By Archer Sullivan
** Publication Date 12 August 2025 **
​4 stars


I’m fascinated by Appalachian folklore. The tale of the Witch of Quartz Creek is a story that changes with each telling. Every person has a slightly different version of the story. The moral is always the same though. Be careful what you wish for.


Annie is a private investigator. She’s tiny but packs a powerful punch. A former investigator in the military, she’s honed her skills enough to be good, but not very financially successful. She takes the work when she can get it, especially if she finds it fascinating.


Max comes to her with a plea. He’s been saving as long as he could to try to find his sister who was abducted ten years ago. His sister Molly wasn’t the only abduction. There was Jessica, and also Olivia, who was returned after just a few days. Olivia is autistic. Jessica and Molly were better choices, as they were whole.


Ten years have passed, but no one has been able to solve the disappearances. Annie comes to town and stirs things up. Most of the town doesn’t want it all stirred up again. Not the sheriff, not Jessica’s father, not Olivia’s mother. But there are some who are willing to go the extra length to try to help Annie find the answers that Max is looking for.


Really well woven story. While it clearly pointed at just a few suspects from the beginning, the story of this very small mountain town and the folklore of the witch is fascinating. Annie is a tough cookie who simply won’t give up, even when a lot is thrown at her. I loved the friendships that she made while staying in Quartz Creek. The characters of the town were amazing as well. The writing was beautiful and very well laid out. I hope that Annie will be around for a few more books.


Excellent and quick read.

By Ella Berman
** Publication Date 5 August 2025 **
​4 stars


Having grown up in L.A. in the 70s, this was somewhat a trip down memory lane. I remember a lot of the places mentioned in the book. So for me this was a fun ride. While I definitely wasn’t old enough to be into the scene that the characters were, I can say I remember some of my friends’ parents being part of them.


Lane is a writer. She’s done very well as a journalist based in New York, but she wants to tackle a novel. Lane thinks that LA is the place to do it. Since she really won’t be leaving too much behind in NYC, it’s a fairly easy move. 


But LA isn’t what Lane expected. She moves into a small apartment in the Hollywood area. A stone’s throw from Chateau Marmont and Laurel Canyon. When she is invited to a party by an acquaintance, she meets Gala. Gala is everything that screams ‘the scene’ in Los Angeles. Vibrant, wild, reckless all describe Gala. When Gala sees how closed off Lane is, she makes it her mission to break her out of her shell. 


In comes Charlie. Charlie who is beautiful and rich and definitely not into women. But times as they are, Charlie can’t afford for anyone to know for certain that Charlie is gay. He and Lane strike up a friendship that is mutually beneficial. They are best friends. Charlie does everything he can to make Lane the talk of the town. 


But as so true in Los Angeles, things are not always what they seem. Gala’s devil may care attitude may come back to bite her. Lane’s stoicism isn’t going to make her a lot of friends. And no matter how hard Charlie tries to hide his homosexuality, people are going to suspect. Life is going to speed off the rails for all of them, if they continue on their current trajectories.


The dynamics of the relationship between Gala and Lane is so fascinating. Not exactly competitive, at least not for Gala. Lane believes that there is only one right way to go, and it’s not Gala’s way. It’s a quite taut existence. Sometimes they are the best of friends, other times sworn enemies. I really liked the way that Berman was able to dive into the core of these two women. The remaining characters tend to be a bit more superficial, but the story does really focus on Lane, and her brokenness. 


It was good. Slow to begin but works its way up to a pace that means you won’t want to put it down. There are plenty of fireworks to keep you engaged.

By Sarah Stewart Taylor
** Publication Date 5 August 2025 **
4 stars


Agony Hill was the first in this new series from Sarah Stewart Taylor. Agony Hill was really good, and I wanted to find out what happened to Warren, Sylvie, and Alice. 


Turns out there was another death in Bethany, Vermont. This time at a private hunting and fishing lodge just out of town.  It was assumed that the death was an accident. After all, so many hunters in the woods, a stray shot might have gotten him. But there were other things that made it a bit suspicious. The victim was a recently retired ambassador. Not retired of his own accord, but forced out. 


Warren and Pinky are on the case. They get the body to the coroner and begin questioning the group that is on property. It seems that many of the members might have good cause to have shot the man. Alibis abound and suspicions arise. Which one of these men could have wanted him dead? Or was it simply a stray bullet that got him?


Everyone is present in this follow up. Sylvie is still pregnant with her late husband’s baby. Alice is hosting a dinner party for friends, Warren included. Pinky has matured a bit since the last investigation, and definitely appears to be Warren’s right hand man now.


It’s a great group of characters that will be fun to follow through the series. So much intrigue where Alice is concerned. Will Warren & Sylvie become more than acquaintances? I can’t wait to see what comes next. 


I like this little slice of Vermont. While I wouldn’t call these ‘cozy’ mysteries, the town of Bethany is fairly cozy. I hope that we’ll get to see more of Jenny and the others in the next installment.


Enjoyable read.

By Kate Alice Marshall
​** Publication Date 29 July 2025**
4 stars
Mass shootings have become all too common in the US. Seems like so many try to solve their problems with guns. In this novel, a survivor of a mass shooting is front and center. Reminding us that even though physical wounds can heal, psychological wounds will remain.


Mercy feels responsible for her sister Jamie’s college fund being depleted. After all, if she hadn’t spent months in a bed recovering from a shooting, the family would still have money for Jamie’s college. But if Mercy hadn’t saved Jamie from the shooting, maybe it wouldn’t have mattered.


Still, Mercy wants Jamie to be able to attend her dream school, Stanford. So much so that when she is approached about participating in a survivor-style reality series, she jumps right in. Because everyone of the participants who does survive the challenge will receive $100,000. 


Damien Dare is the brainchild behind this teenage survival program. He is known for believing that certain events cause us to reach our crossroads and pick a path. He also thinks that our society has become soft and that we’re not going to survive any sort of apocalyptical event. His choices for the challenge are people that have experienced some sort of traumatic event Clearly Mercy has. 


When the contestants arrive at the planned location, something seems off. No one is there except the contestants. No cameramen. No producers or production assistants. Just eight young adults looking for a challenge. Then the gates close and they are trapped. The title says it all, they won’t all survive. 


Well planned and thought out, this novel tackles two elements of our society that aren’t necessarily something of which we should be proud. Reality TV and gun violence. The gun violence is not spoken of very much, as it’s only Mercy’s trauma that falls under it. Our fixation with so-called ‘reality’ TV is more the center of this story. 


The characters are somewhat well-rounded. While we get some backstory about each character, the focus is on Mercy. The tension is at a good level to be suspenseful. I did not solve the mystery right away, though I did get a gut feeling about who might be the culprit. I found this to be a fast-paced novel that I didn’t want to put down. 


It was good! Definitely would recommend to YA or others.

By Esther Chehebar
** Publication Date 22 July 2025 **
4 stars

I’m an only child, so having sisters always sounds both amazing and terrifying to me. As does being raised in a fairly strict religious community. 


Fortune Cohen is one of three girls in her family. At 21 she is considered the steady sister. Her older sister Nina, 26, is a walking time bomb, always arguing with everyone. The baby Lucy, 18 and still in high school, is the beautiful one. Fortune is the one who is dependable. The perfect middle child. 


The family lives in the Syrian neighborhood in Brooklyn. Specifically Syrian Jews. There is everything you could want in the neighborhood. Most girls are born and die in the same small section of the borough. There are those who fight the tradition, as in Nina, and those who embrace it, as in Fortune. Fortune’s wedding is coming up to her expected match, Saul. 


Only lately Fortune is questioning her choice to marry Saul. Lucy is sneaking around with a man 12 years her senior. Nina has taken a job at a record label defying the norm. The paths were planned for these three young women, but they are challenging the expectations of their strict community.


This was a great book written with so much insight into the lives of women in this religious community. The expectations and rules that everyone must follow as Sephardic Jews. It was so interesting to learn about this sector of society that flocks to specific neighborhoods in parts of the U.S. Most immigrated during the regime changes in Syria in the middle of the 20th century. Some well before that.


It’s interesting to read about a group of people who have in many ways not assimilated into US culture, but have been able to maintain their traditions in spite of living in the US. I did enjoy it. Fortune is such a ‘good girl’ that you almost want her to take a chance. Lucy is playing with fire with this much older man, but you want things to work out. And Nina, I think mostly I just wanted Nina to finally be happy.


I enjoyed this one. Kind of a slow read, and sometimes hard to grasp the language and customs, but overall it was good.