{I've Been Reading}

The Alchemist of All Hallows Eve by Gigi Pandian

Take everything that's wonderful about the Accidental Alchemist series and then add old fashioned Halloween traditions and a seance. Zoe and Max are looking for a house to share and she's found the perfect place complete with an orchard and a backyard cottage with a full kitchen where Dorian the gargoyle can create his vegan masterpieces. One tiny problem -- it's known as the Murder House and there might be bodies in the walls. Or clowns. The urband legends are just a bit unclear. I've loved every book in the series, but this one is probably my favorite. Did you know that fortune telling bread was a thing? 

She's a Doll by Barbara Truelove

After her murder, Lucy McQuinn possesses an antique doll. She's angry and afraid and no one but the jerk who killed her even realizes she's dead. I was expecting something along the lines of Tiffany from the Chucky franchise, or maybe the China doll from that story we all told at slumber parties. Lucy is something a lot less scary and a lot more entertaining. She's small, she's broken, the only person who can hear her refuses to listen....but she's also very, very determined.  I absolutely loved this book. It's an emotional roller coaster with a killer doll as the sympathetic protagonist.  If there's a realistic way to tell the story of a murderous bride doll, this is it! (Don't skip the book group questions at the end.) 

Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare

Oh my gosh -- this is the kind of horror novella I didn't know I was looking for! It starts in 1989 with Robby, making pizzas at FunCave Arcade. He loves his job, has perfected his technique for making the frozen dough and sauce come out perfectly -- and then his sleeve snags on the oven's conveyor belt and things go really bad really fast. His spirit remains in the arcade until 2014 when a series of events makes things go much, much worse. Robby was a harmless presence watching over the gamers.  That all changes in an instant. Fast paced and gory, with characters who actually feel like people, I really enjoyed this one. 

Murder on the Rocks by T. E. Kinsey

It's a murder on a country estate, but this estate is a luxuriously converted fort on an isolated island. There's no way to leave and no way to report the death until the boat returns to take them home. Set in 1913 and rich with historical detail, this is the thirteenth Lady Hardcastle mystery and the first that I've read. There's not a lot of backstory included, but it was easy enough to jump in without trying to figure out what I'd missed. I really enjoyed the chance to vicariously step back in time. The murder weapon was definitely unique and the mystery was entertaining.  Now I want to know if all of those snippets of stories that Flo and Lady Hardcastle divulged through the course of the book are from the earlier titles. 

Two Purloined Pillows by Allie Pleiter

The second book in the Nimble Needle mystery series really highlight's Shelby's effort to take over her mother's needlework shop. For decades, it's been Nina's Nimble Needle and Nina herself is having trouble stepping back. The shop is hosting two rival needlepoint designers for the town's annual arts festival and they expect their every demand to be catered to -- by Nina. Shelby is struggling to keep the situation under control...and then one of their difficult needlework designers drops dead in front of everyone at the festival's opening event. I enjoyed this one. There's lot of focus on needlepoint and the canvas and threads. The murder mystery has a satisfying conclusion. I do with the author spent a little less time telling us that needlepoint isn't for grandmas. Don't we all know that already? 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies .

{I've Been Reading}

 Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Festival by Traci Hall

As soon as I finished the last page, I dashed off to the author's web page to sign up for her mailing list. I cannot WAIT for the second book in this series to come out so that I can spend more time with Macki and her family. This book had me completely, very happily, immersed in the orchards and pie filled kitchen and waiting impatiently for answers. There's a complex mystery with long simmering rivalries and an intense conclusion. The atmosphere will appeal to readers who are ready to finish with Summer and get into the Fall fun. There's a lot of vivid and detailed description, so if that isn't your thing this might not be the best choice for you. I read cozies for the chance to vicariously experience different places and hobbies, so I loved it.  

Assisted Living by Gianaclis Caldwell 

This eco horror novel has such a vivid, creepy setting that I'm looking at the big fir trees next to my house a little differently and hoping I've never done anything to offend them. (It was the previous owner who cut down their former companions, not me!) The author does a great job of creating suspenseful scenes early on, but when the big scary stuff started to unfold, it left me a bit underwhelmed.  It went from being a great, character driven book to a mediocre disaster movie. Then that final chapter got me caught up again and left me curious to see where this trilogy is going. So I'm not sure how I feel about it. 

The Secret Attic by Chelsea Conradt

From the first few pages, I felt like a new aquaintance was sharing her story. Addison never got along with her mother-in-law and, after the older woman's death, she finds herself sorting through Barb's belongings, trying to make sense of it all and help her husband deal with his grief even though she'd rather be absolutely anywhere else. This feels like a real person's experience and Addision struggles without jumping to the usual "she was awful and I'm not" that you encounter so often in fiction and in real life. Barb was an awful woman, but throughout the book Addison feels like a genuinely nice person struggling with an impossible situation. The first time she realizes that something is really wrong in the huge old house is chilling. Halfway through the book I felt like the plot slowed to a crawl but it picks up again before the satisfying ending. 

 Buried in the Woods Below by Daniel G. Miller

An isolated island with an abandoned amusement park and a heroine who has been hired as a nanny even though she has no experience with young children...this book has the elements of a traditional gothic with some modern twists. It's a wild, dramatic ride and I'm blown away by author's ability to create suspense within a scene. The ending wasn't a total shock, but I'm not unhappy with it.  (I'm not going to give spoilers, but if you're a reader who prefers trigger warnings, you should probably check for them berfore reading.) 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} Miss Morton Takes the Waters

 Miss Morton Takes the Waters by Catherine Lloyd

I picked this book for the setting. Back when I was reading a ton of historical romances, Bath was mentioned frequently, without any details. Now my curiosity has been satisfied and I've enjoyed an intriguing mystery along the way. And, since I jumped in with the fifth book (there's just enough backstory included  that I didn't feel lost) I've got the opportunity to immediately go back and spend more time with the characters. I definitely want to find out more about Mrs. Frogerton. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading}

Probable Caws by Donna Andrews 

I jumped into the Meg Langslow mystery series with the 34th book (Let it Crow, Let it Crow!)  Despite the fact that I was missing years and years of backstory, I immediately fell in love with Meg and her wonderful extended family. I was excited to see that the newest book takes us back to Ragnar's castle and Meg's blacksmithing -- and the crows! Fifty rescue horses have been displaced from the farmland where they were being cared for and everyone is on hand to get them safely situated in Ragnar's barns and pastures. The horses are settling in well, but there's plenty of conflict between their caregivers and (of course) a body discovered in a barn in the middle of the night... All of the best elements of this series come together in a fast paced read with a satifying mystery at its center. 

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkenen

I absolutely loved this book! It has so many elements that appealed to me, especially the 1960s setting and parapsychology experiments. Dual timelines alternate between four young college students being tested for psychic abilities and Riley, a young woman who has accepted as job as caretaker for Betty, an elderly woman who really doesn't seem to need her services. Betty's house is a time capsule that she hasn't left in years. When she asks Riley to help her contact her old friends, it quickly becomes obvious to the reader that something happened back in 1964 and the tension gradually builds until you start to fear just how bad it's going to be. By the end, I was gripping the edges of my phone. Quotes at the beginnings of the chapters remind us that this kind of research was a real thing.

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies.