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Fateful Words: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery by Paige Shelton

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Fateful Words by Paige Shelton Edwin, the owner of the Cracked Spine bookstore in Edinburgh, leaves town quickly for some secret business. This leaves his second in command, Delaney, in charge of the bookshop just as a group arrives for Edwin's highly regarded book-related holiday tours.  Delaney is a bit out of her comfort zone as she hasn't run one of these tours before and now must scramble to figure out all the locations plus manage some unique guests.  Just as she meets with the tour group, the inn manager falls to his death from the top of the inn where the group is lodging. To complicate matters further, one of the tour guests subsequently disappears, and Delaney is also still trying to figure out where Edwin has gone. I liked that the action picked up quickly in this book, which made it a quick read with lots of twists and turns in the plot. This is the first book in the Scottish book shop series by Paige Shelton that I have read.  Despite this being the 8th book ...
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Death comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood

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  A fun mystery revolving around three retired friends who have recently started investigating murders. Although this is the second book in the series, you don't need to have read the first to enjoy this book. Judith, Becks and Suzie are at a swanky party to celebrate the pending nuptials of local bigwig Sir Peter Bailey. You can tell pretty quickly that he's going to be the one to get knocked off; however, it's a locked room mystery that needs to be solved. I thought the characters were all well-written and distinct, with my favourite being Judith. This is a fun weekend mystery to read, and I'm looking forward to going backwards and reading the first book. Definitely recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC for review.
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Isabel Puddles Abroad by M.V. Byrne

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Isabel Puddles Abroad is an enjoyable cozy mystery. It's the perfect read for when you feel like taking a little trip to another destination in your reading life.   Isabel is in her 60's. Her children are grown, and now it is time for Isabel to take on new challenges. She's decided to return to college to finish the degree she'd meant to do when she had children. However, as a break, Isabel takes up her new friend Teddy Mansfield's offer to visit him in England. Ultimately, like Miss Marple, Agatha Raisin and Jessica Fletcher, Isabel gets herself tangled up in a murder mystery and aims to solve the crime.      While I have yet to read the first in this series, it is on my library wishlist. I am happy to report that not having read the first book had absolutely no impact on reading enjoyment or being able to follow the characters. The narrative of this book flows exceptionally well. It's a joy to read. I look forward to going back to read the rest of the series. ...
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The Fifth Horseman by Jon Smith

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Emma feels her life isn't worth continuing and that she's achieved all she'll ever achieve.  She decides to off herself by falling from the top of a high building.  She's left a goodbye message for her roommate and friend, Mark.  While trying to save her from this decision, he accidentally knocks them both off to their seeming death.  Just before they are about to hit the ground, Death rides in and scoops them up.  However, there is a hitch!  Both of their hourglasses still technically contain some sand, which means they are now stuck between life and death. I really enjoyed this book. It hit at a time when I needed to read something humorous, even if it is death.  I loved the author's sense of humour that flowed through their writing.  The characters are funny, and there is good banter between them which makes this an easy weekend read.  Sometimes you just need to read something that makes you giggle. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for t...
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Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

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This isn't my typical type of read but I just can't seem to pass up books that revolve around bees and honey.  It is so well written that I finished reading it in one day.  I was surprised that this was written by two authors as it has such a smooth flow and consistent voice.  Each of the characters was well-developed, and the story drew you in.  I had to keep reading to figure out what happened to Olivia, Asher and Lily.  I loved how the apiculture scenes were woven throughout the book and I admit to having a few sniffles about the tradition to inform the bees about a death in the family. I thought I had guessed what was going to happen and I was completely wrong!  Definitely recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and to the authors -- well done! 
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Welcome to Feral. A Graphic Novel

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Welcome to Feral.  Little Town.  Big Scares!  I absolutely loved the drawings and each of the mini-stories in this book.  Reminded me a lot of watching shows like Tales from the Darkside, Unexplained Mysteries, and the Twilight Zone.  Each of these stories, all set in the fictional town of Feral, has strange twists. From spooky midnight playgrounds, eerie forests where kids disappear on their way to the local swimming hole, and scout leaders who aren't really what they are supposed to be.   It is the perfect graphic novel to kick off Hallowe'en!  Definitely recommended.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this graphic novel.
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The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters

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The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters Jayne Swift has focused her life on being a physician, so she avoids offers of marriage.  The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters starts out with Jayne trying to get through a rough crowd of execution gawkers so that she can get to her cousin's house to treat her sick nephew.  She gets pushed into a doorway and ends up taking refuge there so that she doesn't get crushed by the crowd.  This event brings her together with William Harrier, who appears to be a footman at the residence, although mysteriously may not be. Unfortunately, I had difficulty with the PDF that I received through NetGalley so this slowed my reading progress of this novel.  Overall, it is a really good story centred around the English civil war, the black death and the treatment of the ill at Lyme Regis.  That said, I did find that it was overly descriptive in places which did impact my attention span (I admit to flipping pages to speed the sto...
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