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.

Abandoned: The Complete Detective Bailey Thrillers by Kate Watterson. 📚

When it comes to solving crimes, Detective Chris Bailey plays by his own rules.

You'd think the first book would be about the detective solving crimes, but it's mostly a tedious exploration of the romantic relationships between 3 characters who are pretty much incidental to the crime.

From about half way through Book One I skipped to the end. I'm unlikely to read the other 3 books.

Another good read in the series by Kate Wells: A Body by the Henhouse (The Malvern Mysteries Book 3). 📚

When a hen party arrives for a weekend away, [farmer and glamping site owner Jude Gray] does her best to cater for their celebrations. … When one of the hens goes missing, it becomes clear there are more sinister forces at play, and someone is targeting her farm.

I very much enjoyed Coercive Power (The King & Midnight K-9 Mysteries Book 2) by D. L. Keur, an author whose other works I've liked too. 📚

Chief Deputy Mike Murphy is in trouble. The military is doing its best to press gang him back into uniform. He needs a lawyer, one really well-versed in military law. Meanwhile, somebody is trying to run a newcomer off their land in escalating incidents of violence.

I enjoyed this start of a new series by an author I know from the Rina Martin mysteries: Two Little Blonde Girls (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 1) by Jane Adams. 📚

It’s been a long time since ex-copper Naomi Blake has heard Helen’s name. Naomi was twelve years old when her best friend went missing on the way to school ….

Now, finally, after twenty-three years, there’s a confession in a sealed envelope. And it’s shockingly close to home.

I quite enjoyed The Earth Concurrence (Colonial Explorer Corps Book 1) by Julia Huni. 📚

Not entirely sure I'll read more from this series though.

Surprising finds and dangerous conditions cause her father to overreact, keeping Siti on a tight leash. When unknown enemies rear their dangerous heads, Siti must take matters into her own hands.

I enjoyed Stranger in the Village (The Malvern Mysteries Book 2) by Kate Wells. 📚

I thought I'd cottoned on to the perpetrator early in the book, but things were way more complex.

things take a turn for the worse when a hit and run outside The Lamb brings death once again to the village. Is it an accident or is something more sinister afoot?

Another good read in a series I enjoy. Straw in the Wind (The DI Callum MacLean mysteries Book 2) by Carol Cole. 📚

I had my suspicions about one character but things weren't as they seemed. A nice surprise.

Based on the sample, I bought The Complete Rain Morgan Mysteries Books 1–5 by Lesley Grant-Adamson. 📚

Book One was OK. Book Two was really boring and annoying. I dipped into Books 3 and 4 and found them unlikeable, so I didn't even try Book 5.

I wasn't entirely sure at first, but by the later part of the book I was gripped. Murder on the Farm (The Malvern Mysteries Book 1) by Kate Wells. 📚

Things definitely didn't turn out as I thought they might.

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. 📚