This series goes from strength to strength. I enjoy hanging out with this group of decent people (apart from the baddies, of course). The Mystery of the Stolen Snuffbox (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 4) by Judith Cutler. 📚

when [Lina] absent-mindedly slips the box in her pocket for safe keeping, she has no idea she’s just made herself a target.

Because someone wants that snuffbox. Badly. And they’ll stop at nothing to keep its secrets hidden — even if it means silencing Lina for good.

It took me a few uncertain chapters before this book had me completely gripped. It's an excellent space adventure. Forgotten Suns by Judith Tarr. 📚

Aisha, the daughter of the chief archaeologists, tries to save the expedition by opening a sealed tomb or treasury—and manages instead to destroy it. But one treasure survives, which may be the key to the planet’s mystery.

I'm catching up on books that were part of a sci-fi bundle sometime.

I'd read part and then left it for some reason. On coming back to it I enjoyed the ways the characters approached different dilemmas, and the creative ideas about the aliens. Crossfire (Cosmic Crossfire Book 1) by Nancy Kress. 📚

A human colony settles on a distant planet … But as this diverse group of thousands comes to terms with their new lives on a new world, they make a startling discovery: primitive humanoid aliens.

While checking my Kindle for what fiction to start on next I see a load of books I've read only part of. Luckily these days I add a note when stopping a book. Hence I declare the following 9 books abandoned, with reasons. 📚

• Better Left Behind (Trinity Calhoun Mystery Book 3) by Melinda Di Lorenzo : Not much enjoying this one.
• Her Broken Bones (Opal Fields Book 2) by Fiona Tarr : Not riveting.
• Killer by Candlelight (Suzy Spencer Mysteries Book 6) by Lis Howell : I didn't much like the setting or the people.
• Dead Men Don't Paddle (Carolina Teal Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by CC Trace : Might read more but it's not great.
• The Detective Veronika Pope Cold Case Mysteries Books 1–5 by Anna Willett : I don't know about this. It's not a cold case and it's creepy.
• Detective Jordan Carr Books 1–8 : I don't really care about any of these people.
• Dr Callie Hughes Mysteries Books 1–8 by Candy Denman : Dunno if I can be bothered reading more. Very heterosexual.
• The Jordan Lacey Mysteries by Stella Whitelaw : Not getting on well with this. It's like that incompetent american bounty hunter series but less good. Rampant heterosexuality occupies far too much time.
• Liz Turner's Cozy Mysteries Collector's Edition: 30 Book Box Set by Liz Turner : I've sampled several books now and they're just trash.

There, I think that cleans up all my Kindle purchases for 2025.

Proto: A New History of Our Ancient Past by Laura Spinney is rich in information but easy to read. 📚

Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.

Thousands of years ago our ancestors were speaking to one another on the steppes, using the languages that were to eventually meld and merge and evolve into the English (and other descendant languages) we speak today.

It's amazing what researchers have been able to elucidate through bones, bits of pottery and DNA.

Sparked by: Finished reading: Proto by @jeremybaker.nz.

After reading 10 chapters of Book One and a few pages of Book Two I've abandoned The Complete Tarnfield Cozy Mysteries Books 1-6 by Lis Howell. 📚

Tarnfield looks like a postcard-perfect Cumbrian village — rugged fells, stone cottages, winding lanes. But beneath the charm lies a hotbed of secrets and simmering tensions. Life revolves around All Saints Church, where parishioners are as quick to gossip as they are to pray.

I find the writing a bit clumsy and too many of the characters somewhat unpleasant. It's all just more negativity than I want to immerse myself in at the moment.

Hmmm, seems I abandoned this ages ago. I just didn't like it. It was a free download at the time. Lost And Found: The September Day Series Book 1) by Amy Shojai. 📚

She doesn’t trust people. But can she team up with a service dog to save a missing child and catch a murderer?

I didn't read these 8.5 books all in one go, but interspersed other books. Nevertheless, once I'd got into the 'groove', I enjoyed The Complete Potting Shed Mysteries by Marty Wingate. 📚

Determined to follow in the footsteps of her English mother, Pru uproots her life from Dallas to London, where she’s about to get more than she bargained for. Her green fingers keep getting her into very prickly situations. But no matter how tangled the case, Pru never backs down.

I read all of Murder in Norfolk (Detective Anna McArthur Book 1) by Sadie Norman, but didn't like the main character and believe the writing could have been very much improved by a good editor. 📚

She went for a walk to clear her head. She found a dead woman carved with a message.

I won't be reading more in this series.

I bought this at a sale price and enjoyed it reasonably well. I found the couple's arguments rather manufactured. Last Chance Chicago by Diana DiGangi. 📚

Attorney and recovering cocaine addict Sam DiCiccio didn’t think she was ever going to see her ex-wife Amy Igarashi again, much less wind up defending her against felony insider trading charges.

As this series goes on I'm enjoying it even more. Preordering the next book. The Mystery of the Gold Rings (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 3) by Judith Cutler. 📚

The characters are very endearing, the plots original.

Driving home from an auction on a wet autumn evening, Lina slams on the brakes. She’s alone on a deserted country road — and just yards away, in the middle of a field, lies a body.

But by the time she finds help and returns with the police, the corpse has vanished without a trace.

This was a perfectly good read. May read others by this author. A Lesson in Murder: A DI Kate Medlar novel by Lin Bird 📚:

Who would want to kill Elise Betteridge, the dedicated headteacher of Blaiseforth Manor School for Girls?

Not the most engaging book, but an enjoyable read still. Murder At The Folly (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 11) by Jane Adams. 📚

Rina’s seen plenty of drama over the years. But nothing like the chaos she finds on location at Septon Hall. Her costar, the decidedly sour Grace Sweeting, gets a poison pen letter — in what looks like a tasteless prank. Until …

Phil Perry, the show’s charming leading man, is found dead!

This was a very intense read. The oppressive heat and humidity of New Orleans was almost a character in its own right. Interesting and different, but I may not read more from the series. Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery by Margot Douaihy. 📚

When Saint Sebastian's School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding community are thrust into chaos. Unsatisfied with the officials' response, sardonic and headstrong Sister Holiday becomes determined to unveil the mysterious attacker herself

I enjoy this series, but this book didn't feel quite right at the start. Warwick and Bell don't enjoy an easy friendship, but the mystery is solved in the end. Murder on the River (Warwick & Bell Crime Mysteries Book 5) by Janice Frost. 📚

A murdered student. A secret from the past. A killer who’s still watching.

I so much enjoy this series, and this book kept me reading after I should have gone to sleep — once the adventure starts it's hard to stop reading. Urgent Track (The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries Book 11) by D. L. Keur. 📚

It’s high summer when, after a SAR dog trial, Jessie’s pack mascot, Duchess, goes missing, and, in finding Duchess, Jessie’s dogs discover a child lodged in a hole deep below ground. Then Jessie’s dogs find evidence of another …and another.

The lead character and setup suggested I'd enjoy The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: A swashbuckling, seafaring romp by Shannon Chakraborty. 📚

when she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse, she jumps at the chance for one final adventure with her old crew that will make her a legend and offers a fortune that will secure her and her family’s future forever.

Unfortunately the many mystical horror aspects just aren't my thing, so I skipped chunks of descriptions of fantastical stuff and ground my way through many chapters.

I mainly enjoyed The Complete Detective Siv Drummond Mysteries: by Gretta Mulrooney. 📚

I'd already read another series by this author, and the first of the books in this series. Book 5 didn't grab me so much for some reason.

With the characters and setting well established from Book 1 this series is settling well. I've preordered the next in series. The Mystery of the Silver Dish (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 2) by Judith Cutler. 📚

The dish is valuable. Too valuable. No sooner has [Lina] displayed it at a prestigious antique fair than the police swoop in, accusing her of handling stolen goods.

It's hard to believe this series is already up to book 12. I'm still enjoying it. Fakes and Lies (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 12) by Jane Adams. 📚

the world of art forgery and high-stakes deals hides ruthless collectors — and killers who will do anything to keep their secrets.

I enjoyed a good reading session with The Winter Dead (Detective Shona Oliver Book 6) by Lynne McEwan. 📚 Always happy to read another in this series.

A blood-soaked hammer is discovered in a lorryload of wood delivered to a local pub. DI Shona Oliver appears to have a murder weapon, but where is the victim?

OK, I read Book 1 and now I'm abandoning this as just too silly and annoying. Cadbury & Merrydrew Cozy Mysteries Books 1–5 by Christine McHaines. 📚

There's something about the Sister Agnes books that just enchants me; they're just so "right" somehow. This was yet another excellent read. The Earth Weighs Heavy (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 9) by Alison Joseph. 📚

‘Guilt. That’s what it is. Terribly bad for all of us. I learned some years ago just not to bother with it, so much better for one’s mental health.’

I'd already read Book 2 and this was a similarly lightweight, easy to read mystery that I got free. A Santa Stabbing (Shop 'Round the World Book 1) by Geri Krotow. 📚

[Angel] finds a dead body in the shop murdered with one of her specialty Santa figurines. Even worse, Angel’s fingerprints are on the “weapon” and she’s a prime suspect.

I really enjoyed After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian. 📚

when [Patrick] takes in a drifter who seems to be hiding something, and his best friend and her newborn move into the apartment upstairs, his life gets turned on its head.

Thanks to @KimberlyHirsh for the recommendation.