Book Review ~ A Very Bookish Murder by Dee MacDonald

 I received this book from Netgalley and Bookouture for a fair and honest review.

Welcome back to the tiny Highland village of Locharran, where Ally McKinley – guesthouse owner and accidental detective – is about to stumble upon another dead body… and her next case.

When Ally McKinley hears that well-known novelist Jodi Jones is going to host a writers’ retreat at the hotel just down the road, she’s delighted to offer rooms at her little guesthouse for some of the attendees. Ally is thrilled to join the group for one of their first sessions – but the retreat has barely begun before she finds the famous writer strangled in the ladies' bathroom!

The cake tin and teapot come out at the little guesthouse in the Highlands as Ally begins to question her bookish guests. Accusations of plagiarism and infidelity start flying and it’s clear that more than one of the retreat attendees had a grudge against Jodi. But could any of them have resorted to murder?

When Ally discovers a diary in Jodi’s bedroom at the guesthouse with several pages ripped out of it, she thinks she’s close to cracking the case. But the plot thickens when another of the aspiring writers is found dead, only hours after she said she knew the identity of Jodi’s killer.

Not only is the murderer still in Locharran, they’re desperate to stop Ally getting to the truth. With her faithful puppy Flora by her side, can Ally unravel the clues and solve the mystery before she’s written out of the story for good?

What I thought

Ally a retired television researcher decided to open up a B&B and it's been doing pretty good. She really likes where she is living, met a nice guy, etc. She has been asked to host a few ladies that are going to be in town for a writer's retreat, one of her ladies is actually the speaker for the retreat. The hotel in town didn't have enough rooms for all the ladies, so of course Ally said sure as she had the vacancies. 

Ally was invited to attend the first day of the writing retreat were one of the ladies accuses the host author of plagiarism and of course not long after that the author is dead, and we have a whole retreat full of ladies for suspects. Now Ally has suspects under her roof so of course she is going to want to do some sleuthing to figure out who might have been the one to do the deed.

I thought this was a good mystery as there were so many suspects that could have done it and little by little, they get eliminated but still I was having a hard time figuring out, I had a couple suspects but could not pinpoint which one it might have been.

I also really like the characters. One of the things that I like is that the main characters are older but not to the extreme. Ally and her boyfriend Ross are both retired but not retired at the same time. There are some great side characters like the Earl of Locharran, now at first, I wasn't a fan of his, but he grew on me after the first book. There are other local business owners who are fun as well. 

This is a series that so far has been getting better with every book so I am glad I have kept with it and I really enjoyed this one.

4 stars

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Author Bio:

Aged 18, Dee arrived in London from Scotland and typed her way round the West End for a couple of years before joining BOAC (forerunner of British Airways) in Passenger Services for 2 years and then as a stewardess for 8 years.

She has worked in Market Research, Sales and at the Thames TV Studios when they had the franchise.

Dee has since relocated to Cornwall, where she spent 10 years running B&Bs, and only began writing when she was over 70!

Married twice, she has one son and two grandsons.

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDeeMacDonald
https://twitter.com/dmacdonaldauth

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Buy Link:

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Feed Your TBR #10

It's time to FEED YOUR TBR and I have a couple books you might find interesting!! I am curious about these books though I may not be anticipating them. These picks are almost out so not a lot of waiting involved.  (Feed Your TBR is my version of Waiting on Wednesday now hosted by Wishful Endings)

Middle Grade

When a strange invitation shows up in Sarah's backpack, the Delta's learn that their favorite funhouse, The Delta Game, is about to get some serious competition. The "Mystery Mansion" is opening just miles away and the ominous and cryptic owner has invited Sarah, West, and Hannah to come test it on opening day. It claims to be the biggest and best escape house ever and based on the photos of gleaming rooms filled with high-tech puzzles, it just might be.

What's more, the kids have been offered a ten-thousand-dollar prize if they escape the house. For some reason, West and Hannah seem very interested in the cash prize, but the three friends are torn because they really don't want to be a walking advertisement for a competitor to The Delta Game. After all, that funhouse changed their lives, Sarah's life especially.

But maybe the only way to keep the funhouse, and their friend William Taters in business, is to accept the invite to this new Mystery Mansion, escape it in record time, and show just how lame and easy it is by comparison. The trio arrive at the mansion on opening day, armed with their "fortune favors the bold" attitude. But they quickly learn that nothing is as it seems . . . and unfortunately this time, not everyone plays fair.

This is the sequel to The Mystery of Locked Rooms which is her first foray into middle grade mystery, and I liked it, but will always prefer her middle grade horror, but I am curious about this second one. It comes out September 30th from Sourcebook Kids.

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Adult

Meet Alma Timperley. She
- Run a hotel
- Solve a mystery
- Talk to ghosts...?

December, 1914: After the death of her aunt, Alma Timperley is surprised when she suddenly finds herself the heiress to the Timperley Spiritualist Hotel in a pretty coastal town in Cornwall.

But not everything is as it seems... the hotel offers guests a very special the chance to communicate with the dead.

When the body of one of the hotel's maids is found, it is considered a tragic wartime accident. But the more Alma and the local police try to fathom what happened, the more they begin to realise this is much more than just a death - there might be a German spy in Falmouth.

With the stakes higher than ever, Alma must grapple with her own extraordinary secret if she is going to have more than a ghost of a chance of solving the mystery.

Being able to talk with the dead is one thing; solving their murder is positively ghoulish...

This one sounds fun! Doesn't have the greatest reviews but still curious about it. This one comes out October 2nd from Hodder & Stoughton

What is coming out that you are curious about?

Two Bloggers One Series ~ The Unholy by Heather Graham

I love this series and glad I got Barb to start reading it. These are rereads for me right now till we get farther into the series but that is okay as I don't remember much...lol. After seeing my thoughts, go on over to Booker T's Farm and see what my friend Barb had to say. 

The 1940s: hard-boiled detectives and femmes fatale are box-office gold. In one iconic scene, set in a deserted museum, the private eye arrives too late, and the buxom beauty is throttled by an ominous Egyptian priest.

Now: the Black Box Cinema immortalizes Hollywood's Golden Age in its gallery of film noir tributes. But the mannequin of that Egyptian priest is hardly lifeless. He walks and a young starlet dies a terrifying death. Movie mogul Eddie Archer's son is charged with the grisly murder.

Eddie calls agent Sean Cameron, who specializes in irregular investigations. As part of an FBI paranormal forensics team, Cameron knows that nightmares aren't limited to the silver screen. Working with special-effects artist Madison Darvil who has her own otherworldly gifts Cameron delves into the malevolent force animating more than one movie monster.

So, this one is centered around the remake of an old detective movie, and a young man gets talked into taking a young woman who wanted to go behind the scenes and while there she is killed, and he is knocked around and wakes up bloody and accused of murder. 

He is the son of the man who owns the Cinema and Eddie knows one of the agents from the Krewe of Hunters because Sean use to work in films before being recruited by the Krewe. Eddie also wants his special-effects lady Madison to work with him because he knows that she can see ghost and also that is what the Krewe is known for. 

So, Sean and Madison have to try and figure out what happened and how all this happened and then eventually Sean's team comes into help as well. 

I really liked this one, I liked both Sean and Madison. One of the fun things about Madison is that a ghost that has been hanging out with her since her college days is Humphrey Bogart and he even tries to help out with the new ghost who is the victim and help her. 

I could only remember one of the persons involved in what happened but I couldn't remember the other killer so that is good as it was still kind of a surprise even thought it was a reread. If you like romantic mysteries that is light paranormal then you would like this series. 

5 stars

Week in Review #131

 

The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

This week has been a horrible week, and I am very saddened and also kind of disappointed in some people too. I really don't have anything to talk about this week.

What I Read:

• The Unholy - Krewe of Hunter #6, this is a reread and a nice comfort read.
• Murder on a Scottish Island - Poppy Proudfoot #2, I am not a fan of this series and don't think I will be reading the next one. 
• Payment in Kind - J.P. Beaumont #9, loving this series! 
• Death at an Irish Wedding - Irish Castle Mysteries #2, and I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first book.

DNFed

• Murder in Bloomsbury - I just think it has been to long since I read book one that I couldn't get into this as I felt like I was missing something.
• Murder is a Must - Same with this one it has been to long since I read the first book. 

These might just be soft dnfs because if I decide to try again, I will need to reread the first books.

What I Am Reading:

• Murder in Rose Hill - The 27th book in the Gaslight series. This is a bittersweet end as it's my favorite Historical Mystery. I am around 27% into it. 
• The Boy Who Could Fly - #2 in the Ghost of Nameless Island and just verily started it.

What I Might Read Next:

• My Mummy Vs. Your Ghost - The second book in the Versus series, I wasn't a huge fan of the first one but wanted to try another one. 

How did your week go?

Blog Tour Review ~ Murder on a Scottish Island

This is a tour for Bookouture and my review is my own opinion.

A dead body and a missing sapphire pendant? Lady Poppy Proudfoot is on the case!

Scotland, 1924: When Lady Poppy Proudfoot is invited to her friend’s hotel on the Isle of Skye, she is looking forward to a holiday. But all thoughts of relaxing vanish when she discovers the body of a strangled woman in a church.

The police believe the widow’s death was a robbery gone wrong, as a pendant was stolen from the scene. But Poppy is sure it’s murder. Ignoring the police’s warnings to keep her nose out, she enlists her friend Inspector MacKenzie, and her loyal Labrador, Major, to unpick the case.

Poppy suspects one of the hotel’s guests knows more about the murder than they are willing to admit. Could it be Miss Buccleugh, the avid button collector? Or the travelling guru, who conveniently disappeared just after the murder? Or was it Mr Henderson, so desperate for money he was driven to murder?

When Poppy sees the victim’s sapphire pendant on the neck of another guest, she is convinced the killer is targeting widows in the hotel, and luring them in with jewelry. But to prove her theory, she will have to offer herself up as bait. It’s risky, but her only way of catching the killer… Can Poppy con a con-man, and make it out alive? Or will she be the next wealthy widow on the killer’s list?

What I thought:

This is the second book in the Poppy Proudfoot series, and I thought it was okay. For some reason I just don't like Poppy that much, but I love her lady's maid. :) 

Poppy and her lady's maid Elspeth are on their way to visit Poppy's friend on the Isle of Skye when they have car trouble and have to walk to the nearest town where not long after they get to the hotel they find out a widow woman has gone missing. Poppy thinks of herself as a bit of a sleuth since she helped catch a murderer in the previous book and so she has been teaching her dog to look for people. She decides she wants to use her dog to try and find the missing woman and talks the hotel owner into giving her something of the missing lady to have her dog sniff and they do end up finding the poor woman dead.

Poppy starts telling the Constable all about what she thinks when he gets there and he is not that impressed, but it doesn't stop her from snooping. She wants him to call in Inspector Mackenzie, whom she has worked with on the other case. He doesn't do it so she does and verily gets to chat with him to let him know all that she has figured out before she has to leave because she is on her way to Skye. She is bummed that she can't stay and try and solve the murder, but she knows that Inspector Mackenzie is on the job, so feels better about it. 

While on the Isle of Skye Poppy can't quit thinking about what happened and tries to still think of who might have done it while she is there. Then she meets a couple of other ladies and later on a gentleman and they preoccupy her time a little, but she soon finds out some things that make her think about the murder. Inspector Mackenzie who was going on vacation on the Island meets up with her with some ideas and she tells him her thoughts. He is still sort of working the case but also on vacation.

Okay so my thoughts on this series is I am just not a fan of Poppy. I don't know if the author is just trying to make Poppy the smarter one and the Inspector more passive, but I don't like it. I think Poppy thinks she is a better detective which she isn't one, actually her lady's maid Elspeh is a better sleuth. The ending when Poppy had to use the megaphone to explain what happened and how she figured things out was just overkill and made her sound so dumb and the inspector just let her do it. 

My favorite character besides the Inspector is Elspeth, the lady's maid. I love how she gives these one-line zingers that annoys Poppy. Also, when she comes up with a better reasoning for something than Poppy when it comes to the sleuthing.

Overall, I thought this one was okay, but I had a hard time getting into it. I think it's more a me thing maybe and how I viewed Poppy. I don't like amateur sleuths who think they are better than the police.

3 stars

Author Bio:

Lydia Travers was born in London.  She moved progressively north until settling with her husband in a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands. She has raised children, bred dogs and kept chickens; and for as long as she can remember has written for pleasure. A former legal academic and practitioner with a PhD in criminology, she now runs self-catering holiday accommodation, sings in a local choir and is walked daily by the family dog.

Lydia also writes as Linda Tyler and her first novel under that name, Revenge of the Spanish Princess, won a 2018 Romance Writers of America competition for the beginning of an historical romance. Her second novel The Laird's Secret was Commended in the 2021 Scottish Association of Writers' Pitlochry Quaich competition for the beginning of a romantic novel. Mischief in Midlothian won the 2022 Scottish Association of Writers' Constable Silver Stag trophy. She has had a number of short stories published in magazines, journals and anthologies in the UK, the USA and Australia.

https://www.facebook.com/LindaTylerAuthorScotland

https://twitter.com/LindaTyler100

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Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0F74CDTMJsocial

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Week in Review #130

The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

Hello everyone! Hope y'all had a great week and was able to relax a little and get in some reading. 

The weather here got a bit cooler, especially at night, was not a fan of the 54 degrees! Everyone knows I am not a fan of the cold weather months, and they are creeping up on me. I am holding on to the warm weather as long as I can. I also don't like seeing it starting to get darker earlier at night...boo.

Since it's September it feels like the right time to try and make it through the X-files. I usually make it to about the 4 season and fall off and never finish...lol. I am not good with shows I need to pay attention too. :) 

Hope you have a great week and read a good book!

What I Read:

• School Freezes Over - The fifth book in the Eerie Elementary series. This was fun!
• Break the Game - Second book in the Spellbinder series. I think I am not as big of fan of middle grade fantasy as I use to be, this was just okay. 
• The Hidden Staircase - This is book two in the Nancy Drew series and I enjoyed it much more than book one. 
• Dead to Right - The fourth book in the Joanna Brady series and really good!! I really love Jance!
• Be Careful What You Wish For - The twelfth book in the OG Goosebumps and this one wasn't bad. I thought the twist ending was kind of funny and deserving. :) 

What I Am Reading:

• The Unholy - A reread of the sixth Krewe of Hunter book and I am really enjoying it.
• Murder in Bloomsbury - The second in the Atlas Catesby series and I am finding it to be okay, but it's been so long since I read book one, I think it's affecting my enjoyment. 
• Murder on a Scottish Island - Second book in the Poppy Proudfoot and it's okay, I like the MC's lady's maid more than the MC herself. 

What I Might Read Next

Payment in Kind - The ninth book in the Beaumont series and I can't wait as I just love this series!

How did your week go?

Feed Your TBR #9

It's time to FEED YOUR TBR and I have a couple books you might find interesting!! I am curious about these books though I may not be anticipating them. These picks are almost out so not a lot of waiting involved.  (Feed Your TBR is my version of Waiting on Wednesday now hosted by Wishful Endings)

Middle Grade:

Dead Ends!
Beheadings! Bloodletting! Bodysnatching! Journey down a snaking road bristling with medicine's most astonishing “dead ends.” Marvel at the diagnoses, experiments, and treatments that were frequently useless, and often harmful, but that sometimes led doctors to discoveries that changed the world for the better.

Enjoy a whirlwind tour of the human body-from brain, to heart, to limbs-during which New York Times bestselling author Lindsey Fitzharris and caricaturist Adrian Teal will guide you through centuries of medical mistakes, festooned with riveting facts, pitch-perfect humor, and vivid illustrations. Celebrate the flukes, flops, and failures that have given science a better understanding of our bodies and ways to treat them.

This fascinating book of foul-ups is sure to delight young readers, and inspire them to embrace their failures, too!

Now I think this is a nonfiction book I can read...lol. Normally not a fan of nonfiction but these types are always fun. Comes out October 14th! 

Adult:

Lady Bridgerton meets Miss Marple meets The Thursday Murder Club in this charming, Victorian-set mystery series from bestselling and prolific author Colleen Gleason (who also writes historical mysteries as Colleen Cambridge).

The widowed marchioness of Darling has successfully married off all of her children, and her son’s wife is the new marchioness—making her the dowager and giving her absolutely no responsibilities. As a woman who was not born into the peerage, but, against the mores of Victorian London society wed Lord Darling in a love match thirty years ago, Lady Darling chafes at the restrictions of the gentility and is looking forward to her “retirement” to the country—at least until the grandchildren come along.

Unfortunately, fate has other plans for her. When an old friend implores her to sponsor her daughter into society, Lady Darling agrees. Not long after she commences with this project, Lady Darling and her charge, Miss Bedwith, attend a dinner party where a man is found dead.

Lady Darling, an aficionado of Sherlock Holmes (and friend of Arthur Conan Doyle) and Wilkie Collins’s work, dives into the investigation simply because she can.

During her investigation, she employs the assistance of her housekeeper and butler—the Josephs, who are also her close friends (another impropriety! being friends with servants!)—as well as her favorite modiste, Monsieur Claude—to help her track down clues to the killer. When the investigation takes her into the dingy streets of Seven Dials, she encounters a mysterious and dangerous man who seems to know an awful lot about her. Maybe too much. Still, even at her so-called advanced age of fifty, Lady Darling finds him interesting and titillating. But can she trust him?

This sounds like it has the potential to be a lot of fun but also has big shoes to fill, so I am very curious but not going to get to excited. :) This one comes out September 16th.

What books are coming out that your curious about?