Happy Book Birthday to Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack

 

Best wishes to Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack which is coming out today from Minotaur Books. This book looks like it will be a good, fun read.

From the publisher:

Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.

All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series—is that too much to ask?

Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life—the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can't get out of her life—Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case.

Contending with literary competitors, rabid fans, a stalker—and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly—theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the irresistible and hilarious series debut from Catherine Mack, introducing bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate the world in her books.

"Quick, captivating, and oh-so-much-fun! This delicious mystery is as spellbinding as Knives Out."—Elle Cosimano, New York Times bestselling author of the Finlay Donovan series

Book Review: Off the Air by Christina Estes

 

When Jolene Garcia hears there's been a death at a local radio station, she and her cameraman rush to the location. As she attempts to ascertain who has died, the competition arrives. Jolene does her best to try and get an exclusive, but it just isn't happening. Soon the police reveal that the dead man is indeed controversial talk show host Larry Lemmon. It also comes out that he died under somewhat suspicious circumstances. And while Jolene was the last person to interview him, she still wants and needs an exclusive, preferrably with information on who the killer might be. She works her way through a suspect list she got from one of her sources. Will she be able to find out who the killer is before her recklessness brings her too much danger?

This is Christina Estes debut novel that won the Tony Hillerman Prize. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. 

Jolene is the most well developed character in the book. There were definitely times where I didn't like her or her choices. Overall, she is okay and very ambitious. I wanted to know what would happen with her.

There is a lot of information given as to how a television news program is put together. I skipped over bits of it, but it's interesting in general. It shows how much pressure Jolene was under to produce newsworthy material that would be unique to their station.

The plot moves forward at a decent rate. The end had a nice twist to it. One of the subplots wasn't resolved, unless I missed something. I can see it continuing in another novel about Jolene.

If you enjoy mysteries with an amateur sleuth that also give background into a profession, this could be the book for you. It's generally well written and interesting.

Off the Air  by Christina Estes was released March 26th, 2024 from Minotaur Books.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my review.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #505: The Blind Devotion of Imogene by David Putnam

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with Can't Wait Wednesday hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

From the publisher:

In 1973, Imogene Taylor is seventy-five years old, on parole for murder, and works at a store that sells dented canned goods. Twelve years earlier, she went to prison for killing her love-of-her-life-husband, Wayne. She called it an accident. The judge and jury called it murder. Imogene’s parole agent is constantly on her case, looking to send her back to prison.

During her time in prison, Imogene had to vent her angst at someone and sent the sitting Presidents (during the ten years in prison) threatening letters bringing her to the attention of the Secret Service. She does extensive research and writes a novel, Peekaboo POTUS, about the assassination of a US President. She sends the book "over the transom" to one publisher. The publisher, after being unable to contact Imogene, comes looking for her.

The Cigar, an organized crime gangster, walks into Dentco, where Imogene works, and extorts the store for protection money. Pay up or get firebombed. The entire strip center is under this threat.

At the same time, Imogene’s neighbor dies of natural causes and leaves a hoarder’s mess to his daughter, Suzanne. Imogene helps Suz clear out a pyramid of boxes filled with junk in the garage. At the bottom of the pile, they find a box with a dead woman who has been hidden for many years.

Imogene must dodge an overzealous parole agent while dealing with a dead woman in the neighbor’s garage. She’s on parole for murder, so she can’t report it to the police. No one would believe her. Imogene and Suz think the woman in the box is Suz’s long-estranged mother. Rather than reveal Suz’s father as the probable killer, Imogene convinces Suz to bury her mom under the avocado tree in the backyard. Until Thelma, Suz’s mother, appears after reading the obituary.

It's a race to uncover the real killer as Imogene dodges gangsters, family members, and a publisher on her quest to find the truth.

The Blind Devotion of Imogene by David Putnam is expected out July 9, 2024 from Level Best Books.

Why am I waiting on this book: It sounds like it will be funny and a wild ride. I'd like to see Imogene stay out of jail. I want to find out what happens to her and Suz.

What book are you waiting on? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists.Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

What I'm Reading

 

So last week I finished reading A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian and I reviewed it. Then, I continued reading Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk. And I started reading Off the Air by Christina Estes and Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan. All three books are good so far. Thirst and Bless Your Heart  have vampires while Off the Air  is a straight up mystery. I have one book on my phone, one on my kindle, and one on my tablet. I always have a book with me no matter where I am. Back in the day, I used to carry a paperback in my purse. It's so much easier now. And I can carry a smaller purse lol. 

So, what are you reading this week? I hope you are enjoying it. Let us know in the comments. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Reading! And Happy World Book Day!

Book Review: A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian

 

Tempest Raj is rightly worried. Julian Rhodes blamed his wife's accident on their small family run business when it was his actions that caused it. His subsequent suing of the company has them all frazzled to a breaking point. Then late one night Tempest gets a phone call to meet Julian at the Whispering Creek Theater which she has rented out for her last magical performance. When she gets there, he has been stabbed with a sword through the door. It seems a booby trap has claimed his life. But, who could have done it and why? She decides to investigate the murder herself instead of waiting for the police to do so. Then there is more injury and death. She knows that she has all the information she needs to solve the mysteries, but she can't quite put it together. With a little help from her friends, can she put it together in time to keep anyone else from dying and keep herself out of jail?

A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian was released March 19th, 2024 from Minotaur Books.

I enjoy the Secret Staircase mystery novels. There's always some cool thing they are adding to a home. Plus there are the characters. Tempest and her close grouping of friends work well together. Her family make great supporting characters. And there is pretty much at least one locked room mystery per novel. My favorite characters are of course Tempest and her best friend and partner in crime, Ivy. There is much though that Tempest does alone in her investigations. Ivy always ties the crimes to some novel since she is going to be a librarian and they have that neat library with the train car to showcase.

The plot grabs us early on and the action and deductions keep it moving forward. The writing is well done. You want to keep turning the pages. And the ending is satisfying.

Overall, I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's well done. The mystery is interesting. The plot moves forward at a good rate. And it keeps your attention. I didn't quite know all the answers to the mysteries and was surprised at some of the answers. It's a good book that does that. If you like your mysteries with a bit of stage magic, found family as well as a nice real family, this could be a good series for you. You could probably read this as a standalone since everything you need to know is explained. It will most likely make you want to read more in the series.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinions.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #504: Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with Can't Wait Wednesday hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

From the publisher: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles comes the final book in the “action-packed, enchantingly fun” (Booklist) Ink & Sigil series, as an ink-slinging wizard pursues the answer to a very personal mystery: Who cast a pair of curses on his head?

Al MacBharrais has a most unusual job: He’s a practitioner of ink-and-sigil magic, tasked with keeping order among the gods and monsters that dwell hidden in the human world. But there’s one supernatural mystery he’s never been able to solve: Years ago, someone cast twin curses on him that killed off his apprentices and drove away loved ones who heard him speak, leaving him bereft and isolated. 

But he’s not quite alone: As Al works to solve this mystery, his friends draw him into their own eccentric dramas. Buck Foi the hobgoblin has been pondering his own legacy—and has a plan for a daring shenanigan that will make him the most celebrated hobgoblin of all. Nadia, goth queen and battle seer, is creating her own cult around a god who loves whisky and cheese. 

And the Morrigan, a former Irish death goddess, has decided she wants not only to live as an ordinary woman but also to face the most perilous challenge of the mortal world: online dating. 

Meanwhile, Al crosses paths with old friends and new—including some beloved Druids and their very good dogs—in his globe-trotting quest to solve the mystery of his curses. But he’s pulled in so many different directions by his colleagues, a suspicious detective, and the whims of destructive gods that Al begins to wonder: Will he ever find time to write his own happy ending?

Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne is expected out October 1, 2024 from Del Rey.

Why am I waiting on this book: I've enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy. I can't miss the third and final book of Al and his friends. I really like the humor that shines through as well as the action. If you are looking for a good urban fantasy with sigil magic, fae, and gods and goddesses, this could be the trilogy for you. 

What book are you waiting on? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists.Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

most celebrated hobgoblin of all. Nadia, goth queen and battle seer, is creating her own cult around a god who loves whisky and cheese. 

And the Morrigan, a former Irish death goddess, has decided she wants not only to live as an ordinary woman but also to face the most perilous challenge of the mortal world: online dating. 

Meanwhile, Al crosses paths with old friends and new—including some beloved Druids and their very good dogs—in his globe-trotting quest to solve the mystery of his curses. But he’s pulled in so many different directions by his colleagues, a suspicious detective, and the whims of destructive gods that Al begins to wonder: Will he ever find time to write his own happy ending?

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #503: The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with Can't Wait Wednesday hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

From the publisher:

Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is expected out July 16th, 2024 from Ballantine Books.

Why am I waiting on this book: I like that it was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia. I also like that it is billed as a fairy tale for grownups. I'm wondering why Rafe doesn't remember. And I'm hoping for some sort of a happy ending.

What book are you waiting on? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists.Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #502: My Mother Cursed My Name by Anamely Salgado Reyes

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with Can't Wait Wednesday hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

From the publisher:

Three generations of fiercely strong and stubborn Mexican American women face grief head-on as they attempt to shed generational trauma and discover the true meaning of home in this lyrical novel that features magical realism in the tradition of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina and The House of the Spirits.

For generations, the Olivares women have sought to control their daughters’ destinies, starting with their names. In life, Olvido constantly clashed with her carefree daughter. Then teenage Angustias discovered she was pregnant and left her mother’s home in search of her own. Ten years later, Felicitas finally meets her estranged grandmother and is terribly disappointed when Olvido is nothing like a grandmother should be. She is strict, cold, and…dead.

Now, Olvido is convinced the only way her spirit will cross over is if she resolves her unfinished business—to make sure Angustias is in a better place regarding family, job, husband, and God, but maybe not in that order—and Felicitas is the only person who can see or hear her. Heartbroken about her mother’s passing and desperate to put Olvido’s tiny Texas home in her rearview mirror as quickly as possible, Angustias doesn’t understand why suddenly everyone in town seems to be conspiring to set her up with every eligible bachelor in town, offer her jobs, and invite her and Felicitas to church every Sunday.

As Olvido attempts to puppeteer her granddaughter to “fix” Angustias’s life from beyond the grave, Angustias tries desperately to find a better place for Felicitas, and Felicitas struggles to keep her ability to see the dead a secret from Angustias, all three Olivares girls are forced to learn how to actually listen to one another, to work to overcome generations’ worth of well-intentioned mistakes and learn the true definition of home.

My Mother Cursed My Name by Anamely Salgado Reyes is expected out July 30th, 2024 from Atria Books.

Why am I waiting on this book: I like stories with magical realism. I like the multigenerational aspect of this one as well. I want to know what happens to the three main characters.

What book are you waiting on? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists.Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!