Book Review: London Calling by James Ponti (City Spies #6)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Page turning story with wonderful characters

Cons: A couple of things wrapped up quickly

The Bottom Line:

Goal: Rescue Annie

Can the team balance missions

Satisfying book

Family Found Finally?

Fans of the City Spies books have been waiting since the beginning of the series for this book. You see, London Calling is the culmination of the story that’s been woven through the previous five books in the series. And they will find the payoff worth it. 

If you’ve missed this middle grade series, it features a group of teens who work for MI-6. And no, I don’t mean behind the scenes. These teens work in the field, taking on cases where adults would stand out. Their code names are all various cities around the world, hence the name of the group. 

As I’m sure you can guess, I’m going to recommend you don’t start here. Yes, the backstory you need is here, but you’ll miss the twists and turns of this particular storyline over the course of the series. And you’ll miss the character growth as well. Trust me, it is worth it. 

This book starts with Annie in Istanbul. Thanks to things her mom has drilled into her, she realizes someone is following her and manages to give them the slip before she sends out a cry for help. A cry that the City Spies get and immediately jump into action. 

You see, Annie is the daughter of Mother, their leader. But the spies are already on assignment protecting the fiancée of one of the princes before their royal wedding. Can they find Annie and rescue her while keeping their current assignment on track?

And that’s all I’m teasing. If you are a fan of this series, drop everything and read it now. You’ll thank me later. 

As I said, this book is the culmination of what’s been going on in the series so far. A couple of things got glossed over, but they are minor. We have the full picture and some resolution to this particular storyline. 

Of course, we get plenty of action along the way. This wouldn’t be a City Spies book without that. Likewise, there are puzzles to solve and codes to break. 

One thing I absolutely love about this series is the team that has been formed. You can tell how much the characters truly care for each other. And they work so well together. It’s heartwarming to see. Not to say there aren’t some squabbles along the way, but they are resolved realistically. All of this is done without the characters seeming like they are too perfect or sickeningly sweet, which is a delicate balancing act. 

This book leaves things open for more adventures, and I certainly hope we haven’t seen the last of the City Spies. But if this does signal the end of their adventures, I will be satisfied. 

As I’ve already said, if you are a fan of the series, pick up London Calling today. And if you’ve yet to start the series, fix that today, no matter your age.

Book time with the rest of the City Spies series. 

Movie Review: Reality Bites - A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Enjoyable time with characters we like

Cons: Mystery was weak

The Bottom Line:

Producer murdered

Hannah’s shop becomes crime scene

Entry just okay

“I Wouldn't Be Surprised If You’re the One Who Figured This All Out.”

I’m a week late!  I hadn’t seen the announcement that Hallmark was premiering their first mystery movie of the year last week, so I had to catch a reairing on Valentine’s Day.  Fortunately, they reair stuff frequently, especially right after it has first premiered.  It was fun to check in again with Hannah Swensen in Reality Bites.

Hannah Swensen (Alison Sweeney) is thrilled when the production for the Connie Mac show reaches out, asking to use her bakery for a couple of days of filming the show.  Hannah’s a big fan of the famous baking show.  She even gets to work behind the scenes helping prepare the food.

However, she quickly learns that Connie is not a nice woman.  But the big shock comes the second morning of filming when she shows up to find one of the producers has died in her bakery.  While the police are slow to rule it a homicide, Hannah starts investigating anyway.  Can she find the killer?

When I was reading the description for this movie, I was trying to figure out what book they were using as the basis for this movie.  When Connie Mac popped up, I knew, although it’s hard to call Blueberry Muffin Murder the basis for this film.  There are so many differences that they might as well be two different stories.  Okay, so it’s been a couple of decades since I read the book, but still, when the murder victim is different, it’s hard to consider them remotely the same.

So, we get to judge this movie on its own terms.  Honestly, as a mystery, it’s a bit of a disappointment.  It’s obvious what the motive for the murder is going to be tied to early on, and we just have to wait for the characters to catch up.  The killer was a surprise, but that was because we really didn’t have any clues leading to this person.  Or anyone, really.

Having said that, it was entertaining.  I enjoyed getting to spend time with the characters and watch them in all their over the top glory.  Okay, so that’s mostly Delores, Hannah’s mother, who is played with scene stealing delight by Barbara Niven.  And yes, she is playing the character that way on purpose since she is supposed to be providing us with some laughs.

Since we’re on the subject, overall, the acting is fine.  Some performances were stronger than others, but if you are used to Hallmark movies, you’ll know what to expect.

The main cast is all great as they work to solve the case.  I find it interesting that they included Gabriel Hogan’s Norman in this one in a big way while clearly ramping up the romance between Hannah and Chad (Victor Webster).  I’m still trying to figure out why they brought him in since we’ve got plenty of other characters.  Speaking of which, Andrea was missing this time around, but the rest of the cast filled in just fine.

Unfortunately, Reality Bites wasn’t the best way to kick off a new year of Hallmark mystery movies.  But fans of the channel, and especially the Hannah Swensen movies, will still be glad they watched it.

Book Review: Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy (Braddock Mysteries #1)

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: The ceramics scenes were fun

Cons: Pretty much everything else

The Bottom Line:

Death, disappearance

Propel debut mystery

That’s disappointing

Broken Debut

My grandma did ceramics for years, and I even joined her for a few months. With that connection, I was immediately interested when I spotted Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy last year. I had to give it a chance. I should have passed. 

Tammy Wright is returning to her hometown of Braddock, Maine, to help her aunt with her ceramics shop. It’s only supposed to be for the summer, but Tammy is lucky that as a bestselling mystery author, she can work from anywhere so even a few months isn’t really disrupting her life.

She’s only been in town for a few hours when she learns that her aunt is being harassed by one real estate agent who wants to buy her shop to tear it down and turn it into condos. Since Clara isn’t interested in selling, he’s getting nasty. But neither are expecting a dead body in the shop. The next day, someone vanishes. Can Tammy figure out what is going on?

It’s been decades since I did any ceramics, and I realize that ceramics isn’t the hook for this cozy series. These are the Braddock Mysteries, after all. Having said that, the details of the ceramics felt right to me. I was smiling as I read those scenes. 

However, I struggled with much of the rest of the book. It starts with the writing, which was poor. There was some poor grammar (and yes, I realize I probably shouldn’t be criticizing that myself). But there were lots of other examples of just weak storytelling. 

The mystery was decent, although events substituted for true plot advancement, leaving the pacing off. Then, things were resolved in a rush at the end. 

It’s a shame because there is some promise with the characters. Yes, they needed some development to become truly real people, but I did like them. 

I’ve often said that I felt like I was reading a first draft, and this is another case where that is true. There is certainly promise here, but it needed some more polish before it was published. 

It’s a shame I didn’t enjoy Kilned at the Ceramic Shop more. I’ve seen others that liked it, but I won’t be moving on with the series. 

February 16th's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday post, where I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

This was a fairly uneventful week for me.  We had a huge rain storm hit on Thursday.  Part of LA was getting rain on Wednesday, but we didn't have much where I live.  And there have been floods and mud slides due to the storm, but nothing that has impacted me, thankfully.  They did let us work from home on Thursday (we are hybrid, so Monday and Friday are at home every week), which was nice.  I enjoy rain so much more when I don't have to be out in it.

Friday, being Valentine's Day, I celebrated in my own way.  I did my taxes.  Always try to do them as soon as I get all my forms, which often means President's Day weekend.  Nice to do that at the beginning of the long weekend.

Yes, my job does give us Monday off.  First place I've ever worked where we get a holiday between New Year's Day and Memorial Day.  I'll probably be celebrating it around the condo reading and watching TV.  Still trying to work my way through the Christmas movies I recorded in the last three months of 2024.  We'll see if I ever do that again.

Saturday morning, I did have my walking book club again.  It was a nice sunny morning.  It was cool in the shade but warm when we were out in the sun.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: The Lies We Live by Liz Milliron

Tuesday - Movie Review: Splash of Love

Wednesday - Book Review: April Fool Dead by Carolyn Hart

Thursday - Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From the Heart

Friday - Book Review: Chocolate Can Be Deadly by Kim Davis

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy

Tuesday - Movie Review: Reality Bites - A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Wednesday - Book Review: London Calling by James Ponti

Thursday - Movie Review: Clueless

Friday - Book Review: The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

It was a Gregg Hurwitz kind of week.

Seriously, all of the books on my list are books he has written.  As a note, he writes thrillers, not the mysteries I typically read.

I've been expecting one of them since his newest Orphan X book came out on Tuesday.  No, I hadn't preordered it (was thinking about going to the launch party, but ultimately decided against it).  But I did stop by my local Barnes and Nobel (only new bookstore in town) and picked up a copy of Nemesis.  Looking forward to reading it.

Meanwhile, some of his earlier books that I've never read when on sale on Kindle.  It looks like The Tower, his first standalone, is still on sale.

Meanwhile, three of the four books in his earlier series, the Tim Rackley Thrillers, went on sale.  At this point, The Kill Clause and The Program have reverted to their regular price, but I see that Troubleshooter is now on sale, so I just snagged it.

As I said, a Gregg Hurwitz kind of week.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm about half way through Termination Dust by Sue Henry.  This is the second in her Alaskan Mysteries.  I actually bought this book when I was on vacation several years back in Alaska and am just now reading it.  It's good, although the pacing was off at the beginning.  It took a little too long to really get to the start of the story.  I see how what we learned there is going to come into play, however.  And maybe it has to do with the fact that this book came out in the 1990's, and I'm more used to more recent novels.  Either way, as I said, I'm enjoying it.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

February 15th's Weekly TV Thoughts

One week back, and Wild Cards was already preempted for basketball.  Any wonder why I hate sports?  I'll catch up this weekend.

But here's what I did watch.

Poppa’s House – I’m interested to see if they follow up on this and we see Jr.’s directing/film making career take off.  I mean, they did reference last week’s episode at the start of this one.  I loved the scene where we got to see the video and then go to know a bit more about Poppa.

Rescue: HI Surf – I know it’s realistic, but it always gets me when someone dies.  I hope the one guy’s father is starting to come around.  I found the flip over the social media influencer fun if not predictable.  Glad there are consequences for endangering others.  And if she was just pulling their legs (might have been distracted during that scene so I couldn’t quite tell if she was bluffing or not), there should be laws like that.  There’s no excuse for that ever.

Night Court – There were some good gags, especially with the circus/clowns.  But overall, it was another case of them just trying too hard.  I wish they’d back off a bit.

Deal or No Deal Island – I was wondering what was going to happen when I saw we were getting close to being out of time.  Not happy that we have to wait until next week to see how things play out.  All this drama is not entertaining.  Scheming?  Yes.  People accusing each other of things?  Not so much.  Did like Parvarti’s move on Dr. Will.  Of course, they knew what the other was up to.  As much as I don’t like him and only grudgingly respect her, it is entertaining to see them go at each other.

Shifting Gears – I was waiting for them to make some crack that referenced the guest star’s past with Tim Allen.  (I really should give that show another chance, I guess).  Overall, a very sweet episode, especially for Valentine’s Day.  Never forgot it was a sitcom, but tackled a touch holiday/time with the respect it deserves.

The Challenge – I’m feeling for the guy who is sick.  Glad he stuck around, but if he doesn’t get better, is it going to matter?  And I’m going to be frustrated if the same people are always in the eliminations.  There really should be a rule about how often a team can be voted it.  Like two times and they have to get a week off.  But I know that ain’t gonna happen.

Happy’s Place – I was thinking to myself that only it a sitcom would someone believe these wild stories.  Turns out, even in a sitcom, they aren’t believed.  That was another fun episode, even when I am ahead of the plot.

Book Review: Chocolate Can Be Deadly by Kim Davis (Cupcake Catering Mysteries #7)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love in another fun mystery

Cons: A couple small things, but nothing major

The Bottom Line:

Killer chocolate

In Valentine’s set entry

Series fans will love

Death By Chocolate is Real

I’ve enjoyed Kim Davis’s Cupcake Caterer Mysteries from the start, so I was quite happy to see that book seven was out. Chocolate Can be Deadly is another delicious entry in the series. 

This series follows Emory Matinez as her business catering various events gets her involved in murders. She lives in Orange County and over the course of the series, we’ve gotten to know quite a bit about her family and friends. Having said that, we don’t have as much of the ongoing stories here, so if you want to jump in here, you won’t be lost. A small thing or two might be spoiled, and there are references to past cases (but without spoilers there), but nothing will be truly ruined for you. 

Emory has reluctantly agreed to cater a post Valentine’s Day bash. The hostess is horrible to Emory since she has a long-standing feud with Emory’s friend Tillie. The theme also puts her off since Dying for Chocolate hits a little too close to home given all the murders Emory has found herself involved in. Just as she is thinking that she might pull off the event, the hostesses new finance is found dead clutching one of Emory’s cupcakes. With the rumors of poison in a cupcake destroying her business, not to mention a cop that wants to arrest her, Emory has to find the killer. Can she do it?

Obviously, the bustling Orange County is not the normal choice for a cozy mystery setting. But, living in Southern California myself, I love it. And, despite the larger population, this still feels like a cozy in every important regard. 

A big one of those is the characters. Emory leads a cast of regulars we can’t help but love. A few of them just have cameos here, but that’s okay since the time spent with the rest is fantastic. I loved checking in with them and getting updates on their lives. The suspects are also strong. 

The plot is great. It wastes little time before the murder happens, and then we are off and running trying to figure out exactly what happened and why. I did figure one thing out early, but I still needed Emory piece everything together.   And the climax? I might have read a little extra on my lunch hour because I just couldn’t put it down. 

As you’d expect, there are chocolate themed recipes at the end of the book. By my count, we have 10, with plenty of gluten free options and a few vegan options as well. 

If you are looking for a fun culinary cozy series, I highly recommend you check this one out. Chocolate Can Be Deadly is a book that will keep you turning pages and craving chocolate. 

Check out the rest of the Cupcake Catering Mysteries. 

Note: I received an ARC of this book. 

I'm reviewing this book as part of a blog tour with Great Escapes.  Stop by here to check out the other stops.

And enter the tour wide giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered - From the Heart

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Another great entry with characters we love

Cons: Some low budget cheese

The Bottom Line:

Explosive letter

Valentine’s complications

Will entertain fans

“Do You Know What Her Hashtag Is?”  “Please, Norman, Let’s Not Go There.”

Once again, I let more time go between watching movies in the Signed, Sealed, Delivered franchise than I intended.  But that turned out to be perfect since it mirrored the time for the characters and it let me watch From the Heart, a Valentines themed entry, in February.  If only I could say I planned it that way.

For those uninitiated, this Hallmark series follows four members of the dead letter office in the Denver Post Office.  They’ve dubbed themselves the POstables.  What started out as a weekly series for 13 episodes has turned into a long running movie franchise as we follow the four characters as they slowly work toward romances.  There’s also a new mystery of the movie for them to uncover.

When this movie opens, it’s been a few months since we last checked in with the POstables crew.  Valentine’s is coming up, and Oliver O’Toole (Eric Mabius) has finally decided to ask out Shane McInerny (Kristin Booth).  Being Oliver, he’s doing it via a hand written letter.  Meanwhile, Rita Haywith (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe) gets some surprising news, which threatens to upset her first Valentine’s Day with Norman Dorman (Geoff Gustafson).

Outside of their personal lives, Norman has been given a box of antique Valentines by his cousin.  One of them might just hold the answer to an almost 200-year-old mystery of great importance to US history.  Meanwhile, a letter has surfaced that was damaged when a mailbox exploded 15 years before.  In it, a teenager is confessing to killing someone.  And Oliver realizes his own connection to the letter.  Can they figure out where to deliver it?

As you can see, these movies do tackle some serious themes and issues.  As always, I appreciated how they did that.  The characters in the case of the movie made some poor choices, but also took responsibility for them.  While I wasn’t moved to tears as I often am with these movies, I was still moved as the story unfolded.  Yes, the writing is that great.

With the last movie, I thought they’d wrapped up a storyline involving Rita that we’d been following since the series.  Turns out I was wrong.  I’m curious if this is something that will continue to follow her as the movies progress.  And speaking of her, the actress was pregnant while this movie was filmed.  They hid it pretty well, but it makes one particular line pretty funny.

As for as Oliver and Shane’s storyline goes, they took a trope I usually hate and managed to actually make it work.  Yes, I still longed for a little actual conversation between characters to iron some of these things out, but it was fun watching what happened between them.  And it provided a nice counterpoint to the serious letter they were working on.  I also appreciated how some of the other storylines managed to connect to each other thematically.

The acting in this movie does suffer from a little low budget cheese.  Or, maybe it’s the writing.  Either way, this doesn’t apply to the main four.  They have taken characters that could be weird and made them lovably quirky.  For me, it was great catching up with these friends.

Which is why I don’t want it to be that long before I catch up with them again in the next movie.  (No, really, I mean it this time.)  Whether you are already a fan or just now finding Signed, Sealed, Delivered, you’ll enjoy From the Heart, whether you watch it around Valentine’s Day or not.

This movie is part of the Signed, Sealed, Delivered Movies 5-8 set.

Book Review: April Fool Dead by Carolyn Hart (Death on Demand #13)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Twisty mystery and laughs

Cons: Nothing major

The Bottom Line:

Some hijacked fliers

Annie hunts for who done it

Murder complicates

This Killer Isn’t Fooling Around

Whenever I start a long running series, it can feel like it will be forever before I get caught up.  I was a bit surprised when I realized that, with April Fool Dead, I’ve hit the half way point of Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series.  And it’s another enjoyable entry.

If you aren’t familiar with this series, it features Annie Lawrence Darling, the owner of a mystery bookshop on the island of Broward’s Rock, South Carolina.  Naturally, this means she keeps getting involved with lots of mysteries herself, with her husband, Max, helping her solve them.

This is rarely a series with massive changes in the character’s lives.  However, there was one in the previous book in the series, Sugar Plum Dead.  I’d say this book gives us minor spoilers for that one as a result.  But if you wind up picking up this book first, it won’t be the end of the world.

As this book opens, Annie is looking forward to hosting a book signing for the island’s resident mystery writer, Emma Clyde, on April first.  She’s even come up with the perfect promotion for it, leaving fliers all over the island with the clues to identify famous mystery books for a prize at the signing.  However, someone has mimicked her fliers, but instead of talking about fictional murder these new fliers are accusing residents of the island of real crimes.  Just as Annie thinks her job restoring her name is over, someone dies.  Is this murder connected to the fliers?

With the number of mysteries I read, I always enjoy it when I find a unique plot.  That was the case here.  While the time line to make the plot work seems extremely tight, I’ll let that go for the creativity of it.  And there are quite a few threads that come together in the end, which is always wonderful.  I didn’t have any idea where things were going until near the end, and I also appreciated that this book didn’t include a couple of the tropes the series usually does.  While I won’t mind if they come back, it was nice to not see them here.

The characters are on the thin side in this series, and that’s the case again here.  I’m not saying we don’t like them or care for them; I wouldn’t keep reading the series if that were the case.  They are fun to spend time around, and that’s the most important thing here.  They also did help me pull into the story, and I smiled when the supporting players in the series made their cameos.

And the book contains plenty of laughs as always.  Many of those are provided by Annie’s mother-in-law, who is a hoot.

The series is also known for its references to other mysteries, both classic and contemporary.  While we get some of that here, it is not as over the top as it used to be.  I prefer the lesser references, and we are finally to the point that I am recognizing some of the contemporary references made to books I enjoyed.  We also have much less foul language than we did in earlier books, which is appreciated.

Also of note, this book originally came out in 2002, so a few things are dated, especially the technology.

I read this book via audiobook.  Kate Reading is once again the narrator, and I love how she brings the characters to life.  She really adds to the humor of some of them without being over the top or getting in the way of the story itself.

You’d be foolish to skip this book.  Anyone looking for a fun mystery will be glad they picked up April Fool Dead.

Enjoy the rest of the Death on Demand books.

Movie Review: A Splash of Love

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Charming romance

Cons: Low budget issues, one pretty pointless character

The Bottom Line:

Trip to study whales

With beautiful scenery

And charming romance

“I’m Not a Tourist.  I’m a Scientist.”

I’m sure I’m not alone in my love of orcas, so when I saw that they played a part of Hallmark’s movie A Splash of Love, I decided to see what it was all about.  I’m glad I did.

Chloe (Rhiannon Fish) is working toward her PhD in Marine Mammalogy at a university in Miami.  After a misunderstanding with her boyfriend, she agrees to a week-long trip to the Pacific Northwest to study the migratory habits of orcas.  After a long flight, she finds herself in the small town of Cable Cove, where three pods show up to feed during the summer.

However, Chloe is in over her head when it comes to boating or being out on the cold water, period.  Fortunately, she meets Ben (Benjamin Hollingsworth) who makes his living helping tourists see the whales.  As he guides her around, the two begin to become close.  What will this mean when Chloe’s week is up?

Yes, there are some other plot points along the way, and I enjoyed seeing how Chloe and Ben handled them.  Actually, it was Chloe who came up with the ideas on how to handle most of them.  When it came to studying the whales, I get that since it was her area of expertise, at least in the lab.  But I did have to wonder why Ben did not see some of the obvious solutions Chloe did when it came to helping the town.

Either way, I enjoyed watching their relationship grow.  Yes, this is a fairly typical romance, including a meet cute, but it was still charming.  I was happy to root for them to get together.

Which brings us to Chloe’s boyfriend.  I get why he was there – to keep Chloe and Ben apart as long as the movie could.  But really, he felt like a wasted character.  It was easy to see that they would break up and why they would break up early on.  We were just waiting for it to happen.

As a Hallmark movie, this does have the typical low budget aspects you’d expect.  The acting is mostly good, but there are some moments.  And some of those moments are inspired by poor dialogue.

As you’d expect, this movie has some gorgeous shots of whales, mostly orcas.  I loved watching them on the screen.  The setting of Cable Cove was equally gorgeous.  But I had to laugh at Chloe’s reaction to the cold water.  I’d be right there with her.

All told, A Splash of Love is a charming romantic movie.  Fans of Hallmark’s movies will be happy they checked it out.

Book Review: The Lies We Live by Liz Milliron (Homefront Mysteries #6)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Growth for Betty in a hard to put down book

Cons: A niggle or two with the ending, but it’s minor

The Bottom Line:

What is teen hiding?

And fiancé back in town

Betty’s great next case

Betty Must Uncover the Truth for Her New Client

One reason I enjoy series is because I get caught up in the lives of the characters.  After a couple of books, I’m coming back for that as much as the mystery itself.  Over the last couple of books, author Liz Milliron has been creating some interesting conflicts for the characters in her Homefront Mysteries, so I was anxious to see where it would lead in The Lies We Live, the sixth in the series.

This series is set in Buffalo, New York, during World War II.  When the series started, Betty Ahern was working in the airplane factory, doing her part for the war effort.  But since then, she’s quit her job and started a new career as a fully licensed PI.  Things as going well, and as this book opens in September 1943, Betty is looking for office space and is hiring someone to work for her part time.

Her latest client is Nancy Washington, a young woman who is certain that her teenage brother is up to something.  Something dangerous if not downright illegal.  Betty agrees to try to learn what the brother is up to, but she has to try to get creative since the Washingtons are African American and Betty can’t blend into the neighborhood as easily as she is used to.

Meanwhile, Betty gets surprising news.  Her fiancé, Tom, is coming home from the front in Africa.  He’s been injured, and it quickly becomes evident that he’s not the same man who Betty agreed to marry.

While Betty is trying to figure out what to do, there’s a murder connected with her case.  With the stakes raised, Betty has to figure out what is going on.  Can she do it?

Let’s get the racial language issue out of the way first.  Yes, the authors does use some of the language acceptable at the time, but by no means all of it.  Since that is historically accurate, I was okay with it, although it did stand out to me when I was reading it.  I just had to keep reminding myself that it was what the characters would be saying.

Yes, the book does touch on race relations at the time, and Betty and others talk about how poor Nancy and others are being treated.  I truly appreciated that part of the book.  But don’t worry, this is a small part of things.  The focus is on the mystery.

And the book has a great mystery.  I was left guessing exactly what was going on until near the end – just about the time that Betty figured everything out.  The ending was logical.  I have a niggle or two with the climax, but any of those issues are minor.

This is our first time meeting Tom, an event I’d been looking forward to, especially after the last couple of books.  It’s obvious he’s going through quite a bit being back in town with his injuries, and I appreciated how that was handled.  Honestly, I was as caught up in this part of the story as I was the main mystery.  Between the two, I had a hard time putting the book down.

And Tom being back allowed Betty to really mature in this book.  I loved the growth here.  We also got to see some of the other characters in a different light, which I appreciated.

The story is told from Betty’s first-person point of view.  She speaks and narrates with just a hint of the slang of the day.  It adds a charm to the story that I enjoy.

My normal disclaimer comes into play here – these aren’t cozies, although they still keep the language and violence to a minimum.  As long as you know that going into the book, you’ll be fine.

To fully appreciate the character growth we see here, you’ll want to read the series in order.  Following Betty’s journey is well worth it.

The Lies We Live leaves Betty in a good place.  She will be back, but fans will be happy waiting until we get to visit her again.  That also means it is a good time to dive in and catch up if you haven’t started this wonderful series yet.

This book is currently scheduled to be released on March 18^th.  So keep a look out for it so you can preorder it.

Do check out the rest of the Homefront Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

February 9th's Sunday/Monday Post

Greetings!  It's time for another Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Not too much to report here this week.  We successfully closed the books on another month at work.  We got some rain, mostly on Thursday.  It wasn't too much, but it looks like we've got a ton of rain coming this coming week.  Unfortunately, after the fires we've had, that probably means some mud slides and/or flooding.  If it's not one thing, it's another, right?

Today is game day, so I'm trying to get this ready early, although I'll hold off on posting it until late on Saturday.

Are you planning to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday?  I'll be watching from somewhere.  The friends I normally watch it with are out of town.  We will see if anything else comes together or not.  If not, I have plenty to do on my computer while also watching the game, so I'll be more than fine watching it by myself.

Pun of the Week:

My cousin works at the paper factory where his responsibilities are twofold.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Ornament Review: Wrapping Lesson

Tuesday - Book Review: Framed for Murder by Marla A. White

Wednesday - Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 4

Thursday - Book Review: Murder at Beechwood by Alyssa Maxwell

Friday - Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Impossible Dream

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

(And, yes, I did stealth edit this late Sunday night last week.)

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: The Lies We Live by Liz Milliron

Tuesday - Movie Review: Splash of Love

Wednesday - Book Review: April Fool Dead by Carolyn Hart

Thursday - Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From the Heart

Friday - Book Review: Chocolate Can Be Deadly by Kim Davis

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I seem to be collecting books like crazy so far in 2025.  Yes, I've got lots more to tell you about.

Of course, it helps that I'm collecting ARCs still.  March is going to be very busy.

The first of the new ARCs is Silent as the Grave, the new Molly Murphy Mystery from Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles.  Honestly, I don't know much more about it than that.  But it's book twenty-one in a series I've been reading for over twenty years.  So it really doesn't matter, right?  The book comes out the beginning of March, so I'll be reading it soon.  These books are set in the early 1900's New York City.

My next ARC is for a book coming out at the end of March.  And it's another historical mystery.  Homicide in the Indian Hills by Erica Ruth Neubauer is the sixth in a series set in the 1920's.  Each book has been set in a different location.  Obviously, this one will be in India.

Next up is another historical mystery.  This one is set in France in the 1950's.  I'm talking about A Fashionably French Murder by Colleen Cambridge.  This series is fun since it features Julia Child as a supporting character.  It doesn't come out until late in April, so it will be a little longer before I read it.

Let's switch away from ARCs and historical mysteries.  Like, maybe, to culinary cozy mysteries.  Dana Mentink recently released a fourth book in her Scoop Shop Mysteries, Thrown for a Scoop, and she gave it away for free to her newsletter subscribers.  Naturally, I jumped at that.

Paging the Dead, the first Family History Mystery by Brynn Bonner has been on my radar for a while.  So when the Kindle version went on sale earlier this week, I jumped on it.  As of my typing this on Saturday, it is still on sale.

Finally, I stopped by my local Barnes and Noble on Tuesday to buy a new release.  Sadly, they had their pre-order sale just a few days to late for me to save on this one, but I'm not complaining (too loudly).  That book is London Calling the sixth City Spies book by James Ponti.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm reading a book called London Calling by James Ponti.  Sound familiar?  This is a middle grade series I love, and I couldn't wait to get into it and find out what is going to happen next to the characters.  I'm about a quarter of the way into it and loving it.  Not looking like I will get too much read Saturday, but I'm sure I'll finish it up in the early part of next week.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

February 8th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Poppa’s House – That was just all kinds of awkward, and not in the fun way.  I did appreciate Jr. standing up for his wife and family, something I feel he doesn’t do enough.  But that was about it.

Rescue: HI Surf – So now that one love triangle has ended we’ve got another one?  Great.  Not surprised that Cap isn’t retiring.  They could have wrapped that up a few episodes ago.  The storm fizzling was a bit anti-climatic.  But it worked budget wise, I’m sure.  And it was a nice twist on one of these types of shows for the disaster to not happen.

Night Court – While it was a little uneven, there  were some scenes in both storylines that were pretty funny.  I enjoy the scenes with cases in the court the most.  I wish we got a bit more of those.  But the stuff with Dan was the best part.

Deal or No Deal Island – I do not get Dr. Will at all.  He seems out to make sure everyone hates him.  What is the point?  In fact, how was he “proving” the entire weasel thing.  I just don’t get that at all.  I did like he strategy with the numbers, that was fun.  But wow, he’s a jerk.

Shifting Gears – I was smiling through most of that and I laughed pretty hard a couple of times.  Plus it was much more touching than I was expecting.  I really appreciated where it went.  I’m sure I know where the romance is going to go, but I like that they left the door opened, at least for now.

Wild Cards – Oh, how I missed this show.  Yes, the premise is stretched way too thin.  I do not care in the slightest.  It’s fun, and I was happy to reconnect with the characters.  Very interesting to see where they are going to go, although I’m feeling like Max working on a new con with her dad is already a recycled storyline.

The Challenge: All Stars – I wouldn’t have minded the rain keeping me from dangling over the side of a building.  I completely get why people would be so freaked out by that challenge.  I hate heights as well.  I’ll be curious to see how the eliminations go since they’ve got teams with pretty uneven physical advantages.  But tonight’s seemed like it was fair to both teams.

Happy’s Place – I really liked this one.  Wasn’t sure how I’d feel with the mother showing up.  No, we didn’t really get much of the backstory they were talking about at the beginning, but I loved the emotional growth we did get.  Along with plenty of laughs.

Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered - The Impossible Dream

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Inspiring and fun movie with characters we love

Cons: A few small things, but nothing major

The Bottom Line:

A trip to DC

Provides follow up on case

Heart warming again

Trip to DC Provides More Than the POstables Bargained For

When I realized that the fourth Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie followed up on the events of the last movie, I made a point of watching it quickly while the events of the third movie were still fresh in my mind.  I’m glad I did since The Impossible Dream was another great movie.  (Of course, my review got buried in my drafts folder for a while, but that’s another story.)

In the conclusion of an arc that started during the show, Rita (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe) is heading to Washington DC for the Miss Special Delivery competition.  Naturally, Norman, Oliver, and Shane (Geoff Gustafson, Eric Mabius, and Kristin Booth) are going along to support her.  But while they are there, they are surprised to see Phoebe and her grandfather, Harper, (Megan Charpentier and William B. Davis).  The two are hoping to get some definite answers as to what happened to Phoebe’s mother, who has been officially missing for two years now.

Shane decides to help by reaching out to her ex, Steve (Mark Valley).  Their timing is perfect since a letter has just arrived that might be a clue as to Phoebe’s mother’s whereabouts.  But it is classified.  Will the POstables be able to see enough to figure out what is going on?

Most of the movie is structured as our four leads are telling what has happened to a select Congressional committed.  (And you have to laugh at the man who is identified as Senator Illinois.)  Yes, I usually am annoyed by flashback stories like this, but in this case, I’d say the technique worked well, especially since that committee comes into play later as they must decide what to do with what the POstables uncover.  This main story is compelling, even though I figured I knew where it was going to go.

Then there’s the subplot involving Rita.  Since we’ve been building to this for quite a while, it’s nice to see them follow through.  I’m assuming we won’t hear much of this particular storyline, but we’ll see going forward.

And yes, the romance between the two couples continues to build.  One couple gets a leap forward while the other takes a small step.  Well, sort of.

The acting continues to be good.  In lesser hands, our leads could be caricatures, and some of these moments would be awkward.  Instead, these characters are charming, and we want to spend more time with them.  Glad I’ve got a lot of movies ahead of me still.

As always, be prepared for some emotional moments.  Ultimately, this is a heartwarming movie.

We also get a version of “The Impossible Dream” from Man from La Mancha here.  That’s no surprise given the title of this movie.  It might just be my favorite version of the song ever.

I’m glad I’m back on the Signed, Sealed, Delivered train.  I look forward to continuing to see what is next for the characters.  If you haven’t caught The Impossible Dream yet, you are in for a treat.

This movie is part of the movies 1-4 DVD collection.

Book Review: Murder at Beechwood by Alyssa Maxwell (Gilded Newport Mysteries #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Creative and engrossing plot mixes characters real and imagined

Cons: Wrap up a little fast but completely logical

The Bottom Line:

Abandoned baby

But is murder connected?

Great historical

Did a Baby Leads to Murder?

I’m quickly getting hooked on Alyssa Maxwells Gilded Newport series. The third book in the series was calling to me, so I worked Murder at Beechwood into my February reading schedule. I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed it. 

This book opens at the end of June 1896. Emma Cross, a distant relation of the Vanderbilts, is surprised one morning when she finds a baby has been left on the doorstep of her home. There is no note or any other way to identify where he came from. But Emma is determined to find out who the parents are so she can help in any way she can. 

Her inquiry leads her to Beechwood, where Mrs. Caroline Astor is holding a lawn party to entertain some visiting family friends. But the day ends in tragedy when a death occurs. It appears to be a tragic accident until Emma uncovers some evidence that sabotage was involved. Can she figure out what is going on? Does it have anything to do with the baby? Or is there another motive?

This book does a fabulous job of mixing real people in with the fictional. We have several of these real people over the course of this book, but they blend so completely with the fictional that it is easy to believe everything was really happening. I love that. 

And yes, this means that the characters come across as real. This is only book three, but I’m already invested in the characters’ lives and want to see what will happen to them next. I got just as invested in the new characters as I did the returning ones. 

And that makes the plot engrossing. I always had a hard time putting the book down and returning to our time when real life interrupted. Despite the summer vacation vibes setting, this book does get serious, but it pulls off that juxtaposition well. The solution worked for me. It was a bit abrupt, but that’s a minor complaint. 

I especially liked that the plot involved some unusual elements. I’m not going to say any more, but the creativity was appreciated. 

I’m already plotting when I can get back to the Newport of 130 years ago. If you are looking for an excellent trip back in time, you’ll be glad you picked up Murder at Beechwood. 

Check out the rest of the Gilded Newport Mysteries. 

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 4

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Action and humor are fun

Cons: Very predictable story

The Bottom Line:

Po’s next adventure

Is mostly predictable

But still fun for fans

“You Have Got to Workshop Those Proverbs.”

I haven’t watched any of the Kung Fu Panda movies in a long time.  (And I didn’t even know there was a recent show, or I’d forgotten about it if I knew.)  But I was curious to see what they were going to do with Kung Fu Panda 4.  I did wait until the movie hit streaming, but I’m glad I watched it since I enjoyed it overall.

This movie opens with Po (voiced by Jack Black) being the Po we all know and love.  He’s saving the day in ridiculous ways and helping his dad open his new noodle restaurant.  However, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) says that it is time for Po to pick the next Dragon Warrior so that Po can take on his new role as the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.  Po has no desire to do that, however.

So it works to his advantage when word that a powerful sorceress, The Chameleon (Viola Davis) is back and terrorizing a village.  Po decides that this should be his final Dragon Warrior adventure.  Since he doesn’t know the territory, he agrees to let Zhen (Awkwafina) help guide him.  Zhen is a thief who doesn’t seem to want to give up her ways.  Can Po reform her?  Will he defeat The Chameleon?

I’ve got to say, I was disappointed that we didn’t see much of the supporting cast.  There was a subplot with Po’s dad’s that was okay.  It wasn’t terribly original and pretty much was there to help with the climax, but it had some entertaining moments.

Not that the main storyline was terribly original, either.  I pretty much knew where it was going after about 20 minutes – at the end of act one.  But that’s never a problem if I’m having fun.  And I had fun.  The big scenes were well done and the jokes worked to make me laugh.  I wasn’t fully engaged, but I was having fun.  Granted, the entire franchise hasn’t been terribly original.  I just feel like the first movie had more fun along the way.

I will say, it took me a while to warm to Awkwafina’s voice work in the movie.  You know how sometimes, the voice actors come across as they are reading a script?  That’s how I felt about her character.  I’m not sure if I warmed up to her performance or she got comfortable with the voice acting, but by the end, I was buying her character.

The rest of the cast?  They were fine.

Likewise, the animation was good.

If you are a fan of this franchise, you’ll want to check out Kung Fun Panda 4.  It’s fine for fans, but it won’t change the minds of anyone who isn’t a fan of the franchise.

Book Review: Framed for Murder by Marla A. White (Pine Cove Mysteries #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The characters and their relationships drew me in

Cons: A few things bumped me from the book

The Bottom Line:

Will Mel help Poppy?

Really like the characters

But there are some flaws

Can Mel Clear a Frenemy?

When Framed for Murder crossed my path last year, I decided to give it a try. After all, I do enjoy reading books set around California. Sadly, the book wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. 

After being injured on the job, Mel O’Rourke finds her career as a police officer over. With help from her family, she buys a B & B in Pine Cove and tries to focus on her new life. 

Of course, that’s hard when she finds her old life sitting in her living room one morning. Poppy Phillips was the thief that Mel spent so much time trying to catch when she was an officer. Now Poppy’s come to Mel with a wild tale of being shot at while committing a robbery she’d been hired to make. Oh yeah, there was the dead body she stumbled upon as well. It is obvious that Poppy is being framed, but can Mel figure out how to clear her? Does she even want to?

While this book is the first novel in the series, this isn’t the first story with Mel and some of the other characters. They were first in a novella I haven’t read. And, this is a reminder of why I prefer to read a series in order since I struggled a bit to figure out the various character relationships. Even worse, this novel contains major spoilers for the novella. 

The mystery that we did get here is good. I was intrigued by the premise and kept happily guessing until the end, when Mel reached a logical conclusion. However, I was very confused by the police response to things. You see, the crime that Poppy was being framed for took place over an hour away. So why were the police in town being pressured to solve it? While the same county, wouldn’t it be outside their jurisdiction? It’s quite possible it wasn’t, but it kept bumping me since it was never discussed.

I really did like the characters and the relationships that were forming between them. The suspects were well drawn as well. Mel is finding herself involved in a love triangle, but there is a clear winner as to who she should pick. 

The other thing that bothered me was the foul language. Maybe it was because I was looking for a lighter cozy when I picked it up, but it was excessive for what I wanted to be reading. 

The characters and their relationships made this a fun read, but my other issues kept me from fully enjoying Framed for Murder. 

Ornament Review: Wrapping Lesson - Making Memories #17 - 2024 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Cute ornament of a Christmas memory

Cons: None for me

The Bottom Line:

Wrap up the present

As a child learns from parent

Memorable piece

Lessons Wrapped Up in Fun

I had decided that the Making Memories ornament series from Hallmark was going to be a series I only collected if they appealed to me instead of trying to get them every year.  And, as a result…I went exactly one year without buying the ornaments in the series.  I just couldn’t pass up Wrapping Lesson.

This year, the snowparent is teaching the snowchild how to wrap presents.  They are sitting on the ground with a green present in front of them.  They are working on adding a purple polka dot ribbon to the box.  And their cat is right there next to the box lying on its back.

The scene is just so cute.  I can remember getting lessons on how to best wrap presents as a kid as well.  Not that I wound up really being able to do it.  I’m somewhat better as an adult, but not much.  But that wasn’t because of lack of trying on my parents’ part.

As always, this scene is sitting on top of a snowflake shaped base.  I’ve always loved that touch.  This also means that it sits flat if you want to set it out to be displayed.  Meanwhile, if you go to hang the ornament, you’ll find that it hangs perfectly flat.

And the series number is on the bottom of the ornament.

This series is so cute, that’s it’s hard to resist.  Wrapping Lesson is another perfect example as to why.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Making Memories series.

February 2nd's Sunday/Monday Post

Another weekend has rolled around, so it's time for a Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It was a fairly quiet week for me.  Which, given the week's we've had so far this year, has been a good thing.  The little bit of rain we got last weekend was enough to get rid of the fire danger, at least for right now.  We've got more rain coming this week, so that should kill the threat of fires until probably late summer or fall.  Yep, they always come back.  Especially here in So Cal.  But usually they aren't this bad.  Hopefully, we don't see anything like the last few weeks for a long time.

In other news, my walking book club finally met again Saturday morning!  We hadn't met since last May.  First, it was because it was so hot during the summer.  Then, just as we were going to pick back up, there was a plumbing issue that caused a flood in the library that hosts it.  They just finally reopened, so we were back.

And yes, that is exactly what it sounds like.  We meet and walk around the neighborhood where the library is.  We talk about the books we've read recently.  Which works well for me since it means I don't have to read a particular book for it.  That's the main reason I haven't joined a more traditional book club.  I have so many books calling my name I'm not sure I want someone else picking some books for me to read.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Fatal Reunion by Annette Dashofy

Tuesday - TV Show Review: Only Murders in the Building - Season 2

Wednesday - Book Review: Written in Blood by Sheila Lowe

Thursday - Movie Review: Mystery Woman - In the Shadows

Friday - January's Reading Summary

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Ornament Review: Wrapping Lesson

Tuesday - Book Review: Framed for Murder by Marla A. White

Wednesday - Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 4

Thursday - Book Review: Murder at Beechwood by Alyssa Maxwell

Friday - Movie Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Impossible Dream

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul

Hold on to your hats.  Have I got a lot of books to tell you about this week.

We'll start off with my Kindle deals.  All of these are currently still showing as deals as of my typing this Saturday night.

Up first is a Freebie.  Appetizers and Alibis is the first in a series from Erica J. Whelton.  I really don't know anything about the series, but it was free and it sounds good.  You can't beat that, right?

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin naturally crossed my radar.  I do love mysteries after all.  I'm not sure if it is something I would have picked up to read, but when the ebook went on sale, I snagged it.

And now for something completely different from me...I also snagged Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree while it was on sale.  I know, a non-mystery.  Of course, I do enjoy fantasy and scifi when I watch it.  As I keep saying, I've fallen into mystery and I can't get out, not that I'm trying that hard.  I'm sure if I read more I'd enjoy it.  I've heard lots of good about this book, so hopefully I will enjoy it.

Up next are two ARCs I got from author Liz Milliron.  She has two books coming out in the next two months.  The first one actually still doesn't have links for preorder even though it it due this week.  There's some kind of communication hick up.  Anyway, that book is The Lies We Live, the sixth in her Homefront Mysteries set in Buffalo during World War II.  In March, we will get Shattered Sight, the first in a new series featuring a detective in Niagara Falls set in the present day.  

Finally, I decided it was a good time to get listening to another audio book, so I went to see what I could get from the library.  I'm back to Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand series with April Fool Dead.  Hard to believe when I finish this one, I'll be half way through the series.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm listening to April Food Dead at the moment.  I've somehow made it 60% into the book already, which is a little hard to believe.  I'm really enjoying it and have no idea where the story is going to go.

I'm also working on Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy.  This is the first in a series because clearly I don't have enough series going.  I had thought I might get it read this weekend, depending on how much reading time I got in.  Not going to happen.  So I'm aiming to finish it up on Monday at this point.  So far, I am intrigued by the story, but I haven't gotten that far into it.

That's it for me.  Hope you have a great week.