I totally expected to toss this bit of fluff aside in disgust within a page or two but actually read the whole thing — Paws, Claws, and Curses (A Purr-fect Relic Cozy Mystery Book 1) by DeAnna Drake. 📚

It was a lightweight read, suitable for a day where I needed simplicity rather than challenge.

What are cursed artifacts, a talking cat, and a dead body doing in the sweet little town of Citrus Grove? That’s what spirited shopkeeper Rebecca Cuthbert wants to find out

I found this way more gripping and enjoyable than I expected — A Chain of Pearls (Martha's Vineyard Murders Book 1) by Raemi A. Ray. 📚

I'll read more in the series too.

When the body of a celebrated journalist is fished from the Edgartown Harbor, the official report rules his death accidental. But why was he alone on a senator’s yacht during a nor’easter?

Abandoned this free book because it was all a bit silly and it annoyed me with its carelessness (eg missing words). A Dashie Discovery (The Pecan, Texas Pet Groomer Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by M. Alfano. 📚

While taking a pair of Pomeranians home, she’s shocked to find their owner, Mr. Williams, in his hot tub wearing nothing but a tiny swimsuit, his Stetson, and a bullet to the head!

So was the dog on its back or chasing around the yard? In the space of one sentence.

Cat Caliban goes further afield in this enjoyable story — Four Fatal Elements (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 4) by D.B. Borton. 📚

Louella’s uncle, Red McIntyre, is dead. A tragic car crash on a rural Tennessee road.

But something doesn’t add up.

Suspicious chemicals, an unlikely death …

This was a good read. I enjoyed and kept reading it while developing a cold, even though I really wanted to fall asleep. Legacy of Lies (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 5) by Jane Adams. 📚

When Naomi Blake and her partner Alec inherit a crumbling house in the Fens, they expect to find some peace and quiet. Instead, they uncover a tangled web of deceit . . . and murder.

The books in this series are ones I really enjoy. Murder At Mount Ida (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 5) by Anne Shillolo. 📚

Two days. A bomber on the loose and a killer who’s not afraid of heights.

I'll definitely read more in this series.

Another in an easy reading series I enjoy — Killer at the County Show (The Malvern Mysteries Book 5) by Kate Wells. 📚

Tensions are high at the Three Counties Show when accusations of cheating add fuel to a longstanding feud. For Jude Gray, whose only hope was to not make a fool of herself showing her Kerry Hill sheep, farming life has never been so dramatic.

You always know Jude's close to solving the mystery when she sets off without telling anyone where she's going. 😆

Detectives Leo and Shan make a good team against a sweltering Yorkshire summer in Fire on the Fells (Detectives Donovan & Young Book 2) by Cath Staincliffe. 📚

beneath the façade, dark secrets smoulder. It’s only a question of which was worth killing for.

The series is a good read.

Back in July 2022 I listed 20 authors I enjoy: 186+ mystery books I've loved.

After chatting with a friend I realised I should update this list, so here are 16 more mystery authors I've enjoyed since then. I didn't count the books this time. 📚

1. Alice Bienia: (Jorja Knight Private Investigator Mystery Series)
2. Alison Joseph (Sister Agnes Mysteries)
3. Barbara Nickless: (Sydney Rose Parnell)
4. D. L. Keur: (The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries)
5. Deborah J Ledford: (Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran)
6. Faith Martin: (Detective Hillary Greene)
7. Janice Frost: (Warwick & Bell Crime Mysteries)
8. Judith Cutler: (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries)
9. Kris Bock: (The Accidental Detective)
10. Lakota Grace: (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series)
11. Laura Dave: The Last Thing He Told Me
12. Lynne McEwan: (Detective Shona Oliver)
13. Rachel Ward: The Missing Checkout Girl Mystery (and others)
14. Rosemary Kirstein: (Steerswoman Series) — I don’t often read fantasy, but this was really engaging.
15. Susie Steiner: (Manon Bradshaw)
16. Tracy Clark: (A Chicago Mystery)

After a false start a couple of years ago, I finally read and enjoyed The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red by Martha Wells. 📚

A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red

I was drawn back to read it after watching a very interesting 22 minute interview with Martha Wells: I didn’t know how non-neurotypical I was until Murderbot.

I may well read more of the series.

Three for the Kill (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 3) was another lightweight but entertaining mystery by D.B. Borton. 📚

The author comes up with amusing turns of phrase, like this:

[After buying a new used car] Already I was in love. I had forgotten what it was like to drive a car that goes when you put your foot on the gas pedal.

I enjoyed reading the Library ebook Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi. 📚

This was a creative and interesting story, well presented. Project Nought is a 336 page LGBTQ+ Sci-fi graphic novel by a New Zealand author and set in Auckland.

Ren Mittal's last memory in the year 1996 is getting on a bus to escape his life at home. When he wakes up in 2122, he thinks he might be hallucinating...he's not!

This worked well on my iPad, using the Libby app.

From the Whangārei District Library I borrowed the ebook of The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish. 📚

A young lesbian in Maine and a young gay guy in New Orleans swap homes for a month. Romance ensues for each.

I enjoyed the read, but there was some rather didactic relationship advice from the author.

I enjoyed reading Killing a Stranger (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 4) by Jane Adams. 📚

Teenager Rob Beresford stumbles home in the middle of the night, drenched in blood and claiming to have killed a man.

Rather than Naomi, it was actually the friend group who mainly worked out what had happened.

These books were good enough, but not brilliant. Havard and Lambert Books 1–5 by Pippa McCathie. 📚

My biggest problem is the author uses the technique of hiding information from the reader, like this example (one of many):

“Do you mean you know who–”

“Not know, but I have a very strong feeling about it.”

“So, who do you think it was?”

Fabia told her, and Bella didn’t pour scorn on this idea either, but she did say, “I really don’t think that’s very likely, Fabia.”

After Book 2 was such a stinker I almost didn't even start Let the Woman Go (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 3) by Jane Adams. 📚

I'm glad I did though because I was hooked in and enjoyed the read.

Imagine being held hostage in a bank robbery. Now imagine being blind as well. But this is Naomi Blake and she has resources she’s only just dipping into.

I'm always happy to read another in this series. A Troubled Tide (Detective Shona Oliver Book 5) by Lynne McEwan. 📚

I specially enjoys the Scots words, phrases and accents. I love when a book sends me to the dictionary. 😀

PC Hayley Cameron drowns during a triathlon in the Solway Firth. The post-mortem reveals drugs in Hayley's system, perhaps self-administered performance enhancers. But a puncture wound in the back of her wetsuit suggests foul play.

It turns out I find romances easier to read when they're lesbian romances. I enjoyed Jones by Gerri Hill. 📚

When a girl’s weekend in Port Aransas ends with a lifelong friend dead, Nina Evans’ world is shattered.

It wasn't terribly challenging, and the author brought in a new character rather late, but it was a pleasant read.

I didn't like this book at all, and ended up skipping about a third of it only to read an unsatisfying end. The book was very little about Naomi Blake and mostly about an unpleasant group of people called Simon, Tally and Jack. The Camera Never Lies (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 2) by Jane Adams. 📚

Simon thought he’d found something real with Tally Palmer, a brilliant photographer. Then, without warning, she ended things and vanished from his life. Heartbroken and unable to move on, he starts digging for answers — tracking her, questioning old friends, even compiling a secret file.

I'm wishing I hadn't already bought the third in the series and annoyingly Amazon won't let me return that unread book for a refund.

This second book was a bit too unbelievable, a bit too glaringly obvious. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first. A Case for the Yarn Maker (Ainsley McGregor Book 2) by Candace Havens. 📚

It’s all fun and games until George Clooney, Ainsley’s Great Dane, finds Ms. Yarn’s dead body in a booth at Bless Your Art. Now the prime suspect is Mrs. Whedon, and while she’s not the easiest woman to get along with, there’s no way she’s the killer.

At just under $2 it made sense to buy this 7-book box set for the two books in the series I hadn't yet read. Totally enjoyed them too! Martin skilfully provides all the clues to the reader, but it's Jenny Starling who puts them together.

The Complete Travelling Cook Mysteries by Faith Martin. 📚

A random favourite passage:

Jenny Starling turned a corner in the seventeenth-century stone-lined corridor, and came face to face with a stuffed owl. The owl, it has to be said, looked somewhat surprised. The travelling cook not so much.

See also The Jenny Starling Mysteries Books 1–4 and The Country Inn Mystery (Jenny Starling Book 7).

In this set I read:

1. The Oxford Mystery
2. The Teatime Mystery

I do like this author. I can't believe this is already Book 4 of 5. Death in the Hills (The Malvern Mysteries Book 4) by Kate Wells. 📚

When Jude Gray and DI Binnie Khatri join a local walking group, their expectations for a peaceful outing to the Malvern Hills takes a grim turn. Arguments abound, and the hike ends in tragedy when one of the walkers is found dead in her car.

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.