The Last Word by Gerri Lewis

The Last Word
by Gerri Lewis

ISBN-13: 9781639106318
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Released: February 6, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Obituary writer Winter Snow is no stranger to grief, and writing obituaries for the citizens of Ridgefield, Connecticut, is her way of providing comfort to those who have been in her shoes. But funerals and eulogies are meant for the dead, so when the very much alive Leocadia Arlington requests her own obituary by the end of the week, Winter’s curiosity is piqued. Even more so when she finds Mrs. Arlington dead soon after. The police think it was an accident.

Winter's sure it was murder, though, because why else have a deadline? She becomes obsessed with trying to figure out the real killer. When Winter realizes Mrs. Arlington was working on a revealing memoir that has now gone missing, Winter begins to wonder if someone had a reason to kill to keep her quiet. With the help of her foodie Uncle Richard, her wise octogenarian neighbor Horace, her best friend Scoop, and Diva, the Great Pyrenees puppy she inherited from Mrs. Arlington, Winter must uncover the killer before the next obituary written is her own.


My Review:
The Last Word is a cozy mystery. Mrs. Arlington's a writer yet felt she needed to hire someone else to write her obituary. This is just the beginning of the baffling events. Like a gal was trying to stay hidden yet went on a long walk in public along a popular route. Or Winter knows they're in a hurry but took the time to take a shower, put on makeup, and otherwise primp. Or Winter knows she shouldn't be snooping, a cop is searching the house, the house has been trashed, yet when she knocked a vase over and broke it, she took the time to clean it up.

The author also didn't do a good job of describing things. I'd have to go back to re-read things because either I had misunderstood what she described or she forgot what she'd previously said. The whole story was unrealistic. Winter and the detectives treated evidence in ways that would see it thrown out of court. For example, she stole an iPad (evidence that the police were looking for) and went through it, sending things from it to herself, then turned it over. She was constantly illegally entering property and houses. And Winter's caught 'stealing from a dead guy's pocket' and is still a suspect after she explained it was her phone and contained evidence proving her story, yet she's allowed to take her phone home without anyone looking at it.

Anyway, despite the crazy and confusing, I still managed to figure out whodunit about halfway through. There was basically only one person who could have done certain things, and we soon learned that person's motive. Another person was sure acting suspiciously and had to be involved somehow. Not too difficult to figure out.

There was some bad language. There were no sex scenes.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Murder by Lamplight by Patrice Mcdonough

Murder by Lamplight
by Patrice Mcdonough

ISBN-13: 9781496746368
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Kensington Books
Released: February 20, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
November 1866: The grisly murder site in London’s East End is thronged with onlookers. None of them expect Dr. Julia Lewis—one of Britain’s first female physicians--to examine the corpse. To study medicine, Julia had to leave Britain, where universities still bar their doors to women, and travel to America. She returned home to work in her grandfather’s practice—and to find London in the grip of a devastating cholera epidemic.

Inspector Richard Tennant, overseeing the investigation, wonders that she'd want to do the job but admires her thorough work examining the sexually mutilated clergyman's body. Days later, another body is found with links to the first, and Tennant calls in Dr. Lewis again. The murderer begins sending the police taunting letters and tantalizing clues—though the trail leads in multiple directions, from London’s music halls to its grim workhouses and dank sewers. Lewis and Tennant struggle to understand the killer’s dark obsessions and motivations. But there is new urgency, for the doctor’s role appears to have shifted from expert to target. And this killer is no impulsive monster, but a fiendishly calculating opponent, determined to see his plan through to its terrifying conclusion.


My Review:
Murder by Lamplight is set in 1866 in London. It's not really mystery genre. From the beginning, scenes from the killer's point of view hint at who he is and what happened to prompt the killings. Eventually we're told in his viewpoint who it is. While there were clues, most could apply to several people. The detective eventually worked out whodunit, but Julia didn't until she was kidnapped by him. Then she was angry that the detective came to capture the killer and try to save her life. After all, SHE was perfectly capable of saving herself from a manipulative serial killer.

Julia assumed all men underestimated her, and she assumed the worse of most men. The detective used her as a medical examiner, appreciated her detailed work, and accepted her input even when it meant reading a book about mental illness. Julia, on the other hand, assumed that the detective didn't appreciate her skills and intelligence and so decided to do his job for him, from searching for clues to lecturing him about criminal madness. Sigh.

Historical details brought the time and place alive with gritty, depressing vividness. I appreciated her extensive historical knowledge, but it disappeared at the end. Julia (with open cuts) jumped into the dirty water yet didn't get sick or an infection when a big point in the story was how filthy the water was. There were no sex scenes, but we're told that objects were shoved up the corpses' asses, how murder turned the killer on, and how children where sexually abused by adults (not in graphic detail). There was a fair amount of bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Trapped in Yosemite by Dana Mentink

Trapped in Yosemite
by Dana Mentink

ISBN-13: 9781335009043
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Trade
Released: February 27, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
K-9 handler Von Sharpe sees an SUV viciously forced off the road in the Yosemite National Park with his ex-fiancée at the wheel. When he pulls Stella Rivers out of the vehicle, the very ground under their feet cracks and breaks with the onslaught of a terrifying earthquake.

When her meeting with a mysterious client is ambushed, Stella witnesses the man being gunned down by a sniper and becomes a target herself. With the threat of aftershocks triggering landslides and floods, the new mom has no choice but to run to save her baby girl—even if it means teaming up with the man who has no idea he fathered her child.

Trapped in a dangerously unstable wilderness with a killer closing in, Von and Stella are running out of time.


My Review:
Trapped in Yosemite is a Christian romantic suspense. The suspense mainly came from a major earthquake hitting the area right as an assassin tried to take out poor Stella. Much of the story was about rescuing people, trying to survive a bad snowstorm and earthquake damage, and getting back in contact with outside help. Stella ended up on a wilderness camp where her ex-fiancée happened to work. He had dumped her and never tried to look her up.

While I appreciate when an author has the character grow throughout the story, Von was hard to take for the first half of the story. The only emotion Von was comfortable with was anger, so he's angry at everything Stella did. Even though he broke their engagement, he's very jealous and didn't want anyone showing any interest in her. She asked someone else to help her get to her aunt and baby, and he's determined to go after her, despite the danger he warned her about and even though others assured him that she had a good reason for taking that risk. His intent? To yell at her, tell her how foolish she was to take such a risk, how she should have done what he said, and to basically make her feel like she can't handle anything without him.

Apparently his anger problem built up after his brother died, so finally facing his loss and grief and eventually feeling like he could let go of the guilt allowed him to deal with Stella more fairly. I could see why he liked the more mature woman of faith that Stella had become, but I still felt like she got back with him mainly because he's the father of their child. I didn't worry about him abusing her, though, as he did change a lot.

Some suspense came from attempts to kill various people (mainly Stella) at the camp. While the killer was identified and stopped, that thread was just dropped. We never found out if a certain camper survived to manipulate his children as he intended (which would affect a main character).

Stella had learned to trust God even in her grief, and Von saw this and started connecting with God again. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting suspense novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Murder in Masquerade by Mary Winters

Murder in Masquerade
by Mary Winters

ISBN-13: 9780593548783
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: February 20, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Victorian Countess Amelia Amesbury’s secret hobby, writing an advice column for a London penny paper, has gotten her into hot water before. But now, handsome marquis Simon Bainbridge desperately requires her assistance. His beloved younger sister, Marielle, has written Amelia's Lady Agony column seeking advice on her plans to elope with a man her family does not approve of. Determined to save his sister from a scoundrel and the family from scandal, Simon asks Amelia to dissuade Marielle from the ill-advised gambit.

But when the scoundrel makes an untimely exit after a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Amelia realizes there’s much more at stake than saving a young woman’s reputation from ruin. It’s going to take more than her letter-writing skills to help the dashing marquis mend the familial bond and find the murderer.


My Review:
Murder in Masquerade is a mystery set in 1860 in England. Amelia's role as a advice column writer played very little role in this story beyond showing her progressive, feminist attitudes toward social norms. Her boyfriend's sister was going to run away with a man who's in debt and managed to anger a number of people on the racetrack. When they stumbled across his murdered body, Amelia and Simon felt like they had to discover whodunit. The police were pretty much missing from this scenario.

The main characters were likable. Amelia and Simon asked questions to discover who had a motive and was present when the murder happened. Amelia bickered a lot with Simon about who should question whom or go where. He hid something, so she snooped in his bedroom. When about to be found together in his room, rather than handling things an easier way, they climbed down a tree while she's wearing a crinoline dress. Frankly, it would have been even harder than described, but the author wanted a funny scene and so forced it.

I guessed whodunit jokingly and was surprised to be right as the motive was really weak. Amelia did finally figure it out based on one clue after several wrong guesses based on all the other clues. There was no sex. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I didn't enjoy the characters as much as in the first story and wasn't impressed with the mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

While the City Sleeps by Elizabeth Camden

While the City Sleeps
by Elizabeth Camden

ISBN-13: 9780764241710
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: February 13, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Katherine Schneider's workaday life as a dentist in 1913 New York is upended when a patient reveals details of a deadly plot while under the influence of laughing gas. As she is plunged into danger, she seeks help from the dashing Lieutenant Jonathan Birch, a police officer she has long admired.

Jonathan has harbored feelings toward Katherine for years but never acted on them, knowing his dark history is something she could never abide. Now, with her safety on the line, he works long nights to unravel the criminal conspiracy that threatens her. And throughout it all, Jonathan fears what will happen should Katherine ever learn his deepest secrets.


My Review:
While the City Sleeps is set in 1913 in New York City. The author wove historical details into the story to create a distinct sense of the time and place. The Bomb Squad and their attempts to stop bombings added some suspense. Katherine and Jonathan were flawed, realistic people who matured due to the events. Yet the 'romance' just didn't work for me. Jonathan faithfully escorted her to her subway each night for two years. She knew little about him, yet she still decided that he's this perfect, wonderful guy. So she started showing more skin and wearing her most flattering dresses to entice him into a relationship. He thinks she's so pure and untouched by the dirty, criminal world he grew up in and is thus desirable and above what he could hope for. But she's clear that she won't forgive lies (even by omission), and he's hiding the fact that he was born into a notorious criminal family.

The two didn't share any interests, though she was happy to eat the sweets he made and he was happy to do whatever she wanted to spend time with her. Both fell in love with an illusion they'd created about the other rather than the real person. Even by the end, some of that illusion remained. Jonathan thought that she brought out the best in him, but it's the opposite. She actually got him to break rules. She was more concerned with her desires than with his. She didn't support his dangerous police work, yet she kept ignoring his warnings of danger because she wanted to do something and not just wait. It just didn't seem like a healthy relationship.

Katherine suddenly decided in the epilogue that she could trust God with the future (especially regarding Jonathan's dangerous job). There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this more as a historical than a romance.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Fatal First Edition by Jenn McKinlay

Fatal First Edition
by Jenn McKinlay

ISBN-13: 9780593639337
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: February 13, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Briar Creek Library director Lindsey Norris and her husband, Sully, are at a popular library conference in Chicago to hear book restoration specialist Brooklyn Wainwright give a keynote address. After the lecture, Lindsey looks under her seat and finds a tote bag containing a first edition of Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, inscribed to Alfred Hitchcock. Brooklyn determines the novel is one of a kind and quite valuable, so Lindsey and Sully return the book to the conference director, not wanting to stir up any trouble.

But just hours after the pair boards the train back to Connecticut, they find the conference director murdered in his private compartment. And worse—the murderer planted the book in Lindsey and Sully’s room next door, making them suspects. Now, they must uncover the murderer and bring them to the end of their line.


My Review:
Fatal First Edition is a cozy mystery, though actually it was more suspense than mystery. It's the 14th in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunits of the previous mysteries.

While there were clues in overheard gossip, Lindsey didn't spend much time asking questions. The story was more about figuring out how to find and save someone who was kidnapped (not Lindsey) and about the difficulties caused by the horrible snowstorm. It was fun to see the crafters put their skills to such a...practical use. LOL. The main characters were likable and interesting. There were no sex scenes. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

One Final Target by Janice Cantore

One Final Target
by Janice Cantore

ISBN-13: 9781496457608
Paperback: 348 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Released: February 13, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
A warrant service in the San Bernardino Mountains goes horribly wrong when an IED blast kills four police officers. Devastated by the loss of her team, the lone survivor, Long Beach sergeant Jodie King, struggles with her guilt and grief, especially as the case remains open with no clear leads or suspects. Weeks after the explosion, Jodie retires from the police department and returns to the mountain bomb site seeking peace and resolution . . . only to find herself in the crosshairs once again.

Sam Gresham just happens to be in the right place at the right time when shots are fired at Jodie. The newest detective for the county sheriff’s department, Sam is assigned to work the IED, his first case back after his own traumatic loss. While Sam sees an opportunity to help Jodie heal from her lingering scars, Jodie hopes fresh eyes will bring new insight to the investigation. Because after this latest shooting, it seems Jodie was always the intended target―and the threat may be much closer to her than anyone wants to admit.


My Review:
One Final Target is a Christian romantic suspense. Since Jodie was responsible for her team, she felt guilty for their deaths even though there was no way for her to anticipate what happened. Sam also second-guessed himself after his partner died in an accident, so he could understand some of what Jodie was going through and help her deal with her guilt and grief. He also found further healing through helping her. They worked well together during the intense events. The author kept me guessing about exactly who on Sam's suspect list had a personal grudge worth killing over. I thought I knew, but I also wasn't sure, so who could they really trust? The constant danger and this uncertainty created a high level of suspense.

Jodie struggled with believing God was good even when tragedy happened. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this engaging, suspenseful story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

All My Secrets by Lynn Austin

All My Secrets
by Lynn Austin

ISBN-13: 9781496437440
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Released: February 6, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
New York, 1898. The only thing more shocking than Arthur Stanhope III’s unexpected death is the revelation that his will bestows his company―and most of the vast fortune that goes with it―to the nearest male heir, leaving his mother, wife, and daughter unable to maintain their lavish livestyle. His widow, Sylvia, quickly realizes she must set aside her grief to ensure their daughter, Adelaide, is launched into society as soon as the appropriate mourning period passes. Sylvia wants to find a wealthy husband for Addy before anyone realizes they’re under reduced circumstances.

Sylvia’s mother-in-law, Junietta, believes their life could use a little disruption. She has watched Sylvia play her role as a society wife, as Junietta once did, despite what it cost them both. Junietta vows to give her granddaughter the power to choose a path beyond what society expects.

But for Addy to have that chance, both mother and grandmother must first confront painful truths about their own choices. Only in bringing their secrets to light can they hope to reshape their family inheritance into a legacy more fulfilling than they ever dared dream.


My Review:
All My Secrets is a Christian historical set in 1898 in New York. It's about the legacy we leave behind and how our actions affect future generations. As the oldest, Junietta's story unfolded first as she told Sylvia and Addy about her first love. He was an impoverished immigrant who headed off to make it rich in the gold fields of California so he could give Junietta the lifestyle to which she's accustomed. She's forced into marriage with Art, the son of an evil, scheming man who set his sons against each other. Her marriage wasn't a love match, and she wants that for Addy along with a sense of purpose that she's found in supporting charities for widows, orphans, and the poor.

Sylvia then told how she married Junietta's son to regain the wealth of her childhood only to fall in love with him. She's determined to find a wealthy husband for Addy so that they both can continue the lifestyle they're used to. Addy likes social events and can't imagine giving up her home (even if it costs too much to maintain), but the men willing to court her aren't ones she can see spending her life with. Decisions, decisions for everyone.

The characters were complex, realistic people, and I cared about them. Historical details about what life was like were woven into story, and some major historical events affected the women's lives. Junietta received God's forgiveness for her sins and, out of gratitude, reached out to help others. There were no sex scenes or bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this well-written historical.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Fur Love or Money by Sofie Ryan

Fur Love or Money
by Sofie Ryan

ISBN-13: 9780593550243
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: February 6, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Sarah Grayson is taking a break from her bustling secondhand shop in small-town Maine to spend time with a friend and her dog. But their purr-fect visit comes to an end when the dog leads them to a storm cellar on a nearby property, where they discover a dead body.

The deceased turns out to be a sticky-fingered financial adviser who swindled millions from investors and who has been presumed dead for the last three years. Unfortunately, suspicion falls on the owner of the property where the body was found—and that owner is a good friend of Charlotte’s Angels’, the senior citizen sleuths who work out of Sarah’s shop. The Angels are determined to clear his good name. But with a tight-lipped widow, a possibly shifty sister, and a slew of unhappy investors in the mix, the list of murder suspects seems endless. Sarah, Elvis, and the Angels have a lot of webs to untangle before they can catch the culprit.


My Review:
Fur Love or Money is a cozy mystery. Unfortunately, the ending was confusing in several ways. We had the mystery of the murder but also of what happened to the stolen money. The main characters went around interviewing potential suspects, mostly people who lost their money and wanted it back. Then whodunit is caught in a lie, and Sarah explained to Rose what she thought happened. Only she gave one explanation, then another, and I'm going, "um, that sounds contradictory." I had to re-read it to realize she'd given events out of order and guessed some things based on no evidence (and these things were never confirmed, either).

Sarah wanted to tell her ideas to her detective friend, but Rose insisted they go back to the murder scene (and not tell anyone). Of course, whodunit happened to show up for a reason not explained (as the area had clearly already been searched for evidence and treasure). Whodunit never confessed to murder, never explained why the victim was killed at that location and before giving up the location of the money. It's implied that the money was found but this was never clearly stated. We're just suddenly told it would be returned to the rightful owners. So much wasn't clearly explained. Not a satisfying ending.

The main characters were nice, engaging people, but the clues were a mess. So Sarah can be sure that soil is an exact match just by looking at it? And, BTW, someone with frozen shoulder can't lift their arm without intense pain. They aren't going to spend money on expensive lawn equipment, they're going to hire someone to take care of their lawn. Quite a lot just didn't seem believable.

This is the 11th book in the series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one. This book didn't spoil any of the previous mysteries. There were no sex scenes. There was only one use of bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

One Wrong Move by Dani Pettrey

One Wrong Move
by Dani Pettrey

ISBN-13: 9780764238482
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Released: February 6, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Christian O'Brady was pulled into a life of crime at a young age by his con artist parents. Now making amends for his corrupt past, he has become one of the country's foremost security experts. When a string of Southwestern art heists targets one of the galleries Christian secured, he is paired up with a gifted insurance investigator who has her own checkered past.

Andi Forester was a brilliant FBI forensic analyst until one of her colleagues destroyed her career, blaming her for mishandling evidence. She now puts those skills to work investigating insurance fraud, and this latest high-stakes case will test her gift to the limit. Drawn deep into a dangerous game with an opponent bent on revenge, Christian and Andi are in a race against the clock to catch him, but the perpetrator's game is far from finished, and one wrong move could be the death of them both.


My Review:
One Wrong Move is a Christian romantic suspense novel. It had two mysteries and romances in it. The main story was Christian and Andi investigating the art heists. Christian pulled off some art heists as a teenager, so he's great at setting up security to prevent them, yet someone knows exactly how to break through it. Andi once worked crime scene forensics for the FBI, but she was falsely accused of messing up the evidence and putting an innocent man in prison. It's Christian's private investigator brother who ruined her career, but now her best friend (from that same lab) and his brother investigate her claim that she was set up.

The physical danger to the main characters and others kept the suspense high. The characters were smart, complex, and dealt with realistic struggles. I cared about what happened to them. The romantic pairs worked well as a team and built each other up. The characters were Christians, so they prayed to God to help them, and their beliefs affected their choices. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting, suspenseful novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Fatal Witness by Patricia Bradley

Fatal Witness
by Patricia Bradley

ISBN-13: 9780800741631
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: February 6, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
As a child, artist and potter Dani Bennett witnessed the brutal murder of her parents. With no memory of the incident or her true identity, she was forced to take on a new name and a new life, hidden away in Montana for the past 25 years.

Mae Richmond has spent the same stretch of time searching for her granddaughter, who went missing the night her daughter and son-in-law were murdered. Convinced the woman she saw in a pottery magazine feature is the woman she's been searching for, she enlists the help of K-9 officer Mark Lassiter of Pearl Springs, Tennessee, who tracks Dani down.

Skeptical but curious, Dani sets out on a journey to uncover the secrets of her past and reclaim her true identity. But someone is determined to keep the truth of what happened all those years ago hidden.


My Review:
Fatal Witness is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the second book in the series but works as a standalone. Mark once failed to protect the woman he loved, so he avoids romantic relationships. Now he has to keep Dani (and Mae) alive while they finally solve what happened 25 years ago. Mark admired Dani's character as they spent time together and got to know each other. They worked well together and brought out the best in each other. Dani was brave and refused to be a passive victim of events.

The main characters were likable, complex, and reacted realistically to events. The high level of suspense came from repeated attacks on Dani and Mae. Whodunit was guessable but not obvious or easy to narrow down. The case went cold years ago due to lack of definitive clues, and Dani struggled to remember anything about when she lived in Pearl Springs. Several characters were bitter because of unforgiveness, and Dani faced having to forgive others. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.