Book: Encyclopedia Brown

 Book: Encyclopedia Brown

Author: Donal Sobol

Pages: 96

This is my 243rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Leroy Brown, aka Encyclopedia Brown, is Idaville neighborhood's 10 year old star detective.  With an uncanny knack for trivia, he solves mysteries for the neighborhood kids through his own detective agency.  But his dad also happens to be the chief of the Idaville police department, and every night around the dinner table, Encyclopedia helps him solve his most baffling crimes. 

Read for the Rory Gilmore Challenge

Stars: 4 

Book: The Family Remains

 Book: The Family Remains

Author: Lisa Jewell

Pages: 384

This is my 242nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Early one morning on the shore of the Thamses, DCI Samuel Owusu is called ot the scene of a greusome discovery.  When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a chelsea mansion 30 years ago.  Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock - news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France.  All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn't want to answer.  After fleeing London 30 years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home.  While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.  As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they're connected in ways they could have never imagined.  

So - my bad.  I did not know this was a second book in a series!  I should have looked into it better before I pulled t off my shelf.  This is a sequel to The Family Upstairs.  I am wondering if my review would be different if I read that one first (I plan on reading it soon to find out).  IT was a good book, but not as good as some as the others of hers I have read.  There are a lot of hard topics in this one -rape is one of them, and I really do not like reading about domestic violence.  She did pull it all together in the end and wrapped it up well. 

STars: 3.5 

Book: The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder in the Castle

 Book: The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder in the Castle

Author: CL Miller

Pages: 304

This is my 241st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Hot on the heels of an art forger, a member of the Lockwood Antique Hunter's Agency disappears while investigating an isolated castle deep in Scottish countryside.  Freya and Aunt Carole race to her last known location and arrive in the wintry, snow-covered Scottish Borders.  At the castle, they discover that a murdred laird in the vegetable garden and his priceless collection of silverware has been stolen.  Local police believe Freya's missing team member was involved with the robbery and murder - but where is she now?  As a snowstorm descends on the castle, Freya and Carole call in back-up to help uncover what happened that fateful night.  As each question is met with more mystery, the clock is ticking to find their friend and he murderer before they are cut off from the outside world.

This is a 3rd in this series, and it was pretty good.  I have enjoyed this story line and these characters for the most part.  They are light and easy reads, and this one I was not really sure where it was going to end up.  But it wrapped up nicely.

Stars: 4 

Book: Warm Bodies

 Book: Warm Bodies

Author: John Marrs

Pages: 107

This is my 240th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Brenda lives quietly in a picture-perfect English village.  She looks after her grandchildren, restores old furniture, and keeps herself to herself.  She's the sort of neighbour people feel comfortable judging.  And judge they do.  Because villages notice everything.  The shopping.  The visitors.  The hours kept behind closed doors.  And when the local WhatsApp group begins to turn its attention to Brenda, curiosity hardens into suspicion, and gossip becomes a sport.  As scrutiny tightens, Brends finds herself navigating busybodies, moral crusaders and a community that believes it knows best.  What they don't know is that Brenda has spent a lifetime solving problems descreetly.  Methodically.  Permanently.  And she is very good at it.  The village may come to regret not minding its own business. 

I got this short story as an Amazon free read and I enjoyed it.  I am a Marrs fan, and he did a great job writing a full, interesting story with developing characters in 100 pages.  It was a good story with a bit of a twist I didn't really see coming.  Glad I read this one.

Stars: 4 

Book: The Beginning After The End

 Book: The Beginning AFter The End

Author: TurtleMe

Pages: 192

This is the my 239th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

King Grey is a remarkable ruler with a prosperous reign, and yet - opulence and success cannot bury emptiness and solitude.  His time as king, however, comes to an abrupt end, and he reincarnates as Arthur Leywin - a baby born in a world of magic and monsters.  Equipped with memories of his previous life and the desire to protect the newfound warmth surrounding him, Art begins his journey of becoming a strong warrior once again.  Sword training, mana coreformation, magic studies - Art does it all in order to be as powerful as can be.  But will it be enought to repel the dangerous forces that threaten his second chance of life?

Stars: 3 

Book: Fever Beach

 Book: Fever Beach

Author: Carl Hiassen

Pages: 384

This is my 238th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Welcome to Fever Beach, where the sun blazes, the politicis are unhinged, and the characters are as volatile as a summer storm.  Dale Figgo is a half-baked crusader with the rare distinction of being kicked out of the Proud Boys - for being too dumb.  His latest bad decision?  Picking up a hitchhiker on a rainy afternoon while running an errand.  That errand sets off a chain reaction involving Viva Morales, a clever, resilient newcomer trying to rebuild her life post-divorce.  She's renting a room in Figgo's apartment and working at the Mink Foundation - a philanthropic front with something far darker beneath the surface.  Circling them is Twilly Spree, a hothead environmentalist with too much cash and a gift for over-the-top revenge.  When dark money and twisted motives bring their worlds crashing together, Viva and Twilly become unlikely allies.  Together, the uncover a tangle of corruption and consipracy led by a plastic-surgery-loving billionaire couple and a clueless c ongressman with delusions of grandeur.  In his most outrageous and deliciously funny novel yet, Hiassen delivers a gleefully chaotic portrait of contemporary madness.

This was another great installment for a Hiassen book.  Always amusing, and a favorite author in our house, this book did not disappoint.  There are the usual enormous amount of characters, and since this book was from 2025, it has a lot of timely news to parody off of.  Hiassen is not lacking for material these days in his highly left leaning books.  If you want to read a story where they poke good fun and a bananas story about people in Florida - check this one out.

Stars: 4  

Book: Kills Well With Others

 Book: Kills Well With Others

Author Deanna Rayborn

Page: 363

This is my 237th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, May Alice, and Natalie are called back into action.  They have enjoyed their time off but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions without itching to strangle someone - literally.  When they receive a summons from the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready to tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.  Someon on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European ganster with an iron fist, some serious criminal ambition, and a tendancy to kill first and ask questions later.  This new nemesis is murdering agents who got in the way of their power hungy plans and the aging quartet of killers is next.  Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museums momle and hunting down the gangster who seems to know their next move beofe they make it.  Their enemy is unlike any they've faced befre, and it will take all their killer experience to get out of this misison alive.

This books is a good one.  This is a second in a series and i liked it as much as the first.  It may be weird to describe this book as cute considered it is about hired killers, but they are basically grannies.  There is good banter between the 4 women as they just casually do their jobs.  I am not sure if this will be the last in this series, but I would read another.

Stars: 4