Always With a Book

The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery #bookreview #audiobook #series

The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Libro.fm / William Morrow for the ALC and William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of The Murder at World’s End in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow / William Morrow Published: January 6, 2026   Summary: Secrets, murder, and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo—an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogenarian—hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world. Cornwall, 1910. On a…

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The Italian Secret by Tara Moss #bookreview #audiobook #series

The Italian Secret by Tara Moss #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and Dutton #partner, for the finished copy of The Italian Secret in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher:  Dutton / Penguin Audio Published: December 2, 2025   Summary: #1 internationally bestselling author Tara Moss returns with an immersive post-war mystery as glamorous investigator Billie Walker follows a trail of secrets to Italy’s sun-drenched Neapolitan coast Naples, 1943. Deep within a secret network of underground…

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Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd #bookreview #audiobook #series

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Murder at Gulls Nest in exchange for my honest review.  I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: April 8, 2025   Summary: A cozy mystery series about a former nun who searches for answers in a small seaside town after her pen pal mysteriously disappears 1954: When her former novice’s dependable…

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The Windsor Conspiracy by Georgie Blalock #bookreview #audiobook

The Windsor Conspiracy by Georgie Blalock #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of The Windsor Conspiracy in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio Published: July 16, 2024   Summary: Georgie Blalock, the acclaimed author of The Other Windsor Girl, delivers an enchantingly reimagined fictional portrait of Wallis Simpson through the lens of her cousin who is engaged to spy on the Duchess…

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Murder Takes the Stage by Colleen Cambridge #bookreview #audiobook #series

Murder Takes the Stage by Colleen Cambridge #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Kensington Books / Highbridge Published: October 22, 2024   Summary: A witty and inventive treat for lovers of all things Christie, Downton Abbey, and Knives Out, set in London and the English countryside and starring Phyllida Bright, fictional housekeeper to the great dame of detective fiction herself. “Dame Agatha would be proud” (Publishers Weekly). Housekeeper Phyllida Bright is quite in her element at…

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One Final Turn by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

One Final Turn by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of One Final Turn in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: June 3, 2025   Summary: The fifth and final installment in the Electra McDonnell series brings safecracker Ellie on a mission across World War II-era Europe to Lisbon, Portugal to rescue a key group of escaped POWs. Ellie McDonnell is about to embark on her most perilous mission…

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Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor #bookreview #audiobook #series

Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Agony Hill in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my collection. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Brilliance Audio Published: August 6, 2024   Summary: Set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s, Agony Hill is the first novel in a new historical series full of vivid New England atmosphere and the deeply drawn characters that are Sarah Stewart Taylor’s…

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The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos #bookreview #audiobook #series

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Recorded Books Published: July 18, 2023   Summary: In the tradition of Craig Johnson and C. J. Box, Bruce Borgos’s The Bitter Past begins a compelling series set in the high desert of Nevada featuring Sheriff Porter Beck… Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where…

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Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Locked in Pursuit in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: May 14, 2023   Summary: The fourth instalment in the delightful series following safecracker Electra McDonnell fighting Nazis at every turn as World War II looms over London. Safecracker Ellie McDonnell hasn’t seen Major Ramsey―her handsome but aloof handler in the British government―since their tumultuous mission together three…

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The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson #bookreview #audiobook

The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Recorded Books, for the ALC and Kensington Books, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Flower Sisters in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Kensington Books /Recorded Books Published: April 23, 2024   Summary: Drawing on the little-known true story of a tragic event that took place in the author’s Missouri hometown at an Ozarks dance hall in 1928, this beautifully written novel, told through twin…

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The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton #bookreview #audiobook

The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC of The House on Biscayne Bay in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Penguin Audio Published: April 2, 2024   Summary: As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s atmospheric new novel. With the Great War finally behind them, thousands of civilians and business moguls…

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The Gimlet Slip by Fiona Davis and Greg Wands #bookreview #audiobook

The Gimlet Slip by Fiona Davis and Greg Wands #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC of The Gimlet Slip in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Published: March 5, 2024   Summary: A headstrong, fast-driving young woman gets pulled into a dangerous bootlegging scheme in this thrilling novella set in glamorous and gritty Prohibition-era New York City, written in an exciting collaboration between bestselling and critically acclaimed authors Fiona Davis and Greg Wands. New…

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Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook #bookreview #audiobook

Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and @BookClubFavorites & Simon & Schuster #partner,  for the finished copy of Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: January 16, 2024   Summary: An Arctic expedition. A mysterious death. And the lengths to which one woman will go to avenge her sister When Maude Horton receives a letter…

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A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries #backlistreview

A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge #bookreview #audiobook #bookseries #backlistreview

Thank you TCL BookTours, Kensington Books, #partner, for the finished copy of A Trace of Poison in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Kensington Books / Highbridge Published: October 25, 2022   Summary: In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, is the exception. And housekeeper Phyllida…

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The Golden Gate by Amy Chua #bookreview #audiobook

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Golden Gate in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection. Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio Published: September 19, 2023   Summary: Amy Chua’s debut novel, The Golden Gate, is a sweeping, evocative, and compelling historical thriller that paints a vibrant portrait of a California buffeted by the turbulent crosswinds of a world at…

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Playing It Safe by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

Playing It Safe by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Playing It Safe in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: May 9, 2023   Summary: As the Blitz continues to ravage London, Ellie McDonnell—formerly a safecracking thief, but currently determined to stay on the straight and narrow to help her country—is approached by British Intelligence officer Major Ramsey with a new assignment. She is to travel under an…

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The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner #bookreview #audiobook

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you HTP Books & Park Row Books, #partner,  for the advanced copy of The London Seance Society in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Park Row Books / Harlequin Audio Published: March 7, 2023   Summary: From the author of the sensational bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes a spellbinding tale about two daring women who hunt for truth and justice in the perilous art…

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Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge #bookreview #series #backlistreview

Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge #bookreview #series #backlistreview

Thank you Kensington Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Murder at Mallowan Hall in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Kensington Books Published: October 26, 2021   Summary: The first in an exciting new historical mystery series set in the home of Agatha Christie! Colleen Cambridge’s charming and inventive new historical series introduces an unforgettable heroine in Phyllida Bright, fictional housekeeper for none other than famed mystery novelist Agatha…

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Stolen Remains by Christine Trent #bookreview #series #backlistbook

Stolen Remains by Christine Trent #bookreview #series #backlistbook

Thank you Kensington Books, #partner for the advanced of Stolen Remains in exchange for my honest review. I got the audiobook from Scribd. Publisher: Kensington Books / Tantor Audio Published: April 29, 2014 / November 30, 2021   Summary: After establishing her reputation as one of London’s most highly regarded undertakers, Violet Harper decided to take her practice to the wilds of the American West. But when her mother falls…

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The Lady’s Guide to Death and Deception by Katherine Cowley #BlogTour #BookFeature

The Lady’s Guide to Death and Deception by Katherine Cowley #BlogTour #BookFeature

  Today, I’m so happy to be a tour stop on the blog tour for The Lady’s Guide to Death and Deception. Thank you Austen Prose for inviting me to participate. I have a book spotlight and excerpt for you today.   Publisher: Tule Publishing Published: September 22, 2022   Summary: What is a spy willing to do when both her heart and her country are at risk? Life changes…

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The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the finished copy of The Key to Deceit in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: June 21, 2022   Summary: The second in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, The Key to Deceit, is a delightful World War II mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit. London, 1940. After years of stealing from the rich and giving to the…

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The Heist by C.W. Gortner & M.J. Rose #bookreview #bookseries

The Heist by C.W. Gortner & M.J. Rose #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you to GetRedPR, #partner, for the finished copy of The Heist in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Blue Box Press Published: August 2, 2022   Summary: To catch a leopard wear diamonds. A year after THE BAIT, Ania Throne is on the prowl. Gone into hiding, she’s planned her next move to perfection, intent on winning her dangerous game of cat-against-cat with the Leopard. But Ania doesn’t know that…

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The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss #bookreview #netgalley #seriesreview

The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss #bookreview #netgalley #seriesreview

Thank you Dutton / Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced copy of The New Neighbor in exchange for my honest review.    Publisher: Dutton Published: June 7, 2022 Summary: A thrilling tale of courage and secrets set in postwar London and Paris, in which a search for a missing husband puts investigator and former war reporter Billie Walker on a collision course with an underground network of Nazi criminals It’s 1947.…

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Review: The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding by Lydia Kang (audio)

Review: The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding by Lydia Kang (audio)

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio Published: May 1, 2022 Source: Print – ARC Paperback via Author / Audio – ALC via Brilliance Publishing   Summary: From the bestselling author of A Beautiful Poison comes a spellbinding historical mystery about hidden identities, wartime paranoia, and the tantalizing power of deceit. Brooklyn, 1942. War rages overseas as brother and sister Will and Maggie Scripps contribute to the war effort stateside. Ambitious Will…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

Blog Tour & Review: The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

  Today, I’m so happy to be a tour stop on the blog tour for The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray. Thank you Austen Prose PR for inviting me to participate.   Publisher: Vintage Anchor Books Published: May 3, 2022 Source: ARC Paperback via AustenProse PR   Summary: A summer house party turns into a whodunit when Mr. Wickham, one of literature’s most notorious villains, meets a sudden and suspicious…

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Blog Tour & Review: Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron

Blog Tour & Review: Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron

Publisher: Soho Crime Published: February 8, 2022 Source: ARC Paperback via AustenProse PR   Summary: May 1816: Jane Austen is feeling unwell, with an uneasy stomach, constant fatigue, rashes, fevers and aches. She attributes her poor condition to the stress of family burdens, which even the drafting of her latest manuscript–about a baronet’s daughter nursing a broken heart for a daring naval captain–cannot alleviate. Her apothecary recommends a trial of…

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Review: The Bait by C.W. Gortner & M.J. Rose

Review: The Bait by C.W. Gortner & M.J. Rose

Publisher: Blue Box Press Published: August 10, 2021 Source: GetRedPR   Summary: Revenge is a diamond best served cold. A year after THE STEAL, Ania Throne is determined to take back what the Leopard stole from her. Together with her lover and partner, Jerome, she stages a spectacular heist during the Venetian Carnival, to lure out the treacherous mastermind they unmasked. She’s willing to risk it all—until her revenge takes a…

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Review: The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain (audio)

Review: The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain (audio)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: January 11, 2022 Source: Print – ARC Paperback via St. Martin’s Press / Audio via library   Summary: A community’s past sins rise to the surface in New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain’s The Last House on the Street when two women, a generation apart, find themselves bound by tragedy and an unsolved, decades-old mystery. 1965 Growing up in the well-to-do town of Round Hill,…

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Review: A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver

Review: A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver

Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: May 25, 2021 Source: ARC Paperback via Publisher   Summary: The first in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, set in England during World War II, A Peculiar Combination is a delightful mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and the author’s signature wit. Electra McDonnell has always known that the way she and her family earn their living is slightly outside of the law. Breaking…

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Review: No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson (audio)

Review: No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson (audio)

Publisher: Random House Audio Published: September 28, 2021 Source: ALC via Libro.fm   Summary: From New York Times best-selling author Erik Larson comes his first venture into fiction, an otherworldly tale of intrigue and the impossible that marshals his trademark approach to nonfiction to create something new: a ghost story thoroughly grounded in history. Pioneering psychologist William James leads an expedition to a remote isle in search of answers after…

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Review: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (audio)

Review: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (audio)

Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio Published: March 9, 2021 Source: Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher / Audio – via library   Summary: The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over. 1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very…

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Review: The Steal by C.W. Gortner & M.J. Rose

Review: The Steal by C.W. Gortner & M.J. Rose

Publisher: Blue Box Press Published: August 10, 2021 Source: GetRedPR   Summary:  They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend – until they’re stolen. Ania Throne is devoted to her jewelry company. The daughter of one of the world’s most famous jewelers, she arrives in Cannes with a stunning new collection. But a shocking theft by the notorious thief known as the Leopard throws her into upheaval – and plunges…

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Review: In the Month of the Midnight Sun by Cecilia Ekback

Review: In the Month of the Midnight Sun by Cecilia Ekback

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Published: June 14, 2016 Source: Personal Copy   Summary: An orphaned boy brought up to serve the state as a man. A rich young woman incapable of living by the conventions of society. Neither is prepared for the journey into the heat, mystery, violence and disorienting perpetual daylight of the far North. Stockholm 1856. Magnus is a geologist. When the Minister sends him to survey the…

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Review: Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

Review: Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

Publisher: William Morrow Published: June 1, 2021 Source: Publisher   Summary: The New York Times bestselling author of Her Last Flight returns with a gripping and profoundly human story of Cold War espionage and family devotion. In the autumn of 1948, Iris Digby vanishes from her London home with her American diplomat husband and their two children. The world is shocked by the family’s sensational disappearance. Were they eliminated by the Soviet intelligence service?…

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