I Died for Beauty by Amanda Flower

I Died for Beauty
by Amanda Flower

ISBN-13: 9780593816462
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: February 25, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Amherst, 1857. The Dickinson family braves one of the worst winters in New England’s history. Trains are snowbound and boats are frozen in the harbor. Emily Dickinson and her maid, Willa Noble, have never witnessed anything like it. As Amherst families attempt to keep their homes warm, fears of fire abound.

These worries prove not to be unfounded as a blaze breaks out just down the street from the Dickinson in Kelley Square, the Irish community in Amherst, and a young couple is killed, leaving behind their young child. Their deaths appear to be a tragic accident, but Emily finds herself harboring suspicions there may be more to the fire than meets the eye. Emily and Willa must withstand the frigid temperatures and discover a killer lurking among the deadly frost.


My Review:
I Died for Beauty is a mystery set in 1857 in Massachusetts. This is the 3rd in a series, but you can understand the story without reading the previous novels.

Historical details about the time (mainly the bad winter and how it affected people) were woven into the story and brought it alive in my imagination. The main characters were interesting and likable. This was a clue-based mystery. The author successfully diverted my attention from the true whodunit. Some things in the story were obvious, like a certain woman seemed to be having an affair (or two?). But with whom, and is it significant to the murder? Emily was fairly direct in her questioning, while Willa tended to advise Emily, overhear clues, or observe things. Willa was also able to get the traumatized child to talk about what happened.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical 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.

Lethal Reunion by Lacey Baker

Lethal Reunion
by Lacey Baker

ISBN-13: 9781335980472
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Released: February 25, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The last thing Halle Jefferson expects is to receive a chilling threat at her high school reunion—or the gunshot that follows. It’s been fifteen years since her sister’s unsolved homicide, and now her twin’s killer is back. They want something from Halle, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. At her side is her former high school sweetheart, Sheriff Kyle Briscoe. Can Halle and Kyle outwit a ruthless murderer and uncover the truth?


My Review:
Lethal Reunion is a Christian romantic suspense. While there was some suspense at the beginning and end, the middle was basically Halle and Kyle trying to figure out what the bad guy wanted with the time capsule. I found it a bit odd that they knew this probably had something to do with her twin sister's murder yet they never looked at the old case file. It's almost like no one ever tried to solve that murder.

They spent time together as they tried to figure out what her sister did that could have lead to her death. Halle and Kyle had dated previously, and they still cared for one another. They liked the more mature versions of each other. Halle wanted to be free of her sister's shadow, so solving whodunit helped her move into her own future instead of the future she'd envisioned with her twin. Kyle's ended up living the life his father wanted for him, so he needed to rethink what he really wanted out of life. The characters were likable and grew as people throughout the story.

Both Halle and Kyle relied on God to help them through difficulties. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this romance with a mystery and 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.

Bound by Duty by Valerie Hansen

Bound by Duty
by Valerie Hansen

ISBN-13: 9781488087929
ebook: 224 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Released: May 1, 2018

Source: Rented Kindle ebook.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Her serial killer brother’s escaped—and it’s single mom Zoe Sullivan who’s under suspicion! Sgt. Linc Colson trusts two things: his instincts and his Rottweiler K-9 partner, Star—and certainly not the pretty face he’s assigned to monitor. He’s done everything to keep her from getting under his skin—now he must stop those who want to put her six feet under.


My Review:
Bound by Duty is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the 2nd book in the series, but it works as a standalone. Zoe's brother is a serial killer, escaped and threatening women on base. Military police are keeping an eye on her in case her brother contacts her, and everyone treats her like she's a criminal, too. Even Colson at first, who was once deceived by a woman who seemed innocent but led his squad into an attack. It doesn't help that someone's trying to make people doubt Zoey's reliability and mental state.

Zoe liked how Colson made her feel protected, was good with her young son, and their shared background of criminal family members. Colson became her friend when no one else believed her. The suspense came from the threats to Zoey, some physical and some playing mental games. Still, I don't like Christian romances that end with the couple married after knowing each other for only a short period of time and only liking each other for about a week. Yes, they got married, not just engaged.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting romantic 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.

Nerves of Steele by Susan Sleeman

Nerves of Steele
by Susan Sleeman

ebook: 314 pages
Publisher: Edge of Your Seat Books
Released: May 1, 2022

Source: Rented Kidle ebook.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
As a middle child, Peyton Steele has always needed to find a way to standout. But coming to the attention of the head of security for her client’s jewelry store when millions of dollars in jewels go missing is not the way to do it. She thinks the state-of-the-art cameras she’d recently had installed will make it easy to find the thief, but she’s stunned when the video doesn’t show the theft taking place.

The lack of video evidence is not acceptable to store security manager and former detective, Grant Logan. He’s given up his law enforcement career to spend more time with his daughter and he’s up for a promotion as security manager for the entire jewelry chain. To gain the job that will give his young daughter everything he wants for her, he has to prove his abilities by finding the thief at all costs. He’ll put everything on the line to gain this new job, but how far will he go? Despite his growing interest in Peyton, will he risk both of their lives to succeed?


My Review:
Nerves of Steele is a romantic suspense. Though there wasn't much danger to the main characters or people they cared about, so it's more of a mystery. Peyton and Grant worked well together, investigating stolen diamonds. The mystery was interesting, and they followed up on any leads until they found the diamonds. However, Peyton got lazy and not only unlocked her car at a distance where she couldn't see the car but didn't check to make sure no one was in her car (something an average woman knows to do, and she was once law enforcement). So she's abducted and had to survive the suspenseful ending until help arrived.

Peyton and Grant seemed mostly physically attracted at first, kissing with no intent to later date and knowing they valued different things in life. Grant's obsessed with protecting the people he cares about--especially from any risky activities--because his wife died in a freak accident. Peyton wanted to try adventurous activities and immerse herself in her job, not be tied down by a husband or kids. And Grant has a kid, which she falls in love with at first sight. She finally feels the non-competitive love that she hasn't felt with her own family, so she questions what she really wants in life.

Both Peyton and Grant were Christians and would pray or briefly talk about their faith during the story. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting 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.

Cold Fury by Susan Sleeman

Cold Fury
by Susan Sleeman

ebook: 314 pages
Publisher: Edge of Your Seat Books
Released: February 1, 2018

Source: Rented Kindle ebook.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Forensic anthropologist Maggie Turner happily works as an assistant professor at her local university and lives a quiet life near campus. Until Jackson Lockhart reenters her life. Then a cyclone of emotions erupt as she remembers the tragedy that once tore them apart. She’s often thought of him, but they’d agreed never to see each other again and so far they’d kept their promise. But Jackson has a good reason for breaking his promise. Maggie’s life depends on it.

In an ongoing investigation, Jackson has learned that university officials secretly videoed her classroom in a study on attendance. The recorder was supposed to run only during the class session, but it recorded an entire week, which includes a shocking murder that has now put Maggie’s life in danger. Can Jackson unravel the lies surrounding this incident before the killer unleashes his fury on Maggie?


My Review:
Cold Fury is a Christian romantic suspense. Though a part of a series, this worked as a standalone. Maggie's working on identifying human remains after a wildfire when they come across a murder victim. Jackson's team is working on solving the murder of one of Maggie's students when they discover that Maggie actually saw the murderer. They rush to protect her until they can solve the case, but she insists on working her own case, too.

The suspense was created by constant attacks on Maggie. Jackson and Maggie had a relationship in the past, but Jackson wasn't ready to commit to marriage and a family. Then tragedy struck, both blamed themselves, and they figured there was too much hurt between them to heal the relationship. But things have changed with time, so they explored if there was a possible future together.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this suspenseful 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.

One Last Promise by Susan May Warren

One Last Promise
by Susan May Warren

ISBN-13: 9780800745493
ebook: 304 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: August 1, 2024

Source: Rented Kindle ebook.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
After years as a pilot of a Navy rescue chopper, Arlo "Moose" Mulligan returned home to start Air One Rescue--and made a name for himself. He loves his job, his life, and his routines, which include breakfast at the Skyport Diner, always at one of Tillie Young's tables. She's sweet and pretty, but Moose knows his life has no room for anything more. Until the day Tillie shows up beaten and desperate and needing his help.

Tillie Young never thought her ex would track her to Alaska, but somehow he's found her. When he kidnaps her daughter, she'll do anything to get her back--even enlist help from her favorite grumpy customer. But Moose Mulligan is no match for a former MMA boxer and possible child trafficker, right?

He's not going to let another child go missing on his watch. Moose must find the girl, keep Tillie safe, and outwit a man fueled by revenge. It will take all of Moose's Alaskan savvy to keep them alive.


My Review:
One Last Promise is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the 3rd in the series, but you can understand this story without having read the previous one. I enjoyed Tillie in the other books, but I lost all respect for her in her own story. She was panicky, impulsive, and repeatedly did things that she knew were making another bad decision on top of the past ones, only making things worse. And she used to be in the military AND was trained in mixed martial arts! Somehow, she didn't learn how not to panic.

Sadly, she got Moose so caught up in trying to make things better for her that he almost committed a crime for her. Solely based on this book, I would say these two were a bad idea for getting married, but Moose and the Air One Rescue crew were good friends to Tillie.

Anyway, the main characters were likable and came across as real people. I cared about what happened to them. There was plenty of suspense from the physical danger to Tillie and, to some extent, her daughter. 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.

The Wagtail Murder Club by Krista Davis

The Wagtail Murder Club
by Krista Davis

ISBN-13: 9780593817520
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: February 4, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Holly Miller's driving back to Wagtail, Virginia when she spots something hiding on the side of the road. It's an adorable black Labrador in a cage with a note attached to his collar, dubbing him Squishy and asking the finder to care for him. Holly takes Squishy home to the Sugar Maple Inn and another surprise awaits her. Holly’s ex-boyfriend Ben is set to check-in with a group of his attorney colleagues who all seem to think he and Holly are still an item.

When one of Ben’s fellow attorneys dies in a fall, it could be chalked up to an unfortunate accident but then a second lawyer is murdered. Along with her beloved furry friends Trixie and Twinkletoes, Holly has to put the pieces together to find the killer before the fiend causes another fatality.


My Review:
The Wagtail Murder Club is a cozy mystery. It's the 10th book in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this story, and this book didn't spoil the previous ones. But I lost all respect for Holly in this book. The author decided to have a crisis between her and Holmes, whom she supposedly loves. Ben showed up unexpectedly and proposed marriage to Holly in public in front of his business colleagues even though she'd made it clear she's not interested in him. A thousand ways to handle that, but she choose 'I can't embarrass Ben; I'll say yes and break the engagement later' like that'd do anything but delay the embarrassment. She didn't think once about Holmes' feelings, and she didn't try very hard to tell him what she intended to do before he heard the news of her engagement to Ben from someone else. This became a big mess and yet...in the end, no feelings were hurt. Seriously?

At the beginning, I quickly identified whodunit. I'm going, "Oh! What a horrible person!" though this was based off of subtle clues rather than outright meanness. By halfway through, I'd figured out whodunit for the old murder (though why came out later). Then there's another murder, and I easily figured that one out. Only Oma thought things out logically. Holly would think a clue could mean this or that or that. Or she'd recognize a clue indicated this but then conclude the exact opposite a moment later. At the very end, suddenly the lightbulb went on for her.

The pets were charming, as usual. I never did understand why a law firm wanted to open an office in Wagtail and why Ben, of all people, wanted so badly to move there. There was no sex or 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.

Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin

Midnight on the Scottish Shore
by Sarah Sundin

ISBN-13: 9780800741860
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: February 1, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The only way Cilla van der Zee can survive the German occupation of the Netherlands is to do the unthinkable--become a spy for the Nazis in Britain. She soothes her conscience with a plan to abandon her mission and instead aid the Allies. Her scheme is thwarted when naval officer Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie finds her along the Scottish shore and turns her in to be executed.

But perhaps she is more useful alive than dead. British intelligence sends her to Scotland to radio misleading messages to Germany, messages about the naval base at Scapa Flow to be crafted by Lachlan. At the station in the lighthouse at Dunnet Head, Lachlan and Cilla must work together if the war is to be won. But how can he trust a woman who arrived on his shores as a tool of the enemy--a woman certain to betray both him and the Allied cause?


My Review:
Midnight on the Scottish Shore is a Christian romantic suspense set in 1941-1942, mostly in Scotland. Cilla spies on the Nazis for a Dutch resistance group until it gets dangerous. Desperate to escape the danger, she charms a German intelligence officer into taking her into training to spy for Germany on British soil. But things go terribly wrong when she's dropped off. She's captured by Lt. Lachlan, who unknowingly sends her to the British counter-intelligence to be trained as a double agent. No one believes that she's not truly a German spy, but she's determined to be pleasant and do a good job if it'll help the British war efforts.

The characters were well-developed, had complexity, and acted realistically to events. They felt like real people who really lived through these events. The historical details were woven into the story and brought the story alive in my imagination. Lachlan and Cilla worked well together, finding ways to convince Cilla's German contact that she's loyal while providing only information of minimal importance. Lachlan struggled with forgiving his brother, who betrayed him by deliberately ruining his naval career. Cilla found the freedom that God offers, even when we're physically confined. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical 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.