Miraz Jordan

Why has it taken me so many years to realise I can add useful notes to a Kindle book. Like this one:

Now I don't need to continue reading when I see weeks later this book is unfinished … 📚

This mystery Bea has to solve pretty much on her own, her usual helpers being otherwise occupied. She still comes up trumps though. A False Alarm (The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries Book 7) by Veronica Heley 📚:

Someone set a tripwire across the top of the staircase in Sir Lucas’s apartment block causing him to fall head-long and break his arm. A malicious prank … or something much worse?

A slightly odd one in the series, but still enjoyable. Furtive Prey (The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries) by D. L. Keur 📚:

a crisis of national security proportions pits Sheriff Landon Reid against the Department of Homeland Security … after a very advanced organoid intelligence … is stolen from the DARPA lab out of Idaho Falls, Idaho

I started Murder at the Opera House (A Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe Mystery Book 1) by Dawn Brookes ages ago then stopped for long enough I'd forgotten how it started. 📚

Finished now, and it was OK but I probably won't bother with more in the series.

Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman works on against a backdrop of a frustrating system. Meanwhile doggedness and persistence eventually winkle out a couple of clues in an apparently intractable case. In Harm’s Way (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 3) by Judith Cutler. 📚

Sigh, somehow I skipped Book 3, so a few elements in here were a little surprising … It was another good read in a series I like. No Harm Done (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 4) by Judith Cutler 📚:

Fran’s no stranger to murder on her patch. But not like this…

There was a lot for Jorja to unravel in this book. I enjoyed the read. Knight Vision (A Jorja Knight Private Investigator Mystery Book 4) by Alice Bienia. 📚 :

as Jorja begins her hunt for the predicted killer, her client’s lookalike is found dead.

This was a quick read, thanks to my enjoying this series so much. I find the main characters very appealing. A False Report by Veronica Heley 📚:

Bea’s investigation leads to the discovery of a circle of crooks with links to high society.

This book introduced me to a nasty practice called The Badger Game.

One of the book series I really enjoy — Detective Nikki Galena Mysteries (15 book series) by Joy Ellis is available at low cost for a few days. 📚

This is your chance to buy the books if you want to read the series.

Meet Detective Nikki Galena. She will stop at nothing to avenge her daughter. Under the brooding skies of the Lincolnshire Fens, she pursues the most vicious criminals.

I wasn't really expecting to enjoy The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries Books 1–5 box set by Veronica Heley but I was quite wrong. 📚

The characters are interesting and evolve over time. Mrs Abbott has delightful quirks, such as perhaps wanting to wring an annoying neck, but talking herself out of it.

I somewhat liked this, but not enough to read more — The Sigma Surrogate: An Electrifying Cyberpunk Thriller by JT Lawrence 📚 :

As Keke races to solve the mystery—dodging religious terrorists and doomsday cults—she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the very future of the country and everyone she loves.

I very much enjoyed The Fells (Detectives Donovan & Young Book 1) by Cath Staincliffe. 📚

I found intriguing that it's written in the present tense, by an all-seeing author, which gave the effect of a TV show or movie where the camera shows us the scene with immediacy.

I'll definitely read more.

Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman works on a frustrating case of stalking in Do No Harm (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 2) by Judith Cutler while another team looks into an unpleasant serial flasher. 📚

I found this very readable and am looking forward to the next in series.

Bah, last night I realised that on 22 May 2024 I wrote about a book I'd read, but somehow managed to use the wrong title and link and book cover. I'd tangled up books 1 and 2 in the series. Sigh.

Now corrected: Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman faces many challenges in Come to Harm… 📚.

An enjoyable read, but not riveting. A complicated case …Baskets and Beignets by Jana DeLeon 📚:

Fortune has solved cold cases before, but never one with so little evidence and so many suspects with not only strong motive but opportunity. Can she solve a decade-old murder

Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman faces many challenges in Come to Harm (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 1) by Judith Cutler. Menopause symptoms create problems, her elderly and very demanding parents are a long drive away, and the cold case she's assigned seems to have no clues.

It was a good read and sets us up for more character development in subsequent books. 📚

Correction, 29 May 2024: somehow I originally linked to Book 2, Do No Harm, but the book I actually read was Book 1, Come to Harm.

Can't wait now for Book 5! — The Language of Power (Steerswoman Series Book 4) by Rosemary Kirstein was another excellent read, bringing our heroes closer to their goal. 📚

The Steerswoman teases out some important discoveries that help on her quest.

The latest in a series I enjoy — The Man Who Came Back (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 7) by Amy Vansant was another enjoyable read 📚:

Mason’s fellow retired SEAL buddy, Arturo, invites him and Shee to his Florida lake house for the weekend. … Clues lead them to an underwater cavern … and a chemical smuggling ring

I found Cliff Diver: A Detective Emilia Cruz Novel by Carmen Amato to be a tough read. 📚

The setting is drug cartels, police and official corruption, sexual assault and other grim crimes.

I found myself reading only in the day, saving something more anodyne for before bed. Probably won't read more.

Solving a 30 year old cold case is actually very hard — Murder in the Parish (DI Hillary Greene Book 20) by Faith Martin 📚:

Thirty years ago, two days before Christmas, the much-loved Reverend Keith Coltrane was hit over the head and left to die inside his own church. The killer was never caught.

Another enjoyable read in the series — Malice in Tarnished Spaces: (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 6) by Lakota Grace 📚 :

When Pegasus Quincy, sheriff’s deputy, steps into the leaky rowboat to investigate a murder at a mysterious artists’ colony, her troubles have just begun.

One feature of the book Tempting Fête was that every character was introduced with a reference to their race. 📚

That did effectively raise my awareness of my own assumption of default whiteness. So that's something I can work on …

I bought Tempting Fête (Men Who Stitch Mysteries Book 1) by Kate Silvers partly because its designation as A Diverse Cozy Mystery intrigued me. 📚

It was OK, but the diversity message was truly hammered home. In fact I suspect the diversity aspect was more important than any other elements.

Another in a series I enjoy: Silence in West Fork (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 5) by Lakota Grace. 📚

Pegasus Quincy and her former partner, Shepherd Malone, have some difficult choices ahead when Shep’s daughter is caught with a murder weapon in her hand.

Now I See You (Mountain Resort Mystery series Book 1) by Shannon Work wasn't a favourite read, though I kept with it. It uses an Omniscient viewpoint that I found annoying — we were in the heads of half a dozen (or more) characters, including the perpetrator(s). All a bit much really. 📚