Murder At The University by Faith Martin

February 27, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Murder At The University by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books, London
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

A pretty French student is found dead in her room at an exclusive Oxford college. Everyone thinks it is another tragic case of accidental drug overdose.

But Detective Hillary Greene has a nose for the truth. She quickly discovers that the student was involved in some very unusual activities.

With a shocking cause of death found, the case becomes a high-profile murder investigation.

Adding to the pressure, Hillary’s nemesis is transferred to work with her at the station.

Can Hillary keep her cool and get justice for the unfortunate student?

This is the second book in the series featuring DI Hillary Greene and I really enjoyed it. With a layered and interesting murder mystery plot and a number of realistic and complicated characters in the police team I found there was plenty in this British police procedural book to keep my interest keen.

While at a first glance the murder appeared straightforward, I was pleased when a number of twists were uncovered and the mystery quickly deepened to be far more than first expected. I also like how the author kept a good balance with the plot and characters remaining realistic and believable but never simple – there were enough twists to keep me guessing and hold my attention firm.

I also really appreciated how Hillary is not a young woman (somewhere in her forties) and not a novice when it comes to her police work and investigations. That is still quite a refreshing change to me, and I love the series for that difference alone.

Readers looking for a well-paced British police procedural story with an intricate plot and solid characters should check this series out.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

A Quiet Man by Tom Wood

February 26, 2025 By Leave a Comment


A Quiet Man by Tom Wood
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

One day a man arrives in town. Unassuming. Quiet.

The assassin known as Victor is hiding out in a small motel in Canada after a job across the border. A few days laying low and he’ll be gone and leave no trace behind.

He doesn’t count on getting to know a mother and her boy who reminds him of his own troubled childhood. When both vanish, only Victor seems to notice.

Once he starts looking for them, he finds himself at odds with the criminals who own the town. They want him gone. Only Victor’s going nowhere until he discovers the truth and to them he’s just a quiet man asking the wrong questions.

But that quiet man is a dangerous man.

Spending only a day or two across the border laying low after the successful completion of a job, Victor finds himself making a simple – though highly unusual – promise to a young boy. Agreeing to meet again at dawn to show the young man how to fish, Victor is perturbed when neither the boy nor his mother arrive. Curious, Victor looks for them in the small, quiet little border town. What should have proved very straight-forward quickly turns complicated and soon is extremely messy. Can Victor extract himself safely?

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series but found this book in particular to be even more exceptional than I had been expecting. Unlike many series, these books all very much stand alone – Victor usually severing all ties before quickly moving on and almost never leaving anyone behind him. So these books can absolutely be read out of order if a reader wants to. What I found particularly pleasing and different about this book was the fact the job Victor was hired to do was pretty much over and finished before the book really even began. This book is all about happenstance and the decisions we make after the main event and so that is quite different to the other books of this author’s that I’ve read.

Something else I really enjoyed was most of the characters and plots in this book are around fairly normal level criminals. They’re people we can see and relate to and understand. They’re not really of Victor’s usual caliber of enemy. That said, there are a large number of different people, circling around in different plots, all currently focused on Victor for varying reasons. So with enough people coming from enough different angles even though by themselves they might not be a threat, Victor is definitely kept on his toes and it made for a highly gripping read to me.

Readers should be aware this isn’t a cosy mystery or a simple read. While definitely not horror or overly gory, neither does the author shy away from the multiple fight scenes nor the ramifications of these altercations. Readers who prefer police procedural style of mysteries or more puzzle/thinking style of plots might find this a little too action orientated and a little too visceral at times for their tastes.

With a definite anti-hero in Victor and a slightly different take on the “assassin tries to do a good thing” style of plotline, this was a great read and one I shall absolutely enjoy re-reading again in the future. Recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Seeking Justice by L.A. Dobbs

February 25, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Seeking Justice by L.A. Dobbs
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

When a prominent naturalist is found dead in the owl sanctuary, the suspect list includes some of the town’s most influential citizens. Each one is up to something shady, but did one commit murder to hide what they were up to?

When the case takes a sudden turn involving a secret identity, and clues intersect with the investigation into Jo’s sisters’s cold case, Sam and Jo realize they are up against something bigger than they’d imagined.

As they try to solve both cases, Jo’s desire to buy her cottage so she can stay in town has unexpected results and Kevin is wrestling with a shadowy secret of his own.

Meanwhile Lucy and Major have entered into a truce… but will it last?

I love the books in this “Sam Mason K-9 Dog” series. Actually, I like anyone who trusts a dog’s instincts like Sam does his German Shepard, Lucy. When the Mayor finds a dead person in the owl sanctuary, this case takes off. Who would shoot a little owl in an owl sanctuary? Not that the dead person lying by the owl wasn’t important too. From the start of this case it seems like one thing leads to another for Sam. The case itself seems to uncover more secrets, and the small police department has lots to handle and many possible suspects.

I’ve read another L. A. Dobbs book and enjoyed it as well as this one. While I like small town mysteries, there isn’t a lot of description about the town in his books. White Rock obviously has a Mayor since he found the victim, and we read about the various suspects and their standing in the community, but that’s about it. Somehow, it doesn’t seem to matter in these stories. He tends to focus on the crime at hand, the small police force, Lucy their smart canine, and Major the cantankerous cat. Never once did he lose my attention.

Excellent book. This one, Seeking Justice, is Book 7. It looks as if Book 8 is already out. I’m heading to get it for sure.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Schoolyard Raccoon by Shana Hollowell

February 24, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Schoolyard Raccoon by Shana Hollowell
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In a forest behind an elementary school lives a mischievous raccoon. Every night, after the teachers and students go home, he searches for items that were left behind at school in hopes to bring something special home. A cute story that is set in rhyme and has an underlining message about not giving up.

What happens to a school when all of the students, teachers, and staff members in them go home for the night?

The world looks different after dark, even in familiar places. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that showed what might happen when the moon is shining brightly over a playground and all of the children who played there hours ago are now safely home and in bed. They were such gentle and playful takes on the subject, and I would have happily kept reading about this topic for dozens of pages to come.

It would have been helpful to have a better explanation for why Victor the raccoon explored the schoolyard every night. The one that was shared didn’t quite make sense to me due to how much it changed the themes of this picture book. The first half and the second half were both interesting, but they never quite meshed together for me as a reader. It was almost like reading two different stories. While I liked both of them, I needed a better explanation of how they were meant to fit together.

With that being said, I did enjoy the humor of the last few scenes. They played around with the reader’s assumptions of what a raccoon would probably be looking for on a playground after dark and kept me interested as I finished that final scene. It wasn’t something I was expecting to find, but it definitely did amuse me.

The Schoolyard Raccoon made me smile.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

When the Squirrel Sings by Shana Hollowell

February 21, 2025 By 1 Comment


When the Squirrel Sings by Shana Hollowell
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In this enchanting children’s picture book, music and nature come alive when a squirrel sings and a magical, backyard symphony begins.

Nature is full of surprises.

I loved how much this tale emphasized the joy of playing outside by showing how much fun it is. Whether that playtime happens in a park, the woods, or a backyard in a quiet neighborhood, there are all sorts of wonderful things to discover outdoors for anyone who is willing to slow down and observe their surroundings for a while. While I don’t want to share any spoilers about what these kids found, this reminded me why I love going out and seeing what I can find in the grass and trees.

The musical subplot was delightful as well. I can’t go into a lot of detail about what sort of music can be found out in nature because of how important it was to the plot, but I liked the way the author described it and could understand where she was coming from. Of course such a thing could be interpreted that way! I will listen more closely to it the next time I’m surrounded by trees and hear something beautiful and thought this was a creative way to explain what might happen when someone spends time outdoors.

The ending was what convinced me to give this a five star rating. As I was reading, I kept wondering why the squirrel was so interested in human children and excited to see them. There is an answer to that question in one of the final pages, and learning what it was only made me a bigger fan of Ms. Hollowell’s work. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

When the Squirrel Sings was magical.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

First-Time Father’s Handbook by Jon Emerson

February 20, 2025 By Leave a Comment


First-Time Father’s Handbook by Jon Emerson
Publisher: F and C Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Become the Father You Dream of Being in No Time at all – Even If You Feel Totally Unprepared Right Now!

Can you truly prepare for the rollercoaster ride that comes with first-time fatherhood?

Feeling overwhelmed with all the information?

Getting nervous about work, sleepless nights and being a good dad?

Are you worried about how your relationship with your partner will change once your little one arrives?

Do you lie awake at night wondering how you’ll juggle your demanding job with a newborn at home?

You’re not alone.

Countless fathers-to-be are sailing the same ship, fretting over the same questions, sharing the same fears. Fatherhood can seem like a daunting expedition.
Frantic Google searches at 3 am or sifting through generic parenting books that aren’t directly aimed at fathers won’t cut it.
Despite societal expectations, you don’t have to miraculously know how to handle fatherhood.

Here’s the comforting reality: You are already miles ahead by joining the brotherhood who are seeking help. You deserve a resource tailored to your experience as a modern professional father.

Introducing the comprehensive, empathetic, and practical handbook that empowers you to embrace fatherhood with confidence, equipping with the skills to navigate your new role.
This your roadmap to navigating the thrilling, fulfilling journey of your baby’s first year, and to becoming the dad you aspire to be.
Here’s just a fraction of what you’ll discover in this life-transforming handbook:
A Top Ten List summary in each chapter
The secret to building an unbreakable bond with your baby even before they’re born
Practical tips and tricks for diaper duty, bath time, and bedtime routines that new fathers swear by
The most effective ways to support your partner in their journey through pregnancy and childbirth
The key “red flags” that indicate postpartum depression in new mothers – and how you can lend unwavering support
The balancing act – how to excel at work while being an involved dad at home
How to navigate common relationship roadblocks post-baby and keep the spark alive
10 common newborn health concerns every first-time father should be aware of with home remedies and When to call the Doctor advice
The step-by-step plan to childproof your home, ensuring safety and peace of mind
The secret to managing sleep-starved nights
Proven techniques to tackle meltdowns (both, yours and the baby’s) without losing your sanity
Ways to engage in mindful parenting that can incredibly transform your parenting experience
The 5 baby gear essentials no first-time father should be without
Learn the truth about 6 key immunizations
This Handbook, packed with advice and insights, is sure to alleviate your jitters, arm you with vital knowledge, and help you embrace being a Dad with well-earned confidence.
This book isn’t about replacing your parenting instincts; it’s about complementing them with practical advice and tips to help you navigate fatherhood more confidently.
But it doesn’t stop at just doling out advice. This book recognizes the unique situation for every dad-to-be, allowing you to develop a tailored strategy best suited to you and your little one.

No cheap gimmicks, vague ideas, or ‘one-size-fits-all’ parenting missions. This book is a tool to help you be the best father you can be.
Straight-to-the-point, practical guidance, broken down into easily consumable chapters – just a few pages a day to keep doubts at bay!

If you’re ready to embrace the adventure that is Being a Dad with open arms, laughs, and a whole lot of love, then don’t wait another minute.

New dads need advice, too.

The dad jokes in this book made me chuckle. They were a nice transition between sometimes difficult topics like miscarriage or tips for handling the less physically pleasant aspects of pregnancy and postpartum like nausea or recovering from a difficult birth. I actually ended up writing down a few of these jokes to share with my friends and family later. Everyone needs to laugh sometimes.

I found myself wishing that the section on vaccines had gone into far more detail about the importance of herd immunity and the risks of not vaccinating, especially for people in a community who are immunocompromised, medically unable to receive certain vaccines due to severe allergies or other life-threatening conditions, or too young to be vaccinated yet. The decision not to vaccinate affects far more people than the individual who isn’t vaccinated, and I don’t think that was made clear enough here. A virus that might make one person ill but able to recover at home for a few weeks could send someone else that they infected to the hospital, severely disable them, or even kill them. This would have been a stronger book if it had spent more time on this topic in my opinion.

Some of the most useful sections were the ones that discussed the practical aspects of preparing for a new baby. For example, signing up for life insurance and making a budget for new baby-related expenses are critical for the financial health of a family. There are plenty of ways to trim back these expenses, too, with some creativity and patience. Babies don’t care if they’re wearing hand-me-down clothes or playing with toy some other little one played with before, after all. I appreciated how much care was put into these portions.

First-Time Fathers Handbook was thought provoking.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Little Mouse’s Sweet Treat by Shana Hollowell

February 20, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Little Mouse’s Sweet Treat by Shana Hollowell
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Little Mouse goes on an adventure in search of something sweet. He meets friends along the way that share their preferred treats with him, but none are quite right for Little Mouse. He is disappointed until he arrives home and realizes his Mommy baked the sweetest treat just for him – cookies!

Everyone needs a treat sometimes.

I loved how tailored this was to its audience. It used repetition and gentle rhymes to give little ones clues about what would happen next as it talked about something that most children are excited to enjoy now and again: sweets! Picture books work best when they pay such close attention to what kids like in my opinion. When they can make good guesses about what might happen next, it’s easy to keep them interested in turning to the next page.

There were a couple of places where the rhymes felt a little off-balance to me due to some pages having longer sentences than others did. While I didn’t expect them all to be exactly equal, it would have flowed better if they had been more similar to each other. This is a minor criticism of something I otherwise thought was adorable.

Not everyone likes the same things, of course, so one of the exciting moments happened as the little mouse realized that his idea of the perfect dessert didn’t necessarily match what others were looking for. It makes me happy to read books that encourage readers of all ages to think about the world from other points of view and treat their friends and neighbors with kindness and respect. The more examples we have on how to do this, the better.

Little Mouse’s Sweet Treat couldn’t have been a better introduction to Ms. Hollowell’s work for me. What a fun adventure it was. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Breaking Point by C. J. Box

February 18, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Breaking Point by C. J. Box
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 5 stars
Review by Snowdrop

Joe Pickett always liked Butch Roberson—a hard-working local business owner whose daughter is friends with Joe’s girls. Little does he know that when Butch says he’s heading into the mountains to scout elk, he is actually going on the run.

Two EPA employees have been murdered and all signs point to Butch as the killer. Joe learns that the land Butch and his wife had bought to retire on was declared a protected wetland by the EPA, and the subsequent fines have torn the family apart. Finally, it seems, the man just cracked.

It’s an awful story, but is it the whole story? The more Joe investigates, the more he begins to wonder—and he soon finds himself in the middle of a war in which he must choose sides.

Being too busy, I’ve had to take a break from this C J Box series about Joe Pickett. This book, Breaking Point, reminded me of what I’ve been missing. This one is about the same good and honest game warden, Joe Pickett. It’s also the same Joe Pickett always in a bit of trouble. This time Joe’s pickup truck is snowed in on the top of a mountain, his government truck of course. The story finds Joe and Marybeth thinking about the need to increase their income somehow. But things go awry and Joe gets caught up in a serious search involving a family member of his daughter’s close friend. From then on…you never put the book down:)

When you know a series is being made into a TV show, you already know you most likely have a good book. The other thing you can assume is that you have great characters. How many series continue to be successful without interesting characters? The Joe Pickett books are no different. Joe’s wife and family all have distinct personalities. Joe is a larger than life person, the kind we all want to be.

Then there is the setting. If you are an outdoors person, you’ll love this story of a game warden with a wilderness territory. That brings us to the genre. These are suspense stories, almost thrillers, but to me, they have a Western flavor. A lot of this “feeling” comes from the rough and rugged territory. I’d describe some of the side characters in the same manner. Add all these elements together and you have the perfect story.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

February 14, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

THE BUSINESS TRIP is the gripping, page-turning debut from author Jessie Garcia.

Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic.

And then the two women vanish. The texts go silent, the red flags go up, and the panic sets in. When Stephanie and Jasmine are each declared missing and in danger, it begs the questions: Who is Trent McCarthy? What did he do to these women— or what did they do to him?

Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, The Business Trip takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who?

This is an entertaining read. The narrative unfolds through the perspectives of various characters, instead of one or two main characters, and it adds an intriguing layer of mystery and tension in the whereabouts of Jasmine and Stephanie. I was so drawn into the narrative that I did not concern myself with whether the methods used were believable; the author made them sound plausible, so I just went with the flow without questioning anything. My focus was solely on what was happening in the story.

Jasmine has deep issues, which I found sad, and I felt compassion for her. She had a difficult upbringing and tried to attend beauty school to improve her life. Her abusive relationship with Glenn was leading her nowhere, and I admire her for taking charge and leaving him. I wanted her to have something good in her life; however, as we learn from Jasmine, envy can be deadly. Jasmine’s troubled past and her desperation to have more and better evoke a side of her that can be very costly.

There are themes of jealousy, identity theft, and suspense, along with a host of memorable characters who are genuinely concerned for Jasmine and Stephanie’s well-being. Several times, I found myself frustrated with Stephanie’s assistant news director, Bruce, because he was so naïve, while I cheered for Lucy, who was perceptive enough to realize something was wrong. I enjoyed the relationship between Stephanie and her neighbor, Robert; it felt genuine and had a best-friend vibe. I cannot forget to mention Trent J. McCarthy. His character is so true to life, even if he was a nuisance to be around.

I appreciated how the different points of view came together to maintain suspense, and the second half of the book revealed what had happened. I did not expect the surprising ending which, while a bit far-fetched, was a creative addition from the author that I appreciated.

The novel’s suspenseful pacing and unexpected twists make it a thrilling read. I highly recommend to readers that enjoy suspense, and an intriguing puzzle where the characters lay down their own piece and then later all the pieces start to connect.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Little Aiden – A Big Kid Book for Toddlers by Albert Choi

February 13, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Little Aiden – A Big Kid Book for Toddlers by Albert Choi
Publisher: Mytogo Publishing
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Join Little Aiden on an exciting journey as he transforms from a tiny tot into a daring adventurer! Bursting with curiosity, he’s eager to conquer the world solo. As Aiden grows, he embraces the role of a big kid, confident and ready to take on the world with newfound independence. This heartwarming story of growth and discovery is perfect for family story time.

Big kids get to do so many more things!

One of the things I appreciate most about this series is that it was written in plain, simple language to appeal to toddlers. There is no additional layer of meaning included for adults, and while I also enjoy picture books who take that approach it was refreshing to see the world from a little boy’s perspective who was just beginning to understand why his parents did certain things. Childhood logic is wonderful, and it’s what makes these tales so much fun to read.

I would have liked to see more time spent exploring the consequences of Aiden’s choices. Whether he was being naughty, helpful, curious, or silly, there was space here for him to talk about what he was doing and why he was doing it. If that had happened, I would have happily chosen a five-star rating as his adventures are adorable.

What a gentle story this was. Aiden’s parents were patient and loving with him no matter what was happening in their lives. This included a few amusing scenes of the main character getting into mischief the moment he was left alone. I laughed as I learned about the silly things he did now that he was able to climb and reach higher places than he ever had before. What a true glimpse this was of how toddlers slowly change into preschoolers.

This is the third instalment in a series that can be read in any order.

Little Aiden – A Big Kid Book for Toddlers made me smile.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,
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