were all people I was happy to spend time with. Murder in the New Forest (The DI Callum MacLean mysteries Book 1) by Carol Cole. 📚

I stayed up too late reading this and will definitely read the next book too. 😀

Another engrossing read from Anna Britton: Close to the Edge (Detectives Martin & Stern Book 2). 📚

I like the way the author intersperses interview transcripts, text messages, emails, narrative, reports and other forms of information.

Chaos breaks out as DS Gabe Martin leaves Southampton Crown Court. Gunshots ring out. She and DI Juliet Stern are hit. The culprit disappears without a trace.

Having enjoyed another series by this author, I was gripped by this book too. Litany For A Broken World by LJ Cohen. 📚

When the three strangers, each broken in some way, are pulled into a conflict between those with the ability to travel the multiverse and the organization seeking to exploit them, they must risk everything that matters to heal the fractured places in themselves and throughout reality

The ending was a little unsatisfactory — I didn't realise it had finished — but we're definitely set up for the next novel.

Having already read and reasonably enjoyed most books in this cheap box set, I bought it for Books 5 and 6. Book 6 was a decent story. Book 5 was such boring, confusing twaddle I soon skipped to the Epilogue just to discover what happened.

The Rina Martin Murder Mysteries Books 1–7 by Jane Adams. 📚

So worth reading! Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words. 📚

Early on the author explains two key concepts:

Grammando: … One who constantly corrects others’ linguistic mistakes. …

wordie describes someone who delights in language’s shifting landscape.

I found this book because I enjoy the podcast That's What They Say : NPR — 5 minutes each week on a language curiosity.

I've been slowly reading Anne Curzan's Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words. 📚

In chapter 32, passives were corrected, she quotes from a grammar critic in 1830, who writes:

“For some time past, ‘the bridge is being built,’ ‘the tunnel is being excavated,’ and other expressions of a like kind, have pained the eye and stunned the ear.”

Strong opinions!

How times change …

Back in November 2021 I bought A Cotswolds Murder Mystery Box Set Books 1–4 (Alex Duggins crime mysteries box set) by Stella Cameron. 📚

I thought I hadn't read it yet but the first two stories seemed familiar and then I realised I just didn't really care for the stories so have now officially abandoned it. That's probably what I did last time, without making a note.

Alex is no stranger to trouble, never has been since she was a scrappy young girl

Finished reading The Jeri Howard Anthology: Books 1-5 by Janet Dawson, and enjoyed it in parts. 📚

Somehow I got this free back in January 2021 and read the first book and part of the second. I picked it up again last week. The second story wasn't super interesting. The third and fifth I enjoyed. I skipped #4 because it looked like there would be a subplot around animal cruelty.

And then read the rest. 📚

I really enjoy @Cheri's books. This is a good deal. 😁 📚

I enjoy this series by Anne Shillolo, and Murder at Hay River (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 4) was another enjoyable read. 📚:

A photographer is killed and abandoned in a macabre display on the banks of the Hay River. Constable Ezra McCann’s home is nearby and his celebrity family feel like they're targets. McCann is on the alert. He also has a strong suspicion that the new nanny is not who she seems, and that’s one more thing keeping him awake at night.

I enjoy the Detective Clare Mackay series by Marion Todd. Dead Man's Shoes (Detective Clare Mackay Book 9) was another good read 📚:

A young man is found dead near a nightclub. He has marks on his neck, the signature of the Choker, a killer who has been targeting gay men across the country.