{I've Been Reading} The Corpse in the Gazebo

 

The Corpse in the Gazebo by Debra Sennefelder

Food blogger Hope Early isn't the only one fighting with Birdie Donovan, but she's the one who finds the unpleasant woman lying dead in her backyard gazebo and the one who baked the muffins that are responsible for Birdie's death. 

I enjoyed the mystery element, but really started to lose patience with Hope. Her actions immediately after discovering Birdie's body had me asking a whole lot of questions. This is the fourth book I've read in the five book series and something seems off with the character. 

 

My Caesarean: Twenty-One Mothers on the C-Section Experience and After edited by Amanda Fields ad Rachel Moritz

I've had  this book in my TBR pile for a very long time and kept cautiously circling around the idea of reading it until I finally picked it up last week and read through the whole thing in three sittings. My biggest take away from reading it is that I'm not nearly as angry about my own two c-sections as some of the authors who wrote these essays. That honestly surprised me. What I'm upset about is the quality of care I received after major surgery, not missing out on the birth experiences I expected. 

I appreciated the chance to read about the surgery and recovery from so many different perspectives. I learned a lot and had some of my own opinions confirmed. 

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance  review copy. This post contains affiliate links. 

{I've Been Reading} Murder Gets a Makeover

 

Murder Gets a Makeover by Laura Levine 

This time writer-for-hire Jaine Austen hasn't been hired to pen something ridiculous....instead her friend and neighbor, Lance, has volunteered her to be the subject of a makeover. As soon as she meets influencer Bebe Braddock, Jamie has second thoughts. Everyone on the woman's staff hates her. She's nasty, and overbearing, and before long Jaine finds Bebe strangled with a wire hanger and Jaine's fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. 

This short mystery novel is fast paced and funny. In addition to solving the murder, Jaine is trying to recover her beloved Cuckoo for Coco Puffs T-shirt, to deal with her cat who just went viral for rescuing a toddler, and to navigate a new relationship with a much younger man.

Danger at the Cove by Hannah Dennison

There's a lot going on at Tregarrick Rock Hotel. Sisters Evie and Margot have their hands full with renovations, but it's looking like things might just get done in time for their grand opening. Margot is sure that they can accommodate one of her old friends who just arrived from Hollywood with little advance notice, and the friend's new beau, who arrived with absolutely no advance notice. And then there's a murder. I didn't reread the cover copy before starting the book so I wasn't quite sure who was going to wind up dead and not knowing definitely added to the suspense. 

I've really been looking forward to the second Island Sisters mystery and this one is just as much fun as  the first book. The hotel and island sound enchanting, especially the garden of figureheads. A rare low tide is going to expose a centuries old shipwreck and they plan to walk out to it. (Unlike the characters, I think I'd be headed out as soon as it was safe to start walking instead of waiting until after breakfast!) 

Murder at the House on the Hill by Victoria Walters 

Nancy Hunter and her grandmother live in the tiny village of Dedley End where they run a bookstore specializing in mysteries and thrillers. When a party at the stately mansion on the hill over their tiny village ends in murder, Nancy's best friend bets that the two of them won't be able to solve the mystery before the police. This one has all of the elements you'd expect to find in a cozy mystery, but it took me a while to get into it. The mystery element is eventually complex and satisfying, but for the first few chapters I couldn't keep the members of the victim's family straight or remember for sure who the dead woman was. 

Disclosure -- This post contains affiliate links. The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. 

{I've Been Reading} The Summoning by J. P. Smith

 

 

The Summoning by J. P. Smith

Fake medium Kit Capriol reads the obituaries every morning, looking for potential clients. Her own husband was killed in the Twin Towers on 9/11. She knows all about grief and the hope that it would be possible to communicate with the dearly departed and, although she can't seem to get an acting job, she's very good at convincing her clients that she's receiving messages from beyond the grave. 

I've got mixed feelings about this one. At first I didn't like Kit at all, but as I got further into the book I realized that everything wasn't quite what it seemed. By the middle chapters I was really enjoying it, then by end end I wasn't sure what to think.

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links. 

{I've Been Reading} I Let Him In

 The Family Plot by Megan Collins

The Lighthouse family is "unnatural." That's what Dahlia's twin brother tells her before running away on his sixteenth birthday. It's not until ten years after Andy's disappearance that Dahlia returns to the family's isolated island mansion for their father's funeral and realizes that her brother never left the property at all. All this time, he's been buried in the family plot, in the grave set aside for their father, his skull split open with his own axe. 

A serial killer has lurked on the island for decades, killing young women and branding them before leaving their bodies  to be battered by the waves. Dahlia and her siblings were educated through the homeschool curriculum their mother devised, one that consisted of writing carefully researched reports about murder victims and holding annual ceremonies to honor their names. The siblings themselves were named after famous murder victims. Now, while Dahlia tries to figure out what happened to Andy, her older brother, Charlie, is planning to open the house as a memorial museum and her sister, Tate, is constructing an intricate diorama of the murder scene. 

I really enjoyed this one. It's a mystery with a kind of traditional gothic feel to it. Even though I'm not a true crime expert by any stretch of the imagination, the author provides just enough context with her references that I never felt like I was missing too much. 

The Liar Next Door by Nicola Marsh

Three women cross paths at a neighborhood party. There's the expectant mother, who is hosting a gender reveal in an attempt to make connections with her new neighbors. There's the social influencer, and there's her new neighbor who might be a little too anxious to build a friendship between them. 

It's an somewhat entertaining read. The chapters alternate between the three women and more than once I found myself flipping back to double check whose part of the story I was reading. Spoiler -- everyone in this book is a liar. They've all got secrets to hide. The ending was abrupt and a little unsatisfying, but I don't regret reading through to get there. 

I Let Him In by Jill Childs 

After a hit and run accident puts an end to her travel plans, Louise finds herself with her leg in a cast, mostly confined to her small apartment. She hires a friend of an acquaintance to repaint the walls and 

they begin to develop a relationship that's threatened by dark secrets Louise has hidden from almost everyone in her life...This one is all over the place. It starts with the accident and feels like a tense thriller, then veers into romantic suspense territory, then winds up someplace else entirely. It wasn't the sort of read I was hoping for and ended with a final twist that made no sense. 

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links. 

{I've Been Reading} The Sister-in-Law

 

 

The Sister-in-Law by Pamela Crane

Wow! From the book's cover copy, I expected Candace to have difficulty with her new sister-in-law. I didn't expect the conflict to be so immediate or both women to be so nasty. These two aren't even going to try to get along. I was never sure which of them I was supposed to be siding with. The plot is fast paced and entertaining an although I found some parts unbelievable, I had fun reading it. 

Disclosure -- This post contains affiliate links. the publisher provided me with an advance review copy.

{I've Been Reading} Dark Roads

 

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

It was my buddy Jo, from Jo's Country Junction, who recommended Still Missing. I guess I can thank her for getting me hooked on thrillers and Chevy Stevens's books in particular. It was  the book's description that really made me want to read it, even before I realized who it was by, but I almost feel like it gave too much away. After the death of her father, teenager Hailey McBride uses the notoriety of the Cold Creek highway to escape her controlling uncle. Women have been disappearing from the area for decades. Sometimes their bodies were found. Others disappeared without a trace. Hailey hopes that she'll be seen as just another victim of whoever was responsible and can escape her life. But that doesn't happen until well into the book. At times Hailey felt really young and I had to remind myself that she was just a kid so of course she was acting that way. I'm not sure if I've ever felt the loss of a character the way I did in this book.

 

 Bad Scene by  Max Tomlinson

Set in 1978 San Francisco, this mystery definitely isn't a cozy. The protagonist, Colleen Hayes, spent a decade in jail for fatally stabbing her husband in the neck with a screwdriver. Her estranged daughter is involved with a cult. (I'm guessing one of the earlier books in the series explained why there's a restraining order against her, filed by a different cult that her daughter was previously involved with -- these are really interesting characters!) She's also infiltrating a neo-Nazi group of bikers to investigate rumors that they plan to shoot the mayor.  And did I mention the active volcano in South America  where the cult is building its new church? This book is a wild ride that had me holding my breath more than once.

   

Home Sweet Home by Nicole Trope 

Something is wrong in the pretty house on Hogarth Street. The twins haven't left for school. The drapes and windows are still tightly shut and Katherine won't answer the door, not to receive a delivery that requires a signature or to talk to her next door neighbor. It took me a while to figure out what was going on but once I did I was hooked. Katherine and  her husband are a bit of a mystery until the end, but the delivery driver and concerned neighbor were both intriguing enough to hold my interest while I waited to find out what was going to happen to the family in the locked house. 

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links. 

{I've Been Reading} This is How It Ends

 

This is How it Ends by Eva Dolan 

Only a few residents remain in the once crowded apartment building, refusing the developer's offers to buy them out, knowing that their days there are numbered. A party in the building ends with a man's body in one of the vacant units and two of the protesters disposing of him down an elevator shaft. Its bleak setting sets this thriller apart from others I've read. The plot moves slowly, but it's definitely got atmosphere. 

 

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links. 

{I've Been Reading} Her Sister's Secret

 

 

 Her Sister's Secret by S. E. Lynes 

A late night call from her nephew brings Isla running. All she knows is that there was a fire, that her sister and her sister's new husband are dead, and that Callum needs her. Isla quickly realizes that she didn't know much at all about her sister's marriage or her new life. Things weren't as perfect as  they appeared from a distance.

I loved this domestic thriller with its intriguing plot and fun little details that kept me immersed in the book. The story unfolds with Isla in the present and Annie's recent past leading up to the days just before the fire.  

 

The Perfect Father by Charlotte Duckworth

When Esther receives a text message from her husband that just reads "sorry" and comes home to find an empty house, she's panicked. Robin has stayed home to care for their daughter since her birth and, after an extremely difficult pregnancy, Esther was grateful that he did. Now he's left with their two-year-old and she's filled with questions. 

This is one of those books where the narrator is deliberately withholding information from the reader. Almost immediately, we discover that Robin wasn't a perfect father or husband. The plot jumps between the past and present and chapters alternate between husband and wife. It was interesting, but everything important had happened long before that text message and I never felt a real sense of urgency or suspense. 

   

 What She Knew by Miranda Rijks

When a researcher approaches her for an interview about her college roommate, Stephanie's husband advises her not to speak to him. He doesn't want her dredging up bad memories. It's been almost ten years. Allison's presumed murderer is behind bars even though her body was never found. There's an explanation for why Stephanie didn't ask more questions at the time, but it seems like at some point between then and now she would've started to wonder more about what happened. 

I didn't love this one. It had me reaching for the dictionary twice in the first few chapters. I didn't have that reaction to The Visitors or The Influencer, so I'm guessing that it was supposed to be the protagonist's educated vocabulary.   I didn't really warm up to Stephanie although until the plot started to unfold. Near the end of  the book, things got much more interesting. 
 

Disclosure - The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links. 

{I've Been Reading}

Antiques Carry On by Barbara Allan 

Brandy and Vivian Bourne are off to London to meet with their new editor, squabbling as usual. In addition to the meeting, they've got some touristy stuff planned and an errand to visit a local antique dealer...and that's where things start to very wrong and the authorities become involved. 

This is the kind of fast paced fun that I've come to expect from this series. Brandy and Vivian are still bickering with each other (and their editor) and Vivian has a new informant that's crazy even for her. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. This post contains affiliate links. 

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {July 2021}

 

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules:  Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

{I've Been Reading} A Glimmer of a Clue

 

 A Glimmer of a Clue by Daryl Wood Gerber

The second book in the Fairy Garden mystery series is filled with  fairies and plants and lots of fun atmosphere...and an extremely competitive pickleball player who winds up stabbed to death with a letter opener from one of Courtney's fairy gardens. I actually enjoyed this one more than the first book, but I couldn't tell you whether that's because it's a better mystery or because I've had some time to get used to the idea of actual sparkly fairies in a cozy mystery. It's a fun read and if you're curious about making a fairy garden it will give you lots of ideas. 

Draw and Order by Cheryl Hollon

Miranda Trent makes her living leading cultural excursions that pair outdoor painting lessons with traditionally distilled moonshine and local cuisine. Her day trip with the Risky Business Adventurers is cut short by the discovery of skeletal remains near the trailhead and Miranda is afraid that the bones belong to her missing cousin. The second Paint & Shine mystery is almost as fun as the first. The discovery of the skeleton and the events that follow are wonderfully atmospheric and creepy. If there's anything I dislike about the book it's Miranda's constantly voiced opinion that men don't like taking orders from women. I think it's more than possible that the ones she's having trouble with are just jerks.... I'll be looking forward to the next book in the series.  

 

Her Last Holiday by C. L. Taylor 

Two years ago Fran's sister, Jenna, vanished at a Soul Shrink wellness retreat. Now self help guru Tom Wade has been released from prison and Fran is signing up for his first retreat, determined to find out what  he's been hiding. Two guests died in the sweat lodge, but Jenna's body was never found. Fran and her family want answers. 

I had a hard time keeping track of the complicated web of relationships. There are a lot of characters,   both in the past and the present. Fran is using an alias, so when other characters are referring to her, she's got a different name...and it gets more confusing than that, but I don't want to risk spoilers. For me, the most intriguing part was Tom's relationship with his wife. I found myself more interested in the future of Soul Shrink than in what happened to Jenna. 

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links. 

Lovebirds

I finished a thing! With all the stitching I've done over the past few months, there haven't been many finishes because most of my current projects are HUGE. 

Who would have guessed that I could have so much fun stitching with just one color? 

 

This is Lovebirds by Autumn Lane Stitchery, from the February 2021 issue of Just Cross Stitch. The pattern calls for pink fabric, which looks absolutely lovely, but I had a piece of blue aida from the thrift store and it contrasted well with the white, so that's what I used. I stitched with three strands of floss so that the stitching would stand out more against the background fabric and there's a bit of backstitching in a matching shade of blue that adds some delicate detailed touches.  

Our wedding date is hidden in that bottom flower, just the month and day. This isn't a wedding sampler, because I didn't want this project to be the wedding sampler forever and ever...its just a little piece to commemorate thirty years of marriage. 

{I've Been Reading} Tell Me When You Feel Something

 

 

 Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant

This one starts with a tragedy and then reveals the events that led up to the night of  the party. Viv and her friends work at the local med school as simulated patients. Before each shift, they study scripts and are made as if they have different diseases or injuries. Under all of that makeup, Viv is concealing real symptoms and hurtling towards the night where she'll overdose at a party. There's video of Viv swallowing the pill, along with a roomful of witnesses. But no one has any idea where she got the drugs or if her overdose was deliberate. After a slow start, this one really picks up speed and by the end I was filled with mounting dread. 

{I've Been Reading} The Hive

 

The Hive by Gregg Olsen

A murder investigation leads to Marnie Spellman, the founder of a cult like cosmetics empire. Marnie claims that when she was a child, a swarm of bees lifted her into the air and spoke to her. That miraculous encounter led her to create her company and surround herself with a closely guarded inner circle of confidantes. This book sounded right up my alley, but I had a hard time slogging through it. Marnie and the bees are introduced in a brief prologue, then we don't hear anything else about her backstory until nearly a quarter of the way through the book...and that story is what made me pick it up in the first place. There's a lot of other stuff going on and eventually most of it ties together, but I didn't enjoy this one.  

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links.