By Michelle Chouinard
** Publication Date 24 September 2024 **
4.25 stars

San Francisco has so much history and is such a perfect place to set a murder mystery. This  novel by Michelle Chouinard is a riveting look into the high society of San Fran and the dark underbelly.


Capri Sanzio is quite well associated with murder. Her grandfather was an infamous serial killer convicted and sentenced to life in prison back in the sixties. While Capri believes he was innocent, her father has always slammed that door shut. So when a copycat murder occurs, and Capri’s ex mother in law goes missing, she’s thrown right back into the history.


Only Capri’s connection to the past killer and her connections to the copycat murders bring her and her daughter onto the suspect list too. Capri decides to finally investigate what’s been stewing in her brain for decades - who really was Overkill Bill? More importantly, who has decided to copycat and throw her into suspicion now?


Really fun novel. So much embedded history about San Francisco’s history. I loved Capri’s best friend’s description of the wealthy as ‘puff adders’ and how they’d do anything to maintain their images. The many twists will keep you guessing about the actual murderer until the end. Easy and quick read. Definitely recommend for a chilly fall night by the fire (or a summer day in San Fran!) 

By Allison Saft
** Publication Date 17 September 2024**
4 stars

​Can we please make this a series? I absolutely loved this novel. The characters! The setting! 


Lorelai Kaskel is an outlier. Handpicked by Ziegler to learn how to manipulate aether and follow in her footsteps, she does not fit in with the popular crowd. She is Yevanisch. A culture of people who have no homeland, while her fellow classmates are all upper class, some royalty from the lands. Yet all of them have been chosen to search for the magical spring that their king is after.


Ziegler is the leader of the pack, Lorelei the assistant. Her nemesis, Sylvia von Wolff is the naturalist that will help them navigate the wildelute they will encounter along the way. When Lorelei finds Ziegler murdered aboard the boat, she is tasked with solving the murder and returning to Brunnestad with the location of the magical spring. Can Lorelei survive the trip with the others all vying for favor with the King? Or will there be yet another murder?


I really enjoyed this. It was slow to start, as all fantasy novels can be until you get the locations and lingo down. What a fabulous story of love, power, entitlement. In many ways it mirrors our world, with its divisiveness. Excellent and fun read that I wish would be a series. I want to know where our adventurers are off to next!

By Brenda Novak
** Publication Date 17 Sept 2024 **
4 stars

I love Brenda Novak’s books. They are fun, engaging, and usually have a relevance to today’s world. Banned books have reached the forefront of our country again. So the fact that this book not only tackles the subject of banning books, but also sexual impropriety, I feel like it has a lot of relevance to our current world.


Gia left home after high school. When college wasn’t where she wanted to be, she escaped to Alaska to work on fishing vessels. The money was good, and it gave her the space and nature she needed to put her life back together.


But now Gia is back home in Iowa. Her mother is dying, and her sister had pleaded for help where her parents were concerned. Only Gia doesn’t want to be here. Too many bad memories. Too much scandal and drama. Too much. 


Back in high school, Gia divided the town when she accused her Honors English teacher of sexual misconduct. She’s barely been home since, and when she has been home, she’s been in and out like the wind. But now she’s going to be home for an extended length of time. She’s the villain as far as Mr. Hart’s family is concerned. She’s not even sure how most of the rest of the town feels. And it’s weighing on her.


This book really tackles the tough stuff. Facing up to your past. Facing up to bullies and demons. Standing up for yourself and your integrity. Learning to forgive and learning to love again. It’s a wonderfully written novel that was easy to breeze through. Perfect for the upcoming fall days and nights. Enjoy. 

By Coco Mellors
** Publication Date 3 September 2024 **
​4.5 stars
Great novel! I did not read Cleopatra and Frankenstein, but I understand now why it was so popular. Coco Mellors has a gift for writing. The character development was outstanding. The storylines amazing. I loved this one.


Originally there were four Blue sisters. Avery, Bonnie, Nicky, and Lucky. Tragically, Nicky died. (No spoilers!) Now the other three are trying to find their way in the world as an odd number. They lived in a small apartment in New York City, until they fled to other parts of the world to escape the hell they called home. 


Lucky is a model and has been since she turned 15. She is a party girl to the nth degree. She calls Paris home, but travels all over the world. Now in her 20s, she’s been quite successful, but most of the money she’s made has gone toward her need to party to the max.


Bonnie is currently a bouncer at a bar in Venice, California. Formerly a boxer, she was the world champ until her world came crashing down. Heading toward 30, her life feels rudderless. She’s not sure where to go from here. 


And then there is Avery. The oldest and truly the one the girls always looked to as ‘mom’ because their own mom was a fairly absent mother. Not physically, but emotionally. Avery has always been the one to keep everything together. Except when she can’t. Avery is a recovering addict, married, living in London and working as a lawyer. 


When they receive a letter from their mother stating that the NYC apartment is being sold, all three women fall apart in their own ways. But this falling apart could be what they need to finally get back together.


Truly wonderful. So well written and mesmerizing. Told from each woman’s point of view in alternating chapters. Absolutely loved this one for it’s openness and realism. Long, but worth every minute. 

By Alan Bradley
** Publication Date 3 September 2024 **
4 stars

When I realized that this was book 11/11, I was a bit worried that I’d be lost and confused. But no! While I don’t know the history of the De Luce family, I still enjoyed every bit of this novel. Might be that I’ll have to return to book 1 to find out where it all began.


Flavia is apparently a thorn in the local law enforcement’s side in Bishop’s Lacey, England. Keen on chemistry and facts, Flavia can sometimes find the answers that the boys in blue cannot. So when a local resident is found dead, it’s Flavia and her trusty elder sidekick Dogger to find the answers.


Driving Flavia mad is Undine. Another De Luce who seems to idolize Flavia, but also has a personality of her own. She is constantly underfoot and begging for attention. Whether from the Yanks living on a nearby defunct airbase or from Flavia and Dogger and Mrs. Mullet. 


It’s Mrs. Mullet who is in trouble here, as she was supposedly the last one to see the man alive. Not only that, but she fed him a breakfast of mushrooms drowned in butter. Mushrooms. Did she intentionally poison him with a bad mushroom? Only Flavia will know the truth. At least until she shares with the police.


Mayhem and madness at times, this was a fun novel. Flavia is a brilliant young heroine. Mostly fearless. Dogger is a stalwart, capable, sturdy companion, which Flavia needs in her life. Undine is hysterical and annoying, but still endearing. This was so enjoyable, and not too gruesome of a murder mystery.