We are half way through 2026. A little scary, isn't it? But that means it is time for the monthly reading summary for June. And, after a couple of months, I did get
my index updated this month.
All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great). The links will take you to my full reviews.
One Final Turn by Ashley Weaver (Electra
McDonnell #5) – 3
Ellie McDonnell is getting ready to head to Portugal. The country is neutral, and it is where
people are expecting her cousin to head now that he’s rumored to have
escaped. The hope is that they can
rescue these escapees and gain information on the route they took to escape,
keeping it open for others. While Major
Ramsey is also on the mission, he isn’t in charge, which is a good thing since
he has recently fired Ellie. But once
they’ve arrived, will they be able to get beyond the tension between them to
complete their mission?
I was anxious to read this book after the cliffhangers we
got at the end of book four. The mission
of this book gets off to a slow start with some repetitive action due to the
focus on Ellie and Ramsey’s romance.
Sadly, I found it even more toxic than it had been previously. When the mission picks up in the second half,
I was hooked. Fans will be satisfied
with the resolution we get in this final book in the series. I know I was.
That includes the storyline about Ellie’s parents. I’m not sorry I read the series, I just wish
I could have gotten behind the romance.
The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair
(Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries #5) – 3
Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge’s latest client is
unusual. She wants them to find a wife
for her husband. You see, she’s dying
from cancer and knows he will be alone without the help of the Right Sort
Marriage Bureau. But when she is found
dead, Iris begins poking around to find out what happened to her. Meanwhile, Gwen is focused on her court date to
get her life back.
When this series is balancing the mystery with the main
character’s storylines, it is wonderful.
But that’s not what we got here.
While there were some fun twists late in the book, it was too slow early
on. Iris isn’t given much in her
personal life here, but she does a good job of driving the mystery. The conclusion does tie things up, but I’m
not sure I completely bought it. Still,
fans of the series will be happy to see what is happening with the characters.
Hot Stuff by Don Bruns (Stuff Series #6) – 4
When Skip is out with his girlfriend, Emily, at a fancy
restaurant, the sous chef is stabbed. Emily and the victim, Amanda, had been
friends, and she had set Amanda up with James on a couple of dates. The owner
of the restaurant doesn’t trust the police to solve the case, so he hires Skip
and James to go under cover in the kitchen to figure out if someone on the
staff killed Amanda. But Emily is hiding something about Amanda. Can Skip and
James solve the case without driving a wedge between Skip and Emily?
Over the course of the series, the characters have slowly
matured, and that continues here, especially for Emily. A couple of the
supporting players could have been a little stronger, however. After some
initial pacing issues, the plot was solid and built to a logical conclusion.
While not a cozy, the content wasn’t too bad overall. I enjoyed this one and am
looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up.
Crown of Chaos by Sarah E. Burr (Court of
Mysteries #9) – 5
The war council is finally happening, and Jax is happy to be
able to present the evidence of the treason that has been happening in the
realm. But even before the council gets
started, Jax learns of betrayal among those she thought were allies. The first session ends with no progress, but
things only get worse when a fire and a murder complicate things. Can Jax figure out what is happening? Or is she in over her head?
The last few books have been building to this one (so don’t
start here), and I was on board from the start.
The political intrigue and the murder mystery work well together, for a
book I couldn’t put down until we reach the page turning climax. We don’t see all of the regulars, although we
do get some updates on them. I am hoping
that one storyline I haven’t been enjoying is heading toward a climax based on
what happens here. And I’m finding Jax a
bit arrogant; I’m curious to see where that goes in future books. And I will be picking up the next soon. Fans of the series will be just as hooked as
I was.
Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide
by Rupert Holmes – 3
You’ve never heard of McMasters, the secret college that
teaches adults of all age how to get away with deleting someone, what we
uninitiated would call murder. This
book, presented as an instructional book for those of us who can’t attend the
university, has three case studies from three students in the 1950’s. They all need to delete their bosses for
various reasons. Will they learn enough
to help them?
I’d heard about this book for a while, and finally
remembered to get it from the library.
Parts of it were fun, like the word play. However, that didn’t carry on throughout the
book, at least for me. My biggest gripe
is that trying to juggle three students made it hard to focus on and remember
who all the players were in all three stories.
I think taking out one of the students would have helped. Still, I did have fun with this book. I’m glad I finally gave it a chance.
Lost and Clowned by Dana Mentink – 5
Pi Steely is the business manager for her uncle’s traveling
circus. They are spending their
Christmas break in a small California coastal town, putting on a rare holiday
performance while there. The next
morning, Pi finds a body on the beach.
The police think the someone in the troop could be responsible. As Pi begins to dig in, she finds secrets
from the past that might be related. Can
she figure out what is going on?
The characters are grounded for a circus setting; in fact,
the book is a bit more serious in tone than I was expecting. It took me a bit to get all the characters
straight, but I was soon able to. Pi
felt a bit immature to me a time or two, but it was minor. Likewise, the pacing stalled a couple of
times, but nothing that lasted long.
There were some good surprises and twists along the way to the logical
climax. I enjoyed the Northern
California setting. This appears to be a
rare cozy standalone, but if we get a sequel, I will gladly revisit these
characters. Those looking for an unusual
cozy will be glad they picked this one up.
Murder Takes the Stage by Colleen Cambridge
(Phyllida Bright Mysteries #4) – 4
A producer is interested in turning one of Agatha Christie’s
stories into a play, so housekeeper Phyllida Bright has reluctantly returned to
London. She’s hoping she can stay in the
rented house supervising the household staff.
But that’s before Archibald Allston is found dead in an armchair on
stage, and Phyllida is asked to figure out if foul play was involved. She grows more suspicious when the actor
playing Benvolio in a production of Romeo and Juliette is bludgeoned to death
on the balcony the next day. Can
Phyllida discover what is happening before another death occurs?
Fans will know we’ve been given hints about Phyllida’s past
before, but we get some answers in this book, which I enjoyed. Enough of the staff come along for the trip,
so that part feels like a normal part of the series. And I’m curious to see what some of the
developments mean for future books. The
mystery was a little focused on events over actual deduction, but there was
still enough here to keep me entertained.
The ending, while being a little over dramatic, was also
satisfying. Fans will be happy with this
entry in the series.
Murder by Design by Lee Goldberg (Edison Bixby
#1) – 4
Edison Bixby is a brilliant detective who sees patterns
others don’t is seemingly innocent “accidents.”
But a brain injury has left him with a poor filter. Enter Wally Nash, a struggling actor who is
his new assistant. Their first case
involves a woman who fell down an in-construction staircase in a mall. Bixby quickly determines that it was murder. But
can he find the killer?
The set up with these characters provides plenty of
opportunities for comedy, and I enjoy much of it, although at times, it didn’t
quite land. Still, I enjoyed getting to
know them. While Bixby says some stuff
he shouldn’t, I actually expected him to be pushing a few more boundaries. And I am ready to move into his house! The mystery kept me entertained, although I
did feel the ending was a little weaker than it could be. Overall, I enjoyed this new series and look
forward to reading more about these characters.
The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly
(Mickey Haller #6) – 4
Mickey is heading home after celebrating a rare win one
night when he is pulled over. He’s only
annoyed until the cop starts insisting that he needs to open the trunk on
Mickey’s car. When he does, he finds a
dead body inside. While the victim was
one of Mickey’s former clients, he hadn’t had contact with the man for several
years. Booked on murder charges, Mickey
must win the case of his career. But a
not guilty won’t be good enough. He
needs to prove he is innocent to restore his reputation. With his usual team behind him, can he do it?
I’ve been anxious to get to this book since it first came
out. I just had to get to the author’s
books that come before this one first.
This one does have some serious spoilers for an early Mickey Haller
book. I was hooked from the beginning,
and the pace never let up. However, I
did find Mickey’s opponents a bit weaker than they could have been, constantly
doing the dumbest thing possible. I’m
also tired of the yo-yo with all of the author’s characters’ love lives. Much of the book takes place in early 2020,
and the coming pandemic adds to the intensity as the story goes along. However, the political comments felt out of
place to me. Overall, I enjoyed this
book, and I’m glad I have finally reached it.
The Quirky Quiz Show Caper by Sally Carpenter
(Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mysteries #4) – 4
One Monday, Sandy stops by a small local theater to talk
about an upcoming appearance and to talk to his brother, Warren, who moonlights
at the theater’s organist when he’s not teaching at a nearby college. As Sandy is going to leave, he stumbles on a
dead body in the building’s basement.
The victim turns out to be one of Warren’s students, and the evidence
seems to be pointing to Warren. Can
Sandy find the killer before his brother goes down for a crime he didn’t
commit?
Yes, I am teasing the right book. There is a quiz show, but
it comes late to the story. I wasn’t
bored waiting to get there, and it did tie into the bigger mystery. When we got to the climax, my questions about
the plot were answered, but the way the villain tried to silence Sandy didn’t
make any sense. I like how we are slowly
getting to know the people in Sandy’s life as the series progresses. We get to see him in a different light as a
result. The characters were all
good. Yes, there were some obvious flaws
to me, but overall, I enjoyed this book.
Pour Choices by Adrian Andover (Mixology
Lounge Mysteries #2) – 5
It’s been a few months since Reece Parker opened Subplot,
his literary themed speakeasy, and he’s trying new things to hopefully bring in
customers. One such experiment is a
comedy night with standup comic Meghan Spencer.
The night appears to be a success, but the next morning, Reece’s best
friend finds Meghan floating in the river.
In order to make sure his friend doesn’t wind up convicted of the crime,
Reece jumps into the case. But can we
find the truth amidst all the lies?
The suspects do a great job of confusing things, and I had
no idea exactly what was going on until we reached the end. Once we did, everything made perfect
sense. I was a bit surprised at just how
happy I was to be revisiting the characters and setting. They were just as charming and cozy as I
remembered. I’d definitely love to visit
Subplot if I could. Reece’s new
relationship with Julian wasn’t super surprising, but it is sweet. Fans of the first will definitely enjoy this
one as well.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
