Valentine Candy Murder
Two Lucy Stone novels, Valentine Murder #5 originally published in 1998 and Chocolate Covered Murder #18 originally published in 2012, are combined in Valentine Candy Murder. Two weeks before Valentine’s Day, Lucy is attending her first library board meeting. When she goes to the basement looking for Bitsy, the librarian,Continue Reading
Steamed Open
Steamed Open, the seventh in the Maine Clambake Mysteries, has great characters and will teach the reader about clamming but the mystery was too easy to solve. Bartholomew Frick, a stranger in town, inherits theHendrickson mansion, lighthouse, and beach after 101-year-old Lou’s death. His first move is to bar accessContinue Reading
The Flash Vol 8: Flash War
The Flash Vol 8: Flash War describes the human feelings driving some of the Flash Family to despair. The holiday season is when you get together with your family and remember those who were taken too soon. The Flash Family is no different. Wally has the holiday blues and isContinue Reading
Curse of Oak Island
Six people have died and multiple fortunes squandered on the world’s most famous treasure hunt. The Curse of Oak Island is a comprehensive history of each attempt. In 1795, a young man finds a mysterious depression on Oak Island, a small island off Nova Scotia. With two of his friends,Continue Reading
Catch Me if Yukon
Senior moments, travel mishaps and murder meet in Catch Me if Yukon. Husband and wife team Etienne and Emily run Destinations Travel, a senior tour group out of Iowa. This trip is a twelve-day Alaskan bus tour. Along with their twelve regulars are seven new travelers from the same IowanContinue Reading
For Better and Worse
Natalie and Will meet in law school, marry and have eleven-year-old Charlie when a family crisis threatens to break up their family in For Better and Worse. Natalie is suspicious that Will is having an affair. He is criticizing her appearance and organizational skills constantly. Will has also lost weightContinue Reading
Into the Night
Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is back in the absorbing Australian police procedural Into the Night. Gemma has moved from her hometown and son, Ben, to Melbourne. Her relationship with Ben’s father, Simon, mutually ended after The Dark Lake. Gemma is falling into half-night stands with strangers picked up in barsContinue Reading
The Mansion
The Mansion is haunted by ancient prohibition-era ghosts who seem to have possessed the house’s personal assistant, Nellie. The only hope for the inhabitants are psychic twin seven-year-olds conceived on the estate. Billy and Shawn were best college buddies who spent the two years following college living in a ruralContinue Reading
Project Management Essentials
A brief look at Project Management Essentials using the sixth edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) as a map of how to proceed. Within project management, there are five processes: Initiating Planning Executing Monitoring and Controlling Closing Included within the Initiating process is selectingContinue Reading
Division Bell Mystery
Set in the houses of Parliament in 1932, when it was also written, the Division Bell Mystery is the first mystery written by a female member of Parliament. Someone is murdered. However, the focus is on British politics. Not being British, I had a hard time following the story. ThoseContinue Reading
Station Blackout
On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 earthquake struck eastern Japan. It was followed by a 45 foot high tsunami. After the water left, miles of land were contaminated and 15,870 were confirmed dead. Station Blackout is the story of what happened within the two nuclear plants most impacted by theContinue Reading
Deep War
Deep War is a war where everything is at stake—think the Somme or Stalingrad. China has intervened in a skirmish between India and Pakistan. When the United States sent in a carrier battle group, China destroyed it with a nuclear bomb—killing all 10,000 people aboard. It’s now year two ofContinue Reading
Book Giveaway of The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go
Enter this book giveaway to grab an advance reader’s paperback copy of The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go by Amy E. Reichert. The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go is a heartfelt tale of a family trying to communicate during a trying time by the author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake.Continue Reading
Murder at the Mill
Family secrets abound in Murder at the Mill. Painter Iris rents a cottage on the grounds of famous mystery writer Dom’s large Hampshire family estate. Iris is deciding what to do about her verbally abusive husband and failing marriage. When Ariadne, Dom’s wife, hires Iris to paint his portrait, IrisContinue Reading
Hall of Mirrors
It’s 1969. Bryant and May are tasked with keeping a witness safe at an English Country House weekend. Unfortunately, the Army has closed the only exit road due to war games. There are nine suspects and more than one potential victim in this Hall of Mirrors. Hall of Mirrors isContinue Reading
My Favorite Half-Night Stand
My Favorite Half-Night Stand tells the story of moving beyond the friend zone. Reid, Chris, Alex, Ed and Millie are best friends and colleagues. They are all scientists and teachers at University of California Santa Barbara. When their college schedules a black tie dinner with President Obama, they worry aboutContinue Reading