A Recipe for Murder (#21 Lady Eleanor Swift) by Verity Bright

 Another entertaining installment in this fun cozy mystery series.

With their wedding just days away, and plans creating a frenzy of activity, Lady Eleanor Swift and Chief Inspector Hugh Seldon are anticipating the most wonderful time. Then, the people in Little Buckford are attacked by a villain with terrible intentions. Someone has used poison. Many in the village are ill and, worst of all, Eleanor's chosen caterer has died. Who is responsible for this nefarious deed and can Lady Swift and her handsome fiancé find the perpetrator in time to save their wedding and reception? 

Everyone at Henley Hall from the aprons to the gardener is involved in the hunt for the evildoer. Eleanor and Hugh are determined to find out why. So amidst their continued work to get all of their tasks completed in time for the ceremony, they join forces with local police to investigate on both sides of their town bridge. And then there’s another death.

Fast and fun mystery with lots of suspects and skullduggery. I like the characters in this long running series and enjoy their interactions. The relationship between Eleanor and her butler, Clifford, is always laced with good natured ribbing. I’m really curious to see where this series is going to go next and look forward to the next installment. I’ve read all the books in order from the beginning and suggest any new readers do the same. It’s one of the really good cozy historicals with lots of period details that make it even more interesting.

This is #21 in a series that should be read in order.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. 

The Secret Detective Agency (#1) by Helena Dixon

 

Murder mystery set in 1941 England during the war.

Miss Jane Treen works at Whitehall overseeing a cadre of secret agents for Brigadier Remington-Blythe. Hard and driven, she’s a chain smoker with a serious coffee addiction. She has no desire to go chasing after missing agents out in the country out of her comfort zone, but needs must when another of her agents goes dark after being hidden away for her own protection at a safe house. She travels to Half Moon Manor to work with codebreaker and puzzle solver Arthur Cilento. He has returned from a work mission for the War Office to find a dead body in the river by his home. Could this woman be Jane’s missing agent? Thus begins a reluctant partnership as the two try to trace a complicated organization of what might be traitors to the British government. 

Let’s see — it took me quite a while to get invested in this time period and story. I didn’t immediately warm to the main characters of Jane (annoying) or Arthur (sickly) and the set up of them being forced to work together. The plot and the many different side characters seemed overly complicated and there were a lot of deaths as Jane and Arthur chased around with only the most flimsy of clues. I was definitely happy that the cat in this book had limited involvement and infrequent mention. 

The plot was convoluted and the denouement seemed rushed after all the suspects couldn’t really be interrogated. I’ll have to reserve my thoughts about where this series might be going and if I will follow it after I read the second book. Not sure this unlikely pair will hold my interest if there is more repetition about Jane’s smoking and coffee and Arthur’s asthma. I surely hope no romance between them as she seems a determined spinster and him a confirmed bachelor. Of course there is also the faithful man servant who seems to be essential to the detecting and is always behind the scenes greasing the wheels. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The performance of the narrator, Kristin Atherton, was excellent. She did a fantastic job with all the voices and the transitions were seamless. Her dramatic flair made the book so much more enjoyable. 

This is the first of a new series. I am going to read the second installment shortly.

Genre - WWII Britain, 1941, secret agents, double agents, traitors, murder

All the Way Gone (Annalisa Vega #4) by Joanna Schaffhausen

 Complex crime thriller, the 4th in a series. Be sure to read the previous installments before tackling this one.

Annalisa Vega, now remarried to Nick, has left the police and formed her own private investigation business. She has multiple investigations she’s working on in this book, the most challenging being asked to ascertain whether a particular person is a sociopath and if so, if he is a good one or a bad one. This person is suspected of having murdered a woman and Annalisa’s client has written a book about him saying he’s basically the good kind — and is in fact a super talented brain surgeon. So is he, or isn’t he.  In addition, there are other cases she’s also got going including one that involves Nick’s daughter. 

For some reason I didn’t like this book and its main plot as much as I have the other three. I thought Annalisa had some serious tunnel vision and also extraordinary access to help with her investigation that I doubt most PIs would have. She was so single minded in her pursuit and it just felt wrong to me how she seemed so self righteous. I didn’t like her character as much. I think it was a mistake for her to leave the police but I can see this is moving in a different direction. The twists and revelations seemed a bit too much after all. I will likely still check out the next installment in the series, but not quite as invested anymore. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the ebook provided by the publisher. The narrator did a good job voicing the characters and added an appropriate dramatic flair when necessary. I find that a good production really enhances my enjoyment of a book and that was true in this case.

This is the 4th in a series that should be read from the beginning.

Genre tags crime thriller, private investigator, murder, sociopaths

Dead and Gone (Annalisa Vega #3) by Joanna Schaffhausen

 This crime thriller has multiple investigations going at once and is the third book in a great series.

Chicago police detective Annalisa Vega has her hands full, not only on the professional front, but also in her personal life. She's asked to investigate Sam Tran's death by hanging. He's an ex-cop turned PI who was a good friend of her boss. She begins by looking into Sam's current and ongoing files in the event that someone killed him because of something he had discovered in the course of his work. Meanwhile, her niece, Quinn, is having a problem on campus. She's a freshman at a local college and Annalisa's brother, Vinny, reports that he had hired Sam because Quinn has a stalker and he wants them found and his daughter left alone. That's not the only problem at the college, however. And that's not the only case of Sam's that Annalisa is chasing. Along with all of her police activity, Annalisa also needs to decide what she plans to do about/with her ex-husband, Nick Carelli.

This was quite absorbing and full of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I found it hard to put down as things started to come together with lots of good red herrings. I like the character of Annalisa as she's a by the book cop who tries to make good decisions and who also cares a lot about the families and victims. She has a complicated backstory with her ex and with her family so it is best that this series be read from the beginning as it makes much more sense that way. The writing is good, lots of action and other well-developed characters and a good set of plots. Looking forward to the next installment.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provide by the publisher. The narrator did an excellent job of voicing all the characters and providing great dramatic flair. This production made the book all that more enjoyable.

This is the third book in a series that should be read in order from the beginning.

Genre - crime fiction, police detectives, murder

Holmes is Missing (#2 Holmes, Marple, and Poe) by James Patterson

 Fast, fun, and totally entertaining crime fiction.

This second in a new series is as good as the first and definitely moves Holmes, Marple, and Poe into a higher rung of my favorites. The prose is direct, clear, and crisp with short chapters, lots of action, and great characters. In addition, the plot is tight and intriguing -- kidnapped infants make for a very intense subject in a gripping thriller. I am worried, however, that Holmes has lost his footing as he tries to take himself out of their partnership.

I enjoyed this one and could barely put it down though I had many other things I was meant to be doing today. I like the relationship between the main characters and the twists and turns the story took. From the USA to London, the investigation is urgent and they are running out of time. Can they find the children and expose the criminal network in time?

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator did a great job with voice and accents for all the characters increasing the drama and enhancing my appreciation of the story. Definitely recommend.

I hope we will see more of Holmes, Marple, and Poe as there are still many more possible directions for them to go in their unique partnership.

This is the second in the series that should be readin order.

Genre - crime thriller, partnerships, kidnapped infants and children

The Unlucky Ones (Black Harbor #4) by Hannah Morrissey

 Dark and complex crime thriller.

This is the 4th and probably last in the series set in Black Harbor, a small crime-ridden town on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Hazel Greenlee returns to Black Harbor after her ex husband, Tommy, is killed inside the Mineshaft, a club/bar full of big and small time criminals. Hazel used to work as a transcriber for the local police and that's how she met and fell in love with Sergeant Nikolai Kole of the Black Harbor Police Department. She escaped the town and all the bad memories, became a successful author and was living in New York. Her return changes everything. She's dropped right in during the investigation and insinuates herself back into Nik's life. Murder. Drugs. Gangs. Money. Things go on one way in this town and that is from bad to worse.

I don't know why, but I just didn't get all that involved with this book in the series. Maybe I was tired of Hazel who just seemed like such a wrong choice as a love interest for Nik. She does one stupid thing after another and I don't see her appeal as I didn't care for her character in previous books and even less in this one. Nik was interesting and had a lot of depth considering all that has happened to him. The plot was centered on stolen drugs and the kill or be killed attitude of all the bad actors. Some of the descriptions of torture and murder were quite gory. Some of the things that happened stretched credulity, especially with regard to Hades. The nasty people were very nasty indeed. It was all just quite dismal and depressing to me. I think it ended on the appropriate note so I can say goodbye and close the book on these characters and this place.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book, both provided by the publishers. I enjoyed the voices of both narrators who brought the characters to life and gave the production a good dramatic flair to enhance my enjoyment of the book. 

This is the 4th book in the series. I've read them all from the beginning and suggest that  you do as well.

Genre - crime fiction, detectives, drugs, murder, gangs

Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman

 An intense, pulse-pounding suspense thriller that I found impossible to put down.

Go into this book without any preconceived notions and avoid reviews that might spoil this well crafted story. 

Nina Hepworth, a 34-year-old literary academic, is shocked to find that she has inherited a beachfront estate on Pond Bay, Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands. Her father recently died, and though he was financially secure and left her well off, she had no idea where and how he could have had this type of money, when he had gone to this house, and why he had built it. She does what anyone would do - she travels to the Caribbean to claim her new property. 

A young nanny arrives at her next assignment. Maria has been hired for 2 weeks to care for a couple of children while their regular caregiver takes some time off. The house is modern, massive, and extremely well appointed. As Maria settles in, she’s invited to enjoy all the amenities while she waits. And she does. But days pass and the client doesn’t arrive. She gets bored, reads all the instructions in the manual, has the run of the place. She is drawn, however, to the last directive telling her not to enter the locked room on the ground floor. She does what anyone would do - she gets herself into that room.

Without spoilers, let me tell you that I couldn’t even begin to guess what was going on for the longest time. It was so packed with information and action as the narrative flipped between Nina and Maria. I really l liked and became fully invested in both of the women and definitely second guessed every decision they made. No idea where this was headed as I tore through the pages trying to make sense of what was happening. I really enjoyed how everything played out because for awhile I was really afraid I was going to find it cheesy and disappointing. It was fast and fun and I recommend it.

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator was the author and she, being a well-known actress, did a marvelous job of voicing the characters and enhancing all the dramatic aspects of the book. It was quite well-done.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Tags - suspense, thriller, cannot say more due to spoilers