The Poison Pen Murders (Ally McKinley #5) by Dee MacDonald

 Cozy mystery set in the Scottish Highlands.

Ally McKinley owns the Auld Malthouse Bed & Breakfast in the village of Locharran. She’s also a naturally nosy woman who happens to be a sort of amateur sleuth in a place that has recently seen its share of murder. When one of the locals contacts her about a friend having received a threatening letter, Ally decides to go with her to do a wellness check and find out more. Unfortunately, they are too late and the woman, Juliet, is dead. With few clues and no note to be found, they contact the local detective, Amir Kandahar, and leave it with him. But, wait, other elderly women are receiving the same notes. Ally soon finds the connection to a young woman who all of them knew when they were in school. Now Ally looks at the guests staying at her B&B and also at some of the other odd men hanging about. One of them has to be the killer. 

This was basically a sort of locked room mystery since the town is small and the characters are mostly well known to each other. It takes no big investigator to realize that one of the outsiders must be doing the deeds and most of the book is Ally running around talking to people about the murders and dodging the many red herrings. There was not much excitement, suspense, or tension as the suspect pool was small. Ally and Ross romance is comfortable and village life should be more quiet as indeed Locharran seems to draw some bad actors. 

This is the fifth book in the series and there doesn’t seem much more that can happen up there in the Western Highlands. I’ve read all of them from the beginning and I’m starting to lose interest. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Books on Tour 11-3-2026

This is the fifth book in the series that is best read from the beginning in order.

Genre and tags: Scotland, cozy mystery, murder, revenge, unwed mother, suicide, 

The Girl in the Lake (#3 Homes, Margaret, and Poe) by James Patterson and Brian Sitts

 Private investigators Holmes, Marple, and Poe have temporarily relocated to a remote lodge in upstate New York following a bombing and fire that destroyed their home and base of operations. When a body of a young mother is discovered in the frozen waters of Cayuga Lake, Holmes and cohort are surprised to hear that there was a note implicating him in the murder. Of course it’s their old and dangerous nemesis Oliver Paul. This time he’s making threats to continue his murderous explosions unless they bring him his wife, the imprisoned and notorious Agnes Matts. 

This third in the series was a bit of a downer as there wasn’t much sleuthing and little actual detecting of any kind. There were tons of side plots and diversions including Marple with her French cooking and exposure of a chef’s sexual abuse, Poe and Virginia obsessed with their muscle car and racing, Holmes with his fixation on his psychiatrist, Grey’s twin pregnancy and a lot of other uninteresting details including the oil rig description and everything about Oliver Paul and Agnes Matts. I’m tired of this continued focus on that particular villain. Can’t we move on? 

Yeah it was a quick and easy mindless read, but I was hoping for more of the intelligent and brilliant deductive reasoning and impressive investigative work that the trio is meant to be doing. The whole romance thing between Marple and Holmes is a bust and there is no way that needs to continue as they should friend zone. Holmes is way too messed up for her. Anyway, that’s my thought. Let’s get back to a good solid crime and a fresh set of bad guys. I missed the suspense and tension and the clever interaction. The title is quite misleading as the girl in the lake took about 2 pages of the book and had nothing to do with the overall plot. 

I was able to listen to the audio book from my local library while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Christine Lakin, did a great job as usual with the characters although this would definitely benefit from having a male voice for Holmes and Poe. She definitely mastered the variety of accents. 

This is the third book in the series that needs to be read from the beginning in order.

Genre and tags: detective fiction, eponymous character names, serial killer

Samantha: the Next Chapter by Fiona Davis

 A return to the world of an American Girl

Samantha Parkington, age 25 in 1920, returns to Mount Bedford to spend the summer with her Grandmary. Now an adult, she's independent and determined to create a life of fulfillment with many plans for her future. The reunion is marred by Grandmary's obvious decline and Samantha knows that changes are ahead. It is quite a shock, however, when she learns that  Grandmary's estate has been stolen and Samantha is left without any resources. She takes herself off to find a job and gets involved in a local criminal enterprise while trying to wrest back her fortune from the thieves.

Reads more like YA and is definitely not adult oriented though the author throws in insta romance.
Samantha is just a little bit too much — I think it was her ability with self defense maneuvers that really pushed it a beat too far.
Lots of repetition about her goals with becoming a teacher and also her work with the women’s rights movement. We got it in the first chapter. And then she started her own investigation 
It was like throwing a little bit of everything about 1920s into one book touching on prohibition, women working, race relations, theater and music. Too much.
I liked it OK but I don’t need to read any more about Samantha all grown up or about any of the other American Girls. 
They worked great for middle school age.
I didn’t have really high expectations and I can see what the goal was but I’ll pass. 

I think this might be a planned series. Not going to continue.

Genre and tags: American Girl world, 1920s, YA 

The Not So Happy Couple by Emily Shiner

 Disappointing psychological thriller and domestic melodrama 

Bradley and his wife, Marissa, have an enviable life but that's about to fall apart. To celebrate their anniversary, Bradley takes her out to sea on his luxury yacht. Oh no, a storm sets in, but even worse, they discover a dead body in their bedroom cabin. As they both stare, aghast, at the woman, they realize that each knows the victim. Of course they don't disclose this to their spouse. Bradley calls the Coast Guard to retrieve the corpse and they return home, both shaken and trying to figure out who killed her. When they get back, the real games begin. 

That's when the whole premise falls apart. Told in alternating points of view, this tried to be a suspenseful thriller but it founders under the weight of all the cliches and pacing. It became frustrating listening to the same "he/she is lying to me" lines over and over. The main characters are all thoroughly unlikable, have no depth and nobody cares about them or their secrets after all. Their choices and behavior are unlikable and there are unbelievable connections that strain suspension of disbelief to its absolute limit. It was so very predictable from the first page, but I hung in there for the less than exciting payoff. Definitely fell short of my expectations. 

Key takeaways to consider:

Repetitive 
Totally unlikable characters 
Predictable 
Slow revelations 
Tropes galore 
Anticlimactic conclusion 
Unlikely behavior 
Unbelievable relationships and connections 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publisher and I'm so sorry it just was not what I'd hoped when I requested. The three narrators made an attempt to voice their characters, but not all went as it should have there. When Anna Maria does Marissa she's fine but her trying to do Bradley's character it's so bad. Why didn't Kishore Walker, who is voicing Bradley, jump in for all that dialogue featuring him. It was jarring as Kishore did a decent job on the male voice. Ameila Sciandra did OK with Cami but it was sometimes hard to tell the women apart. There was a lot of dialog in the story so it got confusing when different voices were speaking for the same character. Usually the audio book enhances my enjoyment of a story but I just didn't care for it. 

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

 Genre and tags: secrets, lies, bad marriage, domestic drama, cat and mouse, games 

The Liar's Book Club (#9 Secret, Book, and Scone Society) by Ellery Adams

A cozy mystery characterized by friendship and a blend of tragedy, joy, and hope for the future.

A category four hurricane batters the mountain town of Miracle Springs, North Carolina. Guests are waiting for a groom at a wedding and when he fails to appear, his intended bride and her friends are locked in by the storm and unable to find out what has happened. As flash floods isolate the entire community, power is out, and many have lost everything, a body in formal wear is found in a rusted out old car washed up on the banks of the river. In addition, a valuable manuscript that the almost bride, Jess, was working on, goes missing. As the community tries to recover, Nora Pennington and the fellow members of The Secret, Book, and Scone Society must unravel local secrets and lies to catch a killer before all the evidence is gone. 

This is the 9th book in the series and the first one I have read so it's my first time meeting everyone and that was a lot of characters to keep straight and to put into the different groups. The core of girlfriends forming that Scone Society book group is Nora, the main character and owner of the bookstore, along with June, Hester, and Estella. There's another book club run by Sheldon Vega, called the Blind Date Book Club. The bookstore seems to be a popular place in town for people to gather so they all know each other, some better than others. In any event, the tragedy of the storm brings an outpouring of help, donations, and resources for all those affected. All the while, the book club people are investigating the crime and comforting the bereaved Jess. Nora's boyfriend, Sheriff Grant McCabe, is officially on the case and feeds Nora information. So this was typical amateur cozy sleuthing with all the tropes.  It was almost too saccharin and the people overly empathetic, giving, and up in each others' business. Happy ending guaranteed. I liked it well enough, but I don't know if enough to read another. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Cris Dukehart, was able to master different accents and tones to portray all of the different characters though of course a male voice would have really elevated the production. Listening to a good dramatic performance always enhances my enjoyment of a book.
 

This is the 9th book in the series but the first I have read. I think I would have benefited somewhat by having more familiarity with the characters and the backstory.  

Genre and tags: cozy mystery, North Carolina, storm and flood damage, rescue and recovery efforts, murder, folio restoration, robbery, bookstore, food, coffee, wine 

The Trial of Lizzie Bordon: The Making of a Monster by Roland O'Leary

 This audio production features a full cast of narrators so that the story really comes alive. It is reminiscent of an old time radio show with sound effects. The script comes from trial transcripts and other primary sources so it is more accurate than some of the so called docu-dramas about this woman.

I enjoyed it and wish it had been longer. The crime has never really been solved definitively though I’m sure many have an opinion. It was just so long ago and forensics and evidence and trial procedure are much different now.

This is part of the Trials of the Century series and is the 4th but the only one I've listened to.

The performance is about Lizzie Borden, accused and found not guilty of murdering her father and stepmother. 

The Dying Light (Two Rivers #4) by Ann Cleeves

 Excellent procedural drama.

Set in sweltering North Devon, Detective Matthew Venn and his team are called to the scene where a young woman has been found dead in the swimming pool at Tide House, a luxury holiday home owned by a prominent political family. Even more alarming, her best friend, the property owner’s daughter, has vanished. Venn and his cohort are thrust into a tangled web of local friction and some unusual coincidences. The community isn’t as forthcoming to questioning as Matthew would like and they try to decipher the dangerous truths hidden behind the calculated silences. 

There was a lot going on in this story and the mystery Is complicated by the families of the girls and the people in the town. There’s a lot of psychological tension and not much physical evidence. This isn’t fast paced but proceeds methodically as Venn approaches the case in a sympathetic manner. This was the first I’ve read in this series and it won’t be the last. I liked the characters and the glimpses into their personal lives intrigued me. I enjoyed the surprising revelations and the conclusion.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Jack Holden, did an excellent job of voicing all the characters with their accents and imbuing them with unique personalities. His pacing enhanced the story and made me enjoy it even more. 

This is the 4th book in a series featuring Detective Matthew Venn but only the first I have read.

Genre and tags: police procedural. Devon. Murder, Friendship. Secrets

Conspiracy Theory: A Thriller

 Engaging and fast paced procedural and legal thriller.

Novelist and lawyer Michael Harris is struggling to find an inspiration for a new book when he stumbles onto an old national tragedy, the assassination of first lady Gloria Hale. She was killed years ago, but Michael starts digging into old files kept by her former secret service agent. The material he gathers obviously triggers someone because a deadly chain of events begins. Key evidence burns and bodies start dropping so Harris starts to believe that his hypothetical is actually an active high level coverup that puts him in danger. Can you say conspiracy? or is it something even more complicated... 

Oh this was so good, and what an excellent writer Phillip Margolin is. The plot is convoluted but it felt grounded and plausible. There are some familiar suspense tropes, but the rapid pacing makes it a genuinely suspenseful read. I liked the characters, and even though I'm not overly fond of series, I wouldn't say no to another book featuring this main character. It was a nice blend of politics, legal maneuvering, police procedural, and serial killer thriller. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also reading along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Therese Plummer, did a fantastic job with all of the character voices. Her dramatic flair and acting ability made the drama come alive and created a thoroughly immersive experience that enhanced my enjoyment of the book. 

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

Genre and tags: murder, drugs, serial killer, conspiracy, government cover up, politics, legal