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.

I enjoyed Velocity Weapon: Book One of The Protectorate by Megan O’Keefe, as recommended by Bookish Alex. 📚

[Gunnery Sergeant Sanda] wakes up 230 years later, on a deserted enemy starship called The Light of Berossus

Lots of twists and turns and shifting allegiances keep the reader on their toes.

Curious thing though: the book clearly reached an end about half way through before cranking up again. This long book should have been two titles.

Early in Book 3 I was ready to abandon this set as the books just weren't that good. Also, the author had a strong penchant for annoying (word-count padding?) lists. Jamie Quinn Mysteries Books 1-6 (Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries) by Barbara Venkataraman. 📚

Meet Jamie Quinn (and her quirky friends), always finding trouble she definitely wasn't looking for.

I picked the set back up again and the other 3 books were much better.

It's been a long while since the previous book in this series I enjoy, and I suspect this is the last — Something Prowling in Paradise Park (The Accidental Detective Book 7) by Kris Bock. 📚

It was a quick but enjoyable read.

three cases—all brought by friends—fall into [Kate's] lap. Squatters in a snowbird’s house, local pedigree dogs disappearing, and smash and grab burglaries at local pot shops.

Half way through The Antique Store Detective (A Bella Winter Mystery Book 1) by Clare Chase I decided to skip to the end — something I don't usually do. 📚

finding eccentric local historian Professor Oliver Barton dead in the ruins of Raven Hall is a bigger problem than she could have anticipated!

Glowing reviews abounded when I picked up this free book, but I found it not specially interesting and rather formulaic. It was as though the author had followed a set of rules for cozy mysteries.

I enjoyed this set of books, even though some cases were highly complex. Detective Winter Meadows Books 1-6 by Cheryl Rees-Price. 📚

In the shadow of the Black Mountains, the quiet village of Bryn Melyn harbours secrets that refuse to stay buried. Detective Inspector Winter Meadows, a thoughtful and unorthodox investigator, returns to his roots in rural Wales seeking calm — but finds himself confronting the dark corners of a community still healing from old wounds.

Although I've enjoyed other series by this author, the books in this series are pretty lightweight and I might not read any more — Dark Sky Jeopardy (The Rán Hollander Mystery Series Book 3) by Lakota Grace. 📚

A mega-lottery winner is killed and Rán's sister’s becomes a prime suspect.

One of my favourite series continues — Death by the Dozen by D.B. Borton: 📚

When a local historian begs Cat to find the villain who stole her beloved pig — Gertie, a cupcake-loving micro-mini with a mischievous streak — Cat figures it’s a simple petnapping. Sorry, pignapping. Until the trail leads to a dead human body.

Can't wait for the Thirteen book.

It's been almost 2 years since I read the previous in series, mainly because of price. This book was reduced, and still a great read!

Gathering Mist: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima. 📚

Deputy Mattie Wray, formerly Mattie Cobb, is summoned to Washington’s Olympic peninsula for an urgent search and rescue mission to find a celebrity’s missing child.

I enjoyed Hell to Pay: A Texas Private Investigator Mystery (Iris Raines Mystery) by Denise Diana Huddle. 📚

This gritty Texas private investigator mystery is fast-paced and relentless—blending danger, corruption, dark humor, and shocking turns into an explosive ride.

The author spent decades as an investigator which lends authenticity to this fictional case but I have a major quibble about the story. I don't want to give anything away but it did taint the book for me.

Ahhh, this explains a lot — Maisy Marple:

Maisy Marple appears to be a pen name originally used by a publisher who hired multiple authors to ghostwrite various series. In 2025 they appear to have switched writing all the new books using AI.

Having run out of things I wanted to read I landed on A Kernel of Truth (Harvest of Clues Book 1) by Maisy Marple, Publication date: January 11, 2026. 📚

The book is simplistic, trivial and trite, often contradictory. How many times were we told about the dog:

His mismatched eyes-one blue, one brown …

I think I was duped into reading a free book written by AI. My consolation is that I thought it just wasn't good.

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.