I'm always happy to buy and read books by Cari Hunter, such as The Stolen Girl. 📚

Detective Inspector Jo Shaw is bored, desk-bound, and absolutely not supposed to answer the phone call that sends her to a body in an empty house.

Quality writing, set in the UK, lesbian protagonist.

I jumped into this series with the last available book Body at the Doctor's (DI Jordan Carr Book 9) by Diane M. Dickson.

The book's set in Liverpool and I really enjoyed the 'local' language. I may read others in the series. 📚

"I wouldn't fit in here. Not me, I'm chavvy deep down," Stella said.

As a romance this was an OK book, but it could have done with a good editor to tighten up a few awkward spots. The Love Plot (The McCarthy Sisters Book 3) by Elle Douglas. 📚

Best-selling first time author Kendra Green fears a sophomore slump. She retreats to the gorgeous Canadian Rockies in the guise of research and meets the enigmatic professor, whose sharp intellect and magnetic presence make concentrating on her manuscript nearly impossible.

I enjoyed this, though I wasn't so keen on the spy / intrigue element. Dead Silence (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 7) by Jane Adams. 📚

Journalist Jamie Dale is investigating an explosive story involving the military when someone silences her for good. Her car is set ablaze . . . with her inside it.

I'm enjoying this series more and more. Six Feet Under (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 6) by D.B. Borton. 📚

Rocky Zacharias is a troubled soul with an equally troubled past. She’s finally out of jail, but not out of danger.

There are snippets I highlight in each book because they tickle me, like this:

But Moses’s son Paul is a systems analyst who believes in better living through electronics

There was a degree of friction for me while reading this book. It was partly slightly awkward language, partly somewhat off-putting characters. It was OK, but I may not read more by this author. Bitter Roots: Police Procedural Mysteries by C. J. Carmichael. 📚

Dispatcher Zak Waller prefers working behind the scenes in the Sheriff’s Office , but when the Sheriff is quick to pin the death on an unknown outsider, Zak starts his own sleuthing.

I've enjoyed others in this series but this one just didn't gel for me. Shee McQueen: Bloodlines (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 9) by Amy Vansant. 📚

An invitation to an elite tactical training retreat unleashes a torrent of family secrets for Shee McQueen and her band of Loggerhead mercenaries.

It may be my current unsettled mood, but this fits into a genre of books, shows, movies I call "Running Around" — probably technically known as adventure or something. Good and bad guys meet somehow, end up chasing / avoiding one another in various locations until someone wins.

I'm enjoying this series and the wit sometimes makes me laugh out loud.

Between my daughter Franny and the Mel and Al duet, I’d been lectured so often on the effects of fat on women my age that I did most of my fat consumption in private these days.

Five Degrees of Murder (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 5) by D.B. Borton. 📚

Nothing but ash remains of the victim. Can Cat Caliban solve the case before more lives go up in smoke?

This was a bit of froth I got for free — Death by the Dunes: A Pelican Shores Cozy Mystery by Bessie Barr. 📚

Nothing ruins a gorgeous coastal sunrise quicker than…a dead body.

Bystander asks a few questions, solves the mystery.

I wasn't entirely gripped by Death at Dark (Martha's Vineyard Murders Book 2) by Raemi A. Ray. 📚

a summer squall reveals the wreckage of a legendary pirate ship … Conservationists, treasure hunters and media descend on the exclusive island to lay claim to the ship.

There were interesting ideas about the conflicting needs and desires of fishers, ecologists, salvagers and the people of the island.

One quirk in this series is the author often mentions the sound of feet or shoes on the floor and the verb is always in italics:

The soles of Kyra’s flip-flops slapped the herringbone floorboards.

I guess the fact that this was book 22 in the series shows that I enjoy this author's work. Murder Under the Sun (DI Hillary Greene Book 22) by Faith Martin was enjoyable as always. 📚

Fifteen years ago, Imelda Phelps was battered to death in the hallway of her home. The brutal crime shocked the residents of the pretty market town of Chipping Norton. The killer was never caught.

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.