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. 📚

And if you enjoy the freebie, the rest of the series is available as a discounted book bundle. (Only in my web store.) Thanks for supporting indie authors on Mastodon!

https://cheribaker.com/products/ellie-tappet-bundle

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

Hey, mystery fans! Want a murder-vacation in your imagination? My book The Case of the Missing Finger is free on all retailers through February 16th. Also from my web store, DRM-free.

https://cheribaker.com/products/the-case-of-the-missing-finger

#Bookstodon #selfpromotion

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.

A couple of years ago I didn't care for one of Tannis Laidlaw's books, but I thought I'd give a different series a try. It didn't work: I can't stand the characters in Darkwater Lake Mysteries: Box-Set - a complete series of 5 psychological suspense mysteries. Abandoned. 📚

Not the most gripping, but an easy read — An Unfortunate Christmas Murder (The Dinner Lady Detectives Book 2) by Hannah Hendy. 📚

Margery [and] her wife, Clementine … are caught in the crossfire when the stage lights collapse at the first [Christmas concert] practice, killing Mrs Large, the music teacher.

I enjoyed reading this book set in Australia but written by a Kiwi. The Beautiful Dead (Cal Nyx Mystery Thrillers Book 1) by Kim Hunt. 📚

Working alone in the vast reaches of the New South Wales bush, park ranger Cal Nyx finds a body. When the remains are identified as someone she once knew, detectives view her as a possible culprit. Then they find the dark blot on her past.

It made a great change to read about an identifiably lesbian character.

I see the book now costs 3 times what I paid for it and the rest of the series is outrageously expensive. I just won't pay those prices. 😒

The whole Halcyone series was excellent, and this final book was a good read that wrapped up the story. A Star in the Void: Halcyone Space Book 5 by LJ Cohen. 📚

I'm only sad to have finished this series, so I won't be able to hang out with these characters any more.

I like the characters and setting in this series but the plotting in this book is a bit hard to go along with. Hidden Agenda: Murder in the Clouds (Gina Santoro Mysteries Book 2) by Kay Hadashi. 📚

There are better things to do in Hawaii on a sunny day than go on a free skydiving trip. Just ask Gina Santoro while she parachutes into a murder mystery she'll never forget!

I'm not a big fan of the romance genre, but sometimes make an exception for lesbian romance. I read Midnight Rainbows Over the Little Village (Broclington Romances Book 4) by Ella Cook. 📚

The book felt a little 'off' and I almost abandoned it part way through, but did read to the end.

I see the author lives with her husband, and perhaps that was the problem with the book for me: it was written by a straight woman who first 3 romance novels were about heterosexual couples.

Overall a fair read — Gale Force Danger (The Rán Hollander Mystery Series Book 2) by Lakota Grace. 📚

Rán Hollander, Investigative Consultant, returns from vacation to find her desk at the constable’s office usurped by a brash rookie cop determined to make his mark. When a dead body is discovered near Rán's childhood home, the young cop goes rogue, and chaos ensues.

I really recommend this book, on sale today: US$3.10. It's good for all adults, not just us older folks. Thriving Beyond Fifty (Expanded Edition): 111 Natural Strategies to Restore Your Mobility, Avoid Surgery and Stay Off Pain Pills for Good by Will Harlow. 📚

I'm 66% through, and it's superb!

A good read by an author whose previous books I've enjoyed. Lake Effect Murder (The Rán Hollander Mystery Series Book 1) by Lakota Grace. 📚

When Rán Hollander’s sister calls with the news that their father had a tragic accident on Lake Michigan, Rán drops everything and returns to a small town that turned its back on her years earlier. Was the death an accident, a suicide, or something much worse?

A spot of editing would have been useful to catch stray weird words and a couple of minor inconsistencies.

By the end of the 11-book Sister Joan series I was sad to leave this world, though the last book dwelt rather on outright Evil. The Sister Joan Mysteries Books 9–11 by Veronica Black. 📚

After a shaky start in Book One I did enjoy this series very much.

Things are getting more complicated in the 4th book of an enjoyable series — Parallax: Halcyone Space, book 4 by LJ Cohen. 📚

knowledge brings new threats and Halcyone's crew is drawn more deeply into a conspiracy that threatens to destroy Ithaka and reignite a galactic war when they uncover the hidden power brokers who have been quietly manipulating the Commonwealth for decades.

The first story in Rogue Stars: 7 Novels of Space Exploration and Adventure (various authors) was somehow 'off'. It just didn't sit right with me. The second was too dark and gritty for my taste. I decided to abandon this free book. 📚

Jump into seven full-length novels exploring the last great frontier. Rogue Stars has alien invasions, artificial intelligence, galactic intrigue, and heroes that will defy orders to do what is right.